Best of the Week: 12/7/13

Quote of the Week: They were Kurdish , not to split hairs. But this is not something the president needs to know. (Dar Adal, Homeland)

Song of the Week: Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm – Crash Test Dummies (as sung by Alan Thicke and Wayne Brady, How I Met Your Mother)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Veronica Mars Hitting Theaters: Forget Wonder Woman (she is moderately attractive, what more is there to say) because Veronica Mars finally has a release date. And it is not just getting your typical low budge limited theater run before being resigned to digital release, the movie will likely be coming to a theater near you. So mark your calendars for March 14, 2014 (for those that like counting down, that is only 96 days away). There is even a new clip featuring Ronnie’s first run in with Madison Sinclair for the first time in a decade over there. It also has an official name too, just simply Veronica Mars.


Preview Picture of the Week:

Sons of Anarchy Season Finale, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: This Christmas – Mary J. Blige (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Greatest Hits as Low as $2.99: Get the best at a discounted price including Sarah McLaughlin, The Bangles, Harry Connick Jr., and Electric Light Orchestra.


New Album Release of the Week: Black Panties - R.Kelly

New DVD Release of the Week: Despicable Me 2

Video of the Week: Every year since 2007 DJ Earworm has taking the Top 40 from Billboards End Year list to create one huge mash-up of the year’s biggest song. He did it a little different this year, not waiting for Billboard and just going with his gut. This led to some omissions (Cups is the first to come to mind) and it is a bit surprising that the two biggest songs from the first half of the year, Blurred Lines and Get Lucky barely get any play yet the backing track is based on Don’t You Worry Child, one song I would never have associated with 2013 in either a good or bad way. The song does have a heavy dose Royals which give its this year's subtitle "Livin' the Fantasy".


Next Week Pick of the Week: The Sing-Off, starting Monday at 9:00 on NBC: The Sing-Off was a great winter break program for two seasons on NBC. It was on almost every day for two weeks and done. Then The Voice happened and NBC certainly wanted to have the show on fall of 2011 after its breakout season in the spring but since it would have been too much of a turnaround they instead expanded The Sing-Off into a weekly fall series and unfortunately it floundered. Then next spring, NBC announced The Voice would expand to two times a year while The Sing-Off was canceled outright and was not even put back to its previous pre-Christmas spot last year. Thankfully NBC had a change of heart (the surprise success of Pitch Perfect and its soundtrack last winter may have something to do with it) and The Sing-Off is getting rebooted starting Monday with the producer of The Voice, Mark Burnett taking the reins (which means the judges will take more of a m mentoring role like his other show, but no swiveling chairs… yet) and new judge Jewel (on her third reality show stint after Nashville Star and the little seen Platinum Hit) taking the spot of Sara Bareilles. Ten groups will be competing this season (same as season two) and unlike the last two season, it does not look like there will be any supergroups made up of past contestants. Here is the full schedule over the next three week and the themes:

Monday (12/9) at 9:00: Signature Songs
Wednesday (12/11) at 8:00: Party Anthems
Thursday (12/12) at 8:00: #1 Hits
Monday (12/16) at 10:00: My Generation
Wednesday (12/18) at 8:00: Movie Night
Thursday (12/19) at 8:00: Judge’s Choice
Monday (12/23) at 9:00: Finale

Best of the Week: 8/17/13

Quote of the Week: She trusts me. I’m a cop. (Sonya Cross, The Bridge)

Song of the Week: Ain't No Sunshine – Bill Withers (as sung by Bridget Donovan and Marvin Gaye, Ray Donovan)

Big News of the Week: The Return of Crappy Music: 2013 has been a bad year for music. And not only has there been a lack of great music, there really has not been any horrible music either. Unfortunately we will have to wait a bit longer for some more great music, but horrible music came back with a vengeance this week when both new songs from Katy Perry and Lade Gaga leaked last week and then both rushed to iTunes on Monday.

Both made grand preoccupations of growth and expansions of their sound, Perry even went as far as burning relics from her California Gurls days George Michael style, except when Roar came out, it did not sound all that different from Firework (or Sara Bareilles’s Brave as everyone has pointed). While Lady Gaga has spent the last month trying to out hyperbole Kanye West but where Yeezus actually pushed the envelope for better or worse (I would argue worse) Gaga’s Applause is a crappy disco song that sounds like it got rejected from her first album for not being good enough. It does look like Perry is easily winning the battle of bad music as Roar has kept Applause out of the top slot all week and by Friday Applause had dropped to four after Blurred Lines and some country song.

Thankfully there is some good music on the way to join the stellar album by The Civil Wars next month by Janelle Monáe, Jack Johnson, Elvis Costello & The Roots, and for those looking for pop music that isn’t cheesy and boring, Haim and Lorde are both dropping their full length debut album on the 31 of September.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Bring Down the Hoe” Pretty Little Liars Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Pilot - Veronica Mars (iTunes): For those that have wonder what the whole Veronica Mars thing is about since a movie got Kickstarted, you can now watch the Pilot for the low, low price of free. And once you get addicted by watching the first episode, iTunes also currently has all three season at a discount. There is plenty of time to catch up by the time the movie is released.

Deal of the Week: Get twenty-five debut album for a discount including the first albums from Beastie Boys, Counting Crows, Norah Jones, and The Black Keys:


New Album Release of the Week: Paradise Valley - John Mayer

New DVD Release of the Week: Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Third Season

Video of the Week: This week TNT released its first trailer for the upcoming Mob City (formally Lost Angels), the first post-The Walking Dead show from Frank Darabont, which also stars that show’s Jon Bernthal. The fist look makes it seem very stylized, but I could not help but thinking about the underwhelming Gangster Squad while watching this. Still I am still skeptically optimistic. Mob City premieres December 4 on TNT.

Next Week Pick of the Week: Switched at Birth, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: It is wedding day on Switched At Birth and I put the odds at the wedding actually happening at fifty-fifty. Maybe the better question is who will be the one to call it off or who will be the people to finally reason with Toby or Nikki that getting married this early may not be the best idea. It probably will not be Daphne who is walking down the path of mutual destruction with Chip Coto. But what bomb could he lob at Daphne that could be as bad as knocking up with an intern? I am guessing her father's heart attack will be coming back into play.

The 10 Best Episodes of Veronica Mars

Production on the Veronica Mars Movie wrapped last week which gives you about six to nine months until the movie hits theaters or Netflix. That is plenty of time to watch or re-watch the series which only ran for three seasons and sixty-four episodes (watching one a day will get you close to finish before the fall television season kicks into high gear). But if you do not have the time for the entire series but want to see what the hoopla around the show is and get the gist of the series before the movie comes out, here are the ten best episodes you definitely check out. But just jot down the episode titles (and rearrange them chronologically), because my descriptions will get a little spoilery.

1. Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1): Who would have guessed a show about a teenage detective would be so good? Luckily the buzz around the show was so great that I had to check it out and the premiere lived up to the hype. When we meet Veronica Mars, she is the disgraced daughter of the disgraced sheriff who bundled the murder of her best friend, bumping her down from the upper echelon of the social hierarchy to the very bottom. And to add insult to injury, she was roofied and raped on her way to the bottom. This is the start of her road to redemption and what a trip it ended up being.

2. A Trip to the Dentist (Season 1, Episode 21): Usually a show leaves its best for last, but the show has so much to wrap up they had plenty to fill the penultimate episode of the season which ended up being slightly better than the finale. After learning Logan was the one supplying the Rohypnol at Shelly Pomroy’s End of the World Party, Ronnie was slowly able to piece together what happened that night with the help of many retuning Neptune students from throughout the first season until she leaned that Madison Sinclaire gave her a “trip to the dentist” with a cup Dick meant to loosen up his girlfriend at the time. The episode even left us with one more suspect in the Lily Kane murder list when Vee discovered the Echoll’s video room and the episode ended for the second straight time with Veronica standing Logan up.

3. Donut Run (Season 2, Episode 11): The fond (almost) farewell of Duncan Kane. I have to admit Duncan and Ronnie had me fooled, but in the end they came up with an ingenuous plan to get Duncan out of the country with the aid of Vinnie and VanLowe (and unwillingly Sheriff Lamb). The episode capped with one of the best musical moments on the show with Adelaide playing by The Old 97’s playing as Vee starred at her fortune cookie complete with the Lost numbers (mmm, I just may have to do The Greatest Musical Moment on Veronica Mars around the time the movie is released).

4. The Bitch Is Back (Season 3, Episode 20): If you are going out, might as well go out with a bang. After being publically humiliated and ostracized after a video of her just as the way God made her hit the internets, we saw the return of season one Ronnie as she went on the warpath to find those responsible which even involved a run in from Jake Kane, not seen since the first season.

5. Leave It to Beaver (Season 1, Episode 22): Talk about hiding in plain sight. Despite being a violent psychopath, it never dawned on me that Aaron was the one that killed Lily leading the climactic scene with the action star stalking Veronica in her car and the subsequent showdown with Keith in a fiery back yard.

6. Normal Is the Watchword (Season 2, Episode 1): After a near perfect first season, the show could have easily fallen into a sophomore slump, but over the course of an hour, the show nicely wrapped up the burning questions from last season, solved a case of false positive drug test, and set up two season long mysteries masterfully with who killed Felix and why did the bus which included Meg Manning fall off a cliff. The season also promoted the Casablancas boys to cast members and introduced us to the Goodman family (Steve Guttenberg and Krystan Ritter) and Vice President Clemmons’s son Butters.

7. Spit & Eggs (Season 3, Episode 9): We got condensed mysteries in the third season, but the conclusion of the Heart Rapist storyline was just as epic with Ronnie having a showdown with the evil perp. And how apropos was it that it was Parker who was the one that saved Veronica (which begs the question, was does she always needing saving by the Big Bad’s).

8. Not Pictured (Season 2, Episode 22): Okay, the reveal was a bit over the top, Cassidy blew up the bus just to shut up the two other ball boys who wanted to go public about Woody Goodman’s extracurricular activities, that killed Woody (and to Veronica’s knowledge) her father right in front of her just so no one would find out that Woody also molested him. Oh yeah, and it turned out that Beaver actually did rape her at Shelly Pomroy’s party. Alrighty. Once you get past Beaver’s mustache twirling, still a solid finale to the second season. Plus the writers may have tipped their cap with the possible third season with the Duncan Clarence Weidman conversation, “CW?” “It’s a done deal.”

9. Welcome Wagon (Season 3, Episode 1): Transition to college can be tricky for television shows (and real life) but Veronica Mars made the change smoothly mostly because it was always more than a high school show. Ronnie quickly took up the case to find Wallace’s new roommate’s stolen stuff and, well, boom goes the dynamite.

10. Silence of the Lambs (Season 1, Episode 11): Mac and Madison Sinclaire return for a second episode and who would have guessed that they were switched at birth? Ironically the episode featured a blink and you will miss it cameo from Katie LeClerc who would go on to star in Switched at Birth in her first profession role. The episode also featured future Emmy winner Aaron Paul as a Girl Gone Bad wannabe cameraman. We also get our first look at the latest addition to the Neptune sheriff’s office: Deputy Leo, the Ronnie suitor I would most like to see her end up with in the movie.

The Ninth Annual Scooter Television Awards

Welcome to the 8th Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired a majority of their season between June 2012 and June 2013. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2013 STA's:

Best Scripted Show: Justified

Best Sitcom: The Neighbors

Best Reality Show: Survivor: Caramoan - Fans vs. Favorites

Best Animated Show: Young Justice

Best Talk Show: Pardon the Interruption

Best Talk Show Host: Norm Macdonald

Best Talent Competition: The Voice

Best New Show: Hannibal

Best Mini-Series: The 80’s: The Decade that Made Us

Best Web Series: Burning Love: Burning Down the House

Guiltiest Guilty Pleasure: Dallas

Best Awards Show: 2013 Grammy Awards

Best Hour of TV: Decoy - Justified

Biggest Shocker: Langley being bombed (Homeland)

Worst Idea: Keeping Carrie on her meds (Homeland)

Worst Moment: Caroline Glaser getting voted off The Voice

Biggest Disappointment: Revenge's sophomore slump

Best New Title Sequence: Hannibal


Best Song Placement: In the Air Tonight – Phil Collins (The Americans)

Best Karaoke: Ho Hey – Lennon and Maisy (Nashville)

Best Singing Competition Performance: Dream On – Amanda Brown (The Voice)


Best Dance Sequence: Making Whoopie (Bunheads)

Best Fight (Scripted): Tessa vs. Dalia (Suburgatory)

Best Fight (Unscripted): Frank vs. Dustin and Nany (The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons)

Hottest Token Hot Chick:

Best Character: Raylan Givens (Justified)

Best New Character: Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal)

Best Recurring Character: Abigail Hobbs (Hannibal)

Best Guest Appearance: Bob Newhart (The Big Bang Theory)

Best Duo: Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham (Hannibal)

Most Entertaining Reality “Star”: Andrea Boehlke (Survivor: Caramoan)

Most Annoying Reality “Star”: Brandon Hantz (Survivor: Caramoan)

Best Quote: First thing we are going to do is acknowledge this guy is awesome. He shoots Theo Tonin, fakes his own death in a spectacular fashion, pushes a guy out of an airplane while he’s flying it, parachutes into Harlem County with enough coke and cash to kick start the economy of a small country, and then he has the balls to get a job in law enforcement, not once, but two times. He’s spends a couple days riding around with you while you’re looking for him, and now he’s run off with a hooker that’s half his age. That’s some bad (expletive deleted) (expletive deleted). (Art Mullen, Justified)

Show That Should Be Brought Back: Go On

Most Anticipated New Show of Next Season: Masters of Sex (Showtime)

Biggest Question for 2012-2013: Will The Veronica Mars Movie live up to the television show? And more importantly, will it be successful enough for Netflix (or Amazon, or any other channel or streaming site) to fully resurrect the series?

