Splitsider

May 20th, 2013
Reviews

'The Goodwin Games' Might Benefit From the Time Limit

by | May 20th, 2013

The Goodwin Games premieres tonight at 8:30 p.m. eastern on Fox. Check your local cable box for confirmation. Or you can just watch the episode right now.

The Goodwin Games is a cute, fun show that has a 99.9 percent chance of not lasting beyond its seven episode order. Which is a good thing.

You probably know the names of Carter Bays and Craig Thomas – they are the creators and executive producers of How I Met Your Mother, a comedy that is about to continue to extend a cool, lofty premise even longer past the point of diminishing returns for a final, ninth season. Well, along with HIMYM writer Chris Harris, they came up with The Goodwin Games, which also involves a big idea. This time around, Scott Foley, Becki Newton, and T.J. Miller are three siblings competing against one another in a New Hampshire town to win a $23 million inheritance from their recently deceased father, Beau Bridges. READ MORE

Awards Shows

Seth MacFarlane Turned Down the Chance to Host the Oscars Again

by | May 20th, 2013

Seth MacFarlane's performance as Oscars host this year drew a mixed response, but the ceremony got big ratings. It was reported last month that he had been asked to return to host the awards in 2014, but MacFarlane revealed today on Twitter that he said no to the opportunity. "Traumatized critics exhale: I'm unable to do the Oscars again. Tried to make it work schedule-wise, but I need sleep," MacFarlane wrote. He added, "However, I highly recommend the job, as [Craig] Zadan and [Neil] Meron are two of the most talented producers in the business. My suggestion for host is Joaquin Phoenix." Don't get your hopes up, everybody. Tina Fey already said there's no way she's doing it.

Interviews

Talking to Jonah Ray About 'The Half Hour', 'Nerdist', and Zombie Jokes

by | May 20th, 2013

For the past 15 years, Comedy Central’s half hour specials have showcased the future stars of standup. Looking back, the early years of Comedy Central Presents included memorable sets from the likes of Mitch Hedberg, Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, Dane Cook and dozens more. Re-branded The Half Hour in 2012, the series continues to feature the best up-and-coming comics in the country.

For many comedians, it’s that history that makes doing a half hour special so significant. While a half hour may once have been a comic’s first major exposure, comedians now have many ways to build an audience. Almost everyone who taped a special this year does non-standup comedy as well, branching out into the worlds of podcasting, sketch and improv, web series, acting, and more. In this new series, I sat down with each of this year’s 16 Half Hour comedians to talk about their specials, their careers, and their generation of comedians. Each interview will also feature an exclusive clip from the special. All the interviews can be found here.

Jonah Ray is best known as one of the key members of the Nerdist empire, co-hosting the original podcast, appearing on the BBC America's spinoff show The Nerdist, and hosting his own podcast Jonah Raydio. He also co-hosts the popular LA standup show The Meltdown. I caught up with him over the phone to chat about his non-nerdy comedy and the value of a creative outlet.

So how did the taping go?

I feel it went well. Normally, I hate every performance I've ever done in my life. I walk away from most shows, be it at a bar, a club, or a taping, feeling like I want to murder myself. Not even commit suicide, I want to violently murder myself. But walking away from that taping, I felt good, which is rare. And that convinced me that it went horrible.

Yeah, I feel good about it. It'll be fixed in editing, but I messed up my last line. I literally stumbled over the last five words of the entire set. But I still had fun, and that's more important than any other fucking thing. Recovering from that and joking around with the audience like a real person, instead of somebody that was just going off of their pre-planned set, was probably my favorite part of the entire night. READ MORE

Videolists

The Best of Tobias Fünke's "Insert Me Anywhere" Campaign

by | May 20th, 2013


Last week, Netflix put out a new website called InsertMeAnywhere.biz, in which Arrested Development's Tobias Fünke played around in front of a green screen in various costumes, hoping that fans would use the footage to edit him into a lot of classic movies and shows. Well, it's been a week and the internet responded. Above is one of the best ones from the staff at video game company Capcom, who edited Tobias into a bunch of Capcom games, but needless to say, there are a ton more of these videos. Check out the best ones below, including Tobias in The Matrix, Breaking Bad, and, of course, Brokeback Mountain. READ MORE

Podcasts

It's That Episode: Max Silvestri Endures an Episode of 'Airwolf'

by | May 20th, 2013

On "It's That Episode" Craig Rowin (UCB Theatre) invites guests over to watch any episode of any TV show they want. They discuss the episode and other crap.

