Showing posts with label Friday Night Lights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Night Lights. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

I Want My Movie Trailers - 12/13/11

Every week or so I like to take a look at new music videos that catch my eye and really do not do the same for movie trailers because interesting ones do not hit the interwebs as frequently as music videos, but a bunch that caught my eye have been released recently and I thought I would share them. I am not sure if this will become a regular feature, but feel free to shout me a holler if you think you can come up with a better title than I did (which should not be too hard).


Cabin in the Woods – April 13



When I first heard about the new Joss Whedon movie Cabin in the Woods my first thought was, that sounded much better when it was called Evil Dead (and to show nothing is sacred anymore, word is we are getting an Evil Dead reboot in the near feature sans Ash; my soul is weeping). But like it says I the trailer, “You think you know the story… Think again” and after watching it I look to be wrong pigeonholing it because from the cabin in the woods setting, there looks to be something entirely different going on a bigger scale. At the very least Cabin in the Woods will be something to hold us over until the inevitable Army of Darkness reboot nobody ask for hits movie theaters.


The Five Year Engagement – April 27



Comedies are notorious for frontloading trailers with all the funniest bits, but if there are other scenes even half as funny as Bright Abbott singing We Didn’t Start the Fire with past girlfriends and a child shooting people with arrows, The Five Year Engagement will be worth watching. Really, when was the last unfunny movie Judd Apatow (who apparently now goes by “The Producers of Bridesmaids
” for some reason) was apart of? And I swear I heard Annie Edition try to do an English accent in the trailer which may also make the movie worth the price of admission.


Battleship – May 18



The second Battleship trailer has landed, now with 100% more Landry Clarke. But the movie could employ the entire cast of Friday Night Lights and I’d still be a bit worried. Best case scenario is it is Independence Day at seas. Worst case scenario, Transformers at sea.


What to Expect When You’re Expecting – May 11



The trailer work like the longest game of good news (Elizabeth Banks) bad new (Cameron Diaz) good news (Brooklyn Decker) bad news (Brooklyn Decker in a fat suit) good news (Chris Rock) ban news (Jennifer Lopez) good news (Anna Kendrick) bad news (the dude from Gossip Girl) good news (Big Poppa) bad new (the dude from Glee). I think the bad news will win out because the movie looks like He's Just Not That Into You if the all the chicks got knocked up. But seriously, can we please stop these horrible “ensemble” movies that spend too much money on talent and none on actual screenwriting?

Friday, September 30, 2011

Best of the Week - 9/30/11


Quote of the Week: Honestly after all you sleepovers with the brown boy, a girl is a relief. (Howard’s Mom, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Hello - Lionel Richie (Community)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced: The governing body (or whoever does the nominating) of the Rock Hall released the names of fifteen acts of which five will be inducted next year. Most notable include repeat nominees Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, newbies Eric B. & Rakim and Guns N' Roses. With both the Beasties and Peppers releasing albums this year, I bet both will make it this year (though I contend the Peppers should not get in until the 25th anniversary of Blood Sugar Sex Magic). I have GnR as a lock if only because everyone wants to see who will actually show up. And though a first ballot Hip Hop Hall of Fame inducted, Eric B. and Rakim will doubtfully get in especially with other rappers Beasties likely to be enshrined. If I were a betting man I would put Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and The Spinners grabbing the other two spots. If I am not mistaken, inductees will be announced in December with the ceremony taking place in March here in Cleveland (and I am available to cover the festivities if anyone wants to hook me up with a ticket). Stayed tuned next year when Debbie Gibson finally becomes eligible.

Free Download of the Week: Pilot - Pan Am, Season 1 (iTunes): For those that have missed what I decreed as the best pilot of the new season that I have seen so far, you can catch up before the second episode by downloading the episode on iTunes.

Deal of the Week: Miramax Movies as Low as $5.99 (No Country for Old Men, Sin City, Kill Bill)

New Album Release of the Week: Metals - Feist

New DVD Release of the Week: Friday Night Lights: The Complete Series We are 85 shopping days until Christmas and for those wondering what you can get me, this will do just fine.

