It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Review: Guys And Moms

It’s noon on a Thursday and the proverbial Gang of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is up to their normal harebrained shenanigans at their dilapidated Irish pub, Paddy’s. Sweet Dee, however, is feeling a bit under the weather as this week’s episode opens with the unmistakable sound of loogies being forcefully hocked from her throat. Dee expresses concern over the possibility of developing a cold, declaring she simply must remain in optimal health for the upcoming Josh Groban concert – she’s a self-professed “Grobanite,” and even possesses backstage passes in the hopes of making actual physical contact with the angel-voiced crooner. Dennis and Mac, however, aren’t privy to the aural pleasures of Josh Groban, and instead assume Dee is referring to actor Charles Grodin, perhaps most famous for his patriarchal role in the Beethoven movies. Dee is disgusted with Mac and Dennis’ lack of knowledge concerning superstars in the adult contemporary music scene and oozes with incredulity as she curtly explains Josh Groban is neither the son of, nor even remotely related to, Charles Grodin. “Two totally different people,” she snaps with disbelief. Mac and Dennis shrug with indifference, but do threaten Dee if she ever refers to Charles Grodin as a “dirty old man” ever again.

Meanwhile, Charlie strolls into the bar with his cell phone attached to his ear, yammering with palpable exasperation at his nutty, needy mother. “They’re not terrorists, Ma. They’re just Muslims!” he shouts, apparently referring to an unwelcome set of new neighbors on Mrs. Kelly’s street. She’s been in constant need of help around the house (“Are there spiders here?! Are there spiders there?!” a frustrated Charlie mockingly rants) since Charlie’s Uncle Jack moved out, and her requests range from menial household chores to seemingly needless tasks like vacuuming the ceiling. Dennis witnesses Charlie’s devotion to his mother with cynicism and proclaims neither he nor Dee have any intention of taking care of Frank in his later years. Mac, on the other hand, is shocked his friends are so willing to abandon their parents in a time of need and begins to launch into a sanctimonious tirade (surely a first for the Sunny crew – ha) before the bar phone rings with urgency. Charlie is convinced it’s his mom bothering him with more deranged requests, but instead it’s Mac’s mom. She’s managed to burn her house down after falling asleep with a lit cigarette in her mouth. Cue the title credits as Mac’s jaw falls open, agape with the unmistakable recognition of bitter irony.

Later, Dennis receives not one, but two unwelcome new roommates as Mac shows up with his unkempt, newly homeless mother and his equally disheveled childhood dog, Poppins. Considering Mac was about 10 years old when he got Poppins, it’s safe to say the dog possesses an unknown degree of canine immortality. An uneasy Dennis recommends Mac take his mother to a shelter or a nursing home instead of their apartment, but Mac’s unwavering loyalty prompts an angry response. The nursing home suggestion sparks particular rage as Mac scoffs, “Do you know what goes on in those places? Why don’t I just rape her myself?!” Dennis begins to loosen up, but the fact Poppins’ eye has a tendency to pop out of its socket (and Mac’s assurance it can be popped back in with one’s knuckle) brings him back to brainstorming mode to figure out a way to avoid the cramped living situation Mac has proposed. As Charlie enters the scene continuing his earlier “conversation” with his mother, Dennis is struck with a stroke of genius. Why doesn’t Mac’s mom move in with Charlie’s? Both women are in need of what the other can provide: a place to live for Mrs. Mac and a person to share it with for Mrs. Kelly. Brilliant! “They could be like The Golden Girls!” Mac exclaims.

Elsewhere, Dee is pumping in vitamins from the health food store via homemade smoothies to be sure and stave off any anti-Groban bacteria festering in her bloodstream. Frank decides to stop by and drop off a “care package” (I use quotes because the contents included Mexican peanuts, candy, and a copy of Stud magazine) in the hopes of salvaging whatever chances he has of his kids taking care of him in future times of short-term memory loss and incontinence. Dee’s onto his ulterior motives right away but allows Frank to pamper her nonetheless, ordering him to start his slave work with her heaping laundry hamper.

Dennis’ plan has launched into action as he, Charlie, Mac, Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Mac gather around the kitchen table to discuss logistics of the new living arrangements. Mrs. Kelly is uneasy to say the least, noting how Mrs. Mac has a certain olfactory je ne sais quoi about her. While Mac delicately describes the odor as “unique and earthy,” his mother cuts to the chase. “I smell like shit,” she hoarsely declares with a wheeze. Charlie’s mother proves to have wackier idiosyncrasies by the minute as she first expresses distaste for Mrs. Mac’s constant cigarette smoke (reasonable) but eventually admits her aversion to Poppins because she’s afraid of animals eating her face off (not so reasonable). This scene was hilariously punctuated with Mrs. Mac’s contemplative grunts standing in for verbal responses and Mac’s ability to decipher the meaning behind them.

Dennis decides to take the sadly unwanted Poppins over to Dee’s, where Frank has finished his first load of laundry. He curiously holds up a pair of white short-shorts, which Dee proudly announces she’s planning to wear for Groban the next night. As she liberally applies self tanner, she explains how her bronzed skin will make the brightness of the shorts pop, and vice versa. “Josh Groban likes his ladies to pop,” she reasons with pride. I bet he does. When Dennis tries to relinquish Poppins’ ownership to Dee, Frank eyes the good-natured but mangled mutt and quips, “That dog looks like a gargoyle.” Poor Poppins! Dee balks at Dennis’ offer and retreats to her bedroom to continue resting as part of her Groban preparation routine. Dennis uses her absence as an opportunity to present Frank with a characteristically sadistic plan to ensure Dee’s gratitude for his hard work. Dee isn’t expressing any thankfulness, Dennis reasons, because she feels better and has home-field advantage at her own apartment. Dennis proposes Frank make Dee feel worse and move her away from her own turf so she’ll be forced to need his care. This type of reasoning, as usual, somehow makes sense in the sociopathic Sunny-verse and Frank jumps on board with gusto.

Charlie and Mac are having a difficult time re-creating a Golden Girls-worthy vibe in their moms’ new household as the two women are getting off to a rocky start. While Mrs. Mac has obliged the no smoking rule by chewing tobacco, she proceeds to spit into valuable porcelain artifacts and won’t so much as acknowledge the cheesecake Mrs. Kelly has presented as a token of friendship. Mrs. Kelly, meanwhile, declares shopping carts “dangerous” (“I don’t go to the supermarket,” she says with the seriousness of a heart attack) and expresses an inability to get the ceiling fan fixed, resulting in a stuffy, sweltering environment. Mac tries to diffuse the awkwardness by proudly announcing his mom used to be a manager at a Jiffy Lube and can fix the broken fan. As the guys begin singing “Thank You For Being a Friend” in attempt to liven the mood, Mrs. Kelly can hardly bear to even look in the direction of Mrs. Mac. Charlie’s multiple reminders for his mom to stop talking to him and instead direct her conversation to Mrs. Mac end with him forcefully turning her head as he and Mac continue warbling the Golden Girls theme. “Don’t look at me, look at her,” he says repeatedly. “Stop talking to me! Talk to her!”

