The Seventh Annual Scooter Television Awards

Welcome to the 7th Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired new episodes between June 2010 and June 2011. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2011 STA's:

Best Scripted Show: Friday Night Lights

Best Sitcom: The Big Bang Theory

Best Cable Show: Justified

Best Reality Show: The Challenge: Cutthroat

Best Talk Show: Pardon the Interuption

Best Talent Competition - The Sing-Off

Best New Show: Terriers

Best Awards Show: 2011 Grammy Awards

Best Hour of TV: Bloody Harlan - Justified

Best Half Hour of TV: A Fistful of Paintballs (Part 1) - Community

Biggest Shocker: Mags Bennett serving herself Apple Pie (Justifed)

Worst Idea: Survivor: Redemption Island

Worst Moment: The Killing ending on a cliffhanger

Best New Title Sequence: Rubicon

Best Song Placement: Shout (Pts. 1 & 2) – The Isley Brothers (Greek)

Best Karaoke: Push It – Jeffster (Chuck)

Best Singing Competition Performance: Heartless – Dia Frampton (The Voice)



Hottest Token Hot Chick:







Best Character: Raylan Gibbons (Justified)

Best New Character: Hank Dolworth (Terriers)

Best Recurring Character: Mags Bennett (Justifed)

Best Guest Appearance: Betty White (Community)

Best Duo: Coach and Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)

Most Entertaining Reality “Star”: Special Agent Philip Sheppard (Survivor: Redemption Island)

Most Annoying Reality “Star”: Boston Rob (Survivor: Redemption Island)

Best Quote: Listen to me: I said you need to strive to be better than everyone else. I didn’t say you need to be better than everyone else. But you gotta try. And that’s what character is: it’s in the trying. (Coach Taylor, Friday Night Lights)

Show That Should Be Brought Back: Friday Night Lights

Biggest Question for 2011-2012: No, seriously, who killed Rosie Larson Will anyone continue to watch The Killing?

The Best Television Shows of 2010-11

I usually like to post my best shows of the year list after the May finales but at that point The Killing was still in the middle of its season so I decided to delay it because how the season ended would play a role in how it would land on the list. But after actually seeing the finale it was all for naught because the show dropped itself out of the top ten (and the top twenty at that). But even without The Killing, AMC actually managed its first two series on my end of year list. So here are the ten that did not have a finale so bad I wanted to throw the remote at my television:

1. Friday Night Lights, Season 5 (DirecTV / NBC)

2. Justified, Season 2 (FX)

3. Parenthood, Season 2 (NBC)

4. The Big Bang Theory, Season 4 (CBS)

5. Community, Season 2 (NBC)

6. Terriers, Season 1 (FX)

7. Modern Family, Season 2 (ABC)

8. The Walking Dead, Season 1 (AMC)

9. Rubicon, Season 1 (AMC)

10. Leverage, Season 3 (TNT)



Below is a running tally of shows that landed a Quote or Song of the Week over the past year.

Quotes of the Week
The Big Bang Theory – 6
Friday Night Lights – 5
The Killing – 4
Community –3
Justified – 3
Rubicon – 3
Castle – 2
Chuck – 2
Modern Family – 2
Pardon the interruption – 2
Pretty Little Liars – 2
Rescue Me – 2
Glory Daze – 1
Greek – 1
How I Met Your Mother – 1
No Ordinary Family - 1
Survivor – 1
Terriers – 1
The Voice – 1
The Sing Off – 1
The Walking Dead – 1
Two and a Half Men – 1

Songs of the Week
Chuck – 4
Friday Night Light – 4
Community – 3
Parenthood – 3
Pretty Little Liars – 3
How I Met Your Mother – 2
Glory Daze – 2
Lights Out – 2
Modern Family – 2
Outsourced – 2
Rubicon – 2
Sons of Anarchy – 2
Terriers – 2
The Big Bang Theory – 2
Castle- 1
Covert Affairs – 1
Franklin and Bash – 1
Greek – 1
Memphis Beat – 1
No Ordinary Family – 1
Rescue Me – 1
Shameless – 1
Survivor - 1
The Voice – 1

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLIX

The Walking Dead: Gee, if you are going to move from your camp, why go to the unknown of the CDC instead of the old folks home where you just donated half your guns to? Oh well. The introduction of the CDC worker (which begs the question, where are all his coworkers, no one else was quarantined with him in the building when the outbreak broke out?) was very Lostian, in the best sense of the word. You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Chuck: What an odd villain for such an odd season. I really do not know where they go from here. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

The Event: I was recently lamenting to a friend how the next cheap remake Hollywood needs to do is Out of This World and low and behold, The Event apparently is doing the half human, half alien storyline, at least I assume that all the kidnapped girls are hybrids. Which begs the question were the old faced girls the result of being a half-breed which the shady organization are trying to cure (and apparently did so with Layla) or is the cause of it? And in another storyline stolen from the eighties, I take it the satellite that Thomas launched was to summon his race to Earth which potentially set up a second half of the season to be a V rip-off, but without the lizard undercarriage. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Wow, that almost made up for the lackluster Irish storyline that dominated this season. I knew either Stahl and Jax would turn on each other and naturally it was both of them. And ever since Jax made the deal I wondered why not tell the club because it was a good deal and kept Gemma out of jail; it turns out they were in on it all along. Nice twist. I wonder when next seaon will start off, will we get a season on the inside, or will it start just as the club is getting released? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Glory Daze: Funniest moment of the week had to go to Jason being left hanging, trying to duet Up Where We Belong with his girlfriend (who need to be promoted to series regular) only to be helped out by Eli. It’s too bad they didn’t recreate the Officer and a Gentleman scene. You can stream recent episodes over at TBS.com.

Survivor: Nicaragua: Purple Kelly has to go down as the worst casting ever in the history of Survivor. Most people who got voted off first had more screen time then she had this season, and the four times she opened her mouth all season showed exactly why they didn’t go to her more often. It is a wonder how she got through casting, she isn’t practically attractive, so you cannot blame it on eye candy. Ugg, this season has just left a terrible taste in my mouth. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Terriers: I guess the theme of this show is that powerful men cannot keep it in their pants. The season started out with a sex scandal and ended with one. The guy behind the curtain seemed a little to calm about his airport plans going down in flames to a low rent private investigator. Should make for an interesting second season (hopefully there is one). You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

Community: Annie’s bad Texas accent was oddly alluring. But sadly (or lucky depending how you look at it) for me my twenty-first birthday fell on the same day as an econ test, so no bar hoping for me. Who knows if I would have survived the night if I didn’t have a reason to stay in? You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLVIII

The Walking Dead: I have a real problem with the ending this week, and not even because they killed off the token hot chick (which never a good sign for a show), just last week we saw that the camp is surrounded by those cans, but we didn’t hear them make any noise. After last week’s close call, shouldn’t they have beefed up their alarm system, not make it more porous? You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Chuck: As much as I enjoy Sarah partaking in a kickboxing match, it seems like the writers are trying a little too hard to make us the viewers believe that shge loves Chuck that much to do the things she did in this episode. But I did enjoy the B-plot of the Nerd Herd doing a little quid pro quo to help Captain Awesome. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: Remember back when all actors talked about not wanting to be type-cast? Well now all of them are more that welcome to play on their past characters and it is starting to get annoying. Life how many Lost references did you count in this episode just because Hurley made an appearance? That aside, this was the most enjoyable episode of the season so far. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: I do not understand the turn face of the Vice President. He can easily get his family secret service detail, if they do not have it already. But this was just really a filler episode. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: What was the more surprising death, Jax killing Alverez or Stahl killing her partner? These two will do about anything to get what they want, but who will be the one that turns on the other because I do not see both shaking hands and letting the other get what they want out of their orginal deal. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Glory Daze: I was hoping for more of a confrontation between the Young Republican and the Liberal Professor, hopefully he takes his class next semester. You can stream recent episodes over at TBS.com.

Modern Family: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Hayley cannot break up with Dylan, the show needs more Dylan, not less. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Terriers: Wow, they really pumped things up going into the end of the season which makes me wonder why they didn’t do this overarching storyline the whole season instead of half the season focusing on standalone cases. We finally know what the evil lawyer is up to, an airport. Can’t wait to see how the season plays out. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

Best of the Week vol. LIV

Quote of the Week: Guys, I can’t go in there, as a Young Republican I vowed to say no to pot... and fulfillment. (Jason, Glory Daze)

Song of the Week: O.P.P. – Naughty By Nature (Parenthood)

Big News of the Week: Please Touch My Junk: The loud minority was at it again this week with people whining about getting groped at the airport, and you can count me in the majority that would rather have my junk touch than blown up in a plane. Seriously, if you think this is such a violation of your right, drive, take a train, or boat. But I have come up with a simple solution for that loud minority, how about too planes, ones where everyone gets felt up, and ones where no does and not x-rays. Then lets see how full the non-groping planes are. Of course the TSA would not have this problem if they hire chicks that looked like Victoria Secret models and dudes that look like they came straight from their other job at the Abercrombie store. In a measure of full disclose, it should be noted that getting me on an airplane is about as easy as getting B.A. Baracus on one, so I have yet to be gropes and stepped onto a plane once last decade and that was only because someone gave me a most expenses paid trip to the set of Veronica Mars.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



New Album Release of the Week: Love Me Back - Jazmine Sullivan

New DVD Release of the Week: The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

Free Download of the Week: Music World Holiday Sampler (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: Amazon Cyber Monday Deals: I would also like to point out amazing album deals that Amazon MP3 is currently running, I am not sure when these are set to expire, but as I write this, you can get albums from these artist for as low as $1.99 such as Kanye West, Sara Bareilles, Weezer, and Arcade Fire. Head over to Amazon MP3 to see if they have any new deals that low for today. If you want these albums for even lower or free in some cases, use the code "GET3MP3S" for a $3 credit from now until 11/30.



Video of the Week: I guess we have Betty White to thank for this, but the latest celebrity the internets have taken up in hopes to get host Saturday Night Live: The Cookie Monster? Alrighty. The hand puppet even made his own audition tape. And of course there is a Facebook page.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Terriers, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: After its best episode of the series, it should make for an explosive season (hopefully not series) finale of Terriers this week.

Is Hip-Hop Just a Euphemism for a New Religion?

There has never been a more appropriate sample in the history of rap than when Kanye West used King Crimson’s 21st Century Schizoid Man. Kanye has become the most mentally unstable pop star since Michael Jackson. He always had a massive ego but his music back it up and who didn’t agree with his assessment of how George Bush handled Hurricane Katrina. But dude went off the deep end after the release third album, recorded a horrible emo album, became an intern, ate fish sticks, a failed tour with Lady GaGa, started dating an androgynous chick, set up the most frantic Twitter account, and apparently was the only person that didn’t get the memo that the Video Music Awards are the least legitimate award show out there and made a teenage girl cry in the process.

But as Jackson(who West eulogized at the beginning of All of the Lights) showed us, even in your darkest hour and deepest disappear, great music can come out of it, and West rebounded with one heckova album and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy should have been the natural follow up to Graduation where he goes back and forth between the braggadocios of his first three albums and the self loathing of 808’s and Heartbreaks. And he went big for this album with all but two full song clocks under five minutes thanks to bloated crew tracks (Monster, So Appalled), deconstructing songs after most artist would have ended them (Runaway), and even a monologue from Chris Rock (Blame Game).

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy sees West rap over some of the best beats of his career, from the King Crimson mixed with a choir of ooo’s and hey’s and hand clap of Power, to the string infused Dark Fantasy which sounds like something left over with his collaboration with Jon Brion from Late Registration, but with a choir of ooo’s thrown in for good measure. In fact big choruses are on many of the tracks including All of the Lights that melds vocals of many name singers which most become unrecognizable, even to the singer like Elly Jackson of La Roux who could not even make out her own voice on the song. Then there is the lone note that opens the first twenty seconds of Runaway, which not much else for the other nine minutes but a drum beat and a jarring sample.

But just as any crazy genius, Kanye goes too far and most of those lengthy songs could have been chopped down to three or four minutes getting rid of the eccentricities. The Bon Iver assisted closer Lost in the World would have been better placed on 808’s where West bites Imogen Heap’s layered vocals. And he goes overboard with the guest spots, some of which do not click. I have never understood the appeal of Rick Ross who sounds like he is bored most of the time, and he shows up on to song here (Monster and Devil in a New Dress). And Nicki Minaj (also on Monster which not so coincidentally was the lone G.O.O.D. Friday free download I deleted after hearing it) continues to be the most annoying person on the planet. Then Fergie’s rap on All of the Lights is just straight out painful.

That is not to say all the guest spots are throw away. Pusha T of the Clipse is the breakout star of the album on Runaway who follows West’s apologetic verses about not being a very good boyfriend but saying in effect, yeah I cheated, so what? He also spits a couple of decent bars on So Appalled. But that track belongs to The RZA who brings the energy to the song but is all too short a verse.

West is back to his wiity wordplay on the album, the best being the diss from Dark Fantasy, “Too many Urkles on your team that’s why your wins-low.” Hopefully West follows this route for the next album and doesn’t take another unnecessary detour like the overly auto-tune of 808’s. If he doesn’t I’ll be sure to raise my glass and have a toast to this douchebag.

Song to Download – Power

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLVII

The Walking Dead: I know the show is about zombies, but does the plot really need to move this slow. I thought going back to Racist McGee would not take the whole episode to happen. His soliloquy in the beginning went on way too long, same for the wifebeater scene. You think for a show that only had a six episode order, they would be in high gear at all times. Speaking of racist McGee, I understand that his brain was literally fried, but would have been that hard to kick that little bar loose he was attached to? Or saw through it when you get the hacksaw? You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Chuck: Why hasn’t this show picked up a full time Nerd Herder since the loss of Anna Wu? It is clear with all the female guest stars from Kristin Kreuk, to Olivia Munn and most recently Summer Glau, they need a tokn hot chick to fill out the Nerd Herd uniform week in and week out. Which begs the question, what is Sarah’s cover these days, can’t she join the Nerd Herd as her cover? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: Why is it that this show always has the lamest guest stars: Britney Spears, the annoying couple from The Hills, and now a Pussycat Doll. I really need to reexamine why I watch this show. Especially after how insulting their depiction of Cleveland was (sure the Big Chuck and Little John reference was nice, or least it would have been had they not retired a couple years ago). Also, we are doing alright with LeGone. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: Another what the frak ending, almost creepy as the old faced little girl. And I almost didn’t realize what was happening until I thought, wait, Hal Holbrook just got young, then old again. That means I will be watching for at least another week. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: These are the types of episodes the show does best, when Castle comes up with an absurd hypothesis that could actually be right, and with every clue Castle gets more giddy and Beckett gets more flustered. And having Lyle Lovett as a Man in Black made it all that better. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: They are not really going to kill Tara off are they? I do not see how she can get out of that situation, should make for an interesting next episode. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: When did this season get interesting? I still hate basically everyone left, I laughed when their camp burnt down, yet this episode was king of entertaining. I guess it has to do with the comeuppance for Brenda who was too cocky for her own good. I was actually a little shocked that Sash didn’t give her the Idol (and in fact even voted for her). This may set up for blind sides for the rest of the season because there are no strong alliances left. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: I was kind of bored with most of this episode (sans Gloria with the BB Gun), but all was forgiven when Mitchell jumped into the Flash Mob, and the detest on Cameron’s face as he tried to join in because he was not invited in on it was priceless. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Terriers: This seems like an episode that should have happened closer to the middle of the season than at the end, but it was still a satisfying flashback. But I do not think we learned why Gustafson told Britt that Hank will let him down. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

The Challenge: Cutthroat: Finally next episode we will get the anticipated CT sighting that was promised at the beginning of the season. Can’t wait to see how he gets involved (although I will have to wait two weeks, stupid Thanksgiving). And when did Laurel become attractive? You can stream recent episodes on MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: Who knew Penny and Leonard fake dating would be so much more entertaining than them dating for real? Though I am surprised that Leonard did not try to get a sleep over out of the situation.

Community: Even though I saw it coming from a mile away, all the fake outs at the end were still hilarious. I was kind of hoping that one of the guns turned out to be real. Oh well. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Also check out my Preview of Glory Daze.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLVI

The Walking Dead: I kept on waiting the whole episode for that grenade Rick picked up to come into play (I wonder why he never tried to find the keys to the tank?); I thought he might toss it down the ladder when he realized the Walkers might climb up. I thought he might use it in the front of the department store with all the Walker broke through the first window. I thought he might use it on the grate in the sewers. I thought he would use that as the distraction as they went to get the truck. But in never came into play. Hopefully we have a good pay off with the grenade.

I thought while watching the credits this week, if these were in fact spoilers. Is it safe to assume that those that didn’t make the title sequence are essentially redshirts for the zombies to eat? Thankfully none of the actors have much name recognition so I really do not know who cast members are and who are just supporting actors. You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: So Barney finally get the name of his father in the same episode we meet Zoey’s father husband. Not that I really cared much about either as I kept hoping the whole episode would be Ted saying “wieners”. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: What the frack was with that ending? I think that creeped me out more than anything on The Waking Dead this week. But anyway. Didn’t Sterling have a picture of Thomas, how didn’t he recognize him in the elevator. Wasn’t his flashback about how he was going to pay attention to detail to everything, how he missed an alien standing right next to him. And what is with the promo about finally learning who tried to assassinate the president? Don’t we already know it was Hal Holbrook and his shady cabal? And how did his crony go from a broken leg held at gun point by a Federal Agent to standing on two legs free? Did I miss something? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: Wow, that was the least sad I have ever seen anyone who had just been told their pet ran away. I know as a guy I have been more lenient to a big butt and a smile than I should, but I would be very happy if some token hot chick lost one of my pets, I’d at the very least want some tears before I even considered accepting an apology. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Parenthood: Just as I predicted, Patty Pryor and Vince Howard hooked up and it was as creepy as I expected. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: I can’t believe they let the incest go as far as they did, but I guess I should not expect that Sons of Anarchy will not step over the preverbal line considering just earlier in the episode they went all Hostel on one of the characters. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: It has been pretty clear that they decided to cast a whole group of Russell’s and this season is suffering greatly. I’m hoping the teaser was a meteor that killed half the tribe which means they will have to end this season early. And hopefully the next season isn’t the much rumored Russell vs. Boston Rob season. Of course if Survivor were to ever bring back Russell how do you not vote him off the first tribal he goes to? You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Terriers: It has been song long since they mentioned it, I almost forgot the overarching plot. And they brought it back with a vengeance with that reporter poking into that land developer. Though I do not understand why Hank presented himself to the guy afterward, seems like a risky proposition considering his henchmen is good at concealing murder. And it was nice seeing the Nerds of Dooms back again as the worst kidnappers ever. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

The Challenge: Cutthroat: Who would’ve guessed that MTV would have a stronger concussion policy than the NFL? You can stream recent episodes on MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I have never been a fan of a female version of Sheldon, but Amy continually checking out Wikipedia for things to do at a slumber party was pretty hilarious, especially when she tried lesbian activities.

Community: I do not know what a bottle episode is and I do not care what a bottle episode is, I am just disappointed I had to see Chevy Chase in his underwear, but Annie never stepped out from behind the desk. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Outsourced: India really needs more holidays where Charlie can shoot off his guns in the streets. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Outsourced on iTunes.

The Best New Shows of Fall 2010

It seems like every other year, most people are complaining about how bad the new crop of shows are, and after the big buzz last year around Modern Family, Glee and Vampire Diaries, this year follows that tend with a dud of a season. Before we even went to the polls to vote in the midterm elections, we had already voted Lone Star and My Generation off our television with Outlaw and Undercovers joining the scrap heap once NBC burns off their remaining episodes. Thankfully cable saved us from the network slop with a few shows to talk about. Like I do every year, I invited some television blog buddies to help me compile a list, then take their votes, send them overseas, and this is the list that was sent back from India along with places where you can stream or download if you would like to catch up:

1. The Walking Dead (AMC) Hulu - iTunes

Sandie of Daemon’s TV says: It's on AMC, it has zombies in it, but it's really about the human condition. What's not to love?

Kim of TV Screener says: Totally not into the vampire or zombie thing in general, but this is just entertaining TV.

2. Raising Hope (Fox) Hulu – iTunes

Vance of Tapeworthy says: The crassest new show also has the most heart. Plus Martha Plimpton is simply amazing.

Kim says: It has the same mix of quirky humor and heart that made My Name Is Earl good, and it has the cutest baby I've ever seen on TV.

3. Terriers (FX) Hulu – Terriers

Scooter of the 9th Green says: Some people like to say that AMC is the best network on basic cable, but with Sons of Anarchy, Justified, Rescue Me and now Terriers, I’d rather tune into FX.

4. Blue Bloods (CBS) CBS.com – iTunes

5. Hellcats (The CW) CWTV.com - iTunes

Doug of the 9th Green says: Everyone loves a good guilty pleasure. Is better than a show about college cheerleading should be.

6. Outsourced (NBC) Hulu – iTunes

Vance says: Started off terribly, but improving along nicely.

7. Luther (BBC America) iTunes

8. Sherlock (BBC/PBS) iTunes

Sandie says: A modern Sherlock Holmes from the brilliant mind of Steven Moffat = Must See Television.

9. Glory Daze (TBS)

Scooter says: This is the funniest original show ever on TBS (sorry Outback Jack) and better than the similarly theme ABC Family show Greek (though not as good as similarly period piece Everybody Hates Chris).

10. No Ordinary Family (ABC) Hulu - iTunes

Doug says: Great concept but poor execution. I'm sticking with it for 1 reason only: Michael Chiklis

Also receiving votes: Nikita, The Big C, The Event, Tower Prep, Better with You, The Defenders, Detroit 1-8-7, IRT: Deadliest Roads


And in a measure of full disclosure, here is my list:

1. Terriers – Some people like to say that AMC is the best network on basic cable, but with Sons of Anarchy, Justified, Rescue Me and now Terriers, I’d rather tune into FX.

2. The Walking Dead – Suck it whiny vampires, this is the decade of zombies.

3. Glory Daze – This is the funniest original show ever on TBS (sorry Outback Jack) and better than the similarly theme ABC Family show Greek (though not as good as similarly period piece Everybody Hates Chris).

4. The Event – After being burned by the Lost finale just months before, I gave this show an episode by episode trial run and keeps me engrossed enough without annoying me.

5. Outsourced – I am still waiting until the show hits its stride, the elements are there, and once it does it would be one of the funniest shows on television.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLIII

Chuck: Here’s hoping that Morgan breaks Casey’s daughter’s hearty so Casey kills him off once and for all. With that said, this may have been the most enjoyable episode in over a year. The best part was when Casey accidentally called Jeffster while being drugged and them not be at all surprised by his predicament. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: I am with the guy, you just do not talk about that kind of stuff. The thing is, guys do not talk about about girls we have been with, we just talk in detail about girls we want to be with. And the locker room discussion was spot on. Guys do not want to talk to naked dudes. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: When the absurdly hot brunette came face to face with the baby she was tasked with eliminating, I when into my usual Lost mode of thinking, well it is obvious that was her “son” from the previous episode but even though it was obvious, we will not learn the reveal for another season or two. But surprisingly, unlike Lost they actuaqly let us in on this obvious act that anyone with half a brain would assume that same episode. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Spike Scream Awards: Why do teen girls have to ruin everything made for guys? First this week at the Scream Awards on Spike (which I thought was supposed to be the first network for men), Twilight picked up three awards. Then Glee landed on the cover of GQ (which I thought was supposed to stand for Gentlemen’s Quarterly). Seriously teen girls, can we men have something for our own? What are you going to ruin next? Is Justin Beiber going to top next year’s Maxim Hot 100?

Parenthood: Great Arrested Development shout out buy having Amber (her?) in a banana suit. Too bad they didn’t go all meta for the other characters, I guess the baseball outfit Adam wore could have been a Sports Night reference, but that might be a stretch. And I am glad theyfinally revealed Christina’s costume because I would have never guessed a Q-Tip. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: During Gemma’s great escape I spent the whole time waiting for her to punch Tara “for authenticity’s sake” and at least her boss thought of it instead. Next episode should be quite a showdown between SAMCRO and the Irish, assuming the next episode takes solely on the plane trip over there. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: It may not even crack the top five dumbest moves from last season, but the first tribal council was just filled with stupid decision. After Brenda threw him under the bus at tribal, how does Marty not play his Immunity Idol? And since Marty didn’t play his Idol, how does his tribe not vote him out on the revote? Now they do not have the numbers to flush out the Idol, not that they are likely to even have that chance because of the other tribe voting out strong players over Dan who can barely even walk let alone compete in anything. So Marty may very well may have a free ride to the merge with his Idol in tack. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: I realized why I am not enjoying this season as much as the last one (aside from the families not intermingling very much), where is Dylan? How did they not add him to the cast after being the breakout guest star of last season? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Terriers: Here’s hoping the trio of nerd maker regular appearences and can be Hank’s version of the Lone Gunman, They had me laughing on thje floor when they were on screen. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

The Challenge: Cutthroat: That was kind of a pitiful get well T.J. crew they got. Where were all the All-Stars? It was like the B-Team of challenges. And what a shame it came during an episode where someone quit. T.J. hates quitters. You can stream recent episodes on MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I guess we are in the start of episodes where there will be no Penny due to her horse episode. Maybe they should have shut down production until she was better. It juts didn’t feel right without her there as she grounds the show from all the nerdy excess of the guys.

Community: Enough with the meta jokes. When you are making Meta jokes about being Meta, it is time to stop. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Outsourced: It has become pretty clear the Diedrich Bader is the MVP of the show. The two episodes that he has been featured heavily have been the best two of the early series, the others mediocre at best. Hopefully they can work him in more often, especially with the B-Team. And what is the Aussie chick’s role exactly, she really hasn’t fit in anywhere as of yet. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Outsourced on iTunes.

Best of the Week vol. XLIX

Quote of the Week: It’s like sleeping with a graphing calculator that’s on the fritz. (Swift, Terriers)

Song of the Week: Travelin' Band – Curtis Stigers and the Forest Rangers (Sons of Anarchy)

Big News of the Week: Full Seasons All Around: After three quick cancelations, NBC and CBS have given full twenty-two orders to most of the new show, all in the case of CBS including Mike and Molly, Hawaii Five-0, The Defenders, $#*! My Dad Says, and Blue Bloods. While on the Peacock The Event, Chase, Law & Order: Los Angeles, and Outsourced will all make it to the end of the season. Hopefully with Outsourced getting more episodes, all the pretentious Parks and Recreations fans stop whining for its cancelation. And for those pretentious types worrying about where P&R could fit into the schedule; remember NBC will have three hours to play with their schedule when football is over, not to mention the Wednesdays at 8:00 spot where Undercovers, the one show that hasn’t gotten picked up yet, currently occupies.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Free Download of the Week: I've Got You Under My Skin - Rod Stewart (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: Blu-Ray Deals (The Evil Dead, Let the Right One In, Army of Darkness)

New Album Pick of the Week: Speak Now - Taylor Swift

New DVD Pick of the Week: Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: My first thought when seeing the Scream 4 trailer was “there was a Scream 3?” According to Wikipeadia, there actually was one so I will take their work for them. Since it will be eleven years between films, hopefully I won’t need to have seen the third installment, because sign me up for a movie with Kristen Bell, Emma Roberts, and though they are not in the trailer, Allison Brie and Julie Taylor supposedly have roles in the film. But hopefully the annoying chick from Heroes dies and early and horrible death.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Friday Night Lights, Wednesday at 9:00 on DirecTV: It is that time of year again where I debate switching my cable provider to DirecTV for the sole purpose of being able to see the new season of Friday Night Lights, six months before it hits terrestrial television. Even more painful is that this will be the final season of one of the finest television shows ever.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLI

Rubicon: This was the episode that made watching the show worth it. Who would have thought a show about analyst would have such a fight scene (though how a trained military man cannot take out a fact finder is a little farfetched). And we got a huge piece of the puzzle when Will figured out that API was a front for people to profit off of tragedy. And I would be willing to bet that the guy Will’s tem has been tracking is meant to be the catalyst of the next big score for the cabal. You can download Rubicon on iTunes.

Chuck: Please do not bring back Nicole Richie ever again please. It was painful to watch the first time around. And it was a little disappointing that we didn’t get a longer showdown between former co-workers Stone Cold Steve Austin and Stacy Keibler. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: “Where’s the poop” has to be the worst attempt at a catchphrase the show has ever has. Maybe the worst idea for a catchphrase any show has ever had, or really anyone ever. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: During this episode I was thinking of last week’s The Big Bang Theory and thought, “what if The Others (I am not up on the fandom, does Sophia’s group have an official, or even unofficial name yet?) were actually from a future where The Singularity has already happened where nanobots have merged with the human body. This would explain why they age very slowly and maybe The Singularity is The Event (apparently I was wrong when I assumed the disappearing plane was The Event). Could the resurrection of the airplane people be the results of nanobots? I am intrigued enough for another week. But hopefully we get the timeline of what happened to Sean between the time he was on the cruise ship to where he got on the plane sooner than later. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: Evil Promo Monkeys strike again. We learn last week that the paper is actually a treasure map (not to mention spoil the hilarious gun showdown at the end) but have to wait for two-thirds of the episode for Castle figure it out. And I am disappointed that no one realized that Beckett’s buddy was using a photo with her as way to get a picture with the map when I knew exactly what he was doing as he was doing it. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

No Ordinary Family: Ask and you shall receive. In my initial review of the show I suggested what the show need most, even more than killing off the annoying kids, was an addition of a nemesis. And who would have guessed it would end up being the dad from 7th Heaven? But why exactly is he resorting to murder to cover up the existence of people with super powers? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download No Ordinary Family on iTunes.

Parenthood: Since she started appearing on the show, I thought something was off about Lyla Garrity that I could not put my finger on until I started rewatching Friday Night Lights on ABC Family, Lyla has the greatest ponytail ever in the history of the world and on Parenthood rarely utilizes that fact. It would be like having Lynyrd Skynyrd do a show and saying to them, “hey guy, why don’t you just skip playing Free Bird tonight.” You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Someone really need to explain what is going to me. Maybe something is getting lost in translation because I still have no idea why the Irish are still holding on to Able. I really need to watch the scenes in Ireland with subtitles on because I am certainly missing something. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: It is never a good sign when the thirty second preview in more entertaining than the entire forty minute episode. But they switched up the tribes about two episodes too late. Here’s hoping that Marty and NaOnka end up on the same tribe and just vote each other out. But the big question is what is going to happen to the Immunity Idol just hanging up in the old person’s tribe? Will NaOnka rip off Kelly’s leg to get another one? Hopefully the Medallion of Power doesn’t stick around after the switch. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Terriers: I am having a little trouble following the storyline here. So the sex tape guy has incriminating paperwork, so evil lawyer get him in on bogus charges, but it turns out evil lawyer wanted the incriminating paperwork to go public so his land would be considered to toxic to build? Maybe when we finally learn what is now going on at the fake toxic site I will fully understand what is going on. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

The Challenge: Cutthroat: The show finally discovered, twenty seasons in (wow, 20), what Survivor realized in its first season, Australian ballots make for a much more interesting outcome in the voting. I also like the three team twist because it never seemed fair that winning teams may lose a member of their team. But no sign from CT yet, though we learn from the season trailer that he brought Tina along who hasn’t been seen since pooping Beth a while ago when she was a Challenge staple for a while. Will they be replacing people who punched each other (which would be odd since they are of opposite gender) or just part of a challenge? MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

Community: What was up with Abed and the pregnant chick, he is in the background in a couple scenes and even mentions it at the end, but I just didn’t get the reference. The show just falls flat whenever I do not get whatever Meta in joke of the week is. Not that I am saying this episode fell flat per say because it is hard to complain about anything that involves Annie and Britta oil wrestling. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.