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And the winner is ... |
Blockbuster Video is evil. Support your locally owned and operated video store. There, that said, we'll bite our tongues through the rest of this report. As if there weren't already too many awards shows, Blockbuster returned with its fifth entertainment industry hypefest (taped May 25th). Winners were selected by more than 25 million voters in the mega-company's stores, Planet Hollywood restaurants and via the internet -- or so they'd have you believe. Regardless, there were really no winners worth mentioning, other than Jennifer Love Hewitt's Breasts, who bounced past sizable competition in the horrible, er, "Horror Actress" category. They beat fellow "I Still Know You're Glad to See Me" star Brandy and legendary scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, whose enormous talents bounded across horror screens before Ms. Hewitt was even born. Earlier in the telecast, Norm and fellow "SNL" alum Rob Schneider began the stars-reading- from-a- teleprompter parade by presenting the award for favorite comedy actor. Our Hero chimed in with his own pick after the nominees were read, "I hope it's Adam [Sandler.]" And, sure enough, it was. Just by way of perspective, the awards broadcast was seen by fewer people than the lowest rated "The Norm Show" (7.4 million, Episode 5).
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| "For your consideration"
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It's Emmy season. Now's the time when Academy of Television Arts and Sciences members select nominees for the 1998-99 Primetime Emmy Awards. By tradition, industry newspaper "Daily Variety" was stuffed to the gills with ads soliciting voter "consideration" -- including a full-page plea for "The Norm Show." Warner Bros. Television, who produce the sitcom for ABC, placed the ad in the June 15 issue. It features photos of both Our Hero and Laurie Metcalf, along side these critic blurbs: "There's an oddly, needy sweetness under Macdonald's surface self-satisfaction that keeps the character appealing, plus a unwillingness to pander to an audience that keeps the comic admirable." -- USA Today; "Macdonald's character is quite smart and is key to this series, some of which is just a hoot, its humor perfectly tailored to its star's offbeat, sardonic style. He delivers here with a relaxed ease." -- The Los Angeles Times; and "Macdonald has a certain likability, a little kid charm that meshes well with his smooth timing, and chemistry with Metcalf." -- Weekly Variety. Kudos to whomever gleaned those gems from the sitcoms' largely unfavorable reviews, but please ... "chemistry with Metcalf"? Yikes! We just ate. But wait, there's more. If you're an Academy voter, or keep a watchful eye on online auction sites, you've probably scored a copy of the two-episode "For your consideration" screener which includes: "While You Weren't Sleeping" (Ep.4) and "My Name is Norm" (Ep.5). We're scratching our heads and mumbling, "Why those two?" It would have been nice to see "Norm Dates Danny's Dad" put in the running, which would give Jack Warden a shot at a guest performer nod. Voters have until June 25th to decide who they want in the race, and the nominees will be announced July 22. NBC will broadcast the awards on September 12. Good luck, Norm.
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| Brooks vs. Sandler
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Norm defended his buddy Adam Sandler during a recent "Words Into Pictures" panel discussion hosted by the Writers Guild Foundation. So says Mr. Showbiz columnist Jeffery Wells who recounts the event in "Showbiz Confidential." The group included James L. Brooks, Harry Shearer, Janeane Garofalo, David Zucker, Ed Solomon and Albert Brooks. In discussing the impact of comedic film, Albert Brooks sarcastically compared Adam Sandler's enormous box office success to a disease, "Let's do what else America likes. How about cancer? They all seem to get that. Must be good! People keep getting it!" The majority of the panel chimed in, lamenting the perceived dumbing trend in movie comedies. Except for James L. Brooks and Norm. Our Hero, stood up for his friend, calling him "so fucking funny." More than that, he tried to reason with Albert, saying "If someone can come along and make an enormous amount of people laugh, I think that's a great thing." Garofalo pretty much summed up the dissenting side by countering, "Just because it makes a whole lot of people laugh doesn't mean it's that great." Norm's never been known for his skill in debate, but you've got to respect his effort.
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Hardee's Star |
The late Bill Hicks derided fellow comedians for doing commercials. In 1993, it was Jay Leno touting Doritos, and Hicks ranted, "You do a commercial, you're off the artistic roll call forever. ... You're another corporate fucking shill. You're another whore at the capitalist gang bang. ... There's a price on your head. Everything you say is suspect, and every word that comes out of your mouth is like a turd falling into my drink." Provocative words, especially today, when just about every comic of any stature is hocking some sort of product: Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Dennis Miller, Chris Rock, Dennis Leary, David Spade -- and now, Norm. Yep, Our Hero can be heard selling hamburgers as Hardee's Star. Vigilant readers have been writing in for weeks about the radio and TV spots, but it wasn't until recently that we got our grubby hands on a few. Check them out at the Hardee's website, or save yourself the trouble and just click below. And try not to picture Norman at the "capitalist gang bang." [Shudder.]
