Amazon 2014 Pilots Power Rankings

Amazon Prime started out as a service that would get you free two day shipping for a low yearly price. As an added bonus, eventually they let you steam free content from their site. Sure the content sucked and no one signed up for Prime other than those that wanted the shipping deal. Last year, Amazon dipped their toe into the Netflix market went they put up a bunch of original comedies with the two most well received being picked up to series (but unlike Netflix, you can purchase individual episodes and seasons). The problem was most of them ranged from mediocre to painful to sit through and looked like they were on a webseries budget, not which of something that would rival networks like Netflix’s original programming. Most notable was a serial version of Zombieland which replace Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and the future Lex Luther for a cast that seemed to be plucked from your local community theater (granted the only good one, Alpha House was greenlighted).

Apparently learning from their mistakes, this crop for Pilot Season was all at the very least watchable and also included two dramas this time around. They even cast recognizable actors in the shows instead of amateurs. It is curious that they released these Pilots the day of the Winter Olympics Opening Cerimonies though it did work as viable counterprogramming as almost everything went on Olympics hiatus (maybe not so coincidently these Pilots were released a week before Netflix’s critically adored House of Cards). And I was able to watch them all between curling matches. Here is how I rank them. (To watch yourself, click on the show’s image to be taken to Amazon Instant Video where you can watch all the Pilots for free.)

1. The After – It has been a while since we have seen anything from Chris Carter. The only thing on his resume after the end of The X-Files is as the producer of The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Of course back in The X-Files days, he was one of the few sci-fi shows on the dial along with whatever Star Trek spin-off was airing on UPN at the time. In the post-Lost era, now every station, network or cable has their own science fiction show (or continue to find one that sticks in many cases). The After features eight strangers (the dude from Heroes, the dude from Leverage, the white chick from Soul Plane, the chick from NYPD Blue, Jamie Kennedy in clown makeup among them) stuck in parking garage at the end of the world. Of course this is not a chance meeting otherwise this would not be a Chris Carter show (a surprise character at the end of the Pilot makes it very clear that it is a Chris Carter show). During the first hours it is hard not to think of Lost (strangers that happen upon something supernatural), FlashForward (this is missing time), and Revolution (power stops working, but not in a stupid way like Revolution). But this is the creator of modern day sci-fi, so this show has the most upside of all the Pilots.

2. The Rebels – This show is basically what Major League would be if they focused on the cheerleader turned widow of a profession sport team except it is the other owners who want her to sell and move the team. But what made Major League great were the wacky characters. The Rebels focus too much on the straight owner Natalie Zea (Raylan Givens’ baby mama) who biggest joke is wanting to change the team's "costumes" and her assistant turned general manager. The best parts of the Pilot are whenever the coked up, monkey buying wide receiver is on screen (well I do not remember if they stated his position, but he is clearly a wide receiver because they are all crazy). If they end up focusing on the wacky locker-room hijacks instead of the boardroom, The Rebels could have the most potential of all the comedies this season.

3. Mozart in the Jungle – Based on the cover image and the opening scenes, this show could easily be mistaken as a drama. There are a few dramas that have more and more effective laughs. Really Gael Garcia Bernal (I’m with Lucy) seems like he is acting in a farce about a conductor while everyone else seems to be starring in a Smash spin-off which goes behind the scenes of a prestigious orchestra.

4. Bosch: Titus Welliver may not be a household name, but if you have watched any dramas over the past decade, you have undoubtedly seen him as he has been in roughly fifty percent of them over the past ten years. Though despite in appearing in about fifty different shows in his career, he has only been in the main cast twice. Now he is the lead of Bosch which appropriately is littered with actors that you will recognize but may not know where from exactly with the exception of Herschel Green from The Walking Dead who is still sporting his post-apocalypse ponytail and straggly beard. Bosch is another cop show (Welliver is the titular character) with a gruff detective that gets the job done. The show starts off with Bosch on trail for shooting a perp while on the weekend he is investigation the murder of a young boy who was buried in the woods. It is clear that Bosch is connected to the case, be it involved himself or maybe he was beaten as a child, it remains unclear from the Pilot. But it feels like I have already seen this show many times before. It is surprising that the show is not already on TNT right now.

5. Transparent – Another comedy in the sense that it is only thirty minutes long, not in that you will spend much time laughing. This one is about three children of a man (George Bluth Sr. himself Jeffery Tambor) who seems to be going through a midlife crises when he calls his children over some big news (like probably most viewers, the children think it is cancer). There is a big plot twist halfway through that makes the title make complete sense. But none of it is funny at all, it does not even seem like it is trying to be funny. Really the only thing the show has going for it is that it looks like it is trying to beat Californication’s record for most nudity in a “comedy” title.

Though these Pilots were a vast improvement over the last bunch, Alpha House remains the best overall.   None this year would make me want to want to subscribe to Amazon Prime, especially if they are going to double the price of it in the near future.

I Want My Music Television: 2/18/2014

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Invincible – U2


U2 seemed a little too adamant that Invisible is NOT the first single of their yet to be announced next album (which looks like will not be coming out until summer now). Instead it was just released to remind people they are still around. Um, you guys just released a song for the Mandela soundtrack late last year. It was almost like Bono was saying, if you do not love this song, do not worry, there is a better song coming. It is wise because this would be a fairly uninspiring first single. But the light show going on the background of the music video is pretty cool.


Everything Is AWESOME!!! – Tegan and Sara featuring The Lonely Island


When you are on The Lego Movie Soundtrack, Tegan and Sara pretty much had to have a Lego themed music video. Though just putting Legos on pencils, that is a bit too lazy especially when you compare it to the Lego heavy White Stripes video for Fell in Love with a Girl.


L8 CMMR – Lily Allen


This is the weakest of the new songs we have gotten from Lily Allen over the past two months. Hopefully it is on the Girls Soundtrack because it just is not good enough to make it on her upcoming album. But as disappointing as the song is, the 8-bit themed lyrics video more than makes up for it.


