Around the Tubes - 6/8/12

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 41, Dallas, Falling Skies, Wilfred, Veep, Mad Men, Martha Speaks, The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, TBS Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, Fuse, Californication, The Secret life of the American Teenager, Lizard Lick Towing, Macy's 4th of July Fireworks, and Kelly Clarkson.

- Appropriately the latest HBO 41 about George Herbert Walker Bush will be airing next Thursday, Flag Day (which will also be his 88 birthday). The story is told by the former president in his own words from his summer home in Kennebunkport, ME. Check out a trailer below and tune in at 9:00 to watch 41:



- Post-shows have been popping up more frequently these days for fans to go deeper into an episode and TNT is jumping into the fray with two webshows to air directly after two upcoming shows, both will be live (on the east coast) and fifteen minutes in length. Dallas Round-Up will naturally follow episodes of the Dallas reboot at dallastnt.com and will be hosted by Cameron Mathison. While Second Unit will come directly after new episodes of Falling Sky on fallingskies.com with Wil Wheaton as your host. Stars of both show are expected to show up throughout the season.

- Can’t wait until the Jun 28th premiere of Wilfred? Well you are in luck, FX is launching a special preview of the second season premiere two weeks earlier on Video on Demand and Hulu and you can also watch the episode that night at 10:30 on FX. Keep in mind its regular timeslot is 10:00 on Thursdays.

- The season of Veep is this Sunday on HBO, until then, here is another deleted scene to tide you over:



- In honor of the Mad Men finale this Sunday, Wordnik has put together a list of their favorite words spoken by the people of SCDP.

- On next Friday’s episode of PBS Kids’ Martha Speaks (check your local listings), Truman is going to meet one of his heroes, astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson who is getting animated for the part. Check out a clip below:

Truman’s #1 Hero


- The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan just announced its final season starting July 7 but will be going out with a bang featuring dogs owned by Kelsey Grammer, Jillian Michaels, NASCAR drivers Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick, and Cesar will be stopping by the Playboy Mansion to help out Hugh Hefner.

- For those in Chicago next week for TBS Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, it was just announced they will be hosting a special advanced screening of That’s My Boy with star Adam Sandler in attendance at the Kerasotes Showplace ICON on Thursday, June 14.

- Fuse recently greenlit three new original series: Off Beat, a weekly show focusing on the most outrageous music themed internet videos. Warped Roadies, a behind the scenes look at the Vans Warped Tour and the young crew that keeps it rolling. And G-Life about a “family style” (it is in quotations because it is ran by Italian-Americans) run record label.

- For those that watched Lost and thought to themselves that they would like to see Shannon sans her ever-present bikini, you may be in luck because Maggie Grace recently signed on for the next season of Califorication for at least eight episodes as a groupie with an unconventional relationship with Hank. For those that watched Lost and thought to themselves that they would like to see Hurley with less clothes, you may also be in luck (but it is less likely... hopefully) because he will also show up in one episode as an old contact of Maggie’s (hopefully it is not of a physical nature that we have to witness). The new season will air in 2013 so hopefully the Mayans were wrong.

- The season premiere of The Secret Life of the American Teenager is this Monday (yes the previous season finale was earlier this week) and to commemorate the occasion, ABC Family has released an Amy and Ricky through the Years montage. Check it out below:



- Returning this Monday to TruTV is the new season of Lizard Lick Towing.

- For those staying to watch the fireworks this 4th of July, Katy Perry and Kenny Chesney have just signed up to perform during Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Show airing 9:00 on NBC.

- Kelly Clarkson covers this month’s Redbook where she talks weight loss, Duets, and finding happiness.

I Want My Music Television - 6/7/12

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.


Gold on the Ceiling – The Black Keys



The Black Keys have released some pretty awesome videos in the past, but released a straight forward (i.e. boring) video for Gold on the Ceiling featuring road footage. Then a couple months later this happened and I have not been able to sleep since. This is some serial killer type ish.


Princess of China - Coldplay & Rihanna



Didn’t Coldplay already do the fake trailer for one of their music videos from this album already? I think I would actually like the fake elephant movie better.


No Church In the Wild - Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean



Just last week I scratched my head at the random dropping of the latest Kanye West video, and a day later he released yet another video from his album with Jay-Z months after the single was released (and a week after used in The Great Gatsby trailer) featuring people raging against, um, who knows. Check back next week to see what better late than never Kanye releases.


Some Nights - Fun.



If the new Kanye-Jay-Z video is not enough violence for you, here comes fun. Ironically last week while watching the Hatfields and Mccoys miniseries, I thought to myself, “Self, do you know what this needs: an indie pop soundtrack.” Thank you fun. for giving me that visualization. But unfortunately they did not go fully into historical accuracy because there was no crappy auto-tune during the Civil War.

