The Simpsons

TV Review: ‘The Simpsons’ Scares Up Few Laughs With ‘Treehouse of Horror’

BrianTT — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:11:40 -0600

CHICAGO – Even the most diehard fans of “The Simpsons,” a group of which I would proudly call myself a member, would admit that the last few seasons of the show have been disappointing at best and, at times, downright bad (especially the current season we’re in, which has produced fewer laughs than anything on FOX Sunday nights). The annual “Treehouse of Horror” episode has usually been a reliable standby, a bright spot even in weak seasons. If “Treehouse of Horror XX” is the bright spot of this season, it’s going to be the worst in the history of the show.

Television Rating: 1.5/5.0

For years, starting around season twelve (and that may be generous), “Simpsons” fans like myself used to fall back on a crutch that went something like “Even sub-par “The Simpsons” is better than most TV.” Sure, we knew that the writing wasn’t nearly as clever or consistent as it used to be, but the show still had laugh-out-loud moments and was certainly more entertaining than most horrible sitcoms on the broadcast TV schedule. Even that flimsy defense of the show has started to ring false and this year’s “Treehouse of Horror” is a perfect example of why the show is starting to resemble an athlete way past his prime but still suiting up every week. We all hope for one more comeback. This season’s “Treehouse” is not that comeback.

In the 20th anniversary of THE SIMPSONS annual “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween special, Lisa strikes a deal with Bart to seek revenge on their teachers in a series of homages to classic Hitchcock, in “Treehouse of Horror XX” airing Sunday, Oct. 18 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/ PT) on FOX.
Photo credit: FOX

The structure is the same as its always been - three scary stories, mostly inspired or satirizing something familiar. This time it’s Hitchcock, “28 Days Later,” and, well, the musical. Oooh, scary. Each chapter in this year’s “Treehouse” is less interesting than the one that precedes it and the show only occasionally shows brief glimpses of the dark sense of humor that used to make these episodes so unexpectedly hilarious.

In the 20th anniversary of THE SIMPSONS annual “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween special, Krusty’s latest fast food sandwich transforms Springfield into engraged zombies in “Treehouse of Horror XX” airing Sunday, Oct. 18 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/ PT) on FOX.
Photo credit: FOX

Some of the best moments of the prime of “The Simpsons” took place in “Treehouse of Horror” including an amazing “Nightmare on Elm Street” spoof, the first time Homer was ever seen in more than two dimensions, and a personal favorite, a time-travelling toaster. There’s not an idea, scene, or joke in this year’s “Treehouse of Horror” that you’ll remember by the time you’re done watching “The Cleveland Show,” much less the next day at school or work.

The first segment is called “Dial M For Murder (Or Press # to Return to the Main Menu)” and features Bart and Lisa in a plot inspired by Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train”. After arguments with their teachers, the two Simpson kids decide to pull a “criss cross,” where they’ll help enact revenge on each other’s enemy. Lisa thinks that just means pulling a “ding-dong-ditch”. Bart cuts off Ms. Hoover’s head. References to “North by Northwest,” “Vertigo,” and more make this a fun segment for Hitch fans, but this is ground that the writers of “The Simpsons” have covered before and less haphazardly.

Act one of “Treehouse of Horror XX” is a classic compared to the other two forgettable chapters. One would think that a segment inspired by “28 Days Later,” in which Bart becomes the chosen one after it’s discovered that he’s immune to the zombie-making disease that has taken over Springfield (after the introduction of the new Krusty Burger, ‘Burger Squared,’ gives everyone something like Mad Cow Disease), would be memorable, but it’s surprisingly light on jokes or clever moments.

Finally, the last segment of this year’s “ToH” is a pseudo-musical in which most of the supporting characters, including the requisite cameo by Kang and Kodos, watch a twisted, “Sweeney Todd”-esque love triangle between Moe, Homer, and Marge, complete with stage mistakes and unusual songs. Moe accidentally seriously injures Homer and, partially using Homer’s blood to brew his beer, woos Marge. It’s a weird segment, even by “ToH” standards, and really not funny.

It’s another disappointing episode of one of my favorite shows of all time. Like all fans, I still hold out hope that there’s another great series of episodes or even a great season left in “The Simpsons”. But that hope diminishes with every episode as lackluster as “Treehouse of Horror XX”. The ending of this year’s “Treehouse of Horror” features a classic character having fallen asleep. Don’t be surprised if someone you’re watching the show with hasn’t done the same.

‘The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX,’ which airs on FOX, features voice work by Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer, and Hank Azaria. It airs on October 18th, 2009 at 7PM CST.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

FOX November Highlights: ‘The Wanda Sykes Show’ Premiere; New Episodes of ‘House,’ ‘Fringe,’ More

BrianTT — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:52:25 -0600

CHICAGO – FOX recently sent over the details on their post-baseball coverage including the series premiere of “The Wanda Sykes Show,” the special “Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show,” a week-long “The Simpsons”-themed on-air scavenger hunt November 9th through the 15th, and synopsis information for the hit shows they have planned for the sweeps period including “House,” “Glee,” “Bones,” “Fringe,” and “Lie to Me”.

