57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/12/13

Once Upon a Time: I am okay with poetic license so if the show wants to turn Rumplestiltkin into the “Beast” or make Jack of the Beanstalk fame a chick, fine (though turning Captain Hook into a J. Crew model is a little silly) but I really do not like that they turned Neverland into Siberia for Lost Boys. Neverland may be the most magical land in the Disney library and to turn it into a living hell take poetic license too far. But being from the writers of Lost, I have a feeling in three seasons (if the show gets that far) we will learn Bay is Peter Pan who rescues the Lost Boys from the Shadow, who is probably being controlled by Captain Hook. I would not be surprised if Bay ended up back in Neverland through the portal he slipped through and now is living a Hook
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Revenge: I was really hoping that it would be Takeda killing Aiden because the show took a dive in the entertainment department right around he showed up. His character just made the show too complicated and muddled, and with him gone, I hoped they would go back to Emily taking people down again out of revenge for her father next season. That is if there is a next season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Mad Men: On any other show, when Peggy left SCDP, the question would not have been if she would ever end up working with Don, but when. But considering this show has no problem segregating its cast (I cannot remember the last time Betty interacted with anyone else, Gene’s birthday party maybe) or just cut ties with them completely (I wonder if Paul Kinsey ever got to write for Star Trek) I figured they would just stay their separate ways from the rest of the show. So it seemed a little cheesy that Don proposed a merger with Peggy’s current firm.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

The Voice: Well that was a weird way to start a results show, “hey, we are throwing out half the ways you were allowed to vote… but do not worry, even though we discarded those votes, we still got the same result anyway.” What? When Carson first announced this, my second thought was this is what they are going to use to bring back whoever drew the short straw on Adam’s team because they probably would have been one of the top two vote getters on any other team (my first thought was the irrational Michael Jackson fanatics, which there are still plenty around, stuffed the internet voting and possibly the texting which I am not entirely sure how you manipulate texting but I am morally opposed to texting so I really do not know much about it).

But alas the resurrection of Caroline Glaser, who was voted off Adam’s team, due to “voting irregularities” did not happen unless there is a shocking twist coming Monday (and we are still owed a shocking event from when they hyped one in the Battle Round that never happened). And the show should want to give Caroline a reprieve because she was one of the two best selling artists on the show this season (baffling the other person, Sarah Simmons, is the other one). Caroline and Sarah were the only two contestants whose four songs all charted this season, while Caroline was the only one who had all four of her songs on the Top 200 Overall iTunes chart this week. Not only that, all four of her songs charted higher on Monday than Josiah Hawley who inexplicably is in the final 12 while Caroline is going home. (Even as I write this, all four of Caroline's songs are charting higher than one song by Judith.  The Voice should feel really embarrassed by this.)  During Usher’s save, I was hoping he would say, “Instead of saving these two who are a lock to go home anyway, I am going to wait to use my Save on whoever Adam gets rid of.” That would have been worthy of the move we were promise in the Battle Round that “shocked the other coaches and producers.”

What makes Caroline and Sarah, the two top sellers, being in Adam’s team worse is that America’s Save went Judith Hill. The other save went to Amber Carrington, who hit the teens on the charts, but Caroline and Sarah were not that far behind in the thirties while Judith barely cracked the top 100. Considering they threw out online voting and texting, there had to be an overwhelming amount of phone calls for Judith to catapult Caroline and Sarah. Combine that with the “voting irregularities” this just does not pass the smell test. How are there that many people who said, Judith’s performance was not good enough to buy, but I am going to vote for her anyway?

Judith of course is an RnB singer while Amber is a country artist. You know else sings RnB and country: everyone else America voted for not named Michelle Chamuel (I guess she should be happy that Usher did not have another RnB singer or a country artist on his team). That really makes for a boring final 12. And it will get even more homogeneous because I suspect rockers Josiah and Garrett will be gone within the first two weeks, if not the first two gone. Not that I will find out, because unless they bring back Caroline, there really is no one to get excited for unless you are a country or RnB fanatic. I doubt anyone this season could have made the top five last season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Voice with the widget at right.

How I Met Your Mother: Have we always known that Robin has a sister? When her father first mentioned the younger Serbowski, my first thought was, well she will turn out to be the titular Mother. Except it would make no sense, we already no the mother has been in New York City for a while, she partied with Sarah Chalke, roomed with Rachel Bilson, and sat in on Ted’s lecture. If Robin’s sister has been in the city this whole time, how have we never met her yet?
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

2 Broke Girls: Not that Pierce Morgan had much integrity in the first place, but how do you go on a show as yourself and comment on the size of another man’s junk on your own television show (which actually airs opposite the same program)? Larry King would never have done that.

