Lenny Clarke live at Comix Tonite

At least since the underrated and prematurely cancelled ABC sitcom It's All Relative, I've been a huge fan of comedian and actor Lenny Clarke. This afternoon on "The Frank DeCaro Show" on OutQ (Sirius 109, XM 98), Clarke was hilarious as he discussed his momentous weight loss, and his great work on FX's highly regarded series Rescue Me.

If you didn't catch it, you can hear Clarke again during the rebroadcast of Frank's show, in the 2nd hour -- so I think that would be at 11 PM tonight. But here's the thing -- if you're here in NYC, you can also catch Lenny live, tonight and tomorrow at Comix, the really hip, comfortable club in the Meatpacking District. So for more Lenny tonight, tune in -- or show up!

V is for NoVember

In answer to your question, Philip from Atlanta, from today's Must Hear TV segment on The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius XM OutQ, V is coming to ABC, starting November 3.

According to the network's press release, "'V' is a re-imagining of the 1980s miniseries about the world's first encounter with an alien race. Simultaneously appearing over every major city in the world, the Visitors (or V's) promote a message of peace. Through their generous offer to share advanced technology, the V's build a following that may actually hide a more malevolent agenda, one that twists a very deep component of human nature -- devotion."

The original show's baddies -- led by the vixenish, appropriately named Jane Badler -- were a bunch of rodent-gobbling lizard people covered in fake human skin, here to harvest us for food. And so the series was not, I learned with some disappointment back in 1982, about my strict 8th grade math teacher Mrs. Vastola, as had been widely rumored around Schuyler-Colfax Junior High School in Wayne, NJ.

The cast of this new remake boasts quite a few viewer favorites, including Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell as resistance leader Erica Evans, and Scott Wolf (formerly of Party of Five, and not to be confused his costar from that show, Lost's Matthew Fox -- got that?) as journalist Chad Decker.

I'm excited for the remake -- if only to see the concept executed better this time around. Because let's face it -- if you're around my age, you may have nostalgia for the original, but if you think back on it, it was pretty bad. But meanwhile, these days, remakes of sci-fi -- witness Battlestar Galactica -- are smarter, deeper, and lavished with impressive special effects. So will this new V delve deeper into the allegory of fascism as depicted in our relationship with our new alien overlords?

And more importantly, will Morena Baccarin, as the Visitors' leader Anna, unhinge her jaw a la the original alien baddie Diana to swallow a rat whole? Come to think of it, even if this new V is spectacular, a part of me will always miss the cheesy special effects (and Mrs. Vastola, who turned out to be an amazing teacher.)

PS -- I know she was on Falcon Crest afterwards, but whatever happened to Jane Badler? Anyone?

Better Off Ted returns next week

Fans of Better Off Ted, worry not:  even though it may not have aired tonight as originally scheduled, the show is not gone.  Not for at least one more week, anyway.

The laugh-out-loud comedy -- if you haven't found it yet, I urge you to catch it -- was due to air its sixth episode tonight, but was preempted by President Obama's press conference to mark his first 100 days in office.  (Wow, how I still love typing that phrase:  "President Obama!")

In fact, as is customary, ABC, CBS and NBC all set aside their regularly scheduled programming in tonight's 8PM hour in order to bring us the president's address.  But in a historic -- and troubling -- move, Fox opted not to use its place in the public trust to bring us the words of the leader of the free world, instead thinking we might be better served by an hour of Lie To Me (which really just sounds more like a speech from the previous administration.)

Anyway, the President's speech meant that Better Off Ted will now air its season (and hopefully not series) finale next week.  But it won't be on Wednesday night, which will be reserved for the Scrubs season (and hopefully series) finale.  So mark your calendars and set your DVRs, because next week, Better Off Ted airs on Tuesday night (5/5) instead, at 8:30 PM.

To promote the date and time change, the show's creator Victor Fresco has created a clever commercial parody, along the lines of the fake ads for evil megacorporation Veridian Dynamics which air as part of the show.  Check it out below:

And to learn more about Better Off Ted, listen to The Frank DeCaro Show on OutQ (Sirius satellite radio channel 109 or XM channel 98) tomorrow, Thursday, April 30, at 11AM Eastern/8AM Pacific, for an interview with Ted's delightfully funny female, Andrea Anders.  And to hear series creator Victor Fresco's interview about the show from Frank's show last week, click here.

And check out Better Off Ted.  I guarantee, you'll like it.  Everyone does -- except maybe President Obama?  Otherwise, why would he schedule an address that could harm a fledgling comedy?  Maybe Veridian Dynamics was a big campaign contributor.

Breaking News: Curb Your Enthusiasm to return!

For Jay, who called into my Must Hear TV segment on The Frank DeCaro Show this afternoon, asking about the return of Curb Your Enthusiasm: news hot off the Variety press says that Curb is slated to go back into production in December, to make 10 episodes which will air in 2009.
Click here for the story.

Catch Me on Twist

For an on-air version of Must-Hear TV, catch me in two radio appearances this week:

In my regular Wednesday slot on The Frank DeCaro Show, on Sirius' OutQ station, channel 109. 1:15 PM Eastern, 10:15 AM Pacific!


And this weekend, I'll be talking TV on Twist, the fabulous gay music and entertainment countdown airing on local stations in New York, L.A., Washington, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Albuquerque and Indianapolis. Check their web site, http://www.radiowithatwist.com/ for local stations and showtimes --and other fun goodies from hosts Dennis Hensley, Ben Harvey and Melissa Carter.


See you on the air!

NEW -- "Follow" Must-Hear TV!

As those of you familiar with RSS and Blogger undoubtedly already know, now there are quite a few ways you can keep getting daily helpings of Must-Hear TV dinners, delivered directly to your screen.

1) Near the upper right hand corner of the Must-Hear TV blog, you'll find a box titled Followers of Must-Hear TV. If you're a Blogger member, just click on the "Follow" link, and new posts from Must-Hear TV will be automatically mixed in to the news you receive on Blogger and/or Google Reader.

2) Directly under the Followers box is another way to subscribe to Must-Hear TV. In the box titled Get Blog Feed Subscription, simply click to subscribe to RSS feeds. The cool thing here is, you can also click to have post Comments mixed in to your news as well.

3) And if you'd prefer to receive your Must-Hear TV delivered via email (usually just after midnight), there's a box titled Get Email Subscription to Must-Hear TV where you can type in your email address. You'll be asked to verify a word image, and then will receive an email containing an activation link.

Join me for some daily fun, and let's talk... Must-Hear TV!