Important dates to mark in the FOX November 2009 Sweeps period include November 7th, when “The Wanda Sykes Show” debuts. The next night, on November 8th, which is an entire night devoted to the comedy of Seth MacFarlane, including the original variety show special “Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show,” and all-new episodes of “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” and “The Cleveland Show”. The rest of that week pays “homarge” to twenty years of “The Simpsons” with tributes and clues in all of FOX’s primetime programming.

The Wanda Sykes Show.
Photo credit: FOX

Want to know what’s going to happen on your favorite FOX shows in November? New episode synopsis information below with shows in alphabetical order. Enjoy.

American Dad
Photo credit: FOX

“American Dad”

November 8th - “Man in the Moonbounce”
Steve (Scott Grimes) must become the “man of the house” when Stan (Seth MacFarlane) relives his childhood.

November 15th - “Shallow Vows”
Upset that Francine (Wendy Schaal) has let herself go, Stan takes drastic measures when she asks him to renew their wedding vows.

November 22nd - “My Morning Straightjacket”
After attending a concert with Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane), Stan becomes obsessed with her music in an all-new episode that features guest voices by Zach Galifianakis and members of My Morning Jacket, including Carl Broemel, Two-Tone Tommy, Bo Koster, Patrick Hallahan and Jim James.

Bones
Photo credit: FOX

“Bones”

November 5th - “The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken”
Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) investigate the remains of a victim who they believe was half-man/half-chicken.

November 12th - “The Dwarf in the Dirt”
Stephen Fry returns as Dr. Gordon Wyatt. Booth, still suffering some lingering effects from his brain surgery, has to get re-certified for FBI marksmanship, but is not the accurate shot he was before going under the knife. He and Brennan investigate the death of a little person who was a former wrestling star.

November 19th - “The Foot in the Foreclosure”
Booth’s grandfather (guest star Ralph Waite) comes to live with him and tags along as Brennan and Booth investigate human remains that were found by a real estate agent while showing a property to prospective buyers.

Brothers
Photo credit: FOX

“Brothers”

October 30th - “Mike’s Comeback”
Mike (Michael Strahan) is given a second chance to play for the NFL, and it seems like his strained financial situation may finally be coming to an end. But when making the team is contingent on passing a physical in only two weeks time, Mike must turn to Coach (Carl Weathers) and Chill (Daryl Chill Mitchell) to get him back into shape. Meanwhile, Adele (CCH Pounder) meddles with a student’s (guest star Dustin Ingram) decision to play professional baseball.

November 6th - “Week in Chair”
Chill wagers that his brother can’t spend one week in a wheelchair. Mike takes what he considers an easy bet and makes some surprising discoveries over the course of seven days.

November 13th - “Snoop Returns”
With the help of Cousin Kenny’s (guest star Snoop Dogg) legal aid, Coach’s brother Maurice (guest star Fred Williamson) is released from jail and arrives at the Trainors’ home to spend some time with the family. Despite Adele’s initial skepticism, the “new” Maurice turns out to be quite a stand-up guy. Meanwhile, Mike makes a play for Kathleen (guest star Ryan Michelle Bathe), a new waitress at Trainor’s, and Jimmy Johnson (guest-starring as himself) stops by the restaurant to talk football.

November 20th - TBA
Mike and Chill’s sibling rivalry and close living arrangements gets them involved in another awkward situation. Meanwhile, Adele and Coach continue to do whatever it takes to keep their family intact and Mike in Houston in an all-new episode.

The Cleveland Show
Photo credit: FOX

“The Cleveland Show”

November 8th - “Cleveland Jr. Cherry Bomb”
Cleveland (Mike Henry) has “the talk” with Roberta (Reagan Gomez-Preston), which scares Cleveland Jr. (Kevin Michael Richardson) into taking a vow of chastity. Meanwhile, Rallo (Henry) becomes a church greeter in an all-new episode that also features guest voices by Jason Sudeikis, Arianna Huffington and Jamie Kennedy.

November 15th - “Ladies’ Night”
Cleveland is upset when he finds out that Donna (Sanaa Lathan) is still attending a single mothers’ support group in an all-new episode that also features guest voices by Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis and Arianna Huffington.

November 22nd - “The One About Friends”
Cleveland is concerned that Cleveland Jr. has no friends, so he invites Ernie (guest voice Glenn Howerton), his neighbor Lester’s (Kevin Michael Richardson) son, over to their house. A neglected Ernie becomes too attached to the family, forcing Cleveland to call child services to have him taken back home. When the plan backfires, Cleveland helps Lester get his son back in an encore episode.

November 22nd (2nd episode) - “A Brown Thanksgiving”
In a Thanksgiving episode that features guest voices by Craig Robinson, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Cleveland celebrates his first Thanksgiving with his new family and discovers a surprising secret about Donna’s Auntie Momma (guest voice Kym Whitley).

