Around the Tubes: 11/17/2017

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Chi, Rachel Platten, Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray’s Extra Innings, Tears For Fears, Survival in the Skies: Space Suits, Ella Fitzgerald, Sigrid, Tim & Faith: Soul2Soul, Meth Storm, Megnify, Teyana & Iman, and GSN marathons.

- Showtime has released the full trailer and the official poster art for the highly-anticipated drama series The Chi, created and executive produced by Emmy® winner Lena Waithe (Master of None), and executive produced by Academy Award®, Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Common (Selma) and Elwood Reid (The Bridge, Hawaii Five-O) who also serves as showrunner. The series, which explores the humanity behind the headlines sensationalizing the South Side of Chicago, premieres on Sunday, January 7 at 10:00.


- Tune in Friday, November 10 to watch the broadcast premiere of the concert special "Rachel Platten" on AT&T* AUDIENCE Network via DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114 and on-demand through DIRECTV NOW.Airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT theone-hourconcert features the multi-platinum, EMMY award-winning pop star Rachel Platten. Shot on location in Los Angeles in ultra high-definition 4K, Rachel performs all the hits and joins series host Ted Stryker for an intimate look at her career.

- Oso Studios and Facebook today announced the premiere of Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray’s Extra Innings, an original unscripted series on minor league baseball hosted by the comedy icons. The ten-episode digital series debuts on Facebook Watch on Monday, November 20 with new episodes available weekly on Mondays. People can add the show to their watchlist by following the Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray’s Extra Innings Show Page.

- Following a sold-out summer arena tour highlighted by their triumphant UK return in front of 65,000-plus fans as s pecial guests of The Killers during British Summer Time Festival at Hyde Park, Tears For Fears - Roland Orzabal [vocals, guitar, keyboards] and Curt Smith [vocals, bass, keyboards] - close out 2017 with the release of their first career-spanning Greatest Hits album, Rule The World. The collection arrives everywhere November 10, 2017 on UMe. It's available for pre-order at the band's official site now.

- Every day, pilots and astronauts face life-or-death situations when they risk their lives to test the capabilities of physics and science. With limited time, harsh conditions and the pressure of survival, they must do everything they can to make it back on the ground safely. Survival in the Skies tells the stories behind incredible pieces of space and aviation technology, from the invention of the parachute to the development of space suits. The series features stories of the people who created these amazing breakthroughs and the men and women who relied on them when their survival hung in the balance. The premiere episode, Survival in the Skies: Space Suits, airs Tuesday, November 28 at 9:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Verve Records and UMe will close out their year-long celebration of jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald’s centennial with the ultimate present for her 100th birthday – a completely unreleased live album. More than 60 years after it was recorded, Ella At Zardi’s will finally be released on CD and digital on December 1. WBGO, the global leader in jazz radio, premiered the album’s opening track, “It All Depends on You,” both on the air and at WBGO.org, with an accompanying article. The song, popularized by Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, was never released on any of Fitzgerald’s albums, making this a truly rare performance. Listen at WBGO.

- In the past nine months, Sigrid has gone from unknown to one of the most exceptional breakout artists of 2017. Sigrid’s rise has been unrivaled; from releasing her acclaimed debut Don’t Kill My Vibe EP, which has amassed over 100M global streams – to playing multiple festivals worldwide and being chosen as Apple’s Up Next Artist, all in less than a year. Now Sigrid releases the mighty ‘Strangers’, produced by Martin Sjolie, the dream pairing behind ‘Don’t Kill My Vibe’. With lyrics of steel, meandering melodies and stark honesty, ‘Strangers’ embodies the natural, sincere talent Sigrid has become renowned for. Watch the lyric video to the track HERE.

- A concert special from Grammy® Award-winning superstars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Tim & Faith: Soul2Soul will premiere on Friday, November 17 at 9:00 on Showtime, on-air, on demand and over the internet. The special was shot over the summer in the U.S. on this year’s Soul2Soul The World Tour. Tim & Faith: Soul2Soul is directed and executive produced by the award-winning Magical Elves production team of Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Katy Perry: Part of Me). The tour documentary includes live performances from their Soul2Soul tour, as well as unprecedented access to Tim and Faith, with never-before-seen interviews and behind-the-scenes footage capturing their unmatched chemistry on and off the stage.

