Around the Tubes - 11/16/12

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 American Masters: Inventing David Geffen, Dungeons and Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness, Whisker Wars, Cesar Millan: The Real Story, Witness: South Sudan, Smash, Cledus T.Judd, Bunheads, Martha Speaks, Cougar Town.

- This Tuesday, PBS will be airing American Masters: Inventing David Geffen at 8:00 (check your local listings). Notoriously press and camera-shy, David Geffen reveals himself for the first time in this unflinching portrait of a complex and compelling man. His far-reaching influence as an agent, manager, record industry titan, Hollywood and Broadway producer, and billionaire philanthropist helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades. Witty, self-aware and candid, Geffen and over 50 of his friends, colleagues and clients, as well as other media luminaries, including Cher, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Elton John, Don Henley, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Nora Ephron, Mike Nichols, Clive Davis, and Irving Azoff.

- Need more dragons with your turkey leftovers this year? If the answer is yes, you are in luck because next Saturday (11/24) Syfy will premiere their new original movie Dungeons and Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness. Check out the trailer below:


- The new season of Whisker Wars returns next Friday to IFC right around the time you to get the cranberry sauce out of your beard. Check out the trailer below:



- The new Cesar Millan show Leader of the Pack does not premiere until January, but you can get a sneak peak Thanksgiving weekend during Cesar Millan: The Real Story airing Sunday November 25 at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

- HBO’s Witness series continues this Monday with South Sudan. In this installment, Veronique de Viguerie – follows the "Arrow Boys" and their struggle against mass murderer General Kony is South Sudan.

- In the least surprising news of the week, Liza Minnelli will appear as herself on the upcoming season of Smash. And yes she will be singing on the show.

- New music out this week include Parodyziac!! by Cledus T.Judd including a song featuring Rodney Carrington.

- Bunheads is set to return Monday, January 7 at 9:00 on ABC Family and they recently released the key art. Take a gander below:



- PBS KIDS' Martha Speaks is celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with a brand-new episode highlighting Martha's search for her family. Tune-in to learn more about Martha's history all Thanksgiving week long beginning November 19, 2012 on PBS KIDS (check local listings).

- Casting alert! Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family) is set to guest star on the upcoming TBS season of Cougar Town. Jones will be playing an elderly woman who buys Grayson’s old house under the condition that Jules spends time with her.

Lyrics Quiz: It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I'm Starting to get Worried)

About 26 centuries ago the Mayans created a calendar that ended December 21, 2012. Some have theorized that it was a prediction of when the world would end. Then again maybe the calendar maker though 2,600 years into the future was enough, maybe he died and no one wanted to continue his work, or he simply ran out of room. So in honor of what could very well be my last lyrics quiz ever, I have dedicated the theme to apocalyptic songs and the paranoia that goes along with thinking the world is going to end. 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. When I woke up this morning could have sworn it was judgment day. The sky was all purple there were people running everywhere.
2. We can live beside the ocean, live them all behind. Swim out past the breaker, watch the world die.
3. The ice age is coming, the sun’s zooming in. Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thing. A nuclear era, but I have no fear.
4. I hear hurricanes a blowing. I know the end is coming soon. I fear rivers overflowing. I hear the voice of raising ruins.
5. Hey Satan! Paid my dues playing in a rocking band. Hey momma! Look at me I’m on my way to the Promised Land.
6. We’re leaving together, but it’s still farewell. And maybe we’ll come back to Earth. Who can tell? I guess there is no one to blame.
7. War, children, it’s just a shot away.
8. I’m gonna rock you like a baby when the cities fall. We will rise as the buildings crumble, float there and watch it all. Amidst the burning, we’ll be churning. Our love will be our wings, passion rising up from the ashes.
9. There’s too many men, too many people making too many problems and not much love to go around. (Land of Confusion - Genesis; guessed by Kevin)
10. We held a concert out in Brooklyn to watch the Island Bridges blow. They turned our power down and drove us underground but we went right with the show.
11. Thirteen month old baby broke the looking glass. Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past.
12. Perhaps you never sleep because every time you doze you catch blows to the (expletive deleted) nose. Ain’t seen the sun in 66 days. Like me count the ways in a (expletive deleted) maze.
13. Take the power back. It’s time the fat cats had a heart attack. You know that there time is coming to an end. We have to unify and watch out flag ascend.
14. Panic bells, it’s red alert. There’s something here from somewhere else. The war machine springs to life.
15. Till Armageddon no shalam, no shalom . Then the father hen will call his chickens home.
16. It's the same everyday in a hell man made. What can be saved, and who will be left to hold her?
17. Last time we met it was a low lit room. We were close together as a bride and groom. We ate the food, drank the wine. Everybody having a good time. Except you.
18. In silk suit, trying not to sweat. Hit summersaults without the net. But this’ll be the year we won’t forget. One-nine, nine, nine, Ano Domini, anything goes.
19. I didn’t mean take up all you sweet time. I give it back one of these days. I don’t need you no more in this world. I’ll meet you on the next one, so don’t be late.
20. God bless us everyone we’re a broken people living under loaded gun. Now he can’t be out fought, he can’t be out done, he can’t be matched, he can’t be outrun.
21. Feel it coming in the air. Hear the screams from everywhere. I'm addicted to the thrill. It’s a dangerous love affair. Can’t be scared when it goes down. Got a problem, tell me now.
22. Steal me, deal me, anyway you heal me, maim me, tame me, you can never change me.
23. Sad can’t catch me, call me baby now. When it's all I use to believe. If the sun don't light, and the night won’t turn…
24. Just when everyday seemed to greet me with a smile. Sunspots have faded and now I'm doing time.
25. Lenard Bernstein!

