The Voice Season 6 Blind Auditions Power Rankings

In the first three seasons of The Voice I pretty much made it all the way through the seasons (I did skip the season two finale due to lack of interest of who made it) but for the first season Usher and Shakira joined the show, I was out after the Live Playoffs when American choose to save only country and RnB singers, along with the female Taylor Hicks. But that was further than last season when I stopped watching half way through the Knockout Round. But I actually had singers I invented in early who just did not go as far as their talent would suggest, this season really lacked that one stand out moment which would get me excited for the season that followed. I do not think any of the Blind Auditions would make the list of the ten greatest in the history of the show. Hopefully someone has a breakout moment in the Battle Rounds (which might not be likely considering I can count the number of great Battle Round performance on one hand) or I may be out earlier than I was last season. But I did make it through the Blind Auditions and here is how rank those that turned chairs.

1. Audra McLaughlin (Team Blake) – Back in season four I wanted to like Sarah Simmons, she had a great voice but she was always just way too much. Audra has a voice like Sarah but unlike Sarah, Audra has control. And since she is on Team Blake, I do not have to worry Adam railroading her for his chosen one or giving her a head scratching bad song to sing. But then again last season Blake made the worst decision in The Voice history when he dumped Holly Henry right before the Live Shows.

2. Sisaundra Lewis (Team Blake): There is definitely an Aretha quality to her. There was a point where I thought she was going to come off the rails and do a bunch of unnecessary vocal gymnastics but she stepped up to that line but never crossed it and that is a great quality for a soul singer. Could this be another Jermaine Paul situation with her going with Blake? (I am sure the producers shudder at the thought, the guy still has yet to release an album.)

3. Ddendyl (Team Shakira): Speaking of interesting voices, “quirky” have done fairly well on this show and no one this season, possibly ever than Ddendyl. If the show does not work out, give that family their own reality show.

4. Madilyn Paige (Team Usher): Oh Blake, where were you on this one. Nurturing this is the kind of voice that made you the best coach in the first two seasons. Then season four you go all country, and these last two seasons… who knows what you are doing. I really have no faith that Usher knows what to do with Madiyn and it may be a quick exit for her. Hopefully Blake at some point steals her.

5. Kaleigh Glanton (Team Blake): First off I am down with any chick who will bust out some Creedence on stage. But better yet, she has a very interesting voice.

6. Josh Kaufman (Team Adam): The show has had a bad age problem the last two seasons where only one singer over the age of thirty has made the live shows after they made up two thirds of the finals back in season three. Despite not having an age limit, the plus thirty crowd seems to be getting less Blind Auditions (while the under-twenty seem to populate the no chair turn montages littered throughout the seasons) and those that do make it through always seem to be gone by the Battle Rounds without a hint of a Steal. If Josh (38) or Sisaundra (44) does not make it through to the Live Shows than it will be extremely clear that there is a new unspoken age limit because in a fairly weak field this season, there is no way anyone could not think they not one of the top twenty-four singers. I would also say Patrick (35) and Ryan (33) Biff (45) are worthy of the Live Shows this season.

7. De'Shawn Washington (Team Shakira): How did this guy only get one chair to turn? This is the kind of guy who Cee-Lo could have taken from being the only guy to hear what is special to very far in the competition. Hopefully Shakira has the same effect on him. I love old soul music and this guy just embodies it.

8. Sam Behymer (Team Adam) – Sam reminds me a lot of Juhi from last season because I really want to like her, but both were a bit… much. They also both obviously have winning personalities. I do have high hopes for Sam because Juhi was the only contestant last season who got better with each of the pre-taped round, hopefully with the right coaching, she can improve with every performance and actually go further than Juhi did. Unfortunately Adam dumped Juhi for someone on a downward trajectory so she may have to jump to Usher’s team (or Blake or Shakira who I thought would have been a better fit than those that turned around) to go further. On a side note, you really need to go to graduate school to become a librarian?

9. Morgan Wallen (Team Usher): In an off season for dudes, his voice gruff stands out and sets him apart from the bland blue eye soul men populating Usher’s team this year.

10. T.J. Wilkins (Team Usher): Biz Markie pretty much killed Bennie and the Jets for me and it has been hard to listen to a “clean” version of the song ever since. But T.J. was very smooth and really hit those falsettos well. The world could use more pure RnB singers.

11. Cierra Mickens (Team Shakira): Maybe it was the song (you really have to try hard to ruin Crazy) but I really enjoyed her performance, but I would like to heard her do something with a higher degree of difficulty next time out.

12. Clarissa Serna (Team Shakira): I had an irrational fear of Zombie when I was younger; it probably was because of Dolores O’Riordan banshee wail. I am not sure if it is a plus or minus that Clarissa lacked that intensity. But I am intrigued to hear what she does next. But I am surprised that Shakira’s weird war metaphor worked.

13. Biff Gore (Team Usher): Oh Biff, your wife is about to give birth and you are trying out for The Voice? Although after five kids, maybe he is ready to get out of there. But another strong pure RnB singer. Unfortunately he also went with Usher like T.J. so that is a fairly obvious Battle Round match up.

14. Lindsay Bruce (Team Shakira): It was a bit rough at the beginning because the Will Hoge vocals were a bit too low for a female voice, but once she got into a range more comfortable, the performance became much more enjoyable.

15. Patrick Thomson (Team Adam): His growl really teeters between awesome and annoying. Hopefully he can keep in on the side of awesome.

16. Dawn & Hawkes (Team Adam): Duos have had a hard time on the show until The Swon Brothers made the finals. But Co-ed duos had had it rough. The Line were early front runners who were railroaded by Christina in the Battle Rounds. That is also where Elenowen were unceremonious dumped for a lesser artist. These two were good, but they seem to be way too subtle to go far in this competition.

17. Ryan Whyte Maloney (Team Blake): I did not get the Steve Perry comparison aside from singing his song, Steve’s voice is bigger while Ryan’s is higher.

18. Bria Kelly (Team Usher): Steamroller Blues is my second favorite James Taylor song after Fire and Rain so I was looking forward to someone polish off this lost gem (or as lost as a song on his Greatest Hits album can get), but Bria was a bit… much. There is promise there. Unfortunately it seems like Usher would be the worst possible coach for her of the four. She could have won with Blake and still could have contended with Adam or Shakira. There is always a Steal.

19. Emily B (Team Shakira) – I am not sure if she has a great voice or not, but Wicked Game is one of those rare songs where you have to try to ruin it. I am not sure if she will make it far (but she wisely picked one of the weaker coaches) but this performance was solid.
20. Melissa Jimenez (Team Usher) – A nice clean and clear voice, but is just lacking something special.

21. Paula DeAnda (Team Blake): I have to admit I missed the original Paula DeAnda era. The reboot was a bit iffy. It was a good but unremarkable voice and she somehow managed to suck most of the fun out of the Ariana Grande song.

22. Jeremy Briggs (Team Shakira): I am not completely convince that this is not Mark Andrews, who was coincidentally also on Team Shakira. Granted I think Jeremy will make it about as far as Mark did in season four, not past the Battle Round because both are pretty benign rock singers.