As for the Reynolds’ clan, Dee’s health food smoothies have been spiked with an unholy amount of cough syrup courtesy of Frank and Dennis, and she’s been taken to the former’s hellhole of an apartment. She manages to tumble down a flight of stairs after the two masterminds behind her sloppiness laugh at her semi-conscious state (“She looks like Mr. Magoo,” Frank roars). They decide to protect Dee from herself by tying her up to Frank’s sleeper sofa. When she finally fully awakens, her horror at the bruises on her face and the realization her father has put her through this with the hope she’ll take care of him when he’s old and decrepit doesn’t match the horror she experiences when she realizes she’ll miss the Josh Groban concert. To add insult to injury, a clammy Poppins is sharing the bed with her, stiff as a board and apparently dead as a doornail after drinking too much of Dee’s “enhanced” juice.

Mrs. Kelly’s OCD, meanwhile, has kicked into overdrive with the stress of her new roommate. As she proceeds to verbally complete every task in sets of three, from locking the front door to turning off a light switch (“One-two-three, one-two-three,” she chants along), Mac innocently asks why she’s doing so. “So Charlie doesn’t die,” she deadpans. How the actors on this show can keep a straight face is beyond me. If Lynne Marie Stewart nailed that line on the first take, she should teach a class on comedic timing. Hell, if she nailed that line on the tenth take. As Mrs. Kelly invades Mrs. Mac’s room with her ritualistic behavior, Mrs. Mac screams for her to get the hell out and Mac tells Charlie their mission should be aborted. Charlie halfheartedly agrees, but he’s busy straightening a crooked picture on the wall three times in a row. Heh!

Despite their surrender the night before, Charlie and Mac wake up the next morning to find their mothers getting along swimmingly. Come again? Why, Mrs. Kelly is even letting Mrs. Mac smoke in the house since her work on the ceiling fan will clear the nicotine-laden haze right out of the room. Mrs. Mac is grunting with optimism. What could have changed such a doomed scenario overnight? Charlie’s mom peers out the living room window and clucks disapprovingly at the Muslim neighbors across the street. “Damn foreigners. If they ain’t American, I don’t wanna know ‘em!” Mrs. Mac declares, perhaps her most articulate, if completely bigoted, statement in the entire episode (although her “Stop talking to me like I’m an asshole!” in Dennis’ direction is a close second). Clearly, the unlikely pair has bonded over a mutual propensity for racial profiling and Charlie and Mac couldn’t be happier. Things are looking so promising, in fact, Charlie and Mac decide to bring the dog to its rightful home in spite of Mrs. Kelly’s irrational fears.

As they set out to retrieve Poppins from Dennis, he and Frank have just disposed of the body in a sidewalk trashcan and the foursome run into each other en route. Mac frantically searches for Poppins’ corpse and discovers the dog is even more resilient than any of them could predict. Poppins miraculously prances out of Mac’s arms and down the street in optimal health, surely headed towards a new adventure. Anywhere far away from The Gang should suffice. Meanwhile, Dee is still tied up in Frank’s apartment and forced to hear an answering machine message from her friend Artemis bragging about being backstage with Groban. This week, it was not a Sunny outlook for all parties involved.

In spite of Dennis, Frank and Dee’s floundering storylines I thought Charlie and Mac had hilarious rapport with each other and great comedic chemistry with their mothers this week. Although none of the core creators wrote this installment, I was pleased, as usual, to notice the utilization of recurring characters. While Sunny is often a show that boasts stand-alone episodes, using plots and characters that implement a sense of evolution in the overall arc of the story is always welcomed.

Season 6, Episode 6: Mac’s Mom Burns Her House Down (originally aired October 21, 2010)

For more on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, click here.

Thursdays at 10pm on FX

Photographs courtesy of FX and IMDbPro

Grey’s Anatomy Review: Has Anyone Seen Cristina Yang?

Yes! This is what I’m talking about: the first great episode of the season.  Last night’s edition of Grey’s Anatomy marked a return to real character development while advancing key plotlines.  While I didn’t expect everyone to immediately rebound from the trauma they endured, it’s no fun watching them mope around like basket cases either.  With the exception of Cristina, all of the doctors are finally functioning normally.

We’ve been with Meredith and Alex for a few years now; four years in the fictional world of Seattle Grace.  Along with Cristina, they are the only remaining doctors left from the original group of interns.  They have scrubbed in on dozens of surgeries over the years, and they are finally ready to be residents. This is a pretty big deal. When we first met Alex, Meredith, and Cristina, they were high strung, nervous young interns who knew very little.  Now they are battle-tested and confident; ready to go the next level.  The Chief gives them their white coats, even Cristina – although she is still not ready to resume surgeries.  Lexie asks Chief Webber why she can’t get a white coat and he explains that it has less to do with her skillset and more to do with longevity.  Only fourth year students get the white coat, including Avery.  The other big announcement from the Chief was his request for the doctors (Mark, Teddy, Callie, Bailey, Owen, Arizona) to submit proposals detailing why their department should receive a million dollar grant and what they would do with the money.  More on that later.

Each new resident will perform a solo surgery, and it was a seminal moment in the show’s history to see them each take this step.  Alex was tasked with treating a pediatric patient with enlarged mammary glands.  In plain English: a thirteen-year-old boy had boobs and wanted to get them removed.  Both Mark (plastics) and Arizona (pediatrics) had consulted with the boy and his mother for over a year.  She opposed the procedure, and it was revealed that her husband also suffers from the same condition.  This meant that the boy would not simply outgrow the condition.  He would be starting high school the following year and pleaded with Alex to perform the surgery.  Mark and Arizona were skeptical about whether Alex would be able to effectively deal with the mother and perform the operation if needed.  He showed that he deserved his white coat when he firmly told the boy’s mother that the boobs had to go, and then he performed the operation perfectly.

Avery and Meredith have the opportunity to perform brain surgery on a middle-aged woman.  They both have a fighting chance, but only one doctor will get the honors.  Derek will select the surgeon based on their successful completion of a skills lab.  Avery has a steadier hand and wins the opportunity.  Meredith bides her time and gets the chance when Lexie calls.  Lexie had been treating a twenty-something woman who came in with her boyfriend.  She had a broken leg that required surgery, but before her leg could be addressed the woman began experiencing a tingling sensation, numbness, and blurred vision.  Unbeknownst to Lexie, the patient had a brain bleed.  She pages Derek for surgery, but he’s assisting Avery.  This means Meredith will get her chance with an emergency craniotomy, and she springs into action like a pro.  Lexie worried that she missed something with the patient, but Meredith quickly tells her little sister that she did everything right; it just happened.  Furthermore, they are wasting time standing there talking about it.  It’s game time, and Meredith hits a homerun, much like Alex did.  By the time Derek arrives, Meredith has repaired the bleed.  Before we pat too many folks on the back, it should be noted that Avery screwed up during his surgery and Derek had to take over.  The surgery ended up being successful, and the two docs presented an air of confidence to the patient and her partner when it was all said and done.  In a “teachable moment,” Derek explained to Avery that mistakes happen, but the surgery was ultimately successful.  The patient doesn’t need to know the details of everything that happened along the way in the operating room.

