With her previous two albums released over the previous two years, Rihanna was always good for at least one great summer jam that most people have forgotten by the time the leaves began to fall. For the third straight summer, the Barbados native attempts the three-peat of summer anthems but unfortunately Umbrella falls way short of Pon de Replay and SOS. Not surprisingly, the song was rumored to be passed on by artists such as Hilary Duff among others, but the song actually could have been as catchy as her previous hits if it wasn’t for that annoying chorus (“Umbrella-ella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh”). Seriously, how could no one, from the writer, producer, anyone at the label or Rihanna herself not hear that chorus and think, “yeah, that doesn’t work.”
But even though the highs are not as high as previous outings, Rihanna’s latest album, Good Girl Gone Bad is the most solid as a whole that her previous. This is thanks to a diverse range of songs that range smooth R&B (Hate That I Love You with Ne-Yo which is a much better anti-love song than Unfaithful) disco (Don’t Stop the Music), rock (Shut Up and Drive), Caribbean (Lemme Get That), and old school R&B with a modern twist (Say It). And with the success of the Tainted Love sampling SOS, Rihanna has dug into the eighties hit to be the basis of a couple songs on this album including Running with the Night on Push Up on Me, Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, and Blue Monday on Shut Up and Drive.
That’s not to say there aren’t some clunkers, Breakin’ Dishes is a Ring the Alarm wannabe but without the siren in the background or even the sound of breaking dishes. Plus you could tell Beyoncé was legitimately pissed, Rihanna sounds like she is singing just another song. Then the three Timbaland tracks, Sell Me Candy, Lemme Get That and Rehab just song like cookie cutter filler. And sadly Rehab isn’t even an Amy Winehouse cover instead the rehab in the song is just a cheesy metaphor because “you’re my disease.” Yawn. But what can you really expect from a song written by Justin Timberlake? If you are asking me if you should download that song then I say, “No, no, no.”
After years of just having random hot chicks host, we finally have an actual comedian host the MTV Movie Awards. But as soon as the get something right, they do something as equally wrong to cancel out the goodness, namely replacing professionally done movie spoofs with amateur ones which after seeing the final three, was a huge mistake. You know the spoofs were really bad when the best actually spoofed United 93. You know, the movie that documented the flight that went down in Pennsylvania on September 11th. But the show wasn’t all bad; here are some more thoughts on the festivities:
- We get are very first commercial free pre show and it is pretty clear the Transformers was the one that picked up the tab. I would say a good twenty minutes of the half hour was devoted to the movie. And even though I was a huge Transformers in my youth, there is no way you can get me to see a live action movie version. I have leaned my lesson from the live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies.
- One of the few non Transformers interviews was with Mandy Moore and the dude from The Office (I choose not to type his name not because I can’t spell it but because, well actually, that pretty much sums it up) who hilariously pull out the sarcasm when it is mentioned that Paris Hilton arrive.
- That may have been the worst opening in the awards history. Obviously someone was smoking something when they wrote that.
- At least that was saved but the monologue when Sarah Silverman has even more fun at Paris Hilton’s expense. Is it wrong that my biggest laughs of the night were when people started cheering when Silverman mentioned Hilton’s impending jail team and the subsequence look on her face when Hilton realize everyone hates her.
- We are live for the first time tonight and it seemed there were a lot more cursing then usually even if you take away Silverman’s closing song.
- The cast of Fantastic Four is out first to present. Pretty much every presenting team was a cast of a movie (I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Live Free or Die Trying, License to Wed, Transformers, Hairspray). It’s like MTV doesn’t even try not to hind they are a complete industry shill. I guess they don’t have to when people like me come back every year. Not surprisingly they handed out the award for best villain to Jack Nicholson because he was prominently shown during the monologue and Jack isn’t showing up if he didn’t win. And since there were no gratuitous shots of him after the award, I bet he walked right out of the auditorium after picking up his award.
- Seriously, the Mac guy is going to be in the next Die Hard movie? Did Bruce Willis just okay this to get iPods for his family? And did he get the Windows guy a cameo?
- They really needed to black out more than they did in the Borat fight scene.
- Apropos that Dane Cook introduced all of the laughless amateur spoof. Almost as unfunny as the spoofs and Cook were those Human Giant spots. Now I know to never watch that show.
- In the rare non-cast presenting team, they took the time machine back to 1997 to team up Posh Spice and Chris Tucker.
- Is Umbrella really the number one song in the country? The live rock version is was a little better than the album version. Although Rihanna must really be talented if she can sing if we can hear her without her lips movie like at the ends of the performance.
- At least we got one good spoof with Silverman trying to find a presenter. Unfortunately it ended with another poor idea, having a random webcam user present an award.
- Why have an Orbitz Dirty Mouth if they don’t even show the winner let along the nominees. Oh yeah, it was just for a blatant cooperate sponsorship.
- They are resurrecting the Unplugged series for Bon Jovi? Or are they reshowing one from twenty years ago?
