We on Award Tour: 2014 Grammy Awards

After a lackluster 2013, this year's Grammy's was surprisingly not horrible. Only two performances had me reaching to switch to the Pro Bowl. Of course the no defense game had me back on CBS quickly. Here are some quick thought on the show.

- Beyoncé gave me a serious seizure. Not a very good way to start a show. Plus I do not really like the Grammy trend of opening up the show with someone who is not nominated but just promoting an album.

- LL Cool J has to be the most boring host ever. Seriously, can you get a host next year that will make at least one Justin Bieber joke. Why did they not have Anna Kendrick host? She was more more entertaining in two minutes than he was all night. Or at least have her present with Kendrick Lamar?

- Um, Lorde already did Royals at the nomination special. How about let her do something else. At least they did not force her to perform with Madonna.

- Remember how Best New Artist was a joke but last decade they managed to get it right ever year for almost ten straight year from Alicia Keys to Adele? Well it looks to being back to being a joke.

- Should I know who Hunter Hayes is, that performance was not very good. If that was The Voice, no one would have turned their chairs.

- Oscar winner Juicy J should be brought up at every award show. Katy Perry, not so much.

- Was Pharrell Williams the first interpreter at the Grammy's? I guess it should not be a surprise they did not speak, they are French.  He certainly was the first real life human to wear an oversized Dudley Do Right hat.

- Kevin Hart was in the house and still they had LL Cool J hosted?

- So Robin Thicke sings blurred Lines with Earth, Wind & Fire on the nomination special and with Chicago on the big show. Hey Grammy's how about stop double dipping. At least they were both an upgrade over Miley Cyrus.

- Having YouTube performances during the Pop categories was stupid.

- After Steve Hyden of Grantland suggested that a potential Lorde acceptance speech could be a mix between Pearl Jam circa 1996 and Fiona Apple on MTV, her acceptance speeches were a bit disappointing. But she definitely deserved it.

- I have a feeling one day we are going to learn the last twenty years or so of Ozzy Osbourne's life was a Weekend at Bernie's situation.

- Jamie Fox was only a little bit awkward focusing on Beyonce.

- I feel bad for Kacey Musgraves for having to follow the Imagine Dragons / Kendrick Lamar song. Whoever sequenced that did a really bad job. I still would have had Kendrick perform a mash up with Anna Kendrick instead. But I did love how Imagine Dragons did not bother to clean up after their performance. And Kacey's boots were awesome.

- Why does Taylor Swift not have her own dedicated dance cam stream? It is 2014 people.

- Mike Ditka on a wrecking ball during the "halftime show": something I will not be able to unsee.

- Where was Taylor Swift during the massive Daft Punk dance party? She could not have been pouting over losing the Best Country Album. Not only was Kacey Musgraves' better, it was an actual country album.

- Does Lars Ulrich really have a mullet?

- Same Love needed more Trombone Shorty and less Madonna.

- It is interesting that Miranda Lambert performed The Everly Brothers song with Billie Joe Armstrong instead of Norah Jones considering they just recorded an Everly's cover album together. Come to think of it I do not even remember them performing together to promote the album.

- Get Lucky is a great song but not great enough to get an otherwise underwhelming rest of the album worthy of Album of the Year. But then again it was a weak category this year.

- A solid closing performance, I really enjoy the Lindsey Buckingham enhanced version of Copy of A better than the original. Get that version on iTunes soon before I have to get a copy through nefarious means.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 1/26/14

Shameless: Of course Frank has an as to known unseen daughter. But this begs the question just how many kids does Frank have. Really the paternity of all the Gallagher’s is in question obviously Liam is not his) and who knows how many other kids out there he had out of wedlock? He may have to hunt down all of them this season looking for a donor.

Revenge: Coldblooded that Emily would bring in Sara’s mother to win her battle. But a bit of a dissatisfying ending because it was not full takedown. Has she even completely ruined anyone lately (I guess Lydia could count)? Maybe we will get a takedown when Takeda’s daughter puts two and two together and realize Aiden was the that killed her father and puts that practice of separating skin from flesh to good use. We two cliff hangers, Emily suffers her second blackout, the second of which results in her waking up in Conrad’s bed. Then we are left with a fist look at Conrad’s first wife. Hopefully she is the one to finally kick the show out of the rut it has been in for about a season and a half.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

House of Lies: Monica getting stabbed was all sorts of awesome. I am guessing she will be fired, but I kind of hope they find a way to bring the stabber back. Certainly Marty may not have much of a problem hiring someone who would stab his ex-wife. Oh well, they at least still play the stabber's AT&T commercial in heavy rotation.