As previously mentioned, the more senior residents presented proposals to the Chief for a million dollar grant.  Each proposal reflects the doctors’ personal agenda and experiences.  Owen wants trauma training.  Arizona wants the money for the “little humans.”  Derek has worried about Meredith developing Alzheimer’s like her mother and wants the money for a clinical surgical trial.  Bailey keeps it simple and says that she would use the money to repair two existing machines and hire a night nurse.  The Chief is most unimpressed with this proposal, but Bailey frankly explains that sometimes you need to keep it simple.  In the end the Chief opts for Owen’s proposal and the other doctors begrudgingly congratulate him.

The most disappointing aspect of the last episode was the fact that Cristina still has not returned to normal.  Not only is she mentally unprepared for surgery, she now seems totally inept when communicating with patients.  More than fearful, she seems apathetic.  That’s not the Cristina we’ve come to know and love, and it’s beginning to frustrate me.  She needs to regain her rock star status or quit the program before she harms a patient.  She showed a flicker of life towards the end of the episode, when she finally took a stand for a patient in dire need of a lung transplant.  Before that she was like a zombie.  She ought to be shining like the others, performing her first solo surgery.  I hope she snaps out of it soon.

Despite my frustration with Cristina, I really enjoyed the last episode.  It showed that despite Derek’s encouraging words to her last week, he is terrified that Meredith may end up like her mother.  It also marked an important step in many characters’ professional and personal evolutions.

Will Avery redeem himself?  Will Cristina ever be the same?  I can’t wait to see where the writers take us next.

Season 7, Episodes 5:  Almost Grown (originally aired October 21, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

All photos courtesy of ABC and Adam Taylor

Jersey Shore Review: Season Finale

All good things must come to an end.  All bad things must come to an end.  Either way: no more Jersey Shore.  I’ll miss these tacky guidos, but it’ll be nice to regain the IQ points I’ve lost over the course of this season by tuning in.  They have fought, eaten some good meals, gotten wasted, and fallen in love.  Now it’s time to depart South Beach and head back to the Garden State.

The gang is ready to go home, but everyone is feeling a bit sad.  Vinny and Pauly are bummed about leaving their lady friends behind.  Despite getting off to a rocky start, Vinny and Ramona look like they are quite fond of each other now.  Pauly and Vinny prepare for one last date with their girls.  They get fresh for their dates, but it briefly looks like Ramona might pull another disappearing act on Vinny.  She’s late again, and the fear with her is always that she will stand him up.  Eventually she shows and they have a pleasant farewell date.  They exchange repeated kisses and part ways, promising nothing.  A similar situation plays out with Pauly and Rocio.  He says that he didn’t want to try to seal the deal because he wants to wait and really get to know her.  I doubt that anything comes of either ‘relationship,’ but you never know.  Pauly and Vin aren’t the only ones with dates.  Sam and Ronnie decide to dine out for their last night as well.  Bickering is like breathing for these two, and they get into a spat at the restaurant when Ronnie’s demeanor changes.  Accusing each other of being immature, they leave the restaurant in a huff.  Back at the house their beef continues, but they will have to put their argument aside because it’s the last night and everyone wants to enjoy themselves and go out on a positive note.

Of course it wouldn’t be Jersey Shore if they didn’t beat the beat up one last time.  They hit the club and everyone is having a good time, like old times.  Vinny is approached by two women of *ahem* questionable character.  They ask him about a threesome and he hesitates, thinking of Ramona.  He says that the girls aren’t that attractive but that two so-so looking chicks can add up to one okay girl; that’s not an exact quote but it was pretty funny.  Pauly says that it’s not a bad thing, but Vinny takes a pass.  Maybe he and Ramona have something more substantive after all, if he’s altering his behavior after they’ve already parted ways.  True to form, The Situation is not above sloppy seconds and he takes the two ‘desperados’ into the rest room where he ostensibly gets a blowie from one of them.  This is the trashiest reality show ever.

If there was a Jersey Shore checklist it would look like this: 1. Drink. 2. Hook Up 3. Fight.  Right on cue, there is drama the last night in the house.  They agree to hand out superlatives like you did in your high school yearbook.  They decide that Pauly is most likely to get skin cancer, Sammi has done the least, and that Vinny is most likely to be a follower.  Mike is jealous that Pauly and Vinny hung out more this time around, and takes a shot at Vinny.  He also brings up Ronnie’s early antics at the club, cavorting with various women and then cuddling with Sam during their first week in Miami.  That’s old news at this point and Ronnie doesn’t take the bait.  Mike is a drama king and just wants to stir the pot in any way possible.  He ends up saying that Jenni is fake (while she’s in the bathroom), and Snooki tells her that Pauly and Vinny nodded in agreement.  Snooki tells her this discreetly for her own personal benefit, and the first thing Jenni does is confront everyone about it, blowing up Snooki’s spot.  Pauly and Vinny deny that they nodded in agreement, and Jenni can’t get her story straight.  She said that she heard they said she was fake, but really Snooki told her that they just nodded their heads.  She also tells Mike that Pauly talked about him behind his back.  Mike confronts Pauly, who denies everything.  How petty and foolish.  Now everyone is heated, including Snooki, who thinks that the house hates her.  Eventually tempers cool and they manage to squash everything.  Mike is an ass, but I’ve noticed that he hates for any of the girls to be upset with him.

They say their goodbyes one by one, and Sammi leaves without acknowledging Jenni.  I guess there’s no love lost there.  Ron says that he’s happy with his time in Miami and that he’s leaving with his relationship intact.  The rest of the fellas give each other man hugs and say their goodbyes.  Jenni and Snooki reiterate that despite their ups and downs, they remain best friends.  And just like that it’s over.  It was a helluva ride and I know I haven’t seen the last of this boisterous bunch.  They’ve got at least two minutes remaining on their 15 minutes of fame, and as The Situation has shown us – milk it while you can. 

Season 2, Episodes 14:  Back into the Fold (originally aired October 21, 2010)

For more Jersey Shore, click here.

Follow Poptimal on Twitter @poptimal.

Images courtesy of MTV.

Supernatural Review: Oh God I’m Pattinson

This week’s plot is pretty simple. Sam and Dean are on the case for young girls who have gone missing. They go into the room of one of the newly missing teenagers and discover that she’s obsessed with vampires. The brothers go find the vampires and Dean gets turned into one of them. Dean can smell the other vamps and goes undercover into their nest. He learns that there are a lot of weird things happening, like they’re using the Internet to lure and recruit new members. But not to worry folks, Grandpa Campbell has an old family cure for vampirism, as long as you don’t ingest any human blood. Dean goes super hunter in the nest and kills all the vamps. But before that he gets a psychic message from the “Father,” the alpha vampire who shows him a lot of weird stuff like twin girls who look like they stepped out of The Shining. The alpha also looks a little bit like Raphael, but I don’t think it is. Dean then drinks the Campbell family brew and he flashes back to the events that happened, seeing very clearly that Sam let the vampire turn him. Once again, my spidey senses are tingling. Something is definitely not right with Sammy.

What made this episode so great is that it poked fun at the current pop culture obsession with vampires, but in the Supernatural world vampires aren’t sparkly or tormented, they’re nasty creatures with really bad, pointy teeth. But as a guilty Twilight fan myself, the opening scene with the young seventeen-year-old Kristen, meeting the vampire Robert was just priceless. Kristen of course is for Kristen Stewart who plays Bella in the Twilight series and Robert for Robert Pattinson who plays the vampire Edward. Seeing them act out the overly angsty, overly dramatic lines that obviously pokes fun at the popular series is hilarious. Soon though, Kristen comes face to face with the reality that real vampires don’t live in lairs with a lot of velvet but she finds herself turned and living in conditions similar to a prison/crack house/brothel. They raid vans carrying blood packs and don’t kill humans, only turn them. The leader though likes to have sex with the underage new recruits like they’re prostitutes and the blood is the drug he keeps them addicted to.

On the Dean/Lisa front, after turning, Dean goes to say goodbye to Lisa thinking that he was going to die because he was now a monster. As he struggled to thank her for everything that she’s given him over the past year, Dean mutters that he’s now become Pattinson. You just gotta love the humor the writers create and the amazing job the actors do to deliver those lines. The elder Winchester comes close to drinking Lisa’s blood but he stops himself and in the process of leaving pushes Ben away a little too strongly. Personally Ben annoys me a little. At the end of the episode Lisa isn’t answering Dean’s calls and me thinks the mother-son duo may disappear for a while.

The most interesting thing we learn in this week’s string of events is how we can’t trust Sam. He definitely let his brother get turned so that they would have a way into the nest. He was also so adamant in finding out what Dean experienced as a vampire that made me wonder if Sam wanted to hop on the old demon blood train again. The worst part is that he keeps pretending that he’s got Dean’s back, when even Dean knows that’s a big fat lie. Even Samuel confronts Sam, saying that Sam had known about the cure the whole time because they had talked about it a few months ago but didn’t tell his brother. The younger Winchester feigned ignorance but he’s not a very good liar. So now maybe Grandpa Campbell isn’t so bad after all? The writers are certainly keeping me guessing. Sam’s time in hell definitely did something to him and it isn’t good.

But one thing I did get right is that the alpha vampire is creating some kind of army, which means all the crazy monsters are probably doing the same. Hence that mass impregnation by the shapeshifter in a previous episode. It’s certainly curious though and I feel like Crowley would know what’s going on. Everything is pretty chaotic with fighting factions in hell and in heaven that perhaps the monsters are amassing their numbers on earth to take over it? Could the monsters be up for world domination? Only time will tell.

Poor Dean though, it seems like he’s got no one to trust but himself. Lisa and Ben may or may not be out of the picture for a while, Cas is MIA in heaven, and his own brother let him be turned into a vampire. Things are not looking good for this Winchester. It’s okay Dean, we’ve got your back.

Season 6, Episode 5: Live Free or Twi-hard (originally aired October 22, 2010)

For more on Supernatural, click here.

Fridays at 9/8C on The CW

Images courtesy of The CW and Jack Rowand.

Project Runway Review: Is This All You Got??!

This season of Project Runway has been wholly inadequate, so it is with no great surprise that last night’s lead to the season finale was ba-ba-ba-boring. Forgive me for the obnoxious tone, but after the insanely long, drawn out and ultimately unfulfilling previous weeks I think we the viewers are entitled to a little ire. This week on Project Runway, the fairytale comes to an end as the final three designers are chosen and one designer is crushed to find himself shut out of fashion week.

The episode starts this week with host Heidi Klum sending the four remaining designers home to create their collections. With six weeks and $9000, the designers are told to wow the judges with their creations. 6 weeks doesn’t seem like a long time, but presumably these designers have been working on these collections their entire lives so maybe it’s not that big a stretch.

3 weeks into the challenge mentor Tim Gunn comes to visit the designers at their homes. The highlights of this visit are the following:

Andy’s collection is nowhere near completed when Tim comes to visit. Although Andy has a ton of ideas about what he wants to do, he has no clear design to show Tim. What he does have are intricate plans for headpieces which, Tim consuls him, doesn’t make a collection.

Michael on the other hand has been very busy. Instead of 10 looks he has a total of 18 looks to show Tim. Unfortunately for him most of these looks Tim dismisses offhand cautioning Michael to work concisely on creating strong designs.

Mondo’s collection is based off a Mexican circus (?). Yeah, it sounds kind of weird but then again normal has never entered into Mondo’s vocabulary. Just ask his mom who tells Tim of her struggles to try to get Mondo to conform to normalcy as a child. Didn’t work.

Three weeks into the challenge, Gretchen’s world has pretty much imploded around her. Having to deal with major personal upheaval, Gretchen isn’t quite ready to focus on her collection. She has three weeks to find it.

The designers meet up back in New York City for the final runway; here Tim tells the designers that they will show three looks to the judges, two from their collection along with a third look they have to now create.

Runway:
Mondo was the only standout in the group. His designs were laced with kooky patterns and impeccable detailing. And again Mondo’s signature “joy” stood out in all his pieces. Nina loved Mondo’s boldness and theatricality but wondered if, with his wild designs, he would be taken as a joke.

Gretchen’s looks were awful and nothing that you can’t pick up at your local Target. These items would be stocked in back in a trash bin of a dark alley. Because honestly, in the dark or drunk are the only reasons any young fashionable girl would wear these clothes. The judges had the same problem with Gretchen’s clothes, they were too plain. Nina called the looks “crunchy granola” and Michael said the designs didn’t look expensive.

The judges were split on Andy’s designs. They liked Andy’s green, ruffled dress, but worried that Andy’s collection had no range. Michael said that his “short, decorated clothes” all look the same. And even though I think Andy’s green dress looks like she got into a fight with a clam, it’s miles better than this wretched bikini that looked like it took no effort. Heidi called the green dress sophisticated, while Michael says that it “sings.”

Michael’s looks were classical, beautiful, and boring. But his biggest crime of all was sending out three pieces all in the same color! Michael said this was done intentionally to show they all belonged in the same collection. The judges immediately jumped on this and said it’s the story not the color that makes the collection. Nina warned Michael about being repetitive with his designs. Tellingly, everything that the judges wanted to see from Michael were all in his collection and not on stage. Unfortunately for him we’ll never know as it’s too little, too late. Michael is sent home and won’t make it to fashion week.

