Love the pictures! Thanks for sharing :mrgreen:

You're welcome. :)

Thanks for the pics, Muvidlover. It is a rather funny movie and Ioan's performance is understated and extremely well done, the perfect foil. I drove 2 1/2 hours to see it in the only theater it was playing in the state of Washington. Tomorrow I'm driving over an hour to pick up a DVD. I couldn't find it around here and can't wait any longer.

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Love those pics! Thanks for sharing, Muvidlover.

Yes, thanks, Muddy! Always good to add a new expression to the repetoire!

Good job, Muvid!!!! thanks so much........Mail Carrier, WHERE are you?????????? Any day now! Fishforit, I see what you mean about that expression. In the last pic there's just a hint of HH about the mouth, isn''t there?

Thanks to My Irish Sister. :) The TV Set takes a scathing but funny and smart look at the state of today's primetime programming, the flawed system used to get new shows on the air, and the wide chasm between what's good and what sells. This independent comedy was written and directed by Jake Kasdan, who has worked on four short-lived TV series this decade, most notably the acclaimed "Freaks and Geeks" for Judd Apatow, who produced TV Set as a change of pace from his lucrative newfound niche of racy blockbusters. Kasdan and Apatow have first-hand experience with television injustice and, as such, they bring both realism and vengeance to the proceedings, in addition to the wit that helped make "Freaks and Geeks" the poster child for shows that are too good and smart for network TV. David Duchovny ("The X-Files") plays Mike Klein, the creator and writer of a series called "The Wexler Chronicles" that is among the many being considered by a major network during the busy pilot season. As pitched, "Wexler" is an original half-hour comedy that looks at the life of a young man whose brother has just committed suicide. It may not be utterly brilliant, but Mike believes in it, and apparently so do the network's top executives, the foul-mouthed Lenny (Sigourney Weaver) and recent BBC export Richard McCallister (Ioan Gruffudd, cinema's Mr. Fantastic). The movie opens with the fictional show's casting of two young leads, a task that Mike dreads. It becomes the setting for the first in a series of many compromises that Mike has to make, as he must agree to hiring the excessively broad Zach Harper (Fran Kranz) over his subtle but bearded preferred choice. Many more concessions are in store for the creation, and while Mike is reluctant to give into various demands, he also has to consider the well-beings of a quite pregnant wife (an unrecognizable Justine Bateman, "Family Ties") and young child. Executives and Lenny in particular object to the show's title and, more significantly, the premise's "downer" suicide aspect that has direct origins Mike's in real life. While concerns arise and are filtered through Mike's eager-to-please manager (Judy Greer), production begins on the series' pilot. There is certainly a circus-like atmosphere to the set (which the title references more than the living room fixture), as Zach's performance wavers widely in tone, the series' leading lady (Lindsay Sloane, "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" and Kasdan-directed "Grosse Pointe") fusses over wardrobe selection, an underage actor's limited work hours count down, and director (Willie Garson) and cameraman (M.C. Gainey) have sharply conflicting interests on how to conduct business. Then there are Mike's back pains, which seem amplified by a disastrous shoot that follows a fine rehearsal. Compounding stress even more is a visit from Lenny and other suits that determines the production is to shoot scenes in two ways, in order to decide later which character has died. Various hallmarks of the television industry that are often read about get put on film here, from meetings where advertising and demographic concerns are raised to ridiculous audience market -*test*-('")s to a tense, phony network upfront session. As Mike gets hospitalized and his series' fate remains much in question, one can't help but sympathize with the idealistic writer. It is equally easy to be widely amused by the on-target depiction of a network whose chief dearly values her 14-year-old daughter's frivolous opinions and doesn't think twice about quoting a catch phrase from the channel's hit reality series "Slut Wars" in front of important potential advertisers. By charting the progress of a series that seems too sophisticated for mainstream tastes, The TV Set runs the risk of annoying viewers with what they might perceive as a holier-than-thou attitude. Such a reaction isn't justified, however. The biggest target of its satire is the television industry; its opposition to original ideas, concern for marketability over quality, and acceptance of lowest common denominator thinking are all remarked upon and not in a smarmy or snooty manner. The movie doesn't preach, offer alternatives, or make bitterness its modus operandi. Its primary objective is to entertain viewers with a look at just how humorously nightmarish it can be to get a show, especially an unconventional one, on network airwaves today. The acting in The TV Set is natural and excellent. Duchovny is sympathetic and identifiable as the movie's Apatow-esque point-of-view. Weaver hits the right flashy notes as the realistic, career-driven woman in power who can begin a sentence on family and end it talking about Thursday night's schedule. Kranz and Sloane are fun to watch and believable as the potential stars who are clearly not meant for an off-screen relationship. Greer and Bateman skillfully play the polar opposite women in Mike's life. Perhaps most surprising is Ioan Gruffudd, who gives his character real understated substance while trying to balance a values-challenging career with a relocated wife (Lucy Davis of the UK's "The Office") and son that need him. It's outright baffling that a funny, intelligent film with a recognizable and accomplished cast could play in just nineteen North American theaters and earn just over $250,000 in ticket sales. That's exactly what The TV Set did, while Judd Apatow's subsequent R-rated 2007 comedies (Knocked Up, Superbad) would gross 400 to 600 times as much in about 160 times as many theaters. Of course, those two films were distributed by major studios and had multiplex-filling laughs, whereas TV Set had only young indie company Thinkfilm to distribute and a more intellectual, subdued sense of humor. For DVD release, at least, TV Set has earned the backing of a major studio in 20th Century Fox, who released the movie to disc the same day as another studio's higher profile Apatow project. http://www.ultimatedisney.com/dvdizzy/thetvset-644.html

I couldn't find the DVD at Wal Mart or Target so I ended up renting it from Hollywood Video. Cute movie - Ioan was in it more than I thought he would be. Did a GREAT job of playing the "middle man". Trying to please both sides. David Duchovny and Sigourney were great too. Thought it was funny that his wife's name in the movie was Chloe - which is the same name Alice had in 102 Dalamations. I guess things do come full circle.

Don't know if you have Best Buy in your area Gerdie, but there is where I got mine today. Yeah!

Are we Europeans allowed to seethe with jealousy here? No fair, GG - you've seen the movie and have the DVD! Ought to be a law against it......... :wink:

Same with down here. It's times like these it sucks to live in Australia :wink:

:oops: Should have been Stevie's quote about my having The TV Set not being fair. I'm sorry. :tongue: Does this make up for not getting to see Happy Now or Another Life, two of Ioan's best performances? :roll: No, not really. I do hope they get smart and distribute it in other countries. It probably depends on how it does in the U.S. So, everybody get out there and buy one. Maybe you all can get one over the internet. They were priced at $20 American which is fairly reasonable for a new release. I'll let you know if there is anything good on the special features.