Quote of the Week: Hello I’m Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Welcome to Sheldon Cooper presents Fun with Flags. My apologies that this episode is coming late, I did shoot one last week in honor of Black History Month but I was informed by my roommate that my spot on portrayal of George Washington Carver could be considered “wildly racist.” My heart goes out to the members of the African American community who, like me, have been kept down by The Man. (Dr. Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory)
Big News of the Week: Sequester Madness: Both sides of the aisle spend the week blaming the other side over the upcoming sequester cuts set to kick in next week unless yet another deal is struck despite both sides signing off on the deal. The bickering will probably go on right up to the deadline when they make yet other deal they will put another sequester for sometime this summer when we get to go through it all again then. And they wonder why they have a worse approval rating than Oscar Pistorius.
Preview Picture of the Week:
Justified "Outlaw" Tuesday at 10:00 on FX
Free Download of the Week: Livin for the City – Stevie Wonder (Google Play)
Deal of the Week: $0.50 Hit Songs: Pay only half a dollar for current songs by The Lumineers, The Black Keys, Fun., and Bruno Mars.
New Album Release of the Week: Amok - Atoms for Peace
Video of the Week: Virgil made an interesting observation on King of the Nerds this week in that whenever the Nerd Wars are subjective his team loses, and when it is objective they have won. Seems a little fishy because much like when Kevin Smith hosed Genevieve, I thought Team Blextrophy should have won this week.
Next Week Pick of the Week: Bunheads, Monday at 9:00 on ABC Family: It may not be a good sign that the show is coming to an end two weeks before the other ABC Family series that premiered the same week, so you may want to enjoy Bunheads while you can, because this week may be the last episode ever.
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 Vatican, Stranded, Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock and Roll, Shakespeare Uncovered, The Hero, Stevie Wonder, Ladies Night Out Comedy Tour, Connie Britton, The Biggest Loser, truTV renewals, and Deluxe.
- It may just be a coincidence that Kyle Chandler was announced as the lead of the upcoming Showtime series The Vatican just days after Pope Benedict announced her was stepping down, but I think it is only right that Coach Taylor overtakes the papacy. The Vatican is described as a provocative contemporary genre thriller about spirituality, power and politics – set against the modern-day political machinations within the Catholic church. Chandler will portray Cardinal Thomas Duffy, the charismatic yet enigmatic Archbishop of New York, whose progressive leanings excite some and alarm others within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
- New show Stranded premieres Wednesday on Syfy which strands (natch) people in haunted locations overnight so they can conduct their own investigations. Check out a preview below:
- There are still another week left in Black History Month and tonight PBS will premiere Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock and Roll at 9:00 (check your local listings) on the fortieth anniversary of her death. Southern-born, Chicago-raised and New York-made, Sister Rosetta introduced the spiritual passion of her gospel music into the secular world of rock 'n' roll during the 1940s-60s, inspiring some of its greatest stars, including Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard.
- PBS’ latest and greatest salute to the Bard -- the six-part series Shakespeare Uncovered -- has left the airwaves, but the critically acclaimed show and a variety of great Shakespeare-related content is available online. HD-quality streaming versions of the six Uncovered episodes can be found here, along with character quizzes, two colorful (and quite helpful) infographics that lay out key plot points from Hamlet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as links to full broadcast versions of plays from the PBS archive, and lesson plans for teachers who use Shakespeare in the classroom.
- Still no official date for the TNT reality series The Hero hosted by The Rock yet other than sometime this summer, but you can take you first look at the show below:
- In celebration of the 67th anniversary of the United Nations, Stevie Wonder will be airing a special concert on Centric TV this Saturday at 9:00 and will also premiere on BET, Sunday, March 3rd at 11am ET.
- Bill Bellamy's edgy, uncensored and always unapologetic; Ladies Night Out Comedy Tour premieres tonight at 9:30 on Showtime. On a mission to save relationships one joke at a time, this special brings together some of today's hottest male comics to showcase to the ladies of America.
- Connie Britton got over it a long time ago, the part that got away. The Nashville actress gives the entire story to The New York Times Magazine.