23. Brittnee Camelle (Team Usher): Song selection is so important so it is hard to take someone seriously when they are covering Demi Lovato. I did sort of like her voice so I would be interesting hearing her sing a song that is not absolutely horrible. I am not sure I can trust Usher to find one, most of his Battle Round selections last time were pretty lame.

24. Kat Perkins (Team Adam): Great song selection, but like a lot of performances this season I still want to see more to decide if I really like the voice or not.

25. Alaska & Madi (Team Blake): Loved the song selection but the performance came off as way too nice. Having two teenage girls trying to tackle the sexual tension and angst of The Civil Wars is hard enough, but it is impossible to do with a smile on your faces.

26. Deja Hall (Team Shakira): Just another reason why The Voice should raise its age requirements, Deja was decent but the performance was extremely shaky. More years of experience could have ironed that out. Instead she probably peaked as a teenage getting a round to or two on a reality show.

27. Christina Grimmie (Team Adam): After two lackluster singers, I was really hoping The Voice would go back to bringing more ringers. YouTube stars is not really what I had in mind. Much like the guy a few seasons ago who boasted being the most subscribed artist, Christina is just mediocre. I really cannot see Adam keeping her around very long so she may have to hope for a save so her two million subscribers can vote for her.

28. Ria Eaton (Team Blake): Shut it down, someone did Anna Kendrick on the show. Awesome. But I was extremely disappointed that Ria did not break out some cups while singing. How do you do a performance of Cups without actual cups?

29. Megan Rüger (Team Blake): started out well, but when she hit the pre-chorus she went into this head space that got annoying really quick.

30. Delvin Choice (Team Adam): No one last season really deserved a second shot except for Malford Milligan, but I guess if you had to bring someone else back from season five, Delvin may be the next choice. But he ended up ruining one of my favorite songs ever by oversinging at the end.

31. Cary Laine (Team Adam): Before the season aired, the show was hyping that this season had the most four chair singers ever. Of course this was not due to the talent this season but because Shakira just had to push her button right after someone else did and Usher seemed to push his button at the last second just to be an irritant. Half of those four chair turners did not deserve the honor especially Cary who is the least worthy four chair singer of all time after The Morgan Twins. There is probably a reason why Blake seemed to be fighting for the country singer the least. Best case scenario for Cary is probably the last, and only, country singer Adam beat Blake out for Warren Stone who won his Battle Round even though his opponent was better and got dumped in the Knockout Rounds when Adam realized he had four significantly better singers.

32. Jake Barker (Team Usher): His voice is alright, especially in the falsetto, but dude really needs to tone down the oversinging.

33. Caleb Elder (Team Adam): Is he entertaining? Yes. Was it an inspiring song choice? Definitely (really the song selection was a definite improvement over last season despite some cheesy pop songs and a couple overused soul songs). Was the actual performance any good? Eh.

34. Stevie Jo (Team Usher): Wait, both of his parents were in heavy metal bands and look like random people at the local PTA meeting? I remember back in the first season they actually had a couple contestants that we did not see until a coach pushed their button, they should have done that with Stevie. But it was severely disappointing that he sang Usher instead of Judas Priest.

35. Brothers Walker (Team Usher): Other than the novelty of being twins, there really is not much interesting about them. Much like The Morgan Twins a couple seasons ago (who inexplicably got four chairs to turn around) I do not expect them to go very far. But then again I thought the same about The Swon Brothers. But it is never a good sign when Blake does not turn around for a country act.

36. Noah Lis (Team Blake): An alright voice, just really boring.

37. Jake Worthington (Team Blake): I always seem to scratch my head as some of the singers they have brought back for a second chance but Jake is the least worthy ever to be brought back.

38. Kristen Merlin (Team Shakira): Yeah Kacey Musgraves just sang a pro gay country song on the Grammy’s but it is hard to think a lesbian could make it in a genre that only sings about beers, trucks, and dirt roads these days. But this is the Voice, and when it comes to Kristen’s voice, there is just too much vibrato to the point it got really annoying.

39. Lindsay Pagano (Team Shakira)

40. Tess Boyer (Team Usher)

41. Joshua Howard (Team Adam)

42. Lexi Luca (Team Blake)

43. Austin Ellis (Team Adam)

44. Josh Murley (Team Adam)

45. Cali Tucker (Team Blake)

46. Music Box (Team Shakira)

47. Dani Moz (Team Shakira)

48. Tanner James (Team Usher)

Like I always do, it is time to rank the teams to see who is the strongest. I gave a corresponding number to each with number one getting forty-eight while the last got one and so on; then added them up by team. And here are they came out to be:

Shakira – 304
Usher – 302
Blake – 300
Adam – 270

I was a bit surprised that Shakira was on top (she did pick up two of the best one chair artists, but just by a small margin over Usher and Blake with Adam pulling up the rear. But who cares what I think, here is how the contestants rank by how high they charted on the iTunes chart. Please note I did not contribute to this list for the first time since the first season which remains the only other time I did not buy at least song from the Blind Audition. And looking at the list I may not have been the only one. Only 31 of the 48 contestants moving on made the top 1500 this season compared to 39 last season. And there is also an enthusiasm gap as both Holly Henry and Preston Pohl spent most of the Blind Auditions in the top 200, as I write this, no Blind Auditions from this season is in the top 1000. Granted last season only had six montage contestants while this season had ten, so that did not help. That is a lot of fodder.

1. Dawn and Hawkes (24)
2. Christina Grimmie (73)
3. Clarissa Serna (86)
4. Bria Kelly (126)
5. Josh Kaufman (136)
6. Jake Worthington (140)
7. Madilyn Paige (175)
8. Morgan Wallen (184)
9. Alaska and Madi (220)
10. Emily B. (239)
11. Audra McLaughlin (252)
12. Delvin Choice (416)
13. Kat Perkins (451)
14. Kaleigh Glanton (482)
15. Stevie Jo (503)
16. Sam Behymer (551)
17. Biff Gore (602)
18. Caleb Elder (645)
19. Ddendyl (656)
20. Kristen Merlin (688)
21. T.J. Wilkins (714)
22. Sasaundra Lewis (740)
23. Jake Barker (754)
24. Cary Laine (755)
25. Ryan Whyte Maloney (917)
26. Megan Ruger (1131)
27. Deja Hall (1190)
28. Brothers Walker (1259)
29. Cierra Mickens (1262)
30. Noah Lis (1373)
31. Lindsay Bruce (1482)

Like I did my Power Rankings, here is how the teams stack up based on iTunes

Adam – 165
Usher – 133
Blake – 114
Shakira – 84

Despite have the most singers in the top 1500, Blake is a distant third (Paula being the only non-montage singer not to make it on the chart) but Adam (who had one more montage contestant this season; Patrick was his only non-montage not to chart) did have three ahead of Blake’s top charter. No one, on the other hand wanted to buy half of Shakira’s team as six of her twelve failed to chart (three were montage). Of course all you need is one to win and Clarissa was the third best charter this season. But keep in mind last year’s champion, Tessanne Chin failed to make the top 200 once in the three pre-show (she ranked 7th, 14th, and 10th overall in those initial rounds) which is probably why her debut single flopped. People may have voted for her, but had not much interesting to buy her music when it did not count as a vote. But anyway. Unlike last season, there were a few singers that did not get anyone to turn that are worth another (blind) look at next season, here is how I would rank them.

