57 Channels and Only This Is On - 9/10/11

Quote of the Week: This ain’t a job. It ain’t an occupation. It's a calling. (Tommy, Rescue Me)

Song of the Week: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly (as played on the bagpipes, Rescue Me)

Big News of the Week: GOP Debate: I really do not pay too much to debates until about a month before people actually start voting, but I usually still tune in to the early ones. But this year’s Republican debates have been excruciationing to sit through I finally figured out why: where is Jimmy McMillan? I thought he was going to run as a Republican nominee for the president this election cyce yet he has yet to eb invited to any of the debates. Sure I do not actually pay it, but is the rent still not too damn high?


The Lying Game: Wow, the I accidently tipped the guy a fifty instead of a five and no do not have to pay the bill was the greatest move ever. And if it was not clear enough that the dude was poor, hustling at golf pretty much sealed it. But what made me laugh the most was when the dance instructor stopped things because of statutory reasons. It was almost a direct shot at the other show created by the same writer, Pretty Little Liars, with it’s icky teacher / student relationship. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: And fears I had about the show continuing its slump from last season were quickly laid to rest because it was back to its season two glory right from the start. It was nice to see the dude from Terriers take up shop in Charming, adding a nice wrinkle to the town, although it took me a while to recognize without the beard. Also taking a while to place was the new assistant U.S. attorney. I recognized him right away, but could not remember what he played. The second scene I remembered he was a priest, then the third time he appeared I finally remembered he was on Deadwood (yet another actor from that show that made its way to Charming). You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Also check out my season (series) review of Rescue Me.

Free Download of the Week: Little Lie – Lindi Ortega (Spinner)

Deal of the Week: Save up to 57% on Blu-Ray Favorites & More (Inception, The Dark Knight, 300)

New Album Release of the Week: Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play The Blues

New DVD Release of the Week: Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: Henry Kissinger arguably had more to do with shaping the post-war policy of the United States than anyone else and Monday he sits down with the National Geographic Channel at 8:00 to talk about it. The two hour special comes from twenty-five hours of interviews and below is a sneak peak:

Kissinger


Next Week Pick of the Week: Parenthood, Tuesday at 10:00 on NBC: With Friday Night Lights ending its run this summer, Parenthood inherits the title of best show on network television (not surprisingly they share producers). If my memory serves me correctly, Adam quite his job just after knocking up his wife even though it was his sister Julia that was trying to get pregnant. Both Crosby and Haddie had sex with FNL alum to disastrous consequences. While Amber decided college was not for her much to the distain of Sarah. While Drew continues to stay in the background.


With 9/11 tomorrow, if you already inundated with retrospectives, here is another one to check out: Beyond 9/11: Portraits of Resilience which will debut tomorrow at 8:46 A.M., ten years to the minute the first airplaine hit the World Trade Center on HBO in association with Time magazine. Check out a trailer below:

You Need Two Things to Survive: Sex and Fire, One's no Good without the Other

For almost two seasons it was clear someone was not going to make it to the series finale of Rescue Me. It has been a long time since anyone lst their life in the line of duty, Damien came the closest being relegated to a vegetative state. If someone were to go Tommy would be the obvious choice because creator Denis Leary seems like the guy who would like to watch his own funeral as a fallen hero. Lou’s health made him another prime candidate as well as Chief Finberg who had some mental health problems. Black Shawn just got married and being happy never tends to last on shows like this. But it never crossed my mind the whole crew would go out in a blaze of glory, but there was Lou eulogizing five caskets in a church. Oh, wait, that was just a dream sequence. Nevermind.

That pretty much sums up the last couple seasons of Rescue Me: big build up with little payoff. Off the top of my head I cannot think a show the utilized the “Just Kidding, it’s Just a Dream Sequence” plot more than this show. Tommy fantasizing about taking a drink accounted for about half of them. And that does not even take into account the time he was drinking and talked to all the dead people in his life (or that one season where he saw Jesus and Mary Magdalene) or the times he would take a drink, talk to the dead, and then spit the liquor out. Apparently he has finally learned to chat up the dead with drinking as shown in the final scene.

