Around the Tubes vol. LXXI

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 the Legends of the Superheroes, In Treatment, Who Is Harry Nilsson (and Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?), The Best Government Money Can Buy, Skullcandy, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Fairy Jobmother, Men of a Certain Age, Timmy Time, Conan, and Boby Brown.

- For the first time ever, the Legends of the Superheroes is coming to DVD. The made for TV movie features classic Batman and Robin Adam West and Burt Ward, joined by other Justice League members The Flash and Green Lantern as they face off against The Riddler (Frank Gorshin reprising his TV role), Mordru, and Weather Wizard. Not sold yet, the set also includes a Superhero Roast hosted by Ed McMahon.

- In Treatment returns for its third season next week on HBO. There will be two new half-hour episodes debuting back-to-back on Monday 10/25 (9/9:30pm) and two more new episodes back-to-back on Tuesday 10/26 (9/9:30pm). Check out the trailer below:



- Coming to DVD next Tuesday is Who Is Harry Nilsson (and Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?. Many of my generation will know him best from Without You which was covered by Mariah Carey (and featuring in a creepy scene in The Rules of Attraction) and the Coconut song which was featured in Reservoir Dogs. Check out the film to learn more about who was called the greatest songwriter of his generation with interviews with Micky Dolenz, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Al Kooper, Randy Newman, Yoko Ono, Van Dyke Parks, The Smothers Brothers, Jimmy Webb, Paul Williams, Robin Williams, and Brian Wilson.



- Just in time for the mid-term election in twelve days, out on DVD Tuesday is The Best Government Money Can Buy looking at the lobbying system and its impact on our democracy. Keep in mind this election cycle alone a tally of $250 million spent from undisclosed sources. Here is a clip from the film.

The Best Government Money Can Buy Clip #7 from Cinema Libre Studio on Vimeo.

- Skullcandy has recently teamed up with the NBC to create the Skullcandy Crew including Kevin Durant and James Harden of the Oklahoma Thunder, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, the Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose and from the Philadelphia Sixers, Andre Iguodala (sorry Miami Cheats, you are not cool enough). Here is a video of the crew:



- If you need something to do on Halloween but have no desire to go outside, Fox Movie Channel is running a twenty-four hour marathon of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in honor of its thirty fifth anniversary.

- This upcoming Thursday (10/28), you can check out a sneak peak at Lifetimes’s latest show, The Fairy Jobmother at 11 after the Project Runway finale before airing at its regular timeslot the following Thursday at 9:00. Or check out the promo below:

The Fairy Jobmother comes to Lifetime Thursday


- Men of a Certain Age finally has an airdate for its second season, Monday, December 6 at 10:00. Head over to TNT.tv for a recap of the first season.

- Fans of Timmy Time (and their parents) will be happy to know that next week Playhouse Disney will be airing the show three times a day (5:30am, 7:00am, 11:00am). The the first week of December the network will have all new episodes every day that week.

- And the very first guest to sit on Conan’s new coach: Seth Rogan. Not surprising, Jack White will be the musical guest. Also showing up the first week is Tom Hanks, John Hamm, and Michael Cera. Also joining Conan will be Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band as the house band starting Monday November 8 at 11:00 on TBS.

- And just because, Bobby Brown and The Roots:

Bobby Brown: My Prerogative

Everytime that Flags Unfurled, They're Coming to America

In a story I broke last week, History’s twelve part series America: The Story of Us is on Blu-Ray (see They’ve All Come to Look for America) and for those history buff out there that are not a fan of the boob tube, I have some good news, there is also a companion book, America: The Story of Us: An Illustrated History by Kevin Baker.

Like the series, the book opens with an introduction from President Obama and follows the same structure of the series, dividing it down to the same twelve chapters (Rebels, Revolution, Westward, Division, Civil War, Heartland, Cities, Boom, Bust, WWII, Superpower, and Millennium) but goes into much more depth at 416 pages with segments that were just touched on or not even mentioned in the televised version. Also helpful is that each section is given a date range so you get a sense of when things were happening.

As the title An Illustrated History suggests, the book comes with an abundance of glossy pictures that depict the country’s history from the first pictures taken during the civil war to the high resolution of citizens today. The compilation also includes many story factoid and graphs that didn’t make it on television like did you know that a male Colonist in the eighteenth century had a life expectancy of fifty-four, eighteen years more than a British man?

Some of the complaints of the book are the same as the special, like do we really need quotes by Michael Strahan? Luckily the book includes much less talking head quotes, and of course it is much easier to ignore them on paper than on the glowy tube. And like the series, the book completely ignores how Americans entertain themselves, no sports, music, and the only mention of a theater includes Abraham Lincoln.

