On Tuesday night, Craig Ferguson delivered one of the most brilliant episodes of his five-year term at CBS's Late Late Show. The remarkably intimate show featured one long conversation between the host and British comedian-actor-author Stephen Fry and, for the first time in his run, no audience. Ferguson described the one-night change as a brave experiment in format, but now RadarOnline is reporting that the audience-less show was actually an experiment in cost-cutting.
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Today's edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show, advertised shamelessly as a look inside of Kirstie Alley's "Big, Big Life," was not really that. In contrast to the message conveyed in those promos -- "Kirstie Alley once wore a bikini for Oprah and now she's FAT again, join us on Thursday to talk about how FAT she is" -- a 75-pounds overweight Kirstie Alley was actually stopping by Harpo Studios to hawk her, ahem, new health food program.
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OK, so, let's be charitable here. THR has a law blog and, you know, I guess they have to write about law-related things. But a whole long article on whether CBS will sue Charlie Sheen for going to rehab? Here is when that will happen: The day Denise Richards reveals herself to be Jesus Christ in disguise. There's a whole lot in the article about morals clauses and the fact that Sheen may not return to taping as quickly as the network would like; sure, but if Two and a Half Men just scheduled reruns for the rest of the season, would anyone even realize? [THR]
With its steady employment of throaty-voiced actresses who look great in chunky highlights and stylish power blouses, the Law & Order franchise has attracted a devoted lesbian fanbase -- but does it always make good on that following? The mothership series once attempted to shoehorn a deliciously out-of-left-field, last-minute lesbian revelation when Elisabeth Röhm left the show. The results? Awkward. Now, NBC has released video of a same-sex smooch between Mariska Hargitay and guest star Kathy Griffin on an upcoming episode of Law & Order: SVU. The results? Even more awkward.
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Tracy Morgan may not be the hardest working actor in Hollywood, but he's definitely the hardest working actor in the critically ravaged movie Cop Out. Last night, the comedian pulled down another double-shift on the late night circuit, rapping with a be-grilled Jimmy Kimmel and then regaling the Daily Show audience with both a late night show and a strip joint pitch. Those moments, as well as the other highlights you missed last night while tinkering away on your beloved Duesenberg, after the jump.
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You'll recall that the women of American Idol's Top 24 fared poopily on Tuesday night. Well, the dudes did no better. Between the perilous falsettos and the stupid hair flips, the Top 12 gents managed to remain bearable for about a sixth of their 120-minute programming block. We dredged up three "top dawgs" and three "not-dawgs" for your voting consideration.
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The Hills were alive with groans this morning after learning that Audrina Patridge has recruited a new parasitic boyfriend for the show's sixth season. The latest jackpot winner is musician Ryan Cabrera, who is no stranger to playing the role of lame love interest in MTV's brand of reality -- he dated Ashlee Simpson during the filming of The Ashlee Simpson Show. Although Cabrera will be featured this season, his rep laments that he still has not signed a contract. [Us]
· This time the lucky actor-comedian is Jason Jones, who is (fun fact!) the husband of fellow Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee. Jones will star in ABC's comedy pilot How to Be a Better American, as a father who embarks on a journey to be a better person and drags his family along kicking and screaming. Last November, Comedy Central gave John Oliver his own show. [Reuters]
Someone (cough, Chris Harrison, cough) spreads a nasty rumor about a Rozlyn Papa sex tape, CBS inks a new deal with Les Moonves, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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With only five days left between us and Jay Leno's return to the Tonight Show, NBC dispatched a camera crew to the underground garage where they've been keeping their trusty host hostage. Over the course of the past two weeks, the American public has hopefully forgiven the Peacock (one sensationalized Olympic athlete narrative at a time), and it was time to reintroduce them to their Tonight Show host by way of viral video. Leno used his allotted 40 seconds wisely by pulling himself away from his beloved Duesenberg to halfheartedly riff about finding a new Tonight Show desk at Ikea, then answering the single question that has been plaguing America since we learned of his move.
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Whoever said the blues are dead, anyway? Judy Belushi Pisano, John Belushi's widow, has teamed up with Saturday Night Live writer Anne Beatts to write a six-to-eight episode television adaptation of the classic SNL sketch-turned-movie. The potential series would star Kieron Lafferty and Wayne Catania, who currently headline the touring Blues Brothers Review, and put the bluesmen on a "mission down the Mississippi back to New Orleans." Dan Aykroyd, who co-founded the band in the late '70s with John Belushi, has not commented. [NY Post]
American Idol needs to be like Project Runway. Simon Cowell needs to order the best and worst singers to stand in rows and justify their choices, like toddlers who've peed themselves behind the couch. He should reduce his criticisms to Klum-level quips like, "I just don't understand." Randy Jackson needs to tell contestants like Ashley Rodriguez that covering a Leona Lewis song is "tacky and ill-fitting," and guest-judges Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi must be replaced by Diane von Furstenberg and empty space. Most importantly: Every contestant requires a firm mentor with pearly hair, and fast. What a grim evening! I pick the night's top and bottom performances after the jump.
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While most of last night's hosts found new ways to cover the Winter Olympics (Stephen Colbert's fondue pong being the most innovative), Craig Ferguson used this last quiet week before the return of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno to try out a new format. Instead of puppets and choreographed music numbers, CBS's Scotsman relied on one guest for the entire hour, British comedian/author/actor Stephen Fry. And without a studio audience, last night's Late Late Show ended up being one of the most entertaining hours of television in recent memory, even if you had never heard of Fry. Click through for that entertaining segment, Stephen Colbert's foray in cheese, and the other highlights you missed last night.
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· Casey Wilson, the Saturday Night Live performer who was evicted from Studio 8H last September, continues to rebound on the small screen. In addition to joining the TV Land pilot Retired at 35, Wilson has scored a lead in Happy Endings, an ABC comedy pilot about a couple who struggles to maintain friendships after they break up at the altar. Wilson will play the pessimistic, single friend. Damon Wayans Jr. will play another of the friends. [THR]
Swoosie Kurtz joins Chuck Lorre's overeaters project, an ESPN personality offers unsolicited fashion advice, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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*Dear The View audience, Movieline feels that it is necessary to inform you that contrary to Sherri Shepherd and The Situation's statements on this morning's show, hot tub water does NOT "kill sperm" nor does the extreme temperature "take care of business." Just thought we should mention it considering that the other hosts, producers and network failed to correct them.
That being said, let's discuss the crazy sh*t that went down on The View today, including Whoopi Goldberg's Mad Hatter top hat, Elisabeth Hasselbeck's powerlessness against The Situation's date rapist-style pick-up lines and Joy Behar's uncanny ability to keep The Situation from removing his shirt.
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The eldest daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will make her acting debut this summer on ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Bristol, 19, will play herself in a third season episode in which she befriends Amy (Shailene Woodley) at a music camp for teen moms. "I am thrilled to be on this show and to be a part of a program that educates teens and young adults about he consequences of teen pregnancy," Bristol said. [THR]
