57 Channels and Only This Is On - 1/22/12

Once Upon a Time: One thin g this show has going for it that Lost did not is that it can bring in interesting characters for flash back episodes so we will not be stuck with a an episode dedicated to Jack’s tattoos or Locke at a commune that no one was looking forward to.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time.

Leverage: It is off that everyone made a huge deal out of Nate not actually killing anyone but did not seem to mind that he put two guys in a position where they were guaranteed to kill each other. But it is always entertaining when they bring in Chaos to jaw with Hardison and I loved how they did the cartoon skeleton when Parker’s dad shocked him.
You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Shameless: It is weird how seamless the new Mandy is. I guess after half a season of Suburgatory I cannot even picture Tessa as anything else but an Emma Stone clone, let alone a goth chick that she was on Shameless last season. And I knew I should have taken the under on how many episode it would take Karen to have sex despite being in sex anonymous.

House of Lies: Slightly more entertaining than the previous episode thanks to the one dude trying to pick up the chick at the airport, but a lot of the flaws from the pilot remained. And are we really going to see Don Cheadle have angry sex with his ex-wife at the start of every episode?

Pretty Little Liars: So Lucas was not at the greenhouse, he was really shifty last episode because he gambled away Caleb’s money. What? Is this was the next couple episodes are going to be: the Liars think someone is an A helper only for it to be a red herring? Ugg, this may be a long season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Lying Game: I was shocked when Sutton showed up last episode (I would have guessed by the end of the season) and even more surprised when she took over her life. So if I am playing this right, Sutton now has to play Emma playing Sutton for the person who is blackmailing her / them. But the big question for the episode is where does Emma go from here?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: A mayor is connected to a death of a young woman in his campaign car… where have I heard this one before? At least we found out who killed her. Oh, wait, never mind.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: If you are going to have a show with subtitles, how about not put up banners that covers the subtitles? Should that not be a no brainer?
You can stream the show on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Justified: With Raylan battling hillbilly families, the Bennetts and Crowders, the first two seasons, it is going to be weird seeing him go up against a big city slicker as a main antagonist. It may be more interesting watching Boyd this season. I did not realize why he would attack a federal marshal in his office space (best line: You wouldn’t like Mexico… it’s full of Mexicans) until that last scene with Dickie and Dewey. I would not mind a season of the three blind mice in prison.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Parenthood: It is about time something went Haddie’s way, she always seems to get the short end of the stick in the family. She even had a great line, something to the effect that she understands but she does not have to be happy about it. But she should not have been too upset, seriously, if you are from Southern California and smart enough to get into an Ivy League school, just go to Stanford instead, because school in the Northeast sucks massively. And I bet she will end up at Berkley by the end of next season anyway.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Suburgatory: Just when you think Dalia could not get any scarier, she actually makes dancing look scary.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Revenge: So Emily had the lawyer in her back pocket the whole time, did not really see that coming. I am just wondering how she can keep up appearances sleeping a with a guy who is convinced that her father raped his mother? Seriously, when did this show stop becoming a guilty pleasure and become just pleasurable?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: What the frack just happened? Did the editor seriously screw things up or was this a dream sequence? I was just lost with the flashback to earlier in the episode.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Chuck: One of the big drags on the show in recent seasons was they just did not seem to know what to do at the Buy More and its storylines kept shrinking and shrinking. At least they closed out the series with one last great Buy More plot with Jeffster saving the day with Casey’s massive stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

Best of the Week - 1/21/12

Quote of the Week: Live long and suck it Zachary Quinto. (Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Rock Lobster – The B52’s (Suburgatory)

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: The Republican Field Keeps Shrinking: The slow march to Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama (hopefully America Elect nominates someone worth voting for) picked up a little this week when the Republican candidates shrunk by two this week. First Jon Huntsman who seemed too smart for the Republican electorate dropped out. The other shoe dropped with Rick Perry who possibly withdrew for the second time. Perry was supposed to be the anti-Bush Texas governor but managed to perform worse at debates than W. But the big new of the week had to do with the high number of drop outs just short of tomorrow’s South Carolina primary, the spotlight was back on Newt Gingrich’s many marriages with wife number two claiming that Newt asked her if they could have an open marriage so he could hook up with eventual wife number three. On the bright side, this wife was not going through chemotherapy when he asked. So tomorrow we get to see if evangelicals would rather get behind a Mormon or a Christian who actually tried to get his wife to sign off on polygamy.

Free Download of the Week: Hurry Hurry - Jessie Baylin (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: Over 1,000 Albums $5 Each: With over a 1000 album for sale for just $5 there are a lot of hidden gems, here are a couple from my list of The 100 Greatest Songs of the 00’s including Michele Branch, John Mayer, The Killers and Kanye West.