Radio Spot: "Out of Character"
Radio Spot: "Jazzin' "
Radio Spot: "Jimmy's Jealous"
TV Spot: "Manifesto"
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YentaTV |
You've seen the parodies of "The View" on "Saturday Night Live." Parody is probably the wrong word, because the truth is far stranger than SNL's fiction. Only, grating Debbie Matenopoulos isn't there anymore. They've hired a much cuter gal with a much shorter name: Lisa Ling. But the program is still YentaTV. Which begs the question: "Why Norm?" Here's the deal. Norm was in New York for ABC's unveiling of their fall schedule -- a brouhaha that's more of an advertiser schmooze fest than anything else. Cue ABC honcho: "Oh, and Norm, while you're in town ... do 'The View.' " Suits love inhouse promotion, especially when its used to reach a desired audience. Namely women. Our female readers already have their minds made about Norm, but there's a whole group of women out there who haven't a clue: "The View" audience. Now they know. What could have been a disaster turned into television gold when Our Hero bounded on stage to chat with "View" vixens: Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones and Joy Behar. Topics spanned from Star Wars, to Norm's body image, to his lust for Meredith. Barbara was sometimes aghast, but the studio audience ate it up, along with the other giggling hostesses. Easily Norm's best outing since springing Don King on David Letterman in March. Check out audio clips.
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"Oh Grow Up" |
ABC has trotted out their fall schedule, which includes a new time slot for "The Norm Show." The sitcom moves ahead of "The Drew Carey Show" to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays following "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" (aka. "Crap.") But fear not, for the time being, "TNS" still nestles the nurturing bosom of "TDCS." Hopefully, this will mean continued Nielsen success for Norm whose audience seems to gel well with that of Drew Carey. Norm's freshman season has averaged about 8 million viewers weekly and will end May 26 with the final installment of ABC's original 10-episode order, "Norm's Coach." Rumors of "Whose Line Is It Anyway" returning to follow "TDCS" have been proved false, as the improv-comedy series moves into lead position at 8 p.m. Thursdays. So, who gets to follow "TDCS"? Why, another wacky sitcom, of course! With a dog. A decidedly pale ensemble cast. Imagine that. What's next? A Cuban crooner with a bumbling redheaded wife? Note to the lovely ABC President Jamie Tarses: "Oh Grow Up."
Need another sign pointing to Norm's legitimacy as a real-deal star? He's finally made it into the supermarket tabloids -- right along side tales of Tori Spelling's passion for topless dancing and Bill Gates' plans to run for president in 2004. In their May 11 issues, both the National Enquirer and Star Magazine feature Our Hero. The Enquirer has an unnamed source who says, "The only reason Norm's in Hollywood and doing a sitcom is so that he can be near his precious little boy. ... Norm really hates L.A. and hates spending time there. But he figures if his series is a hit, he can make a small fortune which he'll be able to lavish on his kid." Over at Star, the tabloid's sister paper, Janet Charlton dishes about Norm's vanity: "[He] admits to having had a hair transplant so viewers won't see his bald spot ... he's also planning a face lift and tummy tuck! Now that he has a fuller head of hair he wants a younger face and firmer body. Norm hopes to keep his plastic surgery a secret, but he's scheduled the procedures during the upcoming summer hiatus from his show." On an unrelated note, according to Janet, fans of giant, fake breasts will be saddened to hear Demi Moore is considering going the way of Pamela Anderson Lee by having her two amazing talents removed. Ah, the ridiculous world of tabloid "journalism." Congrats, Norm, you've arrived.
It's said, "It takes a big man to admit he's wrong." In the world of criticism, it's almost unheard of ... but Mike Duffy of The Detroit Free Press steps from the horde of "TNS"-panning critics to say he made a mistake in his original review:
On Second Thought, 'Norm' Is A Winner: The cluck-cluck you heard a few weeks ago? It was me chickening out. When "The Norm Show" debuted in early March, I knocked one star off my generally positive original review ... I flinched, I backpedaled, I became Captain Wuss and opted for the fence-sitting two-star grade. Actually, "The Norm Show" has been much funnier than the ho-hum dismissal that two stars might imply. And it deserves the three stars that signal: "Hey, this is a witty, well-executed comedy." My hedging might have been a momentary attack of misplaced sensitivity. Like I wasn't supposed to totally enjoy Macdonald's engagingly sarcastic sitcom ... Except that Norm Henderson (Macdonald) remains a happy-go-lucky rascal. He's already slept with a client and faked an alcohol abuse problem to ease his workload. Role model, no, but he sure is funny. ... Right from the start, "The Norm Show" was a witty spring season treat. OK, some social workers haven't been so amused. Lighten up. It's chucklehead make believe. And, yes, "The Norm Show" always deserved those three stars. I messed up. Sorry about that. Back to you, Norm.
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