9 Shows From the 90's That Need a Reboot

This month saw the return of Beavis & Butt-head along with Pop Up Video after decade long absences and this weekend, Fox announced they were dusting off their sketch comedy show In Living Color not seen on the channel since 1994. I guess we have to thank the resurgence of the show to Antoine Merriweather who is still going strong on The Sing-Off. Now I have had a long standing boycott of Fox and have not watched a non-football program on the show since the series finale of Arrested Development, but if Damon Wayans, David Allen Grier, and Tommy Davidson all return (while Shawn and Marlon do not), I may have to lift the ban. Currently there are two specials planned and if they do well, possibly a full season will also be ordered.

With the return of those three shows it is apparently that Hollywood has run out of properties to exploit from the eighties (sadly Greatest American Hero was overlooked for a reboot) and moved onto the nineties. So I have decided to make a few suggestions from the grunge decade that networks should resurrect.

1. Ren & Stimpy - If Beavis and Butt-Head are back, can these guys be too far behind?

2. My Two Dads – To those that are too young to remember this show, no, My Two Dads was not the first television show to feature a gay couple in its main cast ever, the premise of the show was actually that a woman had sex with two dudes in the span of a week, got pregnant, and died, and since the judge did not determine who was the dad, he awarded custody to both of the potential father. You can even bring Staci Keanan as the judge.

3. Parker Lewis Can't Lose – The show when head to head with the television spin off of Ferris Bueller (starring Jennifer Aniston) in 1990 and ran for sixty more episodes and actually caught the spirit of Ferris Bueller’s Day off more than the spin off did.

4. Get a Life – A before its time gem from the mind of Chris Elliot as a thirty-something who still lives with his parents (played by his actual dad). Now that Chris has a grown daughter (Abby from Saturday Night Live). Why would FX reboot Anger Management with Charlie Sheen when they could possibly reboot Get a Life?

5. Quantum Leap – Sure the period piece shows have crashed and burned this year, but they were lacking one major aspect: time travel. And since he is free, Scott Backula can return and the first episode is his last “leap” then he takes over for Al with a new leaper, say the soon to be unemployed Zach Levi (assuming Timothy Olyphant is not available anytime soon).

6. Out of This World – NBC has been so low in recently years it is hard to believe that not only did they dominate the rating, they even expanded prime time to 7:30 one season. That lasted about as long as The Jay Leno Hour, but it did produce one success, Out of This World. Starring one of my first crushes, Maureen Flannigan, as a half alien / half human who has powers such as stopping time by just touching her fingers together. Quality entertainment this was.

7. Double Dare – Adding to the nineties nostalgia is Teen Nick which is re-airing shows from the decade such as Clarrissa Explains it All, well here is an idea for Nickelodeon, how about bringing back your great game show Double Dare (and / or its companion show Family Double Dare which I would steal a family to appear on). Actually, how about bringing back all your game shows like Guts and Legend of the Hidden Temple?

8. Herman’s Head – The biggest problem The CW faces is that it thinks it’s a real network and tries to compete with the Big Four networks by scheduling like them, but with younger casts. What made Fox such a player in the nineties (besides obviously getting football) was airing shows that took risks, none of the Big Three back then would have ever ordered up The Simpsons or Married...with Children, and they went on to be massive hits. So instead of creating more brooding teenager shows that will get doubled in the ratings by Telemundo, it is time for The CW to think outside the box much like when Fox created a sitcom that took place in a dude’s heads whose cast included the Wimp, the Angle, the Animal, and Genius part of a brain.

9. MTV Rock and Jock – I assuming the reason why the Rock and Jock specials went away was because of the skyrocketing contracts of the decade, but instead of current major leaguers, just bring in retired players that need the money. Like Darryl Strawberry or Aintoine Walker whould say no. And without any NBA this year, what a perfect time to bring it back. Also who doesn’t want to see if Flea still has it.


Since Hollywood has just started to ransack the ninties cubboard, let me warn them of a couple shows they should never reboot under any circumstance.

1. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air – This this sounds like a good idea until you realize they would just cast Soulja Boy or even worse, Will Smith forces the casting directors to sign up his son.

2. The X-Files – If the post-David Duchovny era was not evidence enough, I do not know what else could convince you not to do the show without him.

3. Beverly Hills, 90210 – Umm, which leads me to…

4. Dawson's Creek, Party of Five, Felicity or Any Other Show From The WB: Seriously The CW, before thinking about it, go back and reread what I wrote during Herman’s Head.

5. Friends – Hollywood has tried to recreate Friends success since it became a hit and has failed massively every time (with the exception of How I Met Your Mother) and a Friends remake would doubtfully do any better.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 10/30/11

The Walking Dead: That starting flashback scene was worthless, we already knew about the pre-apocalypse marital problems; really all we got were some worthless reaction shots and no early zombies. But my favorite part of the episode is when the old guy wondered why they did not find any high grade antibiotics while scavenging on the highway, as if that is a common travel kit. Almost as entertaining as the new accent they gave Vivian Volcoff to master, but instead go in and out of.
You can stream recent episodes over at amc.com. You can also download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: First off, let’s quickly touch on the bad, that was the creepiest episode ever. EVER. I need to drink away the visuals as soon as possible. With that out of the way, why did Ted not call me about the “Weird Al” tickets? I would have totally gone with him.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing Off: The Collective has continually been on the bottom of my Power Rankings all season, and I was glad they finally landed in the final two, but I was surprised they actually lost the final sing-off because I thought they did a better version of Just a Dream than The Yellowjackets (who did not deserve to be in the bottom two). But the bif news of the week was Antoine Merriweather grinding on a girl!

The Sing-Off Week 4 Power Rankings (change from last week in parentheses):

1. Afro Blue (-)
2. The Dartmouth Aires (+2)
3. University of Rochester YellowJackets (-1)
4. Urban Method (-1)
5. BYU Vocal Point (-)
6. Delilah (-)
7. Pentatonix (-)



You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

Castle: Having the ex-cop being the killer seemed like one too many twists in the episode. But it was still entertaining hearing Castle trying to rationalize an otherworldly killer.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Back when we went down south to meet the other patch and how one member killed another that was going to play out in SAMCRO and it finally played out this episode. It should be interesting to hear how Clay explains the bullets in Piney’s chest next episode and who buys it (Gemma already knows he is lying and will likely put the two together). But you have to wonder why Piney, knowing Clay would come after him, hide in the one place Clay would look?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: When the show returned this season, I unveiled the 25 Dumbest Survivor Contestants Ever with Ozzy surprisingly left off the list despite being voted off with an Idol in his back pocket. But if he loses this week I’ll will have to update the list because he will have definably jumped into the top five. What makes his move so dumb is that it was totally unnecessary because Christine has made it abundantly clear she hates her own tribe, so had she beaten Cochran, she would have joined them out of spite, she certainly is not as Christian as Matt last season. So best case scenario for his move is a zero sum gain. And then the worst case scenario is not only he loses and is out of the game not even making it to the jury, but maybe he wins but there is no merge and his tribe loses the Immunity Challenge without him, Cochran, as bottom on the totem poll, uses the Hidden Immunity Idol at tribal council and Keith is voted out and now Ozzy has to battle him at Redemption Island, and even if he wins that and reenters the game, he returns to a tribe down numbers and without an Idol. Oh, please, Reality Gods, let this scenario play out.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Revenge: How long until Amy Abbott gets rid of her boyfriend’s little troll of her boyfriend friend. He may not be on the list, but he has to be meeting his demise sooner than later.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Community: Yeah, there was nothing more predictable than the whole study had major mental issues. With that said, Annie is one heck of a storyteller.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Beavis and Butt-Head: When they announced the return of the show I feared it would have lost its magic in the years since they left MTV but they did not miss a beat. And since they are watching actual television shows no, is it too much to ask to have the boys watch the presidential debate?
You can stream recent episodes over at mtv.com. You can also download Beavis and Butt-Head on iTunes.

