The Five Most Anticipated Albums of Summer 2014

Okay, let’s be honest, there is only one album to get excited about this summer and that is a new “Weird Al” Yankovic. There are a couple others that may be good, but Al’s is the only one that is going to get to check YouTube hoping the first video is released yet. Granted another reason is that most of the non-Al marquee names that will probably have a new album out by the end of the year have not released official dates meaning we will not be getting them until closer to Christmas. Here are the ones that will actually hit shelves (or digital shelves) before the leaves start to change colors. Click the album name or cover to preorder on Amazon (where available) or the artist’s name to be taken to their iTunes page.

1. Mandatory Fun – "Weird Al" Yankovic (July 15): It has been three year since the last Weird Al album which featured him poking fun at Taylor Swift and still the Hanna Montana era Miley Cyrus. There have been plenty of parodyable songs to come out since then. Currently we do not know much about whom he will be targeting this time around except Patton Oswalt said he has heard that album and will be parodying one of his favorite bands of the nineties and a gossip site saying Al ambushed Iggy Azalea for permission to parody one of her songs. Since there is no track listing yet, here is a Power Ranking of songs I hope made the cut:

Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen: No song in the past decade screams out for an parody from Weird Al than Call Mew Maybe. I do not want to live in a world where there is not a Weird Al Call Me Maybe parody.

Somebody That I Used to Know – Gotye featuring Kimbra: When Al teased the Russian themed artwork my first thought was “Soviet That I Used to Know must be the first single.” (Call Me Ruskie was my second thought.) On the other hand, half the time the cover art has nothing to do with any of the parodies like last album’s Alpocalypse.

Royals – Lorde: There is an obvious Game of Thrones parody as low hanging fruit in there somewhere for Al.

Roar – Katy Perry: She was the biggest pop star in the nation when the last Weird Al album dropped on her way to tying a Michael Jackson record for most number ones from one album but not one song from Teenage Dream got parodied. None of them even made the polka (I Kissed a Girl did though). Roar is some overtly cheesy it was almost as Katy was begging for a Weird Al parody with it.

Pharrell: Take your pick: Get Lucky, Blurred Lines, Happy. Really Al could just do a medley or give Pharrell his own polka from Rump Shaker (yes a nineteen year old Pharrell wrote the Wreckx-n-Effect classic) to Happy. And if not a Pharrell polka…

Folk Polka: When it came to thinking of songs I would like to hear Weird Al parody, a few folk songs came across my mind like Ho Hey and Little Lion Man, but I actually would rather here those songs as part of a polka instead.

2. Get Hurt – The Gaslight Anthem (August 18): Two years ago the band released their first major label record and I thought they were poised for a Black Keys type breakout. The album was good, it just did not hit with the general public. Granted The Black Keys did not break out until their second major label album, hopefully The Gaslight Anthem follows suit. So far I have only heard about thirty seconds of the album but the band promises something completely different.

3.  x - Ed Sheeran (Tomorrow): It seems like the singer-songwriter era that John Mayer kickstarted at the start of the millennium ended right around the time he spouted off about his racist genitalia, really the only dude with an acoustic guitar with any success since them was Ed Sheeran. So it was jarring when the first single off his sophomore album was a Pharrell produced dance song built around that acoustic guitar (which bears a striking resemblance to The Doobie Brothers). Everything that has been released since (which seems like the whole album by now) does fit more with his earlier motif so it may not be a complete sea change of an album.

4. The Golden Echo – Kimbra (August 18): Most people in America only know Kimbra from the Gotye song but her debut album ended up being much better than the Goyte song was featured on. Her follow hopefully will feature a song that will end up being her first solo hit. But that will probably not be first single 90’s Music which sadly does not sound like alt-rock or something produced by Babyface (the two things I think of when I think 90’s music).

5. Wish I Were Here Soundtrack (July 15): Ten years ago, Natalie Portman promised that The Shins would change my life. It did not. But you know whose lives it changed: The Shins. And really indie pop in general as The Garden State Soundtrack brought the sub-genre to the masses going platinum and winning a Grammy. For his next film Wish I Was Here, of course The Shins are featured on the soundtrack with a brand new song. Also making a retuned appearance is Coldplay, this time as a duet with Cat Power and Paul Simon. The soundtrack also features two songs from Bon Iver.

Here are some more albums that will be at the very least worth a spin on Spotify.

Tomorrow

One More Around the Sun – Mastodon
Bridges – Joe
Fuego – Phish

June 27
Ultraviolet EP – Owl City

July 1
Legend - 30th Anniversary Edition (CD + Blu-Ray Audio Disc) – Bob Marley
We Are Only What We Feel – NONONO
Paula – Robin Thicke
Remedy – Old Crow Medicine Show

July 8
Beautiful Goodbye – Richard Marx
1000 Forms of Fear – Sia
"Now (Chicago XXXVI) - Chicago
Redeemer of Souls – Judas Priest
Shutup&Jam! – Ted Nugent

July 15
No Fools, No Fun - Puss N Boots (Sasha Dobson, Norah Jones, Catherine Popper)
Strange Desire - Bleachers
Yes! – Jason Mraz

July 21
Nobody Smiling - Common
Trouble in Paradise – La Roux

July 29
Hypnotic Eye – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
The Voyager - Jenny Lewis
The Breeze (An Appreciation of JJ Cale) – Eric Clapton and Friends
A Life Worth Living – Marc Broussard

