Best of the Week: 3/15/14

Quote of the Week: Miller, would you call this a herd, a gaggle, or a flock of (expletive deleted)? (Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, Justified)

Song of the Week: Chapel of Love – Dixie Cups (Pretty Little Liars)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: A Not So Melancholy Happy Trails to Brandon Weeden: Our long national nightmare is finally over, Brandon Weeden has finally got cut. Two years ago, not only did they waste a first round draft pick on the pushing thirty year old quarterback, they moved up to get him so they used multiple draft picks to get him. And since this is the Browns, of course he sucked, but Weeden somehow managed to not even meet extremely low expectations. The guy got tackled by the United States flag and on multiple occasions tried to throw an underhanded pass under pressure multiple times. So good riddance Brandon Weeden, you will not be missed (well except by people who like to make fun of the Browns). I feel sorry for the fans of which ever Canadian Football League team that picks him up. Now we have a month to see what quaterback bust the Browns will draft next.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“A Is For Answers” Pretty Little Liars season finale, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Lift Your Spirit – Aloe Blacc (iTunes)

New Album Release of the Week: Symphonica - George Michael

New DVD Release of the Week: Frozen

Video of the Week: Yesterday, TNT announced its full summer schedule which will be big as in ten original series, the most scripted dramas than any basic cable channel ever (and will probably be more than most, if not all the networks this summer). Below is the complete list of return days for those that want to mark your calendars now.

Major Crimes: Monday, June 9 at 9:00
Murder in the First (New Series): Monday, June 9 at 10:00
Rizzoli and Isles: Tuesday, June 17 at 9:00
Perception: Tuesday, June 17 at 10:00
Cold Justice: Friday, June 20 at 8:00
The Last Ship (New Series): Sunday, June 22 at 9:00
Falling Skies: Sunday, June 22 at 10:00
Dallas: Monday, August 18 at 9:00
Legends (New Series): Wednesday, August 20 at 9:00
Franklin and Bash: Wednesday, August 20 at 10:00

The first of those new series, Murder in the First just released its first trailer. The show, from Steven Bochco, will follow a single murder investigation across an entire season stars Taye Diggs (Private Practice) and Kathleen Robertson (Boss). Here is hoping that it is better than The Killing (or at the very least actually solve the investigation by the end of the first season). Check out the trailer below:




Next Week Pick of the Week: Pretty Little Liars, Tuesday at 8:00: The show has been hyping for weeks now that the season finale will be where “Ali Tells All.” The title of the episode is even entitled A Is for Answers. Hopefully it lives up it because the show has gotten convoluted lately with all the theoriews floating aroumd on the show and the different A’s and A Team members. Hopefully Allison sets everything straight and we can move forward next season. Although things will get more convoluted in Hanna’s love life next season thanks to the Ravenswood cancelation as her current love triangle will get expanded to a quadrangle because it was announced Caleb will be back to a series regular. I wonder if they will bother to wrap up the Ravenswood storyline or Caleb will just show up and say something like, “My father sold the house so I decided to move back to Rosewood. Oh yeah, and that chick I told you I was going to protect and made you think I was dating: she actually died the day after you left town so you do not have to worry about her.”

Around the Tubes: 3/14/14

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 Deal with It, Being Human, Susan Boyle: Her Secret Struggle, Rufus Wainwright, Billions, Masters of Sex, Bermuda Tentacles, Ascension, and the summer schedules for TNT and ABC Family.

- TBS has great news for comedy fans who just can't wait for the return of the network's popular hidden-camera prank show Deal With It, hosted by Theo Von and executive-produced by Howie Mandel, and the launch of the brand new competition series Bam's Badass Game Show, hosted by Bam Margera (Jackass). One week before the shows launch on TBS, the network is offering full-episode previews of the season openers via TBS's social media platforms, website and mobile apps. The season premiere of Deal With It is already available for viewing through TBS's YouTube channel, while the first episode of Bam's Badass Game Show will be featured on TBS's Facebook page beginning Monday, April 7. This marks the first time that TBS has ever offered full-episode previews of its shows via social media.

- DweebCast host Andy Riesmeyer interviews Sam Witwer, star of SyFy's Being Human. SyFy announced last week that the show's fourth season would be its last, to the chagrin of its devoted fan base. In the interview, Sam explains how the cast of the show has known of the impending cancellation for more than a year. He also explains some of the financial reasons for the cancellation and how the producers and actors are happy because they feel they get to end their show in the best way possible. Sam also mentions that there won't ever be a chance for the show to come back after the end of this season.


