For a decade, Alicia Keys was a picture of class making the best RnB that reminds you of the classics but still kept accessible for modern times with four albums that range between good and great. Then in between album she got caught up in a bit of a scandal where she was accused of being a home wrecking. And looking at the evidence, it is probably true. Granted on the scale of scandals, home wrecking ranks near the bottom of most egregious but it is a bit weird listening to her new music with that nuggets in the back of your mind especially when the guy in the equation, Swizz Beats produced a song on the album. It does not help that New Day may be the weakest track on the album.
It is also a bit odd that she named her fifth album Girl On Fire which shares the name of The Hunger Games sequel that is set to be released next summer but does not seem to share anything with the movie series aside from the name. (Let me quickly add a three word review of the movie: severly over-hyped.) It just seems like a shameless attempt to attach herself to the biggest pop culture phenomenon of the year. It also does not help that the title track is probably the second weakest song on the album that is brought down even further by the always annoying Nicki Minaj. It should be noted that the smoother and Minaj-less Bluelight Version (which is not featured on the album) is significantly better than the Minaj enhanced Inferno Version on the album.
Those mediocre songs aside, Girl on Fire is another solid album by Alicia Keys. Thankfully she washes the bad Minaj taste out of your mouth on the next song by singing duet with Maxwell on Fire We Make with guitar by Gary Clark Jr. while both singers get their smooth falsetto on. But some of her strongest tunes were when Keys did some co-writing with British songstress Emeli Sandé (who was supposed to be this year’s Adele but never caught on stateside) on Brand New Me, Not Even the King, and 101.
Keys also brought in uber-nineties writer / producer Babyface for That’s When I Knew which drops Keys traditional piano for a beautiful acoustic guitar based ballad. But it was Bruno Mars and his The Smeezingtons production team (who is best known for The Song Otherwise Known as Forget You) that contributed the best track on the album Tears Always Win. A modern throwback that Mars and his boys are best known for and ranks as one of her best track in her career. It almost makes you forget any past transgressions.
Rizzoli and Isles returns tonight (followed by Leverage, more on that later) for its final five episodes of the season (yes the finale will air Christmas night). Where we left off over the summer, Rizzoli saved Isles from becoming the next victim of Eddie Cibrian while Jane’s little brother may or may have not knocked up Alexandra Holden who left their possible love child at her front door.
Tonight murder hits close to home when a man dies Division 1 Café from rat poison. And yes Jane’s least favorite restaurant owner becomes a suspect. And the victim turns out to know someone from one of the detective’s past. While next year, more ghosts from the past haunts another detective while the author of Suicide Boy is found hung in his office. We do learn the paternity of baby Tommy Jr. while Jane’s mom gets some action. Also Maura has to put her office in code red after a body is brought in, but that is not before sharing another one of nuggets in that you are less likely to get lime disease hiking without clothes.
Following Rizzoli and Isles is the continuation of the Leverage season and the team returns to take on what may be their biggest mark, which is saying a lot considering they once took down an entire nation. Tonight the team will be taking on Wal-Mart. Well, a Wal-Mart stand-in called Value More. If you live in a small town you know the story, a big box store moves in, crushing all the local business and then flexes it’s cooperate muscle to keep their employees from unionizing. Value More is so big, Nate has avoided taking them on, that is until Elliot cozies up to a local shopkeeper in the form of Willa Ford.
The team may actually be more ambitious next week when the Leverage Team tries to steal a dream. And to do so, they build something that looks like something Abed from Community would build if he had limitless funds to create a bigger dreamatorium. They will also be taking down a shady vinery owner and try to get a corrupt toy maker to buy a doll so creepy that it makes Chuck look like a Cabbage Patch Doll before his dangerous product its shelves before Christmas. And Nate’s nemesis insurance –investigator-turned-InterPol-agent Jim Sterling will make an appearance before the season ends.
Leverage airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TNT. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.
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.
I listen to the latest Grace Potter & The Nocturnals album when it came out and I do not remember anything really sticking out to give it another listen. Yeah I messed up on that one after hearing Amanda Brown perform the song last week on The Voice. Not only did Amanda get herself into the top twenty with her performance, she vaulted the original almost as high. I wonder if the exposure will stat getting airplay because of this, it definite does deserve it.
