Macfarlane overload convolutes Fox animation lineup

Sunday night marked two firsts for this TV viewer: It was the first time I saw “The Cleveland Show” (which premiered Sunday night), and it was the first time I sat through all three of Seth Macfarlane’s animated programs.
It will be the last time, as well.
I really enjoy “Family Guy,” which I watch whenever I can on network and cable television. It’s sharp, witty and funny, even if it’s a bit too reliant upon obscure references (references to “Robot Chicken” and Disney films made this last episode pretty much an instant classic).
But the same can’t be said for Macfarlane’s other two shows. “American Dad” seems like “Family Guy Lite,” as it replaces the talking dog with a talking alien and the pop culture references with nods to government happenings. Nothing in any episode I’ve watched has made me laugh out loud.
As for “The Cleveland Show,” well, it seems the creative juices have run dry. A talking bear is the oddity this time around, as Cleveland Brown settles into the Southern town he grew up in and marries his high school sweetheart. More obnoxious kids, more off-beat humor directed at about 5 percent of the audience, you get the idea. And a black man in the South calls for some of the laziest, most predictable jokes that can be made; Macfarlane has delivered far better material in the past.
I will faithfully watch “Family Guy” for as long as it’s on, but that show clearly gets all of the best ideas devoted to it, and the other two shows almost seem to just ride the coattails of its reputation (and that of its creator). Neither of the off-shoots offer anything new, and recycled “Family Guy” is quite stale.
All three shows will probably enjoy fairly decent runs. But for the two newer shows, I won’t be a part of said runs.

Wayne Brady returns to game show action on ‘Deal’

Not resting on his laurels upon the cancellation of his Fox game show “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” Wayne Brady will be back behind the mic this fall to host the remake of “Let’s Make a Deal.”

Shooting in Las Vegas, the series will retain much of the quirkiness of the original series, CBS said in a release.

Brady was brilliant on “Whose Line is it Anyway” and, while that naturally translates into game show duties, it seems as though he can do more than that. But it pays (presumably well) and it’s work, so who can knock it.

Following is the CBS release.

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LET’S MAKE A DEAL, a new take on the classic game show where audience members dress in outlandish costumes to win cash and prizes by making deals with the host, will begin production Tuesday, September 15 at the Tropicana Las Vegas.  The new, one-hour series will premiere Monday, Oct. 5, (check local listings) on the CBS Television Network.  Emmy Award-winner Wayne Brady will host the new one-hour daytime series produced by FremantleMedia North America (“American Idol,” “The Price is Right”).

Free tickets for the show are available at http://www.cbs.com/daytime/lets_make_a_deal/ with details about tape dates also available at the site.

The original LET’S MAKE A DEAL was a television game show staple during the 1960s and 70s when it was hosted by Monty Hall from 1963-1977.  While later versions aired in syndication and primetime, the game show is best remembered for the years hosted by Hall, who will serve as a creative consultant on this latest version.

The proud home of LET’S MAKE A DEAL, Tropicana Las Vegas has been a Las Vegas landmark since its inception in 1957. Recently acquired by the Onex Corporation and led by seasoned gaming executive Alex Yemenidjian, the historic property is currently transforming itself into a vibrant South Beach, Miami themed escape. Located at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, in the heart of the famed Las Vegas Strip and featuring numerous restaurants, the 850-seat Tiffany Theater, the famous pool area with cascading waterfalls, more than 1,800 hotel rooms and an action-packed casino, renovations are scheduled for completion in 2010.  For additional information on events, amenities or availability call 702-739-2222 or visit tropicanalv.com. Management reserves all rights.

LET’S MAKE A DEAL is hosted by Wayne Brady.  Mike Richards (“The Price is Right”) is the Executive Producer.  Produced by FremantleMedia North America, the one-hour show will be broadcast weekdays (check local listings) on the CBS Television Network.

‘Backyardigans’ offer exciting (and scary) element to morning

Part of Penny’s standard morning ritual is to ask for “The Backyardigans” to be put on the television and to sit in my lap while I feed Rigby. She always asks for “new one,” but we have to reply that there aren’t any, since she’s seen all her DVDs a bazillion times and the On Demand offerings are also repeats.

Well, the On Demand added a new episode this morning.

And it was one we hadn’t seen!!

“Really?!” my wife said, sitting up from the couch in mild excitement.

“Yep,” I replied as I turned up the volume, with Penny doing a happy dance next to me at the thought of her request actually being granted.

