57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXXIX

How I Met Your Mother: If Ted wrote himself a not as to why not to get back with Robin, why didn’t he read it when he got back with her a couple seasons ago? But anyway. I am completely for the whole separate beds for sleeping. I have enough trouble getting to sleep by myself and that is only exacerbated when there are knees in my back. And why stop there, how about separate rooms? You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: As painful as the post breakup interaction of Leonard and Penny were, at least Sheldon trying to play both sides was one of his funniest bits of the season. You can download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Castle: Holy Veronica Mars reunion! Okay so Parker and Deputy Leo didn’t share any screen time here or on Veronica Mars, but I will take what I can. And I wouldn’t mind if Parker sticks around because Beckett could us a female friend or just someone to fight over for Castle. But this begs the question whatever happened to Day On that Julie Gonzalo was starring in for NBC? Last I hear it got trimmed down to a two hour movie. You know it is not good when as hard up for programming NBC was, they still haven’t found time to air the show. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes. Also be sure to check out my chat with Stana Katic.

Lost: Seriously, Jin is going to down himself and let his daughter that he never met grow up an orphan? Hurmph. I am really beginning to think I was on the button when I said that the “Real” timeline will end with everyone dying but everyone lives happily ever after in the Flashsideways like in that one Buffy episode. At least there are four and a half hours left before I can stop thinking about this show. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Justified: Holy Dan Doherty sighting! And of course it was Seth Bullock to talk him down. Here’s hoping that this is only a precursor for the show to bring in Al Swearengen. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Parenthood: Wait, was that really the host of Tool Academy that I just saw on the show? And as one of the “cool” parents? Alrighty. And if Joel was so upset about the soccer quitting, why didn’t he step up and coach when schuedual must be open. C’mon, if the dude from Survivor can coach girls soccer, how hard can it be? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Modern Family: I am not sure who laughed harder, Alex, when talking about her sister flirting with a middle schooler, or me laughing at Alex laughing at her sister. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Happy Town: And we have our first “seriously” moment of the series when it turns out Kubiac (yes, I just made a Parker Lewis reference) turned out to be the one who nailed a rail road spike threw the dude’s head. Alrighty. The second would be the sherriff letting the Kube off the hook for the murder. Sure, why not. And if the dead dude said where the bodies were, why not at least take a look? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Happy Town on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains: Hopefully this is the last stand of Russell. Despite the previews, I cannot see Rupert, after his tirade against him this week, teaming up with him. I am really ready to get Russell off my television and if he is ever asked back to another All-Star season everyone is smart enough to get rid of him first. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Community: I loved all the not so thinly veiled pot shots at the college’s glee club: “I’m all for winning but let’s not resort to cheap ploys,” “That is so uninspired,” “Write some original songs,” Couldn’t have said it better myself. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Friday Night Lights: The season three finale just happened to air as the say day as Opening Day in Cleveland when a rai delay pushed the game into the evening pre-empted FNL and I ended up having to watch it on Hulu the next day. Then almost a year later the season four premiere just happened to coincide with a tornado warning preemption making miss the show because of weather two epidsodes in a row. Huruph. Here’s hoping the episode shows up On Demand so I am not stuck watching it on my computer again. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.

Best of the Week vol. XLIII

Quote of the Week: You’re just coitusing with me aren’t you? (Penny, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Come on Eileen – Dexy’s Midnight Runners (Parenthood)

Big News of the Week: NBC Already Picks Up Four Shows: We are two weeks away from networks officially announcing their schedules but for the second year in a row, NBC has jumped the gun, last year they had an “in front” and earlier this week they greenlit four programs. First came word of Undercovers early pick up. The show is from J.J. Abrams which I am going to pass on because I am tired of all his high concept, low reward projects.

Later in the week NBC also picked The Event is “is an emotional high-octane conspiracy thriller” starring Jason Ritter (Joan of Arcadia), who hopefully shaved unnecessary facial hair he was sporting on Parenthood, the moderately attractive Sarah Roamer (Disturbia), Blair Underwood (Set it Off) as the president, and Laura Innes (the doctor with the limp on ER) as “the leader of a mysterious group of detainees.” The characters and “Their futures are on a collision course in a global conspiracy that could ultimately change the fate of mankind.” If NBC brings back Heroes, they can have this and Undercover as a night of high concept low rewards.

Outsourced is about an American transferred to India and hilarity ensures. I don’t think anyone in the cast was in Slumdog Millionaire so no one will recognize anyone in the cast except The Drew Carey Show’s Diedrich Bader. The third is Love Bites which thankfully not another lame vampire show but a romantic comedy anthology starring Becki Newton (Ugly Betty), who made my list of the Hottest Hot Chicks of the 00’s and Jordana Spiro (My Boys) who didn’t.