Best of the Week: 6/29/13

Quote of the Week: Why don’t you just tell them what I saw? (Sally Draper, Mad Men)

Song of the Week: Moon River – Andy Williams (Mad Men)

Big News of the Week: Good and Bad News for Partisans: It is hard to tell if it was a good or bad week for hyper-partisans. It started out bad for progressives (and good for conservatives) when on Tuesday the Supreme Court decided 5-4 to reject parts of the Voting Rights Act (even though it was renewed with no “nay” votes by an Senators during the Bush era) and racist states hamstrung by the act was quick to act because within hours Texas already had a couple bills drafted to restrict voting rights. But things took a turn for the worse for conservatives (and turned around for progressives) when the very next day the Super Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, again by a single vote. Which does not matter much here in Ohio where we decided not only decided to outlaw gay marriage almost decade ago but also eliminated all co-habitation rights. Sorry roommate, you still cannot visit me in the hospital.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Face Time" Pretty Little Liars Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Live at Tramps – Radiohead (Noisetrade): For those that liked Radiohead back when they actually used guitars will want to pick up this full length concert circa 1995 which rilies heavily on The Bends and even features their breakout hit Creep which may have very well been one of the last time the band played the song live. Even though it is free to download, you can leave a tip, 100% of proceeds will go to Amnesty International.

New Album Release of the Week: Magma Cater Holy Grail – Jay-Z

New DVD Release of the Week: Last Resort: The Complete First Season

Video of the Week: Three weeks ago, Rob Thomas started releasing casting news for the Veronica Mars Movie, one by one, there were some obvious cast members (Wallace and Mac), some welcome returns (Madison Sinclair and Corny), and a couple that made the most ardent Veronica Mars fans go “who?” (Anyone remember Susan Knight?) And then filming started two weeks ago without the man who topped my list of The 10 Things I Hoped Make it into the Veronica Mars Movie: Vincent Van Lowe. Which was a depressing thought because could they really do a Veronica Mars movie without the probable sheriff of Neptune (unless Deputy Sachs rose to the position in the subsequent years)? Finally Ken Marino signed on complete with an in character video. And if that was not enough Party Down for you, Martin Starr was also cast as a 09’er returning for the reunion, and the third cast member of Thomas’s other show (considering Adam Scott played the baby daddy of the previously mentioned Susan Knight I would put money on him showing up). That would just leave Jane Lynch (who played a teacher at Neptune High but is currently filming a soon to be unwatched NBC game show) and Lizzy Caplan as the only Party Downers not linked to the Veronica Mars movie. For the latter, may I suggest one more time in the role of oft mention and little seen Shelly Pomroy. Until then, here is Vinnie pitching his own Kickstarter movie.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Dexter, Sunday (tomorrow) at 9:00 on Showtime: The final season of Dexter premieres tomorrow, unfortunately I am woefully behind so I have to spend the season avoiding spoilers (which I have not been that good at with this show). The final season of Dexter will be followed by the first season of Ray Donovan which I am actually ahead on and you can read my thoughts on the first couple episodes here.

Best of the Week: 6/15/13

Quote of the Week: You don’t make a lot of friends Don so I’m going to assume this is important. (Ted Kough, Mad Men)

Song of the Week: Kill of the Night – Gin Wigmore (Pretty Little Liars)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: The Triumphant Return of Madison Sinclair: Until recently, the only ones officially signed on to the Veronica Mars Movie were Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni, and Jason Dohring. With filming starting Monday, they have been releasing more cast members every day this week including some obvious Neptune alums like Percy Daggs III (Wallace), Tina Majorino (Mac), Francis Capra (Weevil), Ryan Hansen (Dick) some fan favorites like Amanda Noret (Madison Sinclair!), Darrin Norris (Cliff McCormack), Brandon Hillock (Deputy Sacks), Krysten Ritter (Gia Goodman), Jonathan Chesner (Corney), and a few surprises. Rob said that Piz and Parker had parts in the outline despite not being tied to Neptune High and Chris Lowell is official signed on (Julie Gonzalo, who may be busy with Dallas, has not yet signed up to reprise her role as Parker).