Second Chance
1. Allison Bray
2. Karina Mia
3. Keith Shuskie
4. Brendan Ryan
5. James Caveron

Now it is prediction time, here is an extremely premature prediction of who will make the Live Shows (I was 16 of 20 last season). I am assuming there will be a top 20 again like last season (but supposedly; we are getting a big twist this season). There could very well be less since they have already announced there will be less live rounds this season. But we do not know if they are just going to eliminate more singers each week. I have ranked them by how confident I am in my prediction. Just for fun I will bold those who I think will be the final three and put a dark horse in parentheses.

Adam: Josh, Christina, Delvin, Patrick, Dawn and Hawkes (Sam)
Blake: Sissandra, Ryan, Audra, Jake, Megan (Ria)
Skakira: Clarissa, Kristen, DeShawn, Ddendtyl, Deja (Emily B.)
Usher: Bria, TJ, Morgan, Jake, Melissa (Madilyn)

Now I am going to get a little spoilery as I predict how the next round plays out. Last year most of the Battles were revealed prior to the start of the round, this season, all of them were revealed. So if you do not want to know who is battling who, you will want to stop reading right now. I have listed each Battle with who I think will win listed first and ordered them in how confident I think I am right. Even though each season since season two has featured a montage contestant make it to the Live Shows, I cowardly did not pick any of them. But this season I am going to predict some Steals which will be designated by an S (although these usually really hard to pick because most coaches seem to purposely waste their Steals as for fodder in the next rounds; although last time, Shakira took both of her Steals to the Live Show and Usher did the same for one).


Adam
Josh K. vs. Austin
Christina vs. Joshua
Dawn and Hawkes vs. Josh M.
Delvin vs. Caleb
Patrick vs. Kat
Sam vs. Carey (S)

Blake
Jake vs. Lexi
Ryan vs. Cali
Kaliegh vs. Noah
Sissandra vs. Paula (S)
Megan vs. Ria
Audra vs. Alaska and Madi (S)

Shakira
Deja vs. Music Box
DeShawn vs. Dani
Ddendtyl vs. Lindsay P.
Kristen vs. Lindsay B.
Clarissa vs. Jeremy (S)
Emily B. vs. Ciera (S)

Usher
Bria vs. Tess
Madilyn vs. Tanner
Melissa vs. Brittnee
Morgan vs. The Brothers Walker (S)
Jake vs. Stevie (S)
Biff vs. T.J. (S)

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/16/14

Once Upon a Time: Since everyone who gets more than one line is inevitably going to turn out to be a fairy tale character so from the first moment I assumed Emma’s new boyfriend was not who he said he was. Since the promos that reran ad nausea hyped the debut of the Wicked Witch of the (presumably) West, my first guesses were Oz related: maybe the Wizard himself, or The Scarecrow, Tin Man, or Cowardly Lion. Surprisingly we did not have to wait a season or two to find out who the boyfriend was as at the end of the episode he turned into a fracking bad CGI flying monkey. Awesome. (On a side note, when is NBC going to reboot Quantum Leap with Christopher Gorham, that dude can easily pass off as Scott Backula’s kid.)
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: Did we finally learn what Rick’s three questions for joining the group that was that was hinted way back in the season premiere? Daryl did ask Bob three questions when they met: 1) How many zombies have you killed? 2) How many humans have you killed? 3) Why?
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Resurrection: From the promos, the show did not look all that good, but I was intrigued by how they would explain it all. Except my sources tell me that the book the show is base on does not actually explain why these people come back. I did find the premiere compelling, but I am not sure how the story plays out over a whole season, let alone a series. And if there is no answer, that will be very frustrating. But I will probably stick with it because it is currently stuck right between my hate watching ABC Sunday’s schedule.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Resurrection on iTunes.

Revenge: So Nico captures Aiden and can easily avenge her father’s death (which make the show much better because the show has been on a steep slide since introducing Aiden) but instead concocts some James Bond villain sinister plan to kill his love in front of him before killing him. Of nothing goes as plan, and instead of Emily killing Nico, she is allowed to weirdly slink out the loft. Then you have Victoria killing her baby daddy and Conrad’s first wife is Jack’s mother. Ugg. Just end this show now.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Voice: So the Blind Auditions are done and not one singer really worth caring about. I may be out on this season faster than I was last one. But since I made it though the first round, my first, and maybe only, Power Rankings of the season will be posted tomorrow.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

How I Met Your Mother: So Lilly paid the bartender a lot of money to make sure she always has a non-alcholoic drink in her hand this weekend? Ugg, just end this show already.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The reason why we have not seen any of Marvel’s big named heroes was evident this week (well other than obvious monetary reasons). This was hyped as the Lady Sif episode, but really, it turned out to be more Lorelei-centric. And as it is with the movies, the villains are much more interesting and in the short time you have in an episode, you have to focus on the bad guy. If they brought in a bigger name than Sif, the show would have to self most of the cast to fit them in (Skye already spent most of this episode in bed). But I would not mind a Lady Sif spin-off.
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: So Ezra thinks that A is Allison’s mother who is trying to make is safe for her to come back to Rosewood, but Allison verified her mother does not know she is alive. After a very heavy handed season, next week’s Ally Tells All episode better actually tell all. And let me go ahead and guess that the person under the mask is Mona (assuming it is not Allison at the beginning of the episode).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: Finally, Raylan has found a law enforcement agent as prickly as him, but before you suggest he get transferred to the Memphis DEA office, Dewey Crowe had to go and run over him before Danny could test out the twenty-one foot rule on Eric Roberts (but the promos suggests that Danny will get to ret that again next week on Raylan which I am sure will end humorously). But the scene where Raylan and Roberts entered Audrey’s was just one of those scenes that the show does just so well. Surprisingly the body count was low.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: Just like the Race Wars season, it seems like they are ditching the gimmick a little too soon but after the Brains lost four of five Challenges, three of which were for Immunity, it was inevitable. We will have to wait until next week if just the Brains have to drop their buffs and get absorbed or all three will be mixed up. If it is the latter hopefully my two favorites who were being targeted this week, Cliff and Morgan end up in cushier situations, maybe on the same tribe. But how exactly did Cops-R-Us (Philip Sheppard should sue for copyright infringement) think they could throw a basketball challenge with Cliff Robinson on their team?
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

The Americans: After the tease at the end of season one, I was excited for potential of Paige to figure out her parents’ secret. But after three episodes of near misses, I am ready for her to finally learn the truth. I really hope they are not waiting for this season’s finale (or longer) for that to happen.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Nashville: Oh Juliet, pulling that kind of stunt is what got you dropped in the first place. Thankfully she has not learned her lesson because the show would be a lot less entertaining. The other big bombshell was Will proposing to his beard. Hopefully this means we are closer to somebody outing him because that would be a much more interesting storyline than him staying in the closet and hating himself.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