Video of the Week: After a slew of some pretty poor chick flicks, Kristen Bell is returning to television this January for House of Lies. I did not know until this teaser that the show is actually a comedy. And hopefully the pantsuit is not a sign of Bell’s wardrobe on the show, but I am always down for watching her dance more.

House of Lies Tease


Next Week Pick of the Week: Pop Up Video, Weekdays at noon on VH1: I have no idea why they ever canceled Pop Up Video returns after a ten year hiatus Monday for sixty new episodes. Personally I cannot wait until the first weekend marathon where I can veg out and enjoy the new episodes for a whole day.

On a side note, "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour hits shelves Tuesday but for those that cannot wait until then or just rather watch it for free, tune in tomorrow to watch Weird Al perform songs from his new album like TMZ, classics like Smells Live Nirvana and of course some polka, most in his traditional costumes. And since the special was filmed in Toronto, Al naturally breaks out Canadian Idiot.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 9/18/11


Quote of the Week: I know there’s alcohol at high school parties, I watched Friday Night Lights. (Max, Parenthood)

Song of the Week: Everlasting Light / Tighten Up – The Black Keys (Free Agents)

Big News of the Week: The Fall Television Season Starts this Week: I am still trying to figure out how I am going to watch six hours of television on Monday alone. Here’s hoping something gets canceled.


The Lying Game: I guess it is not that surprising, I guessed it early on, but we actually got confirmation that the parents knew the twins mother who is now in some mental hospital. Now I wonder if maybe if Heroes guy or the other guy will turn out to be the father. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Weeds: It has so long since they talked about him, I completely forgot Stevie even existed. But then again the show likes to randomly bring up characters they forgot about like when Heilia showed up a couple weeks ago.

Parenthood: I am not one to comment on people’s looks, glass houses and all, but whoever is the hairstylist on the show needs to be fired for whatever she put on top Haddie’s head. And if that was the actress’ decision, they should kill her off for that. There is no excuse for a bad perm mixed with a Jheri curl in 2011. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Holy Machete sighting! The Sons better okay that deal because that is one dude I do not want on his bad side. Interesting both Clay and Jax are using the deal to get themselves out of the crew, even more interesting would be if the rest of the club kills the deal as I am not sure they have the votes right now. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: Last season, Survivor brought back two of my least favorite contestants of all time and ended up with the worst season ever in the history of the show. So this season at least had to start out better, right? Except the brought in one of those hated contestants nephew and I could have listed a hundred Survivor contestants before I would have guessed they would bring Ozzy back. But I guess I have to admit this season got off to a more entertaining start even if the eye candy was significantly down this season. Unfortunately the focus was still focused on the returning Survivors with only the unlikeable pot dealer and Cochran, who tries way too hard the only ones sticking out so far. Them and Russell’s nephew who weirdly is holding a grudge against the lingerie football player (wait, did I really write that as a profession) simply for being hot. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.

Survivor on iTunes


Free Agents: A solid start, but the show really needs more Giles in future episodes. As for the show that preceded it, I refuse to watch anything called Up All Night that does not involve Rhonda Shear. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Free Agents on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: Bonus EP - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (iTunes): Bob Seger is one of the last iTunes holdout, though only a pair of live albums are the only things available to download from him currently, there is also this free six song EP.

Deal of the Week: Wilco Albums for $5 Each: With their new album The Whole Love being released later this month, for the month of September you can get every previous Wilco studio album for just five dollars (even though A Ghost is Born is not on the page, it is also that price, you just have to search for it).

New Album Release of the Week: Pearl Jam Twenty (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

New DVD Release of the Week: Happy Endings: The Complete First Season: Since Sony Television was nice enough to send this set along, let me saw a few things about it. First, for those that watched the first season and wondered why Dave was still moving out of Alex’s apartment in the middle of the season, the episodes on the DVD are ordered the way they were originally intended to air including the mysterious thirteenth episode that did not air during the first season but ABC randomly aired a couple weeks ago. Extra include some pre-air specials from abc.com and about ten minutes of deleted scenes including one where it tells you why the wedding crasher showed up half naked and in rollerblade. Also the Osama bin Laden joke, that was removed when the episode aired a week after he was killed, has been restored.