I Need My Girl – The National


I probably should like The National more than I do, they are from Ohio and specialize in the sad bastard songs that I like to put on repeat. I think maybe the singer is just not palatable to me. But they have been putting out some interesting music videos lately. The most recent is for touching I Need My Girl which was appropriately released on Valentine’s Day.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/16/14

Shameless: That took long enough for the first Ian sighting of the season. I wonder if we will get a full back story of what happened since we last aw him. It is odd that they guy spent his whole life working towards getting into the armed forces and then screws it up so royally when he gets there. While it did not take long for Fiona’s world to completely fall down after having sex with her boyfriend’s brother. He breaks up with her; she gets transferred, brother leaves coke at the house which Liam gets into, which leads Fiona to jail. The Gallagher’s have gotten out of hairy situations before but it is hard to stay together after one of the kids ingests your Coke. Maybe Sheila and Chief Running Water adopts the kids is the only way I see that happening.

The Walking Dead: Whoever thought it was a good idea to spend most of an episode with Carl should be left for zombie food, or at the very least fired. Goodness that was a boring and annoying hour of television. At least Michonne when H.A.M. on her zombie doppelganger.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

House of Lies: So it looks like Clyde is getting back into the fold by bringing in Eliza Coupe (though Jennie may be counting that chicken long before it hatches) but is he also actually going to hire Monica? I could see Roscoe guilting his father into it. And it would be funny seeing Marty hire Monica as the lowest level associate. The only way it would be funnier is if Marty hired the person who stabbed her to be Monica’s direct supervisor.

Switched at Birth: Holy Wallace Fennel’s mom sighting!
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I usually hate dream sequences with a fiery passion, but the black an white noir episode was one of the better Pretty Little Liars episode in a while (although somehow Toby is an even worse actor when devoid of color). The show made it clear up front that it was all a dream and meant nothing else than it was the catalyst for Spencer to realize that A changed Alison’s diary which could be clues as to what he is hiding. She also came to the realization that now Erza knows that they know he’s A. This show may be ramping up again.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: Poor Boyd, every time he tries to help Ava, she ends up in a worse situation. Considering how she has already taken a shotgun to one Crowder, I wonder how long she will put up with this one. But the worst of luck goes to Dewey. It always go to Dewey. He tries to sell the pool Raylan shot up, plots to kidnap Boyd only to get one of his henchmen and then, of course, the plot is happened across by Raylan.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Wow, is Zack actually going to win the whole thing? This is truly the origins story of a super-villain we are watching. I am guessing there is going to be a lab experiment gone wrong in the final challenge.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Best of the Week:2/15/14

Quote of the Week: You’re Indian? The feather not the dot? (Frank Gallagher, Shameless)

Song of the Week: She Will Be Loved – Maroon 5 (House of Lies)

Big News of the Week: Let the Games Begin: Amidst threats of terrorism, gay propaganda, and shorts weather in Sochi, the Winter Olympics somehow kicked off without a hitch this week. Well unless you are Bob Costas’ eyeball. Or the dude who had to kick himself out of his bathroom. But still it is hard to get excited for this year’s games. Maybe it is the tape delay or many US disappointments, no Lindsey Vonn, Shawn White does not medal, Bode Miller chocks again. Sure the new slopestyle competitions were entertaining (the new team ice skating event, not so much). But things hopefully pick up today when the United States have their second hockey game against Russia (the last time we played theb home nation, it was one of the most competitive hockey game ever) and yet another one tomorrow. Then the tournament portion starts on Tuesday.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Free Fall” Pretty Little Liars, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Bridges – Broods (iTunes)

New Album Release of the Week: Lions - William Fitzsimmons

New DVD Release of the Week: Game of Thrones: The Complete Third Season

Video of the Week: I have long called Parenthood the blue state version of Friday Night Lights. Jason Katims is the guy behind both and has even recruited a few Dillon alums to hang with the Bravermans (Lyla, Vince, Luke, and Jess). Except they all played new characters. Now for the first time, a former Coach Taylor player has found their way to California when Landry and his band Crucifictorious are recording at the Lunchenette with Amber after hours. Below is the first of four webisobes which has a few FNL references: “Lance,” Becky referred them (though it is not known how Amber knows her aside from her ex-fiancé’s doppelganger knocked Becky up), and even am East Dillon t-shirt makes an appearance. The next three episodes will hit the internets sometime next week and will feature another familiar face from Dillon.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Woman’s Gold Medal Curling Match, Thursday at 5:00 on CNBC: I was a bit disappointed with the curling coverage this year, maybe I am remembering it wrong, but I thought there was a dedicated curling channel last time. This time around there is a match at 3:00 AM, another one around mid day, and a final match at 5:00 PM (with bonus curling if time permits). Even more disappointing was the American play. The woman’s team gave up the first ever seven point end in Olympics history; I do not even remember any team scoring more than four in an end. Scoring seven can sometimes win you a match. The men have not fared much better (my theory is their uniforms are not cool enough). So I have switched my allegiance to Great Britain, at least on the sheet, for now mostly because of skip Eve Muirhead.

Around the Tubes: 2/14/14

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Justified, Killer Karaoke, The Pete Holmes Show, Shirley Temple, Dallas, Killer Legends, Deal with It, The Safecrackers, Betsy Who, Heidi Merrill, 2014 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and Sharknado 2.

- If you are one of those the skip promos, please note that Justified is taking next week off and will return February 25 at 9:00 on FX. Archer and Chozen continue their Olympics break and will also be off one more week.

- Valentine’s Day is today, but Killer Karaoke, which returns Thursday at 10:00 on TruTV, want to remind you that actually Love Hurts.



- As TBS's late-night series The Pete Holmes Show prepares to launch new episodes on Feb. 24, sister network TNT will present the half-hour special The Pete Holmes Show Special on Saturday, Feb. 15, following its NBA All-Star Saturday coverage. The special will feature host Pete Holmes’ favorite moments from The Pete Holmes Show's initial seven-week run.

- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will pay tribute to Hollywood legend and U.S. Ambassador Shirley Temple Black with a night of her films on Sunday, March 9 starting at 4:30 PM with Heidi. Known forever as "America's Little Darling," Temple Black passed away at the age of 85 at her home in Woodside, Calif.

- The backstabbing, two-timing, double-crossing drama of TNT's Dallas is slated to kick off its third season Monday, Feb. 24, at 9:00. And TNT has the perfect binge-watching opportunity for viewers leading into it: a 25-hour marathon of Seasons 1 and 2. TNT's pre-season-premiere Dallas marathon will begin Sunday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. and run straight through until the premiere of the new season the following night. The marathon will also feature asocial media component, with various fan and character tweets featured throughout each episode. Additional content will be available through the Dallas Facebook page, narrated by John Ross Ewing.