- It was nice that MTV made fun of all the annoying people who quote Borat ad nausea with the Boratititus segment. Yes random frat boy, I’m talking to you, stop it, it is not funny when you do it.
- When I heard Mike Myers was going to win the Generations Awards I was excited thinking they were going back to their roots like the great Lifetime Achievement Awards. That was until I realized they were awarding it to Austin Powers not the unkillable homicidal maniac. What was really sad was Myers pulled out an old Wayne’s World joke with the whole sell out part of his acceptance speech.
- As much as I like Amy Winehouse, her performance was a little disappointing as it was the same as her Letterman performance and every other show of the like. They could at least show pictures of Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, et al, behind her. In fact, they just released a remix of the show with Jay-Z, he was already there, he could have jumped on stage.
- I would personally like to thank whoever decided to turn Amanda Bynes into a stripper. She didn’t quite pull it off entirely, but it still worked for me.
- It was nice to see a movie that was universally panned by critics and viewers alike, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest actually took home the Best Movie award. And it is not a good sign when your live awards show actually ends two minutes early. No wonder we rarely saw the morbidly obese dude with the freakish bellybutton.
Much like the STA’s, to be eligible, the show must have had the bulk of the season’s episode between June 2006 and May 2007. So without further ado, here are the top ten best shows of the past year:
The breakdown of the networks is below as NBC dominated quality television last year, yet sadly they have been near the bottom of the ratings for most of the year. Also I added up all the Quote of the Week and Song of the Week winners from my 57 Channels and Only This Is On posts that I started back in January of this year just for the fun of it:
NBC (4) ABC (2) CW (1) FX (1) VH1 (1) CBS (1)
Quote of the Week My Name Is Earl (5) Veronica Mars (5) Friday Night Lights (3) Knights of Prosperity (1) Supernatural (1) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (1) South Park (1) Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1) Everybody Hates Chris (1) Lost (1) How I Met Your Mother (1)
Song of the Week Knights of Prosperity (5) Veronica Mars (4) My Name Is Earl (2) Friday Night Lights (2) Everybody Hates Chris (2) How I Met Your Mother (1) Smallville (1) Late Show with David Letterman (1) Jimmy Kimmel Live (1)
Welcome to the 3nd Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired new episodes between June 2006 and May 2007. I will save the explanation of certain winner's when I do a comprehensive review of that season in the near future (for the reviews I done already check out my Terror Alert Scale archives). Before we get to handing out the awards, let me take time out for the obligatory memoriam section, so cue up It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday and pour some chocolate milk out Randy style out for the homies that are no longer with us:
Big Chubby Charlie Pace Dean O’Dell Don Lamb Future Paining guy and his girlfriend Knights of Prosperity Linderman Mindy O’Dell Random Castaways Shaft Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Veronica Mars Zeke
Now without further ado, here are the winners of the 2007 STA's:
For the astute readers who read the Cleaning Out My Inbox post might have seen the line “For those who missed the season, I may or may not be able to help you out with that in the near future” and realized I was hinting at a contest and after ironing out the rules and the like I am happy to announce my latest contest where you can win a Kyle XY prize package. Here is what is up for grab:
- Kyle XY Season 1 on DVD
- Kyle XY Soundtrack
- Kyle XY postcards/tattoos
- 3 different teaser posters (as seen below, click to enlarge)
So know you know what you will be getting, here is how you can enter the contest to win yourself. There are three different ways you can enter to win:
1. In the series, Kyle is taken in by the Trager’s. Name your favorite TV foster family of all time.
2. As I mentioned before, the whole no belly button creeps me out, name something that creeps you out but you know shouldn’t.
3. Link this contest on your blog or link it on a message board (only one entry allowed per message board and link must be posted at least 24 hours before the conclusion of the contest).
You can e-mail your entries to ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com (subject: Kyle XY) or leave them here in the comment section (but if you leave a comment make sure there is an easy way for me to find how to contact you). If you link the contest, make sure you let me know you did so you get credited with an entry. You may enter multiple times (up to three times), but can only win once. The contest ends Sunday, June 10 at 11:59 PM EST. The winners will be picked at random from all eligible entries and will be contacted shortly after. Also this contest is only open to people with shipping addresses in the continental Untied States or Canada.
A new season of Kyle XY starts up Monday June 11 at 8:00 on ABCFamily. Reader Allison also commented that ABC Family is running a marathon of season 1 of the series the day before, June 10, so check your local listings for the exact start time if you want to check out the show to see what you will be winning or get a refresher if you have already seen the show. If you are not the lucky winner, you can download season 1 on iTunes or buy the DVD on Amazon (see below).
(Scooter's Note: to get this contest posted as soon as possible, I have postponed the latest induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame until later next week)
There is good news and bad news when it comes to the latest album from R. Kelly, Double Up. The bad news first: no new chapters in the greatness that is the Trapped in the Closet saga. But the good news is, well there actually isn’t any good news regarding this album, but luckily we won’t have to wait too long (July 24) until we get updates on Rufus et al.
