Christmas Just Isn't Christmas Without...

They say Christmas is the most wonderful time of year and it is hard to argue with them (aside from the freezing temperatures) and that is thanks in part to the soundtrack of the season because you really have to try to make a horrible Christmas song especially if you pick from the ten songs below which is just not Christmas if I don’t hear these songs multiple times. I have also listed the definitive versions of the song if you are downloading them for yourself:


1. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Definitive version: U2)


2. O Holy Night (Definitive version - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)



3. Santa Clause Is Coming to Town (Definitive version: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)


4. Christmas in Hollis (definitive version: Run-DMC)
5. All I Want for Christmas Is You (Definitive version Mariah Carey)
6. The Christmas Song (definitive version: Nat King Cole)
7. Silent Night (Definitive version - Boyz II Men)
8. Children Go Where I Send Thee (definite version: Natalie Merchant)
9. Let it Snow! Let it Snow Let it Snow! (Definitive version: Harry Connick Jr.)
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Definitive version: Coldplay and Conan O’Brien)

Honorable Mention: Do They Know it’s Christmas because Christmas just isn’t Christmas without Bono telling me to “Thank God tonight it’s them instead of you.”

57 Channels and Only This Is On: Special Edition part 2

Like I mentioned in Part 1, A couple weeks ago I realized I never got around to giving full season reviews of many of the past year’s programs. But I figured since the introduction of 57 Channels and Only This Is On this past year it seemed redundant to waste a whole post reiterating this I have probably said earlier. Even though I didn’t want to write up full reviews for each show, I did want to give each show a rating on my Terror Alert Scale. So here in a sort of television in review I’m going to give a quick though on each show (no seriously, I can write short things) and then give it a rating. If you want to go more in depth of my thoughts on each show, than click its label at the bottom of the post.


My Name Is Earl: It is very rare for a great show not to show signs of a sophomore slump in its second season but it even rarer for a show to actually get better. And to think after the first season I had serious doubt that Earl could continue to find entertaining thing to cross of his list. But this season saw the two funniest half hours of television with Our Cops Is On and Two Balls, Two Strikes featuring the extremely hilarious Norm McDonald with oversized, um, just watch the episode. Surprisingly the only let down was when we finally found out why the one legged woman was on the list. But a season filled with Joy arguing with her deaf lawyer, a trip to Mexico, and plenty of Camden County’s finest reappearing definitely made up for it. And for those that can’t wait for the new season, head over to NBC.com where you can see a Free Earl music video made by the Camden residents as well as download the mp3. My Name Is Earl 2.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. The show also won two Scooter Television Awards (five lifetime). Download the whole season of My Name Is Earl iTunes.


Rescue Me: after three stellar seasons the show had its first sub-par one. The plotlines seemed to be dropped for now reason with little or no payoff, there where just way too many moments where Tommy’s antic left everyone scratching their head and Papa Gavin showed up late in the season only to die on us. If Denis Leary wants a mulligan I’ll be happy to forget this season ever existed. Rescue Me 4.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. The show also won an STA (three lifetime).




Smallville: Actually I can’t really remember much of the past season but if they really killed off the Token Hot Chick I will never watch this show again. Smallville 6.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.


Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Here is a story of two seasons. The first half knocked out some of the best television of the year from the Pilot to the Wrap Party to the Christmas episode with plenty of great behind the scenes of what goes on at a television show and a network. Then when it became clear that the show was heading for cancellation it seemed like Aaron Sorkin stopped caring and the second half was bogged down by the horrible courtship of Danny and Jordan and his uber-liberal take on the Iraq war. Who knows how great the show could have been if he seemed to care the whole season. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 1.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.




Veronica Mars: Many people complained of the mini arcs, but those people are morons because the first arc finale, Spit and Eggs is up there as one of the greats in the series run. Same for those that complained about the stand alone episodes because the series finale is also near the top. The heart of the show was the relationships. For three seasons Ronnie and Keith remain the best father daughter on television, Vee and Wallace were the best friends on television and the only one who possible liked Dick more than I did was Dick himself. Sure people like to jump on board flashier names in the Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes and Friday Night Lights, but there was no show more entertaining this past year than Veronica Mars. And now that the series is over we can stop debating if it is the best show currently on television and start throwing it into the discussion of bet ever. Veronica Mars 3.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. The show also won five STA’s (fourteen lifetime). Download the whole season of Veronica Mars on iTunes.


