tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post4114025898371170079..comments2024-03-28T18:01:28.997-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Monday rookie round-upAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-82655295550016505062007-10-10T16:06:00.000-04:002007-10-10T16:06:00.000-04:00DESPITE THE NAME, THE ACTOR, ZACHARY LEVI IS NOT J...DESPITE THE NAME, THE ACTOR, ZACHARY LEVI IS NOT JEWISH. HIS LAST NAME IS WELSH & HIS AGENT SAID THAT HE SHOULD CHANGE IT TO "LEVI".<BR/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<BR/>""Anonymous said... <BR/>Mmmmm, cute geeky Jewish boy. And pie.""Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-65789171989097694902007-09-27T00:08:00.000-04:002007-09-27T00:08:00.000-04:00Thanks, Pam!Thanks, Pam!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-88142336050806945222007-09-26T12:13:00.000-04:002007-09-26T12:13:00.000-04:00Probably I'm way too late in the game and nobody's...Probably I'm way too late in the game and nobody's coming back here anymore to check out comments, but I do have a question about the season premiere of "Journeyman".....<BR/><BR/>When he first "leaped" into the past and entered Cafe Luna, what football game was playing on the TV. I'm assuming it was a 49ers game, but it seemed to have enough significance without being a Super Bowl to be remembered by Dan as having been played eight years before..... Thanks!Toby O'Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06999037844031101965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-49606546615476678982007-09-26T01:34:00.000-04:002007-09-26T01:34:00.000-04:00from Wikipedia:Chuck Lorre (also known as Chuck Le...from Wikipedia:<BR/><BR/>Chuck Lorre (also known as Chuck Levine), born 18 October 1952, is a writer, director, producer and composer who has worked on many American sitcoms, including Roseanne, Dharma & Greg and Two and a Half Men. At the end of each episode of the latter two shows, Lorre features a vanity card consisting of a message that is usually an editorial. Since the card is shown only for a couple of seconds, the viewer who wants to read it likely would have to do so via playback and pause.<BR/><BR/>It looks like you can find all of them at<BR/>http://www.chucklorre.com/<BR/><BR/>Enjoy!<BR/>-PamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-23228908930120810472007-09-26T01:30:00.000-04:002007-09-26T01:30:00.000-04:00On the other hand, Bionic is by all accounts a tra...<I>On the other hand, Bionic is by all accounts a trainwreck on its own behind the scenes, so who knows?</I><BR/><BR/>What's going on behind the scenes? I've seen allusions to it here, but haven't heard any stories.<BR/><BR/>Is Chuck Lorre the same guy who does the vanity card on "Two and Half Men"? Because some of those (such as "Paulie and the Cat") are hilarious.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-70578996940946252342007-09-25T20:23:00.000-04:002007-09-25T20:23:00.000-04:00I am in the beginning of The Big Bang Theory. I ju...I am in the beginning of The Big Bang Theory. I just saw the producer credit.<BR/><BR/>I stopped. I thought.<BR/><BR/>I ff'd to the end and looked for it.<BR/><BR/>There it was. The Chuck Lorre vanity card <BR/><BR/>#182<BR/><BR/>if you haven't delete your copy yet - perhaps you can edit, like we can, with our fancy non Tivo DVR. Get rid of the show, and just keep the card.<BR/><BR/>and now I have to go watch the rest of this and just hope CBS will put me out of its misery soon.<BR/><BR/>-PamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-29212578966585656822007-09-25T19:34:00.000-04:002007-09-25T19:34:00.000-04:00A few commenters said they turned Chuck off becaus...A few commenters said they turned Chuck off because they were confused. Huh? Between Chuck and Journeyman, the latter was definitely more confusing. Journeyman felt like being dropped into the middle of a theatre after the movie was halfway over. Perhaps I'm too old school, but give me a little Quantum Leap-style exposition :-).<BR/><BR/>I think that Chuck shouldn't be viewed seriously. It goes in the same box as Get Smart. It's light, check-your-brain-at-the-door entertainment. However, I do want Adam Baldwin's character to drop Chuck's buddy Morgan into a dumpster. People keep comparing him to Seth Green, but I think Seth Green is appealing. This guy is just annoying.Dani In NChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15032707452740200776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-53294257910278313252007-09-25T14:49:00.000-04:002007-09-25T14:49:00.000-04:00It did look expensive though (I like that)From wha...