57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/29/13

Ray Donovan: Of course the season ended with Mickey saving Ray’s life. Let me go ahead and predict next season will see the two reluctantly team up against a common foe. Ugg, at least the season is over and Homeland can start next week.

The Voice: It what seems to be my yearly, How to Fix the Voice rants, one of my bigger complaints was the recycling of songs and how they needed to retire a bunch of songs. This season did see the third straight performance of Back to Black and Too Close and a few others that got trotted out for a second try. But overall they include a bunch of new songs to the show including some surprisingly awesome song selections. After the first night I did not think someone would perform a song cooler than Keep Your Hands to Yourself, then the very next night someone broke out the most inspired song selection since Lindsey Pavao flipped a Trey Songz track when some dude sang The Theme to the Jeffersons. Boom. Then you also had a guy perform the lone Blu Cantrell hit, a Lynyrd Skynyrd song not named Sweet Home Alabama, a Jack White song, and surprisingly the very first song on the show by The Killers (not counting the time the band themselves performed). Overall I was happy with the song selection this season, hopefully when the coaches take the reins, their picks are just as inspiring. Of course Cee-Lo’s usually are for better or worse.

But the first week belonged to Holly Henry. A couple weeks ago when she appeared in an ad for this season I wondered if it is too soon to anoint someone after just five seconds. Now that I have heard the full ninety second performance the answer is a resounding yes. I am not the only one who thought this because her version of The Scientist cracked the top 25 on iTunes, only the second time I can recall that happening during the Blind Auditions (and it is more impressive than when Sarah Simmons did last season because Holly has to contend with singles from all the high profile fall releases; can anyone remember any marquee album released in the first quarter of 2013). I will not go into a full detail as to why because I have already written a lengthy write-up on Holly Henry for my upcoming Power Rankings that I will post at the end the Blind Audition. Basically if she does not get far this season, I will have to write another lengthy How to Fix The Voice post. Until then, just watch her performance and enjoy.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.


How I Met Your Mother: When the season started off with Wayne Brady singing Islands in the Stream, both the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton parts, I thought the final season would be a return to form. Unfortunately the rest of the hour, what was way too long, fell back into the usual tropes that has brought down the show in the last couple seasons.
You can stream episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: The problem with Pilots is when you see the extended trailers; you have pretty much seen the entire episode. So some of what should have been the best parts of the episode, when James Spader first walks into the FBI and when Elizabeth stabs him neck, were scenes you expected to happen. But there were a few things they saved for actual show. From the trailer, it was easy to guess that Spader would turn out to be Elizabeth’s father but since her parents became a central part of their discussion, that is probably not the case (though I would not take it completely off the table, she could be adopted or Spader had an affair with her mother unbeknownst to her or her “father”). After the discovery in the floorboard, the safer best is the husband could be Spader’s kid. Or maybe the husband is at the top of The Blacklist. How good this show is will be determine how they handle the storyline. Most shows would make you wait a couple episodes, or until the winter break to reveal his intention, but if Elizabeth does not confront her husband in the next episode, that will be a major flaw. I fear he may be in the hospital for the foreseeable future.
You can stream episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: It become clear pretty early on that it may not have been the best idea to do their casting from the Abercrombie catalogue. Most of the cast just does not know how to deliver a joke. Hurph. Hopefully they learn quickly because the ratings make it look like it will be around for a while. As for the actually show, the big reason of how Agent Coulson is not dead like we saw in The Avengers was that he held his breath for thirty seconds. Alrighty. Okay there is clearly more to this story as Maria Hill says that Coulson can never know what really happened in Tahiti. So is he a reanimated corpse? A robot with Coulson’s memories uploaded? Something completely different?
You can stream episodes on Hulu. You can also download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

The Goldbergs: As a child of the eighties, I like a good retro show from the decade, I will even watch a crappy version. Unfortunately The Goldbergs is much closer to the latter. Hopefully it finds its footing and quick because I want watch for the soundtrack alone.
You can stream episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Goldbergs on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: There are fewer things in my life that I need to see less than Matt Sarasen’s mom having sex with Robocop. I really wish I could un-see that. And though it was teased in the promo, the scene with Jax talking to the formal marshal through the one way mirror was very powerful. But I was shocked that Jax actually gave up Tig. I figured after Pope died, no one would care about that debt anymore. But Tig cannot possibly be dead can he? This is not the kind of show that would have a death off scene. The writers would never pass off a chance to have emotionally painful death scene. And it would seem odd to start off an episode with a death scene. Maybe they will give him some sort of reprieve if Tig does something for them like they did with Clay inside.
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Blood vs. Water: It only took two episodes and the old Colton is back and I am back to hoping he has another appendix left to burst. Either that or he quits as the promo suggest he might after Probst asks him if he wants too. I assuming him sitting on his fiancé’s lap is against the rules and hopefully him doing that s viewed as quitting. Then it would be funny if Colton quits and asks his fiancé to join him and he goes, you know what, I am going to go head and stay and play.
You can stream episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Blood vs. Water on iTunes.