- On Wednesday, April 9 at 10:00, Ovation, America’s only arts network, will present the U.S. television premiere of Susan Boyle: Her Secret Struggle. This all-access, intimate and inspiring documentary travels with Boyle as she embarks upon her first tour and uncovers her battles with Asperger’s Syndrome.

- Operatic pop singer Rufus Wainwright has announced a PledgeMusic campaign for the pre-order of the upcoming Prima Donna album, a studio recording of his first opera Prima Donna with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Praised lavishly for his emotionally raw lyrics and recognized for his "genuine originality" from The New York Times, Wainwright has been called "the greatest songwriter on the planet" from the legendary Elton John and has excelled in the worlds of rock, opera, theater, dance and film.

- Showtime has ordered Billions, a new complex, contemporary drama pilot from a script by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big To Fail), and Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Ocean's Thirteen, Rounders), who will also executive produce. Billions is a fictional drama that focuses on the collision and, at times, collusion between an aggressive U.S. attorney in New York and some of the richest hedge fund billionaires in the country. Billions marks the first pilot pick-up for Showtime this year.

- Multi-talented performer Keke Palmer is joining the season two cast of the acclaimed Showtime drama series Masters of Sex. Palmer will recur in the guest starring role of Coral, the nanny hired by the Masters to care for their new baby. Production on season two will begin mid-March in Los Angeles.

- Linda Hamilton (The Terminator) will star as an Admiral of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier battling an ancient monster in the new Syfy Original Movie Bermuda Tentacles, premiering Saturday, April 12 at 9:00. When Air Force One goes down over the Bermuda Triangle, the Navy sends its best rescue team. But in saving the President, the team awakens a monster which threatens America’s entire Eastern Seaboard and, ultimately, the world.

- Syfy is reigniting the channel’s traditional long-form scripted programming event for 4th quarter with the greenlight of the 6-hour series Ascension, it was announced this week by Syfy President Dave Howe. Ascension is an ambitious original drama created and written by Philip Levens (Smallville) who will serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner. Said Howe, “Syfy is more committed than ever to bringing to life epic event television. We have a rich history in this arena, from Steven Spielberg’s ‘Taken’ to the highly acclaimed mini that launched the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ series, to reimagined takes on classic tales such as ‘Alice’ and ‘Tin Man.’ In keeping with that grand tradition, we are delighted to bring this thrilling, provocative and intelligent event to our fans later this year.” In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, a mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

- This week TNT unveiled its summer schedule. Here are the highlights:

The Last Ship (New Series): Sunday, June 22 at 9:00
Falling Skies: Sunday, June 22 at 10:00
Legends (New Series): Wednesday, August 20 at 9:00
TNT's summer slate will also include new seasons of the hit series Major Crimes, Rizzoli & Isles, Perception and Franklin & Bash; new episodes of Dallas; and the launch of Stephen Bochco's new crime drama Murder in the First. Premiere dates for those series will be announced later.

- ABC also unveiled its summer schedule. Again here are the highlights:

Pretty Little Liars: Tuesday, June 10 at 8:00
Chasing Life (New Series): Tuesday, June 10 at 9:00
Switched at Birth: Monday, June 16 at 8:00
The Fosters: Monday, June 16 at 9:00
Young and Hungry (New Series): Wednesday. June 25 at 8:00
Mystery Girls (New Series): Wednesday, June 25 at 8:30

Previewing Live From Space

If you cannot get enough of outer space from Fox’s Cosmos reboot the channel that is re-airing that show is also going live in the final frontier tomorrow. But where Cosmos features Neil DeGrasse Tyson traveling around in a CGI spaceship, Live From Space, starting at 8:00, lives up to the title. Sure there will be some pre-taped segments (ever wanted to know why astronauts eat freeze dried food; you will find out) and you will see that in space sweating can become fatal because it can cause you to drown, which happened on the current mission. Below is the full press release on the event (the guy at right will be watching) including how you can get involved by asking questions to the astronauts that will be answered live on air. And if you want even more Live From Space while watching, head over to LiveFromSpace.com for a second screen experience.

Produce a live television event from a $100 billion studio that’s 250 miles above the Earth’s surface and traveling at 4.9 miles per second? That will be the task at hand this spring for National Geographic Channel (NGC) Worldwide with a television event that will literally take viewers beyond the stratosphere.