August 5
They Want My Soul – Spoon
Tough Love – Jessie Ware

August 19
In Motion: The Remixes – Amy Grant

August 26
Brill Bruisers – The New Pornographers

September 2
V – Maroon 5

September 9
All Together Now – Better Than Ezra
Goddess – Banks
El Pintor – Interpol

September 16
Bulletproof Picasso - Train
Sukierae – Jeff Tweedy
World on Fire - Slash

September 22
Strut – Lenny Kravitz
This Is All Yours – alt-J

September 30
Collide – Boyz II Men

October 28
With a Little Help From My Fwends – The Flaming Lips

TBD
Everything Will Be Alright in the End - Weezer
Dear You - Meiko
Plain Spoken – John Mellencamp
24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault – Stevie Nicks
Somewhere Under Wonderland – Counting Crows
Deeply Rooted – Scarface
Mr. Wonderful – Action Bronson
Now We Even – Mase
Big Boi
Billy Idol
Bob Dylan
Christina Aguilera
D'Angelo
Foo Fighters
Fun.
Guns N' Roses
Guster
Kanye West
Metallica
Nas
New Order
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Wanting Blue
Robert Plant
Ryan Adams
The Lone Bellow
The Ting Tings
The Veronicas

And of course here is the obligatory maybe this is the quarter we get to hear Detox from Dr. Dre.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/22/14

Orphan Black: My favorite part of last week’s episode was when Donnie surprised Vic and Angie in the van and told them to smile as he took a picture and for no apparent reason Vic through up the peace sign. Awesome. I have long hoped for a Donnie and Alison spin-off and even though she is at the bottom of the Clone Power Rankings I would also watch a Helana / Gracie road trip spin-off.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: R.I.P. Van Helsing. I am not sure if it was intended, but I laughed.

Crisis: So everyone already knows Gibson is behind the whole kidnapping scheme and yet he still concocted a plausible way of explaining that he is actually not the man behind the curtain. But with the secret service guy dead, who are they going to make the fall guy? Well since the final two episodes got burned off last night, you may already know by the time you read this (for the few of us that kept with it).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Crisis on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: My favorite part of the episode was that John just happened to type in just the right phrase (weather?) as to be suggested that Bay was searching for the morning after pill. That is going to be an awkward conversation next episode.
You can download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Murder in the First: I am not legal expert, really all I know about the law is from I learn from procedurals like these, but to does seem like the way the people obtain DNA on this show are blatant violations of the fourth amendment.
You can download Murder in the First on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: So the person that saw who “killed” Allison and buried her to keep that secret is now dead. Ugg. I guess the two leading subjects are whoever did try to kill Allison and maybe even Allison herself.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Defiance: So what happened to the madam? She was only mentioned once and we did not even get to see her in the lengthy “previously on” segment. I vaguely remember her being brought into the woods to be shot but would not put any money on it. And she was my favorite character and I am not just saying that because she ran a brothel. Okay, I am mostly saying that because she ran a brothel.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also donload Defiance on iTunes

Dominion: I am not sure what was more disappointing, that they killed off Tyra Collette off screen or that Rupert Giles has an American accent. I guess I probably should not have expected more for a Syfy original show. Their best ones are the shows they import. I am pretty sure there was a wire in one of Michael’s flying scenes. Interesting to see ads for Spartacus premiering next week considering I remember ninety percent of the show was gratuitous nudity and violence so there is going to have to be copious editing even for basic cable. They may actually be able to air the entire season in one hour after cutting out the scenes unsuitable for cable.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Dominion on iTunes.

The Challenge: Free Agents: What a crappy way to go out for CT and the chick’s who name I cannot even remember even though she somehow made it through an entire season. They could have come up with a better way to determine the finals than everyone participating in the draw. At least have everyone vote for one person to go into the draw for one ofr the competitors and if there is a tie, everyone does it.
You can download The Challenge: Free Agents on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 6/21/14

Quote of the Week: Have you seen Dexter? Random scuba divers are finding everything Donnie. (Alison Hendrix, Orphan Black)

Song of the Week: Silver Springs – Fleetwood Mac (Californication)

Big News of the Week: I Hate the 00’s: When I heard VH1 was dusting off their I Love the… series for last decade, I said to my, Um, did they not already do that with I Love the New Millennium?” Apparently they would like us to forget they tried to do that before the decade even ended because we got a name change to I Love the 00’s pronounced the two thousands not like the oo’s as in Cheerios which was its first mistake. Actually the first mistake was the “Love” part because there were few things in pop culture to love about that decade.

So the mini-series was not appointment for me like prerious installments. But I did check in during commercial breaks during other shows I was watching this week. One thing catch the opening to the 2004. The opening of each episode pretty much teases everything that they are going to talk about that episode and 2004 was just laughably bad: White Chicks, Pimp My Ride, Fat Joe, The Swan, Napoleon Dynamite, Howard Dean, George Bush getting reelected. What the frack? Bret Michaels (?) has a segment each year counting down the guiltiest pleasures of the year (oh yeah, Rock of Love); what could have possibly be the guilty pleasures of 2004 if those crap were in the In Love part of the show?

