57 Channels and Only This Is On - 3/31/12

Once Upon a Time: Of course the Mad Hatter is the only Storybooke character that know who he really is. Which begs the question how did Lewis Carroll find out about the fairytale land?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: That Spam turkey looked really awesome.

House of Lies: I do not know what it says about me that I have talked up my mixtapes the same way Doug does. I even made a 9/11 mix. On the bright side, I have never had sex with my boss’s daughter to get back at me for screwing me over.

The Voice: And we are done with the Battle Rounds. Thank goodness. Even though I approved the expanded Blind Auditions, I could do with less Battle Rounds, The could have easily gone eight battles a night over three weeks instead of six over four weeks. Or just shorten it to two weeks and lumped a bunch of the battles via montage.

Even though Ashley De La Rosa lessened the shock of montage singers making it to the live shows, it is still shocking to Karla Davis and Moses Stone advance, especially Moses who defeated the four chair turners The Line (for those keeping track at home, that is two four chair turners sitting at home right now). I am going to miss the duo and their laughably bad sexual chemistry. And Orlando Napier really screwed himself by letting Adam switch their song from Rich Girl, which was right his blue-eyed soul alley to Easy which suited her mellow vibe more. But anyone who does not know the entire Hall and Oates catalogue should not be on a singing competition in the first place.

But as bad as the Battle Rounds have been, it was nice that NBC forced some synergy and let Community’s Jeff Winger and Dean Pelton close the show with an epic romantic duet.



You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can download songs by the winners in the widget at right. And be on the lookout for my Top 24 Power Rankings tomorrow.

Castle: You know what; I could really do without the subplot of Castle telling Beckett he loved her when she was shot. That can go away. Unfortunately looking at the promo for next week, which will not be going away.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Justified: I have long considered this season a four person chess match between Raylan, Quarrels, Boyd, and Limehouse, but I forgot a very important piece on the board of Dickie Bennett and his three million dollars which could go to the winner of the match (and I would venture to say at the very least the dead last loser will end up, well, dead).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: One World: How dare Tarzan even suggest that Kat should be voted out? Without her, who would there be to fart on people and ask the meanings of fairly common worlds? Actually I hope that the next Survivor All-Stars season is Morons vs. Masterminds with Kat as the queen moron. Speaking of morons, how dumb are the people who lost the Reward Challenge? Of course the “secret” letter that Probst gave the winners was going to tell them there was a Hidden Immunity Idol, so why not spend the time while the winners were away to search for it?
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



The Challenge: Battle of the Exes: An epic fail on the wardrobe department. Seriously, how hard would it have been to have three distinctively covered coats so we could tell the teams apart?
You can stream recent episodes over at mtv.com. You can also download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes on iTunes.

Community: Now that Chuck is over, is Community the next low rated series on NBC that Subway is going to save? Kind of an evil genius marketing ploy that I am surprised more companies are not getting on. Speaking of evil, is the newly goateed John Goodman the same Dean of the air conditioning school from earlier this season or is he from the evil timeline? I cannot believe that was a coincidence.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 3/11/12

Once Upon a Time: Congratulations Amy Acker, you are the first actor to appear on both OUaT and Grimm. And as two very different characters, some spiderwoman and a non-descript fairy Godmother. Interesting that all the fairies turned into nuns. And who knew dwarfs are hatched out fully formed? Even more surprising that Grumpy turned out to be one of the more interesting characters on the show.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: Finally they are starting to kill off the main characters. Hopefully Lori, Carol, T-Dogg, and Shane are taking in quick secession before the end of the season. I am actually hoping the Randall does go on a killing spree and kills of the entire cast and season three will be him and Maggie reminiscent of their high school days. Which begs the question, why has no one talked to Maggie yet to see if the guy can be trusted?
You can stream recent episodes over at amc.com. You can also download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

House of Lies: I really did not need to see Veronica Mars riding some old dude.

Pretty Little Liars: I was always suspicious of Mona being targeted by A and I would not at all be surprised if Mona was A and sent her the message to throw the scent off of her. But it is a little more farfetched that Jenna would do the same thing by placing herself in a burning building. At least we only have two weeks until we learn for sure who A is.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Voice: A couple slight changes to the Battle Rounds this season, one for the better the other for the worse. I did like last season when the mentors watched the battles last season and gave their feedback right there. Sure they looked like schoolchildren sitting next to the coaches in their chairs. And it seems really unfair that the contestants saw different mentors. You are a major disadvantage when you visit Jewel and your opponent gets to hang out with Lionel Richie. On the flipside, I do like how they gave the family and friends front row seats instead of sticking them in the backstage where they interrupt the performances with their thoughts. It is also interesting that this season, only the winners get to sing on the studio versions of the songs that are sold on iTunes.