After Tommy wakes up at the beginning of the finale, we learn that Lou was the only one that did not make it out the building alive and the remaining guys were left to memorialize the fallen lieutenant. After another rocky season, the death brought the show back to its roots focusing on the guys in the firehouse ranging from heartwarming to hilarious, Rescue Me really did locker room talk better than any show ever on television. Sure the scene where Tommy delivering his kid by himself in under a minute was completely absurd. And how can Tommy reject baby names for being to gay when Shea Gavin sounds like the gayest French restaurant ever? But anyway.

As strong as the series finale was, it does not hide the fact that Rescue Me should have ended about two seasons ago when the show shifted from being about the firefighters to a show about the Tommy, Shelia, and Janet love triangle. At that point the show seemed like it was just feeding Leary’s ego where he got to simulate sex with every hot guest star that walked on the set then the tribute to the profession it started out as. Then we started getting more painfully long scenes that left you looking at the clock seeing if it was actually lasting as long as it felt. Even though it could have ended a couple years ago and everyone would have been happier for it, the final shot was a fitting ending for a show born out of 9/11 just days before its tenth year anniversary.

Rescue Me 7.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Rescue Me: The Series gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 9/3/11

Quote of the Week: Does anybody know what tonight is… Lower your hand if you are going to say the season finale of Glee, I (expletive deleted) hate that show. (Captain Dashall, Death Valley)

Song of the Week: Someone Like You – Adele (Video Music Awards)

Big News of the Week: Video Music Awards Still Make Me Feel Old: I actually missed watching the show live because when I tuned in I thought the MTV feed somehow got mixed up with a local access channel airing the worst community theater version of Streetcar Named Desire ever. So I went ahead and watched Leverage instead. I realized my mistake when I watched a re-air of the show. Oops. Here are some thoughts:

- Best performances of the night in this order: Adele, Kanye West and Jay-Z, Young the Giant, Beyoncé.

- Oddest moment of the night goes to Britney Spears who in lieu of giving an acceptance speech for the Video Vanguard Award just introduced Beyoncé.

- I feel as if we failed as a society if Chris Brown is allowed to perform on a national stage. Dude should be trolling in relative obscurity by now; it is not like the guy has much talent to get away with all the crap he has pulled. And who does he think he’s fooling by wearing the drive thru microphone? A four year old could tell he was not really singing.

- The Amy Winehouse tribute was weird all around considering she never once appeared on the show (she was set to appear with the house band during the disastrous Las Vegas experiment but had her visa rejected) and rarely even appeared on the channel and just released one album anyone cared about. Then Bruno Mars chose to perform an obscure (at least here stateside) Mark Ronson cover of a Zutons song that Winehouse sang on instead of one of her own songs.

- Lastly, and this is for all award shows, not just the VMA’s, stop inviting artists to perform if every third word you are going to bleep out anyway. And if you are an artist who curses every third word, either chose a different song or change your lyrics, because it may seem like artistic integrity to perform your song as is, but it just comes off as a really crappy performance on television.


Leverage: Holy Dr. Abbot sighting! But I am disappointed in myself that I did not realize the chick was Sterling’s daughter, they really beat you over the head with those hints. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

The Lying Game: The dude from Heroes remains to be the most interesting character on the show (how he was not in the Pilot is befuddling), him showing up in Los Angeles was really creepy. And I am beginning to wonder if either of his kids are his, neither of them look much lke him (but that could just be casting directors not caring). You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I cannot believe I just made my first ever Better Than Ezra joke during my mid-season wrap up of the show (see Two Can Keep a Secret if One of The Is Dead). I rally dropped the pop culture ball on that one. I promise when the show comes back, I will make at least one Better Than Ezra joke for every episode he is in. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Rescue Me: I have longed believed that Tommy would not make it to the end of the show and that one other fireman would die this season. But it never crossed my mind that they would kill off the entire crew. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Ghost on the Canvas - Glen Campbell (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: This week you can get albums by Mumford and Sons, Coldplay, Eric Clapton, and Carrie Underwood for five dollars.