When I saw Big Boi had a new song entitles Mama Told Me I fully expected a Mama Told Me (Not to Come) sample. No Three Dog Night, but it definitely has a retro (eighties not seventies) vibe to it.
I find it interesting that they are attributing the songs from Nashville to the actors not the characters on the show. There even produced an actually music video for Hayden Panettiere that is different from the one that we saw Juliet Barnes filmed on the show. I guess that is smart because Juliet Barnes on the show is a horrible singer that is heavily auto-tunes (though Hayden could actually be the same too) Apparently it is working because the song charted on the Country charts.
The Walking Dead: I was going to yell at Rick for not dialing *69 when the people on the other line hung up, but I guess that is not possible when the other line is calling from Heaven. I had a feeling it was all in his mind when Hershel picked up the phone and we could not hear a dial tone. But the rest of the episode was a bit of a yawn as it looks like it was just an episode to set up what hopes to be an epic showdown between Rick and the Governor with Merle taking Glen and Maggie and Michonne finding her way to the prison (with only two episodes until a break I have a feeling next week will just be the travel to Woodbury with the confrontation in the last episode of the year). Sure it is absurd that Michonne and Andrea never ran into Rick and the group in the six or so months after being separated, but Michonne was able to find them in about an hour after Glen gets kidnapped, but whatever.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.
Homeland: This is the first episode I watched since the Saturday Night Live sketch and watching Saul listen to Carrie having sex with Brody while he has to explain to the other dude her motives, all I could think about was, when is Saul going to say, “when has she ever let me down aside from every time?” But anyway. Brody not surprisingly finally snapped this episode after being pulled in every direction, but I have a feeling he will have a bigger snap from reality later this season when he just snaps and kills someone. Maybe Roya, Maybe Peter. Maybe even himself. But that will be down the line. This week ended with one heck of a cliffhanger. Sure Abu Nazir, the number one terrorist in the world, in America is up there as one of the least plausible plot point on the show (assuming the helicopter did not go all of the way to Syria, even going to Canada is a stretch). But if he is here, the attack has to close, hopefully they do not spread it out over the final four episodes. Speaking of which, I just saw the penultimate episode of the season is entitled The Mother(expletive deleted) with a Turban, so that should be epic. But not as epic is if they continue the Dana hit and run storyline. Really there is no where left to go unless Dana just blows everything up and still go to the police, or worse, the press. Really that may be the only good way to end the storyline.
The Voice: Last Week I scoffed at the new rule where your iTunes votes get multiplied by ten if they make it into the Top 10 of the iTunes charts because that has rarely happened. But when I woke up not only was Cassadee in the top 10, she was number one, only the third time a song from The Voice occupied the top spot (two of which were on Blake’s Team). I am not sure just how impressive that is considering she overtook Gangnam Style (강남스타일) (seriously, who is still buying that song?). There were also three artists that came close as Melanie (who did get to number 8), Amanda, and Nicholas got into the top twenty, all charting higher than the Christina Aguilera / Blake Shelton duet that was performed the same night.
Another thing I was thinking about last week was how simplistic the staging was this season, no background dancer (or as Blake likes to refer to them: mimes or male strippers), dudes on stilts, or even the severely overused smoke machine. They have not even been the overly literal video screen images like all the eyeballs that flashed on the screen when Tony Lucca sang In Your Eyes. Well they finally recruited some dancers this week this week but the theatrics have still been to a minimum this season.
1. Cassadee Pope – Cassadee nabbed the top spot on the Power Ranking last week for the first time if only by default. Not this week, she earned it with the second best performance of the season. With that one performance she has been elevated to I can’t wait to see what they do next status.
2. Amanda Brown – If everything went right in this world, Amanda and Cassadee would be going head to head with Cassadee for the season three crown (with Nicholas playing spoiler). Unfortunately I do not trust America to ever vote correctly.
3. Nicholas David – Holy buckets, that looked like a Grammy legend performing this week. It is a shame this is not the seventies because St. Nick would have been a massive star by now.
