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TV Tonight: Better Off Ted

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:30:59 -0700

New episodes of a network TV show that's not canceled airing in the Summer? How is that even possible? I don't know what was behind ABC's choice to air new episodes of Better Off Ted starting this week - but whatever it was, I'll take it!

Better Off Ted only aired a few episodes this Spring, but it was enough to make it qualify as one of my favorite shows of the 2008-09 season. If you haven't caught it yet, the show is a comedy set at a massive science corporation starring Jay Harrington as a manager trying to be a mostly good guy in a mostly evil company and Portia de Rossi as a buttoned-up boss with no such hang-ups about the company's morals. The fake ads aired during each episode are always a highlight for me, as are the supporting cast members, who get to do all kinds of quirky things (in tonight's episode, some turn out to be members of a basement-based medieval fight club).

Despite lackluster ratings, Better Off Ted got renewed for a second season, and it - along with Scrubs - will air at midseason between rounds of Dancing With the Stars. Airing episodes in the Summer is definitely unconventional, but I hope it'll give the show more exposure for when it returns next season. To check out a preview of the upcoming episodes, just read more.

TV Tonight: Better Off Ted's Finale

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:30:16 -0700

A few days back, when I asked which midseason shows you were still watching, there was an outpouring of love for Better Off Ted. The show has become a favorite of mine, too, and I hope that tonight's finale isn't the last we see of it.

"But doesn't Better Off Ted air on Wednesdays?" you might ask. Well, yes. But last week's presidential address forced ABC to move the show's finale to tonight - a move, you might have heard, that didn't exactly thrill the good folks at Veridian Dynamics. Airing your last episode on a night when most people won't be expecting to see it can't be easy for any show - much less one that's struggling in the ratings and remains borderline for a second season.

Despite the marginal ratings, though, Ted isn't necessarily a goner. It recently came up in the conversation about ABC possibly renewing Scrubs and keeping the two shows airing together next season. While that's far from a sure thing, a big turnout for tonight's finale couldn't hurt. So, a few words about tonight's episode, "Get Happy": a Veridian company survey reveals that employees are beyond miserable, so Veronica attempts to soften her image and Ted tries to win over Veridian's older male population. There's a scene with corporate-approved cubicle decorations that's hysterical; to check it out, just read more.

TV Tonight: Better Off Ted

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:30:55 -0700

Better Off Ted, which premieres tonight on ABC, is a smart and sarcastic comedy that I think will be a solid counterpart for Scrubs in the 8 p.m. hour. It's also very quirky, which I can imagine being interpreted as "very weird," which means I wouldn't be surprised if it struggles in the ratings and gets canceled early. But luckily, Ted is the kind of show that can make you laugh even if you don't want to get too attached.

Set at the fictional Veridian Dynamics (which makes nearly everything you buy . . . except maybe cows), the show stars Jay Harrington navigating the world of corporate politics and office romance - and doing a pretty fine job of messing up both. It's a deadpan send-up of corporate culture, especially in the science world (they freeze their coworker in the first episode!), and it features a number of fine performances.

The best of those might come from Portia de Rossi, who's absolutely perfect as Ted's buttoned-up, hysterically ruthless boss (someone at TCA actually asked de Rossi how she maintains such good posture, since her character is instantly recognizable both for her stick-straight spine and prim suits). I'm also a big fan of Andrea Anders, whose character hoards creamer and who tries (and, it seems, usually fails) to stick up for the little people at the wrong end of Veridian's experiments.

Are you interested in adding this show to your roster? To check out a couple of clips, read more.

First Look: Better Off Ted

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:30:08 -0800

ABC's Better Off Ted is a quirky little comedy that reminds me in spirit of the network's Knights of Prosperity (which I loved, even if nobody else did, so that's a compliment). The comedy stars Jay Harrington - most recently seen pestering Addison Montgomery as Wyatt on Private Practice - as a man trying to make his way in a screwed-up science corporation.

