Sci-Fi Channel Upfront

Two weeks ago was the Sci-Fi Upfronts and as promised last week. Better late than never, plus I have not seen some of this info elsewhere. So here are the shows you can expect on the Sci-Fi Channel over the next couple months (most dates have not been released yet):

Ghost Hunters International: The show will return this summer to complete its first season with seven new episodes.

Scare Tactics: The reality show will be back with new host Tracy Morgan (The Longest Yard).

Mind Control with Derren Brown: Season two will return with six hour long episodes who the dude sometimes described as “part James Bond, part Yoda.”

Estate of Panic: This new show is part Fear Factor, part Survivor where seven people try to find a million dollars hidden in an expansive estate while overcoming terror.

Brain Trust: Think The Big Bang Theory with real geniuses that try to find new solutions to everyday problems. The Trust includes such luminaries as a MENSA Member and the dude with the highest IQ on record.

Mystery of the Crystal Skull with Lester Holt: Just in time for the new Indiana Jones movie with the same title, Holt travels ancient civilizations looking for the thirteen crystal human skulls. The special airs May 18 at 9:00.

True Believer: From the mind of Rosario Dawson, a comic book nerd hires a washed up superhero to be his sidekick in this backdoor pilot. Sounds like a cool concept, but isn’t there a Will Smith movie coming out this summer with the same plot?

The Stranded: From the Virgin Comics that was released this past January and sold out quickly will be the basis of a two hour pilot.

Deputize: A new show about an average Joe gets special powers after accidentally fitted with an alien exoskeleton that he cannot remove and is then enlisted to serve on the inter-galactic space force.

Alice: The success of last year’s Tin Man brings us a six hour miniseries a new modern retelling of Alice in Wonderland.

Caprica: Even with Battlestar Galactica coming to an end this season, fans can rest in the solace of the new two hour back door pilot for the prequel which will be set fifty years before the events of the original. Production is slated to begin this Spring.

Sci-Fi Game Center: Launching in mid-April this new part of SciFi.com will bring classic video games like Asteroids and new gaming experiences that will feature elements of their favorite Sci-Fi shows. It will also feature a blog like feature with reports on all things relevant to a gamer’s life.

Battlestar Galactica: Get a jump on the new season premiere with a live stream of the episode on Friday April 4 at noon EST. Also be on the look out for new webisodes from the show.

Join the Fight! Cylon or Human: A new social gaming experiences where you can choose either side with new battles each week.

Starcrossed: This Web-only series from David Hewlett (Stargate Atlantis) about a behind the scenes look at a long running sci-fi soap.

Sci-Fi Rewind Player: Check out select Sci-Fi shows on your computer whenever you want featuring high quality video.

The TV Blog Coalition for March 30

With pilot season finally kicking into gear, Buzz wondered if you could tell the real pilots from the fakes. (BuzzSugar)

This week, Sandie proclaimed her love for Doctor Who and Torchwood. (Daemon's TV)

Even Britney couldn't ruin this week's How I Met Your Mother for Mikey. He's also pretty sure joining Mother would be better use of Sarah Chalke's talents than another season of Scrubs. (Mikey Likes TV)

Pop Vultures looked back at the first nine episodes of Pushing Daisies and risked inciting an angry mob by saying some unkind things. (Pop Vultures)

Rae finally shares her "Adopt A Writer" interview with writer Lisa Klink whose TV credits include Star Trek: Voyager, Earth: Final Conflict, and Painkiller Jane. (RTVW)

Vance thinks there is finally a competition starting on American Idol. (Tapeworthy)

Dan found an article on Ryan Seacrest that is one of the most disturbing portraits he's seen in a good long while. (TiFaux)

This week, Jace took advance looks at HBO's Summer Heights Highand Showtime's Tracey Ullman's State of the Union and was overjoyed to chat with 30 Rock's Tina Fey and The Office's Greg Daniels and Rainn Wilson. (Televisionary)

To celebrate the return of The Office on April 10, Jennifer had the chance to chat with executive producer Greg Daniels and actor Rainn Wilson. She got Daniels to spill on whether Karen will be back, and there’s plenty of other spoilery scoop, too. (Tube Talk)

The TV Addict imagined what a Michael Sara reunion might look like on Prison Break! (the TV Addict)

Kate decided that The Real Housewives of New York City is the darkest show on television. (TV Filter)

Press Release: 21

A couple weeks back I started talking about the new movie 21 starring Kate Bosworth and tommorrow the movie finally hits theaters. Here are the last two characters profiles from the film and a Pres Realease (you can find the widge that is talked about on the previous post Previewing 21):

Fisher (Jacob Pitts)




Kianna (Liza Lapira)




Blackjack fans on MySpace looking forward to the March 28, 2008 release of 21, the high stakes action adventure from Columbia Pictures, can hone their skills and play for individual and college bragging rights with the new 21-themed blackjack widget, available now. A widget is a piece of software a user can grab and put on their own personal website.

In addition, users can enter the 21 Beat The House Sweepstakes for a chance to win a casino-style blackjack table, $1,000 in cash, and other valuable prizes.

Commenting on the announcement, Dwight Caines, executive vice president, worldwide digital marketing strategy, said, “Every year, millions of people travel to Las Vegas in the hopes of winning big. Most leave town licking their wounds and counting their losses, but 21 is inspired by the true story of a team of players from M.I.T., real geniuses, who used their powers and skills to beat Vegas at its own game. With this widget, users can experience the excitement of blackjack and become experts in Vegas’ only beatable game.”

