Joost is now showing the complete run of 'Popetown' episodes, which I think is coming out on DVD (if it's not already). You probably don't remember, but this was an animated series from the UK a couple of years ago, which was about a different take on the Vatican (hence, "Popetown"). It got a lot of pre-broadcast brickbats from the all-powerful publicity department working for the Pontiff, and so it was pulled from the schedule before ever airing.So now you've got a chance to see it here.
But the thing is....as Jay Sherman would say on 'The Critic', it STINKS!
And I'm not saying that because I was offended. Lapsed Catholic that I am, I can enjoy a good laugh at the Church's expense.
No, the cartoon is just bad. Very grade-school humor with no sense of intelligence about it. And it's not like you can't balance both - 'The Simpsons', 'South Park', and 'Family Guy' proved that. This had me checking the counter to see how much longer I had to suffer through it; never a good sign.
And it's a shame too, since so many talented people were involved in making this, and Jerry Hall as well. (Hey, they can take cheap shots, so can I!) Mackenzie Crook, Matt Lucas, Ben Miller for a quick live-action sequence at the beginning.
In fact, I think they missed the mark and should have gone with that for a series, because it did look like it had potential.....
The worst was Ruby Wax as the high-pitched, psychotic, childish Pope. Again, I wasn't offended, it just seemed to be a cheap shot, not based on anything. And it was far too annoying to stay with. I would have preferred the Pope impersonator to have remained with the series!
Your mileage may vary. Maybe it's just me. But if you're so inclined to see it through, that episode does have links for the remaining batch.
BCnU!
Toby O'B
No, the cartoon is just bad. Very grade-school humor with no sense of intelligence about it. And it's not like you can't balance both - 'The Simpsons', 'South Park', and 'Family Guy' proved that. This had me checking the counter to see how much longer I had to suffer through it; never a good sign.
And it's a shame too, since so many talented people were involved in making this, and Jerry Hall as well. (Hey, they can take cheap shots, so can I!) Mackenzie Crook, Matt Lucas, Ben Miller for a quick live-action sequence at the beginning.In fact, I think they missed the mark and should have gone with that for a series, because it did look like it had potential.....
The worst was Ruby Wax as the high-pitched, psychotic, childish Pope. Again, I wasn't offended, it just seemed to be a cheap shot, not based on anything. And it was far too annoying to stay with. I would have preferred the Pope impersonator to have remained with the series!
Your mileage may vary. Maybe it's just me. But if you're so inclined to see it through, that episode does have links for the remaining batch.
BCnU!Toby O'B
For anybody who wanted "This Is Spinal Tap" to be transformed into a TV series, this was the next best thing. A real-life band (ZO2) who "day-light" as a kids' party band try to land a record deal. With lots of great guest stars, mostly playing themselves, 'Z Rock' achieved the near-impossible: it made me laugh out loud many times during each episode.
This will be the show on display when they write about "comedy with heart". Every character had a rich story; even the minor characters had an unexpected depth to them instead of just being one-offs to deliver a joke. Sure, the A storyline about the fast-blooming love story of Gavlar and Stace was supposed to be the primary focus. However, they were soon trumped by the rocky relationship between hard-partying Smithy and Nessa, who may or may not have had a highly adventurous past. Add to that Stacey's mother Gwen, Gavin's parents Mick and Pam, and especially Rob Brydon as Uncle Bryn, and maybe the show should have had a more inclusive title for them all.
Seductive, tawdry, bawdy, funny, disgusting, shocking, and sad. All it needs are flying monkeys and a few song and dance numbers! HBO has probably hit on the perfect successor to 'The Sopranos', smartly avoiding anything of a similar nature. Based on the "Sookie Stackhouse" novels, Alan Ball has given Toobworld not only a town full of interesting characters (as well as the town of Bon Temps), but also a lot of new concepts to work with, including shape-shifters and Tru-Blood. Of course, that does lead to a few problems, as I mentioned in the earlier post.
Tying into an established series helped this to win. Otherwise, I might have gone with one of the other candidates since '24' is delegated to an alternate TV dimension. Still, it gave newbies a chance to sample the series in a bite-size nugget ("bite-size" by the '24' standard).
At times it felt more like we were watching a documentary, especially during the battle scenes. I'm still not sure I have all the characters straight in my head (pun intended for Rudy), but each of them did make an impression on me. And I hope some of those actors won't take too long in bringing more characters to populate Toobworld.
It's a blipvert promo for the Sci-Fi channel, and it's probably the most heart-tugging thing I've seen, outside of the reunion of Desmond and Penny on 'Lost' and the letter from Stacey's dad on 'Gavin & Stacey'. Definitely the most heart-tugging brought in under two minutes!
As I splained earlier, to qualify for 2008, I had to become aware of the show (as well as see it) in that year. Even if it began years earlier, as was the case for 'New Tricks', then that NBC mantra applies: If I haven't seen it, it's new to me.
A combination of factors led this episode to win the honors. First off, the surprise twist near the end involving John Scott. Usually, when you hire a name actor as a guest star in a pilot, it's to help boost viewership, knowing full well that the actor won't be around for the run. Usually that type of character gets killed off.