I am really disappointed that we did not see Tony Lucca and Alanis Morrisette did not trade war stories of their teen sketch days on The Micky Mouse Club and They Can’t Do That on Television. I usually find it distracting whenever singers change the gender of the lyrics (see Jordis Unga) but it was really distracting when in a duet, the two singers sing different lyrics at the same time because of their gender like when Chris Mann and Monique Benabou sang. Was it too obvious to just have them trade of lines? And if Ironic (or Adam Lavine for that matter) is what Blake Shelton comes to his mind when he thinks of when it comes to “rock” someone needs to give him a Pantera album.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from this episode on iTunes in the widget at right.

Switched at Birth: I am surprised it took this long for someone to complain how Daphne kept on switching teams. She should not have been let to switch teams in the middle of the season, let along go back to his original team in the middle of the season. And the fact it was allowed simply because the other coach was fine with it was kind of laughable.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

The River: I wish they would have just gone all the way with the Emmitt-centric episode and cut out all the reaction shots from the rest of the crew would have been more powerful.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The River on iTunes.

Justified: A rare almost self contained episode of Justified. Year we saw a couple characters outside the law house (including the first and second meetings of Quarles and Limehouse which were a bit disappointing), and Raylan even made it outside but most was Raylan being investigated twice over leading to some very entreating wordy scenes including my favorite with the detective getting excited of Raylan’s story of how he dropped a bullet on Wynn and told him the next one would come faster. And how brilliant was it that Quarles used said bullet to frame him.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: One World: I am just dumbfounded at what happened this week. When the boys were talking about giving up immunity I figured it was just manufactured drama by the editors to make it more serious than it really was. Then they actually show up at Tribal Council. This is the second time they had to angered the Survivor Gods after cowardly taking immunity during the first challenge. It looks like I am going to have to update my list of the Dumbest Survivor Contestants Ever list. But I must say Bill is a bigger man than I am because I am punching Colton on the way out.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



The Challenge: Battle of the Exes: Did The Challenge really break out the “tow days ago” place card? Of course the big set up was to reveal Emily in blackface. Usually I cannot get behind other white people’s faux outrage over blackface, but yeah, using chocolate was your makeup is pretty offensive.
You can stream recent episodes over at mtv.com. You can also download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes on iTunes.

Awake: I thought they set up the series as two parallel timelines that split after the accident, so it is a little weird that the dead guy was a doctor in one and a homeless guy in another. So apparently they two worlds are more different than I originally thought. And with all the multiple realities, I am not sure if I am ready for a conspiracy theory brought in by the chick from ER this soon considering I spend about a minute at the start of every scene trying to figure out if which world it is (I have started a good memory tool where the muted blue colors means it’s the Boy World).
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Awake on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 2/19/12

Once Upon a Time: When Mr. Gold started beating the owner of Game of Thorns (great name) for contributing to the death of his daughter I thought there was no way they actually killed off Belle. When the Evil Queen talked about how she threw herself out of a tower I thought there was no way they killed of Belle. During Gold and Regina’s discussion in the jail I thought to myself, there is no way they killed off Belle. And just when I thought, well maybe they actually did kill off Belle, Regina started entering a code at the hospital (who puts a secret room behind an emergency exit?) and goes down the mental ward (I assume) wear we see that Belle is in fact alive and well in the real world. It only took half the season, but this was the first great plot twist on the show. Hopefully Regina has more characters down there. And the show really needs to forget about focusing on the battle between Emma and Regina and spend more time on the battle between Regina and Gold.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: Greatest wedding toast ever. From now on, you cannot consider it a good wedding toast unless someone pulls a gun on you.

The Walking Dead: After the mid-season finale I was ready to come back with a vengeful Hershel killing off everybody, Shane, Rick, Lori, T-Dog, Andrea, Dale, Carol; he could have mercy on Glen and Daryl if he wishes, but I would like to see most of the main cast brutally murdered. Unfortunately that did not happen (of course there is no way Lori could possibly survive that car crash and if so would be eaten before someone finds her; but I but she manages to avoid death) but at least they finally introduced some interesting characters in the form of Britt from Terriers. Oh wait, they killed him before the end of the episode. I really hate this show.
You can stream recent episodes over at amc.com. You can also download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

House of Lies: Seeing Veronica Mars in her pedestrian clothes again, it is just a reminder how she is wastes wearing pant suits all the time. I may have to start up a Free Ronnie campaign.