The blackjack widget is skinned to promote 21. When MySpace members register to play, they will also identify their colleges (or alma mater). As they win games, they will earn points not only for the individual leaderboard, but also for a college leaderboard, so players will compete simultaneously for bragging rights among their peers and their schools.

The widget was built by Nabbr, a company that creates interactive widgets for premium content owners and distributes them to millions of users on the Nabbr Network. .

Zeeshan Zaidi, Chief Content Officer and Head of Business Development for Nabbr, said, “We’re thrilled to be building this widget for 21. We can’t wait for this movie and we think it’s a perfect fit for our wide reach into the social networks. As soon as we heard about the project, we brainstormed ways to take this widget to a new level – we wanted to build something that would be sticky and fun for MySpace users. Our 21-skinned blackjack widget does that.”

Columbia Pictures' action/adventure 21 is inspired by the true story of the very brightest young minds in the country – and how they took Vegas for millions.

Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who – needing to pay school tuition – finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school’s most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leading the way, they’ve cracked the code. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn’t illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos’ menacing enforcer: Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne). The film is directed by Robert Luketic. The screenplay is by Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb, based on the book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. The producers are Dana Brunetti, Kevin Spacey, and Michael De Luca.

First Impressions: Miss Guided

There is nothing worse than watching great actors slumming it on less than quality projects (think Kristen Bell in anything she has done not named Veronica Mars or Pootie Tang). Also landing in that category is Judy Greer who seems to get wasted as the sidekick in mundane chick flick. Then the few great roles she gets, like the slutty Bluth secretary on Arrested Development, are fleeting at best.

Greer gets a her first chance to get out of the shadows to as the star of Miss Guided the story of a guidance councilor who goes back to her old high school. Naturally she is easily the best part of the show. Sadly everyone around her are just one note or just plain boring. Kristoffer Polaha (North Shore) fills the boring quota as the object of Greer’s affection as the Shop Teacher turned Spanish teacher who know as much as the launguarge as his students.

But Greer has to fight for him with Brooke Burke (also North Shore), the English teacher that also graduated from the school as was everything Greer wasn’t back then. As for the authority figures there is the Earl Billings (never was on North Shore) as the momotone prncipal and Chris Parnel (Staurday Night Live) as second in command who seems like he is just playing an over ran skit.

The three episodes that have aired are mediocre at best, and someone should tell Ashton Kutcher, one of the executive producers, that is not a very good idea to include himself in his own creation because he is much better when someone else creates his characters for him. On the other hand, guest star Jamie Lynn Spears, sans baby bump, is by far the better actress in the family compared to her sister’s cringeworthy stab at acting on How I Met Your Mother.

Verdict: It is nice to see Judy Greer front and center unfortunately everyone around her, from the writers, to the actors, to the directors have dropped the ball. Don’t expect ABC to create anymore episodes than those already in the can. Miss Guided airs Thursday at 8:00 and 8:30 on ABC. You can stream episodes over at ABC.com.

Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing

There are basically two types of One Hit Wonders. There are the ones that put out extremely catchy songs, but you know you that do not have a second hit in them (think Lou Bega). Then there are the types whose first singles are so big, radio just doesn’t let them achieve a second hit because they are too busy playing the first one to bother given another of their songs a chance (think Semisonic). And that second route is what happened to Gnarls Barkley when, to this day, radio just keeps on spinning Crazy despite Smiley Faces and Gone Daddy Gone being great songs in their own rights.

One reason why the first group fails is they keep on trying to recreate their one and only hit. But don’t expect to hear anything like Crazy on Gnarls Barkley’s follow up album, The Odd Couple because the duo has already moved on. And they didn’t need to because with Danger Mouse’s seemingly never-ending well of beats, the group doesn’t need to try something they have already done. If there is anything similar to their debut on the new disk is Gnarls Barkley still manages to sound like something you have heard before and nothing you have ever heard before at the same time.

When you push the boundaries as far as Gnarls Barkley does, there is bound to be a misstep or two, for The Odd Couple, that comes in the form of Open Book where it sounds like Danger Mouse created a beat and thought to himself that it would be cool if Cee-Lo would unleash a vocal tirade over a backwards version of it. And sadly there aren’t any subliminal messages in there (or least none that I could distinguish).

Despite nothing as intrinsic as Crazy on the album (not that anyone should expect that) there are plenty of tracks worthy of multiple spins. First on the list is Who’s Gonna Save a Soul, a dark psychedelic trip that cuts so deep it will stay with you long after the album is done playing. On the other end of the spectrum, Run (I’m a Natural Disaster) is a frantic call to arms to anyone who wants to write the group off as too weird complete with cheerleader type shouts with Cee-Lo singing like he is running along side and a children storytelling breakdown in the middle just for fun.

Elsewhere there is Going On that incorporates Hendrix type guitars, gospel organs, and Motown snares that will have you clapping along. Blinds Mary is a bouncy pop song that will male you want to grab the nearest hand and skip along in a park. The album ends with A Little Better and an infectious bass line that is almost as good as Crazy’s but that is where the too seminaries end for the two songs. But the true power of The Odd Couple is that no matter how many times you listen to it, you will hear something you didn’t hear before.

