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.
And now it is time for the token Before He Cheats retreat. Nice touch getting men in black to do your dirty work. But much like her previous singles, the latest from Taylor Swift is overly catchy. I wonder if her performing in front of the wall of sparks is an homage to Rihanna (she has been know to perform Umbrella in concert including a recent Live in SoHo set for iTunes).
At this rate The Roots will have a video for every song from their album actually drops, not that I have a problem with that except with ever track, I get more excited for that release date. Birthday Girl sounds like Gym Class Heroes would sound like if they weren’t extremely cheesy while Get Busy is just another instant classic.
Yeah, boring video, but if you like the song, you can download it for free, along with another track off their upcoming Saturday Nights, Sunday Morning, over at their website, countingcrows.com.
I am optimistic this year about my chances in the March Madness pool (it has been four years since I have won any money) because I think many of my competitors made their picks after ten too many green beers yesterday. Of course the old adage of the person that knows the least is the one that inevitably wins may have helped their picks. But anyways. Here are my (sober) picks for this year:
East Finals: North Carolina (1) over Louisville (3) Upset Special: George Mason (12) over Notre Dame (5); St. Joseph’s (11) over Okalahoma (6)
Midwest Finals: Georgetown (2) over Clemson (5) Upset Special: (To avoid jinxing my alma mater, I won’t pick Kent State (9) over Kansas (1) in the second round, instead) Davidson (10) over Gonzaga (7)
South Finals: Texas (2) over Pittsburg (4) Upset Special: Temple (12) over Michigan State (5)
West Finals: UCLA (1) over Xavier (3) Upset Special: I actually went with chalk in bracket except Drake (5) over Connecticut (4) and Xavier (3) over Duke (2) neither of which are much of an upset.
Final Four North Carolina over Georgetown UCLA over Texas
Finals UCLA over North Carolina (72-68)
Scooter Update: While Barack Obama was busy thowing his grandmother under the bus (seriously, who does that?), John McCain was busy filling out his brakets and you can play against him over at his website johnmccain.com and you can even win a McCain fleece, hat or pin.
St. Patrick's Day just isn't St. Patrick's day without Denis Leary's Traditional Irish Folk Song (fun fact: this was my answering machine message for a semester in college).
Quote of the Week: Find yourself another peon to pee on. (Maggie, Eli Stone)
Song of the Week: Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet (South Park)
Big News of the Week: Sitcoms Fight for Worst Actress: Recently My Name Is Earl announced the it nabbed Paris Hilton to guest as herself for its post strike return only to be trumped by How I Met Your Mother who is bringing in Britney Spears (whose sister will be popping up on new ABC sitcom Miss Guided). It is a toss up which is the worse decision, I don’t think anyone let Spears act after the Crossroads debacle (fun fact: the movie was written by the “mastermind” behind Grey’s Anatomy) until now and Earl is smartly not making Hilton stretch her acting chops to wide by having her play herself. In other bad decision news, The CW is resurrecting Beverly Hills, 90210 with Rob Thomas at the helm. How do you go from the smartest teen drama ever to the most vapid? And doesn’t The CW already have a failed modern day 90210 in Gossip Girl?
And just when I thought that 90210 Redux would be the final death nail in The CW coffin, the very next day it was announced that they gave an eight episode order to a Sam Raimi produced show. Then I went back to not caring about the channel when I found out that the show, 13 is a reality competition. Lame. How about Raimi scripted show, preferably staring Bruce Campbell instead? Think about how much better Reaper would have been if Raimi had done it, not a bunch of guys ripping off Sam Raimi.
Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz chatted with Parker Posey about Project Runway and The Return of Jezebel James. (BuzzSugar)
Sandie talked about why she loves HBO's new show In Treatment. (Daemon's TV)
Marcia said farewell to yet another season of Project Runway. (Pop Vultures)
Rae couldn't stand it anymore and finally made (time) to talk about America's Best Dance Crew. (RTVW)
Vance celebrates that the Sun is finally shinning! At least on Lost. Toronto is still pretty snowy and grey (blech). (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace was disappointed by the latest obnoxious "twist" on Beauty and the Geek, depressed about the pilot for the US adaptation of Spaced moving forward, and was surprised by how much he actually still enjoys CBS's multi-camera sitcom Old Christine. (Televisionary)
Dan loves Rashida Jones from her days on The Office, but he simply can't endorse her new sitcom Unhitched. (TiFaux)
Jennifer weighs in on Britney Spears guest starring on How I Met Your Mother, and it isn't pretty. (Tube Talk)
After watching the premiere of Canterbury's Law, the TV Addict uncovers the secret method to FOX's Madness! (the TV Addict)
Raoul interviewed Joel from "Survivor." (TV Filter)
Everybody Hates Chris: Couldn’t that have gotten Flavor Flav to play himself as it was obvious that Slaver Slav was a stand in for him. You can’t tell me Flav wouldn’t have done that.
South Park: I think there is anything or anyone that is so successfully of making you laugh at things you know you shouldn’t laugh at than South Park.
Survivor: I must have been spoiled with a month straight of blind sides but I was all giddy during tribal council fully expecting for Ozzie to get the boot when Chet ruined everything and ended up actually getting everyone to vote for him instead of deciding to last another night to get rid of Ozzie. Ugg. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Smallville: Product placement is a necessary evil, something I have grown content with, but couldn’t the writers of Smallville come up with a better way to include a gum, that will not be named here (unless of course they want to pay me), than to have a random band play in a gum factory? Yet another example that these writers didn’t deserve a raise that they went on strike for. I know that all product placements can be as good as Wayne's World 2, but certainly they could have done better than this. Now if you excuss me, I need to go to my local Appleby’s, order some Gatorade while sporting my new Under Armour gear.
Lost: I don’t know what was worse, the way I thought the episode actually ended with Jin being alive while Sun and Hurley didn’t know he was, or after when some uber-nerd informed that Jin was actually a flash-back while Sun was experiencing as flash-forward. Seriously, how is anyone who isn’t a complete lose supposed to know that 2004 was the year of the dragon that the toy store clerk mentioned? Either way this episode sucked massively. Then there was the most un-anticlimactic scene in Lost history, which is saying a lot, when we finally learn, about five episodes too late, that Michael is on the freighter. I really hate Lost as well as myself for still watching. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.
Eli Stone: Back when I gave my First Impressions of Eli Stone I was so high on the casting that I said, “Seriously, if Andrew from Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows up I may have to check to see if I also have an aneurysm.” Then this past week I was checking out the guest star list (which I do with every show even though it can act as a spoiler) when I saw “Tom Lenk” who was the infamous Tucker’s Brother on Buffy. Then an hour later no Andrew. So I’m thinking I may have just had an aneurism and seeing random actors’ names. Granted after a Blingo search (which is like Google except you win stuff, and if you sign up I win stuff too) it turned out he was there in a blink and you’ll miss it roll. Hopefully he will begin to play a bigger role later and is signed on in a recurring role.
Missing Andrew aside, a really enjoyable episode now that Eli isn’t the defendant. After some bad scenes in the ealier episodes, the writing problems seemed to be ironed out and there was a great set up for a love triangle with Jordan and Maggie playing against each other. I know who I will be rooting for. This show is definitely going on me with each passing week. I did noticed that Lost will be soon moving into its timeslot with no mention of Eli Stone showing up elsewhere on the schedule. Is it too soon for a Save Eli Stone campaign? Should we sending George Michael mp3’s to ABC? Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.
Last week I sent out a call to find out who the Best Characters on Television are and some of the voters were brave enough to reveal their ballots as well as explanations. I did give my list on the Best Characters list but didn’t explain why, not because I am lazy but because didn’t see the need because you should all accept my superior knowledge. Well that and because I’m lazy. Here are the people that revealed their ballots to give you an idea on how top 25 ended up like it did.
Promo of the Week: As promised on Friday, here is a Battlestar Galatica promo for the show’s return on April 4:
I also mentioned on Friday that I had some behind the scene videos of The Riches, who second season premieres this Tuesday over at my sister site, so you can check those out by clinking the link.
Next Week’s Pick: The Big Bang Theory, Monday at 8:00 on CBS: It is not a coincidence that Sheldon came in at number two on my favorite characters on television list as he put the smart in smart-alic and overshadowed the other Monday show How I Met Your Mother of whom they switch time slots over the hiatus.
Five years ago this month I downloaded iTunes for the first time and one of the cool features is that it keeps track of how many times a song is played. Well cool until you look at your top twenty-five and realize that a Rihanna song has been played way too often. You can blame most of the songs on this list for being either well liked by the Party Shuffle Genie or songs for whatever reason being in multiple playlists and naturally songs from the past five years dominate. I did fudge the list a little deleting repeat artists, mash-ups and songs that have been in recent quizzes (like Rihanna), but all the songs here are in my top thirty-five. As always you need to put both artist and title in the comments section (or you can e-mail me) and if you are correct I will un-bold it and give you credit. The Lyrics Quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please do not use anything besides your own meandering mind to help you up with the answers. Now onto the quiz:
1. Drug dealer buys Jordan’s, crackheads buy crack, and the White Man gets paid off all of that. (All Falls Down - Kanye West; guessed by Slaygal1981) 2. I never knew that everything was falling threw. That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue to turn and run when all I needed was the truth. (Over My Head (Cable Car) - The Fray; guessed by Erica) 3. King of the town, yeah I’ve been that. You know I click-clack where you and your men’s at. Do the Smurf, do the Wop, Baseball Bat. Rooftop like we bringing ‘88 back. (Made You Look - Nas; guessed by KK) 4. Found myself a picture that would fit in the folds of my wallet and it stayed pretty good. Still amazed I didn’t lose it on the roof of the place when I was drunk and I was thinking of you. 5. We had nothing I had do something so I’m knocking on heaven’s door like I’m Bob Dylan. 6. Light up; light up, as if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I’ll be right beside you my dear. (Run - Snow Patrol; guessed by Erica) 7. Hear voices I don’t want to understand. My car keys are jingling in my hand. My high heels are clicking towards your door. 8. You stand in the line just to hit a new low. You fakin’ a smile with a coffee to go. (Bad Day - Daniel Powder; guessed by Angie) 9. We hit the bottom, I thought it was my fault, and in a way I guess it was. I’m just now finding out what it was all about. 10. I worry I weigh three times my body. I worry I throw my fear around. (Clarity - John Mayer; guessed by Angie) 11. Jealousy, turning saints into the sea. Turning through sick lullabies. Choking on your alibis. (Mr. Brightside - The Killers; guessed by Erica) 12. Old friend calls and tells us where to meet. Plane takes off from Baltimore and touches down on Bourbon Street. 13. Nobody ever said it would be so hard; I’m going back to the start. (The Scientist - Coldplay; guessed by KK) 14. I know that we don’t talk. I’m sick of it all. Can you hear me when I sing? You’re the reason I sing. You’re the reason why the opera is in me. (Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own - U2; guessed by Slaygal1981) 15. All the husbands, all the sons, all the lovers gone they make no difference, no difference in the end. Still hear the woman say “you’re daddy died a hero.” 16. When you’d cry I wipe away all of your tears. When you’d scream I’d fight away all of your fears. (My Immortal - Evanescence; guessed by Erica) 17. You should love it way more than you hate it. You mad; I thought you’d be happy I made it. 18. Baby burst into the world, never given a chance. Then they asked what went wrong when you never had it right. (Desperately Wanting - Better Than Ezra; guessed by Slaygal1981) 19. All I think about is keys and G’s. Imagine that, me working at Micky D’s. (New Jack Hustler - Ice-T; guessed by Slaygal1981) 20. With the sure shot, sure to make the bodies drop. Drop and don't copy yo, don't call this a co-opt. (Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine; guessed by Slaygal1981) 21. Though it’s been a while now I can still feel so much pain. Like the knife that cut you the wounds heals, but that scar, that scar remains. (Every Rose Has its Thorn - Poison; guessed by Angie) 22. I got a plan to get us out of here. Been working at a convenient store, managed to save just a little bit of money. (Fast Car - Tracy Chapman; guessed by Angie) 23. Do you really have everything you want? You can’t ever give something you ain’t got. You can’t run away from yourself. (Are You Happy Now? - Michelle Branch; guessed by Angie) 24. What’s cooler than being cool? (Hey Ya! - Outkast; guessed by Erica) 25. To all your friends, you’re delirious so consumed in all your doom. (Beautiful - Christina Aguilera; guessed by Erica)
A plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on World’s Funniest Commercial: Hilarious Liaisons, The Riches, The Librarian, The Ruins, Made of Honor and Battlestar Galatica.
- Sunday at 8:00 on TBS sees the latest installment of World’s Funniest Commercials this time focusing on what they are calling Hilarious Liaisons. There is an overabundance of American ad that got old after seeing them for the second time in-between episodes of Lost, but the fresh foreign ones are somewhat entertaining. Be warned that the show is being hosted by Kathy Griffin who is starting to look like a drag queen trying to impersonate Felicity Huffman. You can also check out VeryFunnyAds.com for the ads to hot for television.
- A new season of The Riches starts up next week, Tuesday March 18 at 10:00 on FX. Gotta love that are with the Pinocchio noses, which you can see below (click to enlarge)along with a promo for the show. I have some cool behind the scenes videos but they are taking a bit longer to uploaded than I expected so check back tomorrow for those.
- It was announced this week that there will be a third Librarian movie set to air this winter entitled The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice on TNT with Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin all back while Bruce Davidson and Stana Katic (wasn’t she supposed to be a bigger part of Heroes but disappeared after one episode) join the cast. This time around the crew heads to New Orleans, because when I think of dudes who betrayed Jesus, I think of the Big Easy. The first two movies rank as the highest watch ad supported cable movies of 2004 and 2006 respectively.
- If you remember back a couple weeks when I showed you that cool video for the premiere of Breaking Bad where you could personalize a message for a friend from Walt, well they guys behind that video are at it again this time for The Ruins a horror movie starring Jena Malone. I guess with Ellen Paige taking all her emo/independent films, Jena had to find another genre for work. But anyways. You can see the video followed by the trailer for the movie over at Justin.tv. Then enter your friends’ e-mail’s to see how many you can trick into thinking it is real.
- This next one is just for the ladies because I can’t imagine any guy who would be interested. May 2 sees the premiere of Made of Honor starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan and Sony is currently hosting a contest to get married at the red carpet premiere. The Grand Prize also includes a European honeymoon package, his and hers diamond rings, and other great prizes. Other finalists receive a $1,000 gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond. Actually, looking over the lengthy prize package, I may have to enter this myself. Anyone out there who would like to fake marry me, shout me a holla. Anyone else interested in entering the contest for real you need to hurry because the contest ends Monday, Match 17. Click the banner below to enter.
- Less than a month away from the start of the final season of Battlestar Galactica and you can expect plenty of BSG content soon (I was sent over a half a gig worth of videos and pictures, naturally it is taking its time to download, guess I should have started earlier) including how you can get a free pizza just by watching the premiere (don’t get your hopes up too much for the free food if you live in the Midwest because the pizza offer is only good in New York City and Los Angeles).
- Here is another character profile for the upcoming movie 21:
Just how predictable have you become when a magazine gives you a negative review without actually listening to your album? In The Black Crowes defenses, how can you take a music review from Maxim seriously when they are best know for bringing you pictures of a half named Avril Lavigne? Still, you are not going to be too surprised with what you hear on Warpaint, the first album from the brothers Robinson is seven year, first since Kate Hudson tried to Yoko Ono the band. The band gets you right back into the fold with Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution which could have been created out of the same template of Jealous Again which itself pulls from classic southern rock of the seventies. The band does stretch its boundaries a bit like on the spacey Movin’ on Down the Line, the old time blues stomp of God’s Got It, and the eastern influences that creep into Whoa Mule but there isn’t here that will bring in any new listeners, but it won’t disappoint those that have waited on a new album from the band.
When you hear the phrase These Are Good Times People spoken by someone under the name The Presidents of the United States of America you may think it is another George Bush spin job as purported by Fox News. But it is just those Seattle goofballs who brought us such nineties classics as Lump and Peaches. Instead of silly songs about Boll Weevils and Dune Buggies we get to be entertained by songs about Ladybugs and French Girls. The highlights include Mixed Up S.O.B. which puts the pop in power-pop, the instantly catchy Sharpen Up Those Fangs, and More Bad Times, the happiest song about not being sad enough you will ever hear. Knowing that their sound can get old quick, the Presidents knew to keep the album at as listenable forty minutes with only two of the fourteen songs going over 3:15 mark.
These Are Good Times People gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
21, in theaters March 28, looks like one of those movies that will be considered a box office bust but whose DVD will within a year or two be in every dormroom with a monologue from the movie being quoted at every poker game for the next decade. I’ll certainly be picking it up because Kate Bosworth is what I like to refer to as esculent. To keep it from being a box office bust, Sony is putting a marketing push into overdrive starting with the live webcast today at 7:15 PST (if my math’s correct that is 10:15 for those of us on the east coast) over at 21-Movie.com, and if you missed it you can view it in its entirety starting tomorrow (Thursday).
While you are there you can sample the 21 Soundtrack (look in the upper right corner) which is out March 18 which has an electric pop feel to it and features tracks from Mark Ronson, LCD Soundsystem and a the Rolling Stones remix. The movie is based on a book, Bringing Down the House about Jeff Ma who is coming out with his own how to count cards videos which can be found at his blog Wild World of Gambling. And of course the movie has its own Facebook page where you can become a fan of. Below is a Blackjack game that you can play and even put on your own website, MySpace or Facebook page as well as a pair of character profiles (I have three more which I’ll post as the movie release date approaches):
The Rock and Roll of Fame Induction Ceremony has been, since its inception, one the most reliable entertaining show on the awards calendar. But I think starting with this year it is going to get hit or miss and we will be lucky for two great acts being inducted in the same year. It really wasn’t a good sign that this year was headlined by The Dave Clark Five which would have anyone my age or younger asking, “Who?” Granted John Mellencamp, or even Madonna, deserved a higher billing, but that may just be my age bias. Here are some more thoughts on last night’s ceremony and inductees of which you can see in an edited version on VH1 on a week from Saturday:
- Up first is the songwriting team of Gamble and Huff who make the first of two Elliot Spitzer jokes of the night. Seriously, how does a guy that has busted a few prostitution rings in his day not realize just how he could get caught? But anyways, you may Gamble and Huff from such great songs as Me and Mrs. Jones and If You Don’t Know Me By Now.
- Harmonica player Little Walter is next in and shows just how much my harmonica knowledge goes when I expected the dude from Blues Traveler to show up to pay tribute.
- Only two classic cuts and if there was a year that needed the extra classic cuts, this would be it.
- The Ventures make a rare instrumental induction into the Hall (Booker T and the MG’s are the only other ones off the top of my head). Granted the band is way before my time.
- Leonard Cohen is another odd choice for induction, Songwriter Hall of Fame, definitely, Hallelujah is on of the best songs ever written; Rock Hall, that’s a stretch.
- Ever since she was announced as an inductee, I have been going back and forth on whether she deserved it. Yeah she left a lasting impact on the music industry, but for the most part it wasn’t a good one. And after hearing Justin Timberlake induct her, I fall firmly on that she doesn’t deserve in. But it was almost worth it to hear Iggy Pop perform for her. Just keep in mind that unlike Madonna, Iggy isn’t in himself or with The Stooges.
- Seeing Billy Joel induct John Mellencamp was going back to my ealy childhood as that was basically all I listen to back then, only Bruce Springsteen was missing. And they ended up giving the best speeches of the night. Wished John would have invited someone, anyone onstage with him though.
- And you thought Iggy Pop singing Madonna was weird, Joan Jett doing The Dave Clarke Five was almost as odd a choice. Which then led to the most boring all-star jam I’ve witness. But I guess that will happen when there are not that many stars in attendance.
We are a week away from the first post-strike episodes starting with the CBS comedies. Grant it will be more of a trickle than a pour with the sitcoms coming back first while most of the dramas won’t be showing up until next month. To mark the return of the writers I have decided to make up a list of their best creations, the characters that make us laugh and cry week in and week out. And since it is much more fun if my homies get some, I decided to invite some to make up their own list (keeping it just to current television characters), then I threw all the ballots I received into my algorithm (patent pending) so complex that it would make Stephen Hawking stand and applaud to get on definitive list. Here are the results:
1. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Battlestar Galactica)
2. Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
3. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
4. Benjamin Linus (Lost)
5. Dexter Morgan (Dexter)
6. Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
7. Landry Clarke (Friday Night Lights)
8. Dwight Schrute (The Office)
9. Lily Rush (Cold Case)
10. Omar Little (The Wire)
11. Gaius Baltar (Battlestar Galactica)
12. Olive Snook (Pushing Daisies)
13. Shawn Spencer (Psych)
14. Sheldon Cooper PhD (The Big Bang Theory)
15. Dr. Juliet Burke (Lost)
16. Michael Weston (Burn Notice)
17. Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood)
18. Dr. Miranda Bailey (Grey’s Anatomy)
19. Chuck Bartowski (Chuck)
20. Brenda Leigh Johnson (The Closer)
21. Emerson Cod (Pushing Daisies)
22. Ned “The Piemaker” (Pushing Daisies)
23. Liz Lemon (30 Rock)
24. Stephanie Lane (My Boys)
25. Stewie Griffin (Family Guy)
Also receiving multiple votes: Desmond Hume (Lost), Major John Casey (Chuck), Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
Voters: Ducky, Jo, Kate, Sandie, Scooter McGavin, TVFan, Vance
For those keeping track at home, that Friday Night Lights and Pushing Daisies led the list with three characters each with Lost and Battlestar Galactica getting a pair each. I had asked everyone to send along the full name of their choices and was a little annoyed that the people who voted for Ned didn’t include his last name until I realized that we have yet to learn his full name. Where the Narrator calls everyone by their full name, he always refers to him as the Piemaker. And in a measure of full disclosure, here are the characters that made my top ten (for those that agree or disagree, that is what the comment section is for):
1. Landry Clarke (Friday Night Lights)
2. Sheldon Cooper PhD (The Big Bang Theory)
3. Emerson Cod (Pushing Daisies)
4. Major John Casey (Chuck)
5. Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
6. Earl Hickey (My Name Is Earl)
7. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
8. Shawn Garrity (Rescue Me)
9. Maggie Decker (Eli Stone)
10. Frannie Morgan (Greek)
Quote of the Week: You’re asking me why? After everything I did to get you here. After everything I’ve done to keep you here. How can you possibly not understand (dramatic pause) that you’re mine! (Not-Henry, Lost)
Song of the Week: Who’ll Stop the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival (as sung by the lawyers, Eli Stone)
Big News of the Week: Friday Night Lights Closer to Returning: Early this week it was reported by everyone that NBC had reached a deal with DirecTV to co-broadcast the show on both station but no specifics like who would air episodes first. Well reported by everyone but NBC and DirecTV, so I am inclined to wait until an official announcement before I raise my hopes. One thing that has been officially announced is the release date for Friday Night Lights 2.x DVD set for release on April 22 for $20.99 (see right). A dollar more than the first season with seven less episodes but there will be an audio commentary for the season premiere with the producers.
Coalition Links of the Week: With the finale of The Wire looming, BuzzSugar wondered what series have had the best finales — and which should have ended better. (BuzzSugar)
Since FX's The Riches is returning on March 18, Sandie posted some behind the scenes videos for Season 2. (Daemon's TV)
Despondent about the end of The Wire? Marcia consoles herself with a drinking game for the final episode. It's an excellent way to dull the pain of losing such a brilliant show. (Pop Vultures)
With an overview of what to expect in its second season and what she talked to Courteney Cox about, Spads tried to convince everyone to give Dirt a try. (RTVW)
Vance gets reflective when he sells out to Oprah's Big Give, reviews quarterlife without ever having seen it, and notes how unconfortably similar Matthew's relationship with Old Christine is with his own sister. (Tapeworthy)
Hungry for some more culinary-themed reality mayhem this week, Jace took an advance look at the fiery season premiere of Top Chef. (Televisionary)
Dan ventured into music videos this week, exploring the concept of Room Clearers -- songs that you 20% love, 80% hate (first up, Escape Club's Wild Wild West). (TiFaux)
Kate made a list of the top ten scary/awesome things about The Real Housewives of New York City. (TV Filter)
Welcome to the Captain: Leave it to Super Dave Osborne to finally make me laugh at something on this show. Check him into the Captain now. Who am I kidding, they aren’t actually going to film anymore episodes of this show. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or Welcome to the Captain on iTunes.