New Album Release of the Week: In The Grace Of Your Love - The Rapture

New DVD Release of the Week: Community: The Complete Second Season

Video of the Week: Mel Brookes and Dick Cavett have been chatting it up for four decades and now they are doing it one more time for an HBO special to air this Friday at 9:00. Here is a sneak peak:



Next Week Pick of the Week: Rescue Me, Wednesday at 10:00 on FX: It is an end of an era Wednesday as Rescue Me finishes it run just days before the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

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

Quote of the Week: You know what's sad: him being gay is the least of our public relations problems. (Needles – Rescue Me)

Song of the Week: Sometime it Takes Balls to be a Woman – Elizabeth Cook (Weeds)

Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Trails to Jani Lane: I missed the original Warrant run because at their height I was going through my hardcore gangsta rap phase, but I have to admit whenever Cherry Pie would come on MTV I would not change the channel for obvious reasons (or the vastly underrated Uncle Tom’s Cabin which featured banjo two decades before it became en vogue). Of course by the time I got back into rock music, grunge had come and swept hair metal bands off the charts, but I can still look back and call Heaven one of the top five greatest power ballads ever in the history of the world. Sadly the world last saw Jani Lane, a guy who at one post landed one of the hottest token hot chicks ever to appear in a music video, an overweight drunken mess on the second season of Celebrity Fit Club on VH1.




Pretty Little Liars: Aria kissing a dude who takes pictures of her while she is sleeping unbeknownst to her is still not as creepy as the writers trying to make us think that her affair with her teacher is some grand love story. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Nine Lives of Chloe King: So was the date that turned over the pictures a My turncoat or is dude going to show up dead soon because he made out with one? Seems weird for a My to give up the Uniter to someone with plans to kill her. But I was a little surprised that mom’s boyfriend did not turn out to be evil. They always turn out to be evil. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Nine Lives of Chloe King on iTunes.

Rescue Me: They could have devoted a whole episode explaining all the dirt they could have dug up on the firehouse. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes.

Also check out my season reviews of Falling Skies and Switched at Birth.


Free Download of the Week: Invisible - Skylar Grey

Deal of the Week: Blu-Rays for Under $10 (The Dark Knight, Watchmen, Office Space)

New Album Release of the Week: Jeff Bridges - Jeff Bridges

New DVD Release of the Week: Dexter: The Fifth Season

Video of the Week: Next up on HBO’s summer documentary series id Gloria: In Her Own Words. The Gloria in question is feminist icon Gloria Steinem who in interviewed (natch) from her Manhattan apartment as well as archival footage of her being interviewed by Barbara Walters, Helen Gurley Brown, Phil Donahue, and Larry King. Check out a trailer below:



Next Week Pick of the Week: The Lying Game, Monday at 9:00 on ABC Family: Based on the books written by the same author of Pretty Little Liars, The Lying Game also looks to offer up some of its own teen intrigue of its own. Hopefully it does not follow its predecessor by taking a promising plot and make it cumbersome to watch at times. Two things The Lying Game has going for it is the highly likeable lead actress Alexandra Chando as twin sisters separated at birth (not by a hospital mistake, but by foster care) and the best use of music in a promo in recent memory when it used Adele’s Rumour Has It for its ad campaign. Take a look at an extended promo below.

The Lying Game: 60 Second Preview

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 8/6/11

Quote of the Week: How accurate was The Wire? (Student – Weeds)

Song of the Week: Alien – Carey Brothers (Pretty Little Liars)

Big News of the Week: The Debt Ceiling Raised: Since Republicans do not want to do anything to help the economy in hopes of taking back the White House next year and Democrats do not have the marbles to push legislation without compromise through like Bush did last decade, we were stuck hearing about the debt ceiling while our congressmen played political chicken with the word’s economy. Considering it would be a lose-lose-lose type situation if the debt ceiling limit was not raised, it was done at the last minute. All this led to an all time 14% approval rating of Congress which puts them somewhere between LeBron James and Casey Anderson.