4. Melanie Martinez – Her first performance of hers that I did not find annoying. Maybe a little too late because I still would like to see her go home next week.
5. Terry McDermott – If this was the first season where there were only three weeks of Live Shows, Terry would be sitting pretty, but with week four next week, it is time to adventure outside of the box a little.
6. Trevin Hunte – I take back what I said last week, go back to the Michael Bolton catalogue.
7. Cody Belew – The biggest surprise for me so far in the Live Shows was Cody advancing this week. He was not saved by America earlier this season, spent this week daninching more when he should have been singing, and he was selling poorly on iTunes. I guess America does enjoy a little bam-bam more than I thought they would.
8. Dez Duron – The pretty boy skated by thanks to less attractive fodder the first three weeks, but if he advances next week over the people above him on the list, it will be a crime against humanity. It is his time to go.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Voice by clicking the artists name.
How I Met Your Mother: Really Ted, your big recommendation was Dishwalla, a crappy one hit wonder that did not even deserve that one hit? Could you not get the licensing for Deep Blue Something?
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
Castle: It is pretty absurd in this day and age to have an entire story built around the inability to make a phone call and the writers went to some pretty big lengths to keep Beckett and Castle from being able to contact the police. But it was so absurd that it ended up being entertaining. They even managed to do it without using the biggest trope when it comes to the the inability to make a call: no signal, which I guess would be too absurd for a show set in New York City.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.
Happy Endings: I hate to break it to you Max, MTV did not air your season of The Real World not because someone burned down the house, but because it looked extremely boring. There is a reason ten years later and you still have not been invited to participate in a season of The Challenge.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Happy Endings on iTunes.
Sons of Anarchy: So who exactly is Donal Logue? (A second question is what is with all the weird stunt casting this season: Ashley Tisdale, Joel McHale). Is it too easy to assume that he is the husband of the nurse wow died?
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.
Survivor: Philippines: I was really hoping Malcolm would get voted out. I really hate when people hold on to theory Idols longer than they should. All it would have taken would be one person to switch, or even mess up and accidentally voted for the wrong person.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.
Big News of the Week: Chevy Chase Leaves Community: Although this begs the question is it really leaving the show two episodes before the presumed series finale is filmed? That is like a teacher retiring during finals week.
Video of the Week: The latest chapters debuted last night and and as soon as they hit the internets, I will post them here.
Next Week Pick of the Week: Leverage, Tuesday at 10:00 on TNT: Leverage returns this week, on a Tuesday instead of its usual Sundays following Rizzoli and Isles, to air the final five episodes of its fifth season going up against a big box company that is destroying a small town. For those that do the math, yes that means the season finale will fall on Christmas night. If my memory serves me correctly, it aired on Christmas (and New Year's Day) last year too.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, or as those outside the U.S. like to call it, Thursday. So I hope you have (or had depending on when you read this) a great Turkey Day. Just a heads up with the holidays upon us, here’s a look at the schedule the 9th Green will be taking the next couple weeks as well as a list of the best of 2012 and on day that are not listed, they will be filled by the regular reviews and such you have come to find at the 9th Green (card subject to change):
November 22-23 - Off for Thanksgiving
November 30 – ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas Schedule
December 1 - Induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame
December 15 - Lyrics Quiz: Best of 2012
December 20 - Worst Songs of 2012
December 22 – Best Performances of 2012
December 23 - Best Albums of 2012
December 24-25 - Off for Christmas
December 26 - Best Videos of 2012
December 27 - Best Mash-ups of 2012
December 28 - The Most Entertaining People of 2012 December 29 – 9th Green’s Reader’s Favorite Songs of 2012*
December 30 - 100 Best Songs of 2012
December 31/January 1 - Off for New Years
January 2 - Induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame
January 3 - Best Movies of 2012
*As you may have noticed, on the 29th I will have a Reader’s poll on what you all thought were the best songs of the year.
All you have to do is fill out the form below. If you have problems with it, feel free to e-mail me, ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com, your list. So if you would sometime time before Christmas fill out the form below, I will put a link at the top of the sidebar if you want to think about it. And as an added bonus, if you send me your list this year you can win a $5 Gift Certificate to Amazon MP3. Please note, only people with American accounts can win but foreigners are still welcome to voice their opinions. Winners will be contacted sometime between Christmas and New Years.
