Chuck: For those keeping track at home, in successive weeks, they have put in jail Chuck’s ex-girlfriend and Casey’s former sensei. Things are not looking up for the Token Hot Chick’s father who popped up in the promo this week. Although I am not sure if I am comfortable with Sarah’s father’s turning out to be someone who’s O-face I have seen. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
Eli Stone: I never understand why show drag episodes that aren’t that very strong in the first place out into two-partners. Maybe the fault was with the casting director because I spent more time wanting to smack the kid then feel sorry him. But the duel shouting match between Eli/Taylor and Maggie/Matt was mildly entertaining while it lasted. You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.
Pushing Daisies: For those that missed the back story about the Muffin Buffalo lady, she was a character on Wonderfalls that Brian Fuller, who created both shows, didn’t tell ABC was a crossover until they actually filmed the episode because he knew they wouldn’t let him use her because Fox owned the character. When Fuller finally asked for permission to use the character, the people at Fox said it was okay and they were happy to see the show live on. Um, if you wanted the show to live on, why did you cancel it after four episodes? Have I mentioned lately I hate Fox? And was the Dr. Burton underneath those bandages? You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com.
Survivor: How can Kenny be such a mastermind and get suckered in believing a fake Idol? This is mind blowing. Not only that be he was willing to turn on Matty to go with Corrine and Bob even though if he is in the final three with either of them, he loses in a blow out. Now he can easily be as exposed as the turncoat and be on the outs with the person with the real Idol. All he had to do was stay down and he had the fast track to the million dollars and now he may get the boot before Bob. Moron. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.
My Name Is Earl: I know the liberal communist judges out there would call it cruel and unusual punishment, but they should really have those t-shirts for real criminals. Guilting people into not doing crime is much more effective than fining people anyways. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
* Please note that if anyone out there did not get the previous Office Space reference, we cannot be friends.
Quote of the Week: Is that The Office? Have you ever seen it? It’s so good. Actually, I don’t know if you would really like it. It’s very talky. (Shelley, Friday Night Lights)
Big News of the Week: Networks Bringing Back Long Forgotten Reality Shows: This past week saw the return of American Gladiators and the strike may have giving a returning The Apprentice a stay of execution. But it looks like they will have company in the “wait, why are they bringing that back” category. ABC is resurrecting both The Mole, last seen in 2004, and The Bachelorette, not seen since 2005. And apparently there is something called MyNetwork TV that is resurrecting Paradise Hotel (2003) and Meet My Folks (2002). Granted if really were my network they would be bringing back Veronica Mars, Wonderfalls and Arrested Development. Or at least watchable reality shows like Project Greenlight or Rich Girls (remember the MTV show with Tommy Hilfiger’s daughter? No? Am I the only one who watched?). But even with all this crappy reality television hitting the airwaves, I still want the strike to continue indefinitely because once it ends, someone is going to write The A-Team: The Movie starring Ice Cube. I wish I were joking.
In scripted news, my sources (no seriously, I have sources) tell me that Battlestar Galactica will be returning April 4th with ten new episodes. In other Sci-Fi Channel news, a new season of Ghost Hunters returns March 5th at 9:00.
Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz celebrated pop culture prom week. (BuzzSugar) Sandie interviewed April Matson, who plays Lori Trager on ABC Family's Kyle XY. (Daemon's TV) Liz finally got around to watching (and inevitably falling in love with) Dexter. (Glowy Box) Think your job is bad sometimes? Marcia listed the worst workplaces on television. (Pop Vultures) Four years, six months, and two days later Rae falls for One Tree Hill again. (RTVW) Vance preferred Cashmere Mafia over Lipstick Jungle but both are inferior replacements to the strike affected favorites currently ending by default. (Tapeworthy Jace's fiancee, the future Mrs. Televisionary, offers up reasons why Jace should XOXO Gossip Girl. (Televisionary) Dan's reflections on Project Runway include: Victorya is no Chloe and Kevin's ouster was unjust. (TiFaux) Jennifer was beyond "psyched" to chat with the boys of Psych. (Tube Talk) Kate calculated odds for who will be the next Bachelorette. (TV Filter) Daniel attended the Launch Party for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and was thrilled to meet one of the stars from the show responsible for his unhealthy television addiction (theTVaddict)
New Hampshire Primaries: With the writer’s strike there really isn’t much to watch in primetime that all these debates and results. Granted there hasn’t been anything on network television on Tuesdays since Veronica Mars unceremoniously ended. But anyways. Tuesday’s results were a classic case of good new/bad new. The good being John McCain destroying Mitt Romney with Rudy Giuliani pulling in Ron Paul type numbers. The horribly bad was Hilary Clinton somehow managing to pull out a win.
How she won was the talk of all the pundits this week, more so on how the poll got it so wrong, they typically blamed those being polled on lying or pollsters leaving before the polls closed. But no one I have seen has pointed out the two most likely causes. First, polls are not perfect. Let me give you a little statistics lesson: when you see a poll that says it has a margin off error of ±5% that means that there is 90% chance that the true number is within five more or less than the percentage. That means there is a 10% chance that it isn’t. And it is not like New Hampshire is the first time exit polls have been proven wrong, anyone remember Florida 2000?
With that said, something seems extremely fishy, as much as I hate polls, I have never seen a 15% swing like we had this week and someone should be looking into the votes being rigged, a more likely result than the polls being this wrong. The mainstream media has completely dropped the ball on this one. Of course maybe the Clinton momentum will be slowed down after her statements about Martin Luther King Jr. this past week because they were racist simple and plain (mother (expletive deleted) her and John Wayne) and showed to the whole world that Hilary Clinton Doesn’t Care About Black Puppets.
Just some insight into the 57 Channels segments, I typically write my thoughts that night or the following day about the shows. The above was written Wednesday and then Friday saw this headline: Kucinich asks for New Hampshire recount. In the article resident nutjob Dennis Kucinich said there were significant differences in districts that hand counted, that favored Barack Obama, and the machine ones that went to Clinton. Not so coincidentally there have been recent reports on how easily the voting machines can be hacked into.
My Name Is Earl: Nothing like a Christmas episode in January. Seriously, NBC couldn’t cram this in last year but replacing a The Office repeat? But anyways. It is nice to see evil Earl every once in a while. But I really hope the chick from Who’s the Boss doesn’t stick around too long. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Republican South Carolina Debates: Wow that was boring. It is getting to the point that I know exactly how a candidate will answer once I heard the questions because they just keep on repeating the same thing. I think for the next couple debates I am going to start a new drinking game, whenever a Republican mentions Regan or a Democrat mentions change, take a shot. Take a double whenever Giuliani mentions 9/11 or Clinton says something racist.
Friday Night Lights: An odd week this week. The main storyline of the sister in law imposing seemed to be off. She was asked to move in to help with Gracie and the last two weeks they tried to portray her as someone who just showed up looking for a place to stay for a couple weeks. The Smash and the recruiters came back out of the blue after not talking about it for a while. And I have to cringe whenever they even hint at the meth dude. It was also interesting that Landry’s dad got more screen time than Landry got. And when did he become so tight with Buddy that they are sitting next to each other at the game? Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
For the observant people, you may have notice the ad on the sidbar offering free Lost recap and preview videos through iTunes. For those that missed it, click the banner below to get your free videos:
Promo of the Week: Ask a regular person on the street how many Bring it On movies there are and I doubt you will find many who will say more than one. Yet the frachinse is on its fourth already. They lucked out on three by having the cheerleader from Heroes in what I think was the last film she filmed before landing the role of Claire. No such luck in the latest instalment as the closest thing to a star is the sister of one of the chicks from High School Musical. For those that are interesting of watching all four movies in a row, ABC Family is having a Bring it On a Thon next Sunday, January 20th capping off at 8:00 the most recent one Bring it On: In it to Win It. Here’s a promo:
Next Week’s Pick: Kyle XY, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: You can read my thoughts on the episode here: Previewing Kyle XY and of course you still have a couple days to enter the Contest to Win Kyle XY Season 1 DVD.
