Our holiday contest-a-palooza continues as we give away, in conjunction with City Lights Media, five (5) copies of THE TEN on DVD.
Masters of comedy David Wain and Ken Marino team up for THE TEN – a series of laugh-out-loud stories that reinterpret – and reinvent – the Ten Commandments! The film features an All-Star Ensemble Cast – including Adam Brody, Rob Corddry, Famke Janssen, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Ken Marino, Gretchen Mol, Oliver Platt, Paul Rudd, Winona Ryder, Liev Schreiber, Justin Theroux and Jessica Alba.
Contest ends at midnight EST on Friday, January 4th.
CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!
Official Rules
No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.
No Purchase necessary to win.
Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Friday, January 4th.
The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.
The web. It’s a big place, full of plenty of distractions ““ some funny, some informative, some ludicrous, some disturbing, some inane, some profound. Each and every weekday, we present links to a few of our favorite finds”¦
Some people hang the holly, others decorate the tree, and a few even terrorize the neighborhood with off-key caroling.
Not us.
Here at Quick Stop Entertainment, we’re celebrating the holiday season by giving a little something back to you, our readers (you know who you are).
Every weekday leading up to the holiday break, we’ve got uber-exclusive gifts provided by a whole range of artists, actors, comedians, and studios. One a day, straight from them to you (and you can check out last year’s fun here).
Ain’t that cool?
Today, not only do we have an extra special holiday sampler of the brilliantly funny UK quiz show QI, but we also chat with host Stephen Fry.
If you’ve never heard of the UK quiz program QI, you’re missing out on one of the funniest “educational” shows ever devised (the devisee being creator/producer John Lloyd, formerly of Blackadder, Not The Nine O’Clock News, and Spitting Image). The key to QI (which stands for “Quite Interesting”) is the central tenet of its philosophy – it’s not always being correct that counts, but interesting (and funny). The interesting nature of a given piece of information spurs conversation and debate, eventually leading round to the learning said informational nugget. Did you know that the Earth has more than one moon, for example? Or that otters kill crocodiles? Hosted by Stephen Fry, it features a rotating panel of four comedians (one of which is mainstay Alan Davies) – and it’s one of the most hilarious shows I’ve ever seen… Honestly, you’ll laugh as much as you learn. Be sure to visit QI on the web at www.QI.com.
Far from being a stuffy intellectual, a loathsome toff, or a smug git, Stephen Fry has managed to walk the fine line of being not only a wonderfully intelligent man who unashamedly exhibits said intelligence, but also a very funny performer and an all-around humble and likeable guy.
From out of the fertile ground of the Cambridge Footlights – alongside fellow ‘lighters Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery, and Emma Thompson – Fry soon planted himself in the burgeoning comedy scene of the 1980’s alongside comedy partner Laurie, a teaming known by the rather straightforward sobriquet “Fry & Laurie”. By the end of the 1980’s, with Fry & Laurie fast becoming beloved members of the funny firmament, Stephen branched out into playwriting before moving into screenwriting, directing, acting, hosting, just plain bookwriting… Really, there’s not much he hasn’t done.
Since 2003 – and over the course of 5 series and counting – he’s served as host/schoolmaster of the panel show QI.
In the not-to-distant past, I had a chance to chat with Stephen about QI – and as a holiday treat, we finally present that interview to you, the merry masses…
KP: So, I suppose we should start at the beginning – how did QI enter the picture?
FRY: Well, through John (Lloyd). Through his remarkable persuasive powers. I’ve known him for years and years. Really, he was a great hero. When I was at university – he had been, like me, at Cambridge in the Footlights club, which is a famous club at Cambridge. It produces comedians, and has done so for over 100 years. John Cleese and Peter Cook and Ali G – and myself, Emma Thompson, and Hugh Laurie were all in the same year at Cambridge, and we were all in the Footlights as well. And as I say, it’s that sort of Python tradition. And John Lloyd had been in about five years before me. Same time as Douglas Adams who wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide. They were very good friends. John had become well known to those of us aspiring toward the comedic world because of a TV series called Not The Nine O’Clock News, that he produced. When we left university, I sort of got to know him a bit.
KP: There’s somewhat of a history with Footlights of the alumni sort of lifting up and providing opportunities for those that come afterward, isn’t there?
FRY: Yes indeed. It causes extreme annoyance to those who were not at Cambridge. It’s often regarded as a kind of closed shop, a kind of Mafia, but it’s really just because we’re all very insecure and like working with people we know and trust, I suppose. But he did this series Not, as I say, and then Blackadder started and he asked me to be in the second series, where I played a character called Melchett, and then in the third series in one episode, and then did all the fourth series, as well. We just became friends, really. We’d go on skiing holidays together and that sort of thing. And then a few years ago he started to talk about this idea he had about this whole quite interesting thing, and at first I just thought, “Well, that sounds interesting. It’s a bit sort of Ripley’s Believe It or Not.” But knowing his track record as the best comedy producer of his generation, I kind of thought he must have some television ideas – because for him it’s a whole empire. It’s not just television – it’s books, it’s probably films, and god knows what else.
KP: I think it’s an action figure at this point…
FRY: Yeah. (laughing) So, he took me to lunch in a very fine restaurant of my choosing, and…
KP: So, you know how to play the game as well…
FRY: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And he asked if I would be in it. Either as a regular guest or as the host, and I said I’d rather be a regular guest than a host – not really knowing much about hosting and whether it was the kind of thing I wanted to do. And we did a pilot for the BBC, and he said, “Well look, for the pilot, can you be the host? Because we just can’t think of anyone else who could do it.”
KP: So he’s actually quite sly about the way he set this up…
FRY: Absolutely, yeah, indeed. So I did it for the pilot, and then it just seemed natural… everyone seemed to like it and said, “Well look, you must do the series. It goes through June.” So I said, “Well, okay then.” And I did it through the series. And, actually, I quite enjoy doing them, being the sort of beaming host of or, indeed, the vicious host, depending on how you look at it.
KP: Obviously, for years you’ve done panel shows. How would you describe the difference, from your perspective, to now be in the presenter’s seat?
FRY: Well, on the one hand there’s less onus on you to come up with witty remarks. On the other hand, there’s a strange onus on you to keep order. It’s bizarrely like being a schoolteacher, which I was very briefly before going to university. In what we call your gap year – which is the year between school and university where people like to go off usually and do the Inca trail in Peru or lounge around on Leonardo DiCaprio style beaches in Southeast Asia – but I instead taught at a prep school in England. And it’s like that. It’s like having a class of unruly people, and I feel it’s my duty to drag them back to the subject. But, on the other hand, of course, let them be amusing as well. So it’s a peculiar feeling. But it’s fun, and actually that sort of personality distinction between myself and Alan in particular is part of the fun of it, really, is that I treat him like a naughty puppy or a bad school boy.
KP: Who knew you would develop into an amazing comedy duo?
FRY: Yes, it does seem like that. It’s great fun. We record… I don’t know how long we record. John probably knows. It’s only about an hour, from which they have to get a half an hour, of course. And because we do 12 in one series – which is a lot for an English series, although it’s nothing for an American series – it gets into a nice rhythm.
KP: Did you know right off the bat that there was a rapport between you and Alan?
FRY: No, no, not at all. I’ve known him – met him at industry parties, award ceremonies and things – and he seemed a very nice chap and I liked him, but no, it just did seem to work. Of course, you know he plays a lot dumber than he really is, and I play a lot smarter than I really am! (laughing)
KP: With the benefit of the prompter, I’m sure.
FRY: Yes, absolutely. I’ve got all the answers, but usually, obviously, the point is not to… if everyone just knew the answer it would be a very dull game. The idea is to vamp and busk and generally, as it were, scatting on the subject. And the great thing is that now it’s well established, people who’ve not done it before will have seen it on television and be less scared of it. Because when it started, when we had a newcomer they were very nervous that they wouldn’t know enough, or that they had to be funny. I think what makes it fun for everyone to be on… well, there are a number of things. One is that it doesn’t address any of the boring issues that other television addresses, i.e. the celebrity culture and pop culture and contemporary politics and so on. It is genuinely… you have weird conversations about strange insects or about the nature of the universe or a chicken that lived five years without its head.