Unfortunately his latest disk plays out much like his last, TP3: Reloaded (see: I Hope You'll Got Your Playa Cards), same tired over exaggerated sexcapades over the same R&B/Hip Hop beats with uninspired guest spots, but without Trapped in the Closet to save it. Oddly the new album is bookend by the two of the rare songs that don’t have to do with how Mr. Kelly performs in the bed starting with The Champ where Robert compares his career to a boxing match and ends with Rise Up, a I Believe I Can Fly style anthem that disturbingly is dedicated to Virginia Tech. Really after listening to songs that can’t but help conjure up visions of his alleged video that won’t get any play on MTV anytime soon.
For those like me waiting for another installment of Trapped in the Closet, the closest song here is Real Talk that concludes with a very entertaining, profanity laden ending. Mildly entertaining, but don’t hold up on repeat listens, are the songs where R likens sex to different things like The Zoo (animal lovin’), Sweet Tooth (candy), and Sex Planet (seriously, if you want a good laugh at your next party, do a serious reading of the lyrics to this song because with lines “Can I taste your Milky Way?” and “We’ll take a trip to Uranus” you will bring down any house).
Now the uninspired guest spots, most of which actually bring down the songs they are on, the worst being Nelly who just brings his tired themes to the worst track on the album, Tryin’ to Get a Number. Speaking of tired themes, how sad is it that self promotion in rap has gotten so oversaturated that artist are now promoting their own music on guest spots like T-Pain who shamelessly brings up he was in love with a stripper on the I’m a Flirt (Remix). And should I know who Huey is? Is he in a group with rappers named Dewey and Louie? The only people that actually bring something to the song they are on are Snoop Dogg on the title track and Ludacris on Rock Star. But R. Kelly really shouldn’t do anymore collaboration unless it is with Sylvester, Gwendolyn, Rufus, Twan, the fat white chick, and the midget who did his midget business in his pants.
(Scooter’s Note: I tend to not believe anything I read on the internets especially anything without notation on Wikipedia, but if it is true that R. Kelly is actually negotiating a Trapped in the Closet series with Fox Television, I may lift my ban on the network, if only for that show)
Song to Download - Sex Planet (just because it is frakking hilarious)
For the extended weekend I spent the whole time waterproofing my deck. Well actually I spent the whole weekend powerwashing the deck to get it in condition to waterproof it which I finally got it clean enough to do today. On a side note, I’m not entirely sure what I hate more in this world powerwashing wood or stripping wallpaper. But anyways. Since I just got done minutes ago and don’t have the time or really the will power to write anything new, I thought I’d clean out my inbox of a few press releases that have piled up but never really had a time to post. Hopefully some you find them useful:
I missed Kyle XY last year when it first aired mostly because one look at the dude with no belly button totally freaked me out. For those that didn’t find that creepy and enjoyed the first season I’m happy to tell you that the new season starts June 11th on ABCFamily. For those who missed the season, I may or may not be able to help you out with that in the near future. And if you are thinking about jumping in for the second season, here is a synopsis:
More questions arise and the risk of danger escalates in the second season of the hit ABC Family original series Kyle XY. Kyle begins to learn the truth about his past, but under the strict training of Tom Foss, he must also learn the full scope of his abilities. And all of this must be kept secret -- even from the Tragers, who just want to help him return to the life of a normal teenager. Kyle must learn to live with his double life and the unknown dangers that lurk outside the family’s walls. The peril only increases when the girl in the pod is set free and is on the hunt for Kyle. But can Kyle keep the threats away or will they come straight through the Trager’s front door? Kyle XY stars Matt Dallas, Marguerite MacIntyre, Bruce Thomas, April Matson, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Chris Olivero, Kirsten Prout and Jaimie Alexander.
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I have long since left the target MTV demografic, though I still catch the latest Real World/Road Rules Challenge, so I doubt that Vmtv is something I use. But if you still catch all there shows, this may be for you:
Vmtv is a virtual MTV world where users can create an avatar, meet new people, shop and try on new clothes, chill at the beach, club hop and hit the dance floor. Buy a virtual car and pimp it out, hit the road or the track to show off their racing skills. Become a fashion designer, make and sell their own clothing and enter the fashion challenges!
Hang out with celebrities such as the cast of Pimp My Ride, The Hills, Laguna Beach, and musical guest like Korn, Linkin Park, MIMS, Mario and more to be announced! Fans can experience Spankin New Music Week with new music, special guests and smokin' hot events all in Virtual MTV!
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One thing I have been meaning to check out for a while but it was sent to me right around the time I had finals and I may check it out later now that I ran across the e-mail again is MixSherpa.com. According to the e-mail it is a Sprint sponsored website where you can create personalized music playlists and receive commentary on your lists from the voices of MixSherpa.com, Ian Westbury and DJSupahboy5. Once you create your playlist, Ian and DJ will recommend a song to compliment your playlist choice. I should really check this one out because they offered me free stuff (although I’m not entirely sure if it for me or to give away).
