Chris Abraham » Television

The Stride Gum Ad With the Ram

Chris Abraham — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:46:14 +0000

I just caught this commercial on TV and laughed by ass off when a ram, our of nowhere, butted some gum-chewing guy on a cell phone in the belly.

Watching Firebrand Thursday on ION at 11 Again

Chris Abraham — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:19:13 +0000

Live Blogging Firebrand Thursday, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

I caught Firebrand on ION last night. Again, laughed my ass off. What I like most about Firebrand is that they treat commercials like little movies. The CJs discuss the directors, the actors, the agencies, and the outcomes of the ads. For any of you who are in the industry, it is a great education.

Actually, Firebrand is interesting for anyone interested in products, services, or television and the way things work. It also allows me to do come comparative studies since Firebrand isn’t jingoistic and offers access to commercials from around the world, especially online.

And, of course, cute CJs. Oh, and while Firebrand is and has been my client, the truth is is that they continue retaining me because I am a super fan.

Liveblogging Firebrand on ION on Friday

Chris Abraham — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:43:33 +0000

Liveblogging Firebrand on ION, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

Well, today’s the last day on the Road to Firebrand — Friday night! Cute foreign CJ and lots of bizarre ads, including the famous preppy Smirnoff Tea Partay commercial. I am pretty sure that the Tea Partay idea started on YouTube, right? and then was co-opted by Smirnoff. Anyway, Firebrand Monday is on Monday so set your alarms, your Tivos, and your biological clock. Watch Firebrand on Monday night instead of the local news, which will suck anyway.

Firebrand Television For the Ladies

Chris Abraham — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 03:52:29 +0000

In response to my recent post, Here’s a Dead Sexy Look at Firebrand TV For You!, I defined Firebrand as Dead Sexy. Well, it is, but it was Dude Sexy. Then came Stevie Wilson, who commented, “love that DIRT section. Bring it on. Give me that game or whatever to play. I am all for that one. The other stuff— cmon.. don’t they do stuff that the *ladies* would really love or do they need to add a woman’s touch to the content…” So, I looked for something more for the ladies. I don’t know how well I did, but you tell me: Firebrand Water World.

Here’s a Dead Sexy Look at Firebrand TV For You!

Chris Abraham — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:26:23 +0000

Firstly, you all know that Firebrand is my client. I love them. I have three loves: classic cinema, commercials, and cars. When Jonathan Trenn popped me the above “Firebrand Experience,” called “Firebrand: Sports Stuff,” I freaked out at the realism of the new Colin McRae game, Dirt, and then the rest of it.

NBA star Kevin Garnett gets an autograph session going for Foot Locker, and Codemasters gets behind the wheel with legendary rally driver Colin McRae. Plus, some serious cell defense from Sprint-Nextel, and even more serious Nascar fans from Oreo!

This is basically a good “first experience” of what every minute of every day is like at Firebrand, 24-hours/day online and for an hour-a-day on ION Network, from 11PM, week nights.

Anyway, this is a big couple weeks for Firebrand — the Road to Firebrand Monday. Here’s an excerpt of the email I sent out last Monday:

…We’re only a couple weeks away from the Big Game — and all the associated commercials. Why not check out all of the best ads from the “holiest days of advertising” over at Firebrand, http://www.firebrand.com.
Next week Monday, I’m going to offer you up a blogger exclusive — a spot called “the road to Firebrand Monday” (teaser below) — but for now, I just wanted to get back in touch and catch you up and offer up a couple spots we launched today: the Pre-Game Spot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=C8rYZWReyzw, the Kick-Off Spot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=iEXhigptdM8, and the Half-Time Spot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8fwNM. You can check out the full details over at our press release, http://firebrandmonday.smnr.us.
I’ll get back to you next Monday with the blogger exclusive but for now here’s a teaser, “We’re kicking off the road to Firebrand Monday, playing with some of the best names in the game — Mr. Peanut, Bob’s Big Boy, the Cavemen and a California raisin, just to name a few. Some of the greatest icons in advertising are going head-to-head during the Big Game, but who will come out on top?”
And, if you have any questions, please pop me an email and I will get back to you personally — and if you’re interested in more general Firebrand info, feel free to join the official Firebrand group on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5967126396.

My Blog Post About the Road to Firebrand Monday
http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/24/the-road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with-astroturf/

Road to Firebrand Monday Press Release
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SPORTNET.story&STORY=/www/story/01-21-2008/0004739662&EDATE=MON+Jan+21+2008,+08:00+AM
http://press.firebrand.com/?p=63

YouTube Group: http://youtube.com/Firebrandtv
MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/FirebrandTV
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5967126396

Road to Firebrand Monday Spots on YouTube
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C8rYZWReyzw
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iEXhigptdM8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8fwNMrBvMk

ION Television
http://www.ionline.tv/schedule.php

Firebrand on TV Guide
http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/firebrand/292213

The Firebrand Site (All Commercials, All the Time)
http://www.firebrand.com/

The Road to Firebrand Monday is Paved With Turf

Chris Abraham — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:29:52 +0000

The Road to Firebrand starts next week on ION (at 11PM every weekday night) and online at Firebrand.com. Firebrand loves working with me because I love commercials more than I love television. I am an evangelist. This week, they’re coming down the pike with something called The Road to Firebrand, “the multi-million dollar media buy will include spots on cable networks like MTV, G4, Sci Fi and VHI, as well as online video placements on TVGuide.com, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, among others.” Check it out — it’s quite good and highlights all of our favorite stars from a lifetime of TV commercials and ads — true icons. Here are the teaser spots: Pregame, Kickoff, and Half Time:

Pre Game

Kick Off

Half Time

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Contact:
Dawn Rowan
646-747-3600
dawn.rowan@firebrandtv.com
Press can access images and further information at
http://press.firebrand.com
FIREBRAND LAUNCHES FIRST NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN:
“THE ROAD TO FIREBRAND MONDAY”
WHERE ONLY THE GREATEST COMMERCIALS GET TO PLAY

