It only took five years, but starting today you can down own every season of Everwood (which came in at number 30 on my list of The 100 Greatest Television Shows of the 00’s) with the Complete Fourth Season out now, own it on DVD now. The groundbreaking family drama was one of the casualties when UPN and The WB merged to form The CW and not only can you now watch every episode ever aired whenever you want on DVD, for the first you can take a look at what might have been as Everwood: The Complete Fourth Season also includes an alternative ending of the show which would have aired if the last episode would have been the fourth season finale, not the series finale which includes a hundred percent more Madison (you will have to pick up the set to how and why she reappeared) and tweaked Hannah’s last scene which put her college plans up in question. Including the alternative ending, the DVD set features about an hour of deleted scenes.
The four season of Everwood saw both the Brown boys pine over not so attainable girls; Andy professed his love for Nina only for her to choose Scott Wolf while Ephram did the same to Amy only for her to chose no one over him. The youngest Brown, Delia spent the season turning into a mean girl. But not all love was lost, Hannah and Bright found love at the end of last season which went strong for most of the final season. It was the same for Edna and Irv who got back together at the end of season four and stayed strong to the end even with Irv on a book tour. Dr. and Rose Abbott continued to be a rock on the show while Rose beat cancer and decided to adopt.
The final season also saw a couple recognizable faces pass through the small Colorado town including Justin Kirk (Weeds), Keith David (Barbershop), Leslie Hope (24), Nia Long (Friday), Simon Rex (MTV VJ), Margo Harshman (Even Stevens), Charles Dunning (Tommy’s dad on Rescue Me), and Kelly Carlson (who returned an episode after Scott Wolf decried how Nip/Tuck was an insult to plastic surgeons). And it is known that Everwood launched the career Emily Van Camp (the upcoming Revenge), Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreations), Gregory Smith (Rookie Blue), and Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy), the final season of Everwood also featured early acting credits from Brooke Nevin (Breakout Kings), Victoria Justice (Victorious), Christopher Egan (Kings), and Steven R McQueen (Piranha 3D) had a recurring role as Ephram’s moody piano prodigy he helped try to get into Julliard. And yes, he got his name from his grandfather.
If you already own the first three season of Everwood on DVD, the fourth season is a must, and even if you do not own the rest, fans of the show may want to pick up this set just to see what might have been with the alternate season ending. While for those that missed the show the first time around, it is worth starting from the beginning because it is one of the best small town family dramas ever to hit the small screen (it was in the discussion for best ever until the Taylor family moved to Dillon Texas, putting that category out of reach of any other small town family dramas). Check out a synopsis of the DVD set below:
The final season of the series set in a welcoming town in the Rockies is all about finding oneself… and finding each other. Here, in the 5-Disc, 22-Episode Season Four, the unforgettable people of Everwood test the ties that bind them together in joy and tears, friendship and love. Drawn by his feelings for Amy, Ephram returns home and mentors a troubled piano prodigy. When Nina chooses Jake over him, Andy struggles to remain friends with the woman he loves. Bright and Hannah make their unlikely romance work. The Abbotts open their arms to a new child. Intriguing characters arrive and beloved characters depart. Say goodbye to the place and the people that won your heart - and discover how everything turned out!
Full Disclosure Notice: This DVD was given to me on behalf of Warner Bros. for the purpose of reviewing the season.
I am not one of those people the bemoan that MTV does not play music videos because I bet most of the people who do complain would not bother to sit through an hour of Lady GaGa and Katy Perry videos in hopes they may play the latest from Mumford & Sons when you can just go on the internet and see it on demand. But watching the channel’s retrospective on VH1 Classic all weekend (apparently the actual channel is too busy with a Jersey Shore marathon to get nostalgic) I realized just how horrible the channel’s line up these days compared to the classic days when even non music video shows did not suck.
