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It appears Andy Bernard passed his anger management training – Ed Helms is becoming a regular on NBC’s The Office. Look, Greg Daniels and his team of writers have proven over the last two and a half seasons that they know what they’re doing, so they have the benefit of the doubt on this one…but Andy? It seemed like the character – after sabotaging Dwight’s job and completely overreacting to a Pam and Jim prank – was on his way out. Well, now that he’s a regular, maybe we’ll get to see a different side of him – the reason The Office works is that all of the characters are sympathetic in a way that Andy hasn’t been. Yet. The Office airs Thursday nights at 8:30 on NBC.
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The moonbats and bush babies of the comedic world are coming back to reality tv…and Bill Bellamy will lead them when Last Comic Standing returns to NBC. Boy, they’re really scraping the barrel with these hosts, aren’t they? Last Comic Standing will air in its standard summer fill-in slot on the Peacock, but casting calls begin in Los Angeles on February 26th. Other locations include Sydney, Australia, London, Montreal, New York, Tempe, and Minneapolis. Any potential comic who gets up and tells the Aristocrats joke because it’s now “hip” will be shot on sight.
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Oscar Show! Osssscar Shooooow! (Okay, it’s funnier if you picture Alec Baldwin saying it, but then, what isn’t?) The Queen of All Media, Oprah Winfrey, will be hosting her first ever Oscar spectacular on February 22nd, the Thursday before “Hollywood’s Biggest Night” (next to, of course, the Super Bowl Party at Robert Evans’s.). Guests on this, Oprah’s first primetime Oscar special include Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Jamie Foxx, George Clooney, and Russell Crowe Crowe will not be throwing a phone, although this is one case where it would be acceptable. Hey, THUD readers, what do those guests have in common? None of them are nominated!
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One of the reasons why Turner Classic Movies is far superior to American Movie Classics is its original documentaries. From women directors in silent film to Chaplin vs. Hitler to Ealing Studios to its in depth star profiles, TCM is the PBS of film – often great, sometimes uneven, and always informative. On May 1st and 2nd, the network will air a two-part documentary on one of the great (some say greatest) actors, Marlon Brando, called, believe it or not, “Brando.” The profile includes interviews with Robert Duvall, Al Pacino, James Caan, Jon Voight, Martin Landau, Dennis Hopper, Edward Norton, and Angie Dickinson, among others. This, my THUD friends, is TiVo worthy material.
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It’s February, so you know what that means – it’s time for TCM’s 31 days of Oscar. The network will be airing a veritable array of Oscar nominees and winners through March 3rd, and you can read the full schedule here. For those of you who want to watch Platoon and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for the one gazillionth time, I’m sure AMC is airing one of them as we speak.
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Every television columnist and their nephew has written about this next bit, but I, too, want to wish David Letterman congratulations on 25 years in late night television. I’ve only watched The Late Show With David Letterman, and really only since I left home, so I don’t have the same history with him that many do. But still, there have been enough moments where he’s provided me with a little laughter or insight when I needed it most, so I’ll just say this: Thanks, Dave, for reminding us how important it is to enjoy every sandwich. (Letterman airs weeknights at 11:35 on CBS.)