The only things that did not suck about the 2004 episode was a double bill of Rachel McAdams (isn’t time for a Rachel McAdams comeback?) So I had to look at my Greatest of the 00’s list to see what they missed or if 2004 was truly the worst year ever. It turns out 2004 was a really good year boasting the album that topped the Greatest Albums of the 00’s The College Dropout (other music they missed in included Hey Ya!, The Grey Album, American Idiot) and the Greatest Television Show of the 00’s Veronica Mars (also premiering that year were Deadwood, Rescue Me, Lost). Some movies worth mentioning include Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Shaun of the Dead, and the two biggest documentaries up until that point Fahrenheit 9/11 and Super Size Me. In video games two of the most successful games had sequels: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Halo 2. The Olympics happened that year, the first time since the first modern games it was held in Greece. Other firsts at those games included the first loss ever for NBA players at the Olympics, and Michael Phelps winning his first gold medal. He would go on to win the most medals at one Olympics in a non boycotted Game.

But still, I wish instead of the first I Love the 00’s VH1 would have just done a third I Love the 90’s (the 80’s have three installment). Since that looks like it will not be happening anytime soon, there is National Geographic’s The 90’s: The Last Great Decade? premiering in two weeks. It will certainly be better than I Love the 00’s as it will be a Fat Joe free mini-series.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Pilot” Young and Hungry, Wednesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Stolen Dance – Milky Chance (iTunes)

New Album Release of the Week: x - Ed Sheeran

New DVD Release of the Week: Masters of Sex: Season One

Video of the Week: I had my issues with the first season Ray Donovan but the trailer for the second season has gotten me excited for it again. Sure whoever makes trailers these days have perfected the art and can make anything seem much better than it actually is. We do get a look at some new blood with Hank Azeria as the new FBI agent on the case, Wendell Peirce (who is one of those actors who is great in everything they are in even if what they are in are not great; see The Michael J. Fox Show as the most recent example) as a new parole officer, and Vinnessa Shaw who never quite lived up to the Next Big Thing label from the late nineties (40 Days and 40 Nights ruined a lot of up and coming stars just like her new channel mate Josh Hartnett). Ray Donovan returns Sunday, July 13 at 9:00 on Showtime.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Tyrant, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: Last year FX essentially declared they were getting into the prestige business targeting the most talented creative minds even if just for a miniseries event. Those first announcements are starting to debut: The Coen Brothers Fargo small screen reboot just ended this week, The Strain, written directed, and produced by Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy) premieres next month. The other big name announced at this time was Ang Lee, coming off his Academy Award for Best Director, who was set to direct the Pilot for Tyrant from the producers of Homeland. Tyrant debuts this week but without Lee’s name on it. Instead he was eventually replayed by David Yates, best known for the last couple Harry Potter movies. And that was just the start of some behind the scenes turmoil surrounding its production (which was detailed at length in the Hollywood Reporter). So I am a bit weary of Tyrant (especially when you also consider Homeland’s last season and a half). But given FX’s track record, I will at least give it a try.

Around the Tubes: 6/20/14

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 Legends, Wilfred, Cold Justice, Love Thy Neighbor, Sullivan and Son, Mainland, The Bridge, Kidnapped for Christ, Aerial America: Alaska, Quincy Jones, Skin Wars, Idiot Test, Roadies, and Syfy casting.

- TNT’s new series The Last Ship premieres Sunday and I am guessing the show will be inundated with adds for their next show Legends coming in August. The latest trailer just premiered on the internets and it looks like a prequel to Liam Neeson’s Taken where we see just how he got his “skills” and puts them in action for what they were meant for with Ned Stark subbing in for Neeson. I would have no problem if that is what the show turns out to be.



- Wilfred is moving and he’s taking an extra X with him. The boys are back Wed, June 25th on FXX.


- TNT's fascinating real-life crime series Cold Justice is back on the case with brand new episodes beginning tonight, at 9:00. The series follows former prosecutor Kelly Siegler and former crime-scene investigator Yolanda McClary as they travel to small towns around the country in order to help local law enforcement look into murder cases that have lingered for years without answers or closure. TNT's summer run of Cold Justice will include Justice Served, a special episode created in response to fan requests for case updates. Hosted by John Walsh (America's Most Wanted) and set to air Friday, July 18, Justice Served will look back at the remarkable results achieved by investigators on the show.

- OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network’s popular comedy series Love Thy Neighbor from Tyler Perry will return with all-new episodes on Wednesday, June 25 at 9:00. As the new summer premiere episodes unfold, Linda struggles with her feelings for Will and her growing attraction for Phillip. However, when Linda catches Will in a lie she begins to question his true character. Tired of being the good girl who always gets hurt, Linda decides to throw all caution to the wind and follow her heart…with some very unexpected consequences.

- Pittsburgh's favorite family-owned watering hole is open for business, and the bar regulars are back for another round of laughs as TBS's original sitcom Sullivan & Son returns for its third season, beginning with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, June 24, at 10:00. As season 3 of Sullivan & Son opens, the marriage of Susan and Jason (guest star Ken Jeong) faces a big test when Jason realizes that he’s never fully pleased his wife in bed. Jason then learns that Owen (aka "The Big O") gave Susan the Big O in high school. Meanwhile, Jack and Hank lead separate sides in a Civil War reenactment, and Hank is determined to win and "change history."