- The Biggest Loser has partnered with Pinterest for a first-of-its-kind integration, beginning with last week’s episode. Once during each episode through the Season 14 finale, as contestants learn how to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle, text will appear on-air that drives viewers to Pinterest for detailed, highly visual instructions on how to complete an exercise, follow a recipe, or improve their daily life at home from experts such as trainer Dolvett Quince and Chef Devin Alexander.
- truTV has ordered a remarkable 15th season of truTV Presents: World Dumbest…, the hilarious show that puts videos through a celebrity-commentator meat grinder. Billed by its producers as "the smartest dumb show on television," World's Dumbest… airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), with the new season set to launch Thursday, Feb. 28. The channel has also ordered additional episodes of Impractical Jokers and Hardcore Pawn: Chicago, no word on wehn they will hit the small screen.
- Deluxe will be releasing a single on Obscure Me Records February 26th. Dust, a somber electro-pop song, will be available Digitally and on CDr (limited).
It seems like once a week I am listening to my iTunes library and I hear a song that makes me go, this artist really needs a comeback. So I thought I would start a new feature here on the 9th Green highlighting an artist that really needs to reenter the public consciousness. The only criterion is that the artist hasn’t had a legitimate hit in over a decade.
Where Are They Now: Hootie went on an extended hiatus back in 2008 but routinely reunite every year for their Day After the Masters charity and other various events. Since the hiatus, lead singer Darius Rucker went on to be the most successful black country singer since Charlie Pride with both of his albums chopping the Country Albums Chart and five number one singles (in comparison, Hootie only topped one singles chart in American when Time topped the Adult Top 40 chart). Guitarists Mark Bryan and drummer Jim Sonfeld continue to make music on their own while bassist Dean Felber has taken up winemaking in between Hootie gigs.
Why the World Needs a Hootie and the Blowfish Comeback: Because it certainly does not need another Darius Rucker country album. Sure he has racked up the number ones but is anyone actually clamoring for more country music (I would not mind another RnB album like he made in 2002 with Back to Then) from him? His third, True Believers, is set to be released in June but at this point I would much rather a Hootie reunion album (which supposedly in the works). Crackedrearview is the finest pop-rock album ever forged and though most people had Hootie fatigue by the follow-up, Fairweather Johnson and Musical Chairs were solid albums. I would certainly take a Hootie and the Blowfish reunion over a Fall Out Boy reunion.
As I have stated many time, February is the worst month of the year. It is bitterly cold, the days are short, the is a lull in the sports schedule in-between the Super Bowl and March Madness, it features the lamest holiday on the calendar (and before you get too excited about the groundhog avoiding his shadow this year, Phil turns out to be wrong more times than he is right. There is rarely any good music or movies released in the second month of the year. It is no wonder why it was the least amount of days in a month. So I embrace the most horrible time of the year with a little Helplessness Blues. I love the song as soon as I heard it (it landed at number 6 on my list of the 100 Best Songs of 2011) but recently I have found the opening verse really poignant.
I was raised up believing I was somehow unique
Like a snowflake distance among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see
And now after some thinking, I’d say I’d rather be
A functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me
But I don’t, I don’t know what that will be.
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.
This seems like a combination of R.E.M.’s Everybody Hurts (minus the subtitles) mixed with Wax’s California (minus the burning man) but I wished there were more of The Lumineers in it.
I am not sure anyone was clamoring for a Fall Out Boy reunion but here it is (it is more welcome than the second or third Limp Bizkit reunions). Laughably they are titling their upcoming album Save Rock n Roll as in, Fall Out Boy Save Rock n Roll. Um, apparently they missed the memo that the genre was already saved but The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and Jack White (I guess they skipped the Grammy’s). In fact they, and all the horrible whiny emo boy bands that followed were the reason rock n roll needed saving. And despite only sporting a singular chain, I am told that is 2 Chainz in the video. Too bad George Michael beat Fall Out Boy to the burning memorabilia on film by twenty-five years.