How I Met Your Mother: When Robin told Ted that Kumar dumped her I thought, “oh crap, they better not get these two back together” and minutes later Ted tells Robin he loved her. Uggg. If we have to sit through another season of Ted and Robin coupled I may finally have to give up on the show.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Voice: What a bunch of tomato cans all of the constants were this week. I’d be shocked if any of them make it out of the Battle Round. Hopefully the show did not just front load all the great talent for after the Super Bowl because think we still have two more weeks of Blind Auditions.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

2 Broke Girls: Apparently the writers have heard the critique of how often the resort to vagina jokes on the show and actually outted the word as Max’s favorite.

The Lying Game: I realize the problem with the show: not enough red herrings, and by not enough I mean none. Who killed the drug dealer was pretty easy to figure out because it had to be the DA (or someone he hired to do it) because there were no other possibilities but him. Same with the twins parents: it has to be Rebecca and Ted because there is no one else. The show really needs to build a mystery better.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: I do not know what Alexis would not tell her dad of her new internship, he was going to find out the first time they get called in. And as someone who has had to do trunk duty when we could not find enough designated drivers back in college, I doubt the lack of oxygen theory that Beckett had. But there has to be a reason why the trained assassin let them live, I am guessing he turns out to have gone rouge for the greater good.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

The River: The cameraman realizing he had to go underground to retrieve the antidote was the greatest use of censorship since The Osbornes went off the air. But then ending of the tribesmen backing off because someone sacrificed themselves was just absurd. I wonder how long it takes the crew to realize they should listen to the Spanish chick jungle legends before running off on an adventure willy nilly?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The River on iTunes.

Justified: If someone takes out my kidneys, said I need to get twenty grand in four hours or I die and hands be a gun to get the job done, I do not care if I am a wanted fugitive, I am shooting the dude and taking my kidneys to the nearest hospital to be put back in. But God bless Dewey Crowe, not only does he not realize that none of the symptoms the nurse detailed were happening, he is the only person that does not realize that all store clerks keep shotguns under the counter. But it was weird watching the episode considering that it had the same theme as one of the plots of Raylan (see my review: It's a Shame He Wasn't a Wanted Felon so I Could Shoot Him He Resisted) but still changed a bunch of details.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Parenthood: Seriously, someone needs to tell Bob Little, nailing the intern is the number one Cardinal Rule of politics and with, as Michael Bluth would say, “Her?”. But poor Amber, this is the first time she gets some action on the show since the premiere and it gets interrupted by her aunt.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Suburgatory: Tessa trying to sing has to be the funniest thing of the week. I have re-watched that way too many times.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Revenge: There is nothing I hate more in television than episodes that open with a “x amount of time earlier” and Revenge is the first show that I can remember doing it in the first episode with a resolution not coming until later in the series. And now that we have finally seen the series come full circle, I may be more let down that I expected. From the first episode I expected Daniel not to be the dead body and from the moment he stepped on screen I knew the rent boy would be the one that ended up dead even though he looked nothing like Daniel and no one would confuse the two. But it managed to be even more disappointing because the premiere’s first scene just did not seem to sync up well with the most recent episode. Making things worse, the plot they teased in the premiere, Jack killing Daniel, is a much more interesting plot twist than what presumably happened: Amanda killing rent boy and framing Daniel. Or Jack. Actually I am not really sure what was going on. Why did Amanda smear blood on Jack and then drive off to the beach? Did she try to set up two people to make sure no one comes after her? After a really good first ten episodes, the show really fumbled this moment. Hopefully it can get back on track by the finale.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: It is a shame that Leonard did not have as the tie breaker a foot race, because that would have been more entertaining than throwing the ball the highest, although maybe it would have been too much like Sue Heck trying out for Cross Country.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 2/5/12

Once Upon a Time: I started to wonder why the genie who turn on the guy that set him free, but then realized guys always do stupid things for love (and of course the genie even warned the king that all wishes turn out wrong). But I sniff out the double cross early on because I really doubted that the Evil Queen’s most loyal subject in the fairytale world would turn on her in the real world. And even if I did not realize it right away, nothing telegraphs an inside job like having the new playground plans queued up at the city council meeting. Of course Emma is too dumb to realize that Sydney is playing her. And apparently there are no Tea Party members because just taking out $50,000 of public funds for a playhouse without asking anyone should have still gotten Regina (who apparently is so vain she did not even bother to change her name in the real world) in trouble. One thing that is bothering me is if Storybooke has been in extended animation for thirty years, how do they have cell phones to text each other with? Should they not be stuck in the eighties in terms of technology?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

House of Lies: Say what you will about House of Lies, it is boring, the characters are unlikable, it is unfunny; but it did give us Veronica Mars dancing in her underwear. Now if that will happen every week the show will finally reach its potential because Ronnie’s big secret turning out that she is engaged will not cut it.

