Previewing Archer

If I told you there was a show that reunited Lucille Bluth and her husband’s sectary Kitty Sanchez (and then throws in the usually funny Aisha Tyler and Chris Parnell), you would want to watch that right? Well the foursome lend their voices to the first animated show for FX Archer created by Adam Reed who you will know if you a fan of Adult Swim as he also created both Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo.

The half hour series follows a spy agency International Secret Intelligence Service (or ISIS for short) run by Jessica Walter (90210) and unfortunately due to some nepotism she feels obligated to hire her inappropriate and inept son Sterling Archer (voiced by veteran voice actor H. Jon Benjamin). Tyler (Talk Soup) plays his ex-girlfriend and current co-work that is currently dating Parnell (Miss / Guided) who is the complete opposite of Archer as the ISIS comptroller. Judy Greer (Love Monkey) is again resigned to be behind a desk and the company’s gossip who name I am not typing because I do not remember but because she changes it at least once an episode. The cast is rounded out by Archer’s abused butler George Coe (Funny People) and Amber Nash (Frisky Dingo’s Val) as the obese Director of Human Resources for ISIS who tries to hook up with any of her co-worker with little luck.

Tonight’s premiere is inappropriately funny with Archer and usually amusing for a spy show that doesn’t actually leave the office building (the first mission we see doesn’t happen until the fifth episode). The problem with the show is that it gets progressively less funny with each passing episode when the from left field jokes from Archer become not only less surprising, but start becoming expected from the character. Not necessarily must see television, but Archer may be something worth stopping on while flipping through the channels.

Archer airs Thursdays at 10:00 on FX. Full episode will be coming to Hulu soon.

Previewing Leverage 2.5

For some reason, TNT likes to split up it season in weird ways so tonight the second season of Leverage returns for its last six episodes. If you remember back five months to where Sophie decided to take some time off and recommended a replacement grifter to take her place why she figures things out in the form of Jeri Ryan. The last episode before the break saw Ryan conning the group to see if they were worthy of her help and tonight sees her first assignment in the group.

Not familiar with the altruistic nature of Nate and the crew, Jeri’s addition to the team is naturally rocky. She throws a few wrenches in the first couple episodes back that Sophie never would have. Including tonight when they infiltrate a sweat shop that employs illegal immigrants by exploiting the owner’s hope to be a contestant on Project Runway (which explains Nate’s garb in the picture above).

Next week things gets personal for Nate when the local bar’s owner dies and a loan shark tries to retrieve his mark from the decease’s daughter, who Nate thinks of as a niece, at the wake. The job has some dangerous consequences for Nate but for the viewer it has one of the most satisfying “gotcha” moments in the series history. Also in the second half of the season expect the return of Nate’s ex-wife (guest star Kari Matchett) and Luke Perry shows up during the February 3 episode as a psychic medium.

Leverage airs Wedensdays at 10:00 on TNT. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes or Amazon Video on Demand:

First (Second and Third) Impressions: Chuck

When the Intercet 2.0 was unveiled I had flashes of sharks jumping, but in the nine months since the Chuck finale I talked myself into everything being okay and even gave the chance of the that happening at 10 % during the latest round of Playing the Percentages. Then the first half of the two hour premiere happened and something was missing, the spark that made Chuck the second Best Show of 2009. Chuck was too mopey, there was little Jeffster, and Morgan returned from Hawaii. Sure there were some classic moments like Casey continually calling Chuck a lemon and the Token Hot Chick climbing out of the pool like a Bond Girl.




But the episode just didn’t come together. That was until Casey descended on Mexico with a big grin on his face because he got to use his massive gun. That was I finally realized Chuck was back. And not only was Team Bartowski was back, so was Carina who brought Vinnie Jones along for the ride (who kicks off the long line of guest stars Chuck will face off against this season). And as great a scene the engagement party was with Uncle Casey’s toast, Jeffter trying to drink Vinnie and his boys under the table during the housewarming party took the cake for the episode especially with Casey and his “Beware of Grumpy Neighbor” sign spraying down the festivities.



