Cool News
Shameless Plug For NBC
Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Simply put, one of the funniest people I know works on this show in a creative capacity. There’s my full disclosure. Normally, I’m not much for the heartwarming family sitcoms, so I wouldn’t be chomping at the bit to see another “Isn’t Daddy crazy?” comedy. In this case, a former writer for this site has moved on to greener pastures and a network gig, and as a result, I decided to go to a taping of the Christmas episode that airs this Thursday on NBC. And you know what? It’s a pretty damn funny cast. John Witherspoon alone demands your respect. He’s not playing anything much different than his character in FRIDAY, but considering how much he makes me laugh there, that’s okay. Heavy D and Katt Williams (Money Mike from FRIDAY AFTER NEXT, probably the best thing in that film) round out the adult supporting cast. Tamala Jones, who plays Tracy’s wife in the show, is preposterously adorable and managed to hold her own as we watched Tracy ad-lib his way through pretty much every take.
Let’s be honest... a show like this isn’t about innovating the sitcom or deconstructing the form. It’s about the personalities, and in this case, it all seemed pretty winning while we were there. Tracy Morgan is one of those guys who makes me laugh in small doses, and I thought he hit the occasional high note on SNL. I wasn’t sure he was a lead, though. Here, he’s comfortable and seems to be enjoying himself. He was inventive, radically reworking things between takes, and consistently funny.
And the two kids playing his sons are preternaturally poised. The little one, Bobb’e J. Thompson, was so professional that I was half convinced he was a midget and not just a super confident kid.
NBC certainly seems to have some faith in this, and they’re working to make sure you see it at some point. Two episodes air back to back tonight, another one on Thursday, and then regular airings start next week.
Check it out. Support AICN’s slow and steady spread into each and every facet of the industry. We’re all just getting our footholds now, working inside the system, biding our time. But watch... one day soon, the geeks will rule it all... and then it’ll get interesting. I promise.
"Moriarty" out.
-
+ Expand All
-
Dec 02, 2003 7:45:24 PM CST
I'm sorry, but this looks like a shameless "Diff'rent Strokes" k
by cooldan989
They might as well have someone say "Whatchu talkin' bout, Tracy?" GAG. Talk about originality.
-
If that turtle tries to bite me, I'm gonna kill it.
-
The man is just not funny. Do you know HOW UNFUNNY you have to be to be the "crazy ethnic guy" on SNL and STILL not be funny? You have to have a PhD in unfunny. This guy makes Wil Ferrell look like the Olivier of comedy.
-
was always funnier when he played himself. I don't think he was as funny when he played other people.
I liked it when he called Garth Brooks "girth brooks" That was very funny. But I don't think Morgan can be another Bernie Mac. -
There's nothing in the commercials that make me want to see this show except for the momma. Another indicator is my coworker - I loved Titus and recommended it to her. She hated it. She cracks up whenever the Tracey Morgan commercial comes on.
-
Tracy Morgan is just about the only person who can say just about anything and make it sound funny. There's something about his delivery that just makes everything hilarious. The little kid mugs his ass off, yet for the most part isn't annoying. I'll keep watching on principle. He isn't quite Bernie Mac, but who is?
-
Dec 02, 2003 8:14:38 PM CST
Tracy Morgan not funny?? Just say you don't get his comedy, but
by the founder
since it's NBC I doubt it'll last long. The big three networks have a nasty habid of not giving shows a chance to take off before giving them the axe after 2 or 3 episodes air.
-
I loved it! Seriously, it's like a lot of the great 70's sitcoms, but without a laugh track. I think Tracy Morgan is really funny, and if you like him, you'll like the show. If not, it ain't for you! I hope it lasts because I don't watch sitcoms much anymore, but I'll watch this one!
-
but your bud's working on a dud.As for the kid midget,that junior playa/genius act got old quick as hell.Now let's flip to FOX and see how bad "The Simple Life" can be.
-
In what way does Tracy Morgan look comfortable? He's about the most uncomfortable person I've ever seen. All his line reading are awkward and his facial expressions are forced. He doesn't fit in the role he's playing.