The Blacklist: The promo monkeys pulled a quick one on me this week. I actually thought that the chick in the black wig was Lizzie but just turned out to be a victim of The Alchemist. But why exactly did Red need The Alchemist to uncover the mole. Does this mean Meera changed her DNA and is not who she says she is?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Castle: The reason why Justified is the best crime drama on television is that the criminals on the shows are idiots. So I got a good laugh this week when killer got caught because she did not bother to “burn” her burner phone. And is there any chance they keep the starlet around to be Alexis’ new best friend? Or even better have a spin off where the starlet starts imitating her art and becomes a optically challenged P.I. at night with Alexis as her sidekick. They can air it on ABC Family. I would watch that.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: Are there really places you can go to throw plates at walls? That cannot be cheap.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: I am glad Rachel brought up the theory that Raylan’s booty call just may have been working with the baseball bat guy. It certainly crossed my mind because that scenario has happened to Raylan before with the waitress and the UFC fighter which ended hilariously with a bean bag shotgun. Speaking of non lethal projectiles, it was seeing Wynn getting back to his psychotic ways. It seems like after Robert Quarels show up as the obligatory psycho, Wynn let him to all the evil stuff.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Nashville: That Zac Brown Band segment was really awkward. But Scarlett calling out Raina for having a co-dependent relationship with her exes was awkwardly awesome.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

Community: Despite being another paintball-type episode, the lava floor episode was still thoroughly entertaining. At least it was until Annie went out way too soon and Britta got her way and got Troy and Abed to talk about their feelings.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Parenthood: After a yawn fest of a first half of the season with boring storyline (Camille in Italy) after boring storyline (Drew’s bootie calls) after excruciating storyline (Joel and Julie long and played out separation), I finally got excited for one of the rare times this season for a potential storyline: Kristina starting her own school. Hopefully this pulls the show out of its doldrums.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 1/25/14

Quote of the Week: That was my fault. I shoulda been clearer. Standing up ain’t the only way to get me to take this bat to you. Calling her a (expletive deleted) will get us there too. (Raylan Givens, Justified)

Song of the Week: Satellite Call – Sara Bareilles (Pretty Little Liars)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Peter Pan Coming Back to the Small Screen: Haters be damned, After The Sound of Music Live! put up monster numbers, the question was not if they would put on another live musical but what would it be. I had my money on West Side Story but NBC instead went with what I thought would be the second most likely: Peter Pan. Of course as soon as the news broke, casting wish lists came flooding in (the NBC president jokingly said he wanted Miley Cyrus as the titular character; at least I hope he was joking).

Ever since The Sound of Music, I have been posting fake musical casts and a couple weeks ago I even did one for Peter Pan that was a little Scott Pilgrim vs. The World heavy. For Peter Pan I had Brie Larson and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Tigerlily. Unlike Carrie Underwood, who has a great voice but limited acting experience, both of my choices are good actresses with singing experience, Larson sang in Scott Pilgrim and actually released a Avril Lavigne type album as a teenage (yes there is a video on YouTube and yes it is awesomely bad and I cannot confirm nor denied I downloaded the song), while MEW supposedly has an album with Dan the Automator coming out sometime this year. Then for Captain Hook, I suggested another actor who dabbles in music, Jack Black.

Of course NBC wants to screw Peter Pan up because after the Miley Cyrus joke, the president said they are actually looking into casting a young male as Peter Pan. Yeah the character is a young male except the role was written for a young woman. That is what the music is written for, a woman’s voice. And more importantly having a grown women pretending to be a teenage boy pretending to be a woman who seduces Captain Hook like in the screenplay is creepy enough, but having an actual teenage boy seduce a grown man may mean Chris Hansen will get involved. Plus what young boy is famous to put on a marquee? The only one that comes to mind is Justin Bieber, but he may be detained for the foreseeable future and may not even be allowed in the country by the time the special is supposed to air in December.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Fountain" Switched at Birth, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Hangout Festival Sampler (Noisetrade): The Hangout Festival is hitting the Gulf Shore of Alabama starting May with headliners The Black Keys, The Killers, and like every other festival in 2014, Outkast. Okay, those three artists are absent from the sampler, but you can still get free tracks from Jack Johnson, The Avett Brothers, Los Lobos, and twenty other acts playing the festival.

New Album Release of the Week: B-Sides - The Gaslight Anthem

New DVD Release of the Week: Bonnie & Clyde

Video of the Week: As previously mentioned, before going on to be a critical darling, teenaged Brie Larson was an aspiring pop singer. And there is even video evidence (what would we do before YouTube). At least her participation in Scott Pilgrim redeemed her musically.




Next Week Pick of the Week: The 56th Grammy Awards, Sunday at 8:00 on CBS: I came to the realization while making my list of the 100 Best Songs of 2013 that it was a horrible year for music. Case in point: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are nominated in the Grammy’s Big Four. How Lorde did not get that honor is a bit befuddling especially her omission from Best New Artist especially over James Blake, who garnered no other nominations, and Ed Sheeran, who was nominated for Song of the Year last year (and also nabbed no other nominations this year). Of course that could mean Lorde can grab Best New Artist at the 2015 show. But this year those two will be performing along with Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Madonna, and a bunch of duets: Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, Niles Rodgers, and Stevie Wonder, Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar, P!nk and Nate Ruess, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Blake Shelton, John Legend and Keith Urban, Metallica and Lang Lang, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Robin Thicke and Chicago, Sara Bareilles and Carol King, Billy Joe Armstrong and Miranda Lambert will pay tribute to Phil Everly, and the grouping of Dave Grohl, Lindsey Buckingham, Nine Inch Nails, and Queens of the Stone Age closing out the show. So all those, some weird, pairing it may be worth checking out the show despite what may have been the worst year in music since 1999. Well that and to see if Grohl will pick up what will only be Nirvana’s second Grammy ever (Best Alternative Music Album for MTV Unplugged is currently their only gramophone) for Best Rap Song. Seriously. They are listed as songwriters because Jay-Z sang a line from Smells Like Teen Spirit in Holy Grail.

