If you have been watching the baseball playoffs you have undoubtably know that Frank TV returns October 21 at 11:00 on TBS and I had a chance recently to chat with the Frank in Frank TV, Frank Caliendo. Here are some of the highlights:
Scooter: Seems like anyone has been talking about recently is politics, did you watch the debate last night? Frank: No because they don’t say anything so I find it kind of a waste of time. But I’m sure McCain say my friends at least thirty times and Barack Obama talked about change, those two things happened. I haven’t really watched much lately. I have been working on both lately a little bit more. I really hadn’t worked on either that much that far out and the one reason for that comes down to one word and that is Dukakis. Nobody really care about Michael Dukakis anymore. Nobody really cares when you lose. Even John Lovitz has said, “I think that was a waste of time.” So I just been working on Barack more because that is the way it looks to be swinging. I do general stuff, I try to stay away from policies and whatnot anyways.
Scooter: Regardless of who you are going to vote for, do you have a rooting interest on who gets elected from a comedic standpoint? Frank: I can pull off McCain quite a bit easier being a chubby Caucasian fellow. As far the gimicky goes, but on Frank TV we have Freddy Lockhart who does a doggone good Obama so we are covered either way. I have started working on that more and more, we will see what happens. I tend to wait it out, I’m kind of lazy. It’s like a book report. I’ll wait until the last thing and read the book and then write the book report the last night and that will be election night hopefully.
Scooter: I have seen the first three episodes of the new season and saw the Obama skit, I don’t want to say comedians are taking it easy on Obama, but he doesn’t seem as funny as Bush or Clinton. Is it hard finding that one thing? Frank: I don’t think we have seen the real Barack Obama, I don’t think we have seen the real John McCain either. These are two guys are trying to get elected. Everything changes after you see them more. Eight years ago they said there was nothing to do with George Bush and we definitely found a lot of things to do there. I think it just takes time. Camera are constantly on people when they are not expecting them now. They are kind of in control of that now because the media is totally on their side, or at least I feel Barack is kind of that way, not so much with McCain. But the media takes it real easy on Barack Obama. If you are president they start criticizing you. It’s like now you are there, what are you going to do? Everything changes, your game plan changes. The media tends to be a little more left than right. The Democratic candidate always tends to get it a little bit easier I think just by watching it. I have just been working with sports on NFL Fox and I am kind of used to that with the sports mentality. We can have a great week, and do a great comedy bit and next week they’ll go, well what’s next? It because sport, and even politics is “what have you doing now? You did that and that’s great but stop all the accolades and get onto the next thing.” That’s what Obama is saying about McCain, “Okay, we get what you’ve done, now what are you going to do?” I think that’s our society and I think that is what we look for, what are the answers. I don’t know if anyone has the answers right now and that’s why they keep trying to change the subject.
Scooter: Are you at all sad that you only have four more months left of Bush? Frank: I will do him forever. I will do less but nobody’s going to forget him, he will be around. Jimmy Carter is still around. Bill Clinton is still around. They always find stuff to do. They are always in the limelight somehow. I think that is the funniest question I get, “What are you going to do now that Bush is out of office?” Do you think we are going to forget about him? Two term presidents are around for a long time. Their first term is always interesting, the second term is typically scandal. Because they open up everything they have done wrong in the second half of it, Clinton, Bush. I think he’ll be around for a long time.
Scooter: You have already taped episodes up until election night, are you at all sad that you will miss out on the Palin stuff if McCain loses? Frank: No. I would not want to do anything right now anyways. I think Saturday Night Live has that, Tina Fey has that anyone else who is doing it looks like they are just copying that. Unfortunately that might not even be the case, but really Saturday Night Live has that cornered. You have millions of hits on YouTube and you have everyone in the media talking about one person’s impression, it would be kind of a waste to try and do it. I think that’s a bad move by some and I’m glad we’re not touching on Sarah Palin because I think it’s overdone already. Well not overdone, I just think Tina Fey has a hold on, I just think she got it as hers and people can try to do it ut they are not going to do it as well and the are going to compare them to Tina. So why even do it?
Scooter: Looking at the new season are there any new impressions you are doing? Frank: There are a bunch of people haven’t seen before, James Gandolfini, John McCain, we do some other character in there near the end like the white Chris Rock of Finland. All the people Freddy and Mike (MacRae), the new cast members do all that stuff people haven’t seen any of it before. They have a bunch of new stuff but I really can’t remember what most we do, it all tends to blur to me.
Scooter: About how long does it take you to come up with an impression, from the first time you go I want to try out this guy to you are confident enough to show people? Frank: Well it’s different. People when they think of impressions they think they have to be impersonations, but I really don’t think of it that way. I think if they are funny and they work well enough, that’s all it is. All you need to do is get the idea across. I don’t try to fool anybody, I don’t look like president Bush, I’m just Frank with a wig on. If it is part of my stand up act it is longer than something if we have a good premise for a sketch. It could take months and I can never get there, there are plenty of impressions that I can’t do. Barkley took me three months, that was quicker. I have been working on the Barack hard for a week or two now and have been working on him a little for months. McCain went pretty quickly. John Madden, if you look at him six years ago and you look at me do it now, it really sucked six years ago. It’s interesting how different it is. My job is basically I get paid to practice. So I am always doing it on stage and whatever and it just gets better overtime. It is easier to get get into the voice and keep it there the more you do it.
