When Guest Stars are Signs of Doom or Success

New Girl has been announcing guest stars left and right (Lake Bell, Natasha Lyonne, Katie Cassidy, Justin Long), so what's this mean for the show?  Is it not good enough that it has to rely on guest stars to have viewers from the start?  Let's take a look at how guest stars' roles have been a sign of trying to save a doomed show or of a highly sought after show.

Will & Grace
Classic example of how the show went to hell once Harry Connick, Jr., came on as a recurring character/cast member.  Cher, Ed Burns, Woody Harrelson, Britney Spears, and so many others guested on the later seasons of the show?  How did they snag those folks?  They were probably bribed with a crap ton of money or new cars...because that's what NBC got the cast of Will & Grace, right?  The characters got to be even more caricaturish of themselves.  Karen became a one-dimensional pill-popping boozehound with little to do but one-liners and bitchy remarks.  Her characters growth was quickly retracted with racist remarks to Rosario or heartfelt moments turned to mean jokes for laughs.  Plots became odd, sluggish, and very stale.  Viewership dwindled, so the guest star appearances went through the roof.

Inclusion of Guests: Negative

The Notebooks of Hank Williams

My, my, my.  There's a tear in my beer thinking about this.  Hank's unfinished songs written in various songwriting notebooks left in his car have been kept from prying eyes until now.  The producer Mary Martin gathered Nashville's most celebrated and talented songwriters and asked them to choose a song for the album and finish it, applying their own melodies.  Contributors include Bob Dylan, Jakob Dylan, Patty Loveless, Vince Gill and Rodney Crowell, Hank's descendent Holly Williams, Jack White, Lucinda Williams, Alan Jackson, Norah Jones, Levon Helm, and Sheryl Crow.  I assure you that we'll discover new Hank classics.  Look for The Notebooks of Hank Williams on October 4 on vinyl, CD, and digital release.


The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams EPK from Columbia Records on Vimeo.

The Day Frances Bay Died...

Frances Bay, born January 23, 1919, has died September 17.  The 92-year-old has appeared in films such as Happy Gilmore as Happy's grandma and a slew of TV shows, such as Happy Days (as Grandma) Charmed (as old Phoebe), the marble rye loaf lady on Seinfeld, and The Middle as the family grandmother.  Here's to Frances, everyone's grandmother!  Yeah, I'm drinking at 11 am, so what?

Happy Endings Live Review

The sound was awful, so the online viewers couldn't hear as well, but what I could hear was brilliantly hilarious.  This makes you see the cast as they interact with each other and play off one another's jokes.  They truly do have a comedic rapport that feeds off each other in a very natural and respectful way.  Adam Pally (Max) and Casey Wilson (Penny) were brilliant as hosts, feeding off each other.  Read on for more about it, or simply watch it at yowie.

This Just In: Fred Savage Finds Happy Endings

Director and (former) child actor Fred Savage will reprise his directorial talents on the sophomore season of Happy Endings in the first half of the season.  Not only will he lend his hand to that area, but he'll be in front of the camera as a date for Alex.  Don't read on if you don't want slight spoilers.

Kristen Bell and Justin Long Unsupervised

You guys!  The writers and producers of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Rob Rosell, Scott Marder and David Hornsby are about to bring about havoc yet again.  The show is currently titled Unsupervised, and it's about two teenage boys Gary and Joel, who want to not turn out like their parents, who do not parent them at all.  Essentially they parent themselves and try to do right.  Voices will be from Kristen Bell, Justin Long, Fred Armisen, Romany Malco, Alexa Vega, Rob Rosell, and Sunny stars Kaitlin Olson and David Hornsby.  I expect great things from this show.

Chloe King's Nine Lives Are Used Up

Skyler Samuels

ABC Family has just pulled the plug on the adorably dramatic The Nine Lives of Chloe King, but it's looking to the future with a new show Strut by Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.  Nine Lives followed the trials of The Uniter, Chloe King, who suddenly wakes up (after dying) to find that she revived and has feral powers.  She had to deal with her human life and her Mai life.  Poor Chloe found love on both sides of the fence.  Being fiercely protected by her fellow Mai, she feels caged and has to break rules put on her.  It's nice to see a young independent lady making decisions for the just and good.  Chloe's decisions often put her in danger, but she risks her life to save others or to do what's right.