Tom Comi, Author at Channel Guide Magazine

“Friday Night Lights” is the gift that keeps on giving

February 17, 2011 Tom Comi Comments Off

By Tom Comi Fans of Friday Night Lights have been sad for some time knowing that the final season is wrapping up on NBC this spring. But the recent announcement that cast member Adrianne Palicki will star in a forthcoming remake of Wonder Woman on the same network is just one of many examples of how the actors of the show will be with us for many years to come. Although the program about a high school football team was never a big enough hit to justify another extension, Friday Night Lights always had a loyal following and received critical […]

Billy Ray Cyrus says he regrets “Hannah Montana”

February 15, 2011 Tom Comi Comments Off

By Tom Comi Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana brought smiles to children and parents around the world, but it apparently destroyed the very family that made it so popular. At least that’s the theory of Billy Ray Cyrus, who co-starred in the show with daughter Miley Cyrus and — in a very ironic twist — is best known for the 1982 mega-hit song “Achy Breaky Heart.” It’s hard to believe that a kiddy show full of laughs and music could lead to a topic so heavy, but Billy Ray said the program that premiered in 2006 was the beginning of the […]

“Hawaii Five-0”: Ride the wave

February 14, 2011 Tom Comi Comments Off

By Tom Comi The making of popular TV shows into movies (mostly bad) is nothing new in Hollywood, but it’s not very often that a popular television program like Hawaii Five-0 is recreated decades later for the small screen. And even though that in itself makes the drama unique, it is only a fraction of what really makes it special. Simply put, Hawaii Five-0 (Mondays, 10 pm ET) is one of the most exciting shows on all of television right now, and this is coming from a diehard fan of the original that ran from 1968-1980. Like many people who […]

Plenty of sporting events to fill the NFL void

February 11, 2011 Tom Comi Comments Off

Two days from now is the day unofficially referred to by NFL fans as Black Sunday. After more than five months of watching exhibition games, regular season contests and the playoffs, pro football fans go through withdrawal symptoms that don’t go away until the next season starts in another six months. And with the pending lockout that is threatening to cancel all upcoming games, things could get very serious for the most diehard of fans. And while there is nothing that can replace the NFL, we would like to offer you a temporary cure of sorts by giving you some […]

Fore! Rush Limbaugh is a force on Golf Channel show

February 10, 2011 Tom Comi Comments Off

By Tom Comi Rush Limbaugh has never really been my cup of tea (or is that tea party), more so because of his brashness and arrogance than because of his politics. So you can imagine my dilemma when I heard he was going to be the next pupil on one my favorite shows, The Haney Project on the Golf Channel (Tuesdays, 9 pm ET). The program features Hank Haney – arguably the world’s best golf instructor – tutoring celebrities on their golf game. I loved the first two seasons of the series with NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley and […]

Perry’s new show proves “Friends” cast still has clout

February 9, 2011 Tom Comi Comments Off

By Tom Comi As Matthew Perry’s new comedy series Mr. Sunshine premieres tonight on ABC, it really makes you marvel at how resilient and fortunate he and his fellow castmates from the hit show Friends have been over the years to keep getting work. Most actors from popular sitcoms are typecast and subsequently have trouble finding work. And you need to look no further than the cast of Seinfeld in which stars like Jason Alexander and Michael Richards have struggled to land steady jobs since leaving the show. But with the Friends cast, all of them have been fortunate enough […]

Dana Carvey’s return to “SNL” is anything but special

February 7, 2011 Tom Comi Comments Off

By Tom Comi I’m going to give Lorne Michaels the benefit of the doubt and assume that he never read the fine print in Dana Carvey’s contract almost 20 years ago. What other explanation is there for why Michaels would allow a former cast member with no recent success to host his beloved show? Carvey was funny when he appeared on Saturday Night Live from 1986-93, but he has been out of the spotlight since then with the exception of a few horrible movies (The Master of Disguise) and scattered appearances on the talk-show circuit. And because of that, all […]

Celebrity Super Bowl picks: Pitt or the Pack?

February 4, 2011 Tom Comi Comments Off

Many people get the impression that celebrities are so much different than us regular folk, but the reality is that most of them are very similar to us in terms of what they like to watch on TV — especially when it pertains to the Super Bowl. With that in mind, we decided to scour the Internet, and some of our celebrity interviews, to get a sampling of which team some actors, comedians, athletes, ad execs, magicians and supermodels are pulling for in Sunday’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. Jillian Michaels, fitness trainer, The Biggest Loser: […]

“The Kennedys” finds a new home on ReelzChannel

February 3, 2011 Tom Comi Comments Off

By Tom Comi Perhaps the Kennedy family doesn’t have as much pull as everybody thought. Just last month it was announced by the History Channel that it was pulling the plug on an 8-part series called The Kennedys due to claims of inaccuracy from the family. This week it was made public that the now-controversial series has been picked up by Reelz Channel, a network previously known for airing reruns of Cheers, Becker, NewsRadio and Ally McBeal. Starring Greg Kinnear as JFK and Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy, the series garnered great buzz when it was determined to be a […]

Kathy Griffin puts “D-List” to bed

February 2, 2011 Tom Comi 1

It might be an understatement to say that comedian Kathy Griffin isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but the recent announcement that she will no longer be doing her series My Life on the D-List left me a little sad. And then I couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the irony that a show about a bottom-of-the barrel celebrity would end its run because the celebrity decided it was time. That’s right, this wasn’t Bravo’s call to end the popular reality show; it was all Griffin. “It was a tough, because I think of D-List as pretty much my baby […]