Leverage: Oh you silly promo monkeys making us think that Eliot gets shot during the episode, but never actually gets caught in the cross hairs at all. But I did like the ingenious way of getting the daughter’s breath to open the panic room. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv.

Falling Skies: I swear those creatures controlling the Skidders are those long necked creatures from Star Wars on the planet where the clones are being made. We also get some interesting exposition that if you have a harness on for so long, you may turn into a skidder. But I still do not particularly care much about any of the characters. You can stream recent episodes over at tnt.tv.

Switched at Birth: I wonder if Deafenstien is an actual movie because I think I may want to add it to my queue. You can stream the show on Hulu.

Pretty Little Liars: I have long questioned Big Head Barry’s assertion that he did not knowingly take steroids, but after seeing Emily was tricked by “A,” maybe Barry Bonds too was stalked by an omnipresent person that tricked him into using The Cream, The Clear and Beef Roids. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

The Nine Lives of Chloe King: I am beginning to think that empathy thing that Chloe does may be the most worthless superpower ever. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Rescue Me: It is a shame that Mike and White Shawn are not featured in more scenes because even seven years later they are still comedy gold. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.


Free Download of the Week: Dawes / Blitzen Trapper Tour Sampler (dawestheband.com): Dawes and Blitzen Trapper are hitting the road starting tomorrow in Petaluma, California and going through November. Head over to Dawes website to get the full list and while you are there you can download a sampler from both bands which includes Blitzen Trapper’s Furr which it worth the download by itself.

New Album Release of the Week: Watch the Throne - Jay-Z and Kanye West

New DVD Release of the Week: Paul

Next Week Pick of the Week: Falling Skies, Sunday at 9:00 on TNT: Stop me if you have heard this one before: a sci-fi show that sounds great on paper but ends up being mediocre in practice. And that was the same for Falling Skies. Things did start to build up in the last episode so hopefully the season can go out with a bang with their two hour finale. Also, star Noah Wiley will be live tweeting during the episode @fallingskiesTNT.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 7/24/11

Quote of the Week: And you’re still seeing the titbull? (Kelly, Rescue Me)

Song of the Week: I I've Got the World On a String – Frank Sinatra (Rescue Me)

Big News of the Week: MTV Video Music Awards Nominees Announced: It seems like a yearly rite of passage for most of the past decade when MTV unveils its nominations and I complain like an old dude yelling at kids to get off his lawn. But wait a second, this year Adele and Beastie Boys are up for Best Video. The Best Rock Video field is filled with acts that actually rock (Mumford and Sons! The Black Keys!) and no whiny emo rock crap in sight. The Song Otherwise Known as Forget You up for an award. And there is very little Lady GaGa or Britney Spears in sight. If MTV invites those acts former to perform and get a host that is actually funny, the VMA’s may be watchable this year. Seriously MTV, get Chris Rock on the phone.


Leverage: C’mon Leverage team, how did it take you almost an entire hour to figure out where the painting was? I realized where it was once Danny Glover started his story in the roller rink. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Falling Skies: So we have a Benedict Arnold in out mitts. I am a bit surprised that the aliens would be willing to grant amnesty to a human just for providing them more slaves, they seem to be able to take whatever they want when they want it. But I wonder whatever happened to the one dude’s girlfriend that was take a couple episodes back. After rescuing his brother he seems to forget all about her, not even doing anymore recon in the hospital for her and now is ready to up and move without rescuing her. You can stream recent episodes over at tnt.tv. You can also download Falling Skies on iTunes.

The Nine Lives of Chloe King: So the evil dude hired an assassin to kill Chloe but he does not know what she looks like? Seriously? When the assassin found her, how about asking him to take a picture for future reference? You know, just in case you run into her while at an art gallery? Of course if I am not mistake, Buffy ran into Glory without knowing who the other was. Or was it Dawn? Either way, drink up if you are playing my Chloe King drinking game. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Nine Lives of Chloe King on iTunes.

