Brief TV Rants

NCIS: Los Angeles is ENDING?! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!

2023-01-21T23:03:00.000+08:00

Had to come out of hiatus (even if no one else reads this) to talk about NCIS: Los Angeles ending at the end of this current season. IIRC, this show historically tend to get last minute renewals, so at least this time they know this is gonna be their last hurrah.

Rumour has it among the fandom that there's a Sydney (Australia?) version in the works.

To be fair, like the show, everyone who has been on it since the beginning are getting long in the tooth to still be FIELD AGENTS. At this point, they could have been higher up the command chain by now.

My guess as to why it's not getting renewed is the same reason for why a lot of long-running shows don't get renewed: MONEY. You can more or less tell that the budget for this show wasn't as huge as it was earlier in the run.

For an office that's always short-handed, you haven't seen all 4 OG characters (O' Donnell, LL Cool J, Ruah and Olsen) in too many episodes together probably in the last few seasons, with one or more of them written out of an episode in some fashion of late.
A lot fewer explosions. Don't tell me no one else has noticed the pyro budget for this show earlier on was bananas.
Hiring the younger people (to both be working on the field and/or ops) probably didn't cost them THAT much? I also cannot imagine how much the main 4 are paid per episode at this point cos at least 3 of them have been there since the beginning, all those years ago. OMG the residual payments they must be getting at this point. Maybe they can help O' Donnell gets his kids through college? Dude's got FIVE KIDS, who's been on the show in some capacity.

What I will miss:

Someone asking their involvement in "case of the week", which is a fair point, but kinda funny.
Because the OSP is forever short-handed it's stupid hilarious, the rolodex of recurring characters. Sabatino's been in a bunch of agencies by this point - CIA, US Marshals, FBI...?
The banter. For a show that's more about dealing with national security threats (or threats to anyone in the cast, let's be real) and less about dead sailors (they haven't had a ME character for awhile), this is the more light hearted one of the franchise.

What I won't miss:

Thinking about Daniela Ruah and Eric Olsen, who are IRL brother and sister in-law, playing a married couple, with HIS brother (her husband, who met on this show) as his stunt double. Is he still? I not sure. How is that NOT AWKWARD?!

My pet theories as to how it might end...

Callen and Anna's wedding?
The main 4 either getting reassigned higher up the chain, or quitting/retiring while they still can?
OSP getting shut down, giving the Admiral something to cheer for?
Hetty showing up for aforementioned wedding?
How many of the recurring characters will we see again?

The end of Major Crimes

2017-12-27T10:23:00.001+08:00

Major Crimes didn't get renewed and last week's major shocker was killing off Sharon Raydor 4 episodes before the end of the series (some people guessed that the character wouldn't last till the end but I wasn't one of them, the TV watching cynic that I am). It's not often that the protagonist gets killed off before the end of the series. I wasn't sad, but it was an interesting turn of events. Now I want to see the aftermath. Considering that the character was hated on The Closer all those years ago and people getting upset about this says a lot about people's feelings about the character.

You also kinda have to feel bad for the new cast members who just joined in the past season and a half, only to be at the death knell of the show.

At least Provenza now has control of the division, but for how long? And will he finally retire?

At this point, I also just want to see the Stroh storyline resolved; it's been going on too long. But I don't think it's a coincidence that he's finally surfaced just as Sharon kicked the bucket. Now the only thing between him and Rusty is the LAPD or at least the division? I hope Chekhov's gun is at play and that Rusty would have to shoot a gun in self defence at some point during these last 4 episodes.

Also, I don't know why people are still complaining about the show; it's done and dusted, there's not much else they can do about it either. Just watch the last 4 episodes and go on that final journey with them.

Jennifer Esposito leaving NCIS

2017-07-02T15:01:00.003+08:00

Unlike Criminal Minds, news of cast departures on NCIS are few and far in between.