By the third episode in twenty-four hours, I was fully back on board thanks to some Casey fun and the inclusion of Captain Awesome to the team. Of course Casey would have tried to assassinate a communist dictator for his hero Ronald Regan in the eighties (and failed! Three times!) and naturally he get the nickname Angel of Death by the locals. The episode seemed very similar to the best Firefly episode Jayetown where they both go back to a place they are not welcome only to turn out to be a hero. Then The Ring strikes again kidnapping Captain Awesome which should led to another Awesome episode next week which cannot come too soon after getting three episodes in two days. And we still haven’t even gotten to the Lana Lang who showed up for a half a second in the season promo on Sunday which made me all giddy. Now if you excuse me, I have to pour out some bubbly in the memory of Buster Bluth.



Chuck airs Mondays at 8:00 on NBC. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can download Chuck on iTunes or Amazon Video on Demand (see below along with the first two seasons on Blu-Ray and DVD):

Previewing Border Wars

During the primaries of 2007, there was a lot of noise about immigration. Lou Dobbs was pounding his fist every night. The Democrats debated ID cards. The Republican candidates argued over who could build the biggest fence along the Southern border. Then when John McCain wrapped up the nomination in early 2008 and the issue seemed to go completely away but still today, thousands of men and women try to enter the United States illegally, some for work, some transporting drugs and or guns, some try to cross through the desert, some try to go over through or even under the fence that has been build, and some try going right through customs.

Border Wars, which had a sneak peak last night and settles into its timeslot tonight at 9:00 on the National Geographic, follows those that try to catch those that try to cross the border illegally or with illegal substances in tow. For those that watched the fourth season of Weeds, actually got a preview of some of the storylines that come up on Border Wars, there are coyotes bringing illegals across the rugged terrain, there are cute American” tourist” with hidden compartments at check points, and the Border Patrol even finds a tunnel from Mexico that ends in a warehouse in Arizona.

Watching Border Patrol and the occasional use of drug sniffing dogs at the border and Nation Geographic’s penchant for shows about law enforcement and dogs shows, you have to wonder why the network hasn’t figured out to combine the two for a K-9 reality program. But anyways. Border Wars airs Mondays at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel. Below is a preview of tonight’s episode:

Playing the Percentages: Chuck Edition

In a story I broke last month, Chuck returns tonight at 9:00 with a two hour premiere. And if that is not enough Chuck for you, there is a third hour of Chuck tomorrow when it settles into its normal timeslot at 8:00 all on NBC. In honor of the return, it is time for another rousing game of Playing the Percentages dedicated to the show. As always I will be going up against Jo who will be playing the role of Colt McCoy as I will play the role of Marcell Dareus (Please note that Jo is a proud A&M alum and in no way condones being compaired to teasip, but that is what makes it fun).

What chance do you give that the Intercect 2.0 will be a jump the shark moment for the show?

Jo: 0%! Because Chuck is a well written show. It is a game changer and a new direction but I would point out that at least one of the writers on the Chuck staff used to work on Veronica Mars. A true shark jump moment would be one of the other nerd herders becoming a super spy.

Scooter: Even the best written shows can make dumb decisions and Chuck isn’t immune to them (Morgan is still around annoying me) but I figure as long as Casey still has his Regan picture, they find new ways to have the Token Hot Chick fulfill nerd fantasies, and Jeffster is still roaming the Buy More, I’ll keep it at a low 10%.


Any chance that more family and/or co-workers learn Chuck’s secret this season?

Jo: Hmm this is tough. 50%. The first rule of a secret hero double life is the more that know the secret; the more you have to protect them from harm. Though I can't imagine Captain Awesome will be very good at hiding things from Ellie.