As I mentioned this weekend, the internet was all a buzz last week when the new broke that a Joss Whedon produced, Eliza Dushku staring show Dollhouse was announced. I too got excited but only for about a half a second because I saw the show was being created for Fox. Long time readers to the 9th Green know I have not watched anything on the network since the series finale of Arrested Development (fun fact: the same year Arrested Development got canceled, The War at Home got renewed for a second season by Fox).
And since it is on Fox, everything about this show screams that it will not see a second season. In fact if this were Over/Under and I were Commissioner Statboy, I would make the line a Wilbon special at 3.5 episodes before the show is cancel (feel free to let me know if you would take the over or the under). But maybe I should look at this like Marshall and break out a legal pad and make a list of pros and cons to watching Dollhouse:
Well that is three to ten for the cons. And that could have been worse because I didn’t count the shows that even got multiple seasons but still got jerked around like Boston Public, Arrested Development, and Dushku’s previous outing on Fox, Tru Calling. Not too mention last season’s Drive which I was enough not to start watching because, as my sources tell me, was pulled before all the episodes aired.
As for Dollhouse, I’m gonna pass watching it when it hits television (which could be as soon as January depending on the writers strike). I’ll just wait for the inevitable Complete Series DVD to go next to my Undclared, Firefly, and Wonderfall sets. And for those dumb of you to actually watch the show, start your Save Dollhouse Campaigns now. And please don’t let me hear you whine when Fox pulls the plug after a month.
Rarely does anything live up to the hype. This is one of the many reasons I don’t watch Battlestar Galactica besides if I did watch it I’d have to start kicking my own butt. And every time I hear someone tell me I must watch it makes it want to watch it even less. Plus how am I supposed to take television recommendation from people who also list The Hills as part of about twenty other shows as must see television at any given time. This is why I don’t try to overhype thing here at the 9th Green. In fact in over a year and a half years writing there are only four albums that have gotten the coveted Severe rating on my Terror Alert Scale.
With all that said, you must watch Pushing Daisies. For those that missed the premiere, do yourself a favor and tune in this Friday at 8:00 on ABC when they re-air the first episode (or stream it anytime over at ABC.com). Then of course switch over to NBC at 9:00 to check out the season premiere of Friday Night Lights which would be enough to keep anyone in on Friday nights it were the case every week. And for those of us that have lives, this is the reason why God gave us the VCR (or Tivo for you pretentious type). Back to Pushing Daisies, one of the reasons why I hate when people tell me I have to watch something is because it is rarely ever followed up with a why. So here are the top five reasons why you should watch Pushing Daisies:
1. Brian Fuller: The guy behind the show who also created Wonderfalls (which also stared Lee Pace, the lead of Pushing Daisies), which just so happened to be the number one reason why I no longer watch Fox. Here is a guy that is great at creating a fantasy worlds and the one he did for Pushing Daisies is no exception where he mixes the macabre and the whimsical perfectly. And I don’t think it is a coincidence that he wrote the best episode of Heroes so far, Company Man.
2. Chi McBride: Loved him in Boston Public (the number five reason why I no longer watch Fox) and he is even better as Emerson, the shady detective that abuses Ned’s ability for profit. He also gets some of the best lines of the Pilot especially the one when he learns that when Ned tells him that someone else in proximity drops dead if he doesn’t retouch the dead in under a minute.
3. Kristen Chenoweth: Seriously, is there anything she isn’t great in? I’m not talking just good but great. And her overly sunshiny disposition will no doubt fit well in this world. Hopefully she gets more of a spotlight as Ned’s obsessed employee. Start getting your pie jokes and innuendos ready now.
4. The Look: Even after watching the promos, YouTube videos and had an expectation of the look of the show, I was still in shock on just amazing everything looked. As long as this show is on the air, the Emmys might as well not even bother nominating any other show for Best Art Direction.
5. Anna Friel: An amazing mix of naïveté and sexiness that the roll of Chuck really needs. I first (and only) remember her from the short-lived The Jury (reason number nine of why I don’t watch Fox). My only complaint about her was the bad hair. Yeah you should give a girl a break on account that she was dead and all, but it seems like chicks’ hair across the board have been bad this television season. Was there a hairdresser strike that I don’t know about? The only female that doesn’t seem affected is the Token Hot Chick and her pigtails on Chuck (more on her Sunday).
With that said, as good as the first episode was, it will only get better as it suffered a little from Pilotitis where they have to spend too much time explaining the show before they can get into an interesting plot as well as seeing a few of the scene thanks to seeing the promos one too many times all summer long (at least there were no, “Mom you smell different” moments). With those out of the way the next episode should prove much more enjoyable thanks to the reasons above.
Verdict: Pushing Daisies not only has the potential of being the best new show of the year (it already is by a very long shot) but could possibly end up being in the discussion of the best of the decade. Thank God it isn’t on Fox or they may have already canceled it by their reputation. Now ABC, you jerked me around last year by poorly treating Let’s Rob Mick Jagger, don’t let the same thing happen to this show. Pushing Daisies airs Wednesdays at 8:00 on ABC. You can also stream the episodes over at ABC.com.
Quote of the Week: Rob Thomas is a whore. (Piz - Veronica Mars)
Song of the Week: Bad Day - Daniel Powder (as sung by Ronnie, Veronica Mars)
Big News of the Week: Scooter Loosens His Dislike for All the New Fall Shows: For those that saw My 2006-2007 Television Schedule you would have noticed there were absolutely no new shows on it. But after reading Herc from Ain’t It Cool most anticipated list I have warmed up a little, and by a little, just one show: Pushing Daisies. The whole dude reanimating dead people just didn’t sound very good to me until I saw it was created by Bryan Fuller who just so happened to create the number one reason why I no longer watch Fox: Wonderfalls. Not so coincidentally. One of the two episodes he wrote for Heroes, Company Man, was the best of the first season. Then the show stars Lee Pace, the male lead from Wonderfalls as the guy with the magic touch, Chi McBride, another one of my favorite who also stared in a show that Fox prematurely gave the ax Boston Public as a private investigator who looks to be more Vinnie Van Lowe than Keith Mars, as well as Anna Freil who, surprised, was star of the short lived Fox show, but nonetheless great The Jury, as Pace’s first kiss who happens to be one of the dead he brought back to life. Luckilt the show doesn’t air on Fox but you can instead watch Pushing Daisies this fall Wendsdays at 8:00 on ABC. Here’s a clip:
Celebrity Fit Club: Men vs. Women: Usually I am a casual viewer of this show, but I have turned in every week and finally the moment I have been waiting for when Screech made the karaoker cry and almost got Harvey to kill him. Now that’s television. Also be sure to hunt down the extended uncencored version where Harvey, after threatening Screech tells everyone to “put that on V-Spot.” Classic. But I have to wonder why after they switched up the teams last week they are still calling this installment Men vs. Women.
