There was no doubt about it: This was Kristen Wiig's night. Of the three cast members rumored to be leaving "Saturday Night Live," I think we can go ahead and remove the word "rumored" off of Wiig and Samberg, who said his goodbye with "Lazy Sunday 2." Jason Sudeikis, on the other hand ... well, he introduced the Foo Fighters? In other words: There were really no hints yhroughout a show that he had very little to do with concerning his future (unless you want to read into Jagger mentioning that "many of you are moving on" in the final sketch). So if it was his last show, that's a shame. On to what turned out to be a quite emotional final Scorecard of the season...
Sketch of the Night
"She's a Rainbow" (Kristen Wiig, Ensemble) A perfect ten. Honestly, that was the most touching, emotional sendoff that I've ever seen "SNL" pull off. It is a little odd that Samberg and especially Sudeikis (considering his lack of involvement this show) weren't more of a focal point of the festivities, too. But it was Wiig's night. And even considering my on-again, off-again relationship with her comedy stylings -- she deserved every second of it. Kristen Wiig carried "SNL" for the past seven seasons and wasn't afraid to try anything. (And wasn't afraid to "try anything" over and over and over. Ahem, Gilly.) She was fearless.
Score: 10
The Good
"Lazy Sunday 2" (Andy Samberg, Chris Parnell) "Sister Act on Broadway" replaces "Chronicles of Narnia" as the entertainment choice of the moment. So, yeah, there was your last digital short. It was fitting, but also a microcosm of how the Digital Shorts had morphed over the last seven years. What made the original "Lazy Sunday" so great was just how simple it was. Bigger isn't always better. And when "Lazy Sunday 2" morphs into something bigger halfway through, it also morphed into something that lost its charm. Again, a fitting ending.
Score: 8.0
"Karaoke" (Fred Armisen, Mick Jagger, Kristen Wiig, Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer, Bobby Moynihan) Armisen sings "Start Me Up" at Karokee, miming his best Mick Jagger impression. After, Moynihan does a terrible Mick Jagger, eventually falling asleep at the microphone, prompting the line, "Classic Jagger." I do kind of wish this would have went a little bit further because I think this sketch was really on to something. Maybe it needed one more "classic Jagger" performance after Moynihan, instead of ending on a somber rendition of Jagger singing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
Score: 7.0
"Dance Festival" (Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Mick Jagger, Abby Elliott, Kristen Wiig, Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killam) This was certainly the show to watch if you enjoy watching Moynihan dance. And, good grief, I always forget how good of an impression Hader does of Dave Matthews. Basically, it's a dance-off competition for people who like to listen to Phish. On the surface, yes, it's just another "competition show" sketch, but, boy, these dances sure were funny.
(Sadly, this sketch actually did include a Phish song, so it's not online.)
Score: 6.7
"Mick Jagger Monologue" (Mick Jagger) The old standby monologue Q&A -- only, this time, Mick just asks himself the questions. You know, Jagger was actually kind of charming here. I mean, by the time I'm finished writing this paragraph, I'll have forgotten that Jagger's monologue ever existed, but it was certainly a serviceable introduction.
Score: 6.4
"Weekend Update" (Seth Meyers, Bill Hader) There was no doubt that we'd see Stefon tonight -- which is kind of a problem. Yes, I've heard Hader say that he still laughs because John Mulaney will change the script at the last second, but I can't help but think that Hader ... embellishes. Look, I just think that on a night in which Jason Sudeikis was left with almost nothing to do, would it have been so hard to see his Devil character again? Or just let him talk? I mean, Hader is back next season. We still have plenty of time to see Stefon.
Score: 6.0
The Bad
"Cold Open: The Lawrence Welk Show" (Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Jon Hamm, Abby Elliott, Nasim Pedrad, Vanessa Bayer) I remember the first time I saw "The Lawrence Welk Show" thinking, Well, that was ... interesting. I guess. Then they just kept coming. And coming. In the spirit of Kristen Wiig's last show, I'll just leave it at that. (Also: That was Jon Hamm's third "SNL" appearance this season, which, sadly, did not include a hosting gig.)