But just like the series, the book is definitely worth a look as it is well researched and well put together. And if you know someone who is like me and would read his history textbooks for fun, America: The Story of Us: An Illustrated History would make for a great Christmas gift with only fifty-nine shopping days left until the holiday as this would make for the most entertaining history textbook you can find.

Hate to Be so Emotional, I Didn't Mean to get Physical

In the current issue of Rolling Stone issue, Kings of Leon lead singers Caleb Followell expressed his deep displeasure of “hipsters.” Which is ironic considering those are the only people who bought his band’s first three records. Yes kiddies, Kings of Leon recorded music before Sex on Fire.

After barely cracking the top twenty-five on those first three hipster approved album, the band exploded with one anthemic song after another off of Only by the Night becoming the biggest band in America in the process to dismay to all the hipsters who knew them before they became beloved by frat boys, soccer moms, and pigeons everywhere.

So what do you do for a follow up? More of the same. Come Around Sundown sounds like it could have been from the same sessions that produced Only by the Night. But the problem is that the new album is cut from the same cloth as the previous one, there are no songs on Come Around Sundown as haunting as Closer, as big as Use Somebody, or sweaty as Sex on Fire.

Of course this set of songs may not have been meant to be heard solely through computer speakers but at your local amphitheatre. The pounding drums that open up the album on The End will shake fourteen thousand fans in unison. “It’s in the water, it’s where you came from,” the chorus to Radioactive begs to be chanted in stadiums across the country with a guitar opening that may even make The Edge jealous. And Pickup Truck is too good to be stuck at the end of the album where Caleb is at his most mournful. But Come Around Sundown as a whole just blends together and gets old really quick. Hopefully the band pumps new life into the songs when they come to your town.

Song to Download – Pickup Truck

Come Around Sundown gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television vol. XCIII

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.


Erase Me - Kid Cudi & Kanye West



Kid Cudi had a high bar to jump over from his last collaboration with Kanye West, but at least the video version awesomely great thanks to appearances by McLovin, Dale Kettlewell, a Jimi Hendrix wig, random hot groupies, and I swear I spotted the kid from The Middle a couple times too.


Waiting for the End – Linkin Park



Before I saw the new Waiting for the End video I heard someone compared it to Radiohead’s House of Cards which raised my expectations as that was one of The 100 Greatest Music Videos of the 00’s, but this is bit of a letdown, it looks to be weird for the sake of being weird. And what is with the reggae interlude at the end?


Well, Well, Well – Duffy



I think I’m off the Duffy bandwagon, Mercy was a breath of fresh air, Warwick Avenue and Stepping Stone were haunting and heartbreaking, but her voice is grating on me. Hopefully the rest of her sophomore offering is better than this.


Somebody to Love – Mark Ronson and the Business Intl. and Boy George



You want to feel old: try explaining the eighties to a teenager. No matter what you talk about, they will just look at you like you came from another planet, which exactly what the eighties was, like living on a different planet. As hard as Lady Gaga tries, she will never be able to outdo the weird crap that came out of the eighties. Case in point: Boy George. Seriously, if you are younger than twenty-five head over to YouTube and search for Culture Club to get a small sense of what the eighties were. This Mark Ronson video is no joke, the Boy George era actually happened and I lived through it. Man I feel old.

Not All Conspiracies Are Theories

I am certainly not one of those pretentious critics who thinks AMC programming is the greatest thing to hit television since the invention of color. Don Draper is a douchebag and there is no entertainment value in hearing the dad from Malcolm in the Middle cough a hundred times in a forty-two minute episode. Yet I found their third try at a series (which is always the charm) engrossing.

When the network schedules where unveiled back in May, many thought it would be The Event that would take the torch from the retiring Lost and 24, but it was Rubicon that beat the show to it with a deep conspiracy so detailed you probably should have been taking note.

The concept was benign enough to start (or as benign as a show that started out with two deaths can be) focusing on an analyst tasked to keep tabs on a potential terrorist as he reeks havoc in the eastern hemisphere. Jack Bower Will Travers is not. But if 24 was a shoot ‘em up video game, Rubicon was a thinking man’s chess game of a television show.

Which may have also been the shows biggest weakness in that, where chess players stare at the board for minutes at a time, the show sometimes took way too long to unravel its plot. The two main leads to half the season before even meeting and even then it was a while before they could be considered intertwined.

But when Will starting putting two and two together, Rubicon kicked into high gear with edge of the seat thrills that rivaled any action packed show. Even though it was quite obvious that everything would tie together neatly by the end (there are rarely coincidences in television shows like this) it was fun to watch Will piece everything together and go deeper into paranoia with every layer he pulled back.

