Drew Carey is returning to prime tonight on GSN and no his daytime game show The Price Is Right is not moving to the PM, but he is launching a new improv show Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza. You might think to yourself, that sounds just like his old show Who’s Line Is it Anyway? And you would be correct; it is just like Who’s Line Is it Anyway? to the point that many of the cast members like Greg Proops, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Brad Sherwood, Chip Estin, and Jeff Davis are also on the new show. And Carey’s old pal Kathy Kinney (you may know her better as Mimi) also shows up. Also the breakout star from the original, Wayne Brady also pops up in an episode.
Really the only difference is Drew actually gets on the stage as there is no official judging like the original and there is much more audience participation, from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, this time around. And Brady is not the only one making a special appearance, and the show will be getting an extra dose of Tiger Blood during one of the episodes when Charlie Sheen shows up. Conspicuously the only footage that GSN has released was Sheen hugging everyone on stage and none of his improve skills, but considering his tour reviews, and, well, the rest of his life, I expect it will be a train wreck. If we are lucky it will be The Situation at the Donald Trump Roast bad.
Drew Carey’s Improv-a-Ganza airs weeknights at 8:00 and 11:00 on GSN starting tonight with forty episodes set to air. The Charlie Sheen episode airs tomorrow (Tuesday). Below is a preview of the show and a behind the scenes look.
The Event: How James Bond villain of them to order the death of the token hot chick only to let her burn up in a fire. What, would putting a bullet in her head been too messy? But anyway. It looks like the president was too stupid to put a GPS in the buses. Not surprising. But I like how he is getting seriously paranoid more and more with every passing episode, the glance he gave his wife at the end, essentially questioning if she is indeed non terrestrial. Can’t say anything else in the episode was particularly as interesting. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.
Castle: Just last week I complained how Alexis was too goodie-goodie and this week she gets in a catfight. It is about time they gave her some edge. But of course I just happened to be eating some pizza when I watched this episode. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.
Lights Out: Well that was a depressing, if not unexpected, ending. Though it would have been interesting to see where The Justice League, as Barry put it, would go next season, not having a sophomore season may have been for the best. Watching someone lose there mind is not high on the things I would like to watch list. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Lights Out on iTunes.
Survivor: Redemption Island: How do you talk about the game rewarding big moves, then not execute your big plan? It is hard to root for Matt again at Redemption Island for making such a boneheaded move. But big boneheaded move goes to Boston Rob, when Matt tells you that the other tribe is willing to give him an immunity idol, you tell him to get the idol from them. What sucks is this season has been begging for a bold move since Russell got voted out, and now we are set for another month of the lemming following Boston Rob until the former Zapatera is eliminated. Ugg. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Justified: I guess nothing could have possibly lived up to Boyd’s tease that he figured out what Mags was doing. A land grab to limit driving access is not very sexy. I am a little surprised that the Loretta storyline came to a head already. I thought they would save that for the season finale. But I am disappointed that she was not the one that exacted revenge on her father’s behalf. I guess there are still two Bennett’s left, but I do not see her escaping Foster Care to hunt down Mags. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.
The Big Bang Theory: Oh drunken Raj, who would have guessed he would out catchphrase Sheldon’s Bazinga. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Outsourced: Out of all the dumb bets I suffered through during college, I am glad no one thought of pepper roulette, I am not sure if I could have made it past one game. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Outsourced on iTunes.
Quote of the Week: I’m no stranger to memetic epidemiology. At Johnson Elementary School the phrase “Shelly Cooper is a smelly pooper” spread like wildfire. (Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory)
Big News of the Week: Glen Beck Getting Booted from Television: With a government shutdown looming, Glen Beck is getting the boot from his daily Fox blow hard show just months as his liberal nutjob counterpoint Keith Olberman lost his job at MSNBC. Of course will all the loony talking heads that populate the air waves, somehow Beck managed to out crazy them all like earlier this year during the Egypt uprising, suggested that the American presidents (even both Bush’s) were in cohorts with the Arabs to bring about Armageddon. Goodbye Glen, you won’t be missed.
Deal of the Week: Seed Your Cloud: Last week I mentioned Amazon introduced their new Cloud and if you bought an album you would get a free 20 Gig upgrade and Amazonj deeply discounted some popular album. This week they dropped some critically alliamed album to $3.99 or less including albums by Sleigh Bells and TV on the Radio.
New Album Release of the Week: Wasting Light - Foo Fighters
Video of the Week: The Paul Riser Show premieres this Thursday at 8:30 and I am not entire sure what to think about it. But it cannot be any more boring than Perfect Couples. Can it?
Bonus Video of the Week: You cannot quite view this video right now (as I write this), but Norm McDonald will be Normcasting the Masters live this Sunday at 2:00 from his living room. Head over to Comedy Central.com then to watch. And tune into the premiere of Sports Show with Norm McDonald this Tuesday at 10:30.
Next Week Pick of the Week: Friday Night Lights, Friday at 8:00 on NBC: It is ironic all us terrestrial television viewers were expressing our jealous toward DirecTV viewers last fall when they got to watch Friday Night Lights. Now all my friends who watched then say they are jealous of me because I still have episodes of the seminal show that I have not seen. And I will savor them a week at a time even though season five is currently out on DVD.
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 Shark Men, Colin Quinn: Long Story Short, Maroon 5, Friday Night Lights, Rocko’s Modern Life, Travel Channel and Discovery Channel DVD releases, Being Human, and Face Off.
- The new season of Shark Men returns to the National Geographic Channel this Sunday at 9:00 with two new episodes. To start off the second season, the Shark Men will head to barren Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco, the first time anyone has been granted access to the area for shark research. Check out a preview below:
- I was thinking with MTV resurrecting all its 90’s shows like Beavis and Butt-Head and 120 Minutes, maybe it should bring back other classic shows like Remote Control and Club MTV. Sadly Ken Ober would not be around for any reboot. As for his sidekick, Colin Quinn has a comedy special Long Story Short airing tomorrow at 10:00 on HBO and even takes aim at one of today’s MTV stars: Snooki. Here is a trailer:
- Maroon 5 recently hit the studio to create a song in 24 hours, and now you can head over to cocacola.com to download the track for free.
- One more week until the fifth season of Friday Night Lights hits NBC (of course if you cannot wait, it hit DVD shelves earlier this week). But be warned, if you watch this teaser, you may find yourself screaming at your computer screen, “Julie did what!?” like I did.
- If you were a kiddie in the nineties, you may remember Nickelodeon’s Rocko’s Modern Life, well now you can relieve those at least you will June 21 when the two set DVD hit selves courtesy of Shout Factory.
- Fans of Syfy’s reality show Face Off who watch and think I could do that, well maybe you can for the show’s second season. Casting will take place tomorrow at (2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505 (10 am – 6 pm) and 82 Mercer Building, 82 Mercer Street, New York, NY (9 am – 5 am), both times local head over to syfy.com/faceoff to obtain an application.
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.
For those that missed it, Death Cab for Cutie filmed this music video live via Ustream in one take and definitely gets an A for ambition for that. But a part of me wishes something would have went horribly wrong. I’m sure the video would have gotten much more press had it happened.
Cake does not get the credit it deserves for coming up with some creative music videos and their latest takes a morbid turn. I was screaming for the monkey to climb out the hatch and unload the door from the outside.
Who would have guessed a Michael Franti and Spearhead career resurgence a decade and a half after being deemed Buzzworthy that never really materialized into mainstream success? Now he has finally bust through with a string of great tracks including this one.
Watching VH1’s 40 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 90’s, it amazes me who is considered to have only one solitary hit. I lived through the nineties; Vanilla Ice was too huge to have revisionist history change him into a one hit wonder. Play That Funky Music was just as big as Ice Ice Baby (and was also a top five hit to boot) and who can forget Ninja Rap even though most of us would like to. Last month I made an argument that EMF (see Feed Your iPod vol. LVI: Lies) should not be considered a one hit wonder and I could also make arguments for Digital Underground and House of Pain, both artists of which I bought multiple albums of. But I want to take aim at today was on top VH1’s list: Sir Mix-a-Lot. Sure Baby Got Back was absurdly big thanks in part to MTV’s ban (oddly the video got more plays on the channel after it got the pre-8:00 ban than before it), but it certainly should not be the only song of his on your iPod. I could run down the list of his classics (like Posse on Broadway, Beepers, Put 'em on the Glass, Jump on It, Buttermilk Biscuits), but if I could only choose one, it would have to be the most played song in my very first car, a 1976 Malibu with three different shades of blue (not including the grey hood). That song was My Hooptie, and my car may have actually been worse than the one Mix rapped about. Note to teenagers, if your parents give you a choice of taking the bus or buying you a car that is older than you, take the bus. If they would have allowed multiple winners, The Boat, as I affectionately called it, would have won the school paper’s Heap of the Month for two straight years.
And as angry as I was about the one hit wonders on their lists that were not really one, do not get me started on the songs the omitted. I scratched my head when I saw the list was only going to be 40 songs deep and I could off the top of my head come up with 40 songs that were snubbed. I have never been keen on doing my owe one hit wonder lists (my exception for my 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 00’s was because I only used songs that only had one song on my Best Songs of the Year lists from the decade, and not a traditional one hit wonder list), but VH1’s list made me so angry I may have to knock one out at some point. But do not expect it anytime soon because I have a couple other lists I am working on that I would like to do first.
Dilemmas, dilemmas. Sunday night I had to decide between watching AMC’s latest series The Killing or VH1’s 40 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 90’s. Reluctantly I choose the more scripted fair because undoubtedly VH1 would repeat it a couple hundred more times this month and sit there and scream at the television at some of their entries on the list (like when I flipped during the commercial break and saw House of Pain; has no one heard of Shamrocks and Shenanigans, Who’s the Man?, On Point; more on that later this week).
Despite not being in the can like all the pretentious television critic for AMC, I am always down for a good murder mystery, and even bad one as I made it through a whole season of Pretty Little Liars. Much like the ABC Family drama, The Killing shows the aftermath of a murder of a teenage girl, but the similarities end there. This time the detective work is left to the professionals. Taking lead on her last day of work before moving to a new city is Mireille Enos (who it takes a while to get used to watching in modern day clothes after her work on Big Love). Shadowing her on the case is her replacement Joel Kinnaman (dude’s Swedish, so I cannot translate any of his previous work).
The victim, Rosie Larsen, was killed pretty methodically, being drowned in a car that was sunk to a bottom of a lake of which she was locked in the trunk of. The big twist being that car was registered to the city councilman, Billy Campbell (The Rocketeer) who is running for mayor against the incumbent. Campbell has a few skeletons of his own has been has been hiding an affair with his campaign manager, Kristin Lehman (Tilt), and he knows a few things the Larsen family is going though, as he experienced the same thing with his late wife.
Rounding out the cast are Rosie’s parents Michelle Forbes (Battlestar Galactica: Razor) and Brent Sexton (Deadwood). If you want to be sad for hours on end, just watch their scenes after they found out their daughter died, maybe too real for television especially when they are forced to explain to their sons that they will never see their older sister ever again.
Every good murder mystery is judged by the quality of suspects and there are plenty to be found on The Killing. The two I am targeting includes Eric Ladin (Generation Kill), another of Campbell’s campaign advisor who was a bit too quick to turn the murder into political gain and could have easily been the one to report the campaign car stolen. But my lead suspect is the father of resident douchebag Jasper Ames who was even quicker to break up the questioning of his son. Of course as Aaron Echolls showed, who did not appear until the sixth episode of Veronica Mars, we may have not even met the murderer yet.
As much as a murder mystery can draw me in, the strong point of the show are the two detectives and their two very different styles. In an era where every character on television likes to take long expeditions of dialogue, Enos’s character chooses her words very carefully and doesn’t speak an unnecessary one. While Kinnaman is a very believable former undercover Vice cop as he looks like a skeevier version of DJ Qualls. And his scene with the soccer players was a marvel to watch in that you could have believed any outcome that could have happened from that meeting.
For any degenerates out there that enjoy a good drinking game, may I suggest you take a shot of your favorite poison of choose whenever the show lingers on an image of a bridge. You may get as drunk as the drinking game I invented for whenever Al Swearengen said his favorite word.
The Killing airs Sundays at 10:00 on AMC. You can stream episodes over at amc.com. You can also download The Killing on iTunes (where you can currently download the pilot for free, or Amazon Instand Video, see below, where you can get the first two episodes for free).
Longtime readers to the 9th Green may remember my interview with John Lehr where we discussed his involvement with I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! (click to rewatch it). And what would you know, about a month after we talked about it, NBC resurrected the show to worse results probably because they did not bring Lehr back into the fold. Lehr is currently the creator, writer, executive producer and starring in Jailbait which you can watch over at Crackle.
Jailbait is a ten episode that follows Lehr through his nineteen month stay in correctional facility thanks to a drug charge. The self described people person gives the audience a blow by blow account about everything from his first day (a full body cavity search) to his last (a farewell party thrown by his buddies on the inside), to everything in-between (like his attempt to join a gang) and even give helpful hints if you ever find yourself in prison oranges (like how to get extradited from your cell to get away from your angry roommate).
Joining Lehr instead the big house include his 10 Items or Less co-stars Bob Clendenin as his closest friend behind bars and Kirk Ward as one of the prison guards. And Sandra Vergara (Sofia’s more intelligible younger sister) shows up as Lehr’s pen pail with a little extra baggage. Jailbait is short form comedy at its best, in and out quick with plenty of laughs in-between. Each episode runs around five minutes each and they are all currently available over at Crackle. Watch them in small breaks or knock them out all at once in under an hour, you will laugh more than most hour long comedy blocks currently on network television.
The Event: It should go without saying, but I hope the president was smart enough to put GPS trackers on the buses, but since he has made some dumb decisions in the past (okay, let’s be honest, the writers are the one’s making the dumb mistakes) I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.
Castle: Alexis’s goodie-goodie act is starting to wear thin. Se seriously lied to her father so she could go back to the store where her friends stole stuff without him find out? C’mon. She doesn’t have to go Lindsay Lohan, but it is time to ditch the Mother Teresa act. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.
Parenthood: Who would have guessed that Cappie would actually look more shaggy post-graduation? Maybe he should realize the best job he could get in underground for a reason. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.
Lights Out: Every episode since it happened I keep going back to the one that ended with Barry K. Word and Hal Brennen and wondering what exactly was discussed during that meeting. Have they been conspiring this whole time or was that a throw away scene and I am reading too much into it. With one episode left, hopefully all will be revealed. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Lights Out on iTunes.
Survivor: Redemption Island: I was thinking the other day, when an Immunity Idol is played, the person with the second most votes is the one that goes home. But what if the only two people who get votes both play an Idol? Usually when there is a tie, the people who got votes are not allowed to vote in the revote. So would they have a revote for the two people that were voted for whose Idols are no longer valid or do they revote and they cannot vote for the two that played the Idol. This is really all I could think of this week because the actual episode was a bore. Hopefully it picks up next week with the merge and we get to see if my Idol conundrum plays out which could happen because people will be gunning for Boston Rob, but the other tribe knows that Ralph has one, and he knows they know he have one which makes for an interesting chess match. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Justified: Wow, that is the second time we have seen Raylan get severely beaten, sure two on one could be expected, but I thought he could have taken a dimwit with one good hand. But I was disappointed we did not make it to the Bennett Whoop-Di-Do. I remember looking at the clock while they were still at papa’s house and thinking, crap, they are not going to make it this week. I wonder what her master plan is, and what Boyd plans to do about it. But I thought earlier this season it was eluded to that Arlo was the one that had to do with Dicky’s limp, not the story Raylan gave this week about the baseball game. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.
The Big Bang Theory: I am surprised Penny’s one episode addition to World of Warcraft, which to this day is one of the better ones in the series run, was never brought up. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Big News of the Week: To the Cloud: If you bought any free music from AmazonMP3 this week you noticed something different, the music did not actually download to your computer. This is because Amazon unveiled its Cloud service this week and any music you buy on Amazon MP3 will be saved on the Cloud for free. You can upload an additional 5 gigs worth of storage to the Cloud for free. Of course that barely puts a dent into my over 50 gigs of music. But if you buy a full MP3 album from their store, you can be updated to their 20 gig plan for free for a year from the date you buy the album. In honor of this promotion, Amazon MP3 has deeply discounted albums from Kanye West, Coldplay (which were the top two spots on my list of The 100 Greatest Albums of the 00’s), Norah Jones, Beastie Boys, and more for $3.99 or less. Considering you need an Android to play the music mobilely (which I do not have, or any smartphone for that matter) and my oversized library of music, I do not see myself using the Cloud until it is unlimited for free. And wouldn’t be surprised between Amazon, Google, Apple or Microsoft, one if not more of the companies will do so at some point.
Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5 Each: This month you can get albums from Boyz II Men, Alicia Keys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Raphael Saadiq, all of which can cound to your free 20 gig Cloud upgrade..
Video of the Week: Comedy Central is launching a new show this Wedensday at 10:30 called Workaholics featuring recent college graduate roommates who spend their days scheming together to avoid doing any real work and their nights looking for good times. Check out a preview of the show below:
Next Week Pick of the Week: Expedition Week, All Week starting at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel: For a full rundown, check out my preview of Expedition Week, and here is a bonus preview from Wedensday’s Ben Franklin’s Pirate Fleet:
If you are lucky, about once a decade a movie comes out that as if the filmmakers are saying, “Hey Scooter McGavin, this one is for you.” That was the case for High Fidelity, a borderlined obsessive compulsive who cases a little too much about music who seems to mess it up with every girlfriend. High Fidelity, this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame, was a romantic comedy where you were not quite sure if the romance was with the women of the film or the music.
High Fidelity follows John Cusack as he tries to convince himself that his latest failed relationship does not crack his top five most memorable break ups which leads him back to these ex girlfriends to see why exactly things went wrong. (Fun Fact: Justified’s Ava Crowder cracked the top five.) It also does not help that his latest, and possibly greatest, break up it currently shacked up with the hippie version of Tim Robbins.
High Fidelity also marked the breakout role for Jack Black who catapulted from bit player to headliner after the movie. This was well deserved because he stole every scene he was in through the movie as the bombastic employ of Cusack and was the perfect yin to Todd Louiso soft spoken yang. Black even got to show off his singing chops much to everyone’s surprise after every spent the whole movie blowing of his musical ambitions.
But the real scene stealers were the music. You knew from the trailer when Black broke out Walking On Sunshine, this was going to be a special movie and even includes a cameo from Bruce Springsteen. One segment that hit close to home was when a reporter asks Cusack his top five favorite song and he spend the rest of the movie (and a few bonus scenes) editing his choices. This went all the way to the end of the music where I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) remains one of the greatest credit choices of all time. High Fidelity showed, it does not matter how simple a song is, it is how you interpret it.
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, His Way, Canadian Blast sampler, The New Yorker, Falling Skies, and Mob Wives.
- NBC has sent along their first bit of videos hyping the last season of Friday Night Lights including talks with Adrianne Palicki (Tyra Collette), Aimee Teegarden (Julie Taylor), Madison Burge (Becky Sproles), Matt Lauria (Luke Cafferty), Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins), and Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen) about the new season. Below is the cast talking about their favorite moments of the series. Friday Night Light returns April 15 at 8:00.
- You may not recognize the name Jerry Weintraub, as a concert promoter he worked with Frank Sinatra and Led Zeppelin and brought such films like Karate Kid and Diner. Now HBO is looking back on his five decade career this Monday at 9:00 with His Way directed by Oscar nominee Douglas McGrath and features everyone from George Clooney to George H.W. Bush. Below is a trailer.
- For those that could not make it to South by Southwest this year, you can still sample songs from the best acts from Canada that trekked all the way down to Austin this year with this Canadian Blast sampler featuring tracks from Chromeo, Hollerado, The Sheepdogs, Hey Rosetta!, Said The Whale, Mother Mother, PS I Love You; 65 songs in all.
- If you subscribe to Time Warner Cable, you may want to head over to The New Yorker who has a detailed explanation of your bill. Also from the April 4 issue, Nancy Franklin watches the 8-part The Kennedy’s mini-series so you don’t have to.
- With just two and a half months until the premiere, TNT has released its second trailer to their new Steven Spielberg produced Falling Skies which sheds more light on the alien invasion show including the ominous diolouge, “all they wanted were the kids” and even better look at the four legged invaders and their mechsuits.
- Gamblers are the unspoken big losers of a potential NFL lockout and for those fearing not being able to bet of football next fall Bookmakers.com can now let you bet on whether the lockout will end before September 1, 2011 (-112 for both yes and no).
- Can’t get enough television shows with (House)Wives in the title? Well you are in luck, Mob Wives Sunday April 17 at 8:00 on Video Hits 1.
