The new talk show, simply titled Kathy! is already causing controversies around the television review circuits. Aside from the fact that she has won two Emmys for her performances on her hit Bravo television show My Life on the D-List and several standup specials for Bravo, Griffin is known for her show business shenanigans that confuse many as to why she is now getting her own talk show. For those who actually watch her shows, however, the reason is clear: Kathy Griffin is a comic genius. She is the anti-Hollywood that so many viewers are looking for in television. She calls out the ridiculous lifestyles of celebrities, as well as making fun of daily life situations. Think of Seinfeld, but with an edgier, and honestly funnier, comedy. For example, when she first announced her show on Twitter she tweeted, “I have a BIG announcement. No, I’m not pregnant.” She strives for outrage, and accomplishes it amazingly well.

Kathy! will beautifully highlight Griffin’s skills, including discussion of her thoughts on celebrities and pop culture, tabloid magazine reports, as well as some of her own stand-up routines and interviews with the celebrities that she constantly makes fun of. Her original show, My Life on the D-List, lasted a full six seasons from 2005-2010, which has prompted critics to be confident that Kathy! will do just as well. This being said, the Bravo network is still a bit concerned as to how well the show will do, so as of Spring 2012 it will air as a once per week show. Depending on how successful it is in the first few weeks, the network may make it a daily talk show. Regardless of how frequently it airs, it is sure to be a success. Bravo is even taping two more of her stand-up comedy specials this year.

If viewers prefer ridiculous and radical comedy, paired with a commentary onthe strangeness of Hollywood and celebrities, than Kathy! is sure to satisfy all of their comedic desires. Be prepared to be slightly outraged, hysterically laughing, and gaining an entirely different outlook on the world of celebrities and Hollywood after the first episode of Kathy! Although a specific release date has not been set, according to the Bravo Network, Kathy! will debut in the spring of 2012. Be sure to watch the lady who has been banned from talk shows attempt to create her own!

(Photo: American Forces Press Service)

HISTORY

Mudcats premieres on February 9, about a group of men in Oklahoma called “mudcatters”, who have been taught by their fathers and grandfathers the hand-fishing method with the purpose of passing the method down to their children and grandchildren.

Discovery Channel

New show, Beast Tracker, will premiere on Discovery on February 1. The show follows Dr. Andrew West, a marine biologist, as he tracks down exotic animals, including alligators and Burmese pythons that pose dangerous threats to human lives.

TLC

A new fashion reality series will soon premiere on TLC. From the producers of What Not To Wear comes the untitled show featuring a plus-size retail store, Jim and Lisa Dolan, the husband-and-wife team who own and operate it, and the customers who frequent the shop.

Sorority Girls will premiere on January 31. Five sorority girls from the US will be attempting to establish the first sorority in Leeds in the UK. The eight-week series will try to combine the upbeat American culture with traditional British culture.

Two new series are about to debut on TLC about love and royalty. Undercover Princes and Undercover Princesses follow six heirs as they travel to Germany, South Africa, Uganda and India to search for their true loves — anonymously. During their search, they also need to take care of themselves, including cooking their own food and getting real jobs. Undercover Princes premieres on January 31 and Undercover Princesses premieres on February 28.

Animal Planet

• Northwoods Law is a six-episode show about a game warden service in Maine that will premiere in March.

SCIENCE

• A new show premiered on the SCIENCE Channel last January 24. Monster Bug Wars delves deep into the world of insects, their mating, hunting and survival instincts. Dr. Linda Rayor and Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry are the experts who shed the light on these insects.

Napoleon Dynamite

But this isn’t 2004.  The mere mention of a liger isn’t quite enough to get us chuckling anymore.  Eight years after the independent (sort of) film thrilled us with the non-story of Napoleon and his friends, we need something more from the follow-up.  Judging by the first three episodes, we’re not going to get it.

