Comedy treat includes Raymond’s 22 funniest
Friday, March 14th, 2008
The folks who syndicate Everybody Loves Raymond surprised us this week with a rare TV comedy-fest. They’ve selected 22 of the show’s very best episodes to air between March 17-29, gems that I always love seeing again, like Raybert, The Cannister, Baggage, Marie’s Vision and She’s The One. Mirroring other classic series, Raymond hit its comic stride in Season 2 and produced consistently funny stories for nine years. Here’s an early blooper reel that highlights the close chemistry of the cast, not to mention their ability to ad-lib. Two other sitcoms that deserve attention are Everybody Hates Chris and Aliens in America, both of which are riding a lengthy wave of new episodes. Young Chris Rock (Tyler James Williams) “trains” for his first kiss Sunday night; while on Aliens, nerdy Justin is mortified to be starring opposite his mother in a stage production of Rent. Click here for one of their hilarious scenes. Both programs expertly recreate the fish-outta-water tone of The Wonder Years and, seriously, are as good as any network comedy on the air. Beginning next week, The Game will follow them with nine new episodes, trading timeslots with Girlfriends to anchor a fresh lineup thru May.
Posted in Aliens in America, Everybody Hates Chris, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Game | Comment Now 
The conclusion of a nearly four-month-long Hollywood writers strike has TV fans asking one question: What does this mean for my favorite shows? In most cases, the news couldn’t be better, according to trade sources Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, TV Guide, Mediaweek and E! Online. Let’s start with the dramas: Smallville has four new episodes finished (including tonight’s), and will now produce five more this season. Supernatural will air its remaining two new eps this month, and add another five or six for spring. One Tree Hill will stockpile six more hours to the six already completed. Reaper still has three new shows ready, with five or six more ordered—and you can expect the rookie dramedy to delve much deeper into the “deal” mythology when it returns. Breakout freshman hit Gossip Girl has aired everything produced, but will quickly resume work on up to a half-dozen more stories. Variety reports that the Upper East Siders may even get an early Season Two launch this summer, following the successful pattern of The O.C. Life is Wild has ceased production at this time. On the comedy front: The Game received a solid vote of confidence, with a pickup of eight or nine more episodes—to go with its four remaining new shows. Everybody Hates Chris (12) and Aliens in America (eight) have enough new laughs in the can, so they won’t produce any more for this season; and Girlfriends, currently the longest-running network comedy, will bid adieu after eight years with a likely one-hour retrospective now in discussion.
Gossip Girl is the first new fall series to receive a full-season pickup, and no one can be happier than Penn Badgley, who plays outcast from the “other side of the subway” Dan Humphrey. Fansites are going nuts for the underdog who’s stolen the heart of rich girl Serena, and many are surprised to learn this is the fourth WB/CW series Penn has starred in. After starting college at age 14, he was soon cast as the lead in Do Over—an excellent retro comedy that never caught on. Later, sporting wild and wavy long hair, Penn played key roles in two dramas, The Mountain and The Bedford Diaries. And now, with an emerging G.Q. look, he’s taking on high society, sometimes with his fists. Next Wednesday, Dan’s childhood flame, Vanessa (played by Jessica Szohr), re-enters his life to trouble the romantic waters. Penn is currently single, harbors a secret crush on Tina Fey, plays piano and guitar in his spare time, and will next be seen on the big-screen alongside Parma native Sean Faris in the rugby drama, Forever Strong.
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