Best of the Week vol. LIII

Quote of the Week: Do you get Big Chuck and Lil’ John here? (Punchy, How I Met Your Mother)

Song of the Week: Free Your Mind – En Vogue (Modern Family)

Big News of the Week: NBC Mid Season Announced: Considering they went with the Jay Leno Hour last year, it is hard to be befuddled by NBC’s scheduling, but their mid-season lineup is weird even for the Peacock standard. Let’s start with the oddest of the odd, Thursdays all sitcom lineup starting January 20, with Olivia Munn’s Perfect Couples taking over at 8:30 after Community, Parks and Recreations getting the post-Office slot, with 30 Rock and Outsourced getting the uncharted 10:00 hour. Which begs the question whatever happened to Love Bites which was supposed to get the 10:00 slot last fall before the show’s virgin character got knocked up in real life? Or give The Marriage Ref back the timeslot for the three hour comedy block?

Instead The Marriage Ref, which for some reason still is an hour show when thirty minutes would work much better, will start up the all reality Sunday night with a two hour The Apprentice following both beginning March . Of course the reason The Apprentice is failing this Fall because it is only one hour. Wow. Of course NBC knows a little something about failing upwards.

Other head scratchers, Parenthood will air every Tuesday in January in its regular spot before being moved to Monday at 10:00 in March where it will replace new show Harry’s Law which will get its limited run started January 17. Which means Chase gets the coveted timeslot against American Karaoke, Wednesdays at 9:00 starting January 12. This means the Law and Orders are getting split up, SVU is getting pushed back to 10:00 on Wednesday while Los Angeles gets the old Parenthood slot starting in February.

Sadly no word on when Friday Night Lights returns.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



New Album Release of the Week: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (CD / DVD Deluxe Edition) - Kanye West

New DVD Release of the Week: The Pillars of the Earth [Blu-ray]

Free Download of the Week: Bloodshot Records Label Sampler (Amazon MP3): Features tracks by The Old 97’s Alejandro Escovedo, and the Bottle Rockets

Deal of the Week: Holiday Albums for $5: This includes albums by Mariah Carey, James Taylor, Harry Connick Jr., and Bob Dylan.



Video of the Week: One last bit of NBC mid season programming, The Cape premieres Sunday January 9 with a two hour premiere that will reair in new timeslot Monday January 10 both at 9:00. But looking at its new promo, entitles Suit Up, Barney Stinson has a legitimate lawsuit he can draw up. But I do think NBC has much confidence in the show as it already has The Event set to return February 28, which by my math only means seven episodes for The Cape.



Next Week Pick of the Week: 2010 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Thursday at 9:00 AM on NBC: It is the annual tradition, this time you can expect appearances by India Arie, Big Time Rush, Betty Buckley, Ann Hampton Callaway, the casts of Broadway’s American Idiot, Elf, Memphis and Million Dollar Quartet, the Big Apple Circus, the cast and Muppets of Sesame Street, Miranda Cosgrove, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Gloriana, Michael Grimm, Arlo Guthrie, Keri Hilson, Eric Hutchinson, Juanes, Victoria Justice, Gladys Knight, Mannheim Steamroller, Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih, Power Rangers Samurai, Joan and Melissa Rivers, Crystal Shawanda, Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, and Kanye West. Wait, Kanye West? Here’s hoping he has a run in with co host Matt Lauer. Or maybe he will also show up in primetime during Taylor Swift’s special airing at 8:00 on NBC.

Around the Tubes vol. LXXV

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 Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, The President’s Photographers: 50 Years in the Oval Office, Brew Masters, LENNONNYC, Appitalism, Shazam, Strange Days with Bob Saget, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Seinfeld, and Atomic Tom.

- We still have to wait a week and a half until ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas, but starting this Sunday, it is The Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas. See what is in store in the video below:



- Tonight, Jesse Venture tackles the biggest Conspiracy Theory of them all: The JFK Assassination. He is said to have never-published CIA documents that could link the plot to the Watergate break-in and four US presidents. It airs tonight at 10:00 in TruTV.

- The latest HBO documentary premieres this Monday at 10:00. Public Speaking was directed by Martin Scorsese and is about legendary New York writer Fran Lebowitz. Here is the trailer:

Trailer

- There have been plenty of iconic presidential photographs and next Wednesday PBS is turning the camera on those who take those pictures for The President’s Photographers: 50 Years in the Oval Office. And if you want to see those iconic shots, look out for the companion book, The President’s Photographer: Fifty Years inside the Oval Office on bookshelves now.

