It’s the World We Live In, Not the World We Want

It was hard not to get excited for the first season of Falling Skies: Steven Spielberg producing an alien invasion show on cable, TNT at that because they apparently know drama. But those first ten episodes just fell flat. The skitters were scary in an creepy incest kind of way, but it was hard to care about the characters, and the plot, much like the characters, did not seem to go anywhere.

But early in the second season, the show, much like the 2nd Mass, found its direction. And their compass pointed south to Charleston, South Carolina. It was a long march which saw a few new obstacles like the new mini bugs that ate the dude from The Killing inside out. There an even smaller bug(? Maybe machine?) that crawled out of Tom’s eye which turned out to be a tool of the new skidder rebellion. But is that just a skidder contraption or do the Overlords have their own and planted in Hal? But none was creepier than our first look inside a harness factory where we learned the harnesses are an actual life form before being attached to the children.

Then when they finally arrived in Charleston, the 2nd Mass landed right in the middle of a political fight between a pseudo-dictator and military coup. Sure this was the weakest storyline of the season (who would actually elect John Locke to a position of power). But the vacation in South Carolina seems to be short lived as Tom intends to leave the new civilization as soon as his son gets better. Although I am surprised Tom is so quick to leave the closest thing to civilization to fight some more when he is about to become a father again. Well that was the plan until the skies started falling again.

Thanks to the promo monkeys, you knew it was coming; the only question was what exactly was in the jellyfish looking things. Thankfully this is not John Locke’s old show and we actually got to see what were driving these spaceships. It turned out to be something in a suit that looked like suits of Master Chief joined with the Blue Beetle with something reptilian looking inside. If these new creatures mate with a human and there is a lizard baby birth I am out.

The show left us with the question “Friend or Foe?” Before they scrolled down to reveal a biped, I originally thought a non-harnessed skidder was going to step out the spaceship. Of course it is possible that the harnessed skidders ended up growing the extra limbs. But I am going to answer the promo monkey’s question, with a question of my own, “Why does it have to be either or?” I have a feeling they are an enemy of the Overloards (the weapon that the 2nd Mass was build to keep these new aliens from landing) who will end up being enemies of humans. At any rate, hopefully season three continues the momentum built this season. And hopefully by the time the next episodes air, they can get me to start caring about some of the characters.

Falling Skies 2.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 8/18/12

Quote of the Week: No One Takes Khaleesi's Dragons. (Michelle, Bunheads)

Song of the Week: One Day – Matisyahu (Covert Affairs)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Paul Ryan: A couple Fridays ago, AMC announced just hours before the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics that they were not renewing The Killing for a third season. It is common practice to release bad news late Friday in hopes that people will forget to be angry by the time the weekend concludes and to do it as the Olympics starts helps to bury it further. I bring this up not because I enjoy pissing on The Killing (even though I do) but I found it a bit odd that Mitt Romney chose Saturday morning on the last weekend of the Olympics to announce his running mate. What exactly was he hiding (besides what is in his tax returns), making the announcement at a time when most people are trying to bury news? Why not wait until Monday when you can own the new cycle instead of a time when people would rather talk about Usain Bolt or why didn’t Noel Gallagher jump out of the crowd during the Closing Ceremonies to punch Liam in the face when he was performing Wonderwall? Sometimes I wonder if Romney really wants to be president or if he has already resigned himself to losing.

Another sign that Romney may not want the presidency was his selection for Vice President. Paul Ryan is a super wonk who’s claim to fame is his budget that is supposed to save the country from financial ruin by slashing Medicare, lower taxes (mostly for the uber-rich) but will actually increase the debt according to a non-partisan economist. The guy is part of the most hated Congress in the history of polling and one of the bigger reasons why the country hates this Congress. This was clearly a pick to shore of the base of the party, but if you need to shore up your base by your vice president pick, you have pretty much already lost (see 2008). But on the bright side Ryan is a fan of Rage Against the Machine who will hopefully be invited to play the Republican National Convention later this month. Not surprisingly Tom Morello is not fond of his latest fan calling Ryan “the embodiment of the Machine our music Rages against”.