If I am not mistaken, Remote Control, this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame, was the first show on MTV that did not resolve around music videos except for the lightning round where characters who have a wall of televisions in front of them and had to name the music videos that were playing on the ten screens. As the name suggested, Remote Control had a much more focus on television than music with many categories devoted to classic television shows like Leave it to Beaver and The Brady Bunch (Jerry Mathers even made an appearance while Barry Williams, Eve Plumb, and Susan Olsen actually played).
The game was simple, three contestants would come to the basement of Ken Ober, sit in easy chairs and buzz in for point with bizarre characters (my favorite being Dead or Alive, where contestants would have to guess, well, you know). In between commercials there would be a snack break, which was delivered from above the contestants. And when a contestant was eliminated, they were yanked “off the air” through a brick wall where they were tormented for all damnation.
Remote Control was surprisingly a launching pad for many of the cast. Ken Ober, rest his soul, would go on to star into the original Parenthood television show before returning to MTV in a trio of Blues Traveler videos. Co-host Colin Quinn would parlay the gig into a cast member on Saturday Night Live. While token hot click Kari Wurhrer would go on to be a staple during the Skinamax block of movies throughout the nineties. Ever her replacement Alicia Coppola would go on to have many recurring roles on shows like American Dreams, Jericho and most recently popped up on The Nine Lives of Chloe King.
But the most surprising breakout stars of the show included Adam Sander, who beat Quinn to Saturday Night Live by a half a decade before going on to become the biggest comedic actor for a decade and a half. Also performing skits on the show was another comic who would eventually make it huge, Denis Leary, including some famous commercials he would go on to film for the network.
Watching classic bits during the MTV of Remote Control like celebrity edition where LL Cool J goes head to head with (not Downtown) Julie Brown and "Weird Al" Yankovic and another featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers (where Anthony and Flea played as a Two Headed Monster)makes me wish that MTV would add Remote Control to the list of shows the channel is rebooting along with Beavis and Butt-Head and 120 Minutes. If only for selfish reasons because I would be the Ken Jennings of the show.
The late nineties was a weird time for music. The two biggest musical movements from earlier in the decade grange and gangsta rap seemed to die with Kurt Cobain, Tupac and Biggie while teen pop did not start its domination until the last year. So there was a short period where weird songs from Cake and Harvey Danger crept into the public consciousness. Maybe the most surprising song to get played on MTV at the time was a straight ahead gospel song by Kirk Franklin. This was not a pop artist touching on religious themes like Kanye West and Jesus Walks or a Christian artist like Amy Grant crossing over by making secular music. Kirk Franklin was a gospel artist making a gospel song that was getting legitimate airplay at the time. Religious themes aside, Stomp was just a fun song which worked in the church and dance club and even featured a guest appearance from Salt of and Pepa fame, a group that had some very non churchly type songs. Which may have made the song that much more fun to listen to even today.
Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Trails to Amy Winehouse: Amy Winehouse was a breath of fresh air back in 2007, ushering in the retro revival with the help of producer Mark Ronson. Like many of the greats before her, she put personal turmoil into song, but it is those demons that finally caught up with her becoming another cautionary tale of drug abuse and how hard it is to kick an addition.
Falling Skies: I was reading the description for this episode talking about Hal and Tom and I realized I still have no clue what the names of any of the characters on the show yet. And that is what is missing from the show, the emotional connection to the characters. So it is hard to care much when the black dude died (I do not know why they just did not take him captive instead) because like the rest of the cast, I do not really care that much about him. You can stream recent episodes over at tnt.tv. You can also download Falling Skies on iTunes. Here is a quick tease for tomorrow’s episode: except three major reveals to happen and something that looks like it came from Star Wars.
Switched at Birth: One of the reasons I watched this show was I was interested in seeing how they explained away how the parents did not realize they were raising kids of different races for sixteen years. The whites stupidly explained away the difference by an Italian grandparent. And this week we learned that the Hispanic, at the very least is not as dumb as the whites because she knew as early as four years old, but mostly because the baby daddy thought she did it with the redheaded mailman. You can stream the show on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.
