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Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Can a TV show celebrate ethnic pride by promoting racial divisions? Host Jeff Probst defended the controversial premise of the upcoming "Survivor: Cook Islands" (premiering Thursday […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY It's no surprise that Sara Faith Alterman, head writer for ImprovBoston, decided against traditional book readings for her new novel, "Tears of a Class Clown." "Have […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY For guaranteed guffaws at next week's Boston International Comedy and Movie Festival (Sunday through Sept. 16), check out the shows at Emerson College's Cutler Majestic Theatre. […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Celebrity suicides often spur doubting fans to suspectconspiracy. Marilyn Monroe. Elvis. Kurt Cobain. And before all of them, George Reeves, TV's Superman. In "Hollywoodland" (opening Friday), […]

Byline: SEAN L. MCCARTHY Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" might be one of the catchier songs of 2006, but that doesn't mean parents want their kids singing along. Cue The Ninos […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Remember when kids'music was for kidsand Top 10 hits were for the rest of us? "Old MacDonald" has been kicked to the curb. E-I-E-I-UH-OH! Children not […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Road gigs are easier for Josh Blue since NBC crowned him "Last Comic Standing" last month. "I don't really need to explain myself anymore," Blue said. […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The third season of FX's "Rescue Me" ends Tuesday (at 10 p.m.) with a cliffhanger, but Emmy-nominated star Denis Leary isn't going anywhere. Or is he? […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Few impersonators can give the impression that they're actually channeling that other person. Jim Morris can. The Framingham native entered the spotlight with his uncanny Ronald […]

Byline: SEAN L. MCCARTHY DAVE CHAPPELLE At Agganis Arena, Wednesday night. In a green T-shirt and blue jeans, Dave Chappelle moved and talked as carefree as he seemed while organizing […]

Byline: SEAN L. MCCARTHY DAVE CHAPPELLE At Agganis Arena, last night. In a green T-shirt and blue jeans, Dave Chappelle moved and talked as carefree as he seemed while organizing […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Dave Chappelle was too famous for his own good. For almost two decades - Chappelle turns 33 on Thursday and began performing stand-up comedy at 14 […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY No one got to see "Snakes on a Plane" in advance - not even movie critics. Given that New Line Cinema welcomed fan input and shot […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Robert "Bobby" Kelly is taping his first Comedy Central CD this weekend when he comes home to Boston's Comedy Connection. Following in the footsteps of longtime […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The most anticlimactic movie of the summer opens Thursday. New Line won't screen "Snakes on a Plane" for reviewers in advance, but does it matter if […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Most TV networks are high on their programming. To promote its Emmy-nominated comedy about suburban pot smokers, "Weeds," Showtime will roll into Boston next week with […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY On his new HBO special, "Taking You Higher" (airing this month), Cedric the Entertainer boasts his diet is really a "sexy for the summer" program. Will […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY A quarter-century after launching MTV, Les Garland has headed back to the basics once again with The Tube, an all-music-video, all-the-time network that had its Boston […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY A Snoop Dogg caricature leads two women around on leashes, reprimanding his "bitches" and cleaning up after one of them when she relieves herself on the […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Talking about the weather isn't merely small talk or a feature of local TV news. It's the stuff of history. In Laura Lee's new book, "Blame […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Nicolas Cage decided he wanted to do something really heroic after filming the upcoming comic book adaptation "Ghost Rider." Then Cage read the screenplay for "World […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Yes, Oliver Stone has made a 9/11 movie. No, "World Trade Center" (opening Wednesday) does not dabble in conspiracy theories about what happened in the terrorist […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY It's a homecoming for Opie and Anthony. Back on the radio, now back in Boston and Worcester, they're broadcasting live this morning (6 to 9) from […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Dog days of summer got you down? Forget about it for a little while, and instead spend your free time enjoying free stuff in Boston. Movies, […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Thousands of user-submitted videos vie for attention online at YouTube.com. What makes a hit? Let's examine a few recent success stories. ** THE ALL-TIME LEADER: Weighing […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY In "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (opening Friday), Will Ferrell meets his match - onscreen and off - in Sacha Baron Cohen ("Da Ali […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY And now, a few words of wisdom from comedians Gilbert Gottfried and Brian Kiley. Gottfried's transcendant performance at the Hugh Hefner roast just after 9/11 centered […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY From the California Raisins to the Domino's Pizza Noid to the walking and talking M&Ms, Will Vinton's Claymation characters have been TV ad fixtures for decades. […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas were so colorful in their roles as Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs on NBC's "Miami Vice" from 1984 to '89. […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The world debut of a "Star Wars" exhibit was a smash hit earlier this year, but Museum of Science officials believe even more visitors will line […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY "BABYLON BY BUS" By Ray LeMoine and Jeff Neumann, with Donovan Webster (The Penguin Press, $24.95) Grade: C Blundering through the desert, popping Valium and drinking […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Montreal can have its Just For Laughs festival. Boston has plenty of reasons to stay here for laughs. Gary Gulman ("Dane Cook's Tourgasm" and "Last Comic […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY It has been 12 years since we left Dante and Randal outside the Quick Stop at the end of "Clerks." Is it too late to go […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY HOT STOVE, COOL MUSIC With James Taylor, Buffalo Tom, Kay Hanley, Juliana Hatfield, the Click Five and others, at Fenway Park, Wednesday night. Turns out the […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY No matter how many years stand-up comic Bill Burr has lived in New York City, or how far he has traveled, the Boston area remains his […]

