April 30th, 2013 12:36 AM by Gabrielle Moss

Mockumentaries have been around for a long time (at least since 1964′s A Hard Day’s Night) and though they became prominent in film in the 1980s, the 2000s have truly belonged to the this type of TV show.

From full-tilt shows like The Office, to one-off mockumentary episodes of more traditional shows (like this recent episode of Castle), the faux-doc format lets us view a well-known situation with fresh eyes, drawing attention to quirks that get lost to us during long-time fandom, allowing us to see favorite characters in a whole new light.

In the case of “Imi loko ka ‘uhane (Seek Within One’s Soul),” those fresh eyes belonged to Savannah Walker, a half-sweet, half-calculating talk show host expertly portrayed by Aisha Tyler.

Tyler’s Walker was at the center of this week’s episode, grabbing most of the best Hawaii Five-0 quotes and taking up the bulk of the screen time.

Tyler did a knock-out job with the role, crafting Walker into just the right kind of annoyingly intrepid reporter – the mutant offspring of Oprah Winfrey and Gale Weathers from Scream. Her energetic performance and (mostly failed) machinations to get info from the team were at least as captivating for me as the episode’s gory crime (ewww, skinned arm!) or complex motivations (3-D printers have the potential for great evil, people!).

So what did we learn from looking at the world through Savannah’s eyes? We discovered that Bergman has just been waiting for the right opportunity to whip out the hair gel and…was that a cravat? We learned that Kona is awesome at Xbox. We learned that you can say “son of a bitch” on TV.

But most interestingly, we learned that there really is no room for outsiders in the 5-0. Often, mockumentary episode will end with a member of the core cast eventually warming up to and/or breaking down in front of the crew members, letting us see an aspect of their personality they keep closed off from the other characters (yes, it took The Office nine seasons, but it did happen!).

But there was no such last second opening-up here. The 5-0 are a self-contained unit, all of whom would rather do their job in relative anonymity than receive any media glory (well, except for maybe Bergman and that cravat). The greatest insight that this mockumentary yielded is that Chin played the trumpet; but really, its true lesson was that the 5-0 only spill their secrets to each other.

In a season marked by experiments (like viewer-selected endings and retro re-makes), this episode stands out as one of Hawaii Five-0 Season 3‘s most interesting innovations.

April 29th, 2013 8:15 AM by Jim Halterman

While Hawaii Five-0 Fanatics love seeing McGarrett and Danny banter and work each other’s nerves, imagine what their annoyance levels would be if a TV talk show host was suddenly allowed to follow their every move with a camera crew in town.

That’s exactly what goes down on tonight’s installment of the CBS hit, as Aisha Tyler – who knows a thing or two about hosting a show as part of the crew on The Talk - stops by the big island.

I checked in with the busy comedian/host/actress to find out what the experience was like shooting in Hawaii, while also touching on her myriad of other projects…

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TV Fanatic: Tell me who Savannah Walker is. She looks like maybe a send-up of a little of everybody that we see on these on talk shows.
Aisha Tyler: She’s not really based on anyone. She’s a talk show host, kind of charismatic and the idea is that she has this kind of light conversational show and decides to do this in-depth piece on Hawaii Five-0. With an eye towards not an exposé but towards creating something more exciting and more visceral than what she normally does and she end us in the middle of the action and that’s kind of more than she bargained for.

TVF: How does she actually get in with the guys because they’re so protective, but they obviously let her and her crew follow them.
AT: They’re forced to by their bosses. And they don’t really make it easy on her at all.

TVF: Are most of your scenes with Alex and Scott?
AT: No. I have scenes with everyone. They wrote it so I have scene with every single member of the cast. I do spend a bunch of time with Alex and Scott, but also with the entire team as a group, which was really amazing.

 

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to explore Belfast with Joel McHale, Hong Kong with Aziz Ansari, and Paris with Aisha Tyler, you’re in luck. On April 23, Esquire Network debuts The Getaway, a 10-part series from Anthony Bourdain and Zero Point Productions that tails celebrities in their favorite cities. Watch an exclusive preview here.

The CW will bring back the improv comedy series for 10 episodes this summer, network president Mark Pedowitz announced Friday. The Talk‘s Aisha Tyler will host.

