Robert Ascroft

Mary McCormack as stars as Mary Shannon in USA's "In Plain Sight" which will be featured at the Paley Center tomorrow night. - Photo by: Robert Ascroft/USA Network

Mitt Romney is considering an appearance on "Saturday Night Live" as if the opportunity has been offered. I'm sure, if anybody cares to look, that in the recent past Romney has decried the humor on "SNL," so would this be another "pivot" by his campaign? Since when did we allow "flip flop" to be rebranded as "pivot"? Hey "SNL" writers, there's a sketch in that concept right there. While last week's "SNL" with Josh Brolin as host wasn't terrible, it didn't seem to have too many high points either, other than some well-deserved and accurate California-bashing. Unfortunately the show somehow didn't properly leverage the considerable talents of Brolin. Live TV isn't easy and "SNL" should always get the benefit of the doubt, so we're looking forward to some new episodes.

Also in NBC-related news is the molehill-to-mountain conversion of a Sarah Silverman tweet that conservative media is trumpeting as the latest salvo in the liberal "War On Women." The tweet, a joke about consuming (and eliminating) a burrito with a reference to Roe vs Wade, has not spurred NBC to can the new series that Silverman is developing for the network. Terminating Silverman's show would definitely be a sexist move, as the network has kept Alec Baldwin employed despite his disruption of a plane flight that could have resulted in Federal charges.

DVR This! "Parks and Recreation" returns to NBC this week in a new and supposedly permanent time slot. Definitely check it out as the show ramps up to an episode on April 26th that can't be missed!
Tonight - "Cougar Town" (ABC @ 8:30pm), "New Girl" (Fox @ 9pm), "Raising Hope" (Fox @ 9:30pm), "Frontline" The Real CSI (PBS SoCal/KOCE @ 10pm), "Conan" has Patton Oswalt & Bo Burnham (TBS @ 11pm).
Wednesday - "Best Friends Forever" (NBC @ 8:30pm), "Modern Family" (ABC @ 9pm), "The Soup" (E! @ 10pm), "Ugly Americans" (Comedy Central @ 10:30pm), comics April Richardson, Josh Wolf, and Ben Gleib on "Chelsea Lately" (E! @ 11pm), Michael Sheen and Michael Ian Black on Ferguson (CBS @ 12:35am).
Thursday - The NBC comedy block (8pm-10pm) is all new + the return of "Parks and Recreation," "Scandal" (ABC @ 10pm), comics Greg Fitzsimmons, Fortune Feimster, and Gary Valentine on "Chelsea Lately" (E! @ 11pm), Tavis Smiley and Cornel West on "Colbert Report" (Comedy Central @ 11:30pm)
Friday - "Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO @ 8pm), "Fringe" (Fox @ 9pm), "SoCal Connected" Ticket To Space: Shuttle Diplomacy (KCET @ 9pm), Emily Deschanel and Jerry Ferrara on Ferguson (CBS @ 12:35am)
Saturday - "Saturday Night Live" with Daniel Radcliffe as host and Lana Del Rey as musical guest (NBC @ 11:25pm)
Sunday -  "Frozen Planet" (Discovery @ 8pm), "The Killing" (AMC @ 9pm), "Mad Men" (AMC @ 10pm), "Game of Thrones" (HBO @ late night rerun), "Veep" (HBO @ late night rerun), "Girls" (HBO @ late night rerun)
Monday -  "Adventure Time" (Cartoon Network @ 7:30pm), "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" Croatian Coast (Travel @ 9pm), Stagecoach (1939) (TCM @ 10pm), comics John Caparulo, Arden Myrin, & TJ Miller on "Chelsea Lately" (E! @ 11pm), Joel McHale and Dan Boulger on Ferguson (CBS @ 12:35am).

Other Media Comedian Fred Stoller of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and a million other TV shows is on FitzDogRadio. | Co-creator of "The Office," Stephen Merchant is on WTFpod. | Morgan Spurlock talks about his excellent Hulu web series, "A Day In The Life," on KCRW's The Business. | Check out the past 2 seasons of "A Day In The Life" on Hulu. | "Chelsea Lately" fans will want to hear Natasha Leggero over on the JV Club podcast. | The Pop My Culture podcast has Jane Espenson, writer/producer/etc. of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," "Battlestar Galactica," "Torchwood," and more.

New Releases People have been asking Marc Maron about how they can get ahold of the first 100 episodes of WTFpod other than streaming it through the premium mobile app and Maron has responded by offering a limited edition boxed set available for pre-order today. Amazing interviews including Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Zach Galifianakis and 97 more! | A week or so ago Letterman regular Nick Griffin released Shot In The Face, his excellent new album on the Rooftop Comedy label. You can sample a couple of the 13 great tracks on the order page, I highly recommend this album!

