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lucyhowe	Jul 28 2005, 11:47 PM Post #1
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	I've read a couple positive notes on the show recently. From this article titled "No Joke: Sitcom revival leads fall TV lineups": ...a refreshing, twisty sitcom called "How I Met Your Mother" will finally break CBS out of that fat-guy-with-skinny-wife habit. In fact, "How I Met Your Mother" is "Friends"-like in many ways. It's the kind of likable twentysomething ensemble comedy that NBC should have developed a few years ago (and, yes, that's two knocks on NBC if you're counting). The cast includes Josh Radnor ("The Graduate" with Kathleen Turner), Jason Segel ("Freaks and Geeks"), Neil Patrick Harris ("Doogie Howser, M.D.") and Alyson Hannigan ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" and UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris" highlight a sitcom revival following several seasons of speculation that the form was dead. The other most promising comedy is "My Name Is Earl," airing on — hold your breath — NBC. And this little mention from an article titled "You Gotta Love 'Everybody Hates Chris'": "Everybody Hates Chris" is the best of the crop, although "My Name is Earl" (NBC, starring Jason Lee), "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS), "Kitchen Confidential" and "The War at Home" (both Fox) also have a chance of critical and commercial success. -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Jul 31 2005, 06:12 PM Post #2
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	The sitcom is dead! No, the sitcom is alive! If funny is money, network television's Sitcom Bank & Chucklehead Trust is flat broke. Over the past two years, such dependable, long-running mirth machines as "Friends," "Frasier" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" signed off. And even before the Emmy-honored trio departed, millions of disenchanted viewers and numerous industry experts had pretty much decided the sitcom was dead. Again. "There's no freshness. There's no originality," says Joe Keenan, who as one of the creators of "Frasier" certainly knows funny. "It's all characters you've seen before, situations you've seen before, jokes you've heard before." From "Hope & Faith" to "Yes, Dear" to the woeful "Friends" spin-off "Joey," the once grandly successful and often genuinely amusing sitcom format has devolved into cliched, laugh-track cacophony. But hold on. There are encouraging signs from the upcoming fall season that network television may have rediscovered its funny bone. We might have a reason to laugh again. The happy buzz has been building for "Everybody Hates Chris" (UPN, 8 p.m. Thursdays), which features comic Chris Rock narrating a sly, irreverent and, yes, funny, autobiographical chronicle of his own hectic teenage years. The other amusing rookies in the fall sitcom boomlet: • "My Name Is Earl" (NBC, 9 p.m. Tuesdays), a smart, rowdily imaginative buffoon lampoon that traces the cockeyed karmic journey of a shiftless loser and petty thief (Jason Lee, "Almost Famous") as he tries to right all his past wrongs. • "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS, 8:30 p.m. Mondays), a playful, offbeat romantic comedy with a loopily appealing ensemble cast that includes Alyson Hannigan ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Neil Patrick Harris ("Doogie Howser, M.D."). It's also blessed with a refreshing infusion of youthful creative wit from two former writers on "Late Show with David Letterman." • "Out of Practice" (CBS, 9:30 p.m. Mondays). The most traditional sitcom of the funny foursome, featuring a cast of familiar faces that most prominently includes Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler, revolves around the screwball kinship tales of a family of physicians often at odds with each other. The old pros in charge of the old pros are writer Keenan and his fellow "Frasier" producing partner Christopher Lloyd. But let's not get too giddy just yet. The fact that there are four promising new fall comedies — and a few more planned for mid-season — doesn't mean the sitcom renaissance has begun. Not yet. Not until we get a breakout sitcom version of what ABC did last year while kicking new life into prime time with the dramas "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." "One hit can get the audience's faith back that a comedy can be good," Keenan observes. "They've been exposed to so many dire, bad half-hour shows that the expectation is that any half-hour comedy is going to be the same stale stuff we've seen. So there's a disinclination to sample them." That shouldn't be a problem for "How I Met Your Mother" and "Out of Practice," both of which are being plugged into the successful CBS Monday night lineup following the popular "King of Queens" and "Two and a Half Men," respectively. So at least the CBS rookies are sure to be sampled by viewers. "Comedy was really our first priority heading into development season, and we wanted to reinforce Monday," says Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment. "And with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jenna Elfman, we have two big star vehicles for mid-season." "Seinfeld" alum Louis-Dreyfus will enliven "Old Christine," portraying a newly divorced working mother coping with children, career