So the announcement that Jennifer Esposito won't be returning in the coming season left me feeling like..

via GIPHY

Not surprised, since they conveniently wrote and shot last season's finale in such a way that there's more than one way for her to plausibly leave Gibbs's team in the coming season. If nothing else, her character was pretty hilarious: I still haven't forgotten how she would rather run back to the car to chase someone than to do any actual running. 😁😂

Criminal Minds Annual Cast Changes

2017-07-02T14:49:00.001+08:00

At this point in the year, news of cast changes in the Criminal Minds lineup is to be expected.

So who's in and who's out this year?

Well, Damon Gupton is out of the coming season, which apparently was a "network decision". I'm not complaining, because the guy's character didn't add much to the show. He won't be hard to write out if they resolve Mr Scratch quickly.

And they decided to rescue (?) Daniel Henney from the now-cancelled, much maligned (especially in Singapore) Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders to join the mothership show. My guess is that they need a Pan Asian for the diversity quota (besides Aisha Tyler and Adam Rodriguez, that show is also mostly consist of white people; I don't think there's ever been a regular cast member of Asian descent on that show). I'm also guessing that they're hoping the Henney fanbase will also follow. I have my guesses as to how he'll join the BAU fold, but I'm sure they'll come up with some mildly plausible way to write him in.

Also in are AJ Cook and Kirsten Vangsness who got their salary parity with both MGG and Mantegna (🎉🎆). Those two are gonna be interesting to write out if the negotations didn't work out.

Watching Queer Eye in 2017

2017-02-17T10:58:00.000+08:00

When a Netflix revival of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was announced a few weeks ago, I had the same thoughts most people had, like...

Who's gonna be the new Fab Five? Because those guys are busy these days, especially Ted Allen.
How much retooling is gonna be done to the show's format?

Anyway, someone on YouTube uploaded episodes of the old show into a convenient playlist and I've been watching the odd episode or two when I felt like it for the last week or two. When the show first came out (haha) I was about college age, but there's some things then that when I watch the show now, made me go, "so THAT'S where I got that idea from...".

Here's some thoughts I had watching the first season of Queer Eye in 2017...

The opening credits are cheesy then, is still cheesy now.
Why are they always running to the guy's front door? Have to give props to Ted for keeping up with the young 'uns, haha.
This show predates the show Hoarders.
Seriously, there's no way Thom did those guys' houses all by himself, and certainly not in a few days they had. Particularly the decluttering and purging stage. It's just as well that it's not always Thom doing the purging bit.
Now wonder the black guy got the can.
Kyan has a real plum job: not only accompanying the straight guys to the massages, but also joining in on the fun as well. Must be nice, getting paid to get a massage on camera.
OMG Ted Allen still looks the same now as he did in the early 2000s... 😲

Some of the tips and tricks held up over time, others didn't... like Von Dutch.

I don't know when the revival is coming out, but I'll watch it for nostalgia's sake.

Adios, Hotch

2016-08-13T12:38:00.001+08:00

In all my years following the comings and goings on Criminal Minds, the news about Thomas Gibson's dismissal from the show after an "on set altercation" was (you have to admit) more mind blowing than when they announced Shemar Moore was leaving, mostly because his character Hotch has been the backbone of the BAU for the entire run of the show. At this point the only OG cast members left are Matthew Grey Gubler... and maybe Kirsten Vangsness.

Okay, he's had some prior incidents which all lead to what some would say was that last straw for the production. Also, I read someplace that the guy was kicked in the shin - if I knew there was a "three strikes" rule on the show, I would've gone all out and kicked the guy in the balls, but that's just me. We don't know what actually happened and we probably never will.

With him gone, the show saved the money that would be his salary (which I imagine is pretty significant, given his OG cast member status) and bring in someone younger and/or cheaper.

With a departure as abrupt as this, I can't wait to see how they write themselves out of this Hotch-sized hole: I don't think they can use "Hotch finally retired" as a write-out, I think they would have to kill him off at this point. Or maybe they could say Hotch got fired because of what happened in the last season, but the team still has to carry on.

I don't know who can step in as BAU unit chief... I suppose Rossi could, but I don't think that was why he came back to the BAU in the first place.

I'm with the rest of the fandom - here's to the beginning of the end of Criminal Minds.