This marks The CW’s return to the comedy genre. A premiere date for the series will be announced later.

Based on the U.K. format, which spawned the ABC series led by Drew Carey that lasted eight seasons from 1998-2004,Whose Line Is It Anyway? will feature the return of Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie, who along with a special guest each episode, put their comedic skills to the test through a series of improv games. Prompted by ideas from the studio audience and Tyler, the performers use the information and their imaginations to depict different characters, scenes and perform songs. A winner will be named at the end of each episode.

From Angst Productions and Hat Trick Productions,Whose Line Is It Anyway? is executive produced by Dan Patterson, Mark Leveson, Jimmy Mulville, Stiles and Brady. It was co-created by Patterson and Leveson.

read the entire article here.

The TV star talked to The Root about nerd culture, dealing with bullies and the pursuit of failure.

• By: Genetta M. Adams | Posted: February 28, 2013 at 12:12 AM

Several weeks into Archer‘s fourth season, FX has ordered a 13-episode fifth season of the animated comedy series, created by Adam Reed and Floyd County Prods and executive produced by Reed and Matthew Thompson. The network also announced that Archer will be submitted into the best comedy series Emmy category this year, a transition very few animated series — most recentlyFamily Guy — have made. “Archer is one the very best comedy series on television,” FX’s EVP Nick Grad said. Season 4 of Archer wraps April 11. When notified of the Season 5 pickup, Reed said, “Thank God.” When Reed notified Thompson, Thompson replied, “Called it.”

Archer has posted dramatic ratings growth every year. So far in 2013, it ranks as cable’s No. 2 series in delivery of men 18-34 behind The Walking Dead, and it has ranked as television’s No. 1 program in that demo in the Thursday 10 PM time period in four of the past six weeks (Live+Same Day). Through four episodes this season, Archer is posting gains of +44% in adults 18-34 and +36% in adults 18-49 compared to its Season 3 average. First-run episodes are averaging 2.37 million total viewers, 2.01 million adults 18-49, and 1.41 million adults 18-34 (Live+7). Compared with the first season, Season 4 has increased its audience by +92% in total viewers, +129% in adults 18-34, +159% in men 18-34, +128% in adults 18-49, and +160% in men 18-49 (Live+7). Archer is produced by FX Prods.

January 18, 2013 04:15 PM EST

by Tresa Patterson

 

Hawaii Five-O has certainly been intent on adding flavor to its already sizzling cast of crime fighters on the island for Season 3. So far, faithful fans have already been treated to Victoria’s Secret favorite Behati Prinsloo mixing it up with McGarrett and “Danno,” and Star Trek timeless cast member, George Takei mixing up moonshine and mischief for the team of trouble busters, so why stop inviting friends along for the ride? Today, Daniel Dae Kim, who portrays the intrepid Chin Ho, gave Aisha Tyler of The Talk the official Island welcome as a guest star.

The impromptu ceremony was a total surprise to Tyler, as Kim appeared on the video monitor to announce her entrance into the fraternity of chosen guest stars on the CBS police drama, known for its easy on the eyes good guys, including Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan, and the sexy, sassy Grace Park. “There’s two things we always do to welcome our guests,” Daniel described. “One is ‘Aloha,’” the actor spoke, making the familiar hand gesture, fingers up. “The other is a lei,” he said, holding up a lovely pink lei from a scenic beach, but looking perplexed at how to present it to Tyler, still so far away in the California soundstage where her daytime talk show is filmed. “Does anyone have a lei?” Kim asks, as cohost, Julie Chen, just happens to pop one out, right on cue. She adorns Aisha’s neck, then details that the episode featuring Tyler will air later this season. Will Tyler add some comedic touches to her part, or just her beaming smile? That remains to be seen for now. The outspoken co-host cut her teeth on doing standup, and has won acclaim and awards for her role on FX network’s Archer. She has no problem setting her good girl nature in real life for one more devious on-screen, but so far theHawaii Five-O writing staff are keeping quiet about Tyler’s part. Could she be a funny girl who has a funny way of doing in husbands? That would certainly be different for the devoted wife of 18 years. Only the typewriters will tell!