and the emotional jolt of her ex-hubby's new girlfriend, also named Christine. Meanwhile, "Dharma & Greg" star Elfman anchors the mid-season romantic comedy "Everything I Know About Men," which co stars Dabney Coleman as her father. Neither of those early 2006 comedies has been seen yet by critics, though Louis-Dreyfus and Elfman possess proven comic appeal. Now the challenge is to avoid that show killer that Keenan describes as "lazy, lazy writing, or just bad writing." Two very promising mid-season sitcoms that have been screened by critics include "Sons & Daughters" (ABC), a fast-paced, neuroses-laced tale of familial relationships from "Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels, and "The Loop" (Fox), a stylishly wigged-out farce about a young corporate executive (Bret Harrison, "Grounded for Life") and his slacker friends. Both shows — like "Everybody Hates Chris" and "My Name Is Earl" — are given the modern comic edge of being filmed like little movies, minus the pesky traditional laugh track. Not that there's anything automatically wrong with the old-school way. Many of the funniest comedies of all time — "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "All in the Family," "Taxi," "Cheers," "Seinfeld" — featured the accompanying laughter of a studio audience. That's how CBS has usually preferred it. And it doesn't bother Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, the youthful "Letterman" alums who created "How I Met Your Mother." "We sort of look at our years at ‘Letterman' as comedy grad school," Bays says. "I don't mind seeing jokes and hearing the laugh track because that was our bread and butter for a long time, just making an audience laugh ... There's no better feeling than having a crowd there and hearing a laugh." Because, after all, funny is money. But no one's going to strike it rich with a big, fresh sitcom hit if the networks don't also wise up and settle down, Keenan suggests. "The networks are increasingly impatient. A show has to be a hit out of the gate or they're not going to stick with it," says the Emmy-winning sitcom producer. "If the prevailing mood now pertained back in the ’80s, there would have been no ‘Frasier' because there would have been no ‘Cheers.' Because ‘Cheers' would have been off the air by the middle of its first season." What's needed today, he adds, is the kind of patience that NBC had with "Cheers" and "the kind of faith Fox is demonstrating in ‘Arrested Development.' That if you put it on and leave it there, if it's a good show, sooner or later people will come to it. "But I do think the glut of really bad ... has soured the public on the form," Keenan says. "So it's going to take a couple of hits for people to say, ‘Yeah, I think these shows still can be funny.’” OK, clever new comedy kids on the prime-time block, go out there and tickle America's funny bone. Just remember the daunting, humorless reality. Even after two years of Fox's nurturing patience and an Emmy Award as TV's best comedy, the exceptionally witty "Arrested Development" hasn't yet evolved into a hit show. And that's no laughing matter. -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Aug 3 2005, 09:10 PM Post #3
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	Sorting out the good, bad and ugly of new season BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - For two weeks, I've tried to find answers to such mysterious questions about whether aliens exist, how long NBC's anemic comedy "Thick and Thin" will exist and why Paula Abdul still exists on "American Idol." Now it's time to provide a best and worst list that may answer many of the questions that I expect to hear upon returning from the fall TV preview. Best Trend: Comedy is no longer dead, the way it is being made is just changing. Besides "Earl" and "Chris," potential off-beat winners include CBS' "How I Met Your Mother," Fox's "The War Is Home" and "Kitchen Confidential" and ABC's midseason show, "Sons & Daughters." Many of them are filmed (rather than taped), include narration and are laugh out-loud funny. But before anyone gets too excited, let's remember that "Arrested Development" has proven that the funny bone of viewers often differs from that of critics. -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Aug 6 2005, 10:22 PM Post #5
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	(IMG:http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4512/1himym6ls.jpg) (IMG:http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5749/2himym1zc.jpg) Executive Producer Craig Thomas, Executive Producer Carter Bays, actress Alyson Hannigan, actor Neil Patrick Harris, actor Josh Radnor, actress Cobie Smulders and actor Jason Segel attend the panel discussion for "How I Met Your Mother" during the CBS 2005 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 19, 2005 in Beverly Hills, California. -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Aug 8 2005, 05:01 PM Post #6