Dollhouse
Photo credit: FOX

“Dollhouse

October 30th - “The Public Eye (Part 1 of 2)”
When Senator Perrin (guest star Alexis Denisof) makes his stand against the Rossum Corporation, Echo (Eliza Dushku) attempts to stop his exposé. Adelle (Olivia Williams) and Topher (Fran Kranz) travel to the Washington , DC , Dollhouse where they meet its genius programmer, Bennett Halverson (Summer Glau), a woman with a mysterious past connection to Echo.

November 6th - “The Left Hand (Part 2 of 2)”
Echo and Bennett have a shocking reunion as Adelle goes head-to-head with the ruthless leader of the Washington , DC , Dollhouse (guest star Ray Wise). Topher sees double when he must involve Victor (Enver Gjokaj) in his espionage. Perrin finds a surprising witness to testify against the Rossum Corporation, but find he may be living in a house of cards.

November 13th - “Meet Jane Doe”
After attempting to stop Perrin from exposing the Dollhouse, Echo finds herself in the world-at-large as she struggles to control her multiple memory downloads. Topher discovers the dangers of science that will have devastating effects on the future, while Adelle engages in a power struggle with Harding (guest star Keith Carradine).

November 20th - “A Love Supreme”
When Echo’s past romantic engagements are found murdered, the Dollhouse fears that Alpha (Alan Tudyk) has returned to seek his revenge. Adelle grows suspicious of Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) who hopes to find allies in Boyd (Harry Lennix) and Topher, and the Actives turn against their handlers, leaving one member of the house permanently mind-wiped.

Family Guy
Photo credit: FOX

“Family Guy”

November 8th - “Brian’s Got a Brand New Bag”
When Brian (Seth MacFarlane) snags an older woman (guest voice Aimee Garcia), he becomes the laughingstock of the family, but things go from bad to worse when she breaks her hip and Brian has to be her errand-boy.

November 8th (2nd episode) - “Hannah Banana”
Stewie (Seth MacFarlane) attends a concert of a teen superstar and discovers a surprising secret about the singer. Meanwhile back at home, Chris (Seth Green) tries to prove to the family that the Evil Monkey is real.

November 15th - “Quagmire’s Baby”
Father doesn’t know best when Quagmire (Seth MacFarlane) assumes responsibility for a baby Peter (MacFarlane) finds who looks just like him. Meanwhile, Stewie clones himself in an all-new episode that also features a guest voice by Brittany Snow.

November 22nd - “Jerome is the New Black”
NBA Champion Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics guest-voices when Peter and the guys interview potential friends to fill the vacancy left by Cleveland . However, things don’t look so good for Garnett when it’s discovered that Quagmire hates him.

Fringe
Photo credit: FOX

“Fringe”

November 5th - “Earthling”
Emmy Award winner Jon Cassar (24) directs as the Fringe Division takes on a puzzling investigation of victims who inexplicably disintegrate into ash. The shadowy case casts light on Special Agent Phillip Broyles’ (Lance Reddick) past and leads the team to the possibility of foreign fringe science.

November 12th - “Of Human Action”
When a kidnapping rapidly escalates into a hostage situation in New York , local authorities close in on the suspects only to discover that an unknowable force has mind-blowing consequences. The investigation intensifies and the mystery and threat deepen to unimaginable proportions when the Fringe Division identifies a link between the kidnapping and Massive Dynamic.

November 19th - “August”
A peculiar abduction occurs in Boston , leading the Fringe team to uncover details of the mysterious man known as The Observer. While the bizarre case takes center stage, Walter (John Noble), Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Astrid (Jasika Nicole) hit the lab to analyze unusual evidence and deal with Walter’s insatiable appetite for milkshakes.

Glee
Photo credit: FOX

“Glee”

November 11th - “Wheels”
Will encourages the Glee Club to support Artie (Kevin McHale), and asks each of them to perform in a wheelchair. Meanwhile, Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Rachel (Lea Michele) compete for a big solo.

November 18th - “Ballad”
Mr. Schuester has the Glee Club split up into pairs to sing their favorite ballad, but when one kid gets sick, he’s forced to step in and winds up in a sticky situation. Meanwhile, Finn (Cory Monteith) has dinner with Quinn’s parents (guest stars Gregg Henry and Charlotte Ross).

November 25th - “Hairography”
Eve guest-stars as a rival glee club’s instructor in another all-new episode. The Glee Club checks out their hair-raising competition, and Kurt gives Rachel a makeover.

House
Photo credit: FOX

“House”

November 9th - “Known Unknowns”
After a wild night out, a teenage girl (guest star Anna Attanasio) is brought to Princeton Plainsboro with severely swollen appendages. The team must work to diagnose the young girl, who is less than honest about what happened the night she fell ill. As her condition worsens, she becomes unable to distinguish fact from fiction. Meanwhile, Cuddy, Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) and House spend a weekend away from the hospital to attend a medical conference, but things don’t go as planned when House’s private investigator, Lucas (guest star Michael Weston), returns.

November 16th - “Teamwork”
After House’s medical license is reinstated, he reclaims his role as Head of Diagnostics in time to treat Hank Hardwick (guest star Troy Garity), an adult film star admitted to Princeton Plainsboro for pulsating eye pain. Meanwhile, Cuddy is reminded that Princeton Plainsboro is not conducive to healthy personal relationships.

