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TV Review: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – Season 38 – Host Bruno Mars

By CARL CORTEZ 10/21/2012

Nasim Pedrad and Bruno Mars in SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - Season 38 | ©2012 NBC/Dana Edelson

Stars: Fred Armisen, Vanessa Bayer, Bill Hader, Taran Killam, Seth Meyers, Bobby Moynihan, Nasim Pedrad, Jay Pharoah, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Tim Robinson, Cecily Strong Network: NBC, airs Saturday nights Original Telecast: October 21, 2012 After a couple of really embarrassingly bad weeks on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, there’s a bit of a rebound with their latest episode hosted by singer Bruno Mars (who also served as musical guest). Again, the writing is a bit on the weak side, but when you have someone who is game and as talented as Bruno, even lackluster material suddenly comes […]Read On »

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TV Review: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – Season 38 – Host Christina Applegate

By CARL CORTEZ 10/14/2012

Christina Applegate and Jason Sudeikis in SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - Season 38 | ©2012 NBC/Dana Edelson

Stars: Fred Armisen, Vanessa Bayer, Bill Hader, Taran Killam, Seth Meyers, Bobby Moynihan, Nasim Pedrad, Jay Pharoah, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Tim Robinson, Cecily Strong Network: NBC, airs Saturday nights Original Telecast: October 13, 2012 After a strong start with a parody of this week’s Vice-Presidential debate, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE settled into a familiar pattern of overlong sketches and comedy bits that just don’t work. Once again Kate McKinnon rises to the top as one of the most promising new performers as the series relies heavily on Bill Hader and Jason Sudeikis to wring laughs out […]Read On »

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TV Review: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – Season 38 – Host Joseph Gordon-Levitt

By CARL CORTEZ 09/23/2012

Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosts SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - Season 38 | ©2012 NBC/Dana Edelson

Stars: Fred Armisen, Vanessa Bayer, Bill Hader, Taran Killam, Seth Meyers, Bobby Moynihan, Nasim Pedrad, Jay Pharoah, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Tim Robinson, Cecily Strong Network: NBC, airs Saturday nights Original Telecast: September 23, 2012 We’re knee deep into the Presidential political campaign and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE is floundering with its political sketches and overall comedy – and this is only the second episode this season. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosting (he did a fabulous job the last time he appeared on SNL), delivering something funny should not have been a problem. Yet, with all the good […]Read On »

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TV Review: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – Season 38 – Host Seth MacFarlane – Season Premiere

By CARL CORTEZ 09/16/2012

Seth MacFarlane hosts the SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - Season 38 premiere | ©2012 NBC/Dana Edelson

Stars: Fred Armisen, Vanessa Bayer, Bill Hader, Taran Killam, Seth Meyers, Bobby Moynihan, Nasim Pedrad, Jay Pharoah, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Tim Robinson, Cecily Strong Network: NBC, airs Saturday nights Original Telecast: September 16, 2012 With SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE losing some big names last year – Kristen Wiig and Andy Samburg (not to mention great utility player Abby Elliott), the series is heading into another one of its rough transitory years by searching for new talent and trying to keep momentum going with the new class. This is even scarier as Jason Sudeikis may be leaving […]Read On »

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Exclusive Interview: Chevy Chase is on COMMUNITY and you’re not

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN 03/29/2012

Chevy Chase in COMMUNITY - Season 3 | ©2012 NBC/Mitchell Haaseth

To the delight of its devoted fans, COMMUNITY has resumed its third season on Thursday nights at 8 PM. Created by Dan Harmon, the half-hour comedy started with the premise of young lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) having to return to community college to shore up his law degree, but as it proceeded, the show has taken on movie parodies, Claymation and all manner of other unpredictable content. Chevy Chase co-stars as Pierce Hawthorne, who made a fortune in the moist towelette business but joins the central study group as a way to make friends, even though he’s not very […]Read On »