This poll is closed.
If you need a refresher of songs from the last twelve months, check out the list of the albums I reviewed, just look at the labels in the side bar. All the songs from those albums are eligible, look through the music videos I highlighted the past year and of course any song released this year is okay too even if I didn’t talk about it. Your nominations will be confidential and I won’t disclose it here at the 9th Green, so if you enjoy the 9th Green please fill out the form by December 26.
And with Christmas coming fast upon us, check out Amazon's Black Friday page for your loved ones:
Anyone who was five at some point in their lives remember The Fox and the Hound, but who would have guessed that the two specials could get along as well in real life as they did in animated form? That is the basis of Unlikely Animal Friends which is airing its third set of specials over the course of four episodes this Thanksgiving weekend. The first two episodes air Friday at 8:00, while the other two episodes at 8:00 on Saturday.
Each episode is dedicated to a species animal group, starting with Dogs Gone Wild (featuring commentary from Nat Geo’s resident dog expert Cesar Millan) which will be followed by Hello Kitty which features felines big and small. Then The Wild Bunch is dedicated to some of the wild’s friendliest animals. And the last episode is Man’s Other Best Friend which features some of the weirdest human pets.
Some other bizarre pairing you will see are a fog who takes a swim with his dolphin friend, a housecat that plays with an owl, a wild boar who joins a herd of cattle, and a goose that follows around a human whenever he takes a walk in the park, or even a ride on a scooter. Unlikely Animal Friends is perfect for any parent with small children who will get a kick at all the wield and wild pairings.
Unlikely Animal Friends airs back to back episodes this Friday and Saturday starting at 8:00 on Nat Geo Wild.
Two years ago Christina Aguilera released Bionic and it sank like a rock. It features songs where it sounded like Christina was trying to out-Gaga Lady GaGa at a time when most people were already tiring of Lady Gaga. It mirrored her debut album where she was riding the teen pop coattails of Britney Spears. But the thing is, Christina Aguilera, unlike the two other pop star (and many that populate the charts for the past decade) can sing. She is even the lynchpin coach on a show called The Voice. A half a year after Bionic dropped off the charts, Adele released 21 showing that people who can sing without all the trappings of a modern day pop singer. I thought to myself, Christina Aguilera should not be competing with the Britney Spears and Lady Gaga’s of the world; she should be competing with Adele.
So how does Christina Aguilera start her first album, Lotus, in the post-Adele era? With a heavy dose of auto-tune. Not only that, the first single was co-written and produced by Max Martin, the pop maestro who have us Baby One More Time. And like most songs from the Max Martin catalogue, Your Body is ultra catchy, but you think less of yourself when you catchy yourself singing along. I guess after three seasons of The Voice I should have seen this coming as everyone on her team have been bland pop singer with the exception of Jesse Campbell and Lindsey Pavao (neither of who inexplicably made the finales of her team) leading her to two straight last place finishes and with the new rule change this season will probably have her entire team voted off before the finals.
Christina did recruit two of her fellow coaches from The Voice to her new album (apparently Moves Like Jagger was enough studio time with Adam Levine). Cee Lo Green shows up on Make the World Move where Cee-Lo plays a glorified hype-man for the club ready track. Just a Fool is the closest thing Christina has ever come to country so it is not surprising she trades verses with the resident country voice on her show Blake Shelton, but I was left after the song was over wishing that Christina would had kept the song for herself as it could have been her one of her strongest ballads.
Even though she goes the ultra-pop route for most of the album, there is a quick Adele-type interlude for two songs in the middle of album starting with Sing for Me where Aguilera shows she is still the best voice of her generation. That is followed by Blank Page, which goes the stripped down Someone Like You route where it is just Christina and a piano (and some subtle strings flourishes). I would much rather have had a whole album like this especially where a song latter she starts a weird reggae segment includes pair of songs, Cease Fireand Circles.