First Impressions: Pretty Little Liars 3.x

After deciding to reveal the identity of “A”, Pretty Little Liars hit its stride again in the second half of its second season. It finally ramped up the tension that was missing in the previous episodes and brought back the intrigue and mystery that drew in viewers at the start of the series. Like the start of the season, each of the Liars were harboring a new lie: Emily became a blackout drunk, Hannah has been visiting Mona in the mental hospital, Spencer continues to go to the “A” den to figure out who the “Black Swan” was (um, don’t we already know it was her sister?), and Aria, well no new secret but she still continues to carry on her creepy affair with Ezra (I thought he could not get a job in the area, how is he still around, Ezra should have become the King of New Orleans when he had the chance). But unlike the first season where it took a couple episodes for the secrets to come out, they actually shared them with each other from the start. But much like the start of the show, the liars inexplicably still not go to the police when they are in trouble.

In the five months that passed in Rosewood since the finale Garrett apparently did not just get pinned for the murder of Allison (which he denies even though I could have sworn he already admitted to it with Jenna) but also added another manslaughter charge (Mya’s) to his rap sheet. Mona has been in a catatonic state in a nut house only moving to acknowledge visions of Allison in a red dress (keep in mind the shadowy figure in the finale was also wearing red). Hermie the Hermaphrodite has gotten moody since the masquerade ball. And Jenna has still not been seen since we saw her seeing things unbeknownst to everyone else who thought her surgery failed.

Oh yeah, and someone dug up Allison’s body and left Emily with the shovel. Of course that is only assuming Allison’s body was actually there to begin with (yes, I am still holding onto my theory I had from the series premiere that Allison is in fact still very alive). And thanks to the pictures in the car at the end, it is safe to assume “New A” is behind everything. And since she claims that unlike Mona, who plays with dolls, “New A” plays with body parts, there is a good chance (s)he is behind the missing Allison body and Mya’s death. Hopefully, unlike the first “A”, the writers do not wait a season too late to reveal who “New A” is.

Pretty Little Liars airs Tuesdays at 8:00 on ABC Family. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Previewing Rizzoli and Isles 3.x and Franklin and Bash 2.x

TNT introduces its own version of Law and Order tonight when its duos Rizzoli and Isles and Franklin and Bash air back to back. Although since the cops come before the lawyers, maybe they should call it Order and Law Tuesdays. As for the former, Rizzoli and Isles returns for its third season tonight at 9:00, and when we last saw the friends, Rizzoli was shooting Isles’ biological father, gangster Paddy Doyle. The aftermath plays out tonight as Jane’s bullet puts Paddy’s life in danger with Maura in the middle (which may or may not lead to a catfight). But we do learn of the very first meeting of the titular characters tonight.

There is a homicide that does need investigating in tonight’s episode (but with Maura at her father’s bedside, that means more Ed Begley Jr. as her replacement) involving a botched convenient store robbery that ends up tying back to the events of the last episode. Other murders the girls will have to investigate this season a grad student killed in hidden tunnels under the university, a killer with a bizarre doll fetish, and homeless vets. Oh and it looks like Maura’s biological family tree will be expanding this season.

Rizzoli and Isles airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on TNT. You can stream recent episodes over at TNT.tv. You can also download Rizzoli & Isles on iTunes.


As for the lesser sex duo, Franklin and Bash return with a literal bang tonight as they open the season in court defending a magician against a deficient water trap that the boys go to their usual extreme ways to win the case. After that is resolved, the guys are up for partner at Infeld-Daniels but need two-thirds vote from the partners to join them. So the guys try to show their value by catching a big fish in the form of Kevin Nealon. Another case involves a lady cop who is welcome to arrest me any day and we learn just where Pindar’s issues really began.

Other cases the lawyers tackle this season include a wannabe crime fighter (Sean Astin), a court-martial of two Navy female sailors, a widow who tries to keep her late husband from being immortalized as a dancer in a human body exhibit, and someone who needs to prove he is a gay-homosexual to keep a softball trophy. Also showing up this season include Martin Mull, Ernie Hudson, Peter Weller, Danielle Panabaker, Tiffany Dupont, Shiri Appleby, and Chris Kline. Beau Bridges reprises his role as Jared’s father and we get to meet some other family members this season including Peter’s mom (Jane Seymour) and one of Infeld’s ex wives (Cybill Shephard). We even get introduced to a low rent version of Franklin and Bash: Jango and Rossi as portrayed by Seth Green and Eric Mabius.

Franklin and Bash airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TNT. You can download Franklin & Bash on iTunes.

Previewing Burning Love

If I told you there was a series that reunited Veronica Mars vets Ken Marino, Kristen Bell, Ryan Hansen and also featured Ben Stiller, Michael Ian Black, Ken Jeong, and Adam Scott your first question will probably be what channel and when can I watch it. Good news is that you can watch the first episode of Burning Love right now by heading over to Yahoo’s comedy channel.

On Burning Love, Marino plays a firefighter who goes on The Bachelor style dating show to find love by dating twenty women at once with Black playing the host. The girls play all the clichés you have come to know (including plenty of grade school teachers and dental hygienists) and a few you will never see on the show, but would be hilarious if you did like a girl who does not what to be judged by her looks so she wears a bear costume (you will definitely recognize who is under the mask but it will be no fun if I spoiled you to who is it). Other girls out to woo Marino without a bear costume include Bell, Malin Akerman, Carla Gallo, and Sally Draper’s teacher that her dad nailed a couple seasons ago.