Events USA's "In Plain Sight" has its series finale on May 4th, but tomorrow fans of the show can see the cast and creators of the show at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills. Mary McCormack, Frederick Weller, Rachel Boston and more will be there and taking questions. | Tom Green is doing 2 shows at the Hollywood Improv this Saturday; the man has remade himself into a capable and very entertaining standup comedian, and you should check him out. | Bobbie Oliver has a great showcase at the Ice House in Pasadena on Sunday, so if you're East Side, it'll be worth your time. | 

Showtime Networks

Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" returns this Sunday.

Keith Olbermann has been fired again, this time from Current TV, where he never really seemed to settle in, so it should not have been a surprise to anybody. The question I have for you is, should I transcribe an interview I made with former Vice President Al Gore, show host Cenk Uyger, and former governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm? The interview will not shed any light on the Olbermann situation so I'm concerned that it will appear as a fluff piece on the network. Let me know here in the Comments.

TV highlights of the week include a new NBC's premiere of "Best Friends Forever," a new "SNL," and the season premieres of "Nurse Jackie," "The Big C," and "The Borgias." Lots of great late night guests this week even though "Chelsea Lately" is on hiatus. Look for details in DVR This! below.

DVR This! A compendium of this week's premieres, finales, and exceptional TV shows:
Tonight: "Raising Hope" (Fox @ 8pm), "New Girl" (Fox @ 9pm), "Justified" (FX @ 10pm), Chris Elliott on Conan, Amy Schumer on Kimmel, Ted Danson on Ferguson.
Wednesday: "Bobcat Golthwait: You Don't Look The Same Either" (Showtime @ 8pm), "Best Friends Forever" series premiere (NBC @ 8:30pm), "Happy Endings" (ABC @ 9:30pm), "Psych" (USA @ 10pm), "Ugly Americans" (Comedy Central @ 10:30pm), Jeffrey Tambor on Ferguson.
Thursday: "Community" (NBC @ 8pm), "30 Rock" (NBC @ 8:30pm), "Independent Lens" Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (PBS SoCal/KOCE @ 9pm), "Scandal" series premiere (ABC @ 10pm), Anthony Bourdain on "The Daily Show," Anne Rice on Colbert, Sofia Vergara & Judd Apatow on Fallon.
Friday: "Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO @ 8pm), "Fringe" (Fox @ 9pm), "Magic City" series premiere (Starz @ 10pm), Guy Pearce & Eugene Levy on Fallon.
Saturday: "Saturday Night Live" with host Sofia Vergara, musical guest One Direction (NBC @ 11:25pm)
Sunday: "Frozen Planet" (Discovery @ 8pm), "Nurse Jackie" season premiere (Showtime @ 8pm), "The Big C" season premiere (Showtime @ 8:30pm), "The Killing" (AMC @ 9pm), "Game of Thrones" (HBO @ 9pm), "The Borgias" season premiere (Showtime @ 9pm), "Masterpiece Classic" Great Expectations (PBS SoCal/KOCE @ 9pm), "Mad Men" (AMC @ 10pm), "Eastbound & Down" (HBO @ 10pm)
Monday: "Adventure Time" (Cartoon Network @ 7:30pm), "Regular Show" (Cartoon Network @ 8pm), "Hotel Impossible" series premiere (Travel Channel @ 10pm), Ricky Gervais on Letterman. 

Events: The Long Shot Podcast has a live show this Saturday, April 7, at the Improv Lab at 10:30pm, special guest will be the incredibly funny Matt Knudsen as special guest - don't miss it, superinexpensive and very very funny. Speaking of the Improv, make plans to see Dana Gould on Saturday, April 14, it will be a great show! | On Friday, there will be an All-Star Comedy special event show at the Laugh Factory this Friday, April 6, with Iliza Shlesinger, Chris D'Elia, Chris Spencer, & special guests. | I know it's a month off, but tickets will run out for An Evening With Craig Ferguson at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills on May 10th, so get yours reserved now as Ferguson will be incredibly entertaining, even as an interview subject.

Other Media: All you Hunger Games fans should check out KCRW's The Business podcast with the producer who made it happen. | Tomorrow NBC premieres "Best Friends Forever" and the Greg Fitz Show podcast has co-creators, producers and stars of the new show, Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham, as guests. | Carrie Brownstein of "Portlandia" must've been very busy before the show's 2nd premeire back in January but she's making the rounds now, check her out on Marc Maron's WTFpod.