There were a couple of Neptune residents who appeared in three or less episode who will also be resurrected on the big screen. Kevin Sheridan appeared in three episodes as an 09er whose family ended up working for them. Sam Huntington, who would go on to play Jimmy Olsen in the ill fated Superman Returns and currently stars on Being Human, was a buddy of Logan who was not seen since the first season.

The most surprising cast addition was Christine Lakin (who will always be Al from Step by Step to me) who had a blink and you would miss it cameo during the first season. Her character actually had ties to two actors who would go on to becoming household names. Her best friend was played by Leighton Meester and was knocked up by her teacher played by Adam Scott. Me thinks Lakin returning may just be an excuse by Rob Thomas to bring in Scott who also starred in his Party Down series as the baby daddy in a surprise cameo. I would also not be surprised if Jane Lynch, who was also on Party Down and played the student council adviser in one episode of Veronica Mars, also makes an appearance if it does not conflict with that horrible game show she is doing on NBC.

That leaves some only three former cast members names yet to be officially announced aside, from Gonzalo there is Tessa Thompson (Jackie) and Teddy Dunn (Duncan) who I doubt will be announced because the statute of limitations for kidnapping probably have not expired yet making it hard for him to show up (though I would not be surprised if he makes an unannounced cameo in the movie with a ten year old Lily). Hopefully before Monday we will get conformation on some recurring actors like Ken Marino (Vinnie Van Lowe), Max Greenfield (Deputy Leo), and / or Duane Daniels (Principal Clemmons), And though they did not graduate with the rest of them, I would not mind seeing Aaron Ashmore (Troy), Jessy Schram (Hanna), and Adam Hendershott (Butters) again. Also no word on the show's future award winners Jessica Chastain (who played Ronnie’s neighbor), Melisa Leo (who played someone’s dad; no seriously), or Aaron Paul (who played someone who videotaped college girls flashing him). I am also hoping they pull in a name to be the fourth actress to portray Shelly Pomroy. I would suggest Lizzy Caplan.


Preview Picture of the Week:

Franklin and Bash, "Coffee and Cream" Wednesday at 9:00 on TNT

Free Download of the Week: Beekeeper - Aoife O'Donovan (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albumd for $5 Each: Get discounted greatest hits albums from Elton John, Crosby Stills and Nash, The Cars, and Donny Hathaway.


New Album Release of the Week: Anthem - Hanson

New DVD Release of the Week: Inside Combat Rescue

Video of the Week: 300 was pure awesomeness, a historical drama with stylize drama. And now there is a sequel. Sure the protagonist from the original is dead and the original director who gave it the distinctive look was off filming the Superman reboot and is only a producer this time around so hopes were cautiously optimist. At the very least the trailer for 300: Rise of an Empire looks epic. Although Eva Green as a Persian seems like a bit of a stretch.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Hannibal, Thursday at 10:00 on NBC: We finally learned why Hannibal alerted Jacob Hobbs and it was because he wanted to see what he would do. Since then he has been taunting Will, slowly driving him crazy to the point where everyone would think Will was the copycat killer. So all is left in the season finale is to see who really takes the fall for the murders. I am guessing Will will finally realize that his shrink is the one who did it, but will anyone believe him? Or maybe season two will be Will trying to prove that Dr. Lecter is a serial killer.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 5/25/13

Quote of the Week: She said she knew you. I asked her everything I know, and she had an answer for everything. And then I realized I don’t know anything about you. (Sally Draper, Mad Men)

Song of the Week: Nothing In This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again – Hayden Panettiere (Nashville)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Tornados in Oklahoma: If you want to help the relief efforts for the tornado victims in Oklahoma, you can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 instantly, or donate on the Red Cross site, right here.


Mad Men: What the frack just happen? I knew were were in for a wild ride after the opening with Ken Cosgrove and some distractingly bad camera work in the car. What I was not expecting was another drug trip, this time with the whole office (oddly, Roger went M.I.A. after going into the doctor’s “office” to get his shot; I guess after dropping LSD, some “vitamins” just do not have much of an effect). We also get our second whore house flashback because apparently Don / Dick was have some minor medical issues back then too, though much like the previous flashback, I could have done without it. And just when you thought the episode could not get any trippier, Don’s “grandmother” shows up to rob him blind. Alrighty. At least we got to hear Bobby say, “Are we Negros?” Who knew Bobby could be entertaining? I think he has had more lines in the past three episodes than all the previous ones before.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Grimm: You would think after that one dude spit in his face that made him go blind, Nick would be very weary of vessin that spray stuff on their victims. Oh well. I knew something was going to happen to him after he gave his key to Rosalie earlier in the episode. But now that the season is over, I have to look aback and see just how slow this season went by. Juliet lost all memory of Nick at the start and took her all season to regain that memory. Then you had Adalind who spent almost all the season in Romania and even though she got knocked up early in the season still is not showing at all. Hopefully season three moves a little faster.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Grimm on iTunes.