This is President Rutherford B. Hayes as he appeared in "General Sherman's March Through Dodge City", an episode of 'Bat Masterson'.
Until the humans aboard the Axion actually showed up, this could have been considered a live-action movie; the CGI was that good. And the ending didn't close the door on future adventures for Wall-E and Eve; and since Disney is good for exploiting its product with TV spin-offs, a series may be possible... although I think a movie sequel may get priority.
I know a lot of people are going to argue that this honor should go to 'The Shield'. Bleep them, as Vic Mackey might say. First off, I'm one who wanted Mackey dead, preferably shanked in prison by some skel he busted from an earlier season, brought back in a glorified cameo. And even though I did like the ending - with Mackey trapped in a bureaucratic hell (at least for the next three years... if he doesn't eat his gun) with no hope of ever finding his family again - I didn't get the feeling that it had any major impact on Toobworld. We're all about Toobworld here, remember.
The reason why? Because it ended. This series had potential, looked fairly reasonable to produce (price-wise), and enriched the Toobworld timeline so much.
Being a mini-series, and being presented on HBO where they could show warts (or rather, pustules) and all, we were able to get the most detailed retelling of our own near-mythological history.
Barney had to go back over his romantic history in order to figure out who had been sabotaging his attempts at conquest. We learned about not only a slew of strange ladies he bedded, but also had the greatest hits of those who actually appeared on past episodes.
What was basically a reality-based program entered Toobworld surrealism when one of Great Britain's best-known puppets appeared on an episode. It can be comparable to when Kermit the Frog appeared on 'The Wheel of Fortune' - not exactly a venue where you would expect to see a member of Toobworld's puppet population.
Deceptively, it looks like a retread of the original series - swap out the main character and replace him with a woman, but bring back all the same characters to deal with. But I think the show's creators may be going for something a little more; if not deeper, than at least in a different direction. We'll see when season two kicks off.
I was so prepared to hate this show, even if it had been the original version planned by David E. Kelley. I probably would have hated that version anyway. But aside from one major misfire, this 
Don't get me started......
After such a promising pilot episode, this show quickly fell into a rut. Variations on the same themes, villains, methods of dispatchment. (Looks like I made up a word, according to spell-check!) But then it came back from the writers' strike, and they were somehow revitalized and the show began to explore lots of other topics. I think it all started with the episode "Leon", but from there it introduced us to a demon rebellion, the dangers of love with a succubus, and more mystery involving Sam's parentage.
Because of the major reworking of the Toobworld timeline between the first and second season, 'Primeval' gave us the perfect opportunity to claim that certain shows in the past are now different and more in keeping with the established TV universe. We also have a new splainin for why two different characters in one show might look the same, without resorting to the identical cousin excuse.
In the episode "Comfort Food", Ned and Olive had to once again face one of their eatery nemeses - Marianne Marie Beetle, owner of a home-based operation, "Muffin Buffalo".
Even though the episode never aired, it was included in a boxed set for 'Wonderfalls', and as is the case with online TV content, the Toobworld concept has been expanded beyond what is broadcast to include DVD material.
This happened during the writers' strike, and just carried an air of a smack in the face to the WGA. 
Somebody in that ad agency for Geico is smoking some serious bleep. Inspired!
Except for the fact that Scooby Doo makes me cringe, this was a great choice if you were going the classic TV cartoon route.
When I first saw this commercial, the sound was turned down as we were at the combined birthday party for my sister and her son (both on December 7). And before you ask, we had it on because there was an important football game going on that some at the party couldn't miss!
Do you remember an episode of 'Angel' called "I Fall To Pieces" in which a man was able to separate parts of his body and send them off to do his dirty work? Both of these commercials contained body parts like eyeballs and tongues which did the same thing. For alls I know, as Stuart Best would say on 'Murphy Brown', they belong to the same man. And like many objects in Toobworld, those body parts then took on lives of their own.
Here you can see 
And here's 
The episode in which this website first was mentioned happened in March of 2008, but it's counter says it's been up since 2006. So that's some incredible foresight on the part of the producers! And yes, the website still exists. Check it out!
On this year's Christmas episode, policeman Al Powell from the first two "Die Hard" movies - still played by Reginald Veljohnson and still chowing down on Twinkies! - turned out to be the cousin of the Buy More manager, Big Mike! We can logically assume then that in the TV Universe, John McClaine looks like Bruce Willis. (Unless somebody decides to make a TV show out of the movie franchise.....)
The movies can't be considered part of the TV Universe, like the 1966 'Batman' and the 'Star Trek' franchise can, because of casting changes, especially of Sarah Conner herself. But even with the niggling problem of the "Terminator" references made in other TV shows, this is still a great recreation of some classic kick-ass movies.
Even though the world of Jane Austen's "Pride And Prejudice" was seen on TV, it was still encased in the world of Literature. After Amanda Price rejiggered the events that Austen originally created, it affected every copy of the book but not the story as already told in film and on TV.
In the tradition of 'Extras' and 'The Larry Sanders Show', celebrities appeared on this show and had some fun at their own expense. Dave Navarro was seen as a sex fiend [shown above]; John Popper was a disgusting pig; Dee Snyder was a duplicitous back-stabber; and Joan Rivers gave a blow job to David Lee Roth!