Scooter: Speaking of Barkley, do you run into him at Turner office party or events? Frank: There is a thing on YouTube with me and him talking on TNT (see below) and he’s a funny guy. Charles kind of likes me but he doesn’t think he acts like that. He really doesn’t act like that, the bit is really Charles says what he is thinking and in my bit it’s like taking Charles and making a little bit crazier and then saying what he’s thinking, that’s where the funny comes from is the goofiness of what he’s saying. Charles thinks of himself as a truth teller and I think as the Charles Barkley character that I do as a truth teller too it’s just that he’s a crazy truth teller.
Scooter: How long does it take you to get into the Barkley character with the make up and everything? Frank: Makeup’s probably three hours, it’s pretty much the same as Terry Bradshaw or Dr. Phil, anyone with a bald cap. What you don’t see is I’m really pretty pale, so any character is going to have a face whether it is Caucasian or an African American. They actually take about the same amount of time. People would think it would be different but it isn’t. It is really just a bald cap then putting on the makeup or other character it’s doing a nose or a beard. Charles has a little bit of a moustache, but that’s all we do with him.
Scooter: Do you have a favorite character that you do? Frank: Bush, Madden, Pacino. Barkley is fun because I can just call people knuckleheads all day long. When they become more than impressions and they become these goofy character like Pacino to me is not about Al Pacino anymore, it’s about this crazy guy who is amazed by everything. Bush is like a little kid type character. Both characters are more fun because there is more to do and you can do different things as opposed to something from a movie or being the actor. Like when you do a Robin Williams sketch, it kind of hard to find a sketch because all you can really do is be all over the place. There is really no take on that other than be crazy and wild and annoy somebody. I love doing the Robin Williams impression but it is hard to find something different to do to make sense and be organic.
Scooter: Are there any impressions you may have tried in the bathroom and you just thought, this is never going to see the light of day? Frank: Tons of them. I can’t even do a good Joe Pesci. I used to use Chris Berman as an example and now people go, (in a Berman voice) “Hey this is going to be a great football Sunday Jaws.” And they go, “well that was pretty good.” Well I can’t use that anymore. So there are plenty. Even like the Barack, it’s not that good yet. Do I do them in my act or on TV, no not really. Radio is really where I go to talk about it because you can bounce things off of people see what their reactions are and they can help you with it and actually structure and mold the impression kind of as you there like a work shop, sitting down with writers and making something better. Radio is really where I go to test things.
Scooter: What would you say was the easiest impression for you to get right off the bat? Frank: Barkley as of recent, that only took a few months to get it to a point where people were like, “wow, that was really good.” Most of the one’s I’m known for like Madden, those took time to get there, they are so much better now then they were just a short time ago. Also Keenu Reeves, all you have to go it, “whoa, that’s totally cool.” Some just come about then on accident like Jim Rome I was just (starts getting into Rome) talking like this, not even trying to do it, guess what, became incredible. How great is that? (Back to normal voice) If the cadence is good, for some reason some cadences are just easier.
Scooter: What kind of television do you watch? Frank: I seem to be attracted to death shows. I don’t watch any comedy really, I always watch legal things, Raising the Bar on TNT. I tend to watch the legal type shows, CSI’s, Law and Order’s, that kind of stuff. I like twists and plots and comedy, most of the time I can see most of what’s coming in comedy. Being in the business it is kind of a curse knowing how they are put together. That would be my answer, lots of old cartoons like the Super Friends can never hurt.
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 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.
Another Way to Die - Alicia Keys and Jack White
It is becoming clear that Alicia Keys should stay away from the rockers. Here duet with John Mayer was the weakest track on her last album, and this track is not much better. And as a James Bond theme this may rank near the bottom.
Where I Stood - Missy Higgins
There is an other, arguably better version of this video, released earlier this year but the song is worth showing again because the Missy Higgins song is one of my favorite of the year.
Troublemaker - Weezer
This decade, for the most part the music Weezer makes is vastly hit or miss, but their videos are always at the very least entertaining.
The Resolution - Jack's Mannequin
The first album from Jack's Mannequin was solid and if The Resolution is any indication, the new album, out this week, will be worth the listen.
It should also be noted that yesterday Kanye West released his video for Love Lockdown. I could not find an embed code anywhere but you can see it on his website Kanye Univerity or you can download Love Lockdown on iTunes.
On his last album Songs for Silverman, Ben Folds sang “wiz man never fit you like the wiz kid did” which seemed to forecast his tradition from bratty pop to more adult contemporary music highlighted by Landed, a sweeping song that was void of any wit or sarcasm Ben had been known for. Fast forward three and a half years and Ben seems to back to his old tricks on Way to Normal. Even on songs Cologne which starts off sounding introspective like Brick but then Ben starts singing about astronauts wearing diapers and traveling cross country to kill a boyfriends lover.
So the old Ben Folds is back for better or good depending how you look at it. Also following on former themes on The (Expletive Deleted) Went Nuts which answers the age old question, this time posed by someone sounding like Stephen Hawkins if his voice modulator was programed by a Hispanic, why do relationships go bad. The song just seems like piling on the girl from A Song For the Dumped, but still has plenty of bite to it.
The best song on the set starts off the album, Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hits His Head), which as the title suggests does owe a bit from the Elton John as they both have that driving march feel to it. The song is heightened thanks to a live audience that help Folds sing the chorus near the end and just reinforces the notion that if you have yet to see Ben Folds live that you at the very least need to check out his live album.
Elsewhere on the album, Folds recruits fellow quicky piano pop singer Regina Spektor for You Don’t Know Me, yet another ode to a failed relationship that is their fault. Despite the overran theme, the female voice over the otherwise mellow sounding song making the song a freshness the album needed. Maybe this spark more change for Folds’ next album.
