It helps for new television shows to hook an audience right out of the gate with their first season, but there are plenty of cases in which that inaugural period is needed to work out some kinks and find an identity. When it comes to NBC sitcoms, shows like "Parks and Recreation" and the American remake of "The Office" had a slow start, only to find its cultural footing in the following season. The same can be said for "Seinfeld," which has gone on to become one of the greatest sitcoms ever made.
Pitched as a show about how a comedian gets their material, series creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld only expanded the scope of this amount of comedic potential with each passing year. By the fourth season, "Seinfeld" was a prime water-cooler phenomenon that you simply had to be caught up on, with many of its jokes being introduced into the cultural lexicon.
Pitched as a show about how a comedian gets their material, series creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld only expanded the scope of this amount of comedic potential with each passing year. By the fourth season, "Seinfeld" was a prime water-cooler phenomenon that you simply had to be caught up on, with many of its jokes being introduced into the cultural lexicon.
- 6/29/2025
- by Quinn Bilodeau
- Slash Film
1973: Nancy Pinkerton debuted as Dorian Lord on One Life to Live.
1978: Dallas' Pam revealed her pregnancy but later lost the baby.
1996: All My Children's Marian played a revealing tape to hurt Tad.
2001: General Hospital's Skye announced she was a Quartermaine."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: On Dark Shadows, Jeff (Roger Davis) dozed off in a chair in the living room of the...
1978: Dallas' Pam revealed her pregnancy but later lost the baby.
1996: All My Children's Marian played a revealing tape to hurt Tad.
2001: General Hospital's Skye announced she was a Quartermaine."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1968: On Dark Shadows, Jeff (Roger Davis) dozed off in a chair in the living room of the...
- 4/30/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Juliette Harrisson Mar 28, 2017
We revisit the 10 most memorable guest performances in The X-Files' long history, from Rhys Darby to Luke Wilson and beyond...
As in our previous features, in this list, we’re celebrating ten of the most effective guest performances in The X-Files over the course of its run – and yes, that includes the 2016 revival series. By ‘guest appearance’ we mean an actor who appeared as a particular character no more than twice over the course of the series (more appearances and it becomes a recurring role). As a result, this list naturally tends towards a celebration of performances during Monster of the Week episodes, since characters taking part in arc plots tend to appear more often. The show has, of course, featured impressive performances from actors in recurring roles as well – but that’s another list for another day!
See related Luc Besson interview: Valerian, sci-fi, Adele...
We revisit the 10 most memorable guest performances in The X-Files' long history, from Rhys Darby to Luke Wilson and beyond...
As in our previous features, in this list, we’re celebrating ten of the most effective guest performances in The X-Files over the course of its run – and yes, that includes the 2016 revival series. By ‘guest appearance’ we mean an actor who appeared as a particular character no more than twice over the course of the series (more appearances and it becomes a recurring role). As a result, this list naturally tends towards a celebration of performances during Monster of the Week episodes, since characters taking part in arc plots tend to appear more often. The show has, of course, featured impressive performances from actors in recurring roles as well – but that’s another list for another day!
See related Luc Besson interview: Valerian, sci-fi, Adele...
- 2/25/2017
- Den of Geek
The Gentleman Bandit
Trying to lure one in with the prospect of watching a criminal-turned-actor playing a bank robber, "The Gentleman Bandit" (aka "Gentleman B".) is a hapless low-budget indie. It will have a rough time conning even a handful of moviegoers into paying to see what amounts to minimal entertainment with nothing to recommend it.
In the millionth cinematic tale of a thief wanting to go straight, "Bandit" opens with an endless MTV-aping credit sequence that sets up the story of Nick (Charlie Mattera), who is betrayed and sent to prison for a significant stretch. When he gets out, he heads for Los Angeles seeking his old girlfriend (Justine Miceli), but she long ago drifted into the arms of Nick's former partner in crime, Manny (Peter Greene).
A moderate sociopath who has married and then split with Nick's former sweetheart, Manny has become a cop and takes a lot of interest in what his old pal is up to. For audience-sympathizing reasons that are hardly ironclad, Nick learns the art of bank-robbing from semi-retired con man Harry (Ed Lauter).
What follows is a muddled, unsatisfying homage to well-behaved rogues who charm the pants off their victims while picking their pockets. One of the chief victims of Nick's polite approach to larceny is Ryan O'Neal as a bank manager. The most abused victims are the viewers, who are given no real romance, danger or excitement to fall back on when Mattera ("Love and Happiness") fails to beguile or even play a coherent character. While the film claims to be based on his real underworld experiences, it has no special insights into the minds of crooks.
Director Jordan Alan ("Kiss and Tell") tries to jolt the film to life with music-fueled montages, but the dialogue and performances are sub-par and one waits in vain for the film to justify its existence.
THE GENTLEMAN BANDIT
Pathfinder Pictures
Director: Jordan Alan
Screenwriters: Charlie Mattera, Mark Petracca
Producers: Douglas Hunter, Fred Joyal, Meta A. Puttkammer
Cinematographer: Jordan Alan
Production designer: Naython Vane
Music: Larry Groupe
Casting: Ferne Cassel, David Glazner
Color/stereo
Cast:
Nick: Charlie Mattera
Maria: Justine Miceli
Harry: Ed Lauter
Manny: Peter Greene
Bank manager: Ryan O'Neal
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
In the millionth cinematic tale of a thief wanting to go straight, "Bandit" opens with an endless MTV-aping credit sequence that sets up the story of Nick (Charlie Mattera), who is betrayed and sent to prison for a significant stretch. When he gets out, he heads for Los Angeles seeking his old girlfriend (Justine Miceli), but she long ago drifted into the arms of Nick's former partner in crime, Manny (Peter Greene).
A moderate sociopath who has married and then split with Nick's former sweetheart, Manny has become a cop and takes a lot of interest in what his old pal is up to. For audience-sympathizing reasons that are hardly ironclad, Nick learns the art of bank-robbing from semi-retired con man Harry (Ed Lauter).
What follows is a muddled, unsatisfying homage to well-behaved rogues who charm the pants off their victims while picking their pockets. One of the chief victims of Nick's polite approach to larceny is Ryan O'Neal as a bank manager. The most abused victims are the viewers, who are given no real romance, danger or excitement to fall back on when Mattera ("Love and Happiness") fails to beguile or even play a coherent character. While the film claims to be based on his real underworld experiences, it has no special insights into the minds of crooks.
Director Jordan Alan ("Kiss and Tell") tries to jolt the film to life with music-fueled montages, but the dialogue and performances are sub-par and one waits in vain for the film to justify its existence.
THE GENTLEMAN BANDIT
Pathfinder Pictures
Director: Jordan Alan
Screenwriters: Charlie Mattera, Mark Petracca
Producers: Douglas Hunter, Fred Joyal, Meta A. Puttkammer
Cinematographer: Jordan Alan
Production designer: Naython Vane
Music: Larry Groupe
Casting: Ferne Cassel, David Glazner
Color/stereo
Cast:
Nick: Charlie Mattera
Maria: Justine Miceli
Harry: Ed Lauter
Manny: Peter Greene
Bank manager: Ryan O'Neal
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 3/21/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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