Can’t say I am exited excited about any of these though I may change my mind when I actually see some sort of promo that will presumably come during the upfronts.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Free Download of the Week: Merge Records 2010 Digital Sampler (Amazon MP3): This includes songs from Spoon, She and Him, and twelve others.

Deal of the Week: Save up to 58% on Blu-ray Discs (Iron Man, Forrest Gump, Sons of Anarchy)

Video of the Week: For those that cannot get enough Betty White this weekend between her hosting gig on SNL and the WE Golden Girls marathon will want to check out the trailer for You Again, also starring Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenoweth, Victor Garbor, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver and that hot chick from the Weezer video.

You Again Trailer


Next Week Pick of the Week: Survivor, Thursday and Sunday at 8:00 on CBS: We have hit the home stretch with the final six that have out witted, out smarted and out lasted the likes of Boston Rob, Amanda Kimmel (who was voted off for the first time in three tries) and two previous winners, Tom Weston and J.T. Thomas. Can Parvati Shallow or Sandra Diaz-Twine manage a repeat win? Will remaining Heros Rupert or Colby, who even checked out of the game even before the merge, pull out a win? Can Russell weasel his way into the final tribal just to lose to a lesser player like Jerri because he is the dumbest player in Survivor history? Will The Dragons play the reunion show? If you do not know who The Dragons are, you much watch their music video.

Around the Tubes vol. XLIX

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Friday Night Lights, Saturday Night Live, Golden Girls, Hot in Cleveland, TNT's 100 Days of Summer, and DVD2Blu.

- It has been 390 days since Friday Night Lights has been on network television, and finally the wait is over for those of us with DirecTV with the premiere. For those that have never watched the show, there is no better time than tonight to see why it was number two on the 100 Greatest Television Shows of the 00’s and landed three inside the top ten of the 100 Greatest Characters of the 00’s. For those that are already fans and cannot wait, below is a preview of Coach Taylor’s first speech to the East Dillon Tigers:

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts


- In honor of her hosting duties on Saturday Night Live tomorrow, WE tv is paying tribute to Betty White by running a Golden Girls tribute from 6:00 PM to 1:00 AM (though keep in mind the episode will focus on the relationship between Dorothy and Sophia with Mother’s Day Sunday). Betty White is also getting her own TV Land show Hot in Cleveland (which is obviously not a reality show because there is nothing hot about Cleveland), below is a preview:

Hot in Cleveland Preview


- After Betty gets off the stage, Alec Baldwin is on the clock as the host of the the season finale of Saturday Night Live with musical guest Tom Petty. Lesser people will make 1990 jokes of the pair but not me. Not gonna do it.

- Last week I mentioned TNT’s 100 Days of Drama, and here is a little video hyping the event:



For those that have a huge DVD collection and find it too price to convert that collection to Blu-Ray will want to check out DVD2Blu where you can trade in your DVD’s for Blu-Ray’s for as low as $4.95 (plus free shipping for orders over $35). They just added 85 Warner Bros titles Pan’s Labyrinth, Corpse Bride, Troy, The Departed, The Shining, Ocean’s Eleven, V for Vendetta and Superman Returns.

Previewing World's Toughest Fixes

Maybe the last play you would expect to see Sean Riley, host of World’s Toughest Fixes would be at Cirque du Soleil, but when an eighty ton rotating stage starts making noises, Riley arrives in Las Vegas to lend his hand in trying to fix the stage to keep the hundreds of acrobats that do their stunts on the stage safe. And Sean couldn’t help himself and tests it out himself complete in a sparkly costume. But that episode doesn’t air until May 20.

For tonight’s season premiere of World’s Toughest Fixes at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel, Sean (who will be live blogging over at NationalGeographic.com during the premiere)heads to Cody Wyoming as the town tries to rebuild the ski lift there by recycling the old parts because the town doesn’t have money to bring in all new part. The money constraints also means they have to haul all the parts in place in under an hour because that is the entire budget can afford for the helicopter rental. Anyone that partakes in the activity will want to see just exactly what it takes to get you up a mountain including a job that only ten people in the whole world can do (no Sean isn’t one of them).

Next week Sean hops the pong to help get three England bridges cleaned (no, the London Bridge is not one of them). You know you are in for something when Sean utters a very rare phase to cross his lips about having never seen anything like it. And as cleaning bridges were not hard enough, they have to make sure the lead based paint that they are blasting doesn’t getting the Thames.