Song to Download - Going On

The Odd Couple gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XXV

Quote of the Week: You know, in the future when we are disembodied brains in a jars, we are going to look back at this as eight hours well wasted. (Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King (as sung by Maggie and Taylor, Eli Stone)

Big News of the Week: SciFi Channel Upfront: The Battlestar Galactica Preview I posted over the weekend wasn’t the only thing to come out of last Monday’s presentation, but too much to cover here as it will overrun this segment, so expect a full rundown as soon as tomorrow.

Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz tried her hand at casting the spinoff of Beverly Hills, 90210. (BuzzSugar)

This week, we interviewed Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver about Season 2 of The Riches on FX. (Daemon's TV)

Mikey's dreams for a weekly dose of Judy Greer finally came true, and if Miss Guided's momentum doesn't slow down, it may even be worthy of her talents. (Mikey Likes TV)

Marcia lists her five favorite TV characters of the moment. Naturally, Barney takes the top spot. (Pop Vultures)

Vance loves Judy Greer! Likes Miss Guided. (Tapeworthy)

This week, Jace was all about the Paley Festival (his fifth!) where he attended events for Pushing Daisies, Chuck, Judd Apatow, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion. (Televisionary)

Dan pondered Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber and House's Hugh Laurie in an effort to figure out which English actor does the best American accent. (TiFaux)

We list the 5 Shows you should be watching! (the TV Addict)

Kate would have cut the entire bottom three (plus Erik) on Top Chef. (TV Filter)


The Big Bang Theory: I had a fear going into the episode that maybe it lost some stream after the momentum it built after an extremely weak pilot, but the first episode back had me laughing out load the whole time thanks to Sheldon’s multiple one liners. Even the guys not named Sheldon were actually funny this week. Although I have to admit that the closet scene hit a little too close to home for me. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.


How I Met Your Mother: Here is what really bugs me about this show, thery just completely forget or possibly ignore major plot points. The whole B-story line was built around keeping Lily from ruining her ideal apartment, but wasn’t it ruined a long time ago when they learned that it downwind from some air polluter? And if they continue to tease the Mother again like they did tonight for the rest of the season, I may have to jump ship. And had I made my Top 10 Character List after Barney made an That’s So Raven reference, he would have been left off the list. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.


Survivor: Again I was so spoiled early this season that no blind side leaves a bad taste in my mouth. At this point I am just really ready for a merge. And I can’t believe Kathy jumped ship this late. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.




Lost: Seriously, all this time Michael has been in New York City where he can’t talk to Walt. No scenes of how he exactly got from the island to NYC. And then after all that he wants to kill himself. And on top of that, he can’t because the island won’t let him. Seriously. But hey, at least we finally learned the Zeke was a gay homosexual once and for all. Who says Lost doesn’t give us answers?

As for the other big news, the someone that will die as advertised in last week’s promo was, um, that one dude whose name I don’t care enough to remember. And don’t tell me Rousseau but it too because if there was a place where I could buy stock in Rousseau wasn’t mortally wounded and will pop up before the season after she is uber-fast healed by the island is over I would invest my savings in it. If she is indeed dead, I will be extremely mad because one of the very few reasons I have stuck by the show was because I was hoping for a Rousseau flashback. And why not show us who shot random dude? It has to be The Others right? Whitmore’s guys would be farfetched. The only other group I could think of, if it isn’t a new faction, would be the Dharma people. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.




Eli Stone: Maybe the strongest episode yet even if Dr. Abbott and Ed Stevens have been MIA lately. And even though I was a little weary that the Big Head Barry storyline was dragging out a bit too long, I liked how he got over on his lawyers. Hopefully Maggie doesn’t spend too much in Ohio (but if they want to do some on location shots, shout me a holla) and I am wondering how her whole having a boyfriend plays out and please let it turn out to be Tom Lenk who had a blink and you will miss it cameo two episodes ago. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.


Next Week’s Pick: Greek, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: A thoroughly enjoyable summer season returns tonight. One advantage it had during the summer was the lack of competition but luckily Mondays are not as log jammed as it was in the fall with NBC opting for crappy game shows instead of scripted drama so you just have to decide what to watch between Greek and The Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother at 8:00 and which to watch on tape (or Tivo for you pretentious types) at 9:00. I just hope that Frannie, who landed in at number ten on my favorite characters list, and all her Republican spouting wisdom gets more screen time this season. You can check up on last season streaming the episodes on ABCFamily.com or you can download Greek on iTunes while the DVD is currentl under $20 on Amazon (see below).

Battlestar Galactica Preview

It seems like every other day I get new information on the upcoming season of Battlestar Galactica (starting April 4th on the Sci-Fi Channel) and I had planned a bigger post yesterday but had some unexpected things that came up that filtered into today. I planned to upload some preview videos of two BSG specials airing this coming Friday with BSG: Revealed at 10:00 that recaps the first three season with executive produceres Ronald D. Moore and David Eick acting as your MC's for the show. That is followed directly by Phenomena, where celerities like Seth Green and Brad Paisley talk about the show. Even though I really do not have the time to upload the clips from those shows, there is no reason to wait until next week to watch them when they come on TV because you can currently download both shows for free on Amazon Unbox as well as the BSG in eight minutes that has been floating around the internet.

One video that I would like to share with you is an exclusive reel from the recent Sci-Fi Upfront which is a new preview of season four. And for the latest Battlestar Galactica videos, be sure to check out the Sci-Fi Channel YouTube Page.

