The Remote Island : George W. Bush

A Late Night Look Back At The Iraqi Shoe Throwing Guy

Olivia Purnell — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Back in December, a 28 year-old Iraqi journalist named Muntazar Al Zaidi threw both his shoes at President George W. Bush, yelling “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” Now he's been sentenced to three years in jail.

Well, sad for him, though we can't help but guess that he'll probably wind up the most popular guy there. So happy for him! He'll make so many friends! And happy for us that we have a reason to look back at the collective shoegasm that Letterman, Leno, and Conan had over the incident, after the jump...

And just for the record: here's the shoe hurling moment that earned a man three years in prison:

Before sentencing, Muntazar said:

“I am innocent. It was a natural reaction to the crimes of the occupation.”

All jokes aside, we concur.

(nytimes.com).

Previously:

Tonight: Jon Stewart Vs. Jim Cramer, Why Our Money's On Jon

One Fan Puts Will Ferrell's Bush To The Test

The Daily Show: George Bush's Psyche Goes Perfectly With a B-52

The Weekly Rewind: Seriously, Is This Election Over Yet?

Ben Kallen — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:30:00 GMT

Nope, not yet! TV's still all about politics -- and, on the other hand, distracting ourselves from politics -- as we'll find out when we recall the highlights of the week.

We watched hot Sarah Palin on SNL, and she was funnier than the average guest host. Coming soon: Ellen Show dancer Barack Obama. Too bad one of these two will be elected soon -- we smell comedy team! (Don't forget to add this guy.)

Opie Cunningham came back through time from 30-plus years ago! (To, um, tell us how to vote today.)

We watched the season premiere of 30 Rock -- before it aired on TV! The Internet is cool.

We heard that someone still doesn't like the looks of Dancing With the Stars' Cheryl Burke. Someone crazy.

...Or else maybe Dancing is cursed.

We set Lance Bass against Joey Fatone, and Dwight against Gareth. Remember, no talking about Fight Club!

We heard that Lindsay Lohan's having problems -- and this time, it's personal.

We saw the new CSI tech naked, which probably means she'll be murdered off soon.

We heard that William Shatner got into a spat with George Takei. Did you know they used to work together?

Just like Desmond, we predicted what's going to happen next on Lost.

We saw a preview of 50 Cent's new show, and it was kind of like business school. Heck, the guy's name is money.

We got mad at Fringe for being too much like other shows, but then realized that without other shows, it wouldn't be about anything.

What the hell, AMC? You say you're bringing back Mad Men, but neither the creator nor the actors have contracts yet? Is that any way to treat the best show on TV?

We wondered why anyone would want to dress like this lady anyway.

More Dexter, yay! More Knight Rider -- huh?

We saw Se cond Becky give a loud kiss-off to Ted on How I Met Your Mother. We love ya, sister, but please do not get back with J.D. on Scrubs.

And we noticed that House and Gray's Anatomy have figured out what we really want in a medical series: girl-on-girl action.

But not this kind.

Previously:
The Weekly Rewind: Everyone's a Comedian

Wake Up And Smile: Will Ferrell Reminds Everyone How Great His Bush Is

Bryan Christian — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:26:00 GMT

PLUS: the make your own Muppet tool that isn't, which Lost star is showing up on Chuck, the guest stars that will get murdered on all those CBS crime shows this November sweeps -- and the Spike Jonze Gap ad that was too weird to be used. And BREAKING: William Shatner is even more of a jerk than we'd realized.

-- Is it cynical to think that Will Ferrell's return to SNL as George Bush had less to do with Jason Sudeikis (the current go-to Bush in the cast) being busy playing Todd Palin and more to do with that whole "bringing my Bush impression to Broadway in January" thing? Well... yeah. Also: who cares? Ferrell's the best Bush impersonator this nation's had -- the only one who's tapped into both the sublime idiocy and also the weird, pitiful self discipline of the man -- and we'll be happy to see it every chance we get between now and January. And then we'll never want to think of who's been running the country the last eight years as long as we Christing live.

-- OK, well, we should hvae seen this one coming. William Shatner was, in fact, invited to the wedding of George Takei. So all that weird angry moaning he's been doing? Hmm... if evil Bill Shatner has facial hair, does balding Bill Shatner signify a complete and total idiot?