If Will was the brains of the show, his co workers were the heart. His trio of underlings could always lighten the tension of the main plot between Miles’ squirreliness, Tanya’s drug addledness (who saw her as a relationship writer?), and punching bag Grant. And who figured Cale as the show’s white hat, if there is a second season we really need to know more of his back story.

In the end, Will found the smoking gun that linked Spangler to the terrorist plot with plenty of twists along the way. I never saw the connection between Tom and David coming, although how does Will not see the DVD in her hand and she collapse. That better show up in a second season. Also didn’t see Will’s neighbor from across the way as one of the good guys, I long suspected her being placed in that apartment by the antagonist and was quite shocked when Katherine came knocking on her door. And we learn (I think) the purpose of the four-leaf clover, it is a message that your time on this Earth is coming to a close.

Which brings us to a potential of a second season. Will Truxton take his own life like previous four-leaf clover owners (his daring of Will to publish his story leads me to believe so)? What was the connection between Tom and David? How does the neighbor fit into all of this? It seems like there is an underground network working against Atlas MacDowell. Is Cale part of the network, and if there is one, how far down does it go? Here’s hoping they get to answer them.

Rubicon gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLII

Rubicon: I wonder when they came up with the idea of blowing out the pipeline, did they had to add the BP line afterwards so people like me wouldn’t go “we just went through three months of BP spewing oil into the gulf, how bad can this attack be?” You can download Rubicon on iTunes.

Chuck: Unlike Nicole Ritchie last week, this was a cool call back with Casey’s former nemesis in the form of Armande Assante. Loved all of Casey’s tales of living in the walls of the palace for two weeks. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: That was the best episode the show has had in a while, you can’t go wrong with multiple Maury Povich sightings. Loved the GPS cutscreens (too bad they didn’t do it throughout the whole episode. But I think I missed something, I thought the were originally racing to see Woody Allen and once they got there, decided to race back to their pub, yet the episode ended with them with whoever’s buddy who spotted Woody in the first place. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: That was a silly polt twist of letting Layla think she got free just to lure Sean. And if they want him dead, why not kill him while on the cruise? But I do have a theory that this may turn out to be a Terminator situation where Sean creates the nanobots that allows Sophia and her people not to age and the absurdly hot brunette and her people want to kill him before that happens and Sophia has traveled back in time to make sure that happens. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: I am a little disappointed that the case didn’t actually involve any time travel. And I do not care how inaccurate someone tries to tell me a nineteenth century gun is, I am not participating in any duel. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

No Ordinary Family: The kids got a little less annoying this week, but it is not a good sign that I am starting to get bored with the adjusting to the powers phase. Better have a run in with a big bad soon or at least some interaction with other with powers because I am starting to get bored. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download No Ordinary Family on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: It looks like we finally will see SAMCRO touchdown in Ireland next week. That only took seven episodes. But I wouldn’t put it past the show that something will keep Jax and company from getting on the plane. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: I hate when the show teases my least favorite contestants getting voted out only for the rug being pulled out from under me. Seriously,, if NaOnca wanted to leave, vote her out. That was a gimmie vote right there. And if Marty was so shocked by the mixing of the tribes, why did he bring his Immunity Idol? I was kind of hoping that it would be just hanging up for anyone to grab at his old tribe. While the water challenge may have been the most evil the show has ever devised. I was kind of hoping the wheel would move more slowly just to see someone panic. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Modern Family: The show is much better with Alex playing with Hayley, not the other way around. But with the holidays coming up, they better find a way to intermingle the families because it is just not as good when tat doesn’t happen. Al Bundy racist jokes can only get you so far. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



The Challenge: Cutthroat: Best wishes go out to TJ Lavin who had a bad accident earlier this week and is in a medically induced coma. He has really found his groove on the show in a Jeff Probstian way and it is had to think of the show without him even if it rotated plenty of host before him. You can stream recent episodes on MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: Great way for Sheldon to win the argument just by bringing over Penny so Raj couldn’t retort (but Raj may have gotten the last, and biggest, laugh with his oversized desk). But did we know Howard and Bernadette broke up? We hadn’t seen her for a while but I did not remember her even being mentioned this season.

Community: The show really needs to put a moratorium on parodies or at lead limit themselves to only one a month because it seems like that is all the show does anymore. It was funny that they brought up Scary Movie because that was exactly what I was thinking of when I realized we were getting yet another parody. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Best of the Week vol. XLVIII

Quote of the Week: If we lived in a world where slow moving xenon would produce light then you’d be correct. Also pigs would fly, my derriere would produce cotton candy, and The Phantom Menace would be a timeless classic. (Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Carry On Wayward Son – Kansas (Rubicon)

Big News of the Week: Superheroes Coming to the Small Screen: The 00’s were dominated by superheroes at the Cineplex thanks to the X-Men, Spiderman and Batman to the point Hollywood cranked out random funny book characters (Daredevil?). That really didn’t translate much to live action television. Sure the decade started out with Superman’s beginning, but a Batman-less Gotham themed Birds of Prey tanked and Aquaman couldn’t even find room on the laughable CW schedule.