Live From Space, a spectacular, groundbreaking two-hour television event from Arrow Media, will be broadcast live from the International Space Station (ISS) and NASA Mission Control in Houston on Friday, March 14, 2014, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Celebrated journalist, producer and television host Soledad O’Brien will host and co-executive produce. Lexus is the presenting sponsor of Live from Space.

With unique access to and footage from the ISS and Mission Control, we’ll go into orbit with astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata from the ISS, while astronaut Mike Massimino (most notably known for fixing the Hubble Telescope) will keep us grounded with O’Brien live from Houston. Live From Space will air on NGC in 170 countries, and on Channel 4 in the U.K. It will simulcast on NGC’s Spanish-language network in the U.S., Nat Geo MUNDO.

The ISS orbits Earth every 90 minutes, meaning NGC will quite literally take viewers on a trip around the world. We’ll see incredible shots of the planet, from sunset and sunrise, to city lights and green aurora, to lightning storms and shooting stars.

For those fascinated by the recent emergency spacewalks to replace a vital cooling system, Live From Space will show even more intimately what it takes to run this floating world. From space, Mastracchio and Wakata will give viewers a fully guided tour, showing us how they live for months in microgravity. In their own words, learn how they sleep upside down, stay fit, maintain personal hygiene and, of course (that question everyone is always curious about), how they use the toilet. They’ll conduct never-before-broadcast experiments that demonstrate the real-world value of the science conducted on the floating laboratory. We’ll also show how science in space is benefiting people on Earth such as the ISS’s robotic systems, which are the inspiration for a neurosurgical robot that removes brain tumors. Astronauts, flight controllers and researchers will be featured in original segments from the ISS and Mission Control during the course of the two-hour live event.

It won’t just be O’Brien asking the questions, either. Viewers are encouraged to post a video question on Instagram using #HelloFromEarth, and a few of those video questions will be sent to the ISS to receive a personal video response from the astronauts during the March 14 live broadcast. For those who are stumped on a question but still want to show the astronauts their appreciation, photos of a simple wave hello, using the same hashtag, will be part of the Live From Space community on the interactive website and second screen experience. A first-of-its-kind second screen experience will also allow viewers to track the space station while exploring the interests of people under its path. This “social-media telescope” will give viewers real-time insight into the collected cares of Earth’s inhabitants.

“Every day at NGC our team tries to reach for the stars,” says NGC President Howard T. Owens. “Now we are literally able to do it! We are honored to have secured such amazing access to the station and the astronauts living there, and are exhilarated by the tremendous challenge to show Earth … live.”

“We’re thrilled to be making this unique event for NGC Worldwide,” adds Arrow Media’s creative director, Tom Brisley. “The technological and logistical challenges of broadcasting live from space may be enormous, but there’s no bigger buzz than creating mind-blowing content that works in micro gravity, on the world’s largest spacecraft!”

Live From Space follows the premiere of the highly anticipated COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey earlier in the week on Sunday, March 9, at 10 p.m. on 10 U.S. networks including Fox, National Geographic Channel, FX, FXX, FXM, FOX Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo and Fox Life. COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey will also air on Monday, March 10, on National Geographic Channel with bonus content and behind the scenes footage. Live From Space premieres Friday, March 14.

After more than 50 years of manned space flights, Live From Space will launch cable television into orbit with an event that is not to be missed.

I’m So Tired of Being Along These Penitent Wall Are All I’ve Known

The nineties were all about keeping it real, from the rappers to the rockers, you had to be serious to be taken seriously. That was probably why Beck was written off as a one hit wonder when his irreverent song about shaving your face with some mace in the dark became an MTV staple and had teenagers racing to their Spanish to English dictionaries. Beck ended up becoming weirder and more irreverent with his next album Odelay with help from The Dust Brothers (who helped the Beastie Boys get weird on their second album Paul’s Boutique) and ended up becoming one of the most respected artists of the era after its release. He then closed out the slacker decade by defying the logic of our nation’s sexx laws the only way Beck can.

Then came the new millennium and a quite literal Sea Change where all the fun was sucked from Beck’s music. The 2002 album was in result of a failed nine year relationship and was as depressing as you would expect. Was it good? Yes. But did the world need an album full of sad bastard, mostly acoustic tracks from Beck? Probably not.

