Quote of the Week: Back to the Future, man. We came back in time to the island and changed stuff. So if Little Ben dies he’ll never grow up to be Big Ben who’s the one that made us come back here in the first place. Which means we can’t be here and therefore dude, we don’t exist. (Hurley – Lost)
Song of the Week: Bottle Pop – The Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg (Chuck)
Big News of the Week: Friday Night Lights gets a Fourth and Fifth Season: There was some nail-biting last week, but word broke Monday that we will be getting at least twenty-six more episodes of the football drama. Like before, DirecTV will get the first run with NBC airing it at a later date. Unfortunately it looks the show will be without the Betty/Veronica debate of the new Millennium with both Tyra and Lyla set to go off to college.
But when Friday Night Lights is airing its fifth season, will Jay Leno still be on? If the NBC affiliates have their way, maybe not as a Boston station (which is ironically Leno’s hometown) has announced they won’t be airing the talk show instead having the news at 10:00. NBC shot back by saying it would be a breach of contract and would pull their affiliate status. Actually, at this rate Jay Leno may be off the air by the time Friday Night Lights airs its fourth season on the Peacock network.
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Coalition Links of the Week: As ER said its goodbye, Buzz thought back over her favorite memories of the show and asked you to share your own. (BuzzSugar)
Are you ready to laugh even more on Thursday nights? Check out my review of the new NBC comedy Parks and Recreation starring Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones. (Give Me My Remote)
Vance thinks the producers and judges are trying way too hard to fix the competition on American Idol, especially when it's so obvious that Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta are far better than Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey and Lil Rounds. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace took an early look at next week's episode of Chuck (Chuck Versus the Dream Job), which features guest stars Scott Bakula and Chevy Chase. (Televisionary)
Marisa participated in a chat with SNL's Will Forte and Arrested Development's Mitch Hurwitz on their new animated project Sit Down Shut Up. (TiFaux)
Matt is glad ER has ended. Because he's seen Southland, and it's great. (TV Fanatic)
Free Download of the Week: Pilot - Southland (iTunes): In a story I broke yesterday, you could stream the new cop drama over at NBC.com, but for those that like to watch things on the even smaller screen, you can download the first episode for free before it even airs.
Next Week Pick of the Week: Recue Me, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: I will have a full write up in the next couple days on the new season of Rescue Me, but let me point out that all four season of the show, as well as all of last summer’s minisobes are currently available on Hulu. Above was my favorite one.
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 Explorer: Inside Guantanamo, Southland, Harper’s Island, The Day the Day Stood Still, and Geiko.
- Coming up this Sunday, National Geographic is taking you inside the Guantanamo Bay prison, a name we have all heard but have never seen. Below is a clip.
- Last night was the final episode of ER ever and next Thursday at 10:00 the show is being replaced by the new show Southland. But why wait until then to watch the series premiere when you could head over to NBC.com right now and watch the entire first episode?
- Also premiere next Thursday at 10:00 but on CBS is Harper’s Island about a murder mystery. No pre-premiere streaming but the show has been airing webisobes since mid-March and is currently up to three. Head over to Harper’s Globe for those and other content updated daily. I may or may not have more on the show later, but until then, the show even has a wedding invite that is happening on the show:
- Coming this Tuesday is the DVD and Blu Ray release of The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Keanu Reeves as an alien. Seems right. The movie also stars Kyle Chandler so it may be watchable. Luckily the special editions are loaded including a Digital Copy, the 1951 version of the film, deleted scenes, featurettes, picture-in-picture commentary, a “Build Your Own Gort” feature (Blu Ray only) and more. To celebrate the release of the DVD, they have created thetrailofdestruction.com where you can send videos to your friends of an alien force destroying building, even your friends house.
- I really don’t mind commercials as long as they are entertaining and Geiko is usually a hit with their Geiko gecko (unlike their Caveman campaign which was usually a miss). And now the gecko is hitting the Information Superhighway appearing with some YouTube superstars. The one out right now is with the Numa Numa guy which had me laughing even if they ruined a truly great Rockwell song.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
For a man who has converted to the Jehovah’s Witness and sworn off his dirty side, Prince still likes his phallic symbolisms and phrases that have potential double means. But hey, you can get his three latest CD’s for $11.95 at Target. I wonder what Kristen Wiig would have to say if your brought the triple disk to her counter.
Listening to song you can tell why Taylor Swift saved this song for The Hanna Montana Movie, which I think I may skip to avoid a run in with Chris Hansen, instead of putting it on her latest album as it would have been the weakest track.
N.A.S.A. is like a mash up artist that can actually get the artist to perform together on a song together. Unfortunately for the most part the concept proves better than the execution.
