Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever | |
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Genre | Comedy, Entertainment news |
Presented by |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Camera setup | Multiple |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | VH1 |
Release | January 23, 2004 June 12, 2009 | –
Release | January 18, 2013 April 23, 2014 | –
Best Week Ever is an American comedy series created and executive produced for VH1 by Fred Graver. The series, which first aired from January 23, 2004, to June 12, 2009, is a spin-off of the I Love the... series and was renamed Best Week Ever With Paul F. Tompkins in October 2008.[1] In January 2010, it was announced that the show was canceled.[1] On August 3, 2012, VH1 announced the return of Best Week Ever.[2] New weekly episodes began January 18, 2013, but on April 23, 2014, VH1 canceled the series again.[3][4]
Format
Best Week Ever features comedians analyzing the previous week's developments in
Single host
Beginning October 24, 2008, the show adopted a format with a single host who summarized the week's events.[5] The show was renamed Best Week Ever With Paul F. Tompkins. Tompkins introduced topics from behind a podium, summarizing the week's events. Tompkins occasionally threw to panelists (usually Jessica St. Clair, Paul Scheer, Mike Britt, or Doug Benson) who offered their own take on a particular subject. Tompkins, a long-time panelist, had been with the show since its inception.
Weekly format
In both the original and latter format, each week consisted of four main segments and at least one peripheral segment. The first segment had no specific title and featured the biggest news stories of the week. The second segment was "The Sizzler". It featured
Additional programming
The show had
Regular segments
- "Eight Words or Less", Doug Benson reviewed popular movies in eight words or less.
- "Paul F. Tompkins: Celebrity Defender.", In this segment Paul F. Tompkins attempted to comically defend celebrities while they are on trial.
- "Doug Benson: Pop Culture Bachelor", comedian Doug Benson gave roses to events of the week he wanted to see more of, in a similar manner to the ABC show The Bachelor.
- "Blind Item": A panelist offered clues as to the identity of a mystery celebrity, only to give a false answer contradictory to the correct identity.
- "movie trailers.
- "The Express Lane", a quick review of the biggest pop culture stories.
- "Five Good Reasons", coming up with reasons to do one particular unfavorable act, such as voting in the 2004 electionsor see the worst movie of the week.
- "Upgrade/Downgrade", giving a thumbs-up or -down on items in a certain category.
- "What Your Purchases Say About You", decoding the hidden messages in your spending.
- "Idol Worship", a recap of events on American Idol that week.
- "Ask Best Week Ever", a segment in which a man would answer questions from fans.
- "Hot/Not Hot", a summary of three weekly stories; the third was always of an odd theme.
Extended hiatus and cancellation
Normally, Best Week Ever would leave for a summer break during July and August and return in September. New York magazine reported that Best Week Ever was on an extended hiatus until January 2010 and that it would return in the fall with Paul F. Tompkins hosting. However, the staffers feared that the show would never come back.[7] The last episode aired June 12, 2009, with Dan Moschella named as having had the Best Week Ever.[8]
In January 2010, the show's website, BestWeekEver.tv announced the show's cancellation.[1]
Reboot and second cancellation
On August 3, 2012, VH1 announced the return of Best Week Ever.[2] New weekly episodes began January 18, 2013.[3] However, on April 23, 2014, VH1 again canceled the series a second time.[4]
Criticism
The series led to criticism of the people of America. In its recounting of the events of the past week, Best Week Ever had been seen as a sign of the short attention span of millions of Americans. In a 2005 interview on
References
- ^ a b c Harris, Scott. "VH1 Cancels 'Best Week Ever'" Archived 2010-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. Inside TV. January 13, 2010.
- ^ a b Black, Elizabeth. "VH1 Announces The Arrival Of Two Brand New Series Plus The Return Of An Old Favorite" Archived 2012-12-24 at the Wayback Machine. VH1. August 3, 2012.
- ^ a b EW Staff. "Meet the new cast of 'Best Week Ever'" Archived 2013-01-01 at the Wayback Machine. EW. December 28, 2012.
- ^ a b "'Best Week Ever' Cancelled by VH1 (Again)". April 23, 2014. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ Metro Philadelphia "‘Best Week Ever’ gets even better with fresh new host." Patalano, Heidi. Oct. 31, 2008.
- ^ WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON? Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine Dec.12.2008 New York Post. What Do They Have in Common? Only They Would Call '08 'Best Year' Linda Stasi.
- New York Magazine. June 6, 2009.
- YouTube
- ^ Williams Expresses Scorn For BWE Archived October 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "bupipedream.com Best 5 Min Ever". Archived from the original on May 25, 2006.
External links
- Best Week Ever at IMDb
- Best Week Ever on VH1