New Album Release of the Week: The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy - Nada Surf

New DVD Release of the Week: Kojak: The Complete Movie Collection

Video of the Week: House of Lies premiered to a resounding yawn a couple weeks ago and tomorrow’s episode should make any fan of Kristen Bell’s feet happy. Until then the two guys on the show not named Bell or Don Cheadle are starring in webisodes for the show entitled Friday’s at Gallweather, one of which even features Bell, with shoes on, in a cameo.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Chuck, Friday at 8:00 on NBC: An end of an era comes Friday when the hottest token hot chick ever in the history of television will presumably be donning her last skimpy outfit on the small screen. Sure the show itself has not been great since the second season and arguably has not even been good for the last couple seasons, but hopefully Chuck will go out on a high note, preferably by finally killing Morgan off, something they should have done a long, long time ago.

Best of the Week - 11/12/11

Quote of the Week: Trust me, if I had a death ray I wouldn’t be living here. I’d be in my lair enjoying the money the people of Earth gave me for not using my death ray. (Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Kiss from a Rose – Seal (as sung by the cast of Community)

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Tails to Heavy D: I lived in the right time for rap music with the Golden Age of the genre spanning my middle and high school years. And if I were ever to get around to writing a book on the Golden Age of Hip Hop, Heavy D and the Boyz would definitely get a couple pages. The Overweight Lover MC showed that people of girth were not just resigned to being a novelty act and could actually flow and dance (seriously, check out the Now That We Found Love video; though rewatching it, we may have him to thank for the super-shiny suits that dominated videos in the genre from the nineties; and the see-through suit that one of the dancers wore remains disturbingly funny). Heavy would be one of the few rappers who collaborated with Janet and Michael Jackson (on his underrated Jam) and his Nuttin’ But Love video featured a pre-Friday Chris Tucker and Rebecca Gayheart back when she was still referred only as the Noxzema Girl. Heavy would later focus on acting playing the guidance counselor on Boston Public and stared in the recent Tower Heist film. But his greatest contribution to television remains as providing the theme song to In Living Color. Heavy D was 44 and gone way too soon.



Free Download of the Week: When I Was Young – Nada Surf (Rolling Stone)

Deal of the Week: 100 Holiday Albums for $5 Each: We are still six weeks away from Christmas but for those already to get their holiday cheer on, Amazon MP3 has 100 Christmas albums for $5 each including She and Him, Boyz II Men, Snoop Dogg (seriously), and John Denver teaming up with the Muppets.



New Album Release of the Week: Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982 - 2011 - R.E.M.

New DVD Release of the Week: The California Raisins Collection

Video of the Week: The latest episode of Boardwalk Empire hits HBO this Sunday at 9:00 and here is a quick promo:

Ep. 20: Two Boats and a Lifeguard - Preview

Next Week Pick of the Week: Suburgatory, Wednesday at 8:30 on ABC: Being a suburbanite, I was interested in checking out Suburgatory expect it airs opposite Survivor (which I cannot miss because it is basically the only watercooler show I watch. So after it premiered I fired up Hulu to give it a look except it was not there. Same for abc.com and iTunes. I checked back a week later and still not up. I resigned that the show would be a DVD catch up until last week I noticed it was finally on Hulu (sans the Pilot, but since I had some credit for Amazon Instant Video, I checked it out there; you can also download Suburgatory on iTunes). So after a quick marathon I am finally caught up and ready to call it the best new show this fall on terrestrial television which says a lot because as funny as it is, I am a bit offended at its depiction of the suburbs. But there are few things funnier than a black dude in a Medium fan club.

Best of the Week - 10/22/11

Quote of the Week: Oh, they don’t always get to ride to roller coaster. Sometimes they only get to spin the teacups. (Penny, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: American Slang – The Gaslight Anthem (The Lying Game)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Trails to Muammar Gaddafi: I am too young to remember the height of the cold war, and by the eighties the Eastern Block was a shell of itself on the verge of collapse. For a short period in elementary school it was Muammar Gaddafi who public enemy number one with every school child wanting to blow Libya off the map. Not only was Muammar evil, dude was completely insane. In recent years other mad men have taken over most evil man in world crown, but Muammar came back with a vengeance during the Arab Spring killing civilians to make sure it would not happen to him. But in the end he was found hiding in a drainage tunnel and killed by rebels. Goodbye Muammar, you will not be missed.

Free Download of the Week: Live It Up Chris Isaak (Amazon MP3)

New Album Release of the Week: Mylo Xyloto - Coldplay

New DVD Release of the Week: Captain America: The First Avenger (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy)

Video of the Week: We are coming close to the end of Breast Cancer Awareness month, but before we turn the calendar HBO will be airing The Education of Dee Dee Ricks about the self made millionaire who was diagnosed with the disease and learned how difficult the disease can be for those without the insurance she relayed on to win her fight and is now deternmained to do something about it. Look out for the movie this Thursday at 8:30. Check out the trailer below:



Next Week Pick of the Week: Beavis and Butt-Head, Thursday at 10:00 on MTV: Wake up the thirteen year old version of yourself, take off your thinking caps, and lower your standards because Beavis and Butt-Head are back.