Weeds: It is good to see Heylia again. The show just has not been the same since her and Conrad got cut from the cast. Should lead to a very interesting next episode. Speaking of which, a little spoiler alert for tomorrow, Heylia is not the only familiar face you will see in the next episode).
Pretty Little Liars: If I am not mistaken, the “A” segments at the end (assuming they are actually “A”) in the past have always had to do with something that happened in that episode, and judging from the previews, the spiking of the container has to do with next week’s episode. I wonder if the parents finally realizing something funny is going on is going to shape the series going into the future or if they will ed up dropping it. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.
The Nine Lives of Chloe King: Chloe befriending her moral enemy; drink up if you are playing the Chloe King / Buffy Summers Drinking Game. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Nine Lives of Chloe King on iTunes.
Free Download of the Week: Growin' up in California – Night Ranger (Amazon MP3): Apparently the boys in Night Ranger are still motoring after all these years.
Video of the Week: I was the Battleship king as a kid (want to confuse you opponent: set up the ships diagonally). Of course while playing I always found myself thinking, “You know what this games needs, a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model.” And just two decades later, Peter Berg helped this come to fruition. Although I do not recall Transformers ever being involved with the game. But I will still see the movie if only in the hopes that a Chutes and Ladders movie gets greenly because of it. That and Brooklyn Decker doing what she does best, wearing a bikini.
Next Week Pick of the Week: 120 Minutes, Tonight at 1:00 AM on MTV2: MTV turns 30 on Monday and it is apparently feeling a little nostalgic. Beavis and Butt-Head returns to the network this October, but tonight sees the return of another classic 90’s MTV show 120 Minutes. Of course in the decade the show has been off the air, we have seen the rise in broadband internet and indie leaning websites like Pitchfork. But one thing 120 Minutes has going for it is the return of the great ball of musical wisdom Matt Pinfield as host for the first time since 1999. The first episode will feature interviews with Dave Grohl, Lupe Fiasco, Das Racist, Sleigh Bells, Zach Braff, PJ Harvey, the Black Angels and Kings of Leon and will also feature the uncut version of the Pearl Jam music video Jeremy. Hopefully a Remote Control is the next reboot in the pipeline.
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 The Lady with 700 Cats, George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview, 9/11: Day that Changed the World, True Blood, Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, That Metal Show, How to Make it in America, and Life After Film School.
- I have my hands full with two dogs, but that is nothing compared to Lynea Lattanzio who owns 700 cats (and no that is not a typo). And now she gets her own special The Lady with 700 Cats narrated by Jane Lynch and will air Saturday at 10 on Nat Geo Wild. Here is a sneak peak:
- We are about a month and a half until the tenth anniversary of 9/11 so expect plenty of commemorative television events coming up. The biggest get goes to the National Geographic Channel with George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview set to air Sunday August 28 at 10:00. Check out a preview below. To go along with the special, National Geographic Channel has created a Facebook “Remembering 9/11” app where you can post brief accounts of your 9/11 experience:
- The Smithsonian Channel has their special 9/11: Day that Changed the World set to premiere September 5 at 8:00. The show will be narrated by Martin Sheen and will feature exclusive interviews with Laura Bush, Dick and Lynne Cheney, Rudy Giuliani, Andrew Card, Richard Clarke and more.
- This week marks the halfway point of the fourth season of True Blood and here is a little teaser of what to expect for the rest of the season from last week’s Comic Con.
- Mark your calendars, the second season of Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp will start airing on VH1 Classic on August 20. This season, the show stars Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum (Both of Guns N’ Roses/Velvet Revolver) and Mark Hudson with special guest appearances from Paul Stanley of KISS, Sammy Hagar, Phil Collen of Def Leppard, Marky Ramone of The Ramones and more. Head over to RockCamp.com for more information on the actual camp that the show is based around, who know, maybe you can sign up and jam with one of your idols.