KP: Very much about the tangent…
FRY: Exactly, exactly. And that’s a relief, though. And people don’t have this enormous feeling that they have to come up with smart one-liners all the time. That it’s wonderful when people are funny, but it’s also wonderful if they genuinely know something interesting. You know, and sometimes the audience enjoys that more than anything else. Some odd fact may remind them of another odd fact, because everybody does know odd things. But off the top of their head they won’t know them. You need to be reminded. It’s like priming a pump.
KP: Alan mentioned that Hugh (Laurie) was quite nervous about doing the show…
FRY: Oh yes, indeed he was, yeah. He’s always nervous, Hugh, mind you.
KP: From what Alan related, he had a performance anxiety that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with you…
FRY: (Laughing) That’s nonsense! A, he can keep up with me, plus – I mean, he’s so brilliant, Hugh. And also, of course, he has so much charm that he’s always absolutely brilliant anyway.
KP: I think, now – by law – he belongs to us in America now.
FRY: Yeah, he certainly does, doesn’t he? Yeah. I’ve only seen four episodes, I think, but he’s terrific. Really wonderful.
KP: I’m surprised they haven’t scheduled your stunt casting as the hospital administrator, or something…
FRY: Well, funnily enough, when I talked to him he said, “You’ve got to come and do an episode.” I said, “I’d like to be the visiting doctor from London who’s even nastier than you are. Who makes you look like a pussycat.”
KP: I can’t even imagine that… unless you went around performing unnecessary amputations or something, I can’t imagine a more unpleasant sort than what they’ve made his character out to be. But in a loveable way.
FRY: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
KP: When you look at something like that, as far as a career trajectory, did you ever have a plan for where your career would go, or where you thought it would go?
FRY: Never. I’ve never had a career plan or trajectory in my life. I rather enjoy the fact that I have no idea what’s going to happen next in the world, and everything’s a constant surprise. I’ve never planned more than a few months ahead. I just do or don’t do things according to mood, really. I sometimes think, “Well, if I concentrated on one thing, if I decided to be just a writer, or decided to be just a comedian, or just an actor,” I might have had more conspicuous kind of success, but I don’t regard success as meaning anything… Happiness is the only success I’m interested in, really. Rather than the kind of reputation type of success. And QI‘s just something that is fun, and it’s nice… it gives pleasure to people in a very particular sort of way. I like the fact that taxi drivers talk about it. And they say, “Oh, I thought it was going to be too poncy for me…” This very English word – too kind of “artsy-fartsy”, as you would say, I think. But they enjoy it. Because, as I say, everyone does know things that they don’t know they know, and it’s a good program, and so it gets a huge mailbag, of course, because people would say, “Oh, this reminds me of something I was told…” And, of course, people love telling me that I’m wrong.
KP: Yeah, including Alan.
FRY: Indeed, absolutely! Absolutely.
KP: He mentioned that you were generally uncomfortable with the Boxing Day episode at the end of Series 2, with the tables being turned and you being placed in the hot seat under his questioning…
FRY: Well, I just thought it was a bit… well, not exactly self-indulgent, but I was just worried that it was a bit… yeah, I mean, it looks as if we were too pleased with ourselves in a strange sort of way, as if we were making an assumption in taking for granted that people would so buy into our characters that they would be amused by something that might amuse us. So it was probably oversensitivity on my part.
KP: See, Alan’s take on it was you just desperately didn’t like being put in that position.
FRY: (laughing) Maybe that’s true! Maybe that’s probably the horrible truth of it, is that I don’t like not being boss.
KP: And the problem that Alan had was that you happened to get the first couple of responses correct…
FRY: Yes, quite. He wanted to humiliate me! (laughing) The tradition in grand English country houses is that the Duke and Duchess serve the staff, the servants, their Christmas lunch. That’s a very English tradition, that. So it’s that sort of equivalent. I become the school boy for one episode.
KP: Does it feel different to you? For years you’ve done panel shows, but being the host, was it a completely different feeling to then be put on the panel?
FRY: Yes it was, actually. I mean, very strange, because you suddenly feel a whole different part of your comic mind is being asked questions, as it were, that you know you have to come at from a different place. Because you think, “Well now, do I interrupt here? Am I silent? If I’m silent too much people think I’m sulking. If I talk too much, they think I’m trying to take over everything.” So a rather bad bout of self-consciousness comes over one. (laughing)
KP: Do you find that you became slightly more frustrated with the panelists at times during the first series? I remember in particular the “how many moons” episode…
FRY: Oh, (laughing) absolutely! Yes, I see it as partly in a comic sense, but also partly in a quite serious sense to be my function, is to stop this kind of anti-science nonsense that is so prevalent amongst some, and try and sort of bang the drum for rational thought. Which is a bit like Hugh in House, actually. Try and be rational and basically push the palm of your hand hard into the face of those who doubt the value of logical thought.
KP: I think, to some extent, Rich Hall saw a bit of an opening and a way to needle you on that.
FRY: He did indeed. He’s brilliant at that. He’s an extraordinary figure, Rich, isn’t he? I mean, talk about dry. I don’t know anybody who’s dryer than Rich Hall.
KP: Someone I’m glad who has found a life outside of the US.
FRY: Yes, absolutely. Is he well known in America? I’ve never been quite sure.
KP: Well, I remember watching Rich on Not Necessarily the News in the 80s. Which is where he really made his mark. And then, much like the US does with other things, we kind of cast him off unceremoniously.
FRY: Right. And he has his Otis Crenshaw character as well, doesn’t he?
KP: Yes.
FRY: Have you seen that? Yeah, he’s kind of a trailer park character…
KP: I’m quite glad that he has an aftermarket in the UK, and you respect him as much as we foolishly did not.
FRY: Indeed.
KP: We tend to be quite disposable, and you guys actually tend to respect intelligence and talent.
FRY: Oh indeed. Yeah, we do.
KP: Which I’m sure you’ll see, because at some point we’ll even be foolish enough stop liking Hugh, as well.
FRY: Oh ho ho, please. He’s so sweet.
KP: It wouldn’t be my choice.
FRY: No, I hope not. Well he’s got to do another 22 in a few months, so he’s going to be there for a long time.
KP: Can you envision a season lasting that long?
FRY: No. And they work so hard on it. I’m doing this movie at the moment here in Berlin. It’s a studio picture. It’s Warner Brothers and it’s got a big budget and everything. So everything’s nice and slow. Here I am in my dressing room chatting to you. I get a nice Mercedes driving me in every morning and get nicely looked after and my own personal assistant who cleans my ashtray and brings me coffee whenever I want it and books me theater tickets if I’ve got a free evening and so on. Hugh, who is the star – and I’m only just a supporting actor – Hugh, who is the star of his own TV series, he has to drive into work, which all people do in TV. He shares a two-way trailer. I mean, he has his own section of it. And he gets almost no time in his dressing room in his trailer because people between shots are running, the whole crew is running around to do the reverse shot and they’re running to do the next shot. And they’re firing people who are a bit slow because they have so much to do. Eight, nine, ten pages a day. You know, we’re doing half a page today, and this is quite a lot of special… not special effects, but stunt work in the one I’m doing today. But give me films any day. They’re so much more relaxing! (laughing)
KP: Plus he gets to juggle the American accent…
FRY: Yes, which he does a very good job with – at least to my ears he does, and I think to a lot of Americans he really does do a good job.
KP: I think it’s always a nicely disconcerting moment when interviewers actually hear his natural accent in interviews…
FRY: Yes, indeed.
KP: As someone who’s observing it and has occasionally dipped his toe into it, do you see a reticence for the US audience to accept British actors on their own terms?