New NCIS muscle!

2016-06-22T00:35:00.000+08:00

After they announced that Adam Rodriguez will be joining Criminal Minds in the upcoming season, over in NCIS-land they also announced last week that Wilmer Valderrama will be joining Gibbs's team, presumably to fill the DiNozzo-sized void from Michael Weatherly's departure.

Like it is for Dr Reid on Criminal Minds, just because McGee is now senior agent that he's gonna be the one doing the takedowns from now on. And they certainly can't expect Bishop to do it either :P

I haven't seen much of Valderrama since That 70s Show personally (I know he's done other things since, it's just that I haven't seen those personally), so it might take a little time for me to get over his lispy character from that show.

I'm not sure what kind of series regular the English guy will be in the new season (MI6 liaison?), but I can't wait to see how this works out.

Criminal Minds casting news - New BAU muscle!

2016-06-12T00:18:00.000+08:00

When news broke that Adam Rodriguez (who, as far as I'm concerned, will always be that guy from CSI: Miami) will be joining Criminal Minds this coming season, I mean, with the BAU's staffing issues, you just have to.

Anyway, considering that the previous season ended with the mass prison escape, and that the next season is starting with them attempting to recapture said prisoners, writing his character in as someone from the FBI Fugitive Task Force totally makes TV-sense. Also, the BAU's resident muscle had just left, and unless Dr Reid seriously bulks up, they still need someone to do UnSub takedowns.. #thereIsaidit

Long story short: Don't care, good for him, can't wait for Season 12 of Criminal Minds in the fall.

Thoughts While Watching Michael Weatherly Leave NCIS

2016-05-19T18:55:00.001+08:00

Another long running CBS show, another OG cast member leaves.

Unlike Shemar Moore's surprise exit announcement from Criminal Minds that gave the Baby Girl portion of the CM fandom little time to process/grieve/whatever, TPTB at NCIS made sure fans had time to process Michael Weatherly's departure at the end of the past season, which was announced some time ago.

Of course the NCIS fandom (me included) had their guesses as to how Weatherly would be written out of the show: he finally gets the cajones to lead his own team, go off to be with Ziva... I wasn't expecting Ziva to show up, at any rate. The good news is that they didn't kill him off, despite his numerous close deaths on the show (notably, the bubonic plague in the first season).

But if anyone guessed that a Tiva offspring would springboard DiNozzo's exit, props to you.

You have to admit, the look on his face when he found out he and Ziva have a kid together was just priceless.

But having the kid know who her "Aba" was in the picture was also just as priceless.

Fans will miss the goofball, but if they manage to write Reeves in as a new series regular, I think fans would like him about as much.

As far as I'm concerned, DiNozzo's most badass moment was him shooting the bad guys as he ran through the port, threw the gun aside before diving in to save Gibbs in the car.

Anyone else shed tears watching this episode?

Shemar Moore Leaves Criminal Minds

2016-03-24T12:30:00.000+08:00

Every time news about someone leaving the show Criminal Minds erupts, the fandom just go nuts. You would think people would get used to it by now because there's always someone coming and going every year...

This year, one of the OG cast members Shemar Moore is finally moving on from the show, having been there pretty much since the beginning, all those years ago. Which is a shocker to fans (even me) because we're only finding this out recently (apparently it was also teased on his Instagram account, which I wouldn't know because I don't follow the guy there). And the show gave him three episodes for his exit, which is pretty generous, considering how abruptly other people get written out over the show's run.

I personally had never given two hoots about him or his character, but I don't begrudge the guy his popularity amongst the fandom. But knowing the show, we'll be hearing about Morgan's replacement before the new season starts in the fall, because I don't see Matthew Gray Gubler stepping in as BAU's resident muscle man :P

I haven't seen Morgan's last episode myself yet, but from what I've read about it, it seems like a decent send off for a longtime cast member. And at least he wasn't killed off..?

Thoughts While Watching the Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Pilot

2016-03-18T10:27:00.001+08:00

After almost a year since the yuuggge crossover/backdoor pilot from last season's Criminal Minds, their second attempt at a Criminal Minds franchise finally got started, and that was Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.