I Want My Music Television - 11/14/12

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.


Lovers of the Light – Mumford and Sons


What the frack is going on in the new Mumford and Sons video? There just seems to be random images of a blind Idris Elba with Taylor Swift’s shocked face and deer.


Stray Heart - Green Day


The new Green Day music video brings new meaning to the word “brokenhearted”. I particularly enjoyed the smoking heart.


Carry On - Fun


Is anyone really interested in a Fun behind the scenes music video? Those should really be reserved for hair metal bands.


This Kiss - Carly Rae Jepsen


I think we are closer to the end of the Carly Rae Jepsen era (although I should wait until the hundredth time I’ve listen to the song before making a definitive statement) because this just does not feel like a hit even though it sounds like chorus sounds like as close they could to ripping of Kiss On My List without violating copyright law.

Previewing Doomsday Preppers 2.x

My sources tell me that the world is coming to an end in five weeks, and no show on television properly gets you ready for the end of times better than Doomsday Preppers which returns tonight for a second season with back to back episodes. Although if I were to play armchair programmer, it is a shame that National Geographic Channel did not start the season a month ago so the entire season could end before the conclusion of the Mayan Calendar with a special end of the world season finale (possibly series if, you know, the world really ended) just days before the world came to an end. Maybe the suits at the network do not think the world will be coming to an end next month.

I find Doomsday Preppers enjoyable if only because it is nice to know there are people out there more paranoid out there than I am. For the unaware, the show follows three people (or families) that are preparing for worst case scenarios: terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and anarchy. Then at the end of each segment, the show confers with expert Preppers on how they can approve and rate them on a scale of one hundred and will even give a probability of their fears actually coming true (spoiler alert! they always turn out to slim to none).

Tonight you will meet a family preparing for a small pox epidemic (well the father is, the rest of the family seems to be sheepishly following him), a fifteen year old prepping for the economic collapse (dude started during the banking crisis… when he was eleven), a terrorist attacking a nearby nuclear facility (apparently moving away from a nuclear plant is not an option), multiple F-5 tornados, nuclear war, the melting Greenland ice sheets (moving from Florida to northern Texas was not enough prepping to the couple).

Just how far do the Doomsday Preppers go? Of course there are fallout bunkers stocked with a year’s supply of food, 1000 gallons of water, 10,000 pounds of wood, and the occasional chicken, but some of these people go the extra mile. One prepper has so many contingency plans, he even recruited his wife’s twin sister for a new mommy for his children just in case something happens to the original along with three ways to escape: car, ATV, and even boat (though I noticed there was only enough room for the three adults, so the two kids and dog would be out of luck then). But my favorite is the dad so scared of a small pox epidemic that not only does he practice evacuations, he even went so far as to set up a surprise military checkpoint for his family to go through on their way to their secluded cabin. And I thought I was paranoid.

Doomsday Preppers airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel. You can stream recent episode on Hulu. You can also download Doomsday Preppers on iTunes.

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die - A Book Review

God bless you Willie Nelson. Who else would name their autobiography Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die (or course there is a song of the same name off his latest album Heroes which Willie also recorded with Snoop Dogg, probably the only other person who would write a book of the same name). Although thanks to all the smoking Willie has done in his life, this is not your normal autobiography and really reads more like a diary.

The book starts off like a normal autobiography with Willie talking about growing up Abbott, Texas including his first couple memories. You get stories about Willie and his buddies punching bees and his first couple jobs before he started making money playing music. Then out of nowhere he goes on a diatribe about Occupy Wall Street (Willie is not fond that the same people that complain about welfare are quick to put their hands out for subsidies) and from there it is a hodgepodge of anything that crosses Willie’s mind for 169 pages.

There are stories throughout Willie’s life, song lyrics, diary like entries of the last couple months while writing the book, short thoughts of the day, and more than a few joke, most of them dirty. There are even entries buy friends and family of Willie’s, most of which end up being longer than some of the segments that Willie wrote. The book also features plenty of photos of Willie with his family. The book is so family oriented that there are even illustrations by Willie’s son Micah.