(Scooter's Note: The video has been pulled down as requested by the Sci-Fi Channel)

And here is a press release that goes into detail about everything BSG:

‘BATTLESTAR’ IS BACK

SCI FI’s Emmy and Peabody-Winning Series Returns March 28
With Two Back-To-Back Half-Hour Specials

The wait is finally over for Battlestar Galactica fans. SCI FI’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning original series returns for its fourth original season on Friday, March 28 @ 10pm ET/PT with two back-to-back half-hour specials. The first new episode will premiere the following week, Friday, April 4 @ 10pm ET/PT.

Battlestar Galactica: Revealed (10pm) will serve up the essential information on the series’ past three seasons, providing the uninitiated with an introduction to the characters, relationships and spine-tingling drama that have captured the imagination of audiences around the world. Galactica’s executive producers, Ronald D. Moore and David Eick serve as guides, providing insights and revelations about the critically-acclaimed series.

Battlestar Galactica: The Phenomenon (10:30pm) is a celebrity-studded celebration of the show’s impact on pop culture. Interviewees, including Seth Green, country music’s Top Male Vocalist of 2007 Brad Paisley, and The Soup’s Joel McHale, and others, wax poetic about why Battlestar Galactica is one of the best frakkin’ shows on television.

As season 4 opens, the last remnants of humanity continue their search for a new home, the thin line that separates them from the rapidly evolving Cylons is being redrawn. Galactica’s crew, rocked by Starbuck’s sudden and mysterious return from the dead – and her claims that she has been to Earth and can lead them there – attempts to make sense of the inexplicable. Meanwhile, four members of the fleet are still reeling from the revelation that they are Cylons and have been all along.

Battlestar Galactica is the gripping saga of humanity's last remnants and their struggle to find a new home while fleeing from their deadly Cylon enemies. Redefining the space opera with its gritty realism, Galactica’s intensity, issues-driven topicality, and command performances have garnered it numerous awards, including an Emmy and the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award. The show was recognized by the American Film Institute (AFI) as one of the most outstanding programs of the year two years running. The series is from Universal Media Studios and is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick. The outstanding ensemble cast is led by Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Grace Park.

At the Shore She Waves Her Son Goodbye

Today marks the fifth anniversary of combat in Iraq and with the sagging economy hasn’t really gotten the attention it should even though the humongous debt from the war has attributed to the looming recession. And the war really has gone down as the most ignored war while going on in American history. Then there are the Democrats that would lead you to believe that pulling out in six weeks are a hundred years are the only options currently on the table even though something in-between is much more realistic and appropriate.

One song that I have gone back to over again in these past five years is Mother’s Pride by George Michael that really captures the effect that war can effect people for generations of families and is heartbreaking to think of all the children, mothers, and wives that watch from the shores as their husband, sons and lovers (and now wives and daughters) which could be for the last one. So this is dedicated to the families of our soldiers and I wish a speedy and safe return for those in harms way.

I Want My Music Television vol. XXII

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Picture to Burn - Taylor Swift



And now it is time for the token Before He Cheats retreat. Nice touch getting men in black to do your dirty work. But much like her previous singles, the latest from Taylor Swift is overly catchy. I wonder if her performing in front of the wall of sparks is an homage to Rihanna (she has been know to perform Umbrella in concert including a recent Live in SoHo set for iTunes).


Birthday Girl - The Roots featuring Patrick Stump




Get Busy - The Roots featuring Dice Raw, Peedi Crakk, and DJ Jazzy Jeff



At this rate The Roots will have a video for every song from their album actually drops, not that I have a problem with that except with ever track, I get more excited for that release date. Birthday Girl sounds like Gym Class Heroes would sound like if they weren’t extremely cheesy while Get Busy is just another instant classic.


1492 - Counting Crows



Yeah, boring video, but if you like the song, you can download it for free, along with another track off their upcoming Saturday Nights, Sunday Morning, over at their website, countingcrows.com.

It's March Madness Baby! 2008 Edition

I am optimistic this year about my chances in the March Madness pool (it has been four years since I have won any money) because I think many of my competitors made their picks after ten too many green beers yesterday. Of course the old adage of the person that knows the least is the one that inevitably wins may have helped their picks. But anyways. Here are my (sober) picks for this year:

East
Finals: North Carolina (1) over Louisville (3)
Upset Special: George Mason (12) over Notre Dame (5); St. Joseph’s (11) over Okalahoma (6)

Midwest
Finals: Georgetown (2) over Clemson (5)
Upset Special: (To avoid jinxing my alma mater, I won’t pick Kent State (9) over Kansas (1) in the second round, instead) Davidson (10) over Gonzaga (7)

South
Finals: Texas (2) over Pittsburg (4)
Upset Special: Temple (12) over Michigan State (5)

West
Finals: UCLA (1) over Xavier (3)
Upset Special: I actually went with chalk in bracket except Drake (5) over Connecticut (4) and Xavier (3) over Duke (2) neither of which are much of an upset.

Final Four
North Carolina over Georgetown
UCLA over Texas

Finals
UCLA over North Carolina (72-68)

Scooter Update: While Barack Obama was busy thowing his grandmother under the bus (seriously, who does that?), John McCain was busy filling out his brakets and you can play against him over at his website johnmccain.com and you can even win a McCain fleece, hat or pin.