- Mainland began with an eclectic record collection, 4 New York City transplants and a cavernous rehearsal studio underneath the Manhattan Bridge, culminating in a spontaneous recording session with Jim Eno of Spoon. Mainland show their raucous merit with their 2nd EP, Shiner, produced by Eno at his Public Hi-Fi studio in Austin, Texas. A gritty and erratic collection of scuzzed out indie-rock, Shiner idles somewhere between the vintage sensibilities of The Pixies, and the carefree aesthetics of The Drums. It's a genre they've affectionately coined as "puke-up punk," and it's a term that couldn't be more perfect. Check out Leave the Lights On below:


- Seeing the unseen. A new threat crosses The Bridge July 9th at 10:00 on FX.


- On Thursday, July 10th at 7:30 Showtime will premiere Kidnapped for Christ, a powerful, award-winning documentary that chronicles the shocking truth behind Escuela Caribe, a controversial Christian behavior modification program in the Dominican Republic for “troubled” U.S. teenagers. Initially hoping to document the positive effects a boarding school like this could have on struggling youth, evangelical filmmaker Kate Logan is granted unprecedented access and allowed to live on campus for the summer. Once there, Logan’s eyes are opened to the truth beneath the sunny façade of this remote reform school—kids being taken by force in the middle of the night, rumors of physical abuse, and staff imposing arbitrary and degrading punishments on the young students—and encounters students who change her life.

- Soar across the dizzying heights of Mount McKinley. Swoop down on the glimmering seas surrounding Kodiak Island. Hover above stunning aqua-blue melt ponds on the world’s largest glacier and crawl across the barren landscape left behind by the biggest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, as the most expansive aerial series in U.S. television history takes flight on a stunning journey across our nation’s largest state: Alaska. In a special extended back-to-back two-hour programming block, Smithsonian Channel celebrates the last great frontier, taking flight in Aerial America: Alaska, premiering Sunday, July 6 at 8:00 and 9:00.

- Quincy Jones is coming to Turner Classic Movies (TCM) this month as part of an all-night tribute to the entertainment legend. Jones will join TCM host Robert Osborne on Monday, June 30, for a night of films featuring scores composed by Jones. The evening is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 with Jones' debut film as a composer, The Pawnbroker (1965), starring Rod Steiger. Also included in the lineup are The Slender Thread (1965), starring Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft; In the Heat of the Night (1967), the Best Picture Oscar® winner starring Steiger and Poitier; The Italian Job (1969), starring Michael Caine; and $ (Dollars) (1971), starring Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn.

- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced this week the premiere dates for its two new original summer series, Skin Wars, on Wednesday August 6 at 9:00 and Idiot Test, on Tuesday, August 12 at 8:00. Skin Wars, hosted by actress Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) is an eight-episode, hour-long competition show that seeks to find the most talented and versatile body painters in the country. Judges in the series include legendary entertainer RuPaul and body painting icons Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina. Idiot Test, hosted by comedian Ben Gleib and based on the highly popular app games, gives two pairs of contestants the opportunity to face off in several rounds of rapid-fire questions whose answers any "idiot" should know: Every question involves a fun, colorful and often whimsical scene that tests observation and attention to detail as much it tests general knowledge. Contestants play the game on a giant touch screen in the center of the set.

- Showtime has given a pilot production order to Roadies, a comedy that follows the day-to-day life of a successful rock tour as seen through the eyes of music’s unsung background players – the crew members who help get the show on the road. Cameron Crowe, who won an Oscar® for brilliantly chronicling the highs and lows of rock and roll life as witnessed by a Rolling Stone magazine cub reporter in his semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous, wrote and will direct the one-hour pilot (for a potential half-hour series).

- Syfy’s fan-favorite series Haven will get a new resident when Laura Mennell (Alphas, The Watchmen) joins the cast in a recurring role playing Dr. Erin Reid, a brilliant and beautiful epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who fears the town of Haven is on the verge of a deadly viral outbreak. Filming for the series’ 26-episode fifth season is currently underway on location in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In other Syfy casting news, they also announced the cast of Z Nation, an all-new zombie series set to debut in the fall. From production company The Asylum (Sharknado), the 13-episode action-horror series depicts the epic struggle to save humanity after a zombie apocalypse. Harold Perrineau (Oz, Lost) Tom Everett Scott (Southland, Beauty and the Beast), DJ Qualls (Supernatural), Michael Welch (Twilight trilogy) and Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show) have joined the ensemble drama, currently in production in Spokane, WA.

Previewing The Last Ship

Two falls ago ABC premiered an ambitious new show called Last Resort about a submarine ship that refused its ordered to fire its nuclear warhead which undoubtedly would have started World War III. The Pilot was one of the best ion recent memories with an idea that was a great idea… for a movie. A television show? Not so much. By the second episode they were docked at some island in the Pacific and declared themselves their own nation. That and subsequent episodes never came close to that first episode.

This summer TNT is launching a similar sounding show called The Last Ship. Instead of a submarine this is a war ship and instead of nuclear warheads, they are hosting a possible cure for a virus that has wiped out half the world’s population and another half a million each day. But the biggest difference is that where Last Resort docked at a remote island and rarely went back to sea, it seems, at least for the first couple episodes, the titular vessel will stay on the move, from the arctic to France to Gitmo (where, of course, there are a few Al Qaida rebels still alive) to keep away from the infected on land and away from rouge Russian who want the cure for themselves. Still, The Last Ship sounds like it would have been better suited as a movie instead of a weekly series.