Score: 5.0
"Politics Nation with Al Sharpton" (Kenan Thompson, Mick Jagger, Jason Sudeikis) I chuckled when Thompson as Sharpton referred to J.P. Morgan as "Jp Morgan," at least. But, really, this went nowhere ... like all of the Al Sharpton sketches go nowhere. Do you know what would have been great? If Kenan could have pulled out another "What's Up With That?" so that we could watch Sudeikis dance around in his red tracksuit one last time.
Score: 3.5
"Secret Word" (Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Mick Jagger, Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer) Of all of Wiig's recurring sketches, we really could have done without "Secret Word." (I mean, why not the "don't make me sing" character instead?) Alas, here Jagger played a closeted movie star and many innuendos were shared. And, then, nothing else happened. Seriously, if they just had to do this sketch one last time, I dunno, maybe do something interesting?
Score: 3.0
The Ugly
"The Californians" (Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Andy Samberg, Vanessa Bayer, Mick Jagger, Kenan Thompson, Abby Elliott, Steve Martin) I think this second installment of "The Californians" clocked in at just under 45 minutes. The version on Hulu claims to be only 5:52. Sure, I love a good Steve Martin cameo as much as the next guy, but, what was a kind of interesting sketch the first time around (though, I didn't think that one worked either) became just tedious and boring. Sadly, a third installment of "Comedy Show" was left at dress rehearsal, but this aired. Great.
But, regardless, this particular show really wasn't about any of this, was it?
Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger did it all on the season finale of "Saturday Night Live." The rock legend not only hosted the show, but also put on four memorable musical performances, backed up by an impressive roster of friends that included The Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters and Jeff Beck. He presided over Kristen Wiig's emotional sendoff and took a well-placed musical jab at Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's infamous prep-school forced haircut incident.
Jagger rocked out to three classic Stones songs with The Arcade Fire serving as his backup band, including a "She's A Rainbow/Ruby Tuesday" medley at the end of the show that served as a farewell homage to "SNL" star Kristen Wiig, who was celebrating her final "SNL" episode after a 7-year-run.
Jagger flashed his comedic songwriting ability in a musical blues sketch with guitarist Jeff Beck about the presidential election titled "Tea Party" that included a lyrical dig at Mitt Romney. Jagger sang: "Mr. Romney he's a hard-working man, and he always says his prayers, yeah but there's one little thing about him, don't ever let him cut your hair."
Jagger and The Arcade Fire also performed a raucous version of the classic "This May Be The Last Time."
The Foo Fighters got in on the action too, backig up Jagger on a medley of "19th Nervous Breakdown" and "It's Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)."
Along with saying goodbye to Kristen Wiig on this weekend's 37th "Saturday Night Live" finale, fans bore witness to another touchstone moment in the show's history: the return of "Lazy Sunday."
The very first digital short (OK, it's technically the second, but the first one to take off) and one of the first viral YouTube videos that started it all, "Lazy Sunday" finally got a sequel of sorts by Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell dubbed "Lazy Sunday 2."
The rap starts out much like the first one did nearly seven years ago, with Samberg waking up late on a Sunday and asking "Parns" to hang out (only this time, it's "Sister Act" on Broadway instead of "The Chronicles Of Narnia" movie).
They're a little bit older (they sneak Vermouth into the theater instead of Mr. Pibb) and a little bit wiser (they're totally right about Magnolia) but other than that they're pretty much the same hardcore rapping, leisurely weekend theater-goers. Watch the video above.
NEW YORK -- Kristen Wiig got a musical sendoff on the season finale of "Saturday Night Live" as the popular and versatile cast member made her exit after seven years.
In the show's final sketch, guest host Mick Jagger played the principal at a high school graduation and brought up Wiig, in cap and gown, as "one particular student who is leaving this summer."
She danced in turn with Jagger, cast members and executive producer Lorne Michaels to the tune of the Rolling Stones classic "She's a Rainbow." Then the ensemble sang another Stones hit, "Ruby Tuesday," with its line, "still I'm gonna miss you."