The shortness of the stories is a plus and a negative. It is nice for people like me who have only a short time to read thing and do not get stuck in a chapter when he needs to start doing something else. But when he gets to some interesting stories you are left wanting more. Personally I would have like a lot more on his time in The Highwaymen. Thanks to his proclivity for the greener things in life, we may never get a proper autobiography where Willie goes in depth into these stories, but Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die should give a good insight to the man to any Willie Nelson fan. And of course if there are any of those people on your Christmas list, this will make a great gift with almost a month until the holidays.


Full Disclousure Notice: This book was given to me by William Morrow / Harper Collins Publishers for review.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 11/11/12

Once Upon a Time: So the due from the start of the season turned out to be Henry’s dad. I figured it was either that or he was going to turn out to be Mr. Gold’s son. But did they really have to wait until the sixth episode to show the guy again? I completely forgot he existed until he popped up on the “previously on” segment. And why exactly are Henry and Sleeping Beauty having shared dreams. I guess we will have to wait until episode twelve (at the earliest) for that answer.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Revenge: So just what is The Initiative up to now? Although I would rather know at this point why exactly they downed that aircraft first. And what exactly is Emily’s end game for Mason Treadwell because he basically has already figured out who she is. Is she going to use him as a pawn or is he going to end up with the White Haired Man?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: Just when you thought the election would cause the most joy this week (at least for the socialists), the show had to go and kill off Lori. And they had to do it very graphically as her baby was cut right out of her as she was left to bleed to death until her son ended her suffering. Ouch. It was about as close as a zombie baby eat its way out as all the fanboys wanted as you could get. I love how the show this season has said, forget plot, forget character growth, let’s just gross everyone out. Oh yeah, T-Dawg died too.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Homeland: I finally caught up on this season and at the end of last season I thought the show would have been better if Brody either blew himself up or got caught and now that Brody is now a triple agent I am beginning to think I was right. And even though the genesis was a great, Oh Crap moment, I do not really care about the whole privileged boy kills a nobody with Dana being caught in a moral dilemma storyline. But the show continues to keep you on your toes like when the Arab Swat Team (including the nameless dude working with Roya) came in and killed everyone. And that was a big box,

The Voice: Oh America, how could you have gotten things so wrong, but oh so right. Let’s start from least to most surprising (which not so surprisingly is how they were revealed this week). It was pretty obvious that the three that would move on from Team Adam would be Amanda (who gave not only the best performance of the week, but of the whole season), Bryan, and Melanie; even though I thought Melanie would get the America’s vote with Adam saving Bryan. It is nice to see America was not fooled by Melane’s façade and she may not be around much longer (though I bet all of Christina’s team will be gone first).

The America’s Vote for Blake’s Team was obvious wit Cassadee and Terry breezing through. It was mildly surprisingly that Blake went with Michaela over the country girl Liz Davis and the Lou Diamond Philips endorsed Julio Cesar Castillo even though Michaela did have the slightly better performance of the three this week. Which begs the question, what happened to the Last Chance performances? I quite enjoyed those.

Now on to the more shocking results. It was not all that surprising that Sylvia got through by America because she had the standout performance with her piano enhanced version of a Katy Perry song (though I wonder just how much she was playing because I could still her the piano being played when she lifted her hand off the instrument, and could she have picked a song that was not already preformed this season; actually everyone just needs to stop singing Katy Perry on the show period). But I was severely disappointed that America also chose Dez over the much more entertaining De'Borah or one of the hot chicks. Seriously, why is it that the horrible cute boys always get through but never the mediocre hot chicks? And just when you think Christina was going to correct America’s wrong by sending De’Borah through, she picks one of the hot chicks. She did not even pick the better hot chick either. Carson crowed that everyone contestant this week charted on iTunes, but Adriana barely cracked the top 200 on the Pop charts while Devyn was in the top 100. (Laughable, as all twenty of The Voice contestants charted on iTunes, only one from The X-Factor charted on the Top 200.)

Now for the most shocking result of the week, I figured Dez being picked by America was a harbinger that the even less talented but cuter MacKenzie Bourg would also be pushed through by the annoying teen girl faction. Adam even laughably called MacKenzie an “American Idol” after his performance, a not so suitably dig the other show’s penchant for crowning mediocre cute boys who play guitar. Thankfully America ended up picking the best two singers in Trevin and the great but awesomely strange looking Nickolas while Cee-Lo made a rare good decision (granted his Live Show decisions do tend to be much better than his Battle Round decisions in saving Cody. De’Borah may have gone home too soon, but at least we will still have at least one more week of little Bam Bam.

