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Defamer Presents The 10 Greatest Halloween Specials Of All Time

Seth — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:45:18 EDT

It's just eleven Sarah Palin-glasses-shopping-days 'til Halloween, and in honor of the spookiest night of the year (besides the ones in which Holly Madison attempted to conceive at the *THUNDER CRASH!!!* Playboy mansion), we thought we'd pull together ten of the greatest Halloween-themed TV specials to haunt and delight our distant youths. We think you'll find that all the essentials are there—your Great Pumpkins, your Roseannes, but sifting through the YouTube stacks, we were reminded of some long-forgotten gems:

For example, few of you are probably old enough to remember 1970's The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, starring Uncle Arthur and a galaxy of stars—including Margaret Hamilton in full Wicked Witch of the West garb, Billie "Witchiepoo" Hayes...and KISS, for crying out loud! If that's not enough to make your inner-gay explode and ooze down your insides, we also found a clip from The Halloween That Almost Wasn't, the discoriffic 1979 TV movie starring Judd Hirsch as a Count Dracula hellbent on putting the bite back into the scariest holiday. As always, notable omissions are welcome in the comments...if you dare!!! Ah ah ah ah ah!!!

Previously: The Top 8 Women Who Changed the Face of 'SNL' [Defamer]

The Top 8 Women Who Changed the Face of 'SNL'

Kyle Buchanan — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:44:01 EDT

In honor of Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon, whose poorly-received sitcom Kath & Kim premieres tonight on NBC, we thought it was time to pay tribute to the women who've made the biggest mark on SNL over the years. Whether it's Tina Fey, whose profile has surged since her Sarah Palin guest appearances, or an underrated player like Jan Hooks who shines in late-night SNL reruns, we have a soft spot for the women who've succeeded despite being greatly outnumbered in SNL's heavily male cast and writing room.

Sadly, our list cut off at eight, so the valuable, deadpan Jane Curtain and the acidic Nora Dunn were among the SNL casualties. Other alumnae — like Sarah Silverman and Janeane Garofalo — have had career success despite their ignoble stints on the variety show, and were therefore left out. Enjoy the clip above, then make a passionate case for the ignored Julia Sweeney down below. [SNL]

Defamer Presents The 25 Least Funny People In America

Seth — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:33:04 EDT

In response to EW.com's list of the 25 Funniest People in America (congrats EW columnist Diablo Cody for coming in at #20, just three shy of David Letterman!), we now present Defamer's 25 Least Funny People in America: 25. Dave Morris. 24. Frank Smith. 23. Sheila Condon. 22. Graciela Steckler Crisalle. 21. Don Cooke. 20. Stan Nikal Jr.. 19. Karrie Burge. 18. Dane Cook. 17. Carlos Jimenez. 16. Linda Jaco. 15. Charlie Dupree. 14. Brian Robertson. 13. Margaret Cheney. 12. George Michael. 11. Carl A. Herrin. 10. Vita Houlihan. 9. Diane Menage. 8. Jay Leno. 8. Amy Maeir. 7. Steve Cooper. 6. Brenda Shee. 5. Loretta. 4. Camille Welnitz. 3. John P. Hayes. 2. Rob Schneider. 1. Doug.

The 25 Funniest People in America [EW.com]