Feed Your iPod: Traditional Irish Folk Song

St. Patrick's Day just isn't St. Patrick's day without Denis Leary's Traditional Irish Folk Song (fun fact: this was my answering machine message for a semester in college).



We have no heads, no we have no heads!

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XXIV

Quote of the Week: Find yourself another peon to pee on. (Maggie, Eli Stone)

Song of the Week: Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet (South Park)

Big News of the Week: Sitcoms Fight for Worst Actress: Recently My Name Is Earl announced the it nabbed Paris Hilton to guest as herself for its post strike return only to be trumped by How I Met Your Mother who is bringing in Britney Spears (whose sister will be popping up on new ABC sitcom Miss Guided). It is a toss up which is the worse decision, I don’t think anyone let Spears act after the Crossroads debacle (fun fact: the movie was written by the “mastermind” behind Grey’s Anatomy) until now and Earl is smartly not making Hilton stretch her acting chops to wide by having her play herself. In other bad decision news, The CW is resurrecting Beverly Hills, 90210 with Rob Thomas at the helm. How do you go from the smartest teen drama ever to the most vapid? And doesn’t The CW already have a failed modern day 90210 in Gossip Girl?

And just when I thought that 90210 Redux would be the final death nail in The CW coffin, the very next day it was announced that they gave an eight episode order to a Sam Raimi produced show. Then I went back to not caring about the channel when I found out that the show, 13 is a reality competition. Lame. How about Raimi scripted show, preferably staring Bruce Campbell instead? Think about how much better Reaper would have been if Raimi had done it, not a bunch of guys ripping off Sam Raimi.

Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz chatted with Parker Posey about Project Runway and The Return of Jezebel James. (BuzzSugar)

Sandie talked about why she loves HBO's new show In Treatment. (Daemon's TV)

Marcia said farewell to yet another season of Project Runway. (Pop Vultures)

Rae couldn't stand it anymore and finally made (time) to talk about America's Best Dance Crew. (RTVW)

Vance celebrates that the Sun is finally shinning! At least on Lost. Toronto is still pretty snowy and grey (blech). (Tapeworthy)

This week, Jace was disappointed by the latest obnoxious "twist" on Beauty and the Geek, depressed about the pilot for the US adaptation of Spaced moving forward, and was surprised by how much he actually still enjoys CBS's multi-camera sitcom Old Christine. (Televisionary)

Dan loves Rashida Jones from her days on The Office, but he simply can't endorse her new sitcom Unhitched. (TiFaux)

Jennifer weighs in on Britney Spears guest starring on How I Met Your Mother, and it isn't pretty. (Tube Talk)

After watching the premiere of Canterbury's Law, the TV Addict uncovers the secret method to FOX's Madness! (the TV Addict)

Raoul interviewed Joel from "Survivor." (TV Filter)


Everybody Hates Chris: Couldn’t that have gotten Flavor Flav to play himself as it was obvious that Slaver Slav was a stand in for him. You can’t tell me Flav wouldn’t have done that.



South Park: I think there is anything or anyone that is so successfully of making you laugh at things you know you shouldn’t laugh at than South Park.




Survivor: I must have been spoiled with a month straight of blind sides but I was all giddy during tribal council fully expecting for Ozzie to get the boot when Chet ruined everything and ended up actually getting everyone to vote for him instead of deciding to last another night to get rid of Ozzie. Ugg. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.




Smallville: Product placement is a necessary evil, something I have grown content with, but couldn’t the writers of Smallville come up with a better way to include a gum, that will not be named here (unless of course they want to pay me), than to have a random band play in a gum factory? Yet another example that these writers didn’t deserve a raise that they went on strike for. I know that all product placements can be as good as Wayne's World 2, but certainly they could have done better than this. Now if you excuss me, I need to go to my local Appleby’s, order some Gatorade while sporting my new Under Armour gear.


Lost: I don’t know what was worse, the way I thought the episode actually ended with Jin being alive while Sun and Hurley didn’t know he was, or after when some uber-nerd informed that Jin was actually a flash-back while Sun was experiencing as flash-forward. Seriously, how is anyone who isn’t a complete lose supposed to know that 2004 was the year of the dragon that the toy store clerk mentioned? Either way this episode sucked massively. Then there was the most un-anticlimactic scene in Lost history, which is saying a lot, when we finally learn, about five episodes too late, that Michael is on the freighter. I really hate Lost as well as myself for still watching. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.




Eli Stone: Back when I gave my First Impressions of Eli Stone I was so high on the casting that I said, “Seriously, if Andrew from Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows up I may have to check to see if I also have an aneurysm.” Then this past week I was checking out the guest star list (which I do with every show even though it can act as a spoiler) when I saw “Tom Lenk” who was the infamous Tucker’s Brother on Buffy. Then an hour later no Andrew. So I’m thinking I may have just had an aneurism and seeing random actors’ names. Granted after a Blingo search (which is like Google except you win stuff, and if you sign up I win stuff too) it turned out he was there in a blink and you’ll miss it roll. Hopefully he will begin to play a bigger role later and is signed on in a recurring role.

Missing Andrew aside, a really enjoyable episode now that Eli isn’t the defendant. After some bad scenes in the ealier episodes, the writing problems seemed to be ironed out and there was a great set up for a love triangle with Jordan and Maggie playing against each other. I know who I will be rooting for. This show is definitely going on me with each passing week. I did noticed that Lost will be soon moving into its timeslot with no mention of Eli Stone showing up elsewhere on the schedule. Is it too soon for a Save Eli Stone campaign? Should we sending George Michael mp3’s to ABC? Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.