Next week is when the real playoffs begin because for the first time anyone from any team can go home, not just one or two from each team. Ever since the announcement I assumed Team Christina would be the first three out (which makes me wonder if Christina is just a horrible judge of talent or if she sabotaged her team so they would be the first out so she could focus on promoting her new album out this week). Adriana is most; likely first out the door followed by either Dez, unless the teen girls rise up after the loss of MacKenzie, or Sylvia, unless she can pull another performance out like this week. But I have a feeling Christina’s three, along with Michaela, will be the first four out. At any rate, here is my personal Power Rankings of the Top 12:

Top 12 Power Rankings

1. Amanda Brown
2. Nicholas David
3. Trevin Hunte
4. Cassadee Pope
5. Cody Belew
6. Terry McDermott
7. Sylvia Yacoub
8. Michaela Paige
9. Brian Keith
10. Adriana Louise
11. Melanie Martinez
12. Dez Duron

One last thing: did they really air a Tweet from disgraced Senator David Vitter? You know, the family values candidate who got caught paying for prostitutes; and still managed to get reelected after the scandal. And people wonder why everyone hates Congress so much; stupid people in stupid states keep on reelecting stupid people like Vitter. When will people learn we need to vote out all the bums, even if they have your favorite letter next to their name.


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

Castle: I was a bit disappointed that during a heavy sci-fi episode they did not bring in more stunt casting other than Principal Snyder. But it was still pretty funny and entertaining at any rate.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Survivor: Philippines: Probst loves talking in hyperbole, but I have to agree that this was one of the biggest mess of a tribal council ever. Occasionally you may have one person lay all the cards on the table as a last gasp, or out of spite at Tribal Council, but this is the first time when almost everyone laid out all their cards. Of course Malcolm pretty much had to confess to having the Idol and he was using it (which he wisely did not), but I was flabbergasted when Probst sarcastically asked if anyone wanted to show theirs only for Abi to comply. Then you had you had two people openly lobbing for voted laying out their plans. And of course Tribal was capped off by a bizarre vote because for some reason Penner voted for Abi instead of Pete like the rest of his alliance. I do not know if he thought the other alliance was voting for Malcolm and Abi would give Pete her Idol and his brilliant vote would end up being the only one that counted or he did it out of spite for his alliance turning on him last week. At any rate, a great episode. I have said it before and I will say it again, Survivor needs to cast many more morons. But the biggest loser of all was Jeff Kent who wanted so bad to make sure he made it further than Penner he made a horrible decision last week and still ended up leaving before Penner. This is why he went on Survivor after baseball instead of becoming a manager.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.

Modern Family: Did no one else notice the awesomely creepy painting of Hayley and Dylan hanging in her dormroom wall?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Modern Family on iTunes.

Subugatory: The show is the funniest on television but the one misstep it takes is the crappy title sequence. Well at least I now that the title is the fault of Tessa’s mother.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Nashville: Is it wrong that I was really enjoyed when Juliet got slapped?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons: As much a I enjoyed watching San Diego imploding, Brooklyn made a serious tactical error by picking the behemoth on the team to go in. Sure you would think he would not do well in a mental challenge, but that challenge is really only a mental challenge for the female and for the guy it is more about strength and endurance, the behemoth’s strong points. If Brooklyn wanted to send someone home from San Diego home, they should have chosen Frank (who was wise not to volunteer) who I do not think could have made it to the bottom of the tank.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons on iTunes.

Last Resort: There are fewer things I have more than dream sequences and hallucinations are just dream sequences when you are awake.
You can stream recent episodes on Last Resort on iTunes.

Best of the Week - 11/10/12

Quote of the Week: Honey, you are fighting for your future in front of a disciplinary committee, not entertaining the secret service. (Claire, Modern Family)

Song of the Week: Low Rising – The Swell Season (Castle)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Mackenzie Was Voted off the Voice!: Just kidding, the real big news was the election. I did not care for either candidate (is it too soon to put up a Huntsman 2016 yard sign?) so I knew the country would lose either way. But if there was a winner Tuesday it was Nate Silver of Five Thirty Eight. Even though I did not really cared about the outcome, I am a big stats geek and still poured over the daily polls, and Five Thirty Eight was daily reader. And after getting forty nine state correct in 2008, Silver correctly predicted all fifty states this time around (assuming Florida stays in the Obama column, but it is Florida, so we may not know until January). As a stat geek, I know actually correctly predicting the outcome of fifty states based on polls in itself is a statistical anomaly. Although it is a little depressing that after twenty months of campaigning, around twenty-five debates, and over a billion dollars nothing really changed in Washington: Obama got reelected, the Senate still belongs to the Democrats and the House is still being ruled by the Republicans. Seriously people, in 2014 stop voting for the “R” or “D” besides a candidate’s name, look for the “I” and then vote for the other candidate. That is the only way to get real change in Washington.

Preview Picture of the Week:


Free Download of the Week: The Noise Trade Loft Sessions Mixtape – Rachael Yamagata

New Album Release of the Week: Lotus (Deluxe Version) - Christina Aguilera

New DVD Release of the Week: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Classic Series Collection

Video of the Week: When I heard there was going to be a romantic zombie movie, my first thought was, oh goodness no. Even worse it is coming from the same studio that released those horrible romantic vampire movies. Then I saw the trailer for Warm Bodies. It may be one of those movies where all the good parts in the trailer, but it at least will get me to watch. And bonus points for Teresa Palmer who should be more famous than she is.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Space Dive, Sunday at 7:00 on the National Geographic Channel: The world was captivated last month when Felix Baumgarter traveled up 120,000 feet to do a sky dive. And the National Geographic Channel documented the dive with more than twenty cameras and now you can se the whole jupm like you have never seen before in this special.