Video of the Week: New episode of Border Wars tonight on the National Geographic Channel at 10:00. Check out a preview below:

Smuggler’s Tunnel


Next Week Pick of the Week: The Playboy Club, Monday at 10:00 on NBC: I recently received a press release claiming The Playboy Club is receiving the least amount of buzz of shows airing on network this fall (along with Glee and Charlie’s Angel; while Chuck, Supernatural, and Fringe are the most buzzed about according to this list, alrighty) so let me give it a little love before joining the long list of failed NBC shows. Though I do not know how a show that is probably going to be heavily promoted during Sunday Night Football the night before and features hot chicks in bunny outfits can fail. But then again NBC could not use SNF to turn Friday Night Lights into a hit, so it is possible.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts… We’ll Deal with that Later


In my 2000 plus posts her on the 9th Green, I am sure I have made my fair share of stupid statement; it is probably a weekly occurrence (if not more often). But none is dumber than when I trashed the Friday Night Lights pilot equating it to one of the funniest unintentional comedy of all time. Let’s hop into the Scooter Time Machine all the way back to 10/10/06:

I’ll have to admit, there were a few chill scenes throughout the first episode like in practice like the guy that fumbled the ball who had to go in front of the tackling squad. But the show is brought down by the same reason I don’t watch sports movies, it is filled with too many cliché. The worst being the quarterback predictably going down, I knew this was going to happen the moment the backup quarterback came on screen. Then they had the backup comeback from not just a touchdown deficit, but two in the final six minutes to win the game. You know, just like Varsity Blues.

And if that is not bad enough, I even predicted that Friday Night Lights would be canceled before the then new to NBC Sunday Night Football aired its final game of the season. And here we are five years later and I do not know why I continued to watch after such a bad first impression (probably Lyla Garrity’s ponytail, the single greatest ponytails ever in the history of ponytails) but it is a good thing I did because the show finished its run as one of the five greatest shows ever to grace out television screens, topping my list of the Best Television Shows the last four year and racking in seventeen Scooter Television Awards (the most of any series).

In defense of my first impressions of Friday Night Lights, my main problem with the show was the football, from the Varsity Blues rip off of the first episode to the sixty yard hail Mary in the last one, the football was riddled with clichés throughout the series’ run. Seriously, the Panthers won way too many games in the final seconds that a perennial Texas state championship contender had any right to win. There had to be a few tomato cans on their schedule.

But Friday Night Lights was not about football, it was about the people that inhabited a football town. And the show created more characters worth caring about then any show in the history of television. Jason Street adjusting to his new life. Tim Riggins sacrificing himself for his brother. Matt Saresen balancing his new position and life at home. Trya Collette getting herself into college. Vince Howard, with one foot in prison, turning his life around. Becky Sproles dealing with the hardest decision of her life. And with many television shows unable to create even one character to root for, Friday Night Lights even had a multitude of recurring characters that could have a whole show focused around them: Buddy Garrity, Mama Smash, Grandma Sarasen, Billy Riggins, Mac McGill, Herc, Tinker, all of which I would have watched a spin-off featuring them.

As great as those previously mentioned characters are, at the heart of Friday Night Lights were Coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tami. There is a good reason why many of the characters listed them as role models individually or what they inspire to be in a relationship. They managed to support each other but still managed to keep their own voices. In a show that had depth in great relationships (Eric and Buddy, Landry and Tyra, Landry and Matt, Matt and Julie, Tami and Julie, Tyra and Tami, Trya and Lyla, Coach and Lance, Tim and Billy, Tim and Becky, Billy and Luke, Vince and Coach, Tim and Jason, Tim Jason and Lyla, Smash and Tim, Smash and Mama Smash, Matt and his grandma, Vince and Jess, Coach and Jess) the coach and his wife stood above them all and may be the greatest duo in the history of television. To do all these relationship’s justice would require a 400 page book to cover them all rightly.