All-Star Campaign includes the Caveman, the St. Pauli Girl, the Crash Test Dummy,
Mr. Peanut, Bob’s Big Boy and Mr. Clean, among others.
New York (January 21, 2008) – Firebrand, the hottest spots from the coolest brands, on TV, web and mobile, will celebrate “the Holiest Day in Advertising,” with the launch of its first national holiday campaign, “The Road to Firebrand Monday.” The multi-million dollar media buy will include spots on cable networks like MTV, G4, Sci Fi and VHI, as well as online video placements on TVGuide.com, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, among others.
The Road to Firebrand Monday campaign begins today with at least three new commercials– PreGame, KickOff and HalfTime – on-air and online over the next two weeks, driving viewers to tune into Firebrand, starting January 28th on ION TV (weeknights 11PM/10C). And all that week on TV, web and mobile, Firebrand will begin showcasing playlists related to the Big Game.
The campaign culminates on the first annual “Firebrand Monday,” February 4th, the day after the Big Game. On TV, the hour will be dedicated to major ads from the Big Game, featuring Celebrity CJs such as Reebok’s “Office Linebacker” Terry Tate and Carmen Electra, who makes her Big Game debut in an ad for Hershey’s “Ice Breakers.” All content is downloadable on mobile devices, iTunes and Firebrand.com. And that morning, Firebrand.com will have only the best of the previous day’s commercials ready for download, allowing viewers to share and rate them all, and to decide for themselves which spot wins the coveted “Firebrand Water Cooler” trophy.
“The Big Game has always been the holy grail of advertising and Firebrand celebrates that,” says Shari F. Leventhal, Chief Marketing Officer. “Most people watch the big game with hopes of seeing the best, most creative commercials the ad industry can serve up. The greatest commercials get to play every day at Firebrand. So the Firebrand Monday campaign is our way of saluting the best of these commercials, past and present, as well as the famous icons that make commercials so memorable, and in many cases, a part of pop culture.”
Viewers watching the Firebrand Monday commercials will be treated to a series of spots featuring a parody of some of the most popular commercial icons including Mr. Clean, Mr. Peanut and the Cavemen, among others. The icons are placed on a football backdrop, either behind the scenes getting psyched up for the game, in the locker room, or huddling conspiratorially on the field. No matter how you slice it, Firebrand delivers an entertaining tribute to what has become advertising’s greatest sporting event.
The fun continues for a week starting Firebrand Monday to the following Monday where every spot that is viewed, downloaded, emailed or embedded earns the viewer a chance to enter to win cash.
Major investors in Firebrand include Microsoft, NBC Universal and GE’s Peacock Equity Fund. Firebrand can be found at www.firebrand.com <http://www.firebrand.com> , and weeknights on ION television network at 11 PM/10C and on www.itunes.com <http://www.itunes.com> . For additional information, check out http://press.firebrand.com.
Firebrand. Where only the greatest commercials get to play.
###
Firebrand Multimedia
Road to Firebrand Monday
Half Time 30secTV
Kick Off 30secTV
Pregame 30secTV
Road to Firebrand Monday-JPG
Screenshots of Firebrand
Firebrand Logo-AI
Firebrand Logo-JPG
Firebrand Logo-SWF
Firebrand Search
MOBILE
SYNCHRONOUS
TV
WEB
Firebrand Social Media
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Flickr
iTunes
Myspace
YouTube
2007
November 27
Just What The World Needs Now
David Burn, AdPulp
(read more…)
Firebrand Makes Its Debut As The First 3 Screen, Multi-Platform Network Dedicated to Commercial Culture
Alan Weinkrantz, 3 Screens.net
(read more…)
November 26
Can Firebrand Make Commercials Hot?
Chris Albrecht, GigaOm
(read more…)
Firebrand Makes its Debut as the First Multi-Platform Network Dedicated to Commercial Culture
create magazine
(read more…)
Commericals as Content
Charles Sipe, Cool Marketing Stuff
(read more…)
Forget about the Super Bowl Ads
By Tarik Moody, RadioMilwaukee’s Diggin’ with the Architect
(read more…)
November 15
Firebrand movie includes work!
Be.Interactive
(read more…)
FirebrandTV; A Great Way to Waste Time at Work
Marketing Conversation
(read more…)
Fond of commercials? This post is for you
VOIP
(read more…)
November 14
In (Mild) Defense of Firebrand
grokdotcom
(read more…)
For the birds
Make The Logo Bigger
(read more…)
Firebrand – For those without enough commmercials in their life
Movie Marketing Madness
(read more…)
November 13
Firebrand
Be.Interactive
(read more…)
November 12
all in one place
zefrank
(read more…)
October 10
Influx Interview- Shari Leventhal- Firebrand
Influx Insights
(read more…)
October 1
Brands on fire
‘Cross The Breeze
(read more…)
September 26
Firebrand Shows Ads The Way MTV Used To Show Music Videos
By Rohit Bhargava, Influential Marketing Blog
(read more…)
September 25
how firebrand lit a blog on fire
Brand Flakes for Breakfast
View Full Article
Firebrand All-Ad Video Network Set to Debut
By Kamau High, Adweek
(read more…)
Commercial Culture Gets Its Due
Brand Noise
(read more…)
Brands on fire (with a little help from crayon)
By Greg Verdino, Greg Verdino’s Marketing Blog
(read more…)
Life after the 30-second spot?
By Joseph Jaffe, Jaffe Juice
(read more…)
Consumers Gain Greater Control As Brands Get Fire
A Media Circ.us
(read more…)
Firebrand Preview Launches during Advertising Week – Love Coverage
By David Berkowitz, Inside the Marketers Studio
(read more…)
Firebrand – Extremely Ambitious Advertising as Content Destination
Karl Long, Experience Curve
(read more…)
Microsoft, NBCU Back Venture That Turns Ads Into Content
By David Goetzl, Media Daily News
(read more…)
Commercials serious business at Firebrand
By Alex Woodson, The Hollywood Reporter
(read more…)
TV Commercials Redistributor Firebrand Raises Funds
Submitted by Mark Hefflinger, Digital Media Wire
(read more…)
Firebrand All-Ad Video Network Set to Debut
By Kamau High, Brandweek
(read more…)
Tech company offers commercials only
By Amanda Fung, Crain’s New York Business.com
(read more…)
NBC: That’s Advertainment
By Stuart Elliott, The New York Times
(read more…)

What is the Agenda of Sleeper Cell?

Chris Abraham — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:32:48 +0000

I am burning through a couple-few seasons of Sleeper Cell from Showtime.

I am super impressed by the show but I am confused as to the memetic and propagandic — read political — agenda of the show.

Does anyone have any insight into this raw television show, this rugged, well-acted, show about terrorist “sleeper cells” in the United States, and the women who love them?