Also this season, Riley tries to fix the X-Sream thrill ride in Vegas (5/27), a leaky cruise ship (6/3), the Philly Mega Transit (6/10), and the San Francisco Bay Bridge (6/17). While you are waiting for tonight’s episode, you can head over to NationalGeographic.com to play their Ski Lift game. You can also check out a preview below:

I Want My Music Television vol. LXXXI

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


Next Girl – The Black Keys



Frank the Funknosaurus Rex is back for the latest Black Keys video and those the boys in the band don’t seem to like him (I am just hoping that was a pretencious musician meta joke), but I am glad he is back and better than ever.


Not Myself Tonight – Christina Aguilera



Had Christina Aguilera made this exact video a decade a decade ago I may have thought it was the greatest music video ever in the history in the world. But since then she got the most unnecessary breast augmentation ever in the history of the world, started looking more like a contestant from RuPaul’s Drag Race than the girl from Genie in a Bottle, got married, had a kid and now knowing all that, watching the video now just feels, well, dirrty.


Rewind – Diane Birch



Not the head scratcher of her last video, but when Diane Birch writes a song as beautiful as this you do not need all the bells and whistles (or whips and gags).


Rise Up – Cypress Hill featuring Tom Morello



This may not Prince, but Cypress Hill teaming up with Tom Morello makes me want to party like its 1999. I am not sure that is a good thing. The video even looks very 90’s.

Music Will Lead Her Away; Her Heart Will Bring Her Home

Casting movies that rely heavily on music can be a sticky situation because there are very few actors that are great actors and great singers. So do you cast an outstanding singer with nominal acting ability, or do cast a great actor who may not be best at carrying a tune. Preacher’s Kid did both. For the former there are the LeToya Lukett (she was one of girls kicked out of Destiny’s Child about ten years ago) and Durrell “Tank” Babbs (who had a number one R&B song with Please Don’t Go), while gospel artist Kiki Sheard also has a smaller role in the movie. On the other side of the coin is Sharif Atkins (ER) who has someone else sing and play piano for him.

With the music sung mostly by professionals, the songs are a stand out for Preacher’s Kid, especially the ones that open and close the movie, to the point you wonder why an accompanying soundtrack album wasn’t released s it would have don’t pretty good in the Christian and gospel charts.

But when the music stops, things tend to drag on until the next musical moment. We have all seen this story before, this time from first time director and writer Stan Foster (who also wrote the stage play Daddy Can I Please Come Home which serves as the backdrop for Preacher’s Kid), the prodigal son (or daughter in this case) leaves home against a parents blessing to experience the big bad world alone while fighting the temptation to give up to return to the comforts of home even if they got the dreaded, “If you walk out that door” speech.

Even though the two leads are novices, the supporting cast is solid most notably Clifton Powell (Next Friday) as the shifty producer of the play that Luckett runs off to join. Gregalen Williams (Baywatch) is convincing behind the pulpit as Luckett’s bishop father. While Essence Atkins (TBS’s upcoming sitcom version of Are We There Yet?) provided some nominal comedic relief as Luckett’s lone friend on the traveling play. But still Preacher’s Kid feels like a Lifetime movie for the large majority of the film.

As for the extra on the Blu-Ray (which is part of a combo pack that includes a Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital Copy version of the film; you can also buy the DVD version separately or a digital download, all available today) you mostly have your standard issue fair. There are four featurettes (a making of, music of the film, and bios of Luckett and Atlanta, where the movie was filmed) which combined total around twenty minutes. Then there is another twenty minutes of deleted scenes including a storyline about how Powell got money to put on the play. You can also check out the official site at PreachersKidMovie.com.



Full Disclosure Notice: This Blu-Ray was given to me on behalf of Warner Brothers Entertainment for the sole purpose of reviewing the movie.

Feed Your iPod vol. XLIII: 40 Dogs (Romeo and Juliet)

Here’s a song that I have been listening a lot to for no specific reason, just has a high repeatable to it.

40 Dogs (Romeo and Juliet) - Bob Schneider

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXXVIII

Quote of the Week: I guess I was just grossed out that I had to hear, like, fifteen billion poems about my mother’s vagizzle. (Amber, Parenthood)

Song of the Week: Leaving On a Jet Plane – John Denver (as performed by Jeffster, Chuck)

Big News of the Week: Oil Slick: As someone who lives by a river that caught fire all by itself, it is weird to see someone purposely set the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico on purpose. And as sad as it is, leave it to the conservative nutjobs who think it is an environmental plot to stop offshore drilling. And the liberals are not without their nutjob conspiracy theories when they ponder if a border patrol agent in Arizona getting shot just after the passed a controversial immigration law was a coincident. God bless nutjobs, because without them, how could get a laugh out of truly horrible situations.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:


Chuck: I am a little wishy washy on the whole Chuck and Sarah romance. Sure all the duel fighting with handcuff was fun, but I am not entirely sure how that can sustain the relationship. One thing I am not wishy washy is that Morgan needs to be caught in some friendly fire, or unfriendly fire, I really do not care, but the more screen time he gets, the less I care if the show gets renewed or not. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

Parenthood: Another daughter / parent showdown with the former refusing to leave her boyfriend’s house. And almost word for word to point that I hope it was intentional. All it was missing was the parent personally dragging the daughter out of the house (which it came close to). You can stream recent episodes on Parenthood on iTunes.

Mercy: So a chick you had sex and didn’t talk to since after you told her you were gay casually mention she has a kid and you do not ask how old the kid is? That would be the first question out of my mouth. And that doesn’t even crack the top five most absurd plot points of the episode. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Mercy on iTunes.

Happy Town: After a slow start, the show did give reason to check out another episode with the ending where we learn that the Ashley Greene look-alike’s name is actually the same that the dude from Lost kept repeating and has the brand of the Magic Man on her shoulder (although if you are using a alias, shouldn’t you go with something less Googleable as Henley Boone? Wouldn’t something like Sarah Brown be more conspicuous? You know the first thing Root Beer did when he got home was Google the new hot chick in town to get her vital stats.). So here is my theory on the show, Henley’s “mom” is not really her mom but the Magic Man who kidnapped her years ago, brainwashed her to think she is her mother (she branding her with his symbol upon the kidnapping) and now needs her to get something out of the third floor that can get her powers back (that kept the Magic Man from doing his yearly kidnapping). And it will turn out that Henley is Steven Weber’s daughter.

The Challenge: Fresh Meat 2: I have witness quite a few fights in my life and even broken up a few (though I tend to go with the hockey referee approach where I just circle around until the guys (or gals) get tired) but never I have I seen someone go with the fontal bear hug technique that Wes employed. You can stream recent episodes over at MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Fresh Meat 2 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains: Just the other day I was debating with someone if you were allowed to steal someone’s Hidden Immunity Idol (I took the affirmative because if you are dumb enough to leave it where someone could find it then you deserve to lose it) and here we a similar situation with Danielle finding the clue to the Idol and Amanda stealing it leading to the least entertaining cat fight in the history of television. Then Colby, in what would have been the dumbest move on almost any other season (seriously, why are these supposed All-Stars making so many stupid moves), rules that clue is the sole possession of Danielle even though she is in the opposite alliance. Moron. And how do you not follow Danielle around knowing that she had the clue and the resign to the fack she would just find it herself. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Community: Was there really no one on the show or at the network that didn’t realize that characters mockingly repeating everything for half an episode does not make for a good episode? It, at best, is a 1:00 hour Saturday Night Live sketch, not a prime time full episode. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: Jackal Onassis Backstage - Party Down (Amazon Video on Demand): The new season of the Starz comedy recently started and those that want to test out the show without subscribing can do so. You also check out the first season of Party Down as recently released on DVD. And those with On Demand features may want to check out to see if the episode is available to preview (it is here on my Time Warner Cable) along with two first season episodes and the upcoming extremely hilarious episode, Steve Guttenberg’s Birthday which features, besides the title character as himself, McLovin’ as Bill Haverchuck’s writing partner, a pairing made in Judd Apatow casting heaven.

Deal of the Week: Save up to 58% on TV Shows (Sons of Anarchy, How I Met Your Mother, Pee-wee’s Playhouse)

Video of the Week: Friday Night Lights is back this week and here is an interview with new cast member Madison Burge who I take it is the new Lyla Garrity.

Next Week Pick of the Week: Friday Night Light, Friday at 8:00 on NBC: The wait is finally over for those of us without DirecTV as we get to see Coach Taylor take the reins of the East Dillon Lions.

Could You Tell Me the Things You Remember About Me

For their debut album, the Counting Crows created the greatest album any moody teenager could ask for so when the first video off their sophomore outing debuted on MTV, it became appointment television (unlike premieres today that randomly appear on the internets like yesterday when the creepy new Christina Aguilera popped up with little warning) which was also the first time many got a chance to hear something new from the band. For the moody teenagers who wore grooves into August and Everything After, Angel of the Silences was a jolt of musical napalm, much faster and angrier than anything we heard from the band before.

And there plenty of new styles Adam Duritz and the boys tried out for Recovering the Satellites like the country tinged Daylight Fading and the new wave synthesizer on Catapult and continue to amp it up for songs like Children in Bloom and Have You Seen Me Lately. And tacked on near the end is the quirky duo of Monkey and Mercury.

