Ryno on The Simpsons?

Steve Sax, who retired three years after “Homer at the Bat” and did time as a financial adviser before becoming a life coach and motivational speaker, acknowledges a sizable debt to the show. (The writing staff’s early preference for second base was Chicago’s Ryne Sandberg.) “Sometimes, fans would yell, ‘Hey, how’s Homer?’” Sax told me. “I know they weren’t talking about me hitting home runs, but it was a lot better than the stuff I used to hear.”

via The Making Of “Homer At The Bat,” The Episode That Conquered Prime Time 20 Years Ago Tonight.

Whatandthehuh? I feel like this changes my developmental years in a real way, not like those people who are *still* complaining about The Phantom Menace. 

The Office UK

All 14 episodes of the original British “The Office” are now on Hulu. So yeah, productivity is going to take a dive.

TwitEcho

Neville Hobson walks through just how the interactive ad for “Dollhouse” Season One DVDs and their integration of Twitter works. Pretty cool.

Hero up

As I’ve stated before, I’m kind of looking forward to the cartoon version of the Super Hero Squad toy line. Seems like it has the potential to be kind of fun and it has a nice cast list that’s just been announced.

Wait…Really?

I forgot to include this in my TV-centric post below, but have to note it.

In the latest episode of 3o Rock, “Kidney Now,” Alan Alda is walking across the scene and sees Tracy Jordan’s character in the midst of an emotional moment. Alda says:

“A man crying about a chicken and a baby? I thought this was a comedy?”

I’m not going to state why this was so funny, but if you’re familiar with Alda’s previous work you might have, like me, found yourself staring with mouth agape at the screen as you wonder whether that actually just happened.

Ultimatum

Dear Fox,

If you cancel “Dollhouse” I will stop watching “American Idol.” I won’t encourage fans to send you boxes of dolls or letters with the Greek symbol for Alpha on them or anything like that. I’ll just take it out on your other shows and really hit you where it hurts.

Best,
–Chris

QOTD: 5/4/09

Kora Gallagher at TV Squad:

The strike spooked the networks and advertisers, and we’re obviously feeling the effects now, over a year after it ended. What it boils down to is a lot of great shows are suffering– and Ben Silverman is a dick.

Reality TV about TV

With the entertainment press wondering whether shows like “Dollhouse” and “Chuck” are going to be renewed or not and the networks holding their upfront sessions, it brought to mind an idea that is yours for the taking as long as I get a cut.

Make the programming selection process like the elimination show portion of each week’s “American Idol.” Representatives of each show would sit on stage and Ryan Seacrest would call each of them down and announce whether they were safe or in the bottom three. Then each day one show would be cut from the network schedule.

Tell me you wouldn’t watch that. I think the entertainment value of seeing Joss Whedon singing one last time in an effort to earn the Judge’s Save is reason enough why this idea needs to happen right now.

Welcome to the Dollhouse, we got fun and games

I’m cautiously looking forward to the new Joss Whedon series “Dollhouse“, which premieres February 13th on Fox. I’m sure to tune in because I’m a fan of Whedon’s but, quite frankly, I’ve been hurt before. Between “Firefly” and the later (and also Nathon Fillion-starring) “Drive,” I’m afraid to get sucked into a show that’s going to get me all excited about following some sort of mythology or ongoing storyline only to have it shut down six episodes in.

Apparently Fox is likewise concerned about people tuning in, or at least afraid viewers are going to be turned off by promos that show it’s going to be filled with interesting characters and good writing (two no-nos in modern television) and so have decided to go cheesecake with the publicity for the show. It’s not that I have a problem with that per se, just that it’s

RIP John Leonard

I have many fond memories of Sunday mornings as a child, before leaving for church, watching “CBS Sunday Morning” with my dad. That began in the Charles Kuralt years and continued into the Charles Osgood era, though my viewing tapered off as I got further into my 20s.

One of the regular guest commentators on the show was John Leonard, who was pegged as a TV critic but often broadened his scope to other popular culture topics. So it’s sad to hear Leonard has passed away at the age of 69. His was a truly original voice and it’s going to be missed.