Around the Tube - 11/9/12

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 Mel Brooks Strikes Back!, Downton Abbey, Harry Potter, The Notebook, Battlestar Galactica, Mankind: The Story of Us, The Americans, Jim Rome on Showtime, the mayans, American Life, Dastardly, and Esthero.

- Mel Brooks fans (which I assume is everyone) mark your calendar because on December 10 at 9:00 HBO will be airing Mel Brooks Strikes Back! Appearing onstage with Alan Yentob, creative director for the BBC, at the Geffen Theater before a live audience, Brooks reviews his career as a writer, director, actor, producer, composer, failed ballet dancer and comedian. The special looks at the Brooklyn native’s early life, show-business influences, early career and ascension as one of Hollywood’s most successful writers and directors. Check out a preview below:


- As the anticipation for the third of Downton Abbey mounts, PBS will be going behind the scenes with Angela Lansbury to relive great moments with your favorite characters premiering Sunday November 25, Thanksgiving weekend.

- Next week, starting Monday at 7:00 through Thursday, ABC Family will be airing a Harry Potter Marathon. But before then the channel will be airing a Special Edition of The Notebook which includes over ten minutes of deleted scenes Sunday at 8:00.



- For those waiting to see the latest installment of Battlestar Galatcica, wait no more because Blood and Chome premieres today on the Machinima Prime YouTube page.

- History is rolling out its next mini-series, Mankind: The Story of Us narrated by Josh Brolin premiering Tuesday, November 13 at 9:00. The six –part series will take a look how went from hunter-gatherers to global citizens. Take a look at a sneak peak below:


- The promos for the upcoming FX series The Americans have been fairly ambiguous, but here is a promo with actual footage which kind of make it look like Homeland circa 1981 with Felicity filling in for Angela Chase. That works for me.


- After being lured away from ESPN by CBS, Jim Rome has been relegated to something called CBS Sports Channel which is in the digital part of my cable package and I think you have pay for it too. Soon Rome will be shown on another pay channel, but this time Showtime when Jim Rome on Showtime, a one hour sports talk show premiering Wednesday, November 21 at 10:00.

- Get ready to hear It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) in heavy rotation over the next month as we inch closer to the ending of the Mayan calendar. And The National Geographic Channel is celebrating with three new specials across two night December 2 and 3. Evacuation Earth will be on the 2nd at 9:00 which explores the possibility of building a spaceship to take us to a new world to habitat if ours reaches extinction. Then on the 3rd at 9:00 The Mayan Apocalypse 2012 shows how the phenomenon swept across the internets. It will be followed by Maya Underground: The Real Doomsday to see if the civilization really predicted the end of the world.

- For those that listen to This American Life on the radio but always wanted to watch the show, now you can. They just released a video of a two-hour episode entitled The Invisible Made Visable which you can download for $5 at live.thisamericanlife.org.


- Fans of old time folksy records will want to check out Ballads in Blue by Dastardly on Band Camp where you can stream the songs in their entirety before buying. While people who like their pop music out on the fringes, check out the newly released Everything Is Expensive by Esthero.

- I agree with the John F. Kimberling article What This Country Needs: A New Political Party on the Huffington Post but unfortunately I do not think it is going to happen because there is just two much money in the current parties, and if Ross Perot cannot create a new one with his money, I do not see anyone else being able to do it.

Previewing Wedding Band

For those Beverly Hills, 90210 fans who have ever wanted to hear a grown David Silver sing Hollaback Girl, I have a treat for you: This Saturday is the premiere of Wedding Band where Brian Austin Greene plays the lead singer of a wedding band. Seriously, how did it take almost fifteen years to serialize the great Adam Sandler movie? I guess we have Glee (and Smash, and Nashville) to thank for this. But unlike Glee, the performances on Wedding Band are intentionally cheesy (I think), see the aforementioned Hollaback Girl sung by a grown man, or as grown a man as David Silver can be.

Joining David Silver in the fictitious Mother of the Bride band include Peter Cambor (Notes from the Underbelly) as the guitarist and token dad in the family who has to juggles his kids, his wife, and gigs to live out his rock and roll fantasies. Derek Miller (Secret Girlfriend) is the drummer and totally steals Jack Black’s persona to the point his character’s name is the same as Jack’s in High Fidelity. The new guy on bass is Harold Perrineau, a studio musician who really has never had a band of his own, granted it is a little weird to see his cheeky performance on Wedding Band days after seeing him do things like light someone’s kid on fire for Sons of Anarchy. Filing out the cast are Jenny Wade (Feast) as the wedding planner who has to deal with the boys shenanigans and her boss played by Melora Hardin (The Office) who does not seem to have a filter which means she is the most entertaining character on the show.