Tonight the horror-fan network, FEARnet premieres its newest series, "Holliston," at 7:30pm Pacific. This new horror-sitcom is created, written, and stars horror genre auteur Adam Green, and it's about a pair of struggling wanna-be horror filmmakers. "Holliston" has a very heavy emphasis on the comedy and less so on the horror, probably to the show's detriment, although from viewing the first few episodes, the gore factor does seem to increase, and I'm hopeful that continues. This is not a show for someone who will be satisfied with typical, mainstream TV. FEARnet is designed to provide content and an environment for fans of horror and schlock, and the show falls short of delivering all the goods, in this iteration, at least. Fans of horror should still watch and support "Holliston," in order to give Green and his fellow creators time to continue to develop the show. Highlights of the show include guest star Dee Snider, who runs a cable station and is the boss of Green and his buddy, played by Joe Lynch. There are some great references to classic horror memes and the daydream/nightmare sequences are where the show is at its funniest. I've included a teaser for tonight's episode, below:

Courtesy of NBC

Lindsay Lohan will be hosting "SNL" this weekend but what woman might be more worthy and do a better job?

This week a lot of people are asking why Lindsay Lohan is hosting "Saturday Night Live" on March 3rd and to some degree the question is justifiable: Lohan hasn't done a film in years and has only had a handful of TV guest spots, she's been in and out of jail and treatment programs, and her post-surgery face and body, splayed out in a pitiful homage to Marilyn Monroe in Playboy a couple months ago, look nothing like the girl that hosted SNL six years ago. Lohan is not a star of TV, film, or music, she is a spectacle in the same way a car accident is. Is NBC trying to help her out of the very deep hole she has dug for herself or are they are interested in selling tickets to the masses to peer down into that hole? Since NBC is a business, the answer is clear.

Obviously Lohan has some kind of connection with "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels, and it's his perogative to put whom he wants on his show. Lohan has been fortunate enough to be part of some memorable moments as SNL host (the Debbie Downer bloopers for example) and "SNL" is desperate to keep such moments happening on a regular basis. Michaels should be commended for putting plenty of women on as host this season (take a hint CBS) but here is a trio that could be considered more worthy of the honor than Lohan:

Aubrey Plaza - What younger woman has been as consistent on an NBC show as Plaza over the past few seasons? She's very funny, quick on her feet, and will have at least a couple movies out this year, and did I mention she's on an NBC series? If she's not host some time this year then Michaels really has lost it.

Kristen Bell - There was an internet campaign a couple years ago to get Bell on as host and it's a mystery as to why she hasn't made it on the show when you look at some of the choices the show has made since the fall of 2010. She's been great on live-recorded shows and is a favorite of Craig Ferguson not to mention Bell's hit series on Showtime, "House of Cards."

Pamela Adlon - Not to toot the trumpet of another Showtime star, but Adlon has consistently killed it on "Californication" not to mention her appearances on FX's "Louie." While Adlon isn't a movie star, "SNL" has put plenty of lesser-knowns, meant in the most respectable way, even in this season (Charlie Day anyone?). Adlon would be great, that's all I know.

One of the writers commissioned with making Lindsay Lohan funny this weekend is John Muaney. Mulaney released a DVD of his special, John Mulaney: New In Town, earlier this month, and I had a chance to talk to him on the Channel Zero podcast about his work on that project: 

DVR This! Tonight:"SouthLAnd" on TNT at 10pm, "Justified" on FX at 10pm, "Last Call With Carson Daly" has Werner Herzog as guest (NBC @ 1:30am). Wednesday: "Happy Endings" (ABC @ 9:30pm) has a new development as Dave gets a liquor license for his food truck, LA-based comedian and writer Matthew Knudsen appears on "Conan" (TBS @ 11pm), actor/writer Tom Lennon appears on "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson" (CBS @ 12:35am). Thursday: The amazing Banksy doc Exit Through The Gift Shop is on Showtime at 9:30pm, "Archer" gets caught in an even stickier sexcapade (FX @ 10pm), there's a winning group on the "Chelsea Lately" roundtable of Joe Matarese, Chris Franjola, and Fortune Feimster (E! @ 11pm), and Jon Hamm is on Letterman at 11:35pm on CBS. Friday: 2001: A Space Odyssey on TCM at 8:30pm, "Real Time With Bill Maher" (9pm on HBO), Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are on Fallon at 12:35am, NBC. Saturday: "Saturday Night Live" with Lindsay Lohan as host, Jack White as musical guest. Sunday: "The Walking Dead" on AMC at 9pm, "Luck" on HBO at 9pm, "Eastbound & Down" (HBO @ 10pm), "Californication" (Showtime @ 10:30pm).