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Speaking of free stuff, I was going to wait to talk about it until I actually got it, but I should be receiving a copy of That Thing You Do! Director’s Cut soon to review and here is a lengthy press release:
FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRATES THE WORK OF ONE OF HOLLYWOOD’S “BIG”GEST STARS
Two All New Two-Disc Editions Of Big and That Thing You Do Available May 8, 2007 Nearly Twenty Five Minutes Longer, Big Extended Edition Features A Huge Selection Of Bonus Materials Including Eight Deleted Scenes
That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut Includes An Additional Thirty Nine Minutes Of Footage With A Myriad Of Bonus Features
CENTURY CITY, Calif. – You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll sing! Fox Home Entertainment presents a collection showcasing the work of one of the silver screen’s most accomplished actors. With his outstanding performances and ability to charm audiences by playing the lovable everyman, two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, 1993; Forrest Gump, 1994) has become one of cinema’s most recognizable and critically acclaimed actors. Now, Fox Home Entertainment brings all-new, two-disc editions of two of his brilliant accomplishments to DVD on May 8, 2007 – Big Extended Edition and That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut. Each film is available individually for the suggested retail price of $19.98 U.S. / $25.98 Canada.
One of the most beloved comedy gems of the past 20 years, Big garnered Hanks his first Academy Award nomination and was ranked number 15 on Premiere magazine’s list of “100 Greatest Performances of All Time” for his portrayal of Josh Baskin, a boy who wishes to be “big” and virtually transforms into a childish middle-aged adult overnight. The Big Extended Edition is 25 minutes longer than the original film, includes never-before-seen deleted scenes with optional introductions from director Penny Marshall, two behind-the-scenes featurettes and much more.
Hanks steps behind the camera for That Thing You Do, his feature film directorial debut about the brief success of a fictional rock band in the 1960s. Also written by Hanks, the That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut is thirty nine minutes longer and comes loaded with special features including commentary by cast members, several all new featurettes, an HBO “Making Of” documentary and the music video for Josh Clayton’s “Feel Alright.”
DVD Features: Each title in The Tom Hanks Promotion is available in Widescreen and is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.
Special features include: Big Extended Edition: • Extended cut of Big feature film with an additional twenty five minutes of footage • Big Brainstorming – Audio documentary by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg using archival audio material of the original creation of the script • Eight deleted and extended scenes with optional introductions by director Penny Marshall • “Backstory: Big” featurette • “Carnival Party Newswrap” vignette • “Big Beginnings” featurette • “Chemistry of a Classic” documentary • “The Work of Play” featurete • TV spots and theatrical trailers That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut: • Extended cut of That Thing You Do feature film with thirty nine minutes of additional footage • “Making That Thing You Do” featurette • The Story Of The Wonders” featurette • That Thing You Do Reunion • “The Wonders – Big in Japan” featurette • “The Making of That Thing You Do” – HBO first look • “That Thing You Do Title Song Submissions” • TV spots and theatrical trailers Synopses: Big Extended Edition: The classic story about a boy who grew up overnight is back in an all-new, all-grown up Director’s Cut DVD! Featuring a wish-list of never-before-seen special features including a audio commentary by director Penny Marshall, deleted scenes, five featurettes and more, this “hilarious” (Newsweek), “nimble comedy” (The Hollywood Reporter) has never been bigger! All twelve-year-old Josh Baskin wants is to be big. But when his wish is granted beyond his wildest dreams, Josh finds a new face in the mirror… his own, at age 30. Now, aided only by his boisterous best friend, he’ll have to keep the secret of his true age as he tries to fill his own oversized shoes. But as his innocent charms help him rise to the top of the adult world, Josh will face the biggest decision of his life – return to his own age, or remain big forever!
That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut: Tom Hanks writes, directs and co-stars in this refreshing, big-hearted comedy that captures the overnight triumph of an American rock band during the glory days of rock and roll. When a young appliance salesman agrees to fill-in for an injured drummer in a local talent show, four shooting stars Page 3 of 3 are born. Faster than you can say "That Thing You Do," a Play-Tone Records executive (Hanks) signs the group and catapults them to fame as their signature tune skyrockets to the top of the charts!
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Lastly, for those who won my Win a Copy of Neptune Noir Contest, I sent along your e-mails to the people who will handle the shipping this past weekend so you should be expecting that soon. If you didn’t win be sure to head over to the BenBella website to order a copy.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
As you would expect from a Hype Williams directed video, the visuals are striking. I not sold on the song yet. Not only has Kanye West released two of the best rap albums this decade, you can make an argument he has made two albums that stand up with the best over any genre this decade. But of his new songs he has released this song, also including Classic, are just good, not great. Well the Throw Some D’s Remix was great but in a “Weird Al” kind of way. But we will have to wait until November until we can hear Graduation in full. If you really like the video click the link above the video where you can download Can’t Tell Me Nothing on iTunes for the low, low price of Free.