- On Sunday at 8:00, Chiller will debut its newest special, Killer Legends. The hair-raising two-hour event focuses on four timeless urban legends (The Candyman, The babysitter and the man upstairs, The Hookman, and The Killer Clown) that haunt the psyche of the American public. This horror documentary follows filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Rachel Mills as they investigate the true crimes that may have spawned these urban legends while exploring how these myths evolved and why we continue to believe.

- Deal with It is returning to TBS Wednesday March 19 with new celebrity guests including Nick Cannon, Arsenio Hall, Bill Engvall, Kevin Nealon, Chris Jericho, Bob Saget, Tom Greem, Orlando Jones and more.

- TruTV has ordered six half-hour episodes of The Safecrackers, which is slated to premiere March 24. The series follows expert safecracker Phil Crawford and his best buddy Blaze as they travel the country determined to unravel the mysteries and unlock the secrets lurking in lost and abandoned safes. Phil, Blaze and their fun-loving crew of family and friends can track down and crack open just about anything, from giant bank vaults to intricate antique safes and even armored vehicles and underground bunkers.

- Spin recently debuted the latest song from Australian Betty Who, Heartbreak Dream. Check it out if you are a fan of indie dance pop like Robyn.

- Heidi Merrill, Nebraska native and current resident of New York City, brings a unique twist to the music world pulling inspiration from Sinead O’Connor, Evanescence, Leona Lewis, Robin, Sarah Mclachlan, Lifehouse and Kings of Leon. Mixing smoky textures of pop and rock, Merrill interprets everyday themes we all experience and translates them into a one-of-a-kind sound. Merrill is excited to announce that she will be opening for Tyler Hilton and Anna Nalick in March and April for their separate East Coast tours.

- AXS TV continues its commitment to being TV’s home for live music festivals, announcing today that it will be the official broadcaster of the 2014 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell. The network has acquired the rights to air the Festival live, for the second consecutive year with StubHub returning as the Official Broadcast Partner.

- Syfy and The Asylum this week announced that Kelly Osbourne, Judd Hirsch, Andy Dick, Judah Friedlander, Vivica A. Fox and Mark McGrath will join the eagerly anticipated Original Movie Sharknado 2: The Second One. Look to the skies July when the movie premieres.

Previewing Wicked Tuna: Season Three

It may be way too cold to go out fishing yourself this weekend, but for those that need their fishing fix, the next best thing is coming your way as Wicked Tuna returns for its third season tomorrow at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel. The show follows fishing boats from the nation’s oldest seaport, Gloucester, Massachusetts out on the hunt for a bluefin fish that can be worth more than $20,000.

Last year Tyler McLaughlin, captain of the Pin Wheel took in the most money on the show and he is quick to let everyone else know that even if he is a lot lonelier this season (on opening day, he is the lone person on the Pin Wheel). While at the end of last season, Captain Dave Marciano saw his Hard Merchandise sink to the bottom of the harbor. So this season he has bring in a lot extra to pay for all the repairs he spent to get the boat ready for tuna season.

Also back this season is Paul Herbert who is taking over the captain seat of the Wicked Pissah (ugg, only in Boston) who wants to prove to his former boss Dave Carraro he can outfish him. And after a disappointing season, Captain Bill “Hollywood” Muniz is looking to redeem himself otherwise he may have to retire because of fanatical pressures. Paul will not the only one battling a former mentor as Tyler’s former boss Captain TJ Ott of the Hot Tuna is returning to Gloucester to put his former “bucket scrubber” in his place.

Later this season McLaughlin realizes flying solo is not the best idea and recruits college buddies to help him out but their inexperience in fishing shows. The boats brave harsh weather and wicked storms to make a profit. While one captain makes a boat switch. Later this season, one of the captains even resorts to espionage type tactics to find out where another captain has been successful just as two other captain strike an unlikely alliance to get a leg up on the competition.


Wicked Tuna airs Fridays at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel. You can download Wicked Tuna on iTunes.

I Want My Music Television: 2/12/14

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Air Balloon – Lily Allen


Still no official word on a full album, but Lily Allen has already released a second music video over the last couple months. Hard Out Here was a fun take down of today’s pop music but ended up sounding too much like the songs she was mocking. Air Balloon is more classic Lily. The accompanying music video may not have any balloons, but there are random shots of butterflies, hillbillies, zebras, jaguars, mushrooms that look like they were imported from a Super Mario Bros. game, and a crucifix airship thingy. So “air balloon” is a euphemism for drugs, right?


Coming of Age - Foster the People



After Pumped up Kicks, Foster the People kept on releasing songs that went nowhere on the charts but the music videos for the videos were mostly entertaining. That trend looks to continue as Coming of Age just does not sound like a song that will lift them from One Hit Wonder territory, but at least the music video is interesting in a more serious montage from John Hughes film kind of way.


Girls Chase Boys – Ingrid Michaelson



The title for the new Ingrid Michaelson music video includes the addendum “An Homage to Robert Palmer’s Simply Irresistible) as if anyone over the age of twenty-five needed that clarification. Maybe she wanted to preemptively keep people from calling it a parody. Though it is not explained why she is dressed up like Sarah Palin.


Bridges – Broods


Winter is a dead month for music where you have to go on the look for new artists that may become the next big thing. It is around this time last year when I discovered Royals and Broods just may be the 2014 version Lorde. They are a brother sister duo from New Zealand (check), with a teenage lead singer (check), and worked with Joel Little on their EP (check) who was the guy who also scored a Grammy with Lorde Song of the Year. Based on those three criteria, a Lorde comparison seems easy, but I think a better comparison is a combination of Lorde and some other 2013 buzz artists, CHVRCHES and James Blake. If you like the song, it is currently iTunes Free Single of the Week. A six song EP is out now with a full length debut expected out later this year. Jump on the bandwagon now so you can say you knew them before they got big.

Let’s Take it Back to the Way it Was

Nobody shaped the sound of the nineties more than Babyface. The guy first reached number one with a song he wrote and produced in 1990 with I’m Your Baby Tonight by Whitney Houston. Those number ones kept mounting throughout the decade including two of the biggest songs of the decade from Boyz II Men (End of the Road and I’ll Make Love to You) before moving into other genres writing and producing hit songs for Madonna and Eric Clapton. He even won three straight Producer of the Year Grammy’s from 95-97. But when the new millennium hit, RnB music that we knew in the nineties was changing quickly and every RnB singer either went heavy in hip-hop or dance beats and the baby-making music that Babyface specialize seemed as old as the decade and he has not been to the top of the charts since, be it his own music or the songs he produced.

