Tag / Joel McHale

by admin

Midseason Review – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Time for our look back at Thursday nights, which has traditionally been the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 13th season, with the last 8 episodes of season 12 still sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Since I don’t know how last season ended, I’ve avoided looking at what lies ahead this year.

Surprisingly still watchable here in season 13.

The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in late October, following the midpoint of the NFL season.

The show has focused on personal growth this year, with Sheldon and Amy moving in together and Bernadette and Howard having a baby, opening up new avenues for comedy.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – The grouping of DC’s also-rans returns for its second season, with a promised appearance from the Legion of Doom.

The show is moving to Tuesdays with their revamped team lineup.

7:30

The Great Indoors – Former Community star Joel McHale returns to network TV with this comedy about the new generation gap in the workplace.

Well, I had planned on trying this, thanks to Joel McHale.  Sadly, I never got around to it.

8:00

Pitch – Strangely, I don’t usually enjoy movies or TV shows about baseball despite loving the sport in real life, which means I don’t know if I’ll get in to this tale of the first female professional baseball player.  Having Gregg Olson and Chad Kreuter on board as technical advisers certainly can’t hurt.

The first season has come and gone and it went surprisingly well.  I’m hoping for a second season.

9:00

The Good Place – Kristen Bell stars as a new arrival to the afterlife in this new comedy from the creator of Parks and Rec.

A big swerve at the end of season 1 leaves me wanting a second season.

Continue reading →

by admin

2016 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 13th season, with the last 8 episodes of season 12 still sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Since I don’t know how last season ended, I’ve avoided looking at what lies ahead this year.

The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in late October, following the midpoint of the NFL season.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – The grouping of DC’s also-rans returns for its second season, with a promised appearance from the Legion of Doom.

7:30

The Great Indoors – Former Community star Joel McHale returns to network TV with this comedy about the new generation gap in the workplace.

8:00

Pitch – Strangely, I don’t usually enjoy movies or TV shows about baseball despite loving the sport in real life, which means I don’t know if I’ll get in to this tale of the first female professional baseball player.  Having Gregg Olson and Chad Kreuter on board as technical advisers certainly can’t hurt.

9:00

The Good Place – Kristen Bell stars as a new arrival to the afterlife in this new comedy from the creator of Parks and Rec. Continue reading →

by admin

CBS Upfronts

bbtFor the first time this century, CBS announced a new fall schedule this week without a version of CSI in the mix.  Instead, the Tiffany network looked to other familiar properties, and stars, to fill the holes in their lineup.  With the network again airing football on Thursday nights for the first 2 months of the season, there will be much juggling going on, starting on Monday, where The Big Bang Theory returns until football ends.  It will be followed by Kevin Can Wait, a new show featuring former CBS star Kevin James.  Once football ends, James moves up a half hour and will be followed by Man With A Plan, starring former Friend Matt LeBlanc.  2 Broke Girls, The Odd Couple, and Scorpion round out the night.

Tuesday wraps two versions of NCIS around Bull, a new drama starring former NCIS star Michael Weatherly as, and you can’t make this up, a young version of Dr. Phil.  No changes on Wednesday night, where Criminal Minds returns for its 12th season.  Thursday, starting in November, starts with The Big Bang Theory, followed by the new Joel McHale-helmed The Great Indoors.  The night finishes with Pure Genius, a new drama from the creator of Parenthood.

Friday sees a new version of MacGuyver, followed by the returning Hawaii Five-O and Blue Bloods.  Sunday adds another version of NCIS to fill the hole left by The Good Wife.

Gone and never to be seen again are The Good Wife and summer staple Under The Dome.  Gone and destined to be seen again is Supergirl, which is moving to the CW.  Gone and maybe seen again is Limitless, which didn’t make the schedule but is not officially cancelled and is looking for a new home.

by jim

Now About That Movie

community-jeff-winger-dean-peltonAgainst all odds, Community is coming back for a sixth season, thanks to a last minute reprieve from Yahoo!, of all places.  Dan Harmon is still on-board as showrunner and the main cast at the end of last season, Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi, Ken Jeong and Jim Rash, are expected to return.

Earlier in the spring, Yahoo announced a slate of comedy series that it expected to create.  Having a show like Community, with a built in, rabid audience, can only help Yahoo’s other shows get noticed.

I had made peace with the loss of Community, as I wrote a week ago.  Having it come back from the dead yet again was certainly unexpected.  Here’s hoping Yahoo does right by the show and the Harmon and company can produce a sixth season worthy of those that have come before.

by jim

Post Mortem – Community

communityOn September 17, 2009, I found myself watching a new comedy on NBC despite my best intentions.  Starring the guy from The Soup and Chevy Chase, I was sure that this show, titled Community, would be a dud.  Surprisingly, I ended up liking the pilot and came back the following week.  Eventually, Community rose to the top of my watch list and became one of my favorite shows.

Sadly, despite critical acclaim and a fiercely loyal fanbase, the fandom for this particular show was small.  Every season, the show was on the bubble and it probably would have been cancelled years ago if NBC wasn’t totally desperate for anything resembling a hit.  But along the way, we got three tremendous seasons.  When showrunner Dan Harmon was fired after season 3, the show seemed doomed once again, but it came back for a surprise 4th season, which saw more trouble and the eventual departure of Chase.

Given all of that, it was a foregone conclusion that the show would be cancelled last year.  Once again, the little show that could surprised the world by not only being renewed for a 5th season, but by bringing back Dan Harmon to once again helm the show.  A throw away line from early in the shows run, six seasons and a movie, had become the rallying cry of the shows fans and now seemed to be within reach.  Sadly, after a 5th season which saw the departure of Donald Glover, NBC finally pulled the plug.

So I say thank you to Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Jim Rash, Ken Jeong, and, yes, Chevy Chase for a wonderful run.  #SaveGreendale #SixSeasonsAndAMovie