Sure there were a few hiccups throughout the shows run aside from the football, most notably the second season. Landry killing a dude gets plenty of hate, but people seem to forget that season two also gave us Matt hooking up with his grandmother’s nanny and if it were not for the writer’s strike, Julie could very well have hooked up with her English teacher (which I guessed just got postponed for four seasons). But it was the strength of the characters that whenever the writers took a misstep, the characters were still worth rooting for. It is because of that it was a little disappointing when a handful did not show up in the final montage.

Since reboots are all the rage these days, is 2012 too soon for a Friday Night Lights reboot? C’mon, FX, how about fast tracking that. And for those that missed the series, were watching the ABC Family re-airs before they were yanked (then why are you still reading), or just want to watch the series again, ESPN Classic just began rerunning the series from the beginning.

Friday Night Lights 5.x gets a Terror Alert Level: Severe [RED] on my Terror Alert Scale.

Friday Night Lights the series gets a Terror Alert Level: Severe [RED] on my Terror Alert Scale.



Sunday, July 17, 2011

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 7/16/11


Quote of the Week: Texas forever. (Tim and Billy Riggins, Friday Night Lights)

Song of the Week: Heaven – Brandi Carlile (Friday Night Lights)

Big News of the Week: America Comes Up Short: Augments could have been made after the USA beat Brazil that it was the best game ever of any sport, right up there with the Miracle on Ice. Now that they came up short in the World Cup final, the Brazil match sits squarely in the second tier with all the other “Yeah, but” games. And the Japan win was eerily reminiscent of the US beating Brazil (sans any controversial referee moments) with a late goal in extra time and pulling out the win in penalty kick. They even got a red card, but only had to be down one player for seconds (and America was just about a foot away from possibly getting a penalty kick win in regulation). And if Alex Morgan is reading this, you are more than welcome to cry on my shoulder as long as you like.

Alex Morgan: call me



Leverage: I would not have been opposed had they done an entire segment devoted to the team trying to get the douchebag to do something heroic. That was comedy gold. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Falling Skies: The creepiest moment of the short series has to be when the skitter led the children into the room and nested on them like a mama bird. It creeps me out just writing that. You can stream recent episodes over at tnt.tv. You can also download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Rescue Me: with just two months worst of episodes left, I am ready to say goodbye to this show. The part where Tommy took a drink so he could hear the dead people, just to spit it out was a little too much for me. Considering the show will end with the anniversary of 9/11, I am sure there will be a touching sendoff, but I fear the lead up will be too cumbersome. Granted the firehouse discussion of offensive stereotypes on reality television was entertaining. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes.

Friday Night Lights: The finale is still a little fresh and am still formulating my thoughts (which will be too long for this space) so until I get the digital version of pen to paper (fingers to keyboard?) check out Grantland’s Oral History of Friday Night Lights, which hopefully is a precursor of a 250-page book. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Friday Night Lights on iTunes


Free Download of the Week: Pilot - Alphas, Season 1

Deal of the Week: Favorite HBO Shows for Up to 65% Off (Deadwood, Eastbound and Down, Six Feet Under)

New Album Release of the Week: Universal Pulse - 311

New DVD Release of the Week: Young Justice: Season One V.1

Video of the Week: Earlier this week I reviewed her band’s Cocoon album (see I Gave Up on Giving Up on Me) and for those that that want to relive her time on the Voice, here is the Best of Dia Frampton (though you should go to Hulu and search her name for her full performances, or just go to iTunes and buy her songs).



Next Week Pick of the Week: Rescue Me, Wednesday at 10:00 on FX: With everthing going on last week, I almost forgot that Rescue Me was returning for its final season. First episode back was a little rocky (if I am not mistaken, the last two seasons were originally supposed to be one, but the network broke them up so the show could end just prior to the tenth anniversary of 9/11), but hopefully it ramps up for its series finale just days before we memorialize that tragic day.