This song reminds he of the Jonas BrothersLovbug; it is bouncy and hides the singer’s limited vocal range, in this case fellow Mouseketeer Demi Lovato. But the breakdown in Don’t Forget is much better if only because the backing band is hilarious especially the when they freeze in place at the end of it. So what if they are all playing guitar and no bassist, it just looks cool
With all the basketball I watched last month got me thinking of the greatest basketball game of all time (and really the only one I’ve ever liked) NBA Jam, this month’s inductee into the Scooter Hall of Fame. I have owned three different copies in my life, for the Super Nintendo, and both Playsyation’s. Hopefully when I finally upgrade to a next generation console, there will be a new version of the game waiting for me (sadly there isn’t one yet).
What makes NBA Jam great, and sets it apart from other basketball titles, is that it is a simple two on two arcade style game that isn’t bound to the five on five rules that just don’t translate well to console games. And since it isn’t bound to any rules there are plenty of fun modes like if one of your player hit three straight shot he is “on fire.” And I mean that quite literally as he is engulfed in flames and his shots burn the nets off the rims and allows that player to score from pretty much anywhere on the court, from half court to the stands to even from behind the basket.
Oddly enough the most unstoppable player in the game was Gheorghe Mureşan of the Washington Bullets and if you went with Big Head Mureşan, your opponent would just quit knowing there was no way to beat them unless they broke out Big Head Shawn Bradley. Even then your chances were not good. In my dorm in college, there was a big screen television in our lobby and we would always talk about the elusive four way Big Head Mureşan on the big screen but sadly we never hooked up the Playstation to it for fear that the TV couldn’t handle all that Mureşan. Maybe when I upgrade to the HDTV, we can hold a reunion and finally hold our four way Big Head Mureşan game.
It’s time to go back to college… in March. Only on ABC Family. Not to mention it is technically half way through the second season of Greek. Of course, milking extra DVD money, it will most likely be labeled as “Chapter Four”. Small details aside, Greek, in its first three “chapters” was more satisfying than not and left with one big cliffhanger as Frannie defected taking many of the pledges last year with Rebecca Logan stuck in the middle.
And in true drama fashion we get a bunch of plot twist as they resolve the cliffhanger with Rebecca being inducted into ZBZ only to show up with Frannie’s Iki sorority only to find out that Ashleigh had Rebecca become a mole for ZBZ to spy on their rush. How Alias of them. Stay tuned to see if Rebecca pulls off the elusive double cross as Casey finds out this was all a sinister plan where Frannie wanted ZBZ to think Rebecca was a mole. And if we are lucky there will be a steal chair involved in the swerve.
As for the other Cartwright, it took a little too long for Rusty and Dale to shack up when it became pretty clear early in the episode it would end up like that. But it did led to some funny Canadian jokes by the bigoted Dale and the slumber party in Casey’s boyfriend’s room was the highlight of the episode. And hopefully with her name on the lease where the boys are living at, we get more Casey/Dale interaction this season.
The one disappoint of the episode was the misuse of Ken Marino (Party Down) as Rusty’s summer boss. His reactions to all of Rusty’s miss wording were priceless and left me hoping the whole episode would have been devoted to everyone’s summer. The short segment with Marino made me think what a great spin-off with him at Tiny Pines would make for its own watchable series.
Greek airs Mondays at 8:00 on ABC Family. You can stream recent episodes over at ABCFamily.com. You can also download Greek on iTunes.
It is time for another round of the game sweeping the interwebs, Playing the Percentages. Along for the ride again is Jo. 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 Sayid Jarrah with Jo playing the role of a young Ben Linus.
What chances do you give Chuck and Sarah ever hooking up?
Scooter: This is really less a question of Chuck and Sarah ever getting it on, because as we have seen, given the time, everyone on television hooks up given the time. So it is more of a question of will Chuck the show be around long enough for them to hook up, or will it happen this season. Since Ben Silverman is certainly a candidate for a spot on Celebrity Tool Academy, you really can’t gauge him on anything unless it is a reality program or foreign show he can import. And him coming out recently and befuddlingly blaming Barack Obama for the show’s recent lows in the ratings department almost sounded like he is already making excuses to why it won’t be coming back. But still there is a chance they could hook up this season and I put that at 15%.
Jo: I'm torn between what I think will happen and what I want to happen. Scooter and I discussed who’s more at fault for Chuck and Sarah being apart. I think Chuck should man up; he thinks Sarah has shot him down too much. I want Chuck to man up, especially if the General is finally going to properly train him. But the chances of that being this season are so low. If I pick 14%, does that make me like the punk at the end of the row on the Price is Right? I think there's a higher chance of someone in Chuck's non-spy life finding out his secret. I'll put that at 25%.