Wiig appeared to be holding back tears.
Though NBC had made no prior announcement of her departure, it comes as no surprise. She starred in and co-wrote the hit comedy "Bridesmaids," and even before that had notable roles in "Friends With Kids," "Paul," "Adventureland" and "Knocked Up," among other films. She has six more in various stages of development.
Wiig's almost limitless range of characters on "SNL" has included neurotic attention-seeker Penelope; Kat, half of the musical duo Garth and Kat (alongside Fred Armisen); and such real-life notables as Bjork, Kathie Lee Gifford and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Andy Samberg and Jason Sudeikis have also been reported to be leaving "SNL," though Michaels recently said any decision on cast changes will wait until the summer.
The Voice coach Will.i.am's best friend and fellow Black Eyes Peas member Apl.de.Ap has revealed his plans to follow in Will's footsteps and become a TV talent show judge.
Speaking at a fundraiser for his We Can Be Anything campaign, the Filipino-American rapper told The Huffington Post UK of his plans to launch a talent contest in the Philippines.
"I've been working myself up to do it because I'm not used to being on TV everyday... I've been offered a show for next year," he revealed.
Talking about the judging line-up he said: "It's probably going to be other Fillipino artists - definitely Arnel Pineda the lead singer of Journey, Cherise and Bruno Mars. It will be funny if Will does it with me, right? He won't understand a bunch of the songs."
However, Apl's inspiration for launching a show is by no means superficial, it's all part of his vision to bring hope, opportunity and aspiration to the children of the Phillipines who are - as he once was - living in poverty.
Apl was adopted at the age of 14 by an American sponsor named Joe Ben Hudgens who he met through a dollar-a-day programme and was brought to LA, which is where he met his best friend - Will.
"We're like best friends, brothers. When I was a adopted from the Philippines and brought to the US it felt like God had an angel waiting for me and that was him," said Apl.
Despite not being able to speak English, Apl formed an instand bond with Will over their mutual love of dancing and rapping: "He was from LA in a poor neighbourhood but when we met we had that same dream, we stuck together."
The pair went on to form the Grammy Award-winning group The Black Eyes Peas, who have now sold over 56 million records worldwide.
Will, who rushed over from filming Saturday night's episode of The Voice to support his best friend and give a surprise performance at the fundraiser, held at The Westbury hotel in Mayfair, told us: "I come from a very bad neighbourhood and Apl saved my life.
"If I'd never met Apl, I probably would still be in that same ghetto and who knows what life would be like. I know there would be no Black Eyed Peas if I hadn't met Apl... it all started the day Apl landed in LA."
And he added: "I went to his graduation, not mine, because I wanted to see him walk the stage. Because when he came he didn't speak English and then he graduated with flying colours."
Apl's We Can Be Anything campaign - complete with a music video (below) - aims to build 10,000 new classrooms in Philippines in the next two years, so more schoolchildren will one day reach graduation.
When it was reported last week that Dan Harmon might not have his contract renewed for the fourth season of "Community," star Joel McHale said he was "literally praying" his showrunner would return.
“Dan's the creator of the show, so to lose his voice would be pretty crazy,” McHale told TVLine.com. “He gave me the role of a lifetime, so it would be a very weird scenario [to continue] without him.”
Season four just got weird. Late Friday night, NBC and Sony -- the studio that produces "Community" -- announced that Harmon would not be back next season. On his blog, Harmon said he had been "fired."
In reaction to this news, McHale, and his "Community" co-stars Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown and Jim Rash, took to their Twitter accounts on Saturday afternoon to express support for Harmon.
Season four of "Community" is set to premiere in the fall on Friday nights at NBC. The cast is expected to return mostly intact, though whether Chevy Chase -- who famously and publicly feuded with Harmon over his role on the series -- remains to be seen.
Despite the fact that NBC Entertainment president Robert Greenblatt said last week that Harmon would likely have a role on "Community" going forward, don't necessarily expect that to be the case.