I am curious as to your take — I can’t tell, and I am pretty good at sorting out message agenda …

Is Sleeper Cell pro-war, anti-war; is it pro-Islam or anti-Islam; or is it one of those super-rare “balanced” works?

The show is so well-acted and so well-produced, that I would really like to know what the show intends to say and convey.

Either way, it is very fine story-telling.

Does Extreme Sex Sell Extreme Product?

Chris Abraham — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 14:51:02 +0000

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I Want to Get Me Some Xyience Drinks

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The BoxTV Home Theater Projector Got Shut Down

Chris Abraham — Fri, 25 May 2007 09:17:14 +0000

“Can you really get a good home theater projector for $499? No,” via Gizmodo on the BoxTV. Harsh but good.

The Coolest Education Program is WHNP ZAP Pi

Chris Abraham — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 18:20:13 +0000

ZOOM From Wikipedia

ZOOM was an American educational television show, created almost entirely by children, which aired on PBS from January of 1972 to February of 1978. A new version of the show, also on PBS, premiered in 1999 and ended production in 2005. Both versions were produced by WGBH-TV in Boston. Christopher Sarson was ZOOM’s creator and original producer (1972-1974).

ZOOM encouraged children to “turn off the TV and do it!” On the show, a rotating cast of seven kids (known as ZOOMers) performed various activities such as games, plays, poems, recipes, jokes, and science experiments, all suggested by viewer contributions. The performers in the original series were known for wearing striped rugby shirts, and for performing the show barefoot. The mail-in request became a pop culture reference for its musical exhortation to, “Write ZOOM, Z-Double-O-M, Box 3-5-0, Boston, Mass 0-2-1-3-4: send it to ZOOM!”. There was also a language game on the show called Ubbi-Dubbi and another called Fannee Doolee.

ZOOM was a new kind of series when it premiered on January 3, 1972. Unlike other children’s fare at the time, it was for the most part unscripted. Far from seeking to capitalize by making stars of the child actors, the contracts prohibited them from making any television appearances or doing commercials for three years after they left the show.

ZOOM was intended to inspire children to be active investigators, creators, and problem-solvers as well as introduce them to the principles of ethnic diversity. The show’s ZOOMSci segment, for example, featured on the later incarnation, encouraged viewers to try the activities shown on ZOOM and to send in their results.

When ZOOM made a comeback in 1999, parents who had grown up watching the show could now share it with their own children, and found that it was very much the same as it had been in the 1970s. The theme song was similar, there was still Ubbi-Dubbi, and the ZOOMers continued to play games and perform skits suggested by other children. While the ZOOMers would occasionally appear barefoot for certain games and skits, the entire show was no longer performed barefoot. With the advent of the Internet, the “0-2-1-3-4″ jingle was rarely sung, supplanted by one that emphasized “PBSKids, dot org!” Also, when reading aloud the names of contributors, the later version provided only first names and abbreviated surnames (e.g., “Paul T.”), presumably as a compromise between crediting the children and meeting modern privacy expectations for child safety.

The show was last filmed during the summer of 2004, many episodes taking place off of the ZOOM set. The decision to cancel the show was largely due to falling ratings, with the last season’s ratings down almost a fifth from the previous year. There is currently talk of putting ZOOM on either PBS Kids Sprout or a soon-to-be 24-hour digital PBS Kids Go! Channel.

The first ZOOM series lasted six seasons (1972–1978) and featured 49 ZOOMers. The second ZOOM series lasted seven seasons (1999–2005) and featured 32 ZOOMers. At the end of every season of the second series, cast members who had grown too old were replaced by new cast members.
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Originally funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Ford Foundation and McDonald’s, ZOOM lost its funding in 1975, after the end of the fourth season. It was off the air from the summer of 1975 until January of 1976, when it was brought back in reruns.

Some PBS stations continued to broadcast reruns of the series as late as early 1980.

During the 1970s version of the series, WGBH never disclosed the ZOOMers’ last names, which was likely part of the producers’ policy of just using ordinary kids who would be likely to stay ordinary kids; this policy also included a contract, in which the ZOOMers would not appear on television for five years after leaving the show.

Theme song

1970s Version

(spoken)Cha cha cha, ZOOM!
Come on and zoom, zoom, zoom-a zoom!
We’re gonna zoom-a, zoom-a, zoom-a zoom!
Everybody’s movin’ it, everybody’s doin’ it,
Everybody’s writing the show, yeah!
So would you zoom, zoom, zoom-a zoom?
Come on and zoom-a zoom-a zoom-a zoom!
I’m (name of ZOOMer)!, etc.

Each introduction in the roll call is followed by a few quick slides of that particular ZOOMer in various poses (often in a silly fashion).

Who are you?
What do you do?
How are you?
Let’s hear from you…
We need you!
We’re gonna zoom, zoom zoom-a zoom!
Come on and zoom-a zoom-a zoom-a zoom!
Come on, give it a try,
We’re gonna show you just why,
We’re gonna teach you to fly high!

Come on and zoom!
Come on and zoom, zoom!

These last two lines were repeated until fading out. In the early seasons, after the kids left the stage in the closing credits, it was often replaced after a few times with an instrumental version.

Second Generation Version

Come on and Zoom, Come on and Zoom,
Come on and Zoom, Come on and Zoom,
Come on and Zoom, Zoom, Zoom-a, ZOOM!
ZOOM! ZOOM! ZOOM!
Come on and Zoom, You call the tune,
Come on and Zoom, We’re starting soon,
Come and Zoom-a, Zoom-a, Zoom-a, ZOOM!
ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM,

I’m (Zoomer’s name)

We’re all plugged into one world now
So let’s talk, we want to hear from you
Come on give it a try!
And if you like what you see, turn off your TV,
AND DO IT!
ZOOM (x5)

Come on and Zoom, Come on and Zoom,
Come on and Zoom, Zoom, Zoom-a, Zoom
Come on and Zoom, Come on and Zoom
Come on and Zoom-a, Zoom-a, Zoom-a, Zoom!

ZOOM!

In 1974, A&M Records released an album of songs from the show entitled ZOOM (LP OCLC 3060311; cassette OCLC 18900529). The master number for the album was SP-3402. There were at least two books published for children that were based on the 1970s ZOOM series.