The good news for Fox is that the ratings for the premier were strong, largely thanks to a solid lead-in from the Giants-Packers game that ran long.  With 9.5 million viewers for the 8:30 premier and 7.2 million sticking around for the 9:30 follow-up, plenty of people had the chance to at least check out Fox’s newest animated offering.  Time will tell how many will continue to tune in for the show’s regular time slot, which is immediately after The Simpsons, also a pretty good lead-in.

The new Napoleon Dynamite animated series isn’t a bad adaptation.  Not really.  It’s true to the feel of the movie.  The voices are spot on, as they should be because they come from the original cast.  Although it does provide a more structured begining-middle-end narrative than the film, the cartoon does flow freely with several seeming non-sequiturs per episode.

But it isn’t the same.  Maybe it couldn’t be.  Not after eight full years to pine for more.   Maybe it isn’t fair to hope for the same level of stupid-funny that the movie offered.  Whatever the reason, fair or unfair, the payoff just wasn’t worth the wait.

Take the relationship between Cam and Mitchell for example. They are a married, gay couple that has an adorable adopted daughter, Lilly. They often run into comedic situations, as Cam is an amateur clown and stay at home dad, and Mitchell is a high-powered, uptight attorney. However, looking past their outward appearance, there is so much conflict hidden in their relationship, it would fit perfectly into any other television drama program. Cam and Mitchell’s marriage is portrayed as anything but happy. Even others I discuss the show with see that the characters do nothing but fight. They fight about how their daughter should be raised, how to keep the house, even their life goals. When one looks past the comedy, therein lies a very troubled and turbulent relationship.

Mitchell and his sister Claire, a loving and quirky housewife, also have issues with their parents that would send any person in the real world into intensive therapy. Their father, Jay, and their mother are long-divorced after what is portrayed as a mentally abusive and unhappy marriage. On top of this, Jay is remarried to Gloria, a woman who looks like a supermodel and is younger than her stepdaughter. On top of this, it is often explained that when Mitchell was a child, he was severely harassed by his father for being obviously gay, and often wanted to run away because he was treated so terribly. Although many of the story lines poke fun at this issue, there are still moments when the viewer can sense that Mitchell is still devastated inside.

Claire has transferred many of her father’s demeaning ways onto her own three children. The oldest is often ostracized for being pretty, and her parents look down on her intelligence level. The middle child is a certified genius, but again, is constantly put down by her mother for liking books rather than makeup. The youngest child is an energetic kid who is portrayed as clearly having some sort of mental handicap, as it is impossible for him to complete any task without extreme difficulty. Again, this is buried under flawless humor.

I understand that Modern Family is supposed to be a comedy that is true to real life, but sometimes the underlying drama is just too blatant not to notice. My advice, take it at face value and laugh, but do not ignore the important underlying messages. What do you think?

The CW

• From the writer of HBO’s Sex and the City comes the prequel everybody’s been waiting for. The Carrie Diaries has been picked up by the CW and will feature Carrie Bradshaw’s life before she moved to New York.
• The CW has also ordered a remake of the 1987 television show, Beauty and the Beast. It’ll be set in modern times with a procedural angle.

CBS

• CBS has picked up a comedy pilot from Nick Stoller. The untitled pilot features a guy working in an advertising agency with the woman who broke his heart.
• They also picked up a new drama show, Trooper, about a single mom who becomes a New York State Trooper.

Discovery Channel

• Unchained Reaction is a new series premiering on the Discovery Channel. This six-episode show follows two competing teams who need to build a complicated chain reaction contraption. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of Myth Busters are on board as judges.

ABC

• A new one-hour drama series is about to premiere on ABC. Based on the bestselling book by Gabriella Pierce, 666 Park Avenue follows the lives of a Midwestern couple who move to New York and to 666 Park Avenue, as resident managers. Little do they know, all residents of the building have made deals with the devil for their own desires.

NBC

• Comedy pilot, Isabel, has been picked up by NBC. The show will star Marcia Gay Harden and Sophie Schloss.
• NBC has also picked up two drama shows, Country and Chicago Fire. Country is set inside an LA County Hospital and Chicago Fire is set in a Chicago fire department.