But two Superheroes that are no strangers to television are currently in the pipeline. Earlier this month news broke that David E. Kelley, the guy behind L.A. Law and the upcoming Kathy Bates legal drama Harry’s Law, will team up with Warner Bros. for a Wonder Woman series. No word on who will fill Lynda Carter’s spandex, but if I were a casting director, I would definitely screen test the recently unemployed and currently brunette Tyra Collette (seen at right).

Not to be outdone, ABC and Marvel are looking about bringing The Incredible Hulk back to the small screen after being portrayed by three different actors over a nine year span (Eric Bana, Edward Norton, and the upcoming Mark Ruffalo) on the big screen. After being heavily CGI’ed in those movies, I do not see how you can go back to Lou Ferrigno in green paint (assuming that a television show would not have the budget to CGI Hulk). And if you go for green pain, who do get? An obvious choice would be The Rock who coincidently appeared in the only funny Barack Obama skit SNL has managed to produce as “The Rock Obama.”

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:




Free Download of the Week: Tom’s Diner – Suzanne Vega (Amazon MP3) – Most people know the song via DNA’s dance remix, but the song was initially recorded as an acapella song. Here is new version with Vega adding some music herself to the song which pays homage to the DNA version.

Deal of the Week: Haolloween Blu-Ray Under $10 (Ghostbusters, The Evil Dead, Frozen, Hatchet)

Video of the Week: Hollywood is littered with too many “What If” casting decisions to name, but it is extremely rare for there to be any photographic evidence. Like Eric Stoltz who was originally cast as Marty McFly in Back to the Future and they even filmed for five weeks before replacing him with Michael J. Fox. On the upcoming 25th Anniversary Edition of Back to the Future DVD we actually get to see footage of Stoltz as McFly.




Next Week Pick of the Week: How I Met Your Mother, Monday at 8:00 on CBS: Jennifer Morrison (Urban Legend: Final Cut) is the latest young moderately attractive guest star on How I Met Your Mother, Season 6 - How I Met Your Mother leading to speculation that she will turn out to be the titular character. Or maybe she will just end up as another notch on Ted’s bedpost like Ashley Williams, Sarah Chalke, Laura Prepon, Mandy Moore, Danica McKellar and Busy Phillips (at the same time!), Judy Greer, Carrie Underwood, and Rachel Bilson. After six seasons, honestly, I really do not care at this point.

Lyrics Quiz: Water

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Today is Blog Action Day where thousands of Bloggers focus on one issue. This year we are focusing on water issues and the problems of scarce water across the globe. For more on the issue and support the UN’s Efforts to bring clean and safe water to millions, click the widget above.

Water is also the theme of this month’s lyrics quiz. Each song has something to do with some sort of liquid form. As always leave your guesses, both artist and song title, in the comment section or e-mail me. If you are correct I will un-bold the lyric. Please keep in mind the lyrics quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please only use your own meandering mind to guess them. Now onto the lyric quiz:


