Joel Keller

Dear Bob, (I can call you Bob, right? I mean, we've never met, but I feel like we can be chummy enough for me to do that... no? Well, Ok, let me try again...) Dear Mr. De Niro, Despite the fact that I haven't seen a movie with you in it since the bitter and boring disappointment that was 'Showtime,' I'm still a huge fan of yours. Sure, you haven't exactly made the smartest career ...

['The Office' - 'China'] Ever finish watching an episode of one of your favorite shows and just shrug your shoulders and say "eh"? That's how I felt this week. It wasn't really objectionable, and there were some good moments, but there really wasn't much that would make me look back and think that this episode was special or memorable in any way. This is actually an improvement on what I was ...

Kevin Bacon is not one of those movie stars that's above doing TV ads for American audiences; he did a really funny "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"-themed ad for Visa in the early '00s and he got repeatedly rejected by Michael Jordan in a Hanes ad. But there, Kevin was playing "famous actor Kevin Bacon." In this new ad for the new Google TV device from Logitech, Bacon takes it one step further, ...

Now that Conan O'Brien is back on the air and is churning out the comedy on basic cable, it's safe to say that the Second Late Night War is effectively over, or at least it's in a cease fire state. After all the recrimination, the back and forth between Jay Leno, NBC, and O'Brien, and the giggling of Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman from the sidelines, the only question left to ask at this point ...

The CBS morning news timeslot reminds me of a highway-side retail location that changes tenants every few years. First it's a clothing store, then a sushi restaurant, then a gym, then a pizzeria. All the plans are ambitious, but nothing ever sticks. So the news that the Eye network is shaking up their 'Early Show' crew, jettisoning Harry Smith, Maggie Rodriguez and Dave Price and installing the ...

['Glee' - 'Special Education'] For all of you 'Glee' fans who have been longing for "classic 'Glee'," tonight's episode was likely one you enjoyed quite a bit. Was it without flaws? No. But this was the closest the show has gotten to the feeling of the show everyone loved at this time a year ago, before Ryan Murphy read the show's press clippings and made 'Glee' into something different than ...

Being the host the Academy Awards is a job that's scrutinized almost as much as being President of the United States. It's a strange notion when you think about it, mainly because the host's job is to do an "opening act," usually involving a musical number or comedic monologue, then basically step out of the way while the presenters and performers traipse across the Kodak Theatre stage and ...

['Modern Family' - 'Mother Tucker'] While the rest of the ABC comedy lineup was celebrating Thanksgiving tonight, in the world of 'Modern Family,' it was just another week. That's yet another sign of a comedy that's knows it's doing well creatively; the writers don't have to pull out a Thanksgiving episode during the second season just because an episode will air right before turkey day. ...

['Glee' - 'Furt'] Tonight's episode was a strange one on a lot of levels. It was largely a music-free episode, and most of the music was backloaded in the second half. We had two characters get married in a near-instant wedding, and another character marry herself -- sorta. And in the only real plot of consequence, we got all of the hand-wringing and machinations, but not as much of the drama ...

This fall has been a bit of a bump in the road for what was supposed to be a comeback of comedy on network television. The crop of sitcoms that bowed in September have been a mixed bag of quality and ratings. 'Mike & Molly' has done well since day one, and it's steadily improving from its fat-joke-laden beginning. '$#*! My Dad Says' may be steadying creatively, but less people are ...