Wedding Band also has an impressive guest list signed up for the show including Ken Marino (Party Down) who plays the lead singer of Mother of the Bride’s rival wedding band Armageddon It (which of course is also a Def Leppard cover band). Ken may be too good in his role because after he and his band are introduced, it is clear the show would have been much more entertaining if it were focused on Armageddon It instead. Also showing up sometime this season are Ryan Hansen, Gary Cole, Bill Simmons (yes the Grantland guy, Kurtwood Smith, Donald Faison, Ashley Williams, Pat Monahan (yes, the dude from Train is surprisingly the only musical guest the show managed to wrangle), and James Marsters. Greene was even able to pull in his wife Megan Fox (in the second episode) as the star of a sci-fi show with an annoying fan base who accidentally shares the ending of the series. And just when you think Perrineau is about to make a Lost joke…

Speaking of not going there, despite the band branching out into other parties like bar mitzvahs, house parties, and cooperate events, it is a bit disappointing they do not “go there” like Party Down did with their off the wall parties. Sure, since this is TBS and not pay cable, I do not expect them o play an orgy, but I was hoping for gigs more creative than “adult prom”. Wedding Band does have plenty of funny moments and there is an air of what song are they going to pull from their musical quiver next and in what style. But I am not sure it is appointment viewing, especially on a Saturday night, even is Wade is very endearing in her role. But maybe if the show is successful enough, there will be an Armageddon It spin off. Now that is a show I would watch every week.

Wedding Band airs Saturdays at 10:00 on TBS.

What's the Most You Ever Lost on a Coin Toss

Later this week Javier Bardem will become the latest Bond villain in Skyfall so Lionsgate has rounded up a three film collection of his most memorable roles out on DVD this week. (Granted I would have included Vicky Christina Barcelona.) The collection is highlighted by No Country for Old Men which garnered him an Oscar as an unorthodox hit man with an unorthodox haircut with a penchant for flipping coins. Bardem is hired to hunt down Josh Brolin (The Goonies) who came across two million dollars after a drug deal gone bad while Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive) is the local lawmen who tries to hunt them both down.

No Country for Old Men is a harrowing tale where directors Joel and Ethan Cohen faithfully reproduce the Cormac McCarthy novel. The three top line names all deliver unforgettable performances while Woody Harrelson (Zombieland) and Stephan Root (Newsradio) give great cameos. The DVD features the same extra as the original release of the movie including a Making Of feature, “Working with the Coens”, and “Diary of a Country Sherriff” featurettes.

I had never heard of Mondays in the Sun until I got this collection and when I put it in I knew why: the film is in Spanish. Like No Country for Old Men, Bardem had a memorial haircut, this time instead of the Dorothy Hamill bowel cut, he is significantly balding as he plays an out of work dockworker. After everyone was laid off when their ship building jobs were shipped to Korea, Bardem and his friends spend their days looking for new work and nights hanging out in a bar that one of them bought with his severance pay. Even though the film is a decade old, take place in another country, and is in a different language, the heartbreaking tale can resonate in today’s America where many people are still trying to cope with jobs that went to Asia a while ago. The DVD also features audio commentary from Bardem, and director Fernando Leon de Aranoa, deleted scenes, a Making Of featurette, and storyboard to scene comparison.

Biutiful saw Bardem team with famed director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel) and produced by Guillermo del Toro which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Bardem lost out on picking up another Best Actor Award but was the first ever nominated for an entirely Spanish-speaking performance). Yep, this one is in Spanish too. The film takes him back to Spain where he struggles to provide for his children while working on the wrong side of the law. This DVD is low on extras, just featuring the director’s flip notes, and an interview with the cast and crew.


Full Disclosure Notice: The DVD was given to me to review by Lionsgate.

Better to Rule in War than Serve in Peace

When I think of samurais, I cannot say that Wes Bentley (P2) is high on my list of people who would play one. But there he is in a haircut the borders on a mullet in Hirokin: The Last Samurai (which is not to be confused with the Tom Cruise flick, another very Caucasian dude whose name does not conjure up visions of samurais). Like any good sci-fi flick, this movie starts off with a heavy back-story: humans came to a new, stole all its resources, and then left aside from a few who stayed to rule over the original inhabitants. That is until one hero (Bentley, of course), haunted by his past, has to find a way to help the rebels rise up against their oppressors.

It should be noted that the alien race look identical to humans except you can see veins in their hands so a lot of the character spend the movie sticking their hands out like Diana Ross telling you to stop in the name of love. It is actually not that hard to tell the two races apart because for some reason the human warriors wear helmets, on a desert planet, that look like a cross between the one Boba Fett and the Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica.

Really you can make a drinking game out of the Star Wars references from the Tatooine-type setting, Bentley’s Obi Wan Kenobi type robe, there is even a character that has a duel (though non-light) saber. The movie does pull out some cool moves of its own like Bentley’s bungee sword and an extremely evil and twisted game the antagonists make locals play for his own enjoyment, but really, most the characters fall flat (there is a pair shoehorned in for comic relief that should have been shoehorned in a little more) thanks to a think plot while a few actors were clearly phoning it in.

