57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. LXXXIV

Quote of the Week: Hey, my boobs are awesome. (Rebecca Logan, Greek)

Song of the Week: Does anyone know what song was played at the end of Rescue Me?

Big News of the Week: Digital Conversion Finally Happened: After almost a year of postponements, the digital conversion finally happened last night so hopefully you can still get all your channels today. I’m just glad we don’t have to sit through all those reminders.

I would also like to point out this week I took part in a survey over at TV Blips who asked TV Bloggers their thoughts on the recent cancelations and renewal for next fall. Head over there to read my thoughts.

Coalition Links of the Week:
So, Futurama is back. Buzz wonders: Is this cause for celebration — or just puzzlement? (BuzzSugar)

This past week was a lot of fun. Jimmy Fallon & his guests had us laughing. Top Chef Masters returned to make us hungry. And our favorite reality show, So You Think You Can Dance, made us want to dance. (Give Me My Remote)

Not even a pretty face and an English accent can save the hyper-mediocre new show Mental. (TiFaux)

Vance thought it was such a strong first week Top 20 performance, that he doesn't know who to love right now on So You Think You Can Dance!(Tapeworthy)

This week, Jace reviewed the first four episodes of Season Two of True Blood, talked to Alan Ball about what to expect this season, and had a candid interview with Virtuality co-creator Michael Taylor about the upcoming FOX airing of the two-hour pilot. (Televisionary)

This week, the TV Addict shone the spotlight on the Broadway invasion that is upon us when the new slate of shows premiere this Fall 2009. (The TV Addict)

The more he reads about various Flash Forward characters, the more excited Matt gets about this show. (TV Fanatic)


Pushing Daisies: Holy Fred Williamson sighting! And he gets his head twisted off! It is depressing that tonight is the last episode ever. Or at least for ten years when networks try to recycle ideas from the ’00. You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com.



I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Did they just have the relatives of everyone involved on standby? First Rod Blagoavich isn’t allowed to leave the country so his wife goes instead. The first time Heidi and Spencer bolt, they bring in another Baldwin and the second time it is Heidi’s sister that joins the show. And why are they still adding people? I thought this was only going on three weeks, but they are adding more people then are getting voted off. You can stream current episodes over at Hulu.com.

Greek: Aw, homecoming, one of only two days of the year when it is socially acceptable to start drinking before noon. You can stream current episodes over at ABCFamily.com. You can also download Greek on iTunes.

Rescue Me: Yeah, Tommy drinking again is not going to end well. And with White Shawn off having surgery, is Black Shawn going to be the new Dumb to Mike’s Dumber? Them trying to keep from telling Tommy’s cousin he was drinking again was pretty funny. You can stream current episodes over at Hulu.



Free Download of the Week: Royal Pains in HD (iTunes): Last week I previewed the new USA show Royal Pains and now you can download the extended pilot for free.

Deal of the Week: More Great Blu-ray Hits for Dads (Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy, Lost, Remember the Titans)

Video of the Week: Oh that wacky Chris Hansen and his undercover cameras. This time Hansen heads to Sin City to catch pimps. As seen by the clip below, one alleged pimp is happy that the he hasn’t been caught by Hansen for his most famous Dateline NBC segment. Dude apparently is such a fan of To Catch a Predator he looks to get an autograph (see clip below). Dateline NBC: Vegas Undercover airs Monday at 10:00 on NBC.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Greek, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: The description for the season finale of Greek says that Dale and Calvin make a purity pledge together. Really anything that Dale and Calvin pledge to do together will result in hilarity.

Around the Tubes vol. IX

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 Hammertime, Raising the Bar, Weeds, Nurse Jackie, The United States of Tara, America: Wild and Wacky, Wedding Day, World’s Toughest Fixes and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

- Step up MC Hammer, you’re the latest has been to get their own reality show. The show premieres this Sunday at 10:00 on A&E. If you cannot wait that long, you can download the first ten minutes of Hammertime on iTunes. I will give the show props for creating the vial video below:

Hammer Pants Dance (HD)


- Hammertime isn’t the only show going with a flash mob for promotion as this “mystery clip” instead goes with the hall and Oats classic You Make My Dreams Come True for their promotion. Of course it is not such a mystery to who put on the clip because the show’s logo is not so subleably shown. But anyways.

"You Make My Dreams Come True" at Mall of America


- You may remember during my preview of Raising the Bar, I mentioned Zach Morris has a run in with a new judge, here is a first look at his courtroom from Monday’s episode:



- I am still working my way through season three of Weeds, but apparently they just premiered the fifth one. Thoughout the season, Andy will be sharing some his knowledge at they newly opened University of Andy like Surviving a Bear Attack, Starting a Band and Holding Your Liquor (see below):



- In other Showtime news, they must have really been impressed with Nurse Jackie because they have already renewed it for a second season. But then again they like renewing their shows early. Much like The United States of Tara who will see Academy Award nominee Viola Davis (Doubt) show up for seven episodes when the show returns.

- Out of the 1000 channels I have, I don’t think The Smithsonian Channel is one of them. But if you do, on July 5 at 4:00 they will be celebrating the seventy-second birthday of Spam on America: Wild and Wacky.

As altruistic as it sounds, as a dude, I think I will pass on Wedding Date, the new reality series from Mark Burnett where they give deserving couple a wedding they deserve. To keep with that altruistic theme, for those that take the subways in New York City, you may just get a free cab ride next Monday as a collection of 25 dressed-up brides will stand in front Grand Central Terminal (8 a.m. to noon), and Penn Station (3-6 p.m.) to direct cab riders to specially outfitted Wedding Day taxis for a free ride. Also, TNT will be screening the first episode on the CNN board in Times Square at approximately 8:00 p.m.