Around the Tubes: 1/24/14

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 House of Cards, Herblock: The Black and the White, The Strain, Syfy's Mondays, Super Skyscrapers, ShortsHD, Conan, The Band Called FUSE, Reader's Digest, and Kidz Bop.

- House of Cards has released a bunch of cinemagraphs (I am thinking there are supposed to be the new Gif’s) over on it Tumblr page as it readies for the February 14 release of season 2. I dare you not to spend your next hour staring at Kate Mara blinking.

- Herblock: The Black and the White traces the life of Herbert L. Block, who started cartooning in his teens in Chicago and went on to win four Pulitzer Prizes and the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his 55 years at the Washington Post. For the better part of the 20th century, his cartoons were a must read for those in Washington and syndicated across the country. The film features interviews with political and journalism luminaries such as Ted Koppel, David Brooks, Gwen Ifill, Tom Brokaw, Jules Feiffer, Tom Friedman and Bob Schieffer, as well as comedians Lewis Black and Jon Stewart, who describes Block as a “touchstone” for political comics and satirists today. Herblock: The Black and the White debuts exclusively on HBO Monday at 9:00).

- The latest promo for The Strain was released this week and it is ominous.


- Syfy fans take note Bitten and Lost Girl will be swapping timeslots. Starting this Monday Bitten will air at 8:00 while Lost Girl will air at 10:00. Being Human will remain at 9:00.

- Urban planners around the world are building higher and faster than ever before, creating a new generation of skyscrapers that push the limits of engineering, technology and design to become greener, stronger and more luxurious. PBS announced today the premiere of Super Skyscrapers, a four-part series that follows the creation of extraordinary buildings and showcases how they revolutionize the ways we live, work and entertain ourselves. Part of PBS’ new Wednesday night science lineup that expands programing into the 10 p.m. hour, Super Skyscrapers episodes include One World Trade Center, Building the Future, The Vertical City and The Billionaire Building. The series premieres Wednesday, February 5, 2014, 10:00 on PBS.

- ShortsHD, the world's only Short Movie Channel in high definition, working with Magnolia Pictures, will open "The Oscar® Nominated Short Films 2014" in over 250 theatres across the United States, Canada and Europe on Friday January 31, 2014, with more than 400 theatres slated to screen the films during its theatrical release. In its 9th year, "The Oscar® Nominated Short Films" showcase the Live Action, Animation and Documentary nominees as three separate theatrical events. This will be the only opportunity for audiences to watch the nominated shorts prior to the 86th Academy Awards® ceremony on Sunday, March 2, 2014.

- TBS's Conan, starring Conan O'Brien, will welcome the cast of AMC's smash hit The Walking Dead on Thursday, Feb. 6, for their first-ever joint interview in late night. Joining O'Brien in the studio will be Andrew Lincoln (who plays Rick Grimes),Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon), Lauren Cohan (Maggie Greene), Steven Yeun (Glen Rhee), Danai Gurira (Michonne) andMelissa McBride (Carol Peletier). The cast is making this exclusive appearance in anticipation of the mid-season premiere ofThe Walking Dead on Sunday, Feb. 9.

- Representing Belgium, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Panama, New Jersey and New York City, The Band Called Fuse is a diverse group of hip hop, rock and soul performers changing the face of New York's underground music scene. Following the path of The Roots, Rage Against the Machine and The Fugees and inspired by the spirit of Jimi Hendrix, the funk of Parliament and the bluesy soul of Nina Simone, The Band Called Fuse draw from a broad range of influences to shape an eclectic new sound dubbed Soul Rock. Check out Soul Rock Anthem below.


- If he’s wearing a parka, you know it’s time for another Winter Olympics. This month, Bob Costas hosts his tenth Olympics, leading coverage of the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. To get Bob’s inside scoop on this year’s Olympic Games, Reader’s Digest caught up with the sportscaster in his office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to talk figure skating, snide remarks, and the last story that made him cry.

- KIDZ BOP 25, the latest volume in the best-selling KIDZ BOP audio series, entered the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at #3. KIDZ BOP 25 is the 7th consecutive KIDZ BOP title to debut in the Top 3 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and the 18th title to hit the Billboard Top 10 since the series launched in 2001. The album is also #1 on the Billboard Children’s Chart, where there are currently two other KIDZ BOP albums in the Top 10. In 2013, KIDZ BOP sold more than one million albums, outselling top artists such as: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kanye West, Maroon 5, Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus. For the fourth consecutive year, Billboard named the KIDZ BOP Kids the “#1 Kids’ Album Artists of the Year” and KIDZ BOP 23as the “#1 Kids’ Album of the Year.”

Previewing King of the Nerds: Season Two

The first season of King of the Nerds was a lot better than it should have been. Going in I thought it was just going to be Beauty and the Geek without the eye candy. The show somehow managed to not take itself too seriously and give proper due to the geek culture. All the while the show was hosted by quite possibly the two biggest nerds Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong better known as Lewis Skolnick and Booger.

Both are back for a second season (though they did not take my suggestion to bring in The Ogre to have a nerds vs. jocks season… yet) with eleven new nerds. Yes, an odd number of nerds again which leads to the hosts letting the contestant know that they know there was a twist last season which just plays with their minds and leads to the most entertaining part of the premiere where everyone is freaking out if there is going to be the same twist this season, a different one, or none at all.

