In recent days, there has been lots of commentary about why we mourn celebrities. In the case of the late, great Bernie Mac, the answer is obvious: he was funny. With his bug-eyed faces and his blunt, sometimes profane delivery, the Mac Man could make you laugh to tears.
That gift is celebrated in the documentary "I Ain't Scared Of You: A Tribute to Bernie Mac" (10 p.m. Sunday, Comedy Central). As you watch, Mac will make you laugh again, and his tribute might make you a little weepy too.
Comedians make it look so easy, but as revealed on "Talking Funny" (HBO, 9 tonight) there's a sweet science to doing stand-up, and the best comedians have mastered it.
Learning that is one of the pleasures of listening to Ricky Gervais (the executive producer of the show), Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. In the nearly hour-long conversation, the four talk about their craft, revealing the workings of successfully telling a joke, what makes them laugh, and laying out the different approaches each takes in everything from encores to language.
We can't wait for this. A new HBO special in which four of our greatest living comedians -- Ricky Gervais, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Louis C.K. -- sit down to talk about being funny and what makes something funny (or not funny).
'Talking Funny' doesn't air until April 22, and we'll have more about it here before the premiere, but we hate for you to wait that long to get a taste.
Click below to watch clips from the special.
Journalism has taken me many interesting places and so it was 15 years ago in Los Angeles that I ended up at my first hair battle.
Back then, it was a fringe movement, a kind of traveling road show featuring hair of any hue coming down the runway set to music.
It was wild and fun but the creations were still recognizably hair styles.
Not anymore. The fantasy hair design world, as it's now called, is all about creation. These are artistes. The point is to tell a story on the head, through hair.
That's the premise that fuels the cheeky "Hair Battle Spectacular" (Oxygen, 10 tonight), a competition show that brings 10 stylists together and pits them in a series of battles to win $100,000.
Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night (8pm, ABC) - Kimmel's NBA playoff pre-game special features Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, David Spade, and Rob Schneider (from the new movie "Grown Ups"). Game 4 begins at 9pm.
Country Music Television Awards (9pm, CMT) - I missed promoting this yesterday (the Awards show ran last night). But if you also missed it, there's a repeat tonight. Kid Rock hosted and Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, and Toby Keith all performed.
Burn Notice (9pm, USA) - Last week Michael inadvertently burned another spy. This week, he helps that spy, who is being pursued by a drug trafficker with a grudge.
So You Think You Can Dance (9pm, Fox) - The top ten dancers are introduced.
Real Housewives of New York City (9pm, Bravo) - Part one of a two part reunion show. Only watch this if you enjoy seeing grown women scream at each other.
Bethenny Getting Married (10pm, Bravo) - Bethenny Frankel, the most reasonable New York housewife gets her own show. Adrienne says it's a welcome break from the craziness.
Chris Rock was pretty hilarious last night giving Jay Leno a hard time about all the changes at "The Tonight Show," starting with the question of "the redhead guy" who was there last time Rock was a guest. Leno kept trying to change the subject, but Rock was driving that train.
At one point Rock asked Leno, "Did the redhead guy take Kevin?" Leno told him no, Kevin Eubanks was somewhere "working with kids." Rock: "Kids?! Stop it! Y'all done fired Kevin and got a cheaper brother to take his place!"
Is anyone funnier than Chris Rock? Watch the video below:
Three Rivers (8pm, CBS) - An unaired episode from this canceled show (starring Alex O'Loughlin, left) about a team of organ transplant doctors. A bride is gunned down at her wedding, so the team attempts to harvest her lungs for transplant into a college basketball player. Yikes. Did I mention this is canceled?
4TROOPS (8pm, UNC-TV) - A concert from aboard the USS Intrepid in New York City by a singing group made up of U.S. veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Princess of Mars (9pm, Syfy) - An original Syfy movie about an American soldier who is mysteriously transported to Mars during a battle between two alien races. An adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars."
Graham Norton Show (10pm, BBC America) - Graham Norton interviews Chris Rock.
"Tyler Perry's House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns" get a nice companion piece tonight with "Are We There Yet?" (TBS, 9 tonight). And I don't mean that in a good way.
Like the shows it's sandwiched between, "Are We There Yet" offers mildly amusing jokes in a family setting; it's harmless, family friendly and family affirming.
And I didn't laugh out loud once.
Wanda Sykes launched her late night show last night (Fox, 11 pm) and got down to being Wanda right away.
The show played to her strengths with a lot of stand up, giving plenty of opportunity for her in-your-face riffs, taped skits like she used to do on Chris Rock's HBO show, and most effectively, a Chelsea Lately style roundtable.
Burlington native Tequan Richmond is staying pretty busy these days playing Chris Rock's brother in the hit sitcom Everybody Hates Chris (Fridays at 8pm, CW). We caught up with Tequan last weekend when he was in Burlington visiting family, and he talked about what it's like working on the show. Read the N&O story here: Burlington native makes role sweet.
