Fuzzy Lion

I know it sounds shocking, but there’s actually a reason to turn in to “Last Call with Carson Daly” this week. Emily Haines will be his musical guest on Wednesday night (1/31), and if you peek at the “Heavy Rotation” sidebar, you’ll see that I’ve been loving her record Knives Don’t Have Your Back.

If you’re not familiar with Ms. Haines solo material, be sure to check out the first track off the record, “Our Hell.”

Other notable guests hitting the late-night shows this week include Sarah Silverman (Conan, 1/29), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Leno, 1/29), Matt Damon (Letterman, 1/30), Bill Murray (Letterman, 2/1) & David Spade (Letterman, 2/2).

Calling all comedy lovers with HBO. If you haven’t seen it already, Louis C.K.’s comedy special “Shameless” is one of the funniest stand-up specials I have ever seen. There’s a complete schedule of the re-runs here, so set your DV-R and make sure you take a piss before you watch it or you’ll end up staining the couch.

For those of you who are unfortunate enough to not be familiar with Louis C.K., he’s basically the comedian that Dane Cook strives to be, only funny.

I have been a little late getting into 30 Rock but I’m glad that I did; it’s the funniest new comedy on TV since The Office.

There are two shows this season based on the behind-the-scenes makings of a live television show, but only one of them is worth watching, and it’s not Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I’ve never been able to sit through a full hour of Studio 60, and it appears many Americans are with me; it’s a ratings disaster. If it weren’t for the big creative team behind the show, it would’ve went away along with Smith and 3 Lbs. to cancellation heaven.

But 30 Rock is different. The show’s star is also it’s creator, Tina Fey, and features Alec Baldwin in one of his best roles in years. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer of a SNL-esque sketch comedy show called “The Girlie Show” which was forced to add the mentally-ill but wildly popular Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) as a cast member.

For the record, let me state that I have never found Tracy Morgan funny, or even tolerable. He was a waste of a cast member on SNL in my opinion and I honestly can’t remember ever laughing at one skit he was in. That being said, Fey has created the perfect outlet to prove that he actually IS funny and he shines in his role.

Now here’s the problem. The ratings for this show aren’t that great, but NBC has thankfully ordered it for a full-season pickup. It’s great to see that they’re not pulling the plug on this show in hopes it will turn out to be as successful as The Office has become, another show which started off slow ratings-wise.

Unfortunately, the idiots who run NBC are out of touch with the demographic for this show. I don’t know who they’re aiming for, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you like The Office and that brand of witty humor, you will find 30 Rock hilarious.

The Office became successful mainly through iTunes, at a time when there were limited shows available. The Office’s strong word-of-mouth buzz, coupled with the curiosity of the tech-savvy in purchasing television episodes through iTunes became the series’ saving grace.

If NBC is hoping for that to happen with 30 Rock, they are sadly mistaken. iTunes is not going to break this show because people are not aware of its brilliance. There’s little buzz, and buying TV on iTunes is old hat. Other networks realize this, and that’s they’ve created opportunities to view past and current episodes of their content for free (ad-supported) online. Unfortunately, NBC doesn’t allow you to watch all the back episodes of 30 Rock at their website, so you’re limited to watching just the most recently aired one.

How does that make any sense? Does anyone even know when this show’s regular time-slot is?! I didn’t, and I’m pretty damn TV savvy. (It’s Thursday @ 9:30). NBC should be doing everything they possibly can to get this show out there, for free, so people can get hooked.

In the meantime, stream the episodes that have aired already from the links below. Get caught up, and help spread the word and ratings of this show so we’ll see it next year too. As of now I am only able to find the first 4, but I will keep updating as I track down more.
Episode 1: Link
Episode 2: Link
Episode 3: Link
Episode 4: Link

Most people know Matt Stone and Trey Parker as the creators of South Park, but they also created a brilliant live-action, yet short-lived show on Comedy Central called “That’s My Bush.”

If you’ve never seen the show, it’s a satirical view of life in the White House for the bumbling idiot that is George W. Bush. Timothy Bottoms do a spot-on impression of “W.” and actually makes him quite like-able (at least until you turn on CNN!)

Comedy Central is releasing “That’s My Bush: The Definitive Collection” on DVD this coming Tuesday, but you can win a copy by emailing us with who you’d like to see in office in 2008. The most creative entry wins! (Entries must be submitted by 10/22)

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I love South Park. Unlike The Simpsons, the show remains innovative and controversial season after season. With the show entering its tenth season, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are releasing this Tuesday “South Park: The Hits, Vol. 1″ which will feature their ten of their favorite episodes, as well as the never-before-released “Spirit of Christmas” short that started it all.

We were lucky enough to get a copy of this to give away to a lucky reader. To enter, simply leave a comment or send an email to “staff at fuzzylion dot com” telling us YOUR favorite South Park episode and why.

David Cross, one of the geniuses behind “Mr. Show” and “Arrested Development” (among many other things), has co-created a new Comedy Central animated series called “Freak Show.”

Hey, any show that features a clam with a beard (get it?!) as a lead character has got a thumbs up from me!

What happens when one of my most favorite TV personalities (Jeremy Piven) clashes with one of my most loathed (Billy Bush)? This does, and it’s great!

Everyone’s favorite Actor / Musician / Poet / Priceline.com spokesperson William Shatner is being roasted in Los Angeles soon and it will air on Comedy Central on August 20th at 10:00 PM.

Comedy Central was nice enough to supply Fuzzy Lion with a copy of the “Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson: Uncensored” DVD as well as the “Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary: Uncensored” DVD. To win, simply leave a comment and be sure to use your real email address (so I can contact you, nothing is being sold to Comedy Central or anything!)

U2 will be spending the entire episode of “Late Night With Conan
O’Brien” tonight discussing their current world tour as well as playing
multiple performances. Bono and the boys are in New York kicking off 5
straight concerts at Madison Square Garden. Sadly, the opening act is
none other than Keane.

Last year, the only reason to ever flip on UPN was to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Kristin Bell
from “Veronica Mars.” (Surprisingly, not a bad show!) Well, now you
have two reasons…”Everybody Hates Chris.” Chris Rock’s show debuted
last Thursday and was one of the best new comedies of the year.

For those that missed it, Google is streaming the entire first episode for your internet-watching pleasure here.