Chuck: With last season’s cliffhanger, I feared the show would become unbearable with Morgan as the Intercet and that was basically how that played out. Hopefully they have more Sarah in her undergarment scenes to dull the pain this season and they save the inevitable baby announcement to the series finale. And I and still not sure what the evil CIA guy’s endgame is. Hopefully they clear that up soon.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

Best of the Week - 10/29/11

Quote of the Week: I ain’t afraid of no ghost. (Beckett, Castle)

Song of the Week: Like a Surgeon – “Weird Al” Yankovic (How I Met Your Mother)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Charlie Sheen Coming Back to the Small Screen: Right after getting the boot from Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen was quickly cast in an Anger Management reboot (the original movie starred Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson) and now it has a channel, FX (which I once called the nest network on television, but after picking this and American Horror Story and canceling Terriers and Lights Out, I may have to reassess). And not only are they looking at one-ten episode season, if successful, it will be picked up for an additional ninety episodes much like many of the TBS sitcoms. No word on where Vegas has set the Over/Under of how many episode Sheen will make it through.

Free Download of the Week: Make My. – The Roots featuring Big K.R.I.T. (Rcrdlbl)

New Album Release of the Week: Achtung Baby (Super Deluxe Edition) - U2

New DVD Release of the Week: Scrooged [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: In honor of their Rocket City Redneck, National Geographic Channel has laughed a new PSA to Save the Rednecks asking all Americans to break out their work boots, coveralls, and proudly declare themselves rednecks. Their campaign even comes with this shiny new video:

PSA


Next Week Pick of the Week: Homeland, Sunday at 10:00 on Showtime: I have finally caught up on what is, for all intents and purposes, the best new show of the fall (assuming you do not consider Beavis and Butt-Head “new”) as well as tomorrow’s episode. And just in time as the last image for the previous episode is a suspicious couple buying a new home, straight cash homie, which just happens to be right near an airport. That and many other plots will be playing out tomorrow including an intense interrogation sequence, which is a bit of more realistic than one commissioned by Jack Bauer. We also get to meet a couple more family members of the main cast. And get ready for more Homeland because the show was recently renewed for a second season.

Around the Tubes - 10/28/11

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 Grimm, Chuck, The Incredible Dr. Pol, Explosion Bus, Zombie Apocalypse, Dallas, Lynyd Skynyrd, and Adopt a Turkey.

- The long awaited final season of Chuck premieres tonight along with the series premiere of Grimm. For those that cannot wait a couple more hours, here is a twenty minute preview of Grimm along with a sneak peak of Chuck:

Special Extended Preview


- New show alert! The Incredible Dr. Pol follows a veterinarian who specializes in large animals and pets as he makes house calls to his patients. Some compare it to a real-life version of All Creatures Great and Small, the British television series from the 80s, but that is a bit before my time and wrong continent. For the premiere this Saturday at 9:00 with back to back episodes on Nat Geo Wild, Dr. Pol treats a horse with a spinal cord injury, operates on a cow with two dead fetuses that need to be removed, a K-9 Hungarian German Sheppard that may have cancer, and a cow with a twisted stomach. Check out a clip below (assuming you have not eaten lately because the video is as graphic as the title suggests):

Massaging a Cow Uterus


- Fans of singing competitions may want to check out Explosion Bus, a satirical web series that looks into the genre from Tom Snyder, the creator of Dr. Katz.

- For those looking for a scare this Halloween weekend, Syfy has its new original movie Zombie Apocalypse starring Ving Rhames and it premieres tomorrow at 9:00. Here is a preview:



- The TNT Dallas reboot had its first day of filming recently and here are OG Larry Hagman and newbie Josh Henderson talking about it:



- BBQ, Beer and Lynyd Skynyrd sounds like a natural fit, and now you can have all three starting December 8 in Las Vegas. And you can be there for an “eat ‘n’ greet” with the band for the grand opening as tickets go on sale today at 10:00 by calling (702) 262-4400.

