'EMERIL' LANDS WITH, NOT A BAM, BUT A THUD.If Emeril Lagasse Emeril John Lagasse (born October 15 1959, Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author. A regional James Beard Award winner, he is perhaps most notable for his Food Network shows Emeril Live is hot and spicy on cable, then leave it to network TV to make him bland. ``Emeril,'' sadly, comes as previously advertised - a not-very-funny sitcom featuring a guy who doesn't really pretend to act, but since he's surrounded by blustery blus·ter v. blus·tered, blus·ter·ing, blus·ters v.intr. 1. To blow in loud, violent gusts, as the wind during a storm. 2. a. To speak in a loudly arrogant or bullying manner. , cartoonish performances, he actually seems to be subtly underplaying. Tonight's premiere isn't the pilot that had everyone sniggering over the summer. Instead, it's an episode that flogs to death the issue to which test audiences responded in the pilot: female body image and food. Pinched, brittle network executive Trish (Tricia O'Kelley) starts a contest among Food Network programs. Each series must preach low-calorie recipes for a month. Fat - pun pun, use of words, usually humorous, based on (a) the several meanings of one word, (b) a similarity of meaning between words that are pronounced the same, or (c) the difference in meanings between two words pronounced the same and spelled somewhat similarly, e.g. intended - chance for Emeril, who once included in a cookbook a recipe calling for two sticks of butter. The staffs of each show will compete to see who can lose the most weight in that period. Naturally, this provokes Emeril's daffy colleagues, Cass (Lisa Ann Walter) and Melva (Sherri Shepherd Sherri Evonne Shepherd (born on April 22, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American talk show host, comedian and actress. A week or so after the 2007 season premiere, Shepherd was announced as the fifth panelist of ABC's The View. ), into paroxysms of pleasantly plump self-righteousness. ``As long as there is just one person who is willing to stand up and say that civilization cannot survive without smothered smoth·er v. smoth·ered, smoth·er·ing, smoth·ers v.tr. 1. a. To suffocate (another). b. To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion. 2. pork chops, homemade biscuits, rum-raisin ice cream and chocolate pie, then that light shall not live - and I'm going to be that person,'' Melva declares. I played that line over repeatedly and I'm pretty sure it doesn't really make sense. But the studio audience - apparently bribed with a salt lick at every seat - bursts into ecstatic applause anyway. Cass and Melva's message to America would be a healthy one, if they didn't spend the rest of the episode in absolute food worship. They slobber slob·ber v. slob·bered, slob·ber·ing, slob·bers v.intr. 1. To let saliva or liquid spill out from the mouth; drool. 2. with almost erotic intent over a glazed ham (which makes for three in that scene). Robert Urich Robert Urich (December 19, 1946 – April 16, 2002) was an actor, best known for playing private investigators on the television series (1985–1988) and Vega$ (1978–1981). He also starred in numerous other television series over the years including: S.W. shows a similar lack of restraint as a character (introduced with a line that would fail you in Exposition 101 - ``You know, you're my manager,'' Emeril tells him) who blows hard on any subject that might cursorily be broached in his vicinity. With such histrionics from his ``supporting'' cast, Lagasse is threatened to get hip-checked out of his own sitcom. Which in this case really wouldn't be such a bad thing. ``EMERIL'' What: Sitcom about the Food Network's spiciest chef. The stars: Emeril Lagasse, Lisa Ann Walter, Sherri Shepherd, Robert Urich. Where: NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. (Channel 4). When: 8 tonight. Our rating: One and one half stars CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Chef Emeril Lagasse's sitcom debut lacks fresh ingredients. |
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