Speaking of directors who always have striking visuals, Michel Gondry, best known for his Lego’s inspired clip for The White Stripes, has another great video, this time for Paul McCartney. And maybe taking a cue from Bob Dyan, who put Scarlett Johansson in his latest video, Sir Paul has countered with Natalie Portman. Unfortunately she plays a ghost. Oh well.
Speaking of The White Stripes, Jack is back with his, umm, wherever he’s calling Meg these days. And the time apart seemed to do some good because after relying on a full time bass guitar, Jack seems rejuvenated for his main band. Though I’m not sure I really want a thinly veiled political statement from the duo.
Speaking of, okay, I really can’t tie in Timbaland here (though he does name from Kanye’s Golddigger). But really you can’t go wrong when combining The Hives (remember them, they had the uber-catchy Hate to Say I Told You So a couple years back), comic book cells, and hot WWF chick. But I guess it has been a while since I have watch wresting because I don’t recognized many of these girl, nor did I know it is no longer the WWF. But what is with the “To be continued…” Are we actually going to see more of this? I’m a little skeptical because I am still waiting for the conclusion of that .38 Special video, which sadly has yet to show up on YouTube yet.
Quote of the Week: Rob Thomas is a whore. (Piz - Veronica Mars)
Song of the Week: Bad Day - Daniel Powder (as sung by Ronnie, Veronica Mars)
Big News of the Week: Scooter Loosens His Dislike for All the New Fall Shows: For those that saw My 2006-2007 Television Schedule you would have noticed there were absolutely no new shows on it. But after reading Herc from Ain’t It Cool most anticipated list I have warmed up a little, and by a little, just one show: Pushing Daisies. The whole dude reanimating dead people just didn’t sound very good to me until I saw it was created by Bryan Fuller who just so happened to create the number one reason why I no longer watch Fox: Wonderfalls. Not so coincidentally. One of the two episodes he wrote for Heroes, Company Man, was the best of the first season. Then the show stars Lee Pace, the male lead from Wonderfalls as the guy with the magic touch, Chi McBride, another one of my favorite who also stared in a show that Fox prematurely gave the ax Boston Public as a private investigator who looks to be more Vinnie Van Lowe than Keith Mars, as well as Anna Freil who, surprised, was star of the short lived Fox show, but nonetheless great The Jury, as Pace’s first kiss who happens to be one of the dead he brought back to life. Luckilt the show doesn’t air on Fox but you can instead watch Pushing Daisies this fall Wendsdays at 8:00 on ABC. Here’s a clip:
Celebrity Fit Club: Men vs. Women: Usually I am a casual viewer of this show, but I have turned in every week and finally the moment I have been waiting for when Screech made the karaoker cry and almost got Harvey to kill him. Now that’s television. Also be sure to hunt down the extended uncencored version where Harvey, after threatening Screech tells everyone to “put that on V-Spot.” Classic. But I have to wonder why after they switched up the teams last week they are still calling this installment Men vs. Women.
Heroes: Last year I declared the last Supernatural (see Dad's on a Hunting Trip) episode the worst season finale ever and even though the Heroes finale didn’t change that assumption, it came pretty close thanks to the completely inane ending. I understand why Nathan would sacrifice himself for his brother but Peter should have turned around and sacrificed himself because Nathan has more to live for, a wife, kids, one of which he just met, and his new public office. But really, it never came across Nathan’s mind to just tell Peter he should fly out of the atmosphere? But my biggest complaint is that Mohinder, Nikki and Noah (yeah that was uber-lame) were in New York even though they were alive in the future yet nothing happened that would lead them to being at that place at that time unlike Nathan and Hiro who knew the future and knew something needed to change. But the show did get some things right, I liked the introduction of next season’s Big Bad when the locator system said he can see her when she thinks about him. I wonder if we have met him yet. Unfortunately this season’s Big Bad will still be lurking around. Bad idea. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Veronica Mars: One thing I forgot to mention in my original post (see: I Like This Show, it’s Tawdry or Rob Thomas Is a Whore) was how the first episode eerily mentioned two subjects from the two classes I took during the spring semester. First one of the fake ID’s used the name Leonardo Fibonacci and I spend time studying Fibonacci Numbers (don’t ask) and I learned how to encode things, in fact I can play a game of head or tails over the phone without either player cheating (again, don’t ask). Check out the latest episodes over at cwtv.com or download the whole season at iTunes.