Other Media: Keegan Michael Key of Comedy Central's "Key & Peele" on FitzDogRadio podcast.

Events: Tonight there's The Smartest Man in the World live podcast with Greg Proops at Bar Lubitsch at 7pm (FREE). Saturday at 10:30pm will be the live recording of The Long Shot Podcast at the Improv Lab with special guests, it's only $5 and because of limited seating you will want to make reservations in advance. I've been to both of these in the past and they have always been a lot of fun and well worth your time. Also at the Improv Lab this week is Eddie Pepitone's Blood Bath, a consistently off-the-hook event - be there Thursday at 8:30pm, you never know who Eddie will bring from the various interconnected worlds of comedy, TV, and movies.

Tom Lewis/KPCC

Comedian Bill Burr gives a tour of Santa Monica

• You should watch this epic tour of Santa Monica and Venice Beach by comedian Bill Burr, the latest in a series of Burr tours shot by Without A Net's very own TV junkie Tom Lewis. I agree with Laughspin; Bill Burr should have his own show on the Travel Channel. (Warning: The language is not safe for work, young ears, or, well, most places.)


• Well this is the most depressing reason ever to keep working forever: Dodgers announcer Vin Scully says he doesn't want to retire because "I don't want to lose my friends," as he says he knows he'll never see his friends at the office again once he retires. "Some people die twice: once when they retire, and again when they actually pass away."


• Zooey Deschanel: Awesome or awful? I'm personally a fan, but I also liked Natalie Portman in "Garden State," so, I'm clearly a sucker for "manic-pixie dream girls," as they're known.


• Ms. Deschanel is also hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend. Check out the awesome promos for her appearance, featuring jazz hands.




• Speaking of Saturday Night Live, you should read about the spectacle of polarizing hipster musician Lana Del Rey's L.A. appearance at Amoeba Records following her album release and recent SNL crashing and burning.


• Great interview with the showrunner from one of my favorite cable series, AMC's "The Walking Dead," including how he first got his start by calling people he knew in New York and asking "Do you have a cousin in Los Angeles?"


• We're hosting an Un-Grammys event here at KPCC tonight (which you guys should all RSVP for free and go to); we'll have more coverage of the Grammys here and on our Twitter account @WithoutABlog this Sunday, but the L.A. Times has a great piece on how the category most important to a comedy nerd like myself has changed! (Comedy. That category is comedy. In case you haven't figured it out yet.)

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Ben Stiller

FILE: Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller attend the HELP HAITI benefiting The Ben Stiller Foundation and The J/P Haitian Relief Organization at the Urban Zen Center At Stephan Weiss Studio on February 11, 2011 in New York City.

Universal Pictures dropped plans Wednesday to offer the new Eddie Murphy/Ben Stiller movie "Tower Heist" for home viewing just three weeks after opening in theaters on Nov. 4. Several theater chains had threatened to not carry the film if Universal went ahead with their plans, expressing concern about the early release leading viewers to decide they should just wait and not go see the film in theaters.

Universal was looking to try out the idea of charging more ($60 in this case) for a chance to view a movie at home far earlier than normal. Get a few friends together and it could start looking like an attractive possibility, much like pay-per-view fight nights. The plan had only called for the film to get an early home release in two cities, but apparently even that was too much for theater owners. There have already been some similar experiments to this with smaller films, but "Tower Heist" would have been the biggest example to date.

Rumors started flying last week that "Tower Heist" star Murphy might be appearing on "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend. Murphy's co-star Stiller hosted the show this past Saturday, but Murphy didn't show. He hasn't made an appearance yet, but with a movie to promote and a career in attempted comeback mode, the possibility remains that he'll show up before "Tower Heist" opens next month.

Murphy allegedly held a grudge against SNL when David Spade took a shot at Murphy's flailing career... in 1989. Murphy's had a ton of success since, and time heals all wounds, so while the timeline for his appearance was off, will we get Murphy on SNL sometime soon? Murphy's representatives denied it to the New York Post, saying that "There are no plans for Eddie to appear on 'SNL' at this time, but perhaps in the future he will make a return." Another source quoted by the Post said that "He hasn't been on 'SNL' for over 25 years, it would be astonishing if he did it."

Of course, Murphy may be looking to astonish. His career has flagged recently outside of family films like the "Nutty Professor" series. He's making some big moves, including hosting next year's Academy Awards; do you think there's gas left in Murphy's comedic tank? And would you have paid 60 bucks to see this movie three weeks after its initial theatrical release?