-- Normally if there was a "Make Your Own Muppet" tool out there where you can design and order a personalized Muppet, we'd be yammering about it non-stop, showing you our various attempts at bio/felt-engineering and changing our bio pictures to ones made to look like us, blah blah blah, basically we'd drive you nuts about it. Well, good thing for you that the FAO Schwartz Muppet Whatnot Workshop is kind of underwhelming, limiting you to endless variations on the extras from Sesame Street and The Muppet Show that you barely remember and never allowing you to actually make one that looks like someone real, like yourself. Sure, you can do some bobblehead-type level characters, but we tried to make one of us and wound up with a more homuncular version of Don Music. We're, like, 85% sure that we don't like that.

-- Lost's late great Charlie, Dominic Monaghan, will play a remarkably similar character on Chuck: a rock star in the middle of a strange and deadly conspiracy. Monaghan says he took the role because he wanted to work with creator Josh Schwartz; our guess is he's hoping that having basically the same role will give him the same shot with Yvonne Strahovski that he had with Evangeline Lilly.

-- Now that it's handily won the premiere season, CBS has announced its plans for November sweeps. Guest appearances we'll keep an eye out for include The OC's Melinda Clarke returning as that goth-y kinkstress on CSI, Lucy Lawless dropping by CSI: Miami, and Eric Braeden from The Young and the Restless making an appearance on... what? Oh, like you never stay home and watch soaps sometimes?

-- And, because it's Friday, and we'd all like to do this sort off thing now and again, have a look at the funny and mildly unsettling ad that Spike Jonze directed for The Gap, wherein everyone in the world joins in and trashes an outlet of the monolithically powerful hoodie purveyor. That they ultimately rejected, by the way. We're kind of with The Gap on this one, actually. What do you guys think?

Wake Up And Smile: Kids In Douchebag Costumes Are Hysterical

Bryan Christian — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:30:00 GMT

-- Maybe you saw this clip of Bill O'Reilly and Barney Frank going at it over the sub-prime meltdown a few weeks ago? Well, if you haven't, take a look -- and then click through for the Funny or Die version, which we're pretty certain is going to scar its underage co-star for life.

PLUS: the latest on Deadwood's Ian McShane and Brian Cox, Starz's failed new series Crash, Will Ferrell reprising his George Bush impression one final time, is someone leaving The View -- and is it the end for The Hills?

-- A few weeks ago, we got an opportunity to take look at Crash, Starz's new LA-set drama based on the Oscar-winning film of the same name. We took a pass. Apparently, this was a good idea.

-- Elizabeth Hasselbeck is *not* leaving The View, so don't think that Sherri Shepard is gonna have to carry all that show's "weird" on her own.

-- Best way to ring out the Bush Adminstration Mark II? Will Ferrell as W on Broadway.

-- Deadwood fans, good news: Brian Cox and Ian McShane will be together again!

-- Maybe there's a reason for that rumored spinoff of The Hills -- OK Magazine is reporting that OMG srsly no one can stand each other on the original show, like, even more than you know.

Now the Election Belongs to "SNL"

Ben Kallen — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:25:00 GMT

Now that the debates are over and the pundits have had their say, it's time to turn our political process over to the comedians. Tonight we've got possibly all the candidates sharpening their talk-show one-liners, but it's Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers and the rest of the gang at Saturday Night Live who'll be determining what's funny from here on out.

To keep you up to date, here's the latest news from over at 30 Rock:

-- The writers and performers are scrambling like crazy, because this is the first week in which tonight's half-hour episode of Weekend Update Thursdays will be followed by a new SNL this Saturday night.

-- There's still no definitive word as to whether Tina Fey (who's busy with her sitcom) will return as Sarah Palin -- or, for that matter, whether Palin herself will be on the show.

-- W. star Josh Brolin, who's hosting the show on Saturday, is expected to play the president in at least one skit. We don't know where that leaves Jason Sudeikis, but we'd be happy to see a "dueling Bushes" routine.

-- And what about Joe the plumber, the guy John McCain referred to so many times during the debate? One website is suggesting a walk-on by The Shield's equally bald Michael Chiklis, but we have an even better look-alike in mind: Democratic consultant (and former 30 Rock guest star) James Carville.

Previously:
Video Fun: SNL Spoofs Another Debate, and It's Friggin' Hilarious
Tina Fey for President !

The Weekly Rewind: Playing Politics

Ben Kallen — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:50:00 GMT

When did the political process turn into the world's biggest reality show? Now the candidates have become so much a part of our daily entertainment, they might as well be on The Hills. We'll look back at them and much, much more, as we review the many highlights of the week.