The growth of the band is why it is the second time they have been inducted into the Scooter Hall of Fame. But is still plenty of music for the moody teenager in all of us like Goodnight Elizabeth or Miller’s Angels, foremost A Long December which may be the last song that Duritz wrote about having sex with a castmember of Friends that the general public was able to relate to (or that anyone has written judging from the latest John Mayer album). I still get chills whenever I hear the lyric, “All at once you look across a crowded room to see the way that light attaches to a girl.”

Around the Tubes vol. XLVIII

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Community, The Sing-Off, Friday Night Lights, and the summer schedules for TNT and TBS.

- If you watch Community, you probably cannot get enough of Starburns. If so you are in luck because in the show’s very first webisodes, he is front and center as Senior Chang has assigned him and Abed for some video homework assignment that not surprisingly has very little actual Spanish in it. Check out part one below and head over to NBC.com for the second part.



- For those that watch last season’s of The Sing Off and thought to yourself me and my buddies can do that (and live near New York, Nashville, Chicago, and Los Angeles), head over to Sing Off Casting.com to see how you can audition.

- One more week until the season premiere of Friday Night Lights. For those who cannot wait, check out an excerpt below. You can also get ready for the premiere by watching the final four episodes over at NBC.com:



- TNT recently renewed Southland (which will return early 2011 with ten episodes) and now it is getting ready for it “100 Days of Drama” with two new shows (in bold) on the docket. Here is the schedule and the premiere dates:

Mondays
Saving Grace (on now at 10:00)
The Closer (July 12 at 9:00)
Rizzoli and Isles (July 12 at 10:00)

Tuesdays
Hawthorne (June 22 at 9:00)
Memphis Heat (June 22 at 10:00)

Wednesdays
Dark Blue (August 4)

Sundays
Leverage (June 20 at 10:00)

- TNT’s sister station also has a couple of new shows coming this summer including the animated Neighbors from Hell (June 7) and a serial version of Are We There Yet? with Everybody Hates Chris vet Terry Crews taking over for Ice Cube (who will have a recurring role as his brother-in-law) starting June 2.

I Want My Music Television vol. LXXX

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


Thinking ‘bout Somethin’ - Hanson



I wonder if Hanson, the original pre-pubescent trio of brothers, can make a comeback since that is back in vogue with the Jonas Brothers. Granted the Jonas Brothers have never written anything as catchy as MMMBop. And they certainly haven’t made a video as entertaining this one featuring one Hanson brother as Ray Charles, another as a Blues Brother, and the third as, um, is that supposed to be Zac Efron circa 17 Again? John Travolta in Grease? Oh yeah, and a hair straightened “Weird Al” Yankovic on tambourine.


You and Your Heart – Jack Johnson



Naturally the new Jack Johnson video would feature him surfing, but I wonder what was harder, lip syncing while riding the waves or doing it backward for Sitting, Waiting, Wishing.


Drunk Girls – LCD Soundsystem



You would think a video for a song called Drunk Girls would features less creepy dudes in panda suits and more, well, inebriated females, but not when Spike Jonze is directing a video.


Wheels – Jamie Cullum



When I saw the wheel at the beginning of the video I thought, “Sweet, Jamie Cullum is going to play in the middle of a Murderball match.” Unfortunately there was one solitary wheel for a reason, but the unicycle routine was kinda cool, but not as cool if it had been a Murderball game.

Previewing Happy Town

The ABC promo monkeys want to liken the network’s latest show Happy Town to its nineties suspense show Twin Peaks. But aside from a murder in episode one, the town of Haplin, Minnesota could be the exact opposite of the Washington town. There are no backwards talking midgets or other oddities that could only reside in the brain of David Lynch. Instead Haplin is more like a modern day Mayberry, your stereotypical small town where everyone know each other business because most work at the local bread factory, while the town’s namesakes still run the city and there have been no violent crime in over half a decade.

That is until the one stand out in the town, dude who stares a little too long at chick guy, gets murdered which brings back memories of what the locals call The Magic Man, who would make one townsperson disappear each year until the kidnappings abruptly stopped seven years ago. Could The Magic Man be Lauren German (which apparently is not a pseudonym for Ashley Green as these are actually two different people though I am sure more than a few could get the two mixed up), a young woman who for some reason picked Haplin to open up a candle show with her inheritance. Or maybe it is Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), a somewhat creepy cinema buff in a place that may not even have a theater and who lives with a bunch of widows, and the newly arrived German. Or maybe it could be M.C. Gainey (Lost) who starts going into weird trances around the time of the murder. Like they say, The Magic Man is someone you pass by on the street today.