1. I walk down every evening and stand on the shore. I try to cross to the opposite side so I can finally find what I've been looking for. (The River of Dreams - Billy Joel; guessed by Angie)
2. And the bags are much too heavy in my insecure condition. My pregnant mind is fat full with envy again. (Bathwater - No Doubt; guesse by Angie)
3. We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waiting around the bend, my huckleberry friend. (Moon River - Andy Williams; guessed by Mac)
4. ‘Cause when hard work don’t pay off and I’m tired. There ain’t no room in my bed as far as I’m concerned.
5. We all came out to Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline to make records with a mobile.
6. I’d like to hear some funky Dixieland and dance a honky tonk. And I’ll be buying everybody drinks all around. (Black Water - The Doobie Brothers; guessed by Angie)
7. Don’t ya think that you need somebody? Don’t ya think that you need someone? Everybody needs somebody. You’re not the only one. (November Rain - Guns 'n' Roses; guessed by Angie)
8. Now, now they can see the tears in our eyes. But we deny the pain lies deep in our hearts. Well, maybe that’s a pain we can’t hide.
9. Step on the stone. Flesh becomes water, wood becomes bone. (Walk On the Ocean - Toad the Wet Sproket; guessed by Angie)
10. The sixteen candles burning on my wall turning me into the biggest fool of them all.
11. High in the sky, the song that I’m singing a sweet little lie. I cry wolf cry. Rabbit out of the hat. Yes that’s what I’m bringing. Tricks up my sleeve for noticing me.
12. I’ll build heaven and call it home. (Don't Drink the Water - Dave Matthews Band; guessed by Angie)
13. You know your culture from your trash. You know your plastic from your cash.
14. You know I’d like to keep my cheeks dry today. So stay with me and I’ll have it made. (No Rain - Blind Melon; guessed by Angie)
15. I never wanted to be your weekend lover. I only wanted to be some kind of friend. (Purple Rain - Prince; guessed by Angie)
16. I would be your only dream, your shining autumn, ocean crashing. And did you say she was pretty? And did you say that she loves you?
17. I went down to Virginia seeking shelter from the storm. Caught up in the fable, I watch the tower grow.
18. I want to walk in the open wind. I want to talk like lover do. Want to dive into your ocean. (Here Comes the Rain Again - Eurythmics; guessed by Angie)
19. We’re coming to the edge, running on the water, coming through the fog; your sons and daughters.
20. I love to hear the thunder, watch the lightning when it lights up the sky. You know it makes me feel good. (I Love a Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbit; guessed by Angie)
21. Storm came and went like the times we spent hiding out from the rain under the carnival tent. (Mandolin Rain - Bruce Hornsby and th Range; guessed by Angie)
22. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend but I always thought that I would see you again. (Fire and Rain - James Taylor; guessed by Angie)
23. Baby, when I met you there was peace unknown. I set out to get you with a fine tooth comb. (Islands In the Stream - Kenny Rodgers and Dolly Parton; guessed by Angie)
24. Though your hurt is gone, mines hanging on, inside. And I know it’s eating me through every night and day. I’m just waiting on your sign.
25. When You’re weary, feeling small, when tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all. (Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel; guessed by Angie)

Around the Tubes vol. LXX

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 Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, Sanctuary, Boardwalk Empire, Pretty Little Liars, Ford's Warriors, Paranormal State, Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal, Danko Jones, and Condoleezza Rice.

- In a story I broke yesterday, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura returns tomorrow and fans of the show can chat with Jesse after the show at TruTV.com.

- Sanctuary returns for its third season tomorrow on Syfy at 10:00. Here’s a preview:



- New Boardwalk Empire episode Sunday on HBO. Here is a promo for episode five:



- ABC Family fans mark your calendars, well first pick up a 2011 version, because two of their shows will return to the small screen in January. Pretty Little Liars and Greek return with new episodes starting January 3 starting at 8:00. The network has passed along the somewhat spoilery photo below for Pretty Little Liars (though I smell dream sequence).



- In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Ford’s Warriors in Pink are teaming up with CBS stars including Neil Patrick Harris to educate people about the disease. See below:



- Just in time for Halloween, two A&E shows with spooky themes are returning. This Sunday is the return of Paranormal State at 9:00 followed by Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal at 10:00. Fans of the former, head over to its Facebook page to enter to win a book written by Ryan Buell, the director and founder of the Paranormal Research Society.

- Danko Jones is in the middle of a trilogy of music videos (if you missed the first, head over to YouTube for Full of Regret, though Had Enough is a prequel) and below is the latest Had Enough featuring Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid) and comedian Don Jamieson (That Metal Show).



- Look out for Condoleezza Rice’s interview with Ladies Home Journal about her memoir chronicling her childhood in the segregated South, Extraordinary, Ordinary People.

Previewing Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura 2.x

As the tagline to the television show Rubicon suggests, “Not all conspiracies are theories.” And former governor, wrestler, and navy seal Jesse Ventura is back for his second season of Conspiracy Theory to see if he can take the theory out of a few conspiracies.

On Friday, Jesse tries to uncover the secretness behind Plum Island off of Long Island where he suspects bio-warfare experiments are being held. You might remember a couple years ago the internets were a flutter of some sort of weird animal dubbed the Montauk Monster and Jessie thinks that it is a mutated animal that escaped from Plum Island. And our government holding secretive biological experiments seems a lot more plausible with the recent revelation that the US experimented with syphilis on Guatemalans during the forties.

Other theories Jesse and his crew will be testing this season include a secret billionaire’s club with the power to manipulate markets, government internment camps, the buying up of water rights by operations, whether the government is trying to depopulate Louisiana, and if it was really an airliner that hit the Pentagon on 9/11 or if it was actually a missile that did the damage. And Jesse will also will be digging up information on the two biggest conspiracy theories in American history this season: the Kennedy assassination and Area 51.

Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura airs Fridays at 10:00 on TruTV. You can also download Conspiracy Theory on iTunes.