Preview Picture of the Week:



Leverage: Hardison biting that one dude (after actually warning him he was not above biting) has to be the funniest scene in the history of the show.
You can download Leverage on iTunes.

Falling Skies: I was all excited about the trip to Charleston this season, but I did not like all the politics when they got there (a dictatorship overthrown by the military; yeah). And even with running, heated water (which is not explained how they could keep the electricity going for an underground mall 24/7) Tom decides to keep the ratty beard. Alrighty. And wasn’t Weaver’s daughter going north to the mountains? How did she beat them to South Carolina?
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Grimm: Where most people spend up-fronts hoping the shows they watch get renewed, I secretly hope they all get6 canceled. I really did not need a second season of Grimm, but here it is and a month before everything else. I always liked the idea of the show way more than the acting (the dude from Road Rules? The chick from Quaterlife?). They need to find some compelling leads and quick.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Grimm on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: With her absence this week, I have come to the realization that CiCi is my favorite character on the show. Granted it does not take much to be the best character on the show. All she has to compete with is whenever Hanna goes H*A*M on people., which is not nearly enough
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Go On / Animal Practice (iTunes): If you missed their preview during the Olympics, you can download the new comedies for free.

Deal of the Week: Blu-Rays Under $10: The Expendables, Total Recall, The Terminator)

New Album Release of the Week: Last of a Dyin' Breed - Lynyrd Skynyrd

New DVD Release of the Week: Revenge: The Complete First Season

Video of the Week: The season two trailer of Homeland was just released and not surpisingly it looks all shades of awesome. Despite being unceremoniously booted from the agency, Carrie is back, in some cases with new hair and eye color, but unfortunately it looks like she is back on her meds. And just when you thought things could not get any more moody, they had to go and add a children’s choir to make it more epic. Remember The Social Network with Creep? And yes the Scala & Kolacny Brothers version of Every Breath You Take is available to download. Hopefully that does not last long. Homeland returns Sunday September 31 at 10:00.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Falling Skies, Sunday (tomorrow) at 9:00 on TNT: The first season was a bit rough at times and tiresome at others, but it seemed to hit its strike this season as it finally had a direction (and that direction was towards Charleston). But now there are there, now what? Apparently political drama as the series closes out its sophomore season.

Speaking of rocky first seasons, Bunheads also draws to a close this week. Hopefully it finds its foot too in the next season (it was recently renewed along with Melissa and Joey and Baby Daddy).

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 8/11/12

Quote of the Week: Life is cheap in prison, Vicente and I'm a very rich man. (J.R. – Dallas)

Song of the Week: God's Gonna Cut You Down – Johnny Cash (Dallas)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Canada Blames: I played soccer all throughout my youth, was a referee in college and watch every American match in the World Cup, Olympics and other random friendlies, and I do not remember anyone call a goalie for holding the ball too long, seen a couple warnings (apparently the Canadian goalie was warned by the assistant referee previously), but never actually called. It is so prevalent that the networks usually aired replays while the goalies stroll around the box for a minute or two before getting rid of it. It is kind of like a travel in basketball where you have to take an extra step or five to get called (I had to laugh when Chris Paul actually got called for it not knowing NBA superstar rules do not apply in international basketball). For the record, the rule is six seconds and the goalie held it for over ten before the penalty was called. But it is silly for Canadians to complain because it is a rarely called foul because it would be telling a judge you should have not have to pay your jaywalking ticket because cops rarely write anyone up for it. And if that is not enough to keep you Cunucks from complaining, please watch the video of Melissa Tancredi stomping on Carli Lloyd’s head which went uncalled. It was poetic that the Americans ended up winning the gold medal on that very head of Lloyd.