Byline: SEAN L. MCCARTHY HOT STOVE, COOL MUSIC With James Taylor, Buffalo Tom, Kay Hanley, Juliana Hatfield, The Click Five and others, at Fenway Park last night. Turns out the […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein has not one but two all-star lineups to follow this week. Pittsburgh hosts Major League Baseball's midseason matchup tonight. Fenway […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY and KATE GIBSON From the rooftops and window sills, Hanover Street residents tossed buckets of water in celebration yesterday, while thousands down below soaked it all […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The World Cup finale today, pitting Italy vs. France, may leave you hard-core, hardball Red Sox fans feeling a bit . . . Swiss. Which side […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY "Mo'Nique's F.A.T. Chance" beauty pageant returns for a second season July 15 on the Oxygen cable channel. But fans who can't wait that long can see […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Life is good for 30-year-old Beacon Hill resident Ruth Lavin. After all, how many people can claim to be the world's greatest backyard athlete? Lavin claimed […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY As a straight man whose ex was (and still is) a model and fashionista, I was prepared to laugh at the silliness of the high-fashion magazine […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY The band Augustana is riding up the VH1 music video charts with its latest single, "Boston." But if you want to truly see Boston in a […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Louis C.K. could handle getting a tough review of his HBO sitcom from the Herald last month. "The Herald is the paper I read," C.K. said […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Alonzo Bodden, reigning "Last Comic Standing" champ, takes a dim view of World Cup soccer. "I actually have a friend from England who calls me with […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY "SUPERMAN RETURNS" Rated PG-13. In IMAX with 3-D at Jordan's Furniture in Natick and Reading. In 2-D everywhere else. Perhaps you've seen the "Superman Returns" trailer […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Who would've guessed a few simple words in the simplest game show imaginable could catapult comedian and actor Howie Mandel back into the spotlight? But the […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Superman may come back to Earth in "Superman Returns," but Marlon Brando comes back from death for his role in the movie. How can that be […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Superman has many powers, but if given the chance to possess one of them, most mere mortals would opt for flying or X-ray vision. As a […]

Byline: SEAN L. McCARTHY Five For Fighting's John Ondrasik wasn't fibbing when he sang "it's not easy" being Superman. Or, for that matter, Batman, Spider-Man or Wolverine. Being a superhero […]