- Premiering this Sunday at 10 on the Discovery Channel is Brew Masters which “follows Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Brewery and his partners as they travel in search of exotic ingredients and ancient techniques to produce beers of astounding originality.”

- The Beatles fans rejoice, the Fab Four in now available to download on iTunes. For the John fans, PBS is airing LENNONNYC on November 22 at 9:00 (check your local listings).

- eMusic recently lost the music library from Domino Records, Merge Records and Beggars Group, but you can still find music from those labels as well as 10 Million music downloads at Appitalism.com, “the first site to combine a social community with an online store to help consumers quickly and easily discover, discuss and download the best digital content for all devices.”

- Remember that Married with Children episode where Al gets a song stuck in his head but he can’t remember the name, just five notes? Too bad there wasn’t Shazam back in nineties, it can identify music anywhere then allow you to buy the song instantly and share with your Facebook friends. Shazam is available on iPhone, Android, Symbian, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile devices.

- Last week I predicted they had ran out of Reality TV subjects with the Hasselhoff show, but A&E decided to prove me wrong but announcing Strange Days with Bob Saget premiering Tuesday November 30 at 10:00 with back to back episode. I will only watch if Kimmy Gibbler shows up. In other A&E reality news, Gene Simmons Family Jewels returns Sunday December 5 at 9:00.

- What would Thanksgiving weekend be without a television marathon? Starting at 11:00 AM on Friday, TBS will be hosting a Seinfeld Happy Festivus marathon running until 7:30.


-Finally, for those looking for some live music today from the warm confines of your computer chair, at 7 PM (4 PT) head over to livestream.com for a live acoustic set from Atomic Tom.

I Want My Music Television vol. XCV

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.


Pow Pow - LCD Soundsystem



MTV is actually putting the Music back into their name. No, they will not be showing more music videos, but for some really they are going to back roll higher produced music video dubbed Supervideo. The first partnership is that with LCD Soundsystem who recruited Scott Pilgrim vs. the World actress Anna Kendrick playing, um, I have no idea what is going on here. Money well spent MTV.


Playing God - Paramore



Speaking of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, is the lead singer of Paramore the real life version of Ramona Flowers?


Bright Lights Bigger City - Cee Lo Green



When I saw Cee- Lo Green released a video for Bright Lights, Bigger City I was hoping for a Michael J. Fox cameo. Alas it was not meant to be.


Last Leaf - OK Go



OK Go has another interesting video backed by a mediocre song out, this time with 100% more bread.

Previewing Backwash

People ask me why I blog and it is quite simple: for the chick and swag. And recently I received the weirdest piece of swag ever: a sausage stuffed into a sock. No euphemism, actual edible meat in a lone sock. Needless to say my interest was piqued. The accompanying screener was for the new webseries Backwash that premiered earlier this week on Crackle.

The series follows three slackers, Michael Ian Black (VH1’s I Love the…), Joshua Malina (Sports Night), and Michael Panes (Confessions of a Shopaholic) who inadvertently rob a bank (spoiler alert: it involves a sausage wrapped in a sock) and of course hilarity ensues. Each episode features a new narrator which includes John Hamm, Ken Marino, Jeffery Ross and many others.

Backwash is irreverent and is reminiscent of old Three Stooges type absurdness with a modern bent and is worth the seven minutes if you have the time to watch it. You can find Backwash on Crackle, the first three episodes are up now with a new episode premiering every Monday and Wednesday through December 20, 2010. You can follow Crackle on Twitter and Facebook. Now I need to figure out what to do with my solitary sock now that I have eaten my sausage.

Previewing Glory Daze

If you ever wondered whatever happened to the tradition sitcom that you grew up with, they are currently on TBS from the recently canceled Bill Envall to all the Tyler Perry sitcoms. But much like all those family sitcoms from the eighties, they are moderately funny at best and look very cheap. But with the recent signing of Conan O’Brien (not to mention landing March Madness), it seems like TBS has a bit a swag to them, and they are branching out from their safe sitcom fare for the first time since the embarrassing Outback Jack.

Case in point, Glory Daze, their first post-Conan offering. An hour long set in the eighties at college that actually looks like they spent money on, with the college setting, large cast, period clothing, and an actual eighties soundtrack that includes the Talking Heads, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Duran Duran, The Cars, Shannon, The Pretenders, The Fixx, Kim Wilde, Spandau Ballet, Trio, The Clash, Madness, The Ramones (and for some reason Jefferson Airplane) and that is just in the first episode. Of course we will have to see if TBS spent their entire licensing budget on the pilot or if this signs of things to come.

