Scanner : Emmy's

Top 10 Reasons To Watch 30 Rock

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:20:00 GMT

As if you need a reason besides the above-pictured lass, the year's #1 entertainer, according to various publications...

Instead of posting much today, we've been checking out last week's episode of 30 Rock and wondering why you haven't done the same. Here are the first ten reasons we could think of (there are at least 2,000 more) for why you should heading to your Netflix account immediately and ordering up the Complete First and Second Seasons, then checking out the show on NBC Thursday nights, starting again January 8th.

10. Although Fey was forced to fire Rachel Dratch in order to cut costs (how much could a cameo as a little blue monster run them?), you can catch the old episodes via DVD-- we defy you not to watch the entire season in one or two sittings.

9. Will Arnett. Will Arnett. Will Arnett, Will Arnett. Better yet, a maniacal Will Arnett with a lust for a chipper NBC page boy.

8. You owe Tina Fey for making your year with her Sarah Palin imitation. This is how you'll thank her.

7. The bit players aren't the stock sitcom types-- they're memorable and ridiculous without being entirely unrealistic.

6. Tracy Morgan's one-liners are so out-of-left-field and off-the-cuff, you'll wonder if he's reading off cue cards or just making this madness up as he rolls along. Seriously, does he?

5. Even the hokey celebrity walk-ons are inspired. From Steve Martin's reclusive rich kook to Jennifer Aniston's bombshell nutcase, this season's earliest episodes may never be topped for sheer consecutive star power.

4. Elaine Stritch's recurring role as Jack's mother, for which she was awarded an Emmy last year, are the highlights of every season. (She was the guest star on last Thursday's Christmas show, which was dynamite. A clip can be found below.)

3. Because the frumpier they try to make Tina Fey look, the more adorable she is.

2. Alec Baldwin is the best comedian working in television today.

1. They're desperately seeking your ratings. Hell, if Oprah can't save them, nobody can...

Sure, we understand that the critically acclaimed yet ratings-challenged "30 Rock" has to do what it can to wrangle viewers, but many of the A-list cameos the show has employed for that purpose have been seriously subpar. Jerry Seinfeld's and Jennifer Aniston's appearances on the series were equally lukewarm. Oddly enough, the standout cameo of 2008 came courtesy of non-comedian Oprah Winfrey, who played herself, opposite an advice-hungry Liz Lemon during a plane flight. Was it a gimmick? Yeah. Did it work? Totally.

Check it out at NBC.

Related:

While You Were Sleeping: Kate Winslet's Underage Sex

Golden Globe Nominations Even Worse Than We Expected

5 Reasons SNL Is Finally Worth Watching

The 50 Sexiest Movies of All-Time: The Top 5

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:17:00 GMT

Today, we conclude our list of the 50 sexiest movies ever made with these five explosive favorites, voted on, in part, by you...

For 10-6, click here.

5. If These Walls Could Talk 2. This sweeping lesbian love saga was a bit too Lifetime Movie Of The Week for our tastes, but the Emmy voters loved it: in addition to giving a Best Supporting Actress statue to Vanessa Redgrave, voters awarded this HBO sequel with three other nominations in leading categories, including Best Made For Television Film. Not only is it a strong and passionate artistic achievement, there are, of course, many sexy moments: from Chloe Sevigny and Michelle Williams making out in front of a stunned male neighbor to Sharon Stone and Ellen Degeneres exploring every inch of each other. We mentioned this film and the Sevigny-Williams sex scene in an unrelated post on Friday, with the post and NSFW clip here.

4. Mulholland Drive. When we went to a New Orleans Film Festival advance screening of this film, people were leaving the theater in droves about midway through. It took us a minute to realize they were all going to the bathroom to play with themselves thanks to the film's unbelievably sexy love scenes between Laura Harring and Naomi Watts. See below for a teaser or click here for the full scenes.

3. Secretary. This movie could have been subtitled: "Work and other sadomasochistic activities." Maggie Gyllenhaal is spanked, made to crawl on the floor while carrying paper in her teeth, and to fall in love with James Spader. And, more importantly, she enjoys every minute of it. Depsite the ridiculous Sleeping Beauty-esque climax, it's not the least bit surprising this movie rose above the independent pile-on of the early 2000's to become a mainstream DVD smash.

Secretary - Spanking Scene

2. Basic Instinct. Can you believe that some moviegoers were unsure who the killer was? SPOILER ALERT: It was Sharon Stone, you bleeding idjits. On a lighter note, the most memorable nude scene in move history almost didn't happen-- after all, it wasn't in Joe Eszterhas's infamous screenplay. And whenever you see Sharon Stone on TV telling you she didn't know the camera was going to be right between her legs? Laugh. [Very NSFW clip follows.]

Sharon Stone Crossing the Line

1. Sex & Lucia. Several of you suggested this film-- as if we could've left it off in our right minds! A lonely writer's craziest fan picks him up in a restaurant, takes him home, and gives him the best sex a human being has ever had, then stays faithful to him even after his untimely death-- while a guy with a huge dick tries to get in her pants. The sexual energy of this film is so unrelenting, it's impossible to watch alone without taking off your clothes. Watching as a couple? Forget about it. It'll take at least three viewings to get through the whole two hours. We don't want to spoil any of the raunch, so here's a trailer instead:

Honorable Mentions: The Fabulous Baker Boys, Wild Things, Sliver, Sherrybaby, Damage, Fatal Attraction, Last Tango in Paris, The Blue Lagoon, Nine Songs, Miami Vice, Harold & Maude, Indecent Proposal.