After the runway, Michael is absolutely devastated. The other designers try to console him but all he can think about is what to tell his family. It’s really hard to see. Michael was one of my favorite designers (personality over design) and I’m very pleased (and surprised) that he got this far. When all’s said and done, he just didn’t bring his A game up to the plate and that’s what he needed to make it to the final three.

Next week, all the designers are brought back for a Project Runway reunion. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll be off trying to remember all of their names.

Season 8, Episode 13: Finale Part 1 (originally aired October 21, 2010)

For more on Project Runway, click here. You can follow Poptimal on Twitter @poptimal.

Thursdays at 9pm EST on Lifetime

Photographs courtesy of Lifetime.

Hereafter Review: Heaven Is Not a Place in Movie Theatres

Clint Eastwood. Peter Morgan. Steven Spielberg. Matt Damon.

Those are the names behind Hereafter so it should be an easy classic right? I thought so too but what they delivered was shockingly less than masterful and above all, dull. Spielberg (who acted as Executive Producer here) has been relatively quiet the last few years but the other three major players have had a string of successes that literally have them at the top of their game right now. Director Eastwood’s recent triumphs of Letters From Iwo Jima and Gran Torino, writer Morgan’s classic The Queen, and Damon’s Oscar nomination last year for Eastwood’s Invictus have us all expecting nothing but great things from these titans of cinema so I can’t help but wonder what went so wrong with this exploration of death and the afterlife.

I suppose I should preface this by saying that Hereafter is far from being a “bad” movie. It is competently made but just painfully uninspired and lacking in cohesive or original thoughts. It is clear while watching that the makers intended this to be a sort of Babel or Crash-like film with multiple storylines that eventually intersect or at least shed light on each other, but the problem here is that only one of the three stories depicted in Hereafter is even remotely compelling.

That faint praise goes to the storyline involving Matt Damon who plays George Lonegan, a semi-retired psychic who has the genuine ability to communicate with the dead. George has given up any attempts to make money off of his gift despite constant pushing by his overzealous brother (Jay Mohr) claiming that it is actually a curse that is ruining his life. And from the brief glimpse that we get of his life we can readily believe him. While taking an adult Italian cooking class he meets a perfectly charming young woman played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who for my money gives the film’s best performance. The two are paired up as cooking partners and the sparks fly in a somewhat adorable fashion but she eventually learns of his gift and begs him to perform a reading with her, which goes horribly wrong when the message that she gets from her dearly departed is far from comforting. This naturally spoils the blooming relationship and shows us what George must deal with on a daily basis.

I personally find that dynamic fascinating and think an entire film could have been filled with a character study of such a man but rather than go that route there are two thirds of Hereafter that deal with other characters on a much less interesting scale.

The first one centers on a popular French journalist named Marie LeLay (Cecile De France) who has a near-death experience during a deadly tsunami while on vacation. The tsunami sequence is visually exciting and starts the film with a bang but her subsequent struggle with going back to work and writing a book about her experience lacks any real insight or dramatic pull.

The same can be said of the film’s third storyline, which revolves around a poor boy in London who’s twin brother (both played by Frankie and George McLaren) is killed in an accident at the same time as his mother goes into rehab and he is sent to foster care. The boy goes on a quest to communicate with his brother again by visiting various psychics and others who claim to speak with the dead but all he finds are phonies and loons. His circumstances are touching and the scenes are well played but again, they just aren’t much more than that. Even the eventual crossing of the three storylines comes across as expected and trite with little insight or creativity coming from bringing these characters together.

Beyond the story and characters, I am sad to report that even the look of the film is drab with muted color schemes and cinematography that could best be described as flat. Eastwood wisely limits the amount of time he spends trying to visualize the afterlife but even those brief glimpses are somewhat cheesy and much like scenes that we’ve seen before in other movies.

Some viewers may find themselves touched by the film’s look at death but I’m guessing most audiences will be left largely unmoved by this effort. Here’s hoping that Eastwood gets his groove back for his upcoming biopic on J. Edgar Hoover, which with any luck should put him back in masterpiece league. He’s done it before and I have no doubt he can do it again.

Grade: C

Photo by Ken Regan & Jay Maidment – © 2010 Warner Bros

Review: On Week 5 of “Dancing With the Stars,” a Girl in a Monkey Suit, Richard Pryor, and Carol Brady Walk Onto a Dance Floor …

Week 5′s theme on Dancing With the Stars was “T.V. theme songs,” but it should have been “Strange and Bizarre.” So many odd, unexplainable things happened on this week’s episode, I don’t even know where to begin.

Wait – yes I do. I shall begin with my hero host, Tom Bergeron.  Last week, Tom left a comment under my review, in which he referred to me as his “delusional stalker.” Come on now Tom. I don’t think that’s fair. You know I prefer the term “misinformed superfan.” It just sounds sooo much cooler.  But I digress. I shall forgive you for that, and we will move on to our special private, secret message – which is, of course, you saying “LIIIIVEEEE!!!” at the start of each show. I did notice a bit more energy than usual in this week’s LIIIIVVVVE call, so thank you ever so much for the shout-out. I could feel the love from you to me, and I truly appreciate that.

Now, let us continue onward to the strange happenings from this week:

1. Brandy/Maksim:

Danced to the theme song from Friends. These two continue to annoy me on every level. They are both so whiny and … well … annoying. Brandy told Maksim in her condescending voice: “Im really proud of you!” – as if HE was the student and she was the instructor. That bugged me for some reason. Their dance, however, was very good. Some excellent footwork, and super fast movements that Brandy handled well. I still couldnt look past the plastic smile on both of their faces, and I hated the hokey lollipop prop and all their “gee whiz” type expressions. Apparently the judges totally disagreed with me, as they absolutely loved it. Scores: 9/9/9

2. Florence/Corky:

Danced to theme from The Brady Bunch. (Gee, ya think?) Very funny rehearsal footage, as Carol Brady was joined/visited by Greg Brady himself, Barry Williams. They danced and kissed each other to creep us out, and when Florence asked Barry of Corky “Isnt he cute?” Barry said: “He’s a little young for you. He’s younger than Bobby.” Hilarious. And even though Florence is moving around with a body that looks as if it died years ago and just forgot to tell her, she did quite well with this dance. It had elegance, and dare I say, sex appeal. Horny Carrie Anne called her a “sexy senior”, and Len said it was her best dance so far. Yay Mrs. Brady! Scores: 7/7/7

3. Kurt/Anna:

Danced to theme from Bewitched. During rehearsal footage, the two discussed cultural differences, which was quite funny. (Anna didn’t know what Bewitched was, being from Russia, and Kurt had never heard of two “legendary” Russian dogs that apparently went into space. WHATTT????) This dance was great! For someone who never heard of the show, Anna did a fantastic job of conveying the part, and twitching her nose in the most adorable way possible. Really super cute dance, and the judges loved it too. Scores: 8/8/8

NOTE: Brooke Burke seemed to get a bit annoyed and flustered when she was standing backstage awaiting her riveting interview with the couple, and Bergeron kept talking and making jokes. Burke must have looked at her card/paper about 4x in a row, to see what her next line was. She is not exactly the queen of improvisation.