The Bridge: When they caught Drew Thompson with a couple episodes left on Justified last season, I wonder how they could possibly fill up the rest of the season. But the last couple episodes ended up being the best of the season. So when they caught David Tate last week I thought The Bridge could do the same. Um, no. It is probably not a good sign that my biggest question coming out of this episode was what exactly was on Sonia’s cassette tape?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: I really liked how they broke out the Pythagorean Theorem for the final challenge. Although I am shocked that everyone knew what it was (did they give them the equation on the board, I did not get a good look at the instructions). Granted none of them were smart enough to make an educated guess and instead tried to do the math in the dirt. But as great as the Pythagorean Theorem leg of the final challenge was, the gross food leg was very unnecessary. I really did not need to see people projectile vomit for ten minutes straight.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: The show has always been at its best when they find a way to get Penny and Sheldon together which is happening less and less as the cast expanded. But as the premiere showed, when they do, it is comedy gold. Kaley Cuoco showed up for a quick cameo on The Voice this week because her sister is auditioning later this season, here is hoping Jim Parsons pops up in the friends and family room. And since we already heard one television theme performed this season, maybe the other Cuoco will perform Big Bang Theory Theme.
You can stream episodes on cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

The Crazy Ones: I had two thoughts while watching the premiere: 1) It is too bad Mork ages backwards because an ill conceived Mork and Mindy reboot would have been a better vehicle than this, and 2) Kelly Clarkson needs a much better agent.
You can stream episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Crazy Ones on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/22/13

Ray Donovan: My least favorite storyline was Bunchie and his abusive priest, so I really had to check out of this whole week. Wake me up when the next episode starts.

Under the Dome: As the show petered out at the end, at least it finished somewhat strong. We got the plot twist that it is Julia, not Barbie that is the monarch that is about to be crown. We learned that the dead lesbian was not actually a hallucination but an alien(?) taking her form to communicate. Okay we do not learn what they want. And it was disappointing that Big Jim ended the season still breathing after being teased to die a couple episodes ago. And I am never a fan of cliffhangers especially confusing ones like the dome turning white. But I am sure I will still tune in next summer because much like this summer, it is not like there will be much else on.
You can stream Under The Dome exclusively on Amazon Instant Video, free for Prime members.

Siberia: You would think after 95% of these sci-fi leaning post-Lost serial dramas get canceled in its first season, the creators would start writing these show with an actual conclusion for the season and if they are lucky enough to get a second season just go from there. But nope, they all have to end in a cliffhanger, never to be resolved. I actually thought that when the host walked into the apartment, he was going to say, “surprise, this was all fake, everyone who you thought were dead were just acting, c’mon in guys, see: still alive, alright Esther, you come in to and give these guys the split of the money.” And if they managed a second season, it could have been that leaving Siberia is not as easy as the producers thought and there really is something strange going on. But no, he just says, “You’re not supposed to be here.” Fade to black. No explanation of why there were not supposed to be there, where he has been the whole time, what happened to the producer’s camp. Nothing. Hurph.
You can stream recent episodes on Siberia on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: So Tara is ready to file for divorce. It is long overdue for to realize this is just not a healthy environment for her. That probably should have happened around the time her hand got broken in a car door. Or the time he drunk driving mother in law almost killed her kids. I am guessing that going to jail and Jax refusing to leave were the final two straws. Now the question is, will Jax, or Gemma, let Tara leave Charming with both boys?
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

The Bridge: An interesting moral quandary, the snipers were ready to kill Tate, but one he wanted to be killed by Marco, no one would let him pull to the trigger to the point where Sonya shot Marco to keep him from ki8lling Tate. So we will kill people who do not want to die, but will spare the ones who openly try to be killed. So now that Tate is in custody and we still have two episodes left, just how does the ranch tie into everything? Tate did require that the ransom came from the owner so they are tied in somehow. And what about Linder? I completely forgot about him until he showed up in the promos.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.  You can also download The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: We saw it just an hour earlier with Gervase on Survivor (see my First Impression of Blood vs. Water here), but I am still shocked that Cara Maria would show up to a competition show that has used water quite frequently and no know how to swim very well. Shockingly she not only managed to move on to the next stage of competition but came in first. But really, it is hard to believe half of the contestants could not finish that puzzle in under an hour. Granted if you are not smart enough to realize the horseshoe would be the easiest to put together right off the bat, it makes a little more sense.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/15/13

Ray Donovan: Even though the episode started with somebody digging a grave, I knew Micky would not be the one who would end up in it. I actually assumed it would end up being Sully no matter how ludicrous it would have been having Micky overpowering two dues while tied up. Instead it was his hook up (poor Rosanna Arquette, she deserved a better storyline than that). But there have been some eye rolling plot devises in this show but Sully believing Micky when he told him that Ray and Sean Walker set him up for his girlfriend’s murder is the most head shaking. Grantland may have to update their episode of Breaking Brad based on this past episode.