Nashville: If only the whole season was as good as the finale two episodes: murder suicide, Maddie learns of her paternity while her two dads get in a fistfight (or would have if one was not too drunk to land a good punch), a sex tape, an engagement, a family feud, a surprise pregnancy (or so Peggy says, he could be lying and maybe Teddy is not even the father which of course would be ironic), and an epic car crash. Granted I really doubt either Deacon or Rayna will be fatally injured in the accident. And it looks like next season will be a reversal of the beginning of the series where Gunner gets jealous of the time Scarlett. Hopefully the second season moves at the pace of the final two episodes.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

Hannibal: I have longed for a reboot of My Two Dads, but I never thought I would get one with the fathers being Hannibal Leckter and Will Graham with Abigail Hobbs playing the daughter. Maybe if this show does not get picked up, they can repurpose the show as a comedy next season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Boy – Emma Louise (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Up to 64% Off HBO Complete Series: Rome, Deadwood, Big Love

New Album Release of the Week: Currents - Eisley

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

Video of the Week: Just early this week I was talking about the lack of General Zod in the Man of Steel trailers (see the 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2013) and wouldn’t you know it, hours after I posted that we get a very Zod-centric trailer. Well at least we get to hear him, the glimpses of Michael Shannon add up to about five seconds. But still, consider me placated.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Veronica Mars, All Day Memorial Day, SOAPnet: Memorial Day is Monday which means cookouts and fireworks, or for those of you that hate to go outside, all day marathons on various cable channels. On SOAPnet, starting at 10:00 AM, they will be airing the first nine episodes of Veronica Mars, just days before they start filming the movie. In the first nine episodes you will get to see guest stars like Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Harry Hamlin (Mad Men), Melissa Leo (Oblivion), Jane Lynch (Party Down), Paula Marshall (Gary Unmarried), Lisa Rinna (The Celebrity Apprentice) and Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables), and, um, Paris Hilton (Paris Hilton’s My New BFF). I was actually thinking of starting my Veronica Mars re-watch this weekend, but luckily I have all the DVD’s so I can watch without the commercials, but for those that missed the show, these first nine episodes are a good primer which will get you ready for the movie and your eventual purchase of all three seasons on DVD.

The 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2013-14

Yesterday I created ten fake movie remakes (see 10 Remakes I would Pay to See) and today I come back to reality with ten movies that I will actually get to see over the next year or so.

10. Inttersteller (November 7 2013) – Not much is known about this movie based on a treatment from theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, something about wormholes, maybe, but it will be directed by Christopher Nolan who will team up with The Dark Knight Rises collaborators Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine along with Jessica Chastain and Matthew McConaughey. There is a good chance this will be much higher, if not number one by the time I do my next Most Anticipated Movies list.

9. The Wolf of Wall Street (November 15): Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up for the fifth time and considering the previous ones include Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, and Shudder Island, this should be another good one. And that is before you add in the co-stars Kyle Chandler, Johan Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau, along with Margot Robbie who was last seen filling out a Pan-Am uniform very well.

8. Now You See Me (May 31) – I am always done for a good magic movie, and though this may not be as good as Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, the trailer makes it look really good with the magician robbing a bank thousands of miles ago in front of a studio audience. Bonus points for reteaming Zombieland’s Jessie Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson.

7. Man of Steel (June 14) – I am still tepidly optimistic for the latest Superman movie. None of the trailer have given me goosebumps yet, but then none of them really give us much of a glimpse of Michael Shannon as General Zod, and lets face it, superhero movies are only as good as their antagonists and very people do creepy scary like Shannon does.

6. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (October 11) – The first Sin City was a visual masterpiece and Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller have teamed up again for the sequil that will see Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Jamie King, Powers Boothe, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Green reprising their roles with Eva Green, Josh Brolin, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt adding new flavors to four shorts that will comprise the movie. If this is good as the first, hopefully we will not have to wait another eight years for a third installment.

5. Thor: The Dark World (November 8) – Phase 2 of The Avenger’s saga kicked off earlier this month with the third Iron film but for me, of the four precursors to the second Avenger’s film, I am most looking forward to the net Thor movie (Captain America: The Winter Soldier arrives April 4, 2014 while the new kids on the block Guardians of the Galaxy featuring a gun toting raccoon and a talking tree debuts in August of next year). The original was my favorite solo film and Natalie Portman (along with sidekick Kat Dennings) is back along with Loki, who Thor actually calls on for help in the trailer. This should be interesting.


