Screen capture of LateShowWritersOnStrike.Com.
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Out of Work But Still Funny
By: Stephen LackeyDate: Sunday, December 02, 2007
Due to the current writer’s strike, the writers of The Late Show with David Letterman aren’t bringing home any bacon, but they can apparently still find it in themselves to be clever and funny. I’m really on the fence about the strike. I don’t blame them for wanting a fair share, as Sally says in A Charlie Brown Christmas, but I also feel like it’s a little early to be fighting for money that doesn’t exist yet. They want 2.5% of revenue taken from internet streams of programs they wrote for, but I just heard on a tech blog this week that some series are going to go ad free online because the revenue isn’t stable with these shows even running out of sponsors. Plus, just how many viewers are actually watching internet streams of TV series isn’t clear. I think they deserve their “fair share” but I also think it may be a little early in the life of this technology to make it worth a strike. Or, I might just be complaining because my shows aren’t on.
Anyway, back to the point of the headline. The writer’s for The David Letterman show are staying in good, and funny, spirits during the strike. They’ve started a blog that features a mix of strike information and just random funny stuff. They’ve even been creating video shorts that are quite funny. I haven’t watched any late show in a long time, but these guys make me want to tune in, at least after the strike is over. Check out the blog here:
So, not surprisingly there’s not a lot to see this week as far as our regular favorites but we did find a few things here and there. Obviously, the big pick this week is the Heroes season finale. I was critical of most of this season but the last few episodes have really brought me back into the fold. If only the whole season would have been as good as these last couple of episodes! Other than Heroes, I plan on checking out The History of Videogames on Discovery. I have some television series box sets as well, so look for some reviews of those too.
Monday
CHUCK (NBC, 8PM EST) Chuck Vs the Crown Vic
Chuck poses as Sarah's husband to take down a counterfeiting yachtsman with strong political ties. Back at Buy More, the staffers take part in the store's annual holiday party, but the event comes with strict guidelines from Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence).
HEROES (NBC, 9PM EST) Powerless
Peter finds himself in another showdown, this time in Texas, where he squares off against former friends thanks to Adam's confusing story about the Shanti virus. Elsewhere, Micah asks his mother to help him rescue Monica; Maya learns the truth about Sylar; and Elle tries to please her father.
CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (ABC, 8PM EST)
In the Emmy and Peabody-winning animated cartoon from 1965, the gang mounts a holiday pageant as Charlie Brown bemoans Yuletide commercialism. Also: Whoopi Goldberg hosts a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the holiday classic that includes an interview with “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz.
Tuesday
RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER (CBS, 8PM EST)
Burl Ives narrates this animated musical, first telecast in 1964. The Johnny Marks score includes the title tune, “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “We're a Couple of Misfits.” Voices include: Rudolph: Billie Richards. Yukon Cornelius: Larry Mann.
Wednesday
RISE OF THE VIDEOGAME (DISCOVERY, 8PM EST)
Examining the history and development of video games and technology.
THE BIG LEBOWSKI (FLIXE, 8PM EST)
The plot, in a nutshell: Bunny Lebowski (Tara Reid) is missing, and Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), a burnt-out '70s leftover who has the bad luck to share the same first and last name as Mrs. Lebowski's millionaire husband, is in a heap of trouble. After a pair of thugs treat The Dude to a rather vicious swirlie, then pee on his carpet, wheelchair-bound Jeff "The Big" Lebowski (David Huddleston) -- the intended target of the assault -- offers the Dude a tidy sum of money to help get his wife back.
MONSTER QUEST (HISTORY, 10PM EST) MUTANT CANINES
Exploring stories of mutant dogs that killed pets in Maine and Minnesota in 2006. Included: DNA testing of one of the supposed creatures that was hit by a car; and expeditions to trap the creatures.
Thursday
I ROBOT (FX 8PM EST)
The surprise: I Robot is an unexpectedly engaging futuristic mystery that hinges on the confounding possibility that a mechanical being may have murdered cutting-edge roboticist Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), even though standard robot programming should make such a crime impossible. All robots are hardwired with three laws: Harming a human being or letting one be hurt is forbidden; human orders must be obeyed, except when they contradict the first law; and self-preservation is required unless it conflicts with either of the first two directives. Chicago, 2035: Robots are everywhere, not just toiling in factories and low-level service jobs, but in people's homes, running errands, cooking, walking dogs and cleaning. US Robotics, the world's largest manufacturer of humanoid automata, is about to launch the new NS5 model, which CEO Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood) hopes will bring the corporate dream of a robot in every home one step closer to reality. Consumers, lulled by USR's assertion that their products are "three laws safe," seem ready to embrace the future. But robophobic police detective Del Spooner (Smith) is convinced that a machine will one day defy its allegedly foolproof programming and commit a heinous crime, and when he's called upon to investigate Dr. Lanning's apparent suicide, he immediately suspects the superadvanced robot Lanning called Sonny (Alan Tudyk).
Friday
COCAINE COWBOYS (SHOWTIME 8PM EST)
Miami-based producer/director team Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben's cheeky documentary charts the decade-long blizzard of cocaine money that financed their hometown's transformation from a sleepy, slightly down-at-the-heels tourist town into a glamorous hotspot and fueled a competition between drug dealers that left the streets littered with bloody bodies.
STARGATE ATLANTIS (SCI FI 10PM EST) THIS MORTAL COIL
A strange drone crashes into Atlantis, heralding a dreadful new predicament.
Saturday
GLADIATOR (TNT, 8PM EST)
Brawny, he-man spectacle combined with a surprisingly solid story and buttressed by excellent performances, including the late Oliver Reed's swan song. The time is late in the second century A.D., and Roman general Maximus (Russell Crowe) is leading his armies to squelch rebellion in the conquered state of Germania. Maximus wants only to finish the job and return home to the wife and child he hasn't seen in three years, but the aging and infirm emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), to whom Maximus is devoted, has other plans. Convinced that imperial rule violates Rome's ideals, he asks Maximus to insure that after his death, power is handed back to the Roman senate. This plan sits badly with Marcus Aurelius's vain, spoiled son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who murders his father and seizes power for himself; when Maximus resists, Commodus orders his murder and that of his family. Maximus barely escapes his executioners; wounded and heartbroken, he's sold into slavery and bought by Proximo (Reed), whose trade in gladiatorial flesh was spoiled when Marcus Aurelius outlawed the games in Rome, relegating mortal combat to the far-flung provinces. Maximus proves an able and charismatic combatant, and after word reaches the boondocks that Commodus has restored daily gladiatorial games to the Colosseum, Proximo packs up his fighters and heads for Rome.
Sunday
TIN MAN (SCIFI 5PM EST) Marathon
Didn’t watch the miniseries when it originally aired? Now catch the entire thing all in one night!.
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Can they even show that on network TV?