Last week I sent out a call to find out who the Best Characters on Television are and some of the voters were brave enough to reveal their ballots as well as explanations. I did give my list on the Best Characters list but didn’t explain why, not because I am lazy but because didn’t see the need because you should all accept my superior knowledge. Well that and because I’m lazy. Here are the people that revealed their ballots to give you an idea on how top 25 ended up like it did.

Ducky Does TV
Pass the Remote
Tapeworthy
TiFaux
TV on the Brain


Promo of the Week: As promised on Friday, here is a Battlestar Galatica promo for the show’s return on April 4:



I also mentioned on Friday that I had some behind the scene videos of The Riches, who second season premieres this Tuesday over at my sister site, so you can check those out by clinking the link.


Next Week’s Pick: The Big Bang Theory, Monday at 8:00 on CBS: It is not a coincidence that Sheldon came in at number two on my favorite characters on television list as he put the smart in smart-alic and overshadowed the other Monday show How I Met Your Mother of whom they switch time slots over the hiatus.

Lyrics Quiz: iTunes Most Played

Five years ago this month I downloaded iTunes for the first time and one of the cool features is that it keeps track of how many times a song is played. Well cool until you look at your top twenty-five and realize that a Rihanna song has been played way too often. You can blame most of the songs on this list for being either well liked by the Party Shuffle Genie or songs for whatever reason being in multiple playlists and naturally songs from the past five years dominate. I did fudge the list a little deleting repeat artists, mash-ups and songs that have been in recent quizzes (like Rihanna), but all the songs here are in my top thirty-five. As always you need to put both artist and title in the comments section (or you can e-mail me) and if you are correct I will un-bold it and give you credit. The Lyrics Quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please do not use anything besides your own meandering mind to help you up with the answers. Now onto the quiz:


1. Drug dealer buys Jordan’s, crackheads buy crack, and the White Man gets paid off all of that. (All Falls Down - Kanye West; guessed by Slaygal1981)
2. I never knew that everything was falling threw. That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue to turn and run when all I needed was the truth. (Over My Head (Cable Car) - The Fray; guessed by Erica)
3. King of the town, yeah I’ve been that. You know I click-clack where you and your men’s at. Do the Smurf, do the Wop, Baseball Bat. Rooftop like we bringing ‘88 back. (Made You Look - Nas; guessed by KK)
4. Found myself a picture that would fit in the folds of my wallet and it stayed pretty good. Still amazed I didn’t lose it on the roof of the place when I was drunk and I was thinking of you.
5. We had nothing I had do something so I’m knocking on heaven’s door like I’m Bob Dylan.
6. Light up; light up, as if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I’ll be right beside you my dear. (Run - Snow Patrol; guessed by Erica)
7. Hear voices I don’t want to understand. My car keys are jingling in my hand. My high heels are clicking towards your door.
8. You stand in the line just to hit a new low. You fakin’ a smile with a coffee to go. (Bad Day - Daniel Powder; guessed by Angie)
9. We hit the bottom, I thought it was my fault, and in a way I guess it was. I’m just now finding out what it was all about.
10. I worry I weigh three times my body. I worry I throw my fear around. (Clarity - John Mayer; guessed by Angie)
11. Jealousy, turning saints into the sea. Turning through sick lullabies. Choking on your alibis. (Mr. Brightside - The Killers; guessed by Erica)
12. Old friend calls and tells us where to meet. Plane takes off from Baltimore and touches down on Bourbon Street.
13. Nobody ever said it would be so hard; I’m going back to the start. (The Scientist - Coldplay; guessed by KK)
14. I know that we don’t talk. I’m sick of it all. Can you hear me when I sing? You’re the reason I sing. You’re the reason why the opera is in me. (Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own - U2; guessed by Slaygal1981)
15. All the husbands, all the sons, all the lovers gone they make no difference, no difference in the end. Still hear the woman say “you’re daddy died a hero.”
16. When you’d cry I wipe away all of your tears. When you’d scream I’d fight away all of your fears. (My Immortal - Evanescence; guessed by Erica)
17. You should love it way more than you hate it. You mad; I thought you’d be happy I made it.
18. Baby burst into the world, never given a chance. Then they asked what went wrong when you never had it right. (Desperately Wanting - Better Than Ezra; guessed by Slaygal1981)
19. All I think about is keys and G’s. Imagine that, me working at Micky D’s. (New Jack Hustler - Ice-T; guessed by Slaygal1981)
20. With the sure shot, sure to make the bodies drop. Drop and don't copy yo, don't call this a co-opt. (Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine; guessed by Slaygal1981)
21. Though it’s been a while now I can still feel so much pain. Like the knife that cut you the wounds heals, but that scar, that scar remains. (Every Rose Has its Thorn - Poison; guessed by Angie)
22. I got a plan to get us out of here. Been working at a convenient store, managed to save just a little bit of money. (Fast Car - Tracy Chapman; guessed by Angie)
23. Do you really have everything you want? You can’t ever give something you ain’t got. You can’t run away from yourself. (Are You Happy Now? - Michelle Branch; guessed by Angie)
24. What’s cooler than being cool? (Hey Ya! - Outkast; guessed by Erica)
25. To all your friends, you’re delirious so consumed in all your doom. (Beautiful - Christina Aguilera; guessed by Erica)

Cleaning Out My Inbox vol. II

A plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on World’s Funniest Commercial: Hilarious Liaisons, The Riches, The Librarian, The Ruins, Made of Honor and Battlestar Galatica.