What are the chances we get a fourth and fifth season of Friday Night Lights?
Scooter: This should be a slam dunk; the show is getting comparable ratings to last year even with a lead-in of Howie Do It repeats most of them time plus DirecTV is footing half the bill. But again, Ben Silverman isn’t sharpest tool in the shed even if he is the biggest. And though the network is becoming all Jay Leno all week long, they should be able to cram in thirteen episodes during the doldrums of winter like they did this season so I will be cautiously optimistic at 75%.
Jo: Again, I'm dying for FNL to return to give me more opportunities to be an extra on the show. Oh that and it's one of the BEST written and acted shows on television. But leave it to NBC to do something stupid--50%.
Scooter: Speaking of Friday Night Lights and Chuck, if it is on the chopping block, why not have Chuck pull a Friday Night Lights and have shop a deal around the other networks (such as USA, because I’m sure characters like Casey, Lester and Jeff would be welcome) then a truncated FNL could replace a shortened season of Chuck or vice versa on Fridays early 2010 giving you 26 weeks of quality programming next year?
Jo: Meanwhile, they SHOULD shop Chuck around. USA would be a great fit, not to mention Sci-Fi since Chuck is very similar to a short lived show called Jake 2.0.
(Scooter Update: The AP is reporting that Friday Night Lights has officially been picked up for two seasons. No word from NBC or DirecTV yet.)
(Scooter Update II: On the NBC.com Friday Night Lights it says congratulations on the renewal so it looks like to be official. Here is the NBC press release.)
It premieres tomorrow, what are the chances that the Cupid remake is a good as the original?
Scooter: I remember seeing the original Cupid but don’t remember being all that upset that it was canceled so the bar isn’t that high. From the promo’s it just looks as if Bobby Canivale is doing a Jeremy Pivin impression and in the other main roll, Sarah Paulson for Paula Marshall is a downgrade. I want it to be higher, but I really cannot go higher than 31%.
Jo: I never watched the original either. I have much faith in Rob Thomas, but remakes generally (BSG, a major exception) tank. I'll go 25%.
Before I get into this week’s 57 Channels, let me remind you that you can enter the My Boys Giveaway contest, click the banner at right to see the rules and how to enter.
Kings: Silas’ continual flip flopping on if he is pro or anti David is really going overboard. In three hours he has flipped about ten times already. But let’s move on to what may be the best part of the show in the palace guards who are turing into the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the show. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Kings on iTunes.
Chuck: Two things about the past episode; 1) How dare the general besmirch Reagan. 2) Not only do I not think that Orion is dead but I would put money on Orion being Chuck’s long lost dad. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
Survivor: Stupid recap show. Actually I didn’t mind if the guide had not said someone was going to get voted off. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.
Lost: Oh my God, Sayid killed Ben! I know Bed should be stopped, but I thought kidnapping and/or brainwashing would have been sufficient. Of course not that I believe for a second that little Ben is actually dead or at the very least remain dead. And here’s a new theory for you: The reason why Locke, Ben, Sun, and Lapidus are not warping is because they were all “reborn” on the island at sometime. You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com.
My Name Is Earl: Now there was a plot twist I didn’t see coming even if after it was revealed a Joy I realized that the young Joy actress had portrayed her before (sans the pink hair). And it was nice for Randy to get some lovin’ on the show for once. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Friday Night Lights: I cannot count the number of goose bumps I got during this episode, from Lyla getting into Vanderbilt, Riggins taking her to church, Riggins blocking the punt (not that he would ever be part of the punt rush), to coach confronting Mr. McCoy in the rain and I am sure I am missing some scenes. And to juxtapose all that drama against things like Mindy’s quite literal wedding shower and Buddy and his crew doing their own redistricting (which should make for a great fourth season plot point). With all the goodness I am willing to overlook Dillon playing the State semi-finals in the rain again. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com.
DogTown: If you are interested in the dogs featured this week, you can check out their profiles on the Best Friends website. Click the link to go to their specific page. Mei Mei (the Chihuahua from the puppy mill), Charro (the Labrador with cancer), and Gertie (the Shih Tzu also saved from the puppy mill).
, man. We came back in time to the island and changed stuff. So if Little Ben dies he’ll never grow up to be Big Ben who’s the one that made us come back here in the first place. Which means we can’t be here and therefore dude, we don’t exist. (Hurley – Lost)
(Planet Earth, The Blue Planet, An Inconvenient Truth)