Of course no reality show is anything without some entertaining contestants and King of the Nerds certainly restocked their cupboard well for the second go around. There are more intellectuals (chemist, bioengineer, aspiring space explorer, aerospace engineer, historian), geek culture enthusiasts (puppeteer, fantasy writer), gamers (LARP enthusiast, vlogger) and wherever a Japanophile falls under. The other key ingredient are the challenges and tonight is a Harry Potter inspired game which surprisingly involves some athleticism (naturally both in the Nerd Off do not do very well). Other challenges this season include Robot dodgeball, Nerdiocart, and a Science Fair.

Guest stars set to appear throughout the second season of King of the Nerds include Bill Nye (the Science Guy), Mayim Bialik (Blossom), Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) and Kumail Nanjiani (Franklin & Bash). The season will also feature a Revenge of the Nerds reunion (hopefully The Ogre) and return appearances by George Takei (Star Trek) and Yaya Han.


King of the Nerds airs Thursdays at 10:00 on TBS. You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Previewing Lizzie Borden Took an Ax: A Dude's Review of Lifetime vol. IV

Up to now I have reviewed a couple Lifetime series, but let’s be honest, the bread and butter of the channel are ripped from the headline original movies and remakes so I thought I would give one a review. Their latest ripped from the headline movie is actually comes from the headlines in the 90’s, the 1890’s. Even if you are unfamiliar with the story of Lizzie Borden, the title Lizzie Borden Took an Ax kind of explains it all (Spoiler Alert!: she did not become the world’s first lumberjack).

Lizzie Borden was one of the first media murder suspect sensations, the OJ Simpson of her time, a Sunday school teacher accused of brutally killing her father and step-mother with the titular murder weapon. The trial was front page news with an outcome never a given. Questions still remain to this day as the CSI team was not as thorough as they are today. Back then detectives would have suspect reach out their hands so they could inspect for blood splatter. Though vague throughout most at the movie, the movie does take a definitive stand at what exactly happened at the end.

Picking up the ax for Lifetime is Christina Ricci (Addams Family). While Billy Campbell (who stays in the time period after last year’s Killing Lincoln) plays the lawyer whose main defense is that women are not capable of such a heinous crime. The movie is overdramatic and exactly what I thought a Lifetime movie would be. But I will give the movie points for the completely out of place soundtrack of modern blues-rock songs like the appropriately titled Psychotic Girl by The Black Keys.

Lizzie Borden Took an Ax airs Saturday at 8:00 on Lifetime.

I Want My Music Television: 1/21/14

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.


Bound 2 - Kanye West


Since there really are not any new music videos to talk about this year, I am going to mention some that I never got around to featuring last year. There really is nothing I can say about Bound 2 that was not already said in Bound 3 but I do have say something about one of the complaints of the video. I do not understand why people were disappointed that Charlie Wilson was not featured in the video. Charlie was smart to sit this one out. What did the critics want, Charlie riding in a sidecar? Would you want to be in that sidecar?


Who You Love - John Mayer featuring Katy Perry


"Yo John and Katy, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish, but me and Kim had the most uncomfortable video of all time. OF ALL TIME!!!"


Skinny Love – Birdy


Speaking of old songs, this dates back to 2011 when fourteen year old Birdy covered Skinny Love and became a hit throughout Europe and gained a cult following here in the states. Birdy just released her second album across the Atlantic a couple months ago but it looks like her first single is finally getting a push in America as she just released a new music video for the song. I have a feeling it may be due to another alternative mononymous foreign suburban teenager hitting it big last year (Birdy is six months older than Lorde).


Talking Dreams - Echosmith


Since there probably be not that much new music of not for the next couple weeks, January is a good time to go back and look for some music from the past year. I recently discover Echosmith, a family band much like the buzz of 2013 Haim. Their debut album was decent but seems to go a little too hard for the Warped Tour power-pop where the most interesting tracks are the songs that do not fit that sub-genre very much. It seems like they are pushing Cool Kids as the single probably because outcast lyrics have been big on radio lately. My favorite song off the album is the title track Talking Dreams. The video gets bonus points for the croquet and if there were an MTV today to put this video in heavy rotation, those close up shots at the end of the lead singer could have made her this millennium’s Suzanna Hoffs. Echosmith seems like one of those bands that could be a lot more interesting on their second or third album when they out grown the power pop sound. That is if they can get to a third album in today’s musical climate where you can get dropped after one underperforming album. Granted if that happens, the singer could always go on The Voice because the show loves female Warped Tour veterans.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 1/19/14

Revenge: Last week we had to sit through the silly temporary amnesia storyline and this week it was Emily moping through the episode Well that was until Victoria told her she was infernal And now she is all revengy (did the promo monkey really use that word). Hopefully she starts taking down people again. Takeda’s daughter is now in the revenge game so hopefully she quickly takes Aiden down for what he did to her father. He was never a good addition to the show and he being around is one of the reasons behind the drop in quality for the show.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: I am disappointed that we did not get to see Daphne in jail aside from a quick dream sequence. Granted I guess that she is now essentially going to school at a juvenile detention facility. But wouldn't these pretty much be the same students she lived around since she was young?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: The slap bet has been going on for seven years? Seven Years! SEVEN!!! Ugg, and there still have one left. How many were there to begin with? Oh well, at least we got a Boyz II Men appearance out of this episode.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: With the rise of serialize television, shows started adding the much needed “previously on…” package about a decade or two ago. The older I get, the more I think they may need one after every commercial break. When Alan Alda popped up at the end of the episode as so congressional guy, I went, “wait, who was he in the last episode again?” So Alda is part of big cabal that Red can expose and works inside the government? So was he the mole or was the guy Red killed the mole? And who exactly did Red kill? Who is Newton Philips?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Castle: It is still pretty vague as to if Papa Castle really is deep undercover or really just wanted by the CIA.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Ever since we learned that Skye’s mother was probably a SHIELD Agent it was way too obvious that Mae was her mother. That was until this week when we learned that the lady that dropped Skye off was not her mother but was protecting the 084: an object of unknown origin is followed by death wherever she goes. Of course that does not completely rule out Mae as her mother, but could technically be true, but it is becoming more unlikely.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Justified: Oh, Loretta, why are you stuck in sitcom hell? Hopefully next season, which sadly will be the show’s last, will be Raylan rescuing Loretta from the evil clutches of new bad guy, The Toolman.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