Rescue Me: I wonder what is going to get someone killed first (you do not think the series would end without one more major death right, I have money on Tommy and Black Shawn) Lou’s physical health or the Chief’s mental health. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Swell Window – Zee Avi (Rcrd Lbl)

Deal of the Week: Save up to 58% on Hit Movies & TV Deals (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Dark Knight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

New Album Release of the Week: LP1 - Joss Stone

New DVD Release of the Week: The Blues Brothers [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: When MTV announced they were resurrecting Beavis and Butt-Head my first thought was “Awesome.” My second thought was, “but am I still going to find it funny now that I am fourteen years older?” After seeing the first four minutes of footage, the answer is a resounding yes even if it features one hundred percent Jersey Shore which the duo obliterates to the point I wonder how the MTV executives did not step in and edit it. That’s how she answers the phone. Ha ha, ha ha.

Get More: Beavis and Butt-Head, MTV Shows

Next Week Pick of the Week: The Challenge: Rivals, Wednesdays at 10:00 on MTV: Might as well go for the MTV trifecta even thou I probably have not mentioned MTV three times in the last year. I got back logged on the latest incarnation of The Challenge because I thought I would just watch it On Demand. But the premiere did not show up the day after. A week later and it was not there and I just forgot about it. Now I am almost completely caught up as they reach the midpoint of the season and Rivals is turning out to be one of the best with a dude getting kicked out the first night, Wes and Kenny having to work together and CT actually being entertaining and not just scary. But my favorite part of the season is when the new chick punched the mirror and starting to spout how she was from Houston and other nonsense. Someone really needs to sit that girl down and force her to watch the Chappelle’s Show segment, When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong. But if I have one complaint it is the same one that I have had with the past couple season, the unbreakable Kenny / Evan / Johnny alliance just makes things less fun.

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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



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

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

New Album Release of the Week: Universal Pulse - 311

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

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



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

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXLVI

Quote of the Week: I'm glad you are as confused as I am 'cause when I first heard it I thought it was a big number. You know after a jillian come pavilion. (Sean, Rescue Me)

Song of the Week: Whatever Hot Chip song they played on Rubicon, but I am just not gay enough to know the name of the song. You know is gay enough? Apparently Cale’s rent boy. Didn’t see that coming.

Big News of the Week: TV Fall Season Kicks Off: FX will be getting a jump of its network counterparts with the premieres of three show next week. Here is the schedule of what I will be watching this fall and the date of when they return:

Mondays
8:00 - Chuck (September 20)
8:00 – How I Met Your Mother (September 20)
9:00 – The Event (September 20)
10:00 – Castle (September 20)

Tuesdays
8:00 – No Ordinary Family (September 28)
10:00 – Sons of Anarchy (September 7)
10:00 – Parenthood (September 14)

Wednesdays
8:00 – Survivor: Nicaragua (September 15)
9:00 - Friday Night Lights (October 27)
9:00 – Modern Family (September 22)
10:00 – Terriers (September 8)
10:00 – The Challenge: Cut Throat (October 6)

Thursdays
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (September 23)
8:00 – Community (September 23)
9:30 – Outsourced (September 23)
11:00 – I Love Money 4 (September 16)

Sundays
10:00 – The Walking Dead (October 31)


Leverage: Finally back to the overarching plotline of getting that dude who the Italian chick sprung him from jail for. I almost forgot about that whole storyline. And even more back story in the process when we learn that Sophie may actually be royalty. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Rescue Me: Assuming that Damien really isn’t faking, is Tommy now hallucinating the living know? Did Damien die right there? But last week would have been the better end to the season. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes. You can also check out my season review: He Wasn't Bulletproof and Neither Are Any of You.

Covert Affairs: My biggest complaint about the show is: are we really supposed to believe that Annie really fell that deeply in love after one meeting? And how exactly does the agency know about the tryst and even think anything of it? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Covert Affairs on iTunes.