- Then right after Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp is the new season of That Metal Show, now in its eighth season. This season Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson will be chatting with Sammy Hager, Tom Morello, Lars Ulrich, Akron’s own Jani Lane (fun fact, I went to the same high school as the drummer for Warrant) and many more.
- No specific date yet, but the second season of How to Make it in America is set to return to HBO this October. Below is a teaser:
- Rupert Wyatt, director of the upcoming Rise of the Planet of the Apes, will be interviewed by film students on the Fox Movie Channel’s Life After Film School this Sunday.
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.
OK Go is back with their new eye popping video (and mediocre at best song) so advanced that YouTube cannot do it proper justice. If you have Chrome, then follow this link to see the video that they made especially for me.
If this music video by Teddybears was not creepy enough, it turns out the dude in the video is a legitimate celebrity stacker who has had restraining orders and everything. I do not know enough about him to know if he used teddy bears as part of his stalking or not.
If that is not enough creepy dudes for you, Cults recently inserted themselves into the most famous cult led by Jim Jones (for you young-ins wondering where the phrase “Drinking the Kool-Aid” came from, it’s this cult).
When brainstorming list to make part of my Greatest of the 00’s series, I planned on making a Mash-Up list, but since I did not have many that predated the decade, I thought I would just wait until I was done with my 00’s list and make a list of The Greatest Mash-Up’s of All Time instead (although only one mash up from the 90’s ended up making my list). I did make the cut off 2010, so no new mash up’s I found this year were eligible for the list. Here is a breakdown of the list by the numbers.
It should be noted that Danger Mouse was the only artist to appear on the list as both a mash up artist and as someone whose song got mashed as part of Gnarls Barkley.
Mash-Up’s by Year (Note some mash-up’s are listed by the date I found them, not when they were released due to hard to find info)
1999 – 1
2000 – 2
2002 – 2
2003 – 1
2004 – 8
2005 – 14
2006 – 12
2007 – 21
2008 – 13
2009 – 12
2010 - 14
Big News of the Week: MTV Video Music Awards Nominees Announced: It seems like a yearly rite of passage for most of the past decade when MTV unveils its nominations and I complain like an old dude yelling at kids to get off his lawn. But wait a second, this year Adele and Beastie Boys are up for Best Video. The Best Rock Video field is filled with acts that actually rock (Mumford and Sons! The Black Keys!) and no whiny emo rock crap in sight. The Song Otherwise Known as Forget You up for an award. And there is very little Lady GaGa or Britney Spears in sight. If MTV invites those acts former to perform and get a host that is actually funny, the VMA’s may be watchable this year. Seriously MTV, get Chris Rock on the phone.
Leverage: C’mon Leverage team, how did it take you almost an entire hour to figure out where the painting was? I realized where it was once Danny Glover started his story in the roller rink. You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.
Falling Skies: So we have a Benedict Arnold in out mitts. I am a bit surprised that the aliens would be willing to grant amnesty to a human just for providing them more slaves, they seem to be able to take whatever they want when they want it. But I wonder whatever happened to the one dude’s girlfriend that was take a couple episodes back. After rescuing his brother he seems to forget all about her, not even doing anymore recon in the hospital for her and now is ready to up and move without rescuing her. You can stream recent episodes over at tnt.tv. You can also download Falling Skies on iTunes.
The Nine Lives of Chloe King: So the evil dude hired an assassin to kill Chloe but he does not know what she looks like? Seriously? When the assassin found her, how about asking him to take a picture for future reference? You know, just in case you run into her while at an art gallery? Of course if I am not mistake, Buffy ran into Glory without knowing who the other was. Or was it Dawn? Either way, drink up if you are playing my Chloe King drinking game. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Nine Lives of Chloe King on iTunes.
Rescue Me: I wonder what is going to get someone killed first (you do not think the series would end without one more major death right, I have money on Tommy and Black Shawn) Lou’s physical health or the Chief’s mental health. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Rescue Me on iTunes.