- If you tuned into Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last week to see the Dave Matthews Band perform, you may have seen Fallon interview World’s Toughest Fixes host Sean Riley. You can find behind the scene photos over at NationalGeographic.com and check out the interview below:

I Want My Music Television vol. LIII

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought 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.


Funny the Way It Is - Dave Matthews Band

Somewhat reminiscent of their last video Eh Hee with Dave Matthews getting abused with the camera doing weird speed effects. Well, at least the song is great. A Dustland Fairytale - The Killers Nothing more unintentionally funny then when The Killers try to go for an epic video. But all I could think when watching it is the Enrique Iglesias video Hero (with Mickey Rourke and Jennifer Love Hewitt). Crack a Bottle – Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent Crack a Bottle was really the only party song on Relapse, but leave it to Eminem to make a video that is as creepy as the rest of the album. Under My Bed – Meiko Meikohad me at ninjas hiding under her bed. And holy Abe Lincoln sighting!

Musings From the Back 9: Music Edition XI

Have you ever wondered what The Fray would sound like if there were fronted by Adam Levine of Maroon 5? Well if so you will want to check out The Script. Lead singer Danny O'Donoghue does his best blue eyed soul over the melodic music. But much like The Fray (or Maroon 5 to a lesser extent), their self-titled album is mostly mediocre with throwaway tracks a plenty. But also like The Fray, they are able to crank out one or two tracks that hit an emotional chord and on The Script, that song is The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, a song that follows a guy who hoped to reunite with a past love by camping out at the place where their first met.

The Script gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.


Mat Kearney busted on the scene three years ago thanks to some helpful television placements and a quirky half sung, half spoken word type delivery. The rapping Chris Martin set him apart from the other Coldplay wannabes that scattered the landscape during the middle of this decade. Which makes you wonder why he dropped all the spoken word delivery for his sophomore album City of Black & White. The result is none of the songs here really stand out especially after realizing Fire & Rain isn’t a James Taylor cover.

City of Black & White gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.


There is nothing better in music than a great blues song. Even blues that isn’t that great is still pretty good and that is where the Blues Caravan: Guitars and Feathers falls into. The main problem with the album is most of the songs are nondescript and it is sometimes hard to distinguish one from another. Most songs are originals from Deborah Colman, Candye Kane and Dani Wilde with a couple covers thrown in from Ray Charles and Willie Dixon. But if you have some hankering for some blues, this disk will certainly be sufficient.

Blues Caravan: Guitars and Feathers gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Previewing Explorer: Easter Island Underworld

You don’t become one of the Seven Wonders of the World by chance and the giant heads of Easter Island made the list thanks to the size and number of them spread throughout the island. An like many of their companions on the list, one is quick to ask “why and how?” But unlike some of the other wonders, there were not that many original inhabitants around to answer such questions.

Ever since Easter Sunday on 1722 when the Dutch discovered the most remote island in the world, archeologist have been puzzled by these mysteries and science has started to piece the puzzles together which is featured on the most recent episode of Explorer: Easter Island Underworld premiering tonight at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel. Thanks to science we know think we know where the original inhabitants came from, how they died out, why they build the heads and why. You can check out a clip of the show below:

Previewing The Closer 5.x

With the wedding out of the way, the fifth season of The Closer starts up with no bells and whistles, just Brenda Leigh trying to figure out a family of four. Naturally the investigation quickly turns to the father who wasn’t around when the bodies of his wife, two kids and mother in law were found. Once tracked down, Brenda tries to worker her magic to solve the case. And an unexpected run in with the FBI complicates the case.

With a ring on her finger, it looks like there will be more change on the horizon for Brenda as Kyra Sedgwick says the theme of this season is change. And that seems to hit home in the first episode with someone close to her becoming gravely sick. Series creator James Duff adds to that change theme, “After four seasons of really getting to know these characters, the fifth season marks a great time to see how they react to major changes both inside and outside the squad room. We’re very excited about where we’re taking Brenda and her squad in the coming year. Check below for a preview clip:



The Closer airs Mondays at 9:00 on TNT and is directly followed by Raising the Bar at 10:00 (see my Preview here). You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download The Closer on iTunes or on Amazon Video on Demand (see below):

Previewing Raising the Bar 2.x

The main reason for watching the first season of Raising the Bar was because of Zach Morris’s hair. It was memorizing in how a lawyer would walk into a courtroom with a caveman mane. So it came to much of a shock when the promotional photos for the second season were released and Zach Morris was back to his Zach Morris locks (albeit a little darker). Did they not learn anything from the story of Samson? Will the second season be as watchable with having to stare at the long hair?

Luckily as the season premiere starts up tomorrow at 10:00 on TNT, we still get to see Zach in all his hairy glory before he finally goes under the scissors (while defending a barber at that). Aside from the haircut, not much has changed, Lindsay Warner is going through with her divorce while still hoping for a Bayside reunion with Zach and an inevitable love triangle is finally looking to solidify its side with the district attorney he was shacking up with in the pilot.

And to answer the question, will the show still be watchable after Zach lopped of his hair: yes. Mostly thanks to John Michael Higgins (Best in Show) who shows up as an anal retentive judge who butts heads with Zach over the rules of his court to plenty of laughs. We even learn what happens when a lawyer doesn’t wave the readings, something I have wondered about since first hearing it. Also this season, the lawyers go at each other on cases ranging from drug dealing, child pornography, and hate crimes. Check out the clip below for a preview:



And for one last time, Zach Morris in olden times (cue up It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday):



Raising the Bar airs at 10:00 on TNT and is preceded by a new season of The Closer at 9:00. You can stream episodes after they air over at TNT.tv. You can also download episodes of Raising the Bar on iTunes.