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

Once Upon a Time: We finally learn who the blonde is, she turned out to be the daughter of King Midas. Granted when he pulled out his arm out I thought he was Goldfinger who is just as much a fairytale character as King Midas. But I guess mythology opens the show up to a whole bunch of potential characters. And does Ted Mosby’s most annoying girlfriend seriously have the Thriller jacket is a rainbow variety of colors?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time.

Homeland: So who is the mole? For the half an episode where Brady was absolved from being the person that passed his captor the razor blade, the thought that Saul did it crossed my mind. And Brady can be blamed for alerting the couple who bought the house near the airport, but someone inside the CIA had to alert Tom Walker about the meet unless the Saudi diplomat tipped him off and essentially became a suicide. Two more episodes left and hopefully the wrap this storyline up and move onto a new one next season.

Pan Am: Every spy show has done it, but I ever understood the steal a list of CIA assets mission before it is sold on the black market because wouldn’t whoever made the list just make another one if it is stolen? But anyway. I am just upset that none of my family friend’s daughters grew up to look like Ashley Greene.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pan Am on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: Wait, what just happened? Did they really switch the narration of the show for the first time in seven seasons with Robin talking to her kids instead of Ted just to be all “Psych” at the end? Huh?
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: I am still disappointed Clay is still alive, but at least they came up with a better reason to keep him around than my prediction that he is hauled off to jail. I did not seeing Machete being CIA. But that twist kept there from being any action in the finale. I was waiting for the dad of the hit and run victim to show up at the end and go on a shooting spree, but I guess they planted that seed for next season. So we were left with a bit of a bore of a season finale, and really season four as a whole felt like a big tease, two cliffhanger deaths that did not end up happening and a big crackdown that got shut down but reval government agencies. It was not as bad as the Ireland season, but they better have plenty of payoffs next season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Revenge: Maybe it is all the repeats recently, but it has seemed it has been way too long since Amy Abbot has destroyed somebody’s life. I want at least one person brought down per every two episodes.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Community: As a straight heterosexual dude, I have naturally never seen an episode of Glee, but after watching Community’s awesome send up of the show I may have to check it out to see if is really that awesome, especially if they have a character like Annie Edison on the show.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Chuck: Please let there be an uncensored version of this episode leaked to the internets in the near future.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 12/4/11

Once Upon a Time: I am not sure what made me laugh harder: Jiminy managing to grab onto Ted Mosby’s worst girlfriend with his umbrella even though there is no way his umbrella is really that long (or has a good enough grip) or learning that his real world last name is Hopper.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time.

The Walking Dead: So we spent six whole episodes looking for Sophia, a character we barely saw in the first six episodes, two other characters get shot while looking for her and another eaten (R.I.P. Otis) and six weeks later she turns up (un) dead. What the frack? It seemed like even before it premiered, AMC was already unhappy with the show and was ready to cancel it except that it did so well in the rating, beating many network shows that there was no way they could possibly cancel it. Now the channel looks like it is trying to sabotage the show with everything that went on behind the scenes between the seasons and with this episode it looks like the writers are in on the sabotage now. Just when you think the characters could not get any more unlikeable, Shane opens up the zombie barn then everyone opens fire on Hershel’s family right in front of him. Sure they needed to be put down, but you do not massacre a man’s family while he is watching. The second half of the season can open next year with Hershel killing everyone else in revenge and I could care less because they really do need to purge the whole cast. And the writers. Basically everyone involved with the show but the makeup artists. If I were to list every show I am currently watching right now in a row, The Walking Dead would rank dead last. And I am still watching Last Man Standing.
You can stream recent episodes over at amc.com. You can also download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Homeland: I guess the biggest question coming out of this episode was who was actually responsible for the bombing: the United States or did Abu Nazir plan it to get Brady on his side? Both are equally plausible. But the show really has been slowing down these last couple episodes. Maybe it is time to get Carrie off her meds.

The Sing Off: What is it whenever America is left to vote for something, be it a meaningless award show or lame reality series; they almost always get it wrong. It is befuddling to me that Antoine Merriweather did not get one hundred percent of the vote. I would suggest he get into the Republican primary, but I am sure Americans will still stupidly nominate Mitt Romney instead. Almost as disappointing as his loss was that Antoine did not also pull the attractive redhead from Delilah onstage during Paradise By the Dashboard Light. If I am lucky the two will join forces for a super group next season. If they need a ringer for the whistling part in an acapella version of Patience, hopefully they will shout me a holla.