One of the artists that befitted most from Babyface’s pen was Toni Braxton, he wrote and produced her first four top ten songs. He did the bulk of the writing and production on her first two albums, both of which sold over five million copies each. Is it a coincidence that her last three albums, which featured a total of two songs written by Babyface never reached even a million sold? Maybe, but has sunk from the spotlight much like Babyface has over the past decade.

Not only has Toni Braxton brought Babyface back into the fold for her latest album, it is billed as a duet album between the two. Love, Marriage‎ and Divorce captures what was great about the duo back when the music they made was being played in the background in the conception of many of teenagers walking around today. Like the duo says halfway through the album, “Reunited, back to the business of love.” This may be the album nineties RnB fans have been waiting for since hip-hop and dance beats ruined the genre. Okay, there is one “dance” track, Heart Attack, but it is more disco than today’s annoying electronic variation.

Though hope takes up two thirds of the title, the break up makes the best music and those are the best tracks on the album. Both singers bring their best to the epic Hurt You where both lovers cheat on each other that starts off as a piano ballad before transforming into something bigger. If there were any justice, this song and album kicks off a new retro era in RnB. The genre is definite need of some reinvention, even if its back words. Maybe Babyface can produce a full Boyz II Men album next.

Song to Download – Hurt You

Love, Marriage, and Divorce gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Feed Your iPod LXXXI: Silver Lining

One of the bigger upsets at this year’s Grammy’s was in the Best Country Album when newcomer Kacey Musgraves beat out one of the few musical tent poles out there Taylor Swift. Okay, it was only an upset just when you look at album sales because Red did not really even belong in the country category considering it did not contain one country song. More importantly Same Trailer, Different Park was better. Though relatively unknown at the time, millions of people saw Kacey and her electric boots perform Follow Your Arrow, but the whole album deserves a listen. When I reviewed the album, I listed the foot-stomping Stupid as the song to download, but now after almost a year with the album, I am more inclines to say melancholy Silver Lining is the best song on the record. In the review I declared “Woke up on the wrong side of rock bottom” as the best opening line of a debut album ever. But despite the sad sack opening line, just like how she made the be yourself anthem of Follow Your Arrow without making you roll your eyes with another one of those types a songs, Kacey gives a fresh take on the make lemon out of lemonade type songs. So if you saw Kacey Musgraves for the first time on the Grammy’s and like what you saw, give the whole album a chance starting with the album opener Silver Lining.


Silver Lining – Kacey Musgraves

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/9/14

Shameless: What is it about the Chicago train system that makes people want to have sex on it? Or is this just what Hollywood wants us to believe? Thankfully Lip is staying in college because that storyline is much more interesting than doing the same things he had been doing back in the Gallagher house.

House of Lies: I enjoyed hearing Kristen Bell tell T.I. to “shut the (expletive deleted) up” way too much.

How I Met Your Mother: So did the show just admit they mess things up by not having Victoria be the mother? She certainly was a better character than the actual mother. Any chance Victoria is the subject for the How I Met Your Father spin-off? I would watch that. I was mostly disappointed in this episode because I was thinking about do a Ted Mosby Girlfriend Power Rankings for the series finale but the show beat me to it. Huruph.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: I was really beginning to enjoy the start of the episode , the accent debate, Simmons’ elaborate back-story, but it had to be ruined what is quickly becoming one of my least favorite television show clichés, the same timeline shown through multiple eyes. And then they had to almost kill off the token hot chick who only survived because like a Bond villain, the Ian Quinn decided to walk away instead of making sure she was dead. Granted it is plausible that The Clairvoyant still wants her alive but I thought t would be because these wounds would show why she is an object of unknown origins, in that she is resistant to bullets or heals super quickly, but nope, she is still near death.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I know abusing uppers in high school is a huge problem these days (or at least that is what Fox News tells me) but it really hard for any high school drama to tackle the issue and not be compared to Jessie Spano. That is not a comparison that anyone wants. Last week I theorized that Erza had some help as A but considering all the camera he has everywhere, maybe he is doing it by himself. Although if I cared enough, I would go back and see if the pictures of Spencer and Hanna fighting were from the point of view of the detective who I thought may have been in on it last week.

Speaking of not caring, Hanna showing up on the spin-off was a bit worthless. She almost took a bath with a spider but did not. She almost got kidnapped by Little Red Coat but did not. She almost got back together with Calab but did not. The show itself is just one tease, they bring the token hot chick back to life, but no, she has to stay dead because everyone needs to be alive for the curse to work. Sorry token hot chick.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Goldbergs: How did Adam die playing Contra? Seriously dude, Up Up Down Down Left Right Let Right A B A B Start.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Goldbergs on iTunes.

Justified: Well that was epic. It is amazing that this show can shove this much awesomeness into one episode when most cannot get that much into one season. We get the pirate from Dodgeball just mowing down everyone except for Art who gives him Raylan’s ten seconds to leave the diner speech (granted unlike Raylan, Art gave him about thirty seconds to leave). Then just months after catching Drew Thomason, the marshalls bring down Theo Tonin (hey crazy enforcer guy, how about not shoot aimlessly when your boss is in one of those bins). Even Jonny orchestrated a great triple cross. The Boyd storyline was a bit weak. It seems that Mara will be this season’s Cassie; the chick behind the dude who Boyd kills who you think will go away after he is gone but will inevitably come back and bring down Boyd later in the season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Nashville: Another drugged up to work storyline, but maybe it was not the best idea to give that storyline to the worst actor on the show.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: The show should really release a board game version of Battle Hammer, I would play that. It is basically Battleship but you can move your ships. Well you can move them legally. But then again, why spend money on a new board game when you can just import the rules to Battleship, all you have to do is bring your own dice.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 2/8/13

Quote of the Week: (Expletive deleted) Obamacare, what kind of a system do we live in that you have to cripple yourself to keep you alive? (Frank Gallagher, Shameless)

Song of the Week: Kyrie – Mr. Mister (The Goldbergs)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Trails to Philip Seymour Hoffman: Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of the guys who you tend to forget because someones he may be fifth or lower on the marquee of the movies he is in but when you look back he is usually first or second in memorable performances from the film. But it is a shame that he will be mostly known for how he went out. So it has to be said to the kids out there do not do drugs.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Kill the Messanger" Justified, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: Bloodshot Records Sampler 2014 (NoiseTrade)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: This month’s $5 albums include U2, The Avett Brothers, The Steve Miller Band, and Beck.