"If I actually chose to go to the office, I wouldn't have any power there," Harmon wrote on his personal Tumblr page. "Nobody would have to do anything I said, ever. I would be 'offering' thoughts on other people's scripts, not allowed to rewrite them, not allowed to ask anyone else to rewrite them, not allowed to say whether a single joke was funny or go near the edit bay, etc."
"Community" ended its third season earlier this week with a three-episode season finale.
When "So You Think You Can Dance" returns to Fox on May 24 (at 8 p.m. EST), the popular competition series will look wildly different than seasons past.
"We're one show now, so we've got an action-packed show," producer Nigel Lythgoe told ET at the Fox upfronts this week. Fox ended the "So You Think You can Dance" results-show broadcast, meaning many changes needed to be made before the new season.
"This year we're doing an entirely new thing that we should have done years ago," Lythgoe said enthusiastically. "We're going to have a male winner and a female winner. With changing it around, to making it just one show, we sort of realized, 'Hey, why don't we do this?' We wanted to do it, now we have the opportunity to do so."
To make up for the lack of a results show, "SYTYCD" will have all its dancers perform in episodes one and two before revealing who goes home. "We'll watch them dance in the first week," Lythgoe told ET. "America will vote. We'll watch them dance in the second week, take into account America's vote and the week before's routine and make a decision."
Lythgoe said to TVLine.com that the dancers won't know before their routines if they're in danger because “we don't want the [at-risk] contestants to be panicking [when they dance]."
As for the celebrity judges, Lythgoe would love to see Kristin Chenoweth and Jesse Tyler Ferguson return for season 9.
For more on the new rules and format of "So You Think You Can Dance," head over to TVLine.com.
"It should be very interesting. I don't have much to say," said Legend, who is set to star in ABC's new singing competition, "Duets."
"It's interesting when people, you know, are judging singing competitions when they aren't really singers." Ouch!
We don't know who John has been listening to, but Demi is absolutely a singer! Has he heard her amazing vocals on "Skyscraper" or the pitch-perfect "For the Love of A Daughter?" We love you, John Legend. But, perhaps you need to give Demi a second listen.
What do you think of John Legend's comment about Demi? Dish in the comments!
CHECK OUT THIS SLIDESHOW OF LATINOS IN YOUNG HOLLYWOOD
Let me tell you a story about Dan Harmon, who was fired from "Community" on Friday night.
Several years ago, when "The Sarah Silverman" program debuted, I wrote a review of it. I didn't like it much; it just wasn't my thing, and I said as much in my review.
Within a day or two of that review appearing, a comment appeared on that review -- a very negative one from someone named Dan Harmon. I confirmed with Comedy Central that the comment was, in fact, left by Harmon, who was then a writer/producer on Silverman's show. (I didn't want anything on my site that had been left under his name if it wasn't actually from him.) It was him. And then I noticed that my site was getting some traffic from MySpace (remember, this was more than five years ago).
Turns out Harmon posted a more stinging rebuke of me on his MySpace page, because what he'd left on my site apparently hadn't been harsh enough for him. Needless to say, both comments weren't complimentary toward me or my intelligence. They weren't easy to read. When someone writes, "You look like an idiot ... I'm looking into the 3 pixels that represent your eyes and right into your unremarkable soul," that tends to stick with you.
I'm not saying any of this to pile on Dan Harmon. I absolutely am not; he's had a bad enough week. I'm saying this because I want to make a point: He's probably as difficult to work with as all the stories say he is. But based on what he's achieved with "Community," he's worth it.
As I said, I didn't especially enjoy those comments when I read them for the first time. But here's something that's also true: I was able to realize that his comments about me were very well-written. Want proof?
A friend of mind, the writer Claire Zulkey, does a regular event called Funny Ha-Ha, where people get up and read amusing things they've written. She invited me to be part of it a couple of times, and I'm aware enough of my own limitations to know that I'm not all that funny. So twice (without saying who wrote it), I read Harmon's diatribe at Funny Ha-Ha, and ladies and gentlemen, it killed. Both times.