- Sunday at 8:00 on TBS sees the latest installment of World’s Funniest Commercials this time focusing on what they are calling Hilarious Liaisons. There is an overabundance of American ad that got old after seeing them for the second time in-between episodes of Lost, but the fresh foreign ones are somewhat entertaining. Be warned that the show is being hosted by Kathy Griffin who is starting to look like a drag queen trying to impersonate Felicity Huffman. You can also check out VeryFunnyAds.com for the ads to hot for television.

- A new season of The Riches starts up next week, Tuesday March 18 at 10:00 on FX. Gotta love that are with the Pinocchio noses, which you can see below (click to enlarge)along with a promo for the show. I have some cool behind the scenes videos but they are taking a bit longer to uploaded than I expected so check back tomorrow for those.





- It was announced this week that there will be a third Librarian movie set to air this winter entitled The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice on TNT with Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin all back while Bruce Davidson and Stana Katic (wasn’t she supposed to be a bigger part of Heroes but disappeared after one episode) join the cast. This time around the crew heads to New Orleans, because when I think of dudes who betrayed Jesus, I think of the Big Easy. The first two movies rank as the highest watch ad supported cable movies of 2004 and 2006 respectively.

- If you remember back a couple weeks when I showed you that cool video for the premiere of Breaking Bad where you could personalize a message for a friend from Walt, well they guys behind that video are at it again this time for The Ruins a horror movie starring Jena Malone. I guess with Ellen Paige taking all her emo/independent films, Jena had to find another genre for work. But anyways. You can see the video followed by the trailer for the movie over at Justin.tv. Then enter your friends’ e-mail’s to see how many you can trick into thinking it is real.

- This next one is just for the ladies because I can’t imagine any guy who would be interested. May 2 sees the premiere of Made of Honor starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan and Sony is currently hosting a contest to get married at the red carpet premiere. The Grand Prize also includes a European honeymoon package, his and hers diamond rings, and other great prizes. Other finalists receive a $1,000 gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond. Actually, looking over the lengthy prize package, I may have to enter this myself. Anyone out there who would like to fake marry me, shout me a holla. Anyone else interested in entering the contest for real you need to hurry because the contest ends Monday, Match 17. Click the banner below to enter.



- Less than a month away from the start of the final season of Battlestar Galactica and you can expect plenty of BSG content soon (I was sent over a half a gig worth of videos and pictures, naturally it is taking its time to download, guess I should have started earlier) including how you can get a free pizza just by watching the premiere (don’t get your hopes up too much for the free food if you live in the Midwest because the pizza offer is only good in New York City and Los Angeles).

- Here is another character profile for the upcoming movie 21:

Musings From the Back 9: 90's Rock Edition

Just how predictable have you become when a magazine gives you a negative review without actually listening to your album? In The Black Crowes defenses, how can you take a music review from Maxim seriously when they are best know for bringing you pictures of a half named Avril Lavigne? Still, you are not going to be too surprised with what you hear on Warpaint, the first album from the brothers Robinson is seven year, first since Kate Hudson tried to Yoko Ono the band. The band gets you right back into the fold with Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution which could have been created out of the same template of Jealous Again which itself pulls from classic southern rock of the seventies. The band does stretch its boundaries a bit like on the spacey Movin’ on Down the Line, the old time blues stomp of God’s Got It, and the eastern influences that creep into Whoa Mule but there isn’t here that will bring in any new listeners, but it won’t disappoint those that have waited on a new album from the band.

Warpaint gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.




When you hear the phrase These Are Good Times People spoken by someone under the name The Presidents of the United States of America you may think it is another George Bush spin job as purported by Fox News. But it is just those Seattle goofballs who brought us such nineties classics as Lump and Peaches. Instead of silly songs about Boll Weevils and Dune Buggies we get to be entertained by songs about Ladybugs and French Girls. The highlights include Mixed Up S.O.B. which puts the pop in power-pop, the instantly catchy Sharpen Up Those Fangs, and More Bad Times, the happiest song about not being sad enough you will ever hear. Knowing that their sound can get old quick, the Presidents knew to keep the album at as listenable forty minutes with only two of the fourteen songs going over 3:15 mark.

These Are Good Times People gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Previewing 21

21, in theaters March 28, looks like one of those movies that will be considered a box office bust but whose DVD will within a year or two be in every dormroom with a monologue from the movie being quoted at every poker game for the next decade. I’ll certainly be picking it up because Kate Bosworth is what I like to refer to as esculent. To keep it from being a box office bust, Sony is putting a marketing push into overdrive starting with the live webcast today at 7:15 PST (if my math’s correct that is 10:15 for those of us on the east coast) over at 21-Movie.com, and if you missed it you can view it in its entirety starting tomorrow (Thursday). While you are there you can sample the 21 Soundtrack (look in the upper right corner) which is out March 18 which has an electric pop feel to it and features tracks from Mark Ronson, LCD Soundsystem and a the Rolling Stones remix. The movie is based on a book, Bringing Down the House about Jeff Ma who is coming out with his own how to count cards videos which can be found at his blog Wild World of Gambling. And of course the movie has its own Facebook page where you can become a fan of. Below is a Blackjack game that you can play and even put on your own website, MySpace or Facebook page as well as a pair of character profiles (I have three more which I’ll post as the movie release date approaches): Ben (Jim Sturgess) Jill (Kate Bosworth)