Twelve years and three albums later (four if you count the sheet music only album), Beck is back with another batch of sad bastard songs. Morning Phase is dubbed a “companion piece” to Sea Change and is filled with the same acoustic based folk that is still manages to wrap itself in a wall of a sound. Much like Sea Change, Morning Phase is haunting and beautiful, but I still prefer my Beck to be weird and irreverent. Leave the mopey acoustic folk to Ray LaMontagne.

Song to Download – Blue Moon

Morning Phase gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Might Dance Like Your Auntie I Don’t Care Cause Were Here to Party

In a post-Beyonce world, it is extremely annoying when artists still drop crumbs every couple months before finally unveiling the full course. It has been almost four months since Lily Allen dropped Hard Out Here, her comeback single, without much of a peep about when a full album would come out. Air Balloon came out about a month later followed a couple weeks later by the Girls’ track L8 CMMR. A couple weeks ago, Lily announced the upcoming album would be called Sheezus but at the time it was unclear if she was being serious or just taking a small jab at Kanye West.


Well the press release has been passed around and Sheezus is indeed the title (as the cover art above suggests) and there is finally a release date: May 6. The 12 tracks (17 if you get the Bonus Tracks Version which includes her version of Somewhere Only We Know, originally by Keane) include the three previously released songs as well as a song for the title track. There is even a new music video for the new track Our Time which features recreating a drunker version of Orphan Black. One that features a hot dog. And it is awesome. Welcome back Lily Allen.

I Want My Music Television: 3/10/14

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.


The Man - Aloe Blacc


I happy for Aloe Blacc to finally be having a moment, but it is hard for me to get into this song. You cannot sing, “You can tell everybody,” like that and follow it up, “I’m the man,” instead , “this is your song.” And it is weird to have a music video that goes through the civil rights era and start it off with an awkward shameless promotion for a music streaming service.


Temple - Kings of Leon


It is family day in the latest Kings of Leon video complete with a Super 8 video. But with all the family around, I thought the lead singer was married to a Victoria Secret model. Why marry a Victoria Secret model if you are not going to shameless put her in your videos? Simon le Bon his shaking his head at this video right now.


Morning Song – The Avett Brothers


The latest The Avett Brothers music video was produced by Judd Apatow. I was expecting some wacky antics and some cameos from the Apatow comedy tree, but alas, it look like most every other simple video from the band.


Never Gonna Change - Broods


C’mon, if your sweater holds that much water, maybe you should think about taking it off. But anyway. This is just another cool track from Broods.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/9/14

Shameless: The show has really gone out of its way to make Frank hit rock bottom, only to go even lower the next week, but Fiona seems to be sinking even lower every week two. But she may have bottom out this week ending a day in an empty house with all her siblings finding a new place to lay their heads for the night. Things may finally be on the upswing for her waking up to Liam’s face at the end of the episode. Of course being Shameless, something will probably still go horribly wrong next week.

The Walking Dead: When did Beth become the most interesting character on this Show? Didn’t she smart out as the other Greene sister who spent most of the second season comatose? Now she is a drunken pyromaniac who is smart enough to grab shards of glass and a broken side mirror to make fire starting easier. But I have to disagree with Daryl that Moonshine is a great starter drink. You might as well give her rubbing alcohol as a first drink. Yeah Peach Schnapps is not very good, but it is a much better starter drink than moonshine. You only give someone moonshine as their first drink to make sure they never drink ever again in their life. Maybe that was the point.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: After the failed I’m Sorry Bracelet, it was obvious that John would try to woo Katherine back with a dance, but I did not see that elaborate cheesily entertaining family hoedown coming.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

The Voice: One of my biggest complaints of the last two seasons was that, unlike the first three seasons that raided my musical library for contestants, not one of the singer from the past two cycles were lurking on my iPod. Last week I did recognize YouTube star Christina Grimmie (but never downloaded her music before and remained less impressed than the coaches by her Blind Audition) despite not owning any of her music. This week there was an actually a auditioner who I actually had a song by. Sure Lindsay Pagano got montaged and Everything U R is one of the more embarrassing songs in my library but it is actually there.

Last week I suggested that Shakira should start taking fliers on contestants that are overlooked and this week she snatched up De'Shawn Washington who I thought gave one of the better auditions this season. Hopefully that works out for them. Granted there were a few no chair turners that she also should have picked up Allison Bray gave one of the better performances this week, yet no love (Allison was much better than the country singer Shakira picked up the previous week). I thought she could have gone far. If Shakira is out of contestants first again this season, she is going to regret not giving her a shot.