November 23rd - “Ignorance is Bliss”
On the eve of Thanksgiving, House and the team take on the case of James Sidas (guest star Esteban Powell), an exceptionally brilliant physicist and author who traded his successful career for a job as a courier. For the ailing patient, intelligence is a miserable burden that has prompted depression and addiction, and this, coupled with a myriad of strange symptoms, nearly stumps the team. Meanwhile the doctors at Princeton Plainboro wrestle with strained personal relationships.

Lie To Me
Photo credit: FOX

“Lie To Me”

November 9th - “Fold Equity”
Lightman, Foster (Kelli Williams) and Reynolds (Mekhi Phifer) go to Las Vegas to help locate a missing finalist in the World Series of Poker. Lightman uses his skills to reach beyond the other finalists’ poker faces to figure out which one knows about the disappearance. Meanwhile, Loker (Brendan Hines) and Torres (Monica Raymund) analyze Loker’s new relationship and as a result get closer to each other.

November 16th - “Lack of Candor”
Lightman and his team investigate the murder of a government-protected witness, which unearths dangerous secrets about Reynolds’ past. Ultimately, Lightman puts himself at risk trying to save Reynolds’ career – and life.

November 23rd - “Black Friday”
A troubled teenager (guest star Daniel Ross) believes he was abducted as a baby, and the Lightman Group helps him uncover the secrets of his past. Meanwhile, Loker investigates the origin of a deadly stampede that occurred at an electronics megastore on the day after Thanksgiving.

The Simpsons
Photo credit: FOX

“The Simpsons”

November 15th - “The Devil Wears Nada”
In an effort to raise money for charity, Marge and the “Philanthro-Chicks” decide to pose for a calendar. At the photo studio, Marge is a bit reluctant to reveal any skin, but the photographer (Hank Azaria) loosens her up with wine and before long, Marge and her pin-up poses are the talk of Springfield .

November 22nd - “Pranks and Greens”
Fed up with Bart’s constant pranks, Principal Skinner (Harry Shearer) tells him there is a former Springfield Elementary student who is hailed as the best prankster ever, even better than Bart. When Bart finally tracks down Andy Hamilton (guest voice Jonah Hill), a 19-year-old who hasn’t grown out of his pranking days, they become fast friends.

‘Til Death
Photo credit: FOX

“‘Til Death”

October 30th - “Joy’s Out of Work”
When Joy (Joely Fisher) loses her job at the travel agency, she must use her best assets to find work elsewhere. Meanwhile, Eddie (Brad Garrett) takes Doug (Timm Sharp) to his favorite restaurant.

November 6th - “Hi Def TV”
Even though he and Joy are having money trouble, Eddie goes out and buys a high-definition TV without Joy’s consent. At first, Joy is very upset but then realizes that it has benefits for her too. Meanwhile, Doug is beginning to suspect that he is living on a sitcom.

November 13th - “Independent Action”
When Eddie attends their annual baseball game date without Joy, they realize that they can have separate lives, but at what cost? Meanwhile, Ally (Lindsey Broad) and Doug try to save a tree but end up causing a tree disease epidemic in the neighborhood.

November 20th - “The Break-Up”
When their friends (guest stars Susan Yeagley and Kevin Nealon) have a fight and break up, Eddie and Joy step in to try and restore the peace, but it ends up backfiring on them. Meanwhile, Ally sends Doug to a shrink (guest star Mayim Bialik) to cure his mysterious illness.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

DVD Review: Excellence Continues With Twelfth Season of ‘The Simpsons’

BrianTT — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:20:23 -0600

CHICAGO – Since Fox released the first season of “The Simpsons” on DVD, fans of the series have anticipated each new release like a kid waiting for presents for a fat man in a red suit to fall down a chimney in late December. Each season set for “The Simpsons” has set the bar for what TV on DVD should be. It’s no surprise that the twelfth season doesn’t change the excellent pattern.

DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0

There has been a growing divide between the haves and the have-nots in the world of TV on DVD. It feels like a show is either released practically bare-bones, placing the emphasis on just the episodes themselves, or a show is released with enough special features to require fans to cancel their plans for the weekend.

The Simpsons: Season Twelve was released on DVD on August 18th, 2009.
Photo credit: Fox Home Video

The DVDs that fall into the latter category include the season sets for “24,” “Lost,” “Mad Men,” “Battlestar Galactica,” and more, but one of the MVPs when it comes to TV on DVD has long-been “The Simpsons”. The season sets are not mere collections, they are made for the fans who know them by heart and want something more.

By the time “The Simpsons” got to the twelfth season in 2000, even the most hardcore fans of the show would admit that it was over the hill and past its prime. But there are still moments of brilliance in this season set. This was around the time when I would regularly say, “Even bad Simpsons is better than most TV.”

Highlights of the season that Matt Groening claims “Can Transform You From a “Bag of Boredom” To The “Life of the Party!”” include “A Tale of Two Springfields,” “Homer vs. Dignity,” “The Computer Wore Menace Shoes,” the great (and Emmy-winning) “Homr,” “Trilogy of Error,” and the season-best “Skinner’s Sense of Snow”. Those episodes alone are worth owning. The rest are bonuses.