Best Web Series (Drama)

Aidan 5

Created by Tim Baldwin and John Jackson, Aidan 5 , set in 2064, is about a detective investigating the serial murders of his clones. Bryan Michael Block plays James Aidan, the detective. The sixteen-episode first season is now available on DVD.

http://www.aidan5.com/

Casual

Written and directed by Jay Diaz, Casual: The Series is the story about a casual relationship between a guy and girl. Starring Lauren Marini and Brian Thomas Smith, Casual is now on its third season.

http://www.casualseries.com/

DeVanity

Directed by Kelley Portier and written by Michael Caruso, DeVanity follows the crumbling lives of the DeVanity family as they try to save their dying jewelry empire in LA. Starring Michael Caruso, Chris Parke, Katie Caprio, Alexis Zibolis, Mike Dirksen and Erin Buckley, Season 2 of DeVanity is now online.

http://www.devanity.com/

Out With Dad

Written, directed, photographed and edited by Jason Leaver, Out With Dad explores the relationship between a single father, Nathan, who wants to understand his daughter, and his daughter, Rosie, who’s growing up and struggling to come out to her dad. Watch the first two seasons online.

http://www.outwithdad.com/

Ragged Isle

Created by Barry and Karen Dodd, Ragged Isle is the story of Vicki Burke as she starts a new life as a newspaper photographer on a small island off the coast of Maine. But, right after she arrives, a slew of murders happen, leaving the town in fear and confusion. Season 1 is now available online and the second and third seasons will premiere in spring and fall 2012.

http://www.raggedisle.com/

Thurston

Written by Kathryn O’Sullivan and directed by Paul Awad, Western drama Thurston is about a woman on the run and a rundown mining town struggling to survive in Kansas. Part 1 of the first season is now online. Part 2 premieres this 2012!

http://www.thurston-series.com/

Find out which web series will win Best Drama Web Series on the Indie Soap Awards! Come back next week for the Comedy Web Series nominations.

http://welovesoaps.com/isa/

For 25 minutes, six days a week, the Naked News real television newscast is viewed all around Canada, as well as many countries around the globe. The material can even be accessed through the show’s website anywhere on the globe. Begun as a web-based news service, the basic premise of the show is to tell the news of the day and week, using attractive females who either perform their entire segment completely naked, or strip during their news segments. The original anchor, Victoria Sinclair, now combines with seven other female anchors to deliver the days news completely in the nude. As can be assumed, this has offended feminist groups, as well as millions of individuals around the world.

Due to Ontario’s Topfree Equality laws, newscasters are allowed to be on the air topless, and even legally conduct topless interviews on the busy streets of Toronto. Many take issue with the fact that children may be exposed to Naked News, and that the news show itself is inappropriate for television. The show briefly aired on Citytv Toronto as a late night television news series, but has since moved to strictly online broadcasting. Even further, the news show has made very little content on the website free, and charges nearly $90.00 for a one-year membership to simply watch women telling the news completely naked. A male offshoot of the show also aired for some time, but was discontinued in October of 2007, as it did not nearly reach the six million monthly viewers of the female segment.

It is easy to see why the general public can view this form of news show as offensive, and the fact that it was ever aired on cable television is mind-boggling. In the UK, Sumo TV aired episodes of Naked News, and Playboy One, a free channel, also aired the show regularly. Main anchor Victoria Sinclair called the show “sensual, not sexual,” but the issue remains that it is inappropriate for women (and men) to be stripping on television. My final recommendation is to avoid Naked News completely, as to convey the message that it is not acceptable to use women in such a manner. However, if you would like to waste your $90.00 a year to have an amateur news anchor deliver the news, save your money, and your dignity, and turn on CNN.

Whole Day Down

Whole Day Down follows how Willie Garson and Patrick Breen, two unsuccessful and middle-aged actors, pursue their passion for art by opening an art gallery. Or at least occupy a space belonging to Patrick’s domineering father-in-law, for one Monday a month. And on top of that, they’ve got to deal with vengeful art critic, a satanic receptionist and a whole slew of difficult artists.