We on Award Tour: 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

The Rock and Roll of Fame Induction Ceremony has been, since its inception, one the most reliable entertaining show on the awards calendar. But I think starting with this year it is going to get hit or miss and we will be lucky for two great acts being inducted in the same year. It really wasn’t a good sign that this year was headlined by The Dave Clark Five which would have anyone my age or younger asking, “Who?” Granted John Mellencamp, or even Madonna, deserved a higher billing, but that may just be my age bias. Here are some more thoughts on last night’s ceremony and inductees of which you can see in an edited version on VH1 on a week from Saturday:

- Up first is the songwriting team of Gamble and Huff who make the first of two Elliot Spitzer jokes of the night. Seriously, how does a guy that has busted a few prostitution rings in his day not realize just how he could get caught? But anyways, you may Gamble and Huff from such great songs as Me and Mrs. Jones and If You Don’t Know Me By Now.

- Harmonica player Little Walter is next in and shows just how much my harmonica knowledge goes when I expected the dude from Blues Traveler to show up to pay tribute.

- Only two classic cuts and if there was a year that needed the extra classic cuts, this would be it.

- The Ventures make a rare instrumental induction into the Hall (Booker T and the MG’s are the only other ones off the top of my head). Granted the band is way before my time.

- Leonard Cohen is another odd choice for induction, Songwriter Hall of Fame, definitely, Hallelujah is on of the best songs ever written; Rock Hall, that’s a stretch.

- Ever since she was announced as an inductee, I have been going back and forth on whether she deserved it. Yeah she left a lasting impact on the music industry, but for the most part it wasn’t a good one. And after hearing Justin Timberlake induct her, I fall firmly on that she doesn’t deserve in. But it was almost worth it to hear Iggy Pop perform for her. Just keep in mind that unlike Madonna, Iggy isn’t in himself or with The Stooges.

- Seeing Billy Joel induct John Mellencamp was going back to my ealy childhood as that was basically all I listen to back then, only Bruce Springsteen was missing. And they ended up giving the best speeches of the night. Wished John would have invited someone, anyone onstage with him though.

- And you thought Iggy Pop singing Madonna was weird, Joan Jett doing The Dave Clarke Five was almost as odd a choice. Which then led to the most boring all-star jam I’ve witness. But I guess that will happen when there are not that many stars in attendance.

25 Best Characters on Television

We are a week away from the first post-strike episodes starting with the CBS comedies. Grant it will be more of a trickle than a pour with the sitcoms coming back first while most of the dramas won’t be showing up until next month. To mark the return of the writers I have decided to make up a list of their best creations, the characters that make us laugh and cry week in and week out. And since it is much more fun if my homies get some, I decided to invite some to make up their own list (keeping it just to current television characters), then I threw all the ballots I received into my algorithm (patent pending) so complex that it would make Stephen Hawking stand and applaud to get on definitive list. Here are the results:

1. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Battlestar Galactica)
2. Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
3. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
4. Benjamin Linus (Lost)
5. Dexter Morgan (Dexter)
6. Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
7. Landry Clarke (Friday Night Lights)
8. Dwight Schrute (The Office)
9. Lily Rush (Cold Case)
10. Omar Little (The Wire)
11. Gaius Baltar (Battlestar Galactica)
12. Olive Snook (Pushing Daisies)
13. Shawn Spencer (Psych)
14. Sheldon Cooper PhD (The Big Bang Theory)
15. Dr. Juliet Burke (Lost)
16. Michael Weston (Burn Notice)
17. Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood)
18. Dr. Miranda Bailey (Grey’s Anatomy)
19. Chuck Bartowski (Chuck)
20. Brenda Leigh Johnson (The Closer)
21. Emerson Cod (Pushing Daisies)
22. Ned “The Piemaker” (Pushing Daisies)
23. Liz Lemon (30 Rock)
24. Stephanie Lane (My Boys)
25. Stewie Griffin (Family Guy)

Also receiving multiple votes: Desmond Hume (Lost), Major John Casey (Chuck), Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
Voters: Ducky, Jo, Kate, Sandie, Scooter McGavin, TVFan, Vance


For those keeping track at home, that Friday Night Lights and Pushing Daisies led the list with three characters each with Lost and Battlestar Galactica getting a pair each. I had asked everyone to send along the full name of their choices and was a little annoyed that the people who voted for Ned didn’t include his last name until I realized that we have yet to learn his full name. Where the Narrator calls everyone by their full name, he always refers to him as the Piemaker. And in a measure of full disclosure, here are the characters that made my top ten (for those that agree or disagree, that is what the comment section is for):


1. Landry Clarke (Friday Night Lights)
2. Sheldon Cooper PhD (The Big Bang Theory)
3. Emerson Cod (Pushing Daisies)
4. Major John Casey (Chuck)
5. Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
6. Earl Hickey (My Name Is Earl)
7. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
8. Shawn Garrity (Rescue Me)
9. Maggie Decker (Eli Stone)
10. Frannie Morgan (Greek)