Saturday, July 09, 2011

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 7/9/11


Quote of the Week: Let me tell you something, you’re gonna be the quarterback of the Dillon Panthers next season. And you’re gonna shine. (Coach Taylor, Friday Night Lights)

Song of the Week: Devil Town – Tony Lucca (Friday Night Lights)

Big News of the Week: Casey Anthony Trial: So I have no clue who Casey Anthony was before this week, and honestly still not entirely sure why she is national news, but for some reason white woman have not been this mad at a verdict since O.J. Simpson was deemed not guilty. I do not know why someone that no one knew before this trail could get everyone up in a frenzy (seriously, America how about caring more about our fallen soldiers dying for our freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan than some random chick in Florida) but now I am going to Vegas to see what the Over / Under on the number of seasons until Casey Anderson makes it onto Celebrity Rehab.


Leverage: It is a shame that the killer was clearly recognizable to me from the second flashback because other than that it was a fun silly little episode. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Falling Skies: After last week’s creepy ending I kept waiting for a twist ending and it was a little weird ending the episode on a normal dinner scene. I guess sci-fi shows has engrained in me that something shocking would close out every episode. Andb I do not care if they are just kids, if someone is shooting at me, I am firing right back. I’m also killing the sleeping skidders. If the skidders control the mechs and the skidders are dead, the mechs are useless. You can stream recent episodes over at tnt.tv. You can also download Falling Skies on iTunes.

The Nine Lives of Chloe King: For those taking part in my Chloe King Drinking Game (take a shot whenever you thing of Buffy) probably got really tipsy this week when Chloe got super hearing just like Buffy in the episode when Jonathan was going to go on a killing spree. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Nine Lives of Chloe King on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I feel a little cheated that they have spent the last couple episodes playing up is Ian really dead or not storyline just to find out that he was a live, but wait he “shot” himself (though probably did not). Plot twists upon plot twists are a little tedious. And I wonder when everyone is going to realize the reason “A” is always one step ahead is because “A” is tapping their phones. It is the only logical answer assuming the show does not go supernatural (or “A” turns out to Aria which is my second guess as who is “A” after Allison is still alive). You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Friday Night Lights: Grandma Saracen and Tyra Collette. Sigh. It is good to see them one last time (and it is a shame we will not be seeing Tyra in a Wonder Woman costume every week next fall, I would have tuned in no matter how bad it was). But it is weird that they are playing Tim and Tyra up as some grand love when they did they same thing with Lyla last season. I would gladly go to jail if I had those two fighting over me when I got out. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Friday Night Lights on iTunes



Free Download of the Week: Dangerbird Summer Sampler 2011 (Amazon MP3): This sampler includes songs by Fritz and the Tantrums, Minus the Bear, and Beady Eye (which is just Oasis without Noel Gallagher).

Deal of the Week: $5 Indie MP3 Albums: Amazon currently has almost 500 indie albums for only $5 including ones from The Civil Wars, Broken Bells, Lissie, and Band of Horses.



New Album Release of the Week: Red River Blue - Blake Shelton

New DVD Release of the Week: The Lincoln Lawyer

Video of the Week: For the latest installment of HBO’s documentary series, Love Crimes of Kabul goes inside the Bagh Woman’s Prison where half of the prisoners are there for “moral crimes” like running away from home, adultery, and premarital sex. Check out a trailer below and tune into Love Crimes of Kabul Monday at 9:00.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Friday Night Lights, Friday at 8:00 on NBC: Earlier this week, Friday Night Lights racked up its fourth straight Scooter Television Award for Best Scripted Show (it was keep from a clean sweep from the final season of Veronica Mars) which sadly be the last time it wins that award as the series run comes to an end next week. And while you are waiting for the last episode to air (or want to relive the series for you lucky DirecTV viewers), head over to NBC.com to flip through the Friday Night Lights Yearbook.

