Plus, he defined our moral fiber there for a few years. If there was a Will Ferrell Constitution, it would almost exclusively tell us that it’s awesome to yell at helpless dogs, and that you desperately need to get off the damn shed. That was the turn of the century in a nutshell.

Well, thank god, Will Ferrell’s back on Saturday hosting “SNL.” We get a reminder of the good ol’ days, when he could talk about the moon as a food product for five minutes and that would be considered a complete sketch.

In fact, here are our 10 favorite Ferrell sketches of all time. We’re hoping at least six of them make it into this week’s show. And we hope he’ll still be making Elian Gonzalez jokes during Janet Reno’s Dance Party.–Ben Collins

10 – Patio Lovers

Why is it that the only people who regale you with tales of slowly licking tzatziki off their lovah‘s toes under the warm glow of a sultry, Tunisian moon whose beams dance playfully between their four naked thighs as they engage in a passionate lovemaking session under the watchful eyes of a knowing desert wolf are the ones you wouldn’t want to imagine doing it…and frequently English professors, coincidentally? Will knows. -Martin Moakler

9 – Sculpture Class

Students will be tested on their ability to sculpt an effigy of a nude, homeless Will Ferrell in an art class taught by Lucy Lawless, a.k.a Xena: Warrior Princess. How could the scenario not be completely hilarious? In this sketch from 1998, Ferrell offers excessively vivid descriptions of his tragic existence, “You talk about ancient beauty and classical forms, but if you ask me, you wouldn’t recognize a real beauty if it was outside in the parking lot, waiting to give you hepatitis.”

The formless, almost pre-historic man yells as students grimace, “Uh oh, mighty Kong has woken from his slumber!” As in most of Ferrell’s best bits, his hulking presence makes itself known.

In any satire of art world dynamics, it is such a reward when they show you the object itself: Shopping Network style, rotating camera shots depict sculptures of “the thinker” and “the stinker,” against poorly lit velvet. What’s more moving? The art exhibition, or the exhibitionist? You need to see this clip in order to fully appreciate the savage beauty of Will Ferrell. –Lee Foley

8 – Dissing Your Dog

It’s not every day that SNL hits it out of the park with their commercial parodies, but Dissing Your Dog definitely pulled it off by getting Ferrell all mustachioed and passive-aggressive. What starts as a hilarious spoof on pet training tapes quickly turns into an All-Star Will Ferrell performance, as he mercilessly berates his puppy pals into being trained companions.  Not only is this sketch one of the best commercial parodies SNL has done, but it definitely holds its own amongst pet owners everywhere.  To this day I still insult pets with hopes of befriending or training said animal, and I am still in hopes of creating Dissing Your Cat.  ”Remember there’s one thing stronger than a dog’s sense of smell–his sense of irony.”–Gabe Pasillas

7 – The Spartan Cheerleaders

Will Ferrell teamed up with fellow cast member Cheri Oteri to give us one of the most clueless pairs of high school pariahs in TV history. As Craig and Arianna, the unsanctioned Spartan Cheerleaders of East Lake High, they struck a chord with everyone who was ever shunned from the in-crowd — or all crowds, for that matter. The Spartans weren’t exactly “invited” to any of the school sporting events that they so eagerly attended, but they never let that dampen their rabid enthusiasm for all things Spartan.  Dabbing at their perpetually sweaty temples with oversized bath towels, the duo was there to cheer on everyone from the chess team to the school’s ping-pong players. The unsolicited routines often invited derision from athletes and bystanders, including a real Spartan Cheerleader played by Quentin Tarantino. An agitated chess player summed it up by saying, “Do you know how far you’ve fallen when the chess team makes fun of you?”

Adding to the Spartans’ signature awkwardness was how conspicuously gigantic Ferrell was next to tiny Oteri — a disproportion that enabled Oteri to use him as a human jungle gym, spending an exorbitant amount of time clambering in and around his genital area like an excitable spider monkey. I’d rather watch this excessively sweaty, obliviously inappropriate pair over official cheerleaders anytime — if only to feel better about who I was in high school. Go Spartans!–Naivasha Dean

6 – Get Off The Shed

In an economy like this, where it costs twice as much to fill up your gas tank and three times as much to feed your family, when your debt has you debating your existence on this planet, when it sometimes feels like the whole world has gone to Hell, it’s important to remember this one thing:

Get off the shed. I will punch you in the face if you don’t get off the shed. Get off the shed.

Get off the damn shed.–Ben Collins

5 – Inside the Actors Studio

Every once in a while, pop culture gives the world things that are bound to be an SNL sketch. Let’s be real: Some people are just asking for it. When Bravo started airing episodes of James Lipton’s “Inside the Actors Studio”, it was only a matter of time until an SNL player took the classic overly enthusiastic host and turned it into a sketch. Nobody was more fit for the job then Ferrell, as he somewhat flawlessly created words and scenarios to describe shows, guests, and acting abilities that can only be described as “Scrumtralescent!”

After first appearing in 2000, Ferrell continued the Lipton character for years, even using his impersonation on the true “Inside the Actors Studio” where he finally interviewed James Lipton, himself.  Ferrell has also admitted that this impression has inspired other character elements in “Megamind” (as the titular character) and maybe less noticeably as Ron Burgundy in “Anchorman”.  Nevertheless, Will Ferrell will always be known for doing a killer James Lipton, and one can only hope there is a little James Lipton in all Will Ferrell characters to come.–Gabe Pasillas

4 – Janet Reno’s Dance Party

The Nineties were a stressful time, domestically, and an Attorney General needed an escape from the stresses of the David Koreshes, Unabombers and Elián Gonzalezes of the world. Will recognized that he gave Reno an outlet through which she could vicariously use her sweet moves to forget about the worries of the Bubba Administration: a public access dance show! More Wacko than Waco, Ferrell’s Reno wasn’t afraid to tell off teenagers, engage in Battles Royale with the mayor of New York or just show off her beloved D.O.J. (Dances of Janet). -Martin Moakler

3 – Harry Caray: Space, The Infinite Frontier

This skit’s over 15 years old now, so here’s a fun game. Walk up to a 10th grader in the least creepy way you can think of. This task is almost impossible unless you can talk on a super deep, advanced bullshit level about the Hunger Games, so have that info at the ready.

Then say this sentence: “It’s a simple question: Would you eat the moon if it were made of ribs?”

As they wheel you to a nursing home, laugh about how badly these 15-year-olds are missing out.–Ben Collins

2 – More Cowbell

If someone asked me what my version of heaven would be, it would be a crystal clear day on a tropical beach with a margarita in my hand. If option A wasn’t available, then option B would be watching Will Ferrell’s flabby muffin-top mid-section bounce around under a skin-tight polyester lime green shirt while Jimmy Fallon giggles like a school girl in the background to one of my favorite Classic rock tunes: Don’t Fear the Reaper. Perhaps one of the most iconic and memorable SNL skits of Will Ferrell’s career is the Blue Oyster Cult VH1 Behind the Music parody that ran in 2000. The almost unreasonably razor-sharp cast of SNL alums (Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan, Chris Parnell, and Horatio Sanz) accompanied by the undisputed dark comedy cult hero Christopher Walken engendered the kind of on-screen chemistry that comes around once in an, um, “blue oyster” moon.

Determining the success and social impact of an SNL skit is an art that transcends counting tweets and measuring ratings . The skit must first disrupt–then by virtue define–the status quo. So much so that, upon retrospect, the SNL fan must reflect upon their drab pre-cowbell lives and ask themselves, “Did my life even have meaning before Gene Frenkle’s ingenious interpretive cow-bell rhythmical musical masterpiece? What I was thought was color, I now see was only black-and-white”…  Suffice it to say, it can be ascertained that this untouched pinnacle triumph in SNL (& Will Ferrell) history merits no less than a gold medal in the game of “disrupting and redefining” history and pop culture: After the broadcast of this skit on SNL, Blue Oyster Cult fans actually expressed sympathy for the loss of Gene Frenkle, with whom the sketch was dedicated in memoriam – the fictional cow-bell yearning character with whom Will Ferrell was portraying.