Whole Day Down stars Patrick Breen as Patrick, Willie Garson as Willie, Elisa Donovan as Nadine, Patrick’s wife,  and Francesca Fauci as Franny, the receptionist.

About the Creators

Patrick Breen (Creator and Director) has appeared in occasional films including Galaxy Quest, Men In Black, and Just A Kiss and the occasional TV shows including Nurse Jackie, Sex and The City, The Good Wife and Will & Grace. He owns and operates an art gallery with co-star, Willie Garson.

Tai Fauci (Creator, Producer and Editor) has been working behind the scenes in the industry since she was 14, when she worked as an Intern on the TV show, Maggie. Since then, she has worked in numerous TV shows, films, film festivals (as programming director and screenplay competition director of FirstGlance Film Festival). She has always been busy producing, writing and editing new media projects, short films and web series. Her latest project includes the film adaptation of The Highest Tide, a novel by Jim Lynch, which Fisher Stevens will be directing.

Catch episodes of Whole Day Down on http://blip.tv/wholedaydown or http://wholedaydown.tv/. Find out more on their Facebook page.

Lately, though, watching Glee has been a bit of a chore for me. I didn’t even watch last week’s episode, the return after a winter hiatus. Maybe it was the Christmas episode that did me in. My favorite part was Kurt’s comment about Blaine being his “winter roommate” (mostly because I agree and also wish he were mine) but other than that I actually spent the whole time rolling my eyes. It’s just too over-the-top now. I appreciate what Glee has done to bring a lot of social issues into the spotlight, especially bullying and homosexuality, but now it seems like every episode has some kind of lesson that needs to be taught. Every once in a while is fine, but more than that and you’re lecturing your audience.

I’ve always been annoyed by Lea Michele’s character, the over-ambitious Rachel Berry, despite Michele’s role of Glee sweetheart. The producers keep saying Rachel isn’t coming back then changing their minds – I know they’re afraid losing Michele would kill the show, but at this point, I want to skip all of her scenes anyway. She has gone from annoying but lovable (hey, I have control issues of my own, so I have to give the girl a break) to just plain annoying. I want her to succeed and go to New York just so she’s out of McKinley – people can watch her on the inevitable spin-off, but I won’t.

Even my favorite, Sue Sylvester, has been a little too much as of late. She goes from typical, lovable-villain-Sue to I-have-a-heart-Sue to downright evil Sue in a three-episode arc. The touch of humanity is nice, but some consistency would be, too.

Once I get invested in a show, I wait it out until its bitter end – I have this weird phobia of not knowing how things end. Even with shows I don’t watch on a week-to-week basis anymore (House, MD for one), I still catch up on weekends when I get the chance. I’ll watch last week’s episode soon, because c’mon – Michael Jackson week is next. I have high hopes, and hopefully they’ll be met, because otherwise it’s to the back burner we go.

(White House photo)

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, the boxing pride of the Philippines, has proven to fans and critics, in the boxing ring, why he is a boxing champion. A lot of people know about him and his family through media. But few people really know the man behind the champion, his trainer, Freddie Roach. This January, HBO has turned the spotlight on him.

HBO: On Freddie Roach follows the life of Freddie Roach, who owns and operates Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, CA, and has produced world boxing champions, including the eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao, and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. A former champion boxer, Roach was forced to quit when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and lost five of his last six fights. He retired from professional boxing at 26.

He apprenticed with his former trainer and mentor, Eddie Futch. The first boxer Roach himself trained was Hollywood actor, Mickey Rourke, in 1991. Rourke gave him the gym equipment that Roach would eventually use in Wildcard. Since 1991, Roach has trained Oscar de la Hoya, Virgil Hill and British boxer and former WBA light welterweight World Champion Amir Khan.

On Freddie Roach shows the man behind the success of world boxing and mixed martial arts champions — how he transforms them from boxers to champions, while dealing with Parkinson’s Disease.

On Freddie Roach premiered on HBO on Friday, January 20, at 9:30pm ET/PT.

(U.S. Army photo)