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

Best of the Week - 10/8/11

Quote of the Week: Because you don't have a girlfriend? Good Lord, if that becomes a reason not to play Dungeons and Dragons this game is in trouble. (Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Hot in Herre – Nelly (as sung by Caroline, 2 Broke Girls)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: The Ax Finally Drops: Just last week the president of NBC said he came from cable where shows can build a fan base, this week he canceled both The Playboy Club and Free Agents (yet giving pull season orders to the unfunny Up All Night and Whitney). The Playboy Club suffered from poor writing and worse acting while competing against both Monday Night Football and wrestling, the two of the biggest male audiences on television. Even more painful was The CW got into the action by pulling the plug on H8R before my episode of H8R where the producers of H8R ambush me for H8Ting on H8R even aired. CBS sort of had a cancelation; the network headscratchingly had Rules of Engagement by itself on Saturdays but before it aired its first weekend episode, it has been moved to Thursdays behind The Big Bang Theory with How to Be a Gentleman banished to the Saturday timeslot, essentially canceling it when it runs out of episodes. So let’s cue up It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday and take one last look at Amber Heard in her bunny suit.



Free Download of the Week: No Strings – Mayer Hawthorne (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Plenty of decent albums this month including a few noteworthy Greatest Hits packages from Huey Lewis, The Steve Miller Band, Styx, and possibly the greatest title for a Greatest Hits album from Jimmy Buffet: Song(s) You Know By Heart.



New Album Release of the Week: Ashes & Fire - Ryan Adams

New DVD Release of the Week: Chuck: The Complete Fourth Season [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: Monday sees the return of Swamp Men at 10:00 on the Nat Geo Wild for third season and in the first episode back a novice gator handler learns to catch one with his bare hands while the other handlers try to rescure a baby alligator. Check out a preview below:

Baby Alligator Rescue


Next Week Pick of the Week: Last Man Standing, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC: On paper this show does not look particularly good, nor does it look particularly good in motion either, yet for some reason I may end up watching this. It does star Loretta McCready, so maybe Raylan Gibbons may show up at some point. I and for the degenerate gamblers out there, I bet Vegas is already taking bets on when Zachary Ty Bryan and/or Jonathan Taylor Thomas show up.

Best of the Week - 9/30/11

Quote of the Week: Honestly after all you sleepovers with the brown boy, a girl is a relief. (Howard’s Mom, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Hello - Lionel Richie (Community)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced: The governing body (or whoever does the nominating) of the Rock Hall released the names of fifteen acts of which five will be inducted next year. Most notable include repeat nominees Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, newbies Eric B. & Rakim and Guns N' Roses. With both the Beasties and Peppers releasing albums this year, I bet both will make it this year (though I contend the Peppers should not get in until the 25th anniversary of Blood Sugar Sex Magic). I have GnR as a lock if only because everyone wants to see who will actually show up. And though a first ballot Hip Hop Hall of Fame inducted, Eric B. and Rakim will doubtfully get in especially with other rappers Beasties likely to be enshrined. If I were a betting man I would put Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and The Spinners grabbing the other two spots. If I am not mistaken, inductees will be announced in December with the ceremony taking place in March here in Cleveland (and I am available to cover the festivities if anyone wants to hook me up with a ticket). Stayed tuned next year when Debbie Gibson finally becomes eligible.

Free Download of the Week: Pilot - Pan Am, Season 1 (iTunes): For those that have missed what I decreed as the best pilot of the new season that I have seen so far, you can catch up before the second episode by downloading the episode on iTunes.

Deal of the Week: Miramax Movies as Low as $5.99 (No Country for Old Men, Sin City, Kill Bill)

New Album Release of the Week: Metals - Feist

New DVD Release of the Week: Friday Night Lights: The Complete Series We are 85 shopping days until Christmas and for those wondering what you can get me, this will do just fine.

Video of the Week: After a slew of some pretty poor chick flicks, Kristen Bell is returning to television this January for House of Lies. I did not know until this teaser that the show is actually a comedy. And hopefully the pantsuit is not a sign of Bell’s wardrobe on the show, but I am always down for watching her dance more.

House of Lies Tease


Next Week Pick of the Week: Pop Up Video, Weekdays at noon on VH1: I have no idea why they ever canceled Pop Up Video returns after a ten year hiatus Monday for sixty new episodes. Personally I cannot wait until the first weekend marathon where I can veg out and enjoy the new episodes for a whole day.