Heroes: Last year I declared the last Supernatural (see Dad's on a Hunting Trip) episode the worst season finale ever and even though the Heroes finale didn’t change that assumption, it came pretty close thanks to the completely inane ending. I understand why Nathan would sacrifice himself for his brother but Peter should have turned around and sacrificed himself because Nathan has more to live for, a wife, kids, one of which he just met, and his new public office. But really, it never came across Nathan’s mind to just tell Peter he should fly out of the atmosphere? But my biggest complaint is that Mohinder, Nikki and Noah (yeah that was uber-lame) were in New York even though they were alive in the future yet nothing happened that would lead them to being at that place at that time unlike Nathan and Hiro who knew the future and knew something needed to change. But the show did get some things right, I liked the introduction of next season’s Big Bad when the locator system said he can see her when she thinks about him. I wonder if we have met him yet. Unfortunately this season’s Big Bad will still be lurking around. Bad idea. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Veronica Mars: One thing I forgot to mention in my original post (see: I Like This Show, it’s Tawdry or Rob Thomas Is a Whore) was how the first episode eerily mentioned two subjects from the two classes I took during the spring semester. First one of the fake ID’s used the name Leonardo Fibonacci and I spend time studying Fibonacci Numbers (don’t ask) and I learned how to encode things, in fact I can play a game of head or tails over the phone without either player cheating (again, don’t ask). Check out the latest episodes over at cwtv.com or download the whole season at iTunes.
Lost: One thing I forgot to mention in my original post (see: Guys (Dramatic Pause) Where Are We) and surprisingly I didn’t see this anywhere else so maybe I was just seeing things, but if I wasn’t then either Carol Vessey is getting chunky or Jack’s ex-wife is pregnant. Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: It was hard getting back into this show after so long without a Matt, Danny, or Jordan sighting. And even though I love the “Rob Thomas is a whore” line, Aaron Sorkin’s self deprecating The West Wing humor just fell flat. Well except the drunken lines from Jack. Seriously, he is at his best when inebriated (see also The Wrap Party). Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
This Summer’s Pick: Friday Night Lights, Sunday’s 9:00 NBC: Here is your chance to catch up on the best new show from last season that is actually returning for a sophomore season. or those that a already into the show, be sure to head over to Give Me My Remote where you can win a script from the show signed by the cast. Now my TV Guide says that tomorrow’s episode is the Homecoming game so I’m not sure if they are showing the episodes out of order, or if they are just waiting to start with the Pilot next week, which isn’t part of Memorial Day weekend. Speaking of which I hope everyone thanks a veteran or two sometime this weekend and I’ll be back Tuesday and sometime next week I will be unveiling the Third Annual Scooter Television Awards as well as the Top Ten Best Shows of 2006-2007.
Many of probably haven’t heard of The Amazing Screw-On Head unless you are a die hard comic book fan. But it’s the latest to get the Hollywood treatment, but instead it will be on the small screen. And when I mean small screen, I do mean small as in Sci-Fi channel small. But even though the air until July 27, I was given an advance screening because, well, I rule*.
For those that are not aware of the comic (much like me), it centers on a, well, screw-on head, that is ironically enough amazing. This is a period piece circa the Civil War with the Screw-On Head working for Abraham Lincoln to protect national security. Even though they didn’t show up in the pilot episode, I have a feeling the Confederate will be showing up quite frequently. Maybe it will turnout that Stonewall Jackson was actually a robot.
Also helping out the screw-on head is his trusty manservant, the disturbingly named Mr. Groin, who successors all have killed by his first turned arch-nemesis, Emperor Zombie who, like most arch-nemesis(es), is trying to take over the world. And if killing all his menservants weren’t enough, Emperor Zombie even turned his one true love into a vampire. And we even get to see a flashback of the, um, love affair between the crew-on head and a human.
The pedigree behind the show is not too shabby either. First the comic book that is based on is from the same guy who created Hellboy. The do a real good job creating the show as it is the first cartoon that looks like a comic book put to motion without looking cheesy. The show itself is being produced by Bryan Fuller, the guy who brought us Dead Like Me and the canceled way too soon Wonderfalls. Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti is the voice of the Screw-On Head. Patton Oswalt, squandered on the unfunny King of Queens, is the manservant and Dr. Niles Crane is the brilliant Emperor Zombie. Mindy Sterling, best know as Dr. Evil’s underling Frau Farbissina, here plays a pair of Zombie’s underlings.
