Okay, Coldplay never actually ruled the world like the character in the song Viva la Vida, but they were on schedule to do so after the amazing Rush of Blood to the Head put them on the cusp of being the biggest band in the land. The only problem was the follow-up X&Y crashed under its own weight, instead of sounding like the greatest band out there, the album came off sounding like a Coldplay cover band.
Knowing they missed a golden opportunity, Coldplay scrapped the idea for the band and started anew; the result is Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends is much less piano, lead singer Chris Martin discovering his voice can do more than falsetto, and more experimentation than their first three albums combined. That experimentation could be attributed to Brian Eno who is the go to producer when you are trying to mix up your sound.
The change is ever-present from the beginning with the instrumental opener Life in Technicolor featuring a Persian santur. And it seems the band picked up even more influences on their world tour aside from the album title, cover and their poor man’s French soldier get-ups they have been sporting everywhere lately. Cemeteries of London features clapping straight from Spanish flamingo dancers while Yes has a distinctive Middle Eastern fell to it. A bagpipe sound even creeps into the Beatlesque Strawberry Swing. But despite its title, Chinese Sleep Chant, the song doesn’t have much in common with the Far East and is really the only song on the album that sounds close to classic Coldplay with its crushing guitars. Even then, Martin’s falsetto is almost completely hidden under the rest of the band.
The writing gets a major overhaul on the album too with Martin’s main go to of relationship topics are rare, instead were get songs about politics like the first single Violet Hill. But the majority of the album deals goes into U2 territory of religion and mortality with such lines peppered throughout the album like, “God is in the houses and God is in my head” (Cemeteries of London), “You didn’t get to heaven but you made it close” (42) “I know St. Peter will call my name” (Viva la Vida) and “I don’t wanna follow Death and all his friends.”
All these changes for the band collimate in Lost! a foot stomping anthem complete with organs straight from a church playing under some crazy percussion instrument. One change that is a little off is all the combination of songs, three of which have two distinctive songs complete with their own titles on the same track. Then there is 42, one name but with three section; the first that has an early Pink Floyd vibe, the middle sound like Radiohead circa OK Computer while the last is something completely new.
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends may not give Coldplay biggest band in the world status (especially with a new U2 album coming out in the same year) but the album is the band’s reapplication for that title. We will have to wait until album number five until we find out if they are finally accepted as such.
From the promo, it is hard to tell if The Middleman would end up thoroughly enjoyable or just head scratchingly bad. The acting is not in contention for ant awards and the production value looks like, well, the production value for an ABC Family show. But the lead character seems watchable. And it certainly helps that she looks like Rosario Dawson and Brittany Murphy were somehow able to create a child together and was raised a nerd.
The premise is simple, unbeknown to anyone; comic book supervillains are real and are maniacally trying to take over the world with harebrain plots. That is where The Middleman comes in; he foils the plots all the while keeping the mindless public from realizing the true danger that is out there. Yeah it sounds like Men in Black but no one has had their mind erased (yet). Keeping with the Men in Black theme, The Middleman recruits and new partner to help him in his dogoodary.
That is where are snarky heroine comes in, and really aren’t all the female protagonists since Buffy Summers snarky, who joins up because she has become so jaded with life she isn’t even fazed when she gets attacked by a science experiment gone (the CGI of which looked to take up about 95% of the episode’s budget). And in true comic book fashion, she even comes with alliteration, Wendy Watson. And she has good reason to be jaded, she stuck temping while dreaming of being an artist, her boyfriend is an ambiguously gay douche, her roommate is a activist looking for a cause, and of course her mother is nagging her about it all.
The highlight though is the afro-ed, guitar playing hippie who hangs in the hall of Wendy’s apartment spouting inane comments and obscure pop references. Seriously, it is hard not to down with a character whose first words onscreen are quoting Shaft. Rounding out the cast is The Middleman’s cranky secretary who really is not that fond of Wendy.
The first episode deals with a bunch of mobsters being killed off by, well, I don’t want to spoil it for you because, one, it is a hilarious concept (a good sign for the rest of the series), and two, I’m not sure you would believe me without seeing it for yourself. But I will say, the case involves the chick from 24. The show is chalk full with great one-liners and absurd monologues (it is a real life comic book). Aside from the low production value, being a comic book brought to life, it could have been more stylized, there really isn’t much downside. The sub par acting just builds into the campy feel to the show. Granted being from a writer of Lost there are some holes in the back-story like who sends The Middleman his weapons and dispenses him on his jobs. Hopefully we get these answers quicker than his last writing job.