Scooter: It is hard to believe that Captain Awesome could keep something from Ellie as seen during the Bachelor Party episode, but keeping Chuck’s secret is a matter of national security so I think Awesome can do it for Chuck. But I love for Jeffster to find out just from a humor standpoint although if anyone new finds out this season I would put my money on Morgan (assuming they don’t fulfill my dream of him actually moving to Hawaii to become a Benihana chief and thus off the show forever). As for anyone new in his circle finding out, I’d put it at 68%.


Percent chance we see these people again sometime this season:
Bryce Larkin?

Jo: Bryce 0%. Isn't he dead, again? Plus now starring on a very fun show called White Collar on USA.

Scooter: Sure Bryce is dead, but “again” is the key word. He was revived once and they could do it again and since USA and NBC are in the Universal family (at least were, I am not sure how the Comcast deal changes that) it can be worked out. Though his death did seem final this time, but I go with 14% just in case we get a flashback.

Chevy Chase?

Jo: 10% on Chevy since he's on Community but could prob use the stunt casting money.

Scooter: “A real shotgun wedding,” to think that bad pun may be the line we hear from Chevy Chase on Chuck. Since his wound seemed to be in the same spot as Bryce, we probably never see him alive again, but if Scott Bacula comes back, we may see Chevy via flashback, but this is less likely that Bryce, so 3%.

Jordana Brewster?

Jo: I’m hoping to see Jordana again, so I'll call it 75% just for hope's sake.

Scooter: I agree Jordana is the most likely candidate to return because I can’t imaging Jordana has anything better to do these days than to sit around hoping someone is stupid enough to greenlight another Fast and Furious movie. And I’d bet they would bring her back whenever they think Chuck and Sarah are getting too close, which comes out to exactly what you said: 75%.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXII

Quote of the Week: Or we can throw that pig through the (expletive deleted)’s windshield. Send her a message. (Chloe, Mercy)

Song of the Week: That’s How Strong My Love Is – Otis Redding (Mercy)

Big News of the Week: Leno Back to The Tonight Show?: I am not a big fan of rumors and try not to give them any credence, but there was a lot of smoke with Leno making quite a bit of venomous jokes at his show potentially no longer being at 10:00 (saying Fox is wonderful this time of year). Although he made no mention of him going back to The Tonight Show as the rumor has him landing as soon as the Olympics end. This puts Conan O’Brien in the inenviable spot of taking his Late Night spot back or getting the boot (which I imagine will have a sizable severance package to go along with it). Unless I missed it, no word on what would happen to The Roots, but hopefully The Roots will be sticking around or maybe they will move to The Late Late Show where Craig Ferguson could use a house band. Also no word on how NBC will start filling their 10:00’s. My suggestion: five nights of Friday Night Lights a week. My prediction: more Dateline NBC on the schedule.

Mercy: Holy Michael Ian Black sighting! I thought he had resigned to just sitting around waiting for VH1 to announce the next batch of “I Love…” specials. And what is it about outside in New Jersey in the dead of winter that causes everyone to have an epiphany? Each patient ended out there for some profound speech with their nurse. And someone needs to point me out to the place on the internet where you can buy fully cooked full pigs. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Mercy on iTunes.

Modern Family: I feel insulted that the writers of Modern Family would insult me by trying to make me think that Al Bundy was supposed to be some sort high school baseball stud. We all he scored four towchdowns in one game for Polk High. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Free Download of the Week: Lost in 8:15 (iTunes): The second biggest news of the week was the audacity of the president to even think about scheduling the State of the Union the same day as the season premiere of the last season of Lost. Even though Obama ended up choosing another date, it was funny seeing the fanboys up in arms just because they may have had to wait another week after already waiting eight months. But before then, they have released the previous five minutes into just over eight minutes to catch you up. There are also a couple of free episodes currenly on iTunes including the Pilot.