Under the Dome: First off, why was the show delay by a half an hour? I understand the US Open ran late, but could they just cut one of the repeated sitcoms that aired before it so it would air on time? Would that have been too hard? I doubt anyone would have missed the scheduled repeat of Two and a Half Men especially if its was already starting a half and hour late.

So when Barbie decided to get caught by not getting in the ambulance, I assumed he had some grand plan to clear his name. Nope. Apparently his big elaborate plan was to just hope Julia regains consciousness. How about telling the sheriff that he did not try to kill Julia and to ask Joe and the nurse, both who witnessed him saving her life, to attest to the fact. On the bright side they did kill off a useless character this episode. Granted if they killed off every useless character, there would be no show.
You can stream Under The Dome exclusively on Amazon Instant Video, free for Prime members.

Siberia: The show has come up with some silly reason as to why the cameramen continue to shoot, but they did not even bother to try explaining why the Eskimos let the cameraman keep filming. Thankfully that is the case because I laughed though that whole segment.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Siberia on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Before the episode, I had read an article saying that the administrators at Newton sent home letter to the parents that there would be a school shooting in the episode. I really hate spoilers but I think being prepared was better than the alternative. Granted this way, as soon as I realized the young boy from the opening shots was not a young Jax that he would end up being the school shooter. I did originally thought one of Jax’s kids would end up being a victim but the promo monkeys would have us believe that the only tie in to the main characters is that he used a gun brought into this country by the Sons.

I did remember that Tara was in trouble for the nurse’s death, but I completely forgot that Jax set up Clay for Pope’s murder. I also remembered that Pope set Tig’s daughter on fire in front of him and apparently his erratic behavior is the cause of that, but to me he was acting the same as he always was, downing a dude in urine and dump in the bay and then sit down and sing Otis Redding is something I have always assumed he wold do eventually.
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

The Bridge: Being that this show, much like The Killing, is based on a Scandinavian show, I cannot help but wonder how long Sonya will be in the sling because I remember back on The Killing when the dude got beat to an inch of his life, spent a day in intensive care, and was up and about the next episode. That was of course right around the time that show went off the rails. The Bridge was been teetering on the rails for a while now, if Sonya is back to 100% by next episode, it may officially be off. But I do find it funny that the dude from Cougar Town is actually much funnier on this show than on his actual sitcom.
You can download The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: After a pretty sedate start to the season, the real Camilla has come out exploding twice in the last three episodes. But I really liked how everyone just stayed out of the kitchen while she and Jemmye ganged up on Diem. It is a shame the last Jungle is not a physical challenge because that would have been much more entertaining than the silly hang upside-down challenge. Speaking of challenges, that last one was a dozy. Having run a mile memorize a long series of colors and run back another mile cannot be as easy as it it sounds and I was shocked that everyone got it in one try. I remember a couple seasons ago on Survivor they did a similar thing and only had to run about a hundred feet and almost everyone got it wrong on the first try.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On 8/31/13

Quote of the Week: What the (expletive deleted) is a Jemmye? (Frank, The Challenge: Rivals II)

Song of the Week: The One That Got Away – The Civil Wars (Ravenswood commercial)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: The Video Music Awards Hit a New Low: Stephan Colbert set the tone for this year’s VMA’s when he crushed Daft Punk for choosing the award show over his nightly program. I thought this would end up being a big joke as Colbert would end up pulling a Soy Bomb during Daft Punk’s “surprise appearance.” Except Daft Punk did not end up performing, they just presented the Best Female Video. And by present, I mean they just stood there while Pharrell and Niles Rogers did all the talking. It was that kind of night.

As for the things that actually happened, Lady Gaga was predictably over the top and annoying as she opened the show. Except by the second performance, every one forgot about Gaga. The 2013 VMA’s, for better or worse, became The Miley Cyrus Show. And it was the worse. I never thought anyone would ever give a more embarrassingly bad performance than the Britney Spears Gimme More debacle, but Miley somehow managed to do so. But where Britney was out of shape, underprepared, and (probably) on too many mood stabilizers, amazingly, that was actually the performance Miley was trying to give, tongue, nude bikini and all. Unfortunately this is a sight I will never be able to unsee.


Ray Donovan: As I predicted last week, it took Sully the whole episode to get to Los Angeles. It will probably take until the end of the season for him to get into a room with Mickey. It was almost as obvious that Mickey was going to kill Van Miller, it was obvious he wanted his Hollywood career over his freedom. Except I though he was going to bash his head in with a stapler or something when Van, but it turns out Mickey brought a gun with him. But if Van was as paranoid as he portrayed, how does he not search Mickey or at the very least do not turn your back on a known murderer. Poor Van, he was by far the most interesting character on the show.