The Middleman premieres tonight at 8:00 on ABC Family and repeats at 9:00 and midnight. For those that do not want to wait for tonight or want to watch it on the go (or just missed it), you can download the first episode of The Middleman for free on iTunes.
This month’s Lyrics Quiz is pretty simple, I sorted my iTunes library by time and these are the twenty-five longest songs I have. Well, these are all album versions; I took out all the live songs, remixes and obscure songs. Each of these songs clock in at more than six and a half minutes and are ranked starting with the largest. 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. If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me? (Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd; guessed by Dara)
2. Who's up for game three? I can barely see the bourbon drowning next to me and I just lost it all. (That Was a Crazy Game of Poker - O.A.R.; guessed by Lauren fm NC)
3. I never wanted to be your weekend lover. I only wanted to be some kind of friend. Baby I could never steal you from another. It’s such a shame our friendship had to end. (Purple Rain - Prince and the Revolution; guessed by Dara)
4. Did you write the book of love? And do you have faith in God above if the Bible tells you so? (American Pie - Don McLean; guessed by Dara) 5. There are days when outside your window. I see my refection when I slowly pass. Then I long for this mirrored perspective when we will be lovers, lovers at last. 6. And though they could not produce the gun the DA said he was the one who did the deed. And the all-white jury agreed. (Hurricane - Bob Dylan; guessed by Dave Faulkner) 7. The grass was greener. The light was brighter. The taste was sweeter. The nights of wonder. With friends surrounded. The dawn mist glowing. The water flowing. The endless river. Forever and ever. 8. It’s crazy I’m thinking just knowing the world is round and here I’m dancing on the ground. Never right side up or upside down. Is this real or am I dreaming. (Crush - Dave Matthews Band; guessed by Dara)
9. I dream that I never know anyone at the party and I’m always the host. If dreams are like movies than memories are films about ghosts. (Mrs. Potter's Lullaby - Counting Crows; guessed by Dara)
10. Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn. If your girls starts acting up then you take her friend. (Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang; guessed by Curtisleefarmer)
11. Things are okay with me these days. Got a good job, got a good office. Got a new wife, got a new life and the family is fine. (Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel; guessed by Dave Faulkner)
12. Is this the way it’s really going down? Is this how we say goodbye? Should have known when you came around that you were gonna make me cry. (What Goes Around... / ...Comes Around - Justin Timberlake; guessed by Dara)
13. Where were you while we were getting high? (Champagne Supernova - Oasis; guessed by Dara)
14. I thought I told you to meet me, but I walk down o the beach. Tell me how does it feel when your heart goes cold? (Blue Monday - New Order; guessed by Dara) 15. I am yours, you are mine, you are what you are. You make it hard.
16. But this girl was ugly. I mean her body was threw. But after four drinks of more she looked like Paula Abdul.
17. For that mean, mean, mean, mean green. 18. And when he died all he left me was alone. (Papa Was a Rollin' Stone - The Temptations; guessed by Paul) 19. I’ll be loving you until the rainbow and stars aren’t in the skies. Loving you until the oceans cover every mountain high. 20. Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better. (Hey Jude - The Beatles; guessed by Dara) 21. In this great future you can’t forget your past. So dry your tears I say. 22. Like a fool I fell in love with you. Turned my whole world upside down. (Layla - Derek and the Dominos; guessed by Dara)
23. Right about now, the funk soul brother. Check it out now. (Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim; guessed by Paul)
24. It’s four o’clock in the morning, damnit. Listen to me good, I’m sleeping with myself tonight. (Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John; guessed by Paul)
25. The Surgeon General says it's hazardous to breathe. I’d have another cigarette, but I can’t see. (Paradise City - Guns n' Roses; guessed by Dara)
Quote of the Week: Of course you don’t. It is a literary reference anyone with a high school diploma would understand unless of course you are a dumb jock who eats his way through a public education system with an eighth grade reading comprehension. And you, what are you like forty-five now? The war is over honey. No more hiding at college to dodge the draft and miserable future of a minimum wage paying job. (Frannie, Greek)
Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Trails to Tim Russert: For my political news, I always turn to NBC and Tim Russert was a big reason for that. I treat election night like a big game, picking up a six pack on the way home, and enjoy the back and forth as the results trickle in. And there are few lasting imagers from the quadruple overtime of the 2000 elections with Tim and his dry erase board which it looked like he just ripped off the door of a local college student. Sadly, I know just heartbreaking it is to know such a political junkie as Russert was that he won’t be around to see the outcome of this historical election. But it says a lot about him, in this time when most newsmen are as fair and balanced as an NBA ref that it wasn’t until watching the coverage of his death that I knew his political leanings. You could also tell that he was one of the few newsmen who, when you heard him talk that he truly enjoyed talking politics and it wasn’t just a job for him. If only news had more newsmen, or people like him. Election Day this year will not be the same without him. For more information on the life of Tim Russert, check out the coverage on MSNBC.com.