We tried to figure out what makes David Spade such a stud with women, but couldn't do it.

We tried to warn 90210 star Shenae Grimes about what happened to former 90210 star Shannen Doherty. And hoped Donnie Wahlberg wouldn't turn into Tara Reid.

We imagined a Kanye West puppet show.

We watched as Robot Chicken spoofed Heroes. Then we watched Heroes, and wondered why Dr. Suresh reminded us of Jeff Goldblum.

We saw what would happen if William Shatner fought himself, and if Mr. Spock faced Dr. Spock. But when the old 90210 fought the new 90210, it was no contest.

We read about how Clay Aiken had come out as Clay Aiken.

We learned a ridiculous amount about '80s teen star Kirk Cameron. Go ahead, ask us anything.

We heard Will Ferrell's response to his fans, and a band's sweet, sweet Lost music, and Idol winner David Cook's retro new single.

We watched the Emmys, then recapped the Emmys, then boasted about predicting many of the winners. We appreciated Josh Groban's weirdly cool theme-song medley, and we really appreciated Mad Men's Christina Hendricks in her Emmy dress. And we enjoyed Jimmy Kimmel's Emmy-related musical number with Salma Hayek, mostly because it involved Salma Hayek.

We enjoyed Bill Clinton on Letterman, then enjoyed Chris Rock making fun of Bill Clinton on Letterman, then enjoyed Dave making fun of John McCain for not going on Letterman. We were dumbfounded by Katie Couric's interview with Sarah Palin, and by a certain phrase describing President Bush. We heard what Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert talk about when they start getting real. We heard the debates over the debate.

,,, And then we read Barack Obama's pep talk from President Bartlet. And then Chris Rock said this, and we were done for the week.

Previously:
The Weekly Rewind: Sex and the Country

The Weekly Rewind: Summer's End

Ben Kallen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:35:00 GMT

Man, what an action-packed few days! We had the Olympics finale, a political convention, the start of a big holiday weekend, and -- most important of all -- the buildup to the new fall TV season. So how 'bout we look back on it all with the highlights of the week:

We counted down the top 10 new shows and the top 10 returning shows for the upcoming season. That's, yes, 20 shows worth watching. We know that some critics are worried about the overall quality of the fall schedule... but, really, if 20 isn't enough for them, they should maybe start thinking about reading more books.

We found 18 "memorable TV moments" that the Emmy people left off their list. And yet they still won't let us present the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy!

We met the new American Idol judge, and she's attractive, articulate and successful. Let's hope she keeps her Coke cup away from Paula.

We watched some hilariously terrible music videos featuring TV stars. If you've ever wondered what the Internet was made for, this is it.

We thought we'd lost Denise Richards, and then we maybe got her back, but then we weren't sure we really wanted her after all. Just like Charlie in that one episode of Two and a Half Men!

We learned that even after all this time, we're still amused by the phrase "Stifler's mom."

We saw Mackenzie Phillips get in trouble with drugs, and David Duchovny get in trouble with sex. Where the hell is Dr. Drew when you need him?

Helloooo, Mr. Phelps! Goodbyyyye, Mr. Bush!

We got ready to spend the waning days of summer with a nice long weekend of TV. Hey, it's our job -- what's your excuse?

Photo: AP

Previously:
The Weekly Rewind: We Want Our Fun TV

Pres. Bush's Beach Volleyball Back-Slap: The Inside Story

Ben Kallen — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:25:00 GMT

Everyone enjoyed the photos like the one above of President George W. Bush clowning around at the Olympics with American beach volleyball champs Kerry Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. (Say what you will about his politics, the guy is as ready for a good time as any president since... well, since his immediate predecessor.)

But as May-Treanor explained when the pair appeared on Late Show With David Letterman last night, that wasn't the first time she had shown him her tattoo. Click here for the clip.

Photo: AP

Previously:

The Weekly Rewind: The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of TV

Bitter Bravo Likely To Ignore "Project Runway" Before It Moves To Lifetime

Bryan Christian — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:30:00 GMT

Don't expect to see Heidi Klum's adorable face in too many teasers on Bravo over the next week, even though Project Runway Season Five premieres next Wednesday. Apparently the brass at Bravo/Universal/NBC/Sheinhardt Wig Company is so peeved that the show is going to Lifetime TV next year that they've taken the Bush Administration-esque approach of barely admitting that that the show exists and then using "secrecy" as their excuse. Good one, guys; that one's working so well for Bushie these days.