You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

Parenthood: We moved move step closer to my dream scenario of Julia letting the coffee girl move and raise her baby as one big happy family. And is it just me or were Haddie and Drew getting a little too close during the ED commercial than cousins should be?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: From the moment after I realized that the bullet went into Clay’s shoulder I knew they would manage to keep him alive now I fear that they will keep him alive another season by carting him off to jail out of the way from Jax. If Jax does not kill Clay this season, we may be in for another Ireland type cumbersome season next year.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: Cochran talking about the other tribe mates as a cult brought back bad flashbacks from last season when the six were a legitimate cult. Hopefully things turn out differently this time around, but since they got rid of Cochran first it looks like we may be in for another long final month.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Beavis and Butt-Head: I was all for the Beavis and Butt-Head movie reviews up until they actually started to show footage from Human Centipede, there are good reasons I have avoided the film and just those clips gave me nightmares. But it was nice to finally see Principal McVicker and Coach Buzzcut.
You can stream recent episodes over at mtv.com. You can also download Beavis and Butt-Head on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 11/26/11

Quote of the Week: I’m winged on inter-agency cooperation. Nothing I like better than seeing the FBI stand around with their (expletive deleted) in their hands watching us work. (Saul, Homeland)

Song of the Week: Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) – Digital Planets (Suburgatory)

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Ndamukong Suh Officially a Dirty Player: If bodyslamming quarterbacks WWF style or ripping guy’s helmets off their heads was not enough, Suh getting thrown out of a game on Thanksgiving for kicking sealed his fate as a dirty player. But the best part is that following the game Suh actually tried to convince everyone that he was not stopping on the dude but was just trying to get his balance not thinking we had slow motion, video evidence that he was trying to stomp the dude out.


The Walking Dead: I understand the sediment that you would want to keep your friends and neighbors around in case there is a cure, but there is no cure for death. I take it this is yet another zombie story where the characters live in a world where no one has ever come up with a concept of a zombie before.
You can stream recent episodes over at amc.com. You can also download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Homeland: I knew Brady explaining everything away last episode was a bit too easy, and we finally get conformation that Brody was working with Nassir. But now that he is “out” what now?

How I Met Your Mother: Robin is pregnant? But more importantly Winston Zeddemore asked Marshall, who you gonna call?”!!!
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing Off: First off, please no more Mega Mix Week please, even the best performance (Urban Method) was mediocre at best. Then, with a half an hour to go, they only had one more group to performance and I wondered if they were actually going to string the elimination for twenty minutes? Apparently they would and having the bottom two perform their “best song” was really poor planning on the show’s part. Couldn’t they brought in a guest performance or just have a second group performance? It did not help that all the while I actually thought they would advance all four groups to the finale like they did last season. Even after they voted I thought Nick would chime in saying he was voting for Afro Blue forcing a tie. It is a shame that did not happen because Afro Blue was my second favorite group of the season. But Antoine Merriweather made it and head over to NBC.com by Sunday at 9:00 AM to vote for him.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

Parenthood: Watching Kristina lose her mind over the receptionist kissing Adam was painful enough, but knowing that some of the writers were also responsible for Friday Night Lights which handled someone dealing with someone else kissing their spouse the right way (remember Glen?), made it that much more painful to sit through.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: My first thought at the final scene was, “wow, they really killed of Clay, I thought if they were to do it, they would wait until the season finale!” But my second though was “Wait, it looks like the bullet went into his shoulder.” If it turns out to be a non fatal shooting, that would make the second cliffhanger death fake out this season which it two too many.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Suburgatory: I have long thought all the adults sans George are family worthless on this show, but this was the first episode where I actually enjoyed Dallas as she was stuck with Tessa for Thanksgiving Eve. While Dalia managed to get even scarier while planning the Thanksgiving dinner thanks to a new furry family member to torment her.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Revenge: Oh snap, not-Amy Abbott just outted herself to the childhood church that she was actually Amy Abbott, or something to that effect. But hopefully Amy first deals with the annoying best friend of a troll because he wore out his welcome a month ago. Or maybe she will kill two bird with one stone soon.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Christmas Lights – Coldplay (iTunes): And if that is not enough free Coldplay for you, Google Music is offering up a free live EP from the band. And if that is not enough free Christmas music for you try heading over to Amazon MP3 for Eisley’s take on Oh Holy Night.