4. Audrina/Tony:

Danced to the theme from The Hills. (Duh!) Yick. Just yick. Why do I dislike this woman so much? Her eyes bother me. She has no soul. She is vacant of all human emotion. She has one expression. It MUST be botox, because this week’s dance confirmed it: the girl cannot emote! And those giant watermelon boobs are distracting. Eh. I have not much to say about this dance, because I feel like I am watching someone who is a robot when I watch her, and I feel nothing. She better not win this show. I think I might have fallen into a deep sleep at some point during this performance. Scores: 7/8/8

5. Kyle/Lacey:

Danced to the theme from Charlie’s Angels. So many issues going on here. First of all, Kyle looked nothing at ALL like Bosley. Bergeron said he looked like Isaac from The Love Boat. True. He also resembled Mr. Kotter from Welcome Back Kotter, or a black version of Oates from Hall and Oates. Secondly, once again these two both were wearing “dumpy pants” or “diaper pants.” For the second week in a row, it looked like they both took a giant Jamie Lee Curtis yogurt poop in their big giant goofy pants. And lastly, of the two of them, I don’t know who to be more baffled at – Kyle or Lacey. Kyle had never heard of the original Charlie’s Angels and thought they were “Drew Barrymore and those other girls.” Ummm, no. Ever heard of Farrah Fawcett? Legend hottie of her time? How about a little tribute to her, since she recently died of cancer? I know Kyle is young, but come on. You really don’t know who Farrah is? Unbelievable.

Worse than that, though, was this: When judge Bruno Tonioli said Kyle looked like “Richard Pryor gone mad,” Lacey screamed out very loudly and embarassingly: ” Whose Richard Pryor?” Awkward silence. Really? Seriously? Who is Richard Pryor??? Um, only one of the most brilliant, legendary comedians of ALL TIME!!! Only the reason that guys like Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy exist! Again people, learn a little bit about entertainment history and who came before you. Ridiculous.

Anyway, their dance was very good, despite the diaper pants. Carrie Anne liked it, Len hated it and gave them a 5. I feel like a Farrah tribute was in order. Scores: 8/5/7

6. Rick/Cheryl:

Danced to theme from Hill Street Blues. I love this song! It is so beautiful, and I really liked their dance. I must say though, that you would think a slower dance would mean less sweat from Rick the Sweatmonster. But it didn’t. It was the exact same amount of sweat. Since Fox was dressed as a cop, Horny Carrie Anne exclaimed: “Officer officer, I’d like to report a crime!” as she picked up her own drool from the floor. Seriously lady, you need to go out and find yourself a man already. This is just getting sad. Great dance. Sexy. Smooth. Hot. Scores: 8/8/8

7. Bristol/Mark:

Danced to theme from The Monkees. In monkey suits. With bananas. Get it? Monkees? Monkeys? Monkey suits? See the connection? Hey here’s a joke for ya! What’s worse than Bristol Palin dancing? Bristol Palin dancing in a monkey suit! What’s worse than THAT? Bristol Palin dancing! Get it? No? Me neither. The point is, this chick really stinks, and I am getting kind of tired of the judges being so syrupy-sweet with her. She is AWFUL! She completely forgot half of the steps to this song; she randomly stopped moving a few times; and she shares the same look of HUH??? that Audrina has on her face. She looks blank 70% of the time, and they just keep kissing her ass. How is she still on the show? This dance was just silly, and not in a good way. At all. Scores: 6/6/6

8. Jennifer/Derek:

Danced to the theme from Married With Children. What is it about dancing cha-cha’s and Jives that causes people to completely lose their minds and get overly emotional with each other every single season on this show? This season, we were already seeing breakdowns and fighting as early as episode TWO! This week, it was Jennifer Grey’s turn to overreact and leave the room dramatically crying, then return later to bravely continue. Again, I do understand that being on this show is a LOT of work and some stress and a big commitment; but it’s a commitment you signed up for. And you are getting PAID. And getting exposure. So, it just makes me giggle whenever I hear one of these “stars” talk about how they are on this “journey together” and “we have been through so much together and we have come out stronger because of it.” Please. Really? It’s not brain surgery people. It’s a Rumba.

Jen and Derek’s 1950′s black and white, perfect marriage / housewife dance was awesome! It really showcased that era. I felt like I was watching The Dick Van Dyke Show (to which Lacey Schwimmer will come out of nowhere and go: “Whose Dick Van Dyke?”) Great performance! The judges couldn’t totally agree on this one, but they mostly enjoyed it. Scores: 8/8/9

ELIMINATION SHOW:

What. the. F!!??**!? is all I have to say about these results. Who should have gone home was clear: Bristol Palin. Or maybe even Kyle. But no, definately Bristol, by miles. She wasn’t even in the bottom three!!! I was shocked. Then I started picturing Sarah Palin callin up all her buds in down home Alaska and saying:”We gotta make sure Bristol the pistol stays on guys! I’m just so dang proud of her! Let’s do this!” The fact that she wasnt even in the bottom three is insane. I blame the Republicans! (For anyone who took that last statement seriously: First of all, you must be a republican. And second of all, I was joking. Relax.)

The bottom two were Rick Fox and Florence Henderson. The judges told Florence this was her best performance so far, and Rick did pretty well too. It just didn’t make much sense. And then it got worse. America voted off Carol Brady, on the week she danced to her own T.V. theme song. On the week she dedicated that dance to the late Robert Reed who died of AIDS.

Florence left in the most gracious of exits, saying, among other things, that this has been her favorite show for a very long time. She said “I feel like a kid again.” How could you people not vote for that kind of genuine, old lady charm? What is wrong with you sickos? You sent sweet Carol Brady home, and you kept  a “Teen  Pregnancy …. Prevention Activist” IN A MONKEY SUIT!!! Somebody cue up that rimshot.

Season 11, Week 5: Round 5 Performances and Results Show (originally aired October 18 and 19, 2010)

For more on Dancing with the Stars, click here.

Mondays at 8/7c, Tuesdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Photographs courtesy of ABC, Adam Larkey.

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The Vampire Diaries Review: Katherine Strikes Back

It’s time for the annual masquerade ball in Mystic Falls and like at any special occasion in this twisted hamlet, a lot of shit is going down on the periphery. It’s hard to know where to begin so bear with me as I randomly pick. And by randomly pick, I mean I am always going to start with my favorite dreamboat – Stefan.

Oh Stefan. (Insert love-struck sigh.) He continues to break my heart by being in love with Elena even though they continue to act broken up to throw off the evil Katherine. Stefan is pretty good at the act (a sign that he’d rather be with me, I think) but Elena turns into a stereotypically paranoid girlfriend who can’t stop texting and calling for updates while he’s out trying to solve mysteries and stop the baddies.