Even though I have not seen a second of The Bachelor or its many spinoffs the laughs are really universal and it is not only funnier than other The Bachelor parodies out there (Flavor of Love was a parody, not a real show, right?) but is funnier than any network comedy that aired in the past year. Thankfully the episodes are in the five to ten minute range so the jokes do not get old quick. New episodes are uploaded every Monday and Thursday at BurningLove.com (I am not sure how episodes there will end up being, but there were still about half the girls around by the fifth episode). If you are not sure about the first episode, at least stick with it until Marino takes the girls to a comedy club where Kristen Bell, who plays the religious one, has a drop the mic moment. Check out the trailer for Burning Love below:

Around the Tubes - 6/3/12

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 Newsroom, The National History Bee, Ice Road Truckers, Cajan Pawn Stars, The Winner Is, Grimm, Veep, Miss USA, Taboo, Bill Bellamy, John Leguizamo, FEARnet, Peter Dinklage, Nurse Jackie, and Emmanuelle Chriqui.


- I think it is pretty clear that The Newsroom is the most anticipated show of the summer and arguable of all of 2012. HBO recently released a new promo and take a gander of it below:



- Tonight on History is The National History Bee hosted by Brian Unger and moderated by Al Roker for the very first telecast of the academic quiz.

- Later this weekend on History is the sixth season premiere of Ice Road Truckers at 9:00 on Sunday. Then on Monday there will be a sneak peek of the return of Cajun Pawn Stars at 10:30 before settling into its regular timeslot on Wednesday at 9:00.

- For those that still cannot get enough singing competitions, NBC recently announced another on: The Winner Is and it somehow sounds more confusing than The Voice. Here is how they describe it: The contestants will be judged by a special in-studio panel led by one celebrity judge (to be announced) as they compete for an ultimate cash prize of $1 million. In a unique twist, they will have the chance to negotiate a deal with their opponent. Before hearing their fate the contestants can choose to step out of the competition in exchange for a predetermined cash prize or continue on in the game.

- Coming to a DVD and/or Blu-Ray shelf (or Amazon) near you on 8/7 is the complete first season of Grimm. The set will come in limited edition packaging with exclusive Grimm collector cards and never before seen bonus material such as deleted scenes, Making Monsters featurette, an interactive creature guide (exclusive to the Blu-Ray) and more.



- The latest deleted scene from Veep was recently released, check it out below:



- The Miss USA pageant is this Sunday at 9:00 on NBC and the show will have more social components than ever before. You can even ask the final question via Twitter (#AskMissUsa). And of course there will be swimsuits.

- The new season of Taboo is set to hit the National Geographic Channel June 17 at 10:00 and the topics this season will include collecting murders’ memorabilia, the uncontrollable urge to one your own hair, binge drinking, teen sex, a man living without a face, an owner of 65,000 baloons, and a groom who kidnapped his bride to be.

- For those that wonder to themselves, whatever happened to Bill Bellamy, tune into Showtime Saturday at 8:00 to watch his latest comedy special Crazy, Sexy, Dirty.

- If that is not enough funny for you John Leguizamo’s one man show Ghetto Known will premiering July 13 on PBS at 9:00 (check your local listings).

- FEARnet has announced its June schedule and highlights include a Saw marathon on Father’s Day the 17th. Then on Thursday the 14th they will be presenting An Night with Bite featuring animal themed movies including The Werewolf (4:00), Bug (6:00), Red Water (8:00), Hyenas (10:00), and Boa at midnight.

- Sunday is the season finale of Game and Thrones and star of the show Peter Dinklage has already picked his next battle: saving animals. Peter, who has been a vegetarian since 16, is the national spokesman for Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals and filmed a new video to promote it and you can watch it over at walkforfarmanimals.org.

- This week Nurse Jackie was renewed for a fifth season by Showtime and it hired new showrunner Clyde Philips who most recently worked on Dexter. Production will begin later this year.

- Remember the seminal movie On the Line? Well the two stars of the film are finally reuniting. Emmanuelle Chriqui and Lance Bass are battling to see who can raise more money for their charities. If Emmanuelle wins, Lance will dress up as PooFu the dog (a costume he wore for one of his first jobs in Laurel, Mississippi) and Emmanuelle will walk him though LA's Runyon Canyon, the area's most popular hiking and dog walking spot. But if Lance wins, Emmanuelle will have to hit the stage and sing with Steel Panther at the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard. For information, head over to power-of-2.org.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 6/02/12

Quote of the Week: We've all had nights in our life where we've made mistakes for free. (Pete, Mad Men)

Song of the Week: You Really Got Me – The Kinks (Mad Men)

Preview Picture of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Summer Television Begins: Summer is the time to get caught up on television you missed (on my to watch list are Dexter seasons 3-6, the final season of Big Love, the first season of Game of Thrones, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 3, and the most recent season of The Middle) there are a few new shows on television that I will be checking out in real time. Here is what I’ll be watching this summer and their premiere dates.