FRY: I think the fact that Hugh was probably best known to American audiences for Stuart Little, in which he also played an American, has made it quite easier for him, because I think with the exception of the Masteripece Theater-type audience who would have seen him as Bertie Wooster in Jeeves & Wooster, most of them will say, “Oh, that’s the guy who was with Geena Davis in Stuart Little,” and they’ll feel quite sort of… maybe feel he almost is American or, if he is English, then he probably grew up in America. Whereas if it was an obvious English actor like Hugh Grant doing it, I think they would find it rather hard to accept. It’s a tricky one. We love… we don’t mind Renee Zellweger doing an English woman, or Gwyneth Paltrow…
KP: But you did mind Dick Van Dyke.
FRY: That was terrible, because it was just so… Just so bad. An unspeakably bad accent. I mean, he can’t have had a dialogue coach. It was just shocking.
KP: (laughing) But he tried…
FRY: He tried, bless him… yeah, and, you know, he certainly was a good hoofer and he could move around and so on and, you know, I’m a big fan of his and all the rest of it, but dear me. (doing bad accent) “‘Ello Mary Poppins!”
KP: Well, that shows you the full range of what we have to offer.
FRY: (laughing) Yeah. But, you know, don’t… I sometimes get quite cross with Americans for selling themselves short. You’re the country that gives us The Simpsons and West Wing and things like that. There’s some really intelligent writing and performing and brilliant TV going on as well as the dregs. There’s some fantastically smart people working in television. Aaron Sorkin and people like that, David Kelly, and many of the others are really – they’re just incredible, what they put together under the pressure they do. Even things like CSI are so much better than they need to be, if you know what I mean. Obviously, after that fourth and fifth series, they tend to get more sentimental and formulaic and so on, but they’re very well constructed and very impressive pieces of craftsmanship. And at their best, like West Wing and The Simpsons, quite brilliantly written.
KP: Another thing I regret, and QI is an antidote to that, is that we tend to be so intensely disposable because of the glut of information that we have delivered to us…
FRY: Yeah.
KP: Just a all of this mass media coming at us.
FRY: Yeah.
KP: Whereas, especially with performers – and QI being an example of that – there really is an appreciation for solid, intelligent performers in the UK that I just don’t think we have over here.
FRY: Yes, absolutely. That is an advantage we have, no question. Yeah. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the Americans took the format, to see what you would do with it. Whether it would become more a series of one liners, whether there would be script editors. We don’t have that. I get the questions and that’s all I do, and I just say “Hi” and ask them. And the contestants… “Contestant” is not the word… The performers come along and respond to them. Some of them would like to know roughly what subject might come up beforehand, but nobody writes gags for them. Nobody tells them what to say. That’s the fun of it. I think the audiences know that somehow. They know whether something is prepared or not. And I’d be interested to see if American performers would allow that.
KP: It seems – particularly your role within it – a very British thing compared to the US, since we really don’t have the same kind of headmaster-type role in our upbringing.
FRY: No. You have issues with authority.
KP: As you’ve seen with Rich.
FRY: (laughing) Right! Exactly! (laughing)
KP: Can you imagine hosting an American version of the show?
FRY: It would be interesting. I would be treated, probably, like King George the Third, as someone who had to be… you know, have my tea poured over the side of the ship! (laughing) (doing American accent) “We fought a goddamn war to get rid of your kind!”
KP: Yes… The final segment every week would be them switching places with you.
FRY: Yeah, I mean, look at Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link. I mean, it lasted about a series or two, didn’t it, before people got fed up with this bitch from England…
KP: I think it was just the intensity with which it was sold.
FRY: Yeah, I think it was overdone, wasn’t it? It was ridiculously overdone.
KP: To the point where, I think at one point they were airing it three or four times a week.
FRY: Oh, dear god.
KP: Eventually we had The Weakest Link: County Commissioners special.
FRY: (laughing) Yeah, enough already!
KP: You can only have so many variations of a game show.
FRY: Yeah, quite.
KP: But there’s also just the concept of the entertainer-based panel show, which really doesn’t exist here in the US. Bill Maher tried to do it with Politically Incorrect, but we really don’t have… I mean, in the UK there is that deep history of the panel show and game shows.
FRY: Yes, there is. That’s right, absolutely. Lots and lots and lots. And I don’t know what it is. I don’t understand what psychological national characteristic is called in that gives it this kind of obsession, or at least history of it. Who knows what it says about you?
KP: You’re someone who’s endlessly interested in being on these shows… What is the appeal, to you, of the panel show?
FRY: Well, the fact that it’s simple and easy. I turn a lot more down than I do, but I do the odd episode of Have I Got News For You, which is a topical one, and I’ve done it about four times and it’s been going for 12 years. I’ve done a few others. And I love doing them on radio. They are enormously enjoyable.
KP: Like Just A Minute…
FRY:Just A Minute, exactly, and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, which is a wonderfully silly one but very enjoyable. But yeah, I mean, it’s a pleasant way to spend an afternoon in a studio with… you know, (laughing) I don’t know what the answer is, I suppose. It used to be, before television took over the world, that’s how British people would disport themselves after dinner. They would play games. What’s called house party games. Games like Just A Minute all come from that. They were “parlor games” is the phrase, isn’t it? And a lot of the best games on television come from parlor games like that. There’s that play by Noel Coward, Hay Fever, which has got that classic scene in the middle where they all play this game called in the manner of the word where someone goes out of the room and everyone in the room has to think of an adverb – like “slyly”, or “astonishedly”, or whatever it might be. And then the person comes in and they ask questions, and they all have to reply in the manner of that word. And then he has to guess what the word is. And there’s this fantastic scene of violence and emotional sort of thunderstorm in Hay Fever because one of them feels humiliated because he doesn’t know the word “archly” or something, and they get in this terrible fight about it.
KP: So this is what a repressed populace plays during a blackout…
FRY: It would seem exactly that – rather than actually just getting straight down to it, as I’m sure you Americans would.
KP: As opposed to expressing emotions through parlor games…
FRY: Yeah, (laughing) that seems to be it.
Check out the rest of this year’s “Holiday Havoc”HERE
SModcast is the meandering palaver of a pair of dudes whose voices are so dull, they don’t deserve to be on the radio (and, hence, aren’t). Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier are SModcast.
The best thing about SModcast? It don’t cost nothing.
SModcast 42: SMerry Christmas –
In which our heroes ring those silver bells in celebration of the holidays, chatting up all things related to the season, from the little baby Jesus to Conan the Barbarian.
[CONTENT WARNING]SModcast features harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Listener discretion is advised.
T’was two weeks before Christmas,
When all through the nation,
Former UPN outlets…
Showed a true aberration.
The street was the same,
But it wasn’t as good.
This Miracle’s color –
And no Natalie Wood.
Look! There’s David Hartman
Of the old G.M.A.
And Jane Alexander…
Who once ran N.E.A.
All the character actors…
Do I see Roddy McDowall?
And as Mr. Shellhammer,
None other than Thurston Howell!
And the big man in red
May have been a real mensch.
But he’s sure not Kris Kringle.
He’s Brian Keith’s butler named French.
If you look past the color,
You’ll see something quite lyrical.
It’s not about Santa’s mail,
But, I’d still call it a miracle.
For, up to that moment,
It was safe to assume…
Messrs. Doyle and Bosley
Were never in the same room.
The same roundish tummy.
The same roundish pan.
I’m not the first to believe
Dave and Tom the same man.
And to make things confusing
While Bosley was Fonzie’s foil.
On the very same network,
The Angels’ Bosley was Doyle.
For your comic relief,
And 70’s ABC fun…
Two lovable cherubs.
Or was there just ONE?
Is there a Bosley?
And ALSO a Doyle?
Which of these guys
Is according to Hoyle?
For an answer to this
Grand contradiction…
Look no further than this
Ersatz “Miracle” depiction.
On the bench sat Judge Tom
In Kringle’s hearing for fitness.
David Hartman called Macy.
And, in walked the witness.
The courtroom door opened…
And I gasped, at a loss.
David Doyle took the stand
As Kris Kringle’s boss.
There they were for a moment,
Although it was brief.
It was more than sufficient
To debunk a belief.
When the movie was over,
I could hear all exclaim…
Merry Christmas to all
From Bosleys one and the same.
Some people hang the holly, others decorate the tree, and a few even terrorize the neighborhood with off-key caroling.