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

The Seventh Annual Scooter Television Awards


Welcome to the 7th Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired new episodes between June 2010 and June 2011. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2011 STA's:

Best Scripted Show: Friday Night Lights

Best Sitcom: The Big Bang Theory

Best Cable Show: Justified

Best Reality Show: The Challenge: Cutthroat

Best Talk Show: Pardon the Interuption

Best Talent Competition - The Sing-Off

Best New Show: Terriers

Best Awards Show: 2011 Grammy Awards

Best Hour of TV: Bloody Harlan - Justified

Best Half Hour of TV: A Fistful of Paintballs (Part 1) - Community

Biggest Shocker: Mags Bennett serving herself Apple Pie (Justifed)

Worst Idea: Survivor: Redemption Island

Worst Moment: The Killing ending on a cliffhanger

Best New Title Sequence: Rubicon

Best Song Placement: Shout (Pts. 1 & 2) – The Isley Brothers (Greek)

Best Karaoke: Push It – Jeffster (Chuck)

Best Singing Competition Performance: Heartless – Dia Frampton (The Voice)



Hottest Token Hot Chick:



Yvonne Strahovski with wings

Yvonne Strahovski taking a bubble bath


Best Character: Raylan Gibbons (Justified)

Best New Character: Hank Dolworth (Terriers)

Best Recurring Character: Mags Bennett (Justifed)

Best Guest Appearance: Betty White (Community)

Best Duo: Coach and Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)

Most Entertaining Reality “Star”: Special Agent Philip Sheppard (Survivor: Redemption Island)

Most Annoying Reality “Star”: Boston Rob (Survivor: Redemption Island)

Best Quote: Listen to me: I said you need to strive to be better than everyone else. I didn’t say you need to be better than everyone else. But you gotta try. And that’s what character is: it’s in the trying. (Coach Taylor, Friday Night Lights)

Show That Should Be Brought Back: Friday Night Lights

Biggest Question for 2011-2012: No, seriously, who killed Rosie Larson Will anyone continue to watch The Killing?

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

The Best Television Shows of 2010-11


I usually like to post my best shows of the year list after the May finales but at that point The Killing was still in the middle of its season so I decided to delay it because how the season ended would play a role in how it would land on the list. But after actually seeing the finale it was all for naught because the show dropped itself out of the top ten (and the top twenty at that). But even without The Killing, AMC actually managed its first two series on my end of year list. So here are the ten that did not have a finale so bad I wanted to throw the remote at my television:

1. Friday Night Lights, Season 5 (DirecTV / NBC)

2. Justified, Season 2 (FX)

3. Parenthood, Season 2 (NBC)

4. The Big Bang Theory, Season 4 (CBS)

5. Community, Season 2 (NBC)

6. Terriers, Season 1 (FX)

7. Modern Family, Season 2 (ABC)

8. The Walking Dead, Season 1 (AMC)

9. Rubicon, Season 1 (AMC)

10. Leverage, Season 3 (TNT)



Below is a running tally of shows that landed a Quote or Song of the Week over the past year.

Quotes of the Week
The Big Bang Theory – 6
Friday Night Lights – 5
The Killing – 4
Community –3
Justified – 3
Rubicon – 3
Castle – 2
Chuck – 2
Modern Family – 2
Pardon the interruption – 2
Pretty Little Liars – 2
Rescue Me – 2
Glory Daze – 1
Greek – 1
How I Met Your Mother – 1
No Ordinary Family - 1
Survivor – 1
Terriers – 1
The Voice – 1
The Sing Off – 1
The Walking Dead – 1
Two and a Half Men – 1

Songs of the Week
Chuck – 4
Friday Night Light – 4
Community – 3
Parenthood – 3
Pretty Little Liars – 3
How I Met Your Mother – 2
Glory Daze – 2
Lights Out – 2
Modern Family – 2
Outsourced – 2
Rubicon – 2
Sons of Anarchy – 2
Terriers – 2
The Big Bang Theory – 2
Castle- 1
Covert Affairs – 1
Franklin and Bash – 1
Greek – 1
Memphis Beat – 1
No Ordinary Family – 1
Rescue Me – 1
Shameless – 1
Survivor - 1
The Voice – 1

Sunday, July 03, 2011

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 7/3/11


Quote of the Week: Do you know what else is going to be distracting to them, is when they turn their phones here in about thirty minutes and they look at iTunes and see you sitting way above their records. That’s going to be so distracting. How are they going to focus with all that iTunes domination happening? (Blake Shelton, The Voice)