Mondays
June 11, 9:00 – Bunheads (ABC Family)

Tuesdays
June 5, 8:00 - Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family)
June 5, 10:00 – Franklin and Bash (TNT)

Wednesdays
June 6, 10:00 – Royal Pains (USA)
June, 13, 10:00 – Dallas (TNT)

Thursdays
June 28 at 10:00 – Wilfred (FX)

Sundays
June 17, 9:00 – Falling Skies (TNT)
July 15, 8:00 – Leverage (TNT)
July 1, 10:00 - Weeds (Showtime)


The Killing: I have tried to avoid complaining about The Killing this season as I just patiently wake until Rosie Larson’s killers is revealed and then never watch this show ever again. But this week was so absurd I could no longer bite my tongue. I should have known something was going to go horribly wrong when the teacher showed up in the previously segment because the show came off the tracks in the episode where he got beat up by Stan, then exonerated of killing Rosie (surprise: he was saving Muslims from genital mutilation) leaving the cops with no suspects and back at square one. But the biggest slap to the dace is the whole metal institution storyline where we learn Linden was way too unstable to get a job back on the police force let alone be the lead detective of a high profile murder. She should have not even been allowed out, especially let out early. But apparently the mental health industry is just as inept in Seattle as their police department. Luckily they did insert a good laugh into the episode after Gwen mentioned the basketball video went viral yet only had about 1,500 views. A real viral video gets that many views in a minute, not a couple of hours.
You can download The Killing on iTunes.

Mad Men: I am not a fan of shock for the sake of shock, and you can say a lot of things about Mad Men like it is boring or slow moving, but it always avoids shock value (Peggy’s surprised baby and Don’s murder dream aside). Then Joan became a high class hooker. This really made her and Pete unredeemable (not that Pete was al that redeemable in the first place). Really all the partners but Don were complicit. And why would Joan want to be a partner with the people that pimped her out? The money argument for her son is moot because Roger would certainly make sure he is cared for. And why was Roger on board? Is he really okay with his former girl toy and baby mama giving herself away to some skeevy executive? I bet if Megan did not succumb to the casting couch this episode, I would not be surprised if that is coming soon. Unless Megan is part of the new generation who actually value their morals over quick advancement.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Hatfields and McCoys: Can something both exceed and fall short of expectations? Even with quality actors Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton at the lead I feared that it would still be this low budget style mini-series, but it was nice to see History went all out (except casting from the J. Crew catalogue circa 1880 for the Romeo and Juliet storyline and if the dog was any more well groomed he would have had been wearing a Petsmart hanker chief). But on the other hand it still paled in comparison to Deadwood which was set around the same time. But I am completely on board for more History miniseries. And may I suggest their next one focus on another famous American rivalry: the Raymond Burr / Alexander Hamilton dual.

Free Download of the Week: Nothing's Real But Love – Rebecca Ferguson

Deal of the Week: Modern Classic for $2.99: Apparently Amazon’s definition of “modern” is the last twenty years because Achtung Baby and Low End Theory are both deeply discounted. You can also gram even more modern albums by Kanye West and Coldplay for the low price.



New Album Release of the Week: That's Why God Made the Radio - The Beach Boys

New DVD Release of the Week: Pretty Little Liars: The Complete Second Season

Video of the Week: Whenever there is a gratuitous shot in a movie trailer showing as much of a woman's backside as allowed by the FCC, they might as well tattoo on the posterior "This movie suck but we are hoping you will still come to see this derriere on the big screen." With that said, The Apparition may have the greatest horrible tagline ever in the history of cinema: "Once You Believe... You Die"



Of course since the booty in question belongs to Ashley Greene, I already have this movie added to my queue.

Next Week Pick of the Week: Pretty Little Liars, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family: I am probably more excited than an old dude should be for the return of the show, but Pretty Little Liars hit is strike going into the homestretch of the second season. Now that we know who A is (Mona) now we get to try to figure out who is also part of “The A-Team” and who is the shadowy figure behind her (meaning my theory that Allison is not as dead as they would have us believe is still alive as I think Allison is). Oh yeah, we also have another murder mystery to solve after Mya showed up dead in the final seconds of the finale.

Yeah, You Can’t Front on That

Like most people, I came to Paul’ Boutique late and let face it, as great as it was, License to Ill was a novelty album for sophomoric guys. Really, Check Your Head is when I became a true fan of the Beastie Boys and that is why it is this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame. Released just eight months after Nevermind, the Beastie Boys rode the wave of alternative music mixing live instrumentation, the first time they played on the majority of the songs since their punk beginnings while keeping their hip-hop esthetics. Check Your Head pushed the boundaries of rap as far as Paul’s Boutique did but was assessable right off the bat.

Pass the Mic was a great introduction to the Boys new sound as the first single from the album, the passing of the mic would satisfy the hip-hop purists while attracting the new alternative crowd with the fuzzed out guitars. Later in the album they would go full out rock stars with Gratitude (setting the stage for one of their biggest hits Sabotage off their next album). And much like Sabotage, the song is built around a killer bass groove courtesy of MCA.