New Album Release of the Week: Acoustic at the Ryman - Band of Horses

New DVD Release of the Week: The Americans: Season One

Video of the Week: Super Bowl advertising has always seemed silly to me, there has to be better ways to spend four million dollars in advertising even if this is the one time of year that people actually sit through the ads. Movie trailers seemed even sillier, spending that many dimes in January / February for a movie that does not even debut until sometime between May and July. A lot of studios wisely have pulled out of the Super Bowl recently and the few that did air this year come on during the cheaper pre-game show. One trailer we got to see was The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Quickly after the trailer aired, an extended version hit the internets which pretty much spoils Jamie Foxx’s Electro origin story in its entirety. You have been warned.


Next Week Pick of the Week: The Walking Dead, Sunday at 9:00 on AMC: Where all the other channels cower in fear of the Olympics, the most watched show on cable is actually returning on second day of competition. Of course now that the prison has fallen, now what? It is interesting that Carol show up at the cast interview on Conan earlier this week. Ever since Rick drove away from her, I never thought that was the end of her and I thought she would run into The Governor. Now that he is (presumably) dead, I think she is the leading candidate to have rescued the baby from the prison attack, either that or the sister who then run into Carol first.

Around the Tubes: 2/7/14

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Brain Games, Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman, Ultimate Survival Alaska, Glamour, Upload with Shaquille O'Neal, Stagecoach Festival, The Allman Brothers, Elton John, Archer, The Bright Smoke, Ringo Starr, getTV, Funniest Wins, and Sharknado 2: The Second One.

- Next week is Valentine’s Day and after a day with that special one, cuddled up together and watch a special Laws of Attraction episode of Brain Games at 9:30 on National Geographic Channel. Like previous episode, the episode explains why the brain is attracted to who we are attracted to (hint: opposites attract less often than crappy romatic comedies would have you believe). They even hook up brain waves to see which couples are more “in sync” a duo on their first date, newlyweds, and a couple married twenty-five years.

- Acclaimed African-American painter Mickalene Thomas makes her film directing debut with Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman, a poignant personal profile of the life and longings of her mother and artistic muse, former runway model Sandra Bush. Premiering on HBO during Black History Month, Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman is a tender and intimate look at a lifetime’s worth of hopes, regrets and redemption. In just 23 minutes, Thomas creates a vivid and loving portrait of her mother, whose dream of becoming the first African-American supermodel dissolved into addiction and despair, but who later achieved celebrity as the model for some of Thomas’ best-known and widely admired paintings. Using personal and archival photos, as well as intimate interviews with “Mama Bush,” Thomas’ film chronicles her mother’s personal and professional struggles, including a turbulent marriage, drug abuse and chronic illness, painting a video portrait of a woman who found the adulation she dreamed of through her daughter’s art. Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman premieres on HBO on Monday, February 24, at 9:00.

- Want to be on Ultimate Survival Alaska? download an application at natgeotv.com. Only the toughest and most intrepid adventurers should apply. Applications will be reviewed by the production team for an opportunity to join the extreme expedition through the rugged Alaskan wilderness later this year. The current season of Ultimate Survival Alaska continues Sundays through March 9 at its new time, 10:00.

- Go behind the scenes at Taylor Swift’S MARCH 2014 Glamour cover-shoot where Taylor gives you fashion tips, shares with you who is her style icon and what advice she would give her younger self. This is your opportunity to get an insider’s look at the photo shoot and insight to Taylor’s favorite birthday, which also inspired a memorable song.


- Shaquille O'Neal and friends are ready to ramp up the hilarity this winter in all-new episodes of truTV's outrageously funny series Upload with Shaquille O'Neal. The series, which features Shaq, his buddies and special guests riffing on online videos, is set to air with back-to-back episodes Tuesdays at 10:30 and 11:00 beginning Feb. 26.

- AXS TV further cements its status as TV’s home for live music festivals, announcing today that it will be the official broadcaster of the 2014 Stagecoach Country Music Festival. The network has acquired the rights to air the fan-favorite spectacular for the second consecutive year with StubHub as the Official Broadcast Partner. Stagecoach—now in its eighth year—will take place from Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27, boasting incredible performances from Country music’s biggest stars, and sending viewers on a one-of-a-kind experience that spans decades of classics and modern hits. The complete Stagecoach festival line up is available at Stagecoachfestival.com. AXS TV will be on site at Stagecoach, broadcasting over 12 hours of live coverage over three days. This is the only multi-day live country music broadcast on television.

- Few people know The Allman Brothers Band better than Alan Paul, who’s been covering them for over 25 years. One of America’s most influential and legendary bands, the story of The Allman Brothers has never been told in full—until now. Chronicling the band’s journey from its formation in 1969 to today, One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band (St. Martin’s, 2/18) offers exclusive musical insights, riveting tales of violence and betrayal, drug and alcohol use, murder allegations, tragic early deaths, and outrageous road stories—as told by the members themselves. Written in oral history format with the band’s full participation, One Way Out is based on exclusive interviews with over 60 people intimately related to the band—including all surviving members. It features never-before-seen photos, letters and memorabilia as well as a foreword and afterword by founding members Butch Trucks and Jaimoe.


- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the seminal, 1973 breakthrough album from Goodbye Elton John, has been remastered and will be issued on CD, vinyl, limited-edition yellow vinyl, and in a box set featuring recordings of “Live at Hammersmith 1973”on CD, a DVD of Bryan Forbes’ 1973 film Elton John and Bernie Taupin Say Goodbye to Norma Jean and Other Things, along with a 100-page illustrated hardback book packed with rare photos, memorabilia and a new essay containing interviews with Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Also included in the Deluxe Edition and box set versions is a suite of nine, new cover versions of classic songs from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road performed by Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sandé, Fall Out Boy, Hunter Hayes, Imelda May, John Grant, Miguel featuring Wale, The Band Perry, and Zac Brown Band.