Previously: 10-6, 20-11, 30-21, 40-31, 50-41

Lindsay Lohan and SamRo: Out, About, and on Love Line

Nicole Pasulka — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:11:00 GMT

In light of the terrible news about DJ AM and Travis Barker's plane wreck, Samantha Ronson took a break from DJing an Emmy party to call into Love Line Sunday night and chat about AM.

She then passed the phone over to LiLo who sent her best wishes to the pair and managed to promote her lesboriffic love affair with Sam one more time--Oh, who are we kidding, it's all everyone really wants to hear about anyway!

Conversation and revelation after the jump.

We Didn't Watch The Emmy's, Here's What We Missed...

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:52:00 GMT

It was a historic night for the Emmy's, and we're pretty sure no one, including us, saw any of it...

Due to the usual record-breaking low ratings this show gets, it was probably lost on the country that Emmy history was made by Don Draper and the rest of the "Mad Men," who took home the Best Drama prize for AMC. This marks the only time a basic cable show has won a "Best" Series award.

Other highlights, according to sources who actually witnessed the program:

1) Ed McMahon said "Herrree's Johnny!" to introduce one of those mundane clip shows from when television was actually watchable. Hopefully, Ed received some sort of a check or at least an uptick in donations, as the poor bastard is in danger of losing his home.

2) Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert introduced something and weren't allowed to say anything political. Yawn.

3) Howie Mandell said he was on Sarah Palin's Bridge To Nowhere, a reference to the fact that his opening host's monologue had to be entirely ad-libbed. Speaking of poor bastards.

4) Bryan Cranston, Laura Linney, Glenn Close, and Tina Fey won well deserved acting awards. And, of course, so did the amazing Alec Baldwin.

5) Lorne Michaels took home another Emmy, as "30 Rock" received a well-deserved Best Comedy award.

6) Tommy Smothers was the only one who got political in an acceptance speech:

"It's hard for me to stay silent when I keep hearing that peace is only attainable through war. And there's nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action," he said, dedicating his award to "all people who feel compelled to speak out, and are not afraid to speak to power, and won't shut up and refuse to be silenced."

Actually, we're going to shut up now and redirect you to Remote Island (see the sidebar), because those guys probably saw it and have much more to say... but there you have it.

Related:

Sloppy Seconds: You, Like Us, May Think...

Live from New York: Fey and Poehler do Palin and Clinton

Sarah Palin Thinks Global Warming Is Polar Bear Sh*t

While You Were Sleeping: Ciara's Naked Vibe Cover

Cultural Clusterf*ck: Gossip Girl Meets 30 Rock

The Wire: We Was Robbed (of an Emmy Nomination)

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:40:00 GMT

The Wire, the HBO series which some critics believe is the closest thing to Shakespeare we've ever come, has failed in its final attempt to capture a Best Drama Emmy nod.

The lucky ones (Damages, 30 Rock) and the losers (Grey's Anatomy, many more), below...

Best comedy series: 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, The Office, and Two And A Half Men.

Someday (television) historians will look back and say... what, no "Flight of the Conchords?" And Two And A Half Men? What the fuck is that show?

Best drama series: Boston Legal, Damages, Dexter, House, Lost, Mad Men

It's hard to argue with these choices, except for the fact that The Wire would mop the floor with these shows if anyone actually compared them.

Other nominations of note:

1) Alec Baldwin and Tony Shalhoub face off in the Best lead actor in a comedy department.

2) 30 Rock's seventeen Emmy nominations is a record for a comedy series. Yes, it's that damned good.

3) Mad Men received 16 (!) nods... a week ago, you couldn't find sixteen Emmy voters who had heard of the show, let alone seen it. Hype works, people...

4) The nominations of Damages and Mad Men for best drama is unprecedented: never before has any basic cable series competed in this category.

5) The Wire was nominated for best writing, which it may win on the sympathy factor.

6) Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives were virtually shut out. (Grey's Anatomy got Sandra Oh a best supporting actress nod.)

The full list of nominations is here. Commentary here and here.

Katherine Heigl Drops Out of the Emmy Race?

Emily Farris — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:32:00 GMT

Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl — who won a best supporting actress Emmy last year for her role as Izzy Stevens on the show — has greatly decreased her chances of winning one this year by, uh, removing herself from the race completely. And it appears to be a big "fuck you" to the writers.

Apparently, Heigl just didn't think her role was good enough.

"I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention," Heigl told L.A. Times columnist Tom O' Neil. "In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials," she added.

Now, we're not in the television industry so we don't really know how things work. But we are writers, and we do know that writers have pretty large egos. So we won't be surprised if Izzy finds herself back in that trailer park next season with a crack habit, bad acne and three-inch roots.

[LA Times: Emmy champ Katherine Heigl quits the race, blaming 'Grey's Anatomy' writers]

Does Katherine Heigl Think Judd Apatow is "Sexist?"

Is US Weekly Being Sexist?

Hot, Lesbian Doctor Action Coming to Tonight's "Grey's Anatomy?"

"Grey's Anatomy" Star's Incestuous Past Makes Us Glad We Watch "Scrubs"

Grey's Anatomy Star Justin Chambers in the Same Mental Ward as Brit

Cynthia Nixon & Sex And The City Movie Are Coming Out

Katie Halper — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:30:00 GMT

We know that the whole Cynthia Nixon has a girlfriend story is sooooo 5 years ago. But the Emmy and Tony-award-winning actress made her relationship with Christine Marinoni official by coming out to reporters at an event promoting the The Sex And The City movie (coming out to a theater near you on May 30th.) Cynth did not hold back about her "fantastic relationship," explaining, “I’m in love with [Christine] because she’s her.” Their egalitarian relationship may make some hetero females reconsider: “We shop and cook and raise children - we both pitch in.” In other words, when it comes to Christine, Cynthia Nixon is "just ~~not~~ that into her."