The Couch Potato Report - May 21st, 2005
This week The Couch Potato Report features television shows, movies, puppets and white noise.
When I am not working, spending time with friends, at the movies, golfing, skating, exercising, or doing something else, I can usually be found watching TV.
I like watching TV and one of my current favourites is SCRUBS.
SCRUBS is a comedy about a group of young doctors who are trying to live their lives, and adjust to the demands of working at a busy hospital.
J.D. is the idealistic one who also narrates the show, Turk is the surgical intern and Elliot is their very talented, yet neurotic friend.
Rounding out the cast is Karla, the knowledgeable, sarcastic nurse; the tough and demanding Dr. Cox; the pompous, condescending Dr. Kelso; and the janitor.
He is a great secondary character who delights in tormenting the idealistic J.D.
Every member of SCRUBS’ cast is superb and the show has a goofy sense of humour and lots of snappy dialogue and visual jokes.
And now, much to the delight of my friends and I, SCRUBS – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is now available in a three-DVD box set.
In a day and age when lesser quality shows get more press and better ratings, this box set is a great chance to catch up on what you’ve been missing.
Or if you love the show as much as everyone I know does, then you can enjoy it as much as we do!
The characters on SCRUBS are all well developed and the situations are both hilarious and touching, often at the same time.
SCRUBS is my current favourite show on TV not called THE SIMPSONS, and if you have been complaining that the latter show hasn’t made you laugh for years, then I suggest you spend some time with J.D., Turk, Elliot, Karla, Dr. Cox, Dr. Kelso and The Janitor.
They, and their show, are quirky, hilarious, and smart.
Yes, SCRUBS is my current favourite TV series. From 1990 to 1998 my favourite TV show was SEINFELD.
SEINFELD’s 1992-1993 series is still the best season that any TV show has ever had. During that year the show was simply the best thing on television, and that includes THE SIMPSONS!
That one season gave us all of these classic, often quoted episodes:
“The Bubble Boy” where George plays a game of Trivial Pursuit with the bubble boy and they get into a fight; “The Contest” between George, Jerry, Kramer and Elaine all betting to see who can go the longest without doing...that; “The Pick” where Jerry's girlfriend thinks she caught him picking her nose; “The Outing”… ‘not that there is anything wrong with that’; “The Implant” features Jerry dumping his girlfriend when Elaine tells him that her breasts are fake and the classic ‘double-dip’ line and then there is “The Junior Mint” where Jerry can't remember the name of his girlfriend, only that it rhymes with the word for a female body part.
This season really had it all!
And now, all of it is available on the four-disc DVD box set SEINFELD – SEASON FOUR.
The writing was unparalleled and Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards were all at the top of their game. There just isn’t a bad episode in the entire box set.
SEINFELD – SEASON FOUR was brilliant in 1992-1993 and in 2005 it still is!
Since it’s debut in 1997, many people have also called the TV show SOUTH PARK brilliant. It is not quite as brilliant as SEINFELD, but it also remains funny to this day.
Now the creators of SOUTH PARK have given us the hilarious puppet film TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE. Yes, for the record, I said “hilarious puppet film.”
In fact, even the film’s rating contains a reference to the fact that the film features puppets. The film is rated “R - for graphic, crude and sexual humor, violent images and strong language; all involving puppets.”
If the fact that TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE features puppets, and the fact that it is from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of SOUTH PARK, interests you, then you should see this parody of big budget Hollywood action blockbusters.
If it doesn’t, then stay away from it, trust me, you won’t find it hilarious, witty, clever or interesting. And, with all due respect to your intelligence, you certainly won’t get the fact that it is a parody.
You will think it is dumb, stupid, sophomoric and a waste of your time.
As for me, I thought it was disgustingly hilarious! Yes, it was moronic and even though it appealed to my most infantile and immature side, I still liked it. I like SOUTH PARK and I liked TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE.
As I said a moment ago, it is a “hilarious puppet film.”
If that sort of thing doesn’t appeal to you, then allow me to suggest the Academy Award nominated film KINSEY instead.
