If making a fake documentary about a 3-foot-9-inch actor seems like another taboo-breaker, good, says Gervais. "No harm can come of taboo subjects," he says. "When people say it is sort of outrageous or sick or pushing the boundaries, I don't see that it is. I think some people confuse the target of a joke with the subject of a joke..."

2012

Jan

'2 BROKE GIRLS' KUDOS OR CATCALLS? By Bill Brioux

If it ain't 2 Broke Girls, don't fix it. That seemed to be Michael Patrick King's take away from Wednesday's surprisingly combative CBS press tour session. The Sex and the City creator's hit show was hammered over what some critics see as the depiction of ethnic stereotypes. Hitfix critic Alan Sepinwall, who challenged King during the session and got all but horsewhipped for it, has his detailed take on the brouhaha here...

2012

Jan

CHARLIE SHEEN'S STEALTH PRESS TOUR SESSION By Bill Brioux

Maybe it had something to do with the connection to his father, but encountering Charlie Sheen at press tour was almost like coming face to face with Kurtz in Apocalypse Now...

2012

Jan

CAUGHT BETWEEN '30 ROCK' AND A HARD PLACE -- THE CRITICS' SCRUM By Bill Brioux

PASADENA, Calif. -- What did NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt tell critics attending TCA Friday morning? The first network executive session of the Television Critics Association tour will be hard to top for candor. Greenblatt actually answers questions...And, as usual, a few of the best goodies came in the post-session scrum...

2012

Jan

SFO SALUTES TELEVISION WHEN IT FIRST TOOK OFF By Bill Brioux

At first, I was kinda bummed my flight to Pasadena to attend the January 2012 Television Critics Association press tour would detour through the San Francisco airport, a necessary stopover in order to cash in some Aeroplan points. Mmmm -- points. Then I happened upon a treasure trove of television history. Truly, every journalist traveling to TCA should be routed back through SFO...

2011

Oct

AND THEN HE TRIPPED OVER THE OTTOMAN By Bill Brioux

People often ask, "What's your favorite all-time TV show?" I never hesitate to answer: "The Dick Van Dyke Show". Sure, part of it is nostalgia. I grew up with the black-and-white CBS comedy, which premiered 50 years ago on Oct. 3, 1961. It was very much rooted in the Kennedy era, with the pilot having been shot the same day that John F. Kennedy was inaugurated, Jan. 20, 1961...

2011

Aug

HE CAME IN THROUGH THE SATELLITE WINDOW By Bill Brioux

It's been a pretty good press tour when you can say you were in on sessions with Harry Belafonte, Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Lewis, Gloria Steinem, Davy Jones, Rosie O'Donnell, Hugh Laurie, Ken Burns...and, yes, the Playboy Mansion. Add Paul McCartney to that list and all you can say is: "Fab"...

2011

Aug

HEY, LOOK: IT'S JERRY LEWIS! By Bill Brioux

The amazing thing about Jerry Lewis is that he's still here. Dean's long gone. Sammy's gone, Frank's gone, almost all of those ring-a-ding rat packers checked out years ago. Lewis, the subject of Encore's biographical documentary Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis (airing this fall), has had ticker problems for decades but endures. He's still raging, too, which may explain his longevity. So getting to see the dude at press tour is a kick...

2011

Aug

PRESS TOUR AT THE PLAYBOY MANSION! By Bill Brioux

I accidentally dropped my glasses into the swirling waters of the Playboy Mansion's infamous grotto Wednesday night, and now every time I glance at my computer screen it looks like it has implants. Fortunately, fearless Television Critics Association publicist Cindy Ronzoni kicked off her heels and waded into the grotto to fetch my specs, picking the frames up with her toes. It was the hottest thing I saw all night at The Mansion, which is still a very cool joint but has a bit of a frozen-in-the-'70s feel...

2011

Feb

CHUCK LORRE ON CHARLIE SHEEN By Bill Brioux

Sure, he's super-rich, but you've got to feel for Chuck Lorre. He is this generation's Norman Lear, the current King of TV Comedy, the writer/producer behind "The Big Bang Theory", "Two and a Half Men," and "Mike & Molly," but at what price? As a writer/showrunner on Cybill, Roseanne and Grace Under Fire, the 58-year-old former musician has survived Roseanne, Cybill Shepherd and Brett Butler, three women who shaved years off his life...

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Bill Brioux

Bill Brioux is the David Bianculli of Canada, except he keeps his white beard to himself. He currently contributes to the Toronto Star, The Canadian Press and blogs at brioux.tv, TV Feeds My Family.

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