The special features for the twelfth season of “The Simpsons” are so remarkable that we should break them down disc-by-disc.

Disc One:
-A Comic Moment with Matt Groening
-Audio Commentary on All Episodes
-A Bit From the Animators
-Animation Showcase
-Deleted Scenes
-Special Language Feature

Disc Two:
-Audio Commentary on All Episodes
-Deleted Scenes
-Comic Book Guy: Best. Moments. Ever.
-A Bit From the Animators

Disc Three:
-Audio Commentary on All Episodes
-Deleted Scenes
-Animation Showcase

Disc Four:
-Audio Commentary on All Episodes
-Deleted Scenes
-The Global Fanfest
-Original Sketches
-A Bit From the Animators
-The Commercials

Even casual fans of one of the best shows of all time should add every season of “The Simpsons” to their collection.

‘The Simpsons: Season Twelve’ is released by Fox Home Video and stars Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Nancy Cartwright, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, and Pamela Hayden. It was created by Matt Groening. The DVD was released on August 18th, 2009. It is not rated.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

FOX Announces Fall 2009 Premiere Dates Including ‘Dollhouse,’ ‘Fringe,’ ‘House’

BrianTT — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:58:14 -0600

CHICAGO – FOX announced their fall premiere dates this morning and the network should start off with a skip in its step with “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Glee” kicking off the season on Wednesday, September 9th. The network is debuting only two other new primetime shows - the comedy “Brothers” starts on Friday, September 25th and “The Cleveland Show” starts on Sunday, September 27th.

The Cleveland Show.
Photo credit: Fox

Three days later, the old standbys of the network, “COPS” and “America’s Most Wanted” return to anchor Saturday nights yet again on September 12th.

Arguably the best night of television on the network returns on Thursday, September 17th with the fifth season premiere of “Bones” followed by the second season premiere of “Fringe”.

The network’s most beloved Fall show, “House,” returns on Monday, September 21st with a two-hour premiere. Read our comprehensive review of the season-six 2009 “House” premiere here. The next week, September 28th, “House” will be its standard one-hour length and “Lie To Me” will premiere its second season.

The controversial “Dollhouse,” surprisingly renewed in favor of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” will return on Friday, September 25th, following the one-hour premiere of “Brothers”. “Brothers” will shrink to its standard half-hour form the next week and “‘Til Death” will join the nightly lineup with its premiere on October 2nd.

The Sunday night lineup starts on September 27th with the series premiere of “The Cleveland Show” and season premieres of “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” and “American Dad”.

Finally, the late night effort of “The Wanda Sykes Show” will debut on Saturday, November 7th at 10pm CST.

Fox Fall 2009 Schedule
Wednesday, September 9th - “So You Think You Can Dance” & “Glee”
Saturday, September 12th - “COPS” & “America’s Most Wanted”
Thursday, September 17th - “Bones” & “Fringe”
Monday, September 21st - “House”
Friday, September 25th - “Brothers” & “Dollhouse”
Sunday, September 27th - “The Simpsons,” “The Cleveland Show,” “Family Guy,” & “American Dad”
Monday, September 28th - “Lie To Me”
Friday, October 2nd - “‘Til Death”
Saturday, November 7th - “The Wanda Sykes Show”

Read our full review of the season-two “Lie To Me” premiere!
Read our full review of the season-two “Dollhouse” premiere!
Read our full review of the season-six 2009 “House” premiere!
Read our full review of the season-two 2009 “Fringe” premiere!
Read our full review of the “Glee” premiere!
Read our full review of the season-five 2009 “Bones” premiere!

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett Reunite For ‘Sit Down, Shut Up’

BrianTT — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:07:10 -0600

Television Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Will another animated show on Sunday nights be a perfect fit for “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” fans or will those beloved shows have set too high a bar to jump over for another cartoon to compete? People love their Homer and Stewie. Will they fall for the teachers of Knob Haven on “Sit Down, Shut Up”? Despite the incredible talent involved, I highly doubt it.

What incredible talent? Try the creator of the best sitcom of the ’00s, Mitch Hurwitz of “Arrested Development,” and voice talent that includes amazing comedians like Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Henry Winkler, Will Forte, Cheri Oteri, and Kristin Chenoweth. Lots of talent. Most of it completely wasted.

Sit Down, Shut Up
Photo credit: FOX

Bateman voices the lead, Larry Littlejunk, a gym teacher at Knob Haven High School, an educational facility where the teachers have way more to learn that the students. Larry has a crush on the science teacher Miracle (Kristin Chenoweth), an overly religious girl who probably shouldn’t be teaching about evolution.

In Plain Sight
Photo credit: Gregory Peters/USA

Larry and Miracle may be the center of the show, but “Sit Down, Shut Up” is over-crowded with crazy personalities. There’s acting Principal Sue Sezno (Kenan Thompson), “Ass Principal” Stuart Proszakian (Will Forte), English teacher Ennis Hofftard (Will Arnett), German teacher Willard Deutschebog (Henry Winkler), librarian Helen Klench (Cheri Oteri), drama teacher Andrew Legustambos (Nick Kroll), and custodian “Happy” (Tom Kenny).