Even though they plugged in for the album, there are plenty of clever samples that made Paul’s Boutique revolutionary. So What-Cha Want is built off of When the Levee Breaks. And like a few songs on Paul’s Boutique, Finger Lickin’ Good drops the track and just lets a couple seconds of Bob Dylan’s Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues before going back to the weird mix of Aquarius and Dance to the Music. The Biz vs. The Nuge lives up to the name as it is just Biz Markie singing over Ted Nugent’s Homebound. And what would Pass the Mic be without the Jimmie Walker famous “Dynamite!”

They push their sound even further in the second half of the album when they go back to their punk roots with punky version of Sly Stone’s Time for Livin'. Something’s Got to Give is a trippy ride. They even throw in some funky instrumentals for good measure. We may have lost a true legend a couple weeks ago in MCA, but his work with the Beastie Boys will live on forever with the great albums he left behind.

I Want My Music Television - 5/31/12

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.

Lost In the World - Kanye West



Sure it has been over a year since Kanye West released his last album and has even dropped one with Jay-Z since then, but you can rush the man when it comes to his art. I’m a bit surprised he does not take Chinese Democracy style time to record new albums.


Payphone - Maroon 5



When I first heard the new Maroon 5 song I thought to myself, who uses a payphone anymore? It is nice that they explain this at the beginning of the video that his cell phone is broken. What is not explained is why when they got out of the bank, why does Adam Levine say to the cops, we are bankers. That could have alleviated the whole car chase sequence.


Ships in the Night - Mat Kearney



With the intro talking about how many miles, I was like, “what?” But as soon as Mat Kearney appeared on screen in the different locations, I realized that this was a very clever, if not extremely time consuming, concept.


Stuck on You - Meiko



If only I could cook, I would sure like to try Meiko’s recipe here but I am against any recipe that calls for a prep time over whatever time it takes to make a grilled-cheese sandwich.

Today We’re Younger than We’ll Ever Gonna Be

In the past I have talked a lot about “quirky pop,” the sub-genre that was popularized by iPod commercials in the middle of last decade which is too weird for mass consumption but still manages to be highly assessable. I am not entirely sure who created the sub-genre, but Regina Spektor certainly perfected it. The Soviet born pianist has an eclectic delivery and sometime crams more words than you would expect into a line but still manages to deliver a beautiful song almost every time.

Now on her sixth album (and third since Fidelity became the closest thing as a smash hit for her) Regina has not changed much for What We Saw from the Cheap Seats. Mike Elizondo, who produced four songs off her last album and is best known for his work with Dr. Dre and Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine, is back full time co-producing with Spektor which could explain why this album sounds a bit tighter production wise than her previous albums. But that is not necessary a bad thing like on Don’t Leave Me (Ne me quitte pas) which is an updated version of a song from her second album Songs (but sans any English in the title). Where the original is just Regina and her piano, the piano parts on the updated version is replaced by synthesizers and drums and a brass section is added. This may upset purists, but the song is much better with the makeover.

Even with the tighter production, the album still retains its fair share of quirkiness, for better or worse. The worse is on Open where Regina makes these weird and terrifying gasping sounds. But her beat boxing, scatting part of Oh Marcello works much better. I am still undecided on the loud pounding blows during first single All the Rowboats. And only Regina Spektor could tell the title character of Ballad of a Politician to “Shake what your mama gave you.” Though quirkiness if what people are drawn to Regina Spektor for, she still shows that she can write and perform more traditional and beautiful love songs like How.

Song to Download – Don't Leave Me (Ne me quitte pas)

What We Saw from the Cheap Seats gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Contest: Win Frozen Planet on DVD

Scooter Update: This contest has ended and the winner will be contacted soon.


Yesterday was the unofficial start of summer and the season started in style with 90’s across the country. To help you cool down this summer, I am giving away the DVD of the original BBC series Frozen Planet. If you remember a couple weeks ago I reviewed the series (see: You’re as Cold as Ice) and since I was recently sent a second copy, and instead of using the DVD’s as cup coasters I have decided to give the copy to you the reader. All you have to do is fill out the form below and for fun tell me what you plan to do this summer to keep yourself cool (besides watching Frozen Planet of course). Check out the trailer below.



You can enter the contest once a day until the contest ends Friday, June 8 at 11:00 PM EST. The winner will then be picked at random from all eligible entries and will be contacted shortly after so I can get your shipping address. This contest is only open to people with a shipping address in the United States. For more on the series, check out the link above to my in depth review or head over to frozenplanetdvd.com. And yes this copy is the David Attenborough narrated version, not the version the recently aired on Discovery with Alec Baldwin as the narrator. For those that cannot wait or would prefer the Blu-Ray (or are reading this after the contest has ended), the Amazon links are below for purchase.