Deal of the Week: Spend $7.99 or More and Get $5 Off Select MP3 Albums: Please note that this offer expires tomorrow, Sunday January 10 and you must use your credits by then. And keep in mind $5.00 may not seem like much, but Amazon MP3 has over 800 albums for that price or less which currently includes Dark Side Of The Moon, Coldplay’s first three albums Taylor Swift’s self titled debut, and greatest hits from Creedence Clearwater Revivial, Beastie Boys and Huey Lewis And The News. And if you are looking for a great album for $7.99 to get your free credits, might I suggest number one from my list of The 25 Best Albums of 2009, Bible Belt from Diane Birch (see below):



Video of the Week: The big return tomorrow is Chuck (more on that below), but Sunday also sees a sneak peak of the new National Geographic show Border Wars at 10:00 and the fourth season premiere of Big Love on HBO. For those that need to be caught up on the latter, here is a recap of the first three seasons (for those without HBO like me, the third season of Big Love has just been released on DVD):



Next Week Pick of the Week: Chuck, Sunday at 9:00 and Monday at 8:00 on NBC: Pretty silly that NBC debuts a show that always ends at 9:00 to start it a day earlier which will end at 11:00. But this is NBC and they tend not to make wise decisions anymore. But for those who remember and can stay up that late, its three hours of Chuck in twenty-four hours. Check back tomorrow for more on Chuck.

Previewing The Dog Whisperer and Dogtown

Over the holidays, the National Geographic premiered new season of The Dog Whisperer and Dogtown, both of which continue tonight. Like last week, Cesar is still Down Under, no, he hasn’t switched over to taming koalas or kangaroos, but even dogs in Australia, where there are 400 million of them, need some guidance too. Tonight’s episode deals with a Weimaraner who took a bite out of the postman who travel around the country delivering mail on motorbikes called Posties. Then there is a shar-pei with a nasty territorial problem with one of his own ending up on the brutal end of an attack. Lastly (and hopefully my sister watches because it is the same dog with the same problem), a cattle dog that doesn’t stop barking. Ever. I am ready to jam something sharp in my ear after a weekend of dogsitting, I cannot believe this woman has put up with this problem for six years. Dog Whisperer: Cesar in Oz premieres tonight at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Last week on Dogtown, one of Michael Vick’s rescues got a forever home. Whereas most of the rescue dogs were fighters, Handsome Dan, viewed to weak to be a prize fighter was, for lack of a better term, a reluctant sparring partner for the tougher dogs in-between matches. Tonight Dogtown is going to transform a dog scared of humans and other dogs into an adoptable pet. Also tonight features an elderly spaniel mix with a mysterious life-threatening illness and a rottweiler mix with a habit of biting people.

Upcoming episodes will feature a shepherd mix from war torn Lebanon, a Chihuahua mix that needs to on a dog version of The Biggest Loser, a dog that survived six years alone in the Grand Canyon, and an abandoned shar-pei mix left in a foreclosed on house. And what may be the most entertaining segment of the new season, tables are turned on Dr. Mike, part of Dogtown’s medical team, has to recruit one of the trainers to help with one of his own unruly dogs. Dogtown airs Fridays at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Breaking Down the Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 00's

If there is one thing I have learned from the One Hit Wonder lists that VH1 runs ad nausea is that the list are really subjective (they labeled Vanilla Ice one despite landing two songs in the top 5). And what makes things harder for this decade is the fractionation of music making it hard to call most songs hits. It doesn’t help that The Billboard Hot 100 became pretty much worthless earlier this decade as record companies realized they could easily manipulate it (seriously, check out the Wikipedia page List of 2000s One Hit Wonders and see if you can recognize over half the songs or scoft at some artist they claim to be ones).

So when coming up with The 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 00’s, I made it quite simple: artist that landed on one of my Best Songs of the Year lists once and only once last decade (there were actually 177 of them). I am sure this will lead to some debate as to what is a One Hit Wonder, but I refuse using Billboard as a reference and calling the likes of Gnarls Barkley, The White Stripes, Snow Patrol, Norah Jones, Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, Common, Weezer, Gorillaz and Sara Bareilles one hit wonders. But just to show you how subjective One Hit Wonder’s can be, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead and Garth Brooks are technically One Hit Wonders. So if anyone wants to argue with my list, go right ahead, I am ready to hear any arguments.