Under the Dome: Well Raylan Givens’ baby mama did spice things up this week but her mother may have been more interesting. Of course she goes overboard (but is it really that hard to swim a couple hundred meters without the use of your hands? Just flip on your back and dolphin kick your way to shore). But the mini dome saga just muddled things this week, why did it shock the radio chick but did not do anything to the reporter?
You can stream Under The Dome exclusively on Amazon Instant Video, free for Prime members.

Siberia: Well we finally learned what happened to the faux-lesbian. Although she somehow ended up very far away from where the helicopter fell. So did she never get on it? Did she just wander around after the helicopter not pick her up before getting covered in snow? Did the thing(s) with the footprints drag her there? Eh, it does not really matter.
You can stream recent episodes on Siberia on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: The show has been flirting with absurdity throughout most of its run and they may have finally gone full tilt with Erza turning out to be A even though it makes no sense at all. If they continue down this path, the show can reach the time travel season of Lost of absurdity next season. Though I suspect we will quickly learn that Erza is yet just another pawn of the real A much like Toby who was revealed to be a member of The A Team only for us to learn a couple episodes later he just infiltrated The A Team to keep Spencer safe. Yawn.

But as it stands, let me get this EzrA story straight: So EzrA thought he knocked up Allison, then killed her (although I thought Garrett and Jenna actually did that deed when they bashed her skull with a shovel), then when her body disappeared, he moved to her hometown to teach at her high school, hook up with one of her friends (you know, because the last under-aged relationship he had went so well) and then when they finally found her body (which now begs the question, whose body was found under the DiLaurentis’s gazebo?), started taunting her friends because that is when he realized that Allison was not actually dead and he thought harassing them would lead him to the not so dead Allison. What?!?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Bridge: Last week I thought that the guy they captured would end up being the mastermind or he would be another patsy and we probably would not learn who it was until the end of the season. Not only did we learn he was just another patsy, we actually leaned the mastermind used to work with Carlos, and was cozying up next to Mrs. Ruiz. Oh yeah, and Carlos boned his wife right before she died. Should make for an excellent last couple episodes.
You can stream recent episodes on The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: It is easy to get tired of contestants that have been on five too many Challenges (Johnny, Paula), but I will never be out on Camilla no many how many seasons she does as long as she goes H.A.M. on someone at least once per season. And best part about her going into a blind rage this week was she just got done telling Jemmye not to lose her cool over something stupid right before losing her cool over something stupid. I know I have made this suggestion before, but some reality television producer should team Camilla up with another crazy Brazilian hot head, Abi-Marie from Survivor: Philippines where the two just go from town to town and go H.A.M. on unsuspecting Americans.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.


Preview Picture of the Week:

"What Happens in Jersey... (Part 2)" Melissa and Joe, Wednesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Hey Grace, Hey Tony – Grace and Tony (NoiseTrade.com)

Deal of the Week: Amzon has an announced sale right now with a couple albums for only $2.99 including Kacey Musgraves, The Killers, Taylor Swift, and Kanye West’s Cruel Summer collection. Get them while you can.


New Album Release of the Week: The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You - Neko Case

New DVD Release of the Week: Spartacus: War of the Damned - The Complete Third Season [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: Best case scenario, Ravenswood will be Angel to Pretty Little Liars’ Buffy, a darker version of the original. Worst case scenario it starts out as convoluted as recently canceled The Lying Game. But I do give points to show for using the great The One That Got Away in its first promo. The two hour crossover event airs October 22. The second hour is being called the “series premiere” but it is unclear if the second episode will air the following week or will not air until Winter when the new season of Pretty Little Liars is set to return. I am guessing the latter because if it starts in October, it will run into ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas unless they do like the last two seasons of The Walking Dead which airs six straight episodes starting in October and finishes the season the following year.


Next Week Pick of the Week: The Comedy Central Roast of James Franco, 10:00 on Comedy Central: The Comedy Central Roasts were an annual event for me but in recent years they have devolved into a dais of nobodies planted by the network who try to be the most shocking while “roasting” the lowest of the low in pop culture like Charlie Sheen, Donald Trump, and David Hasselhoff. This year they actually recruited an actual star this year in James Franco who will be roasted by his friends like Roastmaster Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Andy Sandburg, Aziz Ansari, Nick Kroll, Sarah Silverman, and Natasha Leggero instead of unknowns that Comedy Central pulled off their comedy special (the only holdover is Jeff Ross on his eleventh straight roast for the network). Sure there will be plenty of James Franco likes to perform oral sex on dudes and other jokes straight from This Is The End, but I am sure this will be the most entertaining televised roast in awhile.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/25/13

Ray Donovan: This show is moving just too slow. Ray hires James Woods last episode and he just leaves Boston at the end of this episode. The show seems to somehow stretch three episodes of plot across eight episodes so far. And it may even move slower next week which is entitled “Road Trip” so Woods may not even making it to Los Angeles until the end of that episode. Doesn’t Ray have access to a private jet? They really could have done without the lesbian punching because I could care less for that character, she maybe has shown up for a combines five minutes so far this season, so when she gets mad at her faux lesbian love, it is hard to care at all.

