Top 10: The Best in TV, the Web, Books and Beyond

The Muppets Get Hot Again As Joss Whedon Gets His Dushku On. Why Does Winehouse Flirt With Mice?

Posted Jun 12, 2008 1:00 PM

1. Apatow Pal Wins Muppets; Stoned Nude Fozzie Next?
Sarah Marshall's Segel to boost felt franchise

"To me, Kermit was the original Tom Hanks — the Everyman," says Jason Segel, so awesome (and so full-frontal) in this spring's Forgetting Sarah Marshall. "He really shaped what I wanted to be as an actor." Man, we're feeling you — and we think it's brilliant that the Jim Henson Company tapped Segel to revive Muppet mania. "We are trying to bring the franchise back to the perfect tone they had established in the early Eighties," Segel tells us. "No more Muppets Underwater. . . . This movie is about the Muppets putting on a show to help each other out. Simple and heartfelt . . . I also expect really cool cameos." How are his actors responding? "Both Animal and Gonzo have been very easy. . . . It's Camilla the chicken who is a royal pain in the ass."

Photo: Getty Images

2. Buffy Babe Sips Rupert's Blood
Joss flies to Fox, thrilling nerdy vampires

"Eliza." That's Buffy the Vampire Slayer maestro Joss Whedon's one-word answer for why he's coming back to TV in '09 with a serial called Dollhouse (Google the teaser). "I'm a big Eliza Dushku fan." Ten thousand single bloggers nod silently.

Photo: Getty Images

3. Singer Befriends Rats, Doherty
Wino and Pete's bizarre animal video

Wow, Amy Winehouse. What can we say? One night you're wandering in a bra at 5 a.m. looking for Dunhills, the next you're fondling fetal mice in a video with bowler-hatted human syringe Pete Doherty (YouTube it). It's just like Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Hosted by Sid and Nancy.

4. Nothing "Blisterine" Can't Fix!
Gross-out Seventies stickers in new book

Kids today can buy puke-flavor jelly beans at any drugstore, but back in 1974, when Wacky Packages ruled the candy counter, disgusting was still shocking. The Ice Storm-era relics have been collected in a new book, Wacky Packages (Abrams, $20).

Photo: Universal Pictures

5. Rage-Filled Monster Screws With Hulk
And that's just Ed Norton! But what does the Hulk think?

The Incredible Hulk arrives in theaters on June 13th, and buzz on the film is shaky, after reports that star Ed Norton was in the editing room, fixing the film himself. We went to his co-star to get the truth. Q: Hulk, what's the deal? A: GRRRR! HULK NO HAVE FINAL CUT! HULK WANT DVD RESIDUALS! Q: Hulk, is Ed really editing it? A: GRRRR! ED NORTON GENIUS! HULK LOVE AMERICAN HISTORY X! Q: What's next for Hulk? A: GRRRR! HULK READING FOR THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 3. HULK FINGERS CROSSED!

Photo: Universal Pictures

6. MTV Ships Brats to Third World
No, not The Hills chicks. The other ones

If you saw MTV's My Super Sweet 16 and wanted to show those rich kids that not everyone gets a BMW for their birthday, then you'll love Exiled (August), where the kids are shipped to places like Africa and forced to deal. One tells us, "To get water, you had to walk miles to get a sip!"

Photo: MTV

7. And She Did Write "Divorce Song"
Phair helps Swingtown (CBS, June 5th, 10 p.m.)

When Mike Kelly created a smart new drama about swingin' Seventies suburbanites, he turned to his Illinois schoolmate Liz Phair — who knows something about complicated love — to help write the score. "The show is so damn good," Phair gushes. Host a key party, watch.

Photo: CBS

8. Cranky German's Deep Freeze
Werner Herzog's antarctic masterpiece

Ever seen a sea creature with a worm living in its anus? The amazing new doc Encounters at the End of the World proves these exist near the South Pole. But do not expect fluffy penguins. Says Herzog, "There's a Disney sentimentality about whale-hugging, which I don't like."

Photo: ThinkFilm

9. Turn-ons: Dior, Kathy Griffin
Playboy gets in touch with its gay side

When Playboy announced it would start venturing into gay softcore porn, we had one question: What took you so long, Mr. Bunny? Everything's sorta gay today: ABC prime time, John Mayer, the New York Mets. OK, maybe not the Mets!

10. Boing! Boing! Owww! Bravo!
Why we love trampoline-accident videos

Summer's here: time to go outside, pound a 12-pack of Genesee and watch your cousin Joe try to jump from the garage to the trampo — whoops! Type "trampoline accidents" into YouTube and let the laughs begin! A thousand times better than Speed Racer, at a billionth the price!