Things That Made Me Smile Today

• Tina Fey threatened to move to outer space if John McCain and Sarah Palin win this election
• Speaking of which, the rest of the TV public (lead by the New York Times no less) is finally as outraged as I am that 30 Rock isn't starting for another two and a half weeks.
  
• This Friday, October 17, there will be an entire Jeopardy category devoted to Mad Men. You can practice your skills online right now with an online edition of Mad Men Jeopardy right now though.
• Best new feature ever: An addictionary for all things The Office on NBC.com. Fans can add their own entries which means some are much funnier than others. I'm glad someone else remembered this.
• Gawker ran a wonderful piece today by a guy who tried out for America's Got Talent. Oh the shit they put you through.

Photo: http://www.examiner.com/

A Special Announcement From edubTV:
edubTV is moving! Yes, we'll be leaving Blogger and moving into a bigger house with a backyard over at Wordpress. What does this mean for you? If you are one of the five people who follow us, you need to update your bookmarks, feed readers, brains, etc and starting accessing our site by going to edubTV.com and NOT edubtv.blogspot.com. Soon, edubTV.com will be the only way to find us. I'll post this announcement at the end of every post for the next few days to remind you but the shift will probably take place by the end of the week. As far as housewarming gifts go, we enjoy fine liquors and elegant floral arrangements.

Parenting Tips From edubTV

• Don't let your kids walk all over you
• Steer clear of spitters
• Don't marry a douche-bag
• If you're a parent, chances are this whole thing is your fault.

These parenting tips are brought to you by my four-hour impromptu marathon of Nanny 911 during today's "She-Nanny-Gans" weekend on ABC Family.

I really need some more hobbies.

Photo: http://media.movieweb.com/

Last Night's Premieres: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Last night we were presented with three new comedy offerings. How did they stack up?

The Good: Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday, NBC
This show is exactly what it sounds like. The folks at SNL are starting a new show that is essentially one sketch and 15 minutes of Weekend Update. It's like The Daily Show but without those pesky guests sucking the funny out of the room. This week's debate sketch fell a little flat without Tina Fey in the room but it was nice to see Chris Parnell reprise his role as Tom Brokaw. The highlight of the show for me was the return of one of my very favorite Weekend Update features, "Really, With Seth & Amy."

The Bad: Kath & Kim, NBC
I was expecting big things from this show. I have a girl-crush on Molly Shannon and anything that John Michael Higgins touches is gold in my eyes, but this just didn't cut the mustard for me. I have no problem watching characters that are a bit flawed and nutty (ex. The Office) but this was just too much. The mall culture, the fitness craziness, the child-like attitudes, etc. Any one of those pieces separately would be fine, but the combination is little much.

It was hard to watch at some points, not because it was awkward, but because the comedy was so self-indulgent. I could almost see the writers on this show cracking up while they wrote it, meanwhile, I just wasn't in on the joke. It's one of those shows that will need to hook people right away and since the promos for it have been a little slow since the Olympics, I don't know that it will. The only thing saving it right now is its timeslot.

The Ugly: Testees, FX
Oh my God this show sucks. Seriously, I can't believe I watched the whole thing. It's about two schlubby guys who take tests for the local pharmaceutical company (get it, they're Testees?). The rest of the show is not that creative. Last night's pilot had the fellas getting some sort of suppository injected. One got the placebo, the other got a big belly and thought he was pregnant. Then out of nowhere, he tries to abort the baby with a coat hanger...through his butt...because that's how he thinks the baby got in there.

This show had the potential to be hilarious. The possibilities for humor in the pharmaceutical industry are near endless. Too bad this show decided to bypass all of them for scatological humor and dick jokes.

I expected more from creator Kenny Hotz, but then again, prior to this effort he was best known for his work on the hilarious game/reality show Kenny vs. Spenny. (By the way, Spenny was on Testees last night too. He played a guy who was testing out some penis enlargement spray. I rest my case.)


Photo: http://www.smh.com.au

Obama Takes Over Your TV

Barack Obama shelled out some major bucks and purchased a half hour of airtime on CBS and NBC to run a half-hour infomercial on his campaign, his life, etc. The special will run on Wednesday, October 29.

This is a really expensive venture (each slot costs about $2 Mil) and rumor has it he may have enough money in the coffer to buy time on Fox and ABC too.

But the best news of the night? Obama's special will pre-empt Jay Mohr's latest shitshow Gary Unmarried. Womp, Womp.

Photo: http://www.rockunion.ie/

Ann Curry Is Surprisingly Funny

I kind of hate Ann Curry. She's always seemed cold, unfeeling, kind of a downer, especially since Meredith Vieira came on board. In fact, she's one of the many reasons I wake up with Good Morning America.

