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The Big Man Under Fire

  • Frannie’s Turn
  • Grace Under Fire
  • Cybill
  • Dharma & Greg
  • Two and a Half Men
  • The Big Bang Theory
  • Mike & Molly
  • Mom
  • And Future #1 Comedies To-Be-Created

The man behind-the-curtain of all these sitcom hits is Chuck Lorre.

Clearly, he is the sitcom king of network television. When I’ve been in the audience for live tapings of The Big Bang Theory (including its pilot) and Two and a Half Men (including the series finale), I’ve always looked for Chuck Lorre on the floor. He’s a bonafide TV star. However, the ride hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the mega producer.

(Charlie Sheen and Angus T. Jones, cough-cough)

And as the interview below reveals, Mr. Lorre has faced adversity in many forms, from crazy outbursts from his actors to uptight studio executives.

Speaking of uptight…

That vanity card was probably one of the censored ones.

RIP Leonard Nimoy

Famed actor and science-fiction icon Leonard Nimoy passed away today at the age of 83. Known primarily for his role as Spock in the popular television series Star Trek, Nimoy also did many other media ventures, including sitting in the director’s chair for the 1987 classic Three Men and a Baby. While I’m not a Star Trek fan/Trekkie, I do know that he’s an important figure in science-fiction popular culture. Surprisingly, his best “cameo” in television’s #1 comedy The Big Bang Theory was in name/DNA only.

Sheldon’s reaction encapsulates how many people viewed Mr. Nimoy.

Leonard Nimoy: Live Long and Happily in Our Memories.

Living in an Odd Van Down by the Comic Book Store in Malibu

Spoiler Alert: Information from last night’s CBS lineup (The Big Bang Theory, The Odd Couple & Two and a Half Men) and The Goldbergs are revealed below

From sunrise to sunset, yesterday was crazy.

First, battling a cold completely confused my mind, which resulted in a non-Goldbergs blog post. Have no fear though, that’s partly what today is for.

Erica wanted vehicular freedom from gas tank-obsessed Murray, so she manipulated Barry’s A-Team singing sweet spot that results in the best/worst van purchase of all-time. Meanwhile, Adam sought to rid himself of being known as “the nice guy.” This brought out Adam’s inner Don Rickles and Andrew Dice Clay, to the obvious anger from his family/comedic targets, to amplify his rep as the class clown. Adam’s journey to discovering his identity in middle school was an all too real portrayal. We try so hard to fit in and to be the person everybody else wants us to be. It’s a terribly awkward, embarrassing and frustrating moment in our lives.

In middle school, all we wanted and needed was for someone to be nice…

As for Erica and Barry becoming known as “van people” in their neighborhood (including their principal), all it took was delicious secret corn, the B-Team (for Barry) gas tank emptying and two genetically stubborn people conversing (Erica and Murray) to realize living in a van was not an ideal situation. Plus, the ’80s classic, “The Way It Is” by Bruce Hornsby & The Range helped significantly.

It’s a wonderful thing to have such a nice, funny family on television.

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Second, CBS owned last night’s sitcom battle. As in completely and entirely. The evening began with an emotional Big Bang Theory that finally dealt with the real life death of the wildly funny Carol Ann Susi/Mrs. Wolowitz. It coincided with the re-opening of Stuart’s comic book store with a sharper look, including some familiar furniture as pointed out by Howard. Plus, the phrase “let it go” got a genuinely welcomed resurgence back into our psyches thanks to Penny (inside joke for viewers of the episode).

Following the #1 sitcom on television was the premiere of CBS’s next great sitcom, The Odd Couple. Written as a modern revival to the ’70s comedy, it stars Matthew Perry (Oscar Madison) and Thomas Lennon (Felix Unger) as, well, an odd couple of roommates. For a pilot, it was fantastic! The writing and on-screen chemistry started slowly, as expected. But, by the end, the characters and writers revealed a promising (and hilarious) spark that will build into a roaring good fire of laughs. Like most great sitcoms, it will take a season or two to find its rhythm and pulse of its characters and story. Recall the necessary patience and development it took Seinfeld, Frasier, That ’70s Show and Friends to find its genius a few seasons in. The Odd Couple has an awesome cast and as they continue to fall into their respective roles more naturally as time goes on, this show will prove to be really special. Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon have finally found their successful follow-up roles to their iconic television characters of yesteryear.

