Poor Ed. He has to take pills for his hypertension and find a way to stay destressed even though he runs one of Vegas' megacasinos that's always the target of nefarious types looking to act out some nefarious schemes. On top of that, some stupid fool has stolen the big guy's identity. Wait, there's more. Unbeknownst (I love that word. It's so Speed Racer.) to him, Mike gets Ed's precious Aston Martin stolen and chopped up. Stay destressed? I don't think so. At least this all leads to some pretty funny Ed and Danny scenes. James Caan and Josh Duhamel really have this father-son-type chemistry down pat. And is there anything better than finding out something about Sam's mysterious past? Don't answer that. But come on, admit it: Her brother shows up (half brother, I get it Sam) and the girl vibrates all kinds of nervousness over her coworkers finding stuff out about her. That's enjoyable! Learning that as a kid she had a lisp and she could Electric Boogaloo wit
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My Name Is Earl
The state of returning comedies has not been pretty in the new TV season. Consider the year-to-year decline in these shows:
— ABC's According to Jim, which moved from 9 pm to 8 pm on Tuesdays, is off 26 percent compared to the first three weeks of last year. Its 8:30 companion, Rodney, has dropped 22 percent.
— CBS' Two and a Half Men has had an uphill battle trying to the big shoes of Everybody Loves Raymond. The network is down 20 percent in the time period from a year ago.
— As for NBC's much-maligned Joey? Ugh. It's off 46 percent compared to last year and has taken the Must-See TV network to new lows on Thursday nights.
But before this turns into another "Is the sitcom dead?" column, let's look at the bright side: Last week N
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"Friendship over" were the two simple words that Barney uttered as he stormed out of the bar when he discovered that his best friend, Ted, had once dumped a porn star. Simple moments like that on How I Met Your Mother crack me up, as well as just how far they can push the boundaries of family comedy with the clever use of language. When Ted tells a different girl that the reason for the demise of their relationship is ineffable, she loudly responds "I'm not F-able?" Ah, that and all the lovely jokes about nipples barely prepared me for... Two and a Half Men. I expect raunchy and outrageous comments out of the mouths of Charlie, Alan and Berta — the show's so-called adults. Like when Berta quips to a downtrodden Alan, "It's a shame you're paying all that money for your ex-wife and your ex-wife's house and you're not allowed in either of them." Not shocking. But it still gets me whenever pint-size, scene-stealing Jake comes across with something a little bit&n
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Question: What do you think about situation comedies this season? I gave up on them a few years ago. The canned laughter and over-the-top one-liners on Will & Grace are excruciatingly awful, so I was overjoyed when shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development etc. came to TV. The subtraction of annoying laugh track and the genuinely fresh and addition of talented casts made my week. As a big Buffy fan, I looked forward to Alyson Hannigan's How I Met Your Mother, but after three tries, I can't make it through the first 10 minutes without being bored, put off by the sterile laugh track and the wasted talent of Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris. Will the situation comedy ever get good writers, talented actors and good time slots, or will I have to keep hoping Fox and HBO will keep good shows on the air even when they don't get stellar ratings?
Answer: Seems to me you've made up your mind that if a comedy is done the old-fashioned way, in front of an audience with laughter on the
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Commander in Chief
Can ABC be stopped?
Two weeks into the 2005-06 prime-time season the Alphabet network has taken a commanding ratings lead among viewers aged 18 to 49, the group advertisers covet most. The network's hot new shows from last season, Desperate Housewives and Lost, are even hotter this year. And while none of its new shows look like they'll be breakout hits, they at least show the potential to improve the network's performance on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Of course, the race for No. 1 in the prized demo will tighten once Fox's American Idol rolls in again come January. But here's how each of the networks has performed so far and what they'll need to do to improve.
ABC: With two consecutive weekly wins among viewers aged 18 to 49, the network is off to its best start since the 1994-95 season.
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Question: Since I am a huge fan of Two and a Half Men, I keep watching CBS after it ends every week. I have been watching Out of Practice these first weeks, and although it isn't the best comedy ever (not even close), it gets me through the hour. Practice's first episode was watched by 13 million viewers, and its second broadcast was enjoyed by 11 million viewers. On the other hand, How I Met Your Mother (which is better) reached only 10 million viewers in the first two weeks of the season. However, a lot of experts are calling Mother a keeper and Practice a possible casualty of the season. I don't get it. How can Practice be in more danger than Mother if it has better ratings? Also Out of Practice is not that bad. I'd rather watch Stockard Channing than Still Standing's pathetic cast and stories any day of the week.
Answer: I'd rather watch a clip reel of Elisabeth Rohm's scenes from Law & Order than Still Standing, so that's a pretty low bar, don't you think? But here's the deal with
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Ready for NuCassie?
As previously reported by TVGuide.com, Guiding Light is recasting Cassie Winslow, Reva's ex-stripper sister who married into Caribbean royalty. The role was abruptly vacated when Laura Wright jumped ship to play General Hospital's new Carly. As a result, Nicole Forester will make her daytime debut as NuCassie on Nov. 4. Who the heck is she? Well, Forester has previously guest-starred on prime-time shows like Two and a Half Men, Monk, Will & Grace and Beverly Hills, 90210. She also costarred with Michael Madsen and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, The Young and the Restless) in the 2003 straight-to-DVD fright-flick Vampires Anonymous. Keep reading for another juicy nugget of Cassie-related casting news....
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As if a cursory glance at a few tabloid covers hadn't already told us, Charlie Sheen confirmed for David Letterman on The Late Show that he and wife Denise Richards are trying to work things out. The reason for their marital woes? "I was a gigantic ass," the Two and a Half Men star said. That much we could have figured out for ourselves.
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I know it probably makes me kind of a terrible person, but I derived quite a bit of enjoyment from watching Ivette, Maggie and April whine about the fact that Janelle won yet another competition. See, perhaps if April hadn't called all the viewers pieces of s--t the last time Janelle won an America's Choice competition, then maybe a few more of the votes would have fallen in her direction. Yeah, right. But my favorite part of the whole night was when April put her foot in her mouth by saying that she never said she hated anyone in the game, but that she really hated Janelle. The lovely BB editors put together a string of her hateful remarks toward just about everyone who wasn't a member of the Friendship — now there's a warm and cuddly clique anyone would want to be a part of. Oh, and I also got a giggle when Janelle came back and told the three witches of the West Coast that the old people in the audience of Two and a Half
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Janelle won HOH... I think this might be the happiest I've been while watching TV all summer. Hold on a sec while I go vote for her to get the day on the set of Two and a Half Men... her winning would rub some serious salt in the wounds of the remaining nerd herders. It makes me even happier that Janelle won HOH by answering all the questions about the houseguests correctly. Especially since from reading the live recaps online, I know that the Friendship has actually been studying and trying to recall details. It must just irk them to no end that the ditzy-looking blonde can keep all those facts in that pretty little head of hers. Just like that kid who slacked off in class but always aced the finals. But I'm not going to feel sorry for any of them, because even Ivette's own mom and girlfriend didn't approve of her trusting the Friendship members, especially April. I love that girlfriend Maggie — aka Tushy, so as not to be confused with housegues
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