What do you call your remote?
It’s one of the eternal questions in life: what do you call your remote?
Tim Dowling over at The Guardian has a story about all of the different names that TV viewers have for that little device that saves us from having to walk across the room and has probably contributed to the onslaught of ADD we have. All of the names we’ve all heard are on the list, such as “clicker” (my mom used to call it that), “flipper” (which was popular with Frank on Everybody Loves Raymond), “wand,” and “changer.” Of course, The Guardian is a British paper so you’re going to get some words that Americans really aren’t familiar with, such as “tellychanger,” “podger,” and “hoofer-doofer.” Most people I know just call it “the remote.” We should come up with a different name for it. “Binky” is good, but that’s already taken for pacifiers. How about “the glooptron?”
I call mine “Jessica.”
You can date Brad Garrett!
Ladies, your dreams have come true. It looks like you will have a chance to date television star Brad Garrett. He’s executive-producing and starring in an online dating reality show called, duh, Dating Brad Garrett.
Garrett is best known for his nine-year stint as Ray Romano’s brother in the popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. He is currently entering his third season as one of the stars of the Fox sitcom Til Death.
“An online dating show seemed like a logical choice given that I’m in the midst of a midlife crisis and averse to pain, which makes getting my ear pierced out of the question,” Garrett said. “And since I’m not picky about my choices, I hope women of all sizes, shapes and colors will be compelled to submit their videos.”
Women can submit videos to the Crackle.com site at Crackle.com/DateBrad. I wonder if he’ll be more popular than Tila Tequila?
Arrested Development: Pilot (series premiere) - VIDEO
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.
Some shows come out of the gate with such a power that you can’t help but stand up and take notice. For the far too few of us who happened to catch Arrested Development when it premiered, it quickly established that it was going to be something a little different than the other comedy fare on the television. The trend at the time was moving toward the single camera format, that’s almost become the norm for comedies nowadays (The Office, My Name is Earl, hell NBC’s entire Thursday night lineup).
There was a time when audiences were less receptive to this kind of television. It was funny, but minus a laugh track. So while shows like The King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond and even According to Jim had this comfortable format with the basic house set and laughter to cue us into the funny bits, AD was something a bit more challenging. Perhaps it was just a few years ahead of its time, or perhaps it was on the wrong network (FOX), or perhaps it was just too smart for its own good.
For this guy, it established itself immediately as something worth spending some time with. I’ve always loved shows that pushed the envelope of what was expected on television. That’s why I tend to avoid procedurals and “traditional” sitcoms. There’s only so much that can be done within those formulas, though I will admit there have been some great shows done in the multi-camera/studio audience format. But it’s been years now since we’ve had anything groundbreaking in that style. AD offered me something different in a comedy. It let me decide when it was funny. It was just filled with some of the most brilliant and gifted comedians in just fantastically quirky roles and it quickly established a premise that was just brimming with comic opportunity.
The pilot opened with the comforting voice of Ron Howard in third person narration. As each major character makes an appearance, we were treated with their name and affiliation with the greater Bluth clan. This episode set up the pivotal conflict that would shape the series to come, namely the loss of the family patriarch and the change from obscenely wealthy to … well, not so much. Also, the cold open did so much to establish the character’s personalities and main character Michael’s connection to all of them. Throughout, Michael is smiling and patient with his mother and each of his siblings because, as Ron Howard tells us, “he’s decided to never speak to these people again.”
But, of course, if that were to happen then what kind of show would we have had? The success of Arrested Development hinged entirely on the relationships within the extended Bluth family. Each came with their own problems, in many cases serious problems, and their own unique personality traits. What was so impressive about the pilot was that, in twenty-one short minutes, it set up all of this to perfection.
You knew who all of these people were, what motivated them and what drove them crazy. After the cold open, we backed things up to that morning so we could establish properly the conflicts between the various Bluths, and fully emphasize how strained Michael’s relationship had become with his entire family.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter) - The Matriarch
First line: “Look what they’ve done, Michael. Look what the homosexuals have done to me.”
There was a protest in a barge nearby, so specifically they’d done nothing to her. She then bitched that they just have to be so dramatic in everything they do and it frustrates her so much she wants to set herself on fire. In just a few lines the whole personality of Lucille was instantly established.
Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) - The Protagonist
First line (responding to Lucille’s opening line above): “Can’t you just comb it out and reset it.”
As the central focus of the series and the supposedly “sane” member of the family, Michael was supposed to only come across as centered, intelligent, logical and grounded. In most cases, he was the straight man in the Bluth insanity, a role which Bateman played to perfection.
Lindsay Bluth Funke (Portia de Rossi) - Michael’s Twin
First line: “Good grief, mother. They’re all homosexuals. They’re flamboy– Oh my god, I have the exact same blouse.”
Once again, in so few words, the shallowness that drives this character is established. Shortly thereafter we’re introduced via narration to the man she married as a “youthful act of defiance.” Like her mother, Lindsay craves attention and “acts out” in order to get it.
GOB (Will Arnett) - The Eldest Child
First line (in response to Michael asking about his magic trick): “Illusion, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money.”
