Around the Tubes - 10/19/12

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 Haunted, Outback Hunters, Defiance, Conan, L.A. Noir, Hot Seat, Check it Out!, David Letterman, My Life Is a Lifetime Movie, Roger Hodgson, Emily Katter, Downton Abbey, and Joan Jett.

- Tonight is the premiere of the latest Cinamax series Haunted. From The X-Files writer and producer Frank Spotnitz, the eight-episode series is set in the world of international espionage. Golden Globe nominee Melissa George (HBO’s In Treatment) stars as Sam Hunter, a skilled, gutsy operative for Byzantium, a secretive private firm involved in global intelligence and espionage. After surviving an attempt on her life that may have been orchestrated by members of her own team, she returns to work, but doesn’t know who to trust.


- New show alert! Premiering this Sunday is Outback Hunters that follows a team of fearless Aussies that wade through the menacing East, West and South Alligator Rivers of Australia's desolate Kakadu coming face to face with the Salties, massive salt-water crocodiles. Check out a preview of the show, which comes from the producers of Swamp People, below:



- Defiance may not arrive on Syfy until April 2013, but you can now take a look at the show’s first trailer below:


- Have you ever watch Conan and thought to yourself, I could do that? Now you can becase the late-night talk show is inviting to re-create an episode through crowdsourcing. Head over to Team Coco for details.

- Not deterred by being unceremoniously dumped by The Walking Dead last year, Frank Darabont is getting back into the television game as TNT just greenlighted his new show L.A. Noir starring the dude who played Shane as well as Neal McDonough who as last scene getting his arm chopped off, surprisingly not on The Walking Dead, but on Justified. No premiere date is set.

- The season finale of Hot Seat airs Tuesday at 10:00 on Syfy and you can take a look at a sneak peak below:


- Out this week on DVD is the Adult Swim show Check it Out! Season 1 and 2 staring John C. Reilly.


- David Letterman is hooking up with Oprah Winfrey again this time at his alma mater of Ball State which will take place November 26. Admission to the event in the 3,300-seat Emens Auditorium is free, but seating must be reserved. The university anticipates high demand for seats. Tickets must be secured in advance and will be available on a first come-first serve basis at the Emens Box Office.

- Have you ever thought to yourself, my life could be a Lifetime movie? Well you could win $1,000 in a Lifetime Sweepstakes by explain what the title of your Lifetime movie would be in honor of the recent premiere of My Life Is a Lifetime Movie.

- Roger Hodgson is having Breakfast in America again starting this fall when he tours the country for his first major tour of the States in thirty years. Head over to rogerhodgson.com for dates.

- New music to give a listen to: pop singer-songwriter Emily Katter who’s new single Heart Explosion is out now.

- Cannot get enough of Downton Abbey? Now you can take the Sterling Silver tour built around the PBS show.

- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts recently signed on to play A Night of New York Class Gala October 23, 2012 to ban carriage horses in NYC. Head over to nyclass.org to grab a ticket that starts at $500.

Act Like Nothing’s Wrong, That’s What Mom Did

What do you do when all of your kids cancel on your family reunion the day before they are supposed to arrive? Well if you are Robert De Niro, you pack up a suitcase and take a cross country trip by train, bus, and even truck truck drive (from an all too brief cameo from Melissa Leo). Despite the cheery title Everybody's Fine (2009) and the smiles on the cover, the movie is not as humorous as it suggests. It is a family drama that will still have a few humor moments but your heart strings will be tickled more than your funny bone.

De Niro just lost his wife and this was the first time he was going to get together with all four children since she passed. The mom was the one that talked to the children while De Niro, who worked a menial job to give his children a better life, just got the Cliff Notes (hint, it is the title). So De Niro goes from New York City to Chicago to Denver to Las Vegas to catch up with his children, played by Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, and Drew Barrymore) to see what he was missing without the reunion. Sure the movie almost plays like a hundred minute version of Harry Chapin’s Cat's In the Cradle, but De Niro’s subtle performance makes the road less bumpy.

The 2009 film is on Blu-Ray for the very first time (which is a bit surprising considering even I had a Blu-Ray by then). It is light on extra; there is about ten minutes of deleted and extended scenes. There is another ten minute feature with Paul McCartney explains how he came to wrote the song that plays over the closing credits, (I Want To) Come Home.

Full Disclosure Notice: The Blu-Ray was given to me by Lionsgate for review.

Her Gift Made Her Obedient, but Her Heart Made Her Kind

Before she was Catwoman, Anne Hathaway was America’s sweetheart, every girl wanted to be her and every boy had a crush on her thanks to kid friendly fare like The Princess Diaries. She followed that up with other kind of fairytale Ella Enchanted. Much like the Diaries, Hathaway charm is on full display. After watching the film I am reminded how good Hathaway is at comedy and it is a shame she does not do more films that show off her humorous side (really the only comedies that she has appeared in the flesh since was the best part of the otherwise forgettable Valentine's Day).