- We are less than a month away from Thanksgiving and Adopt-A-Turkey Project recently announced Ellen DeGeneres will be back as their spokesperson.

- For the latest installment of Political News of the Week, last week I mentioned that Herman Cain was the number one seller on CaféPress among Republican hopefuls and now he has even taken over Barack Obama in sales at 43% of all presidential candidates to the current president’s 33%. Although Poll Position recent survey of registered voters found that a third of Americans think Mitt Romney has a better chance to defeat Obama than Herman Cain. Although when it comes to the voting cycle, wake me up when voting starts happening.

Previewing Grimm

When it comes to new shows, I tend to look past the cast and the glossy introductory promos and look at who is working behind the scenes of the show. Surprisingly of the two fairy-tale themed new shows this fall, Once Upon the Time (see my First Impressions of the show) topped my list of the Most Anticipated New Shows of Fall 2011 list while Grimm could not even make the list considering the former is “from the writers of Lost,” a show I still cringe whenever I think about it, while the latter is brought to us by the guy who co-created Angel with Joss Whedon, which landed in at number sixteen on my list of the 100 Greatest Shows of the 00’s. Of course, on the flipside, Sean Hayes is also a co-executive producer. Yes, the Sean Hayes you are thinking of.

Much like Angel, the lead in Grimm, David Giuntoli (Road Rules, wait, what? Why am I just learning that this guy was on Road Rules and the subsequent Challenges with the Real World, and why do I not remember him at all?) is a detective that takes on special cases due to his special ability, in this case, his is a descendant of the Brothers Grimm and as it turns out, their stories were not just fables but real life and only the Grimms can see these characters for who they really are. Unfortunately just like Angel, the lead is tall, dark, and boring (which is maybe why I do not remember him).

Giuntoli is joined in the homicide department with Russell Hornsby (Playmakers) who like to bust his partner’s balls. Also hanging around the precinct is Reggie Lee (Persons Unknown) and all will be reporting to Sasha Roiz (Caprica) as the captain. While at home Giuntoli is getting ready to propose to girlfriend Bitsie Tulloch (Quarterlife) but his newfound lineage may put that in jeopardy. Kate Burton (Monty) also puts in a memorable guest appearance in the Pilot as David’s aunt who keys him into his heritage.

One problem that Grimm runs into is that it is a very dark retelling of the stories we remember as children, but it may be hard for the show to go into the cheesy, like in the first episode where we meet a young girl in a red hooded sweatshirt, who is kidnapped on her way to her grandparent’s house, whose initials just happen to be R. H. It is hard ton to wince a little at plot points like this. Hopefully this gets less cheesy as the show goes on just like David Greenwalt managed to do with Angel which managed to be a darker version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that still had a lighter side to it. This time around, the comic relief (though not as entertaining as Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan) will come in the form as Silas Weir Mitchell (My Name is Earl) who will be helping the newest Grimm out with some of his cases and just happens to be a reformed Big Bad Wolf. No, seriously.

Despite what looks to be a procedural every week, there looked to be an introduction of a Big Bad in the form of the moderately attractive Claire Coffee (Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough) which hints that the fairytale characters may be more organized than the Grimms may realize. Hopefully she will be appearing early and often because I am not quite sold yet on a strictly procedural show.

In a battle between the show and Once Upon a Time, you will have to give the win to OUaT in terms of quality and almost certainly in terms of viewers (assuming Grimm will not garner enough eyeball on Friday against the already entrenched sci-fi show Fringe) it is currently a tossup because it is hard to be cautious when it comes to a show “from the writers of Lost.” But Grimm’s ratings may make that discussion moot much like The Playboy Club vs Pan Am.

Grimm airs Fridays at 9:00 on NBC. You can stream episodes on Hulu. You can also download Grimm on iTunes.

