57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CVI

Quote of the Week: What, like the first rule of Perv Club is no talking about Perv Club. (Ronnie - Mercy)

Song of the Week: Evil Woman – Electric Light Orchestra (as sung by Jeff, Community)

Big News of the Week: Hank and Eastwick: Dead and Dead: Not that I care. And neither of the show showed up the list of The Best New Shows of Fall 2009 that I released earlier this week. And some of the bloggers who took part in the survey posted their ballots. You can check them out on their sites:

Give Me My Remote

Ducky Does TV

Tool Academy: Much like last season, and pretty much any reality show that have eliminations, the finale just didn’t hold weight to the rest of the season. And I was surprised they didn’t offer up a wedding to the winners like they did last season. You can stream recent episodes over at vh1.com. You can also download Tool Academy on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: Finally the second most annoying coupling has come to an end (more on number one in a second). Barney is much better flying solo. If the show wants to get them back for the series finale, fine, but let’s keep Barney single until then. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I actually thought they might go two for two in breaking up couples that just don’t belong together with the friends crashing on Penny’s couch finally pushing that relationship over the edge. Hurph. You can download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Castle: My favorite moment of the easily was when the NYPD, busted down the door of an elderly woman on oxygen. Highest of high comedy there especially when her cats started crawling over the boys. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes. Also be sure to check out my chat with Stana Katic.

Sons of Anarchy: I wonder with Gemma telling Clay and Jax about her attack will actually bring the two together as they may ultimately disagree abou the plan of action for retaliation. And again, no update on Skinner or Tommy Two Fingers. Did they get out of the porn studio or not? It’s odd they lingered so long on Tommy Two Fingers and not give us a resolution or even a mention of if there were any bodies found. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Mercy: Second favorite moment of the month, when Erica Christensen stabbed her husband in the neck. It gave me Swimf@n flashbacks. They just do not make stalking swim team groupies like that anymore. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Mercy on iTunes.

Survivor: Samoa: Exile Island was the greatest twist in Survivor history. The hidden immunity idol should have been but after getting played during its inaugural introduction, I think fake immunity idols have been played more often than real ones. That all changed this season, when there was finally someone smart enough to assume there was one and looks for it before any clues, a group of people smart enough to smoke it out, and someone actually using it to save himself. And from the previews it looks like there are people smart enough to tail Russell to see if he somehow goes three for three. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Community: How disappointing that we didn’t get to see a werewolf. And Annie really needs to let her hair down more often. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: Fly Me Away - Annie Little: Amazon is taking a page out of Apple’s playbook by using a quirky pop song to haulk their products and you may have heard the song playing in the background of the new Kindle ad.

Deal of the Week: Up to 40% Off Blu-ray Hits (The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coyote Ugly)

Video of the Week: Grown Ups is technically about a thirty year reunion of a basketball team, but let’s face it, it is really a twenty year reunion of Saturday Night Live cast members (with Kevin James subbing for Chris Farley). Let’s just hope that the movie just feel like an extended SNL skit.

Grown Ups Trailer


Next Week Pick of the Week: The Prisoner, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday at 8:00 on AMC: Sunday and Tuesday should be pretty easy to catch this mini-series as there is nothing else on although an already log jammed Monday will be more complicated with the Browns on Monday Night Football. Luckily AMC will be airing encore presentations, just none announced yet. And of course if you are interested in checking out the original, I am giving The Prisoner away on DVD and Blu Ray.

Around the Tubes vol. XXIX

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 Expedition Week, Crash, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Mad Men, Community, Showtime premiere dates. (And of course don’t forget to enter to win The Prisoner on DVD or Blu-Ray.)

- The second annual Expedition Week is starting up on the National Geographic Channel. I will be going in depth on what to expect Monday, but a little heads up on the premiere Sunday at 9:00, Search for Amazon Head Shrinkers where Pierce Gibbons heads to the jungles of South America to find out if the only video of a head being shrunk is actually legit. For those wondering what your shrunken would look like (or a friend or enemy), head over to National Geographic.com and upload a photo.