Survivor: For those keeping track at home, that is three straight fans blindside in a row. I actually thought this was the week that they were just making it look like there was going to be doubt that Chet would be voted out, but no, they actually dropped the Incredible Hulk instead. But Chet being tossed around like a rag doll may have been the funniest thing on the show in ages capped by the hilarious exchange of Chet saying he bumped his head with the Hulk saying he didn’t care. Brilliant. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Lost: Just when I thought that things couldn’t get much worse that last week’s “Take us serious, we’re time traveling” episode, then we get this week’s worst romantic comedy ever episode. And Not-Henry certainly pulled out all the stops from the dinner party with that ended up having only two invitees to the anti-“you had me at hello” “You’re mine!” And what with magical disappearing chick from Rescue Me who really needs to lay off the botox? Was it actually her? Was it the smoke monster? Has she been with the Others the whole time? Did she really talk with Not-Henry? Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.
Eli Stone: Let’s not have Eli be the case study ever again because it made for the least interesting trial to date. But the two speeches by Maggie and Jordan were great. Speaking of Jordan, am I the only one who, when hears his name spoken, initially thinks of the ex-fiancé because Jordan is more of a chick’s name. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.
You may have seen ads aleady for the movie 21 which hits theaters on match 28 and I may have more on it before then, but I wanted to let you know this Thursday at 7:15 PST they are having a live webchat over at the official site 21-Movie.com.
Next Week’s Pick: South Park, Wednesday at 10:00 on Comedy Central: Don’t even ask me what season this show is in but the latest season debuts this week. Matt and Trey are habitual procrastinators who usually turn in new episodes hours before they air so I have no clue what is in store but there is a good chance it will be funny.
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.
All the videos from the first Gnarls Barkley album were innovative and something to see, this is kind of underwhelming. The 80’s dance party theme has been down before. Foe a more jarring video, hunt down the leaked second single Who Will Save My Soul featuring ?uestlove. Speaking of ?uestlove…
…here is one from his group The Roots in a very Reservoir Dogs kind of video. If this song is any indication, Rising Down is going to be another classic.
My favorite song off of Missy Higgins album (see: Breathe Them Deep into Your Lungs) and thanks to this video, I know have a new way to stalk an ex by sending photo booth pictures to her. I will certainly have to try that out the next time I’m jilted.
Everyone has those songs that take you back to a certain place and nothing says Grade School dance more to me than this song from the Jeff Healey Band. And a melancholy happy trails to the namesake who passed away earlier this week. I never actually knew the guy was blind until I read about his passing. To read more about the life of Jeff Healey, check out this AP report.
You don’t need to watch South Park for reasons to blame Canada, just look at their exports over the last couple years: Céline Dion, Pamela Anderson, Nickelback. These are reasons enough to revoke NAFTA. If American Karaoke and Paris Hilton have taught us anything is there are plenty of talentless Americans that we really don’t need to fleece any from our neighbors from the north. Okay so it hasn’t been all bad, there is Norm McDonald, but for every Neil Young, there seems to be ten Shania Twain’s.
Much like Twain, Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian who has co-opted the music of the American heartland on three studio album, Asking for Flowers being the latest. But unlike Twain, she hasn’t endeared herself to country radio by making heartfelt music as apposed to songs about tractors or ticks. Oh, Canada could be the Cunuck version of Born in the U.S.A. where the title would have you believe the title is more patriotic than the lyrics would have you believe which at its heart tackles racism, with a scorching guitar solo out the end that would make Neil Young proud.
Mr. Young would also be proud of Oil Man’s War about a pair that head north to keep from fighting under a commander and chief who seems to care more about lining the pockets of his friends than doing what is right. But where Edwards really excels is at quirky lyrics and things don’t get much quirkier than I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory where she compares herself to everyone from Elvis to Marty McSorley. A hockey reference: how Canadian, eh.
Ever since the start of this political cycle I feared of a Rudy Giuliani vs. Hilary Clinton match up. Yeah I have had to vote for the president I though would screw up the country the least before but choosing between Giuliani and Clinton would make having to choose between George Bush and John Kerry or Al Gore seem like choosing my favorite Victoria Secret model in comparison.
Much to my surprise, the media didn’t get their Subway Series they were pushing for when Giuliani was the first out of the Republican race and it looked as if I would even get a chance to put the last nail into the coffin of Clinton’s presidential campaign, a though that made me extremely giddy. Of course I am a moron who forgot where I lived. I had bought into the Barack Obama momentum completely forgetting I live fifteen minutes from what is considered the Klu Klux Klan kapitol of the north. I really should have known better.