Coalition Links of the Week: Katherine Heigl made waves with her statement about Grey's Anatomy while pulling out of the Emmy race this week, but Buzz wondered if perhaps she had a point. (BuzzSugar)
We finally found out just who PJ's mystery date was on the premiere of My Boys. Did she bring along the right guy? If you're a fan of My Boys and in the Boston area, join GMMR & Jamie Kaler (Mike) next week for a My Boys party here in Beantown and watch the second episode with fellow fans. (Give Me My Remote)
Still reeling from her great day on the set of Burn Notice, Rae's got a recap of what happened as well as some visual aids. (RTVW)
Woohoo! It's the Top 20 Dance-Off on So You Think You Can Dance! Vance is super excited and the high level of endorphins from the excitement is probably causing him to love all the dancers so far! (Tapeworthy)
TiFaux was a regular Bloggers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes this week as we gave away all sorts of stuff. But you can still enter to win things like Jackie from Work Out's DVD by e-mailing us. Click the link and enter! (TiFaux)
The casting department at Brothers and Sisters can stop looking for Ryan Walker. Jennifer has found the perfect guy. She also mourned the loss of Men in Trees and celebrated that the Smurfs are coming to the big screen! (Tube Talk)
The TV Addict answers all your TV related questions in his new weekly column Ask the Addict. (The TV Addict)
Raoul talked to Bobby from Hell's Kitchen about Gordon Ramsay, Tourette's Syndrome, and what's next for him. (TV Filter)
Greek: As you can tell by the Quote of the Week I got catch up somewhat with the show thanks to the marathon. Unfortunately thanks to the marathon cutting out two episodes, the Greek website still having weird streaming rules, and my Time Warner Cable rearing its ugly head again, I only got five and a half of the eleven episodes I missed. Hopefully now that I have gotten to the point where Frannie has been reinstated she can go back to her Republican spouting ways and drop at least some of the niceties. Because not only is Nice Frannie not as interesting as a character, as seen from the flashback, Mean Frannie is actually more attractive too. Not sure if that says anything about me. You can stream select episodes on ABCFamily.com or download the whole first season of Greek on iTunes.
Pick for Next Week: The Middleman, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: This looks to be one of those shows that will either be the greatest things ever or the worst thing ever put to film (actually do they even put things to film anymore and should I start saying worst thing put on a hard drive?). When watching part of the Greek marathon, I stopped on one commercial in a fake PSA that had me on the floor laughing (see promo above). I should have a preview of the show up on Monday, but who cares what I think when you can preview the show yourself and download the first episode of The Middleman free on iTunes.
Also be sure to check out the Big DVD sale at Amazon.com where you can find all seasons of Scooter Hall of Fame inductee Dukes of Hazzard for under $20 and future SHoF'er Veronica Mars for under $25 and other movies, including Blu-Ray and television shows at up to 60% off.
Last month, southern rockers Old 97's released a decent new album Blame it on Gravity although I may never have heard of them had it not have been for Veronica Mars which featured two of their songs during Donut Run. The song that had me running to my computer to see who it was, which is actually a rarity, was the episode closer Adelaide. Then once I got the song I played it ad nausea for about a month afterwards. There is just something about the line, "Looking down she says things are looking up." Below you can see the Veronica Mars scene is question. I could not find a place you could stream the whole song without being autoplay, but you can download the song for free from the band's label's website New West Records.
It has gotten to the point there are so many female imports, that now they are coming across the pond with just one name. Last month saw the debut from Duffy and now comes 19 from the latest retro leaning lass Adele. But where her counterpoints stop at being one women girl groups of the Motown era, typically thanks to Mark Ronson production, Adele goes back even further with influences like Dusty Springfield and Etta James.
Without Ronson at the helm (aside from Cold Shoulder which is easily recognizable as his), the songs sound more simplistic. This isn’t more evident than on the great kiss off, Best for Last with its single bass guitar and a few friends singing background on the chorus to back up the songstress. That same template also shows up on Crazy for Your, sans the background sings, almost to the same effect. Then on First Love it is just her and an sweet arrangement on a xylophone.