Once Upon a Time: So Jack of the beanstalk fame was a chick? Alrighty. About as realistic as watching Hurley trying to run. I also like the promo monkeys making it sound like the reveal of Mr. Gold’s son is going to eb a shocking reveal as anyone who has watched has already figured out that his son is also Henry’s baby daddy.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.
Revenge: It is common knowledge that the second season of the show just is not as entertaining as the first. I would argue that the Jump the Shark moment was when it was revealed that it was not Daniel who died as witnessed during the series premiere but the Rent Boy instead. And it looks like the show is going to pull that cheap storytelling again this season as it was teases that Jack would end up at the bottom of the ocean at some point but will not actually pull it off as I bet the evil dock owner is the one that will end up dead. Hurmph.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.
The Walking Dead: So after coherently invading Woodbury and successfully saving Glen, Maggie, and then Daryl, Rick is bat-ish crazy again. Yep, seems right. Welcoming back The Walking Dead.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.
Shameless: Just when you think the show has run out of new ways to offend the audience, a third Malkovich child shows up with an extra package. Apparently nothing came out of Frank calling child services a couple weeks ago, but I am beginning to think maybe a representative should start showing up on set.
House of Lies: I try to avoid anything that involves Matt Damon and got tired of actors playing a douchebag version of themselves a long time ago, but this may have been the most entertaining episode of the show yet.
Switched at Birth: Is it wrong that I started yelling “Deaf Fight!!!” during this episode? Please do not answer that, I already know the answer.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Just when you think this was going to be another episode where the writers beat an already not very funny joke into the ground, out walks Mike Tyson. Well done writers, well done.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
Dallas: I wonder why Ryland and his mother are perpetrating Bobby lie that he shot him. Does Ryland actually not remember and his mommy told him who shot him? As much as they hate Anne, why not let her rot in jail?
You can download Dallas on iTunes.
Deception: O wow, I was actually right that the dude from the John Laraquette Show was actually Mia father. And now I am beginning to think he killed Edward’s one night stand to have leverage over the Bowers family. But even if the statute of limitations of statutory rape runs out after five years, would accessory to murder still get him jail time. I may just have to move him up on my list of suspect to number two after step-mommy.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Deception on iTunes.
Pretty Little Liars: Huh, it looked like Jason’s flashback was going to show what happened after Mr. Montgomery got threatened by Allison and then Spencer’s sister walked out of her house, but instead of Allison, Jason saw… CeCe? Huh? Maybe it is CeCe is the red coat that is the Master A. And where did Jason go? Unles the Liars are that unobservant that h would just slip by, did he really jump out of the window after falling down an elevator shaft?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.
Justified: I guess I was not the only one who thought Major Dad was also Drew Thompson. Granted until I see his high school wrestling pictures under the name Josiah, I would be highly suspicious that he still is. But if Major Dad is not Drew Thompson, who is? Since the show like to recycle its guest stars, I have a feeling we have already met him (for half a second, I actually thought that Arlo may be Drew Thompson, but Raylan is too old to not know his father changed his name). Could it be the half naked judge from News Radio? Sherriff Shelby? Constable Bob? Wynn Duffy? Please oh, please let it be Dewey Crowe.
You can download Justified on iTunes.
Nashville: I wonder if Gunner and Scarlett ditch Avery’s band just like Avery did. They get wind that Rayna may want to sign them, and no mention of the other guys. I guess with a show with this name, someone needs to stay in Nashville.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.
The Americans: Holy Mags Bennett sighting! You knew when Mags showed up in dinner, she was not going to be just some random creepy chick; the only question would be if she were KGB or FBI (or some other three letter agency). It turns out she is the new KGB boss and has no problem killing a chick. But I guess that was the only reasonable outcome (again showing again just how soft the Jennings are getting), with the kid going to his grandparents in Mother Russia.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.
Community: Note to the new showrunner: no more Scary Annie please. It is not brain surgery, put her in highly GIF-able situations. No need to over-think things when it comes to her.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.
: Pay only half a dollar for current songs by The Lumineers, The Black Keys, Fun., and Bruno Mars.
- Atoms for Peace