- In one of the most exciting developments in FX history – if not world history – the network’s award-winning animated half-hour comedy smash Archer is spawning a 12-track album, Cherlene, featuring original music, which will be released on all digital platforms on Monday, March 3. The album will be highlighted by a duet with Cherlene and pop music icon Kenny Loggins. Cherlene is the reimagined alter ego of Archer’s Cheryl Tunt, also referred to as Carol Tunt. She and Loggins join forces to put all of their stunning musical talents on display in the previously-released song Danger Zone (also a favorite Sterling Archer catchphrase). A world premiere video of the tune will play in Episode 6 of Archer’s fifth season the night of March 3. Season 5 of the series launched on January 13 at 10:00, marking the show’s move to a new night.

- Check out The Bright Smoke's single Wild Again. This low-key arrangement, filled with full-bodied beats and a harrowing piano tune, is the fifth track off of the band's recently released EP, Virginia Et Al., the follow up release to their first full-length album Late For War.



- Variety magazine revealed Ringo Starr will launch another leg with this current All Starr Band from Casinorama in Rama, Ontario on June 6. They will do two shows at New York’s Beacon Theater June 17 and 18, and finish in Los Angeles at The Greek on July 19. On July 7, Ringo’s birthday, he will be in Los Angeles and invites everyone everywhere to join him at a Peace & Love celebration. Details to be announced closer to the date. This is the same line up Ringo has played with since 2012 and features Steve Lukather, Richard Page, Gregg Rolie, Todd Rundgren and Gregg Bissonette. Check local listings for on sale dates and for more information please visit: ringostarr.com,

- getTV, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks’ new U.S. digital broadcast television network, showcasing Hollywood’s most memorable films from the 1930s through the 1960s, is launching today in more than 44 percent of the U.S. television households. Carried as a digital subchannel on Univision Television Group-owned stations and others, getTV is launching in 24 markets, representing 17 of the top 20 DMAs. getTV is available across the country, from Los Angeles to New York on cable and free-to-air. The network will announce additional affiliates shortly. “getTV is bringing the brightest stars and most unforgettable films from classic Hollywood into the living rooms of television viewers across the U.S. Our programming showcases the epic stories, legendary characters and glamour of the golden age of film. We believe that getTV will become a favorite network for movie fans looking for strong stories and rich characters,” said Superna Kalle, senior vice president, U.S. networks, SPT and general manager, Sony Movie Channel, Cine Sony Television and getTV, who manages the network.

- TBS is teaming up with comedy heavyweight and WhatTheFunny.com founder Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie, In Living Color, The Wayans Bros.) on a new competition series that's all about the laughs. The network has greenlit Funniest Wins (working title), in which Wayans, along with some of his comedian friends and family members, will set out to find the funniest multi-talented comedian out there today. TBS has ordered eight one-hour episodes of Funniest Wins, with plans to launch the series this summer.

- Sharknado 2: The Second One. Ian Ziering. Tara Reid. July. You have been warned.

Don't Call it a Comeback: 2014 Reunion Edition

2013 was the year of the reunion album from ones you though you would never see (Black Sabbath original line up, 35 years), bands you forgot about (Mazzy Star, 17 years), blink and you missed them reunions (The Postal Service, 10 years), reunions you did not think you wanted (Fall Out Boy, 5 years); Daft Punk even won Album of the Year after an eight year lay-off (if you do not count them scoring 2010’s Tron Soundtrack).

We are less than a week into the second month of 2014, but there have already been two high profile reunion announcements. OutKast, who have not put out an album together since 2006, will be basically headlining every festival this year. While Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac will be touring together for the first time since Christine McVie left the group in 1998. It is unclear if either will be releasing new music together this year (depending on if you believe Queen Latifah who says there is a new Outkast album coming; Fleetwood Mac just released a new EP last year) there are some long awaited albums from out in 2014. This does not even include rumoured comeback albums from of Jodeci (19 years), D12 (10 years), or if you are to be believed TMZ ambushed interviews, Gnarls Barkley (6 years).

Every once in a while I post something in my Don’t Call it a Comeback, where I highlight an artist I hope would come back into the public consciousness and here are three acts that have already announced that new music on the way.

The Afghan Whigs (16 years): The band got back together in 2011, but will not be releasing their first record since 1998 until April 15 with Do to the Beast. To be honest, I never got into the band back in the day and only have three of their songs in my library and they are all covers: Barry White’s Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe for the criminally forgotten Beautiful Girls Soundtrack (I blame Michael Rappaport because everyone tries to scrub anything Rappaport from their brains; I fear for this season of Justified), TLC’s Creep, and most recently Frank Ocean’s Lovecrimes.



George Michael (10 years): It has been a decade since George Michael released an album an arguably almost two decades since he released any music anyone cared about. It probably does not help that whenever you bring up the singer, discussions of park bathrooms are sure to follow. That discussion probably will not change when Symphonica is released March 17, but I do like the first single Let Her Down Easy (a song written by another long forgotten artist Terrence Trent D'Arby though apparently he released a new album just last year now under the moniker Sananda Maitreya) which reminds me of a stripped down version of one of my favorite Michael’s song Mother’s Pride. But a warning before you click the play button below: it features a woman taking off her clothes. For a gay dude, George Michael sure likes to fill his music videos with hot naked chicks.



Nickel Creek (9 years): I got into Nickel Creek right around their third album. Of course they went on hiatus shortly after. But the individuals have been busy releasing sixteen albums between them in that time. The bluegrass trio got a big boost in the wake of O Brother, Where Art Thou? And this is the perfect time to come back as there is an even bigger folk boon going on today (who did not initially bring up Nickel Creek while trying to describe The Lumineers who kind of stole their career). There is no official street date for a new album or even name yet, but there is a new single Destination which stand up with their already stellar catalogue and will surely dominate public radio this year.



Lily Allen (5 years): Also no official album announcement yet, but over the past three months, Lily has released three new songs (a fourth on Girls Soundtrack Volume 2 coming next week), the latest is the super catchy Air Balloon which sounds like classic Lily. Hopefully a full length album release date will not be too far away.