In my life, very rarely do I ever give up on a television show before its run is completely over but this year there were four shows that I actually gave up in the middle of the season. I don’t think there have been four shows that I dumped midseason in my previous years of watching televisions. Here’s what and why:

Jericho was so boring Invasion seemed fast pace in comparison and there is nothing more shocking than to see that people actually cared that is was canceled because CBS was right to do so in the first place.

The Class was basically a place holder between How I Met Your Mother and Heroes but after a month and no laughs I found I rather spend that time reading, the show was that bad.

Everything that could have gone wrong went horribly wrong for Pirate Master. Maybe you shouldn’t have filled the cast with rejects from the stack of Survivor applications.

After I deemed the last year’s Supernatural the worst season finale ever, I didn’t plan to watch it this season, but when it was announced that Meg Manning was going to make an appearance (and Studio 60 moving from its timeslot) I though I’d give it another try. Bad idea. Sure the show does have the ability to crank out a great episode or two but there are just too many mediocre X-Files retreads in-between to watch week in and week out.


For those wondering where Friday Night Lights is, the show was one of the few full season reviews I wrote this year thanks in part to it ending in April (see Clear Eyes, Full Hearts Can’t Lose). I bring this up because in the most recent ESPN The Magazine, one of my favorite writes (at least when he is not trying to defend cheater Bill Belichicken) Bill Simmon wrote an impassion article about why you should watch Friday Night Lights (that can also be found at ESPN.com; see Don’t Turn off the “Lights”). I have to agree with everything he says including how the Pilot was clichéd and how the Taylors are two of the best actor on his Tivo (not that I’m pretentious to have a Tivo). Okay he lost me at The OC comparison, but overall it is a great read especially if you are still on the fence on whether to start watching yet.

And for those that want to run your own television network, TelvisionWithouPity is starting up a new fantasy television game, TVBigShot.com. It started off to auspicious start because the link in the e-mail the sent me initially didn’t work, then when I tried later I was able to create an account but wasn’t able to log in. I was finally able to get through to day and filled the appropriately named Scooter McGavin Television. There is a monthly prize and a grand prize of $100,000 at the end of the year which I doubt I’ll win because I went with quality over quantity. If decide to play, a word of advice, don’t just start picking shows like I did because you only have a limited about of money to spend. First write down your favorite shows and their cost, and then pick and choose within your budget because it will cost you money to drop a show once you have selected it.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XXV

Big News of the Week: Well I was going to lead with the Paris Hilton story, but I’ll let this video speak on my thoughts on the story:




Rescue Me: The show had a strong three year run but it finally ran into its first sub-par episode. Surprising considering that it started off with Tommy’s daughter wearing very little clothing. But that was spoiled considering it was featured in the last two previews and it had to steal the best joke from last week. Okay, to be honest I still laughed. But the whole Probie storyline ended a little anti-climatically while the Chief’s death was too over dramatic. Hopefully they can turn the ship around next week.

Lil’ Bush: The whole British are gay has always been comedy gold, but throw George Bush in the mix and it makes it even better. I think I laughed more in this episode than the other five combined. But I can do without those stupid musical segments every episode. Download the episodes on iTunes.

Pirate Master: I can’t believe they let that freaky dude be captain again. Then just like last time he picks the two strongest players to be his officer but I don’t he will have another boneheaded moment to lose an expedition again. Hopefully the other pirates realize that mutiny will be the only thing that will get him out of that captain hat. And next week it will be the first time the non-voters will out number the people that vote in pirates court (five voters against the three with black spots as well as the captain and his henchmen) so I wonder if they will be switching up the voting anytime soon.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: I guess you really can’t fault Sorkin that much for the show going out with a whimper. I wondered how much would have been different had this been a season finale rather than a series. I have a feeling that one or two of the big storylines wouldn’t have been tied with a nice neat bow, most likely Tom’s brother one. It is sad with so much trash on television these days that this or Sports Nights, which was even better than Studio 60 could have a decent run. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.




No real pick of the week this week because with the fourth of the July everyone should be spending the week outside. But I did get a pair of press releases the hype a couple of shows that are coming up in the next couple of weeks. First, Monday July 9th is the premiere of ABCFamily’s newest show Greek. This show does look interesting and I’ll be giving it a try. Now I have heard from unreliable sources (i.e. Wikipedia) that LonelyGirl15 actually has a recurring guest spot but has been conspicuously absent from the press release and promotion so I am not entirely sure if this is true but Kelsey Grammer’s daughter is in the cast so hopefully she looks more like her mom (who, if I’m not mistaken was a dancer for Club MTV) than dad. And at the end of July, the Discover Channel is kicking off their twentieth anniversary of Shark Week. Here are those two press releases:


GREEK focuses on college life and the social minefield that is the Greek system. Viewers will see this unique cast of characters try to navigate their way through this treacherous terrain as they try to find their place at Cypress Rhodes University.

Rusty (Jacob Zachar) is determined to make his college experience more exciting than his high school years, which he spent with his head buried in the books. His answer… no more geek, he’s going Greek! However, he faces one small obstacle…his sister!

Casey (Spencer Grammer), already ensconced as a sorority siren and not too keen on having her younger brother invade her world, is a high achiever and is already at the top of her sorority game. As next in line to become the president of her sorority Zeta Beta Zeta, she can be seen around campus with fraternity hottie, Evan.

Cappie (Scott Michael Foster), president of the Kappa Tau, known for its outrageous parties, is Casey’s crazy cool ex-boyfriend, who by all accounts cannot be taken seriously. However, he just might prove to be more than meets the eye.

Evan (Jake McDorman) is the president of one of Cypress Rhodes top fraternities Omega Chi and clearly one of the most sought after men on campus. Together, he and Casey are considered campus royalty.

Dale (Clark Duke), Rusty’s roommate, is a fellow engineering school student, who holds some rather conservative and unusual ideals. His disdain for Rusty’s pursuit of the Greek life is clear from the moment they meet and will continue to be a thorn in Rusty’s side.

Rebecca (Dilshad Vadsaria) is a Senator’s daughter, who is considered the prize “get” for the sororities on campus, due to the prestige she would bring. However, there is more to Rebecca than the polished exterior that could bring more trouble than prestige.

Calvin (Paul James), a newfound friend of Rusty’s, is one of those guys who always knows exactly what to say… and his story always changes to fit the room. With his ever-changing story, it is difficult to get to know the real Calvin.

Ashleigh (Amber Stevens), Casey’s BFF, is the perfect best friend and supports Casey in her run to the top of the sorority. For those who need to know what’s happening on campus, she is the go-to-gal for gossip.

The ten one-hour episodes will be produced by Piller/Segan (“Wildfire”) in association with ABC Family. The pilot was directed by Gil Junger (“10 Things I Hate About You,” “Kyle XY”) and written by creator-producer Sean Smith (“Summerland,” “Wildfire”).





DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S SHARK WEEK HITS MAJOR MILESTONE,
CELEBRATING 20TH YEAR AS SUMMER’S MOST ANTICIPATED TELEVISION EVENT

-- From July 29 to August 4, It’s All Sharks, All Day, as Cable’s Longest-Running Event Fills the Network’s Entire Weekly Schedule --

It's just not summer without SHARK WEEK. And in 2007, the ultimate must-watch summertime television event is turning 20 – making it cable’s longest running event. Hosted by SURVIVORMAN’s Les Stroud, SHARK WEEK’s 20th Anniversary will fill Discovery Channel’s total day schedule from Sunday, July 29, through Saturday, August 4, from 9 AM to 3 AM (ET/PT) each day – adding up to over 130 hours of shark programs devoted to the behavior of one of the most mysterious and majestic creatures on the planet. Also to be featured is a programmed-by-you Viewer’s Choice hour at 8 PM, and eight all-new primetime specials at 9 PM.

For the past two decades, SHARK WEEK has intrigued, educated and enthralled viewers. Who can forget the footage of huge great whites bursting out of the water, launching 10 feet into the air, shown for the very first time on SHARK WEEK? Or the first-ever 3-D shark program, with sharks big, small and unusual seeming to swim right out of television screens and into living rooms across the nation? And every year since its inception in 1988, SHARK WEEK has partnered with the world’s most renowned shark scientists and experienced underwater cinematographers to bring viewers the latest information about the ocean’s top predator.

Les Stroud, outdoor adventurer, instructor in survival and host of SURVIVORMAN on Discovery Channel, will host SHARK WEEK this year. During premiere program breaks in the 9 PM hour, he will offer practical and potentially lifesaving tips that show viewers the best techniques for surviving an encounter with a shark. In addition to providing critical safety and awareness knowledge, Stroud explains that, while sharks are incredibly efficient predators, they are not mindless killing machines. For a safe coexistence with sharks, we must acknowledge that ultimately the waters are the shark’s domain. Stroud will also host one premiere special, Shark Feeding Frenzy (July 31, 9-10 PM), which will examine the feeding habits of sharks.

The 9 PM premiere hour will kick off on Sunday, July 29 with the two-hour special Ocean of Fear: Worst Shark Attack Ever, which is narrated by Richard Dreyfuss and tells the gripping real-life story of the worst shark attack ever recorded – after the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis in 1945. Additional SHARK WEEK premieres include Deadly Stripes: Tiger Sharks (July 30, 9-10 PM); Top 5 Eaten Alive (July 30, 10-11 PM); Shark Feeding Frenzy (July 31, 9-10 PM); Perfect Predators (August 1, 9-11 PM); Shark Tribe (August 2, 9-10 PM); Sharks: A Family Affair (August 3, 9-10 PM); and Sharkman (August 4, 9-11 PM). All times ET/PT.

In another SHARK WEEK first, viewers are being given the opportunity to help program television's most anticipated summer event. Via the "Best of Shark Week Poll" at Discovery.com/sharkweek, viewers can watch clips from 10 of the highest-rated and most talked-about SHARK WEEK programs of all time – and vote for their favorites. Voting continues through July 1, with the top voted shows airing in SHARK WEEK's 8 PM hour.

Among Discovery.com’s exciting online SHARK WEEK features: a game based on real-world tracking of live sharks in the wild, a video mixer that allows users to create their own mini-SHARK WEEK documentaries, exclusive behind-the-scenes video, information about sharks and more.

First launched in 1988, SHARK WEEK was Discovery Channel’s very first week-long event, designed to satisfy viewers’ thirst for knowledge about the natural world and to use the time between traditional television seasons to draw attention to the still-young network. The ratings shot up in that first year, and in its 20th year, SHARK WEEK shows no signs of slowing in popularity, remaining one of Discovery Channel’s most popular annual events. Last year, in 2006, SHARK WEEK was watched by 20 million viewers.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XXIII

Big News of the Week: Apparently the Sopranos Finale Sucked: Now I am not really a The Sopranos expert because of my aversion to mobsters and premium cable channels and only have seen a couple episodes early in the show run. But it was hard to escape everyone’s unequivocal distain for how the show ended. Personally seeing how it ended I have to say it was brilliant. There was absolutely no way to please everyone, some people would have been unhappy if Tong got gunned down while other would have been unhappy had he ridden off into the sunset with his family, so why not just go ahead and piss off everyone. That’s an ending I can get behind (mostly because I didn’t invest eight years in the show).


Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School: Just when Pumpkin Brooke could have a less classy exit than the one from Flavor of Love, she sure came close with her drunken propositions, profanity laden, exit from Charm School. My jaw just dropped to floor at how horrible of a person she is. Her parents should be in jail for raising a child that turned into that. I can’t believe there is only one episode left. Hopefully they rush into production a second semester of Charm School and maybe do a chicks vs. dudes as the cast offs of Flavor of Love take on those from I Love New York. Or maybe a Hood Rat vs. Hair Metal (from the upcoming Rock of Love) season. You can download the whole season on iTunes.

Pirate Master: It is always a sad day whenever a reality show votes off the token hot chick which will make this show even less watchable next week. What’s worse is the captain change somehow made the show even more boring. I may be time to jump ship (really bad pun intended).

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: A little better than last week, but not much. It would have been a lot better had they just devoted one episode to the flashback of Matt and Danny getting fired instead of stringing it out over three episodes along with the two useless storylines of Jordan’s baby and Jeter’s brother. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.




Check out my First Impressions of Rescue Me.

Ever wondered what Scooter sounded like (yes I used the elusive third person nickname)? Well if you download the latest Duckyxdale / GiveMeMyRemote podcast you canhear what I sound like as I ask them one of the most important question of recent times. So be sure to check that out to here my question and their answer.