A minute later is when we realized how we’d reacted. Not to knock “The Backyardigans,” but since I see (and remember) them more than Penny – who likes the show as background noise when she plays – I’ve had my fill. So to have an episode I haven’t seen is, well, not exactly a treat, but it’s far less painful to watch.

Just to have one where I didn’t know the dialogue and couldn’t sing along, to not know the ending, was an unexpected surprise.

Yep. This is my life.

Book closes on ‘Reading Rainbow’

I was sad to see today that the popular PBS show “Reading Rainbow” will no longer be produced.

Created nearly 30 years ago, “Reading Rainbow”introduced generations of young viewers to book (I can remember resisting the call of the outdoors as a youngster to watch the program at 10 a.m. daily before running outside to play for the balance of the day). Host LeVar Burton did a terrific job of making reading fun.

I am sad that my children won’t get to experience the show (although there are videos in existence). Their love of books is already evident even at an age where they can’t yet read, but without “Reading Rainbow” I might have given up reading completely before I even entered my teens. Not only that, but theshow turned me on to numerous titles I might otherwise have missed out on.

Fare thee well, “Reading Rainbow.” You will be missed.

Ready to beat ‘The Fresh Beat Band’

I have yet to see a full episode of “The Fresh Beat Band,” Nickelodeon’s latest kids show that centers around singing, but I’ve seen enough of the promos to know that I never want to.

Four kids – including two guys with the ridiculous names of Twist and Shout – go around singing about what seems to be anything they encounter on the street. The songs feature award-winning lyrics such as “Peel banana, feel banana, keepin’ it real banana” and other messages meant to enrich the lives of our younger generation (in fairness, the song does always catch my daughter’s attention, and she’ll sing “Banana, banana” when the promo pops up).

I realize that I am not the target audience, and I only have to not put the show on and that will be the end of it, but something about this show just irks me. Apparently, I am not alone in this sentiment.

Having grown up on the likes of Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry, this doesn’t do much to the adolescent portion of my brain. Whatever the intent, it’s just annoying drivel, and poorly done at that.

Don’t believe me? Just watch this video. If the “street-wise rapper kids can relate to” character doesn’t even rap as well as I do, then it’s time to hit the reset button.

Actually, two footnotes first: What are the odds that these people can actually play a musical instrument, and when did a DJ’s turntable become a musical instrument (it’s a method of creativity, sure, but not an instrument).

Sports commentary lacks value, sense

Here is a blog post written by U.S. News & World Report scribe Bonnie Erbe on the Erin Andrews scandal. She states that women should stop watching sports, that all men are bad because they watch sports and all sports are bad.

Here is the response I posted on the shrew’s blog page:

I have a daughter. I will encourage her to watch sports as much as possible as she matures (not pay attention to millionaire holdouts and steroid scandals, but watch games). She’ll learn how to win, how to lose, how to behave in a sporting manner, how to compete and how to constructively channel her daily frustration into a nightly release of taking in a game.
If you think there were absolutely zero women involved in spreading the Erin Andrews situation, you’re as naive as the sports-loving women you criticize.
Of course, there’s nothing right about what happened to Andrews, but really, what does that have to do with the games themselves? The only tie-in I can see is that Andrews does a sub-par job of sideline reporting for some games. So does that mean that all female sportscasters and reporters, who only in the last 15 years or so have made real strides in trying to level the gender gap in their chosen profession, should walk out on their career dreams?
And as for your argument about women boycotting games, get real. I enjoy watching sports with my wife, and I can’t wait until my daughter is old enough to watch games with us, but a lot of men would quite frankly probably prefer to watch sports only with their guy friends. That would hardly do anything to stop men from “behaving badly,” as if my watching a Bills game means that I’m going to go loot the corner liquor store or something.
And ask Yankees fans who remember the team’s run in the 2001 playoffs – right after Sept. 11 destroyed their city and their hope – if sports culture is nothing but bad. Ask sports fans of last-place Olympic participants, who still wave their flags and cheer on their athletes as the competitors meander to the finish line because it’s the fact that you finish that really matters, if sports culture is nothing but bad. Ask father-and-son golfers whose sole connections are the rounds they shoot and watch together if sports culture is nothing but bad.
The Andrews situation was reprehensible, but the leap of logic you make to vilify the sports that are played – and the women who like them – is illogical, irrational and makes you sound incomprehensibly unintelligent. The only waste of time here is you.