This contest has ended

Previewing Witness: G.I. Homecoming

Tomorrow is Memorial Day which means a lot of hot dogs, potato salad, and some croquet (unless it does get over ninety like the weatherman suggest it will; which begs the question, why is there not a croquet video game yet?). But let’s not forget what the day is truly about: honoring those that have served and are serving our country. So when all the hamburgers have been eaten, plop the family down in front of the television as members of the military surprise their loved ones on Witness: G.I. Homecoming airing at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Since 9/11, over two million soldiers have been deployed overseas, some not to return. But many more have come home safely and in the past decade we have all seen emotional homecomings be it on local, national news or even on YouTube. Witness takes a look at some of the more memorial surprise homecomings and the stories behind them with home movies, war zone footage shot by the soldiers and original, first-person account of the soldiers and their family. The segments range from a father waking up his kids in the middle of the night to an elaborate like a surprise reunion in center field of Fenway Park. If you tune in, make sure you have a box of Klenex on hand because there will be tears.

Witness: G.I. Homecoming airs Memorial Day at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel. What a clip below:

Graduation Surprise

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 5/26/12

Quote of the Week: Yes my bad-boy prom date is gay. He just doesn’t know it yet, so I’m basically his beard. Pre-beard. His stubble. (Alex, Modern Family)

Song of the Week: Cocaine – Eric Clapton (Men At Work)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Dan Harmon Fired: In true Hollywood fashion, the executives at Sony decided to not renew the contract of Community creator and executive producer Dan Harmon very late last Friday (it is where everyone likes to dump bad news in hopes it gets buried in the weekend). Even with its late release time, the internet still exploded the way only the internet can. Personally I could care less. Sure Harmon’s high concepts led to some great television, but he also had much more swings and huge misses. I really do not care who is behind the show as long as I continue to get my weekly dose of Alison Brie. And all the vitriol towards Song and NBC are pretty unwarranted. By all accounts Harmon is a douche who is hard to work with. You may be able to pull that off if you are Aaron Sorkin and are getting great rating (but even he got pushed out the door at The West Wing eventually) but you certainly cannot if you are pulling in The CW style ratings. And a note to the new showrunners: more Annie Edison please.

Preview Picture of the Week:



Mad Men: Just when I thought the show could not come up with anything more distracting than a topless Rory Gilmore, Kinsey reappears as a Hare Krishna / Star Trek fan-fic writer. Coolbeans and touché Mad Men writers.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

Modern Family: What a horrible tease. I thought next season we would get more Dylan next season with Haley moving in with him, but no, she had to go ahead and get into college. Booo. Maybe she will get knocked up by the time next season comes around (while Gloria somehow gets unpregnant). And I may have pinpointed what was wrong with this season (aside from a lack of Dylan), they try to shoehorn in too many emotional moments like after a very funny telenovela bit they had to go ahead and ruin it with Mitchell having a very unfunny breakdown.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Revenge: Just when I thought the show was heading for yet another disappointing payoff when Emily ended up not killing the Albino, but then just as Emily was going to tell Jack everything, Not-Amanda shows up all pregnant (oh snap!) and Victoria got blow up in a plane by the Albino (double snap!!). Sure anyone who has ever watched a soap opera know there is a 0.0% chance that Victoria is actually dead (unless it turns out Madeleine Stowe is even harder to work with than Dan Harmon), same with Charlotte’s overdose, but at least we get to spend the next four months trying to figure out just how she comes back from the dead. Oh yeah, and real-Amanda’s mother is not quite dead as they had us believe. Somebody get Stowe’s Bad Girls co-star Mary Stuart Masterson on the phone.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Awake: When the series premiered I predicted that the series finale would reveal that Det. Britton was the one that died in the car crash and his wife and kid were alive and well. Well two out of three is not bad. But it turns out I was right that both worlds were not real, I think (unless the Asian doctor was right and Britton cracked again creating a third reality which is what we were seeing at the end and a potential second season would have been split between three different realities; just the thought of that kind of makes me glad that it stopped after one season).
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Awake on iTunes.

Free Download of the Week: If you missed my review of the debut from Kimbra (see I Can’t Explain Away the Way I Feel) I pointed out ways you could download three of her songs for free: you can get Warrior courtesy of Converse, Cameo Lover on iTunes, and Good Intent over at MTV.com. And in addition to those three, you can also grab Settle Down for the same price on Amazon MP3. That is 30% of her album you can get for free.

New Album Release of the Week: What We Saw From The Cheap Seats - Regina Spektor

New DVD Release of the Week: Gone

Video of the Week: It is ironic that when I was forced to read The Great Gatsby back in high school I had visions of Jay-Z, Kanye West and Jack White singing U2 going around in my head even though none at that point in time had released any music let alone back in the twenties where the book was set. It also donned one me that the book would make possibly the greatest 3-D movie of all time. Thank you Baz Luhrmann for bringing all of this to fruition with his adaptation of the film.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Hatfields and McCoys, Monday at 9:00 on History: Kevin Costner and Paxton play the patriarchs of the most famous feud of all time in the History mini-series which airs over three straight days.

Around the Tubes - 5/25/12

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 CBS, History, Pretty Little Liars, Insane or Inspired, Veep, Anger Management, South Beach Tow, and PBS.