The rant has a point of view that Harmon meticulously, if angrily, got across. It's very far from being a generic angry Internet comment; it's just another instance of Harmon proving that he's unstoppable (and pretty diverting) when he's got something to say.
Now, you may wonder, did that withering comment make it harder for me to like "Community" at first? I wondered about that for a very, very long time -- trust me, I thought about it a lot. And I've come to two conclusions:
"Community" made it hard for me to like it, especially in its first season. I gave it a lot of chances in Seasons 1 and 2, and I appreciated what the cast was doing, but the show didn't quite click for me because of its distancing meta techniques, which weren't expertly tied to characters I cared about in the early days. It wasn't due to the fact that Harmon had called me an idiot, I don't think.
My little online experience with Harmon didn't affect my view of the show much, I don't think, but it did make it hard for me to see a lot of my colleagues in the media fawning over the guy. I'll admit that that rankled now and again. I'm only human, after all.
But you know what? The show itself eventually won me over. Last year, I became a late convert thanks to the overwhelming brilliance of "Remedial Chaos Theory," and when I love something, I tend to love it 150 percent. I recognize that not every episode of "Community" is great, and there are still certain things about it that bug me at times, but I sat down to watch that episode with an open mind and I completely fell for the Greendale Seven, which made me really happy. I went back and watched Season 2 and have faithfully watched Season 3, the finale of which was very pleasing, I thought.
What I'm trying to get at here is this: When something, or someone, is difficult, you work on it. When someone rubs you the wrong way, you acknowledge that, figure out how to move forward, and move forward. Why couldn't NBC and Sony do this?
After all, executives there are paid a lot more than I am to put up with the delicate egos and undeniable flaws of creative people. And I'm of the opinion that whatever baggage Harmon brought to the table was worth putting up with. For him to be shown the door without getting a single phone call from NBC or Sony Pictures Television, as he says in this post about being fired, is horrifying -- but more importantly, it's unprofessional on the part of those above him in the food chain.
I'm not saying every showrunner should get away with everything -- far from it -- but at the very least, there should have been discussions in the last few weeks with Harmon about his future with the show. And if NBC and Sony weren't going to go forward with Harmon as showrunner, they should have put on their big-boy pants and canceled the comedy. If Harmon at the helm of "Community" was just too more trouble than they wanted to deal with, they should have pulled the plug, but they didn't have the guts.
NBC and Sony are not making widgets and not merely replacing a manager who couldn't get his people to meet their widget quota. As much as the business might involve slicing and dicing Nielsen numbers, it's not, at the end of the day, about cold numbers and flow charts. Some shows do involve widgets and some shows are topped by executive producers who can be replaced at will. "Community" is not one of those shows, and for Sony and NBC keep the show going but without Harmon -- well, that's just dumb. That's not a knock on the new "Community" showrunners, that's a knock on short-sighted TV executives.
I will stipulate that Harmon can be a hard guy to get along with. My long-ago, minor experience aside, many credible articles and sources have said so. But I don't require him to be my friend, nor should the executives at Sony and NBC. I require him to make an inventive show with a lot of heart and wit, a show that is imbued with a particular gleeful/bittersweet point of view. Harmon did that, whatever problems Sony and NBC may have had with his management style.
Look, creative types can be a real pain in the ass. There aren't a ton of showrunners who make the trains run on time, make something approaching art and are also nice to everyone (there are a few, and they are worth their weight in gold). But that's the business "creative" executives are in. It's messy, it's not easy, but if TV executives wanted to go into something more predictable and less stressful, why not try accounting?
So, Dan Harmon, I forgave you a long time ago for what you wrote about me, even though it hurt my feelings at the time. I understood, even then, that what prompted your angry response was the fact that your feelings had been hurt. Sensitive types aren't always fun to be around (and this is something I can relate to). I understood, then and now, that you care about what you do. I'm sure you still care about "Community."
