Comedy

Cartoonist Matt Groening (pronounced GRAY-ning). He's the creator of the Simpsons, the all-too-real cartoon family featured on the Tracy Ullman Show. The Simpsons are starring in their own prime time Christmas special on the Fox network, and starting January 14th, "The Simpsons" will appear as a regular show...the first animated prime time series since "The Flintstones." Matt Groening also draws the comic strip, "Life In Hell," which appears in many alternative and college newspapers.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews three new Christmas specials. He says their irreverent twists on traditional Christmas stories represent a refreshing trend this year away from the flood of "Charlie Brown" type Christmas specials.

Writer Randy Cohen. He's an Emmy award-winning writer for "Late Night With David Letterman." A collection of his pieces, "Diary of a Flying Man," has just been published.

Comedy writer Eddie Gorodetsky. He's written for SCTV, Saturday Night Live, and Late Night with David Letterman. His latest gig is with HBO's newly-launched Comedy Channel, where his job title is "head writer and original programming consultant," but his role is all-encompassing.

Television critic David Bianculli previews the upcoming animation series by cartoonist Matt Groening. It's called "The Simpsons" and begins on January 14th on the Fox Network.

Television critic David Bianculli two Showtime cable specials about the British comedy group, Monthy Python's Flying Circus. The specials are called "Life of Python," and "Twenty Years of Monty Python--Parrot Sketch Not Included." David says they're both fun, but both fall short of telling the full story of the group.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis. She stars in the new thriller, "Blue Steel," as a rookie cop tracking down a serial killer, who turns out to be her lover. Her earlier film roles include "Halloween," "The Fog," "Trading Places," and "A Fish Called Wanda." She also co-stars on the ABC TV series, "Anything But Love."

Television critic David Bianculli previews three new shows, coming up this week on each network. They are: "Bagdad Café," "Equal Justice," and "Carol & Co." (with Carol Burnett).

Comic Mike Myers. He's the newest member of Saturday Night Live, where he's created the characters and sketches for "Wayne's World" and "Sprockets." Myers began his career at Second City in Toronto.

Critic Laurie Stone comments on two newsworthy comedy events from last weekend--comic Andrew Dice Clay's controversial appearance on Saturday Night Live, and the Comedy Relief special on HBO.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews "The Dave Thomas Comedy Show."

Comedian Dave Thomas. Thomas first hit it big as a member of the "SCTV" comedy series. He currently has a summer-replacement comedy variety show on CBS, called "The Dave Thomas Comedy Show."

Actor, writer, and Monthy Python member John Cleese and therapist Robin Skynner. The pair have co-written a new book, "Families and How To Survive Them."

Davidson's act earned him a spot on the sketch comedy show In Living Color, starring the Wayans brothers. He grew up in Washington, DC and began performing at a topless club. Davidson's comedy special will soon air on the Showtime network.

In anticipation of the new season, networks have been trying to one-up with each other with pilots of new shows. TV critic David Bianculli says NBC's Parenthood is the best of the bunch, while Hull High can't compete.

Steve O'Donnell, the head writer for Late Night with David Letterman, writes many of the program's top ten lists. A new book compiles the best of these, called, simply, The Late Night with David Letterman Book of Top Ten Lists.

Television critic David Bianculli previews the CBS comedy-drama, about a local TV news station. He says the well-cast pilot has a purposeful feel reminiscent of Hill Street Blues.

Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson are cast members in the Canadian sketch comedy show, The Kids In The Hall. It's is produced by Lorne Michaels, and often features gender-bending humor.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz tries his hand at television reviewing. He turns to one of his favorite Norman Lear shows from the late 70s, "Fernwood 2-Night," a satirical talk show whose edgy humor still resonates today. It airs nightly on cable TVs Nick-at-Nite.

Grier is a regular cast member of the popular sketch comedy show, which has been hailed as a black alternative to Saturday Night Live.