They've All Gone to Look for America

It is a wonder how it took History so long to get around to making an anthology of the history of the United States of America. If the wait was to make sure they got it done right, the twelve part series America: The Story of Us that premiered back in April shows it was worth the wait and now it is available to own on three disk blu-ray. Sure there are gripes that can be made about what did not make the cut (apparently Americans had no leisure time as there are very few mentions of sports or entertainment), but they did do a good cliff-notes version cramming three hundred years of history into just over nine hours.

One complaint that is warranted is the reliance on commentary throughout the series. Sure newsmen like Tom Brokaw, national heroes like Buzz Aldrin, military men like Collin Powell, academic like Henry Lewis Gates, Jr. (yes the Beer Summit guy) usually add to the subjects being discussed. But vinaigrettes from random celebrities like Donald Trump, Sean Combs, Tim Gunn and Vera Wang just stick out like a sore thumb most of the time and these commentators make the show just too reminiscent of the less serious I Love the… series on VH1.

What America: The Story of Us is good at is find the root of what made America what it is today. The series does not start with Columbus or even the pilgrims but with the guy who brought Tobacco to Jamestown, turning the failing settlement into a prosperous farmland that made the new land a place where someone could successfully live. We get to see the start of such things that seems so innocuous today like the first mug shots to how the first mail order catalogue came to be.

Even in high definition, the visuals are not as eye popping as other television events like Life, but the dark grittiness does set the tone of America’s past from the Revolutionary war to blasting holes in mountains to put in a transcontinental railway. And the attention to detail to each era depicted is impeccable and you can tell History didn’t cut any corners in their reenactments, from the sets to the wardrobe. There is something here for everyone to discover, from grade school students to arm chair historians. The Blu-Ray does have little in the way of extras, just seven bonus scenes, most under four minutes in lenth.

It is also jarring how the series ends. After eleven hours of invention and triumph of the American spirit, the last episode is downright depressing: Nixon resigning, hippies, the Vietnam War, the Challenger explosion, the dot-com bust, 9/11 and the two wars that followed. Gave its blood and sweat into connecting the country with vast railroads and highways, we, as a country really haven’t done much lately. Once a war brought us out of a Great Depression but now war has sunk us into a Great Recession. Hopefully some people watch America: The Story of Us and are inspired to help create the next big American invention, the same American ingenuity that took the initial trip from New York City to Los Angeles six months to transverse to today when that can be done in a six hour flight.



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

Feed Your iPod vol. LI: How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?

It should be a requirement that every album have a Prince cover on it because let’s face it, very few artists today can write a song as great as even some of his obscure songs. Case in point, one of the stand out tracks on her debut album, Alicia Keys covered How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore? a B-Side to Prince’s 1999 single which is probably known to most casual Prince fans when it appeared on his three disk 1993 Greatest Hits/Rarities album. It is unknown as to why Keys retitled the song How Come You Don’t You Call Me, but the punchy piano and attitude remains and both versions are worth a download.

How Come You Don't Call Me - Alicia Keys



How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? - Prince

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CLI

Rubicon: This was the episode that made watching the show worth it. Who would have thought a show about analyst would have such a fight scene (though how a trained military man cannot take out a fact finder is a little farfetched). And we got a huge piece of the puzzle when Will figured out that API was a front for people to profit off of tragedy. And I would be willing to bet that the guy Will’s tem has been tracking is meant to be the catalyst of the next big score for the cabal. You can download Rubicon on iTunes.

Chuck: Please do not bring back Nicole Richie ever again please. It was painful to watch the first time around. And it was a little disappointing that we didn’t get a longer showdown between former co-workers Stone Cold Steve Austin and Stacy Keibler. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: “Where’s the poop” has to be the worst attempt at a catchphrase the show has ever has. Maybe the worst idea for a catchphrase any show has ever had, or really anyone ever. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Event: During this episode I was thinking of last week’s The Big Bang Theory and thought, “what if The Others (I am not up on the fandom, does Sophia’s group have an official, or even unofficial name yet?) were actually from a future where The Singularity has already happened where nanobots have merged with the human body. This would explain why they age very slowly and maybe The Singularity is The Event (apparently I was wrong when I assumed the disappearing plane was The Event). Could the resurrection of the airplane people be the results of nanobots? I am intrigued enough for another week. But hopefully we get the timeline of what happened to Sean between the time he was on the cruise ship to where he got on the plane sooner than later. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.