Preview Picture of the Week:


Falling Skies: I have to wonder just how Pope knew of Maggie’s deep dark secret. Why exactly would she tell her former captor something like that if she did not want to share with someone else?
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Weeds: It is a shame that Andy got himself a new show already on NBC this fall because I would have been up for an Andy and Doug, My Two Dads style spin off.

Pretty Little Liars: Did they really need to introduce yet another guy who looks just like every other guy? When Erza’s brother showed up on screen I was trying to figure out if that was the dude who ended up hosting the party or the one guy who was in the secret fight club. It turns out neither. Now usually when talking about Mr. Fitz(Gerald) I make a Better than Ezra reference, but instead suggest Aria take the advice of Steve Miller and take the money and run. That family is bad news.

But the big news was the introduction of The BetrAyal which will happen at the end of the season. Despite the stylization it is unclear if The BetrAyal will turn out to be “A”, just a member of “The A Team” or just a someone forced by “A” to betray the Liars, or just a random betrayal. ABC Family even set up a suspect tracker where Paige is currently in the lead with 34%. Conspicuously absent is my leading contender for the new A in Allison and my new favorite character CiCi. Since I am hoping that the BetrAyal is by one of the Liars, I am going to predict Aria will be doing the betraying. Her name does start with an A.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Tracks from the Attic – The Lumineers (Noise Trade)

Deal of the Week: Hip-Hop Classics for 2.99: Amazon went for some classic rap albums for their deeply discounted albums this week including A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, and Nas.


New Album Release of the Week: Just Tell Me That You Want Me - Tribute To Fleetwood Mac

New DVD Release of the Week: Shaft [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: Wait, Coach Taylor helped kill Osama bin Laden? I guess that makes sense.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Boss, Friday at 9:00 on Starz: For the three of you that have Starz, the second season of Boss returns later this week. The first season was weirdly frantic and I could not turn away. For those that do not have Starz, t5he first season is available on Blu-ray and DVD, you can check out my review here: One Necessary Evil Leads to Another until One Day You Can’t Differentiate Between What’s Necessary and What’s Merely Expedient.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 7/28/12

Quote of the Week: Wait, why am I asking you? You wear forks for earrings. (Ella; Pretty Little Liars)

Song of the Week: Istanbul – They Might Be Giants (Bunheads)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Trails to Sherman Hemsley: It is hard to think my childhood would have been as funny without Sherman Hensley who passed away earlier this week. The Jeffersons was one of my early television memories. As soon as that show ended, Sherman quickly to Amen. Really only Hemsley could star in a sitcom about a church and make it funny. After that he was resigned to cameos and a stint on The Surreal Life, but in his prime, there were fewer funnier people on television.

Preview Picture of the Week:



Falling Skies: Poor creepy teacher from The Killing, you keep on getting tortured in new and violent ways. I was surprised they killed Lourdes’s boyfriend so violently in from of her so early in their relationship. Hopefully she snaps out of it because her emo sulking got annoying real soon. But then again Hal did not take very long to move on for Karen so maybe there is hope. But I am still unclear why the unharnessed Karen turned on her race. That needed to be better explained.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Bunheads: It am trying to figure out if Mindy Riggins is the best part of the show or the worst. But what was up with the creepy non sequitur dance sequence at the end. It seemed like they got done with th editing before realizing all the fast dialogue left them with three extra minutes to fill so someone suggested they fill it up with random dancing to They Might Be Giants.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Bunheads on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: The very first theory I ever had about the show was that Allison was alive. Then they went and found her body. But after three seasons I have steadfastly held onto the outside hope that maybe it was an Elvis situation where an evil twin was buried in the grave. Or would that be a good twin in the case of Allison? Seeing her outside Hannah’s window is the first time they alluded that I may actually be right which also helps my theory that Allison is the head of the “A” Team. Or maybe it was the new CeCe girl all along. But God bless Hannah. Last week her big plan to catch “A” in the act backfired miserably, so bad she became the lead suspect in Ally’s murder. Then the weakest link in the dumbest braintrust on television decided she was going to break into a mental institution. Awesome. How that came off without a hitch is befuddling though.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Dallas: In a very little shocking plot twist, Rebecca’s brother is not really her brother, putting the paternity of the twin in question. Sure the DNA test says Christopher, but this is a soap opera, so that could be easily changed.
You can download Dallas on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: Bottom of the River - Delta Rae (deltarae.com; email required): I may just have a new favorite new band, give this band a try, it is as if The Civil Wars joined Mumford & Sons.