I guess the only prescription for these confused fans would be more cowbell.–Brooke Citron

1 – Celebrity Jeopardy

While most kids coveted a spot on Legends of the Hidden Temple, my nerdy tween self desperately wanted to appear on Jeopardy. Every day after my daily dose of Saved by the Bell and Fresh Prince reruns, I’d change the channel to tune into Jeopardy, crossing my fingers that there wouldn’t be a sports category to derail my winning streak. For me, Celebrity Jeopardy was even worse than a board devoted solely to sports. It featured inane categories, confused contestants, and a poor, frustrated Alex Trebek who looked even more tired and strained than my overtaxed teachers.

It’s no surprise that Will Ferrell found fertile comedic ground in Alex’s suffering, and in a rare performance as the straight man to Norm MacDonald’s inspired Burt Reynolds and Darrell Hammond’s unforgettable Sean Connery, perfectly captured the host’s thinly veiled frustration with his special guests. Thanks to Will Ferrell, I went from hoping never to see Celebrity Jeopardy again to crossing my fingers every Saturday night that I’d get to spend some time with Alex and his merry band of idiots who couldn’t name a color that ends in “urple.”–Andrea Marker

There are three things one is never supposed to discuss in polite company: religion, politics and money. Lucky for us, “GCB” isn’t very polite. A sly, sudsy satire of a city with more churches and strip clubs per capita than “anywhere else on Earth,” “GCB” has grown into a funny, worthy successor to genre favorite “Desperate Housewives.” The women of “GCB” are bold, driven and unafraid to speak their minds, so it’s no surprise they called on Sandra Bernhard to guest star on the May 6 season finale as eco-terrorist Debby Horowitz.

Known for her brassy delivery and biting satire, Bernhard started her career in stand-up in the 1970s and has been a TV staple for the past 20 years with recurring roles on “Roseanne” and “The L-Word.” We spoke with her about her time as a GJB on “GCB” (that would be a Good Jewish B—), her love of musical theatre and her thoughts on the way women are currently portrayed on television.

What brought you to “GCB”?
They called and asked me to play this amazing fun character. I play this eco-terrorist who kidnaps the girls in Mexico as they’re trying to break ground for this Christian condo project on sacred land and I put a stop to it. I hold them hostage in this tin shed in the middle of the desert. The writing is just as good as it gets. I love Kristin Chenoweth and the girls and we just had a ball. It’s a really fun character. Tough, tongue-in-cheek, but not over-the-top. I think it’s just another good notch in my belt and in my acting career.

With a name like Debby Horowitz, I’m guessing she’s not a “Good Christian B—”.
No she’s a Jewish eco-terrorist who considers herself to be one-fourth Nahua Native Indian. So that’s a funny little moment between me and Kristin’s character. “Eco-terrorist? Nahua? Debby Horowitz?!” It’s just really funny. They just sort of play on all of the religious stuff and it’s just so fresh and funny and right on.

A lot of the women on the show get to sing. Did you get the opportunity?
No, I didn’t get to sing. We sang in-between takes. I hope I can come back on and sing because I’d love to sing with Kristin.

What were you guys singing between takes?
Some Broadway tunes, which was also my first love. [Kristin is] encouraging me to put some musical stuff in my act, which I actually have now. I do this whole kind of tribute to her in my one woman show. It’s really fun and when she comes to see me I think she’ll get a kick out of it.

What songs will you be singing?
Hello, Dolly! was the show that kind of inspired me to become a performer, so I do a song from Hello, Dolly!. I went to see the show when I was eight years old in Detroit before it came to Broadway with Carol Channing when I was really little. I fell in love with Carol Channing and I just loved the musical. It was so full of life and that was kind of like, Wow, this is what I want to do. I want to be Carol Channing when I grow up.

“GCB” is a show that’s filled with really strong female characters and many critics have actually called this past season of TV “the year of the woman,” mostly due to the influx of shows with the word “girl” in their titles, like “New Girl,” “Two Broke Girls” and now the show “Girls” that’s on HBO. What’s your take?
My take is that it’s woman’s time. There’s always been this misnomer that women can’t be funny and edgy. Also, people like Kristen Wiig and Bridesmaids the movie, I think, opened a lot of doors for women in comedy. I think people can be more outrageous than they’ve ever been before. It’s really time for women to shine and I think people are really into it.

How do you feel the way women are portrayed on female-led shows has changed since your time on “Roseanne”?
I just think anything goes now. It’s been an evolution. It’s kind of a part of the whole feminist movement. It’s the next level of women being able to be totally forthright and outspoken. Certainly people like Roseanne set the tone as a lot my contemporaries have and people that had come before. It’s a path that keeps evolving.

What are some of your must-see TV shows right now?
I love “Modern Family” and obviously I love “GCB.” I really happen to love “Girls,” the new show on HBO. I think it’s brilliant. I watch “Smash” just because I think it’s sort of an interesting take on Broadway musicals. I end up watching some stuff with my daughter that I wouldn’t normally watch on my own like “Glee,” just because I like to monitor that show. There’s so much stuff [on there that are] mixed messages for anybody who’s under 40. So I kind of watch it with her to make sure it’s not too insane. And of course I love “Mad Men.” It’s one of my favorite shows, so I’m glad that’s back right now.

Catch the season one finale of “GCB” on Sunday, May 6, on ABC and Monday, May 7, here on Hulu.

You don’t need us to tell you this, but we’ll say it anyway: John Woo is a badass. Already hailed as a prolific filmmaker (See: The Killer, A Better Tomorrow, and Face/Off) and for orchestrating some of the most intricately stylish bullets-and-blood sequences ever made in film history,  Woo has also ventured into video games (Stranglehold) and graphic novels with 2006’s “Seven Brothers.” The latter has turned into an animated series called “John Woo Presents: 7 Brothers” that’s now available on Hulu in its entirety.

The master of action cinema recently emailed Hulu about his plans to take over the Internet and other future endeavors. For his benefit, we didn’t ask about his widely known predilection for doves. We’re sure he gets that a lot.

How did the story of “7 Brothers” come about?
I remember watching a movie based on a Chinese fable, which I used to read when I was young called “The Ten Brothers.” Each one had special abilities like super eyesight, super hearing, I thought that could be a good basis for this comic book series.

Why were you interested in doing a web series?
I also enjoy exploring new ways to tell a story [and to] find ways to challenge myself.  My first experience with creating content for the Internet was with the BMW short I did several years ago.  Currently I’m producing a live action web series.  So it seemed only natural to find a way to bring the “7 Brothers” comic to the web.

You’re known for riveting, beautifully stylized action sequences. How do you interpret these intense scenes in print versus in film?
I think it’s more freeing in print to visualize fantastic action.  It’s possible in film more than ever before – but it’s much more expensive!

Would you want to work on another graphic novel sometime in the future?
It would be an honor to work on another graphic novel.  I have a few ideas based on properties I am currently working on.  As for “7 Brothers,” we’d love to do a spin-off or possibly produce a feature film based on it.  We’ll just have to see.

Do you have plans to come back to American cinema? There are rumors about potential adaptations of Mighty Mouse and Metroid and a remake of Papillon.
Well, I never left American cinema, really.  I have several projects that have taken several years to develop.  You just never know which projects move faster than others.  Lately, my Chinese projects seemed to outpace my Hollywood ones.  But next year I will be shooting two Hollywood films and two Chinese films right after that.  Ideally, I’d like to go back and forth but sometimes the nature of development can slow the process on one side or the other.  As for the rumors you mention, those were projects we were considering about probably about ten years ago!  Actually, the new ones will all be announced soon…!

Now that you’ve had a successful career in both markets, do you feel more influenced by Hong Kong or Hollywood cinema?
I’m quite influenced by French cinema, Italian cinema – I take inspiration from many places.

There was a recent article about the rise of U.S. and China co-produced films. Based on your experience with Red Cliff, why do you think these collaborations can be successful?
China is a growing market with a changing film industry. It’s an exciting time and place to be a part of.  Also, our world is shrinking… people travel more, live abroad, [and] experience other cultures through media and entertainment more than ever before.  I feel so lucky to be part of this new, unprecedented growth in China as well continue to be a part of all that is special about Hollywood.

The full series of  “John Woo Presents: 7 Brothers” is now available on Hulu. Check it out here.