Lost: One thing I forgot to mention in my original post (see: Guys (Dramatic Pause) Where Are We) and surprisingly I didn’t see this anywhere else so maybe I was just seeing things, but if I wasn’t then either Carol Vessey is getting chunky or Jack’s ex-wife is pregnant. Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: It was hard getting back into this show after so long without a Matt, Danny, or Jordan sighting. And even though I love the “Rob Thomas is a whore” line, Aaron Sorkin’s self deprecating The West Wing humor just fell flat. Well except the drunken lines from Jack. Seriously, he is at his best when inebriated (see also The Wrap Party). Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
This Summer’s Pick: Friday Night Lights, Sunday’s 9:00 NBC: Here is your chance to catch up on the best new show from last season that is actually returning for a sophomore season. or those that a already into the show, be sure to head over to Give Me My Remote where you can win a script from the show signed by the cast. Now my TV Guide says that tomorrow’s episode is the Homecoming game so I’m not sure if they are showing the episodes out of order, or if they are just waiting to start with the Pilot next week, which isn’t part of Memorial Day weekend. Speaking of which I hope everyone thanks a veteran or two sometime this weekend and I’ll be back Tuesday and sometime next week I will be unveiling the Third Annual Scooter Television Awards as well as the Top Ten Best Shows of 2006-2007.
I have an admission to make. Since the inception of this blog I have made fun of MySpace and whenever anyone asked me if I had one I would retort, “guys my age on MySpace all end up on Dateline NBC.” But secretly a couple months ago I went ahead and got my own Myspace basically for the sole reason so I could tell people that Snoop Doggy Dogg was a friend. I went threw a list of celebrities and musicians and even a couple imaginary people and some of them actually accepted my friends request. I even quietly put a link to my MySpace (or can I drop the first my?) on the sidebar here and there were some people who read this blog who clicked through and requested my friendship.
Aside from the rare person who found MySpace from here, I occasionally get request from your token spammers. But yesterday I opened up my inbox to see yet another rare friend request but this time it was from one Mandy Moore. Yes that Mandy Moore. I’m not sure how she came across me, but I would like to thank her for thinking enough of me to ask to be my friend. And I wonder if she remembers me because we actually met once. Back in the late nineties I was working at the local amphitheater and I was hanging backstage at the *NSYNC concert when this random hot chick came over and I started to chat her up. Later I look on the stage only to see the girl who I was talking to on the stage as the boy banders opening act. Then a couple weeks later I see this very person on MTV with her own video and that person turned out to be Mandy Moore. I knew I should have gotten her number. Oh well.
But now that we have reconnected via the internets, maybe we can do so in person again. So Mandy, feel free to shout me a holla the next time you come around northeast Ohio and I can show you around the town, maybe check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and grab something to eat afterward. Also if there are anymore hot celebrities out there, feel free to send me a friends request (guess none hot celebrities can send me one too, but I reserve to save the top spaces for celebrities because I’m shallow like that).
If you missed last night’s season finale of Lost, be sure to head over to ABC.com to stream the episode or download Through a Looking Glass at iTunes.
The people behind Lost got a lot of grief after the season one finale because it was slow moving and at the end, we didn’t get to see what was down the hatch and they actually seemed to take note of that. Yet oddly, the season finale have the same feel as the first one as Jack takes a Rousseau led trek through the island but instead of The Black Rock we get the radio tower. Charlie goes on a suicide mission this time with Desmond instead of Sayid in tow (plus he actually succeeded this time). To their credit, the things they did different were great as in Hurley playing bumper cars with one of The Others.
Since most everything in the first one hundred and fifteen minutes were ho hum (possibly thanks to what seemed like a commercial break every five minutes) let me flash forward to the last five (yes, the cheap pun was intended). I have been against Jack flashbacks since around the second season because there are many Other (again, cheap pun intended) flashbacks I would rather see and once again the ones in this episode was boring to the point of tears. At the end when someone pulled up, I said to the person next to me, “That has to be Penny, no one else it could be.”
Holy frak I was wrong. My first thought when Kate came into the light was, “they must have been brainwashed, and that is why they didn’t recognize each other on the flight.” Well actually my first thought was actually “just like many of the chicks from Survivor, she looked a lot better when she hasn’t showered in weeks,” but anyways. And with the reveal that this was a flashforward, we got three major questions that won’t be answered in a long time:
Whose obituary led Jack to almost commit suicide and be the only one to show up at the viewing hours? (My lead candidates are Sawyer, Locke, Ben, and Michael but really you could make a case for almost anyone we have met)
Who did Kate have to get back to? (Sawyer would be the easy choice but that would be too easy, and almost as big a question is why isn’t Kate locked up? I doubt the statute of limitations is up and murder and fleeing the country would keep her in jail long after her looks have gone)
Is Jack’s dad still alive or be alive in the future? (Jack trying to get drugs with his dad’s prescription could be easily discounted, but when he told the chief of surgery to go get his dad and if he was drunker than him, he could fire him isn’t as easily explained. I long believed that Jack’s dad was behind this all and this may once again help my theory)
Elsewhere in the previous one hundred and fifteen minutes, Charlie dies. Yawn. A poor ending to a lame storyline. What makes it worse was there was no reason for Charlie to lock himself in the room. And why would he, in his final moments be so worried that Penny didn’t know the name of the parachuter? Plenty of bosses don’t know the name of their underlings. But it did pretty much cemented that either she wasn’t who she said she was, not that we would find out because Locke killed her (although the last person he “killed” didn’t stick), or she was mislead by whoever was really in charge of her search team (Penny’s dad? Dharma?) Speaking of the person whose death didn’t stick, Eyepatch dude is one creepy dude. He come back from getting thrown into the forcefield only to say the voltage must night have been high enough, then he takes a spear to the chest only to swim around with a grenade. And I’m not even sure if that will be the last of him we see.