Suburgatory: I wonder if they had a different plan for the premiere that they had to change when Tessa’s mother got cast in another show. Undoubtedly Tessa would end up back with George in their old house eventually because that is the show, but this seemed a bit rushed and I wonder if it had been at the end of the first episode instead of the beginning. But that was a very appropriate use of Royals at the end of the show. Though I do not like the new title sequence, way too creepy.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Nashville: Well that was a quick death for Peggy, I would have expected her to be on life support for a full episode and teased her or Will ending up being the dead one a little longer. Unfortunately Will survived the episode and is back to being a closeted guy he has been all series. Hopefully Layla will give TMZ another call and out him so that character can finally be interesting. And is Juliet the first person to go up against the crazy religious picketers and come out looking worse? Anyone who they picket in the real world always ends up looking better.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

Community: So we get a farewell to Pierce and Troy in the same episode. Pierces parking gift was funnier than it had any right to be. Chevy Chase was kicked off the show but I am confused at why Donald Glover is leaving. Does it really taking up too much time that he cannot do his music and the show at the same time? After hearing his last album, he probably should not have quit his day.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Parenthood: It was not advertised, but we got our first look at the upcoming About a Boy remake when the lead popped up at the poker game (it will get a proper premiere during the Olypmics before settling in on Tuesdays after The Voice). Of course he makes a joke about never having kids. Other than that, the episode was a big downer between a drunken Amber and the continuing marital problem between Joel and Julia. Ugg.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Grimm: C’mon promo monkeys, when you say the episode “delivers” with images of a pregnant character on the screen, she has to at least go into labor at some point of the episode.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Grimm on iTunes.

Helix: Again, my main take away from the second episode is that the younger CDC chick is quite attractive, even with a massive scar on her back. So did she have major back surgery, is she infected and that is a symptom? Since this is a sci-fi show, I am sure we will find out long after we stopped caring about it.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Helix on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 1/18/14

Quote of the Week: Unless Hitler has risen from the grave, and is in my whorehouse, go away right now, Messer! (Dewie Crowe, Justified)

Song of the Week: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash (The Blacklist)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Veronica Mars Coming Back to the Small Screen: Shortly after the success of Kickstarter, creator Rob Thomas talked about he was looking ways to reboot the television series. This seemed plausible because unlike when the show went off the air, there are more cable channels getting into the scripted game not to mention nontraditional channels like Netflix. Except there was one huge obstacle: Kristen Bell is already under contract with House of Lies and cannot star in two shows simultaneously. You really cannot have a Veronica Mars reboot when the titular character only shows up about as often as Alison Brie on Mad Man.

So if you want to bring back the show to the small screen without the main character there is really only one way to do it. And The CW, the network that canceled the show seven years ago so they could put Farmer Takes a Wife on the air, announced earlier this week that they were going to make a Veronica Mars spin-off for their internet division CW Seed (whatever that is). It did not take very long to theorize who would star in the spin-off (I was hoping would take his web series success of Burning Love and bring it to a Vinnie Van Lowe show; maybe in a case that forces him to team up with Keith Mars again) when Rob Thomas announced that the show would star Ryan Hansen as himself as he tries to put together a Dick Casablancas series. Awesome. So basically it will just be a longer version of the hilarious Kickstarter video with probably even more cameos. No word on whether this will hit the internets before or after the movie on March 15 but I hope that The CW actually picks up the Dick Casablancas show. It cannot possibly be worse that what it currently on their network. Seriously, my sources telling me coming later this month is a show starring Julie Taylor as Juliet to an alien Romeo.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Your Body Is a Battleground” Switched at Birth, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Country Greats (Google Play): Even if you are not a fan of the genre, you should at least give a listen to Will Hoge and Ashley Monroe. There is also a free Sheryl Crow song from her recent country turn. And also Kenny Fracking Rogers.

Deal of the Week: Cash Albums for $5: Earlier this week Amazon ran an advertisement of, “If you give us $5 we'll give you Cash back.” When I clicked on the link, it ended up being a bunch of Johnnty Cash albums. It only took me a couple seconds to get the joke.

New Album Release of the Week: The U.S. Albums - The Beatles

New DVD Release of the Week: It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray/DVD)

Video of the Week: I am a little late to this, but if you are like me and have not watched wrestling in years, I have a treat for you: the return of Jake “The Snake” Roberts. And of course wherever Jake goes, Damien is there too. The best part is the other guy was so excited that he could not help but smiled while getting accosted with a snake. Sadly it looks like this was a one night only affair. Even sadder was the news that Mae Young passed away this week. She continued to pop up on screen even in her nineties, wrestling in nine straight decades, a feat that will doubtfully ever be matched let alone beaten. The sight of Mae “giving birth” to Mark Henry’s “baby” will forever be etched on my mind.


