As an ex-GE employee, I usually just watch the show for the occassional and subtle jabs at the company. The 6 sigma lines are spot on what was taught and preached at GE during my years there. While the rest of the show can be a bit lame, I do like the pokes at my former employer.

Please, for the love of merciful God, will those of you who are putting Will Farrell in the same company as Belushi, Ackroyd, Chase, Murphy, Radner, Carvey, Hartman etc. JUST STOP!

Go and rent the SNL compilation DVDs and just...compare. Did Will Ferrell ever do ANYTHING as inspired as Murphy's "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood"? As creative as Belushi's "impression" of Beethoven morphing into Ray Charles?? As hysterically funny as Carvey's "Church Lady"?? I mean, ever??? Hasn't he just been loud and obnoxious, and stuck around and kissed Lorne Michael's ass enough to get cast in film after film owing to the latter's influence in the biz? (which is huge, by the way) Will Ferrell has a big career for the same reason Harry Shearer has a small one - Lorne Michael's influence. Ferrell is his buddy, Shearer is his chief critic. End of story.

Wait, no one really thinks that Heather Havrilesky is racist because she thinks Tyra Banks is ridiculous (she is; I'm one of those lamos who has watched more than one season of ANTM) and Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin are funny, right? Was that a joke?

Since SNL alumni and what movies they've made are a big part of this discussion, I just thought I'd mention that Ackroyd practically BEGGED Eddie Murphy to play the role that went to Ernie Hudson in "Ghostbusters", but Murphy declined. He now regrets that decision.

No, no, Whatevers, the best part is that they complain that I watch ANTM and bitch about Tyra.

You see, what they're doing, reading Heather and bitching about her, is you know, really, really different somehow.

CC

The cool kids are the ones who find ANTM fans on the internet and insult them. Watching Tyra Banks is lame. Making fun of people who watch Tyra Banks on the internet? Way cool.

trt asks: "did Chevy Chase, John Belushi or Dan Aykroyd ever make movies that really lived up to their hyped status as comic geniuses?"

Two of the smartest and funniest movies of all time: "Animal House" and "Caddyshack." Of course, John Belushi and Chevy Chase were not the leads in those, but their supporting roles were perfect.

Other geniuses who came through the SNL machine were Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, Al Franken, Will Ferrell, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler...and never ever ever forget Phil Hartman.

Some people would also include Mike Meyers, David Spade, Dennis Miller, Julia Sweeney, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Harry Shearer...

--dak

fucking fat former model trying desperately to be the replacement for fat, white middle class hausfraus when Oprah retires, if she ever does. No one with an ounce of intelligence watches tyra banks or her shit show. That, in addition to her ass being huge, are 2 very good reasons to ignore the moron. PS: veronica mars is also shit and the idiot actress on it actually thinks she is somebody. The ground is littered with "somebodys" who were 1 shot wonders and never were hired again.

Wow, you caught me. Here I was trying to sneak the obvious lie that reality shows and comedies have different kinds of characters across by using those subtle capital letters, but you jumped right on that one.

Rolled eyes.

Anyhow, I don't hate Tyra, though I don't understand why she can't be a little bit more reasonable with her teenage contestents. Making an African-American girl kiss a guy who says he doesn't like black girls and blaming the girl when the kiss comes out looking funny is unfair, IMHO.

Overall, I really like America's Next Top Model* and yes, was listening one of the thousand times they mentioned that the pictures from each show are viewable on the show's website.

CC

*And Veronica Mars, which means there are TWO shows I really like on the CW, which seems strange to me.

Self-admitted 'gushing' fan letters, typing in ALL CAPS to increase an opinion's truthiness, people who know where to find doctored pics of celebs they say they hate but know a little too much about (I wonder if they can name the Supreme Court Justices...or if they know how many?)...all this in defense of a woman who writes about shitty TV. I guess anyone can pop out of kid...it takes someone with a little more maturity to be a parent.

Is indeed from America's Next Top Model. There was an episode where the models had dress as matadors and pose with a bull. The image of Tyra made up as a bull flashed on the screen near the end. If you go to the CW's site for ANTM and click on "photos" then "photos of Tyra" it's the second image.

And I think that Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey are on a COMEDY show while Tyra is the one who ultimately makes the decision of who gets kicked off a REALITY show make the comparision sort of pointless. Alec and Tina are SUPPOSED to be funny. Tyra is SUPPOSED to be the one people resent.

And FWIW, Tyra IS meaner than she has to be. The example HH cited in the story was good. Also, there was a girl who finished high school early so she could come on the show. That girl was kicked off the night of her high school graduation as her friends were graduating. After being kicked off, the girl, in tears said she wished she hadn't missed her graduation. Tyra gave her a mean little speech about how millions of girls would give up their graduaction to be where the girl who had just lost was.

Would any of you guys have given up your graduation ceremony with your friends to be kicked off a reality show?

Not me.

Continuing in list form, because I enjoy it:

A) If HH's characterization of Banks and lmwilker's comment are accurate, I don't think she needs anyone's help demonizing herself.

B) I think "evil" is a valid subset of "unflattering". I'll take responsibility for introducing that word though, perhaps it was overkill.

C) No, I don't believe in astrology. Yes, I think an article saying that Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin are pretty funny and Tyra Banks is irritating can be written without being an expression of some conscious or unconscious White Agenda.

D) I hope calling me a racist made you feel good, because it sure didn't help your argument.

E) You *did* guess my race and gender correctly. That was pretty awesome.