As to be expected, they made some cast changes in the months between the backdoor pilot and this pilot - Anna Gunn got cut, Annie Funke and Alana De La Garza got added... There would be a revolt if Daniel Henney got cut, so thankfully for everyone he's still on the show.

Of everyone from the mothership show, they could only get Joe Mantegna to cameo in the first five minutes of the show? Okay, then.
Wait, so IRT is also based out of Virginia like the BAU, right?
I know it's a calculated move on their part that Simmons's first appearance on screen be him doing that obstacle course :P
There's something about Daniel Henney that doesn't convince me that his character is a father of four young children. Too well rested, perhaps?
If you thought the BAU's private jet was fancy, the IRT's jet is so MASSIVE and IMPRESSIVE that they can transport both a bike and a SUV in there O.o
More jet scenes please!
Did they get their Thailand B-roll from The Amazing Race, existing stock footage, or did they shoot their own B-roll?
Their "Thailand" set is clearly some dressed up backlot - there's something about the sky that clearly does not look like Thailand AT ALL.
I suppose if I was Mae, I would rather get on the back of the bike with Simmons in the rain than to ride in the SUV to be a lamp post between the boss-man and Clara :P
You have to admit that Monty has a tough time, what with having to deal with victims' families AND still be the black, male Garcia of Beyond Borders.
Dumb question: What does one do with a challenge coin?

The pilot was, IMO, rough, borderline cringeworthy to watch, but that's more to do with the writing than the performances. My inner sucker will keep watching to see if it gets better.

Thoughts while watching the 2016 Academy Awards

2016-03-01T13:02:00.001+08:00

You have to give them props for finding ways to shave time off the notoriously long Academy Awards telecast - by having the (what I call) the Thank You ticker (because that's how acceptance speeches get so long) and what not. Two and a half hours from 3, 4 hours is a slight improvement, I must say.

If there's a dress code for these things, Jenny Beavan sure didn't give two shits about it, by not just being in pants, but in a bedazzled LEATHER JACKET too. Thumbs up from me.
Lady Gaga took the skirt off her dress when she performed. Two-fer.
The little presenter blurbs was handy, I suppose... if you ever wondered what their previous work was.
All the ladies (of a certain age) in their prompter-reading glasses.
Why is Sarah Silverman there? Just to present? Was Michael Sheen her plus-one? There's a shot of them in the audience where she (wearing a strapless gown) was wearing his jacket. D'awww....!!
Was wondering why Priyanka Chopra was at the Oscars, and then I remembered that both her and the Oscars are on ABC.
The Chinese kid accountant bit is still funnier than dragging ACTUAL accountants on stage for their 15 seconds of fame.
DID Dev Patel comes to the Oscars looking like that on purpose, or is it for a role in the Castaway sequel?
Poor Sly Stallone? Not really - I, for one, am glad Mark Rylance won for Bridge of Spies. But I think people will come up to him and say "Would it help?" for the rest of his days.
Chrissy Teigen must up her cringe game.
Besides little Jacob Tremblay, who else was excited that the droids made an appearance?
The Girl Scout cookie sale is definitely a step up from Ellen's weird pizza delivery skit two years ago.
Yup, poor Abe Vigoda (among others) didn't make the cut-off for the In Memoriam montage.

TNT axe strikes again - Renewals and Cancellations

2015-12-16T09:41:00.000+08:00

While I'm glad that Major Crimes is getting a fifth season (yay!), but finding out that Agent X is getting burned (haha) is a little bittersweet because with most shows not broadcasting new episodes until next year, I started catching up on Agent X (which is only 7 episodes so far since it started in November).

On the other hand, I'm surprised Sean Bean lasted this long - TWO WHOLE SEASONS OF LEGENDS?! Wow...

Goodbye, The Soup

2015-11-20T23:36:00.001+08:00

To say I was sad when I read that The Soup was ending after over 20 years would be an understatement. And on such short notice too - it's ending in about a month! Even other shows gave longer notices than that!