4. This Is the End (June 14) – This may very well be one of those comedies where all the funny bits are in the trailer, but then again, this trailer has more laughs in it than most comedies. And the Apatow family tree rarely disappoints. And speaking of the Apatow family tree, basically everyone associated with him appears in the movie, it is brimming with so many collaborators, most of them do not even make it out of the trailer alive: Aniz Ansari, Jason Segal, David Krumholz, Michael Cera: dead, dead, dead, and dead. And with everyone dead, they will need someone to replace those friends, and so Emma Watson enters with an ax. Awesome. There is no way this ends badly, at least for the viewers.


3. Kick-(Expletive Deleted) 2 (August 14) – Hit-Girl was one of the most memorable characters of the past decade and sure a fifteen year old girl may not be as entertaining as a twelve year old with a mouth of a sailor, but the sequel looks just as fun as the hero formerly known as Red Mist build an army of supervillains to combat Hit-Girl and her ever-growing posse of superheroes which includes Jim Carey doing his best Marry Hamlin impression.


2. The World’s End (July 19) – Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost kicked off the zombie crazy with Shaun of the Dead, lampooned the police with Hot Fuzz, and will end their trilogy with aliens with what will probably be the greatest drinking movie ever in the history of time.


1. Veronica Mars (Early 2014) – Rob Thomas almost destroyed the internet when he created a Kickstarter campaign for the prematurely canceled Veronica Mars. A month later it broke the record for fastest to $1 million dollars (four hours), $2 million (11 hours), most backers ever (by over four thousand), and was the highest funded film on the sight (it more than doubled Zach Braff’s film that was launched after Veronica Mars) and was third overall. Filming starts next month, and as of now only Kristen Bell and her on screen father Enrico Colantoni are officially signed on (along with the waiter who got his role through Kickstarter) but you can expect Logan, Dick, Wallace, Mac, Weevil and surprisingly Rob said there is also parts in the outline for Piz and Parker will not be far behind (here are ten other Neptune residents I hope pop up in the movie). Even though the show has been off the air for six years, if the movie is half as entertaining as the Kickstarter video, it should be thoroughly entertaining.

10 Things I Hope Make it into the Veronica Mars Movie

Last Wednesday, I was scrolling through Google Reader when I came upon a Veronica Mars article referencing Kickstarter. I was a little annoyed with what I thought at the time was another way to get a Veronica Mars movie that would never come to fruition like the ten or so other rumors over the year. But being the sadomasochistic, I still click the link where the article linked to an actual Kickstarter page started by creator Rob Thomas complete with a video featuring Kristen Bell, Dick Casablancas, Logan Echolls, and Keith Mars. The Kickstarter quickly got to a million dollars, and reached its two million goal in less than a day. Which means the movie will be made and by my best estimation will end up with around five million dollars.

Now I am not one of those people who demand silly plot points like Ronnie and Logan end up together. I would be content if the movie would end up being Ronnie working cases for the FBI like the proposed fourth season. From interviews it does sound like Rob hopes to get the band back together and setting the movie in a Neptune ten year reunion (even Parker and Piz made his outline). Currently only Bell has officially signed on for the movie (well Kristen and the guy who paid $10,000 to say one line) but considering they are listed in the rewards, it is a safe bet Keith, Logan, Wallace, Weevil, Mac, and Dick will all be part. Here are ten things I also hope make it into the Veronica Mars Movie.

1. Vinnie Van Lowe – Number one with a bullet. Not having Vinnie Van Lowe (who very well be Sherriff Vincent Van Lowe by now) make at least a cameo would be like leaving a concert of your favorite band and they did not play your favorite song. Considering Ken Marino also starred in Thomas’s Party Down and Kristen Bell starred in Marino’s hilarious Burning Love webseries, I am sure Vinnie will make an appearance.

2. Shelly Pomroy – When I visited the set of Veronica Mars, one of the first questions I had to ask Rob Thomas was will we ever get to meet Shelly Pomroy (see The Mystery that Is Shelly Pomroy). Her name had been dropped since the first episode as it was her party where Ronnie was roofied but we only got fleeting glimpses of Shelly by three different actresses. Let’s face it, a Neptune High reunion will not be complete without Shelly Pomroy. And since there have already been three Shelly, why not bring in a fourth this time in the form of Lizzy Caplan, who starred in Thomas’s Party Down. And if she is unavailable starring in the upcoming Masters of Sex, may I suggest Allison Brie.