Switched at Birth: I have always asserted that Daphne’s bomb was bigger than Cota’s, but I was surprised she actually launched hers in a preemptive strike. I would eb easy to say this will ruin Coto’s career, but Republicans have an uncanny resilience when it comes to sex scandals, Mark Sanford recently got elected after stepping down as governor after being revealed he had a Brazilian mistress. And not only did friend of the family David Vitter not step down after he got caught up in a prostitution ring, he got reelected and is still a Congressmen. Just as shock was that Toby and Nikki called off their wedding after having sex only to get married down at the courthouse without anyone knowing. Did not see that swerve coming.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Under the Dome: Hopefully Winona Hawkins livens thing up inside of the dome because the last couple episodes have been becoming increasingly boring.
You can stream Under The Dome exclusively on Amazon Instant Video, free for Prime members.

Siberia: I live in Ohio so I am used to some weird weather occurrences, but two feet of snow as the first snowfall of the year would not even happen here. And where exactly did the people in the helicopter go? I was waiting for the faux lesbian and the pilot to show up at some point.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Siberia on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: Come on, they had Red Coat in the back of the hayride and still were unable to catch her? Something better happen on the summer finale.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Perception: So is Kate going to be the crazy one in the duo next season with Pierce playing the straight guy? It does seem like Kate entered crazy town this week obsession over the Senator’s son. I do not see how she gets away with killing a dude even if he turns out to be a rapist. I guess Pierce could diagnos her with temporary insanity.
You can download Perception on iTunes.

The Bridge: Initially I was with Sonya in thinking this may not be the guy, but not because he seems to crazy to pull this off but because we are only half way through the season and how do they fill the rest of the season when they have the culprit already in custody? But then again, earlier this year, on this very network I wondered what they would possibly do after we found out who Drew Thompson was a couple episodes before the finale but still turned out its best episodes after that. Plus this always felt like a multiple man job so they could have caught the person making the calls but there are other co-conspirators out there wrecking havoc.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: God bless TJ for holding that dog for the whole challenge for no apparent reason. It made an otherwise boring episode watchable. At least it looks like Mount Camilla will finally erupt for the first time this season next week if the promo monkeys are to be believed.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/18/13

Ray Donovan: That fake movie, Black Mass, was one of the funniest fake movies I have seen in a while. Someone needs to rush it into production. Get Robert Rodriguez on the phone. It is nice that Ray named his daughter after his dead sister, but it can get distracting on a shown when he starts talking about his sister and I spend a couple weird moments wondering why he is talking about his daughter like that.

Switched at Birth: I feel cheated that we did not get to witness Travis and MaryBeth’s first (or second or third) date. That had to be highly entertaining. Certainly more entertaining than Toby’s bachelor party at the free clinic.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

Siberia: It is nice that they tried to explain why the cameramen would not just put the cameras down and start helping out. Of course if I were the cameraman tasked with following the group to the tower, I would have passed, or at the very least asked them to take turns filming stuff. Of course if this really was real, the battery would have died a long time ago without the ability to recharge at the base camp. I also had to laugh at how everyone was complaining about how hard it would reach the tower ten miles away. Colin Ferrell starred in a movie not too long ago about a group of prisoners who escaped a Siberian prison camp, in the dead of winter at that, and managed to walk all the way to Tibet and that was based on a real story. Okay, I think half the people ended up dying, but ten miles should not be that bad in the fall. Unless of course you come across ground zero of what may very well be nuclear testing.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Siberia on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: Just last week I rejoiced that Ezra’s baby mama was moving to Washington because there would be no way Ezra would not follow the child he just found out about. Fast forward to this week and Erza’s kid is not actually his kid. What!?! Which means he will probably go back to having sex with his student. Chris Hansen really needs to pay the writers room a visit.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Bridge: A lot of back-story this week, we learned that Sonya’s sister’s murder was handed by her now boss (and she does not know… yet) and she still visits her sister’s murderer in prison even his diminutive mental state. While we also learned that Marco’s father had ties to Fasto’s father who started Fasto’s current business. So did Marco go into law enforcement to rebel against his father or to be a mole for the family business? And it did cross my mind that the two back stories could have intertwined somehow and maybe Sonya’s sister’s killer may have worked for Marco’s father and this whole mystery has been about Sonya and Marco this whole time.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: I have been watching the show live the last couple of weeks and the frequency of the commercial breaks is really distracting. It seemed like the girls half of the challenge had three breaks itself. It just ruins the flow to have an ad every four to five minutes. I really need to go back to watchjing the show OnDemand where I can fast forward through the commercials even if MTV does not offer HD on their OnDemand channel and I am stuck watching in standard definition.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/11/13

Falling Skies: Did they not just kill Karen two episodes ago? Being a sci-fi show I would not be at all surprised if we see her again. Maybe the Karen we saw die was not the real Karen and she was just some sort of real life robot the aliens were able to produce just to mess with the humans. I do not remember if it was ever explained why she still worked with the aliens without the harness on. And I wonder if there will be any resentment from Hal that Maggie killed Karen. Hall did seem shocked by the action even though that was the humane thing to do and really if Hal should be mad at anyone over Karen’s death it should be at his father.

