Kathy Griffin Cracks Me Up

I am most definitely not a fan of stand-up comedy. To me, there's something vaguely unnatural about someone standing in front of a group of people telling jokes. Sure, I can appreciate the humor of old school Eddie Murphy or Richard Pryor, and Jerry Seinfeld's observations are pretty funny, but generally I don't really feel the stand-up.

But Kathy Griffin rocks my world. In a serious way.

Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't tell "jokes," per se, but rather tells stories in her singularly acerbic and hysterical way, but I find her consistently, and ridiculously, funny. Her most recent Bravo stand-up special, subtitled Straight to Hell? Pure comic genius.

She began the evening recounting the controversy surrounding her Emmy Award acceptance speech ("Suck it, Jesus!"), which, ironically, got more press for the shameless publicity seeker than she ever could have possibly have hoped for. She continued with anecdotes about Paula Abdul, Martha Stewart, Dr. Phil and, of course, her sometime-View colleague Barbara Walters. Attempting to recreate any of her stories would be a fruitless exercise -- her delivery is just as important to the humor as the content of what she's saying. But, if you missed it, take my word for it: one story is funnier than the next, and if you are a fan of celebrity culture, I'd be shocked if you don't find yourself with a huge smile for the entire duration of the set.

I may not be a fan of stand-up comedy, but I am most definitely on the Kathy Griffin bandwagon.

Justin Timberlake, Kathy Griffin, John Goodman Win Emmy Awards

The Creative Arts Emmy Awards were held this weekend in Los Angeles, and several non-traditional television performers ended up taking home awards, including pop star Justin Timberlake (for his SNL short "Dick in a Box"), comedian Kathy Griffin (for her series Life on the D-List), and So You Think You Can Dance choreographers Mia Michaels and Wade Robson.

Here are some of the more high profile winners:

Guest Actor in a Comedy: Stanley Tucci, Monk

Guest Actor in a Drama: John Goodman, Studio 60

Guest Actress in a Comedy: Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock

Guest Actress in a Drama: Leslie Caron, Law and Order: SVU

Best Choreography: Mia Michaels, So You Think You Can Dance, Wade Robson, So You Think You Can Dance, Rob Marshall, Tony Bennett 80th Birthday Special

Best Music and Lyrics: Justin Timberlake, Andy Samberg, et al, "Dick in a Box"

Best Reality Non-Competition Program: Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List

For a complete list of Creative Arts Emmy winners, click here.

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Summer TV Midterm Report Card

So, it's been about a month since the crowning of Jordin Sparks as the new American Idol signaled the end of the regular television season. Summer TV is always a mixed bag -- there are some unexpected gems, and also some high-profile stinkers. With that in mind, here's my midterm report on Summer TV.

Lovin' It

So You Think You Can Dance
Obviously. Love this show. Sometimes I think I love it even more than Idol (scandalous, I know). I haven't fallen for anyone quite as hard as I fell for Travis last season, but the overall talent pool is so deep that it's a blast to watch. Love, love, love it.

Rescue Me
There is nothing else like this show on television. Brutally funny, and then scarily moving, and then just scary, this show deals in extremes -- and I love it. If Denis Leary doesn't wind up with an Emmy nomination next month, something is seriously wrong with the television academy.

The Starter Wife
This show is the equivalent of a good beach read -- light, fluffy, and totally entertaining. Sure, it's a little ridiculous, but Debra Messing is luminous, and the hour flies by. How about making this into a weekly series next summer, USA?

The Closer
This show could so easily be CSI: Los Angeles, but Kyra Sedgwick totally saves it from the land of humdrum procedurals. She's brilliant! The cases this season so far have been strong, as well, particularly the season opener featuring Veronica Mars' Kyle Gassner. No wonder this show is breaking records -- it's freakin' good!

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
I'm not a huge fan of stand-up comedy, but this bitch makes me laugh and laugh and then laugh some more. She's hysterical! Last week's episode, in which Kathy's beloved father passed away, caught me off guard, but it handled the serious subject manner in a uniquely moving (and real) way. To be honest, I can't remember the last time I saw such honest emotion about the loss of a parent on any tv show. Just another dimension to the red-headed wonder.