Pretty Little Liars: The whole Allison in the wig thing adds credence to my theory that she had a twin. But who goes to a salon with a wig on, then take said wig off in the middle of her appointment? And I was disappointed that what Spencer had on Hanna’s step sister was that she had bug bites from camp when she was like ten. And Spencer seriously kept the picture on her phone? That speaks less of Spencer than the step-sister.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Lying Game: Sure it was obvious when she Rebecca confronted Annie last week, but did she actually confirm that she had kids that she gave up and that Alec had something to do with?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: Oh snap, it was actually grandma that called INS. But why would that take him and his clothes? Seems a little odd.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Justified: Just when you thought Justified could not come up with a new showdown, two criminals turn their guns on each other. Awesome. And I doubt anything will displace “Use it or throw it away” as my favorite Raylan quote of all time, but dropping a bullet on the dude with the weird forehead and telling him, “The next one is coming faster” quickly moves up to the second position.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes: It is ironic that Vinnie went on this long diatribe about how Mandi (who very well may be the ugliest hot chick ever) hooked up with the wrong person when it turned out he was the wrong person to get Biblical with. But it is odd that they shipped Vinnie home, but the chick who punched her partner (who, if I am not mistaken punched a mirror last season) did not. But I was glad to see Wes go home, I am a bit tired of these repeat guys who tend to run challenges again and again.
You can stream recent episodes over at mtv.com. You can also download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I still do not understand why Leonard has not gotten a lawyer to comb through the Roommate Agreement for loopholes like the one Sheldon executed this week. I would do it just to toy with him.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 1/29/12

Once Upon a Time: Seriously, Stealthy? I guess it should not have been a surprised that he did not make it to the end of the episode. But that was not even the most absurd plot point of the episode as the super secret item the motorcycle dude was carrying around: a typewriter. At least they did not drag that out for a couple seasons for an anticlimactic reveal like Lost would have done. I wonder if Vegas will let me put money on mysterious dude being the guy who wrote Henry’s fairytale book?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time.

Shameless: I expect Frank to do some pretty despicable things, but I never thought he would turn down the heart transplant. And we all wish of going out while having sex, but I never thought of it though the eyes of whoever is on the other end of things, so to speak.

House of Lies: The problem with this show is right there in the opening sequence every week, right where Don Cheadle tells the camera, “You still don’t know what I do?” Um no, and that is not a good thing for the audience even if it is good for business, three episodes in and I still am not sure what it is all about. All I now with every passing episode, the less and less I want to vote for Mitt Romney.

Pan Am: When Pan Am started I was hoping the Token Hot Chick from the show would fill the hole that was about to be left by the Token Hot Chick from Chuck (both from Australia, note to self: talk to a travel agent) in its last but alas, she did not even last longer. Le sigh.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pan Am on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars:I cannot believe they did yet another epic scene of Aria and Ezra reunited, it is definitely not only natural. I was hopping her mom would catch them so she finally would realize it is time to turn the guy over to the police.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Lying Game: What? So let me get this straight: Cordelia Chase shows up as Annie, the twins’ mother, except Char’s aunt and their mother is no longer the same person. But now other Annie is no longer the twins’ mother and Cordelia is? This helps my theory that Ted is the twins’ father and it was a result of a one night stand with. Though if Annie Rebecca is the mom, how did Ted and Alex convince her to give up her kids and not tell anyone?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: I cannot believe it took so long to realize the boyfriend / freeloader was the murderer, I figured that out because the title screen.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Justified: I assume legally they are not allowed to use the name Karen Sisco (Elmore Leonard’s other famous federal marshal) but I like how they not so subtly got around it by having her married and divorced within a month. But who knew Art was so ruthless (great scene even if there were no phonebooks around). And note to self: do not get on Bubba Blue’s bad side. But it should be interesting when all the pieces they put on the board these past two weeks start to come together.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: So apparently last week was not some elebroate dream sequence and Leonard and Penny are back together, but it may be even shorter this time around. But how disappointing was it yesterday when I searched for “Sheldon Cooper Fun with Flags” and there were not any videos of it on the internet. Massive fail on the CBS and / or Warner Brothers marketing department for not uploading any. (Note to self: next time you try searching for the video, make sure you do not forget the “L” again.)
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Chuck: Check back Monday for my thoughts on the series finale.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 1/22/12

Once Upon a Time: One thin g this show has going for it that Lost did not is that it can bring in interesting characters for flash back episodes so we will not be stuck with a an episode dedicated to Jack’s tattoos or Locke at a commune that no one was looking forward to.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time.