And as creepy as baby Lexi was, school-girl Lexi is even creepier. I thought it was callous of Tom to shot Karen without trying to barter a way to get the bugs out of her, but I turned out Tom has his own creepy witch doctor in the family. I wonder if she will be a gull teenager by the start of next season. It may only make it even more creepy.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Ray Donovan: One of my longstanding pet peeves on television are dream sequences and drug trips are a corollary to that, but really, even I cannot hate a drug trip that features a monkey. But I was a bid disappointed that the cop that pulled him over did not morph into The Terminator as he was talking to the agent. And I did complain at the start of the show that I feared it would devolve into cheesy fake celebrity problems that Ray would have to solve every week (which thankfully for the most part it has not) that NBA lottery plan was disturbingly brilliant.

Under the Dome: So at the center of the town (which for some reason is a secluded wooded area, not downtown like normal cities) is a mini dome which encases an egg. Alrighty.
You can stream Under The Dome exclusively on Amazon Instant Video, free for Prime members.

Siberia: It is a little bothersome that the show does not notice the little things. There was an actual scene where the one chick is hunting for deer with the cameraman walking right in front of her. Seriously. No cameraman on a real reality show would walk directly in front of someone with a bow cocked back. At least the show moved the plot forward with the disappearance of everyone on the crew, aside from the cameramen on duty. But then that begs the question, what happened to the faux lesbian who “left” earlier in the day. Did she really make it out just before everything went down, or was she just wondering around for the day? Granted it is highly suspicious that we did not get to see her leave, so I have a feeling she may have been captured by the creepy kids lurking around.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Siberia on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: It looks like I was right, that Mona would essentially plea insanity and find herself back at the mental institution. I wonder if they will heighten security this stay after she admitting to sneaking out multiple times during her last stint.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Bridge: Wow, that discussion on serial killers was profound. Too bad I had to read it. And as much as I find that Sonia lives somewhere on the autism spectrum, that meal with the family was actually entertaining in its uncomfortableness. Poor Marco, you really cannot come up with a good example as to why your wallet falls out of your pants innocently. The best thing I could come up with would be to cut a hole in your back pocket and hope she buys it just happened to bust while at the home of another woman to have her sign documents.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: The biggest problem with shows like this is that voting is extremely predictable (Survivor tried to shake things up with the addition of the Hidden Immunity Idol, but it really has only affected the outcome of a Tribal Council three or four times; I am pretty sure more people have gone home with an Idol in their pocket then have been saved by one) so it is always entertaining when a vote goes disastrously bad like when Teresa “threw away” her vote on her hook up LeRoy only for half the people after her following her lead and also voting for LeRoy, sending him into The Jungle. Not that it ended up mattering because LeRoy was saved by an even more rare occurrence with a disqualification in an elimination round (the only other time I remember this happening was to CT who crushed someone as he usually does, only to be sent home on a technicality).
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 8/4/13

Falling Skies: So Tom was able to figure out who the mole is because someone said something similar to what he remember Lourdes said hours before but did not realize it did not make sense to him when she first said it? I hate when writers continually put these kinds of revelations into scripts. Way too cute, just have someone walk in on Lourdes trying to kill Cochise. The reveal would have been more satisfying and less absurd.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Ray Donovan: I wonder what exactly Ray’s wife thinks he does for a living. Is she just a she no evil her no evil, blind to the fact who just does not ask as long as there is food on the table. Or the kind that does know deep down, but will not say anything because she has grown accustomed to her lifestyle. Or does she really know, does not care, and is just mad that he may be cheating on her and that is the preverbal line.

Switched at Birth: ASL karaoke: who knew? And I am not sure if I should have laughed at all the cheesy ASL pick up lines that Travis was trying. It should be interesting to watch his date with MaryBeth which I have a feeling may devolve into the episode of The Big Bang Theory where Raj went on a date with the chick who plays Daphne with Howard as the interpreter.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