If you remember back during the episode of Veronica Mars, I Know What You’ll Do Next Summer, the show featured the non-profit organization Invisible Children. Well Rae, who is also featured in the podcast mentioned above created a couple t-shirts to sell with $5 of each shirt sold going to the worth wild charity. You can find the shirts, available in all different types, sizes and colors, over at Printfection.com. I know what my sister will be getting for Christmas despite My Pretty Pony not making a trip through northeast Ohio (and for anyone who was wondering, I prefer long sleeved shirt). Below are examples of the two different designs:






Next Week’s Pick: Live from Abby Road, Thursday 10:00, Sundance Channel: If you are like me and have about 1000 channels of which about 990 of them you watch, you may want to dig out your TV channel guide to find out if you have the Sundance Channel and if so, what channel is it on because of the new music show live from the classic Beatles recording studio. The inaugural episode features performances from John Mayer, Norah Jones and Richard Ashcroft.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XXII

With the lack of summer shows, the 57 Channels will most like be spotty for the next couple months if not none existent. But I would be remised if I didn’t mention something. And most know by now, CBS has ordered up a couple more episodes of Jericho, which had originally been missing from the fall lineup in part because of a fan drive that sent lots of nuts (don’t ask, I don’t know either) to network. This was a surprised to me that people cared so much of the show because it wasn’t very good and was better off being canceled. The show was so slow moving that it made Invasion seem action packed in comparison, with worse acting to boot, and I jumped ship after five or six episodes.

With the surprise renewal of Jericho, it seemed to light a fire under the Save Veronica Mars movement, a show that is more deserving of a renewal, but instead of nuts, fans started sending Mars Bars to the point that fans have bought up all remaining Mars Bars in America and have moved onto Snickers Almonds, which replaced Mars Bars in America, as well as marshmallows, because as Wallace once told Ronnie, she’s a marshmallow. In fact the company that is these foods are being bought from even set up a blog to chart the progress, you can check that out over at The Indian Food Store - Bars for Mars Campaign. All order should be made Monday June 11th at 3:00 CST to make the shipping deadline. Other good sources of the drive are at Ain’t it Cool: Mission To MARS!! CW To Be Buried UnderPallets of Diabetes-Inducing Foodstuffs?? as well as Save Veronica Mars.

Now sending food is a nice symbolic gesture, but it is possibly the only thing that will accomplish is to give The CW executives cavities. Really the best way to help save Veronica Mars is to buy its products. In conjunction with the food drive, Save Veronica Mars is also having a Veronica Mars iTunes-athon where supporters should buy, appropriately enough; The Bitch Is Back on iTunes this Tuesday, June 12th for the low, low price of $1.99. If you have a lot of disposable income, you can always buy the season pass and/or gift the episode to friends and family. Of course you can also buy the first two seasons on DVD, which would make a great present for dads and grad and of course yourself. There is no better time than now to buy it because it is currently discounted on Amazon, both under $30. The people at Save Veronica Mars even bought an ad in The Hollywood Repoter (click to enlarge):



Okay, now onto some non Veronica Mars news, there is still some time left to enter my Win a Kyle XY Prize Package, also:

Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School: There is nothing more disturbing than New York being called a “celebrity interviewer.” Well actually the 24 hour coverage on “news” station even though there was a very important immigration bill in Congress. Who is actually interested in seeing Paris being driven OJ style to court? Okay to be honest, I have enjoyed this a little thanks to Al Sharpton’s outrage and the person who, after Paris was ordered back to jail, called it the OJ decision for white people. You can download the whole season on iTunes.

Pirate Master: I have had a lot to cover lately on the 9th Green so I didn’t have time to give a proper First Impressions for this show but it is pretty much in line with the few people that have also watched it: it sucks. The show is a complete rip off of Survivor, but it is almost like the producers knew this and decided to purposely change thing to make it less like Survivor, but changed the best parts like switching teams ever week and not reading the votes off, instead the host just looking at them and telling the person who is gone. The worst though is they don’t utilize the best part of the pirate life, walking the plant. Instead the person is “cut adrift”. Lame. With that said, I’ll most likely still turn in next week.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Since coming back, the show has gotten progressively worse. It is almost like Sorkin stopped trying after he realized the show wouldn’t be coming back next year. But they did end the episode with one of my favorite songs of all-time Have a Little Faith in Me by John Hiatt. It also made a great backdrop to Matt and Harriet’s ongoing fight over religion. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.




Next Week’s Pick: Rescue Me, Wednesday at 10:00 on FX: The only summer show worth watching is back this week on a new day I believe (wasn’t the first three seasons on Tuesday). When we left, Tommy was drugged and in the middle of a fire. I think it is safe to assume he will make it out. Elsewhere, Shawn got married at his new dead brother in law, Franco failed his chief’s exam, Probie is no longer a probie but may or may not still be a gay homosexual, and the chief was tending bar in Neptune.

