Category Archives: Television

June 6, 2007 · 10:14 am

For Your Consideration: Supporting Actors – Harve Presnell and John Pyper-Ferguson

[In Week One of Cultural Learnings’ 59th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Preview, we’re looking at possible contenders for the Supporting Actor awards in both comedy and drama. Today, we present our sixth set of candidates. For all candidates, Click Here]

Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Harve Presnell (Lew Steziak)

Andy Barker, P.I.

Not very many people watched Andy Barker P.I. It’s understandable: this midseason replacement came and went with only four airings in its timeslot on Thursday nights. Facing Grey’s Anatomy and CSI, the show failed to gain any ratings traction and never became a watercooler success. It is therefore somewhat unfortunate that the performance of Harve Presnell as Lew Steziak, a cranky old man who has long retired from the private eye business but finds himself being dragged back in. I don’t know what it is about Presnell’s performance, but he manages to capture jaded old man so very well without falling too far into senility. His performance is exactly what I’d like to become when I’m older: cantankerous, grumpy, angry, and yet aware that I could be less angry. And, while he’s certainly a long shot, I think that Presnell at least needs to be considered.

It’s not even that Presnell had a huge dramatic moment, or that he had the most hilarious line possible. He just had this way about him, this delivery, that continually brought something unique to this comedy. Although only airing for six episodes, the show created many unique characters who made up quite the team, but I think I’d most like to meet a real life Lew Steziak, in the flesh. I would put the performance up there with an acting master class by any means, but from a comic perspective I think Presnell brings just the right amount of everything to the role. And, well, I can’t really expect much better than that from a 74-year old, can I? Not likely.

Episode Selection: “The Lady Varnishes”

In this episode, perhaps the wittiest of the show’s takeoffs of old murder mystery films (The Lady Vanishes), this episode features Amy Sedaris as a one-legged (She has a wooden leg, which she varnishes) as a long lost love of Lew’s. It’s a cute episode, and Presnell is good in it with Ed Asner as his arch nemesis as well. However, Andy Barker isn’t big on the YouTube. So, head over to NBC.com to watch the complete episode, and enjoy this clip of Presnell from the hit musical “Paint Your Wagon”.

YouTube – “Paint Your Wagon”

Supporting Actor in a Drama

John Pyper-Ferguson (Joe Whedon)

Brothers & Sisters

Brothers & Sisters is a show about an extended family dealing with the death of its patriarch and all of its other problems. This family is a bloody mess, and they all know it. As a result, I always feel the worst for those who chose to be a part of it. They married these people, and found that they had married into a crazy house. As a result, I also feel the most for these actors who have to react in a natural fashion to the problems that this situation creates. And, as a result, I have chosen to highlight John Pyper-Ferguson, who plays Sarah Walker’s husband Joe, for Emmy consideration.

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June 6, 2007 · 7:34 am

Television Critics Pile on the Praise for the Shows I Like

The annual TCA awards are pretty much the exact opposite of the Emmy Awards.

Television Critics Association Nominations – Variety.com

Television Critics are, for the most part, much better informed on the actual quality of network and cable television as opposed to being completely ignorant to various entertaining programs. As a result, these are awards that actually give us an indicator of who gave the best performances, not just who submitted the best episode. And, let me tell you: the result is an intense race that creates categories impossible to decide upon.

Program of the Year

“American Idol” (Fox)
“Friday Night Lights” (NBC)
“Heroes” (NBC)
“Planet Earth” (Discovery)
“The Wire” (HBO)
“When the Levees Broke” (HBO)

This is such a bizarre category, because it’s really more defined as programming from I guess a…I don’t even know what it means. Either way, you’ve got reality television, family drama, Sci-Fi drama, Nature Documentary, gritty HBO drama, and a Katrina documentary. That’s a diverse mix of shows right there. Are they looking for something new, something powerful…I don’t even know.

Comedy Series

“30 Rock” (NBC”)
“The Daily Show” (Comedy Central”)
“Entourage” (HBO”)
“The Office” (NBC”)
“Ugly Betty” (ABC”)

This category is just unfair, TCA. The Office against The Daily Show? Throw 30 Rock into the mix and you’ve got an impossible decision to make. I really have no idea how I’d decide on this one, and I for one support separate variety categories just to keep this conundrum from taking place.