Top Chef
The formula works -- and I'm hooked. The only thing wrong with this show is that I can't taste the food!

Good -- but not obsessed

Entourage
I love this show -- I love Vince, I love E, I love Ari...heck, I love them all. So why aren't I that into this season? The first episode's documentary feel was clever, but not particularly funny, and this past week's episode was also noticably missing in laughs. Here's hoping the boys get their mojo back soon.

Army Wives
Ok, this is a little white lie, because I am kind of obsessed with this show, I just don't think I should admit it. It's on Lifetime, people! But I'm three episodes in, now, and I can't stop watching. I'm lovin' Kim Delaney and the girl who plays Roxie, but I could do without Joan (the tortured soldier) and Catherine Bell (the victim of domestic abuse by her son). Still, I'm kinda hooked.

Making the Band 4
Watching Danity Kane's creation last season was pure pleasure -- so far, the boys are providing a little less excitement. But I trust P Diddy (and the fierce Lori Ann) to amp up the drama as the season goes on, so I'm stickin' with it.

Traveler
The premise is genius. The boys (especially the delectable Matthew Bomer) are gorgeous. So why aren't I obsessed? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I know there is 0% chance of this show returning, making it a little hard to get invested. Still, watching cute boys run around is not a terrible way to spend an hour.

Still Watching and I Don't Know Why

On The Lot

This show had so much promise -- and is so painful to watch. What went wrong? Just about everything, quite frankly. The host is terrible, the judges are worthless, the contestants don't seem to have much talent, and the show is produced in an almost embarrasinly sloppy fashion. For some reason I'm still watching...but I don't know for how much longer.

Tivo'ed -- but haven't watched yet

John from Cincinnatti (the buzz is so bad, I'm not sure this one is gonna get watched)
The 4400 (I still have a couple of episodes from the end of last season to catch up on)
Heartland

Tivo'ed -- then deleted
(These are shows I had been looking forward to, but then lost interest in, and never got watched)

Pirate Master
The Flight of the Concords (watched the first episode -- just didn't get it)
Meadowlands
Armed & Dangerous

Still Looking Forward To...

Big Brother

Burn Notice

Hey Paula
Weeds
Saving Garce
Damages
Californication

Click for more Television News/Commentary, including my predictions for the Emmy nominations

Summer TV - Premiere Info and More

With Idol season almost at an end, withdrawl is bound to set in. Luckily, there's a couple of shows I'm looking forward to watching (and blogging about) this summer that might help fill the void.

So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
Premieres with an 85 minute episode on Thurs May 24, before settling into it's regular time slots of Wednesday 8-10 with results Thursdays at 9
**I can't wait for this show to come back!!!

On the Lot (Fox)
Premieres May 22 at 9pm, has a special episode at 9:25pm on May 24, and then settles into it's regular time slots of Mondays at 8-9pm and Tuesdays at 8-8:30pm (results).

Top Chef 3 (Bravo)
Premieres June 13 in it's regular time slot of Wednesdays at 10PM

Hell's Kitchen (Fox)
Premieres June 4 in it's regular time slot of Mondays at 9pm

Pirate Master (CBS)
Premieres May 31 in it's regular time slot of Thursdays at 8PM

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (Bravo)
Premieres June 5 in it's regular time slot of Tuesdays at 10PM

And I can't leave out the return of Big Brother (I can't help it -- it's my guiltiest pleasure!), which has yet to announce a premiere date.

I'm also excited about returning scripted fare:
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (May 24)
Rescue Me (June 14)
Entourage (season 4 begins June 17)
Weeds (August 13)
Big Love (June 11)
The Closer (June 18)
The 4400 (June 17)

And new drama series:
Hidden Palms (May 30)
The Starter Wife, starring Debra Messing (May 31)
John from Cincinatti, starring Rebecca DeMornay and cutie Austin Nichols (June 10)
Damages, starring Glenn Close (July 24)
Heartland, starring Treat Williams (June 18)
Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter (July 18)

I'm also intrigued, but don't know much about, Showtime's Meadowlands (June 17) and Californication (August 13), HBO's Flight of the Concords (June 17), and USA's Burn Notice (June 28).

Should be an interesting summer!