Meanwhile, Damon and a now uber helpful Jeremy get some information from the ever knowledgeable Alaric who reveals that the mysterious moonstone can be used to break the curse of being a werewolf. It’s fairly obvious then why Mason Lockwood would want the stone, by why would his lover, Katherine? The best way to answer that question is to torture the hell out of Mason. So as soon as Damon finds out that Bonnie the Witch can cause Mason pain with her mind, he and Stefan are there to kidnap him as soon as Bonnie puts him on the ground.

Bonnie then reluctantly reads Mason’s mind and gets visions of a well, which they believe is where he must have hidden the moonstone, so Stefan goes off to find it while Damon and Jeremy stay behind to torture Mason with hot irons and Wolf’s Bane herb. Stefan finds the well in question and jumps down to retrieve the moonstone only to find the bottom of the well full of vervain which immediately starts burning off his flesh and bringing him to the brink of death.

Elena, who had shown up in a stalkerish manner when Stefan got to the well, begins a rescue effort with Caroline and Bonnie and is successful in not only bringing Stefan up but also finding the moonstone amongst some vicious scary water snakes. Honestly, nothing scares me more than water snakes so believe me when I tell you that I started squirming like there was one in my pants. And I don’t mean that as a euphemism.

Meanwhile Damon finished his torture session by killing Mason, but I have to say I’m doubtful. Mason may not be a series regular but he’s had a very large presence this season and the fact that his death took place off screen has me questioning if he is dead for real or not. And Damon being Damon couldn’t resist gloating about his latest kill so he calls Katherine to brag that her lover is dead and that her plans are squashed. This goes over like a turd in a punchbowl and she vows that she still has a Plan B, C, D, E……you get the idea.

Plan B starts by calling Elena and revealing that she’s been controlling Aunt Jenna and using her as a spy. She then makes Jenna stab herself with a gigantic knife. Jenna doesn’t die but it is enough to freak Elena out about the danger that she is putting Jenna and Jeremy in just by being involved in these vampire shenanigans so she breaks up with Stefan for good. Its a touching scene but I think we can safely assume they’ll be back together within two episodes.

On other fronts, Caroline continued to keep her mother imprisoned after she learned that Caroline is now a vampire. They have a little heart to heart time but then Caroline uses her mind control powers to make mommy dearest forget that any of this has happened. This was like if Kurt on Glee could make his dad forget he was gay and I must admit I was a little disappointed in Caroline for doing so.

Far more interesting was the final scene in which Katherine compels Matt that he needs to attack Tyler Lockwood again and again until Tyler kills him and becomes the werewolf that he was always meant to become. In other words, next week’s episode could be AWESOME. See you then!

Season 2, Episode 6: Plan B (Originally aired October 21, 2010)

For more on The Vampire Diaries, click here.

Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW

Photographs courtesy of The CW, Quantrell Colbert

Chuck Q&A: A Look Into Jeff and Lester with Scott Krinsky and Vik Sahay

The world of Chuck is full of spies, agents, and villains that bring the show’s world to life. The two oddest characters within the show come in the form of Buy More store employees Jeff and Lester, played by Scott Krinsky and Vik Sahay. In a conference call with Buy More’s “Bad Boys,” Poptimal.com had an opportunity to learn more about Scott and Vik along with their characters, but both were very tight-lipped on any upcoming spoilers.

• When asked about their shooting schedule, Scott and Vik related that an episode tends to take about seven and a half days to shoot. Their roles require them on set up to two to three days. Within that time frame, five to six scenes are shot in one day.

• Vik Sahay in regards to Twitter – “All I can say to you is leave me alone!”

• When asked if they have involvement again in the spy story line in next week’s episode, ‘Chuck vs The Isle of Terror’ both Scott and Vik beat around the bush. Vik went on to say, “I mean personally I think it’s kind of fun still for us or for me, you know, just to not, you know, to sort of be involved with the spy plot without, you know, realizing that we’re involved – without knowing that we’re involved in it, you know.”

• My favorite part of the conference call arrives on Vik’s brainstorming Lester joining the spy world. “I don’t feel like – I think for Lester again I’ll speak for me. I think that, you know, if it’s going to happen that he gets involved in the spy world I would want or I would feel that he would emerge on the other side. That’s just my just, you know, out there brainstorm feeling that he wouldn’t just become part of the good guys very easily. I think that Lester in particular would potentially yes, grow to be no I don’t want to say too much because it’s just my own little, you know, thought process far, far in the future that he would emerge on the other side suffice it to say.”

• Scott on the other hand felt differently on the situation saying it’s better and more fun to be involved in the spy plot without knowing they are involved with the plot.

• Fun Fact about Vik: He boxes! Not professionally of course, but basic sparring. He feels connected to his actor when boxing.

• In keeping with the theme of the upcoming Halloween episode, someone asked what scares Scott and Vik? Scott revealed he is scared of the darkness, while Vik went into developing health issues and sharks. Definitely sharks.

• In some really sad news, there are no current signs of when we can expect Jeffster to return. Scott would like to tackle Journey or perhaps Aerosmith on their next attempt. Vik joked that he wanted to tackle Susan Boyle’s version of I Dreamed a Dream.

• Vik admitted that he desperately wanted to take singing lessons, but the fact that Lester isn’t taking singing lessons is what is holding him back. Vik believes it would be a betrayal to his character to perfect the songs. “He’s not singing to sound beautiful. He’s singing to exercise his rage and passion.”

• When it comes to guest stars, both Scott and Vik don’t get much of an opportunity to work with them as they tend to be more in Chuck’s world than Jeff and Lester’s world.

• Talking about his journey throughout the years with Jeff and Lester, Vik sees the characters as Vladimir and Estragon from Waiting for Godot. “I feel that yes we become a bigger part of the show but we kind of exist in our own void, in our own world, our own show if you will.”

• In next week’s episode both Jeff and Lester are tasked to decorate the store for Halloween. You can expect another run in with the spy world occurring.  Details were minimal on what to expect.

• If there ever was a spinoff of Jeff and Lester it might include the two traveling across the country doing gigs as Jeffster. As Scott put it, a modern day telling of the Odd Couple. Vik also gave us a look into his creation of Lester’s past. Note, this is Vik’s thought process.  Vik believes Lester was neglected as a child and did whatever he could to win the love of those around him. “His insides are broken and he’s – there’s a pursuit of trying to prove himself to his mother.” Lester has a very delicate soft inside and a very soft and breakable heart. “And that’s kind of where I lead from that his kind of snarkiness, his jackassidness, his nastiness, his anger, comes out of like it’s a shell that’s covering a place in him that’s very, very wounded. And that’s kind of where I push from off of him.”

While the conference call didn’t reveal much on what to expect from future episodes, it was a nice insight into the lives of Jeff and Lester. Hopefully we can see more character development for both Scott and Vik within the recently announced eleven episode order from NBC.

For more on Chuck, click here.