Castle: It seems like whenever the show has these big government conspiracy cases, it always turns out to be a very pedestrian killer like a relative or scorn lover (with of course the exception of whenever it involves their own family). And I actually kind of hope Beckett takes the Washington job, then maybe Castle can go back to following around Adam Baldwin’s character.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Grimm: I have always liked Nora Zehetner going back to her Everwood days but unfortunately a decade later she really has not gotten her big break yet. She was unfortunately shuffled off that show after her onscreen brother died. She was the most interesting character on the early episodes of Heroes but was quickly killed off. The only thing I remember seeing her in since was one of the hundreds of Hey I Know That Person cameos on Heroes but she did not stick around long enough to get bedded by Don Draper (but at least she was not sullied by Pete Campbell). I was actually hoping that her character on Grimm would cause Nick to kill Juliet and she would become the new love interest because Juliet is clearly the weak link on the show. The only problem is Nick is the second weakest link.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Grimm on iTunes.

Survivor: Caramoan: Note to self: whenever you go on Survivor, tank any Individual Reward Challenges. Much like I am shocked that anyone would actually buy food at the action because the money would be better spent on the “advantage’ and Jeff will always have one covered dud and another time he will pull the you can have this for yourself, or something for the tribe thing. It is also becoming more frequent that at least once a season, Jeff will do the you can keep the prize for yourself or everyone else can get it thing and that usually happens during the Loved Ones Challenge. This week had to easily be the cruelest of Jeff’s ploys. He actually let Brenda choose Dawn, THEN said their was a second Loved One hiding on the island, AND THEN gave her the option of everyone but her AND Dawn the loved ones time. And then to make things worse, they actually had the barbecue within shouting distance. That was just cruel Jeff. And then Brenda learned the hard way why you do not want to win these challenges. It is a lose-lose situation. If you chose your Loved Ones, everyone will hate you and will not win if you make it to the finals. If you give up your Loved One, everyone will view you as a threat to win and try to vote you out, which actually happened to Brenda hours after her good deed. Though that was a stupid vote, I would much more worried of Eddie going on an Idol run than Brenda, and like I explained last week, Eddie already had three automatic votes on the jury. Oh well. We did finally get a first look of Andrea on the jury, and I am not sure who packs a cocktail dress when going on the show, but I am glad she did. Wow.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.

Nashville: Of course Juliette has a sex tape. But I take it they are going to save the reveal of Maddie’s paternity for the season finale to Deacan, and maybe Maddie herself. I guess the question is how they will find out? Will Rayna finally confess after all these years? will Teddy let it slip in a jealous rage? Will it be released in a tabloid? For the entertainment value, let’s hope it is the third option.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: That was the most disturbing sex scene I have ever seen.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Community: Well this season of Community written fan-fic is finally over. At least we got one last glimps of Evil Annie in a tight red dress before it was thankfully put out of its misery, so it made the season worth it. Wait, it was renewed? Oh goodness.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Hannibal: So a therapist has his very own therapist. Though I have a feeling Hannibal just goes to Scully just to play with her. And what is going on with Abigail Hobbs? She was just resigned to a dream sequence this week, but I would really like to see her in the middle of the Hannibal / Will tug of war for her soul.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 5/11/13

Quote of the Week: You could be my bodyguard and I could be your Whitney. (Nolan, Revenge)

Song of the Week: Baby Jane (Mo Mo Jane) – Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (Mad Men)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Miracle in Cleveland: No, a Cleveland sports team did not win a sports championship for the first since 1948 (unless you count the Cleveland Crunch, but I bet the vast majority of people reading this could not even name the sport), not even divine intervention could make that happen. Instead three long ago missing women escaped from a house where they were being held in Cleveland. The tenth anniversary of the first girl being kidnapped actually just a couple weeks ago and I remember sitting on the couch thinking that a decade is about the time to accept the sad reality. Apparently I was extremely wrong. Being that I live in the Cleveland television market, both How I Met Your Mother and 2 Broke Girls were “joined in progress” after breaking news (which was not so much breaking, but a rehash of the earlier story which really could have been resigned to a scroll on the bottom) and then Grimm was preempted entirely for a special report.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"The Bon Voyage Reaction" The Big Bang Theory, Thursday at 8:00 on CBS

Free Download of the Week: Current and More Sampler – Eisley (NoiseTrade)

New Album Release of the Week: Modern Vampires of the City - Vampire Weekend

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

Video of the Week: The World’s End had me at from the guys that brought you Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Although with a title like The World’s End, I was hoping for a disaster movie but the start of the trailer makes it look a pub crawl with the title coming from the name of the last bar they would patron. Then half way through, people’s eyes start glowing. Be it alien invasion or body snatching, I am all on board this movie.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Survivor, Sunday (Tomorrow) at 8:00 on CBS: For all intents and purposes, this season of Survivor ended when Andrea was unceremoniously vote off two weeks ago, but apparently they are still going ahead with the finale tomorrow which of course will be followed by the Live Reunion. After decimating the Fans all season, the Favorites surprisingly let two of them in the final five, which could be the downfall of the Favorites because the Fans may have better chance with the jury than the Favorites. And it looks like Sherri is part of the Dawn / Cochran so she could make it while Eddie could take the next two Immunity Challenge to secure his spot in the finals. It also looks like the finale will feature the attest ever in the game medical evacuation. Me, I will just be tuning into to see what Andrea wears in the final three Tribal Councils.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/28/13

Mad Men: Okay, the show is officially messing with the viewers now. C’mon, Jefferson D’Arcy? Add him to the list of sometimes blink and you missed it cameos from Alex Mack, Mr. Belding, Rory Gilmore, the dude from The Nanny, and the recently Don conquest of Lindsey Weir. And Jefferson totally distracted from the appearance of the chick from Sugar and Spice as Joan’s sister (? I am not entire sure what that relationship was). Is it some deeply meta ploy to cast retro actors in a retro show? At any rate it gets distracting. I had to go straight to my computer after the show just to make sure my mind was not playing tricks on me and I really saw a fat Jefferson D’Arcy proposition Don Draper in a wife swap (something I am sure he tried while married to Marcy multiple times).