Castle: Evil Promo Monkeys strike again. We learn last week that the paper is actually a treasure map (not to mention spoil the hilarious gun showdown at the end) but have to wait for two-thirds of the episode for Castle figure it out. And I am disappointed that no one realized that Beckett’s buddy was using a photo with her as way to get a picture with the map when I knew exactly what he was doing as he was doing it. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

No Ordinary Family: Ask and you shall receive. In my initial review of the show I suggested what the show need most, even more than killing off the annoying kids, was an addition of a nemesis. And who would have guessed it would end up being the dad from 7th Heaven? But why exactly is he resorting to murder to cover up the existence of people with super powers? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download No Ordinary Family on iTunes.

Parenthood: Since she started appearing on the show, I thought something was off about Lyla Garrity that I could not put my finger on until I started rewatching Friday Night Lights on ABC Family, Lyla has the greatest ponytail ever in the history of the world and on Parenthood rarely utilizes that fact. It would be like having Lynyrd Skynyrd do a show and saying to them, “hey guy, why don’t you just skip playing Free Bird tonight.” You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Someone really need to explain what is going to me. Maybe something is getting lost in translation because I still have no idea why the Irish are still holding on to Able. I really need to watch the scenes in Ireland with subtitles on because I am certainly missing something. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Nicaragua: It is never a good sign when the thirty second preview in more entertaining than the entire forty minute episode. But they switched up the tribes about two episodes too late. Here’s hoping that Marty and NaOnka end up on the same tribe and just vote each other out. But the big question is what is going to happen to the Immunity Idol just hanging up in the old person’s tribe? Will NaOnka rip off Kelly’s leg to get another one? Hopefully the Medallion of Power doesn’t stick around after the switch. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Terriers: I am having a little trouble following the storyline here. So the sex tape guy has incriminating paperwork, so evil lawyer get him in on bogus charges, but it turns out evil lawyer wanted the incriminating paperwork to go public so his land would be considered to toxic to build? Maybe when we finally learn what is now going on at the fake toxic site I will fully understand what is going on. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Terriers on iTunes.

The Challenge: Cutthroat: The show finally discovered, twenty seasons in (wow, 20), what Survivor realized in its first season, Australian ballots make for a much more interesting outcome in the voting. I also like the three team twist because it never seemed fair that winning teams may lose a member of their team. But no sign from CT yet, though we learn from the season trailer that he brought Tina along who hasn’t been seen since pooping Beth a while ago when she was a Challenge staple for a while. Will they be replacing people who punched each other (which would be odd since they are of opposite gender) or just part of a challenge? MTV.com. You can also download The Challenge: Cutthroat on iTunes.

Community: What was up with Abed and the pregnant chick, he is in the background in a couple scenes and even mentions it at the end, but I just didn’t get the reference. The show just falls flat whenever I do not get whatever Meta in joke of the week is. Not that I am saying this episode fell flat per say because it is hard to complain about anything that involves Annie and Britta oil wrestling. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Best of the Week vol. XLVII

Quote of the Week: He’s out there on the street and he’s kicking (expletive deleted) like Batman. You’re married to Christian Bale. Or Michael Keaton at least. (Katie, No Ordinary Family)

Song of the Week: American Girl – Tom Petty (as sung by Jimmy T, Survivor)

Big News of the Week: The Baseball Playoffs Begin: Who knew? I really haven’t watched the sport since I realized that everyone was medically enhanced. Maybe when they finally clear the sport of the cream and the clear and add a cap so I actually think my team may have a chance to make the playoffs, I start paying attention again.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Free Download of the Week: Law & Order: Los Angeles, Season 1 - Law & Order: Los Angeles (iTunes): For those the missed the first west coast version of the franchise, here it is for free.

Deal of the Week: The Happy Birthday Sale (The Big Bang Theory, Eastbound and Down, The Hangover [Blu Ray], The Wire)

Video of the Week: ABC Family’s syndication of Friday Night Lights has soften the blow that I will have to wait another four to seven months for the start of the new season. Of course for those with DirecTV, you only have to wait another two and a half weeks. Below is a promo for the DirecTV return featuring The Black Keys When the Lights Go Out.

Friday Night Lights Season 5 Promo


Next Week Pick of the Week: Rubicon, Sunday at 9:00 on AMC: Rubicon really kicked into gear last week and with only two episodes left (tomorrow and next week), we may be in for an explosive season finale. Quite literally with an extremist entering the country and the API boss apparently profiting from catastrophes his group identifies.

Around the Tubes vol. LXIX

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 Haven, The Office, Suzanne Vega, Nowhere Boy, Outlaw, Djibouti, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, Michael Feinsein’s American Songbook, Sons of Anarchy, and a Tony Curtis marathon.

- Tonight is the season finale of Haven on Syfy at 10:00 which was recently renewed for a second season. Here is a preview:



- The Office will be releasing its latest webisodes The 3rd Floor October 21 and here is a trailer.