One major downgrade from Last Resort is the cast. Instead of the great Andre Braugher, we get Eric Dane who is hard to take serious after being pegged with a silly nickname on some crappy nighttime soap. I spent most of the first couple episodes wishing he would switch roles with his second in command Adam Baldwin (Chuck) someone actually worthy of going into battle for. And since this is a show about a virus, of course there is an absurdly hot doctor set to save the world, this time it is Rhona Mitra (Hollow Man).

There are others in the cast but there is no reason talking about none of them are flushed out because this is a Michael Bay production, the guy who like to blow up things from Bad Boys to all four of the Transformer movies. So in lieu of any character exposition, there is plenty of kiss, kiss, bang, bang. And more than enough of the latter, there are more explosions in the first three episodes than most action television shows have in their entire run. The Last Ship really is a mini-summer action blockbuster every week. But I do not think anyone want to see a ten hour action movie so at some point hopefully they make the characters engaging otherwise The Last Ship will likely be sunk after one season.

The Last Ship airs Sundays at 9:00 on TNT. You can download The Last Ship on iTunes.

Previewing Falling Skies:Season Four

While the middle of the seasons can get meandering, Falling Skies can produces some very thought provoking season finales. At the end of season four, Tom was finally reunited with Ann and their weeks old daughter who has already grown into the size of a gradeschooler. The previous season finale introduced a new player, the Volm, who we later learned have been in an intergalactic war with the Espheni and helped the 2nd Mass beat back the original invaders. By the end of season the 2nd Mass learned that Cochise’s father wanted to keep the humans out of the war and ship them to the safe haven of Brazil.

Apparently the 2nd Mass decided they did not want the free trip to the World Cup (I assume that would still go on even after an alien invasion) and instead split with the Volm and go back to Charleston on their own. We meet back up with them twenty-two days after the end of last season as they arrived on the outskirts of Charleston. Being Falling Skies, this is not a warm welcome as they are greeted with an attack by the Espheni that separates the group and we are introduced to a new kind of skitter which somehow manages to be significantly scarier than the kind we have already seen.

Four months later, the 2nd Mass is now in four smaller groups. Most importantly, over those four months the gradschooler sized Lexi has now grown into an absurdly attractive woman with strikingly white hair (as played by new cast member Scarlett Byrne from the Harry Potter movies). She is clearly from the house of Targaryen but without the dragons or nudity, but she does have some special powers of her own. One o my main problem with the show are no characters worth caring about but Lexi shoots right up to the top of the Most Interesting Characters Power Rankings for the show. And with the plot twist at the end of episode two, she only gets even more interesting.


Falling Skies airs Sundays at 10:00 on TNT. You can download Falling Skies on iTunes. For those that cannot wait until Sunday, the season premiere is currently available on iTunes for free.

Previewing Rizzoli and Isles: Season Five and Perception: Season Three

In the second time in as many years, a TNT show lost an actor while on the air. Dallas had to change course in the middle of the season when Larry Hagman died. Rizzoli and Isles only had to alter the season four finale when Lee Thompson Young took his own life during the filming of the finale. In the episode Barry Frost “went on vacation” and he stays there for first episode of the new season and the viewers will learn the character’s fate by the end of the season premiere with most of the fall out coming in the second episode of the season.

The big news on screen was that Jane is pregnant and Maura continues to be the only one to know at the beginning of the season. Maura had her own secret with her shared kiss with Frankie Jr. Of course there are some cases and the first one of the season hits a little too close to home to the soon to be mother when a woman is killed in the park and kid is taken from the scene. Next week seems like an easier case when a woman comes into the station covered in blood saying she has killed someone. Since the show is an hour long, and cases just do not solve themselves this easily, there is more to this story.

Rizzoli and Isles airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on TNT. You can download Rizzoli and Isles on iTunes.

When we last saw Dr. Daniel Pierce on Perception, he quit his job after it was downgraded at the university and went to Paris to reunite with the Cellist that got away. This season opens up with the Eiffel Tower in the background and despite being in a different country; the FBI still needs his help. Or does it? As always with Dr. Pierce, it could all be a figment of his imagination. All of Perception’s episode end absurdly but the season three premiere may be its most absurd yet. Back in the States, we get some entertaining comic relief as Lewicki and Dean Haley try to get Daniel’s job back without him knowing or with his blessings. Later this season, Daniel will be getting a visit from his father in the form of Peter Coyote.

Perception airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TNT. You can download Perception on iTunes.

Previewing Miracle Landing on the Hudson

It has been five years since a flock of Canadian geese flew into the engines of a U.S. Airways Flight 1549 resulting in an emergency landing on the Hudson River during a cold day in January. This Sunday the National Geographic Channel will take an in depth look at the event with Miracle Landing on the Hudson. The two hour special will feature firsthand stories of the passengers on board (some of which actually contradict each other) with reenactments to give you a better idea of what they went through.

The special starts off with someone retelling of a dream of them standing on the banks of a river watching a plane crash. She went to the airport only decide not the board the plane. The next plane she boarded days later turned out to be the fateful U.S. Airways plane. Another tells a story of the day before the flight praying to God to take him instead of his wife who was wait on a cancer result. It came back negative and found himself on the plane the very next day thinking God was collecting on the bargain.