The DVD is also thin on extras. There are a few deleted scenes, but the menu lacks a “Play All” option. There are also three featurettes but all of them are under five minutes each.

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

The Voice Season 3 Knockout Round Power Rankings

The mysterious Knockout Round finally debuted (and finished) this week and it turned out they were just an extension of the Battle Round but without the potential of anyone getting stolen. At least it was only a week. And now on to the newly minted Live Playoffs! (Which just seem like the Live Shows except starting next week anyone from any team can get sent home.) So before the show goes live, here is my latest power rankings.

1. Trevin Hunte – Everyone else should be worried that he is already the best this season and I still do not believe we have even seen close to his best performance yet.

2. Amanda Brown – Yep, Cee-Lo makes some really bad decisions.

3. Cassadee Pope – The verse this week was not her best and her Battle Round performance was apparently so bad The Voice only showed three seconds of it, but I still think she is Trevin’s stiffest competition.

4. De'Borah – Who would have guessed a church going lesbian who looks like Urkle would be such a fan of soft rock? After Train and The Fray, I cannot wait for her to take on John Mayer during the Live Playoffs.

5. Terry McDermott – The first two winners of The Voice were dudes in their thirties who never were able to get their big break yet, so do not be surprised is Terry wins this season.

6. Nicholas David – Cee-Lo seems to be the only coach that always dictates songs to his team and considering Nickolas’s best performance was when Cee-Lo gave him She’s Gone, he may be the wild card this season.

7. Adriana Louise – Not the best singer in the competition but has this aura around her that she may be the last member of Team Christina standing. Unfortunately for her, thanks to the rule change, she may be already (take a minute… pause…) gone by the finals.

8. Devyn DeLoera – If she does the backwards shimmy she did during her Blind Audition I will vote for Devyn like a teenage girl voting for Justin Bieber in a meaningless internet poll. I just hope she does not go with the 80's Jersey prom hair she had in the Knockout Round.

9. Brian Keith – Has a strong distinctive voice but lacks, dare I say, that X-factor.

10. Liz Davis – Blake widdled his country-heavy team down to one this season going into the Live Playoffs, but much like the first two season, I do not see one of his country artists making it even to the semi-finals this season.

11. Cody Belew – I will be severely disappointed if he does not sing Fat Bottom Girls during the Live Playoffs.

12. Joselyn Rivera – Apparently Adam was the only coach that took the Steal seriously, taking his two steals to the Live Shows> Playoffs, but I do not see her going much further in the competition.

13. Michaela Paige – Seriously, I do not understand how Suzanna did not get this slot instead.

14. Sylvia Yacoub – Beforehand I thought Aquille would easily win their Knockout, but he did lay a dud.

15. Diego Val – Should have been Caitlin.

16. Melanie Martinez – Her performance of Toxic was quirky and fun, but her persona has started running thin.

17. Julio Cesar Castillo – I was surprised that Blake picked Julio over MarissaAnn but really, Suzanna deserved his spot in the Live Shows Playoffs.

18. Dez Duron – I will give this to Dez, between Hall and Oats and Lionel Richie he has great taste in music, but his voice is way too thin to had made it this far.

19. Loren Allred – Sometimes all you need is one good note on these types of show, but is hard to believe she got this far based on one note. Nicole Nelson was much more consistent and significantly better overall.

20. MacKenzie Bourg – Seriously, the guy squeaked through two Carley Rae Jepsen songs and somehow won twice despite giving two of the worst performances of the two rounds. I really hope he splits the annoying teen girl votes between Dez and are both gone early.

So let us take a look at who has the strongest team (even though it only takes one to win) based on these ranking:

Adam – 47
Blake – 57
Cee-Lo – 52
Adam – 47

Surprising Christina pulled into second place after being last by a mile after the first two of my Power Rankings. It probably helped that she managed to wisely picked each winner during the Knockout Round unlike her other coaches. Adam sank to the bottom after picking Loren, who was so bad in the early rounds they did not bother to show her performances over Nicole Nelson, the best singer on his team. Blake takes the top spot in part to him having the best chance of having two finalists this season with Cassadee and Terry. But anyway. Here are some predictions for this week (and beyond)

Predictions for the Top 12

Adam: Bryan, Melanie, Amanda (Coach Save)
Blake: Cassadee, Terry, Liz (Coach Save)
Cee-Lo: Trevin, MacKenzie, Nicholas (Coach Save)
Christina: Dez, Adriana, Devyn (Coach Save)

Way to early prediction of the finalist: Cassadee, Trevin, Bryan and either Melanie, MacKenzie, or Terry (sorry Christina , it looks like another last place finish for you)

