By Kathryn Ware

If America Ferrera wasn’t such a magnetic rock holding Ugly Betty together, this show would run the real risk of Will-and-Gracing itself with a wicked cast of supporting actors that outshines the leads. Marc (Michael Urie) and Amanda (Becki Newton) steal every scene they’re in.
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Memo to Ask.com’s ad agency: Is it really necessary to have the father-son conversation about search engine algorithms happen while the oh-so-smug daddy sits in the tub? At least they didn’t throw Jeeves into the mix too.
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Funtivities and chicken heads! It’s Beach Day at The Office everyone! Thinking he’s up for promotion, Michael uses an office outing to “scenic Lake Scranton” to choose his successor, complete with Survivor-esque egg races, a hot dog eating contest, and walking on hot coals. Wrap your mind around your feet.
(Note to self: Don’t watch while eating Cocoa Puffs for dinner. It’s too hard to hear the dialogue over the crunching.)

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Posted on May 11, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

I don’t care what anyone says, TV brings you the world. It’s not always pretty; in fact, rarely so. But there’s hardly a better medium to capture the culture right now than a day and night of television, from Rosie O’Donnell on The View and the multiple layers of The Price Is Right (Bob Barker’s longevity, the gaming of household consumerism, the total melding of editorial and advertising) to the voyeurism and moral judgements of Judge Judy and Dr. Phil to the latest news out of Iraq bumping up against reruns of M*A*S*H.
And that was just yesterday.

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Posted on May 10, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

Tuned into the Cubs game last night in the bottom of the 7th inning to find that REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin was in the booth with Len & Bob. Whoa! Are you telling me I missed Kevin Cronin singing the national anthem?
Or, as Cronin would do it, sing-ging the na-shun-a-ela an-a-them-a . . .
You have to understand that it’s the considered opinion of a few of us that REO’s “You Get What You Play For” is the greatest live album of all time, no matter what sins the band went on to commit.

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Posted on May 9, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

St. Elmo’s Fire was on last night and I hate that movie on about 50 different levels. First, the movie was an obvious attempt to craft an 80s-based version of The Big Chill. You know what? The Big Chill people were a lot cooler. Second, there’s not a single likable character – and I like plenty of unlikable characters, but you like them because they are unlikable. These characters are just loathsome.
I mean, the rebel is a guy who can’t break away from his frat house! God, I hated the 80s.

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Posted on May 8, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

My name is Steve Rhodes, and I’m a binge TV viewer. I know it’s killing me, and I hate myself when I do it, but I don’t want to stop, either. It makes me feel good.
Like yesterday, when Dr. Phil morphed into a particularly good Celebrity Fit Club, which slid easily into Bad Girls Club, and then its male counterpart, the Cubs. Can you feel the high?
Oh yes, there were bouts of self-loathing amidst the rushes of seeing Dr. Phil smack down the 19-year-old doofus planning to marry his sneaky 30-year-old girlfriend after just two weeks of dating, and watching the rerun of new roommates arriving to cold, skeletal shoulders on Bad Girls Club, but this was also a journey of self-discovery. I discovered, for example, a new high/low in laziness, which I reported to my friends with glee. Like John Bender said in The Breakfast Club, being bad feels awfully good.

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Posted on May 2, 2007

By Scott Buckner

Has the grown-up life you envisioned when you were in high school turned to shit? Can’t get a job because you’re a convicted felon? Is every single boss you work for an insufferable asshole who’s keeping you down? Don’t despair, buckaroo – the fugitive recovery industry has a place for pretty much any loser who still somehow maintains some initiative, some brains, or a clue about how not to jolt yourself with a taser.

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Posted on May 1, 2007