Certainly, most of the rest of the songs get the full band treatment, but the real standout instrument on these tracks remains Adele’s voice. Yeah, much like Duffy, it may take a couple listens to get used to, but once that taste is acquired, this is an album that won’t get old quick and it is her voice that saves these songs from boring Norah Jones territory. For the best example of where she just lets go vocally, check out Melt My Heart to Stone.
It is only when Adele speeds things up for something more danceable and in Amy Winehouse’s wheelhouse do things just don’t feel right like on Right as Rain. Speaking of things that just don’t work, the Bob Dylan penned To Make You Feel My Love, the only song on the album not written by Adele, just feels out of place and may have been better off staying in the realm of old dudes like Billy Joel.
Living all my life above the Mason Dixon, I would be able to tell you the difference between Bill Engvall and Bill Bixby. But apparently he was part of the Blue Color Comedy thing with the king redneck Jeff Foxworthy and his series, the appropriately titled The Bill Engvall Show, is the top rated family sitcom on TBS and even set records as ad-supported cable’s number one sitcom of all time among adults 25-54. This is pretty impressive until you of just how little the amount of ad-supported cable sitcom their have been. But anyways.
For those of you like me and missed the first season, let me catch you up to speed. The show is billed as a traditional sitcom (i.e. the ones you remember from the 80’s) and Engvall is just your regular guy with a regular wife (Nancy Travis) raising three kids in the suburbs. Of course being a traditional sitcom, none of these siblings possibly came from the same gene pool. The youngest, naturally is the smartest of the bunch, presumably a genius, while his older brother received the Danny DeVito in Twins treatment and got not brain cells and floats around in full surfer mode. Then there is the eldest daughter who is just too cool for the rest of the clan and has as much street smarts as her youngest brother has book smarts.
Then out of nowhere, Tim Meadows of all people pops up as Engvall’s old friends from way back. The show is remotely entertaining in a stop and enjoys some wholesome fun when flipping past TV Land kind of way. The first episode of the season starts off with the children going on strike when Bill asks them to clean the garage and hilarity ensues when they fight with their parents on who will back down first. The second finds Bill fighting with his cell phone provider and really who cannot laugh at how painful it is to talk to these people.
The Bill Engvall Show premieres this Thursday at 9:00 on TBS.
My Boys seems to be the perfect summer show, it isn’t good enough to divert your attention during the regular season, but is decent enough to keep you from watching all the crappy reality shows that populate the warmer months. Last season ended with PJ heading off to Rome and TBS has forbidden me from revealing who is actually on the plane, but I can say, well nothing because the whole episode revolves around who is on the trip.
So let’s move onto the second episode of the season which was much more entertaining. First, the episode feels more like the series feel during the first season with PJ back with her boys playing poker and the like. This episode also introduces Andy’s new hot nanny which naturally all the guys try to hook up with.
TBS also sent along some clips, one of the opening scene with JP on the plane and the other with the boys back in Chicago not functioning well without here. My Boys premieres this Thursday at 9:30 on TBS. You can also relive the first season, and download the new season as it airs by downloading My Boys on iTunes.
Ask and you shall receive. Not long after mentioning that if anyone sends me free food I would shamelessly mention their project when The Closer sent me cookies did I receive a box of Mountain Dew. In a measure of full disclosure, I stopped drinking pop (or as Jo likes to call it, soda) around college and stopped drinking Mountain Dew around high school when I first heard the urban legend of what the pop does to a man’s manhood. But since the new Dew do not have the infamous yellow dye that is rumored to have the side effect I went ahead and gave it a try because it id free and I’m shameless.
Just a little back story, last November Mountain Dew let its drinkers create the next Mountain Dew choosing the flavor, color, logo and label through a series of online games. But if American Karaoke has taught us anything, letting people vote isn’t the way to success (the show has produced much more flops than actual idols) so we are suck with such silly names as Voltage, Revolution, and Supernova, instead of simpler, more descriptive names like Raspberry Citrus, Wild Berry Fruit, and Strawberry Melon, which is what the flavors of each of the drinks are respectively. And apparently the internet loves ginseng because each drink has it.
Being that each drink has some sort of “berry” in it, the flavors don’t taste too much different, but I would give the slight edge to Supernova with Voltage in a close second. None of these drink will get back to drinking pop full time, but any would be a nice change of pace from the usually Coke/Pepsi you find at most cookouts and the like. But who cares what I think, since all the cans hit the shelves earlier this month, you can give each try yourself and then go to DEWmocracy.com and vote your favorite, with the lead vote getter becoming a permanent flavor at the end of the summer.