Hathaway plays the titular character that was given the “gift” of obedience at birth. Every time someone tells her to do something, she has to do it. The spell is so powerful that she even has to do it even if it is a sarcastic demand like the time a classmate learns the hard way it may not be wise to tell Ella to “Bite me.” Somehow she makes adolescences unscathed without anyone realizing her curse. That is until her father remarries and her new step-sister, Lucy Punch (in one of her first American films before going on to steal scenes in movies like Dinner for Schmucks), realizes Ella does everything she asks and decides to use it to her advantage.

In true fairy tale tradition, Ella head out on a quest, this time to find the fairy who gave her the give of obedience (a tipsy Vivica A Fox, Independence Day) and collects a rag tag group of fairy tale outcasts (elves, giants, and ogres, oh my) on her trip as well as a handsome prince (Hugh Dancy, who really has not taken off here in the states but will fill the shoes of Will Graham in the upcoming televised version of Hannibal) that Ella just writes off as a pretty face. But the infatuation grows the ire of his evil uncle (Cary Elwes who knows a thing or two about princesses) that wants the crown for himself.

With the resurgence of fairy tales on Once Upon a Time and Grimm, it may be time to give Ella Enchanted another look (or a first one in you missed the 2004 the first time around and perfect for any girl that has been born since then) and the film is more family friendly that the two show. And for those wondering about Hathaway’s singing voice with her upcoming role as Fantine in the movie version of Les Miserables, she actually sings two songs in Ella Enchanted including Queen’s Somebody to Love. It is also a plus that the film has Monty Python’s Eric Idle as the narrator.

This is the first time Ella Enchanted has been available on Blu-Ray and it is actually a combo pack that includes a DVD copy too. Both disks include the same features (except the DVD features some DVD-ROM features) including deleted and extended scenes. There is also an audio commentary with Hathaway, Dancy, and director Tommy O’Haver. There is a half an hour featurette The Magical World of Ella Enchanted as well as Ella Enchanted Red Carpet Premiere Special hosted by Jesse McCartney and Kari Kimmel although both features share a lot of the same video. Kimmel’s music video for It’s Not Just Make Believe is also included.


Full Disclosure Notice: this Blu-Ray was given to me by Lionsgate for review.

We've All Had Nights in Our Life Where We've Made Mistakes for Free

Ah season five of Mad Men: Zoo Be Zoo, Betty gets fat, Don murders someone, Roger drops acid, Megan eats sherbet, Rory Gilmore gets naked, the triumphant return of Paul Kinsey, Sally becomes a woman, Joan becomes less of one, Peggy watched dogs having sex, and Lane punches Pete Campbell in the face. With the long hiatus, speculation abounds as to how the fifth season of the show would start off, but who would have guessed the show would return on a happy note? Don was basking in marital bliss while Sterling Cooper Draper Price continued to thrive.

Of course Matthew Weiner lulled us into a false sense of security because as the season drug on, the shine wore off and it because pretty clear to me that the theme of season five was getting old sucks. Don could no longer keep up with his young bride which he may or may not have realized while listening to The Beatles, Peggy had to leave her mentor, Pete was exiled to the suburbs as his hairline went further back, Betty got fat, Sally got bloody, Joan had to give up herself, and Lane could not start his Jaguar. Really the only person that got out untouched was Rodger and he needed a new drug to get by. Although, depended on how you took the look Don made in the final frame, he may have made it through to the other side.

And then there was the most shocking moment of the year: Don managed to stay with one woman the whole season. Yes, Dawn was his only secretary this season despite the weirdness of sharing the same name. But we will have to wait until next season to see if he finally gets around to bedding her, because as Allison taught us, if you stick around long enough, you get to have sex with Don Draper as a Christmas bonus. I will not go much further on the individual episodes, if you want to read my thought you can hit the Mad Men tag to see my thoughts.