Where else can I ogle at Joel McHale (and his ever changing facial hair) as he makes fun of TV shows so that the rest of us doesn't have to? I will also miss Lou the dog (his recent appearances have been amusing).

This Instagram post that the show put up described the fan reaction best...

We finally told Lou...

A photo posted by The Soup (@thesouptv) on Nov 18, 2015 at 12:45pm PST

I can relate, Lou :(

I guess now I really have no reason to watch E! any more..

Goodbye, Mythbusters

2015-10-22T09:54:00.000+08:00

Another show from my misspent youth is coming to a close, and that is Mythbusters.

It was one of two shows on the Discovery Channel worth watching (for me), the other being Dirty Jobs... until it got cancelled. I was a little sad about that for a while... until I recently found out about Somebody's Gotta Do It on CNN, so yay!

But I digress.

I suppose it was a matter of time when the show went back to its Adam-and-Jamie-only roots (how many people remembered those days?) and with its irregular scheduling, etc (seriously, when is it actually on?). 12, 13 years is a pretty long time for a show like this (even if you take into account what they say about Adam and Jamie's off-screen relationship).

It might have been a surprise to fans like myself who just found out, but since they (the show) already knew of this beforehand, I presume that they already have a way to bow out in a manner befitting the show.

I am curious to see how they end this.

Goodbye, Mythbusters - you will be missed by this fan.

America's Next Top Model finally getting cut

2015-10-15T22:22:00.001+08:00

After 22 seasons/cycles, ANTM is (finally) getting cancelled/not renewed. Like most people, I thought it would go on forever... much like SVU at this point :P

Personally, I'm not that sorry to see it go as I think it's run its course some time ago (since they let the Internet trolls... er, fans factor in during judging). But I still am gonna watch it to the bitter end.

There's only a handful of shows from the 2000s that are still on in 2015, like Survivor and The Amazing Race.

I suppose if this means I never have to be subjected to Tyra's crazy ideas for her brand like the "Pot Ledom" nonsense (thankfully, the last time I'll ever have to type that), and her most recent Avon/Mary Kay/MLM-esque cosmetics line which I'm not gonna repeat the name of because I already forgot.

As much as I wouldn't mind it if hearing-impaired Nyle wins this cycle, but I don't feel the winner's edit with him so much?

Thoughts While Watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015-09-10T14:40:00.000+08:00

After months of waiting, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert finally kicked off this week after the long Labour Day weekend. Not to mention the reveals of the new website, podcast, sneak peaks of the revamped Ed Sullivan Theater, the TV promos, interviews, the rest of it over the months, IT'S FINALLY HERE!

Okay, so he sang the national anthem with a bunch of people around the country, which he could've done while doing the press tour he mentioned on the podcast...
Either they don't have money for an announcer, or he likes doing his own announcing...
Hey, it's Jon Stewart! (Also noticed that he's also in the credits as Executive Producer...).
The monologue is hilariously on point.
Having Les Moonves with the show switch rig is pretty funny, considering The Mentalist ended its run months ago.
Nice (and HUGE) video walls.
Some props from his old set made it!
The stain glass look on the theater ceiling is also pretty epic.
Nice of Fallon to show up, even in the end in the late night host locker room (haha).
For a show that ran two hours long at taping, I could've done without the 5-minute segment about Trump and his Cookie Monster-esque Oreo bingeing.
Was kind of hoping colbertlateshow.gov was up and running.
The hummus plugging segment was erm, okay, I guess...
At least Clooney is the first guest and not, say, Will Ferrell :P
I didn't know Tiffany & Co made paperweights...? But they do (and they're so pretty...!). The "I Don't Know You" engraving just about slayed me.
So adorable that his family was also in the audience.
Didn't recognise any of the people in the final musical number.

No wonder the show ran long and had to trim two hours down to less than half the time...

Where we last left off...

2015-06-12T11:40:00.000+08:00

So... Letterman's last show. Haven't been watching the show for a number of years now. How long ago? Put it this way - the last time I bothered to follow the show, he was still making fun of Stephanie Birkitt, his erm, intern. I thought the last show was okay - I really enjoyed the Foo Fighters at the end, playing Everlong under the 6 minute supercut of show highlights.