Big New of the Week: Jeffrey Tambor, Gary Cole, and Rob Thomas All in One Place: When talking about next year’s schedule I asked where were the Rob Thomas shows were at and apparently at least one is still in development as it was announced that Tambor (Arrested Development) and Gary Cole (Office Space) will star in the pilot joining another AD vet Mae Whitman who was last not seen on Bionic Woman when she was replaced with someone more attractive and with less acting ability.
Coalition Links of the Week: To kick off Summer TV, Buzz listed her top 10 reasons to keep your TV on during the hotter months. (BuzzSugar)
Rae's in Miami visiting the set of Burn Notice but she's still got time to tease us with a few tidbits from the dinner with showrunner and creator Matt Nix. (RTVW)
Vance has always loved the Midwest (People are seriously SO nice AND good looking there!) so no wonder he loved the most dancers at the auditions in Milwaukee for So You Think You Can Dance. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace couldn't have been more angry than upon seeing sourpuss Lisa advance her way into the final round on Top Chef. Grr. (Televisionary)
Apparently the ratings for The Mole were in the crapper for the season premiere. However, Dan still thinks it's a reasonably good reality show that is worth sticking with. (TiFaux)
Smallville fans are still mourning the loss of Michael Rosenbaum's departure for next season, but the news that the Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) has signed on as a regular cast member is softening the blow for Jennifer. I mean, have you seen him in the green leather?! (Tube Talk)
We started our desperate attempt to fill the summer with 'interesting content' by posting the first of what will no doubt be many look backs at the 2007-08 television season. (the TV Addict)
Kate talked to the cast of How I Met Your Mother about life, love and just who is the mother? (TV Filter)
Fear Itself: So I basically only watched of Landry Clarke and it was basically what I expected, not really my thing. And it was a little weird seeing Landry not be Landry.
Next Week’s Pick: My Boys, Thursday at 9:30 on TBS: The first season was mildly entertaining and the second season promises to start right where the first left off with PJ going to Rome with a mystery man. Baring a catastrophe, I should have a preview of the show, along with The Bill Engvall Show which also has its season premiere right before My Boys.
Also, if you are like me and missed the second half of the first season of Greek, ABC Family is having at mini marathon starting a noon of the show leading up to the first season finale.
It was 85 degrees yesterday, and is supposed break 90 today, so there is no better soundtrack to global warming that Sunny Hours by Long Beach Dub All-Stars. The band was formed by the remaining members of Sublime and yes that was will.i.am making a cameo in the song before he met Fergie, who basically is good music kryptonite and turned the Black Eyed Peas into crap. I guess you can attribute the lack of success of this song to the album it was on was auspiciously released on 9/11/01 (the song landed in at number three on my list of the best songs of that year). But it is definitely a song you should be on everyone’s iPod:
This weekend I will be participating in a charity event so time this week is a little scarce (well, the eighty degree weather is also keeping me from sitting in front of the computer). So I thought I would throw up another widget this time where you can listen to the 100 Best Songs of 2006. Keep in mind you cannot get all the songs on the list at Amazon MP3, so you may want to click the link to see all 100 songs on the list.
It is weird compiling a list of the best television for the past year with so many shows disappearing in the middle of the year or being rushed to complete the sessions with a couple less episodes that were planned. It was interesting with all my bemoaning of hoe horrible the new batch of shows were last summer, freshmen shows dominated the list with four of the top five shows. Here are my picks anyways for the best of the last twelve months:
A nice even split among the networks this year (not counting the unwatchable FOX or The CW) with cable getting a share of the pie this year too. Below is a breakdown as well as a running tally of the shows that led in numbers of Quotes and Songs of the Week from my weekly 57 Channels rundown:
NBC (3) ABC (3) CBS (2) FX (1) ABC Family (1)
Quote of the Week Friday Night Lights (9) The Big Bang Theory (5) Lost (4) Pushing Daisies (3) How I Met Your Mother (3) My Name Is Earl (2) Journeyman (2) Eli Stone (2)
Song of the Week Eli Stone (6) Journeyman (5) Everybody Hates Chris (3) My Name Is Earl (3) Smallville (2) Friday Night Lights (2) Chuck (2) How I Met Your Mother (2) Pushing Daisies (1) South Park (1) Lost (1)
Thanks to the writer’s strike, this was a weird year for television. Some shows ended around Christmas and won’t be coming back until the fall with some never to be seen again. But on the bright side, this was the first time in a very long time that a show I loved didn’t get canceled. This year’s awards also mark the first time Veronica Mars didn’t win top honors for Best Scripted Show on account that it is no longer on. So without further ado, let’s see who took over the top spot for this years STA’s.