Best Television Shows of 2006-2007

Much like the STA’s, to be eligible, the show must have had the bulk of the season’s episode between June 2006 and May 2007. So without further ado, here are the top ten best shows of the past year:

1. Veronica Mars 3.x (CW)
2. Friday Night Lights 1.x (NBC)
3. Rescue Me 3.x (FX)
4. My Name Is Earl 2.x (NBC)
5. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 1.x (NBC)
6. Knights of Prosperity 1.x (ABC)
7. The (White) Rapper Show (VH1)
8. Lost 3.x (ABC)
9. Heroes 1.x (NBC)
10. Survivor: Fiji (CBS)


The breakdown of the networks is below as NBC dominated quality television last year, yet sadly they have been near the bottom of the ratings for most of the year. Also I added up all the Quote of the Week and Song of the Week winners from my 57 Channels and Only This Is On posts that I started back in January of this year just for the fun of it:

NBC (4)
ABC (2)
CW (1)
FX (1)
VH1 (1)
CBS (1)


Quote of the Week
My Name Is Earl (5)
Veronica Mars (5)
Friday Night Lights (3)
Knights of Prosperity (1)
Supernatural (1)
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (1)
South Park (1)
Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1)
Everybody Hates Chris (1)
Lost (1)
How I Met Your Mother (1)


Song of the Week
Knights of Prosperity (5)
Veronica Mars (4)
My Name Is Earl (2)
Friday Night Lights (2)
Everybody Hates Chris (2)
How I Met Your Mother (1)
Smallville (1)
Late Show with David Letterman (1)
Jimmy Kimmel Live (1)

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XXI

Quote of the Week: Rob Thomas is a whore. (Piz - Veronica Mars)

Song of the Week: Bad Day - Daniel Powder (as sung by Ronnie, Veronica Mars)

Big News of the Week: Scooter Loosens His Dislike for All the New Fall Shows: For those that saw My 2006-2007 Television Schedule you would have noticed there were absolutely no new shows on it. But after reading Herc from Ain’t It Cool most anticipated list I have warmed up a little, and by a little, just one show: Pushing Daisies. The whole dude reanimating dead people just didn’t sound very good to me until I saw it was created by Bryan Fuller who just so happened to create the number one reason why I no longer watch Fox: Wonderfalls. Not so coincidentally. One of the two episodes he wrote for Heroes, Company Man, was the best of the first season. Then the show stars Lee Pace, the male lead from Wonderfalls as the guy with the magic touch, Chi McBride, another one of my favorite who also stared in a show that Fox prematurely gave the ax Boston Public as a private investigator who looks to be more Vinnie Van Lowe than Keith Mars, as well as Anna Freil who, surprised, was star of the short lived Fox show, but nonetheless great The Jury, as Pace’s first kiss who happens to be one of the dead he brought back to life. Luckilt the show doesn’t air on Fox but you can instead watch Pushing Daisies this fall Wendsdays at 8:00 on ABC. Here’s a clip:



Celebrity Fit Club: Men vs. Women: Usually I am a casual viewer of this show, but I have turned in every week and finally the moment I have been waiting for when Screech made the karaoker cry and almost got Harvey to kill him. Now that’s television. Also be sure to hunt down the extended uncencored version where Harvey, after threatening Screech tells everyone to “put that on V-Spot.” Classic. But I have to wonder why after they switched up the teams last week they are still calling this installment Men vs. Women.

Heroes: Last year I declared the last Supernatural (see Dad's on a Hunting Trip) episode the worst season finale ever and even though the Heroes finale didn’t change that assumption, it came pretty close thanks to the completely inane ending. I understand why Nathan would sacrifice himself for his brother but Peter should have turned around and sacrificed himself because Nathan has more to live for, a wife, kids, one of which he just met, and his new public office. But really, it never came across Nathan’s mind to just tell Peter he should fly out of the atmosphere? But my biggest complaint is that Mohinder, Nikki and Noah (yeah that was uber-lame) were in New York even though they were alive in the future yet nothing happened that would lead them to being at that place at that time unlike Nathan and Hiro who knew the future and knew something needed to change. But the show did get some things right, I liked the introduction of next season’s Big Bad when the locator system said he can see her when she thinks about him. I wonder if we have met him yet. Unfortunately this season’s Big Bad will still be lurking around. Bad idea. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.



