Comedy

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt stars in Ratatouille, the new animated feature from Pixar. He's also a writer and stand-up comic, who starred in his own comedy specials and appeared in the TV shows The King of Queens and Reno 911! He'll release a new comedy album, called Werewolves and Lollipops, on July 10.

On TV's Rescue Me, the comic, actor and writer Denis Leary plays a highly strung, highly macho fireman Tommy Gavin, who deals with raging fires and his own raging male ego. Season 4 of Rescue Me starts next week on the FX network.

Leary, who's worked in films including The Thomas Crown Affair and The Ref, sidelines as a singer, too; his comedy CD No Cure for Cancer spawned the provocatively titled hit single "Asshole."

Judd Apatow has been a writer for Larry Sanders and Ben Stiller, and he worked on the cult-favorite TV comedy Freaks and Geeks. But you'll know him as the writer-director of the hit film The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Now he's back with Knocked Up; guest host David Bianculli talks to Apatow and to Knocked Up star Seth Rogen, who plays an oafish slacker confronted with the prospect of fatherhood after a one-night stand.

Comic Don Rickles is known for insulting his audiences on stage, but he doesn't consider himself an insult comic. His heyday was in the '50s and '60s, on TV and in Vegas. Frank Sinatra, an early fan, helped get him noticed. Now Rickles has written a memoir, Rickles' Book.

Misunderstood giants? None have ever been as popular as Shrek, star of two huge summer hits since 2001. Paramount's grumpy-green-ogre franchise is the epitome of the hand-hold movie: family flicks that serve up action, tomfoolery and life-lessons for the kids, nonstop pop-culture in-jokes for the adults, and fart jokes for the whole family.

Garry Shandling parodied TV talk shows on The Larry Sanders Show, which ran on HBO from 1992 to 1998 and is now out in a four-DVD box set. It's called Not Just the Best of "The Larry Sanders Show" — in part because it features eight hours of extras, including essentially unedited conversations with stars who made guest appearances on the Larry Sanders sofa.

MTV's new Thursday-night sketch-comedy series Human Giant got its start as a collection of Web shorts, and the rise of MySpace and the viral-video explosion helped it develop a big following online. Terry talks with Aziz Ansari, Rob Heubel and Paul Scheer, three of the comics who power the show's alterna-comedy antics.

Maz Jobrani, Ahmed Ahmed and Aron Kader make up the Axis of Evil Comedy group. (They're of Iranian, Egyptian and Palestinian descent, respectively). Their special premiered on Comedy Central last month. It's out on DVD this week.

Comedian and actor Andy Richter's new sitcom is Andy Barker, P.I. Richter plays an accountant who is mistaken for the detective who formerly occupied the office he is renting. He reluctantly takes on the role of private investigator and discovers he likes it.

The show just premiered on NBC and airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m.

Brothers Rob and Nate Corddry are both former correspondents on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Now Rob Corddry has a new Fox sitcom, The Winner (by the creators of The Family Guy), about a 32-year-old virgin who still lives at home. It airs on Sunday nights.

Nate Corddry currently plays a TV performer and writer on the show Studio 60, which airs Monday nights on NBC.

Ricky Gervais appears in the new film Night at the Museum, in which insects come to life after a spell is cast at The Museum of Natural History. Gervais is the creator and star of the British TV comedy series The Office, which has been adapted into a hit show starring Steve Carrell. He's won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and three BAFTA Awards. Gervais also writes the Flanimals series of children's books.

The news parody publication The Onion has released a new compilation of articles, Homeland Insecurity: Complete News Archives Volume 17. Editors Joe Garden and Joe Randazzo talk about the project and poking fun at current events.

Comedian and actor Will Ferrell talks about his new film Stranger Than Fiction. Ferrell plays an accountant who finds that his life has a voiceover that only he can hear. It turns out he's the subject of a novel, and that the writer plans to kill him. Ferrell became famous as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2002, and has gone on to star in movies such as Old School, Elf and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Comedian Harry Shearer has a new book called Not Enough Indians, a novel about Native Americans and gambling. He also has a role in the new film For Your Consideration, directed by Christopher Guest. Shearer is a voice actor on The Simpsons, playing the roles of Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner and many more characters. Shearer is also the host of the weekly public radio series Le Show.

Greg Daniels and Mindy Kaling work on the hit NBC series The Office, starring Steve Carrell. Kaling also plays Kelly on the show. Daniels has a history of TV comedy writing. He has worked on Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld and The Simpsons. Kaling had a role in Carrell's The 40-Year-Old Virgin and appeared on an episode of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Julia Sweeney is currently performing a one-woman show called "Letting Go of God" at the off-off-Broadway theater in Manhattan. A Saturday Night Live cast alum, Sweeney also wrote and performed the 1996 Broadway show "God Said, Ha!" Her films include Pulp Fiction, Clockstoppers and It's Pat, based on her gender-confused character on SNL.

Film critic David Bianculli reviews 30 Rock the new NBC sitcom created by and starring Tina Fey, former head writer and "Weekend Update" anchor on Saturday Night Live. It's the second NBC show about a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional late-night live variety show.

Artie Lange's personal life -- namely, binge drinking and eating -- often provides fodder for his fellow cast members on the Howard Stern Show. The actor and comedian has appeared in such comedies as Old School and Elf. He stars in the new film Artie Lange's Beer League.