Image Credit: NBC
After a two-hour extravaganza (Tim Tebow! Magic tricks! Songs!) and the revelation that both Trace Adkins and Penn Jillette can launch semi-successful ice cream flavors and socials, it was time for one last firing and for one of the finalists to emerge victorious in this b-a-n-a-n-a-s season. Spoiler alert: Don’t keep reading if you haven’t watched the All-Star Celebrity Apprentice season finale. My recap will be up at 2 a.m. Update: Here it is!
As you tune in to your favorite TV shows tonight, we think it’s only fair that YOU decide the night’s best sound bite.
After you’ve watched, submit your choice sound bite in the comments section of this post. Did someone say something great on Mad Men or Call the Midwife? What about something from the season finales of The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, or Family Guy? It’s up to you!
Leave a comment with your favorite quote of the evening and the name of the character who said it or vote for someone else’s by hitting “Like” next to their submission.
We’ll highlight the most-voted quote as our Bite of the Night tomorrow morning, and give due praise to the submitter. Don’t be discouraged if your pick doesn’t win — there’s a new batch of TV tomorrow!
Ready, set, go! Let the sound bite hunting commence.
Read more:
Morning Bites
‘The Simpsons’ finale: Seth MacFarlane sings Sinatra, hits on Marge
TV Recaps
Image Credit: HBO
Could the Kingslayer and the Maid of Tarth be on the road to romantic bliss? Those who have read every published word of A Song of Ice and Fire may know the answer — but regardless of whether these two characters will hook up at some point, the Game of Thrones fans at OK Cupid certainly seem to think they should.
Just for fun, the site’s dating gurus calculated the compatibility of three couples who are currently betrothed on the show, as well as Jaime and Brienne (whose relationship is purely platonic…for now). After filling out OK Cupid surveys for each character, the engineers compared questionnaires to figure out which pairs made the most romantic sense. They then shared those results exclusively with EW. The resounding winner: Jaime/Brienne, who are 84 percent compatible, according to OKC’s algorithm.
Image Credit: Dana Edelson/NBC
Last year, Kristen Wiig’s emotional SNL sendoff set a high water mark for cast member farewells. (Compare it to, say, the way Chris Kattan said goodbye with a “terrible re-enactment” of his SNL career during his last show 10 years ago.)
I’d say that mark was met — and possibly exceeded — by the closing sketch of tonight’s show, in which Fred Armisen (as punk rocker Ian Rubbish, first introduced when Vince Vaughn hosted a few weeks ago) sang a sweet original tune filled with simple, evocative lyrics like, “It’s been all right, I’ve had a lovely night.” He was joined onstage by bandmates Derek Gash (Bill Hader, who’s also leaving the show) and Keith Grimshaw (Taran Killam, who’d better not be going anywhere).
While Wiig’s goodbye paid tribute to her as a singular, standout personality, Armisen and Hader’s was more understated. But because Armisen is a chameleon, it’s only fitting that he bid farewell in character — and it was equally fitting to see Hader, the show’s strongest supporting presence (when he’s not playing Stefon), say goodbye while backing up one of his castmates.
Image Credit: Kevin Kane/HBO
It’s always been a great irony of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that induction ceremonies might be the least rock ‘n’ roll thing ever. But Public Enemy, Rush, Heart, Donna Summer, Quincy Jones, Lou Adler, Albert King, and Randy Newman took their spots in the canon last night — the actual ceremony happened at L.A.’s Nokia Theater in April, but HBO didn’t air it until a month later — it was clear that many of them must be big fans of irony.
Randy Newman kicked things off with his anthem “I Love L.A.,” which got the whole crowd of Los Angelenos (including Jack Nicholson) earnestly singing the refrain “We love it!,” even though the song mocks their hometown. Later, Dave Grohl noted that Rush were being honored despite the fact that they’ve always been ignored by the mainstream press, especially Rolling Stone, whose editor in chief, Jann Wenner, co-founded the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. The best moment of the night came when Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson managed to give his entire acceptance speech using only the words “blah blah blah.” Speaking in different intonations and using hand gestures, he was able to convey the whole story of the band, right up to the surprising phone call that informed them that they were being inducted (“Blah BLAH blah?”), and the thanks-to-fans-like-YOU! speech that followed. (“Blah blah BLAH!” he said, pointing at the crowd.) He somehow managed to send up every awards-show speech ever — and maybe the whole Rock and Roll Hall of Fame itself — at the same podium where they’re so revered. If you ask me, that’s just as rock ‘n’ roll as any music that earned a golden statue that night.
Image Credit: BBC America
Spoiler alert! If you haven’t watched the Doctor Who season finale, stop reading now. My recap is over there, but here’s a quick sketch.
Image Credit: Dana Edelson/NBC
There are so many talking points for SNL‘s 38th season finale that I hardly know where to begin! Maybe it’ll help to organize them as a list:
1. Tonight marks Ben Affleck’s fifth time hosting Saturday Night Live, which grants him membership to SNL‘s storied Five-Timers Club. Usually, a moment like this would occasion a big, cameo-stuffed sketch featuring veteran hosts like Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. But SNL just gave us a cameo-stuffed Five Timer’s Club sketch when Justin Timberlake hosted in March — and it’s way too soon to repeat that same conceit. So how will the show acknowledge Affleck’s milestone? Maybe Timberlake will show up to induct him?
2. As you may already know, Stefon’s very first SNL appearance wasn’t a Weekend Update visit. It was this little-remembered sketch from the last time Affleck hosted the show in 2008, which casts Bill Hader and the host as brothers pitching a movie together. (According to the clip, Stefon’s last name is Zolesky — who knew?) This has to mean that Stefon and Affleck’s David are going to appear together again tonight, right?
Image Credit: Chad Batka
Three weeks until the Tony Awards, and the Broadway extensions (i.e. bids for prospective votes) are in full swing. The Trip to Bountiful has announced an extension to Sept. 1, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike has announced it will extend several more weeks to July 28 (as star Sigourney Weaver amusingly pointed out: “the audience’s response is so enthusiastic—and, also, we need the money.”). Billy Crystal warmed the hearts of many by announcing that he will be reviving his Tony-winning solo effort 700 Sundays for a holiday run later this year. And though it’s May, there’s no slowdown for new Off-Broadway offerings, among them a comic take on the Constitution by a former SNL-er and the long-awaited return of one of last season’s most acclaimed new musicals. Click on the links below to read the full reviews: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Zade Rosenthal
Nobody knew anything about Star Trek Into Darkness. The trailers for J.J. Abrams’ reboot-prequel-sequel were filled with mind-blowing images: Spaceships falling to earth! Spock jumping across flying vehicles! Pretty red trees! But besides a boilerplate plot description that read like a Blockbuster Sequel Mad Libs — “personal score to settle,” “epic chess game of life and death,” “sacrifices must be made” — the actual plot of Into Darkness was shrouded in mystery. And nothing was more mysterious than the film’s newest and most glamourous addition: Benedict Cumberbatch, who was playing a character named “John Harrison,” the red herringest of red herring franchise names since “John Blake.” Well, now we finally know the truth. At long last, we can all finally bask in the knowledge that has been kept hidden for so long. SPOILER ALERT from here, because ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to introduce: READ FULL STORY »
Yes, there are still a few season enders to come, but the nomination period for EW.com’s 4th Annual Season Finale Awards has officially begun! Help us celebrate the good and call out the bad by copying and pasting the list of this year’s 20 categories below into a comment and writing in your picks. We’ll take them under advisement when we announce this year’s nominees on May 23 and open the polls for voting. Winners will be announced May 24.
And the categories are… READ FULL STORY »
