"Hey, Remember The 80's?"

On the topic of last night's episode of Family Guy, it really was a jump the shark moment in the show's history.

I mean, it was only a few weeks ago that I was thinking "wow, this is great, the first show to be written by people who see the humor in He Man nostalgia." Last night I laughed my ass off at the brilliant A-Ha "Take On Me" music video parody. I then laughed again at the Neverending Story bit. And then, after all that, they had the audacity to throw in an extended Goonies joke ON TOP of all that? Come on, how much 80's nostalgia can you shoehorn into one friggin' episode? Save it for another time, for the love of Chunk. There's only so many times that Family Guy can throw in a an out of nowhere 80's pop culture reference and expect it to be hilarious on novelty value alone. And hey, it's not like I was ever a huge Family Guy fanatic. Yes the show is often funny as hell - even last night's episode, while obstensibly weak, had a good seven or eight laugh out loud moments. But please, this show pales compared to classic Simpsons (from which it generously borrows many of its plots and gags ...), even when it's at its best. Still, I hope that this show can continue to work at being funny with its own brand of crazy humor, not simply by getting all Goat Boy on us and doing the animated version of I Love the 80's.

Speaking of weird nostalgia ...

Man, SURREAL Tonight Show today, as the ever-entertaining Gary Busey, looking like a circus freak just released from solitary confinement, came face to face with Senator John McCain. Talk about an odd couple, McCain looked like he was going to jump out of his seat and run for the hills.

Oh yeah, since I don't think I ever recounted it ...

... Last week I observed the pilot episode of a new talk show hosted by Megan Mullaly (once again sorry if the spelling is off) of Will and Grace fame. The show was kinda interesting in that a lot of the old Dennis Miller crew (and audience!) was there, so it was like a weird, mini-reunion of sorts, and everyone was really nice who was working there. On the other hand all I really did was stand outside in the 100 degree heat and direct people where to go, then inside the studio and did crowd control / bathroom runs as needed. AS for the actual content of the show, overall, to me, it was pretty underwhelming. The taping itself was grueling to endure, as it lasted a good three hours of straight-through shooting. Some of the guest interviews were mildlyentertaining, but overall the format of the show came off like a less fun and natural version of Ellen, and Mullaly seemed pretty sedate and static compared to her crazy/quirky on-screen persona, which really only shone through in some of the pre-taped sketches that aired during the taping. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Cameron Diaz ~! was a guest on the show, and her segment was fun thanks to her energy and pepiness. Less excited to see Tonight Show regulars Wanda Sykes and Bradd Garett, who are both very funny (especially Garett, who I admit had some hilarious stories on the show), but not that interesting to me, as I've seen both now multiple times on Leno and Ellen. Mullaly's various other segments were mostly pretty lame, and the show's big gimmick, the "whatever room" (where random guests and audience members are taped showing off a hidden talent) seemed really forced and trying way too hard to be goofy / funny. Overall I can't say the show was that great, but of course I am by no means its target audience so I guess I'm not the best one to really judge. If you like Megan Mullaly, you might want to check this out when it appears on TV in 2006.

Anyways, time for sleep. Tommorow it's back to tours and Tonight Show, where Diane Lane and Babyface will be all up in the heezouse.

Oh. Joy.