The series does look different. It’s blend of 2-d animation against live-action backdrops that makes for an intriguing visual presentation. And I like the design of the characters.

The faculty of Knob Haven may look interesting and have great people voicing them, but they don’t say anything particularly clever or funny. I’ve seen the first two episodes of “Sit Down, Shut Up” and they’re just not as laugh-out-loud as you’d expect. They’re too often frantic, over-the-top, and ridiculous.

Too much of the show plays like something that Bateman, Arnett, Winkler, and Hurwitz came up with while sitting around after filming on a day off from the “Arrested Development” movie. It feels like everyone can do better. Perhaps if “Sit Down, Shut Up” featured unrecognizable voices and I didn’t know Hurwitz was behind it, but I expected so much more from these multi-talented people and I think viewers will tune out in droves.

The biggest problem is the ADD sensibility of the show. I know “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” aren’t exactly what you would call leisurely-paced, but there’s a difference between a show that’s well-timed like those series and one that just feels frantically eager-to-please like “Sit Down, Shut Up”.

If the show is to be saved, they need to put the focus on just a few characters, like The Simpsons family, and then let the supporting ensemble come and go. But, now, it feels like Bateman, Arnett, Forte, Thompson, Oteri, and the rest of the gang are all fighting for microphone time. As is, it’s likely that audiences will tell “Sit Down, Shut Up” to live up to its title and make room for another attempt at animation domination.

‘Sit Down, Shut Up,’ which airs on FOX, stars voice work by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Forte, Henry Winkler, Kenan Thompson, and Cheri Oteri. It was created by Mitch Hurwitz. The series premieres on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 at 7:30PM CST.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘South Park’ Rocks in HD With 12th Season Blu-Ray Box Set

BrianTT — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:53:24 -0600

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – I honestly never though Trey Parker and Matt Stone would still be pumping out “South Park” episodes in the era of HD Blu-Ray. It’s not that I’m not a fan. I’ve seen the brilliant movie, “South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut” a dozen or so times, but I thought that would be near the end of the phenomenon of Stan, Kyle, Kenny, & Cartman. Years later, it looks like it was just the beginning.

Watching the first episode of “South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season” on Blu-Ray, “Tonsil Trouble,” and laughing as hard as I have at anything on television in a long time, I became convinced that not only was I wrong but that “South Park” could still be pumping out brilliant episodes for another twelve seasons. It’s going to be around as long as Matt & Trey want to do it.

South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season was released on Blu-Ray on March 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount Home Video

And there’s no better way to watch it than on Blu-Ray. Animation always looks great in HD and, honestly, Fox is going to have to follow suit with upcoming seasons of “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” if they hope to compete.

South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season was released on Blu-Ray on March 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount Home Video

The season/volume sets for those Fox shows are always among the best of the year because of their impressive collection of special features but they should really follow the model of “South Park” when it comes to picture and sound.

The fourteen uncensored episodes of “South Park“‘s twelfth season are now available in a three-disc set with 1080i High Definition picture and a Dolby TrueHD English 5.1 track. The episodes look beautiful and “uncensored” is not just a cheap label to sell DVDs with a show like “South Park”. This is the way “South Park” should be seen.

And what you’ll see is another strong season of the show. In the last few years, “South Park” has gotten a little more hit-and-miss but that’s because the writing team goes so far with their insane concepts. If it works, like when Cartman gives Kyle AIDS in the season premiere (don’t ask how), then it can still be laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Of course, the commitment to insanity creates some episodes that don’t work. The controversial mid-season premiere, “The China Problem,” in which George Lucas and Steven Spielberg rape Indiana Jones, was ballsy and creative but just didn’t work. Still, I’d much rather have a show that takes risks and sometimes fails than one that walks the line down the middle.

South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season was released on Blu-Ray on March 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount Home Video

Highlights of season twelve of “South Park” include “Tonsil Trouble,” “Major Boobage” (with a great “Heavy Metal” spoof) and “Elementary School Musical”.

The episodes of “South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season” are accompanied by Trey Parker and Matt Stone mini-commentaries and each disc includes a bonus feature - “Six Days to South Park: A Day-by-Day Making of South Park,” “Making Boobage: Behind the Scenes of “Major Boobage”,” and “Behind the Scenes: “About Last Night” HD”.

The one problem with TV on Blu-Ray is still the price point. I clearly think the twelfth season of “South Park” is worth owning, but unless Paramount and other studios start offering more features or Blu-Ray-only functionality, an MSRP of $69.99 is going to be a little steep for a lot of buyers. That’s $5 an episode. Yikes.

You’ll find it on sale for less most places, but the rating at the top of this review takes the cost into account. With only 308 minutes of show and three special features, seventy bucks is too much.

When the price comes down on Blu-Ray discs - and it will as the technology gets more popular - TV in HD Blu-Ray will take off. Once again, four foul-mouthed boys will have led the way.