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	MIXED SIGNALS THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD FROM ANNUAL TV CRITICS' TOUR I'd love to be able to tell you that after 19 days, 137 press conferences, more than two dozen parties and lots of schmoozing with network and cable executives, show producers and actors, I have profound insights into the current state of television. But I can't, because I don't. Occasionally on the Television Critics Association's semiannual press tour, there are flashes of inspiration as to where TV, or at least part of the medium, is going. But what you usually end up with at the end of nearly three weeks in another town are bits and pieces, thoughts and perceptions, fragments of what could be. So here are some impressions from this summer's tour, which just came to an end: Biggest boost • Sometimes a new series can boost a routine profile with a good interview session. This tour's example: CBS's ``How I Met Your Mother.'' Members of the cast, including Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel and creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas from ``The Late Show,'' were so funny, had such a clear idea of where the comedy was going and oozed enough chemistry that they pushed the show onto everybody's radar. Familiar faces • This was the unofficial ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' tour, with four former cast members picking up new series: David Boreanaz (Fox's ``Bones''), Alyson Hannigan (``How I Met Your Mother''), Nicholas Brandon (Fox's ``Kitchen Confidential'') and Seth Green (NBC's ``Four Kings''). In addition, Charisma Carpenter is joining the cast of UPN's ``Veronica Mars,'' and James Marsters will turn up on ``Smallville.'' -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Aug 28 2005, 07:55 PM Post #7
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	PRIME TIME PRIMER A guide to the good and bad, the new and returning, and how it all fits together You've heard of cops and robbers. Get ready for cops and monsters. This year the fall TV schedule is littered with yet more law-enforcement and crime-scene shows, and a whole bunch of spooky monster/alien dramas. Though no monsters (aside from the human variety) have shown up on the crime procedurals yet, the only real surprise on the schedule is that there's no outright attempt to strand a bunch of cops on an island with a killer creature. (Don't bother pitching "Law & Order: Mysterious Island" to the networks; we've already copyrighted the idea.) Still, despite the lack of shows as original and groundbreaking as "Desperate Housewives" or "Lost," the schedule has several promising dramas on it (including one filmed in the Chicago area), and a few of the comedies even made us laugh. Out loud. So there's hope for the old TV beast yet. "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER": Yes, there are some good new comedies this fall -- believe it. This charming comedy, which features the most winning ensemble since "Friends" debuted, charts a young man's wooing of his future wife, and, as you might well imagine, there are several amusing twists on the road to true love. -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Sep 5 2005, 01:13 AM Post #8
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	Fall TV: 4 Sitcoms for Fall America could really use a laugh. As funny as Donald Trump's hair can be, most of what's on TV today just isn't cutting it. Bottom line: It's crap. Can the new fall season turn some of the frowns upside-down? At this point, I'd just settle for being less irate. Armed with the TV Guide Fall Preview, here's a look at four promising sitcoms for the upcoming TV season. How I Met Your Mother It's a cute idea: Ted's best friend Marshall is about to get married, prompting him to wonder if he'll ever find a soul mate. You won't have to hang on through multiple seasons to find out if this boy ever meets his dream girl. The show flashes ahead to ruin the happy ending, but the real story here is how Ted actually meets and gets the girl. It's sort of a conventional sitcom -- except that it's set in 2030. It's also narrated by Bob Saget. I can't possibly imagine how the series will stay afloat for more than one season, but the concept sounds interesting enough to give it a chance. Stars Neil Patrick Harris ("Doogie") and Alyson Hannigan (Buffy's "Willow") are certainly strong enough to pull in an audience -- but neither happens to be one of the main characters. Nice casting! The network must have some faith in this one though (make your own assumptions on whether or not that has any stock), since it's nicely sandwiched in between mega-hits "The King of Queens" and "Two and a Half Men." "How I Met Your Mother" premieres Monday, September 19 at 8:30 p.m. (EST) on CBS. You May Also Recognize * Josh Rader (Ted) from "Not Another Teen Movie." * Jason Segal (Marshall) known for "Freaks and Geeks;" he also just finished "Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny." * Cobie Smulders (Robin), who was last seen on "The L Word." -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Sep 5 2005, 03:50 AM Post #9
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	Go to TV Guide Online to vote for How I Met Your Mother as the "new fall comedy you are most looking forward to". (IMG:style_emoticons/mediablvd/grin.gif) -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Sep 5 2005, 05:31 PM Post #10