- CBS was once again the most watched network of the season and to thank its viewers for keeping them on top, CBS is giving everyone a “Good-eBag” where you can download select episodes of current hit series like How I Met Your Mother and Survivor. And that is nor all, the network is hitting the road to travel to 60 cities in 60 days that may include such as face-to-face encounters with CBS personalities, video chats with CBS stars, previews and screenings of new series, contests, giveaways and more. Head over to cbs.com/thanks for download links and cbs.com/buzz for city dates (which will be announced soon).

- Also going on tour this summer is History for a Cross-Country Cookout featuring the cast of Pawn Stars, Rick Dale of American Restoration and the 80-foot Ultimate Smoker and Grill that can cook up to 2,000 pounds of BBQ at once. Head over to history.com/cookout for dates and cities.

- We are a week and a half away from the new season of Pretty Little Liars, and to get you “A” fix until then, you can go on the Pretty Little Puzzle Hunt to unlock an exclusive clip from the new season.

- New show alert! Tonight on Syfy, new show Insane or Inspired, check out a promo below:

Heroes – Insane or Inspired – Launch promo


- Check out the video below for the latest deleted scene from HBO’s Veep. If that is not enough Veep for you, head over to Vulture for outtakes from Selina Myers’s Obesity PSA.



- We are a month away from Charlie Sheen’s return to television and here is the latest clip from Anger Management:



- South Beach Tow wrapped up its second season earlier this week, but do not fret, the show just got renewed for a third season set to air in the fall.

- After their successful Downton Abby series and the upcoming London Olympics, PBS is going even more British this summer with new British series and returning favorites to the channel that feature heavy accents. Here is the line up for the most recent British Invasion this summer:

Series Premieres:

QUEEN & COUNTRY,Sundays, July 1-22, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET – This summer, all eyes are on Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s second longest-reigning monarch, as she marks her Diamond Jubilee. PBS celebrates her 60 years on the throne with Trevor McDonald’s QUEEN & COUNTRY,offering viewers a look at the customs surrounding the monarchy – from Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace to the Queen’s royal visits — and tours of historic royal places.

MICHAEL WOOD’S STORY OF ENGLAND,Tuesdays, July 3, 8:00-10:00 and July 10-17, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET – Historian Michael Wood filters the 2,000-year history of England through the story of one small town located in the heart of the country: Kibworth, Leicestershire. From the Roman era to the Norman Conquest, the Black Death, the English Civil War, the Industrial Revolution and World War II, the four-part series intertwines the local and national narratives, marking the milestones that changed the town and country forever.

New Episodes of Popular Shows:

MASTERPIECE MYSTERY!presents new episodes of its best British mysteries. With the premiere of “Endeavour,”Sunday, July 1, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET,viewers get the back story of famed detective Inspector Morse. Shaun Evans stars as the rookie constable who nearly resigns, until a murder turns up that only he could solve. Then Kevin WhatelyandLaurence Fox return as Inspector Lewis and DS Hathaway in “Inspector Lewis, Series V.” In four new episodes, airing Sundays, July 8-29, 9:00-10:30 p.m. ET,the two tackle murder and mayhem in seemingly perfect academic haven ofOxford.

British Favorites Return to PBS:

QUEEN VICTORIA’S EMPIRE,Tuesdays, June 19-26, 2012, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET, takes a look at England’s transformation from a small island nation into an industrial superpower. With personal accounts and lush re-enactments, it is a story of influential men and a powerful queen who ruled over one-fifth of the world’s population for a remarkable 64 years.

MONARCHY: THE ROYAL FAMILY AT WORK, Mondays, June 11, 2012, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET and June 18-July 9, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET, provides an exclusive look inside the modern British monarchy. As she turned 80, Queen Elizabeth II allowed creation of this intimate series, which showsthe commonwealth’s most famous family as they travel abroad, work at the palace and meet people from all walks of life.

This Fall on PBS:

CALL THE MIDWIFE, Sundays, September 30 to November 4, 2012, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET– Based on the best-selling trilogy by the late Jennifer Worth, CALL THE MIDWIFE is a fascinating portrayal of birth, life and death in a world drastically different from ours. This six-part series offers an unconventional twist to Sunday-night British dramas and brings mid-20th-century London to life, focusing on the joys and hardships of a group of midwives working in London’s East End.

MASTERPIECE CLASSIC “Upstairs Downstairs,” Season 2
Sundays, October 7 to November 11, 2012, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET - The saga continues at 165 Eaton Place, with new characters upstairs and down, in a six-part sequel to the much-loved MASTERPIECE series from the 1970s. Set in 1936, the lives of masters and servants have never been so captivating, as two new arrivals make their mark and Lady Agnes reveals a dark secret. Alex Kingston (“ER,” “Doctor Who”) joins the cast. The six-part series follows MIDWIFE, starting October 7. Viewers can catch up on the first season with a three-hour marathon September 30.

Previewing Men at Work

Last night’s Revenge essentially ended the Spring television season, but do not fret sun adverse people because the summer season starts tonight when TBS launches a new comedy Men at Work tonight at 10:00 (with a second episode premiering at 10:30). With the addition of Conan O’Brien, you would think the channel would have reinvested in its lineup but in the two years since signing the late night host, all they have show for it was a one and done eighties college show and a bunch of shows presented by Tyler Perry.