About ten passengers in all share their stories, including a family with a small child and a baby, and a woman and the husband she called moments before impact. Also interviewed are a stewardess, the air flight controller on duty that day, a couple of the first responders, and the co-pilot on the flight (Captain Sully Sullenberger is noticeably absent). After hearing these firsthand accounts it becomes even more amazing that all 150 passengers not only made it off the plane alive, but there were very few serious injuries that occurred that day.

Miracle Landing on the Hudson premieres this Sunday at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Previewing Combat Rescue: The Last Stand

Last year National Geographic Channel premiered Inside Combat Rescue that followed around Pararescuemen while they try to save critically wounded soldiers in Afghanistan. Tonight the channel returns to the front lines with the two hour special Combat Rescue: The Last Stand. Operation Enduring Freedom may be winding down there are still plenty of insurgents left ready to put American soldiers in harm’s way.

For the special, camera will follow around “Reapers” an elite Air Force unit tasked with capturing or killing the highest level Taliban targets who threaten lives of the 36,000 people who call Bagram home. The specific Taliban commander is Subhanullah who is suspected of orchestrating multiple attacks on American in Afghanistan including possible involvement in a rocket attack that killed four soldiers waiting at a bus stop on base. Camera will follow a high ranking colonel into a Taliban-controlled village that may be harboring him in hopes that the town will give him up all the while the potential of an ambush still in play.

The special will also head to the skies once again to follow Pararescuemen, this time of the 83rd Rescue Squadron as they fly into hostile territory to rescue wounded comrades, coalition forces, and Afghan citizens. During the tumultuous month of July, when Independence Day attacks are known to spike, the PJs spring into action, flying into the heat of battle to save the critically wounded following a massive attack at a compound in the city of Kabul that killed seven people. Much like the series, Combat Rescue: The Last Stand is a well done documentary of some of the hardest jobs at war.

Combat Rescue: The Last Stand premieres tonight at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/14/14

Quote of the Week: Post Script: Your father loves you very much and will do anything to save you. But I love you in a different way. I love you enough to kill you. (Vanessa Ives, Penny Dreadful)

Song of the Week: Vacation – The Go Go’s (Growing Up Fisher)

Big News of the Week: Dynasties Over?: The NBA Finals started much like last year, Spurs and Heat trading wins (they did so until the Heat won the final two games), that was until in game four when the Spurs embarrassed the Heat for the second straight game in Miami. It is not outside the realm of possibility that the Heat could win three straight games, but it would be the first time a team came back from a 3-1 deficit. So what would be next for both teams? It is highly speculated that pop Tim Duncan and Greg Popavich would go out on top, five championships in fifteen years. Then there is the Heat, all of the big three can opt out. There are rumors that LeBron could take his talents to LA or back home to Cleveland. But losing in the finals (the second time in four trips), could all three come back and add on a big fourth in Carmelo Anthony, who I like to refer to as the worst star in the history of the sport.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Paris" Perception Season Premiere, Tuesday at 10:00 on TNT

Orphan Black: I am all for more clones on the show, which is lacking so far this season aside from one we met via video who is already dead, , but Tony may have gone one clone too far. And that was before Felix made out with the dude who looks exactly like his sister.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: We finally learned more about Vanessa like how her ties with Sir Malcolm goes way back and she is possibly the reason Mina was targeted. We met the demon that torments her in very explicit fashion that actually scares her mother to death. But there are still plenty of questions surrounding her.

Pretty Little Liars: Wait, so Shanna has been A this whole time? I thought she has know Allison’s whereabouts. Granted I am sure there is probably more A’s out there or we will learn she was just part of the A-Team. Although it looks like Mona might be starting up her own B-team.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Challenge: Free Agents: I routinely mention how Survivor should steal The Challenge challenge makers, but this week The Challenge actually stole Survivor’s triangle puzzle. Nothing else much to talk about since this was the week when the show foes its once a season, end the episode before the final duel which I always hate. It does seem safe to assume that CT will win the men’s side because in the Next Time On we saw him punch through the dry wall wrist deep o one punch. Then on the other side it seems like Laurel has the clear advantage with the length, oh yeah, and she has two functioning hands.
You can download The Challenge: Free Agents on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Try - Colbie Caillat (iTunes)

New Album Release of the Week: Mutineers - David Gray

New DVD Release of the Week: Walk of Shame

Video of the Week: For Seth Rogan and James Franco’s next movie, The Interview, there are going to kill Kim Jun Un. Awesome. Though the characters’ names are not mentioned in the trailer, I am just going to go ahead and hope this is a sequil to This Is the End where they are playing themselves. Unfortunately with Lizzy Caplan showing up as some government agent, this is probably not the case. And that is the first time anyone has used the words “unfortunately” and “Lizzy Caplan” in the same sentence.


Next Week Pick of the Week: World Cup, Monday at 5:30 on ESPN: The World Cup started earlier this week but for us xenophobes, it really does not start until Monday when the red, white and blue take the field (quite literally, and the jerseys are kind of hideous in a vertical French flag kind of way). It will be a hard road to the Knockout Round, only Group D with all four teams in the FIFA top 35 World Ranking. But Group G features two of the top four teams in the world (Germany and Portugal). At least America gets to start off with the easiest match of the group: Ghana (37th in the world) except the African country knocked the USA out of the last two World Cups. The next match is Sunday against Portugal also at 5:30 and they close the round robin against Germany, Thursday (6/26) at 11:30 A.M. both on ESPN.