After the Disco All of the Shine Just Faded Away

In an era where dance music has gotten increasingly annoying will all the beeping, repetitious beats, and bass dropping, Daft Punk recruited Nile Rodgers and had the biggest dance song of last year and the best disco song since 1978. Now I am not sure if Broken Bells recorded After the Disco in direct response to Get Lucky but it makes the perfect counterpoint to their smash hit. It is the most depressing soundtrack to the closing of Studio 64, Disco Demolition Night, and probably could have replaced Sister Christian in that Boogie Nights scene (although we would have missed out on a great air-drumming sequence).

After the Disco is the second album from Broken Bells, the duo made up of singer James Mercer of The Shins and producer Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley (2014 will be busy for him producing the upcoming U2 album and contributing to the new Frank Ocean and The Black Keys records). Mercer goes full Barry Gibb in the chorus of the first single Holding on for Life. Even though there is a pulsing bass, do not expect John Travolta to strut to the song. Instead this is a song that would be played on some warped planet in a future episode of a Star Trek reboot. The title track is slightly more danceable as far as beats go but lyrically may be more depressing. For anyone who likes sad song, but likes to dance, After the Disco is the album for you.

The sophomore Broken Bells record reminds me a lot of the second Gnarls Barkley album; it is more cohesive and better as a whole but individually, nothing is nearly as good as the first single off the first album. After the Disco is better as a whole than the self titled debut, but nothing on the new album that is as good as The High Road. Of course, after mentioning Gnarls Barkley, it is hard not to mention how that long awaited third album would be more satisfying than a second Broken Bells LP.

Song to Download – After the Disco

After the Disco gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television: 2/4/14

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.

Can't Remember to Forget You - Shakira featuring Rihanna


It is interesting in a time when almost every song on the radio has an EDM twist to it, Shakira went rock tinged ska on her new single and, um, why I am still tying, no one is reading this, they are just hitting repeat for the next hour.


Ain’t it Fun – Paramore


Paramore breaking the most world records in a music video sounds like a novel idea until you realize the old record was maybe just one. If I were in an indie band trying to make a name for myself, I would trying to make a music video breaking every record in this video plus one bonus one.


Everyday Robots – Damon Albarn


After two decades of being in bands, from Blur to Gorillaz, and even a one off groups like The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Damon Albarn is releasing his first solo album later this year. And the computer animated music video, which builds his head from the bottom up, is freaking me the frack out. It is even creepier than the Lionel Ritchie bust from Hello.


All Wash Out – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros


Sophia Glaser was a fan of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros who made a music video for their song All Wash Out. After the band received a letter from her sister, they officially released Caroline’s version as their official music video for the song. Here is the full letter:

Dear Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Thank you for your incredible music. I first heard your songs, when my sweet sister Sophie entered a music video contest producing a video for your song: "All Wash Out". The combination of your beautiful music and her great talent has left an eternal imprint on my mind.
Sophie, my little sister was just 20 when she entered the contest. This Sunday we played the video at her memorial service. She passed away recently during an exchange semester in Prague. She suffered from a brain hemorrhage and just never woke up from her sleep one night.

I find the description (which went along with her video); "A girl goes on a journey to wash away what's behind her leading to her rebirth" incredibly moving as she would have no idea that she would soon leave this earth. Sophie was not meant to act in the video, but due to incredible karmic circumstances, the actress who was supposed to participate was prevented to come (last minute) and Sophie stepped in. Both acting and directing.

It gives indescribable joy and comfort to be able to turn to this video, during this period of grieving and to know that it will stay with us. She spread such an unbelievable amount of joy and light during her -- much too short -- life. And has left the world forever richer.

I realize that it is a long shot, but it would mean very, very much to us if there were any way you would be able to help share this last memory of Sophie.

In any case, I truly thank you for having been a catalyst in Soph leaving the world this beautiful video.

I apologize that my English is not sufficient to express my emotions (I am from Denmark), but I hope it has made sense.

Thank you again, Luna.

Super Bowl Shuffle 2014

This year is the tenth anniversary of the infamous wardrobe malfunction which means thing could be ready to get frisky again. But alas, nothing exciting happened, the Red Hot Chili Peppers did not even come out in their signature socks. But that Super Bowl also was the start of an improbable run where the games were more entertaining than the Super Bowl with every game still undecided going into the fourth quarter. Awe, parity. That streak was broken this year when the Seahawks drummed the Broncos in a Super Bowl reminiscent of all the blow outs in the eighties and nineties. With the all around bad play and ugly orange jerseys, I thought maybe Denver was switched out with the Browns. Of course that may be the only way Cleveland could get to play in a Super Bowl. But hey, just like the old NFL ads said, everyone is undefeated today. Of course then the Browns will just pick another thirty year old quarterback in the draft in April. But anyway, here are some other thoughts on the big game.

- Wait, so Queen Latifah did not awkwardly marry people before Madonna came out of no where for no reason. Well that was a disappointing way to start the show.

- The Broncos had six captains? How is that even legal? I understand thre, one for each phase of the game, but at that point, just send out your whole team.

- Now that is how you start a Super Bowl. How much did safety on the first play pay off? Makes you wonder how different the game would have been if that first hand off came off without a hitch.

- Two really dumb challenges at the start of the game by both coaches. Not that it mattered.

- So what exactly what was that Seinfeld thing for? It was not an ad (that I understand). It was not NBC resurrecting their golden goose. Just an odd piece of nostalgia because the game took place in New York City.

- Bruno Mars really is the modern day James Brown. You know if James Brown wrote bland pop songs. But just a random transition to Give it Away. And then Bruno just had to run the momentum by finishing the set with the super boring Just the Way You Are.

- Micheal Strahan is not a very good interviewer, how about going with Erin Andrews for the biggest interview of the year?

- Enough football, here are the best commercials from this year's game:

1. The Phone Call: RadioShack Commercial


2. Big Game Ad Starring Terry Crews and the Muppets | 2014 Toyota Highlander
3. NFL draft with Deion Sanders (I cannot seem to find a link; this is almost a big a fail as Super Bowl Shuffle no longer being on YouTube)
4. Ian Up For Whatever TV 60 -- 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial | Bud Light
5. Jaguar 2014 Big Game Commercial | British Villains
6. Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial -- "Puppy Love"
7. Ellen Features in "The Right Music" for Beats Music and AT&T
8. Ford "Nearly Double" Big Game Ad | Rob Riggle & James Franco
9. Wonderful Pistachios Stephen Colbert Super Bowl Commercial 2014, Part 2
10. Audi 2014 Big Game Commercial - Doberhuahua

And since the great philopher Butt-Head once pondered, how we know what was cool if there weren't stuff that sucked, here are the commercials that were complete waste of four million dollars.

