I'm posting this this from Vegas, where I've spent four days locked in a hotel room at the Fiesta, battling a deadline. I'm winning, but not without a lot of bloodshed. The Fiesta is a "locals'" place with a big casino and a small hotel — 200 rooms, which is the minimum a casino-hotel can […]
Well, negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the AMPTP have collapsed, which does not come as a shock to anyone with a lick o' sense and a sense o' history. This always promised to get ugly and it will surely get even uglier, even before the dreaded Writers Strike of '01 could possibly […]
Just in case you haven't heard: NBC's Later show has been running old, chopped-up installments of SCTV. The editing's a little weird and the selection of episodes, a little weirder. But even with all that, it still stands out as one of the bright and shining lights of television sketch comedy. Later follows Conan O'Brien […]
One of the perks of having a web presence is that old friends find you. In the last two weeks, I've heard from three people I hadn't talked to in a long time…in one case, since high school. Of course, it helps to have a weird last name. It used to be that when folks […]
If it's been mentioned anywhere in the press, I've missed it…so let me remind/inform you that in the next few days, your local PBS station will be airing a two-hour special in which Carl Reiner receives the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Award. I haven't seen it but, given the event and the guest list (Dick […]
I haven't recommended a book on comics lately so here's one. If you're the least bit interested in the history of EC Comics (and William M. Gaines, its publisher pictured above right), you must, must, must have Tales of Terror! by Grant Geissman and Fred Von Bernewitz. It's an exhaustive and entertaining compendium of info, […]
I don't do many conventions these days but I've agreed to show my puss at this year's Wondercon in Oakland, which is April 20-22. You can get more info at their website and you can get there by clicking here. These are good, friendly gatherings that remind me of the early San Diego gatherings. When […]
Increasingly, cartoon voice artists are finding it advantageous to establish personal websites upon which one can hear their demo reels and, sometimes, view other fun stuff — like photos, résumés, advice to beginners, etc. In case you're a casting director — or just a fan of folks who make silly sounds for a living — […]
Next Sunday, March 4, the Arts and Entertainment Network is running a two-hour documentary called It's Burlesque, filled with clips of great burley-q routines and performers, including Abbott and Costello, Phil Silvers and Mae West. I mention this because some of you may like it and because it gives me an excuse to put up […]
Wanna see what's happening in Times Square at this very moment? You can at Earthcam's Times Square webcam. If the site included the sickly sweet smell of honey-roasted nuts, it would be your complete New York experience. […]
And I just wrote the foreword for DC's forthcoming trade paperback of Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle. This will be the fourth collection of Jack's Fourth World series, this time reprinting #11-18 of Mister Miracle in, alas, black-and-white again. I don't think this is Jack's strongest work — his heart went out of the project when […]
While roaming about my harddisk the other day, I came across a file I downloaded a few years ago — a day-by-day diary of the second O.J. Simpson trial (the one he lost, the one with the wide-awake jury), kept by Harry Shearer. Engaged by Slate to cover the festivities, Shearer turned in one of […]
Well it looks like Eric Boehlert was right about the XFL. The first week, its NBC Saturday night broadcasts notched a 10.3 rating (it started higher but declined throughout the evening). The second week, they were down to 5.1 which, at least, was still above the 4.5 guaranteed to advertisers. But the overnights for Week […]
Just back from another Vegas trip, mostly for recreation but also to get some work done. In case you haven't been there lately, the new trend in gaming is for "name" slot machines, themed around TV shows. Some are based on game shows, like Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, and I lost an entire two […]
A couple of folks have written to say they wish I had more here on The Dick Van Dyke Show. So do I, so do I. In the meantime, while I write something else, you might want to check out the website of Vince Waldron. Vince, who I think owes me a lunch or maybe […]