If I were to create a list of the guiltiest guilty pleasures of the 00's, VH1 would dominate that list. For whatever reason they are able to take shows that on the surface should suck massively but are actually watchable in at the very least a staring at a car crash kind of way. The most bizarre of it all was the mileage they were able to get out of The Surreal Life that was a show that VH1 even bought from the now defunct UPN.
By my count, the show has spawned nine spin offs in its family tree, the latest that has hit the air was I Love Money (with Real Chance of Love and Rock of Love: Charm School coming in the next couple weeks). The show cherry picked contestants from the previous three I Love dating shows. And if there is anyone that deserves money is people who had to make out with the likes of Flavor Flav, New York and Bret Michaels just to get on television.
And what a cast of nut jobs. Midgets, pornstars, spitters, white dudes who think they are black, the dude that sucked New York’s, and the wackiest of them all Mr. Boston. The show was like the exact opposite of a MENSA meeting. You know these aren’t the brightest America has to offer when Megan Hauserman turned out to master mind of the bunch. Sadly Boston was out early and even more sad was my boy Midget Mac was out first. The show turned out to be a hybrid of the MTV Challenges and Survivor but with some of the looser rules that seem to change from episode to episode.
The brilliance of I Love Money is in the editing. And really there isn’t an easier group to mock in post production than this group. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments like the sub titles to everything Midget Mac said and other great wittisms they scattered throughout the show. In the end Hoopz won but the best could be yet to come with the reunion special next week. And if we learned from the dating precursors, the reunion is the best part of the show and really the only episodes I would watch.
Quote of the Week: It is not okay for a grown-(expletive deleted) man to weep in public with a bunch of happy families enjoying pie. If you can't hold it, you take your (expletive deleted) to the men’s room and cry in private on the toilet… like a man. (Emerson, Pushing Daisies)
Song of the Week: Hip to Be Square - Huey Lewis and the News (Chuck, Everybody Hates Chris)
Big News of the Week: Congress Passes the Bailout Plan: So what happens when Congress fails to pass the $700,000,000,000 bailout package? Apparently to raise that number $850,000,000,000 and add some pork directed at those that rightfully opposed the original bill. And for those that wonder where that extra $150,000,000,000 is going to, the new plan includes tax breaks to toy wooden arrow makers, stock-car race track owners, Virgin Island rum makers, and Hollywood producers. Wait, Hollywood producers can scrounge up enough pennies to pay Charlie Sheen $850,000 per episode but they need more money? I really cannot write any words that can properly express how I feel about this without my censors going through and deleting every third word.
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Coalition Links of the Week: Buzz visited the Pie Hole of Pushing Daisies and found it even more scrumptious in person. (BuzzSugar)
Daemon's TV took part in a Q&A with Amanda Tapping about her new show, Sanctuary. (Daemon's TV)
GMMR is begging and pleading with all of you to please watch Pushing Daisies. It's the best show only 6M of you are watching. A newbie? I will personally bring you up to speed. Just call. (Give Me My Remote)
Marcia decided to streamline her viewing schedule and actually watch less TV. No one is more shocked than she is. (Pop Vultures)
Rae's kinda in love with Chuck Bartowski and she doesn't care who knows it. (RTVW)
Vance is currently drooling over the hot Top 20 dancers on So You Think You Can Dance Canada. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace took an early look at the first three episodes of Season Two of ABC's Pushing Daisies and loved what he saw. He also took an early look at the new pilot for ABC's Life on Mars remake and was less than thrilled once again. (Televisionary)
I can haz McDreamy? Dan finally stopped worrying about thinking of things to say about Grey's Anatomy and launched his first series of LOLGreys. (TiFaux)
This week, the TV Addict wondered why more Browncoats aren't tuning in to Summer Glau on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. (the TV Addict)
Kate realized that Battlestar Galactica is her sad lonely spinster Friday night show of choice. Good luck to The Ex Files, though. (TV Filter)
The Big Bang Theory: Nothing better on television these days (at least for those without DirecTV) than verbal showdown between Sheldon and the Token Hot Chick and the two debating on whether Sheldon should go out instead of stay on the steps was another classic. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Note to all executive producers out there: if your writers pitch you the dumbest storyline ever, just ask Regis Philman to do a guest spot to make the episode great. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
Heroes: Oh my God, they killed Weevil! And yet they let there be two Osmosis Dudes roaming around? I have gotten to the point where I am openly rooting for them to kill Elle too so I can officially take this show off my list. Maybe then she could score a reccuring character on Cupid. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Heroes on iTunes.
Greek: The attempt to sway the council will hopefully just a sample of what is to come when Frannie and Casey go head to head for the presidency with plenty of lipsticks and pigs to go around. But one wonders if either candidate has any ties to a dude that bombed the Capitol. You can stream current episodes over at ABCFamily.com. You can also download Greek on iTunes.
Survivor: Nothing really interesting this week except the toss out the two hottest chicks in two week as apparently all the excitement happened last week when apparently someone’s Mr. Happy popped on screen which is odd because they seem to be extremely alert with the ladies and all the flimsy clothes throughout the season. I guess they may need to start hiring some gay homosexuals editors to make sure the guys stay decent. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download Survivor on iTunes.