Leverage: It is off that everyone made a huge deal out of Nate not actually killing anyone but did not seem to mind that he put two guys in a position where they were guaranteed to kill each other. But it is always entertaining when they bring in Chaos to jaw with Hardison and I loved how they did the cartoon skeleton when Parker’s dad shocked him.
You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Shameless: It is weird how seamless the new Mandy is. I guess after half a season of Suburgatory I cannot even picture Tessa as anything else but an Emma Stone clone, let alone a goth chick that she was on Shameless last season. And I knew I should have taken the under on how many episode it would take Karen to have sex despite being in sex anonymous.

House of Lies: Slightly more entertaining than the previous episode thanks to the one dude trying to pick up the chick at the airport, but a lot of the flaws from the pilot remained. And are we really going to see Don Cheadle have angry sex with his ex-wife at the start of every episode?

Pretty Little Liars: So Lucas was not at the greenhouse, he was really shifty last episode because he gambled away Caleb’s money. What? Is this was the next couple episodes are going to be: the Liars think someone is an A helper only for it to be a red herring? Ugg, this may be a long season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Lying Game: I was shocked when Sutton showed up last episode (I would have guessed by the end of the season) and even more surprised when she took over her life. So if I am playing this right, Sutton now has to play Emma playing Sutton for the person who is blackmailing her / them. But the big question for the episode is where does Emma go from here?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: A mayor is connected to a death of a young woman in his campaign car… where have I heard this one before? At least we found out who killed her. Oh, wait, never mind.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: If you are going to have a show with subtitles, how about not put up banners that covers the subtitles? Should that not be a no brainer?
You can stream the show on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Justified: With Raylan battling hillbilly families, the Bennetts and Crowders, the first two seasons, it is going to be weird seeing him go up against a big city slicker as a main antagonist. It may be more interesting watching Boyd this season. I did not realize why he would attack a federal marshal in his office space (best line: You wouldn’t like Mexico… it’s full of Mexicans) until that last scene with Dickie and Dewey. I would not mind a season of the three blind mice in prison.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Parenthood: It is about time something went Haddie’s way, she always seems to get the short end of the stick in the family. She even had a great line, something to the effect that she understands but she does not have to be happy about it. But she should not have been too upset, seriously, if you are from Southern California and smart enough to get into an Ivy League school, just go to Stanford instead, because school in the Northeast sucks massively. And I bet she will end up at Berkley by the end of next season anyway.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Suburgatory: Just when you think Dalia could not get any scarier, she actually makes dancing look scary.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Revenge: So Emily had the lawyer in her back pocket the whole time, did not really see that coming. I am just wondering how she can keep up appearances sleeping a with a guy who is convinced that her father raped his mother? Seriously, when did this show stop becoming a guilty pleasure and become just pleasurable?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: What the frack just happened? Did the editor seriously screw things up or was this a dream sequence? I was just lost with the flashback to earlier in the episode.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Chuck: One of the big drags on the show in recent seasons was they just did not seem to know what to do at the Buy More and its storylines kept shrinking and shrinking. At least they closed out the series with one last great Buy More plot with Jeffster saving the day with Casey’s massive stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

Best of the Week - 1/21/12

Quote of the Week: Live long and suck it Zachary Quinto. (Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Rock Lobster – The B52’s (Suburgatory)

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: The Republican Field Keeps Shrinking: The slow march to Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama (hopefully America Elect nominates someone worth voting for) picked up a little this week when the Republican candidates shrunk by two this week. First Jon Huntsman who seemed too smart for the Republican electorate dropped out. The other shoe dropped with Rick Perry who possibly withdrew for the second time. Perry was supposed to be the anti-Bush Texas governor but managed to perform worse at debates than W. But the big new of the week had to do with the high number of drop outs just short of tomorrow’s South Carolina primary, the spotlight was back on Newt Gingrich’s many marriages with wife number two claiming that Newt asked her if they could have an open marriage so he could hook up with eventual wife number three. On the bright side, this wife was not going through chemotherapy when he asked. So tomorrow we get to see if evangelicals would rather get behind a Mormon or a Christian who actually tried to get his wife to sign off on polygamy.

Free Download of the Week: Hurry Hurry - Jessie Baylin (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: Over 1,000 Albums $5 Each: With over a 1000 album for sale for just $5 there are a lot of hidden gems, here are a couple from my list of The 100 Greatest Songs of the 00’s including Michele Branch, John Mayer, The Killers and Kanye West.