If the video above was not tip off enough, it is the time of year again to go globetrotting with the National Geographic Channel for Expedition Week. This year they will be transporting you to the heights of the Himalayas to a couple leagues under the sea, and even centuries in the past. Naturally they kick off the festivities this Sunday at 9:00 with a hunt of cannibals that will takes Piers Gibbons (who last year went on the hunt for Headshrinkers) deep into seldom traveled jungles of Papua New Guinea to find some who has tasted human flash. (National Geographic was nice enough to send along a cookbook with a recipe to accompany each episode and Eating with Cannibals included “finger food” of hot dogs with a generous helping of ketchup. Shoot me an e-mail if you want the recipe.) Humor aside, it is chilling to hear someone talk about killing and eating two woman.
Below is a complete rundown of what to expect for Expedition Week. If you want even more on Expedition Week you can head over to NationalGeographic.com where you can also check out Expedition Granted where two young explorers are competing to win $10,000 to go to the expedition of their dreams. Head over to vote for who you thinks deserves the money.
Eating with Cannibals (Sunday 4/3 at 9): Last Expedition Week, author and explorer Piers Gibbon headed deep into the Amazon jungle to locate tribes that practiced headshrinking. In his newest adventure, Gibbon looks at one of mankind’s ultimate taboos: cannibalism. He’ll trek into the rain forest of Papua New Guinea to find tribe members who ate human flesh. Gibbon meets with members of the once-feared Biami tribe and witnesses their ritual techniques. Then he’ll learn who they killed and why, and if they still practice cannibalism today.
Finding Jack the Ripper (Sunday 4/3 at 10): Could Jack the Ripper have been the world’s first trans-Atlantic serial killer? Can 21st century techniques and CGI 3-D autopsies crack this 19th century crime spree, while reversing decades of investigative assumptions? Retired U.K. murder squad detective Trevor Marriott is determined to finally unmask the Ripper and possibly link him to other murders in Europe and the U.S.
Hunt for the Abomable Snowman (Monday 4/4 at 9): Across the Himalayas are stories of the yeti, or abominable snowman. Half man, half ape, the yeti is said to roam only the most remote peaks, where people rarely venture. Now, veteran explorer and climber Gerry Moffatt sets out to find proof in a hunt that will test his stamina. As conventional scientific theories challenge ancient beliefs and credible witnesses, he works to separate fact from fiction and find hard evidence that the legend is real.
Last Stand of the Templars (Monday 4/4 at 10): The Templars were considered the pope’s private army, protecting Jerusalem for more than 50 years. But their legacy came to a sudden end — casting them from the heights of wealth and power to the dark corners of history. Now, on the ruins of a 12th century castle near the border between what are now Israel and Syria, a team of archaeologists peel away centuries of sediment, uncovering signs of a six-day siege that could have led to the Templars’ demise.
Gladiators Back from the Dead (Tuesday 4/5 at 9): More than one million of history’s ultimate fighters died in the arenas of the Roman Empire, yet not a single complete gladiator skeleton has ever been found. Now, archaeologists in England have unearthed what is believed to be an ancient gladiator graveyard. It contains the skeletons of 75 adult males, all of whom died in the prime of life, with savage bone wounds suggesting lives of violence. Forensic anthropologists examine the evidence, and special graphics bring these superstar fighters back to life to uncover important clues about how they lived and died.
Egypt’s Lost Rival (Tuesday 4/5 at 10): It rivaled ancient Egypt but was lost to history. Now a team of archaeologists have made a major discovery in the Syrian desert: artifacts from a burial chamber deep within an ancient palace that paint a never-before-seen picture of a powerful metropolis known as Qatna. What became of its vast riches? And what brought about the final fate of this ancient superpower?
Return of the Ghost Ship (Wednesday 4/6 at 9): Underwater explorers in the Baltic Sea set out to bring a recently discovered “ghost ship” — one of the most intact ancient wooden wrecks ever found — back to life. By pushing the frontiers of maritime archaeology and using the latest technology, the team hopes to recover artifacts from the ship, take measurements and create a 3-D model of the ship with pinpoint accuracy — unlocking a treasure trove of information.
Ben Franklin’s Pirate Fleet (Wednesday 4/6 at 10): A lost piece of American history may have been uncovered deep in the sea — a shipwreck thought to have belonged to a fleet of American privateers. In the late 18th century, the Irish Sea was a cauldron of kidnapping, thievery and unrepentant skullduggery. Governments, including the nascent U.S., hired sea raiders, or “privateers,” to pillage and steal from merchant vessels. Is it possible that this ship was on a mission from Benjamin Franklin to capture British sailors to exchange for American prisoners?
Into the Iceland Volcano (Thursday 4/7 at 9): In spring 2010, the nearly unpronounceable volcano Eyjafjallajökull spewed ash clouds across Europe, bringing international air traffic to a standstill. Now, for the first time ever, a team of explorers descend into the nearby Thrinukagigur volcano crater — the only place on earth where it is possible to enter an old magma chamber. Inside the crater, the team finds crucial evidence revealing the inner workings of Icelandic volcanoes. With an even bigger eruption looming, the race is on to predict when the volcano will blow — before it’s too late.
Man vs. Volcano (Thursday 4/7 at 10): Journey into the mouth of Africa’s most active volcano, Nyiragongo, and stand on the shore of the world’s largest lava lake. Join an expedition with a National Geographic Magazine photographer and an international team of scientists as they reach the volcano’s summit — a near-vertical 11,385 feet — and then rappel directly into its mouth — 1,300 feet — nearly the height of the Empire State Building. With little doubt it will erupt again, the team hopes to take stunning images and gather geological samples to unlock the secrets of one of most dangerous and least studied volcanoes in the world.
Lost Land of the Tiger (Friday 4/8 at 9): Go in search of an undiscovered tiger population rumored to be hidden in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. This pristine country of lush forests, clear rivers and icy mountains could hold the key to safeguarding the future for these big cats. But first, the team must trek across Bhutan’s wildest terrain and face its extreme weather — pushing the expedition to its very brink. With cameras strategically placed, the team is closing in on capturing key evidence of the tigers said to be living here.
Tiger Man (Friday 4/8 at 10): A seemingly impossible dream: to create a new population of wild tigers outside their natural habitat. One man, John Varty, did just that. Starting with two young, zoo-born tigers, Varty now has more than 15 tigers at his Tiger Canyons reserve, and has used ever-present cameras to document two years of their lives. Whether mating, birthing or hunting, Varty shows these magnificent tigers with remarkable, “up close and personal” detail. His methods can be controversial, but it’s a gripping, intimate look at tigers as never seen before.
Death of a Sea Monster (Saturday 4/9 at 9): A sea monster cemetery lies at the top of the world — an incredible grave site containing countless fossilized remains of huge marine predators from the Jurassic era. Join an expedition to this remote burial ground via helicopter and boat. Paleontologists will contend with powerful polar bears and erratic Arctic weather to uncover yet another treasure trove of newly discovered predatory sea monsters. This time, it’s a complete ichthyosaur skeleton — the first of its kind.
It seems like once a week I am listening to my iTunes library and I hear a song that makes me go, this artist really needs a comeback. So I thought I would start a new feature here on the 9th Green highlighting an artist that really needs to reenter the public consciousness. The only criterion is that the artist hasn’t had a legitimate hit in over a decade.
Where Are They Now: After two critically acclaimed albums, Slimkid3 and Fatlip left the group for solo projects after a third and the two remaining member released just one album without them. The group has reunited for a few concerts and hopped on each other’s solo projects, but no new music from the four of them since 2000.
Why the World Needs a The Pharcyde Comeback: Because rap has gotten bland these days aside from backpack disciple Kanye West. Slimkid3 (who now records under his government name Tre Hardson) and Fatlip have recorded some decent tracks in the past decade, but nothing like the give and go stylings of The Pharcyde. Really except the once and a blue moon that the Beastie Boys (who made cameos in the drop video) release and album, the rap group has disappeared from the musical landscape.
And speaking of comeback, whatever happened to Delicious Vinyl? They were set to be the next Def Jam with artists like The Pharcyde, Tone-Loc, Young MC and The Brand New Heavies but did not add any notable artists after that. You would think after all the buzz those artists generated, they could have picked up some new artists.
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.
Last week I defended Rebecca Black against claims that her song Friday was the worst song ever recorded saying, sure it is bad, but there are plenty worse songs out there. And just days later, George Michael released this True Faith song, which, as it turns out, is the worst song ever in the history of the world. And it isn’t a good sign for George when I say a still from the video, I originally thought it was Richard Hatch. Now if you excuss me, I need to poke something sharp in my ear.
I saw that 3 Doors Down had a new video, and when I pressed play, I heard the opening riff and thought to myself, oh, they made a new video for When You’re Gone and looked at the title again and nope, it is apparently a different song with the same riff. And I have said this before and hopefully this is the last time: old dudes, stop trying to pull off the Justin Beiber, it doesn’t make you look younger, it just makes you look silly.
I couple weeks ago I posted part one of a three part music video from Dirty Vegas, though just like part one; I am not entirely sure what is going on. Hopefully part three wraps everything up in a nice little bow.
Chuck: Wow, Volkoff tried to kill Chuck. Or did she? I have a feeling Leland Palmer may be the one behind the hit. Although I could do without the standalone episode unless the C.A.T. Squad reunites. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Has the show run out of funny ideas that they have had to fill this season up with dramatic elements? Between Marshal’s dad (that they are still references) and Barney’s (who is getting really annoying when they focus on his search for daddy), it is getting too heavy this season. And they really glossed over that Barney has a college-aged half sister. Could she turn out to be Ted’s baby mama? You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
The Event: Most unbelievable part of the episode: the Token Hot Chick poising as 41 wearing a dress that is way to gravity defying for someone that age to pull off. And I wonder why the alien’s do not just sing the building around the navy like they did the last time the government were closing in on them? You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Event on iTunes.
Castle: Holy Corbin Bernsen sighting! I bet there was no one more exited to hear Charlie Sheen talk about Major League 3 than Corbin. Until he realized that he already stared in the third movie entitled Back to the Minors. And poor Mac, I knew she did it as soon as her new boss hired as a staff writer. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.
Lights Out: Like I said back in the second episode, that picture at the kids birthday party was going to come back and haunt him. But he sure came up with a good plan to make it go away, although I am not sure how wise it was to put his fate on a guy with dementia. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Lights Out on iTunes.
Survivor: Redemption Island: Russell has gotten a lot of grief for his strategy of picking dumb hot chicks to do his bidding, but Boston Rob has done the exact same thing on his seasons to the detriment of his chances of even making the jury. Natalie and Ashley may out dumb blonde any of Russell’s dumb blonde alliances. He should thank the other tribe for throwing the challenge because he could have easily have seen Russell on Redemption Island at some point later. But much like last week, I am still waiting for something interesting to happen but we are probably too deep for them to swap tribes and may be two or three episodes away from a merge. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Justified: Even though I could have done without another Wynonna theft episode, this is the episode where things are going to get rolling when the mining company goes after the Bennett’s with the Raylan and the Marshall service caught in the middle. I can’t wait. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.
Community: I am not sure who was more upset that Abed’s dinner turned out to be another homage, Jeff or myself. It is really annoying when the show does parody’s of movies I have never seen. And I would have much preferred a Reservoir Dogs party to a Pulp Fiction one. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.
: Last week I mentioned Amazon introduced their new Cloud and if you bought an album you would get a free 20 Gig upgrade and Amazonj deeply discounted some popular album. This week they dropped some critically alliamed album to $3.99 or less including albums by Sleigh Bells and TV on the Radio.
- Foo Fighters
is currently out on DVD.
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. Much like the ABC Family drama, The Killing shows the aftermath of a murder of a teenage girl, but the similarities end there. This time the detective work is left to the professionals. Taking lead on her last day of work before moving to a new city is Mireille Enos (who it takes a while to get used to watching in modern day clothes after her work on 
). Shadowing her on the case is her replacement Joel Kinnaman (dude’s Swedish, so I cannot translate any of his previous work).
) who is running for mayor against the incumbent. Campbell has a few skeletons of his own has been has been hiding an affair with his campaign manager, Kristin Lehman (
), and he knows a few things the Larsen family is going though, as he experienced the same thing with his late wife.
) and Brent Sexton (
). If you want to be sad for hours on end, just watch their scenes after they found out their daughter died, maybe too real for television especially when they are forced to explain to their sons that they will never see their older sister ever again.
), another of Campbell’s campaign advisor who was a bit too quick to turn the murder into political gain and could have easily been the one to report the campaign car stolen. But my lead suspect is the father of resident douchebag Jasper Ames who was even quicker to break up the questioning of his son. Of course as Aaron Echolls showed, who did not appear until the sixth episode of 
, we may have not even met the murderer yet.
– Pete Yorn (Amazon MP3: Get the song that ranked in at #83 on my list of 
- The Kills