The Unofficial Tina Fey Primer

Chris Abraham — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 11:44:33 +0000

Currently, Tina Fey is best known for her portrayal of the Vice Presidental candidate Sarah Palin. You can watch a lot of Tina Fey all at one time if you go grab the streaming full episodes of 30 Rock from NBC. The show is appalling, but Tina Fey is, in fact, the perfect woman. And only two month younger. Sadly, married.Elizabeth Stamatina “Tina” Fey (born May 18, 1970) is an American writer, comedian, and actress. She was a cast member and co-head writer of Saturday Night Live.

Career
After Fey graduated from drama school at the University of Virginia in 1992, she moved to Chicago, getting a day job at a residential YMCA to take night classes at The Second City. She made what she later described as an “amateurish” attempt at stand-up comedy, and learned that the key to improvisation was to “focus entirely on your partner. You take what they’re giving you and use it to build a scene.”

By 1994 she was invited to join the cast of The Second City, where she performed in the Jeff Award-winning revue Paradigm Lost. She is also a veteran of The ImprovOlympic.

Saturday Night Live

With then-head writer Adam McKay’s help, Fey became a writer for NBC’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1997. By 1999, Fey was SNL’s first female head writer, a milestone she downplays by pointing out that the show has had few head writers.

As co-head writer of SNL’s 25th anniversary special, Fey won a 2001 Writers Guild of America Award; she and the writing staff also won a 2002 Emmy Award for their work on the show.

In September 2005, she went on maternity leave after giving birth to a daughter, Alice Zenobia Richmond. Her Weekend Update role was covered by Horatio Sanz for several weeks before her return to the show on October 22, 2005, noting:

“I had to get back to work. NBC has me under contract; the baby and I only have a verbal agreement.”
Fey confirmed during a July 2006 Tonight Show appearance that she would not be returning to SNL for its 2006-7 season.

SNL sketches
Some recurring sketches written by Fey include:

Parodies of Live with Regis and Kelly and The View
The Girl with No Gaydar, cowritten by Rachel Dratch
Boston Teens, cowritten by Dratch

She is also credited with:

Colonel Angus, portrayed by Christopher Walken in a sketch filled with word play on the colonel’s name
Mom Jeans commercial
“Talkin ‘Bout ‘Ginas” (Parody of The Vagina Monologues)

Weekend Update
In 2000, Fey and Jimmy Fallon became co-anchors of SNL’s Weekend Update, a pairing that ended in May 2004 when Fallon last appeared as a cast member. (Fey also was co-writer of the Weekend Update segment). Fallon was replaced by Amy Poehler. It was the first time that two women co-anchored Weekend Update.

Celebrity impressions
Barbara Pierce Bush
Bea Arthur
Janice Dickinson
Kathleen Willey
Mary Ann Mobley
Paris Hilton
Paula Zahn
Vanna White

30 Rock
Fey developed a situation comedy, 30 Rock, for NBC’s fall 2006 schedule.. The show is produced by NBC and Broadway Video, with Lorne Michaels and two former producers of The Tracy Morgan Show, David Miner, who is also her manager at 3 Arts, and Joann Alfano. She also writes and stars in the sitcom, said to be based on her experiences at SNL. The show’s title is a reference to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where SNL is produced.

Similarities between 30 Rock and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip led to speculation that only one of the two shows would be picked up. Alec Baldwin, who played the network executive in the 30 Rock pilot, said “I’d be stunned if NBC picked up both shows. And ours has the tougher task, as a comedy, because if it’s not funny, that’s it.” Kevin Reilly, the president of NBC Entertainment, was supportive of Fey, describing it as a “high-class problem”:

I just can’t imagine the audience would look at both shows, choose one and cancel the other out. In some ways, why is it any different than when there have been three or four cop shows on any schedule, or Scrubs and ER, which are totally very different?

Evidence of the overlapping subject matter between the shows (as well as the conflict between them) is the fact that Aaron Sorkin, the creator of Studio 60, asked Lorne Michaels to allow him to observe SNL for a week, a request Michaels denied.

It’s just bad luck for me that in my first attempt at prime time I’m going up against the most powerful writer on television. I was joking that this would be the best pilot ever aired on Trio. And then Trio got cancelled.

In spite of the overlap in subject matter, it was announced on May 15, 2006, that NBC had picked up both shows.

The show debuted to mostly positive reviews, however ratings its original timeslot on Wednesdays at 8 PM were weak. Rather than cancel the show, NBC moved the show into a revamped Thursday Must See TV comedy lineup at the end of November sweeps. After its first episode in its new Thursday 9:30 PM timeslot on November 30, 2006, the network picked up the show for the entire season

Other work
She partnered with fellow cast member Rachel Dratch in the critically acclaimed two-woman show Dratch & Fey at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City, the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado, and the Chicago Improv Festival. Lorne Michaels saw her at one of the performances, which led to her becoming the co-anchor of SNL’s Weekend Update.

She also appeared in Martin & Orloff, a surreal comedy which premiered at Austin’s SXSW.

Fey wrote the script and co-starred in the 2004 movie Mean Girls. Characters and behaviors in the movie are based on Fey’s high school life at Upper Darby High School and on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence (ISBN 0-609-60945-9) by Rosalind Wiseman. The cast includes other present and past cast members of SNL including Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, and Amy Poehler.

As of April 2006, Fey is working on a script for a Paramount Pictures film by the name of Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill that is said to be based loosely on the true story of a Hasidic rock musician.

Personal life
Fey was born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia to a Greek American mother and a father of German and Scottish descent. Her brother, Peter, remembers a drawing she did when she was about seven: it showed people holding hands, walking down the street with wedges of Swiss cheese. The caption read, “What a friend we have in cheeses!”

Fey was exposed to comedy early, saying:

“I remember my parents sneaking me in to see Young Frankenstein. We would also watch Saturday Night Live, or Monty Python or old Marx Brothers movies. My dad would let us stay up late to watch The Honeymooners. We were not allowed to watch The Flintstones, though, which my dad hated because it ripped off The Honeymooners. I actually have a very low level of Flintstones knowledge for someone my age.”

Her dream to entertain first was at Philadelphia Phillies baseball games, as she wanted to become a ball girl.

Fey attended Cardington Elementary School and Beverly Hills Middle School; by middle school she knew she was interested in comedy, even doing an independent study project on the subject in eighth grade. She graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1988.