Additional proof that the apocalypse is forthcoming

The Associated press actually moved this story tonight. I will now go pour lemon juice into my pried-open eyes.

Note that they had to revise the story to include a translation of “yo quiero Taco Bell.” As if he was saying “I poop on Taco Bell” or “Taco Bell smells like my farts” or something.

Even better, actually, is the fact that they had to say that the dog’s voice was dubbed. Society, you officially get no credit whatsoever.

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Taco Bell ad star Gidget the Chihuahua dies at 15
Eds: ADDS translation of dog’s catch phrase. ADDS photo link. APNewsNow. Moving on general news, financial and entertainment services.
By ROBERT JABLON
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Handlers say Gidget the Chihuahua, whose Taco Bell commercials made her a star, has died. She was 15.
The owner of Studio Animal Services in Castaic says Gidget suffered a massive stroke late Tuesday at her trainer’s home in Santa Clarita and had to be euthanized.
Gidget was the sassy mascot in Taco Bell commercials from 1997 to 2000. While other dogs had bit parts, it was her bug-eyed, big-eared face that is seen pronouncing, in a dubbed male voice, “Yo quiero Taco Bell,” Spanish for “I want Taco Bell.”
The ads made the Taco Bell mascot wildly popular, although they provoked some criticism from activists who felt they used Mexican stereotypes.
Gidget also had a role in the movie “Legally Blonde 2.”

‘Family Guy’ Emmy nod is one small step for cartoons

I was delighted to see that “Family Guy” was nominated last week for the best comedy Emmy.

While it’s great seeing the snobby Hollywood elite nominate a cartoon, I think they got the wrong one.

Fox’s “Family Guy” – which was once canceled due to poor ratings – is the first cartoon to be nominated in this category since “The Flintstones” in 1961. While one could argue that “The Simpsons” deserved such an honor during its heydey in the 1990s, the fact is that “South Park” is much more deserving of the honor in the 21st century.

“Family Guy” has maintained a high level of quality, but “South Park” has continually managed to surpass itself season after season. it probably will never receive a major nomination since it’s poked fun at pretty much everyone in Hollywood, but “South Park” might just be the best show on television right now. Period.

That being said, “Family Guy” stands a decent shot this year when looking at the competition. “The Office” is among TV’s most overrated comedies (which isn’t to say that it’s just bad, but it’s not nearly as good as its followers make it out to be), and “How I Met Your Mother” feels like every cookie-cutter sitcom that’s rolled out since 1960 (although that may be what stoic voters go for). “Entourage” is past its prime, and I’ve never seen “Weeds” or “Flight of the Conchords” so it wouldn’t be fair for me to comment, but they seem like niche cable programs at best.

Too bad Peter Griffin could not have made this historic step a few years ago. Homer Simpson, Hank Hill and Jay Sherman deserved the same accolade, but the voters wouldn’t “stoop” to nominating a cartoon in decades past; “The Critic” and “King of the Hill” may not compare to “Cheers” or “Seinfeld,” but they could compete with most other, non-epic sitcoms of decades gone by.

So in that regard (and only in that regard, because I generally don’t care about awards shows), I’ll root for “Family Guy.” Maybe if it wins, then animators will finally get their due.

Fall 2009 television premiere dates – ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC

Following are the premiere dates for the fall 2009-10 television schedule for the five major networks. Click here to read more about the new and returning series for the fall.
ABC
Sept. 5: “Saturday Night Football” (8 p.m.)
Sept. 11:  “20/20” (10 p.m.)
Sept. 21: “Dancing with the Stars” (8 p.m.);  “Castle” (10 p.m.)
Sept. 22: “Dancing with the Stars” results show (8 p.m.);  “The Forgotten” (10 p.m.)
Sept. 23: “Modern Family”(9 p.m.); “Cougar Town” (9:30 p.m.)
Sept. 24: “Flash Forward” (8 p.m.); “Grey’s Anatomy” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 27: “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (7 p.m.); “Desperate Housewives” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 29: “Shark Tank” (8 p.m.)
Sept. 30: “Hank”(8 p.m.); “The Middle” (8:30 p.m.)
Oct. 4: “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (7 p.m.)
Oct. 9: “Ugly Betty” (8 p.m.)
Oct. 16: “Supernanny” (8 p.m.)