New Album Release of the Week: The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy - Nada Surf

New DVD Release of the Week: Kojak: The Complete Movie Collection

Video of the Week: House of Lies premiered to a resounding yawn a couple weeks ago and tomorrow’s episode should make any fan of Kristen Bell’s feet happy. Until then the two guys on the show not named Bell or Don Cheadle are starring in webisodes for the show entitled Friday’s at Gallweather, one of which even features Bell, with shoes on, in a cameo.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Chuck, Friday at 8:00 on NBC: An end of an era comes Friday when the hottest token hot chick ever in the history of television will presumably be donning her last skimpy outfit on the small screen. Sure the show itself has not been great since the second season and arguably has not even been good for the last couple seasons, but hopefully Chuck will go out on a high note, preferably by finally killing Morgan off, something they should have done a long, long time ago.

The Twelve Events That Will Make 2012 Awesome

Sure the world might be coming to an end December 21 but that does not mean we cannot have a little enjoyment before it happens. Here are twelve things that could lessen the blow of the world ended by the end of the year.

12. Detox - Dr. Dre: I put this at number eleven last year just in case it was not actually released and twelve months later no sign of it even if the first single was release in 2009 with the second last year. Maybe because neither really caught fire is why we are still waiting. Dre has eleven and a half months until the world ends, so hopefully he can get it out by then.

11. Work It: I have been waiting way too long for a Bosom Buddies reboot and I have a feeling this will be as close as I will get. And I will enjoy all three episodes that air before it is canceled.



10. The Amazing Spider-Man: When they first announced they had dropped Sam Raimi from the Spiderman franchise I was all ready for a boycott (even if it freed him to do another Evil Dead movie). Then they cast Emma Stone (number one on my list of the 100 Most Entertaining People of 2011) as Gwen Stacy and even though I do not care for her as a blonde, or with bangs, I will see anything she is in until she makes a bad film. Plan your July 4th weekend accordingly.



9. Bruce Springsteen: Yeah The Boss does seem to do his best work when a Republican occupies the White House (Born in the USA, The Rising) but with the economy in the tank maybe the working man’s hero of the past four decades may just have another good one in him despite the Democratic president which will be the first since the passing of his longtime sax man Clarence Clemmons. Plus the new album cannot possibly be worse than Working on a Dream.

8. In Living Color: I have long nothing is as good the second time around, then Beavis and Butt-Head came back funny as ever (granted their television watching habits have been less to be desired) so maybe the return of In Living Color for its specials (and possible regular series) will still be funny. And it will be see if any of the original cast will show up.

7. The Avengers: All of the individual Avengers movies have been at the very least solid and hinted at a collective movie and have now assembled under the tutelage of Joss Whedon. Sure I would have rather seen a Justice League movie this year instead, but you will take what you can get. The movie hits theaters May 4.



6. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: There will be two Lincoln starring movies released this year and who would have guessed that the one with Steven Spielberg directing Daniel Day-Lewis as the titular character (along with Sally Fields, Joseph Gordon-Levett, Tommy Lee Jones, Lee Pace, Walton Goggins, John Hawes, and Hal Holbrook) would not be the most anticipated one. I guess he should have added more vampires and cast Ramona Flowers as Mary Todd. The movie is set to hit theaters June 22.

5. The Mayans and Roman Emirich Could Be Wrong: Sure, the Mayan calendar maker may not have had any insight into when the world end and stopped in 2012 just because he figured taking the calendar out 5000 years in the future was good enough. In any case, you may want to spend the year partying like its 1999 just in case.

4. House of Lies: Sure I did not love the first episode (see Previewing House of Lies) but is nice to see Veronica Mars back on weekly television without having to slum it on a horrible show like Heroes.

3. The 2012 Olympics: The greatest sporting even comes around every four years (two if you include the winter version) and I may watch even more this year as this will be the first one I will be able to watch in high definition. Get ready to plop yourself on the couch starting July 27.

2. Mumford and Son / The Avett Brother: As you may have noticed there was a lot more folksier music on my 100 Best Songs of 2011 list than in previous years and these two bands kicked open that door two years ago with a pair of great albums. Both should be back early this year with new material. Bassist Ted Dwane recently called their second album "Black Sabbath meets Nick Drake." The Avett Brothers again worked with uber-producer Rick Rubin who worked on I and Love and You.

1. The Dark Knight Rises: If you need to ask why this is number one; obviously you have not seen the first two films of the trilogy. You might want to get in line now for the July 20 release date.

Best of the Week - 1/7/12

Quote of the Week: Shame is over rated, like Ke$ha. In fact they should rename shame Ke$hame. I just bought a Ke$ha album, I’m so ke$hamed. (Max, 2 Broke Girls)

Song of the Week: Nothing Else Matters – Lissie (Revenge)

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Television Is Already Back: Forget about the caucus (who cares what Iowa thinks anyway; go Jon Huntsman!) networks are already bringing back their shows the first week into the new year. Here is what I will be watching this winter. Premiere dates in parentheses if it has not already returned.