Siberia: When the show first appeared I theorized that it would turn out to be a rip off of The Cabin In The Woods, and if that is the case, the Powers that Be sure pumped in the pheromones this episode because there were people hooking up all over the place. I also had to think of another horror movie, Evil Dead, when the Serbian dude found the book. I was screaming at the dude, you do open up creepy books that are hidden. But at least he did not try reading from it. Yet.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Siberia on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: Oh Mona, you sneaky devil. But did she fall on the sword to make it up to Hanna for all the A stuff, or does she have a devious master plan that she is not letting on. Either way, she probably could get off, she worked out the self defense claim with Hanna, and worse case scenario, she could just e declared insane again and go back to Bradley, which may very well be her masterplan.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Bridge: So not only is the creepy trailer dude not a murderer, he is actually coyote for Mexican prostitutes trying to get up from under the thumb from an evil sex trafficking drug lord(who can easily get a million dollars to Marco to pay for his other stolen property). Oh yeah, and he is so compassionate, he will even help snakes across the street. Alrighty. And it took me about half the episode to realize that was a clean shaven and fully functioning Johnny Crowder as the FBI agent. Considering what happened to him, it may have been better had I not recognized him.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: When I saw the title of this episode was Mortuusequusphobia‬, I got excited because I assumed it would be another spelling challenge this week. Silly me, they would never use a word longer than five letters in the spelling challenge. I guess it is safe to assume that mortuusequusphobia‬ is the fear of ketchup or condiments in general. But as great as the Jemmye mental breakdown was, the Jungle was as equally disappointing. C’mon promo monkeys, you do not hype the most dangerious elimination round ever only not to have one.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.

The Hero: Patty?!? Seriously America? Apparently the only people who watched (and or voted) besides me bored housewives who thought they were Patty. And Patty winning is probably the best reason why there will not be a second season. If only the casted the inaugural season better.
You can download The Hero on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 7/21/13

Falling Skies: I never thought Hal was the mole, just too obvious. But do you know who was not at all obvious: Lourdes. Certainly did not see that coming. And that face worm scene was extremely creepy. But how exactly did she know all the strategic planning? Not really something a doctor would be privy two. As for the Masons, all the counter attacks really started to border on absurdity. There had to be about six in one episode lone.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Ray Donovan: The first two episodes were good, but the show was just missing something to get me invested in it. That may have finally came when the dude who got Papa Donovan out of prison showed up and we ended the episode in his dark basement with Ray and all his friends posted on his wall. This scene really should have been the final scene of the premiere.

Switched at Birth: Bay and Daphne’s talk about sex may have been the most uncomfortable thing I have seen on television in a long time.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

Under the Dome: So the brother finally asked someone about his sister. That only took three days. Not that he cared all that much because it look like he is already renting out her room. But just what is Big Jim going to do with her? If he lets her go, he will have to send his son, who just did not disappoint him for the very first time in his life, to jail. Since it is flooded, he really cannot keep her in the bunker. So it is either lock her up in the house or kill her.
You can stream Under The Dome exclusively on Amazon Instant Video, free for Prime members.

Siberia: It is annoying on competition reality show when contestants talk about “playing the game” and it is even more annoying on this show because there really is no “game” to play. There are no competitions, not elimination, the only thing they have to do is not die, that really is not a game.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Siberia on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: When Spencer drove into that town I thought she drove into a different show. It turns out I was right. For the unaware, Ravenswood is an upcoming Pretty Little Liars spin-off show (do not get too attached to the Hanna / Caleb relationship because is joining that cast). If the show is as creepy as these segments would suggest, it may be worth watching.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Bridge: I do not know what I would do if a woman who looked like Diane Kruger walked up to me in a bar and propositioned me for sex right off the bat. I do not know what I would do if any woman walked up to me in a bar and propositioned me for sex right off the bat. I would probably be too paranoid that I was on a hidden camera show or that she is just luring me back to her place to harvest my organs that I would end up passing up the opportunity. It may not be a good thing that this was my big take away from the episode why my biggest question would be is a hostess really an upgrade over a waitress?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: Seriously producers, if all you can get on short notice was Cara Maria, just send Cooke home. No one wants to see her ever again (including the contestants). It is not even a hate to love thing, it is a wants to turn the channel thing. And a note to any newbies to the Challenge, watch previous seasons. I had to shake my head when Anastasia got mad at CT for using her as her own personal plaything. Had she watched the show before, she would have known that is his M.O. with the exception of Diem. Not watching the previous seasons would be as dumb as training by smoking cigarettes and not eating (God bless TJ).
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.

The Hero: I was really hoping they were going to vote Patti into the Hero’s Challenge, I could have done without her for the final episode. And again it is annoying they are going make us wait a week to find out who gets voted off, really unnecessary. I really doubt there are many people out there that were thinking of not watching next week but will turn in just to see who will be voted off.
You can download The Hero on iTunes.

Previewing Ray Donovan

We have all been there, wake up to some naked dead chick and try to figure out who to call to take care of it. For those of us with enough money, we can call Ray Donovan, the kind of guy who has another client, an action movie hero who got caught with a transvestite, who could be seen with a dead coked-up chick because that would be an upgrade in the public eye from a transvestite (although I am not sure how you have an A-lister get caught with a transvestite and not make an Eddie Murphy joke).

That is the titular character of Ray Donovan (Live Schreiber, Scream 3), he is a fixer. A fixer for high priced clients who need things done by any means necessary. One of his first “fixes” involved his father, Jon Voight (National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets) twenty years ago which landed the him in prison, and the start of the series sees papa Donovan getting released five years ahead of schedule leading the younger version scrambling to keep his father out of his life.