Next Week Pick of the Week: King of the Nerds, Thursdays at 10:00 on TBS: The first season of King of the Nerds was just plain fun and now the show is back with ten more geeks fighting to sit upon the Throne of Games. Look for a full preview of the premiere on Thursday.

Around the Tubes: 1/17/14

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 Showtime premiere dates, House of Cards, True Detective, Grammy Prediction Special, Outside, The Saturday Evening Post, Opposite Worlds, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge, You Oughta Know, and Fish Bowl.

- For those that plan their television watching schedules in advance, Showtime announced the premiere date for their spring programming. Nurse Jackie will return for its sixth season Sunday April 13 at 9:00 followed by the seventh and final season of Californication at 9:30. Then at 10:00, new docu-series Years of Living Dangerously follows a star-studded roster of major film, television and renowned journalists traveling the globe, tackling an enormous range of subjects on the hot button topic of climate change. The correspondents are Jessica Alba, Mark Bittman, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, America Ferrera, Harrison Ford, Thomas Friedman, Michael C. Hall, Chris Hayes, Olivia Munn, Dr. M. Sanjayan, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ian Somerhalder and Lesley Stahl. New series Penny Dreadful will take over that 10:00 timeslot starting May 11. Showtime also released a first look at Penny Dreadful which you can gander at below:


- Showtime is also planning well past spring ordering two new shows two series. The Affair, a one-hour drama series starring Golden Globe® nominees Dominic West (The Wire) and Ruth Wilson (Luther), as well as Emmy® nominee Maura Tierney (ER) and SAG Award® nominee Joshua Jackson (Fringe), received a ten-episode series order. Happyish, a comedy starring Academy Award® winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), Kathryn Hahn (Revolutionary Road) and Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) also received a 10-episode order.

- Netflix will be airdropping the entire second season of House of Cards on their sit February 14. Check out the trailer below:


- For those hooked on HBO’s True Detective after just one episode, here is a look at episode two to tide you over until Sunday.


- As the world readies for the biggest night in music, The Recording Academy®’s GRAMMY® Awards, AXS TV is giving fans a precursor for what to expect, gathering a prestigious panel of experts to predict winners of the most prestigious categories. Hosted by AXS TV’s Ryan Stout, Grammy Prediction Special is a one-hour LIVE program that features expert opinion from renowned music critic Bob Lefsetz, music newsmaker DJ Skee, and research entrepreneur John Dick of CivicScience. Grammy Prediction Special airs Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 8:00 with rebroadcasts throughout the week.

- Meet Julia Mancuso, the greatest athlete in the history of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Ski Team. A three-time medalist, Julia will be one of the most-watched athletes this upcoming Winter Olympics, which air on NBC starting February 6. With Lindsey Vonn out, the Sochi lights will shine bright on Julia, who graces the cover of Outside magazine’s February 2014 issue, now on newsstands. Check out the cover below:

- One of the most highly anticipated flights touched down 50 years ago this February and The Saturday Evening Post reports in its latest cover story that America has never been the same. With the arrival of Pan Am Flight 101 at New York’s Idlewild Airport (which is today known as JFK), the Beatles landed to the roar of an adoring teenage audience and their parents’ consternation.

- Syfy this week revealed 12 of the players who, in two opposing teams, will compete head-to-head in the fast-paced, intense weekly challenges on Opposite Worlds. The final two players will be decided by a viewer vote on Syfy.com. Adding to the drama on Opposite Worlds is a glass wall dividing the house into the two environments, allowing the teams to watch, envy and dread each other's every move. Viewers can contribute to the chatter about Opposite Worlds – and affect each weekly challenge - by following the handle @syfyoppworlds and using the hashtag #oppositeworlds on Twitter.

- In other Syfy news, they have announced their ten hopeful creature designers who have come to Los Angeles with an incredible shared dream: to land a job working in Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™. The new reality competition series, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge, premieres Tuesday, March 25 at 10:00 following an all-new episode of Syfy’s acclaimed Face Off. The eight-episode series provides a fascinating window into the imaginative and wildly creative environment of world-class creature design, fabrication and mechanization. To find out more about the cast, see bios, photo galleries and video, visit syfy.com/creatureshop.

- In a first-time endeavor, VH1 has put together some of its esteemed alumni from its You Oughta Know franchise on a compilation CD, VH1 You Oughta Know Volume 1, which will be available exclusively at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide in early January 2014.

- From the award-winning team that launched the careers of The Dog Whisperer and The Incredible Dr. Pol, Nat Geo WILD is proud to announce the latest face of the network — “Goldie.” New to the Hollywood scene, this up-and-coming “actor,” who also happens to be a goldfish, snagged the leading role in Fish Bowl, the highly anticipated four-hour reality special premiering Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Previewing APB with Troy Dunn and Cold Justice

Troy Dunn has made a living locating hard to find people after helping his mother find her biological family. Now he is doing it with television cameras in tow. With new show APB with Tony Dunn, he will be using his expertise and experience to find a new group of people. In tomorrow’s premiere Troy and his team helps siblings find their older brother who was given up for adoption by then teen parents. The also try to find a drunk driver for a daughter of a man he killed sixteen years ago when she was just six years old. The show is heartwarming and manages to keep the exploitation that a show of its ilk tends to revel in to a minimum.