Mondays
8:00 – How I Met Your Mother – CBS
8:00 – Pretty Little Liars – ABC Family
8:30 – 2 Broke Girls – CBS
9:00 – The Lying Game – ABC Family
10:00 – Castle – ABC (1/9)

Tuesdays
8:00 – Switched at Birth – ABC Family
8:00 – Last Man Standing – ABC
8:30 – Work It – ABC
9:00 – The River – ABC (2/7)
10:00 – Justified – FX (1/17)
10:00 – Parenthood – NBC

Wednesdays
8:00 – Survivor: One World – CBS (2/15)
8:00 – The Middle – ABC
8:30 – Suburgatory – ABC
9:00 – Modern Family – ABC
9:30 – Happy Endings – ABC
10:00 – Revenge – ABC
10:00 – The Challenge: Exes – MTV (1/24)

Thursdays
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (1/12)

Fridays
8:00 – Chuck – NBC (Series Finale 1/27)
9:00 – Grimm (1/13)
10:00 – Real Time with Bill Maher (1/13)

Sundays
8:00 – Once Upon a Time – ABC (1/8)
9:00 – Shameless – Showtime (1/8)
9:00 – The Walking Dead – AMC (2/12)
10:00 – House of Lies – Showtime (1/8)
10:00 – Pan Am (1/8)
10:00 – Leverage (Season Finale 1/15)
10:00 – Mad Men – AMC (3/16)

Free Download of the Week: If you scrolled through my list of the 100 Best Songs of 2011 there are actually a couple songs that you can download for the low, low price of free.

#5 Helplessness Blues – Fleet Foxes (Rcrdlbl)
#25. Freak Out – Tapes n’ Tapes (Rcrdlbl)
#34. Freaks and Geeks – Childish Gambino (I Am Donald)
#36. Nylons in a Rip - Nikka Costa (Amazon MP3)
#62. Bonfire (Clean) - Childish Gambino (Amazon MP3)
#79. Get Some – Lykke Li (Rcrdlbl)
#88. Monster – Kanye West featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver and Nicki Minaj (Rcrdlbl)
#93. Make My – The Roots (Rcrdlbl)
#96. Little Lie – Lindi Ortega (Spinner)

For those who would like to listen to my list but are too lazy or lack the hard drive space to download the songs, I have created a Spotify playlist for you listening pleasure. And be sure to follow me because I’ll be uploading my entire yearly (and decade) lists over the next couple months and Best Songs of 1996 is already up.

Deal of the Week: Over 1000 Album for $5: Best of 2011: Amazon MP3 has over 1000 albums on sale for five dollars this month including a bunch that were released just last year including number one on my list of the 20 Best Albums of 2011, Helplessness Blues by the Fleet Foxes. Also making my list at that price include the latest from Raphael Saadiq (#2), Blitzen Trapper and Danger Mouse.



New Album Release of the Week: Fallen Empires - Snow Patrol

New DVD Release of the Week: Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season

Video of the Week: The movie The Firm is a little before my time (and since I am old, it makes me wonder who this show is for; apparently NBC is finally going for the anciently old CBS demographic). Now The Firm the television show has its two hour premiere Sunday at 9:00 and here is a sneak peak of the premiere. Please note that the show settles into its regular timeslot later this week on Thursday at 10:00.

Looking for the Truth


Next Week Pick of the Week: House of Lies, Sunday at 10:00 on Showtime: You can check out my preview here (Previewing House of Lies) and even if you do not subscribe to the premium channel, that are having a free preview weekend so check your cable provider and maybe you will be able to sample the return of Veronica Mars to the small screen.

Previewing House of Lies

Showtime has carved out a very specific niche for its sitcom (well, half hour shows because sitcom would insinuate that it was actually funny) with very unlikeable lead characters. It started with a drug dealing suburbanite and since then included a sex addicted writer and a pill popping nurse. Considering our current situation, the lead of their new show House of Lies may be the channel’s least likeable yet: a management consultant who helps those who destroyed our economy keep their yachts and high bonuses. But hey, on the flip side, Veronica Mars is back on the small screen.

To show you just how morally corrupt the character on the show are, it is based on a book whose full title is House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time. Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights) is the lead douchebag of the second ranked firm in the nation (naturally his ex-wife Dawn Olivieri (Veronica Mars) is the head of number one). Just do not ask me what his underling Kristen Bell (Reefer Madness - The Movie Musical), Ben Schwartz (Undercovers), Josh Lawson (The Wedding Party) do other than insult each other and waste client’s money (the crew makes it rain in a strip club in the first episode).