Deal of the Week: For Those About to Rock for only $2.99: Get some great rock albums for a low price including those from Metallica, Pantera, Social Distortyion and ZZ Top:



New Album Release of the Week: The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 - Joss Stone

New DVD Release of the Week: LOL

Video of the Week: In a story I broke earlier this week, the Man of Steel trailer hit the internets and it is, um, rugged.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Olympics, All Week, NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, and NBC Sports: Seriously, this is all I am going to watch all week.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 7/21/12

Quote of the Week: I’m only going to say this once boys, give me the... teddy bear. (Eliot, Leverage)

Song of the Week: Little Boxes – Steve Martin and Kevin Nealon (Weeds)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Emmy Nominations Announced: The only nomination Justified got was for Dickie Bennett (and his hair)? Alright, I am back to ignoring the Emmy’s.

Falling Skies: Even though I knew it probably would not be the case, I was hoping Karen would come back normal, or at least as normal as a de-harnessed kid could be. Unfortunately it looks like she is still being controlled by the Overlords somehow. Sadly I have a feeling she may go the way of the black kid whose name I have already forgotten by the end of the next episode which is a shame because she was really the only character I actually cared about from the start of the series.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Weeds: Kids playing roller derby was probably the most entertaining this I saw anywhere this week. Well it was until the great Andy slap fight of 2012.

Pretty Little Liars: I love how stupid these girls are. Of course Hanna, the police man was there because of the note. Of course Spencer, Garrett was sending you somewhere that would help him get off (although I thought we already saw him confess to killing Allison with Jenna). Then you have Aria who finds a boat load of money in Ezra’s sock drawer (not his finest hour) and instantly thinks that he collected Jason’s reward money. She is that paranoid but actually believes his I let the guy pay in cash to avoid taxes excuse. And what could he have possibly tell Jason? Then there is Emily who just happens to remember a tattoo right before seeing it on Aria’s former beard. God bless stupid people.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Dallas: As I mention in my initial post about Dallas, there was going to be more to Rebecca and Anne than being doting brides to the Ewing men. We learned just was hiding in Rebecca’s closet earlier this season, and we finally (kinda) learned Anne’s deep dark season besides having an evil ex-husband and it looks like she had a kid. Of course there are a couple possibilities like she gave them up for adoption, they could of died, or my current favorite theory, she thinks her kid is dead but really grew up to become Rebecca. Didn’t her parents mysteriously died early in her life? If so then we would get the awesome Springer episode with Christopher marring his step-mother’s daughter. Sometime soap operas write themselves.
You can download Dallas on iTunes.

Preview Picture of the Week:



Free Download of the Week: Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band (Google Play)

Deal of the Week: $2.99 Soul Albums: This week’s absurdly low price sale on Amazon is dedicated to soul music including greatest hits packages from Prince, The Temptations, Al Green, and the new album from Frank Ocean.



New Album Release of the Week: Handwritten - The Gaslight Anthem

New DVD Release of the Week: Boss: Season 1

Video of the Week: Apparently Mansome is a real documentary (from Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and the Super Size Me Guy) and not a Funny or Die fake trailer. Now if you excuse me, I need to go add this to my queue.



