We really should've known better. We waited two weeks for Brothers & Sisters' "shocking death," when all along we should have realized that what the network had been teasing for weeks (months even, among insiders) in the end wasn't all that shocking — especially when it didn't even really happen.
Oh well, maybe we're all patsies. But to make ourselves feel better, after the jump are the TV deaths that actually delivered a gutshot and had us talking about a character's demise the next day — for all the right reasons.
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In honor of Father's Day, we've put together a list of 10 of the most memorable TV dads, all of which you can enjoy again and again on DVD. — Gord Lacey10. Homer Simpson, The SimpsonsHe's been on TV for 19 seasons, entertaining us with his beer-enhanced antics, zany adventures, and love of donuts. If nothing else, he gets credit for parenting three kids that never age. Buy The Simpsons at Amazon.com!9. Andy Taylor, The Andy Griffith ShowWhen you’re an elected official charged with keeping the town safe, you could easily lose sight of your duties at home. But Andy always understood that the most important badge he wore was the one as Opie's dad. Buy The Andy Griffith Show at Amazon.com!8. Tony Soprano, The SopranosTony got a gold star for heading up two families: the one at home with Carmela, Anthony and Meadow, and his other family with Paulie, Silvo and Bobby. What's a father if not a protector? Buy The Sopranos at Amazon.com!7. Al Bundy, Married with ChildrenAl put in l...
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Question: I was totally prepared to hate The Big Bang Theory, so I was surprised at how much I like it. It is one of the few new sitcoms that I find really funny, and sometimes it actually makes me laugh out loud. What do you think of it? How is it doing?
Answer: I'm enjoying it more and more as the season goes on, and the good news is that it already has a full-season pickup, so there's no reason to worry about its immediate future. It's awfully endearing; Jim Parsons is a deadpan hoot as Sheldon, and when the entire geek squad is assembled (including scene-stealer Simon Helberg as Wolowitz), it's a riot. My favorite episode to date: when Sara Gilbert's fellow-scientist character used Leonard (Johnny Galecki, her former Roseanne costar) for sex, while Sheldon fretted outside the bedroom door with the tie on the doorknob. The scenes in that episode at the Cheesecake Factory, where Sheldon found a new home for his obsessive-compulsive behavior (to the chagrin of Penny th ...
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Giggling at the antics of the slap-happy contestants who “come on down” at what he calls “the happiest place on Earth,” Drew Carey looks like he’s having a blast, and looks right at home, on the spiffed-up set of The Price Is Right as he takes over as host today. There’s no fuss and no ceremony, and outside of the introduction telling us we’re at the Bob Barker Studio in Television City, and that one of the games is still called “Barker’s Bargain Bar,” and that Carey chooses to sign off with the traditional plea to have your pets spayed, there’s no actual homage to the former host as the new Price era begins.And yet, probably the greatest tribute to Bob Barker is that the show goes on, and goes on effortlessly with its funny-looking new ringleader, who appears to be genuinely tickled at the breathless excitement of the frantic folks who come to play the game. When one of the contestants does a cartwheel after taking the stage, C...
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The evolution of comedy on ABC is not a pretty one, from the heights not so long ago of Roseanne to the absolute prehistoric depths of Cavemen, which premiered Tuesday night without benefit of sending a finished preview episode to critics. For good reason, clearly. We thought the original pilot we saw in May was lousy, but that was nothing compared to the woolly mammoth stinker that aired Tuesday. I didn’t crack a smile, bark a single laugh, even grunt a symbolic “ugh.” I think time may actually have stood still for a few seconds, somewhere between the scene where a caveman ordered a tall soy macchiato and cranberry biscotti after sneering at “pretentious poseurs” at the mall and the bit where, on the squash court, the hairy guys discussed how their sexual prowess made them “forbidden fruit” to female “sapes.”Forget ugh. How about ick?Pairing this instant loser with the whining-male flat tire known as Carpoolers made for what may have bee...
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