His bothers are more on the fence. Eddie Marsan (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) is the former boxer with Parkinson’s while Dash Mihok (The Day After Tomorrow) is dealing with his own demons that stems from his time in the Catholic church and is now a “sexual anorexic”. And like any good Irish Catholic families, there is even a bastard son unbeknownst to Ray that appears right around the time their father shows up. Home life, in Calabasas, what they call the Jersey Shore of Los Angeles, is not much better, his wife Paula Malcomson (Deadwood) begrudgingly accepts what he has to do for his job while his kids (including Kerris Dorsey who was most recently seen as Sally Draper’s violinist friend on Mad Men) are eager to meet the grandfather they never knew.

The big problem with Ray Donovan is we have seen the troubled Irish-Catholic family with major issues done many times before, and done much better than this. The scenes when Ray is working are much more entertaining but also lean on major clichés. In the first episode we meet the adulterous basketball player, the closeted gay action hero, and the horny pop star. I am guessing it will not be too long until Ray meets the gangsta rapper who actually grew up in the suburbs. And while Voight is creepy, is is not the creepy cool that Mads Mikkelsen on Hannibal plays, but in a hide your young daughters (and probably young sons too) kind of creepy. Early in the season you will get to witness Voight dancing in a gay bar to Now That We Found Love, an imagine you will instantly want scrubbed from your brain after seeing it. In the end, Ray Donovan is one of those shows that is very well done, well written, well acted, but there is just something missing.

Ray Donovan airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime following the final season of Dexter.

Best of the Week: 6/22/13

Quote of the Week: My father never gave me anything. (Sally Draper, Mad Men)

Song of the Week: Cat's In the Cradle - Harry Chapin (as sung by W. Kamau Bell, Totally Biased)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: God Still Hates Cleveland: People just do not understand how horrible it is to live in Cleveland. Like more Midwest areas, the winters suck massively, but at least cities like Detroit, Chicago, even Green Bay can pull on the covers and root for a championship team. Here in Cleveland we has so many failures, we name them: The Fumble, The Drive, The Shot, The Blown-Save, The Decision. They all hurt, but that last one just hurt the soul because LeBron James was one us, he knew are pain, and instead of breaking the curse, he just added to it. And his championship was just a dagger to heart. Last year’s championship could be explained away because it was a strike shortened season and not truly legit. But he came back this season and won it without any asterisks. And they the won was almost Bill Bucknerian. The Spurs had a commanding lead and up three with seconds in game six (much like Buckner) when LeBron put up a horrible desperation three except the show was so bad to took a weird trajectory off the rim, bouncing right out to Ray Allen, someone who is actually older than me and not known for his rebounding prowess, who took a couple steps back and drained the game tying three. So instead of being the goat for putting up one of the most laughable late game threes ever to the delight of everyone in Cleveland, LeBron and the Heat then goes on to win the game and later the series. As Bill Simmons would say: God hates Cleveland.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Ch-Ch-Changes" Perception Tuesday at 10:00 on TNT

Free Download of the Week: The Bag or the Bat - Ray Donovan (iTunes): The new Showtime show does not premiere until next week, but if you want to check it out ahead of time or want to see if it is worth subscribing to Showtime for, you can download the first episode on iTunes. If you do not want to waste the hard drive space, you can also watch it via YouTube below. And for those that would rather watch it on your television, check out your On Demand channel.


Deal of the Week: The Big DVD & Blu-ray Blowout: Game of Thrones, The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Big Bang Theory

New Album Release of the Week: Vh1 Storytellers - Alicia Keys

New DVD Release of the Week: Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids: The Complete Series

Video of the Week: I have never been the biggest Jay-Z fan out there, sure he made plenty of hot singles in his two decades, but the only album of his I own is the one he did with Kanye West. With that said, I am already extremely excited for his next one just because of the album announcement he made during the NBC Finals last week (it was too late to updated my list of The 5 Most Anticipated Albums of Summer 2013, but it would have been number two on that list had I did; John Mayer, who made a release date this week too also would have grabbed a slot) which featured uber-producers who have been responsible for some of Jay’s greatest beats including Rick Rubin (99 Problems), Pharrell (I Just Wanna Love U), Swizz Beatz (On to the Next One), and Timbaland (Big Pimpin’). Thankfully DJ Premier and Dr. Dre were not involved otherwise my head could have very well exploded. Magna Carta Holy Grail drops July 4 (or three days earlier if you have some sort of app on a smartphone I refuse to promote because they are not paying me). Happy birthday America.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Under the Dome, Monday at 10:00: When everyone else is scrambling to pull in eyeballs in the summer, CBS just throws on three nights of Big Brother and a bunch repeats and sips mai tai’s until it is Fall. Not only is CBS actually putting on a new scripted show this summer it is quite ambitious and off brand from its usual crime procedurals it usually airs during the season. Base on the novel by Stephen King, Under the Dome follows the residents of a small town cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious dome. Color me intrigued.