Persons Unknown: Weren’t we promised an actual ending? That seemed like a pretty big cliffhanger to me. Like what is with the cages the editor and the ambassador were put in? Just too many things that were not explained are not well enough explained for my liking. And the last episode seemed so rushed and seemed to be missing major scenes and just jumped to the end because they were out of time. At least the elevator took them up to a church where patchy explained that the town was a place they created so they could meet up in some other dimension. You can also download Persons Unknown on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: NFL Follow Your Team (iTunes): The new NFL season kicks off this week and iTunes has released 2009 highlights fall all thirty two teams to remind you how your team did last season.

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5 (Amazon MP3): This deal includes albums by John Mayer, Pink Floyd, Sara Barielles, and The Avett Brothers.



Video of the Week: In a story I broke last month, Friday Night Lights hits syndication on ABC Family this Tuesday and will air weeknights. So if you missed it the first time around, or just want to watch it again from the beginning, here is your chance. Below is a promo:

Next Week Pick of the Week: Terriers, Wednesday at 10:00 on FX: Forget AMC and all their pretentious shows, FX has the best dramas on basic cable. They landed three shows on my list of the Best Shows of 2009-10 and they may increase that total on next year’s list with their latest program Terriers. Look out for a full review later this week.

He Wasn't Bulletproof and Neither Are Any of You

If there is one theme that shows up more than 9/11 on Rescue Me, it is alcoholism. The disease cost Tommy Gavin his family, caused him to visualize everyone from his dead cousin, to people he was unable to save on the job, even Jesus, and his son, who of course was killed by a drunk driver. The show has kicked up the alcoholic theme for the final season (technically split into two seasons, the first ending tomorrow, so FX could air the final season to coincide with the tenth anniversary of 9/11).

It was thanks to the sauce that we started this season with Tommy heading to the hospital after his uncle shot him, blaming Tommy for the death that died while driving drunk herself off of some booze provided by Tommy. But staying clean and sober never goes well for Tommy and it doesn’t help that upon her twenty-first, his daughter takes up drinking and quickly competes for the title of drunkest Gavin. Dealing with your own addiction is tough, and having witness his daughter’s pushed him over the edge by baptizing her in a pool of liquor. But who am I to judge, it actually worked (for now).

Tommy was not the only one dealing with addiction this season and Lou’s penchant for eating too much has finally caught up to him leading to multiple heart attacks over the course of the season. His doctor tells him that his heart is only working at fifty percent and he only has two options, retire or die (why changing his diet isn’t mention, I do not know). Option B led us to the cliffhanger of the last episode before the season finale where his inability to breathe puts himself, and this time, his crew in danger as the episode goes to black with himself and Damien underneath debris.

One wonders why FX didn’t use that cliffhanger as the season finale; sure the final scene in tomorrow’s finale is shocking, but it doesn’t leaving you wondering what will happen next as much as the pervious episode. As the finale picks up two months after the fire, we do learn the fates of Damien and Lou fairly quickly, one before the title sequence and the other shortly after, one of which should led quite the storylines going into the finale season. We also get satisfying resolution to the fallen cancer patient storyline which results in a humorous discussion between Garrity and Mike on what a Pavilion is. And the guys stoop to an all-time low in picking up women (not to say I didn’t laugh especially when Needles joins in).

So that leads only nine episodes left for Rescue Me to air sometime next year. As long as the show didn’t happen to take place in a purgatory where all the firefighters meet up in after they die or that Tommy actually died on 9/11, it should be satisfying finish to a stellar series.

Rescue Me 6.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXLV

Quote of the Week: I wanted to post Will’s quote about fear from Rubicon, but AMC doesn’t stream the show and when I tried checking On Demand, my cable box went all wonky (and that is if it even they yet because the latest Leverage episode hadn’t shown up). I hate when technology isn’t easy.

Song of the Week: The Ghost Inside – Broken Bells (Covert Affairs)

Big News of the Week: August Sucks: I have had a long standing theory that February is the worst month of the year: it is bitterly cold, the nights are at their longest, there are no interesting sports events unless the occasional Olympics. But I am beginning to reevaluate that. The NFL season has pushed the Super Bowl into the month and August is just becoming more unbearable each year. It is excruciatingly hot, allergy season makes me walk around half the month in a fog, and unless the NFL pushes games before Labor Day (which it should do instead of pushing the Super Bowl to March), there is nothing interesting to do with sports except the occasional Olympics. August is so blah there isn’t even one holiday to celebrate. February even has three. September cannot come soon enough; Labor Day, NFL Kickoff, the new television season, the first frost (hopefully), and the relief of fall.

Rescue Me: Finally things are picking up. It is pretty clear someone was going to die soon with the leading candidates being Lou and Damien (Tommy will at least make it to the series finale). It should make for an interesting season finale to see if either of them makes it out of the fire. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: I Don't Wanna Dance – Hey Monday (iTunes)

Video of the Week: The trailer for the latest AMC show The Walking Dead hit the internets this week. With all the zombies I am going to assume it won’t be as pretentious as all the other shows on the channel. On the flip side it doesn’t look as cool as Zombieland (which came in at 7 on my list of the Greatest Movies of the 00’s).

The Walking Dead


Next Week Pick of the Week: Rescue Me, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: It has been bit of a low key season up to this point. But with two men down at the end of the last episode, it should make for an explosive season finale. Look for a full recap of the season and a preview of the finale before the episode.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXLIV

Quote of the Week: Hey Seth, South Park called, they want their everything back. (Jeff Ross – The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff)

Song of the Week: Hooked On a Feeling - Blue Swede (as sung by David Hasselhoff, The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff)

Big News of the Week: It’s Allergy Season: There are very things I hate more than allergy season. I just want to stay in bed until the first frost.

Leverage: Two themes are emerging from this season; the plot either revolves around daddy issues or a ripped from the headlines stories. This week was the latter but I assume due to budgeting, I assume they moved an off shore drilling explosion into a mine because the explosion was already pretty lame. Too bad there isn’t a real Leverage team to get payback on BP for raping the environment. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Rescue Me: I never thought Needles had that in him. But I wonder if there will be repercussions from above like the other captain makes it sound like (my guess is yes). And Tommy just cannot be content, I never thought the Sheila moratorium would last, but I thought it would go past one hour. And Janet should deserve some blame as she should have realized that the “goodbye” wouldn’t go well. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes.

Covert Affairs: Another Joe McCoy red herring. When he popped up earlier this season on The Closer I would have bet he was the killer of the week, but alas he wasn’t. Then this week I would have bet he was going to turn out to be the leak, but of course he just turned out to be another horny Congressman (and I assume a Democratic one because most Republican sex scandals involve dudes). You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Covert Affairs on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: White Lies - Stacy Clark (iTunes): For fans of peppy pop and if you enjoy this song, there is another song from Stacy Clark on the Vanguard Records Sounds of Summer Sampler) which I mentioned a couple weeks ago.

Deal of the Week: Save on DVDs from the Stars of The Expendables (Point Break, multiple Rambos, Terminator 2)

Video of the Week: Not once, but twice, I saw a trailer this week and though “this reminds me of Showgirls.” Maybe not the best sign of things to come at the local multiplex. First, and most obvious Showgirls rip of is Burlesque which features Christina Aguilera’s acting debut and Kristen Bell. Looking at the tailer, it looks like we will finally get the answer to what Showgirls would look like would if it were written by a gay dude.

Burlesque Trailer


And the next one is a little bit of a stretch, but I guess it is the whole dancer gets replaced plot, but I get strong Showgirls vibe from Black Swan, the thriller from the dude who have us The Wrestler and stars Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. Of course this movie would be from the Gina Gershon perspective. And what the frack is with that last scene in the trailer?

Black Swan Trailer


Next Week Pick of the Week: Memphis Beat, Tuesday at 10:00 on TNT: Memphis Beat never quite win me over, and it didn’t help being on at the same time as Rescue Me and Covert Affairs, but maybe I will catch up now that the season is ending this week.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXLIII

Quote of the Week: My recall wasn’t total. (The Hateable Dan LeBatard, Pardon the Interruption)

Song of the Week: It Had to Be You – Tony Bennett (Rescue Me)

Big News of the Week: It’s Hot

Leverage: It must been family season for Leverage, first we meet Parker’s “dad” and now Nate has a run in with his old man. I was surprised that Nate was so confident that daddy dearest could leave the town before being knocked off by one of the goons he should him out to for. He came close to running into a machine gun while walking down the street. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Rescue Me: I really hate it when they end an episode with an excruciateingly long scene that is just painful to watch like the restaurant scene. And are we really supposed to believe Conner would be seventeen. Unless there was a time jump I was unaware of, I just have a hard time believing that. But still not as egregious and his red hair turning blonde in the afterlife. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Memories – Weezer (Spinner.com): Weezer recently went independent and will be releasing the album as such next month entitled Hurley, with an album cover with an extreme close-up of the Lost character. Spinner has the first single from the album for free.

Deal of the Week: Save up to 60% on Popular TV Shows and Movies (Friday Night Lights, Shaun of the Dead [Blu-Ray], Atonement [Blu-Ray])

Video of the Week: We are still a couple of months before Conan shows up on TBS and here is the latest promo which someone faster than me noted its familiarness to the title sequence to You Can’t Do That on Television.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Weeds, Monday at 10:00 on Showtime: The last couple seasons have been mediocre and I do not see some renaissance on the horizon, but I will still catch up when the latest season hits DVD, but those with Showtime get new episodes this week.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXLII

Quote of the Week: If you see your balls, pick ‘em up. When I get back I’ll staple them back on you. (Needles, Rescue Me)

Song of the Week: Goodbye – Steve Earl (Friday Night Lights)

Big News of the Week: MTV Video Music Awards Announced: Remember when the VMA’s were a cultural landmark, now, like most people that watch during the MTV heyday, I do not care. I haven’t even seen half nominated videos or even heard the songs. The only nominations of note are Broken Bells up for Best New Artist, though both James Mercer and Danger Mouse put out music for most of last decade, and Tighten Up - The Black Keys for Breakthrough Video, granted I do not remember anything groundbreaking about Tighten Up and both videos are better than anything in the Best Video category, but it is hard to complained because the VMA’s lost credibility about five years ago.

Leverage: Nice light fair after last week’s heavy political episode and Turner was nice enough to give Bill Engvall some work after canceling his show. I wonder if the network is regretting that decision after the daughter on the show has become a much buzzed about actress for her performance in Winter Bone and being cast in the X-Man reboot. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Rubicon: I am always up for a good conspiracy theory and it is too soon to tell if this is one yet. It is moving a little too slow for my taste so far. You can stream recent episodes on AMC.com. You can also download Rubicon on iTunes.

Rescue Me: There have been some very bizarre moments throughout the history of the show, but handcuffing your daughter in church to baptize her ranks very high near the top. And it is strange that Lou broke out of the hospital and no one there seems to care. I really do not think that storyline is going to end well for him. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes.

Covert Affairs: Let me put out my prediction of who I think the leak is: the chick from Invasion. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Covert Affairs on iTunes.

Also check out my season wrap up of Friday Night Lights.



Free Download of the Week: For The Summer - Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: Over 1000 Albums for $5 Each (Huey Lewis and the News, A Tribe Called Quest, KT Tunstall, The Like)



Video of the Week: Two years ago there was a Stand Up 2 Cancer special that aired on all the major networks (except Fox who for some reason had something else to air) and there will be another one coming up September 10 at 8:00 on many networks (this time Fox is included). Here is a PSA featuring Kristen Bell (in a bathtub), Zach Levi, Olivia Munn, Clark Duke, Aubrey Plaza, Vanessa Hudgens and more to bring awareeness to the cause..

SU2C: Change The Odds PSA


Next Week Pick of the Week: Pretty Little Liars, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family: Pretty Little Liars really didn’t catch my interest enough to actually write about it that often, but it has intrigued me enough during the summer doldrums to tune to find out who A is. My prediction: Aria (her name does start with A).