My Name Is Earl: Old dudes fighting: now that is high comedy, but I may have nightmares about Joy’s toe for awhile. Luckily the show is down to a half an hour next week because I do not my Earl in hour long segments. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Vice President Debate: I could talk about how Sarah Palin won the debate or how Joe Biden talked to us as if we were morons (seriously Joe, we heard you the first time, you don’t need to repeat everything twice and slow like you are teaching a special ed class), but my thoughts are best summed up by this video:
Everybody Hates Chris: How did I know that the white teacher would show up this season somehow? I was a little worried we wouldn’t see Carouse this year but luckily he showed up. But I wonder how they are gonna fit in Greg all season if he is at a different school? I guess it is safe to assume he will be back in public school before Thanksgiving. You can download Everybody Hates Chris on iTunes.
Free Download of the Week: Kath and Kim (iTunes): When I first saw a promo for Kath and Kim I thought “This is gonna suck.” Then after being innidated with ads for the show during the Olympics I thought, “This is gonna suck massively.” For you those of you that are still curious, you can download the first episode before it even airs in HD or SD on iTunes.
Promos of the Week: I had to scratch my head when VH1 announced I Love the 70's because really, what is there to love about the decade? Which makes me wonder why the guys who created Life on Mars choose that decade. Why not choose the 80's for that Miami Vice feel or the 60's to bust all the hippies? But on the bright side it does star the moderately attractive Gretchen Mol. Here is one of ABC’s Starter Kits on the show to get you interested in the show that premiere this Thursday at 10:00.
Next Week’s Pick: Hip Hop Honors, Monday at 10:00 on VH1: Maybe my favorite night of the year but why is the show on so late this year? Did they really need to have it on after I Want to Work for Diddy? Why didn’t they move that up an hour, it is not as if they won’t re-air it ad nausea for the next month if someone misses it. But anyways. Again VH1 took my suggestion of Slick Rick as an honoree, joining him are Too $hort, Cypress Hill, De la Soul, and Naughty by Nature.
Number one on my most anticipated list for fall television was The Ex-List. Of course that was mostly by default, thanks to the writer’s strike it looks like most of the quality shows won’t show up until mid-season while the fall is mostly populated by easy to put out shows. And really the main reason why The Ex-List stood out from the rest was that is was being ran by Diane Ruggiero who wrote some of the best episodes of Veronica Mars who bolted after some created differences.
But six episodes were in the can before Ruggiero so I figured that it would at least start strong. And apparently I figured wrong. Where to start with what is wrong? I guess you start with the casting most notably the lead Elizabeth Reaser (The Family Stone) who is really miscast. The show is built to be this quirky drama but Reaser just doesn’t have a handle on comedy. Bella needed to be portrayed by an actress that can walk the line chronically clumsy but never actually crossing the line and Reaser just cannot find the rhythm.
The supporting cast is just not likable. First there are Bella’s roommates and companions Alex Breckenridge (Dirt) and her obscenely oversized bangs and Adam Rothenberg (Mad Money). Then there is Amir Talai (Mad TV) who just seems like a throw away character that seems to have no reason to be there. The most unlikeable is most recent ex-boyfriend Mark Deklin (Herbie - Fully Loaded) who is only around because he shares custody of a dog with Bella.
The only good thing about the show so far is Bella’s sister Rachel Boston (American Dreams) who is a lighting bolt on screen and may have been a better choice for Bella. What’s odd is even though he bachelorette party is the catalyst for Bella getting her fortune of she has one year to find her soul mate of spend the rest of her life alone, we actually do not meet her fiancee in the first hour.
The worst casting award goes to Bella’s first chance encounter with one of her exes in Eric Balfour (Can't Hardly Wait) who is right up there with the dudes from Heroes in the How Does This Dude Still Find Work category. Without him in future The Ex-List has room for improvement but I don’y see how it can get much more better especially with the exit of Ruggiero.
The Ex-List airs Fridays at 9:00 on CBS. You can stream recent episodes over at Innertube. You can also download The Ex-List on iTunes.
A plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Miracle at St. Anna, Chuck, When Weather Changed History, Gemini Division, The Comedy Festival, The Office, Harry Potter, Crash, and Estate of Panic.
- Miracles of St. Anna is getting a lot of buzz and for those that have not seen it yet, as it is currently in theaters, here is a synopsis along with two clips from the film.
Directed by Spike Lee from a screenplay written by James McBride, the author of the acclaimed novel of the same name, the film chronicles the story of four African-American soldiers who are members of the U.S. Army as part of the all-black 92nd Buffalo Soldier Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy, during World War II. They experience the tragedy and triumph of the war as they find themselves trapped behind enemy lines and separated from their unit after one of them risks his life to save an Italian boy.
Miracle at St. Anna explores a deeply inspiring story that transcends national boundaries, race and class to touch the goodness within us all.
- Fans of Chuck should definitely check out insidebuymore.com where viewers can join up as employees of Chuck's workplace and get the latest insider news about the show, and connect with fellow fans.
- For this history buff, the first season of When Weather Changed History was very entertaining and the second season starts up this Sunday October 5 at 9:00 on the Weather Channel with the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. For the second season, also look for episodes on The Great Chicago Fire, the Titanic, the Hindenburg, Killer Smog of 1948, the Dust Bowl, the D-Day Invasion, Floods of 1993, Greensburg, Kansas, the Heat Wave of 1995, Katrina, Valley Forge, and the Super Outbreak of Tornados of 1974.
- When I last talked about Gemini Division I mentioned how it was odd that they would debut the web show during the Olympics and because of Olympics I completely forgot about it until I was recently sent a reminder and of a re-cap the show recently did. Head over to GeminiDivision.com for that recap.
- The Comedy Festival is taking place November 20-22 at Caesar’s palace in Las Vegas featuring Jerry Seinfeld, Katt Williams, a roast of Cheech and Chung (naturally), and many more. If you are in the area you can find ticket information at thecomedyfestival.com. If you cannot make it, keep your eye out on TBS who will be airing many of the events.
- For those that cannot get enough of The Office or are already going through Harry Potter withdrawal with the final book already out, be sure to check out Atom.com’s two part episode J.K.’s The Office and Salesman’s Stoned. Click for Episode 1 and Episode 2.
- With HBO and Showtime battling over the title of best original programming, Starz has thrown its hat into the ring with a Crash based on the movie. I cannot say have much excitement with the show because I do not get Starz and I thought Crash was one of the worst movies ever in the history of the world. But those interested you can watch the premiere episode online now before it airs October 17. Head over to starz.com/crash to give it a look.
- The upcoming Sci-Fi Channel reality show Estate of Panic recently got its host in Steve Valentine of Crossing Jordan fame. The show is set to premiere Wednesday, November 12 at 10:00.
Where Chuck took the approach to a lengthy layoff after a quick minute recap before starting something new (see Previewing: Chuck), Pushing Daises took the opposite approach and devoted almost half of its premiere to recapping the first season. The Pushing Daisies approach may be better to in bringing in new viewers, but they could have recapped a little faster.
Giving so much emphasis on the narration and the flashback, my boy Emerson Cod seemed to get the short stick in terms of a storyline. But they planted a couple more seeds about his missing in action daughter which he is apparently trying to find via a pop up book, a new hobby he picked up last season.
Then there is the head scratching plot twist with Olive heading off to a nunnery because she hated hiding all the secrets she accumulated in the first season. I totally did not get why Olive had Aunt Lily take her to the nunnery if she was one of the people she was trying to escape. I wonder if there is a deleted scene out there somewhere that explains this. Or explain why Lily stuck around to keep her tabs on her.
The mystery of the week with the bees may have been the weakest of the series, but that could have been because it didn’t have the usual twist and turns due to all the time dedicated to bring people back up to date. Hopefully now that everyone is caught up, Pushing Daisies can get back into the groove starting next week.
Pushing Daisies airs Wedsdays at 8:00 on ABC. You can stream recent episodes over at ABC.com. You can also download Pushing Daisies on iTunes or through Amazon Video on Demand:
Say will you want about the alien that currently is Michael Jackson and his inching closer to a confrontation with Chris Hansen, but the music still stand up and October shows exactly why because even with the circus surrounding Jackson, twenty-five years after the release of Thriller, you will still hear the title track at every Halloween party this season and lands itself into the Scooter Hall of Fame.
The reach could also be seen when iTunes first started selling videos on its service and Thriller remained a mainstay at the top of its chart for months and will most like make a return to as the holiday approaches. And the epic song surly produced an epic video which was an event when it premiere. Lasting thirteen minutes, Jackson reinvented the music video into mini movies with plots and stories and massive budgets. And don’t tell me the song comes on you don’t feel an urge to do the zombie dance.
Just when you think Thriller, the song or video, couldn’t get any more menacing, along comes Vincent Price in what could be considered the very first rap cameo in a pop song. To this day in the right context, Price’s words can send shivers up my spine. See for yourself:
It is time for another rousing round of Playing the Percentages, again along for the ride is the good people from TV on the Brain. If you want to play the home game, just drop your thoughts in the comments or leave a comment on a question you would like to be answered at a later date. Now let us play the game where I will play the role of the House Republicans with Jo playing the role of George Bush.
What are the chances that Pushing Daises has a sophomore slump?
Scooter: 10%. Where someone like JJ Abrams is high concept, low results, Bryan Fuller has proven to be high concept, high results, well at least when people turn in. Plus it is had to have a sophomore slump when your freshman year is cut in less than half.
Jo: 0%. Bryan Fuller and crew didn't even get a full season one thanks to the strike. So he's had nearly a year to think about it. And even though this show has a very specific premise, there is a rich well of story to tell in this beautiful fantasy world he's created.
What are the chances that the best show of this season will be a mid-season replacement?
Scooter: It is not a good sign when the best new show of the season I have seen is Raising the Bar with Zack Morris and his absurd hair. I was looking forward to Ex-List until Diane Ruggerio left unceremoniously. She just happen to get quick work with Rob Thomas on the reboot of Cupid. Thrown in mid-season shows by Mike Judge and Joss Whedon plus the much buzzed Kings I’ll go a high as 92% on this.
Jo: I haven't been paying attention to the new material coming out, but my money would be on proven show runners Joss & Rob as well. So I'll toss a 75% out there for good measure.
What chances does Gary Unmarried have to be this year’s The Big Bang Theory?
Scooter: Despite being much beloved now, The Big Bang Theory got crushed by critics, professional and armchair alike much like Gary Unmarried has when they first aired. But even their first were not completely unwatchable. With that said I will only give it 33% chance because The Big Bang Theory had Sheldon to build around and Gary Unmarried doesn’t have that potential break out character to lift them into bankable sitcom. Although if tweaked, Ed Beagley Jr., who I think is just currently recurring, could be that.
Jo: 25%. Jay Mohr is a bit of a love 'em or hate 'em actor. I happen to hate. And as much as I seriously adore The Big Bang Theory, they need to better balance the story telling out among all the characters because, yes Scooter, even Sheldon will get old with his schtick.
Scooter: As someone with some of Sheldon's quirks, there is plenty of of schtick left before Sheldon gets old.
What is the percentage that you will not be watching Friday Night Lights until 2009?