Tina Fey is married to Jeff Richmond, a composer on SNL. They met before their jobs on SNL and dated for seven years before marrying in a Greek Orthodox ceremony on June 3, 2001 . They have a daughter, Alice Zenobia Richmond who was born on September 10, 2005.

The Winner is a Winner

Chris Abraham — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 20:59:54 +0000

The Winner on Fox tonight at 8:30PM and it is a funny, touching, absurd, and well-written comedy. Unless you don’t get it, in which case you’re either a-type or a moron. If you’re any semblance of a snarky, under-motivated generation X slacker, I think you will enjoy it. Or just watch it because you liked Rob Corddry on the Daily Show.

The Winner

A 43-and-a-half-year-old narrator, who is incredibly rich and successful, looks way back to 1994. It was the magical summer when O.J. was on the run, Snoop Dogg was climbing the charts, and he lost his innocence and started to become a man – at the tender age of 32.

Back in 1994, GLEN ABBOTT (Rob Corddry, “The Daily Show???), still living with his parents, finally steps out into the world and tries to make something of himself when the only girl he’d ever kissed, the radiant ALISON McKELLAR (Erinn Hayes, “Everwood,??? “Kitchen Confidential???), returns to town. True, he went on one date with her when he was 14, but hey, the first love is always the deepest.

Driven by the desire to become a success and win Alison’s heart, Glen goes through his “wonder years??? a mere 20 years older than, well, most everyone. But it’s not in vain, as this unlikely underdog will eventually transform from fear-riddled underachiever to the richest man in Buffalo in a mere five years.

Luckily, Glen doesn’t have to go though this awkward period alone. He becomes best friends with the only person he can truly relate to: Alison’s 14-year-old son JOSH (Keir Gilchrist, “A Lobster Tale???). Josh is a fellow hypochondriac, and they help each other survive “puberty.??? Glen also receives parental guidance from his absurdly enabling mother IRENE (Julie Hagerty,“Girlfriends,??? “Malcolm in the Middle???) and his supportive but quasi-rage-aholic dad RON (Lenny Clarke, “Rescue Me,??? “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events???).

In THE WINNER, executive producers Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy,??? “American Dad???) and Ricky Blitt (“Family Guy,??? “The Ringer???) present a twisted but oddly inspirational tale that will, most decidedly, give hope to late-blooming slackers everywhere.

Rob Corddry via Wikipedia

Rob Corddry (born on February 4, 1971 in Weymouth, Massachusetts), born as Robert Cornelius Corddry, is an American comedian known best for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He is the older brother of former Daily Show correspondent and current Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip star Nate Corddry.

Biography

After graduating from Weymouth High School in 1989, Corddry went to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. According to an interview in the UMass Amherst alumni magazine, Corddry planned to study journalism when he arrived in fall 1989. He stuck with the major for just two days. English became his official major instead, but by his sophomore year, he focused much of his attention on drama classes and plays including Torch Song Trilogy, Ten Little Indians, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Romeo and Juliet, and Reckless. While at UMass, Rob pledged Theta Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity. He graduated in 1993.

He moved to New York City in January 1994. His early paying jobs included working as a security guard at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and handing out menus for a Mexican restaurant. He eventually landed acting jobs, including a year-long tour with the National Shakespeare Company. He trained in improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, performing regularly with the sketch comedy group “Naked Babies” and spent two years with the sketch comedy group Third Rail Comedy. Corddry’s first notable television appearances were on Upright Citizens Brigade on Comedy Central from 1998–2000.

In spring of 2002 he was asked to audition for the The Daily Show and was accepted. On October 4, 2005, his younger brother Nate Corddry made his first appearance as a Daily Show correspondent.

In January 2006, Corddry’s wife Sandra appeared with him on a Daily Show segment in which he discussed his obsession with having a threesome. They welcomed their first child, daughter Sloane Sullivan Corddry, on July 3, 2006.

Corddry also hosted the 10th annual Webby Awards ceremony on June 12, 2006.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

His pieces for The Daily Show have frequently included references to Boston, Massachusetts, which he considers to be his hometown. Some have described his comic style as “a common Masshole”.

He has since become one of The Daily Show’s popular correspondents, where he is well known for his cocky attitude during interviews. Since the departure of Stephen Colbert, who left to host his own show, The Colbert Report, and Corddry taking over the hosting duties of “This Week in God”, Corddry had the most correspondent screentime, becoming a featured part of the show. When he took over “This Week in God,” he mentioned that he is an Episcopalian.

On February 9, 2006, due to the absence of Jon Stewart (jokingly because the show’s regular host was “in the shop”, but in fact because of the birth of Stewart’s second child), Corddry hosted an episode of The Daily Show.

On August 15, 2006, Corddry said “I’ve got like a week and a half left, all bets are off”, and then on August 21, 2006, Stewart remarked that Corddry’s last day on The Daily Show would be August 24, 2006. Corddry appeared throughout the week, once filing a report from inside a toilet bowl supposedly onboard an aircraft transporting John Mark Karr, and another dressed up in a 1970s fashion; Stewart remarked, “It’s his last week, and really, we’re trying to come up with terrible things for him to have to do.”

During that last show on August 24, Corddry aired a self-produced tribute to his four years on the show, going out, as Stewart said, with a “poop joke”.

Stewart – “That was a very fitting tribute, Rob. We’re gonna miss you on the show.” Corddry – “Why thank you, Jon. But wherever I go and whatever I do, there’ll always be a part of me here.” Stewart – “Wow…that’s a really sweet thing to say.” Corddry – “No no no, I’m not kidding. It’s in the second floor men’s room, actually. That’s what you get for not giving me a proper sendoff.” Stewart – “You’re really gonna go out on a poop joke?” Corddry – “I have to stay true to myself, Jon.”

The bar featured during the tribute was 21 Nickels in Watertown, Massachusetts, near Corddry’s hometown of Weymouth. The two guys with Rob in the bar segment were fraternity brothers from UMass.

Corddry left The Daily Show to work on other productions, including The Winner, a 2007 TV series.

Other works

Corddry’s most notable achievement is his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but he has also appeared in the movies Old School (2003, credited as Robert Corddry) and was the lead character in Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story (2004).

Corddry voices the animated Devil character on Cartoon Network’s Weighty Decisions series (alongside fellow The Daily Show correspondent Ed Helms). He also appeared in a commercial for Cartoon Network’s “Ed, Edd ‘n’ Eddy” series.