Later this season Troy and his team tried to track down the young couple who risked their lives to pull her from the burning car crash that killed her mother and 5-year-old niece, a sister the state took from her mother twenty-seven years ago, and the team works against the clock to grant a woman's dying wish to find the daughter she gave birth to in secret fifty-one years ago.

APB with Troy Dunn airs Friday at 9:00 on TNT.

Preceding APB with Troy Dunn is another season of Cold Justice. Though the second season premiere was not available to watch prior to the date, I have seen next week’s episode. The first eleven episodes, there have been two confessions, five indictments and one felon sentenced to twenty-two years in prison. And next week Yolanda McClary and Kelly Siegler investigate a murder, and possible rape that dates back almost a decade but local law enforcement could not afford a DNA test that could have ID’d the suspect.

Cold Justice airs Fridays at 8:00 on TNT.

C'mon We Got to Keep the Fire Burning

Considering it was a Bruce Springsteen concert staple throughout the 00’s, it is a bit surprising that American Skin (41 Shots) never got an official studio recording until now. High Hopes is not truly a rarities album but more of a hodgepodge of rarities, covers, and reimaginings of older songs in Bruce’s catalog all recorded on his most recent tour, the first time Springsteen ever recorded an album on the road.

American Skin (41 Shots) is the most notable inclusion since it dates all the way back to 2000. The song is about the police shooting death of an unarmed twenty-three year old Guinea resident Amadou Diallo who was shot forty-one times by four plain clothed officers while reaching into his pocket, pulling out what turned out to be a wallet. Like it live counterpoint, the new version of the song is slow simmering but starts to soar with a Tom Morello solo in the middle of the song taking it to heights the older versions of the song never reached.

Morello of Rage Against the Machine, who was subbing in for Steven Van Zandt who was off filming Lillehammer during the most recent tour, contributes to eight of the twelve tracks. This includes an updated version of Ghost of Tom Joad which appeared on Rage’s covers album. The new version splits the difference between the folksy original and the high octane of the Rage version which sees the two singers trading verses.

Since some of the rarities date back a decade and a half, two fallen members of the E Street Band make a couple of appearances to the album. You can hear Clarence Clemons’ saxophone on Harry’s Place while Danny Federici plays organ on The wall. While both can be heard on Down in the Hole which sonically recalls I’m on Fire but lyrically would have sounded out of place on The Rising. Like most rarities album, High Hopes is mostly for completist as most of the songs, despite being good, were probably left off the albums they were written for because they were just not good enough to be included then.

Song to Download – The Ghost of Tom Joad

High Hopes gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

2014 Winter Music Preview

Today actually sees the first albums released in 2014 by artists you recognize. Though like many first quarters before it, there really is no marquee releases scheduled yet unless you are extremely excited for a Bruce Springsteen rarities album or been waiting for a Toni Braxton / Babyface joint album since he wrote Breathe Again for her (and I doubt anyone will be Beyonceing their album in the next three months). But before you fear that 2014 is going to be as bad as 2013 I term of music, there is a lengthy list of albums to get excited for in the TBA section but we will probably will not hear anything from them until Spring and maybe not until late summer. Click the album title to pre-order on Amazon and the artists name to be taken to their iTunes page.

January 14
High Hopes – Bruce Springsteen
Give The People What They Want – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Fading West - Switchfoot
Songs From The Movie - Mary Chapin Carpenter
The River & The Thread - Rosanne Cash
Projection Room – Sleepy Kitty
Crystal Method – The Crystal Method

January 21
Mind Over Matter – Young the Giant
Warpaint - Warpaint
Is there Anybody Out There? – A Great Big World
Revelation - Los Lonely Boys
The Wishing Forest – Hilary Capps

January 28
Croz – David Crosby
B-Sides - The Gaslight Anthem
Too True – Dum Dum Girls
Broken Hearts & Stolen Money - Gangstagrass

February 4
After the Disco – Broken Bells
Love, Marriage & Divorce – Toni Braxton & Babyface
I’m a Fire – David Nail

February 11
Acoustic at the Ryman – Band of Horses
Time Moves On – Maggie McClure
I Was Going To Be An Astronaut – Greg Laswell

February 18
Lions – William Fitzsimmons
Somewhere Else – Lydia Loveless
Full Frequency – Sean Paul

February 25
Helios – The Fray
St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Blank Project – Neneh Cherry

March 4
English Oceans – Drive-By Truckers
By Request – Charlotte Sometimes

March 11
Stereolithic - 311

March 18
Supermodel - Foster the People
TBD - Lindsey Pavao

March 25
Out Among The Stars – Johnny Cash (lost album from the early eighties)
Teeth Dreams – The Hold Steady

April 1
Himalayan – Band of Skulls
Roses and Revolutions – Roses & Revolutions

April 15
Wastland – Needtobreathe

April 22
Pop Psychology - Neon Trees

April 28
Food - Kelis

TBD
Morning Phase – Beck
Girl Power – Cee Lo Green
Nobody Smiling - Common
The Last Zulu – Q-Tip
A Better Tomorrow – Wu-Tang Clan
Tetsuo and Youth – Lupe Fiasco
E.L.E.2 (Extinction Level Event 2) – Busta Rhymes
9 – Eddie Murphy
Quack – Duck Sauce
Adele
The Black Keys
Brian Wilson
Clipse
Colbie Caillat
Coldplay
Damon Albarn
Dan Wilson
Death Cab for Cutie
Ed Sheeran
Foo Fighters
Frank Ocean
Fun.
Grimes
Jack White
John Mellencamp
Kanye West
Lily Allen
Miguel
Nas
Pharrell Williams
Roger Waters
Sleeper Agent
Shakira
Stevie Wonder
Taylor Swift
Tom Morello
U2

And let me end with the obligatory this may be the quarter when Dr. Dre finally drops Detox.