Hulu already offers some of the finest films in the genre, including Paris is Burning and Frida. These titles were critically acclaimed inside and outside the LGBT community, and both were recognized by GLAAD as award worthy (1992 and 2003 respectively).  Hulu is also currently home to Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom, The Times of Harvey Milk and Queer as Folk. With nearly 100 titles in the new LGBT genre category, the selection on Hulu and Hulu Plus is more robust than ever, featuring content from Wolfe, Here!, TLA and Logo.

Along with the new category heading on the genre page, Hulu offers easy access to its enhanced LGBT content library, including beloved TV shows and movies viewers are passionate about, such as Were The World Mine (winner of 10 audience awards and 11 jury awards), A Marine Story (Outfest’s Audience and Grand Jury winner), Judas Kiss (make sure to watch the end credits), critically acclaimed Latter Days, evergreen title Adam & Steve and the fantastic comedy-parody Another Gay Movie.

It would be remiss not to have strong genre defining titles like the controversial 2010 film Children of God or Plan B, known as a beautiful film that is honest, touching and profound.  Besides the films, we’re adding some episodic programming as well.  The winner of 4 Indie Soap Awards Anyone But Me, a real life look at what it means to be a gay teen.  Behind the Bar, Food Fetish, For and Against and She’s Living for This had their start on the Here! Network and are now new additions to Hulu.

There’s also a lot to look forward to. In May, Boy, from Auraeus Solito will be added to the service. It’s a coming of age love story between a poet and a dancer which Gay.com calls “Unapologetically romantic.” Gay Sex in the ’70s, the documentary that marks “The end of an era. The beginning of a movement,” will also be added to the service. Director Joseph Lovett brings us the story of Gay New York between 1969 and 1981, crafting a story that captures the essence of New York using archival and black and white footage.  Honored that GLAAD has taken the opportunity to lend its support of the new genre addition, Hulu looks forward to expanding its premium LGBT library.

From Hulugans adorned in over-the-top getups at our annual Huluween costume competition, to April Fools’ pranks taken to the extreme – we are “all in”.

This “all-in” attitude is pervasive throughout our company culture and is ingrained in how we innovate on behalf of our viewers, advertisers and content partners.

Today, we’re excited to announce the newest way we are giving 100% with the introduction of our latest ad innovation:  Hulu will now only charge its advertisers based on a 100% completion rate. This is for advertising sold by Hulu’s advertising team, and will apply to both Hulu and Hulu Plus.

Hulu advertisers will not be charged unless their advertisement has been streamed through completion; in other words, an advertisement that has been 100% delivered. There will be no extra cost to Hulu advertisers for this service.

This is an industry first.  We’d like to thank our forward-thinking beta testers at Zenith Media, General Mills, and Horizon Media for their partnership on this initiative.

Implementing 100% completion rate for Hulu advertisers is just another way we are working with the advertiser and viewer community to innovate. In 2007, we launched the Hulu Ad Selector which allows viewers to choose among multiple ads to select the one most relevant to them.  Recently, we introduced Hulu Ad Swap to market, a cutting edge advertising product that allows viewers to substitute out the ad they are watching for one that they feel is more relevant to them. Since the launch of Hulu Ad Swap, we have seen over 9 million substitutions and that number is increasing every day.

The original Hulu service continues to ramp aggressively both in users and content while Hulu Plus, our US subscription service, passed more than 2 million paid subscribers in Q1 of this year. Based on our research, Hulu Plus has achieved 2 million paying subscribers faster than any video subscription service – online or offline – in US history.

On behalf of the Hulu team, thank you to our customers…users, advertisers and content owners alike.

-JP

JP Colaco
SVP Advertising
jp@hulu.com

Like Titanic, American Pie, and Jaleel White, the ‘90s are still back. This time, it’s in the form of James Van Der Beek. This past year the Beek from the Creek has been inescapable: He’s on Funny or Die, was in a Ke$ha video, and is a really popular (vander)meme. Now he’s being James Van Der Beek – a sort of despicable version of James Van Der Beek– on ABC’s new comedy “Don’t Trust the B— in Apt. 23,” which also stars Dreama Walker as a small-town New York City newbie and Krysten Ritter as a delightful sociopath of a roommate.

“Apt. 23” premieres tonight on ABC (We have the first two episodes for free on Hulu, if you just can’t wait). James spoke to us over the phone to talk about his TV resurgence, and we learned all about the degenerate fun he gets into on “Apt 23,” what he thinks Dawson Leery is up to today, and that the real Beek is really nothing like his douche-y persona. (In fact, he’s a proud dad of two and laughs very easily.)

How did you react when you were offered to play James Van Der Beek?
Well, first I heard who was involved. There was Nahnatchka Khan who worked on “American Dad!” and David Hemingson who did “How I Met Your Mother,” then the producers and director of “Modern Family” and I went, “Really?” Then they told me the title of the show was “Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apt 23.” [Laughs.] I thought, “Genius. Where do I sign up?” But then they were like, “Hold on. They want you to play a version of yourself that’s kind of like the Funny or Die videos” and I thought, “Interesting.” So I went in and met with David. We laughed for 45 minutes and he said, “We’ve written you into the script.” I read it and walked away thinking it was far and away the funniest script I had read in years.

How did you start working with Funny or Die?
I had really liked what Funny or Die had been doing so I asked to go and meet with them. I said, “I want to play. What do you got? I’m game for anything.” They pitched some ideas, I liked a bunch of them, and they said we could do three. So we shot three but decided to shoot a mockumentary, so it became four. Then, they started calling every week. [Laughs.]

We here at Hulu love the “Beek Jeans” commercial. We were passing the link around.
[Laughs.] That was Nahnatchka Khan who created the fake JVDB line of supertight, way-too-tight-God-never-intended-to-be-worn jeans. It’s a storyline in an episode. We shot a special promo for the Oscars and right when I was on my way out the door they said, “Oh, we’re going to shoot a Beek Jeans commercial!” And I go, “Really?”  So I had to pull on the pants again. We were making fun of those Calvin Klein commercials so I watched one online, and then just started riffing. [Laughs.]

What was it like wearing those jeans?
[Laughs.] Um…I…well. Uncomfortable.

“Mad Men’s” Sally Draper, Kiernan Shipka, will be a guest star on “Apt 23.” What was that like?
Yeah, I’m a big fan of “Mad Men” and she’s great. She’s just so cool and gets it. She’s so wise beyond her years.  In that episode we do a movie where we take on the one version of a body-swap plot that has never been attempted before: The father/daughter. [Laughs.] So I needed to learn how to be an 11-year-old girl. I asked Kiernan to come over and show me. I imitate her every move. It’s ridiculous.

Tell me about the James Van Der Beek character. I loved Rules of Attraction. I like to think that you’re somewhat channeling Sean Bateman.
I think “Apt 23” me is really a composite of Hollywood actors in general – people I know, people I’ve heard about, and then just whatever our imaginations come up with. We’ve concocted this weird, Frankenstein monster who is incredibly talented but completely self-absorbed.

But he’s highly entertaining.
That’s good!

You’re supposed to be Chloe’s ex-boyfriend, but do you think a more-than-friends relationship will ever be explored?
I love that there’s such an understanding there. It’s like they’re cut from the same cloth. They just get each other. But they both have their sweet sides and really keep each other honest. It’s going to be explored a bit in an episode that’s coming up. Chloe and James apparently made a sex tape back in the day when they were dating. [Laughs.]

You mentioned recently to Entertainment Weekly about a “Dawson’s Creek” reunion. What do you think Dawson Leery is doing in 2012?
Oh god, I have no idea. I really have no idea. Somebody asked me the other day to write a letter to Dawson. I was like, “Uh… Oh, hey! I’m sorry that I haven’t been in touch lately.” I couldn’t think of what he would be doing. I haven’t even thought of him in so long. Did he go the dark Hollywood route? Is he making movies produced by Spielberg? I have no idea. I would probably not write this reunion.

If you decided not to play James Van Der Beek, who would you have wanted to play you?
Don Cheadle.

James, Krysten and Dreama are live-tweeting during the ABC premiere tonight at 9:30, in case you’re up for hilarious commentary while you watch the pilot episode.