Dumb Plus Dumb Equals You

Trends are so powerfully, even big time rock stars like The Rolling Stones were recording disco songs at the height of the genre. With the explosion of Adele this year as the most buzzed and bought artist, I bet record labels are already signing clones for the last couple months. You would think one artist who would love to jump on the Adele bandwagon would be Kelly Clarkson. After her most personal album My December bombed with critics and the public alike, she was resigned to recording what sounded like leftovers from Katy Perry and P!nk albums for the follow up All I Ever Wanted.

But instead of filling her latest album with Adele like tracks that more highlight the voice over cheep production effects that are meant to hide the limitations of lesser singer, Clarkson’s latest album Stronger is just a retread of her last album which sounds even more dated now two years later. Just how overplayed is her title track What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)? It actually inspired someone to compile a video of all the pop songs that have overused the Nietzsche quote.



From the title track, you get another twelve forgettable tracks. It is never a good sign when you go through a whole album and not one song sticks out from the mediocrity. They just sound like leftovers from her last album (which sounded like leftovers themselves and no one likes still eating turkey the Sunday after Thanksgiving). Okay, one song actually stick out, but not in a good way. Einstein features lyrics so painfully lame they would make Ke$ha songs read like something out of the Bob Dylan songbook. Not only is “Dumb + Dumb = You” a line in the song, it is the actual chorus. C’mon, you could not come up with a second insult that you had to add dumb to itself? Why not then just say “Dumb Squared = You” then? Hopefully Clarkson recorded Stronger before Adele had her success and we will have to wait for her to capitalize on Adele’s domination of the charts for her next album, because songs like Einstein are embarrassingly bad.

Song to Download – You Love Me

Stronger gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television - 10/25/11

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.

Paradise - Coldplay



With the whole formal opening credits for a film I was expecting some grand epic music video, but the very next scenes is someone in an elephant costume with scenes with the elephant in a trunk (get it?), on a unicycle, and in his natural habitat, in the Sahara playing music. Well done Coldplay.


This Isn’t Everything You Are – Snow Patrol



It is not a very good sign when a band rushes out a second single, it usually means the first one bombed, and the first single was so forgettable, I cannot remember its name. The new Snow Patrol song is slightly better, though not as fun as the last video, not that I remember what the song name was, and this one kind of reminds me of the Kings of Leon video for Pyro, but with less freaks and more random dancing.


We Found Love - Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris



Speaking of videos that remind me of other ones, the new Rihanna video looks Teenage Dream if it had been filmed by the director of Trainspotting who wanted to add a completely random intro for no reason.


One Up for Love - Boyz II Men



With The Sing-Off, the Beyoncé sampling Countdown, and contributing to some midget’s Christmas album, I would love for a Boyz II Men comeback (get ready to feel old, Cooleyhighharmony came out twenty years ago). I am not sure this is the song to do it, the opening production (I was going to ask where was Babyface, but upon some research, it turns out he actually produced it), but it did get better by the time the band kicked in. But this is still better than ninety-nine percent of what is considered RnB that is released today.

First Impressions: Once Upon a Time

It seems like every season there are a couple shows that share a premise and this year there were actually two competing shows on ABC and NBC with the same idea. ABC resoundingly won the first battle between the sixties era drama with Pan Am being a more critical and commercial success while The Playboy Club flamed out with both and did not last a month. This week sees the debut of two more similarly themed shows based around fairy tales, with Grimm premiering Friday at 9:00 (look for my review later this week).

Where Grimm is simply a procedural whose perps just happens to come from children’s stories, Once Upon a Time is all in with its fairytale theme with half the story set in the mythical land and the other in present day Storybrooke, Maine where the fairytale characters live your average human existence. Confused yet (the show does come to us from writers on the Lost staff)? As the story goes, the Evil Queen (of Snow White Fame) cast a spell banishing everyone in the enchanted forest to the worst place where there are no such things and happy endings without any knowledge of their fairytale past: present day America (or purgatory, these are the writers of Lost). And the writer really hit that idea hard repeating just how much this life sucks making you wonder how much they hate their own lives.