Song of the Week: Spirit In the Sky – Norman Greenbaum (Friday Night Lights)

Big News of the Week: Dia Frampton is the Only Player that got Robbed and Kept all Her Jewelry: To be honest I wrote that title right after The Voice finale and opened with a joke about Barry Bonds, George W. Bush and the 1972 Russian Basketball team needing to make room in the asterisk club for Javier Colon. But three days later I do not particularly care anymore because I realized like everything that allows internet voting, the show has no creditability for that simple fact. Sure Dia Frampton still was robbed but since she outsold everyone else on The Voice, having the hightest charting single after ever show and the only one to hit number one on iTunes she should easily find a new record contract and have more flexibility than Javier not being the winner to have more creative control and record with her band Meg & Dia. And keep in mind the person Dia sang a duet with on Wednesday, Miranda Lambert, made it to the finals of Nashville Star and lost to some dude named Buddy Jewel. Yeah, never heard of him either.

But what is frustrating about The Voice is the solution to fix its voting problems is really easy: give equal weight to the three voting methods, 33.3 % from internet, 33.3% from phone, and 33.3% from iTunes. That way people that actually spend their hard earned money on the music have the same say as losers who created a hundred different e-mail accounts because they believe their opinion is more important than everyone else. So if the producers of The Voice are reading this, feel free to use my idea, all I ask for in return is a private performance of Genie In a Bottle from Christina Aguilera (preferably Christina circa 1999). Since I started this with a Kanye West quote, I’ll give the last word to him and his thoughts on the finale:

Kanye West gives his thoughts of Javier Colon beating Dia Frampton on The Voice


Falling Skies: It may be hard not to be distracted by plot points that were already used in alien invasion movies. Seeing Noah Wiley dragging the unconscious alien around, it was hard not to think of Will Smith in Independence Day or even Aaron Eckhart in Battle: Los Angeles who also captured aliens for study. But the ending was extremely creepy with both the alien and kid waking up at the same time. You can stream recent episodes over at tnt.tv. You can also download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I have long been in the A is a not so dead Allison so I am predicting that is who the shadowy figure in the house that her brother is hiding. But what happened to the that one’s chick’s girlfriend’s family that lived in the house? Here they just renting from the family and moved out or are the writers making things up as they go? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Friday Night Lights: Holy Smash Williams sighting! Of course that is just what Tim Riggins needed to see right out of prison, his archnemesis excelling at the college level. Hopefully he can get things together by the end of the season. Unfortunately that end of the season is coming way sooner that I was hoping. With every passing playoff game I cringed because the faster they get to state, the faster the season would end. And after avoiding looking up the number of episodes left all season, the promo monkeys finally clued me in that there are only two episodes left. Sigh. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Friday Night Lights on iTunes


Free Download of the Week: 23 This Year: The Sub Pop Amazon Sampler: This sampler includes songs by Fleet Foxes, The Head and the Heart, and J Mascus.

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: This month you can grab albums by Prince, Fleet Foxes, Huey Lewis and the News, and Blake Shelton.



New Album Release of the Week: Grand Theatre Vol. 2 - Old 97’s

New DVD Release of the Week: Gettysburg / Gods and Generals (Limited Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: What better day than the 4th of July to honor the newest citizens of the United States of America than with their own documentary Citizen USA which attends naturalization ceremonies in all 50 states. You can watch it Monday at 9:00 on HBO. Here is the trailer:



Next Week Pick of the Week: It’s 4th of July: Go outside, eat some hot dogs and watch the firework.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 6/25/11


Quote of the Week: You got all of that from a crate of oranges? (President Levi, Friday Night Lights)

Song of the Week: Our Hearts Are Wrong – Jessica Lea Mayfield (Pretty Little Liars)

Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Trails to Clarence Clemons: The music community lost a great one this week when Clarence Clemons passed away earlier this week due to complications from a stroke earlier this month. Clemons was most famous as the saxophonist for the E Street Band that backed Bruce Springsteen for three decades. But he truly shined at live shows where he was always a crowd favorite whenever he stepped to the mic. He also added his talents to artists as wide ranging from The Temptations to Gloria Estefan to Twisted Sister and most recently appeared on the latest Lady Gaga album and even popped up in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. He will be missed.