-
That show was hillarious. Tracy Morgan is one funny dude. The cast is great and I thought the youngest son is just hillarious. I can see however how some may view him as annoying. I've never been a fan of kiddie actors myself. But this kid sold me completely and had me in stitches. Good show. By the way, ROTK in two weeks... it's on!
-
Why can't they get more fine sistas like this on TV(including Holly Robinson Peete and the other hottie who was recently on 'Friends')
-
Dec 02, 2003 9:31:56 PM CST
i doubt tracy morgan is "ad-libbing his way through the show"
by bearison ford
the guy never wrote any of the material he did on SNL, and his stand-up is pretty weak. i'm not saying he's not funny, he totally can be, but it's retarded to think theres not writers behind what he's saying.
-
I'll skip the sitcom and wait for the E! True Hollywood Story. "And then it all went terribly wrong..."
-
Once again, I come up from the depths to shout from the rooftops about one of the unfunniest people to EVER come across my TV screen. I chuckled at the ad...the way I dunk on you will be unorthodox...that was funny. That was 5 seconds...he was on SNL for 8 years...8 YEARS and he sucked big fat donkey schwanze. I've seen actors in kindergarten plays that were more prepared...and funnier. He made Fallon seem professional. I won't watch this, not until the great Whoopi crossover episode when both of them are hit by the crosstown bus, backed over and run over again. Congratulations NBC, way to take the Must See programming and make it worse than the WB.....
-
It would seem that talent no longer has any value when it comes time to give people their own TV shows. Tracy Morgan is excrutiatingly unfunny -- always has been, always will be. I started out just being embarrassed for him when seeing him on SNL. It swiftly turned to contempt and absolute loathing for the fucker. He's fucking terrible! What kind of world is it where John Belushi and Bill Hicks are dead, but Tracy Morgan and Norm McDonald are still alive? Feh...
-
I had low expectations, but was hoping for the best from the man who brought Pumpkin Escobar to life. But this show was average at best, certainly not good enough to carry Thursday nights for NBC the way Friends has for so many years, but better than most of the UPN sitcoms. Glad Tracy's getting a shot, but it's kinda sad they yanked "Coupling" just as it was starting to get kinda' funny. Plus, the added pain of the two unfunny guys that have been added to the SNL cast makes me wish Tracy was still there.
-
I'm Brian Fellow, and dat goat's got devil eyes.
-
I'm not that quick to judge seeningly lame SNL cast members anymore because I wasn't that impressed by Chris Rock in his days. Then he became one of the greatest stand-up comedians ever. So there is a miniscule chance Morgan will be funny one day. Maybe.
-
is for NBC (or maybe Sci-fi) to have Tracy star in an "Astronaut Jones" series with weekly celeb guest spots. "Why don't you slip outta' that space suit and show me those big green space titties"!
-
CHAMPING at the bit. Thanks.
-
I'm with you on Tracy, but leave Norm MacDonald out of it. That guy was (is) hilarious. Just the way he worked WHORE into every newscast was priceless.
-
Shit - I missed the first two, am I going to understand the third?
-
you might as well wait and watch the whole thing when it comes out on DVD. If you didn't see the premiere and it's followup episode you won't understand any of the prophecies, you'll be confused by the symbolism in the flashbacks, and the big plot twists and betrayals will be lost on you. You also won't fully understand Tracy's motivation, or why the President has such faith in him.
-
Dec 03, 2003 12:53:28 PM CST
Well, why don't you drop out of the green jumpsuit and show me t
by tenaciousp
-
I'll never forget the look on Britney Spears face when he told her to bend over so he could smack that fat ass. In fact, just about every woman had kind of a shocked look on their face. They probably were just thrown into costume, told to read off the cue cards, and were never told what Tracy would say. Gold, pure gold.
-
Dec 03, 2003 2:28:17 PM CST
I always wanted to see a tight half hour Best Of Tracy Morgan on
by big bad clone
Dominican Lou. Astronaut Jones. Brian Fellows. The Rachel Dracth/Tracy Morgan Show. Great stuff even if he was on the show for eight years, he was at least able to get in some good sucker punches. BTW the wife on this show is cute but she got on my last damn nerve on For Your Love. And if you want to see a funny and just plain well done black sitcom, program your VCR to catch Girlfriends on UPN.
-
Probbly the funniest moments Tracy had were treating lorne like his bitch, and any time he'd try to talk the female hosts into doing some mud wrestling or something.