1. Doritos® - Time Machine -- Crash the Super Bowl Top 5 Finalist
2. 2014 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial: Wings
3. Cool Twist-- 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial | Bud Light
4. Tim Tebow shows you what you can do with #nocontract |T-Mobile Commercial
5. Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt - The Spill

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/2/14

Shameless: I knew it was coming as soon as Frank did not identify himself to his daughter, but it was still extremely cringeworthy seeing his daughter jump on him. Also not that surprising that Fiona hooked up with her boss’s brother, I am just a little surprised that it happened in the first episode they meet. I agree with the brother, it will not be the last time.

House of Lies: Holy Dick Casablancas sighting! Although I did not need to see Veronica Mars ride him. Interesting he had a very similar pitcher / catcher conversation as Dick. But now it looks like Jennie and Doug have migrated to Kaan and Associates so now how long until Clyde join them to get the gang back together. But then again, would Marty want him back after he jumped ship to his ex-wife’s team?

Switched at Birth: I had to laugh when Sherrie sort of tried to play the race card with the black principal. I was waiting for the principal to call her out for it but that never quite happened.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: The mother felt like a bad fit since she appeared earlier this season and after a dedicated episode to her, it is clearly the case. The show took nine seasons to be able to explain how Ted met the mother and they managed to do the opposite in about twenty minutes. And it is clear why the mother is bad television, she is the male version of Ted and Ted was already the least interesting character on the show.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: So Red is just going to let Mira walk, not telling anyone of who was really behind the leak? Odd for a guy who when on a killing spree last week to find out who the mole was two episodes ago. I wonder if he will ever tell Lizzie of her co-worker’s misdeed. But my favorite part of the episode was when Ressler got hit with the truck. Add them to him getting shot in the leg a couple weeks ago, I hope this starts a trend of him getting hurt every week. That may be the only thing he would be for on the show.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: After swearing off boys, Hanna has taken up… reading? But just the last two pages. Awesome. And it cannot be a coincidence that the detective just so happened to tip Hanna to the dental records plot twist in the middle. We did learn this week that Erza is working with somebody (possibly for, I have a sinking suspicion that he is being blackmailed so they can put Erza and Aria back together without it being weird, but that pairing will always be weird and creepy). Plus it would be hard to have a slice of boysenberry pie, perform dental work on Hanna, and seranande Emily with heavy metal all in one night by himself.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: A melancholy happy trails to Wade Messner. I will miss his meeting of the minds with Dewey. Or maybe this will pave the way for Dicky Bennett to come back into his life, who was always his best cohort. But Wade’s demise did lead to the best part of the episode where Dewey promised Jesus he would turn his life around if he would let him kill Messner. And I really hope that Kendell Crowe does not hook up in Foster Care, although those two would make for a great spin-off idea. I certainly would be better than that horrible Foster Care show on ABC Family.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Nashville: Juliette Barnes started out as that cheesy pop-country that relies heavy on auto-tune and gimmicks, but here half way through the second season, she has turned into the kind of country artist I wish actually existed, the out-law country of the sixties and seventies who instead of apologize for something she should not have to apologies for, she just goes on stage says her record label wants to apologize and instead of doing so, busts into a song entitled Don't Put Dirt On My Grave Just Yet. Awesome. Hopefully she signs with Rayna’s record label next week because everyone knows it will happen eventually.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: Has James Earl Jones never done comedy before? More importantly where was the director to say, “Hey James, how about pulling back just a tad?” Even though he was way over the top the whole episode, I was still thoroughly entertained by the whole thing.
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Community: So we get the second Brie Larson sighting on the show (it is odd that Dan Harmon would bring back someone introduced during his exile) and yet she again does not run into Alison Brie. Does the show worry that having them on screen together at the same time would be too much awesomeness that it could rip the fabric of space and time? Come to think of it, that could very well happen.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Every reality show has their heels, but on King of the Nerds, their antagonists are one botched experiment away from turning into Supervillains. Thankfully the volcano experiment did not go horribly wrong otherwise Batman may have had to be called in to wrangle with Josh.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Cant You See Me Standing Here I Got My Back Against the Record Machine

It does not take a math genius or even a calculator to realize that this year is the thirtieth anniversary of 1984, as in the Van Halen, not the book which turns 65 this year. Up until that point, Van Halen was mostly an underground band whose biggest hit up to that point was a cover of a Roy Orbison song that bordered on novelty. Then 1984 arrived with four massive hits on radio and a new music video channel. Unfortunately the band got too big and we did not get a proper follow up to the album by the collaboration of the Van Halen brothers and lead singer David Lee Roth (even then founding member Michael Anthony was let go for a third Van Helen member) and even that turned out to be the underwhelming A Different Kind of Truth.

1984, this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame, was a shock to the fans of the guitar virtuoso of Eddie Van Hanel they came to love as the first single and opening track Jump was very synth heavy, borrowing from the New Wave movement of the time but still was able to sound like a rock song. It was a smooth transition as a short guitar solo does come in at the end of the song. That single was followed up but another synthesizer heavy I’ll Wait which was more menacing than the jukebox anthem that preceded it.

Rock purists finally got the rock heroes they were used to when Panama dropped. A hard driving song with one of the greatest breaks in rock history when the band slows it down, and David Lee Roth purred, “We’re running a little bit hot tonight. I can barely see the road from the heat coming off of it. I reach down in between my legs… ease the seat back.” Before the song comes roaring back for a triumphant finish. Both Van Halen brothers shine on Hot for Teacher, possibly drummer Alex’s best work ever while Roth was never on his friskiest than on the song. Of course who could forget one of the early great music videos on MTV that probably has you wondering right now whatever did happen to Waldo?

After the album Roth embarked on a only memorable because of the music videos solo career while the Van Halen with Michael Anthony dominated the soft rock landscape for the second half of the eighties after recruiting singer Sammy Hager. Neither was able to recapture the hard rock flamboyance magic of 1984. Roth was brought back into the fold when the band was working on a Greatest Hit package which was short lived after the brothers Van Halen were embarrassed by his antics at the MTV Video Music Awards. Of course that was not nearly as embarrassing as the Gary Cherone era.