Of course all thirteen season five episodes are included in the three disks Blu-Ray (surprising Megan and Joan are pictured along with Don) though the two hour premiere is presented here as one episode. Like previous Mad Men seasons, there are bonus features aplenty (this is a review of the Blu-Ray, but the press release say these are also on the DVD release with four disks but I have to wonder who gets a picture on the fourth disk: Peggy? Pete? Roger?). There is Mad Men Say the Darndest Things where the writers on the show talk about some of their favorite one-liners. The take a deeper look at artist Giorgio de Century whose work inspired the Blu-Ray cover with What Shall I Love If Not the Enigma? None of the Mad Men got invited to Truman Capote’s Black and White Masquerade Ball (who knows what Roger would have done in the back room) but it is talked about in The Party of the Century. We also get to go into the studio with Scoring Mad Men: Inside a Session where composer David Carbonarra, orchestrator Geoff Stadling, and sound engineer explain the sound of the show. There is also a pictorial time line about The Uniform Time Act of 1966 which is not as boring as it sounds. I knew Daylight Saving Time was instituted during World War II, but did not know that it got revoked afterwards until 1966. Hopefully it gets abolished again. There is also Newsweek Magazine Digital Gallery that looks at some of the top stories of 1996.

The Blu-Ray also features twenty-four audio commentaries. Yes, each episode gets not one, but two separate audio commentaries. Usually one commentary is Matt Weiner and other behind the scenes people like writers, directors, costume designers, while the actors are resigned to the other but sometimes they mix it up. So if you wonder what Megan Draper thought about her dance sequence or what Lane Price thought about the penultimate episode, give the commentaries a listen. And it is not just castmembers, commentaries also feature guest stars Rory Gilmore, Julia Ormond (but not for the episode where Sally learns that grown up life is dirty), and Paul Kinsey who gets to watch his episode with Harry Crane who nails his onscreen girlfriend and explains why he had to shave his head twice for the show. The is so much content here that there should be plenty extras to hold you over until season six air even if the show goes on another eighteen month hiatus.


Full Disclosure Notice: This Blu-Ray set was given to me by Lionsgate for the purpose of review.

Lyrics Quiz: The Power of We: Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day and this year’s theme is “The power of We”. In honor of the day, this month’s Lyrics Quiz will feature songs that have either the word “Power” or “We” in the title. As always leave your guesses, both artist and song title, in the comment section (or e-mail me). If you are correct I will un-bold the lyric and give you credit. Please keep in mind the lyrics quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please only use your own meandering mind to guess them.

1. I’m living in that 21st century. Doing something mean to it. Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it.
2. We’ll fight the powers of be just don’t pick our destiny cause you don’t know us you don’t belong.
3. What we need is awareness, we can’t get careless. You say, “What is this?”
4. Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell.
5. We’ll walk hand in hand, we’ll walk hand in hand, we’ll walk hand in hand someday.
6. They say you are a snuff queen. Honey I don’t think that’s true.
7. I got needs just like you. Give me conversations, good vibrations through and through.
8. Buddy you’re a young man, hard man shouting in the streets, gonna take on the world someday. (We Will Rock You - Queen; guessed by Kevin)
9. What you’re problem? Let’s resolve them. We can solve this, what the cause is. Its officials, you got issues; I got issues.
10. Ninety miles outside Chicago. Can’t stop driving, I don’t know way. So many questions I need an answer. Two years later you’re still on my mind.
11. She spends his Franklin's at the malls with her friends, material girl, living in a material world. But it’s alright cause it's Saturday night.
12. You might stop a hurricane. Might even stop the driving rain. You might have a dozen other guys, but if you wanna stop me baby, don’t even try.
13. One two, tell me what you got. Let me slip my quarters inside your slot to hit the jackpot. Rev me up rev me up my little buttercup.
14. Hang onto the world as it spins around. Just don't let the spin get you down. Things are moving fast. Hold on tight and you will last.
15. Yellow diamonds in the light. And we're standing side by side. As your shadow crosses mine. What it takes to come alive.
16. Maybe it's a sign of weakness when I don't know what to say. Maybe I just wouldn't know what to do with my strength anyway.
17. You don’t need money, don’t take fame. Don’t need no credit card to ride this train. It’s strong and it's sudden and it’s cruel sometimes. But it might just save your life.
18. I’d kinda like to be the president, so I can show you how your money’s spent.
19. That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane. Lenny Bruce is not afraid.
20. Am I more than you bargained for yet? I’ve been dying to tll you anything you want to hear ‘cause that’s just who I am this week. (Sugar, We're Goin Down - From Under the Cork Tree - Fall Out Boy; guessed by Kevin)
21. Radical mind day and night all the time. Seven, fourteen, wise, divine. Maniac, brainiac, winning the game. I’m the lyrical Jesse James.
22. Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline. Ayatollah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan.
23. Let’s not fight, I’m tired, can’t we just sleep tonight? Turn away; it’s just there’s nothing left here to say. Turn around.
24. If we keep up on this fooling around. We’ll be the talk of the town. I’ll tell the world I'm in love any time. Let’s open up the blinds ‘cause we really don’t mind.
25. People they come together. People they fall apart. No one can stop us now.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 10/14/12

