TV Reviews | 'State of Mind'; 'Side Order of Life': Friends Last, but Mr. Wrong Is Fungible
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Lifetimeâs two new comedic dramas, which are surprisingly appealing, are centered on the interplay between friends and co-workers but do not include steamy soap-opera subplots.
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Konkana's new film is an enjoyable movie about right and wrong.
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When things are bad, itâs natural to look ahead. Perhaps thatâs why we hear those phrases so often from politicians, sports figures and others in times of trouble.
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It is tempting to think of âKing of California,â a serious comedy that does many things right, as a sequel of sorts to âOne Flew Over the Cuckooâs Nest.â
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Some 18.6 million people in the United States watched the NBC pilot episode of Joey, a spin-off of Friends. The BBC reported Saturday that NBC-TV said Joey was its best-rated comedy premiere in the Thursday 8 pm time slot in 14 years.
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A new generation of psychologists is exploring the way people change what they think and believe in order to achieve peace of mind. Happy birthday, 'cognitive dissonance.'
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"It's human nature to look." Sure, but does that make it right?
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SONGJIANG NEW TOWN, China  - "Soul Partners," a  new comedy series described as China's version of the U.S. TV  hit "Friends," features six people in their 20s who live  together after being separately tricked into buying the same  apartment.
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As Jon Stewart tells it, he and his staff of 13 writers at The Daily Show  were looking for a project."Life was too balanced," he says with a straight face. "It was too good for us."They considered a "roads project, a civic improvement," but when they looked around their offices in Manhattan, "we mostly had computers."So they wrote a book.America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Warner, &#36;24.95) will be published Monday after nine months of checking a few facts and making up a lot more. (Related story: Daily Show is a no-stump zone)Just as his TV show on Comedy Central is a parody of a news show, the book is a graphic-heavy parody of a textbook. Chapters include "Congress: Quagmire of Freedom," "The Media: Democracy's Valiant Vulgarians" and "The Rest of the World: International House of Horrors."The foreword is by Thomas "TJ" Jefferson, who inquires in a postscript: "Is it true Halle Berry is once again single?"Stewart's favorite part?"I like the ending," which offers a Certificate of Completion, qualifying readers to "practice, participate in, or found a democracy."Too often, he says, "you finish a book and ask, 'What's in it for me beyond self-improvement?' Our book gives you a certificate in nation-building. ... If you just smash together the basic ideas, you're bound to wind up with something better than North Korea."Stewart wants to be known as a comedian, even though The Daily Show was voted best news show by TV critics this summer. He dismisses praise from journalists such as Eric Alterman, media critic for The Nation, who recently wrote that Daily Show offers "a truer picture than ... the Sunday-morning gabfests and cable food fights."Stewart, 41, says, "It's more a sign of frustration with the information people are receiving than a sign of our entrepreneurial spirit of journalism. ... It's a '(expletive) you' to real news, not a 'hallelujah' for our fake news."The book mocks both President Bush, "hurdling the lowered bar," and Democrat John Kerry, "monogrammed for greatness." But Stewart acknowledges that The Daily Show delivers more jokes at the expense of Republicans."They're in power," he says. "Comedians in biblical times did more Goliath jokes. The David stuff didn't fly."He says he worries less about being partisan than being boring, strident or redundant, "the death of comedy."Stewart's appearance at a booksellers' convention in June, which featured former president Bill Clinton, won rave reviews. Publishers Weekly said Stewart "out-Clintoned that other guy," prompting his publisher to boost the first printing of America from 500,000 copies to 700,000.
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The former vice president turns his gaze, at least momentarily, from melting ice caps to the state of the American media. These are troubled times for the Fourth Estate, and here's why. Commentary by Tony Long.
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Amitabh Bachchan on the game show's revival.
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Comment is free: Marina Hyde: TV nostalgia, in the shape of a middle-aged Famous Five, reflects an anxiety that the present is another country.
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NEW YORK: A team of psychologists and economists has discovered what many people know but do not always admit, especially to social scientists: that watching television by oneself is a very enjoyable way to pass the time, and that taking care of children
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Among the final projects in the long and impressively industrious life of Merv Griffin, who died of cancer last month, was a new game show devoted to one of the passions that presumably sustained his mental agility through his 82 years. Called âMerv Griffinâs Crosswords,â the half-hour show made its debut on syndicated television last week, and it could easily renew troublesome questions about Americaâs cultural literacy and thus its future role in the world.
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No more writers on picket lines. No more network TV bosses scrambling for replacement shows. But enough about them. What about us? Two simple questions prey on every viewer's mind: When will my favorite scripted programs be back with new episodes? And, WILL my favorite shows be back?
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The revolution known as reality television has reached its Thermidor: pathos, verging on bathos, is the ruling fashion. ABC&#39;s &quot;Extreme Makeover: Home Edition&quot; leads the way.
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Comedy or drama or in  between, all series are based on relationships.