Even though most everyone else was morning the demise of Charlie, I was most sad to see Zeke take the bullet, I was always hoping for a Zeke flashback, not that we won’t see one in the future just because he died. Interesting though that Sawyer told Zeke the bullet was for taking the boy, not for shooting him back at the end of season one. I wonder with the Others getting depleted, if Ben is once again switching sides to the winning team and that is the real reason he trekked to the radio tower.
Of course no question asked last night will be answered for at the very least eight months because of the new deal the show made with ABC which is the dumbest idea that ends all dumb ideas as I bet the show will hit yet another all-time low much like it did when it came back from hiatus this year. If there were ever a show that shouldn’t take long breaks it is Lost. But again, what do I know? If I were to run a network, Veronica Mars, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Let’s Rob Ray Ramono would have been on the fall schedule.
Have to make this quick and in list form because I spent most of the day performing hard manual labor and have to devote three hours tonight to the Lost finale. If you missed the finale two episodes of Veronica Mars, Weevils Wobble But They Don’t Go Down and/or The Bitch Is Back, head over to cwtv.com to scream them or you can download them via iTunes or Amazon Unbox.
I’ll be back with more on the show later when I get a chance to re-watch them. I was taken a little out of them in the first viewing because it took me a while to get situated in a state of mind where I could enjoy it without being sad about it being the last episodes I would see and the last couple minutes getting taken out of the episode because I realized that I wasn’t going to have the show resolved to my satisfaction.
- Like the episode title said, the bitch was back and I couldn’t be happier (and more depressed as the same time but for different reasons). The second episode was very season one with Ronnie being disgraced in a sexual way along with the return of Jake Kane and Clarence Weidman. Plus the first part had a very A Trip to the Dentist feel to it while the second part was very Clash of the Tritons.
- Speaking of Jake Kane, despite seeing Kyle Secor’s name in the title sequence, I was still jaw on the floor, much like Vee, when she saw the picture of Lily and I didn’t put two and two together until he actually showed up on screen. But it is reasons like this that I try to avoid reading the guest star list and really wish television shows would move them to the end credits because it can really ruin surprises within the show.
- I wonder if it would have been a coincidence that Jake Kane and Dick Sr. both came back to Neptune around the same time, sadly we may never know.
- Glad we got a couple last Dick/Ronnie scenes; the best is when she confronted him about sharing the sex tape (also loved how he sheepishly showed Logan). It was great that Ronnie didn’t even bother to get made at Dick for forwarding the movie to everyone in his address book.
- The beach scene was possibly the best one all season and Dick’s apology to Mac may have been the oddest scenes (in a good way) since the space elevator.
- Keith should have had Vee take his place in the debate because she was able to win it without saying a word. I was waiting for one of them to bring up their involvement in the Duncan export plan behind closed doors only to realize that it would have just implicated them too.
- But these episodes were far from perfect, as soon as the stalker came on screen, it was pretty safe to assume that it was him who planted the camera.
- Was a little disappointed that in the last two episodes Parker just got one scene. Yeah she turned out to be a throwaway character who didn’t get much screen time in the first arc even though she was the catalyst but she, as well as Julie Gonzalo, deserved better. Along those lines, Deputy Leo shows up just once in the finale just to fetch evidence. Something must have ended up on the cutting room floor because certainly that was more of a Sachs type role.
- Was this the first ever sex tape not to feature sex? That seemed like too much of a cop out to appease those annoying people who are obsessed with Logan and Vee being together. And what dude, with his naked girlfriend in front of him, not be able to seal the deal?
Okay, enough nitpicking because the last two episodes rank at the top of this season along with Mars Bars. I really loved where the show looked like it was going with Ronnie taking on the castle, and certainly Logan didn’t make friends with them either. Again, they would be back at season one with Ronnie being an outcast with everyone thinking she was morally loose. And as I said earlier, I doubt Dick Sr. and Jake coming back at the same time may not have been a coincidence and that could have been another clue to what could have been. Unfortunately we won’t be seeing that on television and I highly doubt a movie with only an outside chance of a book. But I really hope the FBI trailer makes the light of day whether it is on the DVD or “leaked” to YouTube.
Oh, and one more thing, I am glad the show got in one Matchbox Twenty reference before closing up shop. The very first question I ever asked Rob Thomas when I met him was how much was he sick of Matchbox Twenty jokes. Surprisingly he said no one makes them (I guess it is good to be the boss). Personally if I had his number, whenever I found myself drunk and awake at 3 A.M. I would call him up to ask him if he was lonely. Oh well, for more on this conversation with Rob, check out No, Not That Rob Thomas.