3. Deputy Leo – Most of the fangirls hope that Ronnie will end up with bad boy Logan, not me. If I had to pick one of her suitors, it would definitely be the good cop, Deputy Leo. Hopefully by now Detective Leo can help Ronnie solve whatever case she will be tasked with in the movie.

4. Madison Sinclair - Long before the ABC Family show aired, Mac and Madison were switched at birth (fun fact, both Switched at Birth co stars Katie LeClerc and Lucas Grabaal guested on Veronica Mars early in their careers). Ronnie would usually find herself butting heads with the boys of Neptune High, Madison provided one of the few female antagonists tangled with and was a worthy adversary. Plus what reunion would be complete without Dick running into his ex? Thankfully this looks to be likely because Rob has stated in multiple episodes he hopes to bring her back. And for those that did not bother to click on the Shelly Pomroy link above, Shelly Pomroy is a real person that Rob went to high school with and the actress who played Madison is her niece.

5. An “I (Heart) Dick” T-Shirt – One of the stories Rob Thomas regaled us while on the set of Veronica Mars was when Standards and Practices forbid them from letting a character wear an “I (Heart) Dick” t-shirt. Sure someone could actually say, “I love Dick” on screen but they could not wear it on their person. Instead, they were forced to give an actress an “I (Heart) Dick Casablancas” t-shirt. Ironically in the episode I Am God, the camera actually cut off the “Casablancas”. Now without the confines of Standards and Practices, I hope they do not go overboard and have Dick turn into Al Swearengen saying (expletive deleted)sucker ever third word and gratuitous nudity. Well maybe some gratuitous nudity. And since a Veronica Mars t-shirt is part of the rewards by donating to Kickstarter, how about an official “I (Heart) Dick” t-shirt? Either that or a “Veronica Mars Is Smarter than Me” t-shirt.

6. Jessica Chastain – You may ask yourself why the chick who took down bin Laden is on this list, but Chastain does have a Veronica Mars connection in that it was her second acting job ever playing Ronnie’s pregnant neighbor who went missing. Hopefully Rob kept her in his rolodex.

7. Kristen Bell Singing - Ronnie sang karaoke early in season one but do not get to hear her sing again until she serenades someone with Bad Day after making him have a bad day. Certainly they can work a song (or two) into the movie. Maybe the gang can meet up at Java the Hut for a little karaoke.

8. Ten Year Old Lilly Kane - Last time we saw Lilly Kane (not to be confused with her dead aunt), she was a baby on a beach with her dad in Australia. I am not sure what the statue of limitations on kidnapping is, but it would be nice to see the Kane family represented in the movie someway. Also some tribute to her namesake, like the memorial that Neptune High put up at right, would also be nice.

9. Hannah Griffith – Much like Deputy Leo, I am in the minority (or at least part of the silent majority) when it comes to Hannah who everyone else hated (at least on the internet) because she came between Logan and Veronica. It may be tough to write her in because she did not graduate from Neptune (she was shipped off to boarding school because her father disapproved of her dating Logan) and was not even in the class of ’06 to begin with.

10. The Movie Is Successful Enough for a Bryan Fuller Kickstarter – Moments after the Veronica Mars Kickstarter went live, the internet was abuzz with other possible resurrected prematurely canceled series. I am not saying I would not watch a movie version of Terriers, Chuck, Deadwood, Rome, Friday Night Lights, The Cape (six movies and a season), a preemptive Community campaign, anything associated with Joss Whedon, or the other bandied around by creators or fans, but really all I want is for Bryan Fuller to get a Kickstarter campaign or two going. And it may happen as Thomas stated in an interview that Fuller has already contacted him and like Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies is owned by Warner Bros. But Veronica Mars definitely has to be successful to open up the floodgates (notice the lack of cult television shows made into movies after Serenity bombed at the box office). But what will Warner Bros., or other studios (20th Century Fox owns Fuller’s other cult show Wonderfalls) consider successful: five, ten, twenty-five million gross after everything is said and done? Warner Bros. is in the business of making money and though they do not have to worry too much with the upfront costs thanks to Kickstarter, if they do not make money off the project, we may have to go back to hoping Netflix, DirecTV, or other companies of their ilk resurrect our favorite canceled too soon shows. Hopefully it is successfully enough for Bryan Fuller to do more Pushing Daisies (which he guestimates would need to raise ten million dollars) and / or Wonderfalls.


I really have only one thing I hope does not make it into the Veronica Mars movie: Paris Hilton. And can we get a Kickstarter going to save Google Reader please?