Parenthood: All the lackluster and annoying storylines this season were almost all worth it for that dinner scene where basically everyone came out in the opening for everyone, including Jasmine’s family and minister, to hear. And Drew, who was always low man on the Braverman Power Ranking, may finally be moving up after his roommate hooked up with his former bootie call. But it kind of sounded like they are actually going to ruin that awesomely awkward dynamic by having Drew move in with his sister, which could get really awkward too considering her place is only one room.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: I liked the changed final challenge this season from the Survivor like popularity contest to an actual nerd skills competition. But for the second straight year, a girl one which makes me wonder if a guy will ever win this show. They might as well call it Queen of the Nerds at this point.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Hannibal: I do not know what is says about me that I recognize that the bailiff was murdered the way that Will is accused of his victims before forensics made the same assumption. And by killing the judge, does that mean Hannibal wants to keep Will in a perpetual state of innocent until proven guilty but still in prison? I would have never had guessed a court room based episode would be this engrossing, but of course was able to pull out an epic one.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 3/15/14

Quote of the Week: Miller, would you call this a herd, a gaggle, or a flock of (expletive deleted)? (Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, Justified)

Song of the Week: Chapel of Love – Dixie Cups (Pretty Little Liars)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: A Not So Melancholy Happy Trails to Brandon Weeden: Our long national nightmare is finally over, Brandon Weeden has finally got cut. Two years ago, not only did they waste a first round draft pick on the pushing thirty year old quarterback, they moved up to get him so they used multiple draft picks to get him. And since this is the Browns, of course he sucked, but Weeden somehow managed to not even meet extremely low expectations. The guy got tackled by the United States flag and on multiple occasions tried to throw an underhanded pass under pressure multiple times. So good riddance Brandon Weeden, you will not be missed (well except by people who like to make fun of the Browns). I feel sorry for the fans of which ever Canadian Football League team that picks him up. Now we have a month to see what quaterback bust the Browns will draft next.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“A Is For Answers” Pretty Little Liars season finale, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Lift Your Spirit – Aloe Blacc (iTunes)

New Album Release of the Week: Symphonica - George Michael

New DVD Release of the Week: Frozen

Video of the Week: Yesterday, TNT announced its full summer schedule which will be big as in ten original series, the most scripted dramas than any basic cable channel ever (and will probably be more than most, if not all the networks this summer). Below is the complete list of return days for those that want to mark your calendars now.

Major Crimes: Monday, June 9 at 9:00
Murder in the First (New Series): Monday, June 9 at 10:00
Rizzoli and Isles: Tuesday, June 17 at 9:00
Perception: Tuesday, June 17 at 10:00
Cold Justice: Friday, June 20 at 8:00
The Last Ship (New Series): Sunday, June 22 at 9:00
Falling Skies: Sunday, June 22 at 10:00
Dallas: Monday, August 18 at 9:00
Legends (New Series): Wednesday, August 20 at 9:00
Franklin and Bash: Wednesday, August 20 at 10:00

The first of those new series, Murder in the First just released its first trailer. The show, from Steven Bochco, will follow a single murder investigation across an entire season stars Taye Diggs (Private Practice) and Kathleen Robertson (Boss). Here is hoping that it is better than The Killing (or at the very least actually solve the investigation by the end of the first season). Check out the trailer below:




Next Week Pick of the Week: Pretty Little Liars, Tuesday at 8:00: The show has been hyping for weeks now that the season finale will be where “Ali Tells All.” The title of the episode is even entitled A Is for Answers. Hopefully it lives up it because the show has gotten convoluted lately with all the theoriews floating aroumd on the show and the different A’s and A Team members. Hopefully Allison sets everything straight and we can move forward next season. Although things will get more convoluted in Hanna’s love life next season thanks to the Ravenswood cancelation as her current love triangle will get expanded to a quadrangle because it was announced Caleb will be back to a series regular. I wonder if they will bother to wrap up the Ravenswood storyline or Caleb will just show up and say something like, “My father sold the house so I decided to move back to Rosewood. Oh yeah, and that chick I told you I was going to protect and made you think I was dating: she actually died the day after you left town so you do not have to worry about her.”

Around the Tubes: 3/14/14

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 Deal with It, Being Human, Susan Boyle: Her Secret Struggle, Rufus Wainwright, Billions, Masters of Sex, Bermuda Tentacles, Ascension, and the summer schedules for TNT and ABC Family.

- TBS has great news for comedy fans who just can't wait for the return of the network's popular hidden-camera prank show Deal With It, hosted by Theo Von and executive-produced by Howie Mandel, and the launch of the brand new competition series Bam's Badass Game Show, hosted by Bam Margera (Jackass). One week before the shows launch on TBS, the network is offering full-episode previews of the season openers via TBS's social media platforms, website and mobile apps. The season premiere of Deal With It is already available for viewing through TBS's YouTube channel, while the first episode of Bam's Badass Game Show will be featured on TBS's Facebook page beginning Monday, April 7. This marks the first time that TBS has ever offered full-episode previews of its shows via social media.

- DweebCast host Andy Riesmeyer interviews Sam Witwer, star of SyFy's Being Human. SyFy announced last week that the show's fourth season would be its last, to the chagrin of its devoted fan base. In the interview, Sam explains how the cast of the show has known of the impending cancellation for more than a year. He also explains some of the financial reasons for the cancellation and how the producers and actors are happy because they feel they get to end their show in the best way possible. Sam also mentions that there won't ever be a chance for the show to come back after the end of this season.


- On Wednesday, April 9 at 10:00, Ovation, America’s only arts network, will present the U.S. television premiere of Susan Boyle: Her Secret Struggle. This all-access, intimate and inspiring documentary travels with Boyle as she embarks upon her first tour and uncovers her battles with Asperger’s Syndrome.

- Operatic pop singer Rufus Wainwright has announced a PledgeMusic campaign for the pre-order of the upcoming Prima Donna album, a studio recording of his first opera Prima Donna with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Praised lavishly for his emotionally raw lyrics and recognized for his "genuine originality" from The New York Times, Wainwright has been called "the greatest songwriter on the planet" from the legendary Elton John and has excelled in the worlds of rock, opera, theater, dance and film.

- Showtime has ordered Billions, a new complex, contemporary drama pilot from a script by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big To Fail), and Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Ocean's Thirteen, Rounders), who will also executive produce. Billions is a fictional drama that focuses on the collision and, at times, collusion between an aggressive U.S. attorney in New York and some of the richest hedge fund billionaires in the country. Billions marks the first pilot pick-up for Showtime this year.

- Multi-talented performer Keke Palmer is joining the season two cast of the acclaimed Showtime drama series Masters of Sex. Palmer will recur in the guest starring role of Coral, the nanny hired by the Masters to care for their new baby. Production on season two will begin mid-March in Los Angeles.

- Linda Hamilton (The Terminator) will star as an Admiral of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier battling an ancient monster in the new Syfy Original Movie Bermuda Tentacles, premiering Saturday, April 12 at 9:00. When Air Force One goes down over the Bermuda Triangle, the Navy sends its best rescue team. But in saving the President, the team awakens a monster which threatens America’s entire Eastern Seaboard and, ultimately, the world.