The producers really put a quick one over on me Tuesday, they were really pushing hard that Adam did not pick up any artists, or even bothered to push his button the whole hour. So the person who watches too much television in me said, of course Adam is going to get the last, and probably best singer, of the night. Naturally he turned around seconds into it and everything looked to be going towards him. But shockingly Audra McLaughlin went with Blake. So if Usher won week one, Blake seemed to be the clear winner of week two picking up the two best singers. Adam still has a solid team while Shakira pull up the rear two seasons in a row. It does not help that she half of the six montage contestants this week. Never a good sign. But she did pick up Clarissa Serna who is on my very short list of contenders this year.


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

How I Met Your Mother: Oh yeah, I completely forgot that Aira Montgomery was Robin’s sister. I vaguely remembering everyone thinking she was the mother but then never showed up again (or possibly even mentioned again) until this week. Oh yeah, and then apparently Robin’s I do not remember ever being mentioned before mother turned out to be Tracey Ullman. What?!?
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: So they finally revealed something that was hinted out going all the way back to the premiere, that Tom Keen is not who he says he is. And his mission is to love Lizzie. And he is loosely associated with the faux substitute teacher who we also learned this week has been stalking Red. But who do they work for? Is Alan Alda too obvious?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: I figured Quinn shooting Sky in the stomach and walking away was a little Bond villainy of him and there was a reason why he did not make sure to hit an organ that would kill her or at least stick around to watch her die. Nope the Clairvoyant wanted Coulsen to lead him to wherever he was revived and do the same for Skye. And that thing that kept alive was… um. I do not know. My first thought was Dr. Manhattan but that is the wrong comic universe. Then I was wondering is maybe it was one of those aliens from the attack on New York from the end of The Avengers.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: So let me get this straight. Alison disappears and turns out to be dead a year later when the Liars started getting harassing texts from “A”. And now we think that Spencer “killed” Allison and her mom is “A” and is harassing the Liars to find out which one tried to kill Allison so she can return home safely. Somehow “A” recruited Mona to torment the Liars and Ezra is just an enterprising writer looking for a big scoop. But why kill Ian, Garrett, and presumably Wilden? The Allison tells all episode at the end of the season better actually tell all.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

About a Boy: The Lil’ Jon party had a tiger on a gold leash. Natch.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download About a Boy on iTunes

Justified: Raylan really has gotten soft after becoming a dad. How do you give your ill gotten radio winnings to a Crowe? It does say something that he would give that money instead spending it on visiting his daughter (with his new trophy girlfriend in tow). That girl is going to have some serious daddy issues when she grows up. Of course the trophy girlfriend is no longer in play. Raylan is not going to cozy up the Wendy now is he?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: This was a pretty uneventful episode for the third hour. I am most interested with the promo where the monkeys suggested that the Brawn Tribe is debating on throwing a challenge. What a horrible idea. Every tribe that has thrown a challenge has never produced a winner (with the exception of Cochran; but when you fear Brandon Hantz is probably going to go on a murderous rampage, it probably is wise to throw in the towel to get him away from you). Presumably the Brawn will do this to get rid of Cops R Us, but this will end up even more disastrous considering he has the Hidden Immunity Idol. Though it would be highly entertaining if twom people go home in one season with Idols in their back pocket (or wherever Garrett left his because he did not bother to bring it with him).
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

Nashville: As I predicted a couple episodes ago, Juliet would end up on Rayna's record label. I guess the fireworks will start next week when Rayna has to start dealing with the diva and Juliet has to deal with no longer being on a label that can shower cash down upon her. So basically it looks like we are going back to the beginning of season one. I do hope there is room on the label for Layla, I liked the Juliet vs. Layla fued more than than when she was butting heads with Rayna.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Oh wow, Zack got booted from the house. I wonder if they are having the finals with the last four because he comes back next week and kills everyone, announcing him to the world as the newest evil supervillian. I am also slightly disappointed that they did not incorporate an flying objects into Nerdiocart. Zack got mad just by people spinning him out. Image how more angry he would have gotten had he been hit with a turtle shell multiple times.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Hannibal: She has been vague since the beginning so I have long wondered what exactly does Agent Scully know about Hannibal. I think we learned this week that she does not know anything as fact but pretty much has assumed the worst (most, if not all are true) including that Will is right to think Hannibal set him up. She was also smart enough to leave town before Hannibal came to chop her up in his clear murder suit (I love how he still wears a full suit underneath). And there have been plenty of disturbing images on the show, but the dude ripping himself out of the human eye may actually be the grossest.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.