Max Silvestri (Big Terrific) stops by to watch one of his favorite childhood TV shows, Airwolf. The bad news: the show is terrible. Max and Craig discuss how a show can be almost fully made up of shots of helicopters taking off and landing, and Max discusses his recent voyage on a Top Chef cruise.

Download now (MP3), listen on iTunes here, stream the full episode below, or listen on Sirius/XM Radio, Channel 406, every Friday at 6pm.

This episode is sponsored by Audible. Head over to audiblepodcast.com/craigrowin to grab a 30 free trial of Audible and a free audiobook of your choosing! Any book you want, for free!

Have a great night and an early tomorrow, and go to www.craigrowin.com and @craigrowin. Also, become a fan of It's That Episode on Facebook.

Music Videos

Watch Reggie Watts's Shot-for-Shot Remake of a Rick Astley Music Video

by | May 20th, 2013


Released as part of YouTube's Comedy Week, Reggie Watts made this video in which he recreated shot-for-shot the beginning of Rick Astley's 1987 music video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" (aka that Rickroll video). Check out the original below so that you can make a detailed list of inaccuracies and post it in the comments section: READ MORE

Reviews

'SNL' Review: Ben Affleck and the End of an Era

by | May 20th, 2013

What a weepy week it was for comedy nerds. NBC packed a double-whammy of goodbyes, with The Office's poignant series finale last Thursday, followed by Saturday's season finale of Saturday Night Live and final episode to feature Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, and (perhaps) Jason Sudeikis as regular cast members, which was announced only days before. It is indeed the end of an era, not just for the network, but for TV comedy as a whole, and we will talk plenty more about this changing landscape over the coming days, weeks, and months.

Unlike last year's farewell to Kristen Wiig, which had a best-of-Wiig vibe that unfortunately repeated itself a week ago, this episode felt more like a cathartic reunion for the whole cast. Hader and Armisen reprised a few of their more memorable roles, closing the book on them with conclusions that were equally epic and understated. Meanwhile, the writers thankfully still produced a solid, standalone episode, dishing out fresh material that included a balance of news events, social issues, and jabs at host Ben Affleck — who, it must be said, came across as an affable team player. Affleck seemed more than happy to put aside his pride (even on his supposed induction to the Five Timers Club) and let the spotlight drift to the departing cast members, celebrity cameos, and musical guest Kanye West, who unfortunately-for-us got through his sets without incident. However, in the moments Affleck did have the ball, he took care of business, pulling off relatively difficult, layered performances and breaking only occasionally and at times in which he earned it. Like similarly stellar hosts from this season like Melissa McCarthy, Martin Short, Seth MacFarlane, and Zach Galifianakis, Affleck avoided routine, spoon-fed roles and took a riskier route with original concepts, and it paid off.

SNL season finales are almost always episodes for the books, with the writers and actors hoping to end the season on a strong note to keep viewers humming throughout the summer. But this finale tops the ones in recent memory, not simply for providing a fitting farewell to its beloved cast members, but for doing so with such a funny and satisfying episode. READ MORE

guest stars

'Comedy Bang Bang' Season 2 Will Break Some Sort of Guest Star Record

by | May 20th, 2013

Scott Aukerman's IFC show Comedy Bang Bang is set to return for it's second season in July, and it looks like Season 2 will have even more guest stars than Season 1. If there is a "Most Guest Stars in a TV Show Season" world record, Scott Aukerman is gunning for it. Here's a list of everyone IFC announced will be on the show this morning:

Jessica Alba, Aziz Ansari, David Cross, Jim Gaffigan, Zach Galifianakis, Bill Hader, Pee-wee Herman, Gillian Jacobs, Rashida Jones, Anna Kendrick, Andy Richter, Zoe Saldana, Andy Samberg, Jason Schwartzman, Sarah Silverman, Cobie Smulders, and Casey Wilson. Additional guests include James Adomian, Matt Besser, Michael Ian Black, Selma Blair, Aidy Bryant, Andy Daly, Adam DeVine, Nat Faxon, Dave Foley, Will Forte, Tony Hale, Chris Hardwick, Rob Huebel, Nick Kroll, Phil LaMarr, Thomas Lennon, John Carroll Lynch Jason Mantzoukas, Jack McBrayer, Tim Meadows, Christopher Meloni , Bobby Moynihan, Bob Odenkirk, Adam Pally, Jimmy Pardo, Jordan Peele, Jim Rash, Lance Reddick, Horatio Sanz, Kristen Schaal, Ben Schwartz, Adam Scott, Lynne Marie Stewart, Dave Thomas, Paul F. Tompkins, Joe Lo Truglio, Matt Walsh, Michaela Watkins, Zach Woods, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Cedric Yarbrough

IFC's press release this morning also featured a solid Scott Aukerman quote ("I haven’t been this excited since I wrote my press release quote for season one") and some details on when the new season will air. Season 2 will consist of 20 episodes, broken up into two chunks of ten. The first half will air from July 12th to September 13th, with the second guest star-filled half starting October 18th.

Podcasts

The Complete Guide to Everything: The Complete Guide to Nothing In Particular – The Squeakquel

by | May 20th, 2013

In this episode, a sequel (or "squeakquel") to an episode from 2010, we discuss an array of topics. We cover selling broken iPads on eBay, Michael Jackson, wearing jeans to basketball practice, buying school gym coaches football hats and eating gummy vitamins as an adult. Also, Tom tells a story about a recent heart attack victim concerned with a child's safety at a Wendy's fast food restaurant and Tim tells a story about a 4 year old getting injured at a miniature golf establishment and seeking refuge in a 1980s Taco Bell.

This week's episode is brought to you by Audible. Get a free audiobook and a 30 day trial by going to tcgte.com/audible. Do it!

Guides

Here's Everyone Who Was at Stefon's Wedding

by | May 20th, 2013

Stefon and Anderson Cooper's wedding on Saturday Night Live this weekend was jam-packed with appearances from characters and creatures Stefon had mentioned in previous Weekend Update reports. We freeze-framed our way through the scene to offer you this guide to all of Stefon's wedding guests. From Gizblow the coked-up Gremlin to DJ Baby Bok Choy, they're all here: READ MORE

Goodbyes

Jay Pharoah Confirms Jason Sudeikis's 'SNL' Exit on Twitter

by | May 20th, 2013

While it was officially announced last week that Bill Hader and Fred Armisen were leaving Saturday Night Live following this weekend's season finale and each of them received their own goodbye sketch, Jason Sudeikis is expected to depart too but the news isn't official yet. Fellow cast member Jay Pharoah revealed via Twitter yesterday morning that Sudeikis is leaving, writing "Hader, Armisen & Sudekis the talent of those three and just them as people in general will be missed but we will be strong and carry on.." Pharoah quickly deleted the tweet after posting it, which is a little weird, but it's archived on Favstar where it will live forever as proof that this weekend's season finale was Jason Sudeikis's last episode of SNL. READ MORE

Tweetin

Today's Funniest Tweets

by | May 17th, 2013

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Roundup

This Week in Comedy: Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, and Maybe Jason Sudeikis Leaving 'SNL'

by | May 17th, 2013

-Bill Hader is leaving SNL after eight years, and we made a videolist of his best sketches. Fred Armisen is leaving, too (and Jason Sudeikis "probably") so we made a list for Armisen as well.

-Seth Meyers is officially taking over Late Night in 2014.

-USA ordered Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham's pilot to series.

-In honor of The Office ending, we remembered our favorite moments from the show.

-Netflix unveiled the first trailer for the new Arrested Development and a Tobias-themed website.

-Adam Scott's next Greatest Event in Television History will be Hart to Hart with Amy Poehler.

-ABC canceled Happy Endings, and USA is in negotiations to pick it up. READ MORE

Trailer

Trailer: Robert De Niro and Morgan Freeman in 'Last Vegas,' a Geriatric Version of 'The Hangover'

by | May 17th, 2013


Here's the trailer for Last Vegas, a new comedy due out in November. Starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline as a bunch of old dudes who head to Las Vegas for a bachelor party, it's basically an elderly version of The Hangover. It's shocking that the trailer is completely devoid of Viagra jokes.

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