Next Week Pick of the Week: 2012 Summer Olympics: Opening Ceremony, Friday at 7:30 on NBC: I am an unabashed Olympics fan, I will watch it all, no matter how obscure, I will be even watching handball at some point probably. Trampoline? Sure, why not? (Unfortunately for the second games in a row I will not be able to watch any basketball because I cannot bring myself to root for the likes of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant). If you cannot wait a whole week for the start of the games, there are a couple preliminary soccer games starting Wednesday including the American woman (welcome back to my life Alex Morgan) playing at noon on NBC Sports Network (which used to be called Vs). Head over to nbcolympics.com to get a full rundown of what sports will be airing when and what channel.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 7/14/12

Quote of the Week: An eye for an eye just make both people blind. (Bobby, Dallas)

Song of the Week: Little Talks – Of Monsters and Men (Covert Affairs)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Comic-Con: Okay, it is not particularly big news this year as nothing that has trickled out so far (I am still waiting for the Homeland season two preview to be released). Really the only thing that raised my eyebrow so far was the trailer to Oz: the Great and Powerful but mostly because it is directed by Sam Raimi. But I fear this film is just a gateway drug for Hollywood to do a full Wizard of Oz reboot starring Kristen Stewart as Dorothy, Justin Timberlake as the Scarecrow, Tyler Perry as the Tim Man, and Channing Tatum as the Cowardly Lion.



Preview Picture of the Week:



Falling Skies: An interesting plot twist with the skidder uprising, considering the overlords did force them into slavery, but the humans do have a very good reason to cautious considering they have the mind controlling harnesses stuck to their back. And they do not know, like the audience does, that the scarred-face skidder has that eye parasite computer thingy that they pulled out of Tom’s eye.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Weeds: Nancy has taken on her fair share of drug lords in the series history, but the drug dealing clown was easily the most entertaining.

Pretty Little Liars: The talk of the Katy Perry movie was so awkward (“It's a behind-the-scenes look at Mrs. Firework.”) I was convinced it was a product placement. And lo and behold the next commercial break, there it was. Why is it so hard for writers come up with product placements that do not seemed shoehorned in? But I guess this is why Pretty Little Liars writers are on this show and not Mad Men.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Dallas: Last week I pondered how Rebecca would stay on the show after Christopher boisterously dismissed her and concluded she would just do some bed hopping. Apparently I forgot the more obvious way to keep her around: make her pregnant. Or at least have her claim she is pregnant. You are in Dallas Christopher, make sure you see the ultrasound live in person and get a blood test (I am still not completely convinced that her “brother” is really related to her). And after two episodes, I am already prepared to call Assistant Director Skinner the best character on the show after J.R.’s eyebrows. Can we get him promoted to the main cast by next season please?
You can download Dallas on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Live at Eddie’s Attic – Rhett Miller (Noise Trade)

Deal of the Week: 2.99 Country Hits: Amazon went country for their super discounted albums for the week including ones by Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Black Shelton and the 61 track box set from Willie Nelson (which comes out to about five cents per song).



New Album Release of the Week: Life Is Good - Nas

New DVD Release of the Week: Friends With Kids

Video of the Week: Mark finally found his love on Burning Love which you can watch below. If you have not been watching, head over to BurningLove.com to watch the entire season. But those that are caught up, do not fret, there is still one more episode where the Woman Tell All. Hopefully it will also be announced there with be a Bachelorette-style spin off featuring Annie. And if so, I would like to offer my throw my hat into the ring as one of the suitor.

Next Week Pick of the Week: Leverage, Sunday at 8:00 on TNT: In a story I broke earlier this week, Leverage returns tomorrow for another season of pure summer fun. Or as much fun as you can get in the rainy pacific northwest. Check out my Preview of Leverage.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 7/8/12

Quote of the Week: You phone sex in Latin? (Jared, Franklin & Bash)

Song of the Week: Rainy Day Janie – Peter Bash (Franklin and Bash)

Big News of the Week: It’s Hot: Seriously, it was 90 degrees by noon almost every day this week. On the bright side my lawn is officially dead and I may not have to mow it again until next year. Unless of course weeds start sprouting up in lieu of grass. Is it fall yet?