Those three really provide the most interesting parts of the first episode, saying why would be too spoilery, though I can say a conversation between German and Neill is particularly riveting. The rest of the cast is a little bland, which may be the point considering the town is set up as being as close to small town utopia as you can get. Geoff Stults (7th Heaven) follow papa Gainey into the police department while his wife Amy Acker (Angel) works as the bread factory. There is also an eye rolling storyline with their babysitter (Sarah Gadon), from the wrong side of the track hiding her romance with the mayor’s grandson (Ben Schnetzer) because his father, Steven Weber (Wings) wouldn’t approve. Oh yeah, and Weber’s other kid was one of The Magic Man’s victims and he seems like the only person in the town that doesn’t want to forget the Magic Man even existed.

The problem with suspense shows has always been pacing. In the instance of Twin Peaks, once you leaned who killed Laura Palmer, everyone stopped watching or do you wait until seasons after people stopped caring about them before you answer questions like on Lost. Will Happy Town be the one that solves that problem? Only time will tell. But who cares what I think when you can check out the first fourteen minutes below. But keep in mind the all the great parts of the show happen in the second half including the previously mentioned conversation. And for anyone who makes it to the end of the episode, they will see the show solve two very big question that are set up earlier that will definitely make anyone that makes it that far to tune in for the second episode.




Happy Town airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on ABC. I assume episode will show up on Hulu after they air since there is already a page dedicated to the show on the site. Also be sure to check back Sunday for the regularly scheduled 57 Channels post when I will go in depth of the twits ending and my theory on the show.

Take My Message to Your Brother and Tell Him Twice

Just as Michael Jackson was getting ready for his This Is It concerts in London, his brothers were also contemplating their own comeback with a fortieth anniversary concert and just like Michael was documenting his preparation for the event, the brothers decided to film as they decide to put on a concert or not. The result ended up on Bravo as a six episode documentary show for A&E as The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty.

With filming starting just before the death of their brother, naturally grieving became a big focus when the announcement of Michael’s death comes at the end of the first episode. The entire episode, entitled Aftermath, is devoted to the brothers dealing with their brother’s death. And ever episode after that doesn’t go with some mention or reference to Michael.

The best thing going for The Jacksons A Family Dynasty is also its biggest drawback in that there are no contrived situations that plague other documentary style reality shows that question the definition of “reality,” the closest thing to a contrived segment is when a couple brothers go back to the city of Gary Indiana to visit their old stomping ground. But even that was engaging to see the house where the seven children grew up in. But on the other side of the coin, without any of the set pieces, we spend a good chunk of the series watching the boys debate on whether they should put on an anniversary concert or not.

The show is also striking on who was not involved. Yeah we get glimpses of all the Jacksons during the Michael memorial, but besides that, there are just mentions of Rebbie and Randy, we get Janet via a speakerphone chat with her brothers. Joe’s presence if felt throughout the show, but we never see him outside the memorial. And sorry LaToya, you are cut out altogether.

But Randy’s absence was the biggest head scratcher because even the show was stylized “The Jack5ons” there were only four Jacksons featured on the show. Michael was obviously busy when they started planning the reunion, buy where was Randy (and no he wasn’t hosting American Karaoke, they are two different Randy Jacksons) who replaced Jermaine who stayed with Motown (he was married to the boss’ daughter) and The Jackson 5 left the label, how was he not included in this or at least explained why he was not included?

But plenty of Jacksons the next generation, many of which are in the music business but have had as much successes as the other Jackson brothers not named Michael. The stand out of the next generation is Siggy the neck tattooed, mohawked, rapper wannabe son of Jackie (but you wouldn’t be surpised if he turned out to be the spawn of Bobby Brown even if Brown hadn’t gone through puberty by the time Siggy was born) who appears in half of the episode.

The show is basically for fanatics, but keep in mind for anyone that watched the series when it was on A&E, he DVD features just the six episodes that span around four and a half hours, no audio commentaries, no deleted scenes or any type of extras.



Full Disclosure Notice: This DVD was given to me on behalf of A&E Home Entertainment for the sole purpose of reviewing the series.

Previewing My Life Is a Zoo

Many have expressed to anyone that will listen that their life is a zoo, but Bud DeYoung and Carrie Cramer can literally claim My Life Is a Zoo because they actually run one in the upper peninsula of Michigan. And it is basically just the two of them tending over four hundred animals except for the occasional volunteer and visiting family over the weekend. Even that tends to dry up during the winter months which leads to Carrie shoveling over four miles of snow a day (I may need to stop complaining about having to do my driveway) so they can tend to the daily needs of the animals, they need 2,000 pounds of meat and 500 gallons of water each day.