Maroon 5 created some of the best pop songs this decade with their four single of the debut album Songs about Jane selling over four million copies to date. As great as those for songs were, take them away from the album and what you are left with is a mediocre at best album aside from the great album closer Sweetest Goodbye. But the band has taken its time to record the follow up which was released back in 2002, three years before they picked up the Grammy for Best New Artist.
In the interim, lead singer Adam Levine took over John Mayer role as go to white boy for rappers, appearing on tracks by Kanye West and the Ying Yang Twins, as well as taking part in the Hollywood party scene, being link to more than a few “it” girls of the moment. Despite the long lay off between albums, the band’s sophomore effort, It Won’t Be Soon before Long could as well have been called Songs about Jane (or Jessica, Lindsay, etc.) II as the album again is very relationship heavy, leaning again towards the negative sides of them. There are a few quasi-political messages throughout the album, most notable in the first single, Makes Me Wonders, with lines like, “Give me something to believe in ‘cause I don’t believe in you anymore,” but too many people are reading into the political themes consider the lines, “Struggled to memorize the way it felt between your (suggestive lyric deleted),” also appear in the song.
The band also lets its influences shine threw more this time around as there are a few Studio 54 era dance tracks that sound like Michael Jackson through the Justin Timberlake filter (If I Never See Your Face Again, Makes Me Wonder) populate the album. Won’t Go Home without You could have been what She Will Be Loved may have sounded like had the band had been listening to Every Breath You Take on a loop while recording. Kiwi could be their tribute to early Prince complete with sexual innuendo this time with fruit instead of a car. And I dare you not to think of 3 Doors Down’s Kryptonite when listening to the opening chords of Goodnight, Goodnight.
Still nothing here comes close to the upper-echelon of the first record. Harder to Breathe remains the only good fast song the band has done. The band is still at its best when they slow things down like on Nothing Lasts Forever which is built around Levine’s vocals from Heard ‘em Say but the words fit much better here than backing a rap track as well as one of the nicest break up songs ever (take that Clarkson) with Better that We Break. Of course that was most likely just lip services as Levine probably just moved on to the next party girl.
All reality show are dependant on good casting but if there is one that hits or misses depending on its new castmenbers it is The Real World. Since they have upped the token frat boy quotient to two per season, the show has been unwatchable (granted the most recent season in Denver was its best in a long time thanks to the clinically insane, and I mean that in a good way, Brooke). But Survivor is a close second. The problem though is that most contestants know they can’t act like a nut job because they would leave the island just as quick as they got there. Somehow the producers of the show seemed to find the few people who have never seen the show and didn’t realize that acting a fool wouldn’t endear them to their tribemates.
Number one on the clinically insane list was the Sylvester Stallone without the steroids looking James “Rocky” Reid, your obligatory bartender from Los Angeles this season. How he stayed while a bunch of soft spoken (i.e.: boring) tribe members got voted off before him was a miracle even publicly berating Anthony Robinson multiple times and somehow made it as far to make it on the jury where, even though not allowed to speak, he still got enough screen time thanks to his non verbal.
Even more shocking than Rocky making it to the jury was cheerleading coach Andria “Dreamz” Herd actually sitting across from Rocky as one of the finalist. Here is a guy who would have been on the chopping block had his team would have lost early on, and then was the odd man out in his alliance where he was on the chopping block from week to week again. After turning on that alliance at the merge he still made it to the final three possible just because he made a deal with Yau-Man Chan to exchange the truck Yau-Man one for immunity if Dreamz would win at the final four.
And poor Yau-Man, played the best game this season, but Dreamz pulled a WWF type swerve when he reneged on their agreement. This was befuddling because it is one thing to go back on your word if you have an actual chance of winning, but Dreamz should had know by doing so there was no way he was going to win so he basically traded his word to finish third instead fourth. For me that is just not worth it. Not only did Dreamz not win, he didn’t even get a single vote as all went to Earl Cole (I believe I called that, see: First Impressions Survivor Fiji). For those keeping track at home, in the two times they have had a final three, three of the six finalists have received no votes. Hopefully they go back to the final two next season.
Speaking of which, for the first time in a while, Survivor is going to be land locked next season as the show will be the first American show to ever film a whole season inside China. Odd choices as it would have made more sense to hold off a China season until 2008 to capitalize on the Olympics, but who am I to comment on how networks should make their schedule as I would have kept Veronica Mars, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Knights of Prosperity around.
![Terror Alert Level: Guarded [BLUE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCbHfExiuXqojow1zxkBUX6j-9BHg9IyrfzqR77jnja2Xq6dbv-7iiqMFzp_UKXGcUF9FyAHqCkNxa5uitXa5Xu2Q1OboN9-TLjsaeI1a2eoGLORU4vkTQ54l1C-_cZyn81QHyQ/s400/small_guarded.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
. You know, the movie that documented the flight that went down in Pennsylvania on September 11th. But the show wasn’t all bad; here are some more thoughts on the festivities:
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![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my 
![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my