- Tonight in another episode of Crash at 10:00 on Starz. Here is a preview:



- January Jones, who is hosting Saturday Night Live this week, is certainly moderately attractive but has for the most part flown under my radar. I even think 1960’s Betty Draper is much hotter than 21st century January. That all changed when Jimmy Fallon challenged Jones to a game of Beer Pong and she called him out for playing incorrectly and being a light weight for not filling his cup to the top. Color me officially smitten.

Beer Pong: January Jones


- Speaking of Mad Men for those that saw the season 3 finale will want to check out Nancy Franklin’s piece in the New Yorker.

- Want to see the full episode of The Community College Chonicles created by Abed that were featured last night. You’re in luck

My Hobo Days


- For those of you with Showtime, the channel has a full slate of premieres coming early next year. January 25 sees the return of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Tracy Ullman’s State of the Union, and new show LaLa Land. Then on March 22 the second seasons of Nurse Jackie and The United States of Tara. Lastly, The Tudors arrives April 11. Mark your calendars.

I Want My Music Television vol. LXVIII

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.

Chasing Pirates – Norah Jones



It hard not to think of the Monty Python skit from The Meaning of Life while watching the new Norah Jones video. And listening to song it sounds like hanging around with all the rappers he has latly has made her music slightly less boring.


Somebody to Love - Leighton Meester featuring Robin Thicke



It really too easy to take pot shots at actors who try to sing, but Leighton Meester’s attempt my go down in the annals of time with Joey Lawrence and Brian Austin Green as one of the worst. And I haven’t been this uncomfortable watching a music video since Fiona Apple’s Criminal.


Oh My God – Ida Maria featuring Iggy Pop



How do you follow up a song with the best title of the year (I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked)? Well you can’t. But Ida Maria recruiting Iggy Pop for a video is decent enough.


True Player for Real – MC Lars



Videos don’t get better than having a sock puppet version of “Weird Al” Yankovic. Thank you MC Lars, whoever you are.

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXIX: Soldier

Being Veteran's Day today, here is a song for all the soldiers, past and present out there. Thank you for your service and for the current ones, come home safely.

Soldier - Anna Nalick

Gives You Feelings You Don’t Want to Fight

Remember in Ghostbusters when Dan Aykroyd sees Slimmer for the first time and just stands there with a cigarette barely dangling from his mouth? That was basically the same expression I had when I saw Carrie Underwood’s latest music video for Cowboy Casanova (except substitute a pretzel stick for the cigarette). Yeah, Underwood wouldn’t be winning any karaoke contests that took place on the radio, which is not to say she cannot put together a listenable song or two and Cowboy Casanova stands out as her best to date.

That may be thanks to Mike Elizondo, best known for his bass work with Dr. Dre, who engineered a song that gave Underwood some edge for the first time yet still manages to sound country while doing so. That even includes Before He Cheats because even with its anti-boy lyrics, you doubt the person singing it is capable of jaywalking let alone felonious destruction of property. But when Carrie says in Cowboy Casanova, “You better run for your life,” you lace up your Adidas and do your best Usain Bolt impression.

That song starts of Underwood’s third album Play On and the strong songs continues with Quitter, a whimsical banjo ode to finding that special person that makes you want to work at the relationship than your usually bailing after getting bored. On the flipside is When I Stop Loving You, a quintessential heartbreak country song and Underwood’s best ballad yet.

Unfortunately the rest of Play On doesn’t stand up to those three previously mentioned songs as Carrie is content on resting on her laurels and just recycle previous song on the remaining tracks. Change might as well be called So Small 2009. Temporary Home manages to be even more smaulzier than Jesus Take the Wheel. Songs Like This (as in “If it wasn’t for guys like you, there wouldn’t be…”) is just an extension of Before He Cheats. While Undo It (albeit the best of the rest) just repeats the lyrics, music and tone of Flat on the Floor with the exception of turning the title into eight syllables and manages two out of the word “lack.”