Drama Series

“Friday Night Lights” (NBC”)
“Heroes” (NBC”)
“Lost” (ABC”)
“The Sopranos” (HBO”)
“The Wire” (HBO”)

We don’t know how much this will coincide with Emmy’s list, but I feel for certain that three of these shows will be named on July 19th. The Wire is one of those shows that has never garnered Emmy attention due to its lack of Network coverage, and without star power or pedigree it might have trouble breaking through at the Emmys. However, the amount of critical attention given to the series might make it something to catch up on this summer.

New Program

“30 Rock” (NBC”)
“Dexter” (Showtime”)
“Friday Night Lights” (NBC”)
“Heroes” (NBC”)
“Ugly Betty” (ABC”)

Umm, TCA? Are you following my viewing habits or something? I doubt they are, but these five shows are likely to make it onto my respective Drama/Comedy Emmy FYCs in July, and are probably my top 5 new shows of the season. I’m especially happy to see Dexter getting some love, it is most deserved.

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June 5, 2007 · 5:05 pm

Report: ‘Jericho’ to Return for 7-8 Episodes at Midseason

Leave it to Michael Ausiello to break some news about the possibility, a good possibility, of Jericho receiving a 7-8 episode order at midseason. TV Guide Online reports the following:

Multiple sources are telling me that CBS is this close to sealing a deal to bring Jericho back for at least eight episodes, possibly at mid-season.

My spies caution that this is in no way official, but it certainly sounds like it could be by day’s end. It’s now just a matter of signing the actors to new deals and, according to one insider, finding a new soundstage to house the show’s sets.

To say this would be a huge victory for crazy TV fans everywhere would be the understatement of the frakkin’ millennium.

Now, let’s consider this for just a second. Personally, I think this is a fantastic win for the movement, a powerful statement of financial and programming commitment from a network willing to cast the show aside three weeks ago. And that, if anything, this moment could be a positive turning point for this movement from negative attacks to positive development. However, I’m not one of the Jericho rangers, and this is important. Why? Because, well…

It’s not what Jericho fans wanted.

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June 5, 2007 · 10:45 am

For Your Consideration: Supporting Actors – John C. McGinley and Zach Gilford

[In Week One of Cultural Learnings’ 59th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Preview, we’re looking at possible contenders for the Supporting Actor awards in both comedy and drama. Today, we present our fifth set of candidates. For all candidates, Click Here]

Supporting Actor in a Comedy

John C. McGinley (Dr. Cox)

Scrubs

John C. McGinley really never gets a fair shake when Emmy time rolls around. Dr. Cox, the character he portrays on NBC’s Scrubs, is hilariously funny through most of the episodes, but he is at his best when the series demands dramatic material from him. When Dr. Cox just a few seasons ago lost three cancer patients due to an infection that he missed, he sunk into a deep depression from which he was unable to escape. When his best friend and brother-in-law passed away, he went through an entire episode imagining him to be there, leading him through his life and making up for mistakes along the way. These episodes were touching, emotionally powerful…but not comic. And, as a result, he has struggled in this category. Well, this season lacked such a poignant moment for the character, but I still believe that he is an unsung hero that should be considered for an Emmy nomination.

What Dr. Cox does so well is to basically serve as the sarcastic doctor, a mentor who has not yet become so jaded as to refuse to mentor others, and as someone who is always there to call J.D. girl’s names and let his opinion be known. I’ve written in the past about how I feel Scrubs hasn’t aged well (If I haven’t, I’ll have to do so when the show premieres in September), but I think that McGinley has magically overcome this problem. While other characters seem to spin in circles, McGinley seems to be able to navigate a fairly interesting path for his character even though his brand of humour can often be the most stereotypical.

That sense of humour, however, remains fresh. His long-winded rants about J.D. and others’ incompetence, his refusal to become part of the personal lives of the doctors around him, and his general sarcasm all make him funny and entertaining, while he remains able to humanize himself through his own life with two kids, an ex-wife who he hates and loves at the same time, and an inner heart of gold. McGinley never seems to get lost in the character, or lost in the other characters’ inability to mature over six seasons. McGinley, as the most consistent character in the show’s ensemble, deserves to be recognized more than its lead, who often sits back and watches as McGinley berates him with aplomb. And that, my friends, is why John C. McGinley deserves serious Emmy attention for his comic performance.