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TV Review: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE – Season 37 – “Alec Baldwin/Radiohead” – Season Premiere

By CARL CORTEZ 09/25/2011

Alex Baldwin, Steve Martin and Seth Rogen on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - Season 37 premiere | ©2011 NBC/Dana Edelson

Stars: Fred Armisen, Vanessa Bayer, Paul Brittain, Abby Elliott, Bill Hader, Taran Killam, Seth Meyers, Bobby Moynihan, Nasim Pedrad, Jay Pharoah, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, Kenan Thompson, Kristen Wiig Network: NBC, airs Saturday nights Original Telecast: September 25, 2011 You can’t really judge a SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE season by its premiere episode, but you do expect a lot more when Alec Baldwin is hosting for his record-breaking 16th time (exceeding the tie he recently held with Steve Martin). As the 37th season of the venerable late night comedy series kicked off, we were reminded once again that it’s a political […]Read On »

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TV Review: UP ALL NIGHT – Season 1 – “Pilot” – Series Premiere

By CARL CORTEZ 09/15/2011

Will Arnett and Christina Applegate in UP ALL NIGHT - Season 1 - "Pilot" | ©2011 NBC/Trae Patton

Stars: Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph Writer: Emily Spivey Director: James Griffiths Network: NBC, airs Wednesday nights Original Telecast: September 14, 2011 It’s been a tough road for NBC the last couple of years what with mergers and executive turnovers, but the new comedy UP ALL NIGHT could potentially turn things around. A clever comedy that’s hinged on a familiar concept (parents of a newborn must cope with their new baby-filled life) is elevated with the excellent casting of Christina Applegate and Will Arnett. Additionally it has the rich pedigree of former SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE writer Emily Spivey who […]Read On »

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Five Questions with BAD TEACHER star Cameron Diaz

By PAMELA HARLAND 06/27/2011

Cameron Diaz in BAD TEACHER | ©2011 Sony Pictures

Cameron Diaz plays a very bad teacher in her new comedy BAD TEACHER, but the 37-year-old actress likes to have fun and keep things as simple as possible in her real life. No bad blood between exes and not exactly in a rush to ever get married, Diaz says she is very content with how her life was, is and most likely will be in the future. As life evolves, so does she. The actress takes five to chat about her new film and working with her ex Justin Timberlake on the hit comedy. TAKE 1 On working on BAD […]Read On »

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Profile: Justin Timberlake goes for laughs in BAD TEACHER

By PAMELA HARLAND 06/23/2011

Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake in BAD TEACHER | ©2011 Sony Pictures

Is there nothing Justin Timberlake won’t do for a good laugh? Not, say he! In his new movie BAD TEACHER co-starring his ex-girlfriend Cameron Diaz, Timberlake plays teacher Scott Delacorte, a somewhat dorky yet endearing teacher who Diaz has her sights on. The 30-year-old Timberlake says he owes his comedy hutzpah to SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. Timberlake, an SNL fan since his early childhood, has watched and mimicked many characters from the show, which came in handy when he finally had a chance to host the show nearly eight years ago. Now he says because of SNL the door has opened […]Read On »

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TV Movie Review: iCARLY – Season 4 – “iParty with Victorious”

By CARL CORTEZ 06/12/2011

Miranda Cosgrove and Victoria Justice in iCARLY - Season 4 - "iParty with Victorious" | ©2010 Viacom/Lisa Rose

Cast: Miranda Coscrove, Nathan Kress, Jennette McCurdy, Jerry Trainor, Noah Munck Writer: Dan Schneider Director: Steve Hoefer Network: Nickelodeon Original Telecast: June 11, 2011 The sporadic scheduling of iCARLY on Nickelodeon has certainly become somewhat frustrating over the last year. With only one new episode, on average, every month and a half or so, it’s very strange how extreme the network rations this show. Granted, the repeats do wonders for them, but when you have a show in its fourth season and only ten of what will probably be an 18-episode season (if you base it on the number of […]Read On »

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