Veronica Mars: One thing I forgot to mention in my original post (see: I Like This Show, it’s Tawdry or Rob Thomas Is a Whore) was how the first episode eerily mentioned two subjects from the two classes I took during the spring semester. First one of the fake ID’s used the name Leonardo Fibonacci and I spend time studying Fibonacci Numbers (don’t ask) and I learned how to encode things, in fact I can play a game of head or tails over the phone without either player cheating (again, don’t ask). Check out the latest episodes over at cwtv.com or download the whole season at iTunes.


Lost: One thing I forgot to mention in my original post (see: Guys (Dramatic Pause) Where Are We) and surprisingly I didn’t see this anywhere else so maybe I was just seeing things, but if I wasn’t then either Carol Vessey is getting chunky or Jack’s ex-wife is pregnant. Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.



Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: It was hard getting back into this show after so long without a Matt, Danny, or Jordan sighting. And even though I love the “Rob Thomas is a whore” line, Aaron Sorkin’s self deprecating The West Wing humor just fell flat. Well except the drunken lines from Jack. Seriously, he is at his best when inebriated (see also The Wrap Party). Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.



This Summer’s Pick: Friday Night Lights, Sunday’s 9:00 NBC: Here is your chance to catch up on the best new show from last season that is actually returning for a sophomore season. or those that a already into the show, be sure to head over to Give Me My Remote where you can win a script from the show signed by the cast. Now my TV Guide says that tomorrow’s episode is the Homecoming game so I’m not sure if they are showing the episodes out of order, or if they are just waiting to start with the Pilot next week, which isn’t part of Memorial Day weekend. Speaking of which I hope everyone thanks a veteran or two sometime this weekend and I’ll be back Tuesday and sometime next week I will be unveiling the Third Annual Scooter Television Awards as well as the Top Ten Best Shows of 2006-2007.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XVIII

Quote of the Week: “I've been studied up, I watched My Super Sweet 16. That reminds me, you don't know where I can get a dozen eunuchs do you?” (Logan, Veronica Mars)

Song of the Week: Hurts So Good - John Cougar Mellencamp (Everybody Hates Chris)

Big News of the Week: Gilmore Girls Going, Studio 60 Coming Back: Okay so I have never watched Gilmore Girls except maybe the last five minutes of the current season as I prepare for Veronica Mars. But with its demise you got to wonder if this gives Veronica Mars a better chance to return next season now with three extra hours than The CW had last fall. The channel did green light fifteen pilots, a third of which were reality programs. Then there is Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip which is returning May 24 in ER’s timeslot.

Everybody Hates Chris: One of the main problems about doing an episode about dirty jokes is that you can’t actually tell them on national television. But they did do a clever thing avoid the seven words you can’t say on TV especially with Craig talking about his parents going back and forth calling each other four and five. Check out the latest episode on CWTV.com.



Heroes: Okay, Hollywood, I get it, George Bush is evil and exploited 9/11 for his own political gain. There is no need to continually put these not so thinly veiled allusions to him and his administration in your movies and television show. And when Heroes wasn’t exploiting someone exploiting a tragedy this week, they were totally ripping off the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode where Cordelia wished herself into a parallel universe where Buffy never came to Sunnydale and everyone, sans Giles, ended up dieing. But will all the Heroes dieing in the future, why was Nikki the lone hero spared? What really bugged me about this whole thing is why did Future Hiro keep on going back to make sure everything happened to ensure Sylar didn’t blow up New York City but never thought to go back and kill Sylar himself? Speaking of Hiro, he gets a little to happy to see Ando when they have been apart and Future Hiro is uber depressed without him, could Hiro have a man crush on Ando? Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.



Veronica Mars: Just an addition to I Like This Show, It’s Tawdry from earlier this week. Someone made a video of all the great elevator scenes in the show’s history (see below) and it is really interesting the elevator played a part with Ronnie catching Logan with Kendall and Logan catching Vee with Piz. On a side note, I am totally disappointed that Dick hasn’t accepted my friends request on MySpace. Check out the latest episode on CWTV.com or download it on iTunes.




Lost: Lost is really good this season for giving huge hints to their big reveals that when they are actually revealed, they are not that surprising (see Jack and Claire being siblings). After the last Locke-centric I wrote on this very blog, “how many seasons until we get the hyped, shocking revelation that the original Sawyer is Locke’s dad?” Okay so we didn’t have to wait that long, but it wasn’t any less shocking. The big new this episode was Juliet and Jack argued over whether to tell Kate something big, which of course this being Lost, they didn’t. I’m putting my money on her planning on turning on the Others and wanted to let Kate in on the kidnapping that is about to occur as Sawyer most likely impregnated her. Although assuming that Sun is also on the list, who is the third? Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.