And then there were these, “men, men, men, manly men, who hoo who would show up?”

Following an unlikely 12-year run on CBS, Chuck Lorre’s raunchy, addictive and tumultuous sitcom came to an end last night. Having been at the taping for a couple scenes in the series finale two weeks ago today, which included Rose revealing Charlie was alive in the Malibu living room with Alan, Evelyn and Walden and Jake’s surprise return, it was still a tightly-held secret if Charlie Sheen would actually return. As curious viewers discovered, Charlie made a cameo as a Warner Bros. cartoon and, courtesy of a convincing stand-in from behind, in the must-see final scene. The finale had plenty of laughs, especially with funny pans and one-liners to studio cameras about the show and a series recap with guest officer Arnold  Schwarzenegger interviewing Alan and Walden as part of their pursuit to find the raging and “Silence of the Lambs-escapee” Charlie from Rose’s Sherman Oaks dungeon.

It was sad to see the show give its final curtain call, but it was time. Given the circumstances with Charlie Sheen and Angus T. Jones, Two and a Half Men could only continue for so long. One of the cool things about seeing a show taping live is learning inside information. In honor of the show’s success, and the fact it managed to be the longest running sitcom in television history, we learned that night that Warner Bros. would be renaming Stage 26, “The Two and a Half Men Stage.”

That’s winning.

As is this:

(CBS)

(CBS)

TGIM

Spoiler Alert: Some content from last night’s television show premieres are revealed below

The Big Bang Theory

Gotham

Dallas

The Blacklist

These are just a few of the television shows that premiered for the 2013-2014 season last night. The Big Bang Theory was literally a big bang in the ratings with 17.9 million viewers, despite being temporarily moved to a new night. In the age of convenience/DVR watching, that is a damn impressive figure.

Here’s what we learned from The Big Bang Theory:

Penny got a pixie haircut!

Stuart and Mrs. Wolowitz/Deb-Deb are forging a strange, yet hilarious relationship that really can’t be labeled at this point. However, the attempts to do so with the frazzled friend and son Howard will make for some great comedy in the future

Howard is going for his PhD, which is freaking Sheldon out because Pasadena’s most famous NASA engineer may soon be on the same intellectual level as the self-proclaimed genius Dr. Cooper. It’s safe to say that Howard now has Sheldon’s full attention

Bernadette got Penny a job interview with her pharmaceutical company, she freaks out her boss and she continues to be the sweetest bully of all-time

Penny got a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative!

Sheldon traveled across the continental United States on trains and never left the train stations (FYI-did you know mustard and ketchup are popular condiments in train stations?), got everything stolen from him, wound up in the Chuck Lorre sitcom comedy-driven tightie whities and was arrested in Arizona for badgering random train goers for help. It was crazy I mean funny. Once fully clothed and back in southern California, he discovered he was promoted to a junior professor at Caltech. He attempted to teach Howard graduate level physics, but an epic spitball ended that.

Amy is now the popular girl in high school and it’s fantastic!

Oh, and Leonard got a new hoodie (and is owed some serious gas money)

The much-hyped Gotham had a noteworthy 8 million viewers. Not bad for a series premiere. When it comes to drama and/or action shows like The Blacklist and Gotham, the reins for what is deemed acceptable for a network television audience continues to be loosened. Perhaps this is partly due to the reality of having to compete for viewers who watch popular, PG-13 to R-rated shows on HBO, Netflix, FX and AMC.

What does this mean?

Ultimately, studios translate this to mean that the public still has a healthy appetite for rich stories and clever writing all played out in dramatically stunning sets with dynamic, conflicted characters. Plus, unlike going to the movies, television has to work harder to keep an audience throughout a half-hour or one-hour run time. Commercial breaks can offer too many opportunities to change channels. Next day viewing with a DVR has partially dealt with this perceived inconvenience. However, people have a thirst for great storytelling. It’s a universal and timeless truth. And judging by the season/series premieres alone, the teams behind The Blacklist and Gotham have given its audiences high-quality, suspenseful dramas with plenty of grit and imagination to sustain and entertain its viewers for this upcoming television season.

Unfortunately, Dallas is currently hanging out on this writer’s DVR. But it actually aired its season finale last night. It will be fascinating to see where South Fork and its famous residents and guests are after a host of Texas-sized scandals, secrets and seductions.

Monday, welcome to the cool table.