And as Alan Sepinwall wrote here, I think that shows with unique visions that lose their showrunners late in their runs are often much worse for it. I'm sadly sure that will be the case here. This is one of those cases where something like the thing you loved will just be a reminder of how much you miss the thing you loved.
I'll miss Harmon's "Community." And I think NBC and Sony executives have no idea of the shitstorm they just created. So I'll leave an angry Internet comment of my own: Whoever thought it would be a good idea to ditch Harmon is a business-casual potted plant. You're VH1, "Robocop 2," "Back to the Future 3."
May 18 (Reuters) - General Motors Co will not advertise in next year's Super Bowl because it is too expensive, the top marketing executive for the U.S. automaker said three days after the company said it was dropping paid ads on Facebook . The 2013 Super Bowl will be broadcast by CBS Corp, which is selling 30-second ads for as much as $4 million. Spots on NBC's broadcast of this year's National Football League championship game, the most heavily watched annual event on U.S. television, cost about $3.5 million per 30-second spot. "We understand the reach the Super Bowl provides, but with the significant increase in price we simply can't justify the expense," GM global marketing chief Joel Ewanick said in a statement. CBS spokesman Dana McClintock declined to comment.
A few days before his face-off with Arsenio Hall on the finale of Donald Trump's “The Celebrity Apprentice” (Sunday night on NBC), Clay Aiken was confident and comfortable.
“I hope I'll win,” said the openly gay singer and actor who shot to stardom as a contestant and first runner up on “American Idol” almost ten years ago. “We have different styles. [Arsenio Hall is] a little more laid back. I'm a little more hands-on. I think the effects of my efforts were superior. I think we'll see on Sunday when Mr. Trump makes his decision.”
Aiken also weighed in on his new-found role as a gay activist, taking on North Carolina's antigay Amendment One and appearing on CBS' “Face the Nation” opposite the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins last week, an experience he laughingly still can't believe happened.
“Wasn't that crazy?” he asked, beaming with a smile, in an interview on my SiriusXM radio program. “So it did happen, you're saying? Because I was thinking it was all a dream.”
Aiken never would have imagined in 2003, when he was on “American Idol” and not open about his sexual orientation amid the rumor mill that he was gay, that he would one day be out, let alone that he would be an activist speaking passionately about gay marriage and the politics of the state he grew up in, North Carolina, on national television.
“In 2003, [I] wasn't even convinced [myself that I] was gay,” he chuckled. “Oh, no, no, no, no. You know, it's a process for everyone. Even in 2008, when I came out publicly, I said, ‘I'm not going to be one of the activist people, who speak out publicly about it.' That's where I was in my own personal journey. I believed at that time that I was completely, perfectly out.”
But Aiken eventually felt a sense of responsibility to young people, he said, working with groups like the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network [GLSEN], becoming more aware of issues LGBT youth face today.
“It hasn't been until the past two years that I really started realizing a part of this is going to be making sure other people don't live through what I did,” he explained. “Making sure that people don't have the same type of struggle that I did. I've realized now if I can be a a part of making it easier for a kid to be able to be comfortable with himself, then I have a responsibility to do it.”
Discussing his fan base, Aiken noted that the people to whom he appeals are the very people whose minds need to be changed in America.
"My fan base is very 'red state' typically,” he said. “I think a lot of people who are the most fervent supporters of mine are people who would have voted for a marriage amendment, but now might not. I speak more to people who are in the middle, sway-able area. I think some people, like Adam [Lambert] or maybe Rosie [O'Donnell], probably speak a little bit to a crowd where, it's like, we already got them. But I think that Ellen [DeGeneres] and Neal Patrick Harris speak to that middle crowd too. I think you gotta have both. You gotta have people who stir the turd so that people can smell it. And you gotta have people who keep things as normalized as possible.You need to have Malcolm X so that Dr. King can be more effective.”
Regarding Donald Trump's position against marriage equality and the controversy he stirred when he was flirting with running for president, speaking out on the issue, Aiken said it's better for him and openly gay George Tekei to do the show and be able to talk with Trump.