CBS
Sept. 17: “Survivor: Samoa” (8 p.m.
Sept. 21: “How I Met Your Mother” (8 p.m.; “Accidentally on Purpose” (8:30 p.m.); “Two and a Half Men” (9 p.m.); “The Big Bang Theory” (9:30 p.m.; “CSI: Miami” (10 p.m.)
Sept: 22: “NCIS” (8 p.m.); “NCIS: Los Angeles” (9 p.m.); “The Good Wife” (10 p.m.)
Sept. 23: “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (8 p.m.); “Gary Unmarried” (8:30 p.m.); “Criminal Minds” (9 p.m.); “CSI: NY” (10 p.m.)
Sept. 24: “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (9 p.m.); “The Mentalist” (10 p.m.)
Sept. 25: “Ghost Whisperer” (8 p.m.); “Medium” (9 p.m.); “Numb3rs” (10 p.m.
Sept. 26: “Crimetime Saturday” (8 p.m.); “48 Hours Mystery” (10 p.m.)
Sept. 27: “60 Minutes” (7 p.m.); “The Amazing Race” (8 p.m.); “Cold Case” (10 p.m.)
Oct. 4: “Three Rivers” (9 p.m.)

CW
Sept. 8: “90210” (8 p.m.); “Melrose Place” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 9: “America’s Next Top Model” (8 p.m.)
Sept. 10: “The Vampire Diaries (8 p.m.); “Supernatural” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 14: “One Tree Hill” (8 p.m.); “Gossip Girl” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 16: “The Beautiful Life” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 25: “Smallville” (8 p.m.)

Fox
Sept. 12: “Cops” (8 p.m.); “America’s Most Wanted” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 16: “So You Think You Can Dance” (8 p.m.); “Glee” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 17: “Bones” (8 p.m.); “Fringe” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 18: “Brothers” (8 p.m.); “Til Death” (8:30 p.m.); “Dollhouse” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 21: “House” (8 p.m.)
Sept. 27: “The Simpsons” (8 p.m.); “The Cleveland Show” (8:30 p.m.); “Family Guy” (9 p.m.); “American Dad” (9:30 p.m.
Sept. 28: “Lie to Me” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 29: “Hell’s Kitchen” (8 p.m.)
Nov. 7: “The Wanda Sykes Show” (11 p.m.)

NBC
Sept. 13:  “NBC Sunday Night Football” (8 p.m.)
Sept. 14: “The Jay Leno Show” (10 p.m.)
Sept. 15: “The Biggest Loser” (8 p.m.)
Sept. 17:  “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday” (8 p.m.); “Parks and Recreation”(8:30 p.m.); “The Office” (9 p.m.); “Community” (9:30 p.m.)
Sept. 21:  “Heroes” (8 p.m.)
Sept. 23: “Parenthood” (8 p.m.); “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 25:  “Law & Order” (8 p.m.); “Southland” (9 p.m.)
Sept. 26:  “Dateline NBC” (8 p.m.); “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m.)
Sept. 28: “Trauma” (9 p.m.)

‘Superstars’ offers supermodel meltdown, little else

I happened to catch most of “Superstars” on Tuesday night. The ABC series is a revival of a 1970s-80s competition pairing athletes with celebrities in a series of athletic events for no particular reason.

The show was average – no, make that poor – overall, but seeing Bills receiver Terrell Owens become the recipient of a tongue lashing was sort of entertaining. His partner, model Joanna Krupa, lost it after Owens made a mistake on the obstacle course. She began swearing at him and questioning his athletic ability, then wouldn’t let up even after she screwed up later on and led to the team being eliminated.

“What do you get a million for?” she asked T.O. in complete disgust. “Why so cocky?”

The best part was the reaction from Owens, who remained silent until the duo walked off the set at the very end: “I really feel sorry for your boyfriend.”

As for the rest of the show, it’s complete garbage. The action is drawn out, the “drama” is not compelling and there’s just something about seeing millionaires compete alongside a posh resort in the Bahamas that’s off-putting. I would rather stare at a blank TV screen than watch again. Announcer John Saunders provides unintentional comedy, though, in trying to make the proceedings dramatic (as if a race pitting bicyclers against runners could be any more dramatic).

Owens, for his part, was fairly silent on the matter via Twitter: “How about my Superstars performance?”

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Word is today that Owens and Krupa will return to the show due to another contestant’s injury as the series progresses. No word on when the bombastic duo will return to the series.

•••

Below is some unedited footage of Krupa’s tirade. Note that the contents are R-rated.