Episode Selection: “My House” (Airdate: January 4th, 2007)

Now, I don’t know if I would have selected this episode myself (It is somewhat lacking in some of Dr. Cox’s best qualities), but the premise behind the episode is one that could affect Emmy voters. Faced with two medical mysteries (Four if you count Carla and Eliot’s problems), Dr. Cox becomes the NBC equivalent of House. This quasi-crossover appeal should engage voters, and there are some strong moments for the character, but I think that the episode is just a bit too dull. Hugh Laurie’s performance of House is brilliantly comic within a dramatic setting. Here, McGinley is understated in a show that values absurdist comedy (Too often, to be honest). As a result, I think it won’t gain traction as a comic performance…but stranger things have happened. Via YouTube, here is his final diagnostic, House style.

YouTube – “My House”

Supporting Actor in a Drama

Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen)

Friday Night Lights

When I wrote a review of the Friday Night Lights pilot, I classified Matt Saracen as something akin to a contrived cliché in character form. Backup quarterback, never played a game in his life, throws footballs through a tire, takes care of his ailing grandmother, and in a moment of tragedy he is forced to step up and put the weight of an entire town on his shoulders. Within the context of the pilot, it was certainly a cliché series of events. However, what I did not realize at the time was that the show was also asking for a lot of weight to be placed on Zach Gilford’s shoulders, and much as his character led the Dillon Panthers to State so too did Gilford take this character and portray him as a real teenager, with real anxiety, and with real heart. And even in his understated fashion, without a single breakout scene to blow Emmy voters away, this young actor absolutely deserves to be considered this award season.

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June 4, 2007 · 2:47 pm

Network Upfronts Canadian Edition: CTV Finalizes Fall Lineup

With little aplomb, CTV has announced its finalized Fall schedule today [American Perspective, Canadian Perspective], and it’s one that continues its recent trend: continue raking in the ratings with established American hits while introducing Canadian content as an attempt to seem devoted to Canadian content. And, well, there’s a reason CTV is Canada’s #1 Network. And a reason why Canadian content isn’t really part of that success.

Their fall schedule basically confirms this status, building on their existing American distribution success by adding a series of new Dramas and a single new comedy.

New Shows for the 2007-2008 Season

Private Practice

Why CTV Picked it up: They have Grey’s, this was a logical extension.

Dirty Sexy Money

Why CTV Picked it up: It has Canadian cultural icon Donald Sutherland, and CTV will jump at any chance (See: Commander in Chief) to stake a claim on the family since Global has Kiefer and 24.

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June 4, 2007 · 12:38 pm

Cultural News Bytes (June 4th) – On the Lot Format Shift, Spurned Pilots Find New Life

‘On The Lot’ Cuts Back

If you turn on FOX tonight looking for a new one-hour installment of ‘On the Lot’, you’ll be disappointed. Thanks to extremely poor ratings, the series will be cut back to a single hour-long segment each week to air at 8pm on Tuesdays. Reruns of House, FOX’s only real rerunnable series, will air on Mondays for the foreseeable future ahead of returning reality series ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ (Debuting tonight at 9pm).

There is no official word on how Burnett and Co. are going to turn a results show into both a presentation and a result show, but magically it will happen. Personally, I think they should ditch the audience vote altogether and have the judges make the decisions based on screenings of the films. It would make a hell of a lot more sense, and get a lot better filmmakers in the process. We’ll find out tomorrow night, regardless, when ‘On the Lot’ returns to see if it can make a go of it.

ABC, FOX Pilots Find New Life

While Upfront season is long over, it appears that, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the drama is just beginning for two high-profile pilots from the creative teams behind two cult-favourites: Arrested Development’s Mitch Hurwitz and Battlestar Galactica’s David Eick.

Hurwitz is behind “The Thick of It”, a pilot about a congressman dealing with his new surroundings that is based on a British sitcom. The pilot found no traction at ABC, who went with Cavemen instead (Ugh), but it is apparently seeing life in both fans of Hurwitz’ work and fans of British comedy adaptations. Showtime, fans of Hurwitz ever since they attempted to acquire Arrested Development for a 4th season, want to work with him and even bid on the pilot before ABC nabbed it. NBC, meanwhile, is in the running since new boss Ben Silverman was responsible for The Office (US) and is therefore seeing a strong future for a similar adaptation. HBO is apparently also considering it.