Most Entertaining Reality “Star”: Midget Mac (I Love New York)
Best Quote: What is the rate of exchange on the life of a bird because if equal to or greater than mine I gotta get back to my car. (Emerson Cod, Pushing Daisies)
For the first time in a decade Mike Myers hosts the MTV Movie Awards and may be the last time the show was throughly entertaining. Here are my thoughts on this years show:
- Of course one of the reason even MTV’s Award Shows are no longer that much entertaining is all the shameless plugs, two of which made it in the first segment of the pre-show with the brunette from The Hills and The American Mall. And do teenagers even go to the mall anymore?
- Second segment and two more shameless plugs with The Search for Elle Woods and Rock Band. Yawn. And The House Bunny looks not at all watchable.
- Should I know what Twilight is? Wasn’t that a Reese Witherspoon movie? Is this a remake?
- Really, an American Gladiators sighting?
- MTV really needs to cut ties with Paris Hilton. Actually I need to cut ties with MTV.
- Now onto the big show. The last time Myers hosted TV Guide called it one of the funniest things ever on television. I don’t think if they updated the list that the 2008 version will make the list.
- Rainn Wilson, that dude next to you doesn’t even vaguely look like the dude from No Country for Old Men, he looked like Fabio with a nose job in a bad wig that vaguely looked like the bad guy’s hair from that movie.
- Holy Wallace Fennel sighting... as a cheerleader? In a crappy gum commercial. Ugg. And I thought the Hot Pockets was low.
- Should I know the dude with Will Ferrell?
- Huh, Spider-Man 3 lost to a movie I never heard of in the Best Fight? Has anyone else heard of the movie?
- FN’MTV indeed. Exactly what want to do on Friday nights, stay home and watch music videos.
- Ah, a Chewbacca winning the Lifetime Achievent Award, they should really bring that back.
- The food chick: also won’t be included in the next list of funniest things ever on television.
- Sweet, Wayne's World, complete with Garth. Naturally when talking about Garth’s nether regions, a shot of Paris Hilton, and talk of Tila Tequila going both ways, a shot of Lindsay Lohan.
- Nice of Johnny Depp to show up from back stage, too good for the common people like Will Smith. Which begs the question how did he get nominated let alone win?
- Tom Cruise presenting a Generation Award to Adam Sandler? Sure, makes sense to me. But his package looked like a highlight reel of my DVD collection.
- The Tropic Thunder thing is how you shamelessly promote something.
- Wow, presenters that are not all from the same movie. And Diddy and Lindsay Lohan doing political comedy, did that really just happen?
- Seriously, From G’s to Gents? Why?
- Brendon Frasier has reached present by himself tier? Alrighty.
- I’m getting a sense that the Johnny Depp fan club found a way to stuff the ballot. Did anyone actually see that movie.
- After hearing their new song, I guessing the Pussycat Dolls era is coming to a close. At least the Coldplay performance was decent even with the French army gear on.
- Another award to a movie I never heard of until tonight in the Best Kiss category.
- - Wait, was Robert Downey Jr. cleanly shaven when he accepted that stupid award earlier? And Transformers wins Best Movie. I really need to stop watching this crap.
Like many dudes my age, my childhood toy box was filled with plenty of Transformers and Hot Wheels. But the favorite for me were the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame. Sure it is easy to look back now and without a shadow of a doubt that He-Man was a juicer, only Barry Bonds had a bigger transition than He-Man did when he transformed from Prince Adam, but the memories are still there.
That is mostly because Big Head He-Man really never ranked in my top five favorites in the series. Easily my favorite of the Masters of the Universe wasn’t even technically a Master as it was one of Skeletor’s minions, Kobra Khan. That was a must annoy the parents until they cave and buy it situation when he came out if only because he could spray water out of his mouth. I am sure I cried for weeks when one of my uncles broke the neck, making the spray function useless.
The toys have had an auspicious track record outside the action figure line and cartoons. The movie version, starring Courtney Cox, could be the worst film adaptation with only Super Mario Bros. able to jump in that argument. . Maybe not so ironically both fantasy movies had plotlines where the protagonists came to Earth. But anyways. Sadly it looks like they are going to try a new live action version in the new future. And the toys really only live on today in jokes about certain starlets of today and their resemblance to Skeletor.
Then a recent reboot of the franchise back in 2002 with a reinstruction of the action figure and a Cartoon Network show, the first volume of which my sister and all her infinite wisdom though I would enjoy and gave it to me as a gift. And darn if nostalgia made me give it a look. The new show is very reminiscent of the cartoon of my youth right down to the cheesy, in a good way, moral epilogues. although He-Man is a little more ambiguously gay this time around. Volume two was recently released with the third and final one later this year, which may just have to be added to my Christmas list.