‘South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season’ is released by Paramount Home Video and stars Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It was created by Parker & Stone. It was released on March 10th, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ Director Errol Morris Discusses Evil From Iraqi Prison

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:39:28 -0600

CHICAGO – Here is the legendary documentarian Errol Morris on the infamous 2003 photographs taken at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, which are the subject of his new film entitled “Standard Operating Procedure”:

There was another bad thing about the photographs. They led into a kind of weird dogmatism: ‘Oh, I know what is in that photograph. I understand what is in that photograph. [Sic] you. It means this or no it doesn’t it means that. Whatever.’

You can’t just do that. Investigation is therapy. You have to investigate. You have to make an effort to find out (not once and for all) but you have to – to the best of your abilities – ascertain what was going on.

Director Errol Morris on the set of “Standard Operating Procedure”.
Photo credit: Nubar Alexanian | © 2007 Max Ave Productions | Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

This latest film is an intense and sorrowful examination of the morality behind these infamous digital pictures. Most of them depict American soldiers conducting bizarre prisoner-humiliation procedures including the iconic black-hooded detainee on a box photo and soldier Lynndie England’s “cigarette” picture with naked Iraqi prisoners.

On the set of “Standard Operating Procedure”.
Photo credit: Nubar Alexanian | © 2007 Max Ave Productions | Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Morris interviews most of the key military personnel who were involved at Abu Ghraib, the soldiers who took the pictures, the soldiers who posed so callously with their charges and the investigators who were called upon to make sense of the mess.

HollywoodChicago.com on April 15, 2008 interviewed Morris in Chicago to gain insight into his powerful new film.

“Everybody dumps on the [soldier participants] and dumps on the bad apples,” Morris said in our interview. “As far as everyone is concerned, they are evil. Evil. Evil. Evil. End of discussion.”

He added: “The left wing says they are evil because of Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and George Bush. The right wing says it’s because they are just evil, rogue soldiers. You need to go into the story. You need to do more than just posture.”

Through the interviews and dissection, the pictures are presented starkly and uncensored. There’s a fascinating overview of the detective work that was done to discover the order in which the pictures were taken and an examination into the nature of what we see when presented with a photographic image.

“Standard Operating Procedure” director Errol Morris in Chicago on April 15, 2008.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

Morris explains this phenomenon through the picture of sergeant Sabrina Harmon: an Abu Ghraib guard who took a picture with the beaten corpse of a dead Iraqi prisoner.

“You see the smile,” Morris said, “and you don’t see the murder. The fact [that] there is a body in the frame [means] Sabrina didn’t kill him. Sabrina didn’t try to cover up the murder. They took a picture of the corpse.”

On the set of “Standard Operating Procedure”.
Photo credit: Nubar Alexanian | © 2007 Max Ave Productions | Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Morris continued: “That’s pretty amazing – that we see the picture one way and yet the picture shows us something really different. My catch-all phrase is that photographs reveal and conceal. They do both and they do both at the same time.”

The most famous interviewee – private Lynndie England (now on parole after serving part of a three-year sentence) – surprised Morris the most.

“In anticipation [of] the day we interviewed her, [England] was a person described as a ‘hillbilly’. She was mentally deficient,” Morris recalled. “She comes into the studio, we don’t know what to expect and she turns out to be perfectly articulate. I can tell you – no ifs, ands or buts – we were all shocked. Just plain shocked.”

Morris added: “One of England’s speeches in the film includes the line: ‘It’s drama. It’s life.’ She says it right together as if she’s making that connection for herself. It’s very powerful, very disturbing and a very sad interview.”

While reenactments – an Errol Morris trademark in his documentaries – are a controversial tool, he feels they best convey emotion.

RELATED IMAGE GALLERY
View our high-resolution “Standard Operating Procedure” image gallery.

RELATED AUDIO CLIP
Listen to our clip with Errol Morris on a filming trade secret.

RELATED READING
Read more film reviews from critic Patrick McDonald.

“It is [probably] a mistake to call them reenactments,” Morris countered, “but I can tell you the images to me that are really powerful. [There’s] the drop of blood on (Abu Ghraib guard sergeant Tony) Diaz’s uniform when he’s wrestling with the question: ‘Am I involved in this?’ I feel Diaz looking at his uniform like Lady MacBeth. He’s looking at the spot of blood and wondering what it means.”

Morris tackled the subject – among the mass of recent Iraq war documentaries – because he “wasn’t sure anyone else would tell it if I didn’t tell it”. There was something he saw in the photographs and the shocking admission of one of the major witnesses when he actually interviewed the participants.

Morris added: “When I look at a photograph from Abu Ghraib, am I looking at policy? Am I looking at just the actions of a few lone soldiers? To me, it was really powerful when one of the major government witnesses tells you that the iconic picture of torture and abuse in the Iraq war (the black-hooded picture) is standard operating procedure for U.S. prisoner interrogation.”

How does Morris sum up the “fog of war” in Iraq in association with the Abu Ghraib photographs?

“We have picked scapegoats and haven’t really been able to understand this war. That is unfortunate,” he said. “The war has been costly in the sense that it has completely undermined what is great about America. Somebody has to acknowledge that fact and start to make it right.”