- Syfy is reigniting the channel’s traditional long-form scripted programming event for 4th quarter with the greenlight of the 6-hour series Ascension, it was announced this week by Syfy President Dave Howe. Ascension is an ambitious original drama created and written by Philip Levens (Smallville) who will serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner. Said Howe, “Syfy is more committed than ever to bringing to life epic event television. We have a rich history in this arena, from Steven Spielberg’s ‘Taken’ to the highly acclaimed mini that launched the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ series, to reimagined takes on classic tales such as ‘Alice’ and ‘Tin Man.’ In keeping with that grand tradition, we are delighted to bring this thrilling, provocative and intelligent event to our fans later this year.” In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, a mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

- This week TNT unveiled its summer schedule. Here are the highlights:

The Last Ship (New Series): Sunday, June 22 at 9:00
Falling Skies: Sunday, June 22 at 10:00
Legends (New Series): Wednesday, August 20 at 9:00
TNT's summer slate will also include new seasons of the hit series Major Crimes, Rizzoli & Isles, Perception and Franklin & Bash; new episodes of Dallas; and the launch of Stephen Bochco's new crime drama Murder in the First. Premiere dates for those series will be announced later.

- ABC also unveiled its summer schedule. Again here are the highlights:

Pretty Little Liars: Tuesday, June 10 at 8:00
Chasing Life (New Series): Tuesday, June 10 at 9:00
Switched at Birth: Monday, June 16 at 8:00
The Fosters: Monday, June 16 at 9:00
Young and Hungry (New Series): Wednesday. June 25 at 8:00
Mystery Girls (New Series): Wednesday, June 25 at 8:30

Previewing Live From Space

If you cannot get enough of outer space from Fox’s Cosmos reboot the channel that is re-airing that show is also going live in the final frontier tomorrow. But where Cosmos features Neil DeGrasse Tyson traveling around in a CGI spaceship, Live From Space, starting at 8:00, lives up to the title. Sure there will be some pre-taped segments (ever wanted to know why astronauts eat freeze dried food; you will find out) and you will see that in space sweating can become fatal because it can cause you to drown, which happened on the current mission. Below is the full press release on the event (the guy at right will be watching) including how you can get involved by asking questions to the astronauts that will be answered live on air. And if you want even more Live From Space while watching, head over to LiveFromSpace.com for a second screen experience.

Produce a live television event from a $100 billion studio that’s 250 miles above the Earth’s surface and traveling at 4.9 miles per second? That will be the task at hand this spring for National Geographic Channel (NGC) Worldwide with a television event that will literally take viewers beyond the stratosphere.

Live From Space, a spectacular, groundbreaking two-hour television event from Arrow Media, will be broadcast live from the International Space Station (ISS) and NASA Mission Control in Houston on Friday, March 14, 2014, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Celebrated journalist, producer and television host Soledad O’Brien will host and co-executive produce. Lexus is the presenting sponsor of Live from Space.

With unique access to and footage from the ISS and Mission Control, we’ll go into orbit with astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata from the ISS, while astronaut Mike Massimino (most notably known for fixing the Hubble Telescope) will keep us grounded with O’Brien live from Houston. Live From Space will air on NGC in 170 countries, and on Channel 4 in the U.K. It will simulcast on NGC’s Spanish-language network in the U.S., Nat Geo MUNDO.

The ISS orbits Earth every 90 minutes, meaning NGC will quite literally take viewers on a trip around the world. We’ll see incredible shots of the planet, from sunset and sunrise, to city lights and green aurora, to lightning storms and shooting stars.

For those fascinated by the recent emergency spacewalks to replace a vital cooling system, Live From Space will show even more intimately what it takes to run this floating world. From space, Mastracchio and Wakata will give viewers a fully guided tour, showing us how they live for months in microgravity. In their own words, learn how they sleep upside down, stay fit, maintain personal hygiene and, of course (that question everyone is always curious about), how they use the toilet. They’ll conduct never-before-broadcast experiments that demonstrate the real-world value of the science conducted on the floating laboratory. We’ll also show how science in space is benefiting people on Earth such as the ISS’s robotic systems, which are the inspiration for a neurosurgical robot that removes brain tumors. Astronauts, flight controllers and researchers will be featured in original segments from the ISS and Mission Control during the course of the two-hour live event.

It won’t just be O’Brien asking the questions, either. Viewers are encouraged to post a video question on Instagram using #HelloFromEarth, and a few of those video questions will be sent to the ISS to receive a personal video response from the astronauts during the March 14 live broadcast. For those who are stumped on a question but still want to show the astronauts their appreciation, photos of a simple wave hello, using the same hashtag, will be part of the Live From Space community on the interactive website and second screen experience. A first-of-its-kind second screen experience will also allow viewers to track the space station while exploring the interests of people under its path. This “social-media telescope” will give viewers real-time insight into the collected cares of Earth’s inhabitants.

“Every day at NGC our team tries to reach for the stars,” says NGC President Howard T. Owens. “Now we are literally able to do it! We are honored to have secured such amazing access to the station and the astronauts living there, and are exhilarated by the tremendous challenge to show Earth … live.”

“We’re thrilled to be making this unique event for NGC Worldwide,” adds Arrow Media’s creative director, Tom Brisley. “The technological and logistical challenges of broadcasting live from space may be enormous, but there’s no bigger buzz than creating mind-blowing content that works in micro gravity, on the world’s largest spacecraft!”

Live From Space follows the premiere of the highly anticipated COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey earlier in the week on Sunday, March 9, at 10 p.m. on 10 U.S. networks including Fox, National Geographic Channel, FX, FXX, FXM, FOX Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo and Fox Life. COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey will also air on Monday, March 10, on National Geographic Channel with bonus content and behind the scenes footage. Live From Space premieres Friday, March 14.

After more than 50 years of manned space flights, Live From Space will launch cable television into orbit with an event that is not to be missed.

I’m So Tired of Being Along These Penitent Wall Are All I’ve Known

The nineties were all about keeping it real, from the rappers to the rockers, you had to be serious to be taken seriously. That was probably why Beck was written off as a one hit wonder when his irreverent song about shaving your face with some mace in the dark became an MTV staple and had teenagers racing to their Spanish to English dictionaries. Beck ended up becoming weirder and more irreverent with his next album Odelay with help from The Dust Brothers (who helped the Beastie Boys get weird on their second album Paul’s Boutique) and ended up becoming one of the most respected artists of the era after its release. He then closed out the slacker decade by defying the logic of our nation’s sexx laws the only way Beck can.

Then came the new millennium and a quite literal Sea Change where all the fun was sucked from Beck’s music. The 2002 album was in result of a failed nine year relationship and was as depressing as you would expect. Was it good? Yes. But did the world need an album full of sad bastard, mostly acoustic tracks from Beck? Probably not.

Twelve years and three albums later (four if you count the sheet music only album), Beck is back with another batch of sad bastard songs. Morning Phase is dubbed a “companion piece” to Sea Change and is filled with the same acoustic based folk that is still manages to wrap itself in a wall of a sound. Much like Sea Change, Morning Phase is haunting and beautiful, but I still prefer my Beck to be weird and irreverent. Leave the mopey acoustic folk to Ray LaMontagne.