My Life Is a Zoo premieres tonight at10:00 on the new channel Nat Geo Wild. The show follows around the twosome just after the first snow of the season hits but without any snow days in their contracts (they also get no vacation or sick days away from the zoo) for themselves and one of the white lions is near to giving birth. They are also taking in a wild stallion (the duo adopts between three and ten orphaned animals every week).

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXXVII

How I Met Your Mother: Kid or Drunk may be the greatest idea the show has had in season and Marshall really needs to pitch the idea to his father-in-law for his next board game. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

Trauma: Forget present day San Francisco, convert the show to late nineties New Orleans and follow around Tyler, his mullet, and his partner with his catchphrase, “He’s dead.” That show would have been much better than the current version. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Trauma on iTunes.

Castle: Oh snap, Esposito’s partner was still alive and gone deep, deep undercover. Didn’t see that one coming. And on a completely shallow tangent, Beckett should go with the ponytail look more often, she looks much better with the hair up. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes. Also be sure to check out my chat with Stana Katic.

Lost: Not totally unexpected, the flash-sideways are starting to blend exclusively (with some help with Desmond, but how did he know that Jack was going to meet with the lawyer (a disappointing chick who blew up last week, was Rousseau not available?), or did he). But why exactly can Locke not just kill a candidate, a whole wall of them have died so far, and just take the remainder on the plane? Hurph. The finale cannot come soon enough so I can stop thinking about the show. Except next week is a repeat which pushes that back an unnecessary week. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Justified: Now that is what I call an ending. Something tells me that even though Raylan will actually turn down the offer on his dad, that will eventually be turned into a yes later in the season. Though I must say I had the exact same reation as Raylan did towards every person I hate in my life and reevaluate if I have ever gone so far as to burn ever Hitler painting I could get my hands on. Really one of the mot powerful scenes on television this season. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Parenthood: Oh Zeke and your reverse racism. Though why didn’t Jasmine pull the band aid and tell her family the truth before the party even started? I guessed because we would have never gotten Zeke putting a foot in his mouth. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

The Challenge: Fresh Meat 2: The look on Wes’ face when Kenny told him that he actually turned down Teresa was the funniest thing that happened on television all week. But I have to give it to Wes, the pre-game alliance to plant the mole may be one of the greatest moves in reality history to the point I am surprised no one has tried it before (aside from creating a whole show centered on the premise in The Mole). You can stream recent episodes over at MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Fresh Meat 2 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains: Now that it has played out, I am not going to put J.T. on top of the dumbest moves in Survivor history because my top three all resulted in their instant demise where J.T. had the time to fix his mistake and may have recovered from the mistake had Parvati had not pulled the boldest move in Survivor history. I was shocked when she gave her Hidden Immunity Idol to Sandra, but managed to be even more surprised when she pulled out the second Idol and not use it herself but actually gave it to Jerri. I just recently was able to pick my jaw off the floor.

Too bad we didn’t get to see the gamesmanship had each tribe had Idols the other didn’t know about. Do Parvati and J.T. both use theirs and leaving no one with any votes? Does Sandra turn on the Villians and vote for Russell on a revote? Does Parvati even tell Amanda about it and does Amanda use that information against her? As amazing as this week’s Tribal was, imagine how it may have played out if J.T. kept the Idol. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.

Best of the Week vol. XLII

Quote of the Week: I feel like a total idiot right now. It’s pretty terrible to be voted out by your own Idol… Worst than that, don’t ever trust women, ever, ever, ever. (J.T., Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains)

Song of the Week: Night Moves – Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (How I Met Your Mother)

Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Trails to Guru: A sad for all the old school hip hop fans out there as half of the seminal rap group Gang Starr succumbed to cancer. In the early days of rap, every MC had one of two flows, party guy or in your face rap. Then Guru came broke onto the scene and along with Slick Rick was the first at a laid back style that inspired the like of Q-Tip, Digital Planets, and even gangsta rappers like Snoop Dogg and Notorious B.I.G. also smoothed it out for a few songs. Gang Starr also pioneered, in thanks to Guru’s partner DJ Preimer, sampling jazz for their beats which was a perfect fix with Guru’s rap style. For anyone looking to get into Gang Starr (which I highly recommend), start with Mass Appeal, then move onto the album it is from, Hard to Earn.



Free Download of the Week: America: The Story of Us – Sneak Peek (iTunes): Here is a chance to take a look at the upcoming epic twelve part series on the history of this country. Episodes start tomorrow on History and will run every night until Memorial Day with each showing up for download the day after on iTunes.