More From Errol Morris

On his notorious film and interview subject “Dr. Death”:

I once read that ‘art is extending compassion where it has never been extended before’. There is some truth to that. I do like the idea of these people who are utter pariahs.

Fred Leuchter is beyond the pale in many, many ways. An electric-chair repairman and designer and a Holocaust denier, Fred has a lot of politically incorrect notions floating around in his head. For large groups of people, that limits his social acceptability.

But I like Fred. I found him endlessly fascinating. I don’t understand Fred, but I find him to be one of my all-time favorite characters.

On working with famed soundtrack artist and writer of “The Simpsons” theme Danny Elfman:

Danny is a great collaborator. He is really a fabulous person to work with and this will not be the last film [we] do together. We like working together. I’m saying something completely obvious. He knows how to write for movies.

In a way, it’s defeating some of those impulses not to score immediately to underline emotion or specific content of a scene. He wrote a lot of cues. He allowed me to spot them in different places once I had spotted them.

He then developed them and made them work better. It was a back and forth constantly. It was fast and good. I love the guy.

Finally, on his future projects:

I wanted to do another version of ‘Fast, Cheap & Out of Control’. I wanted to go back to something more romantic and quirky and funny.

I’d like to do a hybrid film: a documentary and a narrative. If I could get the right actors and the right amount of money, I’m going to have a go at it.

“Standard Operating Procedure” opened on May 2, 2008 at Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema in Chicago, Landmark’s Renaissance Place Cinema in Highland Park, Ill. and the Century CineArts 6 in Evanston, Ill.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Voice of Homer Simpson Pedals With ‘The Bicycle Men’ For Chicago Tour de Force

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:57:26 -0700

CHICAGO – Frantic and fantastically funny, the musical-comedy play “The Bicycle Men” invades Chicago again for a limited run at the Lakeshore Theater this time featuring the man – Dan Castellaneta – who is best known as the voice of TV’s Homer Simpson.

“The Bicycle Men”.
Photo credit: The Lakeshore Theater
The show, which originated with Castellaneta’s co-stars (Mark Nutter, John Rubano and Joe Liss) as “Le Comedie du Bicyclette” at the Los Angeles ImprovOlympics in April 2003, had a long run in Chicago that same year.

Loosely structured around a nebbish American (Castellaneta) and his bicycle tour of the French countryside, Nutter, Rubano and Liss play multiple characters designed to insanely disrupt the journey.

Set in a bicycle shop, youth hostel, restaurant, movie theater and most weirdly a talent show cabaret, each location inspires another surreal sketch with a musical number. Accompanied on piano by the multi-talented Nutter, Castellaneta and company sing a “Cynic’s Lullaby” and odes to “Fake Breasts,” “White Guys” “Church Barn” and most succinctly “Musical Hetero”.

Castellaneta – with his everyman demeanor – is perfectly cast as the ugly American content to play the straight man around the mad swirl of the other three crazies. Liss shines especially as a Marcel Marceau-type mute (in a Dana Carvey wig), a Dutch traveler who sings himself to sleep and an expert in the subtleties of dog poop.

Rubano is the glue of the show as the metaphoric bicycle god, and with his other characters, he steals every scene he chews.

His Texan-American ways with a happy physical abnormality would make George Bush proud while his turn as a puppet competes with Pinocchio. Playing a force of nature named Chester Manchester, he had the audience in paralyzing laughter and produced more gales with each characteristic expression.

Dan Castellaneta.
Photo credit: IMDb
The songs and choreography have a valid musical theater quality with standouts being the “White Guys” number with a boogie-woogie movement that is best described as spastic.

The brilliant song “Musical Hetero” – in which Castellaneta pleads that he is a straight man in a gay song-and-dance world – farcically manages to skew both ends of the orientation spectrum with several high kicks thrown in for added measure.

For fans of “The Simpsons,” it was also interesting to listen to Castellaneta’s natural speaking and singing voice and detect the familiar rhythm behind so many voices in that legendary series.

This play is outrageously off-kilter even down to the scene transitions where the players use broad physical comedy to transcend time and space. The men on stage have great fun with a loose, improvisational style that buries the laugh meter in the red zone and takes the audience along on their audacious bicycle ride.

As Homer Simpson himself once said: “I love legitimate thee-ay-ter.”

“The Bicycle Men” has a limited run through Dec. 16 at
the Lakeshore Theater in Chicago at 3175 N. Broadway.
Phone 773-472-3492 for tickets or click here.

By Patrick McDonald
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

Homer Simpson Voice Dan Castellaneta Coming to Chicago For Sketch Comedy

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:11:51 -0600

CHICAGO – Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times and CBS 2 Chicago has the scoop on Thursday that Oak Park, Ill. native Dan Castellaneta – the voice of Homer Simpson in “The Simpsons” – will be coming back to Chicago.

Dan Castellaneta will be back home this winter [to join] original cast members Joe Liss, Mark Nutter and John Rubano to restage their hilarious “The Bicycle Men” sketch comedy show from Dec. 12 to 16 at the Lake Shore Theater.

The Dec. 16 performance will benefit the early detection ovarian cancer program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com