- Today at noon, Suzanne Vega will perform at the Borders in Ann Arbor. For those not within driving distance can watch via Livestream below:

borders on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

- Tonight is the release of the John Lennon coming of age bio-flick Nowhere Boy. Below is a clip featuring Lennon and Paul McCartney write their first song together when they were called The Quarrymen.

Exclusive Nowhere Boy Clip. Watch more top selected videos about: Nowhere Boy

- On the small screen tonight in a new episode of Outlaw featuring guest star Tom Schanley (Dexter) as a “surviving husband of a woman who is suspected of committing suicide after warning her employer, a car manufacturer, of unsafe conditions in the car. Turns out Carl may have played a role in her suicide as well.”

- The guy who wrote Fire in the Hole of which the FX series Justified is based on, Elmore Leonard will be turning 85 on October 11, a day before his latest novel, Djibouti is released. Lean more in the video below:



- I would venture to say most everyone has a few Mariah Carey Christmas tunes on their iPods and she will finally give us some new holiday cheer with the upcoming release of Merry Christmas II You. You can preorder the album and an exclusic DVD over at hsn.com/mariahcarey now or tune in to HSN Oct 20 during the 8 am, the 2 pm, and the 10 pm hours for more Mariah Carey surprises.

- In other HSN news, Rod Stewart will debut his latest album, Fly Me to The Moon…The Great American Songbook, Volume V, exclusively with HSN. He will be performing live during a one-hour primetime special on October 9 at 8 p.m. (ET) on HSN.

- Stewart isn’t the only one going back into the American songbook, next Monday the Michael Feinstein Foundation for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook debuts an extraordinary free website, Michael Feinsein’s American Songbook, in which music aficionados, music historians, teachers, and cultural researchers.

- SAMCRO fans rejoice, Sons of Anarchy has been renewed for a fourth season.

- This Sunday TCM will pay tribute to Tony Curtis with a twenty-four hour marathon of his films. Here is the full rundown:

6 a.m. Beachhead (1954) – with Frank Lovejoy and Mary Murphy
7:45 a.m. Kings Go Forth (1958) – with Frank Sinatra and Natalie Wood
9:45 a.m. The Vikings (1958) – with Kirk Douglas, Ernest Borgnine and Janet Leigh
11:45 a.m. Operation Petticoat (1959) – with Cary Grant and Dina Merrill
2 p.m. Who Was That Lady? (1960) – with Janet Leigh and Dean Martin
4:15 p.m. Sex and the Single Girl (1964) – with Natalie Wood, Lauren Bacall and Henry Fonda
6:15 p.m. You Can’t Win ‘Em All (1970) – with Charles Bronson and Michèle Mercier
8 p.m. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – with Burt Lancaster and Martin Milner
9:45 p.m. The Defiant Ones (1958) – with Sidney Poitier and Theodore Bikel
11:30 p.m. Trapeze (1956) – with Burt Lancaster and Gina Lollobrigida
1:30 a.m. The Great Race (1965) – with Jack Lemmon and Natalie Wood
4:15 a.m. Don’t Make Waves (1967) –with Claudia Cardinale and Sharon Tate

Previewing The Dog Whisperer 7.x

I thoroughly enjoy watching The Dog Whisperer because not only does it gives me tips for my dogs; it is a nice reminder that there are much worse behaving dogs on the planet than mine. Like on tomorrow’s season premiere we are introduced to a lamp shade eating dog. My dog has chewed on socks, CD’s and even paper, but never has she jumped up to take out one of my lamp shades.

For his second case, Cesar Millan gets offered a deal to tame Howie Mandel’s Chihuahua Lola, who Howie fears is going to kill him because she lunges at him every time Howie tries to sit next to his wife. As a Chihuahua owner myself I understand just how angry the dog can get, but lucky for me I am the one mine is protected so everyone around me gets the ankles gnawed on a little. Check out Howie getting flew from a one pound fur ball below:



Tomorrow is the first of fifteen all new episodes to air Fridays at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel. Also this season, Cesar will be visiting Astronaut Suni Williams, who once received Cesar’s coaching while serving on the International Space Station. Actress Rhoa Mitra (The Gates) and her French bulldog, Oscar. Meghan Plunkett, daughter of former NFL quarter back and Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett, who has been caring for a pit bull that belonged to her brother Jimmy, who, prior to his unexpected passing in 2008, had cultivated a close relationship with his dog based on Cesar’s relationship with his dog, Daddy. And even wildlife experts like Casey Anderson, a Nat Geo Wild host, will call on Cesar, along with his wife Missi Pyle to help with their two dogs.