<I>It did look expensive though (I like that)</I><BR/><BR/>From what I understand, the pastry budget was sizable.Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02438138745372633266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-86319348522663393052007-09-25T14:23:00.000-04:002007-09-25T14:23:00.000-04:00So, how long till it's pulled, At least until late...<I>So, how long till it's pulled, </I><BR/><BR/>At least until late October when sweeps are looming.<BR/><BR/><I>and what goes in there?</I><BR/><BR/>My guess would be Bionic, especially since I expect it to lose to Private Practice and Criminal Minds tomorrow night. Keep in mind again that I'm a lousy prognosticator, but NBC poured a ton of money into promoting last night's lineup, and what they got out of it was a decent at best launch for "Chuck" and a big thud for "Journeyman." Bionic is more of a name brand, I suppose, but it also won't have a Heroes lead-in. <BR/><BR/>On the other hand, Bionic is by all accounts a trainwreck on its own behind the scenes, so who knows?Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-85236891802224209452007-09-25T14:12:00.000-04:002007-09-25T14:12:00.000-04:00I hadn't seen the half-hour drop numbers, but that...I hadn't seen the half-hour drop numbers, but that doesn't surprise me. So, how long till it's pulled, and what goes in there? Studio 60 lasted a while because of the money demographic and started better.<BR/><BR/>Do they bump up Law and Order or Medium from midseason to fill the gap, or flip around elsewhere? Bionic Woman, especially if it gets a little lost in the Wednesday trainwreck, could be a contender.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00295270766215749309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-46292887680436618442007-09-25T13:58:00.000-04:002007-09-25T13:58:00.000-04:00I wasn't initially going to watch "Chuck" because ...I wasn't initially going to watch "Chuck" because I have no interest in spy shows (although I did surprise myself by really getting into "Burn Notice" this summer.)<BR/><BR/>That said, I suppose it's no surprise that I found the spy stuff to be the least successful, and least interesting part of the show. The bomb-defusing scene was beyond lame! So unconvincing and really deflated any interest I was building in the show.<BR/><BR/>It did look expensive though (I like that), some of the scenes were nicely shot, the lead is likeable, and I have great stores of Adam Baldwin loyalty, so I might give it a few more episodes.A.H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11093803634816636548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-37102538516778036062007-09-25T13:56:00.000-04:002007-09-25T13:56:00.000-04:00Matt, I don't expect Journeyman to uptick, as it n...Matt, I don't expect Journeyman to uptick, as it not only dropped a good chunk of the Heroes audience, but then lost more viewers at the 10:30 mark, which was the same thing that happened to Studio 60 -- albeit, as you point out, from a higher starting point.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-70737210735685191482007-09-25T13:48:00.000-04:002007-09-25T13:48:00.000-04:00Aside from Big Bang's inexplicable success (ARRRGH...Aside from Big Bang's inexplicable success (ARRRGHH!!!!), the two other things of note are disappointments for week two of "K-Ville" (4.1/6), which looks like it shed about 50% of last week's audience, and for the "Journeyman" pilot (5.9/10). <BR/><BR/>For comparison, the "Studio 60" pilot did a 8.6/14 in the same slot, and <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_60#U.S._television_ratings" REL="nofollow">ultimately leveled off around a 5.0</A>. If Journeyman holds or builds its audience next week, it could stick around, but it it drops more than about 10%, I think we're likely to see something else there fairly quickly (Bionic Woman being a likely suspect).Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00295270766215749309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-7022029459374287082007-09-25T13:22:00.000-04:002007-09-25T13:22:00.000-04:00treacher:So, if you went back in time 10 years, do...treacher:<BR/><BR/><I>So, if you went back in time 10 years, do you think your girlfriend would notice you looked way older? Guess not!</I><BR/><BR/> I thought it was fair for the writers to throw that in right in the pilot so viewers can decide if they're willing to accept it. It's completely silly, but the alternative -- having different actors for young time traveler, young wife, young girlfriend, etc. would be really tiring. You're either willing to go with it or you aren't.