But Lotus, for better or worse, is a pure pop album. Of course the album is littered with self empowering anthems, about half the tracks. While Red Hot Kind of Love harkens back to her Genie in the Bottle days. Army of Me and Make the World Move are good old school dance songs that thankfully do not utilize any of that annoying dub-stop or EDM trends that every pop song has to have these days (unfortunately Let There Be Love does jump on the annoying trend). It is clear from her choices on The Voice, Christina Aguilera still loves pop music, I just wished she would put out a record that rivals Adele.
Once Upon a Time: Is this the first time seeing the King in Storybrooke? I remember not seeing and thinking he must had died in the fairytale world.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.
Revenge: So this was Emily’s grand plan for Mason Treadwell: set him up to make it look like he set up Conrad Grayson so he would be convicted for a crime he did not commit (much like her father) and he will admit to it if she promised to come clean after her master plan has been executed where she will then admit to the killing of the white haired man and give him the exclusive story. What? Unless she plans for Mason to also die in prison much like her father. But would it not have been much easier, even if it were less poetic) to just let Amanda bash his skull in?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.
The Walking Dead: With the new season, they have really up its, Did That Really Just Happened moments be it impromptu leg amputations with an ax, or c-section deliveries with no medication. But they may have out done themselves this episode with the Governor brushing his zombiefied daughter’s hair, the zombie Thunderdome, and the zombie who apparently ate Lori whole. It will take a while for me to decide which scene grossed me out the most.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.
Homeland: Oh snap! The warden totally called out Saul for his beard! But I was extremely disappointed that Saul (and the guards) let Eileen alone. As soon as Saul left the room, I screamed at the screen, “Do not leave her alone with the wine bottle!” Sure I was wrong with the suicide method as it looked like she somehow killed herself with Saul’s glasses (because who does not walk around with an extra pair of reading glasses that make anyone see well?), but the sediment remained. And that was not the only false ending for the episode, just when you think Dana and Brody were going to report the hit and run, Carrie stops them at the last minute. Ugg. I do have a feeling Dana will be calling a press conference sometime in the next episode just to screw everything up. One last thing, Estes is the worst baby sitter ever. He lets Brody talk along in the sables with the party host and then sneak off to meet Carrie.
The Voice: I have joked a couple times this season that the producers read my post 10 ways to Fix The Voice, but after this week I am now convinced that they did. Previously they have implemented my suggestions to breeze through some Battle Round performances by montage, expand the Live Rounds (there will be eight performance episodes up from six last season and four the inaugural season), more Blind Auditions, they initiated The Steal, banned Adele (only one song this season, now they need to ban Katy Perry for next season), and got rid of the Product Placement I Refuse to Acknowledge (unless they pay me) Lounge (granted it got replaced by the Product Placement I Refuse to Acknowledge Skybox). They have even cut down on the annoying crowd screaming a little bit (though not completely). That is seven, and this week they added an eighth suggestion I made.
Cason Daly announced yet another new rule, that any artist who reaches the top 10 on the iTunes charts will have those votes multiplied by ten. Of course anyone who reaches the top 10 (which no one has done this season) probably is not in trouble of being voted out anyway, but I like the new wrinkle. iTunes success is a better indicator of future success but it accounts for the least amount of votes because people may make ten phone calls and vote ten times over the internet (or more with phony e-mail accounts) But no one, expect maybe family members, are buying ten sons on iTunes. The Top 10 may have been to altruistic and may should had gone with Top 25 instead. Apparently they quickly realize that the new rule did not do much (only two songs cracked the top 50 and not even close to the top 10) because the very next day they announced all music bought on iTunes this year will count for the finalist. Here is the Power Rankings for the top 10 and some thoughts on their performances:
The Voice Top 10 Power Rankings
1. Cassadee Pope – Cassadee has been number two a couple times on my Power Rankings and finally found herself this week with her best performance since her Blind Audition. Though after five straight pop-rock songs I would like to see her get out of her comfort zone next week even if it is taking a song from another genre and making it pop-rock.
2. Nicholas David – It is about time someone on one of these karaoke shows gave Huey Lewis & The News his proper due. I really liked when Nicholas went back into his Barry White voice halfway through the performance.
3. Trevin Hunte – Someone pointed out to me that this was the second week doing a Michael Bolton song (sure When a Man Loves a Woman is really a Percy Sledge that Bolton covered) and he loses some points for that. Plus this make have been his weakest performance. Much like Cassadee, Trevin needs to branch out and soon.
