Fran Kranz

The CBS sitcom Welcome to the Captain may well have been inspired by Nathaniel West's searing novel Day of the Locust, which chronicled the hopeless aspirations and dashed dreams of Hollywood's "fringies". New York-bred writer Josh Flug (Fran Kranz) was a former "wunderkind" who'd been whisked to LA-LA-land on the strength of an Oscar-winning short subject he'd produced in 2003. Alas, since that time Josh had done absolutely nothing of any significance, and was on the verge of heading home in defeat when his pal Marty Tanner (Chris Klein) talked him into remaining in Tinseltown. Thus, John moved into the El Capitan, a once-legendary Hollywood apartment building which, like John himself, had fallen upon hard times, and was now populated by showbiz wannabes, hasbeens, and never-weres. Jeffrey Tambor costarred as Uncle Saul, manager of El Capitan and onetime staff writer for the long-defunct comedy series Three's Company. Also seen were Raquel Welch as faded soap-opera diva Charlene Van Ark; Joanna Garcia as acupuncturist-in-training Hope; Al Madrigal as irritable desk attendant Jesus, who refused to be referred to as Hey-Soos and insisted upon the Biblical pronunciation of his name; and Valerie Azlynn as eccentric starlet Astrid, who for reasons that must have seemed funny on paper began all her sentences with the "S" sound. Welcome to the Captain first checked in on February 4, 2008. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Keenan Thompson, Fran Kranz, and Zachary Levi star in this comedy about three teens to embark on a cross-country road trip to seek vengeance against the hypocritical television "doctor" who humiliated them on national television. Joel (Kranz) has wandered into the crosshairs of national television sensation Dr. Dwayne (Darrell Hammond), and when the hot-winded talk-show host humiliates him in front of the entire country, he sinks into a serious depression. Hoping to lift their best pal out of his current funk, Joel's best friends Wyatt (Thompson) and Ben (Levi) gas up Wyatt's homemade wiener-mobile and set their sights on Dr. Wayne's studio. Along the way, the trio hands out complimentary hot dogs to everyone they meet, all the while encountering an impressive array of misfits, weirdoes, and rejects. Perhaps if they can dodge the spit of some unusually angry hippies and stop staring at the hottest sixth grade teacher they've ever encountered (Jenny McCarthy), these three friends can finally give Dr. Dwane a taste of his own bitter medicine. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Jake Kasdan's showbiz comedy The TV Set stars David Duchovny as Mike Klein, a television producer who in the beginning of the film successfully sells a network on a story idea. The film follows Klein as he must actually put the show together, navigate the corporate minefield of the network, and figure out what aspects of his show he is willing to compromise. Sigourney Weaver plays the demanding president of the network, Justine Bateman plays Klein's wife, and Judy Greer plays his manager. The TV Set had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

His life seemingly spiraling out of control with no means of pulling out of the earthbound dive, a Dallas powerbroker follows his daughter's punk rock boyfriend for a wild night of youthful mayhem that may just bring him back around if it doesn't kill him first. There was a time when Max Hagen (Tom Wilkinson) had it all, but somewhere between a heart attack, an impending third divorce, and being kicked out of his lavish mansion by his soon-to-be ex-wife Barbara (Janine Turner), everything fell apart. Now faced with the arduous prospect of pulling himself up by the bootstraps and attempting to re-claim his ever shrinking lot in life, Max finds an unlikely ally in the form of his daughter's renegade boyfriend Raff (Nick Stahl), a free-spirited rock-and-roller who may just hold the key to teaching this old dog a few new tricks. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A gifted high-school student flubs her college admissions interviews for the most unexpected reasons in this independent coming-of-age drama. Cynical, world-weary Evie (Lauren Ambrose) is more interested in taking care of her family than getting into the Ivy League institutions for which she seems destined. Dad Harry (John Savage) spends all his time building model trains in the basement, while workaholic mom Martha (Amy Madigan) depends on Evie to take care of her other daughter, developmentally challenged Emily (Taylor Roberts). When she's not busy reading poetry to her sister Emily, Evie hangs out with James (Fran Kranz), the sensitive boy next door, whose romantic overtures prove too confusing to acknowledge. College also seems too daunting, so Evie deliberately blows one university interview after another in the hopes of staying at home as her sister's keeper. Meanwhile, Evie begins passing off her own poems as Emily's, fuelling the belief that her brain-damaged sister is actually a literary savant. The scheme, of course, blows up in her face -- but Evie isn't prepared for the other family secrets that emerge when the truth comes out. Directed by indie producer-turned-director Melissa Painter, Admissions was adapted by screenwriter Dawn O'Leary from her own stage play. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Season five of Frasier begins with the entire KACL staff looking for new jobs after the station installs a "salsa" music format and fires them en masse. This situation is particularly painful for radio psychologist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), especially since it was he who was largely responsible for his co-workers' plight. As he sends out resumes and vainly awaits for potential employers to beat a path to his door, Frasier tries to lessen his grief by spending his spare time in such pursuits as cooking and furniture design -- while everyone around him wonders how much of Frasier's anger, denial, and frustration they will able to withstand. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide