99. Leonard Leakey Hofstadter, Ph.D - The Big Bang Theory
100. Harold Brighton "Bright" Abbott - Everwood
(Scooter’s Note: Only characters that were introduced and featured for at least one full season between September 1999 and August 2009 were eligible for this list. For a complete breakdown on the list, check out Breaking Down the 100 Greatest Television Characters of the 00's.)
Tool Academy: Charm has become this season’s Shawn who inexplicably manages to make it one more week even though he was one of the biggest tools from week one. You can stream recent episodes over at vh1.com. You can also download Tool Academy on iTunes.
Greek: Oh crap, they really are going to reignite the Cappie / Casey / Evan love triangle. Hopefully they graduate and all that happens off screen. And let’s face it, trading Olivia Munn for Casey = downgrade even if she is a slacker. At least Dale passing out Bible study fliers at the strip club was pretty funny You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.
The Big Bang Theory: Wow, Sheldon lost at something again. First he incorrectly guessed the cricket and then he loses to the Star Trek dude and on purpose. I cannot wait to see what revenge Sheldon has up his sleeve because you know some is coming (assuming the guy is willing to guest star again, but really, what does he have going on). You can download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Castle: I really didn’t understand that if the arrangement was for one book, why did Beckett let Castle stick around after the book was written and not wait until it was published conclude their arrangement. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes. Also be sure to check out my chat with Stana Katic.
Sons of Anarchy: It’s surprising that Tom Everett Scott doesn’t get more screen time as SAMCRO’s lawyer. And I know he is sans an eye, but were was Otto while everyone else was in the Big House? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.
Mercy: Is the doctor really going to let Ronnie off the hook for putting a cinder block through his car just because his mail order bride died? And do firemen really get called to such calls like breaking and entering? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Mercy on iTunes.
Modern Family: Nothing like a swim in the pool with your clothes on to wash away all your family drama. Alighty. As funny as Al Bundy asking his gay son’s boyfriend if he found him attractive, the episode seriously needed another song from Dylan. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.
Survivor: Samoa: After the last two episodes, it got me thinking, at what point are the elements so bad do the suspend the game? Is there an amount of rainfall, a certain temperature where they step in? And I was surprised they didn’t go ahead with tribal as planned because when the other dude dropped out, they still had to vote someone out. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Quote of the Week: My mother calls me at work to see if I had a healthy bowel movement. (Howard – The Big Bang Theory)
Song of the Week: Up All Night – Slaughter (Greek)
Big News of the Week: Um: Since I have no desire to talk about the balloon boy (except to ask why is this breaking news when we have two wars going on, massive unemployment, etc?) I got nothing this week.
Free Download of the Week: Pilot – Modern Family (iTunes): If you have somehow missed the best new show of the fall, you can check up on the first episode at least to see why it is the best.
Video of the Week: In a story I broke yesterday, this year Halloween falls on the weekend (next Saturday to be exact) and me and the Geto Boys will be trick or treating, robbing little kids for bag. If you didn’t get that what should be an obvious pop culture reference, check out the video below:
Next Week Pick of the Week: Friday Night Lights, Wednesday at 9:00 on DirecTV: It pains me to write this considering I may have to wait until summer to see the new season unless I can find someone closer to New Jersey to invite me over every Wednesday for the next thirteen week. If not, I am going into FNL shutdown until NBC airs it to avoid any spoilers. But seriously, if you are in the Northeast Ohio area and have DirecTV, shout me a holla.
Also be on the look out next week for my latest Greatest of the 00's list.
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Trauma, Community, Stargate Universe, and The League.
- Trauma is slowly getting its footing, which is of course too slow. But there is nothing like a Halloween episode to kick start a show because like the holiday itself, anything can happen. And since this year Halloween falls on the weekend, I think me and the Geto Boys are going to go trick or treat and robbing little kids for bags. But anyways. Here is a behind the scene look at Monday’s Trauma:
I am not entirely sure about The League, the new FX comedy debuting Thursday, October 29th at 10:30, because from the previews I am not sure if the show will be laughing at me or laughing with me as an avid fantasy sports player. Check out a preview below to see if you can figure it out:
Kristania DeBarge has a lot to live up to. Yes the last name is courtesy of her father James who was part of the eighties group that brought us the theme song to Short Circuits. Then her debut album Exposed was produced by nineties uber-producer Babyface who also wrote four songs for the album. With that lineage, Exposed is a little disappointing.
The album just sounds like every other album from other cookie cutter R&B pop acts of the past couple years like Jordin Sparks and the like getting the scraps that Rihanna pass on. Debarge even tries to do for Steam’s Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye for her Goodbye what Rihanna did for Tainted Love on S.O.S. to lesser effect (it also doesn’t help that Wale and Jay-Z also decided to co-opt the same song this year). And it doesn’t help that Ryan Tedder contribute a track because Speak Up doesn’t help his rap that he basically only has one song that he recycles to ever artist he works with to the point you can understand why Kelly Clarkson was so upset.
Even the Babyface songs like Cried Me a River come off a little too smaltzy and too overproduced making you wish of the days when ‘face could do no wrong but that was over a decade ago. He does manage to take us back to when Kristinia’s father ruled the charts on the throwback It’s Got to Be Love which borrows from I Need Love from LL Cool J.
But on the bright side, the album is good clean fun for the tween set who are looking for something edgier than the Magic Kingdom is exporting and not ready for the oversexualized music that plagues R&B radio these days. Anyone one in that age bracket will be more than happy to sing along to songs like Goodbye, Future Love and Doesn’t Everybody Want to Fall in Love.
If there was one reason to pick up the Reality Bites soundtrack it was because my favorite U2 song All I Want Is You is among the track listing (keep in mind this was long before iTunes or even Napster). And with all due respect to the breakout star amongst the great eighties tunes, Lisa Loeb, the second standout track on the album was Spin the Bottle, a quick jolly romp reminiscent of the great middle school days when the spinning the bottle was the way to tell someone you liked them long before Vanessa Hudgens discovered a cell phone.
During the Halloween season, there is one movie I go back to for a good scare, and a few laughs thrown in for good measure, and that is the Evil Dead Trilogy (okay that is three, but who’s counting). Unfortunate the creative mind behind those movies Sam Raimi has been too busy playing with boys in tights the last decade to do anything in the horror genre this decade until he squeaked one in at the end with Drag Me to Hell.
First off, Bruce Campbell who was the lead in the Evil Dead movies and cameos in all three Spider-Man movies as three different characters, is absent from the film. But other than that, Drag Me to Hell is pure Sam Raimi. The unexpected laughs throughout the movie jump up as much as the unsuspecting scary parts that horror movies are known for, although Raimi may have gone with one too many false endings.
The movie centers around Alison Lohman (Big Fish), a sweet loan officer who decides to get a backbone at the wrong time. Promotion time is right around the corner and after her boss says to get it, she will start to have to make the tough decisions which leads to Lohman to decline a frail old lady (perfectly portrayed by Lorna Raver with an assist to the great makeup artist who turned her that way) a third extension on her mortgage tossing her on the street. Wrong decision.
In retaliation, Raver puts a curse on Lohman where a demon named the Lamia would harass her for three days before, well, dragging her to hell, naturally. And as dramatized in the prologue, this is definitely not something you want to partake in. Along for the rise I the surprisingly straight man Justin Long (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) as Lohman loyal boyfriend who stays by her despite actually believing that she is being cursed and an eventful dinner with his parents who meet Lohman for the first time.
Drag Me to Hell might not be the scariest horror movie you will see (it is only PG-13) but for Raimi that is not the point as a full entertainment experience is what he wants to give you and that is what you get with this movie. And now that he has dipped his toe back in the genre, hopefully more adventures of Ash are not far behind.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
I wasn’t too fond when I first heard the new John Mayer song. It just sounded like a mash up of Stop This Train and In Your Atmosphere. And I still pretty much still feel that way but then I discovered the lyric “It’s been a long time since twenty-two” which has hit a little close to home lately. And if I do my math correctly, twenty-two is around the time he sang about wanting to ruin through the halls of his high school.
Fifteen – Taylor Swift
Speaking of songs that take you back to a certain age, so does the new Taylor Swift. But for me it isn’t back to time the title refers to but back to eighteen when I was a senior trying to pick up those freshmen girls. Fun times.
Tool Academy: There is something to be said that when it was announced that the winning team would get a conjugal visit, Shannon and her “Special” Tool were the only ones not celebrating. So not surprising that they got eliminated. But I was really shocked that she took him back. I wonder if there is something seriously wrong with Shannon that we didn’t see because she should be albe to do much better than him. And having him John and Dre P eliminated in succession may hurt the show from an entertainment standpoint. You can stream recent episodes over at vh1.com. You can also download Tool Academy on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Holy crap, I was a sexless innkeeper. And no I am not retelling that story in poem form or not. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
Trauma: The show really needs to spend more time developing their characters instead of going out on some of these smaller calls. They could have dropped either the skater or drunk couple and spend those five minutes getting to know the characters better. There are some interesting ones there; they just need to focus more screen time on them. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Trauma on iTunes.
Greek: It is good to see Dale born again at the episode because sleazy Dale was physically uncomfortable to watch. Also physically uncomfortable, the thought of a return of the Casey / Cappie / Evan love triangle. Hopefully this doesn’t happen. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.
The Big Bang Theory: Great use of an Eye of the Tiger montage. You can stream current episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Castle: I agree with Castle: best case ever. But I may go one further and say it was the best episode ever. And much like Castle, I was conned into thinking that the dude was actually CIA too. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes. Also be sure to check out my chat with Stana Katic.
Hip Hop Honors:: It is interesting to watch the reactions of the founders and CEO’s of Def Jam during certain performances, usually they would sing along and be excited, but were flatfooted during Ja Rule and Rick Ross. And coincidentally so was I. And just behind that front row in the balcony I swear was MC Serch of 3rd Bass who were conspicuously absent during the performances.
Mercy: Crazy homeless burrito stealing dude gets hit by a bike: classic. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Mercy on iTunes.
Gary Unmarried: The ending was a little cheap because once you get a nickname, you are not losing it until you graduate (and hope none of your classmates go to the same college) or you get an even more humiliating nickname. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download Gary Unmarried on iTunes.
Modern Family: Let’s hope Shelley Long isn’t really moving to Canada or at the very least makes the trek down to the states for holidays and family reunions because The Incident on the show was much more satisfying than the one on Lost. And more Dylan and the Rusty Zippers please because much like the families, I have been humming the song all week. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.
Real World-Road Rules Challenge: The Ruins: Yeah, the producers didn’t realize why the champions are champions for a reason. The only Ruins the challengers have won so far was one that a champion threw. At this point are there going to be any challengers left for the final challenge? You can stream recent episodes over at mtv.com. You can also download Real World-Road Rules Challenge: The Ruins on iTunes.
Survivor: Samoa: With the tribe being unable to strategize, it makes me wonder why the show doesn’t have losing tribes go straight to tribal council more often. It has only happened once or trice that I can remember. It could make tribal council more interesting. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Community: I actually went to high school with someone who would believe anything I would tell her. I’d try to up the lie in hopes she would finally get I was joking but she would end up believing I was related to the fictitious Shooter McGavin while Darrin McGavin was my grandfather. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.
Quote of the Week: You listen up, Pierce! I'm gonna tell you what my mother told me when I wanted to quit cheerleading: You're not very pretty, you have no boobs, and you can't do a basket toss to save your life. But you made a commitment. So pick up your pompoms, Pierce, stuff your bra, and get ready for the team bus to forget you at a Taco Bell, because life is tough. But we soldier on, and that's just the way it goes. (Annie - Community)
Big News of the Week: Don’t Bring Chuck Back Early: Last week when I talked about Southland being canceled I pondered what that meant for its midseason shows. Right after I wrote that rumors started up on the internets that Chuck could return as soon as this month. As much as I would like to bring back the Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week, this is a bad idea to end all bad ideas. Bringing it back with only a week or two to promote only to air for a month before taking a holiday break, then air a couple more episodes to be preempted by the Olympics will most likely kill Chuck. There is not even a street date for the second season DVD yet. If NBC is truly making a killing monetarily with Jay Leno despite low ratings, the network should just bite the bullet.
Then they can relaunch the network in a sort after the Olympics where (along with the NFL playoffs) the can promote the return to quality programming of Chuck, Parenthood (which looks to be good and hopefully the stuff behind the scenes doesn’t disrupt that too much) and if they were to move up the premiere of a show, make it Friday Night Lights. Promoting FNL during the NFL playoffs and the biggest sporting event of the year, what a novel idea. But I am not holding my breathe that NBC will do the smart thing because they didn’t even air one FNL promo during the Super Bowl last year.
Coalition Links of the Week: This week, we offered up some valuable lessons ABC, CBS, NBC and the CW can learn from the success of GLEE. (The TV Addict)
Vance loved what may have been Mia Michael's last choreography for SYTYCD on So You Think You Can Dance Canada's Top 6. (Tapeworthy)
Free Download of the Week: Glitter and Doom Preview – Tom Waits (tomwaits.com): Usually when an artist does a preview of their upcoming album, you may get one download, but Tom Waits is letting you download an eight song sampler from his new live album.
Video of the Week: The two Congressmen featured represent areas in and around Cleveland, luckily not mine. But I implore my neighbors to make sure they do not vote for either of them when they come up for reelection next year.
Next Week Pick of the Week: Mercy, Wednesday at 8:00 on NBC: Now that the fall season is in full swing, it may be time to give a chance to a new show you have overlooked. Sure Modern Family is the closest to undisputed best new show of the fall while Mercy got killed by critics. But it is not as bad as they would let you believe. Well, actually it is, but that is the charm of the show and sometimes I laugh more and harder than I do at Modern Family or some of the other sitcoms currently on air. Then for the November 4 episode, be on the look out for Elizabeth Moss who gets admitted into the hospital according to tvguide.com.
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Friday Night Lights, Tidy Songs, Eventual Salvation, Saturday Night Live, Shameless, and Dexter.
- We may be six months away from Friday Night Lights actually airing on NBC (assuming it doesn’t get pushed up, check back tomorrow when I suggest the network does just that, but not Chuck) but is nice to see the network is still doing a little promoting for the show. Here is a behind the scenes look at a commercial filmed for DirecTV. Now if you excuse me, I have to go door to door to see if any of my neighbors subscribe and don’t mind me coming over every Wednesday for the next thirteen weeks.
- Is your iTunes library a mess with missing album art or other missing or misspelled information? Not me because I am obsessive compulsive when it comes to your libraty. But if you have a lot of songs that need archived properly you may want to give TidySongs a look.
- Documentary fans will want to tune in Monday at 9:00 on the Sundance Channel for Eventual Salvation where Dee Rees follows her 80-year-old grandmother Earnestine Smith, as she returns to her adopted home of Liberia to help rebuild a country emerging from 14 years of civil war. In other Sundance Channel news, their blog has just added Village Voice columnist Michael Musto as a writer for SUNfiltered.
- When Saturday Night Live announced their first months of hosts, Gerard Butler was the only one that said must see TV to me. Here’s hoping for a 300 parody. In other SNL skit wish list, could Mike Myers have a Kanye West discussion with Taylor Swift when she hosts next month?
- Showtime has announced that they are importing the long running English show Shameless to their network staring William H. Macy (Wild Hogs) for the pilot. In other Showtime news, starter October 25, Dexter is getting its own animated series Dexter: Early Cuts which you will be able to find on Sho.com.
It is hard for any hip-hop head not to have chills during this year’s Hip Hop Honors dedicated to the twenty-five years of Def Jam (although who invited Ja Rule). I am doing my own dedicating to the label with this month’s lyrics quiz. All of the songs came directly from the label or were produced by Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin and in some cases that is both. As usual, place your guesses in the comment (or e-mail me), both artist and song title (make sure to get your guess to songs released in this decade), and if you are correct I will un-bold the lyric. Please keep in mind the lyrics quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please only use your own meandering mind to guess them. Now onto the quiz:
1. You still acting up. Running around here like some brand new (chicken) about to get (plucked). 2. Shadowboxing when I heard you on the radio. I just don’t know what made you forget I was raw. (Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J; guessed by Doug) 3. So like my girl Foxy, a (expletive deleted) went Def. So (expletive deleted), who’s your to ten? Is it MC Shan? Is it MC Ren? (Hip Hop Is Dead - Nas; guessed by Rose) 4. You give me your number, I call you up. You act like your (expletive deleted) don’t interrupt. I don’t have no trouble with you(expletive deleted) me. But I have a little problem with you not (expletive deleted) me. 5. So I took a big chance at the high school dance with a lady that was ready to play. (Walk This Way - Run-DMC and Aerosmith; guessed by Rebekah) 6. Hey, we don’t know each other well so why I keep picking up my cell? Memories just keep ringing bells. Ding, ding, ding, ding. 7. You will see him on TV, any given Sunday. Win a Super Bowl and drive off in a Hyundai. (Gold Digger - Kanye West and Jamie Foxx; guessed by Doug) 8. I got a squad with a list of complainers. I should have started R.A.P.E.: Rappers Against Phony Entertainers. (Pop Goes the Weasel - 3rd Bass; guessed by Doug) 9. The fellas want to have a barbecue tonight. I think it’s on about 5:00. They say it’s gonna have many Daisy Dukes and this is gonna be live. (Sweet Potato Pie - Domino; guessed by Doug) 10. The rap era’s out of control, brothers selling their soul to go gold, going, going, gone. (Crossover - EPMD; guessed by Doug) 11. Since these girls peeping me I’m a glide and swerve. These hookers looking so hard they straight hit the curb. (Regulate - Warren G and Nate Dogg; guessed by Doug) 12. Foot on the pedal - never ever false metal, engine running hotter than a boiling kettle. 13. Bass, how low can you go? Death row? What a brother know? (Bring the Noise - Public Enemy; guessed by Doug) 14. What I got you got to give to your daughter. You do a little dance and drink a little water. (Give it Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers; guessed by Doug) 15. First time I shot her, I shot her in the side. Hard to watch her suffer but with the second shot she died. (Delia's Gone - Johnny Cash; guessed by Rebekah) 16. Get the feeling of peace at the end of the day. And when your bulldog barks and your canary sings, you’re out there with winners. 17. I’m not a martyr. I am not a prophet. I won’t preach to you, but here’s a caution: You better understand I won’t hold your hand. 18. The year is ’94 and my trunk is raw, and in the rearview mirror is the (expletive deleted) law. (99 Problems - Jay-Z; guessed by Doug) 19. The truth is, I don’t stand a chance. It’s something you’re into and I just don’t belong. (Beverly Hills - Weezer; guessed by Rose) 20. I don’t mind saying it’s a sad, sad story when a mother will teach her daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger. (Not Ready to Make Nice - Dixie Chicks; guessed by Doug) 21. Hand grenade pins in every line. Throw ‘em up and let something shine. Going out of my (expletive deleted) mind. Filthy mouth, no excuse. 22. Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in. Are you aware the shape I’m in? My hands they shake, my head it spins. Oh Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in. (I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers; guessed by Rebekah) 23. Guess who he saw? Dave the dope fiend doing dope and he don’t know the meaning of water or soap. 24. I’m a b-boy, standing in my b-boy stance. Hurry up and give me the microphone before I bust in my pants. (Slam - Onyx; guessed by Doug) 25. I got a love jonz for your body and your skin tone. Five minutes alone I'm already on the bone. (I'll Be There for You / You're All I Need to Get By - Method Man and Mary J. Blige; guessed by Doug)
![Terror Alert Level: Guarded [BLUE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCbHfExiuXqojow1zxkBUX6j-9BHg9IyrfzqR77jnja2Xq6dbv-7iiqMFzp_UKXGcUF9FyAHqCkNxa5uitXa5Xu2Q1OboN9-TLjsaeI1a2eoGLORU4vkTQ54l1C-_cZyn81QHyQ/s400/small_guarded.png)
on my 
movies as three different characters, is absent from the film. But other than that, Drag Me to Hell is pure Sam Raimi. The unexpected laughs throughout the movie jump up as much as the unsuspecting scary parts that horror movies are known for, although Raimi may have gone with one too many false endings.
), a sweet loan officer who decides to get a backbone at the wrong time. Promotion time is right around the corner and after her boss says to get it, she will start to have to make the tough decisions which leads to Lohman to decline a frail old lady (perfectly portrayed by Lorna Raver with an assist to the great makeup artist who turned her that way) a third extension on her mortgage tossing her on the street. Wrong decision.
) as Lohman loyal boyfriend who stays by her despite actually believing that she is being cursed and an eventful dinner with his parents who meet Lohman for the first time.![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my