4. Amanda Brown – Amanda went bold last week and knocked it out of the park, she went big again this week, but did not quite reach the same heights.
5. Terry McDermott – I could not help but think back to Amanda last week who also closed the show with a seventies stadium anthem, but where Amanda nailed the notes at the end, Terry noticeably could not hit the signature high notes in More than a Feeling where Brad Delp original seemed to go higher and higher.
6. Cody Belew – Last week I thought he did a very Elvis Presley performance of One More Try and did a very Elvis performance of The Best this week. Maybe he should just do an Elvis song next week.
7. Sylvia Yacoub – Every time Sylvia showed up during the earlier rounds I thought, she is still on the show? Then she gave the most surprising performance last week, sitting down at the piano. She was back to she is still on the show status after a wobblely performance. Maybe she should had stayed behind the piano instead of having a creepy dude in a white suit on a creepy white piano instead.
8. Bryan Keith – He took a great song full of pathos and self loathing and turned it into a lounge act. Color me unimpressed.
9. Dez Duron – Again, Dez has impeccable taste in music, but his voice is just so boring and bland. He may have made the finals with the old rules, but I am not sure he even makes the top eight under the new system. He definitely should not.
10. Melanie Martinez – Oh Melanie, cool song choice, but I think this will be your last week on the show unless Christina’s final two contestants are eliminated in on swell swoop.
The results show was fairly uninteresting (Cee-Lo’s disco party notwithstanding). Adriana Louise (I wonder if she gets to come back for a Team Christina performance or if she is out of luck because they did not perform this week) and Michaela Paige were clearly on the bottom of the pile. Next week will be about as suspenseful as two by two every twenty minutes someone is saved before Cody and Sylvia get the ax. Maybe they should go back to having the teams battling themselves to be a finalist; those eliminations were much more suspenseful.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Voice by clicking on the artist’s name.
How I Met Your Mother: Did we really spend a whole month having all the main characters break up with their significant others? Yeah, the show has officially run out of ideas.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
Castle: As everyone is moving onto the new found footage craze, the show went back to the ol’ early ’00 documentary footage route. And it was probably for the best.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.
Go On: Can they please add the hot station mascot to the cast please? Maybe her dad can die and join the support group for more airtime.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Go On on iTunes.
Parenthood: Why is grief the biggest aphrodisiac in Hollywood? It seems like whenever a guy on television show or movie has a lost in his life, the closest female to him is willing to have sex with him the cheer the dude up. Seriously, Drew is talking about his aunt that has cancer which makes his ex-girlfriend, with a college boyfriend, rip off all his clothes. Does this actually happen in real life because I have had a lot of loss and hardship in my life and not once has any chick had sex with me to console me.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.
Sons of Anarchy: There are so many moving pieces on the chess board this season I have no clue where this season is going. Actually I am not entirely sure if I understand what is actually going on right now. So many deals on the table, double and triple crosses it is hard to keep track.
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.
Survivor: Philippines: When the votes were revealed to be tied 4-4 I knew that Penner would be going home because I figured that Skupin and Blair would vote together. So I was shocked to see Artis go home and even more shocked that it was Skupin that flipped his vote. I thought if only one flipped it would be Blair after being berated by Abi at Tribal. I was also surprised that Malcolm did not play his Idol. You can only bluff once and why hang onto it when everyone know you have it, an you alliance needs the numbers. Either play it for yourself so you do not get blindsided or give it to Penner just in case Skupin did not flip. At any rate, I cannot wait to see Hurricane Abi next week. Between her and Camilla from The Challenge, it is clear these reality shows need to recruit more Brazilian woman to these competition shows.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.
The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons: Watching Hunger Games I have to wonder why Survivor ever stopped their gross food challenges. Quality entertainment. But you have to feel bad for CJ, dude somehow managed to beat the behemoth Zach at the physical challenge three out of five times but still went home. And fewer things are more entertaining than a crazy person acting all crazy while shouting, “I not going to make to look like a (expletive deleted) crazy person.”
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons on iTunes.