Preview Picture of the Week:



Falling Skies: Wow, that harness factory was extremely creepy and was only made creepier by the reveal of that the harnesses are actually living entities. I wonder if that knowledge will make removing them easier or lead them to being able to remove them completely. But my favorite part was when the Hispanic leader, then told Lourdes that Northern Mexico was destroyed. He just told her he was from Pennsylvania. How does someone from Philly know what happened to Mexico anymore than someone who living in Boston? The only thing that will make me laugh harder if her family shows up in Virginia.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Dallas: I do not understand why Rebecca fessed up to the e-mail. Why not just say JR Jr. was setting you up and blackmailing you? I am sure Christopher would have believed her over him and it is very plausible explanation. Now I just do not k now what that can do with the Rebecca character after this. Oh wait, this is a soap opera, she will just hook up with JR Jr.
You can download Dallas on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Medicine Spoon – Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics (Spinner)

Deal of the Week: $2.99 Soundtracks: Sure the art of soundtracks died in the internet age because you could just cherry pick some of the best songs anyway. But there are still some oldies worth picking up like Footloose (the original, not the crappy reboot), Reality Bites, Dirty Dancing, and Romeo + Juliet.



New Album Release of the Week: Uncaged - Zac Brown Band

New DVD Release of the Week: American Reunion

Video of the Week: It has been a while since I have seen anything that involves Nickelodeon on account that I am old. But back when I did, the most salacious it got was kids getting green slime dumped on them for saying “I don’t know.” Fast-forward a decade (or two… or three) and Nickelodeon Films is about to release a movie featuring Chelsea Handler, Jonny Knoxville, an animatronic humping chicken and some dude shouting “trick or treat (expletive deleted)”. But Fun Size also features Suburgatory’s Jane Levy in full Snarky Emma Stone mode which I fully approve of.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Perception, Monday at 10:00 on TNT: New show Perception starring Rachael Leigh Cook premieres Monday which begs the question, where has Rachael Leigh Cook been the past decade? She was poised to be the next best thing after She's All That (the gold standard of Ugly Chicks Who Are Secretly Hot movies) and the greatest anti-drug commercial ever. Unfortunately she followed that up with three high profile clunkers: Josie and the Pussycats, Antitrust, and Texas Rangers (where James Van Deer Beek once again botched the Texas accent). After that her IMDB page is filled with movies I doubt anyone has even heard of (Blonde Ambition with Jessica Simpson anyone?). Twenty-four movies since 2002 and I saw one of them. Hopefully Perception can get her career back on track because the world could use more Rachael Leigh Cook in stuff worth watching. If not, there are still people taking drugs she can knock around with a frying pan. Look for a full review (minus Cook’s career overview) tomorrow.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 6/30/12

Quote of the Week: How times can you hear Copacabana without totally siding with Rico? (Michelle, Bunheads)

Song of the Week: She's Gone – Hall and Oates (as tried to be sung by Peter, Franklin & Bash)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Health Care for All, or Else: Who would have guessed it would have been the George Bush appointed Chief Justice John Roberts who would become the swing vote on the Affordable Health Care Act (known to its opponents as Obamacare nee Romneycare)? Of course he was able to get a little partisan jab in his decision saying the law was Constitutional because it was a tax and Congress is allowed to tax Americans even though one of president Obama’s biggest selling points was that it was not a tax. Oops. So if you do not buy health care in the next couple years you will be taxed for it (unless you are near the poverty line, then it is Medicare for you). Of course any so called heath care plan that does not treat carbonated soda and other sugary treats like tobacco is pretty worthless.