Until he popped up on screen, I was going to spend most of this space wondering who was interested in following Dawn home a season later. And speaking of the show messing with me, why was Allison Brie listed as a Special Guest Star and completely missing from the episode? Has it been in the credits all season and I just missed it or was she left on the cutting room floor, but kept in the credits for union reasons? I am also interested in how Harry learned of how Joan got het partnership. I do not remember him being in the room when it was suggested she help land Jaguar (but then again I have a hard time remembering what happened last week). Did someone tell him or did he not know and just correctly guessed that is how a woman like Joan could become partner?
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Vikings: I had a feeling the priest would be the one that would be offered to the Gods but somehow would manage to get out of it, he is too interesting of a character to let go of this early. Though he apparently has not renounced Jesus Christ in his heart yet, I wonder if it will happen eventually. I have noticed he no longer shaves the circle in his head.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Vikings on iTunes

The Voice: I covered all the singing during my most recent Power Rankings, but I did not get to talk about “the new coach who shocks his fellow judges and producers.” Now I have watched every episode of Survivor and their promo so I am used to a Mark Burnett production to talk in absurd hyperbole, but this ended not even being a letdown or disappointing. It just did not happen. What exactly did Usher do that was so shocking? Not pushing his button until Cathia started walking down the steps? He did that with his other Steal but let the guy walk past him before pressing his button. Was it him calling Shakira narcissistic? I guess that was a little shocking.


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Survivor: Caramoan: It is befuddling to me that there has been about a decade’s worth of Food Auctions and there are still people who waste their money on food. Seriously, you hold your money until Jeff offers up a clue. That is Survivor 101. And you certainly do not let someone who is not in your alliance get that clue. How the remnants of Stealth-R-Us let Malcolm get the clue when they still had enough money to outbid him is beyond me. At least that led to one of my most favorite scenes ever on the show with Malcolm and Andrea sitting on a log for an entire day. The whole episode could have been those two sitting there and I would not have mind. But if I am Malcolm, I keep searching even if Andrea is there. She already knows what you are doing. Worst case scenario is she is the one that finds it, and since she has the numbers, she does not even need it. I wonder now if Andrea or Cochran go back there and looks for it now that Malcolm is out. Did Malcolm tell the rest of the Douchebag Alliance where it was?
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.

The Americans: I knew someone would eventually become a double agent, the question was when. Although I guess Nina is technically a triple agent now (assuming her boss taker her up on her offer and not sent her to Siberia). And with the FBI now closing in on the Jennings, they know have multiple sketches of them and know they are bugging their office, I wonder if they will be forced to become double agents at some point, which is something I thought was going to happen back in the premiere when the other turncoat made the offer. Although it would be really interesting is one becomes a double agent unbeknownst to the other. What really surprised me was Clarke getting married to Martha. Never saw that coming. Now I wonder if Martha will survive the season.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: It really is annoying whenever the show taps into my own experiences and uses them on the show to show how crazy Sheldon is (though I disagree about the quality of Heroes drecressing until the point it was satisfyingly canceled, Heroes was never good to begin with), so I knew pretty early on as soon as Amy left, Sheldon would go back and complete everything because that would totally be something I would do.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Hannibal: With her taking the week off, it became clear to me Abigail Hobbs is the most interesting character on the show. Even though I never read the books or saw the movies, we know where Hannibal and Will land, but what is fascination about the show is figuring out where Abigail will end up. Will she end up being Dr. Lecter’s apprentice, or will she go to FBI school to be more like Will. If you missed Abigail like me, make sure you check out the Hannibal Webisobes (six in all) which features Ms. Hobbs taking up Dr. Lecter’s offer to have dinner with him. Alana Bloom also started to get interesting during the webisobes.