Scooter: 25%, I deleted all my torrent programs years ago out of security reasons (and the fear of being sued) but I am holding out hope that NBC still steams new episodes on Hulu the day after they air on DirecTV which would be the smart thing to do from a business standpoint to combat the torrent. But NBC has proved not to be the smarted network (*cough* Knight Rider *cough*)
Jo: ? 50%? I don't even know when FNL is supposed to come back. I figure since NBC is barely keeping the show alive anyways that if all else fails, I'll rent the DVDs.
Scooter: For the record, Friday Night Lights season three premieres tomorrow at 9:00 on DirecTV channel 101 (and repeated Fridays at 9:00) uncut and commercial free. Then sometime in 2009 the episode will re-air on NBC at a time and day to be determined later. I'm not sure the "uncut" is a marketing ploy or if DirecTV will be throwing in a swear word and gratuitous nudity that will be cut out for network broadcast or maybe some extra scenes. Now if only I knew someone with DirecTV so I could find this out (anyone in Northeast Ohio with DirecTV, shout me a holla).
You would think after only a handful of episodes under its belt and a eight month hiatus that Chuck would take its time reintroducing itself, but beside a quick minute recap from our protagonist, the show hits the ground running with its second season premiere. Well not literally as it actually starts with Chuck being hung Vanilla Ice style with the dude from The Green Mile playing the roll of Suge Knight.
The show doesn’t seem to start too far into the future than we left off and the new Intersect is nearly complete and Casey’s boss is still keen on having him eliminate the old one once. Sadly most of the best scenes were repeated from the promo that has been in heavy rotation since the Olympics like the car crash, Chuck finding Awesome and his sister in the shower, Casey’s man love for Ronald Reagan, and the Token Hot Chick in her underwear. Well, I guess that is something worse seeing again.
There is some good new and bad news about the cast. The good being that it has ballooned up to now include Awesome as a full fledged cast member as well as Big Mike and the Nerd Herd triad of the Indian, the hot Asian and the soon to be meeting Chris Hansen looking guy. The bad is that unfortunately to make room for them they did not decide to cut loose Morgan who is as annoying as ever.
Chuck airs Mondays at 8:00 and you can always steam recent episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes or on Amazon Video on Demand:
It is never a good sign opening up an article entitled, Senate Sends Big Spending Bill to Bush with a picture of these goons attached. For those that cannot pick out their Congressmen in a line out, that is from left Ted Stevens, John Barrasso, Larry Craig, and Sheldon Whitehouse. What, was Mark Foley on the next elevator? And no, the bill had nothing to due with the much ballyhooed bailout package that has been talked about for the last week. Nope this is a separate bill that gives $25,000,000,000 of taxpayer money. Also included was a record setting 70,000,000,000 to the Pentagon while the Defense Department (um, isn’t the Pentagon defense?) got a six percent increase to 488,000,000,000. Gotta pay for those wars. And despite all the talk on earmarks on Friday, the bill also contained 2,322 pet projects costing taxpayers $4,900,000,000. The article also had this to say,
“Democrats also wanted to avoid an election-year clash with Bush that would have played in his favor. They are willing to take their chances that Democrat Barrack Abeam will be elected president in November and permit increases for scores of programs squeezed by Bush each year.”
And yes I copied and pasted that, the typo isn’t mine.
But I want to go on the record that I am completely against the bailout plan for Wall Street. You know, the one that was quickly thrown together by George Bush (who has been sporting an “Is it January yet” face all week) and the Senate Democrats. You know when those two entities agree on anything it cannot end well on principal alone. It was interesting that when John McCain called out Barrack Abeam for being the most liberal person Obama shot back that he was just voting against Bush’s boneheaded ideas yet he was quick to get on board with Bush on the most important legislation of his tenure in the Senate.
To get off track for a second, what is with this “call me if you need me crap”? Say what you want about John McCain but at least he showed up to do his job that he was elected to do. The people of Illinois, Arizona and Delaware did not elect these guys to run for president. Why is Congress the only place in America where if you do not show up for work not only do you not get fired but you may get a promotion for skipping. Congressmen have successfully cut their work week down to three days while taking six week vacations after every four weeks of work.
If you are running for president and are still collecting $169,300 of our tax payer money per year, you better show up for work. Which of course none of them actually do. In my life time only Bob Dole had the common courtesy to actually resign from the Senate to run. Speaking of Senators McCain and Obama doing what they are paid to do, both in the past days said they had previously warned on the floor of Congress of the impending economic crisis. Well you are both legislator, if saw this coming why didn’t you write any legislation to stop this from happening instead of grandstanding in front of Congress. Well I guess we know why Obama wasn’t willing to write legislation to regulate Freddie, Fannie and AGI because he was number two in donation received from both. Then you have Chris Dodd number one and he is the Finance Committee Chair who just happens to be the lead Senate Democrat in trying to rush bailing out those that were so generous to him.
But back to this horrendously stupid bailout plan. Having Bush and the Dems actually agreeing as a sign of a horrible things to come, I am against it because it benefit two types of people: the greedy and the stupid. The greedy is obvious, these fat cats gambling with your savings in hopes to buy a third yacht. But one group of people you don’t hear about is the stupid because the Congress doesn’t want to put blame the people that will be voting in about a month.
