Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
For those of you who Valerie Cherish'd HBO's The Comeback, here something to make you say, "I wanna see that!" The single-season look at a onetime sitcom queen's bid for a return to fame arrives on DVD this week, complete with extras, including an update on the horrific role Val has since been offered and a look at her Dancing with the Stars stint. TVGuide.com spoke with cocreator Lisa Kudrow, Emmy-nominated for playing the hapless actress, about her ongoing Comeback, Valerie's A-list "Angel" of a fan, and Madonna stealing her hair.
read more
Question: David's question predicting the best drama series Emmy mentioned Six Feet Under being out of the running. I thought that since Season 5 aired in the summer of 2005, it would still be eligible for this year. I hear so much about Lisa Kudrow's The Comeback getting nods, even though it aired at roughly the same time. And although it's out of sight/out of mind, SFU should be shown some Emmy love, at least with nominations for "All Alone" (the aftermath of Nate's death) or "Everyone's Waiting" (the series finale).
Answer: Yes, I suppose I should have clarified that. An oversight, or maybe I was in denial, hoping everyone would just forget about the show and let more deserving applicants make the cut (even the last season of West Wing). That wildly overpraised final episode, in which it looked like most of the Fishers would die of boredom in the future, could easily rack up some nominations for the series, if not the cast. I'm thinking The Sopranos and maybe even
read more
Question: The Oscar voters seem to go out of their way to nominate the "little guys." Felicity Huffman was nominated for Transamerica even if the movie made less than $3 million at the box office. Why can't it be the same for the Emmys? If the Oscar voters were anything like Emmy voters, then Crash or Brokeback Mountain wouldn't even be on the list of nominations. I am especially nervous about the category for best actress in a comedy: I agree with you that Marcia Cross deserves to win. She makes the transition from a psychotic alcoholic to a caring mother look so freakin' easy! Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Teri Hatcher will also be nominated. She's a great actress, but there are actresses who are more deserving. Huffman is always great, but this season of Desperate Housewives belonged to Cross. Mary-Louise Parker will probably get nominated, too. Other nominees I'd like to see are Lisa Kudrow — sadly, I think the Emmy voters might pass on her, and though she was on HBO, her ...
read more
Question: How can Lauren Graham get nominated for an Emmy in the comedy category when all of her best scenes this season are dramatic (i.e., the car scene in the final episode)? Do you think Desperate Housewives will sweep the nominations once again? I can probably live with two or three nominated wives, but taking four spots is kind of pushing it. In a sense I think Lauren has a great chance of being nominated because Emmy favorites Patricia Heaton and Sarah Jessica Parker are no longer contenders, and because the Housewives aren't as dominant as they used to be. However, she may not get nominated just because this has been the most dramatic (and least comedic) season of Gilmore Girls — although she did get nominated for a TCA this year. I don't get it.
Answer: Lauren Graham falls between the cracks in so many ways: between comedy and drama, and being on a network, now defunct, that almost never could find its way onto the Emmy radar. The category is a little more wide-open this year,
...
read more
Question: What does Marcia Cross need to do in order to win an Emmy? Cross' Bree is the best character on Desperate Housewives, and even in boring episodes, her performance alone is enough to carry the show. On Housewives' first year, Teri Hatcher outdid Cross on every award show, then Felicity Huffman took the Emmy podium and Marcia's chances were destroyed once again. Nevertheless, I believe that her performance is not only funny but also dramatic and creepy at the same time. There has never been such a great, compelling role written for a woman. For example, during Rex's funeral Marcia communicated a truthful emotion by worrying about her dead husband's tie, and after changing it in the middle of the service, her face and words reflected a pure and honest love. On the next episode, Marcia delivered another amazing scene, slapping her mother-in-law in front of Lynette. Bree goes from funny to sincere, mixing some dark feelings and true perfection every time she appears. Marcia Cross ...
read more
Campus Ladies' Christen Sussin, Carrie Aizley and (inset) Cheryl Hines
Curb Your Enthusiasm player Cheryl Hines is going back to school — the fictional University of the Midwest — as executive producer of Oxygen's new improvised comedy series, Campus Ladies (premiering Jan. 8 at 10 pm/ET). Starring Carrie Aizley and Christen Sussin as Joan and Barri, two middle-aged housewives in search of the wild college years they missed the first time around, Campus Ladies represents one of Oxygen's most daring endeavors ever. TVGuide.com spoke with Hines about the series' origins, May-December sex and whether Curb fan
read more
Question: What were your Top 10 favorite shows of 2005, and why?
Answer: I thought you'd never ask, Jackie!
1. Battlestar Galactica: I haven't been this excited about a TV show since... ever. And if that makes me a sci-fi geek, so be it. (But please, no wedgies.)
2. Deadwood: Can't understand what they're sayin' half the time, but I sure like how they're sayin' it.
3. Lost: Season 2 not only exceeded my expectations, it upended them.
4. Grey's Anatomy: Makes me want to be a doctor, if only to hang out with these people. And have lots of sex.
5. Veronica Mars: If this is what happens when UPN meddles with a show, I say keep those notes c
read more
Nip/TuckBye-bye, Anne Heche. Nice to see Nikki safely left town with her son, leaving behind a note for Sean. That came right after a dream sequence (can we please stop it with the dream sequences?) where that creepy guy pointed a gun at Nikki after already killing Austin. Thankfully, it was just Sean daydreaming. Speaking of the creepy guy, the actor who played him — Jon Sklaroff — played creepy "Sean the Sound Guy" on The Comeback (he was the one who always freaked out Valerie when he put her mike on) and he just last week played the guy who raped and killed a 13-year-old girl on Boston Legal. If you want someone to play a creepy guy, go to Jon Sklaroff. His first scene in tonight's episode reminded me of the infamous George Michael public-restroom arrest (
read more
Another bitch is about to get welcomed to The O.C. As reported exclusively in today's Ask Ausiello, The Comeback's Willa Holland has been tapped to play Marissa's MIA younger sis, Kaitlin. She'll surface in early '06 and, according to Fox, "wreak havoc, turn heads and introduce a darker, edgier element" to the show. Also in today's AA: Major Gilmore Girls spoilage, breaking casting news on House and Will & Grace and another clue about the big Las Vegas death.
read more
Question: I've really been enjoying Extras, but it seems like I never hear anything about the show. Why has HBO put so little effort into promoting it? Do you think it's because it's not their own production? Or because there aren't that many episodes? I saw ads for Unscripted and The Comeback all over the place and neither of those shows was nearly as good as this one. Whenever a network attempts to remake a British show, there are always scores of people complaining because they don't just air the
U.K.
originals. Now that a network finally is, it seems like the show is going completely unnoticed.
Answer: It would make sense to me if HBO, as I expect, spent most of its promotional energy this fall, once Rome was up and running, to trumpet the long-awaited return of Curb Your Enthusiasm. I'm loving Extras and agree HBO had some real opportunities to exploit the hilarious cameos by Kate Winslet and Ben Stiller, but much like Ricky Gervais' original The Office, it's still something of a
...
read more