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 11/4/12

Once Upon a Time: After a year of wondering, it turns out Dr. Whale is… Dr. Frankenstein? Alrighty. When he was first introduced as a wizard, I actually thought he would turn out to be the Wizard of Oz (okay, my first thought was, oh goodness, he is not going to be Harry Potter is he) when they talked about his ability to transport to places without magic. So what world exactly does Dr. Frankenstein live in, one where all the classic horror monsters live: Dracula, Wolfman (who I assume would end up being a love interest to Little Red Riding Hood), The Mummy, The Invisible Man. And I know they live in a world where Captain Hook looks like an Abercrombie model who does not think there is such a thing as too much eyeliner, but how can you have Igor without a hunchback?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Revenge: I thought for sure Amanda was not going to make it through surgery. I guessed she made it so Mason Treadwell could come back to cause more havoc. Of coutrse if Mason knew what was best for him he would stop snooping because the last time he got on the case, his house burned down. But I wonder if they are going to put a burn scar on Emily’s back even though I am pretty sure we have seen her in a bikini without one.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: The infamous Governor has finally appeared and he and his wall of floating zombie heads lived up to the hype. Of course without television in a zombie apocalypse, what else are you going to stare at hours on end than a wall of illuminated zombie heads? Oh yeah, and Mearle! And I have to wonder if this is the rape camp that Randell came from. I have a feeling Andrea will find out sooner than later.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

The Voice: Last week I wondered how they could get forty songs into two hours, I assumed they would just montage half of them, it turns out instead they just gave everyone about a minute of screen time with some really bad editing as they cut down songs. And it turns out the much ballyhooed Steal ended up being a major flop. I got a sense when lesser talent got stolen that coaches just did not want someone who would end up replacing an original tram member. Only Adam is taking a saved member to the Live Shows Playoffs even though Caitlin Michele and MarissaAnn clearly won their Knockout pairings.

That was not the only really bad decision from Blake Shelton. Even though he was the best coach when it came to making decisions in the first two seasons, he made some really bad pairings this season decimating his team. After pairing up two of his three best singers in the Battle Rounds with Suzanna Choffel and Lelia Broussard, he then paired his best two in the Knockout Rounds when he put Suzanna up against Cassadee Pope especially when Michaela Paige and Julio Cesar Castillo advanced. When it got down to the final four on his team I thought he was going to pair MarissaAnn with Cassadee and Michaela with Suzanna. Maybe Blake tipped his hand when he said the reason he paired Liz Davis and Gracia Harrison was that he did not want the two to siphoned votes from each other so he was only going to take one, so he took some weak singers (Michaela and Julio) to the Live Shows Playoffs to make it easier for his stronger singers (Cassadee and Terry) to advance.

If anything, the Knockout Round showed just how important song choice is. And for all the dude karaokers out that did not know earlier; never ever ever ever ever sign a Taylor Swift song. Like ever. Dare I say you would be much better off with some indie record that is much cooler than hers. And this week we actually had two dudes try to sing a Taylor Swift song. It was actually a big week for guys singing chick songs, which I rarely think works. Also, do not sing songs but dudes who beat on women. I thought Avery Wilson had a chance to win the whole thing but after a poor song choice, he danced himself off the show.

Even though the Steal ended up flopping because no none but Adam wanted to take them to the Live Shows Playoffs, I do wish they were still allowed one more steal during the Knockout Round. Blake could have finally gotten Caitlyn (assuming she did not reject him for the third time), Adam would finally gotten Gracia, maybe Cee-Lo takes a flyer on Suzanna, and Christina… who knows what stupid decision she would have made. Maybe Kayla Nevarez or steal MarissaAnn back. Really Caitlin was part of my favorite thing that happen this week when she was caught dancing to Nickolas performance.


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

Castle: Stupid credits. I actually did not think much when I saw Michael Mosley’s name at the beginning of the show, but as the evidence started to mount against Catle, I remembered, oh yeah, he was the serial killer that was never caught and he is totally setting him up. At least he showed up on screen shortly after I figured it out. But seriously, they really need to figure a way to keep the guest stars out of the beginning of the episode.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23: It was nice to see someone finally put fans of The Wire on blast. I will never watch the show because I never want to turn into one of those pretentious jackasses.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: After Gemma talked about overcompensating after losing a child, I thought for sure Able was a goner, and was a bit surprised with all the shocking deaths this year they stopped short of killing a kid.
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Philippines: I was a big Astros fan back when I actually paid attention to baseball so I know how big an idiot Jeff Kent is so it is not surprising he has a horrible game plan on the show. Seriously, if you were so keen on getting rid of Penner, why not do it last week? Then had you stuck with him this week you would have had been the leader of the majority alliance with two former players that would be bigger targets. Now you need someone to make a dumber move than you made to get back in control of the game.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.

Subugatory: I was super disappointed that after this episode when I went to iTunes, Tessa’s version of Sussudio was not there yet.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Grimm: Last week when the promo monkeys said there was a new, more violent, Grimm was coming to town, I thought, this is just going to be a retread of the other Slayers on Buffy. I do like that it turned out to be a Vessin who hated who he was. But you know there have to be other Grimms out there somewhere.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Grimm on iTunes.