Song to Download – Blue Moon

Morning Phase gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Might Dance Like Your Auntie I Don’t Care Cause Were Here to Party

In a post-Beyonce world, it is extremely annoying when artists still drop crumbs every couple months before finally unveiling the full course. It has been almost four months since Lily Allen dropped Hard Out Here, her comeback single, without much of a peep about when a full album would come out. Air Balloon came out about a month later followed a couple weeks later by the Girls’ track L8 CMMR. A couple weeks ago, Lily announced the upcoming album would be called Sheezus but at the time it was unclear if she was being serious or just taking a small jab at Kanye West.


Well the press release has been passed around and Sheezus is indeed the title (as the cover art above suggests) and there is finally a release date: May 6. The 12 tracks (17 if you get the Bonus Tracks Version which includes her version of Somewhere Only We Know, originally by Keane) include the three previously released songs as well as a song for the title track. There is even a new music video for the new track Our Time which features recreating a drunker version of Orphan Black. One that features a hot dog. And it is awesome. Welcome back Lily Allen.

I Want My Music Television: 3/10/14

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.


The Man - Aloe Blacc


I happy for Aloe Blacc to finally be having a moment, but it is hard for me to get into this song. You cannot sing, “You can tell everybody,” like that and follow it up, “I’m the man,” instead , “this is your song.” And it is weird to have a music video that goes through the civil rights era and start it off with an awkward shameless promotion for a music streaming service.


Temple - Kings of Leon


It is family day in the latest Kings of Leon video complete with a Super 8 video. But with all the family around, I thought the lead singer was married to a Victoria Secret model. Why marry a Victoria Secret model if you are not going to shameless put her in your videos? Simon le Bon his shaking his head at this video right now.


Morning Song – The Avett Brothers


The latest The Avett Brothers music video was produced by Judd Apatow. I was expecting some wacky antics and some cameos from the Apatow comedy tree, but alas, it look like most every other simple video from the band.


Never Gonna Change - Broods


C’mon, if your sweater holds that much water, maybe you should think about taking it off. But anyway. This is just another cool track from Broods.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/9/14

Shameless: The show has really gone out of its way to make Frank hit rock bottom, only to go even lower the next week, but Fiona seems to be sinking even lower every week two. But she may have bottom out this week ending a day in an empty house with all her siblings finding a new place to lay their heads for the night. Things may finally be on the upswing for her waking up to Liam’s face at the end of the episode. Of course being Shameless, something will probably still go horribly wrong next week.

The Walking Dead: When did Beth become the most interesting character on this Show? Didn’t she smart out as the other Greene sister who spent most of the second season comatose? Now she is a drunken pyromaniac who is smart enough to grab shards of glass and a broken side mirror to make fire starting easier. But I have to disagree with Daryl that Moonshine is a great starter drink. You might as well give her rubbing alcohol as a first drink. Yeah Peach Schnapps is not very good, but it is a much better starter drink than moonshine. You only give someone moonshine as their first drink to make sure they never drink ever again in their life. Maybe that was the point.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: After the failed I’m Sorry Bracelet, it was obvious that John would try to woo Katherine back with a dance, but I did not see that elaborate cheesily entertaining family hoedown coming.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

The Voice: One of my biggest complaints of the last two seasons was that, unlike the first three seasons that raided my musical library for contestants, not one of the singer from the past two cycles were lurking on my iPod. Last week I did recognize YouTube star Christina Grimmie (but never downloaded her music before and remained less impressed than the coaches by her Blind Audition) despite not owning any of her music. This week there was an actually a auditioner who I actually had a song by. Sure Lindsay Pagano got montaged and Everything U R is one of the more embarrassing songs in my library but it is actually there.

Last week I suggested that Shakira should start taking fliers on contestants that are overlooked and this week she snatched up De'Shawn Washington who I thought gave one of the better auditions this season. Hopefully that works out for them. Granted there were a few no chair turners that she also should have picked up Allison Bray gave one of the better performances this week, yet no love (Allison was much better than the country singer Shakira picked up the previous week). I thought she could have gone far. If Shakira is out of contestants first again this season, she is going to regret not giving her a shot.

The producers really put a quick one over on me Tuesday, they were really pushing hard that Adam did not pick up any artists, or even bothered to push his button the whole hour. So the person who watches too much television in me said, of course Adam is going to get the last, and probably best singer, of the night. Naturally he turned around seconds into it and everything looked to be going towards him. But shockingly Audra McLaughlin went with Blake. So if Usher won week one, Blake seemed to be the clear winner of week two picking up the two best singers. Adam still has a solid team while Shakira pull up the rear two seasons in a row. It does not help that she half of the six montage contestants this week. Never a good sign. But she did pick up Clarissa Serna who is on my very short list of contenders this year.


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

How I Met Your Mother: Oh yeah, I completely forgot that Aira Montgomery was Robin’s sister. I vaguely remembering everyone thinking she was the mother but then never showed up again (or possibly even mentioned again) until this week. Oh yeah, and then apparently Robin’s I do not remember ever being mentioned before mother turned out to be Tracey Ullman. What?!?
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: So they finally revealed something that was hinted out going all the way back to the premiere, that Tom Keen is not who he says he is. And his mission is to love Lizzie. And he is loosely associated with the faux substitute teacher who we also learned this week has been stalking Red. But who do they work for? Is Alan Alda too obvious?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: I figured Quinn shooting Sky in the stomach and walking away was a little Bond villainy of him and there was a reason why he did not make sure to hit an organ that would kill her or at least stick around to watch her die. Nope the Clairvoyant wanted Coulsen to lead him to wherever he was revived and do the same for Skye. And that thing that kept alive was… um. I do not know. My first thought was Dr. Manhattan but that is the wrong comic universe. Then I was wondering is maybe it was one of those aliens from the attack on New York from the end of The Avengers.
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: So let me get this straight. Alison disappears and turns out to be dead a year later when the Liars started getting harassing texts from “A”. And now we think that Spencer “killed” Allison and her mom is “A” and is harassing the Liars to find out which one tried to kill Allison so she can return home safely. Somehow “A” recruited Mona to torment the Liars and Ezra is just an enterprising writer looking for a big scoop. But why kill Ian, Garrett, and presumably Wilden? The Allison tells all episode at the end of the season better actually tell all.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

About a Boy: The Lil’ Jon party had a tiger on a gold leash. Natch.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download About a Boy on iTunes

Justified: Raylan really has gotten soft after becoming a dad. How do you give your ill gotten radio winnings to a Crowe? It does say something that he would give that money instead spending it on visiting his daughter (with his new trophy girlfriend in tow). That girl is going to have some serious daddy issues when she grows up. Of course the trophy girlfriend is no longer in play. Raylan is not going to cozy up the Wendy now is he?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: This was a pretty uneventful episode for the third hour. I am most interested with the promo where the monkeys suggested that the Brawn Tribe is debating on throwing a challenge. What a horrible idea. Every tribe that has thrown a challenge has never produced a winner (with the exception of Cochran; but when you fear Brandon Hantz is probably going to go on a murderous rampage, it probably is wise to throw in the towel to get him away from you). Presumably the Brawn will do this to get rid of Cops R Us, but this will end up even more disastrous considering he has the Hidden Immunity Idol. Though it would be highly entertaining if twom people go home in one season with Idols in their back pocket (or wherever Garrett left his because he did not bother to bring it with him).
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