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June 4, 2007 · 11:00 am

For Your Consideration: Supporting Actors – Rainn Wilson and Jack Coleman

[In Week One of Cultural Learnings’ 59th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Preview, we’re looking at possible contenders for the Supporting Actor awards in both comedy and drama. Today, we present our fourth set of candidates. For all candidates, Click Here]

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Rainn Wilson (Dwight)

The Office

While sentimental types might support John Krasinki’s Jim, it is Rainn Wilson’s Dwight that remains, and will always remain, the show’s supporting comic center. Jim’s pranks may initiate the laughs, but it is always Dwight reaction that gives me the most enjoyment. The fact that Rainn Wilson wasn’t nominated last year despite the utterly fantastic work in “Dwight’s Speech” is outrageous, and therefore it is only fitting that he be given a shot at an Emmy this year.

Without Dwight, The Office would not function the way it currently does. Michael would be infinitely less funny if he didn’t have someone hanging off of his every word. Jim would be a juvenile prankster if Dwight’s reactions weren’t so funny that we forget about the idiocy of it all. And, in those moments where Dwight is asked to step up to the plate and be his own starring character, he knocks them out of the park. His relationship with Angela has always been played subtlely, and it is often one of the show’s best qualities.

Rainn Wilson always brings a quality to the character that makes him more likable than he really should be; while there is no question Dwight is a decent guy at his core, Wilson always ensures that we see that just enough to make it work. Whether he’s trying to capture a bat, trying to take over the Office, or actually succeeding in doing so, Dwight is always played with just the right amount of nerdiness, naivety, and gusto. A scene-stealer in every possible way, Rainn Wilson deserves credit for bringing Dwight to the screen each week with an Emmy Nomination.

Episode Selection: “The Job” (Airdate: May 17th, 2007)

Currently, Wilson’s episode entry is the early-season episode “The Coup,” nominated for a Writer’s Guild Award. While a decent episode, and featuring some solid Dwight comedy, it doesn’t work as well for me as the recent season finale as the highlight of Dwight’s absurdity and humanity. “The Job” features Dwight finally having his dream come true: Michael appoints him boss, and he gets to run The Office his own way. Even though I have some problems with the way the season finale played out, Dwight’s part in it was indicative of some of the character’s best qualities, and Rainn Wilson knocked it out of the park. While individual Dwight moments certainly resonate more than any single episode, this one certainly brought a lot to the table for the character comedically. The Coup certainly has more of a character arc, but the hour-long finale has more overall moments for voters to remember.

YouTube – “The Job”

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama

Jack Coleman (Mr. Bennet)

Heroes

Although the academy will not be handing out awards based on an entire season’s work, the journey of Jack Coleman over the span of this past year has been one of the most intriguing in all of television. Introduced as a shadowy villain without a name, Noah Bennet quickly became a conflicted father, a reluctant conspirator and, eventually, a hero in his own right. When we finally learned his first name in the show’s season finale, one felt that a real arc had been created: this person who we barely knew but 22 episodes ago was now perhaps the character we knew the best. And it is Jack Coleman’s portrayal of this character that makes him deserving of Emmy Award recognition.

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June 3, 2007 · 11:11 pm

Reviewing the Finales: Entourage – “Adios Amigos”

It’s kind of hard to get excited about this, the 3rd Season Finale of HBO’s Entourage. No, it’s not really the quality of the show, it’s been fairly decent heading into it. No, the problem is that in just two weeks the show’s 4th Season begins. That’s right: only next week will be Entourage-free. As a result, one can’t help but feel that any cliffhangers will be somewhat less suspenseful knowing that in only two weeks we’ll get our conclusion. And, smartly, the episode didn’t end on a cliffhanger at all. Sure, there are multiple story threads sitting around waiting to be picked up that could cause some trouble, but they’re all left at that stage. With a Spanish-language version of “Hotel California” playing us out, we’re left wondering about the future of Medellín, about the future of Johnny’s series (and his finances) and in general the future of this entourage. And, well, I’m kind of happy that we’ll find out in just two weeks.