So they gutted the Ed Sullivan Theater for Colbert's Late Show in September.

With about three months to go, Colbert's finally resurfaced to get buzz for the show on: the Colbeard is gone (?), there's a website, a podcast, we finally know who his bandleader/musical director (?) will be...

I can't wait for September.

Trevor Noah, New Daily Show Host?

2015-03-31T10:39:00.001+08:00

After many weeks of speculation (which felt pretty long, compared to the events of last year's late night chaos), the search for Jon Stewart's replacement has finally concluded, and they went with the South African comic Trevor Noah. I'm okay with this development like how I was okay with with news of Jon Stewart finally stepping down from The Daily Show. I thought I read somewhere that he was reluctant to give up his standup comedy touring, or perhaps not? At least it's not another middle-aged white guy, amiright?

With all the natural heirs to TDS already upped and left (you know which ones), it was slim pickings from the current stable of correspondents. I didn't really think that either Jason Jones or Samantha Bee had a shot of taking over anyway, which is just as well that they're both leaving (Jason did as of last week). Jessica Williams is self aware enough to pre-emptively take herself out of the running early on. I really can't see any of the others taking over, familiar faces or not. All the other names bandied about was about as ludicrous as the next. So what's wrong with a South African guy taking over? John Oliver's doing a hilarious job on HBO.

At least now there'll be men of colour in Comedy Central's late night lineup... now I can't wait to see the rejigged Daily Show later in the year.

CSI: Cyber

2015-03-05T16:10:00.001+08:00

After the backdoor pilot (which they're playing again for World CSI Day) months ago, CSI: Cyber is finally here.

Someone uploaded what I presumed to be an advanced screener for the CSI: Cyber pilot online a couple days ahead of its big premiere (no opening credits, network tags, lower third ads, etc) this week. But the episode did closed with another CSI franchise signature: the use of The Who song for a theme song, this time it's I Can See For Miles, which seems apt for this show.

If you have logged a lot of hours of your life in front of the TV, you would recognise some of the faces (besides Patricia Arquette, who was previously on the show, Medium) like James Van Der Beek (her second-in-command/field muscle) and Peter MacNicol (who plays the uber supportive boss). Also totally didn't recognise Bow Wow (formerly L'il Bow Wow - I hope I'm not the only one who remembered that).

Some big differences for the CSI franchise: a leading lady, that it's not some local police department, but an FBI Cyber Crimes division... The pilot case is already pretty creepy - a baby trafficking ring who sources their babies by exploiting a flaw in a company's baby monitors. The cases are already creepy, on par with SVU or Criminal Minds.

I don't know if the show's momentum will continue to last to get a full season pickup or renewed after the glow of Patricia Arquette's Oscar win fades, but I'm curious to find out. (Before she won, they used her Academy Award nominee status like crazy in the promos - they should change them to reflect "Nominee" to "Winner" now)

While I can see why professional TV watchers (you know, critics) panned both the show and pilot, but if you've been watching the franchise through thick and thin, why not. Just don't let technophobic old people watch it because it might make them even more paranoid.

Thoughts on The Late Late Show Guest Hosts, Part 3

2015-03-05T11:56:00.001+08:00

This is the final instalment of my random thoughts/opinions on the guest hosts of The Late Late Show before the new guy starts next week. Holy crap, I can't believe it's coming up already.

I've had fun watching the guest hosting gigs, whether they killed or bombed. They're also bringing in current and former CBS personalities to fill in the last few weeks before James Corden starts. I'm guessing Drew Carey is doing a second week of shows at the end because they didn't want to find more people to fill in the guest host slot.