We also get to see Cheadle off the clock and he may actually be a worse person at home than when he is getting paid. He lives with his son with Olivieri, who is having some identity issues (he is trying out for the role of Sandy in the school’s production of Grease) and his father who did about as good a job raising his son as Cheadle did. In both worlds Cheadle has a penchant for breaking the fourth wall that gets annoying really early. But hey, Veronica Mars is back on the small screen where she can curse like a sailor (which I learned firsthand she does in real life) and remove more clothing (which unfortunately she does not utilize in the first episode).

House of Lies premieres Sunday at 10:00 on Showtime. For those that cannot wait and do not mind a little censorship, you can watch the first episode free on iTunes, Sho.com, you cable providers On Demand channel, or just watch it now on YouTube below:

House of Lies: Series Premiere Full Episode

Best of the Week - 11/5/11

Quote of the Week: So you’re a religious man and a torturer. What are you? Catholic? (Saul, Homeland)

Song of the Week: Living In America – James Brown (How I Met Your Mother)

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Nope, Not Gonna Do It: I refuse to give publicity to anyone who sole purpose to what they do is to gain more publicity. Nope, not gonna do it. And anyone who complains about these sorts of thing, just ignore them, even complaining about them is what they want because all they want is to be talked about. So stop taking about them.

Free Download of the Week: Public Enemy No. 1 – Megadeath (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: This month for only $5, you can get full albums from Coldplay, Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder, and the Footloose Soundtrack (the real one).



New Album Release of the Week: Wish You Were Here - Immersion Box Set - Pink Floyd

New DVD Release of the Week: Alpocalypse-HD (Blu-ray)

Video of the Week: Kristen Bell in her underwear; Emmy Rossum wearing less. If this does not get you to order Showtime, I do not know what will. You have until January 8 when House of Lies premieres and Shameless returns to do so.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Hell on Wheels, Sunday at 10:00 on AMC: This may be the least buzzed about show of the fall because I heard very little about it so far. What I gather it is a period piece that has something to do with the railway and Common is in it. I am always up for a history lesson on television so I will at least give it a chance. Worse case scenerio it is a low rent Deadwood and I can be fine with that.

Best of the Week - 10/14/11

Quote of the Week: This is the third Teenage Dream in forty-five minutes; why don’t I just close my nuts in the cashier’s door? (Garrett Morris – 2 Broke Girls)

Song of the Week: Torn – Natalie Imbruglia (as sung by Penny and her mom, Happy Endings)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Hank Williams Jr. Is a Moron and So Is Anyone Who Tries to Despiser His Ramblings: Last week Fox and Friends had country singer Hank Williams, Jr. to talk politics because apparently Dick Cheney was unavailable. Like most people in America, Hank is fed up with our political parties and said about Obama’s golf game with Speaker of the House Boehner was, “Come on! It would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu!” Naturally this made the talking head head’s explode thinking he compared Obama and Hitler. But really, trying to make sense of what Williams was trying to say only makes you dumber than he is. And to say Williams compared Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler would be like saying he compared John Boehner to Benjamin Netanyahu, which no one is saying but is just as absurd. Now if you excuse, I am going to go watch Fox and Friends because they are going to interview the dude from Wham not named George Michael about the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Free Download of the Week: Ole´ – Pearl Jam (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Up to 55% Off Hit Movies and TV on Blu-ray (Earnest Scared Straight, Ghostbusters, Dawn of the Dead)

New Album Release of the Week: Beyond the Sun (2CD) - Chris Isaak

New DVD Release of the Week: Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest

Video of the Week: Showtime has released a new teaser for their upcoming show House of Lies and just like the last one that featured AC/DC’s Big Balls, the new one is also balls-centric.

Newton’s Cradle (ouse of Lies Spot)


Next Week Pick of the Week: The Walking Dead, Sunday at 9:00 on AMC: The first season of The Walking Dead is one of those shows that you think it is better than it really is (a staple for AMC). Sure the first season was epic with great characterizations, zombie makeup, and you really felt the sparseness and isolation of the post apocalyptic world. But looking back at the first season, it is hard not to think that the six episodes could have been crammed into just two. There are big reservations going into the second season after creator and showrunner Frank Darabont got unceremoniously canned by the network after the first episode in the new season. But for those that cannot get enough of the show, right after it airs, there will be a new series Talking Dead, a live after-show where Chris Hardwick (you know, the one from Singled Out not named Jenny McCarthy) discussing the episode with fans, actors, and producers (presumably Darabont will not be making an appearance) because why wouldn’t a serious drama steal an idea from MTV? But anyway. For more on the second season, check out the video below where Attack of the Show’s Grace Helbig visits the set of the show.

Game Reviews - E3 2012 - Movies and TV