Nashville: As I predicted a couple episodes ago, Juliet would end up on Rayna's record label. I guess the fireworks will start next week when Rayna has to start dealing with the diva and Juliet has to deal with no longer being on a label that can shower cash down upon her. So basically it looks like we are going back to the beginning of season one. I do hope there is room on the label for Layla, I liked the Juliet vs. Layla fued more than than when she was butting heads with Rayna.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Oh wow, Zack got booted from the house. I wonder if they are having the finals with the last four because he comes back next week and kills everyone, announcing him to the world as the newest evil supervillian. I am also slightly disappointed that they did not incorporate an flying objects into Nerdiocart. Zack got mad just by people spinning him out. Image how more angry he would have gotten had he been hit with a turtle shell multiple times.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Hannibal: She has been vague since the beginning so I have long wondered what exactly does Agent Scully know about Hannibal. I think we learned this week that she does not know anything as fact but pretty much has assumed the worst (most, if not all are true) including that Will is right to think Hannibal set him up. She was also smart enough to leave town before Hannibal came to chop her up in his clear murder suit (I love how he still wears a full suit underneath). And there have been plenty of disturbing images on the show, but the dude ripping himself out of the human eye may actually be the grossest.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 3/8/14

Quote of the Week: Spare us the wiener act. Bullying is a vital part of every ecosystem, it teaches kids resilience. The world is a rough place. Bullying is like getting inoculated: it’s a vaccine. And you little (expletive deleted), you got to learn to stay away from people like my son. That is what you learn when you get punched in the face by a bully. How do you think Steve Jobs turned out so great? Bullies. And I guentee Junior here will be getting the hottest chicks when he’s thirty because he got bullied today. Do you want to peak now? My kid will be picking up roadside garbage in an orange jumpsuit in ten years and you’re kid will be in med school curing cancer and getting laid. You’re welcome. (Frank Gallahger, Shameless)

Song of the Week: Hungry Heart – Bruce Springsteen (Growing Up Fisher)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Something Is Happening in the Ukraine: The Olympics are all about watching sports unite the world. Apparently Vladimir Putin was not paying close attention because just after the Closing Ceremonies, he was turning his eyes to invading former territory Ukraine. Despite spending the last week and a half of news on the subject, I am still not entirely sure what is going on because half of the talking heads are finding ways to blame this all on Obama while the other half are pointing out how crazy the other half is. Le sigh.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Wrong Roads" Justified, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: Headfirst – Jillian Edwards (Noisetrade)

New Album Release of the Week: Veronica Mars: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

New DVD Release of the Week: Inside Llewyn Davis

Video of the Week: Last week at the end of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. we were introduced to Lorelei, an Asgardian temptress who finds her way to Death Valley and gets a newlywed to ditch his wife to drive her somewhere. Since Thor is too important to slum it on television and Marvel needs some extra promotion for his movie which landed on DVD two weeks ago (watch Thor: The Dark World now just in case their are spoilers even though the episode right after the movie hit theaters was fairly vague), the promos show that it will be Lady Sif that will come to battle the villain. Now I have had my issues with the show, but if they somehow manage to get Lady Sif and Skye is a wrestling match, it will likely turn out to be the greatest television episode ever in the history of television.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Once Upon a Time, Sunday at 8:00 on ABC: The show has left Neverland about ten episode two late and now, um, I cannot remember what happened last. (Heads to Wikipedia.) Oh yeah, Peter Pan’s unleashed a new curse that Regina negated by Regina when she un did her original curse. So Storybrooke is no more, all the fairy tale characters back in their respective world with Emma and Henry living together without any memory of what happened. Until Captain Hook started to bang on their door. Hopefully this new direction is a better course because Nederland was a massive drag. There will be a new antagonist in the form of the Wicked Witch of the West. No word yet if Dorothy, the Wizard, or the three other witches will make an appearance. But there better be bad CGI flying monkeys.

Around the Tubes: 3/7/14

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 True Detective, American Comedy Awards, Music Mavericks, On the Menu, Friends of the People, John Ashton, Karla Moheno, and Thick as Thieves.

- True Detective closes out its first season (and only one with the current leads) this Sunday at 9:00 on HBO and here is a clip to get you ready for the finale:


- NBC and Don Mischer Productions announced this week the nominations for the American Comedy Awards, airing May 15 at 9:00 on NBC. The “American Comedy Awards” is one of the only award shows in which the winners are determined through a combination of fan voting and voting among entertainment industry professionals. Voting is now open, and the public is encouraged to help pick the winners in all 19 categories by voting online at nbc.com or on Facebook via the American Comedy Awards Facebook Voting App. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET/8:59 p.m. PT on March 18. You must be at least 13 years old to vote.

- This Sunday, March 9th, Ovation is proud to present the latest episode of Music Mavericks, featuring Billy Joel. A hit-maker in the 70s, 80, and 90s, Joel has had a whopping 33 Top 40 hits, all of which he wrote. He’s won six Grammys, sold over 150 million records worldwide and has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2013, he received the Kennedy Center Honor, the nation’s highest honor, for influencing American culture through the arts. This profile shows how a kid from the Bronx was influenced by the Beatles and went on to become one of the most-successful singer-songwriter-pianists of all time.


- Ty Pennington (Trading Spaces, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) is heading to the kitchen to host TNT's new series On the Menu, with legendary Chef Emeril Lagasse (Emeril Live, Top Chef, Emeril's Florida) signing on as Menu Master. On the Menu is television's first cooking show ever to give viewers the chance to taste the winning dish after every episode, as well as give everyday cooks the chance to have their dish appear in dining institutions across the country.

- truTV has given the greenlight to its first-ever sketch-comedy series: Friends of the People. The series stars comedians Kevin Barnett (Sleepwalk with Me, Guy Code),Jennifer Bartels (In Living Color reboot, Broken Exes), Jermaine Fowler (the upcoming Comedy Underground with Dave Attell), Lil Rel Howery (In Living Color reboot,Variety's "10 Comics to Watch"), The Lucas Bros. (upcoming 22 Jump Street, Fox’s Lucas Bros Moving Co.) and Josh Rabinowitz (I Just Want My Pants Back, Comedy Central's Comics to Watch). The network has ordered 10 episodes, including the pilot, with plans to launch the series in summer 2014. Friends of the People is being produced by 3 Arts Entertainment and Marobru Productions (Chappelle's Show, Comedy Underground with Dave Attell).

- Guitar legend John Ashton and former member of the iconic Psychedelic Furs has announced an all-star project that involves a long list of admired musicians who have shaped the course of music. After years of producing, occasional cameos, and family time, Ashton is making his long-awaited return as an artist with a collection of songs on Satellite Paradiso. Ashton partnered with the PledgeMusic direct-to-fan platform so fans can have the unprecedented chance to be a part of the album-making process. All pledgers receive a digital download of the album once it's ready and access to exclusive updates which document the final journey to the completion of this project.