All that is about to change starting tonight when the first of two new sitcoms hit the channel that have nothing to do with Tyler Perry as well as the recently acquired Cougar Town which will premiere early next year (hopefully with a new name). They are also getting into the unscripted genre with four new shows also coming next year. And most importantly a show called Norm MacDonald Is Trending is currently in development and I am hoping for a pick up any second now.

Back to tonight. Men at Work does not exactly reinvent wheel or even copies the much hyped comedies of the day like Cougar Town, Men at Work is decisively old school. Just how old? The work referenced in the title is at a magazine. Nope, not even an online Zine, but a paper and ink kind. Not old enough for you? The secondary plot centers on a girlfriend trying to get one of the main characters to talk dirty to her just like the famous Seinfeld episode. Granted what Men at Work came up with was much dirty than asking if those were, “the panties your mother laid out for you.”

You have also seen these characters plenty of times before. James Lesure (Mr. Sunshine) is the horn dog, Adam Busch (The Jury) is the nerdy one, Michael Cassidy (Hidden Palms) is the douchebag with a heart of gold, while Danny Masterson (Joe’s Life) just got dumped and is living his own version of Swingers but without any new cool language (unless coining the word whorange counts) and instead of any swing music there is a song by The Avett Brothers (sorry, no Down Under usage, at least not yet).

Severely missing from the cast is anyone of the female persuasion. There is not even a sassy secretary at their place of business. Amy Smart (who apparently is doing a favor for Road Trip co-star Brekin Myers; oh yeah, did I forget to mention the show was created by that dude from Road Trip who also wrote the first three episodes? Hopefully he does not owe Tom Green any favors) shows up to break up with Masterson so there is always a chance she may show up again. But the only likely actress we will see more than once after the first episode is Busch’s girlfriend played by Meredith Hagner (Lights Out) because he really cannot break up with her because she is the boss’s daughter (who will show up in the form of J.K. Simmons in the second episode tonight and also gets the best laughs of the early season).

Sure Men at Work will probably get crushed by critics, and for the most part it will warranted, but I have to admit that I laughed more than once during the first episode. There is a sly Three's Company reference if you can catch it and it is hard to hate something that hard that makes fun of Dane Cook. The show may not reinvent the wheel but there are plenty of people who do not think it needs reinvented like all the people who were glad to see Tim Allen back on television last fall when he swapped three boys out for three girls and very little else.

Men at Work airs Thursdays at 10:00 on TBS.

You Can’t Explain Away the Way I Feel

After years of pop radio being filled with bland pop and watered down rap with an occasional adult contemporary or country crossover song, Foster the People crashed the Top 40 last year with the weirdest hit song since the alternative craze of the nineties when MTV was still pushing buzzworthy bands. Their success opened up the door for more weird pop songs by fun. and the xylophone heavy Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye, both of which have kept more traditional pop songs from boy bands, Justin Bieber and the Call Me Maybe chick out of the number one spot on the Hot 100 since fun. topped the chart back on St. Patrick’s Day.

As good as the Goyte song is, let’s face it, Kimbra is what takes a good song and makes it great. We have all heard their fair share of kiss off songs, but rarely do we ever get to hear the other side of the story in the same song (I am sure the guy referenced in Since U Been Gone would have liked the chance to refute some of the claims in that song). I cannot remember it happening since Positive K’s I Got a Man. After two verses and a chorus of accusations of being coldhearted, Kimbra comes in and shoots back about how manipulative he is. Oh, snap.

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression and Kimbra did a very good job with her first impression here in the States. Even with Somebody That I Used to Know still at number one, Kimbra is ready to make a name for herself with her debut album Vows being released this week in America. Vows is the left of center pop music that you would expect from the small sliver of Kimbra you heard on the Gotye track, but it is a little jarring with how angry that song was that her album is very happy and hopeful and filled with tales of a much healthier relationship.

Right off the bat, Kimbra is ready to Settle Down, and raise a family and even has names picked out (Nebraska Jones). Throughout the thirteen tracks she shows off a vocal charisma that rivals her flashy persona using her voice as an instrument and not just a vessel to deliver lyrics be it the peppy boom’s in Settle Down or the haunting ooo’s in Plain Gold Ring. Musically the songs on Vows are so diverse you are not going to confuse one song from another be it the RnB flavor of Something in the Way You Are, the disco feel of Cameo Lover, Good Intent is the catchiest pop song on the album, the horns infused rock of Come Into My Head, the techno beats of Sally I Can See You.

As good as the previous songs on the album are, none are as good as the bonus track of Warrior, the song Kimbra did with Mark Foster (of the People fame) and producer A-Trak is the best song on the album and none of the songs reach the high of Somebody I Used to Know. But Vows lays down the foundation of what could be a great sophomore album, the way Adele took the massive jump inbetween her first two albums.

Song to Download – Something in the Way You Are

You can also download for free from this album Warrior courtesy of Converse, Cameo Lover on iTunes, and Good Intent over at MTV.com.

Vows gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.