Last Resort: I do not understand, if someone stole Marcus’s key, why even dock the submarine. Search everyone before coming up for air. And just how many crew members have to be captured before they realize they should travel the island in pairs, or even groups?
You can stream recent episodes on Last Resort on iTunes.
The Big Bang Theory: I was expecting that the number 43 to not live up to expectation that I was kind of hoping they would leave it unexplained. Yet they managed to come up with two extremely funny ideas, the fake Sheldon looking for life in other dimentions, and the real Sheldon trying to break his own hackeysack record.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Grimm: Even though I hate when episodes, especially episodes before a long break, end with “…To Be Continued” but I did have to laugh the show had a sense of humor enough to add “Sorry” to it.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Grimm on iTunes.
Quote of the Week: I got a pretty weak stomach especially when it comes to gross things. In the middle of the intestine is a chunk of fat that big. So it is a (expletive deleted) tube wrapped around fat… and topped with a testicle. (Zach, The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons)
Song of the Week: Pure Imagination – Willy Wonka (2 Broke Girls)
Scene of the Week:
Big News of the Week: More Drama with Army Men Than on Army Wives: To be honest I have tried to avoid the David Petaeus scandal because I am just waiting for the inevitable Lifetime movie to get the full story, but apparently there are sordid e-mails, shirtless pictures, and of course, twins. When will people learn they should not transmit their dirst laundry across the internet because it will always come out eventually. Seriously, I learned this lesson from Vanessa Hudgens five years ago, how could the CIA director not figure that out yet?
Video of the Week: This week ABC debuted The Gift of Revenge which had the characters of Revenge (not surprisingly minus the two leads) being led to a party hosted by Nolan for no apparent reason. Okay it turned out to be an extremely long commercial for… um, I do not remember. But it reminded me of the revolutionary “pods” that were going to air instead of commercials which, if I am not mistaken, only lasted a week before they went back to normal commercial breaks. So apparently The CW were just ahead of their times (maybe it is time for a Farmer Takes a Wife reboot). But I wonder just who wrote The Gift of Revenge: the normal Revenge writers? An ad company? Are the ads supposed to be considered cannon? Suburgatory also has its own in show sponsor, which begs the question what is next? Are we going to learn the aliens from The Neighbors are actually the alien race from Halo? Are the doctors of Grey’s Anatomy going to play the kids game Operation?
Next Week Pick of the Week: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Thursday at 9:00 AM on NBC: Thanksgiving morning for me is putting some cinnamon rolls in the oven and turning on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Sure in recent it seems like I know less and less of the performance. Case in point this year: Cody Simpson, Megan & Liz, The Wanted, and Jennette McCurdy. The festivities will also include Carly Rae Jepsen, Flo Rida (because who says turkey more than Flo Rida), Neon Trees, Colbie Caillat, Karmin while the Olympic Gymnastics team, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots will jump on the floats.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
sequel that is set to be released next summer but does not seem to share anything with the movie series aside from the name. (Let me quickly add a three word review of the movie: severly over-hyped.) It just seems like a shameless attempt to attach herself to the biggest pop culture phenomenon of the year. It also does not help that the title track is probably the second weakest song on the album that is brought down even further by the always annoying Nicki Minaj. It should be noted that the smoother and Minaj-less Bluelight Version (which is not featured on the album) is significantly better than the Minaj enhanced Inferno Version on the album.![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
would build if he had limitless funds to create a bigger dreamatorium. They will also be taking down a shady vinery owner and try to get a corrupt toy maker to buy a doll so creepy that it makes Chuck look like a Cabbage Patch Doll before his dangerous product its shelves before Christmas. And Nate’s nemesis insurance –investigator-turned-InterPol-agent Jim Sterling will make an appearance before the season ends.
- Alicia Keys
, but who would have guessed that the two specials could get along as well in real life as they did in animated form? That is the basis of Unlikely Animal Friends which is airing its third set of specials over the course of four episodes this Thanksgiving weekend. The first two episodes air Friday at 8:00, while the other two episodes at 8:00 on Saturday.
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my 
: Grab Greatest Hits from James Taylor, Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, and Bill Withers.
- Kate Earl