Once Upon a Time: I am a bit surprised that Sleeping Beauty does not recognize Snow White. Maybe she does not recognize her without wearing a bad wig. I guess this is a different place than the Enchanted Forrest because Regina’s mom is there (I assume she got sent to the real world). And with Mr. Gold really lose all his previous life memory if he crosses the city limits; he knew who he was even with the curse in tack. But the most surprising was the mass exodus of everyone just because the Evil Queen got her magic back. Is everyone really ready to forget everything just because they are scared of her?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Revenge: Holy Rebecca Logan sighting! She should really wear glasses more often. But that Grayson clan is very messed up. I am not sure who is more evil, Victoria for coming up with a plan to frame the White Haired Man by having Conrad beat the crap out of her or Conrad following her orders. But how could Emily trust the White Haired Man, he killed her father, of course he was going to try to tie up any loose ends that could get him exonerated.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

How I Met You Mother: Ted and Robin trying to burn each other on who had the better relationship is one of the dumber bits the show has done. And that is saying something.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Voice: Sure the Battle Round still is a drag, but I really do love the new Steal for a couple reasons. Of course what is great the some good talent that got to advance even though they lost because their coach put them up against a strong opponent or just chose the wrong singer. But my favorite inadvertent part of the steal is that point where Carson says the loser is available for a Steal and the cameras cut to the coaches staring back blindly. It is also funny how Caitlin Michele shunned Blake not once but twice. I wish they would add another steal to the Knockout Round so she could shun him a third time.

I do not know if the Steal is the cause, but it did seem the coach picked the winner more wisely this season. I was really shock that Cee-Lo made the right decision and picked Cody Belew over Domo, I thought he was going to be this season’s Erin Martin. Really the only battle this year I think the coach got wrong is when Adam picked Melanie Martinez over Caitlin, but Caitlin eventually got snatched up by Cee-Lo. And where Caitlin and Amanda Brown go rightfully picked, I had to scratch my head as to why anyone wanted to save Collin McLoughlin (especially when they let Nelly's Echo go by the wayside). Collin is so boring and bland, you could have told me he had one American Idol in the past couple years and I would have believed you.

The Voice also took another one of my suggestions by breezing through the Battle Rounds by resigning some of them to a montage. Although they should have also gone back to the four battles per hour because three per hour just drag on. Does anyone care about rehearsal time. Even though I enjoy the blander battles being resigned to the montage, you have to feel bad for someone like Lisa Scinta who managed to make it to the second round but only got about ten seconds of screen time. Hopefully they just montage the rest of Christina’s team because after the hot chick that did the backwards shimmy in the Blind Auditions, she really does not have anything left. Nathalie Hernandez was her best teen girl and she already went home.

Hopefully Nathalie is a cautionary tale to all the other fifteen year old girls out there. Natalie did have an interesting voice, but she was just way too young and lacked the experience Had she waited until she was twenty, or at the very least old enough to vote, she could have gone much further in the competition, instead she ended up just being lucky that anyone bothered to turn around for. It was also not a very good sign for that her coach’s final thought on her was that she probably should have chosen Blake instead.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Voice with the widget at right.


Castle: I think this is the first time we have seen the new Captain not act like a sourpuss. Of course Castle had to go and break her toy which means she will probably be back to her old self by next episode.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Parenthood: The Braverman’s must not care about the recession because yet another one quit their job. Maybe the whole clan will end up working at the recording studio. Although I would guess that Julie and Joel will end up switching roles with Julia being the homemaker and Joel will go back to work.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: I am not sure I will be able to watch the next season of Justified after seeing Boyd Crowder with humongous breasts riding a dude with a belly that was even better.
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Philippines: This season got boring quick. Just have the one dude go to one tribe and the chick to the other and let’s just essentially start this season over.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.

Modern Family: So is Haley going to be resigned to webchats for the rest of the season? Seriously, why not just spin her off with her and Dylan living together?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Modern Family on iTunes.

Best of the Week - 8/13/12

Quote of the Week: You can kiss my decision as it’s walking out the door. (Rayna, Nashville)

Song of the Week: If I Didn't Know Better – Sam Palladio & Clare Bowen (Nashville)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: The Vice Presidential Debate: Or so I am told this happened because I fell asleep when both debaters started to sound like the adults in a Peanuts special. It is really silly to have the Vice Presidential candidate to debate anyway. As John McCain famously said, the only job of the Vice President is to check up on the health of the President every day. But I am told that one person used the world murlocky while another lied a bunch. Yep I did not miss much.

