Friends – Summer DVD Review – The One With The Embryos

friends

Friends
The One With The Embryos

Original Air Date: Jan 15, 1997

Farrah Kaye – Sr. Editor
farrah@thetwocentscorp.com

Season three was the “we were on a break” season. If you’re a Friends fan, that’s all I need to say. Besides the “we were on a break,” we also were introduced to Alice (who married Phoebe’s brother Frank), the chick and the duck, Monica’s super rich boyfriend Pete, Chandler sleeping with one of Joey’s sisters (and forgetting which one!), and Ross and Rachel getting back together after her super long letter at the beach house.

But that didn’t last long and most of season four has been the two of them making each other jealous, Chandler dating Joey’s girlfriend Kathy (and then having to stay in a box!) and now Phoebe has agreed to carry her brother’s babies since Alice can’t. But that is not the reason I chose this episode. There is one reason and one reason only: this is the episode where Ross mediates a trivia contest between Joey/Chandler and Rachel/Monica and the girls lose their apartment! Viva Las Gay-gas anyone?

Top 20 Prime-Time Television Programs For The Week Of June 21-27

did you watch wipeout?

Prime-time broadcast viewership compiled by the Nielsen Co. for June 21-27:

1. “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), NBC, 12.37 million.
2. “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 11.65 million.
3. “NCIS,” CBS, 9.72 million.
4. “Wipeout” (Tuesday), ABC, 9.51 million.
5. “The Mentalist,” CBS, 8.87 million.
6. “Two and a Half Men,” CBS, 8.54 million.
7. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 8.32 million.
8. “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 8.26 million.
9. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 8.18 million.
10. “Wipeout” (Thursday), ABC, 7.88 million.

So You Think You Can Dance – Recap & Review – Top 9 Perform

photo: fox

So You Think You Can Dance
Top 9 Perform

Original Air Date: June 30, 2010

Rachel M – Associate Staff Writer
rachelm@thetwocentscorp.com

Top 9 tonight! We’re down to just 3 girls too, and don’t they look lonely during the opening intro! Will the boys continue to bring it or will they finally falter? What kind of All Star match ups will we see this week? The competition is already super intense, each week is incredibly crucial.

And what’s with the black and white montage at the top of the show? Well to answer the that question, a super slow lead up to tell us that we’re going to learn about who inspired the dancers. Excellent!

The Mighty Boosh – Summer DVD Review – Hitcher

the mighty boosh

The Mighty Boosh
Hitcher

Original Air Date: Jul 6, 2004

JD – Associate Staff Writer
jd@thetwocentscorp.com

And here we are at the last episode of season one, Hitcher. Astute Boosh fans will realize I’ve skipped three episodes here, unlike last time when I only skipped one. But I only have a certain number of episodes I can cover this summer, and I had to pick what I considered the best eleven out of twenty episodes. I should say, though, that it hurt a little that I had to cut Charlie from the list. The ponchos alone were worth it. But Hitcher is classic Boosh, and the hitcher is one of the fans’ (and my) favorite characters. Read on for my recap and review!

Hell’s Kitchen – Recap & Review – 10 Chefs Compete/9 Chefs Compete

photo: fox

strong>Hell’s Kitchen
10 Chefs Compete/9 Chefs Compete

Original Air Date: Jun 29, 2010

Farrah Kaye – Sr. Editor
farrah@thetwocentscorp.com

Last week was a disaster. But at least we got rid of Scott! Benjamin was thrown over to the red team and is not happy about it but Jay believes it will be his time to shine over on the blue team now. I know I originally complained about the show being two hours long, but the plus side to that is we’ll be finished with it quicker (HA). I feel like every year and every week it’s the same stories over and over. That being said, tonight we should see some fun stuff going down … there’s some alcohol and hot tubbing involved!

Hour 1: 10 Chefs Compete

Two Cents and Five Questions with Louis C.K.

louis c.k.