Wayne Brady (Feb 9 - 13, Let's Make a Deal): I personally didn't know that he's currently hosting Let's Make a Deal with Jonathan Mangum as his sidekick, which makes them both more qualified than most to do a week of guest hosting on The Late Late Show. The cold opens are tolerable, with him interacting with him as a character, with the odd appearance from Mangum. He brought his Whose Line persona with him and kept the singing to a tolerable minimum, and not to mention his geek/nerd side when Shatner came on. I also enjoyed the Judy Smith (inspiration for Scandal's Olivia Pope) segment. He had a good mix of guests for his week of shows, from the child genius to the Freestyle Love Supreme guys, whom I had no prior awareness of. Him signing off by saying "I love you" to his kids was a cute touch. Fun week.

Tom Lennon (Feb 16 - 18, The Odd Couple): I wonder if they got him to host because he's on the rebooted The Odd Couple (also on CBS), or because he was also on the show a lot during Craig's tenure (not just as someone they call to fill in for guest drop outs, but as the voice of Geoff the robot). Anyway... of course he got his Odd Couple co-star Matthew Perry on, who was smart enough to decline the hosting gig. Got a little exhausted of him promoting the show by the end of the three nights, but thought he was all right. My favourite night was the first when he had Weird Al, Natasha Leggero and Maz Jobrani on.

Lauren Graham (Feb 19, The Odd Couple): Guess I wasn't the only one wondering if a boob was gonna spill out of her low-cut top. She did okay for one night, but she should stick to her day job(s).

Will Arnett (Feb 20, formerly The Millers): He should definitely stick to his day job. Using pre-show footage of himself as his sidekick is just... meh. But getting another late night talk show host from another network (Jimmy Kimmel) was the only bright side to this.

Billy Gardell (Feb 23 - 24, Mike and Molly): For all his self-deprecation, he did a pretty good job for the two nights he hosted.

Kunal Nayyar (Feb 25 - 27, The Big Bang Theory): I thought he did okay, and was pretty entertaining. But that screaming goat will be his Late Late Show hosting legacy.

Drew Carey (March 2 - 6, The Price is Right): Do I need to repeat myself? He'll be fine.

Thoughts on Late Late Show Guest Hosts, Part 2

2015-02-11T11:54:00.000+08:00

(I have no idea why some of the guest hosts are doing this in New York, on Charlie Rose's set during the so-called blizzard where guests can't be that easy to book...)

Regis Philbin (Jan 26 - 27): Classy and high calibre guests (don't know how he got Annie Lennox), but a bit of a snore for me.

Whitney Cummings (Jan 28 - 29): Awkward, but could be worse. Still not a fan of the braless co-host. But hilarious that Alan Cumming came on the show and they discussed their last names for a bit.

Adam Pally (Jan 30): Don't know why he said yes and thought getting a tattoo for the show was a good idea. Luckily it's just for one show. But didn't mind that he had Howard Stern's wife on.

After the week in New York, back in LA...

Sean Hayes (Feb 2 - 3): Gone all out, knowing he's only doing two shows as I don't think he can keep up the musical numbers any longer. His USB idea - the bowl of talking points for awkward silences - is hilarious.

John Mayer (Feb 4 - 6): Not a fan of the guy personally, but I thought he did an okay job. Getting the Super Bowl sharks as his first guests is not a bad get, but I can't imagine it wasn't THAT hard for him. I wasn't the only one disappointed that they didn't dance on the show..

So Jon Stewart is finally leaving The Daily Show...

2015-02-11T11:20:00.002+08:00

First major late night TV bombshell of 2015: Jon Stewart announcing his departure from The Daily Show later in the year. No specific date yet, but let's just say he won't be renewing his contract this year when his current one runs out.

Thank you Jon. pic.twitter.com/yPdxjnkuLw
— Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral) February 10, 2015

Ever since last year's late night TV shake up, I had been wondering if JStew was ever gonna step down: Dude's been at it for almost 20 years, he's aging before our (collective) eyes... and I've been failing miserably to stay awake through it. Makes for great insomnia cure :P He also doesn't seem to have a lot of time for anything else, it seems like.

I can't say I'm surprised to hear this piece of news as I have been expecting something like this to happen since last year. It's a little sad, but it's time. That, and when Dr Bassem Youssef was on Monday's show (as the Middle East contributor), I did have that niggle... well okay, it's because the good doctor has taken up a fellowship post stateside, and not to take over the show... I think.

