Day: November 2, 2010

All of the talk overnight of the shortest ever talk-show got people reminding me that someone already has been there and done that, and his name is Barry Sobel. If you need proof, just ask Jimmy Fallon. Don't let the long hair fool you. This fresh-faced kid was turning 22 in 1996 when he appeared on the very first episode of Barry Sobel's three-minute talk show on Comedy Central.  Did we say three minutes? Yes. Three minutes. Take that, Conan's "Show Zero." You can watch the entire debut episode here. Kevin Meaney plays the fictitious head of the network who informs Sobel in his monologue that he'll only be getting three minutes. Fred Willard plays Sobel's sidekick, and Rita Wilson gets honors as his first guest.   In a twist in which everything old is new again, Sobel is developing a new Internet iteration of his three-minute show, with help from Rita Wilson's husband, Tom Hanks! Of course, the relationship between Sobel and Hanks goes all the way back to the 1980s movie about comedians that comedians love to trash talk about, Punchline. Hanks had Sobel write for him and tutor him in the "comedy stylings" of stand-up, as it were. Here's a photo Sobel shared on Facebook from one of the tapings this fall, with musical guest Ben...

You may think that on this Election Day, it's important to ask U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon why she hasn't mentioned that her husband, Vince, is brain-dead in a coma — possibly because he's seeking medical attention from Freddie Prinze Jr. (see the shocking video evidence!) — but something else happened last night on WWE RAW. Pee-wee Herman hosted! He popped up during the show first backstage, in a segment with Mark Henry and the Divas in which they play Twister, and we learn that Mark Henry does not know his right hand from his left hand.   Then Pee-wee took to the ring — RING! — and challenged the Miz, with a little help from his "cousin," The Big Show....