The show can quickly become the best cartoon on television the pilot is any indication. I has that campy humor that made Wonderfalls great (I never saw Dead Like Me because I too cheap to subscribe to a premium channel) and were plenty of laugh out load moments and plenty of chuckles to fill the gaps. Hopefully this is a start of a new wave of comic book adaptations because there were way too many bad live action versions.
*To be totally honest, you too can view the pilot early at the Sci-Fi website and even take a nine question questionnaire afterwards.
Verdict: Even though I watch more Sci-Fi programming over the internet than on my television (which is none), I may have find out what channel it is on to watch The Amazing Screw-On Head.
I have had a long standing ban of the Fox network. The television network typically puts on three types of shows. First are the unfunny sitcoms who think that being shocking should be enough not realizing that you still need a good story and funny jokes to make it a good show (see my review of The War at Home). Then there are the reality show that are either stolen from other networks (Trading Spouses) or ones so vile no other network, or even cable station, would consider (Who’s Your Daddy, The Littlest Groom, the list could go on forever).
Then there are the shows that are actually great, not that anyone knows because Fox would rather cancel than actually promote properly. My original ban originated after they unceremoniously canceled Wonderfalls after only four episodes which even included a timeslot change. Wonderfalls easily was the best show on television at the time and after viewing the unaired episodes from the DVD, the show could have went down as one of the best ever. Granted I have been soft on my ban because since then I’ve been conned into watching other quickly canceled Fox shows including Firefly, Family Guy, Keen Eddie, The Jury, Tru Calling, Point Pleasant, and The Inside. Granted I must admit Tru Calling and Point Pleasant were subpar but there was room to improve. And they even had to eat some crow and bring back the Family Guy. I have also been watching Arrested Development which they didn’t cancel after only a few episodes but considering how Fox has moved around the show and reduced the number of episodes last season and has cut this season too just so they can air repeats of the overrated Prison Break.
And that leads me to the latest casualty of Fox shows that I watch. Just a week after I named it the third best new show of the 2005 Fall Season, Fox announced that they were going to cancel Reunion. Yeah the show was predictable and it has some of the worse acting aside from whatever Pam Anderson show is currently on. Except I’m addicted and neeed to know how the show turns out and who killed Sam. But alas, Fox has screwed me again. And with another spot open on the schedule, that mean another lame hour of American Karaoke. Oh what, I think Skating with the Stars, yet another reality rip-off, is going to be on Fox soon. Yipee. So once again, I will have to fire up my ban on Fox. Feel free to join me and bring down that worthless network once and for all.
reference, we cannot be friends.
, 
and 
. Or at least watchable reality shows like 
or Rich Girls (remember the MTV show with Tommy Hilfiger’s daughter? No? Am I the only one who watched?). But even with all this crappy reality television hitting the airwaves, I still want the strike to continue indefinitely because once it ends, someone is going to write The A-Team: The Movie starring Ice Cube. I wish I were joking.
will be returning April 4th with ten new episodes. In other Sci-Fi Channel news, a new season of 
returns March 5th at 9:00.
. Not too mention last season’s Drive which I was enough not to start watching because, as my sources tell me, was pulled before all the episodes aired.
which would be enough to keep anyone in on Friday nights it were the case every week. And for those of us that have lives, this is the reason why God gave us the VCR (or Tivo for you pretentious type). Back to Pushing Daisies, one of the reasons why I hate when people tell me I have to watch something is because it is rarely ever followed up with a why. So here are the top five reasons why you should watch Pushing Daisies:
after only four episodes which even included a timeslot change. Wonderfalls easily was the best show on television at the time and after viewing the unaired episodes from the DVD, the show could have went down as one of the best ever. Granted I have been soft on my ban because since then I’ve been conned into watching other quickly canceled Fox shows including