ericmccormack

In case you haven't heard, there is the possibility of a writers strike in early 2008, and TV networks have started to buy more and more scripts ahead of time just in case.

ABC has Section 8, which is described as being about "everyday people with exceptional neurological abilities recruited to work for a secret branch of a government agency" (again? *sigh*). NBC passed on the show because it was too much like another show they have about ordinary folks with powers (hmmm...The Biggest Loser?)

File this under "Famous Last Words": Eric McCormack told an audience at the Edinburgh International Television festival that the experience of doing Will & Grace was so perfect, that he doesn't think that he's going to do another sitcom again.

Ever.

Uh-huh. Suuure, Eric. You're just coming off a long-running sitcom that, no matter how bad it got over the years, still had a palpable chemistry amongst the cast. You're tired of the grind right now, and you think that you'll never be able to replicate what you had on your old show. You may even be concentrating on working on the stage, which is where you started. But if, after a few years in the relative obscurity of Broadway, NBC or someone else waves a juicy sitcom part under your nose, especially one that's accompanied by pots of money, you don't think you're going to say yes? Let's just say that your mouth shouldn't be writing checks that your "artistic integrity" can't cash, pal.

(S08E23) There are those who are die-hard fans of Will & Grace, which premiered on the NBC schedule back in 1998. Then there are those who despise the show, which is about the relationship between Grace Adler (Debra Messing) and her gay friend Will Truman (Eric McCormack). The fans love the back-and-forth between the two characters and the dynamic of their relationship. Those who hate the show may be uncomfortable with the subject matter (homosexuality) or the cartoon-ish characterizations of Will and Grace's friends Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) and Karen Walker (Megan Mullally ), or the fact that it's just not funny.

I fall under neither category. I liked Will & Grace, but was not a huge fan. I'd watch it if I happened to see something interesting going on, and I'd laugh at a few of the lines (not as heartily as I would laugh during an episode of Scrubs, though). Yet, Jack annoyed me sometimes and the influx of guest stars on the show was somewhat distracting. In fact, over the last few years I didn't really follow it at all.

However, as this would be the last episode of the series, I decided to give it a review. My opinion on the last show of the series? Meh.

NBC has a solid history of confusing and/or misleading previews (check out tonight's West Wing, for example -- and that's all I'll say for now), and the tradition continues in previews for the final episodes of Will and Grace.

The previews all show Will and Grace doing things as a "couple": kissing passionately, Will throwing Grace down on the bed to make love to her, Grace asking Will to be there for her and her baby, and one scene of them walking down the aisle together.

But it's all out of context! The kiss was a kiss of two best friends, the scene with Will and Grace in bed was a flashback to when they dated and he hadn't come out yet, the scene about the baby is Will and Grace discussing her future as a single mom, and the scene of them walking down the aisle? That was the ep where Will gave away Grace at her wedding to Leo!

Of course, maybe it's all misdirection. Maybe the show is going to surprise us all by having Will turn out to be straight (he never can keep a man, can he?), and she and Will get married and live happily ever after! Talk about twist endings.

JustJared has some photos from the filming of the last episode of Will and Grace (no spoilers - it's photos of the cast taking a bow in front of the studio audience). The finale will be 45 minutes long, and the DVD of the finale will actually go on sale a mere 5 days after it is shown on NBC (May 23)!

Talk about quick turnaround.

[via TV Tattle]

Sitcoms Online reports that Eric McCormack of Will and Grace has created a show for Lifetime television called Lovespring International. The series, which is slated for six episodes, will focus on a dating service that alleges to be based in Beverly Hills, but is actually in Tarzana. The staff of the dating service work to convince their clients that their service can find them the perfect match. Actually, isn't that rather similar to UPN's Love Inc? I'd imagine some might make that comparison when the improvised show airs on June 5, but since it's on Lifetime no one will probably see it anyway, so I guess it's a moot point.

These people are starting to make Christians look like they don't have a sense of humor. The same group that yelled and screamed about The Book of Daniel's pill-popping priest who conversed with Jesus is now hollering about Will and Grace. It's not the homosexual characters on the show that they're taking issue with, or the constant feeling-up of characters, or the references to alcoholism and pill-popping. They're all upset over the plans for a Britney Spears cameo in which she plays a Christian chef. They don't like that her character has a cooking segment called Cruci-fixins. The group, called The American Family Association, accuses NBC of mocking Christ's crucifixion and says the network will "further denegrate Christianity" by airing the episode the night before Good Friday. On its website, this group is urging NBC affiliates to boycott the episode, just like it got some affiliates to do for Daniel. NBC has already started back-peddling, saying that the episode isn't even written yet so the name of the cooking segment isn't exactly set in stone.

God, I'd love to see NBC stick to its guns and stay with Cruci-fixins. That's funny, y'all. Plus, it'll probably help the floundering show's ratings as it ends its run on NBC this spring.

In the long line of celebrity guest stars on Will & Grace, I think we've reached rock bottom. No, wait. Rock bottom would be a guest appearance by Kevin Federline.

Federline's better half, Britney Spears, will guest star on the sitcom as it sputters into oblivion this Spring. She will play a conservative Christian chef who has a cooking segment on Jack's talk show. The name of the cooking segment? Cruci-Fixins. Brit Brit gets forced onto Jack's show when a Christian company buys the fictional Out TV network. The guest appearance airs on April 13