To clarify the stupid, these are the people that kept on accumulating debt (college loans, mortgage, car payments, credit cards) but instead of paying those off debts you thought that buying an HDTV, sound system and a Playstation 3 would be a better investment than paying off stuff you already owe. And because you all just had to have a bigger house than you could I am stuck with a $24,000 bill which is how much each American will have to pay when you divie up the 700,000,000,000 bail out figure tossed around, even though I paid off my student loans ahead of time, on the path to doing the same for the mortgage I’m paying, pay off my credit card in their entirety all the while being what the government likes to label as poor.
Seriously people, it is not hard to create a budget. The next (or first) time you buy a house take you current income, subtract all you monthly debt you may have (loans, credit card minimums), factor in monthly expenses like grocery and if the number is bigger than the suggest monthly mortgage payment then go ahead and buy. If not, keep house hunting for something more in your price range, and if that number turns out to be less than zero, it may be time to cancel your Netflick subscription and get out of the red (I know someone whose phone number changes every other month because she cannot pay the bill yet has yet to cancel her Netflick, so I know very well just how stupid people are when they come to their finances).
Keeping a budget is simple third grade math people, it isn’t hard. Or maybe this is why a show called Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader is so popular. I do understand that some people were unable to keep up with their mortgages for various reasons and they do deserve help, but a majority of that 700,000,000,000 is just people who feel they should live in houses bigger than they can actually afford.
What is really scary is the people behind the bailout plan are keep on trying to sell their plan by saying that the American taxpayers can actually make money on all the bad mortgages over time. Are these people serious? This would be like losing your life savings at the blackjack table, having your parents bailing you out only to go to the roulette table and telling your parents they may get they money back with interest This bailout cannot happen and certainly cannot be handled by the likes of George Bush and Chris Dodd.
And just when you think it couldn’t get worse for Americans last week, on Thursday Fred Durst announce that he was getting Limp Bizkit back together. God help us all.
Quote of the Week: You thought the opposite of loser is community college graduate? (Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory)
Song of the Week: Eye of the Tiger - Survivor (as sung by Earl Hickey; My Name Is Earl)
Big News of the Week: We’re All Screwed: Well at least those of us in America. Then both canidates had a chance to ease the minds of the public but neither did at the debate last night even when Jim Lehrer tried to get them to do it time and time again (five by my count). Bob Barr is looking more plausable.
Coalition Links of the Week: After one of the more frustrating Emmy experiences in memory, Buzz proposed five ways to fix the show. (BuzzSugar)
Plattie explained exactly why she hates British soaps. (Pop Vultures)
Vance is disappointed with buzzworthy shows 90210 and Heroes so far but is totally charmed by Privileged. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace took an advance look at HBO's pond-skipping new comedy Little Britain USA, from the warped minds of David Walliams and Matt Lucas. Yes, you'll be talking about Mr. Doggy come Monday. (Televisionary)
She's easy to hate -- the Tim Gunn disrespect, the constant laughing, the hyperconfidence -- but Marisa can't help but like Kenley on Project Runway. (TiFaux)
Raoul talked to Misha Collins about his role on Supernatural. (TV Filter)
The Joy of Painting: I have become so cynical that I see partisan politics everywhere now. Case in point, the last two Bob Ross paintings have been of the Alaskan landscape leading me to think, “someone at PBS is in the tank for Sarah Palin.” Yeah, I need help.
Greek: Finally Evil Frannie is back. I have been waiting for that shoe to drop for almost ten episodes now. And with Frannie looking to get her presidency back should keep the fireworks coming for the rest of the season. You can stream current episodes over at ABCFamily.com. You can also download Greek on iTunes.
Gary Unmarried: Not as bad as the critics would have you believe, a decent amount of laughs in the first episode and I don’t want to go NBA Draft Analyst on you but the show has some upside. But one thing that bothered me is how did Jay Mohr not know Jamie not have a kid? He’s painting her house, how did he not notice the toys laying around. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.
Pardon the Interruption: I am not one for superlatives, but the Kimbo Slice interview was the best ever in the history of PTI. It was the first time I was aware of anyone swearing during Five Good Minutes and Tony Kornheiser looked visibly scared despite Kimbo being via satellite. Throw in the hateable Dan LeBatard and I had to watch it a couple times. You can download the PTI podcast for free on iTunes.
My Name Is Earl: A solid return after a subpar third season thanks to Earl getting back to the list. Seth Green was hilarious as the Make-A-Wish that Earl stole from him and any show will be hard pressed to come up with a funnier musical segment than Earl singing Eye of the Tiger to his dad when he went to beat up his former neighbor this season. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Free Download of the Week: Chuck (iTunes): We are two days away from the new season Chuck, and you know what that means: more gratuitous Token Hot Chick pictures. For those that cannot wait you can download the premiere for free on iTunes. And for those that do not want to download it, you can also stream the episode on Hulu or Amazon Video on Demand.
Promos of the Week: Three years ago I claimed that the TV Gods were against me because they schedule Veronica Mars and Lost, my number one and number two shows from the previous season, at the same time. And that is happening again this season but this time around it is much easier on account I do not have DirecTV to watch Friday Night Lights so Pushing Daises it is. Here is a behind the scenes look of Pushing Daisies and for those with DirecTV, something to get you hyped up for the third season of Friday Night Lights for those with DirecTV:
Next Week’s Pick: Pushing Daisies, Wednesday at 8:00 on ABC: If I am not mistaken, Pushing Daisies was one of the first shows to run out of episodes due to the strike so it has been a very long time since we have seen The Piemaker and the gang. With all that time off it should be interesting to see how they relaunch the show.