Not us.
Here at Quick Stop Entertainment, we’re celebrating the holiday season by giving a little something back to you, our readers (you know who you are).
Every weekday leading up to the holiday break, we’ve got uber-exclusive gifts provided by a whole range of artists, actors, comedians, and studios. One a day, straight from them to you (and you can check out last year’s fun here).
Ain’t that cool?
It’s Christmas, and that means the fine folks over at AstroBase Go – Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer – have put together another special Venture Bros. holiday tune exclusively for Quick Stop…
In 2004, The Monarch & Dr. Girlfriend gave us their take on the Bowie/Crosby “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy“, while 2005 brought the tender trio of The Monarch and Henchmen Nos. 21 & 24 belting out Dolly Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas” during The Monarch’s incarceration, and 2006 delivered the epic “Venture Aid 2006”
This year, The Monarch & Dr. Girlfriend follow in the vocal footsteps of Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl by putting their own spin on the epic holiday classic “Fairytale Of New York”…
Some people hang the holly, others decorate the tree, and a few even terrorize the neighborhood with off-key caroling.
Not us.
Here at Quick Stop Entertainment, we’re celebrating the holiday season by giving a little something back to you, our readers (you know who you are).
Every weekday leading up to the holiday break, we’ve got uber-exclusive gifts provided by a whole range of artists, actors, comedians, and studios. One a day, straight from them to you (and you can check out last year’s fun here).
Ain’t that cool?
Today, we’ve got a special edition of Paul Dini’s “Monkey Talk”, which finds Rashy and his little brother, SuperRica, swingin’ it Vegas-style for the holidays…
Be sure to check out Rashy’s official site at LittleRashy.com“¦ And while you’re at it, be sure to check out Rashy’s “mom”, Misty Lee, at MistyLee.com
Check out the rest of this year’s Holiday Havoc – and past Havoc –HERE
Some people hang the holly, others decorate the tree, and a few even terrorize the neighborhood with off-key caroling.
Not us.
Here at Quick Stop Entertainment, we’re celebrating the holiday season by giving a little something back to you, our readers (you know who you are).
Every weekday leading up to the holiday break, we’ve got uber-exclusive gifts provided by a whole range of artists, actors, comedians, and studios. One a day, straight from them to you (and you can check out last year’s fun here).
The Sound of Young America is, as it describes itself, “a public radio show about things that are awesome.” Hosted by the aforementioned Jesse Thorn, it features interviews, music, comedy, and conversation, presented with a healthy dose of postmodern fun and fancy free.
Head over to MaximumFun.org and give the show a listen, but not until after you give this little year’s holiday festivities a cyber-spin…
Some people hang the holly, others decorate the tree, and a few even terrorize the neighborhood with off-key caroling.
Not us.
Here at Quick Stop Entertainment, we’re celebrating the holiday season by giving a little something back to you, our readers (you know who you are).
Every weekday leading up to the holiday break, we’ve got uber-exclusive gifts provided by a whole range of artists, actors, comedians, and studios. One a day, straight from them to you (and you can check out last year’s fun here).
Ain’t that cool?
Today, we’ve got an exclusive sketch from UK comedy duo Mitchell & Webb – a little piece called “IT Helpdesk”.
Chances are, to most Americans, the names David Mitchell & Robert Webb mean very little… unless, of course, they have a friend, relation, or acquaintance by that name. I speak, however, of a pair of brilliant comedians by the sobriquet Mitchell & Webb who currently ply their trade in the sceptred isle of England.
A cursory glance at the offerings on YouTube will bring you up to speed on Messrs. Mitchell & Webb – who, since their Cambridge Footlights days, have written and starred in Edinburgh Fringe productions, radio (That Mitchell & Webb Sound), a live tour, and a trio of sketch shows (Bruiser, The Mitchell & Webb Situation, and That Mitchell & Webb Look – the latter two of which are currently available on DVD). They’re also the stars of the Britcom Peep Show (about to begin its 5th season), the feature film Magicians, and were cast as PC (Mitchell) & Mac (Webb) in the British versions of the popular Macintosh ads.
Check ’em out… But first, check today’s Holiday Havoc from Mitchell & Webb…
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide – your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
Unfortunately, the big screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s illustrated fable Stardust (Paramount, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.99 SRP) has been saddled with many a comparison to The Princess Bride. That’s probably because modern fantasy with wit and an adult touch are few and far between, and really haven’t been attempted since that mid-80’s gem. Stardust, though, is it’s own beast, and while it sometimes falters under the weight of trying too hard, it’s a mostly enjoyable romp through a fairytale land where a young man of mysterious lineage based half in the real world and half in the aforementioned enchanted land, named Tristan (Charlie Cox), travels to said land in order to bring back a fallen star… Who just so happens to have attained human form (Claire Danes) during her descent from the heavens, and is hunted not only by Tristan, but also the heirs to the kingdom’s throne and a witch (Michelle Pfeiffer) who seeks the heart of the star to renew the immortality of herself and her sisters. Bonus features include a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, and bloopers.
The second season of sleuthing magicians Jonathan Creek (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$34.98 SRP) hits DVD with another half-dozen episodes starring Alan Davies as the mop-headed magico in question. Unfortunately, the 2-disc set is sans any bonus materials, but at least the show itself is cracking good fun.
The main attraction of the new 2-disc special edition of Braveheart (Paramount, Rated R, DVD-$19.99 SRP) is the digital remastering of the picture and sound. It is a noticeable, if not terribly extraordinary, upgrade. Bonus materials include an audio commentary with Mel Gibson, making-of featurettes, archival interviews, a photo montage, and a pair of theatrical trailers.
No holiday weekend is complete without the tipsy travails of Patsy & Edina from last year’s star-studded Christmas special revisiting our favorite ladies who lush, Absolutely Fabulous: White Box (BBC, Not Rated, DVD-$14.98 SRP). Bonus features include a retrospective special, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and the original French & Saunders sketch that started it all.
On December 2, 2006, Kevin Smith hosted a special conversation between Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee and the current (and controversial) Editor-In-Chief, Joe Quesada. That conversation has been released on DVD as Marvel Then & Now: A Night With Stan Lee & Joe Quesada, Hosted By Kevin Smith (Hero Initiative, $24.95) The DVD is available exclusively as a fundraiser for the Hero Initiative, and you should definitely check out the website while you’re ordering your copy.
Forget that horrid big screen version – it will be duly erased from your memory by the original TV adventures of Pete, Linc, and Julie – The Mod Squad (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP). The first volume of season 1 contains 13 swingin’ episodes featuring our teenage trio, who go from the wrong side of the law to working as undercover detectives. Bonus materials include a trio of newly produced retrospective featurettes.
My emotions about The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$129.99 SRP) are a mixed bag. As a cinematic tool to excite a young audience about the personalities and events that shaped the early 20th century, I think it’s a success. The time-hopping adventures are fun and certainly instructional. I don’t, however, really see them as the juvenile tales of the Indiana Jones that we come to know and love in Raiders and its sequels – Indy is clearly just a hook to bring the audience in. Also, I have to say, my biggest gripe is that – in large part – much of the thematic simplification and visual shortcuts that Lucas would later bastardize the Star Wars franchise with had their roots here. If you divorce the series from those two drawbacks, what you’re left with is still a nice show for kids, and a pleasant diversion for adults. The series has been split into three volumes, with the second 9-disc set focusing on the “War Years” (World War I), featuring in-depth companion documentaries packed with more historical figures and luminaries than you can shake a stick at.
The latest Modern Masters spotlight from the fine folks at Twomorrows turns its artist spotlight on Frank Cho (Twomorrows, $14.95 SRP) – he of the beautiful babes and the occasional monkey. Packed with the by-now expected oodles of doodles and artwork both rare and unpublished – plus an in-depth interview with the subject himself – you know it belongs on your shelf with the rest of the Modern Masters releases.
I admit, I was hoping for the same kind of brilliance they bring to Reno 911, but I still found Tom Lennon and Ben Garant’s Balls Of Fury (Universal, Rated PG-13, DVD-$29.98 SRP) to be a fun flick – but maybe that’s just because there’s no denying the comedic appeal of Christopher Walken as the ping pong overlord of an underground table tennis ring. Bonus features include featurettes, deleted scenes, and an alternate ending.