Related: Our interview with “Apt. 23′s” Dreama Walker

Dreama Walker has come a long way from busing trays at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Times Square.  With guest stints on “Law & Order” and a recurring role on “Gossip Girl” as Blair’s frenemy Hazel Williams, Dreama has conquered fictional New York and is now the star of ABC’s biting new comedy, “Don’t Trust the B— in Apt. 23.”  Tapping into everyone’s worst nightmare about finding a roommate on Craigslist, Dreama’s June moves in with Chloe, a woman whose welcoming grin and perfect apartment belie the fact that she’s actually a con artist more interested in stealing June’s money than becoming best friends.

We talked with Dreama about her favorite moments working with “Breaking Bad’s” Krysten Ritter (Chloe) and “Dawson’s Creek’s” James Van Der Beek (playing a version of himself that is probably best friends with Harold & Kumar’s Neil Patrick Harris), breaking into the industry, and of course, Capeside. “Apt. 23” debuts tonight on ABC and sneak peeks of episodes 1 and 2 are currently available on Hulu.

The interview contains light spoilers, so if you haven’t watched Episode 2, tread lightly.

What has been your favorite episode so far?
I think my favorite episode is actually this one called “Shitagi Nashi.” That’s Japanese for tall slut, no panties.  [Literal translation: Without Underwear.] Chloe’s character has a comic book [made] after her. I get alcohol poisoning in it, I’m wheeled in on a gurney and I can’t drink with Chloe anymore.  I can’t give away too much, but everything about the episode is hilarious and it was so fun to shoot.  I got to have crazy hair and eye makeup everywhere and be really sick.

So would you say that Chloe is starting to rub off on June?
Absolutely. Chloe rubs off on June and June rubs off on Chloe. It just goes back and forth all over the place.

How has June changed from the beginning of the show?
There’s a definite evolution that I think happens to everyone when they move to New York City.  They start off being like, oh, this is such an amazing city and it’s so great and everything’s going to fall into place and be so easy!  And then it’s not.  And then you’re kind of like, I don’t like this place at all.  You know what, I’m going to slap a cab and say move out of my way.  And then you turn into this kind of jaded sort of person.  Then after some time you turn into somebody [in which] things kind of work out for and you learn to have a good head on your shoulders and be sensible and reasonable about things.

Was that your experience breaking into the industry?
I moved to New York when I was 17.  I had no idea what I was doing.  I got hired as a hostess at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. [I] was actually demoted to a busboy and fell carrying a large tray of glasses and was almost fired while wearing a hat with a shrimp on it.  Not a good time in my life.

In real life, would you rather hang out with June or Chloe?
That’s a good question.  I feel like I would want to hang out with June for a little while, because she’s obviously very good at cooking and baking and she’s very domestic and takes care of her friends.  She’s very selfless.  But at the same time I would totally want to party with Chloe, because she’d get into the best places and she would do crazy things and I’d love to watch that happen.  So probably both.  One during the day or one during meal time, and then one for party time.

On the show you’ve already hooked up with Chloe’s dad.  How about [Chloe’s best friend] James Van Der Beek?  Is that in June’s future?
You know, it’s funny, the relationship really evolves.  You’ll see, it’s pretty funny, but in the first couple of episodes she’s definitely star struck and she’s definitely like, oh wow, the sun, moon and stars. But further on in the season he becomes more of a real person to her and she kind of sees him for all of his faults and his flaws.  At one point she kind of looks at him and she’s like, I used to have a poster of you. So their relationship changes a lot, but for the most part they’re just going to stay friends. Unless June has some wild fantasy, of course.

Growing up were you Team Dawson or Team Pacey?
This is really embarrassing, but I actually wasn’t allowed to watch “Dawson’s Creek.” But had I been, I totally would have been Team Dawson because of those blonde flowing locks. And it’s James Van Der Beek.

Why weren’t you allowed to watch Dawson’s Creek?
My mom was super strict about that stuff. I wasn’t allowed to watch “The Simpsons.” I was slightly sheltered in that sense.  But it’s good, because I only know James as my James. I don’t know James as Dawson at all.  I think it would be really weird to go back and watch it now.  I’m just going to keep him as my James.

So I’m guessing you wouldn’t have been allowed to watch “Apt 23” then?
You know, it’s funny. I actually think most of the jokes would have gone over my head and perhaps even my mother’s head, so I think it would have been okay, surprisingly. I don’t think she would have gotten some of the sexually explicit references.

Related: Our interview with “Apt. 23′s” James Van Der Beek

Now he’s back where he feels most at home — on primetime, and in the headlines. He’s traded in those suspenders for an assortment of rhinestone-embellished suit jackets, and he is single-mindedly focused on winning this season of Dancing With The Stars (DWTS), no matter how many times people might still call in to vote for “Urkel.”

About the unparalleled standard of dancing on DWTS this season, and how the stiff competition is affecting him.

I work seven days a week. I dance for, like, five hours a day. When I’m not doing that, I’m acting. When I’m not doing that, I’m being a father. This is an incredible gauntlet to run. I don’t know when Dancing With the Stars turned into the Hunger Games, but that’s what it feels like.

On how life has changed since signing up with DWTS.

I don’t have a life right now! I don’t. When I’m done with this interview I’m going to run upstairs, eat some breakfast, then I’m going to jet off to my costume stage, then right to the rehearsal hall, and I won’t get home until 9 or 10 o’clock tonight. My body’s all beat up. My toes feel like they’ve been beat off by a mallet.

On how it feels to be reunited with fellow contestant Gladys Knight, who played his mom on “Charlie & Co.” in one of his first TV roles.

That’s one of the things that make me feel that I was supposed to do this. This feels like full-circle in my career. She played my mom when I was 9 years old, and now we’re reunited 26 years later, competing against each other on a dancing show on primetime television. It makes me proud to know her, because obviously she’s a showbiz icon. It also makes me proud of myself, because it helps me realize I’ve had a genuine career.

On what theme he’d pick if he were in charge of DWTS for a week.

I would make everybody dance to old, famous TV show songs — and channel the characters! I think that would be pretty cool.

On what show he’d like to guest-star on next.

I currently guest star pretty frequently on Psych. I love those guys, so I’m not going to give anybody more props than the people who have already hired me. I’d like to do another episode of Psych!

On his industry role models.
Joel Zwick is my mentor — the director of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I look up to him. Obviously, I have people that I admire. I used to play basketball with George Clooney. I tend to be pretty under the radar, and I appreciate the singular performance more than I appreciate any one person. Like Dominic Cooper in “The Devil’s Double.” I thought that performance was just ridiculous and amazing. I can become somebody’s biggest fan at any moment just by watching their one greatest film. And obviously, Denzel Washington’s somebody I grew up with and I continue to watch today.

On plans for the future.

At this point, I’m going with the wind. 20 months ago, my manager set me on a course of doing things that are completely outside my wheelhouse. I’m the host of a game show that started on SyFy called Total Blackout, which is a lot of fun — I never thought I’d be a game show host. I never thought I’d be on Dancing With The Stars. So right now I’m going with it. Everybody still knows I’ve got my comedic chops, and we’ll just see what the future holds.

On Jack Donaghy mentioning him on 30 Rock.

“…And I’ve met Jaleel White. Incredibly charismatic. He makes Stephan Urkell look like Steve Urkel.”

Oh yeah. I had three friends e-mail that to me. It was great.

Yesterday, I called Adam Pally, who’s Max on the show, “America’s husband.”

Talking like this would be a real issue—one that should land me on one of those shows that Dr. Drew hosts that airs late at night—if I didn’t love Happy Endings so much. Because calling Max “America’s most suitable domestic partner” is exactly something that would be said on this show.

You end up talking like Max and Dave and Jane and Brad and Alex and Penny. It’s just how it goes.

It’s the season finale tonight. It’ll get picked up. It has the most heavenly of timeslots. It follows Modern Family, which is like batting behind Albert Pujols or being the shy, fat kid in a boy band.

But you should watch the show anyway. You won’t be saving the world by checking it out tonight at 9:30 ET/PT on ABC or tomorrow on Hulu. But you will enjoy the hell out of the whole experience.

Back to Adam Pally, “America’s Husband.”

He’s a friend’s boyfriend who always has the funniest thing to say—who always inches the conversation to the raunchiest place possible. That friend pretends to be sick of his s–t but she secretly likes him more because of it. He’ll hand you a beer at a party before you ask for it, then he’ll introduce you to the hot girl in the corner by intentionally tripping over some wiring.