Preview Picture of the Week:



Falling Skies: This show and The Walking Dead both seem to suffer from the same problems, the characters are aimless. And whenever they get a destination to get to, another character comes in and says that place has been destroyed or overrun by non-humans. So I am very intrigued with the group heading down to the Continental Congress. Who know what will happen when they get there or if they get there (which may not end up being until the end of the season) but for first time in this series, I am interesting in where they are going with the story.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: You would think after Mona blackedmailed herself as A, you would think the Liars would be highly suspicious of anyone else who is being blackmailed. Last week Jena said she continued to pretend to be blind because someone was after her. And this week Spencer’s sister claims she pretended not to be pregnant because someone was blackmailing her. I am guessing in the next episode we will learn that Hermy is being blackmailed too and that is why he is cranky. That and he was totally nailing Mona before she went into the nuthouse and is not getting any since then.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Dallas: What a cruel way to end the episode in mid confession. Thankfully TNT is airing a new episode on 4th of July because on their screeners they had no new episodes airing on the holiday. Granted since I had them at my disposal, I went ahead and watched the opening scene of next week’s episode which ended up playing out exactly how I expected.
You can download Dallas on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Brushfire Records Sampler (Noise Trade, e-mail required)

Deal of the Week: More $2.99 Albums: This week Amazon super-discounted some of my favorite albums (that I paid much more from) including The Black Keys, Mumford and Sons, The Civil Wars as well as the 24-song Led Zeppelin greatest hits package.



New Album Release of the Week: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Soundtrack

New DVD Release of the Week: The Hunter

Video of the Week: In Looper Joseph Gordon Levitt plays a young Bruce Willis who is supposed to kill his future self. Alrighty. I am all up for a weird science-fiction except when I checked out the trailer, Levitt looked nothing like a young Bruce Willis but looked exactly like a young Ed Norton to the point I had to wonder if Norton was originally cast as the older version. It was as if Willis replaced Norton at the last minute and JGL decided that he spent months perfecting his Ed Norton show he just went ahead and did it anyway.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Weeds, Sunday at 10:00 on Showtime: I have already previewed the final season of Weeds, so click the link to read that and be sure to check out the second season Episodes directly following.

Previewing Falling Skies 2.x

Falling Skies followed the same script that other recent sci-fi shows have followed: interesting concept but it is full of character nobody cares about. Aside from Pope, the renegade who reluctantly joins the group, there really was no one worth rooting for during the first season of Falling Skies. Unfortunately the second season is not preceded by a recap episode so here is a quick recap. Incest like alien came to Earth to whip off the population with the help of Mechs and kidnapped children which they turned into slaves by placing a harness on their backs (it is hinted at that the harness slowly is turning the kids into skidders). It turned out the skidders were actually foot soldiers for Overlords (leading credence to the theory of harnesses turns those attached into skidders) who took Tom voluntarily onto their ship to end the first season.

The second season flash forwards three months in a battle between the 2nd Mass and a group of skidders. Don’t worry, about half of the first episode features flashbacks. Unfortunately about half of the flashbacks feature Tom, who is still sporting an epic beard, getting back home. But there is a conversation between Tom and the Overlords (though Karen, remember Hal’s girlfriend who was taken but tends to be forgotten most of the time) where Tom surprisingly does not ask the most important question, “Why are you here?”

The second of back to back episodes tonight features Tom having a hard time assimilating himself back into camp as some people are fearful of what could the aliens done to Tom, no one more worried than Tom himself. New to the series is a mechanical wiz played by the teacher from The Killing who will be cozying up with a female member of the 2nd Mass this season. Tonight we are also introduced to two new alien beings, one of which is creepier than any zombie I have seen on The Walking Dead. Speaking of The Walking Dead, I kept thinking back to the first season of that show and their aimless travels and cannot help but think of how the character of Falling Skies have been wondering around with no good plan in the first season which carries into the first two episodes of the new season.

It is a shame that the season did not open up with the third episode because not only is it the best of the early second season but it is probably the best of the entire series (although it would have hard to have done so and explain Tom’s time on the spaceship concurrently, but the second episode tonight was a bit of filler). The episode features human on skidder violence, human on human violence, a funeral, a stolen kiss, a mysterious glowing object, and a mysterious stranger who could put the 2nd Mass on the right path. If you can make it to the third episode it could make watching the second season worthwhile and hints at a better season than the first.