Deal of the Week: Last Days to Save: Up to 52% Off Television DVDs (Firefly, The Office, V: The Original Miniseries)

Video of the Week: “Friday night there will be a bond formed between and among you that will never be broken. You look at each other and you ask yourselves gentlemen: What kind of a man are you?”

Never Broken


Next Week Pick of the Week: Happy Town, Wednesday at 10:00 on ABC: ABC has been trying to replicate Lost almost since it has been on (remember Invasion?) and with its last season, the channel stepped up its attempt to replace it. But It looks like Flash Forward is going to join Invasion in the one and done scrapheap and V might make it to a second season either. So ABC’s last hope may lay in the lap in Happy Town to carry on the “genre” tradition which even features Lost vet M.C. Gainey (who will also show up on Justified a day earlier next week which sadly make me think we won’t get to see him in sideways world). Check back later this week to see if I think Happy Town could make it as Lost’s heir apparent.

Around the Tubes vol. XLVII

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Friday Night Lights, Happy Town, Explorer: Fatal Insomnia, The Real Story, and The Marriage Ref.

- Two more weeks until Friday Night Lights returns May 7 to network television, it may take some time to get used to seeing Coach Taylor in East Dillon Red. Here is a preview:

Premiere Preview: East of Dillon


- New show Happy Town premieres next Wedensday at 10:00 on ABC. I will have more on the show next week but until then, here is a preview:



- To all you insomniac at there may want to tune into the National Geographic Channel next Tuesday (4/27) for Explorer: Fatal Insomnia at the relatively early time of 10:00 PM. Check out a preview below:

Sleep Sloth Study


- A new season of The Real Story premieres this coming Sunday at 8:00 on the Smithsonian Channel where they take a look at the real story (natch) behind popular movie including episodes this season on The Exorcist, Silence of the Lamb, Casino, The Bourne Identity, and The Hunt for Red October.

- Wonder when your favorite shows will end their season over the next month or so? Then head over LocateTV for the complete rundown.

- Think you can be a better panelist of The Marriage Ref (which should not be too hard considering most are already multiple divorcees), head over to NBC.com to take the marriage quiz to see how you stack up.

I Don’t Care if We’re Just Friends I Can Hang out with Myself

2006 was a boon year for bratty British singers with Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen breaking out here in the United States with brash and in your face lyrics. Fatigue must had set in by the following year as the debut album from Kate Nash barely made a blip stateside even though she may have had a more bitter tongue than her countrywoman (but unlike the other two, she also lacked the production of Mark Ronson).

Much like Allen, Nash grew up for her sophomore outing, but instead of getting inexplicitly political like Lily, Kate grew up in the form of a steady boyfriend the most likely led to the most vulnerable song on My Best Friend Is You, I Hate Seagulls where she lists everything she dislikes before finally admitting the things she does.

For the few of you that did catch Nash the first time around, don’t worry, there is still plenty of wit and snark flying toward guys mostly about unrequited love like Kiss the Grrrl. The same goes for the standout track of the album Do-Wah-Doo, a sixties girl group inspired song that maybe the catchiest song you may hear all year.

For those looking for something similar Foundations, check out Don’t You Want to Share the Guilt which comes off like a slower version because divulging into a spoken diatribe at the end which is followed guitar fuzz next track I Just Love You More which could have been a lost song from the riot grrl movement of the early nineties. This somewhat prepares you for the spoken word Mansion Song poetry jam that rails against girls that do not respect themselves, a song that may either be your favorite, or worst song on the album.

Song to Download – Do-Wah-Doo

My Best Friend Is You gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Breaking Down the 100 Guiltiest Guilty Pleasures of the 00’s

The 100 Guiltiest Guilty Pleasures of the 00’s may easily be the hardest retrospect of the decade I may do mainly because I am not one to be guilted easy. In retrospect maybe I should had turned my iPod, DVD collection, television watching habits, and the like over to someone and had them pick out the guilty pleasures for me instead of trying to do so myself because I am sure there are plenty missing from the past ten years that I loved but am not ashamed enough to personally file it under a guilty pleasure. But anyway. For you stat junkies out there, I have divided the list by year (not surprising the depression 2001 had the least) and by category.

By Year
2000 – 14
2001 – 3
2002 – 7
2003 – 12
2004 – 12
2005 – 12
2006 – 10
2007 – 9
2008 – 6
2009 - 14

By Category
Songs – 20
Television Shows - 20
Movies – 16
People – 12
Quotes – 11
Videos - 9
Television ads – 4
Feuds – 3
Sporting Events - 3
Performances – 2