57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. LXV

Quote of the Week: Now, let me be your mother. That is my job. (Mama Smash - Friday Night Lights)

Song of the Week: Freedom ’90 - George Michael (Trust Me)

Big News of the Week: Networks Party Like it’s 1989: Since Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, 90210 remakes bombed miserably (I have a feeling we will be able to add Cupid to that list soon enough), all the networks are going to try it again this time by recreating the short lived movie to television show Parenthood (NBC), The Witches of Eastwick (ABC), DC Comic turned failed ABC show Human Target (FOX), and Americanized version of Absolutely Fabulous (FOX), and the two times mini-series turned failed series V (ABC) which gave us the first lizard/human baby ever. And for those that cannot get enough of the 80’s there is Lost in the 80’s from ABC set in the time period. CBS, I assume, will just recycle CSI with another different name. Wake me up when they get around to remaking Sledge Hammer!

Coalition Links of the Week:
With tons of pilots in the works for next Fall, Buzz wondered if you could tell the real ones from the fakes. (BuzzSugar)

Vance discusses Degrassi:TNG, Lie To Me, Bones, Scrubs and Lost this week. (Tapeworthy)

This week, Jace took an early look at next week's episode of NBC's Chuck, presented in box-busting 3D. (Televisionary)

Who's the next to die on Battlestar Galactica? Dan made a graph to help try to figure it out. (TiFaux)

This week, the TV Addicted posted our exclusive interview with Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse mastermind Joss Whedon. (The TV Addict)


Tool Academy: Note to self: if you ever run in to Cameron, never, under any circumstance piss her off. And is it too soon to cast the (hopefully) inevitable Celebrity Edition of Tool Academy? If not, here are my suggestions: Ashton Kutcher, Terrell Owens, Sean Hannity, Pete Wentz, Spencer Pratt, Al Gore, Sean Avery, Donald Trump, and the dude you’re getting a Dell guy. I would have also suggested Ryan Seacrest but the show involves having a girlfriend, so he may have to wait until Beard Academy. You can also download Tool Academy on iTunes.

Leverage: An interesting Whedon-verse reunion Lindsay and the father/son tandem of Jonathan and Holland even without any wink-wink connection to their pasts. But when did Nathan become a raging alcoholic to the point random cops knew this? You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Lost: Let me be the last person to predict that Faraday’s mother is the old chick last seen talking to Not-Henry and only other time seen in Desmond’s dream/flashback/mind trip. There in lies one of many problems with the show is they build up these big reveals that everyone sees coming, and then pays I off a couple episodes too late. Hopefully I am wrong and it turns out that it is really Jack mom.

As for the twist I don’t think anyone saw coming, we got a double dose of Charles Whitmore. And in true Lost fashion, that is all we got, a glance, no explanation of how he become an Other, why he had a falling out with them or how he got off the island. I have a bad feeling that Whitmore is going to turn out to be Biff Tannen who became rich thanks to knowing what happens in the future. But does that make Not-Henry Marty McFly? You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com.



Friday Night Lights: Poor Matt Saresen, if only they had instant replay, they could see he clearly had possession when the ball crossed the plane, and that is all you need no matter if it gets loose (assuming that Texas football has they same rule as the pros, college, and intramural flag football). And nice swerve by the promo monkeys that made it looked like the Riggins Boys get caught. And if Mama Smash is looking for some extra income, I wonder if the Taylor’s could use a nanny for baby Grace. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com.



Free Download of the Week: Fritz and Dizzyspells - Andrew Bird (Borders)

Deal of the Week: Take 10% off all Battlestar Galactica: Visit SCIFI.com and click on the shop tab. Then use Coupon code: "BSGFAN". Excludes QMx items and Cylons.

Video of the Week: The second episode of Trust Me is a little stronger than the first even though it gets into Studio 60 skit territory where you wonder why they are so behind their tagline. But anyways. Here is a clip for the upcoming episode (and be sure to check out my Preview of Trust Me):



Next Week Pick of the Week: I Love Money 2, Monday at 9:00 on VH1: This should go to Chuck and its special 3-D episode on the same day but an hour earlier, but I am bitter because of all the trouble I am having locating the special 3-D glasses. This is mostly because they don’t have them at my local grocery story and haven’t looked for them anywhere else yet.

Around the Tubes vol. II

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Office, Jimmy Fallon, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, and The Exterminators.