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

Happy Endings: It looks increasingly likely that this show is going to be canceled (unless it gets a reprieve from TBS or the increasing numbers of channels and steaming sites) and after the besmirched the good name of Better Than Ezra, I am glad they will probably be off the air forever after next week. How dare they call BTE a one hit wonder?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Happy Endings on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/17/13

Once Upon a Time: It was pretty silly that they tried to make us wonder who in the cast was going to die when it was quite obvious that Cora would be the one that perished. And that was before the flashbacks featured her (anyone who watched Lost knows if someone was going to die, it would be whosever flashbacks were that week).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Revenge: Emily claimed after Amanda’s funeral there would be no more distractions, the promo monkeys even made a marketing campaign around the saying, but it is hard to take the writers at their word when her foster brother shows up to her doppelganger’s funeral which I assume will be a pretty huge distraction next week. He better be gone soon some Emily can actually take down some more people this season. Come to think of it, I think the Grayson’s have taken down more people this season than Emily.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: It is too bad that the summit did not involve Hershel and Milton because their conversation was much more interesting. Adn I like how the two henchmen knew they were going to end up killing each other soon enough.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Vikings: There are plenty of ways to show just how evil a character is, but offering up your wife to someone to see if he is dumb enough to take you up on the offer is a new one. I kind of like it.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Vikings on iTunes

Dallas: I know some grumbled about disrespecting the memory of Larry Hagman by having fights breakout during the J.R. Ewing memorial and going the Who Murderer J.R. plotline, but the guy played J.R. Ewing, it would seems more disrespectful to not send him out with a bang. And I doubt Patrick Duffy and Linda Grey would have been a part of anything that would have disrespected Hagman’s legacy.
You can download Dallas on iTunes.

Deception: The big question going into the finale is that Robert have Julian’s girlfriend killed because he thinks she killed his daughter or did he kill his daughter and she made a good scapegoat who now cannot defend herself in court, essentially closing the case. But Robert never struck me as someone who would kill his own family considering the lengths he went through to keep his son out of jail and to hide her pregnancy. I have pretty much thought from the beginning and still believe his wife was the one who killed Vivian because she threatened to tell Mia who her real mother was. Hopefully we get a definitive answer and not some lame fake out like The Killing because unlike The Killing, there will probably not be a second season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Deception on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: Wait, what? Spencer joined the A Team?!? Sure I have a feeling she just joining to be a mole to bring down the A Team from the inside, but still shocking nonetheless. But I still do not believe Toby is dead until I see something more than a fading tattoo. And why is it the only time the Liars are candy stripers is when they sneak into the morgue.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Lying Game: I pretty much figured Thayer last week was behind the murders last week when he had to be the guy who burglarized Rebecca’s place, I just have not figured out why. Does the dude just have serious rage issues; killing Derek and then killing Teresa because she somehow found out? Then had the hubris to think he could pin it in Alec (who in turn thought he could pin it on Rebecca who herself thought could pin it on Alex; what a marriage). I also cannot figure out why Rebecca would throw Alex through the skylight. Unless she did not and Alec actually went so far as to throw himself through the skylight to make sure Rebecca gets pinned for all three murders. This is getting confusing.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Justified: A bit of an anti-climatic episode after learning that Sherriff Shelby is Drew Thompson though it was nice to see Limehouse again. But I am intrigued about the next episode with the final line, “We just have to get out of Harlan alive.” Maybe they can sneak out in Wynn Duffy’s Wynnabego.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Caramoan: Note to CBS: Stop it with the Hantz family. This is the second time a tribe threw a challenge just to get rid of a person with the last name. The Favorites did not even go through the motions of throwing; they just showed up to the Immunity Challenge and said just take us to Tribal Council, something that has never happened before. I actually feared for the safety of the tribe, you could have told me Brandon raped Andrea, pushed Philip into the fire, or harmed himself in some way and I would have believed you. Seriousyl CBS, no more Hantz’s
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.

The Neighbors: Usually television shows wait until they run out of ideas to do a musical number so I am a little worried about the quality of the rest of the season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Neighbors on iTunes.

The Americans: The length spies will go through to get their way. You had Philip’s former flame telling him he had a son just to manipulate him, Beeman’s asset sleeping with him, telling him there were no strings when there were strings all over the place. Who would have guessed Elizabeth’s crotch grab would be the tamest way of getting things done this week? And I have a sinking suspicion that, much like on Justified, Mags Bennett will only last one season.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: Speaking of running out of ideas, I really hate when comedies try to force heavy subjects into their plots which always seems to happen. Although I would not mind a Very Special Episode like the ones in the eighties. There really are not any Very Special Episodes anymore.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Community: C’mon, if you are going to reference Memento, just go ahead and do a full Memento parody. Hopefully it was a hint of what is to come and Chang Kevin will be covered in tatoos next episode.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Best of the Week - 2/23/13

Quote of the Week: Hello I’m Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Welcome to Sheldon Cooper presents Fun with Flags. My apologies that this episode is coming late, I did shoot one last week in honor of Black History Month but I was informed by my roommate that my spot on portrayal of George Washington Carver could be considered “wildly racist.” My heart goes out to the members of the African American community who, like me, have been kept down by The Man. (Dr. Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: It's Tricky – Run-DMC (Suburgatory)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Sequester Madness: Both sides of the aisle spend the week blaming the other side over the upcoming sequester cuts set to kick in next week unless yet another deal is struck despite both sides signing off on the deal. The bickering will probably go on right up to the deadline when they make yet other deal they will put another sequester for sometime this summer when we get to go through it all again then. And they wonder why they have a worse approval rating than Oscar Pistorius.