The Daily Show under his helm has been a massive platform for his former correspondents (Carrell, Colbert, Oliver, et al), enabling them to move on to bigger and better things: movie careers, TV careers, etc. So why not him? Maybe he wants to slow down, make more movies. Whatever.

And of course, so many questions as to what happens next...

Does this mean that any of his current stable of correspondents are gonna take over the show? Same direction, different direction?
JStew's production company is still running both The Daily Show and The Nightly Show. Does this mean that he'll just be running things behind the camera instead?
For a split second there, I thought Bassem Youssef was gonna take over... then I remembered he's doing a resident fellowship stint at Harvard. Don't think he's got the time.
I don't know if Jason Jones is right to take over the reins...?

I suppose this means that other shows might have a better chance of winning the Emmy that The Daily Show has been winning for at least a decade now.

As usual, I can't wait to see what happens.

Thoughts on the Late Late Show Guest Hosting So Far...

2015-01-24T01:28:00.000+08:00

I'm such a masochist, I'm also watching the guest hosting stints on The Late Late Show out of habit. While I'm glad they didn't tear the old set down just yet, but sad that the faux fireplace is not where it is any more.

Drew Carey: Not the first time he's done this (he and Craig swapped jobs once), but I'm still a bit thrown off by his eye line because it's really obvious that he's reading the teleprompter that's a little too high for him. Now I know why other shows have cue card guys who are low to the ground. That's just my niggle and he's also doing the last week before Corden's official start. The cold opens with his Price is Right announcer George Gray are pretty hilarious.

The Talk hosts: I don't watch the show because I don't have the time nor the energy. It's just them on their own set, doing a "After Dark" version of their show. Sharon Osbourne is a hoot. But otherwise, I thought they were fine.

Jim Gaffigan: (Did they take the kids out of school for a few days?) After just three days, I already can't get the kids' song out of my head... and not in a good way. Have to like that it was a family affair, with his wife Jeannie as co-host and his brood of FIVE kids as opening act/ushers/foils. But yeah, the self-promotion (of his upcoming TV show, albums, books and specials) is almost unbearable. Even the guests that were on are on his upcoming TV show. That said, the kids made it an adorable experience.

As of this post, Judd Apatow is halfway through his guest hosting stint to end this week.

While watching this year's Golden Globes..

2015-01-15T00:44:00.001+08:00

Finally found some time to watch this year's Golden Globes ceremony.

Tina and Amy again. Hmm.
Amy looks awfully orange..
I wonder if Cumberbatch practices his photobombing face..
That looks like a nice plate of desserts at the Girls table..
You know the seating is not so obviously fixed when a couple of the winners have to make their way from what seemed like the back of the room to accept their award (Joanna Froggatt from Downton Abbey and Gina Rodriguez from Jane the Virgin)..
Okay, I literally have no idea what is Prince doing there.. but have to give him props for not wearing a penguin suit.
Oh, Clive Owen and the shiny forehead :P
Haha, Ricky Gervais and his boozing XD
Too bad Emma Thompson isn't nominated for anything, she was a blast last year.
So didn't know Ruth Wilson is English.
I'm glad The Grand Budapest Hotel won SOMETHING.

Brief TV Rants

NCIS: Los Angeles is ENDING?! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!

The end of Major Crimes

Jennifer Esposito leaving NCIS

Criminal Minds Annual Cast Changes

Watching Queer Eye in 2017

Adios, Hotch

New NCIS muscle!

Criminal Minds casting news - New BAU muscle!

Thoughts While Watching Michael Weatherly Leave NCIS

Shemar Moore Leaves Criminal Minds

Thoughts While Watching the Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Pilot

Thoughts while watching the 2016 Academy Awards

TNT axe strikes again - Renewals and Cancellations

Goodbye, The Soup

Goodbye, Mythbusters

America's Next Top Model finally getting cut

Thoughts While Watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Where we last left off...

Trevor Noah, New Daily Show Host?

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