The tunes aren’t nearly as memorable as those found in The Producers, but the cast album of Mel Brooks’s latest Broadway adaptation – Young Frankenstein (Decca, $18.98 SRP) – is certainly better than Spamelot‘s disappointing batch of songs. The real standout, though, is Andrea Martin’s showstopper as Frau Blucher, “He Vas My Boyfriend”.
I can’t stand Brett Ratner. In fact, the only people I can tolerate less are JJ Abrams and Brannon Braga. It’s just the level of pure, unadulterated smug that’s so off-putting. The only thing that saves the third film in the Rush Hour franchise (New Lines, Rated PG-13, DVD-$34.98 SRP) is the dynamic between its stars – Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker – as they cavort through Paris like a pair of street fighting Clouseau’s. The 2-disc platinum edition features an audio commentary, making-of featurettes, deleted scenes, an outtake reel, and the theatrical trailer.
Sega’s hyperspeed hedgehog with the voice of Urkel gets his third animated series released. Sonic Underground (Shout! Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) features the first 20 episodes, interviews, and a bonus CD with tunes from the show.
Nicolas Cage’s unlikely (and borderline somnambulant) action hero adventurer Benjamin Franklin Gates will be back on the big screen this holiday season, so it’s expected that the very first National Treasure (Walt Disney, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP) would make a reappearance on DVD as a 2-disc special edition, featuring deleted scenes, and alternate ending, an opening scene animatic, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.
Count ’em out and ride in the final 16 episodes of the sophomore season of Rawhide with the second volume of season 2 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$38.99 SRP). This 4-disc set features 16 episodes of Clint Eastwood as cowhand Rowdy Yates.
In the annals of unnecessary movie, add the live action adaptation of Underdog (Walt Disney, Rated PG, DVD-$29.99 SRP) to the list. Reimagining Underdog as a real dog in a human world was mistake number one, but pairing that reimagination with a poor script and a fire sale clutch of Disney owned actors (Jim Belushi, Amy Adams, Patrick Warburton) is just sad. Bonus materials include deleted scenes, bloopers, a music video, a featurette, and an Underdog cartoon.
Add Rob Zombie’s Halloween (Genius, Not Rated, DVD-$29.95 SRP) to the long list of films that prompt the stupefied reaction of “Why in the hell did they remake this?” Zombie claims a deep love the Carpenter original, which makes his decision to execute this lackluster reimagining all the more cringe-worthy. The 2-disc special edition features an audio commentary, alternate ending, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and the theatrical trailer.
If the cold sparks a desire for a rather intense piece of filmmaking to warm things up, give a spin to Eastern Promises (Universal, Rated R, DVD-$29.98 SRP) – starring Naomi Watts as a midwife who’s discovery of a crime family’s operations leads to a desperate and dangerous situation involving a “this can not end happily” relationship with a hardened member of the syndicate (Viggo Mortensen). Bonus features include a pair of behind-the0scenes featurettes with director David Cronenberg.
In a repeat of the .5 edition of the first Jackass flick, Jackass 2.5 (Paramount, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 SRP) offers up an expanded cut of the sequel, featuring much more of the same. The disc also features a new making-of, a look at the Jackass game, bonus segments and stunts, and a photo gallery.
So there you have it… my humble suggestions for what to watch, listen to, play with, or waste money on this coming weekend. See ya next week…
Our holiday contest-a-palooza continues as we give away, in conjunction with Paramount Home Video, five (5) copies of THE MOD SQUAD: SEASON ONE VOLUME 1 on DVD.
THE MOD SQUAD featured three young, tough, and cooler-than-cool detectives whose covert unit did their part to bridge the generation gap and put the bad guys behind bars.
Contest ends at midnight EST on Friday, December 28th.
CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!
Official Rules
No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.
No Purchase necessary to win.
Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Friday, December 28th.
The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.
The web. It’s a big place, full of plenty of distractions ““ some funny, some informative, some ludicrous, some disturbing, some inane, some profound. Each and every weekday, we present links to a few of our favorite finds”¦
Some people hang the holly, others decorate the tree, and a few even terrorize the neighborhood with off-key caroling.
Not us.
Here at Quick Stop Entertainment, we’re celebrating the holiday season by giving a little something back to you, our readers (you know who you are).
Every weekday leading up to the holiday break, we’ve got uber-exclusive gifts provided by a whole range of artists, actors, comedians, and studios. One a day, straight from them to you (and you can check out last year’s fun here).
Ain’t that cool?
Today, we’ve got an exclusive track from cyber-troubadour Jonathan Coulton – an evil, evil man who must be destroyed.
Why this call to action? Because he’s immensely talented, an amazingly gifted songwriter, and his incredible creativity both intimidates a normal, ungifted person like myself and drives me to distraction with catchy tunes and wordplay.
Damn him to hell, I can’t stop listening to his music.
That includes his first album Smoke Monkey, his first EP, Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow, and the complete 4-disc collection of his online songwriting experiment, Thing-a-Week.
You can purchase all of his discs, plus other merch – as well as partake of more sonic goodness – at www.JonathanCoulton.com. While you’re over there, be sure to check out all 52 Things – and pick up his CDs. And pledge your life to him. That talented bastard. Until then, here’s an exclusive live version (performed at Johnny D’s in Somerville, MA) of his nontraditional Christmas tune “Chiron Beta Prime,” with a little help from professional singing persons Paul & Storm and a “robot” assist from “Scott”…
MALIBU – Thankfully the Santa Ana flamed fires have spared my latest business venture. Having Satan for a silent partner has its advantages.
I’ve decided to give Promises and Dr. Drew a run for the star detox business by offering a revolutionary approach at The Party Favors Rehab Center and Hardcore Fighting Academy. We believe you can’t clean up your life until your clock is cleaned.
While other rehab centers will baby you with meatball psychiatry and compassion, your first day at PFRCHFC is all about wailing on your ass. You think your old man was hard on you, wait till our staff of trained “therapists” take you down into the Tyler Durden Memorial Basement for intense small group sessions. You won’t care about withdrawal pains since you’ll be too concerned about how many teeth you have left. Other rehab centers have you cleaning toilets. We’re going to use your head as a bowl brush. You’ll be gargling with Mr. Clean. We won’t have you making beds or doing laundry. You’re sleeping on the basement floor in a loin cloth. When you get out of our rehab center, the TMZ pests will dash away since you’ll smell like an animal that has been locked in the basement for six weeks.
Will you be cured? Not quite. You’ll still be addicted to alcohol, although now it will be applied to your flesh with cottonballs after your “break through” sessions.
For those of you who can “handle” your drinking, Party Favors is pleased to announce that it’s getting into premium booze business. We’ll be joining Jay-Z and Donald Trump on the top shelf. Instead of getting into the fancy vodka business, the Party Favors Distillery squeezes out high quality Moonshine.
Our two signature brands that’ll be clogging the aisles at Macy’s Liquor store are Granny’s XXX and Otis’ Secret Stash. Granny’s XXX comes in an authentic little brown jug. Originally the bottle was going to mention that it’s for medicinal purposes, but the FDA told us it wasn’t a cure for legitimate diseases. As if Restless Leg Syndrome is a real disease. If you suffer from drinking too much house paint, Granny’s XXX is guaranteed to peel the semi-gloss off your small intestine. Granny’s XXX comes in one flavor: harsh. We recommend you dilute it with Ronson lighter fluid.
Otis’ Secret Stash has a variety of flavors including Cherry, Peach, Strawberry and Pineapple. Instead of using bunch of artificial ingredients, we chop up the fruits and squeeze ’em into the bottle. You can put the diced delights on your morning pancakes as a hangover cure. The Pineapple is my favorite. If you eat a chunk of the shine soaked golden fruit, you’ll get a vision of Jack Lord.