On a side note, "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour hits shelves Tuesday but for those that cannot wait until then or just rather watch it for free, tune in tomorrow to watch Weird Al perform songs from his new album like TMZ, classics like Smells Live Nirvana and of course some polka, most in his traditional costumes. And since the special was filmed in Toronto, Al naturally breaks out Canadian Idiot.

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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



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



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

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

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

Best of the Week - 9/24/11

Quote of the Week: You can’t ruin a friendship with sex. That’s like ruining ice cream with chocolate sprinkles. (Raj, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Let's Hear It for the Boy – Deniece Williams (Modern Family)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Winners and Losers of Week One: The biggest loser has to be Simon Cowell who’s ego thought he was the reason that tuned into American Karaoke but his new show The X-Factor, which is basically his old show for older people, did not even come close to what his former show did without him last season. The big winner was comedy. After years of people talking about the demise of the sitcom, both Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory beat the heavily hyped X-Factor head to head while the Charlie Sheen-less Two and a Half Men pulled in the most eyeballs this week and helped 2 Broke Girls become the most watched sitcom premiere in a decade (to show you how bad sitcoms have gotten, the last show that premiered that high was Inside Schwartz), while over cable the Charlie Sheen helped his Comedy Central Roast to record breaking ratings. Cancel watch is out for NBC’s The Playboy Club and Free Agents while the surprise hit of the season goes to ABC’s Revenge, but one has to wonder how the rating will be next week when Happy Endings is its lead in instead of Modern Family.

Free Download of the Week: Love the way You Walk Away – Blitzen Trapper (rcrdlbl): Check out my review of their album American Goldwing: You Might Find it Cheap, but You're Never Gonna Find it Free.

Deal of the Week: The Big Bang Theory for $18.99

New Album Release of the Week: The Whole Love (Limited Deluxe Edition) - Wilco

New DVD Release of the Week: Married...With Children - The Complete Series (note that as I write this, the set is listed at $39.99 so if my math is correct, that comes to 15 cents per episode.)

Video of the Week: One of the great “insert name here” song in recently memories is Barbra Streisand and mash-up artists have take the Duck Sauce song and ran with it inserting everyone from Michael Jackson to Gerry Rafferty into the song. Now Luis Guzman has gotten into the action to promote the return of his show How to Make It in America (returning next Sunday at 10:30) complete with its own video with many see if you can spot them cameos. HBO has also released a mixtape in celeb ration of the new season which you can stream or download on the show’s Facebook page featuring artists like Little Dragon, the Joy Formidable and more.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Pan Am, Sunday at 10:00: Watching the first episode of Pan Am made me wonder air travel has actually gotten worse over the past forty years. If an airplane experience was more like it is depicted on Pan Am than it was today, maybe I would not have a B.A. Baracus affliction to flying. But anyway. You can check out my preview of Pan Am here.

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 - 5/22/11

How I Met Your Mother: Whatever happened to Ted’s friend from Ohio that was getting married? I always assumed that was the wedding that was hyped to be the wedding Ted met the mother was that one (best laugh of the episode, if not the season was when Future Ted said that the chick that got the flowers was the mom). I really have no desire to see a married Barney, but I have a feeling he will not be getting married at that wedding as it will be to the British chick but will realize he loves Robin so he does not go through with it. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: We actually got two pieces to the puzzle from the beginning of the series, but it was a little too late as the show will be not back next season. But we did learn that Sophia’s people “were here first” and the token hot chick was former CIA that went rogue. And I guess we can assume that the parchment Sean has is actually from when Sophia’s people where here originally. I wonder what, if anything we will learn from next week’s series finale. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: Early in the episode when the group was talking about a possible third dirty cop, Captain Montgomery gave a look that gave me pause, thinking he was it. I actually talked myself out of that being the case until the big reveal. But I do not understand why they killed the other two cops, but not Montgomery. I wish they would do more than two of these Beckett’s mother episodes a season because it is sometimes hard to remember what is going on. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Modern Family: Does anyone actually have Middle School graduations or is that just something that happens on television? If so I feel cheated because I did not have a graduation from middle school or grade school. I did learn I have a little Pritchett in me because I laughed hysterically at Cameron for both of his pratfalls. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



The Big Bang Theory: Ever since the first season I have assumed that the writers will have run out of ideas the episode where they get Sheldon drunk and hooks up with Penny. Never did I ever think she would get drunk and hook up with Raj. This very well may have been a jump the shark moment. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.

Friday Night Lights: Those Julie scenes were really hard to watch this week (sans when Buddy tried to hook her up with Buddy Jr.) and I just weep for her even if she brought all of this on herself. I also fear that the Vince / daddy situation with the gang banger is going to end in blood before all is said and done. But I do like where the Luke / Billy (great speech this week) is going. Only in Texas do they have toilets in their back yards and practice their chipping with charcoal. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Also check out my season reviews of Survivor: Redemption Island and Chuck.