He has appeared in a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode entiled “The Seder” as a sex offender who moves into Larry David’s neighborhood. In addition, he appeared as Moses Taylor, an actor who plays “Frank Wrench”, an obsessively by-the-books detective on a fictional television series Wrench on two episodes of FOX’s Arrested Development.

Corddry appeared in the film Failure to Launch as an excitable gun salesman.

Corddry is attached as the main character in the Fox Network mid-season comedy The Winner and has a leading role in the Ben Karlin and Jon Stewart produced film, The Donor.

On 3 October 2006, Corddry debuted as a featured writer for alt porn website SuicideGirls.

It’s a Wonderful Life for Grey’s Anatomy

Chris Abraham — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:31:53 +0000

Tonight’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy is brilliant. All characters are well-written, all scenarios have lots and lots of teeth, and there is a depth and importance in the script that reminds me that Grey’s Anatomy isn’t merely a simple “one story, many episodes“ series, it is a very memorable show, worthy of all of its hype and grandeur. I love it.

From Grey’s Anatomy to Grey’s Autopsy

Chris Abraham — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 23:11:57 +0000

Tonight on Grey’s Anatomy, Meredith Grey drowned and then died. Meredith is Grey. So, in the final scene, she sat up and saw dead people. Meredith Grey sees dead people. So, tell me, what do you think the next step will be? It looks grave. If you missed the episode and don’t hate me for spoiling it, you can watch Grey’s Anatomy for free.

Wild Palms Miniseries Takes Place in 2007 in Los Angeles

Chris Abraham — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 15:17:19 +0000

When you scamper off to watch Wild Palms, keep in mind that is was aired on USA Networks back in 1993 and is a futuristic cautionary tale, warning us about a future of fascism, propaganda warfare, and deep obsession with the medium making the message. All of this futuristic intrigue takes place this year, 2007!

Wild Palms is Still a Real Cool Noir Cyberpunk Miniseries

Chris Abraham — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:35:00 +0000

Back in 1993, there was a very obscure little miniseries called Wild Palms. Wild Palms is the first television story based on the cyberpunk movement. I am watching the first episode and they have already given a cameo to William Gibson. It is really interesting to watch. Pick it up from Amazon or Netflix. I have to tell you that the entire thing is surreal and absurd. There is no up or down. I see something deeper into it, something that is not only important but memorable. Remember, this is a vision from 1990-1993.

Second Lifers and fans of Second life need to watch.

Which is why nobody watched it and nobody remembered it. I don’t even think the happy happy cyperpunks and cyberfreaks of the world have seen this. Well, it is worth a watch. Keep your eye on the rhino, on Mimecom, on Channel 3, and on the Wild Palms…

Wild Palms from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wild Palms is a six hour mini-series, which first aired in 1993 on the ABC Network in the United States. From its beginning, “Wild Palms” was conceived as an Event Miniseries, with a limited amount of episodes.

Produced by Oliver Stone, and Bruce Wagner – who was also the writer – Wild Palms was a sci-fi drama about the dangers of brainwashing through technology and drugs. It was based on a comic strip written by Wagner and illustrated by Julian Allen first published in 1990 in Details magazine.

Plot synopsis
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the year 2007, Harry Wyckoff (James Belushi) is a lawyer and family man. His wife Grace (Dana Delany) runs a clothing store, his daughter Deirdre has been a slow developer, yet to speak a word, and his son Coty (Ben Savage) – a television addict – has just got an acting job on a new sitcom, Church Windows, alongside famous actress Tabba Schwartzkopf (Bebe Neuwirth). However, Wyckoff is plagued by strange dreams – of himself being pursued by a rhinoceros, and of a strange tattoo of a palm tree.

Things begin to unravel one day when Wyckoff is visited by a former lover who he hasn’t seen in fifteen years – Paige Katz (Kim Cattrall). She needs his help in tracking down her son Peter, who disappeared five years earlier. But Paige works for the Wild Palms Group, which Wyckoff’s firm is going up against in court, and his meetings with her invite suspicion from both sides, leading to a promised promotion being removed, and Wyckoff leaving his job.

Luck comes Wyckoff’s way when Paige introduces him to her boss – Senator Anton Kreutzer (Robert Loggia) – the founder of the Synthiotics religion, and the inventor of New Realism — a philosophy which is not well described but has something to do with a form of virtual reality which Kreutzer has developed at his company Mimecom. Kreutzer’s plan, he claims, is to use this technology at his television station – Channel 3 – the same station where Wyckoff’s son is now acting. Church Windows will be the first show to air in this method, where the action will take place in living rooms across the country, and people will be able to interact with the reality. Out of nowhere, the Senator offers Wyckoff a job as head of the business department at Channel 3, which he accepts.

However, all is not well in the world. Dining with his old college friend Tommy (Ernie Hudson), Wyckoff sees another patron of the restaurant dragged away by a group of men, but no one else pays any heed to it. Then, Wyckoff sees similar things happening with police around town. However, he has no feelings of empathy for the victim, but agrees with the attackers — although he does not know why. When Coty goes to stay with Grace’s mother Josie (Angie Dickinson), she asks if he has had the rhinoceros dream to which he responds that he has. She tells him to keep it secret, since it means he is special.

Then, in Grace’s presence, Deirdre utters her first words: “everything must go”. The peculiarity of this is furthered when Senator Kreutzer tells Wyckoff of a group called the Friends who killed his father shortly after the man had a fire sale, with a banner saying “everything must go”. At a dinner party, Grace and Wyckoff run into Tabba and her “consort” Tully Woiwode (Nick Mancuso), whose sister Maisy is the woman who was dining with the man in the restaurant that Wyckoff saw, although she denies this.

Wyckoff continues to be stunned by the bizarre occurrences that begin going on around him – Grace sinks into depression over what she fears is a relationship between her husband and Paige; she and Wyckoff separately learn about the two political groups: the “Friends”, and their enemies, the pseudo-fascist “Fathers”, who would often steal the children of their enemies. Grace herself fears that Coty is not her son, but one who was switched.

Wyckoff slowly discovers that the Fathers — led by Josie, the Senator and Paige – are developing a grand plan involving the Mimecom technology, while the Friends — one of whom is Grace’s incarcerated father Eli (David Warner) — are trying to fight back.

From this start, a deadly web of intrigue, betrayal and murder surrounds Wyckoff.