Preview Picture of the Week:

Justified "Outlaw" Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: Livin for the City – Stevie Wonder (Google Play)

Deal of the Week: $0.50 Hit Songs: Pay only half a dollar for current songs by The Lumineers, The Black Keys, Fun., and Bruno Mars.

New Album Release of the Week: Amok - Atoms for Peace

New DVD Release of the Week: Man From Shaolin

Video of the Week: Virgil made an interesting observation on King of the Nerds this week in that whenever the Nerd Wards are subjective his team loses, and when it is objective they have won. Seems a little fishy because much like when Kevin Smith hosed Genevieve, I thought Team Blextrophy should have won this week.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Bunheads, Monday at 9:00 on ABC Family: It may not be a good sign that the show is coming to an end two weeks before the other ABC Family series that premiered the same week, so you may want to enjoy Bunheads while you can, because this week may be the last episode ever.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 2/3/13

Shameless: The show has had some pretty immoral storyline (like this week when Frank tried to scam the Make a Wish Foundation) but they did do something right by organizing a mob to give a beating to a child rapist, a group of people that certainly deserve a ritual beating by the general public. Of course this being Shameless, the perp ended up being a hot chick. But I guess Lip was right that they need scorned too.

Bunheads: I would have absolutely no problem if they shifted the show away from ballet to roller derby. Not at all.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Bunheads on iTunes.

Deception: I am ready to fast forward to the part where we learn the mother killed Vivian. She seems like the only plausible person at this point (except maybe the sister in law who looks keen on skipping town).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Deception on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: So Allison may have been pregnant before she died and may have been killed because of it (and not so coincidently the detective assigned to her murder who is eager to blame it on the Liars happened to be in the vicinity during the conception). Not that I am one to believe CeCe, but an interesting turn of events nonetheless. Not so interesting is Spencer’s spiral this week. Just tell your friends your ex-boyfriend is part of the A-Team and get on with it. And is it not obvious that the key goes to the creepy motel when the A-Team hung out in? That would have been the first place I looked.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: This was an odd episode. No mention of the skydiver plotline and it kind of wrapped up two other plots with Raylan’s girlfriend going into the wind with her husband going back to Florida in restraints. It was even more shocking that they abruptly ended the preacher who I thought would be a thorn in Boyd’s side all season (granted it is probably not completely over with his sister still around and I have a feeling she will reunite with Ellie May at some point). But the sandbag shotgun may have been the greatest invention ever.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

The Americans: I had high hopes for this show after the lackluster offering there was this Fall (the best new show, Last Resort, has already aired its last episode) and though it will under up being the best new show of the season (with all due respect to The Neighbors) the premiere was missing something. I went into the show thinking it would be Justified meets Homeland with Russians. But it misses the subtle humor of Justified (which like The Americans is produced by Graham Yost) and misses the manic craziness of Homeland (though the kids on the show manage to be even more clueless than Chris Brody). And I felt a little creepy seeing Keri Russell get violated multiple times over the course of an hour. I also found it a little weird, and obvious, that the new FBI anti-communism task force member just happened to move across the street (which begs the question, who hangs out in the corner of their garage with a silencer). With that said, I am still on board for a full season. And I have a feeling that the season finale will be the two KGB agents turning themselves in and season two will be them acting as double agents.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I had the exact same response Penny had when Sheldon admitted there was a possibility that he may at some point make coitus with Amy at some point.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Note to producers: during the explanation phase, do not show the actually players scoring because it ruined the suspense of the Nerd Off. If you show the red ball go into the goal and then the pink haired girl gets the red ball we know that she would get at least one goal and would probably win.

Best of the Week - 2/2/13

Quote of the Week: I am just here to look my enemy in the eye and since your daddy is two feet shorter than I am, I guess you’ll have to do. (J.R. Ewing, Dallas)

Song of the Week: In the Air Tonight – Phil Collins (The Americans)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Deer Antlers Are the New Cow Steroids: It is clear that athletes will do anything to get ahead. A week after Lance Armstrong admitted that he was doping during all of his Tour de France championships, possible double murderer Ray Lewis (just ask Wes Welker’s wife) was accused of injecting himself with deer antlers which apparently are the fastest growing animal part in the world. Despite denying it, it seems plausible because, well, all athletes clearly cheat now a days, there is no way to test for deer antler juice, and Lewis got back from an arm injury a couple months ahead of schedule. So for those unsure of who to root for this Sunday, you probably should not root for the murdering cheaters.

Preview Picture of the Week:

Morning Mornings premieres Monday at 10:00 on TNT

Free Download of the Week: One – U2 (Google Play)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: This month’s five dollar album deals include Prince, R.E.M., Jewel, and Ctpress Hill:


New Album Release of the Week: Smokey Mary - Harry Connick Jr.