Preview Picture of the Week:


Free Download of the Week: Live Sampler (Recorded at the Filmore) – Punch Brothers (Noise Trade)

Deal of the Week: Up to 55% on TV and Movies Blu Rays - The Walking Dead, Halloween, Piranna 3DD, Alien Anthology

New Album Release of the Week: Red - Taylor Swift

New DVD Release of the Week: Mad Men: Season Five

Video of the Week: One debate that I did enjoy this week was the one between Kid Rock and Sean Penn. Seriously, there are very few things more entertaining that hear two white dudes argue over who is less racist.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Suburgatory, Wednesday at 9:30: Easily the biggest surprise of last season was how funny Suburgatory was. It was barely on my radar before the season started and turned out being the best new show on network television last season. It finally returns this week and even gets the cushy post-Modern Family timeslot. I am sure Dalia will still be scarier than anything you will see on the premiere of The Walking Dead later next week.

Around the Tubes - 10/12/12

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 Pretty Little Liars, Kiss, The Hero, Get Out Alive, Last Break, King of the Nerds, Empty Orchestra, Marcus Goldhaber, The Rolling Stones, Gummibär: The Yummy Gummy Search For Santa, The Mentalist, LT: The Life and Times, The Cup, and The Christmas Pageant.

- The Pretty Little Liars Halloween special does not air until Tuesday October 23, but you can check out an exclusive clip below.




- Just in time for Halloween, Kiss unleashed their Monster this week, their twentieth studio album which features the lead single Hell or Hallelujah which recently hit the active rock chart, their first song to do so in fourteen years.

- A couple weeks ago, I mentioned the new reality competition The Hero starring The Rock, for those interested in applying, open calls are starting this weekend in Los Angeles. Head over to TNT.com for other city and dates.

- For those missing Man vs. Wild, you will soon get some more Bear Grylls in your life because NBC just green-lighted Get Out Alive (working title) a new, larger-than-life and extreme adventure reality-competition series headlined by world-renowned adventurer Bear Grylls.

- Derek and Liam go head-to-head in this first episode of Last Break, the second-chance challenge series that can be found exclusively on golfchannel.com.

The Big Break

- King of the Nerds, the new competition show for TBS, does premiere until January, but you can take a look at the first promo below:

- New music alert! Empty Orchestra released their new album One More Time, All Together Now... for fans of Band of Horses.

- The Rolling Stones have a new Greatest Hits package out this fall and with it there will be a new song Doom and Gloom which is now on iTunes and marks the first time Mick, Keith, Charlie, and Ronnie have been in the studio together for seven years.

- YouTube sensation Gummibär is making his film debut later this year and you can watch the trailer to The Yummy Gummy Search for Santa below and click the link to preorder the DVD over at Amazon.



- To understand the driving force behind Patrick Jane, the title character in the hit drama The Mentalist, one need look no further than the brutal murderer who has plagued his nightmares since the series' first episode. On Monday, Oct. 22, TNT is going to take viewers on a journey through those nightmares with The Mentalist: The Hunt for Red John, an all-day marathon of episodes centering on the serial killer whose long line of victims includes Jane's own family starting at noon.

- LT: The Life and Times, a feature length documentary film chronicling the spectacular on-field Hall of Fame NFL career of Lawrence Taylor, as well as his tumultuous off-field life, comes to SHOWTIME® in early 2013. The documentary will be the first-ever in-depth look focusing on Taylor’s life with never-before-heard stories from Taylor, his family, his former teammates and coaches on his playing days with the Giants, his infamous off-field activities and the troubling times that have plagued him throughout his life.

- Coming out on DVD next week: The Cup starring Brendan Gleeson (Albert Nobbs) and Stephen Curry (Rogue). Also out Tuesday is The Christmas Pageant starring Melissa Gilbert and Robert Mailhouse.

It Wasn't Done for a Man to Reject a Woman who Freely Gave Herself

Really, what else is there to do on a hot summer days in Manhattan than to hook up with people? That is essentially the plot 30 Beats where ten extremely attractive New Yorkers get it on with each other one by one. No, this is not five vignettes of the characters pairing off. Instead the movie starts with two characters hooking up, and then one of them leaves to find a new person to spend special time with and so on until we meet all ten people in the film.

The cast has some familiar faces including Justin Kirk (Weeds), Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies), Jennifer Tilly (Bride of Chucky), and Paz de la Huerta (Boardwalk Empire). But do not expect to see much of any of them because no one gets more than ten minutes of screen time in the whole movie. Which also means it is hard to invest in any of the characters because by the time you start to care about them, they are already done with their part. I even thought they may pop up Lost style in other people stories, but that rarely happens during the film.

For a movie about ten people having sex with each other, you would think it would veer into Skinamax territory, but surprisingly every time two characters start to get down to business, the screen fades to black, and picture does not come back until some post- coitus time. Do not worry, the film is not completely void of skin, you will get to see plenty of beautiful French actress Vahina Giocante, and for the ladies, you will get to see Kirk getting into a bathtub.