-
Andy's show started on a bad day, Sunday isn't a good day for Andy's humor. Andy is more of a Wed or Thur show, when the work week is bearing down on you. Otherwise the cancellation of Andy Richters show was a crime against humanity.
-
Tracy morgan was so unfunny on SNL. You could actually see him reading the cue cards every week. He wasn't even looking at the other cast members in the sketches. Plus every single character sounded exactly the same. The same delivery, cadence, yelling instead of acting.
Plus that little kid has annoyed the shit out of me and I only saw the commercials. -
Andy's show was indeed brilliant. A few of the writers also worked on Family Guy, and it showed. It'll be a shame if Andy's show never comes out on DVD, as there are seven or eight episodes in the can that FOX just never aired.
As for Andy's whereabouts, he hasn't drifted into obscurity as his naysayers claim. In fact, he's the HOST of Comedy Central's "Commies" awards show that will air this weekend. Boyashka. -
Ok, so the show is retarded; you have to give Tracy some friggin respect for that whole Crank Yankers call to the Village Voice personals...
"Must like tah hump...no? ok,ummmm, must like tah bone."
-
i can't say that i've seen much of this rapper/actor's screen work, but he put me in quite a trance whenever mtv played that "we got our own thang" music video. lord knows how i cursed my inability to do that diddlydiddlydiddlydiddlydiddlydiddly d bit.
-
I don't know the man. He has never personally harmed me in any way, and I bear no personal ill will toward him. That said, his cameo in Little Nicky is the worst thing I have ever seen in a movie...any movie.
-
Dec 04, 2003 8:35:15 AM CST
The impending death of any show is when they move it to Friday.
by mjayace
-
Dec 04, 2003 6:04:47 PM CST
"I don't know what the FUCK you just said, li'l kid, but you're
by plantboy!
From the ads, Tracy Morgan does appear funnier in this than he was on SNL, but I think I'll pass anyway. On a related note, one of the least funny members on SNL has to be Horatio Sanz. To paraphrase one of the other Talk Back posters, if you can't be funny as the token "slapstick fat guy", then you're REALLY unfunny. Oh, and to the other Talk Back people: it's ok to use something OTHER than "dreck" to describe crappy entertainment--try "pap" or "drivel" or "swill" for once.
-
Next time you can just use this: http://www.m-w.com
-
I'm with you on that. In fact, I'm going to go so far as removing Norm MacDonald (not that I like him) from my short "why aren't THEY dead?" list and replace him with Horatio Sanz. To quote the great John Vernon... "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son."
-
or maybe someone who has done too much crack in the past. I mean, I get the comedy and all...but the general public isn't going to hang with this on Thursday nights. They need to move Grounded for Life again and bring it to NBC must-see-tv.
-
and I actually liked some of Tracy's stuff on SNL. The Traci/Dratch Show sketch and Astronaut Jones were fucking hilarious to me.
This show is not permanently in the Thursday slot, they are just trying to promote it right now. It's the lead-in on Tuesday.
And to the poster about the hot black chick on Friends, that's Aisha Tyler, the ex-Talk Soup host on E! -
First let me say I liked the two eps I saw. The theme music sucked and the scenes with the wife and kids were kind of forced but I laughed my ass off several times with each ep. For me all of the scenes in the garage were funny.
I wasn't a big fan of Tracey's early SNL appearances. But in the last couple of seasons he had some funny stuff including doing Starr Jones, the Astronaut Jones, and Brian Fellows. His stuff with Lorne always made me laugh too.
Now do I think the show has a chance? Maybe. NBC has surprisingly given the show some prime timeslots. But in the long run it could be shuttled like Suddenly Susan, Caroline in the City, and the Single Guy. But for my money, nothing is as funny as Scrubs. -
Wow. In the history of all-time worst TV dialogue, that's gotta be somewhere on the list.
-
Sorry to stray from the Tracy Morgan talk, but does anyone know why the Al Sharpton SNL did not air this weekend? I am curious to see if my particular area did not choose to air it, or if it just didn't air for anyone. What I saw in the regular SNL timeslot was a 'best of Steve Martin' rerun. Anyone with the inside scoop?