The Killing: The show got killed this week (bad pun intended) for its cliffhanger ending and rightfully so. The producers say that no one with the show ever said that the first season would be self contained, but my big problem was that everyone assumed it was because it was based on a Danish show that did wrap up the murder mystery in a single season then moved onto a new case in the second. Obviously they knew at the beginning at the season it would end the way it would so all they had to do when people talked about how they assumed that we would learn Rosie’s killer by the end of the season all you had to do is tease that that may not necessarily be the case and that would have temped the firestorm they ended up having with the ending. Then the show had its second presidential moment of the season with Belko about to go Jack Ruby on the councilman after his earlier Monica Lewinski moment with Rosie Larsen. But I am not sure if I will be around next season when Holder stands in front of a Mission Accomplished sign. You can download The Killing on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: That slow motion musical montage of Aria searching for Mr. Fitz may be the creepiest thing I have ever seen on television. Am I the only one bothered that the show is turning statutory rape into some grand love story? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Friday Night Lights: Another classic Buddy Garrity episode, so great as he hounded the principle and Coach about the potential of him leaving for Florida adding great comic relief, then turning on a dime and giving a heartfelt plea at Tim’s parole hearing. But it was painful to watch Tim this week; dude has a lot of pain in his heart from his time in prison. Hopefully everything works out in the end.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Friday Night Lights on iTunes



Free Download of the Week: DMB Caravan Sampler (iTunes): The first of Dave Matthews Band’s four festivals they are having this summer got under way this weekend in Atlantic City and for those that could not make it, head over to DMBCaravan.com where you can get an iTunes code for a seven song sampler including a track from Dave and the boys.

New Album Release of the Week: When The Sun Goes Down - Selena Gomez and the Scene

New DVD Release of the Week: The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended Edition + Digital Copy)

Video of the Week: Remember that story everyone joked about years ago when a woman sued McDonalds for millions of dollars because she spilled their hot coffee on her laugh? Well that is actually the jump off point for the latest HBO documentary in their Summer Series. Hot Coffee premieres Monday at 9:00 and takes a look at “frivolous” lawsuits and looks at the effectiveness of a civil justice system heavily influenced by bottom-line corporate interests. Here is a trailer:



Next Week Pick of the Week: The Voice, Tuesday at 9:00 and Wednesday at 8:00 on NBC: Had you told me three months ago I would be anticipating the outcome of the first season of The Voice I would have laughed in your face and that I would be “Team Blake” I would have been insulted. Sure the idea of the Blind Audition was an interesting concept, but I figure it would in end be the same as American Karaoke: mediocre singers singing crappy song. But there is one reason for my change in heart: Dia Frampton. After the novelty of the Blind Auditions and Battle Rounds came to a close, Frampton put up not just the greatest performance on any singing competition, her rendition of Kanye West’s Heartless was a Grammy worthy performance (for more on Heartless see: You a New Friend I Got Homies). Unfortunately my two other early favorites, one named wonders Xenia and Nakia, exited this week. But after seeing what do was able to do with Heartless and R.E.M.’s Losing My Religion (see: That's Me in the Corner, That's Me in the Spotlight), I cannot wait to see what she has in store for the finale where she will perform an original song (hopefully she gets to write the song herself and is not forced to sing song sappy crap that usually comes from the American Karaoke winners) and a duet with coach Blake Shelton (when I heard this I was sending mental notes to the two suggesting they do a song by The Civil Wars which would fit both of their styles and they can knock it out of the park). It has also been announced that she will also duet with Shelton’s wife Miranda Lambert for the result show on Wednesday. No word who (or if) the other finalist Beverly McClellan, Javier Colon or Vicci Martinez will perform with. I guess Blake was able to get a answer quicker than whatever name Cee Lo pulled out of his extensive rolodex of artists he likes to name drop.