Smallville: Loved the noir parts of the episode, the other part, not so much. They really should have made this more stand alone having only about five minutes of “real life.”

My Name Is Earl: Maybe I looked forward to the whole scratch and stiff way too much, or that the last two episode were two of the series best, but this episode was a bit of a let down. Sadly the funniest part of the show was in an interview the show’s creator gave complaining that he wasn’t given smell approval and not to blame him if the smells don’t quite smell like they should. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com or download it on iTunes.

Next Week’s Pick: Lost, Wednesday, 10:00, ABC: It seems like every week I complain how useless the flashbacks are because there have been just way too many from Jack, Kate and Locke. And not so surprisingly the best episodes this season have been the Juliet and those random people centric one. Next week may top them all as we get flashbacks from a guy not named Henry.


Download these shows on Amazon UnBox and watch them on your computer or transfer them to your Tivo:

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. VIII

Quote of the Week: If I was a little younger, a little less famous, and made a little less money, I would… (Chandler - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)

Song of the Week: Didn’t We Almost Have it All - Whitney Houston (as sung by Squatch and Louis - The Knights of Prosperity)

Big News of the Week: The two funniest shows on television are now available on iTunes. You can now download episodes from the latest seasons of My Name Is Earl and Everybody Hates Chris for your viewing pleasures. I’m not sure why all of the new shows that have popped up on iTunes this year only have the latest seasons available but I guess it’s better than nothing. Also showing up this week is the new comedy Rules of Engagement and you can even download the Pilot for free. Click on the names to be taken to their iTunes pages.

Heroes: Well that was anticlimactic, we have already seen Peter fly and Simone was easily the most disposable on account that she didn’t really add anything to the show so no shock there. Oh well, at least next week looks really good when Mr. Bennett gets the table turned on him. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.



Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: And they had to ran the commercial for The Black Donnellys about twenty-five times on Monday which is about twenty-five times more times than I’ll actually watch the show. It’s funny how it continually mentions the show is from the dude behind Crash (which was absolutely horrendous) yet never mentions the dudes last serialized project, Walker, Texas Ranger. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.



Friday Night Lights: One of the many reasons why this show is so good is that they can go from the funny scene with Buddy confessing his infidelity to Coach Taylor (whenever Taylor plays he annoyed but not angry scenes are my favorites after ones with Landry) and goes straight into Coach’s wife confronting their daughter after seeing her boyfriend buying condoms in a goose bump scene if there ever were one. The will they or won’t they that bogged down the second half was a little much though. Maybe I’m a little bitter that I never hear those six words uttered to me in high school. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.



Lets Rob Mick Jagger: Quite possibly my favorite episode yet. The show is at its best whenever all the Knights are together like they were locked in the panic room and the changing clock got a good laugh every time. And it looks like they will have a new target next week now that they have given up on Mick Jagger. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.

Survivor: Yeah, this have and have-nots is turning out to be the worst idea ever for the show. The better switch something up soon. Check out the latest episode on Innertube.



Don’t forget to check out the latest Toss Up between Lost and Veronica Mars and my finale thoughts on the third season of Beauty and the Geek.

The Black Donnellys isn’t the only new Must Flee TV for me this week as we also get the new Fox (naturally) game show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? And if you watch, the simple answer is no, because you, my sir, are a moron.

Promo of the Week: In his spare time from robbing Mick Jagger it looks like Eugene Gurkin like posting videos to YouTube. Below is one of my favorite scenes that he has posted but I also highly recommend Rockefeller’s Ladies, The Low Down, and The Gang Enters Mick Jagger’s Apt or just check out all of Eugene’s Videos.




Pick of the Week: Veronica Mars, Tuesday 9:00, The CW. The last episode until April and we should expect fallout from Lamb’s death, the Logan/Parker newly formed friendship and if time remains we may even find out who killed the Dean. Speaking of which, make sure you check back tomorrow or sometime before the show to see the latest round of Oddsmakers to see a round up of all the suspects. Of course you can always check up on the mystery streaming the last four episodes over at CWTV.com or download the whole season to date over at iTunes.