- New York City-based rock singer and songwriter Karla Moheno releases her new single, Blacked Out and Blue off of her debut album Gone to Town. The single, which premiered on ARTISTdirect, was inspired by Moheno's experience during Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012. "The song is about making the best out of a bad situation", Moheno explains, "In that case, it was riding out the storm with some booze and music making".



- LA Band, Thick as Thieves have released the video to their latest single Ghosts off their EP These Days. Ghosts is about the desire to suppress the longing for someone you can no longer be with, but fearing that the feeling will always haunt you. The video follows the downward spiral of a legendary gaming character after the split from his equally famous wife.

Previewing Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

Since everything from the eighties is getting rebooted these days it should not be that surprising that even nature shows like Cosmos is getting a new millennium version. But where the world did not really need a newer version of Endless Love, Cosmos actually deserved being updated because a lot has been discovered o the subject over the past thirty-four years. Plus, I for one, and probably everyone my age and younger than me, never saw the original.

Like the original, the updated series, this time with the subtitle A Spacetime Odyssey instead of A Personal Voyage, will air thirteen episodes. Stepping in for the dearly departed Carl Sagan is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson who is probably best known to pop culture people for his cameo on the Big Bang Theory and his series of tweets last year criticizing Gravity (sample tweet: “The film #Gravity should be renamed ‘Angular Momentum’”). Near the end of first episode, Tyson gives a touching recollection of the time he met Sagan as a teenager.

Despite looking and sounding like one of the more interesting video your science teacher makes you watch when (s)he does not trust the substitute teacher to be competent, Cosmos is still a very compelling watch. First off we are introduced to Tyson’s “spaceship” (which looks like something out of the newer Star Wars trilogy) that will take us to the ends of the universe explaining our space “address” line by line giving the viewer of just where we are in the grand scheme of things.

Then we are transported back in time to the birth of Renaissance when Giordana Bruno first tried to suggest that Earth was not the center of the universe and that we actually revolve around the sun (which is with crudely drawn cartoons despite boasting Seth McFarlane as a producer). But the most fascinating part of the premiere is when Tyson has us look at the Cosmic Calendar which puts the Big Bang on January 1 and today on New Year’s Eve. Cosmos manages to take a very complex subject and put them in ways that the laymen should easily understand and should be appointment television for learners of all ages.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey airs Sundays at 9:00 on Fox. You can also catch each episode the following day at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel. For those interested in (re)watching the original Carl Sagan version Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, the National Geographic Channel will be airing all thirteen episodes this weekend, from noon to 6:00 on Saturday and will continue on Sunday from noon to 7:00.

Previewing Cesar 911

After over a hundred episodes, The Dog Whisperer came to an end two years ago. But Cesar Millan continued his relationship with Nat Geo Wild last year with the premiere of Leader of the Pack where Cesar would try to find homes for high maintenance dogs. Cesar is back with a new show this Friday, Cesar 911 which bares many similarities to the show that introduced him to the nation and will air six episodes this season.

For all intents and purposes, Cesar 911 is just The Dog Whisperer but instead of owners at their wits end calling on his help, it is neighbors, co-workers, relatives, friends, and significant others who call Cesar for essentially a doggy intervention. Then Cesar and the whistleblowers ambush the owners and their unruly dogs usually on walks to air their grievances with Cesar offering his services to help. This small twist does add the intrigue of if the owners are willing to take Cesar’s help. Of course they all do because there would not be a show, but it is clear that one or two are resentful of the ambush. There are a couple of employees that call Cesar on their bosses which could very well effect their employment down the road.

So Cesar is back to familiar territories helping dogs and their owners. Of course the pack and his Dog Psychology Center come back into play (have he always had llamas). This season he will run into a trio of terror who like to honk the horn when they are stuck in the car, a spoiled Chihuahua who likes to go after ankles at a dance studio, and many more. And since the owners are not the ones asking for help, Cesar also has to do much more work training the humans too. There is even one relationship this season where Cesar suggest that an owner should either choose her dog or her boyfriend. And she does end the episode separated from one of them.

Cesar 911 airs Fridays 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

I Want My Music Television: 3/4/14

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.


Midnight – Coldplay


Usually when an artist drops a new song, it is accompanied by big fan fair, maybe a press release about a new album. But now we are living in a post-Beyoncé world where artists are getting more and more cryptic. Prior to releasing a new music video, Coldplay posted on social media that they would be releasing something, at midnight in the time zone local to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. The song ended up being entitled Midnight and is this weird Bon Iver meets Radiohead track with an even weirder accompanying video. A week later they did announce a new album coming in May with pre-order where the insta-download track being a more traditional sounding Magic (though it is more bass heavy than previous Coldplay work) which they are calling the first single instead of Midnight which is stuck in the very middle of the album.


Partition - Beyoncé


Speaking of Beyoncé, she just officially released a new music video (though if you bought the visual album, you have already seen it). It weird that after giving birth, her music videos have gotten more sexual between this and Drunk in Love as if she has something to prove. And she definitely is proving something. Why do I think this is just your average Monday in the Carter household?


If I Could Change Your Mind – Haim


Even though they are a band who play their own instruments, listening to their music, you can easily tell that Haim are heavily influenced by girl groups of the nineties and their latest music video is just a great throwback to that era. Of course the song itself is a throwback lamenting “lying eyes” which were a staple in lyrics back in the eighties and nineties (I guess songwriters today date people with better poker faces). And like I do whenever they release something new, it is time to update the Haim Sisters Power Rankings and after this video I have Alana in pole position.


Arabella – Arctic Monkeys


The golden age of music video nudity continues with Arctic Monkeys who latest looks like a mix between an old noir flick and old time peep show.

Previewing Bates Motel: Season Two

Bates Motel had the unfortunate luck of being the lesser of two serial killer prequel that premiered last spring because the better in almost every single way Hannibal (granted the other serial killer themed show The Following, which I did not bother to watch but hear mostly bad things, doubled their combined ratings). It also did not help that the show was created by Carlton Cuse in his first project after helming quite possibly the most divisive series finale in the history of television with Lost. So Vera Farmiga’s tour de force performance as Norma Bates went mostly unmentioned as the rest of the show failed to live up to her intensity.

Last season ended with Norman getting some sweet loving from the token hot chick at school and then killing his hot teacher in a blind rage. Alrighty. Bates Motel returns tonight (three days after the superb second season premiere of Hannibal) on the next day before quickly forwarding four months after the cold open. Business is surprisingly booming at the Bates Motel (and of course the surrounding pot economy around the city). But much like last season, there is still a dark underbelly to the town and someone is just getting out of a mental facility after what transpired four months ago.

I had some issues with the first season. Most it was boring and all of the characters not named Norma were fairly useless. But the show returns with a bang tonight. More specifically it ends with a bang, setting up a season that should easily surpass the underwhelming first. They even give the most useless of all the useless characters something very interesting to by the end of the first episode. Just based on what happened, the second season premier is a vast improvement over the first but still pails in comparison to Hannibal.

Bates Motel airs Mondays at 9:00 on A&E followed by Bates Motel After Hours at 10:00. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Bates Motel on iTunes.