Wild Palms also stars:

* Charles Hallahan as Gavin, a colleague of Wyckoff
* Robert Morse as Chap Starfall, a singer
* Bob Gunton as Dr. Tobias Schenkl, Wyckoff’s psychiatrist
* Aaron Michael Metchik as Peter, a boy who assists the Friends
* Charles Rocket as Stitch, a lounge comedian
* and Brad Dourif as Chickie Levitt, Eli’s son and a cripple, who has intense knowledge of the virtual reality program.

Episodes

Originally designed to air over five weeks, complications resulted in the miniseries being screened as two installments.

* 1. Everything Must Go (90 minutes) – directed by Peter Hewitt
* 2. The Floating World (45 minutes) – directed by Keith Gordon
* 3. Rising Sons (45 minutes) – directed by Kathryn Bigelow
* 4. Hungry Ghosts (45 minutes) – directed by Keith Gordon
* 5. Hello I Must Be Going (45 minutes) – directed by Phil Joanou

Interpretation

* Opinion was, and remains, divided on Wild Palms. Some saw it as too similar to David Lynch’s cult series Twin Peaks – to the point of which it is known by some as Twin Palms. To some it is fondly remembered, while it came fourth in a British Broadcast magazine poll of the worst American television shows of all time.
* Wild Palms is considered by many to be a veiled fictionalized criticism of the Church of Scientology. The miniseries includes a number of parallels of L. Ron Hubbard to the character Sen. Anton Kreutzer, of nautical imagery to Sea Org, and of Synthiotics / New Realism to Dianetics / Scientology respectively.
* References to the ‘Go chip’ and several phrases in the miniseries including ‘Everything Must Go’ are a reference to the Chinese strategic board game Go. The character of Anton Kreutzer is seen at one point playing a game of Go. “Hello, I Must Be Going” is another reference.

Poetry and Songs

* “The wind is old…” by W. B. Yeats
* “The Hollow Men” by T. S. Eliot features Kreutzer’s last words “This is the way the world ends/ Not with a bang but a whimper”.
* “Hello, I Must Be Going” by Groucho Marx (from Animal Crackers, 1930), sung by the dying Kreutzer.
* “O Captain” by Walt Whitman is repeatedly alluded to and recited after the Fathers’ demise.

Wild Palms Reader

A book published to coincide with the mini-series supposedly featuring writing from the “world of the series???. Contributors included

* Norman Spinrad – radical sci-fi writer of Bug Jack Barron & the Adolf Hitler ‘novel’, The Iron Dream
* Genesis P. Orridge – Psychic TV, Throbbing Gristle
* E. Howard Hunt – Nixon era scandal, writer of spy/sci-fi novels
* William Gibson – Appears as himself in Wild Palms and contributes some poetry to Wild Palms Reader
* Brenda Laurel – VR Guru & consultant on Wild Palms
* Lemmy – writes an anti-syntheotics song in 1997 though the Wild Palms Reader was notpub. 1993
* Spain Rodriguez – Underground 60’s comics artist illustrates the Mimecom backstory.
* Hans Moravec – The science of Wild Palms, backdated to the 70’s and an email converstion between the fathers of two characters

The Production design

* The Japanese influence, Charles Rennie MacIntosh
* 1950s/1960s open-top cars (in the Wild Palms Reader – all non-electric cars have been banned after a severe emission bill leaving no smog)
* Victorian suits

Trivia

* Cyberpunk author William Gibson has a cameo appearance as himself. When introduced as the originator of the term cyberspace, he remarks, “and they’ve never let me forget it.”
* Oliver Stone has a unique cameo, in which he appears as himself – being interviewed on television – after the release of files pertinent to the assassination of John F. Kennedy reveal that Stone’s film, JFK, was right.
* The soundtrack was created by Ryuichi Sakamoto
* Stone hired musician, body-modification pioneer, and occultist Genesis P-Orridge as a consultant for the series.

DVD release

Wild Palms was released on Region 1 and Region 4 DVD in October 2005.

House Just Gets Better and Darker

Chris Abraham — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 20:53:23 +0000

Xmas show was brutal but good.

30 Rock Has Broken My Will and I am Laughing My Ass Off

Chris Abraham — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 20:28:37 +0000

I have watched so many 30 Rock episodes in a row online this AM that my mind has softened to a warm tapioca and now I am thoroughly addicted to 30 Rock. I am officially a fucking moron.

30 Rock is a Golden Globe Award-winning American sitcom that debuted on October 11, 2006. It airs Thursdays at 9pm ET on NBC in the United States, Sundays at 8:30pm ET on CTV in Canada, Wednesdays at various times on Sony Entertainment Television in a half-dozen Latin American countries, Wednesdays at 10:30pm on yes stars 3 in Israel, and across Southeast Asia on Star World on Thursdays. In Australia, the show will be coming to Channel Seven during 2007.

The show was created by former Saturday Night Live (SNL) performer and head writer Tina Fey, who stars in the show and has written numerous episodes, including the pilot. She is also one of the show’s executive producers.

The show is a workplace comedy set in New York City’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza (“30 Rock” being a nickname for the building); it follows the cast and crew of an SNL-like show-within-a-show called TGS.

Overview

Fey portrays Liz Lemon, the head writer of NBC’s TGS and the show’s protagonist. Alec Baldwin plays Jack Donaghy, who as the series begins is an executive from NBC parent General Electric who is the new Vice President in charge of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming; he “interferes with her show, and bullies Lemon into convincing Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), a wild and unpredictable movie star, to join the cast.” Jane Krakowski plays Jenna Maroney, previously the star of The Girlie Show, but now overshadowed on the renamed TGS with Tracy Jordan. Also in the cast are Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, and Judah Friedlander.

The show’s title comes from a nickname for 30 Rockefeller Plaza, also known as the GE Building. It is used as the headquarters of NBC’s New York City studios, including Studio 8H, home to Saturday Night Live.

30 Rock is filmed primarily at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens, New York, It is one of two shows on the 2006–07 NBC lineup that revolves around the off-camera happenings on a sketch comedy series, the other being Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Cast

Main characters
Head writer of The Girlie Show, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey).
Head writer of The Girlie Show, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey).
Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is the Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming.
Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is the Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming.
Tracy Jordan.
Tracy Jordan.

* Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) — The protagonist of the show. Liz is the head writer of The Girlie Show. Writing for a comedy show is her dream, but she finds her dream interrupted when Jack Donaghy is made to be the new network vice president.
* Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) — The new Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming at the network. Arrogant and sometimes foolish, he frequently tells Liz that he does not find her attractive and often gets into conflicts with her. He convinces Liz to hire Tracy as the new star of the show.
* Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) — An unpredictable film actor who is hired to be the star of The Girlie Show. Tracy is hired after Jack Donaghy convinces Liz to hire him. Tracy tries to maintain a crazy image in the public eye. His character also makes frequent references to Star Wars characters. Since he was hired to the show, the show was renamed (much to Liz’s chagrin) TGS with Tracy Jordan. Also, in the episode, “Fireworks”, he finds out he is related to Thomas Jefferson.
* Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) — The female lead of The Girlie Show. She is conceited and frequently lies about her age. One of her characters on the show is “Pam, the Overly-Confident Morbidly Obese Woman,” for which she must wear a fat suit.
* Kenneth Potsdown (Jack McBrayer) — A young, Southern, dense page at the studio where the show is filmed who is very enthusiastic about his job.
* Pete Hornberger (Scott Adsit) – Liz’s trusted producer whom Jack Donaghy fired when he became president of the network. However, Liz convinced Jack to hire him back.
* Frank Rossitano (Judah Friedlander) – A sarcastic and quick-witted writer for the show. He always wears a trucker hat with a short saying on the front in big capital letters.

Minor characters

Main article: List of minor characters on 30 Rock

* James “Toofer” Spurlock (Keith Powell) — An African American writer with an aversion to the stereotypical aspects of black culture embodied by Tracy. According to Liz, Toofer is “afraid of black people.” According to Jack, his nickname is “Toofer” because “with him you get a two-for-one; he’s a black guy and a Harvard guy.” In the episode “The Breakup”, Toofer makes reference to having been a member of The Harvard Krokodiloes and having had a solo on “Like a Prayer”.
* Josh Girard (Lonny Ross) – The final one of the three main actors on TGS (along with Tracy and Jenna). He performs impressions on the show. His parents apparently raised him as a girl for ten years. His character has also been said to be based on SNL alumnus Jimmy Fallon.
* Cerie (Katrina Bowden) — Liz’s young and attractive assistant who dresses inappropriately at times. She is typically portrayed as being shallow and dim-witted, somewhat along the lines of a stereotypical “dumb blonde” or “Valley girl.”
* Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters) – Liz’s on-again-off-again boyfriend who is the last remaining beeper salesman in New York City. Although Liz does not enjoy dating him, she cannot seem to break up with him despite Jack’s encouragement to do so. Liz would finally dump Dennis upon learning that he is a sexual predator after she saw him on Dateline NBC being caught on camera trying to meet a teenage girl he chatted with online in one of the show’s hidden camera investigations.
* Dr. Leo Spaceman (pronounced “spa-cheh-man”) (Chris Parnell) – Tracy’s incompetent and unethical doctor who treats him with wildly experimental methods. He also dabbles in dentistry and specializes in fertility, meth addiction, and child psychology.
* Rachel Dratch, also a former SNL alum, portrays various roles according to the scripts’ needs. So far, Dratch has appeared in three episodes as Greta, a cat wrangler for sketches that needed animals. In other episodes, Dratch’s characters have included Elizabeth Taylor; a group therapist working as a counselor for professional relations; an imaginary blue man; a Latina maid; a prostitute; a nearly unintelligible Barbara Walters; and a Religious Right activist.
* Floyd (Jason Sudeikis) – An accountant who sends Liz flowers on Valentine’s Day in in “Up All Night”, although he had intended to send them to his girlfriend, who has a similar name. Since then, Liz had a few awkward encounters with him and ended up trying to fire his girlfriend so that she could date Floyd. Jack had Floyd’s girlfriend transferred, and Liz and Floyd later began dating.

Crew

30 Rock’s executive producers are Tina Fey, Joann Alfano, Marci Klein, David Miner, and Lorne Michaels. The show’s co-executive producers are Robert Carlock, Brett Baer, Dave Finkel, Jack Burditt, and John Riggi. The supervising producer is Adam Bernstein. Jeff Richmond and Jerry Kupfer are the show’s producers. Irene Burns, Matt Hubbard, and Margo Myers serve as co-producers.

The writing staff for the first season consists of Brett Baer, Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Dave Finkel, Daisy Gardner, Donald Glover, Matt Hubbard, and John Riggi.

30 Rock Sucks but Watch it to See Tina Fey

Chris Abraham — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:46:01 +0000

Elizabeth Stamatina “Tina” Fey (born May 18, 1970) is an American writer, comedian, and actress. She was a cast member and co-head writer of Saturday Night Live.

By 1994 she was invited to join the cast of The Second City, where she performed in the Jeff Award-winning revue Paradigm Lost. She is also a veteran of The ImprovOlympic.

Saturday Night Live

As co-head writer of SNL’s 25th anniversary special, Fey won a 2001 Writers Guild of America Award; she and the writing staff also won a 2002 Emmy Award for their work on the show.

SNL sketches
Some recurring sketches written by Fey include:

Parodies of Live with Regis and Kelly and The View
The Girl with No Gaydar, cowritten by Rachel Dratch
Boston Teens, cowritten by Dratch

She is also credited with:

Colonel Angus, portrayed by Christopher Walken in a sketch filled with word play on the colonel’s name
Mom Jeans commercial
“Talkin ‘Bout ‘Ginas” (Parody of The Vagina Monologues)

Celebrity impressions
Barbara Pierce Bush
Bea Arthur
Janice Dickinson
Kathleen Willey
Mary Ann Mobley
Paris Hilton
Paula Zahn
Vanna White

In spite of the overlap in subject matter, it was announced on May 15, 2006, that NBC had picked up both shows.

She also appeared in Martin & Orloff, a surreal comedy which premiered at Austin’s SXSW.

As of April 2006, Fey is working on a script for a Paramount Pictures film by the name of Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill that is said to be based loosely on the true story of a Hasidic rock musician.

Fey was exposed to comedy early, saying:

Her dream to entertain first was at Philadelphia Phillies baseball games, as she wanted to become a ball girl.

Eureka and Phych are Renewed for New Seasons

Chris Abraham — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 11:57:36 +0000

I love the original series coming from USA and Sci-Fi. Since I have not seen any new episodes, I thought that Psych and Eureka were toast. Lucky, TV Squad reassures me that both Psych and Eureka have been renewed. Phew.