…Louis C.K., Actor

Louis C.K.: Hilarious was the first stand-up concert film presented at the Sundance Film Festival. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that FX came knocking with a development deal. Even less surprising is the fact that as writer, director and star of Louie, he sets out to create almost an “indie” sitcom, combining Louis’ standup routine with segments shot using, in his words, “just me and my little crew.”

I was fortunate to sit in on a conference call in anticipation of last night’s premiere. While the Connecticut weather cut that short, I was able to listen to Louis’ take on the freedom of working at FX (“The network is completely MIA. They don’t do anything until they watch the episodes when they’re finished being edited.”), “servicing” characters (That’s actually how you talk about it in the sitcom writers’ rooms, is we have to service these characters, even if we don’t like them) and fleecing Rupert Murdoch.

TheTwoCents: I’d like to thank you and thank FX for putting you into the lineup. I think it’s a great fit in so many ways. One of the things that really stands out with this, for me, is a real sense of place, with New York. How important was it that the city could be almost another character more than just a backdrop?

Louie – Recap & Review – Divorce/Poker

photo: fx

Louie
Divorce/Poker

Original Air Date: Jun 29, 2010

Tom R. – Sr. Staff Writer
tom@thetwocents.com

In a way, you could call Louie the anti-Seinfeld. While it punctuates the storyline with the comedian’s standup act, the glamour is completely gone. The hallways are bleak and crowded, the restaurants have only one bathroom, and the background trash cans (gasp) have actually been used. It is New York for the people who have actually been there.

Shooting on location with a single camera and a small crew, Comedian Louis C.K. captures a reality that is just not seen, not even on reality shows. Even the standup clips have the feel of someone recording the show with a hidden camera. Serving as writer, director, editor and star can be incredibly risky. Thankfully, though, Louie debuts with a sure hand in all those roles.

Rescue Me – Recap & Review – Legacy

photo: fx

Rescue Me
Legacy

Original Air Date: Jun 29, 2010

Farrah Kaye – Sr. Editor
farrah@thetwocentscorp.com

In 2004, there was a hot new show was on FX called Rescue Me. Around that same time, I moved to NY and was living in a tiny studio apartment right outside of Manhattan. One day, I saw a sign that Rescue Me was filming outside my apartment. I was so excited I didn’t read the sign right and wound up with a parking ticket for $175. Months later, in the season 2 finale, it was worth it when I saw my apartment on the screen.

I’ve never missed an episode of this show and am saddened to see it end but know they’re going to go out with a bang. This season premiere will be so important in setting up the future episodes leading up to the 9/11/11 series finale. When we last left Tommy and the gang, Tommy was with both Janet and Sheila, the family had an intervention for Tommy (at the bar!) which didn’t work out and Teddy shot Tommy and left him to die on the bar floor after Ellie died when she drove drunk after the failed intervention.

Life on Mars – Summer DVD Review – Tuesday’s Dead

life on mars

Life on Mars
Tuesday’s Dead

Original Air Date: Nov 13, 2008

Sara M. – TwoCents Reviewer
sara@thetwocentscorp.com

When you think you’re dead, you become a bit reckless. Sam thinks that he’s either dead or about to be. Although, to be fair, hearing the voices of loved ones saying “We’re going to pull the plug tomorrow at 2 o’clock” will do that do you. Recklessness can be a tricky thing when dealing with an angry, armed assailant holding an entire mental ward hostage.

But before we get into all of that, lets go back to the beginning. Ray’s birthday in the squad room. A party where the music is loud, the whiskey flows freely and no hooker spends the night in lock up.

Entourage and Hung Slip in Ratings

photo: hbo

Ratings are in for the season premieres of Entourage and Hung from Sunday night, and the numbers for the HBO comedies aren’t anything to laugh about. Both shows saw their ratings dip compared to last year, reports Variety.

The second season opener of Hung was down 13% from its series premiere in 2009. This comes despite that fact that it had a strong lead-in—the highly rated True Blood.

Entourage also took a hit, down 25% from its premiere last season. On the positive side, the long-running show held on to 100% of its Hung lead-in, with both shows averaging 2.5 million viewers.