So the question shouldn’t be why did she won but how did she win. If you were to see the Ohio map, Obama won easily in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus, democratic strong holds, yet Hilarity dominated in the gun toting, God-fearing part of the state, winning my home county 61-38 which I was surprised to see it on CNN’s top three Republican counties in the state. Of course there is that KKK kontingent. But we still do border Cleveland and Akron.
So it looks as if that 3:00 in the morning ad worked (of course, keep in mind she only gained somewhere between four to eight delegates last night), which I always found odd because if she does somehow eke out the nomination, John McCain would easily win that argument as well as her previous lead on day one stump speech. Speaking of McCain, his speech (I won’t talk about Hilary’s or Barack’s because theirs came after my bedtime) came with an interesting inclusion saying, “the next president must explain how he or she intents to bring that war to its swiftest possible conclusion with out exacerbating a sectarian conflict.” Now I was never one of those morons who took McCain’s 100 years war out of context (who followed up that comment by saying as song as the soldiers were not in harm’s way) but I was surprised at how quick he is to get to the middle on the subject.
It is hard to go platinum nine times with your debut record and be virtually unknown to most Americans. For Missy Higgins, the platinum status of her melodic, piano based The Sound of White was just in her home of Australia but barely made a dent her stateside. Her follow up On a Clear Night has been available to her Aussie countrymen for almost a year but is just getting its American release today.
The album cause a stir down under as the new album was more of an acoustic guitar driven sound than its predecessor. The transition from album to album was smooth as On a Clear Night starts off with the piano enhanced Where I Stood before Higgins stands up from the bench and straps on the guitar for most of the rest of the record.
The best of these acoustic guitar songs is Steer an upbeat, toe tapping sing-a-long that wouldn’t have been out of place a decade ago on the Lilith Fair current but still feels current for today. And it is isn’t just Missy playing the guitar on the album, Neil Finn, who may know better as the dude from Crowded House, shows up on Peachy a bouncy kiss off from a former boyfriend.
Elsewhere on the album, Higgins expands her repertoire. Secret is a slow burning, album bluesy song where she provides some sultry lyrics to. Then the album caps with the folksy Forgive Me, a low-fi track that sounds like it may have been recorded in a bathroom, but that only adds to the mystique of the song. Undoubtedly you will be hearing more of Higgins on television shows that features lazy writers who have to insert musical montages because they run out of anything interesting to write as the most of the songs are television ready. In fact you may remember Where I Stood from an episode of Smallville from earlier this season.
If you watched ABC last Thursday then you probably saw an ad hyping new show Squeegees and thought to yourself, “huh?” That shouldn’t have been a surprising response considering the new online show was just announced Thursday, the day the first two episodes hit the ABC.com website. Luckily the show is co-exclusive to YouTube because ABC.com is my least favorite of all the network websites. And since it is on YouTube, there is no reason for me to ramble on about it when I can just embed the episodes and you can judge the show for yourself (it will take you under fifteen minutes to watch all three).
Mildly entertaining and certainly better than the unwatchable Quarterlife with a nice cameo from the chick from American Dreams not named Brittany Snow. You can expect new episodes of the show every Monday and Friday and features the comedy team Handsome Donkey members Adam Countee, Brendan Countee, Marc Gilbar and Aaron Greenberg.
Squeegees is produced by Stage 9 which is headed by Academy Award-winning short-form producer Barry Josson. The studio has an active slate of more than 20 programs in comedy, drama, animation and reality ranging from traditional linear episodic storytelling to fully immersive interactive content. You can also look out for the original science fiction action thriller Trenches, sometime this spring from Shane Felux, the critically-acclaimed filmmaker and creator of Pitching George Lucas and Star Wars Revelations. Set in another time, on another planet, Trenches begins in the waning days of a grueling war. A botched rescue attempt forces a young soldier and his unit to team up with their enemy to survive a brutal threat and escape the planet.
Quote of the Week: Town’s about a block long Veronica Mars. (Eli Stone, Eli Stone)
Song of the Week: One More Try - George Michael (as sung by Ms. Hendricks, Eli Stone)
Big News of the Week: Comings and Goings on TBS: This Tuesday is the season finale of 10 Items or Less at 11:00 which features an employee picnic conveniently inside the store. Then on Wednesday at 10:00 there are two new episodes of House of Payne featuring guests Michael Jai White and Robin Givens. Right after the new episodes, you can participate in a live chat with the cast over at tbs.com starting at 11:00 (keep in mind this is EST so for those on the west coast you can chat before the episodes air). For those that that prefer dramas, TNT for three straight days starting tomorrow (Monday), they will be airing the best of Saving Grace starring Holly Hunter at 10:00 and 11:00.
Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz picked out some favorite TV catchphrases. If you disagree, we'll have to hug it out. (BuzzSugar)
Eric wondered who your Constant is after watching this week's episode of Lost. (Daemon's TV)
Mikey suggests some great, middle-aged TV alums for Psych to consider casting now that Shawn needs a mom for the upcoming third season. (Mikey Likes TV)
Plattie praised the BBC's Being Human, which features a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost and yet somehow lacks a full series order. (Pop Vultures)
Rae wants you to help her create the perfect “Memorable TV Moments” mix-tape. (RTVW)
Because Vance is so shallow, he analyzes the boys chances for winning/surviving American Idol(/beating David Archuleta) based on their hairdo's in a week where he shamelessly celebrates the hotties to watch for. (Tapeworthy)
While his attention were pulled towards new episodes of Last Restaurant Standing, Top Model, and Project Runway, this week Jace's constant was his love for Lost. (Televisionary)
Welcome to the Captain is the best little show you're probably not watching -- so says Dan. (TiFaux)
This week, the TV Addict proposed to NBC President Ben Silverman that he actually re-make a show people care about. Meaning, it's time for The West Wing: The Next Generation. (the TV Addict)
Raoul interviewed Yau-Man from Survivor. (TV Filter)
The Oscars: I didn’t watch because 1) The only movie I saw that was nominated for anything was Norbit, 2) I am under forty, 3) I’m not pretentious enough to care what old people think are good movies, 4) I’m not shallow enough to care what clothes celebrities wear. If they ever bring back Chris Rock, maybe I’ll tune in. But I bring up the show because I was happy to see that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova wrangled the award for Best Song from the Disney for Falling Slowly. It is a shame that a song like that can’t get played on the radio yet it seems like Fergie is always on. I would post their performance but the tools over at the Academy have stripped all the YouTube videos. But if you are interested in downloading the song, you can get it for free at the Once website.
Survivor: Yet another brilliant episode. How the old people convinced the Incredible Hulk to keep Chet instead of Mikey B is beyond me but it madr for yet another great tribal council. And one more thing on Mikey B, I just realized this past episode that he is the only Mike on the cast, so why the “B”? Is this a Grandmaster B situation where that is what he wanted everyone to call him? But anyways. It looks like the show will only get better next week when they switch up the tribes and you know someone is going to turn on their former tribemates because there is a lot of hate going around this season. Please let Cirie and Jonathan end up on the same tribe. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Lost: What a worthless hour of television. Just what I thought Desmond’s visions were as lame as it could get, now we have this is he or isn’t he time traveling mind fart of an episode. And it made no sense. The whole business of The Constant should have been resolved early because Daniel could have been it. He talked to him both in the present and the past. And how was Desmond able to travel across England so quickly without going back to 2004? Just when I was beginning to like this season they go all metaphysical. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.
Eli Stone: There is nothing I dislike more than episodes that start in the third act then flash back to the beginning. And there seemed to be no reason for this to do so except when you found out that someone was missing, you already new it would be in Hawaii and it made his beach visions less ambiguous. Of course they totally made up for it with the Veronica Mars reference made about Mac’s roommate. Then the most shock moment of the night didn’t belong to Lost but instead was the revelation that Dr. Abbott had came down with a case of the Jungle Fever a couple years ago. Never saw that coming. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.
Saturday Night Live: Thanks to a glitch I didn’t tape last night’s episode so I check out Hulu only to find out they don’t bother to stream full episodes just a couple clips. Really why bother. I guess I’ll have to wait for a repeat to check the whole thing out.
Promo of the Week: Wednesday also sees the season premiere of Ghost Hunters and here is a promo for the new season:
Next Week’s Pick: My Name Is Earl, Monday at 10:00 on TBS: It is a slow week next week (although you can always check out Eli Stone in hopes for more Veronica Mars references) so if you haven’t caught the funniest show currently on television when it first ran, here is your chance to catch up with back to back episodes every Monday starting with the funniest half hour of television ever in the history of the world.
debacle (fun fact: the movie was written by the “mastermind” behind 
with Rob Thomas at the helm. How do you go from the smartest teen drama ever to the most vapid? And doesn’t The CW already have a failed modern day 90210 in 
, but certainly they could have done better than this. Now if you excuss me, I need to go to my local Appleby’s, order some Gatorade while sporting my new Under Armour gear.
shows up I may have to check to see if I also have an aneurysm.” Then this past week I was checking out the guest star list (which I do with every show even though it can act as a spoiler) when I saw “Tom Lenk” who was the infamous Tucker’s Brother on Buffy. Then an hour later no Andrew. So I’m thinking I may have just had an aneurism and seeing random actors’ names. Granted after a 
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on my 
(look in the upper right corner) which is out March 18 which has an electric pop feel to it and features tracks from Mark Ronson, LCD Soundsystem and a the Rolling Stones remix. The movie is based on a book, 
about Jeff Ma who is coming out with his own how to count cards videos which can be found at his blog 
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on my 
, 2) I am under forty, 3) I’m not pretentious enough to care what old people think are good movies, 4) I’m not shallow enough to care what clothes celebrities wear. If they ever bring back 
reference made about Mac’s roommate. Then the most shock moment of the night didn’t belong to Lost but instead was the revelation that Dr. Abbott had came down with a case of the Jungle Fever a couple years ago. Never saw that coming. Check out the latest episode over at