From her first album I thought Carrie Underwood had a great album in her. It is just she has continued to repeat her successes on her two follow ups. She may have been better off handing the reigns off to Mike Elizondo for the whole album instead of just the one song. Hopefully that kind of shake up happens for the fourth album, because her current shtick is starting to wear thin after three.

Song to Download – Cowboy Casanova

Play On gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

The Best New Shows of Fall 2009

Every year in August and September we are bombarded by best new shows of the fall list which can be daunting. Add to that those list are typically only based on one episode of which the second one typically isn’t filmed until months later. That is why every November a corral up a cabal of television bloggers to see what live up to the hype and what what was a big a let down as the new Weezer album (*cough* Flash Forward *couch*). Then I throw in their ballots into my patent pending algorithm which so advanced that Sarah Palin accused it of being Communism. Here are the results and places to catch up if you missed the shows:

1. Glee (5) – Fox – Amazon VOD - Hulu



2. Modern Family (2) – ABC - Amazon VOD - Hulu



3. Vampire Diaries – The CW – Amazon VOD - Stream



4. Community – NBC – iTunes - Amazon VOD - Hulu

5. Cougar Town – ABC - iTunes - Hulu

6. V – ABC – iTunes - Amazon VOD - Hulu

7. White Collar – USA - iTunes - Amazon VOD - Hulu

8. The Good Wife – CBS - iTunes - Stream

9. Mercy – NBC - iTunes - Amazon VOD - Hulu

10. The Middle – ABC - Hulu

Numbers in parenthesis denote first place votes
Voters: Dan, Kath, Kim, Sandie, Scooter, TV Fan, Vance

In a measure of full disclosure, here is my ballot:

1. Modern Family – ABC
2. Mercy – NBC
3. Community – NBC
4. Trauma – NBC
5. Rescue Ink Unleashed – National Geographic Channel

And in one last television tidbit, let me remind you that you still have until Sunday to enter in The Prisoner Contest where I am giving away one DVD and one Blu-Ray set of the classic series.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CV

Greek: I can understand not letting Beth perform in Songfest (although I was allowed to be a ringer on my buddy’s frat intramural team a couple times)but why not let them use her dance? And how do they know if she choreographed it or not? A little silly plot point there. But the real competition for the episode was the showdown between Rusty and Dale with a soundtrack that sounded straight out of Over the Top. And I am certainly not very enthralled with the reintroduction of the Casey-Cappie-Rebecca-Evan love quadrangle that will most likely have to put up with for the rest of the season. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



The Big Bang Theory: I’m surprised that the guys could be surprised that Sheldon would know something. There is nothing I would be surprised by Sheldon knowing except how to act in social situation. You can download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Castle: It was a little disappointing that they didn’t draw any comparisons to Sarah McLachlan whose song Possession was written about a stalker (who then sued her saying she stole lines from his letter to use in the song). You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes. Also be sure to check out my chat with Stana Katic.

Sons of Anarchy: So what happened to Skinner and the two fingered dude? The ending was left a little ambiguous to if either or both got out of the porn studio or not and neither was mentioned when Jax showed up the next day. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Modern Family: Hopefully everyone caught Claire wearing a “Claire and Present Danger” t-shirt. Presumably that wasn’t for the figure skating competition. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Survivor: Samoa: It may be a JV Survivor move to just vote out the other tribe one by one and Varsity Survivor to start scheming right after the merge, but a member of the NCAA Survivor would instantly crush the other tribe coming out of the merge, crushing their spirits by taking out their leader. When you are up eight to four you cannot let the minority tribe choose who is getting voted out because not only are you giving them hope, you are also sending a message to you own tribe that they could get blindsided at any time. Seriously, half of the majority tribe’s named were brought up for potential elimination. On the bright side, as a viewer, this should make the stretch run pretty exciting. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Community: Though the song may not be as catch as In the Moonlight from Dylan and the Rusty Zippers, I cannot help going around all day singing, “She’s a B, she’s a GDB.” You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.