Doyle: Angel’s quotable demon
All-in-all, Angel was a good series, even though it kept reinventing itself each season. The set changes (Angel’s original digs, the hotel, Wolfram and Hart), the cast changes, and the character changes (Fred to Ilyria) threw off my equilibrium, sometimes leaving me longing for the security of the previous season.
One of the hardest changes for me to take was the death of Doyle, who added so much heart and humor to season one. Even sadder was that the actor who played Doyle, Glenn Quinn, went on to die a tragic death in 2002.
Although I am still wondering why “The Powers That Be” of Angel decided to eliminate Doyle’s character (yeah, yeah, so Cordelia could have his visions), I can still celebrate him. Like Buffy’s Oz, he was extremely quotable.
How about that creepy episode (’I Fall to Pieces’) where the neurosurgeon could detach pieces of his body to stalk women? Doyle’s take on that was priceless: “Not a lot of things make me shudder. But this guy? Crawling around under the covers? At least it was just his hands down there…. I wish I hadn’t even thought that.”
Revisit some of Doyle’s greatest quotes. Did your favorite make the list?
Review: Rescue Me comedy short
Anna wrote about this a few weeks ago, and for whatever reason, I only got around to watching it this morning. I guess I didn’t realize that it was a fifteen minute mini episode. I just thought it was one of those cheesy three minute trailers that are rarely worth watching. Well this was certainly worth checking out because not only is it laugh out loud funny, but it also highlights the great ensemble cast Rescue Me has. These guys mesh well together.
The setup for Rescue Me 2.5 is pretty straightforward. The crew kicked some ass at a recent fire and they’re going to be honored for meritorious bravery by the mayor in the morning. They even made the front page of the New York Post. The humor starts right there though. Because he didn’t want to squat in front for the photo, Garrity stood to the side and only his left ear made the photo.
So that evening, these “brave” men get spooked when something that The Probie describes as a bear… or maybe a jackal? Coyote? Large cat? Who knows. It’s roaming around the firehouse and no one wants to go near it.
The writing and set-up is what really made this so funny though. Simple things like Probie stabbing Sean in the cheek with a fork are worth chuckling over but it’s the jokes set up in the first thirty seconds that are really worth talking about. Specifically, Sean mentioning that his family is a family of pukers. If one person starts upchucking, others follow suit. To help deal with his nervousness regarding the beast in the house, Lou starts eating some month old cake. Later on, after the whole ordeal is over, the rotten food makes Lou heave a little. Sean was next to him when it happened so you can guess what took place next. Stuff like that was incredibly well written and laid out.
The highlight scene for me was when Lou and Tommy got themselves locked in a closet. Lou admits that he’s afraid of the dark and wants the light on. But Tommy wants it off because he’s claustrophobic. C’mon now, that is hilarious. Whoever hatched that bit needs a pat on the back. Regardless, it seems like these six firefighters aren’t as brave as the FDNY and the city of New York would like to think.
So if you’re looking for something to tide you over until next week’s season three premiere (Tuesday May 30 at 10), this certainly fits the bill. Other shows really need to make shorts like this. It goes a long way to rewarding longtime fans and helping to foster new ones. Plus it makes the cast seem a lot more human because there’s no way they didn’t have a great time putting this together.
I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single From Portland to Portland: Episode One (series premiere)
The good thing about this new series is that you know in the first two minutes whether or not you are the audience the show is looking for. All you have to do is ask yourself, “Am I interested in seeing a man forced to go down on a dildo being worn by a dominatrix?” If the answer is yes, keep reading.
The premise of the show is quite simple. Eric Schaeffer wrote a book about being single and trying to find love. When he went on his book tour he decided to make stops along the way, talk to different people about love and relationships and film it all for this documentary.
In case you’ve never heard of Schaeffer, he’s a fairly successful writer and actor. His most recent project was the FX show Starved, which ran for one season. My favorite of his body of work is a short-lived sitcom he starred on with Jeffrey Tambor called Everything’s Relative.
The show is rife with too much information. I’m sure Schaeffer finds a lot of humor in his stories about masturbation and being anally violated but for me it’s sort of like having a friend who you’ve known for a short while tell you something personal you never wanted to know, like he enjoys being anally violated.
Right after Eric arrives in Los Angeles he calls Amy, a girl he met online, so they can get together and have dinner. Amy is one of the few women that Eric thinks he could have a relationship with. When we get to see her in person, it’s clear that she isn’t very comfortable on camera. Personally, I can’t blame her. If you’ve ever seen Schaeffer act, you know that he generally plays an obsessive, self- involved chatterbox and his behavior in this documentary is basically the same. Maybe he’s playing it up for the camera but it seems to me that if he is really looking for a relationship then this experiment is not the way to go about it.
At the halfway point in the first episode, I have already had enough of Eric. Maybe it’s because I am a single guy myself and I have a lot less at my disposal to help me snare a lady, but his compulsive, self-destructive routine doesn’t really impress me.
Not to cast aspersions but I also have my doubts about the “reality” of the show. While it’s clearly unscripted, it seems that many scenes are planned out in order to demonstrate Eric’s food addiction or his fear of aging. Like most of you, I can spot that kind of stuff a mile away.
Another annoying part of the show are the multiple interviews Eric has with his longtime dominatrix. I suppose if I had an interest in S&M, I might like hearing her talk about their activities but while I enjoy many colors of the sexual rainbow, that particular shade doesn’t appeal to me, Moreover, I don’t have much interest in the sexual habits of a guy as desperate as Eric Schaeffer, therefore those conversations are of no value to me.
When all is said and done, it turns out that Eric and Amy decided not to continue dating because “there wasn’t much chemistry.” This ending is the final proof that Schaeffer is destined to be alone because if he can’t find some kind of connection with a woman as beautiful as Amy there’s clearly something wrong with him.
Justin Jockeys for More Well-Endowed Roles
Justin Timberlake may be new to the acting game, but he’s already making huge, diva-like demands. See, he plays Jacques “Le Coq” Grande in The Love Gurua hockey player with a large, ahem, stickand now he tells News he’s only interested in playing well-hung dudes from now on.
“Yeah, that will be a requirement,” Timberlake tells us, at the Guru press day. “Maybe it’s a she, and she still has a large penis. And it’ll still be a requirement.”
Wait, is he joking? Here’s the thing…
Pretty sure he is, but then Justin’s been working long and hard on this new career plan ever since the “D–k in a Box” skit on Saturday Night Live.
“It always has been a dream of mine,” he says about having such a large costar. “And I’m happy I was able to meet the mark.”
Love Guru writer and star Mike Myers thought of J.T. for the Le Coq role after seeing his SNL performance. Makes sense, right?
“I’m starting to realize,” Timberlake says, “that I’m digging myself a nice big hole of penile humor.”
Sure, but how long can he keep it up?