Of course, there’s that tremendous last wrinkle on the show—that Max has a boyfriend, not a girlfriend, and this is brought up almost never—and that’s part of why this whole thing works.

Brad and Jane are the couple you watch like an instructional video. They keep it interesting even when they’re in their tumultuous yearly fight. Penny’s the desperate friend that you know will end up with the most interesting friend you know. Dave is the right-hand man of the century. Alex is the attractive friend that has done every conceivable weird thing around you—you can’t get her constant rib-eating out of your head—but you’re still strangely attracted to her.

But Max? He’s the most lovable thing on TV. He beats the baby on “Raising Hope” by a head of hair.

That’s why it got weird when I went on the Happy Endings set and met Adam Pally and he echoed all of these sentiments.

Someone asked him—if every character were real—who he would want to hook up with most on the show. Most actors would tiptoe around this. They’d say, “Oh, everyone. Everyone is just so attractive.”

Not him.

“Alex!” he says. That’s Elisha Cuthbert’s character, by the way. “Wait, are you kidding me? It’s Alex. Come on.”

And if he could have a guest star on the show.

“I want my older brother to be played by Joaquin Phoenix.”

Pre or post-meltdown?

“Either way. Any way he wants to go.”

It was a half-hour of this, by the way.

This show is compared to “Friends” a lot and that’s unfair. “Friends” is great, but “Friends” is a TV show with TV characters on it. Happy Endings is Adam Pally, Eliza Coupe, Zach Knight, Damon Wayans Jr., Casey Wilson and Elisha Cuthbert with changed names during their best hours of the day.

“I think anytime you’re in your group of friends—as you probably all know—you f— your friends. If you haven’t, you’ve thought about it,” says Pally. “That’s real life, so that’s how it goes here.”

Yep.

When I first heard, I felt a tug inside my heart. What would I do now? I’ve followed Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Chad, Uryu, Orihime, and the gang since the beginning. I want to continue watching crazy, epic battles. I want to keep collapsing into belly laughs when the Zanpakuto, Soul Reapers and Arrancars do something dorky, or when crafty Uryu sews something rad.

What drew me into Bleach was Ichigo Kurosaki’s personality. In the first episode when he brings the smackdown onto the punks messing with the roadside memorial, this made me realize, “ Hey this is not normal.”

But in a good way.

So let me divulge my favorite episode. It’s a classic. Understand that I love the later episodes, too, but this is the episode that solidified my love for Bleach.

It’s Episode 59. The whole arc focuses on rescuing Rukia, who’s about to be executed. Everyone’s emotional, and it all comes to a climax with Ichigo’s fight with Byakuya. It has all the marks of a great battle:

•        Smack talking
•        Uncovering a hidden form of an opponent’s main attack.
•        Witnessing the protagonist’s inner demons come out
•        Watching said protagonist wrestle with inner demon and overcome it
•        Rocking battle soundtrack.

So there it is.  Bleach is going away.  I will miss you and never forget you. Good bye, halcyon days.

We’re thrilled to announce that today Hulu Plus is available on seven Android tablets with a brand new, super deluxe Hulu Plus user interface. Download the Hulu Plus app from Google Play and experience a new way to watch TV with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime, Asus Eee Pad Transformer, Motorola Xoom, Motorola XYBoard 10.1, Toshiba Thrive, Acer Iconia and LG G-Slate. This is just the beginning of our Android tablet rollout.

The new Hulu Plus app on Android introduces a clean, visually rich design to create an engaging way for you to discover content. We’ve improved the user experience with horizontal “trays” so you can naturally swipe while browsing through TV shows and movies. The pages feature large thumbnails with beautiful visuals to show off your Android tablet’s graphical prowess.

We’ve organized our content library so it’s easy to discover new shows and keep up with the shows you already love. Jump back into your favorite shows quickly and easily with the “What You’re Watching” tray and never miss a new episode or lose your place in a series. Check out popular and recommended content in a variety of genres and laugh at last night’s hilarious Saturday Night Live skit or cry over last week’s Smash episode. And keep up with the hottest trending clips and scroll through the latest movie trailers with ease.

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When building this app, we looked for ways to grant you instant access to exactly what you want to watch. Once you decide on a show, hold your finger down on the show’s thumbnail and the latest episode of the series will automatically start playing. If you’ve been following a show for a while, hold your finger down on the show’s thumbnail and the next episode will automatically launch based on where you are in the series.

Our team worked hard to build a fresh and engaging way to experience premium content on Android tablets, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Let us know what new content you discover with the Hulu Plus on Android app, and stay tuned as we roll out on more devices.

When I heard that Breaking In was being resurrected from its cancellation last year, I was conflicted. I remember really liking the show, but I feared that it wasn’t popular enough to last in today’s TV market demanding immediate success, so I held off on committing to it. Didn’t want to get attached to the thing and I could always catch up on it later.

Breaking In revolves around Cameron, played by Brett Harrison, a hacker blackmailed into working for a high tech security firm by the mysterious ex-thief Oz, portrayed by Christian Slater. Rounding out the cast were fanboy gadget-eer Cash (Alphonso McAuley) and safe cracker/requisite love interest Melanie (Odette Annable), and each week the gang took on a new heist, each crazier than the last. Quick, fun TV, right?

Unfortunately, my instincts proved right and the show was cancelled after 7 episodes. But at least I hadn’t wasted any time getting invested in yet another show only to have it yanked from in front of my eyes. I’ve been hurt too many times before. However, since I have a Stockholm Syndrome relationship with my television overlords, I decided to give the second season of the show another chance, if for no other reason than to see why Fox brought it back from the dead.

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to the set of the revamped show to meet the retooled cast (former series regulars Michael Rosenbaum and Trevor Moore are no longer on the show, although everyone reassured us that the door has not been closed on their later return). The most notable new face in the cast is Megan Mullally, who plays Veronica Mann, the new head of the security firm which has been bought by a corporation now that Oz no longer has the funds to afford it. Also new aboard is Welsh actress Erin Richards, who takes on the role of Molly Hughes, Veronica’s executive assistant (and, perhaps, eventual puppet master).

Of course, proving to the world that a show is worthy of a reboot is no easy task. Series creator Adam F. Goldberg explained that this season, they’re taking cues from shows like The Office and focusing on the relationships between the characters in the Contra Security workspace, reeling in the elaborate heists of last season.

They’re also nerding out a lot more, perhaps to fill a Chuck-sized void, although these pop culture references skew away from fanboy to fan-man. Viewers of a certain age might have, say, recognized Rowdy Roddy Piper in the season premiere on hand to hear Mullally quote one of his lines from cult ‘80s film They Live. All of the cast couldn’t wait to tell us about an upcoming episode when Cash dresses up as Sho’Nuff from The Last Dragon. Goldberg revealed to us that an entire storyline was created around the very expensive Back to the Future sneakers he bought last Fall. And expect plenty of nods to Slater’s oeuvre of work.

They’re currently figuring out how the cast could, in fact, gleam the cube.

The elephant in the room was wondering how Annable will be on both Breaking In and House, on which she became a series regular last October. The simple answer is: She won’t. She’ll appear in the first couple of episodes but was written out in what they promise to be a very powerful farewell. As with the other missing characters from last season, though, they hope she can return whenever available.

The reboot relies heavily on the almost universally beloved Mullally. Knowing that she is such an accomplished sitcom actress, the creative forces behind the show have given her the freedom to improvise scenes she feels might work better another way. The rest of the cast noted how much more they’ve been improvising around her, making the show a more collaborative effort between the actors and writers.

The premiere felt very expositional, but that’s to be expected when it was essentially a pilot for the reboot. The show really hits its stride now that we’re caught up in the new world they’ve created. Harrison remains a goofy actor I’ve enjoyed watching mature across his different shows (Grounded for Life, The Loop, Reaper). McAuley’s nerd-dom and fun costume changes are gleeful surprises each week. The addition of Erin Richards was hinted as a point in a love triangle over the season, but I’m more eager to see how she reveals herself to be a bigger geek than McCauley. And Slater still has an intense crazy that proves to be on the rise, since he’s beginning to lose his fortune.