Big News of the Week: The History Channel Changes Name to History: Um, yeah, alright. Did the rapper born as Sean Combs have something to do with this inexplicable name change?
Coalition Links of the Week: According to one poll, Hugh Laurie and Pushing Daisies' Anna Friel are the Brits with the best American accents on TV. BuzzSugar wants to know who else does a good American accent. (BuzzSugar)
Marcia and Fergus liveblogged Eurovision, the only music contest to feature Olympic ice skaters, knitting brides and pirates. Take that, American Idol. (Pop Vultures)
Who's the most overrated couple on television today? Meredith/Derek or Henry/Betty? You tell us. (RTVW Online)
LOST. SO. AMAZING! (Vance is still gasping for air.) (Tapeworthy)
The highlight of Jace's week? The jaw-dropping and brilliant season ender of Lost. The low point? Watching the pilot for the brutally awful US adaptation of Spaced. (Televisionary)
The same-sex escapades continued on Work Out and our resident lesbians answered viewer questions about Jackie Warner's taskmaster tendencies as well as the shameless hot tub scenes with Renessa and Greg. (TiFaux)
Ashley picked her jaw off the floor long enough to reflect on the Lost finale and the season-ending shocker. (Tube Talk)
Kate picked the top five summer shows she's looking forward to this summer - and Wipeout wasn't one of them, thank you very much. (TV Filter)
Lost: I listed a bunch of questions during my season review (see We Got to Go Back Kate) but one I didn’t think of until after I posted is what is going to be real time in season five? It looks like getting back on the island will be the theme of next season so will they be flashbacking to the island, or Sawyer at el will be present day on the show and the Oceanic 6 will only be seen in flashforwards? Or, of course, both? Well we only have eight months to debate that I guess. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.
Promo of the Week: Some say I Love Money, premiering July 13 on VH1, is going to be the greatest reality show ever while some argue that we will look back in ten year and pinpoint the show as the downfall of western civilization. I say way not both. But after watching the promo I got to wonder where my boy Midget Mac is? He better not have gotten voted off early and the camerman just are not panning down to get him in the shots.
Next Week’s Pick: Fear Itself, Thursday at 10:00 on NBC: The show may not seem too interesting except for horror fans, but the first episode stars Landry Clarke and the moderately attractive Mircea Monroe.
There really is no more polarizing show on television on Lost. Whether arguing that it has fallen off since the first season or it is actually better than it ever is, or even arguing about what it all means, it is hard not to have an opinion on the show and argue to your last breath on that opinion. This was the season I decided to stop being frustrated with all the unanswered questions and the absurdity of it all. If I were a Lost character this season I would be Paulo before the whole dieing thing, just a dude in the background while the Jack’s and Locke’s argue over every minute and inane detail of the show.
If there were a season for the show to shake itself off the funk it has been in since the excruciatingly boring first season finale, it was this one thanks to the jaw dropping last scene of season three that introduced up to the concept of a flashforward. So for season four we had a nice mix of flashbacks, flashforwards, and whatever the frak that Desmond-centric episode was.
Naturally the writers dropped the ball with some of the flashforwards, thinking that a big reveal at the end would make up for the otherwise substandard rest of the episode. Yes I am talking to you Kate. But then you had the edge of your seat ones like Sayid and Not-Henry, which I was actually right was not really a flashforward. I have a theory that when he went behind his bookcase after they killed his daughter he wasn’t summoning the smoke monster but instead warped into the future to warn Charles Whitmore that he was going to kill his daughter in retaliation. I was just a couple episodes off.
Then the finale shows us in detail how the Oceanic 6 got off the island, which less face it was pretty anti climatic. The problem with Lost with all the back and forth in time, even the novice viewer can piece the puzzle together by the time the actual reveal happen. What keeps people coming back is the big plot twists and season four had a decent ones even if everyone thought it was Locke in coffin the day after the third season finale. I was actually holding out for my initial guess in Not-Henry until the moment he walked through the door. Even then I thought maybe it was still him and faked his death.
But it was Locke which of course ended up in the coffin which really puts a wrech in my Charles Whitmore is Future-Locke theory. Of course this, and other parts of the finale, begs these questions:
- What did everyone refer to Locke as Jeremy?
- If Locke has to go back with the 6 to get back on the island, does Walt, Desmond, and the Lawnmower Man have to go back too?
- How and why did Locke get off the island?
- How does Locke die?
