Patrick Warburton

Patrick Warburton doesn't mind if fans remember him "until the day I die," as Elaine's hulking, dumb, acerbic boyfriend Puddy on "Seinfeld." "It was a wonderful experience," says Warburton. "But it's your responsibility as an actor to reinvent [yourself]. When you do something as definitive as a character that is as high profile as 'Seinfeld,' [typecasting] is going to happen.

Patrick Warburton, 47, plays married man manqué Jeff Bingham on the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement. " An actor whose many animated films and series include "Bee Movie," he's well known for his 11-episode arc on "Seinfeld" as Elaine's face-painting boyfriend, David Puddy. How did you manage to make a career out of playing the husband/boyfriend from hell? Just a lot of 'tude, I guess. When you refer to boyfriend, you're referring to Puddy, right? Yeah, and the husband is Jeff.

If I may generalize on behalf of everybody who watches television, we choose our shows less for what they're about than for who we get to visit there. A premise may sell a series, but it's only as good as the people who enact it and the characters they play. If the actor and the role are both good, and well mated, so much the better. But I would probably watch Megyn Price -- who stars in the new sitcom "Rules of Engagement," premiering tonight on CBS -- even in the wrong role.

If I may generalize on behalf of everybody who watches television, we choose our shows less for what they're about than for who we get to visit there. A premise may sell a series, but it's only as good as the people who enact it and the characters they play. If the actor and the role are both good, and well mated, so much the better. But I would probably watch Megyn Price -- who stars in the new sitcom "Rules of Engagement," premiering tonight on CBS -- even in the wrong role.

Patrick Warburton, 47, plays married man manqué Jeff Bingham on the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement. " An actor whose many animated films and series include "Bee Movie," he's well known for his 11-episode arc on "Seinfeld" as Elaine's face-painting boyfriend, David Puddy. How did you manage to make a career out of playing the husband/boyfriend from hell? Just a lot of 'tude, I guess. When you refer to boyfriend, you're referring to Puddy, right? Yeah, and the husband is Jeff.

Actors and musicians including Frankie Muniz, Don Cheadle, Joe Mantegna, Vince Neil, Patrick Warburton, Ryan Stiles, Wil Shriner, Judd Nelson and Chad Everett will take part in radio station KLOS-FM's (95.5) second annual Mark & Brian Celebrity Golf Tournament on Saturday, hosted by the station's morning-show co-hosts Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps. The event, which begins at 9 a.m. at the Coyote Hills Golf Course in Fullerton, will benefit the KLOS Food Bank and the T.J.

"The Tick" is a comedy sketch in search of a series. Based on Ben Edlund's comic book and animated series of the same name, this new Fox show starts fast and funny before fading, introducing Patrick Warburton (who played thudding Puddy on "Seinfeld") as a blue-suited superhero and David Burke as his little moth-like sidekick, Arthur, along with their best friends, Captain Liberty (Liz Vassey) and Bat Manuel (Nestor Carbonell). The Tick, who is dumb as a ...

"The Tick" proves that time can fly when you're having fun, even if you're going nowhere fast in the process. Tonight's season finale (8:30 p.m., Fox) is only the eighth episode in the live-action series, which is based on Ben Edlund's comic book and animated show of the same name. It is also most likely the series finale, because the network is dropping the show. As was the case with "The Tick's" premiere in November, this installment is often funny but is as thin as a superhero's tights.

Editor's note: This review first ran in the Times on Dec. 16 when "Hoodwinked" opened for a one-week engagement. The movie opened Friday in wide release. "Hoodwinked" is an irreverent, hard-edged retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" -- a high-energy, imaginative entertainment aimed at younger audiences.

SERIES Naked Science: A new installment surveys various theories about the origins of the Grand Canyon (4 and 11 p.m. National Geographic). Community: Greendale holds student-body elections in this new episode of the sitcom (8 p.m. NBC). American Idol: The top 20 semifinalists are revealed on tonight's results show (8 p.m. Fox). Rules of Engagement: Jeff (Patrick Warburton) tries ? and fails ? to get some alone time in this new episode (8:31 p.m. CBS). CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The team probes reports of zombies on a new episode of the crime drama (9 p.m. CBS)

Patrick Warburton doesn't mind if fans remember him "until the day I die," as Elaine's hulking, dumb, acerbic boyfriend Puddy on "Seinfeld." "It was a wonderful experience," says Warburton. "But it's your responsibility as an actor to reinvent [yourself]. When you do something as definitive as a character that is as high profile as 'Seinfeld,' [typecasting] is going to happen.

"Chekhov in Yalta" is a little like a revisionist's toy box. Stanislavski, the legendary director and actor, is sketched as a boob who confuses Ibsen's plays with Chekhov's. Writer Maxim Gorky is merely a political hothead who gushes about the proletariat. Chekhov himself comes across as not much more than a bright, benevolent father figure to an adoring group of artists. John Driver and Jeffrey Haddow's play isn't meant to be precise history, though.