Deal of the Week: Black Friday to Cyber Monday Deals on Amazon

New Album Release of the Week: Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall (Blu-ray/CD)

New DVD Release of the Week: Smallville: The Complete Series

Video of the Week: I have a long standing belief that Amanda Seyfried is one of the best actresses of her generation, the only problem is that she really needs to fire her agent because every movie she has been in since her first (Mean Girls) has been painfully bad and getting worse with every movie. Her upcoming film Gone does not look like it will completely buck the trend, but it has to be better than Red Riding Hood right?



Next Week Pick of the Week: Leverage, Sunday (Tomorrow) at 9:00 on TNT: The show is back for the second half of their fourth season with eight new episodes every Sunday (yes including Christmas and New Years Day but without themed episodes). Look for a full preview tomorrow.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 11/20/11

Once Upon a Time: Do they really spoil one of the big mysteries of the show in the promo every week? It has been hinted at never outright said in the show that the Evil Queen knows of the fairytale world, but the preshow promo for the last two weeks comes right out and says she is the only one who remembers. Is this just the promo monkeys gone bad and making assumptions (which happened a couple times on Lost and the writers complained about), or are they actually spoiling the show?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time.

The Walking Dead: We finally get a payoff at the farm with the discovery of the Walkers Barn. I take it that is the rest of his family that they are preserving in hopes that there will be a cure, though not as funny as the Shaun of the Dead ending. Which begs the question, when will Zombie Otis show up and join them?
You can stream recent episodes over at amc.com. You can also download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Homeland: The first forty-five minutes of this episode seemed like filler, but boy did they kick it into high gear. First, Carrie come right out and accuses Brady of being a turncoat complete with a Q&A session (though some of answers seemed too convenient to be red herrings like him seeing the head terrorist and lying about it). Then we learn that his partner is actually the POW that got turned. Wow. That is really a long con to throw your scent off someone by putting it on his partner. Cannot wait until the next episode.

Pan Am: The more absurd this show is the better. Landing in hostel Haiti for a heart attack patient: sure why not. Hopefully in the near future there is an episode where someone draws landing gear onto the plane like the Amazing Stories episode.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pan Am on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: The only thing that felt longer than Marshall and Ted’s trip for nachos was how I felt watching this episode. Seriously guys, it’s the comedy law of three not five.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing Off: Screw you promo monkeys who made me sweat all week thinking Antoine Merriweather might be axed this week. Turns out his group was not even in the bottom two this week. Bad promo monkeys. Of course I knew there was no way the Aires would be sent home after watch the Ignition (Remix) because that was my favorite performance of the season. With the Judges’ Pick next week, my head might exploded if they actually give them Trapped in the Closet.

The Sing-Off Week 7 Power Ranking (change from last week in parentheses):

1. Dartmouth Aires
2. Urban Method
3. Afro Blue
4. Pentatonix



You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

2 Broke Girls: This was a show I was really looking forward to, and even though it has been constantly funny so far, I was hoping for more and my disappointment mostly stems from Caroline who remains one note with a borderline annoying voice, but her White-Mariah routine was hilarious.

Parenthood: Is it wrong that I laughed historically at all of Sydney’s hissy fits. Quality entertainment. Though the ending of the storyline was a bit cheesy. But I knew as soon as Adam told Crosby not to hook up with the absurdly attractive receptionist, she would come onto him instead. Hopefully they do not fire her because she can just blame it on the alcohol and seriously Adam, you only escort a girl to her door if you are expecting a kiss.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Wait, did they actually blow up that one dude? But it looks like they are going to spread out the someone killing Clay out for the rest of the season. I fear every new episode until them will introduce someone new as the potential killer and next season we will be stuck with a Who Killed Clay storyline.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: It is about time Survivor finally realize that they should go two Tribal Councils per episode after the merge. Hopefully that continues for most of the rest of the season.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Revenge: I have long only liked Amy Abbott on the show, but they finally introduced a second character for me to root for: her alter-ego. She looks to give Claire Danes a run for her money in the crazy department.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I’m disappointed we were denied seeing Sheldon and Penny actually going on a date.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Community: When Jeff came onscreen as the Dean I actually thought that it was really David Cross. And I am sure I have said this before, but more Crazy Annie please.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Beavis and Butt-Head: Having the boys watch other television shows was mildly entertaining to begin with but they get less funny every week. I cannot believe I am actually going to suggest anyone watch Lady GaGa, but how have Beavis and Butt-Head not watched any of her videos yet? I need them to rip her to shreds.
You can stream recent episodes over at mtv.com. You can also download Beavis and Butt-Head on iTunes.

Chuck: Boo, why could they not finally kill off Morgan? And if I could actually live in a world where Indiana Jones was still a trilogy.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

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

Once Upon a Time:I still have not completely bought into the show, but one of the more interesting aspects of the show is whenever they introduce a new character in the real world my mind instantly tries to predict who they are in the fairytale world. Some are pretty obvious like Slutty Red Riding Hood, but we still do not know who the sheriff is, and this week we were introduced to the sleazy doctor. But the writers need to make sure they do not take too long to reveal the characters’ alter ego because much on Lost, everyone stopped caring about how Locke got into a wheelchair about two seasons after they finally revealed the reason. Also, where were the seven dwarfs?
You can stream current episodes on Once Upon a Time. You can also download Once Upon a Time.

The Walking Dead: I did not think they would able to out-gross the scene where they checked out the contents of the zombie’s stomach, but the well zombie comes very close. Though I wonder why they went straight for human bait before trying out a squirrel or smaller animal first. At least Glen got some sweet lovin’ for his troubles.
You can stream recent episodes over at amc.com. You can also download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Homeland: She may like to fly so close to the flame that she could beat all the boys at chicken at the local train tracks, but having sex with someone you are convinced is a terrorist is completely over the top. And the further down the rabbit hole Carrie goes, the more entertaining her character is. Though I am a bi suspicious about the polygraph test, are these people trained on how to beat one incase they are captured in the field? Plus if Beavis and Butt-Head know how to beat one, how hard can it be?

Pan Am: If I have one complaint about the return of Smash Williams to television was when he started talking about his mom I was hoping we were going to get an appearance from Momma Smash. Oh well. And I wonder what happened with the pilot hooking up with the mistress of his boss? I thought he would get in trouble for that or did Maggie tell him something different?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pan Am on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: Was there anyone out there that knew the Slap Bet was still going on? And now there are actually two more to go. And the writer still seem to be taunting us again this week when the boyfriend asked that Ted’s story be as log as possible. With that all said, even though it was the cheesiest of all sight gags, I could not stop laughing whenever the bear attached Marshall.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing-Off: If the rating were not reason enough, how strong this episode with ten less groups than the original sixteen was is a strong sign that an abridged two week, Christmas time airing is probably the best for the show then a weekly series. I doubt we will see the Sing Off in the fall next year, but hopefully they do bring it back for the pre-Christmas slot like they had the first two seasons. And if it does come back, make sure to have Antoine Merriweather return in one of the show’s patented Supergroups like The Backbeats and Delilah (it is a shame they got kicked off this week before they let the attractive redhead sing the lead in any song). So many strong performances this week, but the opening number Wake Up may be the best group performance ever on The Sing-Off.

The Sing-Off Week Six Power Ranking (change from last week in parentheses)

1. Afro Blue (+1)
2. Urban Method (+2)
3. Dartmouth Aires (-2)
4. Pentatonix (+2)
5. Vocal Point (-1)

You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: That fight between Gemma and Clay went way too long. You can get the same idea across with being that graphic. But it looks like someone will be joining Piney in the big biker bar in the sky, but we may have to wait until the end of the season to find out who and by whose hand, a bunch of possibilities there.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: I do not know how you can say you are playing with honor and then sit out a challenge for food. But anyway. I fear if Albert and / or Sophie does not do something soon, this season will play out just like the previous one with Coach / Brandon / Edna taking the place of Boston Rob / Philip / and the hot chick whose name I have already forgotten as the mastermind / psycho / worthless person and that is not a good thing. And note to Survivor producers, please stop casting people who cannot come up with a better insult that “wiener” and definitely do not bring them back three times.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Chuck: I did not think that Morgan could get any more annoying but he even managed to outdo his annoyingness this episode. Hopefully the assassin assign to kills him is successful.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 10/30/11

The Walking Dead: That starting flashback scene was worthless, we already knew about the pre-apocalypse marital problems; really all we got were some worthless reaction shots and no early zombies. But my favorite part of the episode is when the old guy wondered why they did not find any high grade antibiotics while scavenging on the highway, as if that is a common travel kit. Almost as entertaining as the new accent they gave Vivian Volcoff to master, but instead go in and out of.
You can stream recent episodes over at amc.com. You can also download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: First off, let’s quickly touch on the bad, that was the creepiest episode ever. EVER. I need to drink away the visuals as soon as possible. With that out of the way, why did Ted not call me about the “Weird Al” tickets? I would have totally gone with him.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing Off: The Collective has continually been on the bottom of my Power Rankings all season, and I was glad they finally landed in the final two, but I was surprised they actually lost the final sing-off because I thought they did a better version of Just a Dream than The Yellowjackets (who did not deserve to be in the bottom two). But the bif news of the week was Antoine Merriweather grinding on a girl!

The Sing-Off Week 4 Power Rankings (change from last week in parentheses):

1. Afro Blue (-)
2. The Dartmouth Aires (+2)
3. University of Rochester YellowJackets (-1)
4. Urban Method (-1)
5. BYU Vocal Point (-)
6. Delilah (-)
7. Pentatonix (-)



You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

Castle: Having the ex-cop being the killer seemed like one too many twists in the episode. But it was still entertaining hearing Castle trying to rationalize an otherworldly killer.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Back when we went down south to meet the other patch and how one member killed another that was going to play out in SAMCRO and it finally played out this episode. It should be interesting to hear how Clay explains the bullets in Piney’s chest next episode and who buys it (Gemma already knows he is lying and will likely put the two together). But you have to wonder why Piney, knowing Clay would come after him, hide in the one place Clay would look?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: When the show returned this season, I unveiled the 25 Dumbest Survivor Contestants Ever with Ozzy surprisingly left off the list despite being voted off with an Idol in his back pocket. But if he loses this week I’ll will have to update the list because he will have definably jumped into the top five. What makes his move so dumb is that it was totally unnecessary because Christine has made it abundantly clear she hates her own tribe, so had she beaten Cochran, she would have joined them out of spite, she certainly is not as Christian as Matt last season. So best case scenario for his move is a zero sum gain. And then the worst case scenario is not only he loses and is out of the game not even making it to the jury, but maybe he wins but there is no merge and his tribe loses the Immunity Challenge without him, Cochran, as bottom on the totem poll, uses the Hidden Immunity Idol at tribal council and Keith is voted out and now Ozzy has to battle him at Redemption Island, and even if he wins that and reenters the game, he returns to a tribe down numbers and without an Idol. Oh, please, Reality Gods, let this scenario play out.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Revenge: How long until Amy Abbott gets rid of her boyfriend’s little troll of her boyfriend friend. He may not be on the list, but he has to be meeting his demise sooner than later.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Community: Yeah, there was nothing more predictable than the whole study had major mental issues. With that said, Annie is one heck of a storyteller.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Beavis and Butt-Head: When they announced the return of the show I feared it would have lost its magic in the years since they left MTV but they did not miss a beat. And since they are watching actual television shows no, is it too much to ask to have the boys watch the presidential debate?
You can stream recent episodes over at mtv.com. You can also download Beavis and Butt-Head on iTunes.

Chuck: With last season’s cliffhanger, I feared the show would become unbearable with Morgan as the Intercet and that was basically how that played out. Hopefully they have more Sarah in her undergarment scenes to dull the pain this season and they save the inevitable baby announcement to the series finale. And I and still not sure what the evil CIA guy’s endgame is. Hopefully they clear that up soon.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 10/16/11