Around the Tubes: 6/13/14

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 Tyrant, The Wil wheaton Project, Heroes of Cosplay, After, Captain America, Oraneg Is the New Black, Fake Off, Face Off, Californication, and Ben Fields.

- Enter the seductive and perilous world of FX's new series. Discover how tyranny reigns over a family and a country. Tyrant premieres Tuesday, June 24.


- New episodes of The Wil Wheaton Project will now air Tuesdays at 9:00 while new episodes of Heroes of Cosplay will now air Tuesdays at 10:00.

- Set in the winter of 2002 in chilly upstate New York, After tells the story of a middle class family struggling with the financial consequences of a failing family business and a series of intergenerational conflicts and rivalries. But, what truly threatens to upset their delicate balance-- and shatter the emotionally fragile family matriarch, (played by Academy Award-nominee, Kathleen Quinlan)-- is an intricately buried secret that, if revealed, could alter their lives irrevocably. A searing study of denial, deception, and self-delusion, AFTER is also a powerful portrait of the lengths we go to protect those we love.


- Building upon the success of their 2013 event, Kiehl’s has once again teamed with Marvel Custom Solutions and enlisted a Triple Threat of Super Heroes for a Limited Edition custom Captain America comic book that delivers an all-new adventure set in Kiehl’s historic New York flagship store. The 12-page story by writer William Harms and artists Tom Grummett and Scott Kolins features Captain America, Black Widow and Falcon as they fight to save the world in the Mighty Marvel Manner.

- In light of the highly-anticipated Season 2 premiere of Orange is The New Black this past Friday, Netflix launched an Orange Is the New App app. The app is a photo-sharing application, which lets you customize cards with your own messages and photos, generate OITNB-themed memes and more! All of the features can be easily shared to your social networks and via SMS.

- Actor and dancer Robert Hoffman (Step Up 2: The Streets, 90210) will host truTV's new series Fake Off, which will feature ten teams from around the country competing against each other in the captivating art of Faking. The teams better bring their A-game to every performance, as they will face an impressive judging panel that includes music superstar and five-time Grammy winner Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas of the mega-group TLC; actor-dancer-choreographer Harry Shum Jr. (Glee, The LXD); and world renowned visual & concept designer Michael Curry (Broadway’s The Lion King, Cirque du Soleil’s Love). Fake Off, which is slated to premiere on truTV this fall, will take viewers into the visually stunning world of Faking, a mix of theater, acrobatics, black light and illusion. In an elimination competition unlike anything American audiences have seen before, teams will reimagine iconic moments in pop culture to see who’s got the skills to be named America's Fake-Off Champions. Produced by Shine America.

- Syfy’s acclaimed unscripted series, Face Off, returns for a seventh season themed “Life and Death” on Tuesday, July 22 at 9:00. Sixteen talented special effects make-up artists arrive to Los Angeles, only to discover they are not on the show just yet, and will compete in a Sudden Death challenge where they must create a character that represents either life or death. After facing the judges, two artists are eliminated before ever moving into the Face Offhouse or stepping into the lab. Freddy Krueger himself, actor Robert Englund, makes an appearance and offers advice on creating a convincing makeup. “Pay attention to your model,” he tells the artists. “Look at his face and build on that. I think one of the successes of the Freddy makeup is that they kept some of my own facial structures which I was able to animate easier.” In a Face Off first, Syfy rolls out an interactive social integration for season 7, calling on viewers to each week tweet about their favorite contestant using #FaceOff. Viewer tweets will determine who the weekly fan favorite is, and at the season’s end, the contestant who ranked the overall most favorite will be rewarded with $10,000.

- he final run of the hit Showtime comedy series Californication wouldn’t be complete without a jaw-dropping appearance from the combustible Eddie Nero. This Sunday, guest star Rob Lowe returns for his final appearance as the mentally unstable movie star, in full method-actor mode for his starring role in the new television series, Santa Monica Cop. Hank’s (David Duchovny) romantic evening with Karen (Natascha McElhone) is ruined by the badly timed arrival of Charlie (Evan Handler), Marcy (Pamela Adlon), Julia (guest star Heather Graham), son Levon (guest star Oliver Cooper) - with escort in tow - and rock-and-roll butler Krull (guest star Steve Jones). But the night goes up in flames when Nero rolls through the door, literally, in a wheelchair.

- Ben Fields will be featured on an upcoming episode of The Bachelorette. The episode will feature Fields performing his hit “Extraordinary Light” during a one-on-one date with one lucky suitor and the newest Bachelorette, Andi Dorfman. The episode is scheduled to air Monday at 8:00 on ABC.

Previewing Wonder of Dogs

Coming from wolves, there are now over 300 hundred different breeds of dogs today coming in all different shapes and sizes. Dogs actually have the biggest size range of any land mammal. The three part series Wonder of Dogs digs deeper into a dog’s DNA to learn what makes one fog different from the next.