Mondays at 8/7C on NBC

Images courtesy of NBC, Justin Lubin, Mitchell Haaseth.

Ski Mask Way: Delocated at New York Comic-Con 2010

If you are not familiar with Adult Swim’s Delocated (shame on you!), imagine Curb Your Enthusiam‘s Larry David as an even bigger jerk…in a ski mask…and you’ll start to get a feel for the “reality” that creator, writer and star, Jon Glaser inhabits as the eponymous main character.  With Glaser unmasked at New York Comic-Con 2010, we got the opportunity to speak with him, albeit sans computer altered voice, about the continued success of Delocated and what lies ahead for the show.

In speaking with other Adult Swim creative talent this year, interspersed with the omnipresent unbridled hilarity, I gleaned three undeniable hallmarks of shows that will enjoy an extended stay on Williams Street (Williams Street Productions, producer and programmer for Adult Swim on Cartoon Network):

 

1) You are asked to extend your show’s running time rather than reduce it,

2) Adult Swim orders up more episodes for season two than season one, and

3) Mike Lazzo hands you a bag of money and fondly refers to you as “son.”

Two out of three is not bad, and things are definitely looking good for Glaser’s self-described “silly drama.”  Following the success of season one, Adult Swim supersized Delocated by extending the running time to 30 minutes and green-lighting 12 episodes for season 2 over the original season’s order of 7.  Even though he was comfortable with the “quicker” comedy of the 15-minute format, when the 30-minute option was presented, Glaser saw it as a natural extension that leant itself well to the show.  While jokingly admitting that the time and work to create each show has “like, quadrupled,” Glaser is happy with the show’s maturation in the extended format:

Glaser: “It’s changed how we write the scripts and how we shoot things…maybe the tone has changed a little bit…it’s become a little more like, there’s that one line in the first episode, ‘it’s not a silly comedy, it’s a silly drama,’ (laughs) which I think is really what happened and I don’t think that was even intentional, but I think [it is] just a by-product of allowing things to sort of breathe a little bit and play out a little slower.  But yeah, I think it’s been for the better too.”

The 30-minute format, of course, is familiar territory for Jon Glaser, who counts among his previous writing credits the critically-acclaimed Dana Carvey Show, with a staggering list of future talent including Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and Louis C.K.  Between hilarious anecdotes about the scheduling identity crisis that ultimately doomed the show, Glaser spoke briefly about the formative influence the experience had on the direction of his career:

Glaser: “That show and that job for me [were] amazing.  It was my first [writing] job.  I was doing Second City in Chicago, and even…pursuing writing as a career was not anything I’d even thought about.  And then, to have the opportunity present itself…even at the time I was like, ‘yeah this is cool but I still wanna be an actor,’ and looking back it’s, like, the greatest thing that really happened for me.  To be able to work with all these guys obviously was incredible and for me …it was just an amazing experience.  So it certainly helped me as far as just even life, like, now I have more opportunities for jobs, now I can pursue writing jobs, which is what I’ve done quite a bit, it helped me and allowed me to get Conan, and so it really was everything…It was so good, it was such a good time, and it is crazy to look at the people involved, I mean, it’s nuts.”

In creating and filming Delocated, Glaser again finds himself working with a dream team of comedic talent.  For his first foray into a main character role, Glaser called on the production talents of the multimedia collective PFFR, of Xavier: Renegade Angel fame, to assist with writing and production duties.  Similar to other Adult Swim shows, much of the early casting, like Kevin Dorff and Eugene Mirman, are friends and former collaborators, while some of the new additions, like Steve Cirbus, Glaser, “really lucked out,” with acquiring through auditions.  Surprisingly, despite the spontaneous feel of the character interactions within the show, Glaser revealed that the majority of the action on screen is scripted by John Lee, Vernon Chatman, and himself.  With a great cast of talent in front of the camera as well as behind it, ad-libs still often make it into the finished show, but if you listen closely, you will notice that dialogue rarely overlaps “Jon” because of the constraints of disguising his voice in post-production.  Besides literally staying out of “Jon’s” way, the other challenge of shooting a show with a disguised main character, of course, is running around New York City in a ski mask:

Glaser: “The summer was miserably hot to shoot in a ski-mask…the beard is a little more trimmed and I used to have a big huge head of hair…and even, like, the first week I cut it, like, in half, and then after the first week I was like ‘fuck it’…Look, I hate when actors complain.  When actors go on talk shows and complain about the shoot it’s like, ugghh, who cares?  But it was pretty hot and, I’m not making five million dollars, so (laughs)…But like, when I used to work on Conan, actors would come on and [say] like, ‘oh my god, we shot this scene, I was in the helicopter and jumped in the water, it was sooo cold!’  I was like, ugghh, who gives a shit? You made fucking ten million dollars, and you’re coming on TV and talking about how cold the water was?  No one fucking gives a shit (laughs).  Anyway, so yeah, I’m not gonna complain, but it was definitely hot…believe me, especially in the summer if we’re not shooting that mask was off.”

Later in the evening, Glaser was joined by the full cast and writers of Delocated at a Q&A panel for fans.  While at the panel, Glaser showed fans the initial demo for the show, the majority of which became the pilot episode, and earlier, he described how instrumental the demo was in the green-lighting of Delocated:

Glaser: “I really think the demo that I made sold it.  I remember talking to Mike Lazzo at one of the up-fronts and he told me that the demo helped, because you could easily hear that idea and go ‘I don’t know, I mean does that have legs?’ and even I was like ‘I don’t know, let’s see.’  So, the demo I think really helped them get the idea of the character, because I don’t think you could read the script, you just really have to take a leap of faith and go, ‘well, I can sort of see this character and picture how he sounds, let’s try it,’ and I can’t imagine them doing it without the demo.”

One of the funniest scenes in the demo as well as the pilot revolves around the mistaken assassination of Paul Rudd who guest stars as himself. Although Delocated does not feature many guest stars, largely because of the writing process, Glaser did reveal that a guest spot on The Office (“that would be fantastic”), or a crossover episode with Adult Swim stablemate Children’s Hospital (“free trip to L.A.!”) are high on his wish list. Even higher on his wish list is a Delocated Holiday special:

Glaser: “It hasn’t come up officially but we’ve talked about that idea because I think it would be pretty fun…One thing I did was me with the mask and a snifter of brandy standing in front of my TV with a fireplace and very much like a holiday kind of photo, so it would be great to do one.  It would just be fun as that character to do a very kinda ‘Bing Crosby-ish’, super-sincere, earnest Christmas special so maybe…hopefully (laughs).”

Along with the pending Season One DVD release, a holiday special would round out a very happy holiday season for Delocated fans.  For Glaser and the cast, we foresee a season 3 greenlight in the near future, and at this rate, maybe a kick up to an hour-long format. No promises on the bag of money from Lazzo though.

Delocated airs Thursday at midnight on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.

For more television reviews and interviews, click here.

Images TM & © 2010 Cartoon Network/Adult Swim.

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