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June 3, 2007 · 11:02 am

For Your Consideration: Supporting Actors – Jack McBrayer and Dominic Monaghan

[In Week One of Cultural Learnings’ 59th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations Preview, we’re looking at possible contenders for the Supporting Actor awards in both comedy and drama. Today, we present our third set of candidates. For all candidates, Click Here]

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Jack McBrayer (Kenneth the Page)

30 Rock

Kenneth the Page is perhaps one of the simplest characters in all of television. A lowly NBC page for the cast of the fictional The Girlie Show, Kenneth believes in the power of television and little else. We see glimpses of him talking to his skeletal mother, we see moments of absolute naivety, and on occasion his innocence can seem quite exaggerated. And yet, what we originally believed was cluelessness was actually just a different perspective, simple without being stupid. Kenneth believes in the magic of television, and I, as a result of Jack McBrayer’s performance, believe right along with him.

What McBrayer brings to the role is just the right balance of simple and smart, which is such a hard thing to balance. When Kenneth becomes a poker all-star, Jack spends days trying to figure out his tell. However, the point is that Kenneth has no tell. He is capable of looking and acting entirely smart, even when he’s really clueless. However, on the other hand, he is often able to be entirely smart even when he seems simple on the outside.

And it is that innocence that makes McBrayer’s performance so difficult: in the hands of the writers, McBrayer needs to walk the fine line between stupid and naïve every single episode. And yet he always achieves: while certain episodes are worse than others, Kenneth always is as endearing as he could possibly be, and completely funny when required. For being able to strike that balance and create a scene-stealing supporting character, Jack McBrayer is worthy of an Emmy Nomination.

Episode Selection: The Head and the Hair (Airdate: January 18th, 2007)

While the episode’s title refers to a storyline unrelated to Kenneth, and there are technically three stories at play within this episode, Kenneth has by far his finest moments within it. The reason is that he gets copious amounts of screentime with Alec Baldwin, who as per tradition is taking over Kenneth’s job for the day. We get to see Kenneth’s dirty work, the things he has to put up with on a regular basis, plus Kenneth gives multiple impassioned speeches about television. And then, at the end of the episode, he sells his game show idea to NBC executives. While Kenneth plays a major role in other episodes, here his story arc is touching, complete, and funny in a way that is deserving of Emmy Attention.

YouTube – “The Head and the Hair”

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama

Dominic Monaghan (Charlie Pace)

Lost

I would not be putting Dominic on this list three weeks ago, which I guess is somewhat contradictory. Charlie has been absent from key storylines for a very long time this year, and I was amongst many who was happy to see that he was fated to die according to Desmond’s flashes. And yet, perhaps spurned on by his imminent departure from the show, Charlie began to become likable again. No longer saddled with nothing of consequence, Dominic delivered a performance towards the end of the season that almost made Charlie likable before finally nailing it by season’s end. And that delivery, making me actually care about his fate, is enough for me to deem him worthy of a potential Emmy nomination.

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June 2, 2007 · 10:09 pm

‘Save Jericho’: Why the Emmy Awards Could Be a Turning Point

Over the past few days, and over the next month and a half, Cultural Learnings will be spending some time letting it be known which actors, actresses and series deserve the attention of Emmy Voters as they prepare to make their decisions for the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards to be held in September (You can find the first two installments in Supporting Actors Here and Here). An Emmy nomination is often a way for a series to gain credibility, and for a network to gain a certain level of prestige with that particular program. As a result, each studio sends out a deluge of “For Your Consideration” materials for the performers and series that they want to consider giving awards attention to. And, despite canceling the show, CBS is doing so for Jericho.

TheGreenCampaign.com – CBS Emmy Nominations

The above website presents full episodes from each show that CBS is entering for consideration, and amongst them is Jericho. With fans rallying behind the show, its mindshare is perhaps at its greatest level yet; whether this translates to more voters, however, we can’t say for sure. However, I would suggest that the ‘Save Jericho’ movement has a real opportunity here. With the Emmy Awards comes a lot of press, and a lot of opportunities to prove CBS wrong. Sure, the Emmys are as much of a sham as the Nielsen ratings, but they’re still a prime opportunity for fans of the series to show CBS that they made a terrible error. If, on July 19th, someone from Jericho makes it onto the Emmy nominations list, it will either show CBS they made a mistake, or perhaps even reaffirm their decision to renew the show.

So, my suggestion is that the ‘Nuts for Jericho’ campaign come together in an attempt to build support for the series and its stars on the internet. There are multiple ways this can be achieved:

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