30 Beats is the thinking (wo)man’s softcore porn movie, but without the actual sex being shown. Sure you take out the sex and most people will not care, but if you are into arty films about the human psyche, you may enjoy the film. For those that have seen it already and are thinking about adding it to your collection, be warned the only bonus feature on the DVD is the theatrical trailer, so you will not be getting anything new out of it.


Full Disclosure Notice: This DVD was given to me by BH Impact to review.

Previewing Chicago Fire

There was a time when Rescue Me was my favorite show on television; this of course was early on before Denis Leary’s ego went out of control. So it is hard to watch Chicago Fire and not compare it to that previous firemen show. There are similarities, like how a fireman goes down on duty in the first episode, and differences, instead of Probie, the new guy is call the clunkier Candidate. The most notable difference is that the characters on Chicago Fire are significantly less interesting. There are no hot heads like Tommy, idiots like White Shaun, really, most of the characters are just pretty boys like Franco. If the show had not cast one brunette and one blonde I probably would not be able to tell the two leads apart.

Another big difference is that firehouse on Chicago Fire has an in-house Rescue Squad and EMS team, just do not ask me the difference between the Rescue Squad and the normal firefighters because I have not figured it out myself other than the Rescue Squad members seem to be slightly more egotistical. The EMS team seems to be included only to up the female quotient. But the problem is whenever I see them on screen I cannot help but thinking the previous one and done Trauma a couple seasons ago was much better. And it was odd that they made one of the lone females on the show a lesbian (the usually absurdly hot, but needs to go back to being a brunette Lauren German) which eliminates any chance of any inter-department hanky-panky.

On the bright side the always awesome Eamonn Walker (Oz) plays the chief and is his usually epic self. I really wish they would spend more time on him than the bland pretty boys. The show was also able to wrangle a local celebrity to make a cameo in the premiere. But do not get excited sports fan, it is not Mike Ditka, Michael Jordan, or even the big head of Sammy Sosa, but a local politician. If there is a reason to watch future episodes of Chicago Fire it would be my sources tell me that at some point Shiri Appleby will be showing up as German’s ex-girlfriend. Okay, maybe making German a lesbian was not the worst idea in the world.

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on NBC. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chicago Fire on iTunes where you can currently download the Pilot for free.

Previewing Nashville

Sadly some people wrote off Friday Night Lights thinking it was a show a about football, a game they just did not care for. But the show was not about football, it was family and a small town whose population just happened to gather together every Friday night to watch the town high school play football. In fact the football scenes were the least interesting part of the show. I do not bring this up in relation to the new show Nashville because Connie Britton played the great Tami Taylor on the show. I bring it up because I fear people not bother to tune into Nashville simply just because they do not like country music or even music that can described as alt-country, punk but more cerebral.

But much like Friday Night Lights is about people, some of which just happen to play football, Nashville is about the people of the town, some of which just happen to play country music. Britton plays the reigning Queen of Country on the downside of her career, think Reba Reba McEntire who has to watch a less talented Hayden Panettiere (Remember the Titans), a evil(er) version of Carrie Underwood, get more and more attention from their record label who thinks the two should co-headline a tour. Of course Hayden wants Connie’s producer, band leader and guitarist and will do whatever she can to get them.

But Nashville is not just about music, there is Powers Booth (Tombstone) plating Britton’s father , who doesn’t like the hillbilly music, but does like controlling the politics in Music City and does not mind playing dirty. This includes handpicking Britton’s husband, who lost most of his money in the economic downturn, to run against one of Connie’s good friend. Not surprisingly she does not like her husband under the wing of her estranged father that leads to a great confrontation in the first episode.

But much like the football was the least interesting part of Friday Night Lights, the new music on Nashville just is not good (full disclosure notice: I have never been much of a fan of traditional country music). Hayden is presented as a pop music crossover in the vein of Taylor Swift, but her songs in the first episode are the same bland country music that Connie sings. The background music, by Eli Young Band and Miranda Lambert is much better country music. The only “new” song on Nashville that is any good is an unreleased song by The Civil Wars. If we are lucky, the music will improve throughout the season, T-Bone Burnett, the guy who brought back the folk rock trend of the past decade by producing the O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack, serves as the music executive producer with songs written by Elvis Costello, John Paul White of the Civil Wars and Hillary Lindsey who has written some of Carrie Underwood’s biggest hits.

But as I mentioned in the intro, the show is much more about the people. And these people like to get around and have some deep dark secrets. Just in the premiere they set up a couple of love triangles (and other polygons), bed hopping, drug use, plenty of nepotism, paternity questions, backstabbing, and Hayden show how she got so big with such minimal talent (hint, it is not just the auto-tune). Really the only thing missing is some hair pulling (you gotta save something for the rest of the season). By the end of the year Nashville may just overtake Dallas as the juiciest city in the world.

Nashville airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on ABC. You can steams recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes where you can currently download the Pilot for free.

Previewing Secret Access Week

They call it the Secret Service for a reason. Even though we are all familiar with the dudes in suits, sunglasses, and earpieces that surround the president, there are also members of the Secret Service that we never see; the counter assault team that walk among us or out of sight of everyone making sure no one is successful at harming the president of the United States of America. Tonight the National Geographic Channel takes a look at these brave men who are willing to take a bullet to preserve the nation with Secret Service Files: Protecting the President to kick off its Secret Access Week.

The special tonight looks at a couple specific instances with both President Bush’s and Clinton like when George Sr. found himself in the middle of a Panamanian riot, or when Clinton was surrounded by over two million mourning Moroccans as he and many other world leader walked in a two mile procession to bury the Moroccan president that quickly got out of hand. I was most surprised with the tale of a Georgian (of the country not the state) threw a live grenade and W. at a rally in Georgia (also the country). You would think that would have been bigger news her, but mercifully it did not go off. The series interviews secret service members who were part of each event, as well as President Clinton, explaining how they got out of these sticky situations.

Secret Access continues Tuesday with Top Secret where cameras go inside Plant 42. If you have not heard of it, you are not alone as it goes inside America’s “black world” of off the record projects, some that are so confidential some are said to not exists which include futuristic aircrafts, stealth weapons, and propulsion systems. Then Wednesday you are going to go Inside Cocaine Submarines, the latest way Colombian drug lords get their products stateside under the watchful eye of the DEA.

The on Thursday National Geographic will take you inside America’s Money Vault. Nope, not Fort Knox, actually one fourth of the world’s gold supply is underground in New York City. It is a place where it takes three people to open one door making it impossible for an employee to walk out with a gold brick. Closing out the week on Friday is American Mansion: Secrets of the Rockefeller Estate. All specials start at 8:00.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 10/7/12

Once Upon a Time: Of course “The writers of Lost” had to start off season two with a non sequitur. But I could have sworn we learned just who Desmond was by the end of the episode. We will have to wait at least a week to figure out just who the dude from Terriers is. I originally thought he was Henry’s father but after the whole sequence I am just assuming he is another Pinocchio type fairy tale character who somehow found his way to the real world. In another Lostian bit of storytelling, even though everyone remembers everyone else, somehow no one knows who Dr. Whale is. I did pick up on the big twist early, as soon as Philip said they had bigger problems than Maleficent, I knew they were still in storybook land. And I am sure I am not the only one who wondered why Sleeping Beauty did not even try kissing Philip in hopes of regaining his soul. Seriously, that is how he just woke you up from a year’s slumber.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Revenge: In the least shocking reveal ever, Victoria did not die in the plane crash. What was surprising is that she is working the white haired dude (though I did not really buy her story that the FBI had her hiding away, how did they know to get her off the plane?). I actually assumed that was her plane at the beginning of the episode but with the “three months earlier” I am not sure. Does this mean there will be another plane crash around Labor Day? I am just glad they did not tease someone’s death like they did thing the first season premiere so they will not be tempted again to go, surprise Daniel is not dead after all! again.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Homeland: Even though it was the best show on television last year, I was a bit wary about it going into the second season. How do you credibly get Carrie back on the show? Where does Brody go after trying, and failing to kill the vice president? After one episode I am still a little wary, but the first episode back was still highly entertaining especially the few glimpses of Crazy Carrie (yeah, just give Claire Danes the 2013 Emmy now; she already has it locked up after an episode) coming out like the smile on her face after kicking that dude in the groin. She seemed to like it a bit too much. But as David Estes stated very clearly, this is not her getting her job back (I do have a feeling by the end of the season Carrie will have a job but Estes will not, which we may have Brody and his safe cracking skills to thank for). I still am not sure where Brody goes from here. Apparently he is straddling the line between American and Nasir’s puppet. But I think what is clear; Dana is poised for a breakout season this year. I have the over / under for when she converts to Islam at four episodes.

The Voice: I found the Tuesday show more interesting because you can go ahead and pencil anyone they showcased into the Live Rounds. It was not surprising that they shows four chair turners like Cassadee Pope, Brian Keith, Adriana Louise, and Trevin Hunte (well he should have turned around all four chairs). There was also Melanie Martinez who probably gave the most interesting but some of the other inclusions were a bit surprising. I figured if they were going to show a token country singer on Team Blake they would have went with Liz Davis over Gracia Harrison. It very surprising they went with the Harry Potter meets Justin Beiber MacKenzie Bourg over Cee-Lo’s lone four chair win Avery Wilson. But the one that made me scratch my head the most was the inclusion season two castoff Dez Duron who prior to the special I doubt would make it out of the Battle Round let alone make it to the Live Shows (although the promo showed that Dez would be battling Montage Contestant Paulina; on the other hand Montage Contestant Ashley De La Rosa beat bland heartthrob Jonathas last season). But I really fear that Dez will be this season James Massone, a mediocre singer who gets by on his hair more than his voice.

As for the real show, there was a bigger onslaught bland teen which chicks. What make things worse is that four of them got on a team but French teacher Kameron Corvet, who gave an interesting performance of Crazy did not. And he was the closest contestant this season that fit into the show’s penchant for letting older dark skin singers win the show (which maybe is why he did not get picked). But on the bright side Rudy Parris did get through even though I think that he may be secretly Horatio Sanz dressed up in his Ozzy Osbourne costume.


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Voice with the widget at right.

Castle: Holy Jodi Lyn O’Keefe! Where has she been hiding all these years? Actually has she done anything since the seminal secretly hot ugly chick movie She's All That? And no, Lifetime Movies do not count. It is weird that she and Rachel Leigh Cooke popped back up in the same year. Maybe Jodi can get a guest spot on Perception next season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Parenthood: Ugg, I had Becky Spoles in my Which Friday Night Lights Alum Will Show Up on Parenthood Next office pool.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: I never really understood why the Sons got out of the porn business. Sure it may not be as lucrative as gun running but you are less likely to get shot at (or your skull bashed in while in jail), and there should be plenty of money in it. I guess gun running makes for better television especially on basic cable.
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Philippines: You have to feel bad for Angie Lawson because she was forced to participate in an Immunity Challenge that involved diving down into water while having two sizable floatation devises attached to her body. It was amazing that she actually made it this far. But on the bright side she was able to climb stairs without any problem. Seriously, how did Russell pass a physical if his heart gave out last time he played and still cannot climb a foot out of the ocean? Wow, their tribe really is pretty pathetic. Maybe historically bad.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons: Finally Trishelle gets some screen time. It is about time they paid some respect to a Real World legend.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons on iTunes.

Last Resort: Considering the show is based on conspiracies, I have to wonder if Marcus’s son is really dead, and if he is, was it really “friendly” fire that killed him? It is suspicious that he died right before Marcus was supposed to carry out a dubious order.
You can stream recent episodes on Last Resort on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: In the latest installment of I am pretty sure the writers of the show are spying on me, I also believe if a marriage ends in divorce I should receive my wedding gift back and I am certainly not going to buy you another gift if you get remarried.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Best of the Week - 10/6/12

Quote of the Week: Twitter is stupid, and Instagram is Twitter for people who can't read. (Max, 2 Broke Girls)

Song of the Week: Sailing – Christopher Cross (The Neighbors)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: The First Presidential Debate: Supposedly Mitt Romney won the first presidential debate (of course John Kerry reputably won his first debate by 22 points) but it is not a good sign for the “winner” that the next day the only part of the debate that anyone is talking about was how Mitt wants to put Big Bird in the unemployment line. Seriously Mitt, it does not help the consensus that you’re a soulless businessman who likes to fire people to tell Jim Leher on national television that you will put the guy (and Big Bird) out of work right to his face. Personally I cannot vote for anyone who even suggests cutting funding to PBS. How dare they take away my right to watch Bob Ross reruns? And the PBS argument is just silly. Defunding PBS to lower the debt is like trying to pay off your mortgage by searching your couch cushions for change, it is not even worth the trouble.

Preview Picture of the Week:


Free Download of the Week: Quit You – Tristan Prettyman (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: This month’s discounted albums on Amazon include Bruce Springsteen, A Tribe Called Quest, Audioslave, and Dave Matthews Band.


New Album Release of the Week: Glad All Over - The Wallflowers

New DVD Release of the Week: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Anniversary Edition (Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)

Video of the Week: You know you have a star studded movie when Kristen Bell, Uma Thurman, Jason Sudeikis, and Tony Shalhoub do not even make the trailer. But star studded does not necessarily mean good and usually end up being convoluted (see Valentine’s Day or New Years Eve) so I am hesitant for Movie 43. On the other hand Movie 43 is R rated, and by the red band trailer, it is very R-rated.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Nashville, Wednesday at 10:00 on ABC: I have some good news and some bad news: the good news is that Tami Taylor is back on television. The bad is she is sharing the screen with Claire Bennett. I could go on about the show, but you want watch the premiere yourself right now on Hulu or download Nashville on iTunes for free.