- There doesn’t seem like there is much hoopla around the Super Bowl, maybe it’s the teams or the economy which keeps companies from buying, or hyping, their million dollar ad buys. As for the coveted post-Super Bowl spot, NBC decided against going with the most logical synergy by putting the football themed Friday Night Lights on, instead opting for The Office which will feature Jack Black and Jessica Alba (for a quick laugh google Alba and Sweden). Below is a preview of what you might see Sunday:



- Also getting ready for the Super Bowl is Jimmy Fallon who isn’t sure who to root for (the answer is the Cardinals by the way) as seen in this video:



- If you are like me, a nerd who wanted to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but not big enough nerd to sit home on Fridays to watch it or even remember to tape it most times, we are in luck. The show is coming to TNT, naturally, because they know drama. Back to back episodes beginning Saturday February 14, after the NBA All Star Saturday Night at 11:00. It will then move to its regular timeslot on Wednesdays at 10:00 starting the 18th. The show will be available in HD for those of you cool enough to have that.

- Also coming to TNT February 8 is the movie Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story staring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Kimberly Elise. It is based on the true story of Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, whose lifelong journey led him to become director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, a best-selling author and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I may or may not have more on this later.

- Switching over to A&E, they have a new program called The Exterminators, a docusoap about a pest removal company. The show premieres Wednesday February 4 at 10:30. Check out a clip from the show below:

Playing the Percentages vol. III

It is time for another rousing round of Playing the Percentages, again along for the ride is the good people from TV on the Brain. If you want to play the home game, just drop your thoughts in the comments or leave a comment on a question you would like to be answered at a later date. Now let us play the game where I will play the role of the Joe Torre with Jo playing the role of Alex Rodriguez.

What chance do you give to the Arizona Cardinals upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Scooter: As a Browns fan I want it to be 100% but from a practical standpoint, I always take great defenses over great offences. What the Cards have going for them is that no one has stopped Larry Fitzgerald in the playoffs and the Steelers CB are their Achilles heel, and one of Ben Rothlisburger’s worst game of his career came in his last Super Bowl appearances (that they should have lost because he in no way crossed the plain of the goal line on that QB Draw). So I will give the Cards a punter’s chance at 40%.
Jo: In the Super Bowl, anything is possible. But before the divisional playoffs, I emailed Scooter and told him that it'd be the Steelers over the Cardinals by two touchdowns in the Super Bowl...so I'll have to stick with that. I'll give the magic touch to the Cards at 25% likely.
Scooter: She did and I am now glad that I did not respond by mocking her for doing so.


What are the chances that viewers will be satisfied with the Lost series finale?

Scooter: I lost faith in the show (cheesy pun intended) around they killed off the Token Hot Chick, so on a personal level I really do not have high hopes that I will be satisfied come June 2010. But the writers will have has two and a half seasons top conclude everything they want to get down, so barring the show fading to the blank during a random scenes, all the principles end the series in jail, or the whole story turns out to have taken place in the snow globe of an autistic kid, I’ll say 60% of watchers will be satisfied, I doubt I’ll be one of them.
Jo: As a newly converted Lost watcher, I feel like the writers let the show's plots get away from the in the second season. As a result, it'll be near impossible for them to tie everything up by the end. I feel like this will a great Sopranos debate all over again, with 50% of the Lost fanatics satisfied and 50% irate by what will probably be a vague ending.


What chance does Dollhouse have of getting a second season?

Scooter: If I were a Vegas line maker, I would put the Over/Under at 5 episodes; so I would put the odds of the show getting to finish it’s first very low being that it is in the Friday death slot where every sci-fi shows has been one and done on FOX (and anyone who is at home should be watching Friday Night Lights at 9:00). But since Eliza Dusku somehow managed to get a second season out of Tru Calling I’ll go as high as 18%.
Jo: Wait, is this Whedon and Fox? 0%.

Feed Your iPod vol. XXVI: Bold as Love

Seems like everyone I know owns The Ultimate Experience yet no one owns a Jimi Hendrix studio album. I understand how daunting getting into an artist that died before you were even born and I have a large collection of Greatest Hits myself as the lone album I own by that artist. But the thing with Hendrix is that he only released three studio albums all of which are must owns. But if you want to start small, my favorite non-ultimate Experience track is Bold of Love. Unfortunately when I searched for the song on YouTube all I found were hacks butchering the song in their basements or live versions with crappy audio. So I have to go with a John Mayer version, but defiantly hunt down the Hendrix version.

Bold as Love - John Mayer

Have You Ever Seen a One-Legged Man Trying to Dance His Way Free?

Just when you thought Obama inspired music couldn’t stoop any lower than Ashford and Simpson reworking their classic to go Solid as Barack, Bruce Springsteen, voice of a the working class writes the worst song of his career, the overtly sappy Working on a Dream in honor of the man who would be president. Here is a guy that once sang, “Wherever somebody's strugglin’ to be free, look in their eyes Mom you'll see me,” and now he palling around with the machine instead of raging against it.