This was said in front of a group of children, gathered around. GOB was a magician. Well, more specifically he was an arrogant buffoon parading around thinking he was a serious magician. You never knew what he would say or do next, making him the most predictably unpredictable of the clan.
Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) - The “Baby”
First line: He actually doesn’t say anything, but rather starts aggressively rubbing Michael’s shoulders.
It makes sense that this man-child is introduced in such a fashion. He’s certainly trying to be helpful, liked and appreciated, he just has no idea how to go about making those things happen. With a simplistic outlook on life, Buster is still very much in his domineering and controlling mother’s shadow.
George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera) - Michael’s Son
First line (in response to Michael asking him what is the most important thing): “Breakfast.”
The correct answer was “family.” Poor George Michael was established early on as a mixed-up kid trying to roll with the punches and please his father. He had no idea what it would take to do so, but just so he strove to be the best he could be. Then he met his cousin and inexplicably developed feelings for her, despite his noblest intentions to ignore them. George Michael was a good kid, played to perfection by Cera, who was confused as to what he wanted in life and what he thought his father wanted for him in life and why he wanted so to please his cousin.
Tobias Funke (David Cross) - Lindsay’s Husband
First line: “Michael! How are you!” (followed by a melodramatic embrace)
Tobias is Lindsey’s “act of defiance” husband, a psychiatrist who lost his license for giving a man CPR who wasn’t having a heart attack and decided to take up acting. He was like a man constantly lost, constantly trying to find himself and constantly making an idiot of himself in the process. In the episode, he winds up on the very boat Lucille was complaining about. Oblivious and impulsive, Tobias acts well before thinking in everything he does. And while he must be intelligent in there somewhere, it’s often hard to find where.
Maeby Funke (Alia Shawkat) - Lindsay’s Daughter
First line: “I bought a frozen banana and when I bit into it, I found this!” (indicating a ’foot’)
Michael didn’t know his cousin “Maeby.” Get the joke of her introduction. George Michael: “You’re my cousin, aren’t you?” She responds with her name, or did she say “Maybe.” And then she dropped her great idea of them kissing. At this point, she was just a snarky typical teenage girl, normal in every sense of the word.
George Bluth Sr (Jeffrey Tambor) - The Patriarch
First line: “I give you the new CEO of the Bluth Company. Certainly the smartest Bluth. And the sexiest creature I have ever laid eyes upon. My lovely wife Lucille. (then to Michael aside) Sorry, it’s not the right time.”
Jeffrey Tambor originally signed on just for the first episode with maybe some appearances here and there, but he was having such a great time in the role that he decided to make it permanent. It was imminently funny that George Sr. was so much happier and more comfortable in jail than he apparently was running his company.
FOUNDATION OF A SERIES
Once we met the family, we quickly learned that George Bluth Sr. had been defrauding his investors (trendy in the news through the past several years) while he and his family had been using company funds as a “personal piggy bank.” So while we got to see the fabulous wealth the family had been enjoying at the beginning, we then get to see them try to live with the corporate assets frozen. When George Sr. gave control of the company to his wife instead of the expectant Michael, it convinced Michael that he’d given enough time to a company that clearly didn’t love him. Later, he found out that the act was his father’s misguided (and downright wrong thinking) attempt to save him from jail.
What George Sr. may not have known putting Lucille in charge, was that she would have her man-child son Buster run things. Very quickly, the family realized that Michael was the only one with the sense to right the sinking ship of their lives, and so they had to stage an intervention to try and convince him to give them one more chance. It’s a perfect reflection of the shallowness they are mired in that it took such dire circumstances as looking at losing everything to convince them they needed him to help them, and even then they had no idea how to go about doing it.
And it wasn’t until he thought of his own son’s happiness at spending time with the family that he decided to stick around and see if he could save the family business … and maybe the family, too, while he was at it. And for three strong years, we got to see him try and do just that. Arrested Development wasn’t the first family comedy show like this that we’ve seen, but it was one of the best.
Don’t believe me, watch it for yourself:
Andre Braugher joins Ray Romano pilot
Back in April, Allison reported that Ray Romano was working on a pilot for TNT. Romano is playing the lead, and now Andre Braugher has been added to the cast of Men of a Certain Age. The series, a dramedy along the lines of Sideways, focuses on lives of three middle-aged friends. Braugher will play Owen, a car salesman and family man. Ray Romano and Mike Royce (Everybody Loves Raymond) are writing and producing the show together.
I’ve been an Andre Braugher fan since Homicide: Life on the Street, and I’m excited to see him get a promising role like this. Braugher is more of a dramatic actor, but he’s definitely capable of getting some laughs. No word yet on who’s playing the third friend. The character has been described as an aspiring actor.
Men of a Certain Age was originally created for HBO and found a home at TNT after HBO passed on it. This move might turn out to be a positive thing for the series. TNT has some solid, popular dramas, and Romano’s pilot would fit right in. If the show is less like a sitcom and more like the grown-up comedy I’m expecting, I’ll be sure to give it a chance.