Pan Am: The sixties seem so long ago, and WWII even longer it is hard to put the two in perspective for one person’s lifetime. It never really dawned on me why Collette would avoid Berlin up to this point, and when she said why I did not realize why it would hit her so hard until she told her story at the end of the episode.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pan Am on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: C’mon Marshall, the second season of Friday Night Lights was not that bad. If FNL were U2, season two would be Pop, yeah it is not as good as the rest of their catalogue, but it is still better than ninety percent of music out there.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing Off: First off, it is time to retire “pitch” from the judges vocabulary, they all use it way too often. Sonos really got a bad rap for their version of I Want You Back. You want an example of the song that does not share the iconic hook but is still great check out The Civil Wars version. I would have had them above The Collective and Pentatonix (who continued their streak of horrible songs this week) and maybe even the Deltones. The stand out performance (and I cannot believe I am saying this considering the show featured Antoine Meriwether singing about balls that inspired Shawn Stockman to talk about ding dings) was the old dudes doing The Dougie in lounge chairs. And not to get too Adam Levine on you, but I have never heard The Rocketeer song before, is that really considered a hit? But anyway. Here is my Power Rakings for the second week (and their movement from last week in parentheses):

1. Dartmouth Aires (-)
2. North Shore (-)
3. Afro Blue (+1)
4. Urban Method (+2)
5. The Yellowjackets (-2)
6. The Deltones (-1)
7. Vocal Point (+2)
8. Delilah (-)
9. Pentatonix (+2)
10. The Collective (-)



You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

The Lying Game: They really did a poor job braking down the story because they took way too long to get Sutton to Las Vegas because Sutton in Sin City is way more enjoyable than Emma in Phoenix. And unfortunately Sutton only stays there for one episode. But it should be an interesting reaction from Sutton when she realized someone took over her life and none of her friends and family noticed but Becky Spoles knew she was not Emma right away.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: The was a nice trick to have someone in witness relocation fake their own death to make the transition easier, but how do you avoid the family from seeing the body before the funeral? I am also trying to figure out who looked sillier this week, Detective Esposito or Adam Braverman.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Parenthood: It is about time someone called out Jason Ritter for whatever that is that is sitting on his face. Many cite poor writing and bad acting that sank The Event, but it is clearly his choice of facial hair that doomed that show. A note to every guy out there, if you cannot connect your goatee with your moustache, then you should really shave every day. But anyway. In the least surprising turn of events, the latte girl decided to give Julia her baby. I wonder if there is a chance they also adopt the latte girl and make her an official Braverman too.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Gee, if a porn star and a gang member cannot make it after about a month, what chance do the rest of us have? Onto more surprising news, was it common knowledge that Tig had two daughters? I vaguely remember it being alluded to but I do not actually remember either of them ever show up before.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: That has to go down as one of the most disgusting, and evil challenges ever (making contests bite down on protein but making them spit it out). And Keith may have to be a late addition to my list of The Dumbest Survivor Contestants Ever because his voting strategies may be the dumbest in the alphabet one. Instead of choosing side (and essentially controlling your tribe) now both Ozzie and Jim’s new alliance cannot trust you. Going into the merge with a tribe fractured like this spells certain doom (unless Brandon goes Brandon again messing with the Coach alliance). Even though he has the hidden immunity Idol in his back pocket, I wonder if Ozzie’s best strategy is to allowed getting voted out next, go to Redemption Island and hope to win, come back into the game with his Idol in tack and assess the situation then.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: The four guys tackling the fake ID guy may be the funniest sight gag since Cameron hoisted baby Lily to the sounds of The Lion King back in the very first episode.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Revenge: What a letdown Hamptonsexposed.com is. They just have the same videos we saw in the episode and dummy links that lead to the show’s Facebook, Twitter and ABC pages.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Community: If it wrong that the Troy getting the pizza was the only timeline that I actually laughed during?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

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

Pan Am: I wonder if we ever seen the former spy again? If there were a real spy show, I’d put the over/under at Christmas, but this show seems to be taking a more realistic approach, so she may be stuck in Kansas for the rest of her life.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pan Am on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: Again, the writers are just messing with us with actual characters saying they are talking way too long to get to the end of a story. That is the second time this season.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing Off: Scanning the playlist prior to the show I was dreading the “current hits” but give it up to a capella music to make most of them at the very least listenable, although how does Whataya Want From Me qualify as a hit if Adam Levine had never heard it before? Naturally the second half was way more enjoyable with Urban Method pulling out the best performance of the night with Dance to the Music, a song I could have sworn only had one line and one note, but they killed it (I feel as if I should give TJ Lavin royalties for saying that). And a not to future Sing-Off contestants, unlike Kingfolk 9, do not hold your best performance for your Swan Song. Then next week on The Sing-Off, Antoine Meriwether and his boys sings a song about balls. Blaine Edwards has to show up for some commentary on that.