The show has the potential to create a dedicated niche fan base of Community-esque proportions. The addition of Mullally has convinced me that the Powers That Be have some gutty confidence in this show. So I’ll watch more regularly this time around, without living in perpetual fear of impending cancellation.

But, like I said, I’ve been hurt before.

Last week’s Pretty Little Liars spring finale was the most virally talked about episode ever. But here’s something that might have gotten lost amongst the chatter: It was also a clear homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.

The moment the four girls step into the Lost Woods Resort and encounter its motel manager Harold immersed in a creepy taxidermy zoo, the tribute is apparent. Remember the 1960s classic? The secluded inn is a replica of Hitchcock’s Bates Motel and Harold is a stand-in for his protagonist, Norman Bates.

The episode continues with a play-by-play of Psycho’s famed shower scene, which even begins with the same showerhead close-up that opens Hitchcock’s version, while a shadow, presumably A’s, lurks beyond the curtain. And it ends with an exposed, detained Mona—now the third actor on the evening’s bill as Norman Bates—voiced over by her multiple personalities.

It’s only appropriate for the show to give a meta thanks to its Hitchcockian-inspired suspense. After all, perhaps the biggest MacGuffin currently on television is PLL’s mysterious A. Problem is, most of PLL’s viewers have never heard the name Alfred Hitchcock, much less seen Psycho—which is why the Hitchcockian presence in this episode contributes to the case that the show is actually written for a much older and, dare I say, sophisticated crowd.

With allusions sprinkled atop some pretty decent writing and surprisingly un-dramatic treatment of dramatic situations, PLL targets viewers years above its target age range. Meaning even if you spent your sixteenth birthday in bellbottoms, you might find yourself captivated by PLL’s Sesame Street writing—marketed to the youth; written for the elders.

Let me explain: Sesame Street is a kids’ show, no doubt. But it bred more than a few adult fans too. Its creators anticipated that one of the biggest challenges to its success would be a reluctance on the part of parents to sit down with their kids and watch a show about stuffed animals. So they armed their scripts with a preemptive solution: Make it funny.

And it worked. Adults loved the subtle cleverness and puns worked into the plots about spelling and sharing. Malcolm Gladwell talks a lot about this in the book you’ve invariably either read or heard cited at dinner parties, The Tipping Point. The nod to Beckett in the skit “Waiting for Elmo” is just one moment he points out that’s exemplary of the kind of stuff kids would never get but parents ate up.

PLL follows in true Sesame Street fashion. Whether to gratify older, seasoned consumers of high(er) art or simply to sneak in the producers’ cultural darlings, the show has, on more than one occasion, reached out to the former.

This episode wasn’t the first to feature a heavily Hitchcock-influenced plot. Last season’s finale, “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” takes a Hemingway novel as its namesake. But after Ian is thrown off a bell tower to his death, it’s more evocative of another one of Hitchcock’s biggest hits, “Vertigo.” (The parallel would really be complete were we to find Ian alive next season.)

But all this doesn’t happen at the expense of entertaining its more obvious crowd. PLL’s plots are “sticky”—another quality Gladwell ascribes to “Sesame Street”—even to those who don’t quite get everything that’s going on between the lines. How else could this episode have broken the record as the most Tweeted episodes in TV history. (There were 32,000 of ‘em during last week’s episode—get this—per minute.)

PLL is set to return for its next season on June 5. We still don’t know who A is, and, given the producers’ adoration of suspense, probably won’t for some while. But maybe this time around it’ll have a more mature audience playing guess the MacGuffin.

With a slew of cookbooks, restaurants, products (including his own line of Crocs) and TV shows, chef Mario Batali is the king of a culinary empire. He’s taking over the world, which is why we featured him this week in our original series “A Day in the Life.” We bugged Batali with some questions while he was on vacation, and he was kind enough to answer back via email about traveling, weird food, his ideal day, and Doritos.

Describe your absolute perfect day.
Yoga early in the morning, a round of golf with my kids. End with dinner around our dining room table.

What was your favorite meal as a kid?
I always looked forward to the ricotta, swiss chard, and calves’ brain ravioli my grandma made at Christmas. Curious, but delicious.

When you’re not working, where’s your favorite place to be?
On the lake in northern Michigan with my family.

Where would you go for your next culinary road trip?
Morocco. I’m making my way through Fez, Marrakech, and Casablanca on spring break with my kids. The flavors are unique and delicious. It will definitely merit a road trip. By rickshaw, of course.

Who in your life, chef or not, has inspired you recently?
A couple of weeks ago, I had a mind-blowing meal at Alinea with influences of [Marc] Chagall, King Crimson, Ken Kesey, and Poseidon. Grant Achatz is inspired.

Most people are squeamish about organ meat, squid ink, lamb brains, etc. But what is the one “life-changing” weird food that you would urge people to try and why?
Beef cheek ravioli at Babbo is the perfect gateway offal.

What has been your greatest accomplishment within the Batali empire?
Next month, we’re opening our first restaurant in China. I can’t [wait] to bring our casual Italian cooking and sensibility to the Chinese public.

What’s your favorite hangover food?
The hair of the dog that bit you.

How many pairs of Crocs do you own?
Three or four at any one time.

Do you have a packaged or “processed” food vice? If so, what is it?
I really like Doritos. Not just tortilla chips. Doritos.

Get a behind-the-scenes look into Mario Batali’s life in the latest episode of  ”A Day in the Life“ right here on Hulu.

I’m pleased to announce that Hulu Plus is available on select Toshiba 2012 Blu-ray players, Sharp 2012 TVs and Best Buy’s Dynex Blu-ray players. Earlier this year, we also launched Hulu Plus on Netgear’s NeoTV 200 Media Player and branded set-top boxes from Magnavox and Funai.

For $7.99 a month, subscribe to Hulu Plus and watch the latest episodes of Family Guy, Modern Family, Revenge, Castle and more on any of these devices. Veg out on the couch with a Community or Grey’s Anatomy marathon, or pick a title from Miramax and invite friends over for a movie night. Try one week of Hulu Plus for free now.

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That’s how “Battle for Haditha” came about. It’s an honest account of what happened on one of the war’s darkest days, when 24 Iraqi civilians were killed after an IED attack fatally wounded an American soldier. It’s ardently fair, deeply moving, and intensely hard to stomach. And it’s a reminder of the tremendous amount of loss that the war provided.

We talked to Broomfield, the film’s director, a month ago about the film. He said that it had received criticism when the film had initially been released in 2007. It was just after the surge of 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq and some took it as Broomfield dabbing at an open wound, saying that he did not support American Marines. Broomfield wanted to dispel this. He wanted to show the war in its most real and visceral context, to lend awareness to the 25 who lost their lives that day, and to show, truly, what soldiers went through in those harrowing nine years.

About how the film has even more poignance now that the war is nine years old.

Nick Broomfield: I always thought that the film had come out too soon. It was just too raw when it came out. I think that it has an enduring value because I think Iraq will be remembered by Haditha. I think that battle is such a symbolic thing for what happened there and the way it all went so hopelessly wrong. It’ll be interesting to see how it all gets resolved.

On how now is a good time to open the discussion about this war, now that most troops have been sent home.

I think it is. I think now is the time. In Europe, people were prepared to discuss it before. I think in the United States, now is the time. I think the exact same thing happened with Vietnam. It took some time to be able to discuss it, even though that was a much longer war.

What happened for a lot of the soldiers in Iraq is as surreal as scenes from “Apocalypse Now.” I think you need to get into that mindframe in order to realize what happened there, in order to understand what was going through the minds of these 18-year-olds who were suddenly let loose with the most sophisticated weaponry and very few rules.

On the film’s empathy to American soldiers, and how hard it is for 20-year-olds to be put in that situation.

We did a lot of interviews with the Marines. Three or four were in central California, so we went and saw them. It was hard not to sympathetic to them. They found the move coming back to civilization incredibly difficult to cope with because their experiences in Iraq had been so extreme. Some had been through the situation in Fallujah, and Haditha was their next piece of combat, so they were all completely wired up. So many were simply incapable of living normal lives. One of them had the job of taking photographs of anyone who had been shot that day. He had just completely flipped out. It’s a kind of weird mixture of the Marines high-fiving each other, in a way that you only understand when you watch Apocalypse Now—a mentality that’s their way of justifying the horror they’ve seen. But when he came home, he started drinking heavily and drove off the road and into someone’s living room in his truck. I found it impossible not to feel that they’re incredible victims.