New DVD Release of the Week: Peter Pan (Two-Disc Diamond Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging)

Video of the Week: Last year History broke records with their Hatfields & McCoys miniseries and in a month from now (3/3/13) they look to keep that momentum going with their next dramatization of historical events with the nine episode scripted series Vikings starring Gabriel Byrne and Jessalyn Gilsig. Check out the latest promo below:


Next Week Pick of the Week: Community, Thursday at 8:00 on NBC: NBC seems to be cleaning house in the comedy department this year canceling The Office, 30 Rock, switching Up All Night to being filmed in front of a studio audience and the green lighting broader comedies like Go On and The New Normal. So canning its creator, being relegated to Fridays before getting an early February premiere date, it may be safe to assume that Community will not be featuring fifth year seniors next season. Chevy Chase has even already folded up shop a couple episodes early. So enjoy these last thirteen episodes before the show likely joins 30 Rock and The Office in the Peacock dustbin. Hopefully Alison Brie will have already have a new show or two lined up for next fall by then because with no more Community and Pete Campbell getting an apartment in the city, I fear there may not be much Alison Brie on my television come 2014.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 1/13/13

Once Upon a Time: If Ruby speaks wolf, why not ask her to speak to the dog because it did seem that the dog knew that it was not really Regina in Dr. Hopper’s office. I guess that would have been too easy.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: Hey Angelo, how about setting aside some of your winnings for one of your kid’s college fund? The way he is spending it will all be gone by the end of the month. Maybe that is the best thing, spend it all before baby mama number two comes for half (or more) of it.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Bunheads: I forgot how awesome the mascing teenagers scene was. Hopefully that shows up on all the “previously on” segments. But I am a bit disappointed that ABC Family did not release the full vial video.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Bunheads on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: So was the hand that came out of the ground last episode just a cheap scare for the Halloween episode or is there really a walking dead out there somewhere? We did get two suspects as to who Aria stabbed, although maybe they should not have waited weeks to try to figure out who that was. Again these are not the smartest junior detectives that have ever been on television. But I have decided after this episode the show needs much more slightly crazy Mona (hopefully they do not go the Homeland route and have her on too many crazy pills making the character much less entertaining).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Lying Game: So Rebecca has another kid who looks around the same age as the twins. I vaguely remember theorizing they were actually triplets sometime during the first season but I am too lazy to look this up. Although the show is still missing something. Maybe it is time to kill someone (and someone more important that Derek) to raise the stakes. I wonder if having one actress playing the twins hurts the show because of logistics it is hard to have them go at it very often.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Happy Endings: I have noticed that the show really likes to make bad jokes that the characters like to point out as being bad. I guess it makes writing easier when you can keep all you stinkers by pointing out they are bad.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Happy Endings on iTunes.

Justified: With Homeland giving a slightly disappointing second season, I have high hopes for Justified to take back the title of best show on television. And the season premiere set it up to be that way. But it is a slightly odd that it went back to a procedural type episode like from the first season and did not introduce a new Big Bad in the line of The Crowders, the Bennetts, Robert Quarles, or Ellstin Limehouse (unless the new preacher in town is less Godly than he leads on). Granted Also went from mild nuisance to full on evil. But he is locked up so how much trouble can he get in (hopefully he has a run in with Dicky and Dewey and maybe I can finally get my prison spin off I have been hoping for). And the premiere will probably turn out to be less procedural than it let on because it seems safe to assume the bag in the wall is related to the dead parachute guy and we will spend the season figuring out who it was, who the bag belongs to, and how is Arlo involved. I am sure it will be a fun ride.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

Parenthood: This may be the episode where Max goes from annoying little kid to quirky mini-Sheldon Cooper. Unfortunately just as Max becomes entertaining, Victor quickly raised the annoying kid quota. Suck it up Victor, you won the lottery. You went from dirt poor with a deadbeat mother to upper middle class in a loving family. So you have to eat some Brussels sprouts everyone and a while. Sure it is a little creepy that your new mom is extremely hot but you could have been in much worse situations.  With all the trouble they are having, I knew Joel and Julia should have adopted Zoe and her baby instead.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Nashville: I know the show, along with every other on television, lives in a hyper reality, but can you image if, in the middle of the season, Tim Tebow announced his engagement to Taylor Swift in a ceremony that would happen later that week, a day before a game in Cleveland only to be left standing alone at the altar? Skip Bayless’s head would literally explode. Stephan A Smith would have to be admitted to a mental health facility. Pardon the Interruption would just be shocked silence for the entire half an hour for a full week. Basketball would just cancel their games because there would be no coverage of them.

I was surprised they finally brought back the paternity issue with Rayna which the alluded to in the premiere and I do not remember being mentioned since. Almost as surprising was that her husband already knew. Hopefully we do not have to wait another ten episodes for it to be brought out again.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: I am morally opposed to GPS’s because they are for the stupid and the lazy, two things I pretend that I am not. But if I were to get a GPS, I would want a Sheldon Cooper voiced one. Either that or one with Snoop Dogg.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 1/6/13

Quote of the Week: I both hate you and want to be you. It's Ryan Gosling all over again. (Raj, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Rapper's Delight – Sugarhill Gang (Parenthood)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Television Is Already Back: Even though many shows just had their “Winter Finale” less than a month ago, most are already returning as soon as tonight. And here is what I will be watching while trying to stay warm over the next couple months (new shows I hope are worth watching in italics):