You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

The Lying Game: Holy Beck Sproles sighting! To think how much better the show would have been had she shown up much earlier. Hopefully she follows not-Emma around for a while. But I am beginning to wonder if Laurel’s boyfriend in part of the twin’s mystery, he was nosing around the photo book a while, and maybe Sutton and Emma are actually not twins, but actually triplets. Dude being a blonde kind of hurts this theory especially if my other theory that either the adoptive dad or the guy from Heroes is actually the biological father of the brood.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: Frozen heads and no Futurama references? Boooooo.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

The Playboy Club: I have long asserted that the show was not a Mad Man rip off (despite Eddie Cibrian stealing everything from Don Draper) but American Dreams for adults. Case in point: the first guest singer on American Bandstand on the show was Leslie Gore. Not that any of this matters anymore. Although I hear that NBC is shopping the show around to other, possibly more skin friendly, networks, but I think “we’re shopping it around to other networks” is code for “please do not send us crap in hopes that we revive the show.”

Parenthood: It is not enough to make a drinking game out of, but this show really enjoys making Michael Cera references, two by my count in this episode along. “You’re like my musical soulmate” was a direct line from Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: I completely forgot the Tom Arnold storyline even existed. Seems a little random to bring it up now.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: First off I would like to apology to Brandon for repeatedly calling him a psychopath, it was wrong of me and hopefully he forgives me as I try to become a better man. Look out for next week when I end up apologizing to Stacey for laughing at how she said she did such a great job at the challenge when she could not outlast the scrawny Dawn at a weight holding challenge.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Happy Endings: When I was previewing the season I mentioned that Megan Mullally shows up at some point as Penny’s mom. Well, that episode is coming up this week and will also feature one hundred percent more Natalie Imbruglia.

Revenge: I was a little disappointed that Amy Abbott waited until off screen to release the love child to the press, c’mon, make it part of his speech where the viewer can see the embarrassment.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: My favorite part of the episode was when Penny had to explain to everyone that the handicap were inherently nice people. Though I am not entirely sure why Raj could talk in front of the deaf chick, I thought the mere presence of them made him mute; the ability of not being able to hear him just seems silly. But not silly good.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Community: It is a surprised with all its homages; it took them to the third season for a “noir” episode.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 10/2/11

How I Met Your Mother: Wait, Ted cheated on Victoria with Robin? Did this actually happen and I just forgot (it would have been about six years ago I think) are did they do some revisionist history on it? But I did like how Victoria totally called out Ted’s creepy threesome relationship with Robin and Barney. But I still wish Victoria would stick around longer.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing Off: It is hard not to get behind a group that features Antoine Merriweather, which is why I have them number one on my first ever The Sing Off Power Ranking below. As for the other performances, I am still trying to figure out what was more bizarre, a bunch of high schoolers doing an acapella version of a Ozzy Osbourne song (which followed a Hair medley) or the acapella dance version of Wicked Game. But anyway, here is my power ranking from the first round.

1. Dartmouth Aires
2. North Shore
3. YellowJackets
4. Afro-blue
5. The Deltones
6. Urban Method
7. Sonos
8. Delilah
9. Vocal Point
10. The Collective
11. Pentatobix
12. Kinfolk 9

You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

The Lying Game: I loved how Sutton basically explaining the plot of the show got her locked up in the loony bin. That is always a good sign for a guilty pleasure.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: I am surprised the show missed an opportunity at a meta moment when Castle did not say the superhero he most wanted to be was Green Lantern (he lent his voice to the recent animated film Green Lantern: Emerald Knights). You cannot blame ABC’s affiliation with Marvel because his chose ended up being DC’s Batman.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Weeds: I could have sworn the creator said that she planned on this season to be the show’s last (though the network disagreed) because that finale was pretty cliffhangery. Unless she meant it to be some sort of Tony Soprano fade to black situation.

