T.V. Round-Up

.
Over the past few days, it was hard to keep an eye on our regular t.v. viewing, as March Madness was in full swing. And is it just us, or are there more really close games in the first week of the NCAA Tournament than there used to be? Many basketball experts have been saying that there's more parity in college basketball than ever before, and we believe it. In past years of the NCAA tournament, the buzzer beaters didn't occur until the later rounds, now they're happening in the games with the #1 vs. the #16 seeds. And that finish of the Butler-Pittsburgh game was the most bizarre we've ever seen.
.
.
.
Lost in the madness of college basketball was another sports milestone that took place on Sunday. Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in the finals of the Indian Wells championship, which clearly cemented Djokovic's claim as the top player of 2011 and puts him in a great place to challenge for the upcoming French Open. He's already won the Australian Open this season and currently stands at 18-0 for the year. Also, Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the semi-finals, which allowed Djokovic to overtake Federer in the point standings for the #2 world ranking.
.
.
.
But let's get back to real t.v. We were greatly anticipating Kathy Griffin's new Bravo stand-up special, "Kathy Griffin: 50 and Not Pregnant", which premiered last week. But as much as we hate to say it, it was a disappointment. Griffin's delivery is still razor-sharp, but the material in this special was mostly stuff retread from previous specials, and so the jokes sounded stale. At this point, Kathy Griffin bringing up Sarah Palin and Whitney Houston just doesn't have the same punch that it did a few years ago. We love ya, Kathy, but you gotta find some new celebrity targets and some new material.
.

The comedy that definitely did not disappoint was HBO's broadcast of Pee Wee Herman's broadway show, "The Pee Wee Herman Show on Broadway". The broadway show is basically a revisiting of his old Saturday morning show from many years ago, which itself was based on a stage show he performed for many years in L.A. Some have said his material was as stale as Kathy Griffin's, but unlike Griffin's stuff, it's been twenty years since we've seen the Herman man-child in his playhouse. So his material seems fresh again, plus in this most recent show, there seemed to be a few more adult double entendres we don't remember from the past. The show was clever and witty, and we loved it. Our favorite moments included Miss Yvonne's pining for Cowboy Curtis as she applied her make-up, and the death of Sham-Wow. So funny. Looks like we can pull out that Pee Wee Herman Fan Club Membership Card we ordered out of the back of Rolling Stone Magazine in 1982. We're not kidding on that one.
.
But maybe the best t.v. moment of the past few days was on last night's "Celebrity Apprentice" in which Star Jones said she "wasn't going to be the boss any longer", to which Nene told her, "Yes, you will." Nene secretly told the camera that Star is not happy unless she's the boss and telling everyone else what to do. Only moments later, Star was back in front of the ladies being bossy and telling everyone else what to do. Nene was off-camera, laughing her ass off.