KINSEY is the cinematic telling of the flawed but honorable man who revolutionized our understanding of human sexuality. Liam Neeson plays Indiana University researcher Alfred Kinsey, and the always superb Laura Linney is his understanding and supportive wife.
She was justifiably nominated for Best Supporting Actress at February’s Academy Awards for her work in this picture.
KINSEY has humour, charm, and intelligence. I enjoyed seeing it, and finding out more about the man who was Alfred Kinsey.
The movie isn’t perfect, and the film doesn’t have a great deal of narrative tension, but it is well written and acted.
In this instance, that is enough for me.
Plus, you will usually hear me recommend any movie that Laura Linney is in. She is one of the best actresses of this generation!
You will also usually hear me recommend any movie that Michael Keaton is in, well, a few years ago you would have anyway.
Between 1982 and 1989 Keaton starred in the superb NIGHT SHIFT, MR. MOM, GUNG HO, BEATLE JUICE, THE DREAM TEAM, BATMAN and PACIFIC HEIGHTS.
Since then, he appeared in the good, but not great MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, THE PAPER, SPEECHLESS, MULTIPLICITY, JACKIE BROWN and OUT OF SIGHT.
Yes, along the way, he has had his share of bad movies as well, but his good ones were – and are – just so good that the bad ones can be forgiven and forgotten.
In recent years, Keaton has been doing less and less film work, so earlier this year when it was announced that he was returning to theatres in WHITE NOISE, I was hoping he was coming back to comedies.
Sadly, WHITE NOISE isn’t a comedy, but it was still good to see Keaton’s energy on screen again!
In WHITE NOISE he is a man who tries to contact his dead wife through images and voices that are recordable on a variety of electronic media such as VCRs and computers.
In real life, according to paranormal researchers, this is actually possible.
In real life it might be possible, but what happens in WHITE NOISE seems possible, but not plausible.
However, even with its plot holes, WHITE NOISE has enough spooky moments and scenes to make it worth your time... if you are a fan of supernatural thrillers.
If not, you probably won't care for it at all.
As for me, I found it just such a treat to see Michael Keaton in a film again that I liked WHITE NOISE.
You won’t proclaim WHITE NOISE to be an all time classic, but you will probably enjoy it.
I did!
I also enjoyed KINSEY, TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, SEINFELD – THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON and SCRUBS – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON and they are all available now.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT is the story of eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes. Leonardo DiCaprio stars and Martin Scorsese directs the Academy Award nominated THE AVIATOR.
Coming up in two weeks, the classic 80s TV series MOONLIGHTING debuts on DVD with a six-disc box set that includes Seasons 1 and 2!
I’m Dan Reynish and I will have more on THE AVIATOR, and some other releases in seven days and MOONLIGHTING in fourteen days.
For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!
CBS Cancels 'Judging Amy,' 'Arcadia'
NEW YORK - CBS on Wednesday canceled "Judging Amy," "Joan of Arcadia" and the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes" as the nation's most popular network tries to attract younger viewers.
The network will add two new comedies and four new dramas next season, including a series in which Jennifer Love Hewitt talks to dead people.
"Two and a Half Men," the highest-rated situation comedy left on broadcast television, will move into the 9 p.m. Monday slot vacated by "Everybody Loves Raymond," which drew a series-high 33 million viewers to its finale this week.
CBS is again the most-watched network and this season will narrowly miss beating Fox among the youthful 18-to-49-year-old demographic prized by advertisers. If Fox hadn't aired the Super Bowl this season, CBS said, it would have won.
Four of the five prime-time CBS programs with the oldest audience were removed from the schedule. CBS also canceled the Jason Alexander comedy "Listen Up" and the long-running military drama "JAG" stopped production. The Sunday "60 Minutes" remains as the CBS show with the oldest audience.
"We want to win it all," said Leslie Moonves, CBS chairman.
The Wednesday spinoff to "60 Minutes" was doomed by low ratings, not its controversial story last fall about President Bush's military service, Moonves said. With "48 Hours Mysteries" on Saturday, CBS has two remaining newsmagazines.