<BR/><BR/> In the end I'd prefer to see him jump back into the recent past with the same cast hanging around the edges rather than a conveniently kitchy era for a rescue of the week -- like the 70's era airline plot that seems to be up for episode two.<BR/><BR/>scott tobias: <BR/><BR/> Yeah, I'd watch the show you describe, too. I wouldn't give you good odds on it emerging, though.<BR/><BR/>AnonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-6776051602213622972007-09-25T13:15:00.000-04:002007-09-25T13:15:00.000-04:00Why the hell did Big Bang do 2 million more that H...Why the hell did Big Bang do 2 million more that HIMYM, which incidentally lost 2 million from last year's premiere? Ugh, the season just started and I'm already angry!dark tylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13461345493748899275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-78009105312487986062007-09-25T11:27:00.000-04:002007-09-25T11:27:00.000-04:00Mmmmm, cute geeky Jewish boy. And pie.Mmmmm, cute geeky Jewish boy. And pie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-64786637724098752752007-09-25T11:02:00.000-04:002007-09-25T11:02:00.000-04:00Yeah, didn't love Chuck. First, this guy is suppo...Yeah, didn't love Chuck. First, this guy is supposed to be a helpless nerd? Even for a TV nerd, he's far too good looking and far too quick with witty repartee for us to worry that much about him. The whole thing also feels very, very warmed over, starting with the parkour/Bryce Larkin opening sequence. (Not to mention the specific run up the wall and jump through the small window over the door manuever, which I first saw in B13 - the original parkour movie - and then again the opening chase sequence in Casino Royale). Shades of Alias, shades of the OC, shades of Scrubs...YAWN. Sure you can have a genre mashup, but it takes someone more talented than McG -- and I suspect, Schwartz -- to make it all hang together. Even Alias hit the skids after a couple of seasons. It also bugs me that the pop culture references this characters continually make are way too old for them -- they clearly coming from writers in their mid-30s or older. Zork first came out in 1980 -- I just don't buy that he and Larkin would be writing their own version in 2002. Wouldn't they me making their own xbox game?<BR/><BR/>Anyway, the show has (had?) potential, but unfortunately it's buried way too deep in TV contrivances and too-clever banter to ever amount to anything.<BR/><BR/>Why can't we just have a show with Adam Baldwin working undercover in a Best Buy?TuckPendletonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09205887129563034955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-71186065590104663032007-09-25T09:58:00.000-04:002007-09-25T09:58:00.000-04:00The Big Bang Theory was just...bad. Why, oh why, ...The Big Bang Theory was just...bad. Why, oh why, can't they find something decent to follow the brazilliantness that is HIMYM?gackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12914860788632679985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-62332546908771989462007-09-25T09:32:00.000-04:002007-09-25T09:32:00.000-04:00I love spy stories. I love nerds. I love action ad...I love spy stories. I love nerds. I love action adventure/superhero stories. And my Adam Baldwin love knows no bounds. But I only made it through 20 minutes of Chuck before I turned it off. I wasn't even confused, and I didn't feel like I was being beaten over the head with its cleverness. I just thought it was really messy and uninteresting. McG can do better.<BR/><BR/>Journeyman grabbed me immediately. It's not great television by any means. McKidd has a problem keeping his accent in check. I'm hoping not to be subjected to the dreaded love triangle. Maybe they're piling too much on Dan - he appears to have a gambling problem and a history of substance abuse, *and* he stole his brother's girlfriend. But still, it was fun. I liked that Livia is actually another time traveler. I too thought about the moral implications of having sex with your former fiancee in the past when you're married to someone else in the present. I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife at the moment, so I'll be interested to see if he does interact with himself.