While we use an authentic Southern recipe, our bottles promise that we don’t resort to an old car radiator as a condenser. Does Donald Trump promise that he doesn’t use his old Rolls Royce radiator on Trump Vodka? If the Donald drank a little Granny’s XXX, he’d grow a real haircut.
These are only the first two points of the Party Favors triangle of pleasure. We’re proud to announce our new bar at Las Vegas’s Zanzibar Casino and Hotel. ReTox opens on the 4th of July, 2008. The club’s slogan is “When you’re ready to fall off the wagon, we’ll catch you.” I can’t give too many details except we are in negotiations to lure Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears to host our “Screw the Chip” opening night. Plus we’ll be the future home to the Little Miss Booze pageant. Mondays will be 2 for 1 drink night for “graduates” of PFRCHFC.
We do offer gift cards in case you want to give a friend the present of booze, decadence or sobriety this holiday season. Party Favors wants to be your full-service alcohol abuse destination.
HATIN’ THE HOBBIT
Peter Jackson didn’t get any brotherly love in Philadelphia. My sources on the set of The Lovely Bones said the local crew was frustrated with the Oscar winning director. He’s described as being unprepared for the film.
The local crew members are used to working on M. Night Shyamalan’s films. He’s meticulous in his production work. He knows what he wants and they give it to him. They expected the same from Jackson seeing how he pulled off Lord of the Rings and King Kong. They joked that Jackson would have a CGI version of the film that they’d capture in the flesh.
Instead Jackson became notorious for arriving at the location without the rush to make movie history. When he did make a “artiste” decision, it didn’t produce applause. One incident described how Jackson demand a complicated multi-camera set up. The crew warned him that the moves weren’t going to work in the tight location space. He wouldn’t alter his plans. They spent hours setting it up. They were quietly hoping to be proven wrong by the man. They wanted to bask in his genius. After the first take; Jackson declared it a dud and scrapped his initial vision for the shot. He didn’t inspire trust amongst the natives.
Could this explain why Ryan Gosling is no longer the lead in the film? Rumors spread that Jackson found Gosling “demanding.” Perhaps Gosling was expecting Jackson to be more demanding?
Does Jackson always work like an anti-Roman Polanski? Did he wander onto the set and wait for the cinematic inspiration on Lord of the Rings? Or maybe leaving the land of Kiwis has thrown off his game. Philadelphia is a town that can suck the life out of you – just ask Terrell Owens and Santa. All that cheese steak can clog your mind. Does sound like Jackson’s tombstone will pay homage to W.C. Fields’ epitaph.
HOLLY GOLLY DVDS
The screenwriter’s strike continues so that means more time to spend with my DVD collection. Do I really need to see stars promote films that stunk up the screen last year? Here’s a few titles I’ve been enjoying and might great Christmas gifts for your special friends that aren’t happy with donations to the Human Fund.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. The Third Season takes us back to Camp Henderson. While 1966 to 67 marked an escalation of the war in Vietnam, Gomer hadn’t a care about battling the Cong in a rice patty. His only wanted to keep Sgt. Carter happy. There’s not even a subtext of Vietnam in the scripts. It’s a beautiful alternate America that has Gomer defending it. “Gomer and the Little Green Men From Outer Space” has our favorite private receive a close encounter of the third kind. Naturally everyone thinks he’s gone nuts. The closest Gomer comes to shipped out to Asia is his tenure in a tiki bar watching Lou-Ann Poovie sing. Even though the nightclub has a Pacific island feel, we’re told it’s the Congo Club. Gomer Pyle’s basic mission was to entertain without making the viewers remember the evening news from Southeast Asia. Mission Accomplished.
Rawhide, Season Two, Volume Two brings us another heaping spoonful of Clint Eastwood on the range. The endless cattle drive continues with sixteen more episodes. “Incident of the Stargazer” has Buddy Ebsen which means you’ll see Barnaby Jones tangle with Dirty Harry. “Incident of the Dancing Death” gives Sam Peckinpah regular Warren Oates time with the cattle. “Incident of the Deserter” has the cook falls in love and start a restaurant in the wilderness. Can the crew live on Clint’s meals? What makes Rawhide great is they didn’t fake the show. They really are moving a herd of cows across the range. Clint isn’t standing by a rear projection screen faking it on a plastic horse.
Midnight Movies explores cult cinema that took hold when the clock struck twelve. We see how El Topo, Night of the Living Dead, Freaks, Reefer Madness, The Harder They Come, Pink Flamingos, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Eraserhead took hold in an era before VCRs. All the major people related to the films are interviewed. They all point out that Midnight Moviegoers preferred to smoke dope and use popcorn for their munchies. You might want to have a few of the featured films on DVD so you can launch into the late night magic afterward.
There’s no review for Saturday Night Live Season – The Complete Second Season since it has been whisked to a secure and secret location and won’t be revealed until Christmas morning. All you need to know is that this is the arrival of Bill Murray and the departure of Chevy Chase. A comedic win-win.
Any exercise video that begins with Carmen Electra saying, “Thank you so much for bringing me into your bedroom. I’m so happy to be here” moves to the top of the workout pile. Carmen Electra’s Aerobic Striptease – In the Bedroom is more enjoyable than Todd Field’s In the Bedroom. The routine starts out with stretching on the floor in front of the bed. After ten minutes, Carmen moves the action onto the mattress. The isometric holds made me break a sweat. Carmen does wear her sneakers into bed, but that’s probably a gym rule. The second half workout features her in a Las Vegas hotel room with a view of the Wynn. She’s wearing a pair of heels for this more involved routine. To help her feel the burn, she slaps her butt. Did she clear that move with a physician? Carmen Electra’s Aerobic Striptease – Vegas Strip has her start off the workout by saying, “The whole point of this series is to really feel your body. Don’t be afraid to touch yourself.” I’m overwhelmed with emotion at this affirmation. This routine is performed on the dance floor of the MGM Grand’s Studio 54. Carmen brought along two girlfriends. Once you’ve mastered these motions, you’ll be ready to tryout for the Pussycat Dolls. This DVD is more fun than my last stay on the Vegas Strip and nobody pesters you into visiting a time share resort.
The seventh wave of Disney Treasures DVDs are a must buy for Magic Kingdom freaks. The Adventures of Oswalt the Lucky Rabbit contains the surviving 13 cartoons featuring Walt’s pre-Mickey Mouse animated hero. He’s pretty much Mickey Mouse with longer ears. The second disc in the tin is dedicated to Ub Iwerks, the man who animated Disney’s early cartoons. The Chronological Donald Duck, Volume Three (1947 – 50) has 30 shorts featuring the squawking waterfowl. This collection features the introduction of Chip n Dale to torture Donald. The quality of the restoration on these shorts is better than Volume 2. Disneyland – Secrets, Stories & Magic skimps on the secrets. There’s zero talk of Club 33 – the hidden bar near Pirates of the Caribbean. The main film is about as probing as a Travel Channel special. The bonus features rule on this set especially Disneyland U.S.A, a cinemascope tour of the park from 1956. Annette Funicello twirls around in “The Golden Horseshoe Revue.” They throw a reproduction of the old ticket book in the tin. For folks who make pilgrimage’s to Anaheim and Orlando, you better grab this for your collection since they only pressed 50,000.
EVEL’S LAST JUMP
The true cause of Evel Knievel’s death won’t appear in the coroner’s report. What brought down the legendary daredevil was a fatal stunt he performed two days before his final sleep. He announced to the press that he had settled his public feud with Kanye West. They were friends. His peace with the rapper became the ramp that aimed him into the grave.
Evel broke every bone in his body. What kept him together for 69 years? Pure spite. Watch any interview with Evel and you’ll see him hold grudges against anyone he perceived screwed him over. A few years back on the Jim Rome radio show, Evel was ready to kick the ass of a kid from his elementary school days. In documentaries, there are hours of him cussing about the guy who engineered his rocket-cycle at Snake River. Once a person went on Evel’s list, they feared him showing up on their doorstep with a baseball bat.