But Curry tried stand-up comedy for the first time and The Today Show was there to capture the big moment. Needless to say I was hoping Curry would die (maybe literally) on stage. It turns out, she was pretty funny. I am willing to give credit where credit is due.

However, I did find it a little unnerving to hear her talk about sex. It's like when you're little and you finally figure out that your parents had to have sex at some point. You just don't want to think of your news people that way.

Today Show's Ann Curry's Standup Debut @ Yahoo! Video

So It's Pretty Much The End Of Days For MTV...

Kanye West premiered the video for his latest single, Love Lockdown, on Ellen.

Britney Spears is premiering the video for her new single, Womanizer, on 20/20 this Friday.

MTV is getting rid of TRL next month.

It's official; the M no longer stands for music.

We'll always have the good times...and the hilarious parodies of the good times.

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

SNL Round-Up!

Yes, I thought the latest Fey as Palin sketch was hilarious, thanks for asking. Like every blog ever in the past two days, I will go ahead and link to it in case you missed it. However, I finally caught the full episode of Saturday's SNL and I must say, the sketch below was much funnier. Now more than ever, I am confident Kristen Wiig will fill Amy Poehler's shoes well when she departs the show following the election.

Jimmy Smits Stabbed A Dude

It was an accident on the set of Dexter, but how often do you get to write a title like that?

Apparently Jimmy accidentally stabbed a stunt man in the chest with a real knife instead of a fake knife.

The scariest part is that the stuntman saw the whole thing go down. He was bound and gagged for the scene and couldn't signal to the actor to stop. Dexter star Michael C. Hall also noticed Smits' mistake but couldn't get to the actor in time.

Luckily the stunt man had a small, plastic chest plate covering his heart or Smits would've done some serious damage.

Scary business! I can't wait to see the scene play out though.

Photo: http://www.showtimefan.com

Jerrell Is In-Teyents!

It's Friday and boy am I ready for the weekend. Nothing kicks off two days of bliss better than a hot new dance groove inspired by Jerell, my new favorite Project Runway personality. He gave Kenley the what-for by saying he wanted Korto and Leanna with him "...at da teyents." It was a funny little accent, trust me you had to see it...and you can...right here.

So the folks at BestWeekEver.tv took the time take that sweet little phrase and turn it into the new autumn jam. There's even a dance. I'm tickled pink.

Photo: BravoTV.com

Palin Bingo Makes Debate Even Better!

TV goes on hold for the night for the one and only Vice-Presidential debate.

If for nothing else, it's probably worth tuning in so you'll understand the jokes on this week's SNL. If there is a debate sketch, rumor has it Queen Latifah's been tapped to play moderator Gwen Ifill.

But if you're not a politico, debates can be a little tedious. Lucky for you I stumbled on a link to Palin Bingo! There are four cards available so you and your friends can play along. I doubt it will take too long to get a "media blackout" as some of the tiles are things like "Gee," "Earmarks," and "Lipstick."

We may not get to watch The Office this week, but this a comedy night done right of a different color.

Image: PalinBingo.com

Private Practices Pushes Bio-Ethical Envelope

I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy because the drama just got too frivolous for my taste. I was reluctant to make the switch to Private Practice, but after a string of successful episodes the show is quickly rising to the top of my must-see list.

At the very least, last night's season premiere earned Private Practice a season pass on my Tivo. The episode featured five relationships on the rocks and a medical practice about to crumble under some serious financial burdens.

But the show takes a non-traditional trajectory by tackling some dicey bio-ethical dilemmas. Is it okay for parents to conceive a child with the express purpose of using the blood from that child's umbilical cord to save the life of one of their other children? Should a doctor go outside of the law and against a family's wishes and tell a teenager who's planning to have sex that he's HIV positive?

Both of these issues were examined Wednesday night and they lead to some great debates today around the copier near my desk at work. Unlike it's parent program, Private Practice continues to do a fantastic job of combining new romance, relationship drama, family squabbles, comedy but above all--medicine. That's something the folks over at Grey's leave out more often than not.

This episode's central debates reminded me of one of my other favorites, Picket Fences. Both programs take traditional genres (police, medicine, and/or family dramas) and turn them on their ears a bit. It also intrigues me when shows can manage to be familiar and refreshing simultaneously.


Photo: Abc.com

There's Marital Bliss In Philadelphia!

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia costars Kaitlin Olson (Dee) and Rob McElhenney (Mac) tied the knot last Saturday in California.

(File this under confessions of a bad TV blogger: I didn't even know they were dating.)

I bet the wedding was flippin' raucous.

Kudos to the happy couple!

Photo: Someecards.com