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	Media Execs: One-Third of New Fall Shows to Stick The broadcast networks will offer a better quality of scripted series this season than ever, but many of them will face cancellation because of tough time periods, said Shari Anne Brill, Carat vp and director of programming. Brill, who this week plans to release her predictions for the upcoming prime-time season, projects only seven new shows will be renewed among the 31 new fall programs; another eight are destined for quick cancellation. “The networks seem like they have scheduled many of these shows in time periods to hurt their competition rather than to make inroads for themselves,” she said. Many series fall in the uncertain category because of competitive time periods. Brill cited NBC’s drama E-Ring, which on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. has to go up against ABC powerhouse Lost and CBS’ new drama Criminal Minds. And CBS’ lawyer drama Close to Home will air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. against NBC’s Law & Order: SVU and ABC’s Boston Legal. Brill is also uncertain about Fox’s Kitchen Confidential because she said it might face the same problem as Fox’s Arrested Development—it could be “too hip for the room.” Since more women watch prime-time TV, Brill says the number of female leads should give these shows a better chance for success. New shows Brill believes will survive through the season are ABC’s Commander in Chief and Invasion; CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother; NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl and reality shows Three Wishes and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart; Fox drama Bones; and UPN sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. But even a show like Earl, Brill said, isn’t a lock. Series star Jason Lee should generate fans, but she wonders whether other cast members can do the same. Brill’s picks for cancellation: CBS’ Ghost Whisperer; ABC’s Night Stalker and Hot Properties; UPN’s Sex, Love and Secrets and Love, Inc.; Fox’s Killer Instinct; and NBC’s Inconceivable. John Rash, Campbell Mithun’s director of broadcast negotiations, also released his programming picks. Among his projected winners: Fox’s Prison Break; WB’s Supernatural and Related; ABC’s Commander in Chief, Invasion and Hot Properties; NBC’s My Name Is Earl and Three Wishes; CBS’ Criminal Minds; and UPN’s Everybody Hates Chris. Among Rash’s pans: Fox’s The War at Home, NBC’s Surface and ABC’s Freddie. -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Sep 12 2005, 06:52 AM Post #11
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	The new fall shows, from first to worst THE BEST SHOWS “How I Met Your Mother” (7:30 p.m. Mondays, CBS). This spiffy ensemble comedy features a couple of familiar faces (notably “Buffy’s” Alyson Hannigan and Doogie himself, Neil Patrick Harris) covering the familiar ground of young lives and loves. CBS sitcoms tend to start slow and pick up steam, but judging from the pilot, this one has fuel to burn. Forecast: Renewed. -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

lucyhowe	Sep 13 2005, 04:43 AM Post #12
Accomplished Poster Group: Members Posts: 20,536 Joined: 12-September 03 From: What? Like the back of a volkswagon? Member No.: 1,046	From E!'s \"Shows We Love\": (IMG:http://cache.eonline.com/Features/Features/Tube2005/ShowsWeLove/Images/HowIMetYrMother-03.Cast05.jpg) How I Met Your Mother (CBS) Tues., 8:30 p.m. The Basics: It's every kid's worst nightmare: Your dad sits you down to tell you the endlessly involved story of how your parents met. Such is the premise of CBS' How I Met Your Mother, only this comedy is surprisingly nontorturous, charming and funny. Newcomer Josh Radnor plays the father in question back in his late 20s, and through a series of narrated flashbacks, we meet his circle of friends. There's self-appointed (and hilarious) wingman Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), a dopey but loveable couple (Jason Segel plays Marshall and Alyson Hannigan plays Lily) and the girl who seems to be the woman of his dreams, Robin (Cobie Smulders). But as you'll see, things are not as they appear. What It's Like: Think of Friends (we should warn you, it does have a laugh track) meets The Wonder Years (if only for the sentimental narration). Why We Like It: Because despite that aforementioned laugh track and traditional format, Mother is entertaining, sweet and, at times, even a teensy bit edgy. (Don't tell that to CBS' geezer viewers.) And even more importantly, Mother has the best new cast anywhere on the dial this season. They're all instantly lovable and laughable. Favorite Moment (So Far): You find out there's more to this series than meets the eye in the final moments of the first episode. (Shhh...We don't want to spoil it!) And every single second of Harris, who's so good he could be accused of stealing the show. What It's Up Against: It's airs at the same time as Fox's new comedy Kitchen Confidential, with whom a rivalry is already brewing: Buffy's Hannigan stars on Mother; Buffy's Nicholas Brendon stars on Kitchen. And while Mother has a former Freak (Segel), Kitchen has a former Geek (John Francis Daly). Game on! Chances for Survival: Mother is sandwiched between King of Queens and Two and a Half Men, and though its audience should skew slightly younger, this comedy seems to be one of the season's few slam dunks. After all, CBS Monday sure did well for Raymond. -------------------- "They called and said, 'We want you to play the Messiah,' and I said, 'Of course you do.'" - Will Arnett ♥

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