At least I thought Working on a Dream was the worst song Springsteen ever record, and then I listen to the whole album of the same name and found Queen of the Supermarket which is as cheesy as the title of the song would suggest and sounds like The Boss was trying to make a more serious verion of Lunchlady Land. And the explicitly cheery tone of the title track overspills into My Lucky Day (which is almost saved by a Clarence Clemmons sax solo) This Life, Tomorrow Never Knows, and Surprise, Surprise.

Thankfully it isn’t all happy, happy, joy, joy on Working on a Dream. The eight minute opener Outlaw Pete manages to merge the folk of The Ghost of Tom Joad with the arena rock of Born to Run effortlessly. The result is an opus about a baby already with a rap sheet whose life intertwines among mustangs (of the horse variety), Irish bounty hunters and young Navajo girls. Many artists have written this type of song before, even Bruce, but it still sounds fresh here in 2009. Good Eye, with its harmonica and scratchy vocals also has that down home feel to it and these songs may have made for a better template for a full album.

Springsteen has noted of 2007 album Magic that this was the first time he wanted to continue writing which was what spawned Working on a Dream. The result was his most scattershot album of his sixteen studio records. Even though it resulted in one of his best work in Outlaw Pete, the rest of the album just playes like and B-side or outtake compilation rather than a proper Springsteen disk. Hopefully for the next album, Bruce tears everything down and starts anew because it worked well on the previous fourteen times.

Song to Download - Outlaw Pete

Working on a Dream gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Previewing Trust Me

If I were to create the best television shows of the 00’s, Ed would be in the discussion for the top ten. So I have an affinity for Tom Cavanagh and other former Stuckyville residents that get me to watch Big Love, Love Monkey, and not complain about Lost whenever Jack’s wife shows up. Granted I still have yet brought myself to buy a Mac. With that said, if I were to make that list, Will & Grace wouldn’t make it unless I were to extend it to triple digits.

There in lies the selling point to the new TNT series Trust Me which relies on how well the two leads, Cavanagh and Eric McCormack plays off of each other as the show is a buddy tale of two ad men, not of the mad variety, and how the react when one (McCormack) gets promoted but his partner (Cavanagh) now has to work under him. It is hard to tell how they jell from their first couple scenes, but if there are anyone whom you want to play your best bud, these two would be near the top of anyone’s list.

Also along for the ride is Monica Potter who just have the worst agent or worst luck in Hollywood because after breaking through in Patch Adams she has yet to land a quality role since. She had to slum it as a love interest for Freddy Prinze Jr. for goodness sake. But she can rest in the solace that she had a great song written about her in the eight minute long Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby.

That luck could change with Trust Me as she stars as someone who has a pretty bad first day on the job, not that she doesn’t deserve some of the crap coming to her. To put her character in perspective, she pretentious enough to go with the hyphen when getting married but too self conscious not to drop his name when she gets divorced. And this isn’t the first time she has met McCormack that doesn’t get explored much except maybe a throw away line about an alley.

Also showing up is everyone’s boss Griffin Dunn (40 Days and 40 Nights), although his boss only gets screen time with her hand. McCormack’s wife gets about as much screen time as we only get a fleeting glimpse of Sarah Clarke (24). Providing the comic relief are the two copy boys at the bottom of the totem pole, Geoffrey Arend (Greek’s Egyptian Joe) and Mike Damus (Teen Angel).

Trust Me airs Mondays at 10:00 on TNT. You can also download Trust Me on iTunes or on Amazon Video on Demand (see below):

Previewing The Closer

By law I am not allowed to tell you Detective Sanchez’s fate or Brenda’s response to Fritz’s ultimatum on The Closer, but I am allowed to say (I think) that it won’t take long to find out the answer to either. Without the ability to talk about the personal aspect (aside from that someone besides Sanchez may also be making their way to the emergency room), the case of the week is really all I can speak of.

The fourth season closes with five straight episodes starting tomorrow (followed by the series of Trust Me, also check back tomorrow for more on that) with a whimper. Or at least that is what the crew thinks as they investigate a suicide that turns out to be more than they originally thought. And the fact that the case takes them to a church located in a roller rink which is incidentally considering Fritz’s ultimatum.

Other cases Brenda and the boys tackle over the next couple weeks include a death of an obese man who is left in the trunk of a car, a possible homicide that may have been revealed though text messages, and a murder at an escort agency. And on February 9th Lucky/Tim Foyle pops up as the subject in a murder case but it is his sleazy lawyer played by Billy Burke (Bobby’s brother on My Boys) that is causing all the problems for Brenda.

Also showing up sometime is Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) as Fritz’s sister and resident physic who thinks she can help Brenda with one of her cases. The Closer airs Mondays at 9:00 on TNT. You can also download The Closer on iTunes or through Amazon Video on Demand (see below):