Free Download of the Week: Swell Window – Zee Avi (Rcrd Lbl)
Video of the Week: When MTV announced they were resurrecting Beavis and Butt-Head my first thought was “Awesome.” My second thought was, “but am I still going to find it funny now that I am fourteen years older?” After seeing the first four minutes of footage, the answer is a resounding yes even if it features one hundred percent Jersey Shore which the duo obliterates to the point I wonder how the MTV executives did not step in and edit it. That’s how she answers the phone. Ha ha, ha ha.
Next Week Pick of the Week: The Challenge: Rivals, Wednesdays at 10:00 on MTV: Might as well go for the MTV trifecta even thou I probably have not mentioned MTV three times in the last year. I got back logged on the latest incarnation of The Challenge because I thought I would just watch it On Demand. But the premiere did not show up the day after. A week later and it was not there and I just forgot about it. Now I am almost completely caught up as they reach the midpoint of the season and Rivals is turning out to be one of the best with a dude getting kicked out the first night, Wes and Kenny having to work together and CT actually being entertaining and not just scary. But my favorite part of the season is when the new chick punched the mirror and starting to spout how she was from Houston and other nonsense. Someone really needs to sit that girl down and force her to watch the Chappelle’s Show segment, When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong. But if I have one complaint it is the same one that I have had with the past couple season, the unbreakable Kenny / Evan / Johnny alliance just makes things less fun.
also includes an alternative ending of the show which would have aired if the last episode would have been the fourth season finale, not the series finale which includes a hundred percent more Madison (you will have to pick up the set to how and why she reappeared) and tweaked Hannah’s last scene which put her college plans up in question. Including the alternative ending, the DVD set features about an hour of deleted scenes.
The four season of Everwood saw both the Brown boys pine over not so attainable girls; Andy professed his love for Nina only for her to choose Scott Wolf while Ephram did the same to Amy only for her to chose no one over him. The youngest Brown, Delia spent the season turning into a mean girl. But not all love was lost, Hannah and Bright found love at the end of last season which went strong for most of the final season. It was the same for Edna and Irv who got back together at the end of season four and stayed strong to the end even with Irv on a book tour. Dr. and Rose Abbott continued to be a rock on the show while Rose beat cancer and decided to adopt.
If you already own the first three season of Everwood on DVD, the fourth season is a must, and even if you do not own the rest, fans of the show may want to pick up this set just to see what might have been with the alternate season ending. While for those that missed the show the first time around, it is worth starting from the beginning because it is one of the best small town family dramas ever to hit the small screen (it was in the discussion for best ever until the Taylor family moved to Dillon Texas, putting that category out of reach of any other small town family dramas). Check out a synopsis of the DVD set below:
marathon to get nostalgic) I realized just how horrible the channel’s line up these days compared to the classic days when even non music video shows did not suck.
and 
(Jerry Mathers even made an appearance while Barry Williams, Eve Plumb, and Susan Olsen actually played).
, 
and most recently popped up on The Nine Lives of Chloe King.
by a half a decade before going on to become the biggest comedic actor for a decade and a half. Also performing skits on the show was another comic who would eventually make it huge, Denis Leary, including some famous commercials he would go on to film for the network.
and 120 Minutes. If only for selfish reasons because I would be the Ken Jennings of the show.
– Night Ranger (Amazon MP3): Apparently the boys in Night Ranger are still motoring after all these years.
- John Hiatt
king as a kid (want to confuse you opponent: set up the ships diagonally). Of course while playing I always found myself thinking, “You know what this games needs, a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model.” And just two decades later, Peter Berg helped this come to fruition. Although I do not recall Transformers ever being involved with the game. But I will still see the movie if only in the hopes that a 
movie gets greenly because of it. That and Brooklyn Decker doing what she does best, wearing a bikini.
(Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Dark Knight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- Joss Stone
segment, When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong. But if I have one complaint it is the same one that I have had with the past couple season, the unbreakable Kenny / Evan / Johnny alliance just makes things less fun.