“Avoiding people who disagree with you, unless they are the Tony Perkins' of the world, who are never going to change their minds, is counter-productive,” he said. “I don't see Mr. Trump as a Tony Perkins. He is a lot more gracious in person and down to earth and real than I think he wants people to know. This is how I have tried to do it. People who know a gay person are more likely to support a gay person.”
It's with that calm sense of purpose that Aiken is heading into Sunday's finale of “The Celebrity Apprentice, ” hoping to win the grand prize, $250,000, for the charity he co-founded, The National Inclusion Project.
“I try to avoid tension -- it's impossible to avoid tension on a show like this, but I try my best,” he explained. “I think 85% of success in life is about paying attention, and I think 85 % of doing well on a show like this is [about] paying attention. And I think that's why I've done well.”
Dan Harmon will not return as showrunner of "Community" next season, as NBC did not renew his contract for season four.
Or, as Harmon wrote on his personal blog: "I got fired."
The writer and producer was replaced on the cult comedy series by David Guarascio and Moses Port ("Happy Endings") late on Friday night, ending a week of speculation that many assumed would lead to Harmon's ouster.
According to Harmon, NBC never even contacted him about his deal. "They literally haven't called me since the season four pickup, so their reasons for replacing me are clearly none of my business," he wrote.
At the NBC upfront presentation -- where the network announced that the fourth season of "Community" would air on Fridays at 8:30 p.m. starting in the fall -- NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt noted that "shows lose showrunners all the time," when asked about Harmon's status. Greenblatt later added that Harmon's "voice" would still be a part of "Community," perhaps even on a "consulting" basis.
You may have read that I am technically “signed on,” by default, to be an executive consulting something or other - which is a relatively standard protective clause for a creator in my position. Guys like me can't actually just be shot and left in a ditch by Skynet, we're still allowed to have a title on the things we create and “help out,” like, I guess sharpening pencils and stuff.
However, if I actually chose to go to the office, I wouldn't have any power there. Nobody would have to do anything I said, ever. I would be “offering” thoughts on other people's scripts, not allowed to rewrite them, not allowed to ask anyone else to rewrite them, not allowed to say whether a single joke was funny or go near the edit bay, etc. It's….not really the way the previous episodes got done. I was what you might call a….hands on producer. Are my….periods giving this enough….pointedness? I'm not saying you can't make a good version of Community without me, but I am definitely saying that you can't make my version of it unless I have the option of saying “it has to be like this or I quit” roughly 8 times a day.
Harmon had a notoriously combative relationship with NBC, as well as Sony, the studio that produced "Community." As Vulture's Josef Adalian noted, Harmon clashed with both corporate entities over the show's "creative direction" and "management style." He also publicly feuded with "Community" co-star Chevy Chase.
Harmon also penned a satirical piece for New York Magazine that mocked his then-employer. Writing from the "future," Harmon noted that NBC was no longer part of the big four networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox), but had become a "smaller cabler" known as "'Cock" -- a play on NBC's famed logo.
Check back to HuffPost TV for more on Harmon's "Community" exit. For Harmon's full response, click over to his blog.
Jimmy Kimmel's weekly ode to the FCC spared no one this week, as they gratuitously bleeped and blurred everyone from the "Inside Edition" hosts to Curious George.
We also have the added blessing of this being the week that the state of Vermont officially banned fracking, so the possibilities were truly endless.
Watch the full clip above, and international readers can watch the clip here.
Hear me now. Long before Sacha Baron Cohen delved into politics and government as Admiral General Aladeen in "The Dictator," he spent a lot of time interviewing real politicians and public servants under the guise of Ali G for "Da Ali G Show."
Ali G asks the hard-hitting questions that politicians rarely have to face on camera, such as, "Was it worth fighting a war over BLTs?" and, "Do you think people should get more welfare the longer they're on welfare?" Check out Baron Cohen interviewing the likes of Newt Gingrich, Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan, and be sure to vote for your favorite interview. Respect.
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