Chris Parnell, an alumnus of the UNC School of the Arts, is the main character in this week’s episode of “Archer.”
The bawdy, animated series that airs at 10 p.m. Thursdays on FX is a spoof of spy movies. It mixes office politics and backstabbing with traditional espionage. Parnell provides the voice of Cyril Figgis, the nerdy comptroller at the spy agency ISIS.
Cyril is a supporting character. But he takes center stage in the episode “Tragical History.” Fed up with being a laughingstock at work, Cyril accepts a stranger’s help in staging a computer break-in so he can seem like a hero when he saves the day. But the stranger is actually a master thief.
Parnell received a bachelor’s degree in drama from UNCSA’s School of Drama in 1989. He is best known for his work on “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock,” where he has a recurring role as an incompetent doctor. Since “30 Rock” also airs at 10 p.m. Thursdays, he occasionally has to compete with himself on “Archer.”
The Oscars air tonight on ABC, but my favorite part of the award season is “The Razzies,” the anti-Oscars that make fun of last year’s worst films (www.razzies.com).
The website Hollywood Temp Diaries has created a TV equivalent, “the Bennie Awards,” named for Ben Silverman, a former NBC executive. The second annual Bennie Awards were announced last week. “Winners” included Sarah Palin as worst female in a reality program for “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” which was also named worst reality program; Ryan Seacrest as worst male in a reality program for “American Idol;” and the CW’s “Hellcats” for worst scripted program. To see a complete list, go to www.tempdiaries.com.
The four-episode PBS series “Pioneers of Television: Season 2” that was shown in January and early February comes to DVD on Tuesday, taking viewers behind the scenes with classic TV shows. The episode “Science Fiction” looks at the works of TV series creators Gene Roddenberry (“Star Trek”), Rod Serling (“The Twilight Zone”) and Irwin Allen (“Lost in Space”). “Westerns” looks at the success of such shows as “Maverick,” “The Wild Wild West,” “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke” and “The Big Valley.” “Crime Dramas” includes such shows as “Dragnet,” “The Untouchables,” “I Spy,” “Columbo” and “The Rockford Files.” And the fourth episode, “Local Kids’ TV,” examines the popularity of regional shows aimed at youngsters.
The four episodes are available on individual DVDs for $15 each or together in a boxed set for $25.
Also new on DVD Tuesday: “Murder Investigation Team: Series 1,” a gritty British crime drama that follows a team of London investigators in a similar style to America’s “CSI” shows; “Napoleon and Love,” a 1974 British miniseries about the famous Frenchman’s romantic pursuits, with Ian Holm as Bonaparte and a supporting cast that includes Billie Whitelaw, Peter Bowles and Tim Curry; and the first two seasons of “ReBoot,” a mid-1990s Saturday morning cartoon about people who live in cyberspace that was notable in its day as the first completely computer-animated half-hour TV show.
The animation in “ReBoot” is primitive by modern standards, with gaudy colors and clunky designs, but it still makes for a fun little show. The first two seasons are available in stores bundled together in a four-disc boxed set. Fans who don’t want to wait for the third and fourth seasons to come to stores can buy a “Complete Mainframe Edition” with all four seasons and a companion booklet exclusively at www.shoutfactorystore.com.
tclodfelter@wsjournal.com
(336) 727-7371
Twitter: @tclodfelterwsj
Facebook: /tclodfelterwsj
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement