Splitsider

 

'Arrested Development' Episode Reviews: A New Attitude / Señoritis

In addition to our Arrested Development season 4 review, Splitsider has also been posting episode-by-episode recaps that will cover two episodes at a time. So if you haven't yet plowed through all 8 hours of the new season, and instead opted for a slower, more leisurely approach to screening the episodes, these weekly recaps should suit your old fashioned and increasingly obsolete lifestyle perfectly. These articles will be written from the perspective of someone watching the episodes sequentially, with no knowledge of future reveals or plot twists. That said, there may be some discussion of running gags or seemingly throwaway jokes, which, given the show's reputation, may very well [...]

'This Is the End': Broing Out at the End of the World

In almost (gulp) 40 years, I've been to three films where the theater shook from the audience laughing so hard: Borat, Knocked Up, and, now, This is the End. Granted the crowd attending the sneak preview of This the End at the American Film Institute (AFI) were aspiring filmmakers salivating over the careers of the film's auteurs Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Even if you don't dream of being Hollywood's "it" boys, this self-referential buddy comedy is a fun ride thanks to the cast's infectious chemistry.

Comedy's reigning princes Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride star in this rambunctious feature, which hits [...]

'Arrested Development' Episode Reviews: Indian Takers / The B. Team

In addition to our Arrested Development season 4 review, Splitsider has also been posting episode-by-episode recaps that will cover two episodes at a time. So if you haven't yet plowed through all 8 hours of the new season, and instead opted for a slower, more leisurely approach to screening the episodes, these weekly recaps should suit your old fashioned and increasingly obsolete lifestyle perfectly. These articles will be written from the perspective of someone watching the episodes sequentially, with no knowledge of future reveals or plot twists. That said, there may be some discussion of running gags or seemingly throwaway jokes, which, given the show's reputation, may very well [...]

'Arrested Development' Episode Reviews: Flight of the Phoenix / Borderline Personalities

In addition to our Arrested Development season 4 review, Splitsider will also be posting episode-by-episode recaps that will cover two episodes at a time. So if you aren’t one of the loyal, unemployed superfans without Memorial Day plans who plowed through all 8 hours of the new season in one sitting, and instead opted for a slower, more leisurely approach to screening the episodes, these weekly recaps should suit your old fashioned and increasingly obsolete lifestyle perfectly.

Those who have seen any of the new episodes will know that, in true Arrested Development form, the episodes become increasingly layered as the season goes on, with information from earlier [...]

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

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 [...]

'Save Me' Was a Show. It Ended Last Night. It Was On For Four Weeks. You Missed It.

The story of Save Me is incredibly depressing, but not unprecedented. The Anne Heche comedy was in the works since 2010 as a potential property of Showtime. Both the show and executive Bob Greenblatt moved to NBC when Greenblatt became NBC's entertainment chairman. In 2012, it was the second new show greenlit after Go On. Then it was announced that it wouldn't be on the fall schedule, but it would show up midseason. Then they hired former Friends producer Alexa Junge to executive producer and run the show. Then they re-shot the pilot. Then Alexa Junge left the show. Then Darlene Hunt from The Big C took her place. [...]

‘Arrested Development’ Episode Reviews: Colony Collapse / Red Herring

In addition to our Arrested Development season 4 review, Splitsider has also been posting episode-by-episode recaps that will cover two episodes at a time. So if you haven't yet plowed through all 8 hours of the new season, and instead opted for a slower, more leisurely approach to screening the episodes, these weekly recaps should suit your old fashioned and increasingly obsolete lifestyle perfectly. These articles will be written from the perspective of someone watching the episodes sequentially, with no knowledge of future reveals or plot twists. That said, there may be some discussion of running gags or seemingly throwaway jokes, which, given the show's reputation, may very well [...]

'The Kings of Summer' Is a Very Nick Offerman-y Thing

The Kings of Summer opens in select cities today. It will make its way to the other, non-select cities at some point soon. Patience is a virtue.

The Kings of Summer seems to have come from the mind of Nick Offerman, but it was actually written by first time screenwriter Chris Galletta, a former David Letterman joke writer. The plot of the film finds three teenage boys spending the summer in the woods, building a house and trying to live a Walden type existence to get away from their annoying and overbearing parents. While this goes on, Nick Offerman, who plays Frank, the father of the lead MIA rapscallion, [...]

And Now the Review of One of the Greatest Comedies of All Time Which Had No Choice But to Try to Change the Game: It's 'Arrested Development' Season Four

The adjectives "interesting" and "weird" mostly exist to be placeholders for how you actually felt about something you couldn't completely understand at first. Sometimes the real feelings will come to you as you heat up something in the microwave a few minutes later; other times it takes a day or two for you to start to be able to properly articulate what you had just seen, several microwaved meals later. Even if the delayed final review of the book, movie, or TV show was "oh, it sucked," it still gets credit for occupying your brain for an extended period of time: that interesting, weird thing took over your life.

Season [...]

'The Office' Series Finale Review: Goodbye, Dunder Mifflin

After 201 episodes of Dunder Mifflin adventures, The Office — which set the trend for dry, music-free, single-camera American mockumentary sitcoms for years to come and spawned a countless trail of recaps, spoilers, reviews, thinkpieces, and GIFs — waved its final goodbye last night. While the past two episodes "Livin' the Dream" and "A.A.R.M." felt more like caps to this season's storylines, "Finale" served as a celebration of the show that went from the struggling underdog it was back in 2005 to the powerhouse NBC Thursday night leader of nearly a decade. The episode — which included some weirdly awesome cameos by Seth Meyers, Bill Hader, Eric Wareheim, Greg [...]

‘Arrested Development’ Episode Reviews: Smashed / Queen B.

In addition to our Arrested Development season 4 review, Splitsider has also been posting episode-by-episode recaps that will cover two episodes at a time. So if you haven't yet plowed through all 8 hours of the new season, and instead opted for a slower, more leisurely approach to screening the episodes, these weekly recaps should suit your old fashioned and increasingly obsolete lifestyle perfectly. These articles will be written from the perspective of someone watching the episodes sequentially, with no knowledge of future reveals or plot twists. That said, there may be some discussion of running gags or seemingly throwaway jokes, which, given the show's reputation, may very well [...]

'Arrested Development' Episode Reviews: A New Start / Double Crossers

In addition to our Arrested Development season 4 review, Splitsider has also been posting episode-by-episode recaps that will cover two episodes at a time. So if you haven't yet plowed through all 8 hours of the new season, and instead opted for a slower, more leisurely approach to screening the episodes, these weekly recaps should suit your old fashioned and increasingly obsolete lifestyle perfectly. These articles will be written from the perspective of someone watching the episodes sequentially, with no knowledge of future reveals or plot twists. That said, there may be some discussion of running gags or seemingly throwaway jokes, which, given the show's reputation, may very well [...]

Looking at Richard Pryor's Career, Demons and All, in 'Omit the Logic'

Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic, directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich, premieres tomorrow night at 9pm on Showtime. Considering its sold out premiere at Tribeca Festival prompted one scalper to sell tickets for a 100% mark-up on Craigslist, Showtime subscribers may want to see what their passwords are worth.

This latest documentary about the iconic standup will air during a boon of excellent new documentaries about trail blazing comic geniuses, including Elaine Stritch (Sundance Selects), Mel Brooks (PBS), and Moms Mabley (HBO). It certainly holds its own as biographical TV specials go. The result is a fine primer for the uninitiated and a Valentine for prior (pun intended) [...]

'The Goodwin Games' Might Benefit From the Time Limit

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, [...]

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