The show, which also stars Portia de Rossi and comes from the creator of Andy Richter Controls the Universe, won me over in the first few minutes of its pilot with a ridiculous ad spotlighting the company and all the things it does ("Power. We make that."). The plot of the first episode is more than a little messed up (they freeze a guy!), but there's also a creamer-hoarding co-worker and references to an exploding pumpkin - in other words, enough little touches to keep me laughing even when I knew I should be appalled.

ABC's had a rough go of it finding audiences for its comedies lately; will Better Off Ted change that? The show doesn't have a premiere date yet but is expected to be on the air sometime this Spring, and to check out the clip reel we saw at TCA last week, just read more.

Fox Searchlight Reportedly Picks Up Arrested Development Movie!

BuzzSugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:40:05 -0800

If all the "sources" are correct, Arrested Development fans have something to celebrate today: The movie is a go!

Yup, I think I just blue myself.

The Hollywood Reporter is saying today that Mitch Hurwitz and Ron Howard are "reportedly closing deals for the long-gestating project from Imagine and Fox Searchlight."

E! Online's Watch With Kristin is going a step further to confirm that without a doubt, the "Arrested Development movie will happen." However! There is apparently some behind-the-scenes drama already, since "one of the show's original cast members has not signed on to the movie." Kristin continues, "The good news is that aside from this actor (who, sorry, cannot be named), I'm told that all of the other main cast members have committed to be a part of the big-screen project." That utterly sucks about the one "holdout," though maybe he or she will come around? Fingers (and hooks!) crossed!

Now, if you need me I'll be in the hospital bar, wearing my "slut" t-shirt.

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Buzz News Roundup, 5/9

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:39:48 -0700

More Arrested Development alum casting news: Portia de Rossi has been cast in an ABC comedy pilot, Reuters reports.
Sopranos creator David Chase will write and direct his first feature film, E! reports.
Justin Timberlake will produce a reality show styled like "a real-life Bourne Identity," TV Week reports; excited yet?
According to Variety, specialty studios Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures are shutting down.
Writers' strike be dammed - we're still going to get all 48 promised episodes of Lost, with 17 more to come in each of the next two years, Zap2it reports.
Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, and Leslie Bibb will star together in a comedy called A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, reports ComingSoon.
So much for that idea: Natalie Portman has dropped out of the big-screen Wuthering Heights adaptation, Variety reports.
According to Zap2It, Oliver Stone's W movie has a release date - and it's soon! The George W. Bush movie will hit theaters October 17, 2008.

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My 5 Favorite Comedy Couples

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 04:30:00 -0700

It almost seems unfair that some of the funniest people in Hollywood right now are also in committed relationships with each other. Hilarious, good-looking, totally in love - what more could anyone want? From Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor to Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, there are a ton of fantastic comedy couples out there right now. Here are my five favorites:

No. 5: Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher
Look at them! He's so tall and she's so utterly adorable! In my opinion, this couple absolutely has it all: They're both good-looking, smart, and hilarious, with his Borat-style improv and her Wedding Crashers cuteness. And soon there will be a golden child borne from their funny/beautiful loins. Okay, so maybe I'm a little too excited about Baby Baron-Cohen-Fisher, but come on: The little one will probably spring from the womb looking gorgeous and making inappropriate jokes about religion and politics and third-world countries.

No. 4: Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres
These two are endearing to me for a variety of reasons. For one, they seem to genuinely adore and respect each other. Secondly, they are individually hilarious, yet they rarely - if ever - tend toward gross-out, scatalogical or otherwise cheap humor, which is always honorable in my book. Third, they're an openly gay couple in a society and industry where that's still something to gawk at, and they conduct themselves with grace and elegance. Plus, Portia de Rossi is drop-dead gorgeous and they make a very handsome couple.