Falling Skies airs Sundays at 9:00. You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 6/16/12

Quote of the Week: Bobby may not be stupid but I’m a hellva lot smarter. (J.R. – Dallas)

Song of the Week: You Only Live Twice – Nancy Sinatra (Mad Men)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: George Bush’s Head on a Stake: I was not a big fan of George W. Bush as president to the point that I even deregistered from the Republican party because he was such a bad president (or at least I tried, leaving a political party turns out to be as hard as trying to leave the mafia). But I always respect the office of the presidency no matter who is sitting in the Oval Office or how bad of a job they are doing. So I was a bit offended when I learned that Game of Thrones featured a scene featuring the disembodied head of the former president sitting on a stake in one of their scenes. The producers said it was not a political statement; it was just a head they had lying around that they needed to fill a sea of heads on stakes (not to be confused with Pardon the Interruption’s less offensive Heads on Sticks). This begs the question why did they have the head of George W. Bush just lying around? Ironically this came to light the same week that HBO was airing a feature on George H.W. Bush.

Of course my outrage died down after I saw the picture of George’s head with looked about as much like the former president as of the bust of Lionel Richie looked like the singer in his Hello music video. There is probably a reason this did not come out until someone mentioned it on the DVD commentary.



Preview Picture of the Week:

Falling Skies, Sunday at 9:00 on TNT

Mad Men: Now that the season is over, I have come to the realization that I really did not like the year’s theme of getting old sucks then you die. Don felt threatened by the youth of his wife and Ginsburg. Pete was exiled to the suburbs. Peggy leaned she had to leave her father figure behind to get any further. Betty got fat. Sally literally became a woman. Joan’s marriage crumbled and became a prostitute. Megan followed her dream and failed. Harry set away his friend to follow his dream while Harry stayed stuck in his column filled cubicle. And of course there was Lane the most tragic of them all. Roger was the only one that came out unscaved but he stopped worrying about life after his heart scare early in the series. And it is off that with the getting old motif of the season that it did not end with a very picturesque Don walking off a bright set into a dark, lifeless studio but instead it ended with Don all but winking into the camera when asked at a bar if her were alone. Even the scene in the expanded office with the five partners would have made for a better ending. But at least more people beat the crap out of Pete.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: My favorite part of the episode was when one of the Liars asks, “Did Jenna become more blinder?” But a fairly uneventful episode. We already knew Janna was overcompensating from not actually being blind. Mona talked for the first time for month, but did not have anything interesting to say. Garrett literally kept his mouth shut. (and that begs the question why did Spencer go ahead and talk to Garrett after hearing her mother was going to come back the next day for a complete visitor list after just forbidding her from going to see Garrett again?) There was some weird storyline with earrings that Aria put in Allison’s casket, but that begs the question, why did she choose to put what she thought were her dad’s mistress’s earrings as a keepsake for Allison for all eternity? Did she not have something better to symbolize their friendship?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: ATO Records Spring Sampler 2012: Get songs from Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Primus and more

Deal of the Week: Singers Who Act for $2.99: Amazon deeply discounted another set of albums including one of the greatest records ever made: Purple Rain. Other albums you can get for the low price include ones from Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore and Jennifer Love Hewitt (yes, she recorded an album).



New Album Release of the Week: The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do - Fiona Apple

New DVD Release of the Week: Wilfred

Video of the Week: I think we can all agree that Call Me Maybe is a horrible song that we cannot stop listening and singing along to and hating ourselves for it after it is over. But if there is any group that could make any song sound credible, it would be The Roots. And they did just that. With children’s instruments. So congratulations Call Me Maybe chick, for one shining moment you horribly cheesy song was credible. Now say hi to Skee-Lo on your way to one hit wonder obscurity.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Falling Skies, Sunday at 9:00 on TNT: TNT continues it slow summer roll out with the return of their sci-fi show Falling Skies. It had its moments but I was not that impress with the first season so hopefully that gets turned around with the second season which returns with back to back episodes. Look for a full review tomorrow.