Evel sued Kayne for ripping off the story of Snake River for the “Touch the Sky” video featuring “Evel Kaynevel.” Evel was pissed off that Kayne had used his daredevil image to “promote his filth to the world.” Two days before his passing, Evel announced they had settled the lawsuit. They posed for a picture as if they were best of pals. Evel told the press, “I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman.” When Evel forgave Kayne, his body couldn’t deal with it since his heart was fueled with spite. Like putting sugar in the gas tank, Evel’s engine locked up. He overdosed on bygones.
Perhaps in heaven Evel will be reunited with the sharks from the tank in Chicago? Or maybe he’s swapping sucker punches with Norman Mailer? What we do know is that his ghost won’t be swinging a Louisville Slugger at Kanye’s dome.
SOUND OF THE SEASON
There are three 24/7 Christmas radio stations in my town. Why? There’s more Christmas music on the dial than rock. They started the “Jingle Bell Rock” a week before Thanksgiving. What’s irritating is the simple fact that there might be thousands of Christmas records, but each on of them has the same 15 songs. Did you know you can program a solid nine days of nothing but “The Little Drummer Boy” without repeating an artist? Bet the guys in Gitmo don’t get the aural torture that greets a mall employee for their 10 hour shift at the Sunglass Hut.
RANDOM TV NOTES
When will ATT run a commercial with Dick Cheney telling us how he spends his time in secure and secret locations, meeting with people that must remain private, attending off-the-record conferences and relaxing in his man-sized safe? Dick declares at the end, “I need a phone that works where I live. A place I call Noneofyourfnbusinessaholes.”
When is John Cho going to end up on Dancing With the Stars? The Harold and Kumar Go to the White Castle star must seduce America with his twinkle toes.
Lifetime’s America’s Psychic Challenge needs to have the ultimate final test: Pick the winning numbers of all the major lotteries for that week. Wouldn’t you want to tune in for that episode? You give me the Powerball digits and you’ve earned the title. Lifetime’s got a great new title for a show: How to Look Good Naked. Why isn’t this series on HBO? These people won’t be naked cause they’ll always have those blur splotches on their bodies. We don’t need more teaser TV.
This gives me hope for my upcoming series: Do You Mind If I Put My Private Parts In Your Mouth? It’s based off the BBC 4 show Schlong Along My Ding Dong. We’re hoping to land Andy Dick as the host. He’s already developing our new MTV series, How Bad Are You Willing to Break Into Showbiz. As Art Linkloser once said, “Desperate attention whores make the best contestants.”
How come for all the publicity for I Am Legend not one of the suck up infotainment shows are willing to admit this film is a remake of Last Man on Earth and Omega Man? Is the Fresh Prince ashamed of being connected to Vincent Price and Charlton Heston? On Entertainment Tonight, the director of the film claimed that an element of Will’s character was something they created. Note to Francis Lawrence: you didn’t think that hard. Your genius idea was featured in the earlier films. Will Smith is the third last person on the planet.
Did Tom Hanks think he was playing Dean Martin in Charlie Wilson’s War? The shot of him in the tux with the tumbler is only short Jerry Lewis to be a full Dino impersonation.
I’m still irritated that certain cable channels run the closing credits of movies beneath the opening of their next movie. They shrink and squish the already tiny type. What’s the point? Can you really read any of that. Even used car dealers can’t defend that font size and crawl speed. It’s Morse code in fast forward. It’s time they just kill the credits instead of allowing this farce to continue.
What’s the point of seeing the Spice Girls reunion if they won’t wear their old outfits? Didn’t Scary Spice’s name come from her wardrobe that even Beyonce’s mom wouldn’t design? Is she really Sporty Spice without sneakers? Can we embrace a mature Baby Spice? What’s the point in watching Ginger perform without her Union Jack corset and platform boots? Do we need to see them as five fashionable ladies – as if they all morphed into Posh Spice? Were they really about the music and not the marketing?
WHY BUZZ ON THE HORNET?
For the past five years The Green Hornet has been near the top of my most wanted TV shows on DVD. I had never seen a complete episode outside of the Batman crossover episode, but I wanted to see Bruce Lee in action. Plus the show was made by the folks who produced Batman. How could it not amaze me? American Life channel now runs the show on Friday nights. After watching four episodes, it’s off the buy list.
There was a reason this series lasted only one season. It’s lackluster. Bruce Lee gets completely misused. Bruce has great moves, but he only gets put in a kick or two before his opponent falls to the ground like an Italian soccer player. Capt. Kirk and James West didn’t have such fragile villains. Why does Kato work for the Green Hornet? He spends the whole day working as the houseboy for Britt Reid, the communications emperor. Then at night, he has to change uniforms and drive the millionaire around town hunting for bad guys. Can’t Britt pay Kato enough cash so that he only has to work one job. Bruce Wayne didn’t make Dick Grayson work two gigs. Alfred kept Wayne manor in order. Kato should have kicked Green Hornet in the head for being such a cheap ass taskmaster.
Why does Hollywood want to bring this character to the big screen? The only way I can see this film working is Green Hornet vs. Kato. The plot can revolve on Kato finally getting sick of Green Hornet’s “Time to lean, time to clean up the city” policy. Green Hornet tries to use his media empire to ruin Kato’s reputation since it’s obvious that sidekick is the real force of the operation.
TYLER PERRY VS TYLER PERRY
When will Tyler Perry sue the makers of This Christmas for making a Tyler Perry film that didn’t involve Tyler Perry? There had to be at least one person per screening wondering where’s the guy dressed up as an old woman.
TV STAR OF 2007!
Why don’t they change the name of Rule of Engagement to the The Patrick Warburton Show? Patrick Warburton owns the series. Why exactly is David Spade in the cast? To insure a cameo from Rob Schnider for season three? Whenever Warburton is off the screen, the show loses steam. Two consecutive scenes without him and I’m writing my Congressman to get Warburton back on the screen. It’s torture! Does Donal Logue get jealous when he turns on the show and sees Warburton getting frisky with Megyn Price? She looks sexier without the burden of three TV children and Kevin Corrigan creeping around the house.
Between Rules of Engagement and The Venture Brothers, Warburton is the king of TV comedy for 2007. When’s he going to have an HBO show so we can hear him cuss up a storm?
TV’s Crossover star of the year is Lexington Steele. One of the big studs of the porn world (and less hairy than Ron Jeremy) has snuck on the rather adult shows of Nip/Tuck and Weeds in the last few months. Lex seems to be poised to get a Saturday morning show in Brazil at this rate.
Moving the doctors of Nip/Tuck to Los Angeles has goosed the show. Not that things were getting to staid in Miami, but the plastic people of Hollywood are perfect fodder for McNamara-Troy. What can be better than casting a Bo Duke as a porn producer? A tribute to the infamous hottub poop clip showed how it can be faked.
BITE STEVE
Is Steve Buscemi really voicing a gingerbread man in a Go Phone commercial? He’s funny looking gingerbread man, you know?
BUMP HER
How come you never see the tabloids spreading rumors that Janeane Garofalo is pregnant? They fight to spot the bulge on Angelina Jolie and Jessica Simpson. But why not start a pregnancy watch on Sarah Silverman? Why isn’t Winona Ryder assumed to be hiding triplets beneath her trenchcoat? How about Bea Arthur? Why aren’t her “sources” claiming she’s eager to put a bun in her oven. What man does she has want to coat her in baby batter? That guy from High School Musical 2. I’d buy that copy of US Weekly. If Jennifer Lopez can get knocked up, why not Maude?
Our holiday contest-a-palooza continues as we give away, in conjunction with McFarlane Toys, THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS action figures.
Perfect for your holiday decorating needs, the first wave of How The Grinch Stole Christmas toys based are on Chuck Jones’s animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic. The sculpting work is spot on – particularly when you put the dioramas together and create the aforementioned perfect holiday decoration. The initial wave features “All I Need Is A Reindeer”, “Two Sizes Too Small”, “Cindy Lou Who”, “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”, and the deluxe diorama “The Grinch & Max On Mt. Crumpit”.
Each of five (5) winners will receive one figure from the wave listed above.
Contest ends at midnight EST on Thursday, December 27th.
CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!
Official Rules
No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.
No Purchase necessary to win.
Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Thursday, December 27th.
The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.
The web. It’s a big place, full of plenty of distractions ““ some funny, some informative, some ludicrous, some disturbing, some inane, some profound. Each and every weekday, we present links to a few of our favorite finds”¦
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Let’s have a Patrick Swayze Christmas this year… (Thingamabob)
VIDEO BLOG #100: “My Horsey” ““
This week, J.D. and Turk encounter a uni-horned creature of myth… or do they?… as we go behind-the-scenes of this sequence from episode 7×06, “My #1 Doctor”.
Download Scrubs Video Blog #100:
Large (560 x 420 – QuickTime – 37.21 MB) Small (320 x 240 – QuickTime – 16.36 MB)
Some people hang the holly, others decorate the tree, and a few even terrorize the neighborhood with off-key caroling.
Not us.
Here at Quick Stop Entertainment, we’re celebrating the holiday season by giving a little something back to you, our readers (you know who you are).
Every weekday leading up to the holiday break, we’ve got uber-exclusive gifts provided by a whole range of artists, actors, comedians, and studios. One a day, straight from them to you (and you can check out last year’s fun here).
Ain’t that cool?
Today we’ve got a trio of “From The Archives” tracks from our good friends at Opie & Anthony, featuring Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, and Jim Norton. Also included is the now legendary dust-up between Kevin and the late Joel Siegel.
Download Kevin Smith & Jason Mewes on Opie & Anthony:
[display_podcast]
Check out the rest of this year’s “Holiday Havoc”HERE
Our holiday contest-a-palooza continues as we give away, in conjunction with Universal Home Video, five (5) copies of THE KINGDOM on DVD.
Jamie Foxx leads an all-star ensemble cast including Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman and Jeremy Piven in this explosive action-packed thriller directed by Peter Berg about an elite FBI team sent to Saudi Arabia to stop a terrorist before he strikes again.
Contest ends at midnight EST on Wednesday, December 26th.
CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!
Official Rules
No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.
No Purchase necessary to win.
Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, December 26th.
The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.
The web. It’s a big place, full of plenty of distractions ““ some funny, some informative, some ludicrous, some disturbing, some inane, some profound. Each and every weekday, we present links to a few of our favorite finds”¦
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Grandma got run over by a… Well, you know… (Thingamabob)
SModcast is the meandering palaver of a pair of dudes whose voices are so dull, they don’t deserve to be on the radio (and, hence, aren’t). Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier are SModcast.
The best thing about SModcast? It don’t cost nothing.
SModcast 41: Honkey! –
In which our heroes get into a discussion of the white man’s lack of reclaimed cultural terms of endearment before launching into an even more in-depth exploration of cultural terminology, try to come up with words to hurt each other, turn their sights on sites that feature comments that aim to be mean for mean’s sake, read a very special piece of listener mail, debate the history of the Christmas Tree in relation to self-mutilation, and wrap up with another dip into the SModcast mailbag, the best Oscar’s ever, and a Bat-Quickie.
[CONTENT WARNING]SModcast features harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Listener discretion is advised.
Our holiday contest-a-palooza continues as we give away, in conjunction with New Line Home Video, five (5) copies of RUSH HOUR 3 on DVD.
Reunite with the hilarious duo of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as their unique, east-meets-west trademark style of crime-fighting and high-kicking antics continues in Rush Hour 3, arriving on DVD from New Line Home Entertainment on December 23, 2007.
Contest ends at midnight EST on Tuesday, December 25th.
CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!
Official Rules
No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.
No Purchase necessary to win.
Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Tuesday, December 25th.
The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.
The web. It’s a big place, full of plenty of distractions ““ some funny, some informative, some ludicrous, some disturbing, some inane, some profound. Each and every weekday, we present links to a few of our favorite finds”¦
THAT should silence the critics who’ve said The Fred Hembeck Show has lost its bite!Well, gang, until next full moon – or thereabouts – stop on over at my Fred Sez blog to keep up on my latest doin’s! Adios for now!
Our holiday contest-a-palooza continues as we give away, in conjunction with NBC Rewind, an Christmas Ornament from THE OFFICE and a HEROES comic book.
Keep missing your favorite shows this holiday season? Is it because you have too many parties to attend? Or because your in-laws keep stealing your remote? Well, NBC.com has the perfect gift for you! You can catch up on your favorite NBC shows such as The Office, Chuck and 30 Rock on NBC Rewind! To catch-up, re-watch, or get to know a new show, just go to NBC.com (www.nbc.com/Video/) and watch full streaming episodes for free!
Contest ends at midnight EST on Monday, December 24th.
CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!
Official Rules
No member of Quick Stop Entertainment or their immediate families may enter.
No Purchase necessary to win.
Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
All submitted entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on Monday, December 24th.
The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after notification of win to receive the product.
Far from being a stuffy intellectual, a loathsome toff, or a smug git, Stephen Fry has managed to walk the fine line of being not only a wonderfully intelligent man who unashamedly exhibits said intelligence, but also a very funny performer and an all-around humble and likeable guy.
FRY: Well, through John (Lloyd). Through his remarkable persuasive powers. I’ve known him for years and years. Really, he was a great hero. When I was at university – he had been, like me, at Cambridge in the Footlights club, which is a famous club at Cambridge. It produces comedians, and has done so for over 100 years. John Cleese and Peter Cook and Ali G – and myself, Emma Thompson, and Hugh Laurie were all in the same year at Cambridge, and we were all in the Footlights as well. And as I say, it’s that sort of Python tradition. And John Lloyd had been in about five years before me. Same time as Douglas Adams who wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide. They were very good friends. John had become well known to those of us aspiring toward the comedic world because of a TV series called Not The Nine O’Clock News, that he produced. When we left university, I sort of got to know him a bit.
KP: So, you know how to play the game as well…
KP: Who knew you would develop into an amazing comedy duo?
FRY: (Laughing) That’s nonsense! A, he can keep up with me, plus – I mean, he’s so brilliant, Hugh. And also, of course, he has so much charm that he’s always absolutely brilliant anyway.
KP: Does it feel different to you? For years you’ve done panel shows, but being the host, was it a completely different feeling to then be put on the panel?
Unfortunately, the big screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s illustrated fable 
The second season of sleuthing magicians 
The main attraction of the new 2-disc special edition of 
No holiday weekend is complete without the tipsy travails of Patsy & Edina from last year’s star-studded Christmas special revisiting our favorite ladies who lush, 
On December 2, 2006, Kevin Smith hosted a special conversation between Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee and the current (and controversial) Editor-In-Chief, Joe Quesada. That conversation has been released on DVD as 
Forget that horrid big screen version – it will be duly erased from your memory by the original TV adventures of Pete, Linc, and Julie – 
My emotions about 
The latest Modern Masters spotlight from the fine folks at Twomorrows turns its artist spotlight on 
I admit, I was hoping for the same kind of brilliance they bring to Reno 911, but I still found Tom Lennon and Ben Garant’s 
The one thing you don’t want to happen during a remake is to be constantly reminded how much better the original version was. Sadly, those were the exact thoughts running through my mind while watching Ben Stiller try and finagle his was out of an impending marriage while on vacation in Mexico with his fiancée in 
The tunes aren’t nearly as memorable as those found in The Producers, but the cast album of Mel Brooks’s latest Broadway adaptation – 
I can’t stand Brett Ratner. In fact, the only people I can tolerate less are JJ Abrams and Brannon Braga. It’s just the level of pure, unadulterated smug that’s so off-putting. The only thing that saves the third film in the 
Sega’s hyperspeed hedgehog with the voice of Urkel gets his third animated series released. 
Nicolas Cage’s unlikely (and borderline somnambulant) action hero adventurer Benjamin Franklin Gates will be back on the big screen this holiday season, so it’s expected that the very first 
Count ’em out and ride in the final 16 episodes of the sophomore season of 
In the annals of unnecessary movie, add the live action adaptation of 
Add Rob Zombie’s 
If the cold sparks a desire for a rather intense piece of filmmaking to warm things up, give a spin to 
In a repeat of the .5 edition of the first Jackass flick, 