-
Dec 08, 2003 9:32:57 AM CST
To the last poster, some NBC affliates did not show SNL due to f
by big bad clone
Actually, it was a pretty good episode. It had a segment on Weekend Update where Jimmy and Tina yelled at cities that didn't air SNL ("Suck it Des Moines"). It also featured Tracy Morgan's return to SNL and Al Sharpton as "Ryan Fellows".
-
The sketch is called "Brian Fellow's Safari Planet." I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. Stop it.
-
Its not enough to put a funny person on screen and call it a sitcom. How about writing something funny they can say, or do? Just a whacky idea. This show is just god awful not funny. Dad from Friday sings Johnny Mathis. Hi-larious. Ughh.
-
Dec 09, 2003 10:55:48 AM CST
Lay Off Tracy, I Like Him, but after watching the show....
by the founder
he's just not leading man material. Tracy did good work on Martin, and was good sometimes on SNL, but unfortunatly he's better left as a supporting character. I think NBC is trying to hard. They see the success of Bernie Mac on FOX and My Wife & Kids on ABC, and they want to jump on the bandwagon as well as attempt to make NBC more colorful, but sadly they went wrong with Morgan. Maybe another lead like DL Hughly, but been there done that. Well I doubt this show lasts, it's just not worth tuning in to, but Tracy should count himself lucky, because coming from a person who don't watch a lot of tv, it's an accomplishment to get me to tune in, especially on NBC.
-
Dec 09, 2003 11:05:12 AM CST
Sorry to Tracy, but NBC should have given the lead to Katt Willi
by the founder
Katt Williams is funny as hell. I saw him in stand up a couple of times, and he's pretty good. He's the one who should have been heading this show, but since he virtually unknown it's far fetched. This guy could really breathe that 70's era of comedy like Redd Foxx on Sanford and Son. If not anything else I hope Williams's get noticed.
-
if you don't find that shit funny, check your pulse. you may be dead.
-
Dec 10, 2003 3:40:31 AM CST
Er...there's a reason nobody can get straight whether it's "Fell
by josho
...because not even TRACY MORGAN could ever get it straight.
Seriously. Go back and watch a rerun. I have yet to see an episode of SNL in which Tracy Morgan DIDN'T change the name of his character, HIMSELF, at least a couple of times during the sketch.
I also have yet to see an episode of SNL in which Tracy Morgan didn't read every single solitary line straight off the idiot cards. I mean it, man. Even episodes where the guy had ONE FRIGGIN' LINE, he just couldn't MEMORIZE the damn thing like a real PERFORMER.
Hell, he made Melanie Hutsell look like a seasoned professional. -
Dec 11, 2003 5:10:36 PM CST
Note to Tracy Morgan: Here's the script for your project: "JUS
by kenshiro_kane
Word.
-
Got to be the whitest black guy on television.
Boring.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Antepenultimate THRONES!! Lane Pryce Returns To MAD MEN!! Roger Waters On 60 MINUTES!! Plus GIRLS, VEEP, SIMPSONS, BURGERS, KILLING, METALOCALYPSE, SHERLOCK!! THE LAST SUNDAY OF SWEEPS!! -- 102 total posts 95 posts
- Duncan Jones To Tell The Story Of Ian Fleming! -- 64 total posts 64 posts
- SNL Says Goodbye To Kristen Wiig!! -- 56 total posts 56 posts
- Hercules Picks Next Season’s 10 Most Promising New Broadcast Series!! -- 131 total posts 43 posts
- The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day will traumatize you. -- 37 total posts 37 posts
- "Some Men Are Coming To Kill Us. We're Going To Kill Them First." Teaser To SKYFALL! -- 34 total posts 34 posts
- There Can Be Only One... Ryan Reynolds?! -- 404 total posts 30 posts
- Dan Harmon Done As COMMUNITY Showrunner!! -- 148 total posts 21 posts
- Quint thinks John Hillcoat's prohibition-era flick LAWLESS is violently awesome! Cannes 2012! -- 69 total posts 20 posts
- Adrian Hieatt Gives Us His Second Daily Report From KAPOW! Comic Convention in London! The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN! TOTAL RECALL! DC NEW 52! DAVE GIBBONS! And More! -- 18 total posts 18 posts