<BR/><BR/>I was kind of hoping he'd be tracking Neal's life through several episodes, but I suppose this is going to be "the save of the week". So, yeah, it's not a show that's going to go down in television history as one of the greats. But it's entertaining enough, so I'm giving it a chance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-2686261776094950692007-09-25T09:09:00.000-04:002007-09-25T09:09:00.000-04:00The pie is just an image that has information enco...<I>The pie is just an image that has information encoded in it, no? </I><BR/><BR/>Nonononono. It is <I>pie</I>. Delicious, flaky, American pie.<BR/><BR/>Do not try to explain the pie. Just enjoy the pie.Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02438138745372633266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-52253027368034288852007-09-25T08:48:00.000-04:002007-09-25T08:48:00.000-04:00Twelve minutes into "Chuck," I turned it off. I'll...Twelve minutes into "Chuck," I turned it off. I'll probably finish watching, but it just was so disjointed and confusing and didn't grab my attention.<BR/><BR/>The comedy in the beginning was very forced and just didn't seem timed very well. <BR/><BR/>When I turned it off, I was thinking, "Now what is this show about?" That's not what an audience's reaction to a pilot should be.K J Gillenwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12023089365553324315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-14701529527951753852007-09-25T05:16:00.000-04:002007-09-25T05:16:00.000-04:00The pie is just an image that has information enco...The pie is just an image that has information encoded in it, no? (Of course, if information can be so easily encoded into images, why aren't we all learning through blipverts instead of schools?) <BR/><BR/>Lots to complain about on the suspension of disbelief front for Chuck, so Slim is quitting it immediately: why are the NSA and CIA fighting each other? why doesn't the government back up its hard drive like they did in Die Hard 4? why isn't Sarah in the dataset such that Chuck recognizes her? why doesn't sarah retrieve the hard-drive after the computer breaks? why aren't any of the dancers recognizing the mayhem around them? why is a laptop bomb connected to the internet?<BR/><BR/>For some reason, the humor in the rest of the show entertained me enough, that I was willing to forgive these deficits, like I did in Die Hard 4. Which is funny, because with Buffy, my reaction was that everything was contrived, while Slim watched every episode. I can see this becoming contrived pretty quickly--how often is a Serbian agent just going to happen to be shopping in the LargeMart next door? But, per Alan, I'll give it to Episode 3.Ted Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10486771226983390342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-51582125937272856662007-09-25T02:58:00.000-04:002007-09-25T02:58:00.000-04:00I'm utterly torn between wanting some ironically s...<I>I'm utterly torn between wanting some ironically sinister payoff to the pie thing or having it just remain this unexplained non sequitur</I><BR/><BR/>Oooo, they'd better not try to explain the pie. Best not to even mention it.<BR/><BR/>Pie!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-53497875621127412322007-09-25T02:54:00.000-04:002007-09-25T02:54:00.000-04:00I did my happy dance when I saw Baldwin. But he w...I did my happy dance when I saw Baldwin. But he was the only part of Chuck I particularly liked. Strikes me that Levi modeled his character after J.D. on Scrubs. Just doesn't feel special to me.<BR/><BR/>I, a big fan of The Time Traveler's Wife, want to like Journeyman. The save of the week was a bit weak imho, and I hope that is just because they had to spend so much time on the set-up. I've had a crush on Reed Diamond since his Homicide days and the preview looks like he might not be entirely a good guy in this. I like the complicated relationships. Truly, from the pilots, Journeyman feels more like a its going to last longer than Chuck.Christyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12623422545436294378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27521910509625952822007-09-25T02:42:00.001-04:002007-09-25T02:42:00.001-04:00There's been all this talk about how easy it will ...There's been all this talk about how easy it will be to watch shows online for free, etc. I know, I know Chuck was available before the fact online in a lot of places, but now it doesn't appear to be...<BR/><BR/>Am I missing one of the sites like Yahoo TV or NBC itself (or NBC Direct) where I can catch it for free on a regular weekly basis? I only ask because my DVR can't handle three shows at once.Chris Littmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17983027547044515194noreply@blogger.com