To see my three favorites, read more

No. 3: Steve Carell and Nancy Walls
Can you even imagine what it must be like for two former "Daily Show" correspondents to watch the late-night news together? Or, really, to do absolutely anything together? It makes me happy to think of Steve and Nancy going through life hand-in-hand, making fun of random things and cracking each other up at every turn. The thing I love most about them is how down-to-earth they seem, even though Steve's a major star now. I once saw a tabloid photo of them walking out of an ice cream parlor, and they each had huge cones and she was wearing one of those Little Miss T-shirts, and it struck me that a) they looked refreshingly normal, and b) they seemed to be having so much fun.

No. 2: Amy Poehler and Will Arnett
These two are fantastic individually, but what makes them stand out is how amazing they are together. Need proof? Some of my favorite "Arrested Development" episodes involved Amy playing Will's accidental wife, and they stole scene after scene as a brother-sister pair in Blades of Glory. Apparently all of Hollywood is starting to realize how great these two are as a set: They'll soon appear together in On Broadway and Spring Breakdown, and they're each set to voice a character in the Dr. Seuss adaptation Horton Hears a Who. I can't think of a better package deal in comedy.

No. 1: Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is my favorite part of Knocked Up, a movie I loved so much it's hard to pick just one favorite part. And, of course, that movie - not to mention "Freaks and Geeks," The 40-Year-Old Virgin and many of my other favorite things - wouldn't exist without Judd's keen, clever vision of modern life. With the way he thinks and the way she delivers lines, they are a comedic powerhouse. I also find it totally sweet that their real children were in Knocked Up, lending a wholesome little element to a not-so-innocent movie. Kind of makes you wonder if there are lots of unseen Pearl-style home movies with little Iris and Maude Apatow floating around somewhere, doesn't it?

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TV Tonight: Better Off Ted's Season 2 Premiere

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:30:24 -0800

ABC's quirky workplace comedy Better Off Ted has had an unusual trajectory - the show premiered last year as a midseason replacement, then took a break and showed up with new episodes this Summer, and now it's back for its official second season premiere tonight. I'm just happy to have it back - the show has some of the funniest writing on TV and Portia de Rossi kills as the titular Ted's ice queen boss.

Tonight's episode "Love Blurts" opens with Veridian Dynamics pairing its employees with their ideal genetic match so they can save on insurance (because ideal matches produce perfect children who don't get sick, see). It sounds insidious until you hear Linda's match: a guesting Taye Diggs.

To watch two preview clips of tonight's episode, just read more.

Ted tells Veronica about a dating faux pas:

Taye Diggs on how he blows off steam:

Link Time! 5/12

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:30:33 -0700

Neil Patrick Harris tops AfterElton's Hot 100 this year, while Portia de Rossi tops the AfterEllen list. - AfterElton and AfterEllen
Seven franchises J.J. Abrams should reboot. - Cinematical
Damon Lindelof compares the challenges of adapting Stephen King's Dark Tower series to the challenges Zack Snyder faced in adapting Watchmen. - MTV Movies Blog
An outpouring of love for Everybody Hates Chris. - TV Filter
Lily Allen's song "Why" is rather pretty and tender. - Stereogum
Yikes, how bad must Legally Mad have been for NBC to pass on it? - TV Squad
Check out how the Amazing Race winners are spending their $1 million. - SavvySugar
Wait a minute, Susanna Hoffs is writing new songs for The Bangles? - Spinner

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What to TiVo: Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:50:16 -0700

Fox is new with American Idol
NBC is new with Biggest Loser: Couples and Law and Order: SVU
CBS is new with NCIS, The Mentalist, and Without a Trace
ABC is new with Dancing with the Stars: Performance Recap Show, Dancing with the Stars, and Primetime: What Would You Do?
The CW is new with Reaper and has a repeat of 90210
Bravo is new with Real Housewives of New York
MTV is new with From G's to Gents
TNT is new with Trust Me
Comedy Central is new with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
Late-night highlights include Portia de Rossi, D.L. Hughley, and Soundtrack of Our Lives on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC; Julia Roberts and Bell X1 on Late Show with David Letterman on CBS; and Bill Paxton, Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, and the Ting Tings on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC