Things are looking up for some Chicagoans on the boob tube, and for some, the yellow brick road of fame has ended suddenly, let’s recap: more ›

Well, what can we say about “American Idol”? Our Naperville girl Gina Glocksen is hanging in there, good for her. There’s way too much going on around her, she’ll be sticking around for a couple more weeks at least. We think she’s pretty. And a quick note about Sligh, we happened to have liked his rendition of "Endless Love". If the judges don't want potential idols messing with the songs, they should stop telling them... more ›

Now that the Super Bowl is finally over, we can at last turn our attention to things which are truly important ... like The Oscars. Really we wanted to talk to you about this last week, but a hunch told us that it just wouldn't register. The Oscars are now less than three weeks away. Speculation is flying fast and furious. Maureen Ryan at the Trib is whining about how Hollywood "seems to have gone... more ›

In Maureen Ryan’s blog yesterday, she asks whether 24’s newest President, Wayne Palmer, is based on Obama. more ›

Five Second City theaters around the country, including Chicago, will now serve as a comedy testing ground for NBC/Universal TV as part of a two-year deal. NBC writers will be allowed to visit any Second City theater to see performances of scripts they have in development or watch as characters they’ve created get workshopped for the best way to deliver a funny catchphrase that everyone will be sick of in six months. NBC will also... more ›

Apparently, Maureen Ryan isn't the only one who's hating on "Happy Hour," the new Chicago-set sitcom. If you check out TV Death Watch '06 you’ll find that, at the moment, it's the one new show everyone’s betting will get axed the fastest. Having just watched the 2nd episode online we’re eagerly rooting for its demise. Does TV really need another witless show with main characters who are either bland or just plain annoying? It’s the kind of show we’d only watch if it was showing on the plane and we’d read the SkyMall catalog a few times already. There seems to be approximately one genuinely funny joke per commercial break segment. Perhaps there’s a wartime humor-rationing program in place that no one bothered to tell us about. more ›

In the spirit of last night’s Oscars, we present this montage of thoughts: * Forget pimps: it was hard out there for Jon Stewart. Stewart is and was frequently hilarious, but what works on the Daily Show doesn't work for the Oscars. Like most unconventional hosts (Letterman, Chris Rock), Stewart was done in because he was expected to bring his sharp, cutting wit to a venue that doesn't appreciate it. An organization that rolls three... more ›

In one of the biggest upsets at last night’s Grammys, one of Chicago’s most talented artists was robbed of the top honors for his stellar work in the past year. As unbelievable as it might seem, Eddie Blazonczyk’s Versatones didn’t win the Grammy for Best Polka Album. And Kanye West is gonna have a problem too, ya'll. Unlike last year, we chose not to subject ourselves to the Grammy awards so we’ve been catching up... more ›

If you ever doubted how seriously everyone out in L.A. takes the Oscars, look no further than the Oscarbeat blog. more ›