The series will also take a look at the extraordinary behind some of the world’s most iconic breeds and discover what they can actually tell us about our own human history. The show will go to ancient Mexico to find out why now extinct civilizations bred the Chihuahua and just why the Poodle is groomed the way they are. Yes there is a practical reason to that look. We also learn what each breed paw can tell us about the dog that walks on them.

The show starts off in Brightwell, England where the hosts look into the just how diverse the dog population is just in their little village. Probably the most entertaining part of the first episode is when they use a high speed camera to slow down to show how different breeds shake differently. Granted I was just entertained by how they tried to get the dogs to shake in front of the camera on cue.

Wonder of Dogs airs Saturday 14 at 10:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

Previewing David Beckham Into the Unknown

David Beckham may have a movie named after him but has never been on camera as anything but a football (soccer to us Americans) player. After a twenty-two year career, Beckham is now officially a former football player and like many retirees he has gotten a little stir crazy. But unlike many retirees, he has a sizable bank account that allows him to do almost anything and go almost anywhere. So where to go: the Amazon. And film it for a documentary

Naturally football has taken Beckham to Brazil (the site of this year’s World Cup which starts tomorrow) before but he never traveled outside the hotel or stadium. This time around Beckham is taking to the streets playing beach volleyball soccer (basically volleyball where you cannot you’re your hands) but his main reason is to travel through the Amazon by motorbike, boat, and small plane to meet the remote Yanomami. Okay he is not going completely off the grid as he is seen playing Flappy Birds at night and occasionally calling home.

Joining Beckham is joined by friends Derek White and Dave Gardner as they start at the edge of the Amazon in Manaus (one of the few sites at the World Cup not on the coastline and where America will battle Portugal June 22) and of course some cameras to document for David Beckham Into the Unknown. They are guided along the 800 mile journey by locals and even travel like locals do including leaking boats on the Cuieras River where passengers have to bail out the water to avoid sinking.

The documentary is a nice look at the host country of this year’s World Cup by one of the sport’s most recognizable stars. It can get a bit self induldgent at times (Beckham revels not being recognized with his hemet on but also says how much he likes getting to spend time with the fans). Of course Posh Spice makes an appearance to question what is he going to do with his hair without the comforts of his bathroom (not the only person who wonders this; he answers a hat both times, but you will get to see the hair in the jungle sans hat multiple times). Even if you are not a fan of the football player, the documentary is worth watching for the beautiful scenery of the Amazon.

David Beckham Into the Unknown premieres Friday at 9:00 on Showtime.

Every Single Bone in My Brain Is Electric

The nineties were a great time for rock feuds: Nirvana vs. Guns n Roses, when the Gallagher brothers were not fighting with themselves, Oasis would take aim at Blur, there were bizarre feuds like Coolio vs. Weird Al, Metallica vs. Napster, Sinead O’Conner vs. Frank Sinatra and the pope, and in rap, there was even a huge East coast vs. West coast feud. All those feuds were organic and came from places of pure hatred. Today’s feuds seemed to calculated fueled more for promotional reasons than hatred. And whenever someone is caught hating someone or something else, a quick press release apology that sounds like it was edited by multiple public relations representatives is released. Most of those do not even need to be released it is just that the media routinely takes quotes out of context in hopes of firing up a feud.

That is what makes Jack White so refreshing, he has not problem starting up a good old fashion feud. He (reportedly) banned The Black Keys guitarist from his studio and does not even want his kids at the same school. The band kind of took the high road in Rolling Stone blaming more faults at the people that leaked the information, but still thinking White is not the best guy in the world. But Jack could not find common ground at hating leakers furthered his hatred at that other two-piece in the very next issue of Rolling Stone claiming they blatantly ripped them off and would be nothing without him. Of course the media would blow his rational out of proportion with his comparison that Amy Winehouse is the reason Adele was able to have success. (I agree with Jack that there is always some who opens the door for other artist to walk through, granted the first is not always the best.)

Next came the inevitable apology but Jack White certainly did not employ a PR firm to compose it as it was dripping in sarcasm in between the line and filled with back handed comments, I find it hardly coincidently that White brought up Danger Mouse in the apology out of nowhere as basically to say, The Black Keys need a co-writer and producer to make hit records. If there is one take away from the Rolling Stone article and the subsequent apology is Jack White really likes to complain which he freely admits he does quite frequently in the article.

Jack White’s hatred of The Black Keys stems from their similar sound to his former band The White Stripes but the biggest White Stripes plagiarist may actually be Jack himself. Each of his band have a very distinctive sound, The Raconteurs were power pop, The Dead Weather were hard rock, but when it came to his solo album it was a blues rock album in the vein of The White Stripes just with more musicians (the Stripes famously only recorded songs that the duo could perform live by themselves).

White’s second solo album Lazaretto is more the same, simply good blues mixed with rock and roll with most of the songs sounding liked more fleshed out versions of The White Stripes songs. But just like the first solo album, I have to wonder if Jack White is more entertaining when he puts constraints on himself like he did with the White Stripes because when he has everything at his disposal, it somehow manages not to be as interesting. There are bits and pieces as interesting material on Lazaretto like the instrumental High Ball Stepper but nothing that makes me not wish he would patch things up with Meg White. Really the only truly interesting part of listening to Lazaretto I had was trying to figure out which bands is backing him on which songs, his all-male band The Buzzards or the all female one, The Peacocks.

Song to Download – Lazaretto

Lazeretto gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.