Parenthood: Wow, they actually gave Drew something to do. I do not think he has had a storyline since playing baseball and I think that only lasted an episode or two. And for anyone who wonder what I looked like when trying to flirt with a girl in high school (or in college, or last week at the grocery store) refer to the scene when Drew was “returning” the hedge clippers.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: I wonder if the murdered club member connected to the leaving member is foreshadowing for something that will happen with SAMCRO this season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: I have said this before and will probably have to repeat it every week until he gets kicked off, but Brandon has some major issues. His “apology” to Mikayla involved him shouting here, then calling a tribe meeting solely to air his dirty laundry. I do not see how he sticks around once his tribes loses another immunity challenge.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: Fun fact: I actually shared a math class with my older sister in high school. And it was as awesome as Alex would have you believe.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Revenge: Much more entertaining episode then the first. Once they got past the exposition that had to be done for the Pilot, it looks like we have settled in to Amy Abbott taking down a new person every week. But am annoyed in the back my mind knowing what happens later in the season, although I might be wrong of when that is. If this episode was “twelve weeks ago” I wonder if every episode is a week and the engagement party happens midseason. I could also do with the “this is how she did it” scene at the end of episode. Personally I had already figured out Amy stole the password from the massive clues that camera gave us, same with the poisoning last week.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Community: Holy Bill Haverchuck sighting! More Annie on Annie violence this season or just Annie temper tantrums will do just fine.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 9/25/11

How I Met Your Mother: The writers are just messing with us. Multiple time future Ted said they were close to the end only to pull a “psych!” But the end of the second episode did give me some hope. I have long asserted that the show has not been consistently good since Victoria went off to Paris so hopefully she sticks around for the whole season even if she still turns out not to be the mother.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing Off: Watching Sara Bareilles in her debut makes me wonder why anyone would tune into a show featuring a Pussycat Doll as a judge. She knocked it out of the park and this show clearly has the best and most entertaining judging panel of any show currently on television. My early favorites are Urban Method and Yellowjackets.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.



The Lying Game:As I long suspected, all the parents of the main cast knew the twins mother, now I just need conformation that one of the dads is actually their birth dads. Otherwise a fairly boring episode until the dude punched the other one.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: Even though I knew there was no chance Beckett was not going to make it, those first couple minutes were still pretty intense. As for the case of the week, I almost buy why dude stayed in the room, but why ball up under the bed right where the blood was seeping through, are why hide under the bed at all?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Parenthood: I really don’t understand why the parents of the boy Vince assaulted are pressing charges. Doesn’t the district attorney turn around and arrest the parents for having teen drinking at their house? Maybe it is not in California, but that is a pretty big offence that will get you a couple weeks in jail for. But I really like the pregnant latte girl, the rejection scene was one where you keep on rewinding with saying no, just more heartbreaking the previous time. Her facial expressions just sold the scene. Is it too late to get this actress her own show for midseason?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: There is a reason why I never watch any of those torture porn films like Hostel and when the only thing I can think about from this episode is the fire ant scene is the very reason why not.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: We got a small preview of it last week, but Brandon is clearly certifiable. The way he looks and talks about Mikayla (dude blamed her for him being attractive to her) is beyond creepy and if one of them is not voted out soon I fear for her safety. If Coach were smart he would cut Brandon loose as soon as he can (and replace him with Edna in his alliance) because you cannot have a guy like that around. But this is Coach we are talking about so we will have to see.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: Nooooooooo!!! They cannot leave Dylan in Colorado, I would rather have him marry Hayley then have him left a hundred miles away.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Revenge: Longtime readers of the 9th Green know how much I hate when episodes start off in the third act before flashing back to the beginning moments later. It shows lazy writing and they are basically saying to the audience “the first part of the episode is boring so we are going to start the episode off with the most interesting scene instead.” So image how my head almost exploded when Revenge started off the season with what I am assuming is the season finale (if the story starts on Memorial Day, it makes sense it will end on Labor Day). If it were not for Amy Abbott I may have turned the television off right then.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: When Penny slept with Raj last season I really thought that that really rued her character by doing so. Apparently someone on the show figured that out over the summer hiatus and revised that Raj had some performance issues which I guess is better than a dream sequence. But I did find the discussion of who Penny would have slept with first had Howard not had a fiancé funny.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Community: Yeah, this show completely went off the deep end.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.