Previewing Brain Games and Duck Quacks Don't Echo

Brain Games is one of those shows that is sneaky entertaining. Like a video your science teacher puts on when he is too lazy to teach that day or does not trust a substitute to get anything done and you find yourself in class actually entertained and learning new things. The new season starts off tonight with back to back episodes, the first of which deals with color and how we perceive and process colors. That is followed by an episode dealing with the laws of attraction where you learn, of course, that attraction, relationships, and love-at-first sight feelings are all in your head.

One of next week’s episode hits a little close to home, after an episode on trust, the second episode of the night is a “battle of the ages” to find out one and for all when is better, a better more agile brain, or an aged, but experiences one. And you can find out of your brain is acting as old as it should. This is also so home for those like me who are slowly getting to the, where did I leave my keys, phase of life Also this season is an episode on stress.

Brain Games airs Mondays at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel. You can download Brain Games on iTunes.


Coming on right after Brain Games is new series Duck Quacks Don’t Echo. Take a moment to try and think what this show could possibly be about. Well it turns out a perfect fit with Brain Games as a show that will “test out the most outrageous facts you have never heard.” Yes, the title is one of them even though they do not test it out in the first episode. Sort of Mythbusters for myths you never knew existed. But unlike Mythbusters, this is a competition of sorts where three comedians, Michael Ian Black, Tom Papa, and Seth Herzog challenge each other to test obscure theories with the audience voting on the best one. Tonight includes testing theories on toilet water can travel up to six feet when flushed (start measuring how far away your toothbrush is to your toilet now), build a hovercraft out of household items, and eat six saltines in under minute without water. Like Black’s other new show, the concept may be silly, but it is the host who make the show worth watching every week.

Duck Quacks Don’t Echo airs Mondays at 9:30 on the National Geographic Channel.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 1/12/14

Revenge: I really have amnesia storylines with a fiery passion. Well at least it looks like Emily got her memory back by the end of the episode.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Castle: I probably say this every time this is brought up, but did we always know Ryan actually had a first name and that name is Kevin? Seriously future writers, if you are going to predominately use a character’s last name, do not make it something that can be confused as their first name.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: We finally learned what happened to Agent Coulsen in “Tahiti” and… some machine ticked his brain for days after he died. Alrighty. I guess the question now is why is Coulsen so important that Director Fury would go to such lengths to revive him because I doubt he simply needed a Euchre partner.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: After years of predicting that Allison was not as dead as the show would have us believe since episode, I was vindicated during the last finale when she finally showed her face. And then quickly disappeared as the Liars instead of trying to find her again spent their time trying to figure out who is in her casket (I would say the better question would be who got everyone to believe it was Allison and how did they do it; but then again none of these girls are Veronica Mars even if Spencer was able to get Radley shut down). And even though his spin-off started weeks ago, Caleb finally came back to town to break up with Hanna. Though I wonder how fast he will crawl back to her once his new show is canceled. I really do not see it going on much longer.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: What a nice touching tribute to author Leonard Elmore, whose short inspired the show, at the start of the show. I do not remember any show that took that much time to pay tribute to someone tied to that show aside a title card (and even those usually come at the end of the episodes). But the best tribute is to take his vision and turn it into the best show on television which Justified continued to be with a stellar premiere. Raylan was again on point, and nicely bookended the episode shooting inflatable objects. Another strength of the show is the stupidity of its criminals and Dewey Crowe may be the dumbest of them all. Even though he was in only two scenes, both were instant Justified classics. The first took us down memory lane as a lawyer reminded us of every run in Dewey had with the Marshall Service, and the second ending in Raylan shooting his first inflatable object of the episode. Then you had Wynn Duffy’s eyebrows getting promoted to series regular and Dave Foley showing up as one of “The Canadians.” All the greatness was not even ruined by the appearance of Michael Rappaport.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: Apparently I was not the only one thinking about the living situation if Penny and Leonard got married (it is really disturbing how much I have the same thoughts as Sheldon). And Sheldon’s forced vacation with Penny was much more entertaining than the one he spent with Amy a couple seasons ago. The whole episode could have been the two practicing yoga and I would not have minded.
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Community: It is odd with a serial butt crack abuser running around on an episode with Ben Folds, the nineties band the bandit was a fan of with was Dave Matthews Band. Even more shocking was the writers did not use the plotline as an excuse to have Annie bend over. And now that I think of it, if the story is ever revisited, I have a feeling Annie’s Boob will end up being the culprit.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Helix: I still have not gotten around to watching Battlestar Galactica so I have no expectations going into the show because of what the guy previously created and my main take away from the show was… the young CDC member is quite attractive. I really do have much else to say about the show so far.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Helix on iTunes.