One Hit Wonders by Years
2000 - 11
2001 – 13
2002 – 11
2003 – 5
2004 – 10
2005 – 7
2006 – 12
2007 – 7
2008 – 10
2009 – 14

One Hit Wonders by Genre
Adult Contemporary – 23
Pop – 21
Alternative Rock – 18
Rap – 14
RnB – 9
Rock - 7
Electronic – 5
Power-Pop – 5
Comedy – 2
Country – 1

Cover Songs: 4

Television Show Theme Songs: 3

Songs with Parentheses: 7

Number of Times Blu Cantrell Showed Up: 2

Other Artists Who Had Other Hits:
Sisqo (with DMX)
Ben Gibbard of The Postal Service (Death Cab for Cutie)
Jadakiss (with The Lox and Mya)
Emerson Hart (Tonic)
Members of +44 (Blink 182)
Nas of QB Finest
Brendan Benson (The Raconteurs)
The Dap-Kings (backing Amy Winehouse)
Joe Budden of Slaughterhouse
Members of Zwan (Smashing Pumpkins)

The 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 00's

1. Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne

2. Who Let the Dogs Out - Baha Men

3. Thong Song - Sisqó

4. Paper Planes - M.I.A.

5. Bad Day - Daniel Powter

6. I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked - Ida Maria

7. Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm

8. Butterfly - Crazy Town

9. Heaven - Los Lonely Boys

10. Let's Begin (Shoot the Sh**) - Bad Ronald

11. I Love College - Asher Roth

12. (Expletive Deleted) It (I Don't Want You Back) - Eamon

13. 1234 - The Reminder - Feist

14. Because I Got High - Afroman

15. I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair) - Sandi Thom

16. Hey There Delilah - Plain White T’s

17. Days Go By - Dirty Vegas

18. Absolutely (Story of a Girl) - Nine Days

19. This Is Me - Dream

20. Superman (It's Not Easy) - Five for Fighting

21. Snakes On a Plane (Bring It) - Cobra Starship with The Academy Is..., Gym Class Heroes & The Sounds

22. I Keed - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

23. Portions for Foxes - Rilo Kiley

24. The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson

25. Rollin' W/ Saget – Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone

26. When the President Talks to God - Bright Eyes

27. The Boys of Summer - The Ataris

28. Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) - Blu Cantrell

29. Believe - The Bravery

30. Such Great Heights - The Postal Service

31. Rock & Roll - Eric Hutchinson

32. In Your Eyes (Live) - Jeffrey Gaines

33. Fireflies - Owl City

34. New Soul - Yael Naïm

35. C'mon C'mon - The Von Bondies

36. How I Could Just Kill a Man - Charlotte Sometimes

37. Don't Forget - Demi Lovato

38. Take It Off - The Donnas

39. Why? - Jadakiss featuring Anthony Hamilton

40. Hot In Herre - Jenny Owen Youngs

41. The World Should Revolve Around Me - Little Jackie

42. Addictive - Truth Hurts featuring Rakim

43. Percussion Gun - White Rabbits

44. Round Up - Lady May featuring Blu Cantrell

45. Still On Your Side - BBMak

46. Fat Lip - Sum 41

47. Leaving Town - Dexter Freebish

48. If You're Gonna Leave - Emerson Hart

49. New In Town - Little Boots

50. 4Ever - The Veronicas

51. Ridin' - Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone

52. The Show - Lenka

53. When Your Heart Stops Beating - +44

54. Existentialism On Prom Night - Straylight Run

55. Faded - soulDecision

56. Lovebug - Jonas Brothers

57. The Weight of Her - Butch Walker

58. Catch My Disease - Ben Lee

59. Hang Me Up to Dry - Cold War Kids

60. Charm Attack - Leona Naess

61. Awnaw - Nappy Roots

62. People Got a Lotta Nerve - Neko Case

63. Oochie Wally - QB Finest

64. A Whole Lot Better - Brendan Benson

65. Just Ain't Gonna Work Out - Mayer Hawthorne

66. Fill Me In - Craig David

67. Come Clean - Hilary Duff

68. Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