The granddaddy of all reality shows is back and in HD for the very first time. I cannot comment on how much better the show looks as I will be watching Survivor: Gabon in SD. And for one of the very few times the premiere has been expanded to two hours. Well, it was basically just two episodes on one night. The show is back in Africa for the first time since the third season which was panned for being not having any color. But this time around Gabon is right in the middle of a rain forest which should look great in HD, not that I will be able to tell.
I loved the opening challenge, having the contestants decide to either go after the immunity idol or help their team get extra rice. Then the same tribe dominated the next two challenges. Yawn. Of course the school yard pick ‘em was completely bizarre with some of the most inane picks ever. It was like people were thinking picking who they would like to vote off the most not who would help them win immunity.
It is never a good sign for Survivor when the hottest chick gets voted off first and really, how dare they vote off Michelle and her exposed nipple and see-through underwear? And couldn’t they come up with a better name for Exile Island considering that they are land locked and there is no actual island. But I do like the new twist that you can choose between a clue and comfort. A change for the not so good was the “coming up on Survivor” before commercial. Hopefully this was just because of the two hour premiere and not a permanent thing. Here are some predictions for this season:
Most Likely to Quit: Kelly Czarnecki Girl Whom I’d Still Have Dirty, Dirty Sex with Even if She Hasn’t Showered in a Month: Paloma Soto-Castillo Should Be Voted Off Next: Ace Gordon Winner: Bob Crowley Back Up Choice: Crystal Cox
Verdict: It is never a good sign that they vote off the hottest chick first or when one team dominates early and Gabon had both. Hopefully the season can turn around and turn around quick. Survivor: Gabon airs at 8:00 om CBS. You can stream the show over at Innertube. You can also download Survivor: Gabon on iTunes or through Amazon on Demand:
One of my many reasons for my displeasure of I Love the New Millennium before the decade was even over is because you need time to get the full impact of the years and to better place things that overlapped years. For instance, in a decade we may look back on 2006/2007 as the year that Apple and the campaign ads inadvertently launched a new musical genre of quicky pop starting with Feist and later including Yael Naïm and The Ting Tings. Australian songstress Lenka could also fit into this category even though one of her songs haven’t been co-opted by Apple (yet, but she has been used in an Old Navy ad).
On her self titled debut, Lenka intertwines breezy pop with light emphasis on piano and drum looks. The highlight of the album is The Show, a hum a long anthem that is so catchy you may find yourself singing it at the most inopportune time. Lenka says about her album that it is a “mood enhancer” and adds, “I don’t like it when people are depressed. I want to cheer them up” and if The Show doesn’t lighten your mood you do not have a soul. Although you got to wonder why she would end the song with a chorus of people sing, “I want my money back.” I got to imagine that is not something you want an audience to sing at your show. But anyways.
Elsewhere on the album Knock Knock is a heart-felt love song that can bring you closer to that special someone. Songs like Dangerous and Sweet and Trouble Is a Friend sound like a long lost eighties New Wave hits. The rest of the album though doesn’t deviate from that formula for better or worse leaving the replay value fairly low. But hopefully on the next album, Lenka can expand more on what could be a winning formula.
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 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.
When it seems like every pop act is going country it is interesting to see that Taylor Swift is going the other way with the first single off of her second album. This is after they un-countried two songs from her debut album for Top 40 consumption. We will have to wait until November 11 when Fearless, which features co-written songs with Colbie Caillat, comes out to see just how far the transformation goes.
It has been almost a decade since we have gotten new material from Q-Tip which was much more dance music, but if Gettin’ Up is any indication, the new album will get back to his A Tribe Called Quest roots. The Renaissance comes out November 4.
I am never a fan of new material on Greatest Hits compilations. It just wreaks of blatant attempts of forcing fanatics to buy the album just for the track or two that they don’t already own, what’s worse is when iTunes makes those new songs “Album Only” tracks. Plus none of the songs (sans Mary Jane’s Last Dance) ever live up to the moniker greatest hit. The same goes for this Sarah McLachlan track from her Greatest Hits which probably wouldn’t crack my top twenty favorite songs by her.
Every once and a while a song just gets stuck in my head and I just break out into that song at inappropriate times and the first single from Australian Lenka falls into that category. And the video is just as quirky as the song the former of which I will talk about in greater when I review the album later this week (if I get around to it).
If you have been watching the baseball playoffs you have undoubtably know that Frank TV returns October 21 at 11:00 on TBS and I had a chance recently to chat with the Frank in Frank TV, Frank Caliendo. Here are some of the highlights:
Scooter: Are you at all sad that you only have four more months left of Bush?
Scooter: Do you have a favorite character that you do?
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on my 
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on my 
who bolted after some created differences.
) who is really miscast. The show is built to be this quirky drama but Reaser just doesn’t have a handle on comedy. Bella needed to be portrayed by an actress that can walk the line chronically clumsy but never actually crossing the line and Reaser just cannot find the rhythm.
) and her obscenely oversized bangs and Adam Rothenberg (
). Then there is Amir Talai (Mad TV) who just seems like a throw away character that seems to have no reason to be there. The most unlikeable is most recent ex-boyfriend Mark Deklin (
) who is only around because he shares custody of a dog with Bella.
) who is a lighting bolt on screen and may have been a better choice for Bella. What’s odd is even though he bachelorette party is the catalyst for Bella getting her fortune of she has one year to find her soul mate of spend the rest of her life alone, we actually do not meet her fiancee in the first hour.
) who is right up there with the dudes from 
in the How Does This Dude Still Find Work category. Without him in future The Ex-List has room for improvement but I don’y see how it can get much more better especially with the exit of Ruggiero.
.
