Ricky Gervais Show Review: "Clive Warren" (2.1)
One reason I was both excited and reluctant to cover The Ricky Gervais Show is how incredibly different it is from pretty much everything else on TV. It’s not quite reality television, a genre in which I have pretty much no interest. It’s probably closer to documentary. But the show’s also animated, making the whole thing even more difficult to categorize. It’s probably most similar to is Ari Folman’s film Waltz with Bashir—another interview-based documentary that’s animated—but there’s obviously a world of difference in what the two are trying to accomplish. The show is ultimately a glorified version of Gervais’... read more
Watch The Low Anthem Play Letterman
Providence folk-rockers The Low Anthem returned to the The Late Show with David Letterman last night. To preview its upcoming sophomore effort, Smart Flesh, the group serenely brought its new single “Ghost Woman Blues” to the late-night set.... read more
Off The Map Review: Series Premiere
“Forget what you learned in residency, practicing Tropical medicine in a third world country is a different game.” This is the lecture that resident Doctor Ben Keeton (Martin Henderson) gives to his new recruits. Off the Map begins with three new doctors arriving “Somewhere in South America.” The creators waste no time trying to convince the audience that this isn’t going to be just another medical drama—that in the jungle, medicine isn’t practiced the same way.... read more
Conan O'Brien Conquers Late Night, Sort Of
According to numbers recently released by TBS, Conan is the number one show in late night television in the coveted 18 to 49 demographic.... read more
Watch The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend Whore Out for The Colbert Report
Last night, Stephen Colbert decided to have some fun with his Grammy ballot for this year. The late-night talk show host invited Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys to battle Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig for Colbert’s Best Alternative Music Album vote. Colbert decided to have a “sell-out-off” where each side went through their various song placements in major television ads—including Zales, Honda, Tommy Hilfiger, Hewlett Packard and Sony Ericsson.... read more
Neil Gaiman to Guest on The Simpsons
Comic book writer, novelist and Paste-approved Twitter user Neil Gaiman is adding another notch in his already impressive résumé: guest star on The Simpsons.... read more
Salma Hayek Working With ABC on Wicked Miniseries
Gregory Maguire’s bestselling novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is being adapted for television by Salma Hayek and ABC studios.... read more
Shameless Review: Series Premiere
Once again the Brits have broken in a TV series before America takes it as its own. Although Shameless attempts to jam a lot into one hour, the show’s tremendous cast, smart pacing and fresh storyline keep it engaging. And the longtime success of the British version is an encouraging sign that it could last awhile.... read more
Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston Starts a Web Series
Star of the critically-acclaimed AMC show Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, is now concentrating his efforts on a web series with a lighter tone.... read more
Catching Up With… ESPN Films’ Connor Schell
One of the most audacious documentary projects of 2010 was ESPN’s 30 For 30 series, in which the series found 30 of the best documentarians working today and commissioned a film from each of them on a sports-related event from the last 30 years. Volume 1 of the DVD set came out last month, and Connor Schell, executive producer of both ESPN Films and the 30 for 30 series, spoke with Paste about the series. You can hear the complete interview in the January 6 edition of the Indie Minded Film Podcast on Paste Culture Club.... read more
The Cape Review: Series Premiere (Episodes 1.01/1.02)
As NBC tries to re-capture an audience with The Cape, the comparison to Heroes is inevitable. But while Heroes started falling apart around Season Two due to shoddy writing and convoluted plot lines, The Cape manages to stumble right from the start.... read more
Bob's Burgers Review: Series Premiere
In 1999, Lauren Bouchard and Brendon Small teamed to create Home Movies, a charming cartoon about an eight-year-old would-be auteur. It was canceled after a season on UPN before being rescued by Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.... read more
Californication Review: "Exile on Main St." (Episode 4.01)
After being delayed from its usual fall premiere, Season Four of Californication has finally arrived, picking up right where Hank Moody hit rock bottom in last season’s finale. As Season Three concluded, Hank, Karen and Becca’s planned move to New York became derailed at the last possible minute by Mia’s unannounced return. After Hank unsuccessfully pleaded with Mia to keep their taboo sexual history a secret anymore, the tragically flawed protagonist felt no choice but to come clean with Karen about his relationship with Mia. Hank fails to console Karen as cops show up to their home, and the season... read more
Watch Justin Townes Earle Perform on David Letterman
Just Townes Earle released a terrific album last year called Harlem River Blues. So terrific, in fact, that we deemed it #15 of our top 50 albums of the year. Last night, David Letterman gave Earle his network television debut, where he performed the impossibly catchy title track with Jason Isbell on lead guitar and Paul Shaffer rocking the organ.... read more
Writers Guild Announces 2011 Award Nominations
The Writers Guild of America announced its nominations for exceptional achievement in screenwriting in 2010. Screenplays for both Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Network and Stuart Blumberg’s The Kids Are Alright were among those selected. However, several celebrated films this year including The Kings’ Speech, Winter’s Bone and Toy Story 3 did not make the cut due to the WGA’s controversial and complicated Minimum Basic Agreement.... read more
Watch Local Natives on Jimmy Fallon
The Roots weren’t the only musical reason to watch Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night. Psych-folkies Local Natives performed the third single, “Wide Eyes,” from their Paste-approved debut LP Gorilla Manor.... read more
The National's ACL Performance to Air on PBS Jan. 15
After 10 years of slowly building a loyal following, The National has finally seen its hard work and constant grinding come to fruition of late: The band’s 2010 release High Violet received widespread acclaim from both critics and fans alike. But where the members of The National separated themselves entirely from the many other indie-rock bands was with their impeccable live show. While touring hard in support of High Violet, The National brought this brooding show to the studios of Austin City Limits in October—a show that PBS will debut on Jan. 15.... read more
LimeWire Wants Subpoenas for Recording Industry Third Parties
LimeWire, the popular peer-to-peer-file-sharing service that allows people to freely transfer music, TV shows, videos, etc., is looking for court-ordered subpoenas of third parties that deal with the recording industry.... read more
Roger Ebert Announces New At the Movies Hosts
Looks like that mysterious 20-something with no movie criticism experience won’t be joining Roger Ebert’s revamped At the Movies after all: Ebert announced today that his show will be co-hosted by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and Christy Lemire.... read more
Syfy to Air Five Final Episodes of Caprica Jan. 4
When Syfy canceled its prequel series to Battlestar Galactica, fans of the show wondered when the last five episodes that had already been filmed would see the light of day. January 4, from 6 to 11pm, is the answer.... read more
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