Sundays
8:00 – Once Upon a Time (Tonight)
9:00 – Revenge (Tonight)
9:00 – Shameless (January 13)
9:00 – The Walking Dead (February 10)
10:00 – House of Lies (January 13)
10:30 – Californication (January 13)

Mondays
8:00 - Switched at Birth (January 7)
8:00 – How I Met Your Mother (January 14)
8:00 – The Voice (March 25)
9:00 – Bunheads (January 7)
9:00 – Dallas (January 29)
9:00 – 2 Broke Girls (January 14)
10:00 – Deception (January 7)

Tuesdays
8:00 – Pretty Little Liars (January 8)
8:00 – The Voice (March 26)
9:00 - The Lying Game – (January 8)
9:00 – Go On (January 8)
9:00 – Happy Endings (January 8)
9:30 – Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (January 8)
10:00 – Justified (January 8)
10:00 – Parenthood (already back)

Wednesdays
8:00 - Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites II (February 13)
8:30 – The Neighbors (January 9)
9:00 – Modern Family (January 9)
9:30 – Suburgatory (January 9; moving to 8:30 April 3)
10:00 – The Americans (January 30)
10:00 – Nashville (January 9)

Thursdays
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (already back)
8:00 – Community (February 7)
8:00 - Last Resort (January 10)
10:00 – Do No Harm (January 31)
10:00 – King of the Nerds (January 17)

Fridays
9:00 – Grimm (March 8)


Preview Picture of the Week:

Pretty Little Liars returns with a bang Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Leverage: It was cheap of TNT to announce that it was not going to renew Leverage just days before the season finale which also happen to air on Christmas night. At least the writers had already wrote the finale like a series finale and the team was able to go out with one last entertaining job.
You can download Leverage on iTunes.

Parenthood: Thankfully my New Year resolution was not to tear up during Parenthood because I would not have made it a full day without breaking it. Really heartbreaking when Kristina shaved her head. The show when from heartbreaking to shocking when Victor shatters the window with his bat. Should be interesting to see how Julia and Joel react to that.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: For anyone who want to give me a belated Christmas present, a life-sized Jenga game will do. Either that or a Sheldon Cooper’s Council of Ladies t-shirt.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Sooner the Sunset – Sooner the Sunset (Noisetrade)

Deal of the Week: 2,000 Albums for $5.00: Need to spend those Amazon gift cards you got for Christmas, Amazon MP3 has 2000 albums for only $5.00 each including a few albums that made my Best Albums of 2012 list like The Lumineers, Fiona Apple, John Mayer, and Cat Power:


New Album Release of the Week: SIGNED and SEALED in BLOOD - Dropkick Murphys

New DVD Release of the Week: Dallas: The Complete First Season

Video of the Week: Whenever you do a list inevitably something is going to be left off. This Is the End just missed my list of the 13 Events That Will Make 2013 Awesome because even though it features numerous comic geniuses from the Judd Apatow phylum: Seth Rogan, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, and a dead Michael Cera all playing themselves. And even though the trailer is hilarious, I feel the actual movie will just be one big in joke and an excuse for everyone involved to sit around and get high. Plus had I included one apocalypse themed movie on my list it would have been the end of Edgar Wright’s disaster trilogy: The World’s End described as “Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.” Since that does not have a trailer yet, here is the trailer for This Is the End.


Next Week Pick of the Week: The Lying Game, Tuesday at 9:00 on ABC Family: Let’s face it, the first season of The Lying Game was a bit of a bore. But when Sutton turned around and said, “Hi mom” the show got way more interesting. Except we had to wait ten months to see what exactly the mother and daughter knew and when they knew it. I would not mind at all if the first episode (or some episode this season) is a flashback at how they got together, devised their scheme, and put it in motion.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 12/16/12

Quote of the Week: What are you even doing here? Why don’t you go live with that crazy woman and leave alone. (Dana, Homeland)

Song of the Week: Good King Wenceslas – Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Four years ago there was a boost of gun sales among the gun nuts fearing that the newly elected Obama would take away their guns or at least make it harder to purchase guns. Except he did not introduce one anti-gun legislation and even ignored a question asked at the debate. Not after someone shot up a mosque. Not after a nutjob dressed up like The Joker and shot up a theater in Colorado. Someone even shot one of his colleagues in the Congress in the face and he did nothing. So I doubt that a bunch of school children will even get Obama to become the anti-gun president that the gun nuts feared. But something needs to be done. Can we please at least reintroduced the bill to again ban assault riffles and other guns that make it easy to kill hundreds of people without even reloading. I am sure that arming school children like some of the gun nuts suggest is the solution.

Preview Picture of the Week:



Homeland: Sure Carrie is clinically insane, but I just do not understand how this Carrie, who absolves Brody of the murder of the Vice president of the United States of America, is the same Carrie who ignored her superior’s order so she could stand over Body and tell him he is a disgrace to his country while detaining him for being a terrorist. But anyway.