But wait, it has been prophesized, by Rumpelstiltskin of all people, that the offspring of Snow White and Prince Charming would come back on her twenty-eighth birthday to rescue them from this horrible place. And wouldn’t you know in present day Boston, Jennifer Morrison (Urban Legends - Final Cut) is celebrating that very birthday when she is visited by a precocious ten year old saying he was the son she gave up a decade before and is apparently the only one in Storybrooke aware of the inhabitant’s pervious lives (maybe it is because he looks to be the only one who is actually ageing in the city which is why Snow White and her daughter look the same age; though not explained is why they look nothing alike or why Morrison is wearing a jacket out of the Thriller collection). One has to wonder in the Evil Queen excluded herself in the amnesia curse.

Much like the upcoming Grimm, the big flaw (aside from the laughably bad CGI) is that both shows take themselves too serious for a show about fairytale characters. It is hard not to cringe as scenes like present day Red Riding Hood is a slut. But shows really need to learn to embrace the cheese factor when updating stories like these to be successful.

Other modern day counterparts include Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin, Ramona and Beezus) is now a teacher. Prince Charming (Joshua Dallas, Thor), who was fatally wounded before the curse was set in now a John Doe in a coma at the hospital. Jiminy Cricket (Raphael Sbarge, Vision Quest) is a children psychiatrist. Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands) “owns” the town, whatever that means. And naturally the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla, Spin City) is in politics and the adoptive parent of Snow White's grandchild.

There are very few more likeable actors working today than Goodwin and Parrilla manages to make the real life mayor of Storybrooke scarier than the Evil Queen making modern day that much more interesting, but I am not sure how far the show can go unless it develops a funny bone.

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8:00 on ABC. You will be able to stream episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 10/23/11

How I Met Your Mother: As everyone else, I found Robin dating her therapist creepy, but him psychoanalyzing the group this week was hilarious.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Sing Off: There is nothing I hate more about The Sing-Off more (now that they banished the Pussycat Doll to a crappier show) than guilty pleasures week. If I should be guilty of liking Bell Biv DeVoe then lock me up and throw away the key. Same goes for Lionel Richie, Huey Lewis, Rick Stringfield, Flashdance or Footloose (unless we are talking about the Blake Shelton version which should make you feel guilty for liking). But enough of the silly stuff, North Shore getting voted off this early was the worst judges’ decision in the history of the show. Sure their version of Power of Love was not the best performance of the night, but it certainly was not one of the two worst. I still had them in my top five.

Even though they have a boneheaded move, the judges did provide two great moments with Ben Folds rapping and Shawn calling Sara out for calling the Soul Train line a wedding march (full disclosure: when I saw the Soul Train line I first though the DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince Summertime video). Shamelessly Afro-Blue did not let the white chick down the Soul Train line, but at least they let her speak and sing this week. As for Antoine Merriweather singing Jessie’s Girl: hated it. Why would he want a woman like that when Jesse sounds like such a great guy? I was also disappointed that no one showered Delilah with water in their chairs during Flashdance. And though over half of the songs performed this week do not deserve the Guilty Pleasure label, this, my friends, is the definition of a guilty pleasure (followed by the latest Power Ranking):



1. Afro Blue (+2)
2. University of Rochester YellowJackets (+3)
3. Urban Method (+1)
4. The Dartmouth Aires (-3)
5. BYU Vocal Point (+2)
6. Delilah (+2)
7. Pentatonix (+2)
8. The Collective (+2)

You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.

2 Broke Girls: It is about time someone threw a nineties themed party, the eighties are just too overplayed. But how did no one show up as O.J. or sport the Aniston?

Castle: I understand that no one would know, or would admit knowing, the thief named Falco, but come on, not one Rock Me Amadeus reference?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Oh snap, Bobby Elvis called a vote on the president! As disgruntled as he has been, I did not see that coming. I did see Juice trying to commit suicide coming about a half an hour before it happen. Though self hanging on a tree does not seem like the best way to be successful.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: South Pacific: I originally thought that Cochran was not long for this game, but the island is full of idiots, and he may end up winning this thing by riding Jim and Dawn to the finals. Ozzie lost his mind while Keith and Whitney’s big power play was to do nothing. While on the other side the hubris, mental health, and stupidity of Coach, Brandon, and Rick have sabotage their tribe. The only hope Albert and Sophie is that Mikayla rejoins them as a threesome after the merge (assuming she returns into the game; I may have to call Shenanigans if Christina manages to make it back in the game after winning every Redemption Island challenge like Matt did last season).
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Pretty Little Liars: You are officially old when you hear someone say that are going to dress up like Lady G and you think they are going to get a Lady Godiva costume. But anyway. This episode seemed to be a glorified reason to stuff in as many characters (you must have been starring at the stars if you missed Ezra) with basically everyone showing up at some point. Surprisingly one of the few people missing was Jenna’s boyfriend. And it looked like there may have been a forming of the Anti-Allison Fan Club with Jenna, Mona, and Hermy banning together as charter members, a lot of looks between those three.

Revenge: There are few things I have more than the “Two Days Before” place card and Revenge had the most egregious example ever when it spoiled the season(?) at the beginning of the series. But if you are going to utilize the cliché, this is the way you do it because it set up an interesting murder mystery. Was it Amy Abbott? The nerd? The Greysons or their henchman? But my favorite part of the episode was when the rich kid actually said, “All I can think about is taking you to the bedroom,” a line that hysterically worked.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: This show and religion should never mix again.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Best of the Week - 10/22/11

Quote of the Week: Oh, they don’t always get to ride to roller coaster. Sometimes they only get to spin the teacups. (Penny, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: American Slang – The Gaslight Anthem (The Lying Game)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Trails to Muammar Gaddafi: I am too young to remember the height of the cold war, and by the eighties the Eastern Block was a shell of itself on the verge of collapse. For a short period in elementary school it was Muammar Gaddafi who public enemy number one with every school child wanting to blow Libya off the map. Not only was Muammar evil, dude was completely insane. In recent years other mad men have taken over most evil man in world crown, but Muammar came back with a vengeance during the Arab Spring killing civilians to make sure it would not happen to him. But in the end he was found hiding in a drainage tunnel and killed by rebels. Goodbye Muammar, you will not be missed.

Free Download of the Week: Live It Up Chris Isaak (Amazon MP3)

New Album Release of the Week: Mylo Xyloto - Coldplay

New DVD Release of the Week: Captain America: The First Avenger (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy)

Video of the Week: We are coming close to the end of Breast Cancer Awareness month, but before we turn the calendar HBO will be airing The Education of Dee Dee Ricks about the self made millionaire who was diagnosed with the disease and learned how difficult the disease can be for those without the insurance she relayed on to win her fight and is now deternmained to do something about it. Look out for the movie this Thursday at 8:30. Check out the trailer below:



Next Week Pick of the Week: Beavis and Butt-Head, Thursday at 10:00 on MTV: Wake up the thirteen year old version of yourself, take off your thinking caps, and lower your standards because Beavis and Butt-Head are back.

Around the Tubes - 10/21/11

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 Strike Back, American Masters, Twenty, Web Therapy, Rock Center, Franklin and Bash, The Novogratz, American Horror Story, NBC and Showtime programming, and Cafe Press.


- The season finale of Strike Back hits Cimamax tonight at 10:00 and here is a preview of what you can expect:



- American Masters is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year while Pearl Jam is celebrating their twentieth together. So the former is going to honor the latter by airing the Cameron Crowe directed documentary about the band Twenty premiering tonight at 9:00 on PBS. Check out the trailer below:

Watch Pearl Jam Twenty on PBS. See more from American Masters.

- Selma Blair is the latest client for Lisa Kudrow on Web Therapy and you can watch the episode Bring Up Babies over at LStudio.com.

- Naturally Rock Center with Brian Williams will be premiering on Halloween night (at 10:00 on NBC) and here is a promo:



- The boys of Franklin and Bash returned to the set this week to start filming the second season, and there were not alone. Also showing up next season will be Cybill Shepard, Eric Mabius, and Rick Fox. Look for the episodes to air next summer. Check out a picture from the set below:



- Also recently returning to production is The Novogratz which is currently working on thirteen new episodes for HGTV set to return April 2012.

- Marathon Alert! On Halloween night, FX will be airing all four previously aired episode of their latest program, American Horror Story starting at 10:00.

- As we close in on the holidays, NBC has announced some of their specials airing the next couple months including The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now (11/23); the broadcast premiere of Dr. Suess’ Horton Hears a Who! (Thanksgiving Night) followed by The 85th Anniversary of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade; Christmas in Rockefeller Center 2011 (11/30); a special holiday episode of The Sing-Off (12/5); A Michael Buble Christmas Variety Special (12/6); William and Kate: Inside the Royal Wedding (12/13); WWE Tribute to the Troops (12/17); Saturday Night Lice Presents: a Very Gilly Christmas (12/20); and of course It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve. Before then president Barack Obama will be returning to The Tonight Show for his fourth time next Tuesday. Also returning to NBC is Fear Factor coming Monday December 2 at 8:00.

- Even further in the future, Showtime has recently released its Fall/Winter programming Overview including the series premiere of House of Lies (1/8/12 at 10:00) starring Dob Cheadle and Veronica Mars; returning shows Shameless (1/8/12 at 9:00) and Californication (1/8/12 at 10:30); and documentaries From the Sky Down (10/29/11 at 8:00), The Last Play at Shea (11/11/11 at 9:30) Saint Misbehavin’ the Wavy Gravy Movie (11/17/11 at 7:55) and Thespians (11/10/11 at 7:30).

- And for the latest installment of political item of the week; we still are a couple months away from voting, but that have not stopped people from trying to figure out who will be the Republican nominee by trolling over all the data. Like Herman Cain currently has 58% of all GOP nominees related items bought on Café Press. Longtime frontrunner Mitt Romney although only amounts to 6% and whose highest selling items just happen to be flip flops. You cannot even make this stuff up.

The Best of Soul

Last year Rolling Stone released a “Playlist Issue” that saw a bunch of artists list their ten favorite songs from a genre, niche, or other artists which let me to suggest that this become a yearly issue. Apparently Jann Wenner was listening because they just released the second annual issue (with Steve Jobs on the cover). What I like about these issues it gives me new suggestion from some of my favorite artists and deep cuts playlist from other artists I enjoy but never fully dug deep into. And who would have guessed Ke$ha’s Party Starting playlist wouldn’t suck? In honor of the issue I thought I would dig out one of my most requested mixtapes I made in college that was so loved, I was asked to make multiple volumes of, The Best of Soul. I this first one is a quick primer so those that have yet to dig deep into the classics yet like so many my age at the time to sample. And for more great musical suggestion I highly recommend to pick up the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

1. Lovely Day - Bill Withers
2. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
3. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
4. Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
5. Just the Two of Us - Grover Washington, Jr. & Bill Withers
6. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) - Marvin Gaye
7. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
8. Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
9. Superstition - Stevie Wonder
10. Use Me - Bill Withers
11. Stand By Me - Ben E. King
12. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
13. Lean On Me - Bill Withers
14. Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
15. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
16. Living for the City - Stevie Wonder
17. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
18. Lately - Stevie Wonder
19. Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
20. As - Stevie Wonder

I Want My Music Television - 10/19/11

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.

Red Solo Cup – Toby Keith



If Schrodinger's Cat means that something can be alive and dead at the same time, is there a corollary that a song can be simultaneously the greatest and worst song ever made. If so: ladies and gentlemen, the latest Toby Keith song.


Lucky Now - Ryan Adams



How do you make Ryan Adams more depressingly sad? Apparently all you have to do is put him in an empty house that is just starting to fall apart.


Love on Top – Beyoncé



Well that was boring; Beyoncé just did the same dance routine from the VMA’s in the same loft from the Countdown video, but with more costume changes.


Nasty - Nas



I swear I this video a long time ago. Are we sure that Nas did not release this same video back in 1998?