The failure of "Joan of Arcadia," which received an Emmy nomination and critical acclaim in its first season but faded this year, was one of his biggest disappointments, Moonves said.
CBS is trying two supernatural stories on Friday nights. "Threshold" features a team of experts called in when the Navy discovers aliens have landed in the Atlantic Ocean. Hewitt's "Ghost Whisperer," reminiscent of NBC's "Medium," is about a woman who conveys messages from dead people to the living.
"I think talking to ghosts may skew younger than talking to God," Moonves said.
With its crime dramas continuing to work well, CBS will add "Criminal Minds," a thriller about FBI profilers who try to stop criminals, and "Close to Home," with Jennifer Finnigan (NBC's "Committed) starring as a suburban prosecutor.
"King of Queens" returns to CBS's Monday comedy lineup, joined by two new shows: "How I Met Your Mother," a "Friends"-like romantic story created by two of David Letterman's former writers; and "Out of Practice," about a dysfunctional family of doctors, created by the team behind "Frasier."
CBS made no changes to its enormously successful Thursday lineup, where "Survivor" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" reign supreme.
'The Riddler' Frank Gorshin Dies at 72
BURBANK, Calif. - Frank Gorshin, the impressionist with 100 faces best known for his Emmy-nominated role as the Riddler on the "Batman" TV series, has died. He was 72.
Gorshin's wife of 48 years, Christina, was at his side when he died Tuesday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, his agent and longtime friend, Fred Wostbrock, said Wednesday.
"He put up a valiant fight with lung cancer, emphysema and pneumonia," Mrs. Gorshin said in a statement.
Despite dozens of TV and movie credits, Gorshin will be forever remembered for his role as the Riddler, Adam West's villainous foil in the question mark-pocked green suit and bowler hat on "Batman" from 1966 to '69.
"It really was a catalyst for me," Gorshin recalled in a 2002 Associated Press interview. "I was nobody. I had done some guest shots here and there. But after I did that, I became a headliner in Vegas, so I can't put it down."
West said the death of his longtime friend was a big loss.
"Frank will be missed," West said in a statement. "He was a friend and fascinating character."
Gorshin earned another Emmy nomination for one for a guest shot on "Star Trek," a 1969 episode called "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield."
In 2002, Gorshin portrayed George Burns on Broadway in the one-man show "Say Goodnight Gracie." He used only a little makeup and no prosthetics.
"I don't know how to explain it. It just comes," he said. "I wish I could say, `This is step A, B and C.' But I can't do that. I do it, you know. The ironic thing is I've done impressions all my life — I never did George Burns."
Gorshin's final performance will be broadcast on Thursday's CBS series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
Born in Pittsburgh, Gorshin broke into show business in New York. He did more than 40 impressions, including Al Jolson, Kirk Douglas, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin and James Cagney.
Later, he took his impressions to "The Ed Sullivan Show" on a memorable evening — the same night the Beatles were featured. He did impressions in Las Vegas showrooms, opening for Darin and paving the way for other impressionists like Rich Little.
Sammy Davis Jr. said it was Gorshin who taught him to do impressions, Wostbrock said.
"He said you had to look like them and walk like them. Once you get that down, the voice comes easy," he said.
Gorshin's movie roles included "Bells are Ringing" (1960) with his idol Dean Martin and a batch of fun B-movies such as "Hot Rod Girl" (1956), "Dragstrip Girl" (1957) and "Invasion of the Saucer Men" (1957).
"He was fun, fascinating, wild and always a class act," Wostbrock said. "Here's a guy who always wore great clothes, stood up when a woman walked into the room — he was a gentleman. We did all our deals with a handshake. There was never a signed contract."
His other TV credits included roles on "General Hospital, "The Edge of Night" and "The Munsters" as well as guest appearances on "Donny & Marie," "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Murder, She Wrote," "The Fall Guy," "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," "Wonder Woman," "Charlie's Angels" and "Police Woman."
Besides his wife, Gorshin leaves his son Mitchell Gorshin of Orlando, Fla., and sister Dottie Roland of Pittsburgh.
Wostbrock said the funeral would be private and Gorshin would be buried in the family plot in Pittsburgh.