Like any real college, our main cast is a rag tag group of friends who only hang out due to their placement in the same dorm. Kelly Blatz (Aaron Stone’s Aaron Stone) is the pre-med student who gets wrangled into pledging. Drew Seeley (Another Cinderella Story) has the chance to be the most entertaining Republican on television since Alex P. Keaton. Hartley Sawyer (Glory Daze, this is basically the only thing on his resume) is there on a baseball scholarship that can get any lady he wants, as long as Mike Schmitt does not (expletive delete) block him. And what college story would be complete without the dork that can’t get any loving, here that comes in the form of Matt Bush (you may remember him best from AT&T’s roll-over commercials).

Rounding out the cast is Callard Harris (Sons of Anarchy) as the care free fraternity recruiter the guys rush. Juilianna Guill (the stupendous actress from the Friday the 13th reboot) is the object of Blatz affection who manages to avoid all the bad eighties hairstyles. Then Tim Meadows (The Bill Envall Show) pops up as your token liberal college professor who undoubtably will have a few run ins with the quite literal Reagan-hugging Sealy.

Knowing the greenness of the main cast, Glory Daze has signed up quite a few comedy veterans besides Meadows to show up throughout the season. The pilot boasts Brad Garrett (Everybody Love Raymond) and Cheri Oteri (Saturday Night Live) as Blatz oversharing parents, and David Koechner (The Comebacks) as the college’s baseball coach who gives some interesting works of wisdom. Also showing up sometime this season are Kevin Nealon, Fred Willard, John Michael Higgins, Andy Richter, D.L. Hughley, and Michael McKean. For those keeping track at home, that is six SNL alums.

Lame title (why they went with the name of the unwatched Ben Affleck movie instead of the awesome Bruce Springsteen song, even writing the review in Word, it wants me to change the name to Glory Days every time I write it), plot lines we have already seen on ABC Family’s Greek (and Animal House and ever other fraternity themed movie) and cheesy tongue and cheek modern references (electronic mail will never catch on) aside, Glory Daze is the first original TBS program that lives up to the network’s Very Funny tagline. The over eager Bush steals most of the scenes he is in but it is his Asian roommate who gets the biggest laugh of the first episode as he visits the Asian fraternity.

TBS has long been the red-headed step child to TNT, but with Glory Daze, TBS finally has a show the matches the quality of their sister station.

Glory Daze airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TBS.

Lyrics Quiz: 1986

Tomorrow see the premiere of Glory Daze, the TBS series that is sent at a college in 1986. Due to its setting; there will be plenty of great music that will make up the soundtrack (assuming that TBS will have a budget to get the rights, the Pilot is music heavy). In honor of the premiere, I have collected some of my favorite songs for 1986. As always leave your guesses, both artist and song title, in the comment section or e-mail me. If you are correct I will un-bold the lyric. Please keep in mind the lyrics quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please only use your own meandering mind to guess them. Now onto the lyric quiz:


1. Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye.
2. I was eighteen, didn’t have a care. Working for peanuts, not a dime to spare.
3. Not the word from your lips, you just took for granted that I want to skinny dip.
4. In the paper today: tales of war and of waste, but you turn right over to the TV page.
5. You could have a bumper car bumping. This amusement never ends.
6. Now Little Bo Peep cold lost her sheep and Rip van Winkle fell the hell asleep. And Alice chilling somewhere in Wonderland, Jack’s serving Jill a bucket in his hand. (Peter Piper - Run-DMC; guessed by Rose)
7. I used to be a renegade, I used to fool around. But I couldn’t take the punishment and had to settle down. Now I’m playing it real strait and yes I cut my hair.
8. I don’t want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard.
9. Er war Superstar. Er war popular. Er war so exaltiert. Because er hatte Flair.
10. When the mirror crashed I called you in time to her you say, “If only for today I am unafraid.”
11. Every time I see you falling I get down on my knees and pray. I’m waiting for that final moment you say the words I can’t say.
12. You must have been heaven sent. Hearing me call you went out on a limb.
13. Set me free why don’t ya babe? Get out my life why don’t ya babe?
14. I know you are an emotional girl. It took a lot for you to not lose faith in this world. But I can’t offer you proof but you’re gonna face the moment of truth.
15. That’s when you she told me a story about free milk and a cow. And said no huggy no kissy ‘till I get a wedding vow.
16. I hardly know this beauty by my side. I’ll never forget the way look tonight.
17. Her weapons were her crystal eyes making every man mad.
18. Well, the whole world’s got you dancing, that’s right, I’m telling you. It’s time to start believing, oh yes, believe in who you are, you are a shining star.
19. You don’t have to watch Dynasty to have an attitude.
20. I got the gun, you got the booze, you got two chooses of what you can do. It is not a touch decision as you can see, I can blow you away or you can ride with me.
21. I got a job waiting for my graduation. Fifty thou a year will buy a lotta beer.
22. The further on the edge, the hotter the intensity.
23. Did you hear the one about Gina? Some say she’s much too loose. That came straight from a guy who claims he’s tasting her juice. (Rumours - Timex Social Club; guessed by Rose)
24. Went to see my physician Dr. Jones. He took my trousers off; told me to cough. Dr says there ain’t nothing to discuss. He tells me anyway I might have to wear a truss.
25. I am a man who will fight for your honor. I’ll be the hero you’ been dreaming of.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLVI

The Walking Dead: I kept on waiting the whole episode for that grenade Rick picked up to come into play (I wonder why he never tried to find the keys to the tank?); I thought he might toss it down the ladder when he realized the Walkers might climb up. I thought he might use it in the front of the department store with all the Walker broke through the first window. I thought he might use it on the grate in the sewers. I thought he would use that as the distraction as they went to get the truck. But in never came into play. Hopefully we have a good pay off with the grenade.

I thought while watching the credits this week, if these were in fact spoilers. Is it safe to assume that those that didn’t make the title sequence are essentially redshirts for the zombies to eat? Thankfully none of the actors have much name recognition so I really do not know who cast members are and who are just supporting actors. You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: So Barney finally get the name of his father in the same episode we meet Zoey’s father husband. Not that I really cared much about either as I kept hoping the whole episode would be Ted saying “wieners”. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: What the frack was with that ending? I think that creeped me out more than anything on The Waking Dead this week. But anyway. Didn’t Sterling have a picture of Thomas, how didn’t he recognize him in the elevator. Wasn’t his flashback about how he was going to pay attention to detail to everything, how he missed an alien standing right next to him. And what is with the promo about finally learning who tried to assassinate the president? Don’t we already know it was Hal Holbrook and his shady cabal? And how did his crony go from a broken leg held at gun point by a Federal Agent to standing on two legs free? Did I miss something? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: Wow, that was the least sad I have ever seen anyone who had just been told their pet ran away. I know as a guy I have been more lenient to a big butt and a smile than I should, but I would be very happy if some token hot chick lost one of my pets, I’d at the very least want some tears before I even considered accepting an apology. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Parenthood: Just as I predicted, Patty Pryor and Vince Howard hooked up and it was as creepy as I expected. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: I can’t believe they let the incest go as far as they did, but I guess I should not expect that Sons of Anarchy will not step over the preverbal line considering just earlier in the episode they went all Hostel on one of the characters. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: It has been pretty clear that they decided to cast a whole group of Russell’s and this season is suffering greatly. I’m hoping the teaser was a meteor that killed half the tribe which means they will have to end this season early. And hopefully the next season isn’t the much rumored Russell vs. Boston Rob season. Of course if Survivor were to ever bring back Russell how do you not vote him off the first tribal he goes to? You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Terriers: It has been song long since they mentioned it, I almost forgot the overarching plot. And they brought it back with a vengeance with that reporter poking into that land developer. Though I do not understand why Hank presented himself to the guy afterward, seems like a risky proposition considering his henchmen is good at concealing murder. And it was nice seeing the Nerds of Dooms back again as the worst kidnappers ever. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

The Challenge: Cutthroat: Who would’ve guessed that MTV would have a stronger concussion policy than the NFL? You can stream recent episodes on MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I have never been a fan of a female version of Sheldon, but Amy continually checking out Wikipedia for things to do at a slumber party was pretty hilarious, especially when she tried lesbian activities.

Community: I do not know what a bottle episode is and I do not care what a bottle episode is, I am just disappointed I had to see Chevy Chase in his underwear, but Annie never stepped out from behind the desk. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Outsourced: India really needs more holidays where Charlie can shoot off his guns in the streets. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Outsourced on iTunes.