57 Channels and Only This Is On - 5/28/11

Quote of the Week: Real men don't lift weights. Real men fender bench. (Billy Riggins, Friday Night Lights)

Song of the Week: Sort of Revolution – Fink (Friday Night Lights)

Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Trails to Jeff Conaway: It is a shame that the lasting image we will ever have of Jeff Conaway is him in the wheelchair stammering around Celebrity Rehab and not as the immortal Kenickie. As the late great Rick James would say, “Cocaine is a hell of a drug” and Conaway joins James on the list of why you should not abuse it.


The Killing: Early in the season I assumed we were going to get a new suspect a week and move on to a new one. But focusing on the teacher as the prime suspect for five straight episodes only to clear him as a do-gooder really hurt the show creatively. If the killer ends up not connected to the Muslim church it will diminish the season on a whole. That is almost half the season on a false lead. You can download The Killing on iTunes.

Modern Family: Though not as good as the Community clip show, Modern Family came up with a clever way to look back at the season. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Friday Night Lights: Holy Jason Street sighting! But where was the JD McCoy sighting? Did he and papa (and the coach) hightail it out of town after the loss last year? But this episode was restraint of lack thereof. I am surpised that Tami did not just start whaling on the TA when she realized who it was. And I do not remember a time in the series when we have seen Coach Taylor as mad as he was when yelling at Vince after the game. I will be shocked if Vince does not get benched for at least a quarter in the next game for the stunt he pulled. And the Luke / Billy sitcom continues to bring the balance to the show with a bunch of laugh out loud moments. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Free Download of the Week: Sad Song – The Cars (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Blu-Rays under $10 (Office Space, Major League, Blazing Saddles)

New Album Release of the Week: Codes And Keys - Death Cab for Cutie

New DVD Release of the Week: Drive Angry

Video of the Week: Despite the holiday weekend, there will still be a new Game of Thrones Sunday at its usual time at 10:00 on HBO. Here is a preview of You Win or You Die.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Franklin and Bash. Wednesday at 9:00 on TNT: The unofficial start of summer is Monday and that means the summer television schedule starts up this week. Network is shoveling its usual unwatchable reality shows (seriously, Love in the Wild?!?) and scripted leftovers. Cable is also getting things started soon with returning favorites and a few newbies including the quirky lawyer show which TNT fleeced from its sister comedy station TBS. Look for my full review of the show next week.