- What the frak is up with Claire?
- What the frak is up with Jin?
- What the frak is up with Faraday and the people on his raft?
- What the frak is up with Michael? (I assumed Jack's dad saying you can go now meant he could die. And on that note, why is Jack's dad showing up everywhere?)
- Is there a significance to Sawyer, Michael, and Jin all being in the sea (be it dead or alive) much like the end of the first season?
- What did Sawyer whisper to Kate?
- Why did Miles want to stay?
- What does Sun want with Whitmore?
- What was with the weird octagon commercial thing?
- Why were Boone, Libby, and Charlie selected as the three that died in the Oceanic 6 fake story?
- And most importantly, what the frak is with the feud between Not-Henry and Charles Whitmore?
Ever since his infamous couch jumping episode incident, not only has Tom Cruise’s films underperformed but it has also had a negative affect the reason for the jumping, his wife Katie Holmes. Granted you can argue her lack of being able to put people in theater seats well predates her meeting her husband. First Daughter anyone? Not surprisingly her latest outing tanked at the box office debuting at a meager seventh place.
That is not to say Mad Money (not to be confused with the Jim Cramer television show, which actually makes an appearance) is at all unwatchable. Holmes plays third banana to Diane Keaton (Father of the Bride) who is forced to get a job cleaning toilets at the Federal Reserve Bank when her husband gets fired. There she comes up with a plan to get back to living the upper class lifestyle she is used to by recycling the old and worn money about to be shredded for her own personal use.
As the person actually doing the shredding, Queen Latifah (Bringing Down The House) if the first person she recruits with Holmes entering the fold later. Not to pile on Holmes, but she is the weak link in the trio as the flaky, free spirited character seemed to be more fitted for someone younger and with actual comedic timing.
The movie really shines with its supporting cast. First there is Stephan Root as head of the bank playing a more serious Jimmy James. Ted Danson (Getting Even With Dad) gets plenty of laughs as Keaton’s now unemployed husband. Finesse Mitchell, who Saturday Night Live should bring back to play Barak Obama, gets the most laughs as the guard that hits on every woman that goes through the metal detector. And even my big brother Shooter McGavin makes a way too short appearance.
Unfortunately the movie starts off in the third act, one of my least favorite plot devises, with the main players being arrested before flashing back. But how they pull off the caper still is entertaining despite the miscast Holmes. Still they should have gotten caught well sooner than it happened because the movie ends up going about twenty minutes too long where you just think to yourself, go ahead and caught already.
![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
but no one has had their mind erased (yet). Keeping with the Men in Black theme, The Middleman recruits and new partner to help him in his dogoodary.
where you can find all seasons of Scooter Hall of Fame inductee Dukes of Hazzard for under $20 and future SHoF'er Veronica Mars for under $25 and other movies, including Blu-Ray and television shows at up to 60% off.
treatment and got not brain cells and floats around in full surfer mode. Then there is the eldest daughter who is just too cool for the rest of the clan and has as much street smarts as her youngest brother has book smarts.
(NBC)
(ABC)
movie? Is this a remake?
, he looked like Fabio with a nose job in a bad wig that vaguely looked like the bad guy’s hair from that movie.
lost to a movie I never heard of in the Best Fight? Has anyone else heard of the movie?
, complete with Garth. Naturally when talking about Garth’s nether regions, a shot of Paris Hilton, and talk of Tila Tequila going both ways, a shot of Lindsay Lohan.
wins Best Movie. I really need to stop watching this crap.
, could be the worst film adaptation with only 
able to jump in that argument. . Maybe not so ironically both fantasy movies had plotlines where the protagonists came to Earth. But anyways. Sadly it looks like they are going to try a new live action version in the new future. And the toys really only live on today in jokes about certain starlets of today and their resemblance to Skeletor.
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my 
anyone? Not surprisingly her latest outing tanked at the box office debuting at a meager seventh place.
) who is forced to get a job cleaning toilets at the Federal Reserve Bank when her husband gets fired. There she comes up with a plan to get back to living the upper class lifestyle she is used to by recycling the old and worn money about to be shredded for her own personal use.
) if the first person she recruits with Holmes entering the fold later. Not to pile on Holmes, but she is the weak link in the trio as the flaky, free spirited character seemed to be more fitted for someone younger and with actual comedic timing.
. Ted Danson (
) gets plenty of laughs as Keaton’s now unemployed husband. Finesse Mitchell, who Saturday Night Live should bring back to play Barak Obama, gets the most laughs as the guard that hits on every woman that goes through the metal detector. And even my big brother 
makes a way too short appearance.