On the film’s initial reception, when some believed it to be unpatriotic.

We had an AFI screening before this had initially come out (in 2007). Academy members had came to it. I went with about five Marines who had been in the film. Before the film had even finished, people were screaming from their chairs that this was unpatriotic, that we should be ashamed of ourselves for making the film. Obviously, the marines got extremely upset, considering that they all had come back, some wounded in action. I suppose that the strength of feeling in this country at that time was so raw that it was completely impossible to release the film in the United States at that time. The distributor that had it, Image, just dumped the film. They were mainly involved in doing family entertainment. We had to buy the film back and re-release it.

On having Iraqis as actors and extras in the film.

One of the interesting things that happened on the film, where we’d used real Marines, is that they’d never really interacted with Iraqis before—but they did on the film. And they all found out they really liked each other. Part of the problem with what happened in Iraq is that the soldiers were so isolated that they were able to dream up all these phantom ideas about Iraqis because they just did not know them.

On the Arab world’s emphasis on this trial.

I think that’s also the great symbolism in this Haditha trial: They’re wondering if justice will finally be done. I think, whether they’re Shia or they’re Sunni, they’re thinking, “Does any form of justice exist in the West?” I think it’s such a crucial thing. I think it has an enormous influence there.

On the film’s shooting challenges, as it was shot entirely in Jordan.

We were the first film shot with the help of the Jordanian Film Commission. The king’s brother came to Jerash to bless the project. It had a lot of sway with the local people. They kind of endorsed it. They had an incredible respect for it.

Plus, Jordan is crawling with Secret Service. The first time I remember we had American soldiers walking down a main street in Jerash—even though we had told them we were going to be making a film—people really thought they were being invaded. And they were Sunni, people who very much identified with the people from Haditha. Some people started shouting and screaming about the Americans. Our Marines were already antsy anyway. They never really could tell the difference between being in Iraq and being in Jordan. They would never go out, for example, to get a meal with the locals. They would just stay in their barracks.

There was some Secret Service who bundled all of the dissenters into a car, and that person was just taken into a car. He was around one second, and the next he was gone.

So, yeah, there was a lot of tension initially. I remember the Marines were nervous that at any second they were going to be shot.

On using actual Marines who served in Iraq as actors, and how that translated on set.

They were actually living in the barracks. They very quickly got into their military ways.

“Battle for Haditha” writer Marc Hoeferlin: We spent some time hanging out with them to see them at their most natural. They went back to their old ways. Some who had quit smoking and they picked it back up. Some were training early in the morning. That camaraderie began to take place. It was a flashback for a lot of them, I think, to get back in that situation.

I’m pleased to present to you our beautiful, new Hulu video player. Your favorite shows just got bigger.

Today, we replaced our old video player with an update that’s 55% larger. It has a new frame and a drop shadow and sits on top of a large, dark gray video matte for easy viewing. We moved all of the video details below the player and cleaned up the pattern and style for a cleaner, crisper look.

What do you think? Let us know. We’re constantly listening to customer feedback and finding ways to bring you the best possible user experience. We hope you enjoy watching your favorite shows on the new player. Because when it comes to premium video experiences online, we see the big picture.

UPDATE: Thanks for all the feedback! To address some of the comments:

• The pop-out feature can be found under the “more” link below the player.
• We’ll bring back the lower lights option shortly.

Thanks again! We appreciate all the comments — they help us continually refine our user experience.

But information on the rest of Season 3 is, somehow, a little sparse. We also figured we needed to create as much artificial buzz for this show as is humanly possible. We decided to call Danny Pudi about it. We needed our Abed fix, if only on the phone, but we used the excuse to talk about the “Community” animated series. (It debuted last week.) We outlined how to sell Community to a rugged, old farmer. And we got his favorite TV shows of all time down on paper at the end of it, too.

(You can check out Danny Pudi’s playlist here.)

By the time he hung up, we had a new name for the animated series, an ode to a weird British TV show you’ve never heard of, and a very convinced farmer.

On his baby twins:

Pudi: If he goes crazy (during this interview), it’s not me crying. Well, it might be. Just ask.

On The TODAY Show, which he can watch because he’s up early enough now:

I’m apparently that guy trying to figure out what has more calories—a salad or a pizza.

On being drawn as a cartoon character.

It’s always a little cool to see, and it’s also a little terrifying. Because when you get that email that says, “Here’s the visual take on you waiting for approval. Let us know what you think,” you’re like, “What do people really think of me?” Because sometimes it takes an animated sketch to see what people feel about certain attributes of you. But it’s fun. Sometimes I think, “Aw, they think I’m a little, brown elf!”

I think that’s the alternate title of our show: “Little Brown Elves.”

But that’s always really cool, whether it’s this animated show or fan fiction of this drawing of you.

On how he was approached about the animated series.

We were approached shortly after the show was put on hiatus. But they assured us that the show would be coming back at some point, so we’ve been shooting this whole time. I mean, up until about a week ago—we just finished our season (of the live-action “Community”). Actually, most of the time—the last twelve episodes—we weren’t really sure when or if we were going to be back on the air, so it was sort of a weird feeling. But these sort of things gave us hope, you know?

Hulu and Sony approached us about doing these animated shorts, a three-part series, because anytime our show is animated, we have a lot of fun with it. Like the claymation episodes from Season 1 and Season 2, and even the anime that was briefly seen this year. So it’s a great way to get creative and see what else we can get away with at Greendale.

About how this fits into the “Community” canon (unlike, say, “Grey’s Anatomy’s” musical episode).

I will say that that was the first time our show has been compared to “Grey’s Anatomy.” But, yeah, it’s definitely within the show’s tone. Plus, I think most people think we’re already animated. I have some relatives that think we are a cartoon, so this fits perfectly into our world. If anything, I think it gave us a little bit of excitement. It gave us something to do for our return on March 15th. It’s just fun to see people excited that we’re going back on the air.

On managing fatherhood at home with playing an ADD college student on TV.

I think that’s why I love the show so much because I get to live in both worlds. I think that’s the tough thing about this. I think people say, “We all want to have children, but we all want to be children.” And that’s what I get to do every week.

I think that’s what makes our show so fun. We’re able to live out these fantasies every week. We get these blanket forts and pillow forts and paintball fights and I fight zombies. Then I get home, and I’m doused in milk and urine from my babies. So I’m living a very full life right now.

Give a pitch for a 70-year-old man who drives a tractor to watch the return of Community on Thursday.

I’ll say our shows deal with humanity and human relationships in that different people come together for a single purpose more than any other show on television. That’s what we do best. I think the diverse view in our study group and all the wacky adventures that we go on only work because at the core they are grounded by real people who are struggling to fit in a group, but also struggling to figure out who they are in the world.

I think that’s the fun thing about our show. If you look at the situation these people are going through on paper, it could be interpreted as incredibly sad. But when you watch the show, it comes off as really funny. I think a lot of great comedy comes from places that are really, really honest. And I think this show is.

If you look at Abed, he comes from a very interesting home with a mother who has left the house and he’s now with his father. His father doesn’t really understand his son and I’m just trying to come back to study film at this community college. If you look at Winger, he’s a guy who’s at community college trying to get his life back because he lost his degree. He’s afraid of intimacy

A lot of these characters are really going through things. They’re hitting each other in these monumental times in their lives. They’re trying to figure out their roles are in the world. At the same time, they’re not afraid to be who they are.

I think there’s a character for you if you drive a tractor or draw comic books or cut hair.

So, Danny, you get to take over Hulu for a day. What do you show off?

I don’t watch much TV comedy that’s on right now, but I do watch Parks & Rec. and 30 Rock. Those are obviously great.

No Reservations - I just love that show. It’s a shift from what I’m doing. It’s just fun for me. I’m a huge fan of traveling and food and watching someone like him go into these hostile environments and places where he’s unfamiliar and still be himself with others and different cultures. It’s fun for me to watch. He’s got a rock-and-roll perspective on travel.

He should have an Alec Baldwin-esque class about eye contact for traveling—his “How to Say Something Without Saying Anything.”