69. Screaming Infidelities - Dashboard Confessional

70. L-L-Love - Astaire

71. Whoa! - Black Rob

72. I Wish - Carl Thomas

73. Heard It All Before - Sunshine Anderson

74. 100 Days, 100 Nights - Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

75. At the Party - Northern State

76. Club Foot - Kasabian

77. Fitz and the Dizzyspells - Andrew Bird

78. Wish I Didn't Miss You - Angie Stone

79. You Gonna Luv Me - Da Backwudz

80. Wine Red - The Hush Sound

81. Devils and Angels - Toby Lightman

82. Bulletproof - La Roux

83. Even Angels Fall - Jessica Riddle

84. You're the Only One - Maria Mena

85. Cash Machine - Hard-FI

86. Friends & Family - Trik Turner

87. Even If It Breaks Your Hearte - Will Hoge

88. If I Fall - Tara MacLean

89. 1901 - Phoenix

90. Stick 'Em Up - Quarashi

91. Mama's Room - Under the Influence of Giants

92. The One - Slaughterhouse featuring the New Royales

93. Special Delivery (Mix) - G-Dep, Ghostface Killah, Keith Murray & Craig Mack

94. Wonderful - Gary Go

95. Always a Friend - Alejandro Escovedo

96. Wild At Heart - Gloriana

97. Sometimes - Ours

98. Move Ya Body - Nina Sky

99. Lights, Camera, Action! - Mr. Cheeks

100. Honestly - Zwan

(Scooter's Note: For more information on this list and how it came about, check out Breaking Down the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 00's.)

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXXI: Just Ain't Gonna Work Out

When coming up with a list of anything that is 100 deep, I can understand how daunting it is to digest it and you may overlook things that you do not recognize it. If that was the case for my list of The 100 Best Songs of 2009 and you just skimmed over Mayer Hawthorne at #55 because he hasn’t gotten much radio airplay, here is hoping you give a look at him today and see why his soul-infused song landed on the chart. And I am still just getting to know him myself because I never checked out the video for Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out until writing this up leading to these two reactions, 1) I really should have had this on my 50 Best Music Videos of 2009 list and 2) what, dude’s white? Either way, here’s hoping Mayer gets his breakout in 2010.

Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out – Mayer Hawthorne

The 25 Best Movies of 2009

I am in no why a movie connoisseur, I can count the number of times I stepped foot into a movie theater last decade on one hand, but thanks to the novel of idea of reviewing DVD’s through the mail, I did get to see a few good movies in the previous twelve month, enough to come up with my own list. But do to my laziness to actually drive to a movie theatre, this is really a list of the best movies released on DVD that were released in 2009 which is why you may see some movies that were released into theaters in 2008 on the list and is missing any movie released in the last three months of 2009 (Many apologies to 500 Days of Summer that was supposed to arrive Saturday but didn’t. I’ll try to remember to include you in next year’s list. Well assuming if you are as good as people would lead me to believe.)


1. Funny People

2. Gran Torino

3. Pineapple Express

4. Drag Me to Hell

5. Inglourious Bastards

6. Slumdog Millionaire

7. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

8. District 9

9. Up

10. Extract

11. Dead Snow

12. Role Models

13. Watchmen

14. Zach and Miri Make a Porno

15. The Lucky Ones

16. My Name Is Bruce

17. Fanboys

18. Angels & Demons

19. Monsters vs. Aliens

20. I Love You Man

21. Orphan

22. Sunshine Cleaning

23. Taken

24. Observe and Report

25. The Good: Live Hard, Sell Hard