So now the biggest boogyman of the series, Abu Nazir, is dead but we still have one more episode left. I know I said this prior to the first season, but Brody cannot make it to the next season, right? I do not see any way out of it for him except if Saul goes to the press with Estes assassination of a sitting Congressman plot. Even then, Brody would end up in jail with a mountain of evidence (and certainly someone will realize that he was along with the Vice President when he died and get suspicious). Granted, why is Brody not dead already? Why did Quinn not kill Brody in between his house and Carrie’s? Seemed like a good time for a “car accident” which makes me think Brody will inexplicably make it to season three. Either that or Carrie will kill him when she realizes Brody is still a terrorist.

The Voice: Somewhat uneventful week because it was clear it was time for Trevin Hunte to go and he did (not that it always works out that way because Trevin should have went home two weeks ago instead of Amanda Brown). I guess the most shocking revelation was that the show would have a final two. Sure Mark Burnett has an unhealthy obsession with final threes even though everyone watching hate them (see Survivor) but me thinks that they made have done it this way so Blake would be the only coach with a contestant in the finals.

Speaking of Blake’s final two, when Carson first said they were going to sing Little Talks, my first thought was, is there some classic rock song I am forgetting that is called Little Talks (this is Terry McDermott who was singing) because they certainly are not going to perform that weird indie pop song. But they did sing the weird indie pop song which was very high on my list of songs I never thought I would hear on a karaoke show. And just when you think it would not get any weirder, Carson announces Of Monsters and Men were randomly in the audience (which begs the question, why did they have them sing the song).

This week we also got to see the triumphant return of RaeLynn although, I much prefer when she is stomping around like a grown up version of Toddlers and Tierra’s. No more mid tempos and ballad RaeLynn. If Cee-Lo is managing Juliet Simms, she needs to find new representation because her new song was a train wreck. And Chris Mann still sucks massively. Christina’s claim of him being the most commercially successful when the song he performed could not even crack the top 100 on iTunes when RaeLynn made it into the top 25. Even Juliet’s train wreck got into the 40’s. But I did predict last season that RaeLynn would be the most successful of the first two season and it looks like I am going to be right.

No Power Rankings this week because Cassadee Pope is the inevitable winner, the only question is who is second (I am hoping for Nicholas David).


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Voice by clicking on the artist’s name.

How I Met Your Mother: The show has had some pretty bad ideas in its run, but family with benefits has to be the worst hands down.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

Parenthood: Of course they did not let Kristina die because I would have started a riot. I now it is not realistic, but they better they better just cure her in the next episode because I am not sure I can deal with it anymore.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

The Neighbors: This episode really made me yearn for a Weekend at Bernie's reboot.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Neighbors on iTunes.

Survivor: Philippines: After one of the best season in recent memory, it is kind of a boring foursome for the finale. Sadly nobody believed Abi-Maria’s fake Immunity Idol story. But do know what Abi, it may not have been the best strategy to call someone who hope to vote with you a moron and an idiot multiple times.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons: I was three episodes behind because Time Warner Cable and / or MTV forgot to add that episode to the On Demand which finally was uploaded this week. And of course the episode they waited three weeks to upload was not only the best episode of the season, it may have well been the single greatest episode ever in the history of The Challenge. Seriously, the whole house got in a twenty minute fight culminating in what is now my favorite insult of all time when Frank said Dustin just has “porn Muscles”. Awesome. Not so awesome was the following week when Marie tried to get in on the action, clearly doing it solely for the cameras. Hopefully she never gets asked back because faking crazy for the camera is not entertaining. Whereas Nany is legitimately crazy should be asked back to the next five seasons. And it is amazing over the course three episodes that Trishelle went from certainly going home because her partner Alton basically quit to probably going to win the whole thing (I really doubt Devyn or Sam will be able to make to the end).
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Free Holiday Songs from Amazon MP3

Deal of the Week: Best Selling MP3 Albums for Just $2.99: Amazon MP3 announced their latest batch of super cheap albums, and there are a bunch of soft rock hits from the 00’s including John Mayer, Coldplay, Jack Johnson, and Taylor Swift.


New Album Release of the Week: 12-12-12 The Concert for Sandy Relief - Various Artists

New DVD Release of the Week: Pitch Perfect

Video of the Week: I love the Nolan The Dark Knight Trilogy, but to be honest, I prefer my superheroes with a side of kitsch so I am not sure if we really need a super serious, super dark Superman series. We definitely do not need a Superman with a Ben Affleck in Argo beard. With that said, superheroes are only as good as his nemesis so the trailer did need more Zod in it so I should hold my judgement until we se more of him. And it definitely needs more Amy Adams as Lois Lane. But I have a feeling this will be another one and done movie from the Superman franchise. I hope I am wrong.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Homeland, Sunday (tomorrow) at 10:00: Abu Nazir is dead, Vice President Walden is dead, Roya is in prison. But we still have one more episode left so there will be one more explosion left. Will that explosion go thanks to Brody or will Quinn explode Brody’s head first. And let’s not forget that Brody also blamed Estes for Issa’s death so his safety is not guaranteed especially after blackmailing Saul. And I have not even brought up crazy Carrie yet, I have long stopped trying to guess what she will do.