But I’m a total nerd. My wife and I travel and if there happens to be an episode where Anthony Bourdain has recently been in that city, I’ll make sure there’s one or two pit stops that we go where Anthony Bourdain went.

Battlestar Galactica – I don’t think I’ve seen something, drama-wise, that’s impacted me more than that. Just their ability to sustain and heighten drama constantly. There was an episode called “33,” where every 33 minutes they were being attacked. So that just blew me away. That was my No. 1.

Arrested Development – It’s what I go back to frequently, at least in terms of comedy and ensemble. Those two hit me in a time in my life where I could watch those episodes entirely standing up.

Saturday Night Live and Monty Python – Those two worlds were huge for me. I used to watch with my brother and his friends. I didn’t fully get things, at the time, but I just liked to watch how much fun these people were having and how creative they were. That’s what really drew me into comedy.

Garth Marenghi’s Dark Places - It’s so sharp. It’s so fast. That’s one I highly recommend. I look to it almost like a guidebook in comedic timing. It’s really creative.

It’s so strange. It’s one of those things that if my wife comes home and sees me watching it, I’ll immediately click off and she’ll think I’m watching porn. But it wasn’t porn. If you like “Spaced,” you’ll like it.

Best SNL Castmember -  A sleeper is probably Bill Hader. Kristen Wiig is amazing. I’d take her as the best castmember right now.

In the past? I would take: Mike Myers.

WILD CARD: Alf vs. Airwolf

Alf – I’m gonna go with Alf. Immediately when I think of Alf, I think of sitting at home in my living room with my siblings watching it. To me, it’s nostalgia. I think I successfully convinced a few of my friends in grade school that I was an alien. I’m hopeful that I still am an alien.

About what it’s like having an Alf doll in your house out of context.

If it wasn’t a show, it would be a terrifying thing. You would be interrogated right now by the Department of Homeland Security. “What are you doing with that doll? It’s creepy. It’s scarier than Chucky.”

Since then, Hulu users have instantly streamed hundreds of acclaimed docs including Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop, Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me and Where In the World is Osama bin Laden, Criterion Collection’s Hoop Dreams, Grey Gardens, The Times of Harvey Milk, Salesman and General Idi Amin Dada, as well as other favorites like Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, Joy Division, Born Rich, The Endless Summer, Transcendent Man and Fuel.  Crawford even had its world premiere on Hulu.

I am thrilled to announce that today we have 30 new documentary titles coming to our Documentaries library, many of them exclusively.  Now, Hulu Plus users will have exclusive access to some of the most interesting and thought-provoking documentaries of recent years, licensed from our partner Snag Films, including Oscar-nominated titles Capturing the Friedmans and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, as well as Jesus Camp and We Live in Public.

March’s “Documentary of the Month” will be Amir Bar-Lev’s Re:Generation Music Project. Amir, (who directed The Tillman Story and co-produced the 2009 Oscar-nominated Trouble the Water), captures how admired electronic artists The Crystal Method, DJ Premier, Pretty Lights, Mark Ronson and Skrillex use technology to mix musical styles and genres to create original tracks.  Another upcoming “Documentary of the Month” will be Under African Skies, a movie that celebrates Paul Simon’s brilliant album Graceland. It’s directed by Joe Berlinger who was nominated for an Oscar this year for Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory. Other titles premiering this year include Billionaire, which blew me away at the Tribeca Film Festival, and Chasing Ghosts, which was nominated for Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize.

I am also proud to announce that Hulu will be streaming Morgan Spurlock’s Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and will come to Hulu Plus on August 10^th after a theatrical run later this spring.  Co-produced by the likes of Joss Whedon and Stan Lee, the film is a behind-the-scenes look at the fans, aspiring creators, and performers who gather by the thousands each year in San Diego to attend the world’s largest geek convention, “Comic-Con.” We’ll have it exclusively on the service for more than four years. Hulu users love Morgan Spurlock, and we are excited to make this announcement alongside the second season launch of his Hulu Original Series, A Day in the Life.

We strongly believe the world needs to hear these brilliantly crafted stories, and our audiences agree. We will continue to bring great documentaries to Hulu for our users to discover and enjoy whenever and wherever they want.

And then he has to do a show there.

It’s all very cinematic and very perfect-seeming. But the best part of the show is when his day isn’t either of those things at all.

This would be a good time to bring this up: If you don’t know Marc Maron, all of your favorite comedians do. They’ve all been on his intensely popular WTF Podcast. If you do know Marc Maron, you love Marc Maron.

And, quickly, A Day in the Life is Hulu’s original series that’s produced by Morgan Spurlock. Maron’s episode the first of season two, and there’ll be new ones on Hulu every Monday. It follows around the world’s most genuinely interesting people for 24 hours. Maron fits the bill.

In his first few hours, he spends a full twenty minutes excavating an espresso machine manual then trying to fix the damn thing. Maron almost forgot that this whole day-long documentary thing was going to happen that day, so he didn’t remember to tell his sort-of live-in girlfriend about it. She slept in until the crew went to the garage and then escaped through the front door. Mindy Kaling drops by and they figure out if water is ever necessary for interviews.

Weirdly, all of this might be the best part of the show.

Then there’s that bit at the end, leaving The Comedy Store. There’s swelling music. He says things that seem big and prescient. Even if you listen to Marc Maron twice a week, it changes the way you feel about him. You like him more. You want to be friends with him. You might get chills.

We’re not going to ruin it, but what he says changes the way you feel about wherever you are in your life for about ten seconds. It’s a very good few sentences.

Oh, and he fixes the espresso machine. 

Here’s the best of our talk with Marc Maron.

On how he ended up on the show.

Marc Maron: Well, he had come on my show. At the end, he had said that I’ve gotta get on his show. And I said, “Okay, I don’t even know what the hell your show is.” So I said something like, “Okay, yeah, sure. That’ll happen.”

And then he called me one afternoon and… then it happened.

On preparation.

No, dude, I didn’t prepare anything. I barely remembered they were coming. I had no sense of what it really was. I’m very busy and I have a very hard time keeping up with my own life. I just let it happen. I didn’t prepare anything.

On how he felt he was portrayed on the show.

I showed people the rough cut. I was very impressed with the way that they shot it. I thought it was a very reasonable and honest documentary portrait of me. And I don’t love watching myself on film. (Laughing.) And I found myself very compelling.

On if he felt the show was an authentic biography of himself.

It was surprising to me a little bit because I found that it was a little heavy in a way. There was a sort of sadness to it. But it was not a tragic sadness. There was just a sort of bittersweet tone to the whole thing. At least the second half.

It was one of those things where it looked like I had grown up. I was humble and accepting of where I was at in my life. There was some sort of surrender to unnecessary trouble. Yeah, it was optimistic but it was also wrestling with being in the jaws of disappointment and coming out of it with a new sort of perspective on life. I felt like I could be intense or funny. I just felt that it was a little heavy, but in a good way. It was sweet-heavy.

On his favorite part.

Wanna know the best part? It’s me and Steve Rannazzisi (of “The League”) backstage at the Comedy Store. It’s so funny. We’re trying to figure out why we still go there. He’s like, “I had my wisdom teeth out yesterday. I should be eating ice cream at home. I’m here.”

On why the show works.

I think it’s a credit to the crew. I’ve been around documentaries before and the only real fear is the level of intrusion and I felt they were very good with sort of being there just enough to move along as necessary. There were these few moments where they asked questions, but in those moments they were still subtle. They didn’t provoke me into performance mode. They just had that fine mixture of unobtrusive and mildly provoking that worked. I was very impressed with that crew.

On how the WTF Podcast is represented in this show.

Obviously, I didn’t think that it would be (a commercial) for WTF. I mean, I thought, “Yeah, great for WTF.” But I honestly thought, “Wow, I’m gonna be on camera for a half an hour.” So that was my initial thought. Then my other thought was, “This’ll be great. We can sync this up with the launch of that episode.”

On how this strays from documentary format by not providing conclusions or morals that aren’t there.

My life is not completely me-centric. It’s fairly small. Outside of the podcast being popular, my life is: I’m at my house. I drive to a comedy club. Then, I drive home and people come over and they talk to me. I wasn’t on any planes or anything.