- Today, 90% of the methamphetamine consumed in America comes over the border from Mexico in the form of a superdrug called ICE. As drug enforcement agents battle sophisticated cartels, poor, rural users, dealers and families are caught in the middle. Featuring extensive access to law enforcement, Meth Storm tells the story of rural, economically-disadvantaged users and dealers whose addiction to ICE and lack of job opportunities have landed them in an endless cycle of poverty and incarceration, and follows police and DEA agents struggling to stop the cartels. Debuting Monday, NOV. 27 at 10:00, this timely presentation is both a cautionary tale and a high-stakes drama told from inside the war on drugs. The documentary will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

- FOX Sports Films is excited to present Megnify, a new feature-length documentary series, leveraging sports as a lens for examining important cultural stories. The films’ deep explorations of athletes’ on and off-the-field journeys connect to the challenges, change and unity that sports can bring to communities. “This commitment to deeper storytelling – pointing the cameras where they’re needed most -- diversifies our voice and gets audiences thinking about sports in a broader context beyond wins and losses,” says Charlie Dixon, EVP, Content at FOX Sports. “The aim is to create dialogue and hopefully affect change in the communities where these stories are told.” The first documentary in the series is “89 Blocks” (82 minutes) airing Sunday, November 26 on FOX. The film, executive produced by Time Inc.’s SPORTS ILLUSTRATED with LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s UNINTERRUPTED, brings an authentic perspective to the story of the East St. Louis High School Flyers football team -- the pride and joy of a complex, at-risk Illinois community. This look at their exceptional challenges and heartwarming triumph during the 2016 season is directed by Emmy winner Josh Oshinsky.

- VH1 today announced the new series Teyana & Iman will premiere Monday, February 19 at 10PM ET/PT. The eight, 30-minute episodes will provide an intimate look into newlyweds Teyana Taylor, a trend-setting singer, dancer, model and actress, and Iman Shumpert, a professional athlete, musician, dedicated father and loving husband.

- Celebrate Thanksgiving with a GSN marathon! Gather the family ‘round to watch game show favorites The $25,000 Pyramid, The Chase, and Family Feud while you're waiting for (or digesting) that delicious turkey.
Thanksgiving Day Marathons, Thursday November 23rd:
8:00am - 12:00pm – The $25,000 Pyramid
12:00pm - 7:00pm – The Chase
7:00pm - 11:00pm – Family Feud (Harvey)
And the fun doesn't stop once the pumpkin pie has run out - come back on Friday, Nov. 24th and Saturday, Nov. 25th for more mini-marathons including Match Game, Cash Cab, and more Steve Harvey.
Friday November 24th Marathon:
8:00am - 12:00pm – Match Game
12:00pm -11:00pm – Family Feud (Harvey)
Saturday November 25th Marathon:
11:00am - 4:00pm – Cash Cab
4:00pm - 8:00pm – Family Feud (Harvey)
8:00pm - 11:00pm – The Chase

Previewing There's... Johnny! and GameFace

We have finally reached peak streaming because something called Seeso just folded before I ever heard of it. According to Wikipedia, it was basically an over the top channel from NBC Universal devoted to comedy with shows that had appeared on its network. It officially launched January 2016 and shit down earlier this month. I being this up because they had just started creating original content, much of which got moved to other streaming sites I have never heard of.

The most ambitious of the bunch had not even premiered when Seeso went under but was saved by a streaming service I have actually heard of, Hulu. There’s… Johnny! follows a Midwestern guy who travels to Los Angeles mistaking a stock response from the show as an actual job offer. When he shows up for work just shy of 11:30, the surprisingly understanding guard points out the show is not live and actually let him on the lot and a day later he gets a job as a goffer on The Tonight Show.

Ian Nelson (The Boy Next Door) played the doe eyed kid. The always good Jane Levy (Suburgatory) is an assistant talent coordinator who takes a shine to the kid. T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh (In Living Color) is the gatekeeper to Johnny. And Tony Danza (Who’s the Boss) does his best Mad Men audition as the executive producer. While minus the dirty stuff the ad men did and the creator of that show was alleged to do.

Really the tone of There’s… Johnny! is more Wonder Years than Mad Men in that it is a much idealized version of the time. One of the bosses is a black woman and George Carlin does not ask any of the pages if he could touch himself in front of them. Okay the writers do refer to one of their co-workers Joy as Joy of Sex, one of the ladies takes her shirt off in front of a guy the first day they meet, while the F-word gets thrown around a couple times.

The show is quant and nostalgic which actual scenes from The Tonight Show circa 1972 thrown in. Paul Riser (Mad About You) is the creator, producer, and even wrote the first episode. Sure these episodes will likely be the last as the original network folded and Levy has already landed two more shows (including the upcoming Hulu Steven King universe show Castle Rock) but it is something most of the family can gather around with Thanksgiving next week and remember or simpler time. Or just watch it while avoiding the family next week.

All episodes of There’s… Johnny! is available to stream now on Hulu.



English humour is an acquired taste. And it is one that I have not quite acquired yet unless it is delievered by Edgar Write with Simon Pegg starring. But I will admit to laughing more than I do to most Bristish shows when watching GameFace. The show was created and stars Roisin Conaty. Her Marcella reminds me a lot of SMILF’s Bridget. Both are struggling actors who are struggling even more to keep their lives together. Thankfully Marcella does not have a kid, but on the flipside she probably has a decade on Bridget.

Sure Marcella is trying to get her life together, she is learning how to drive (though regularly called by her teacher asking where she is), she has a life coach (though it was a gift from her mom), and can still book acting gigs every once and a while (if you consider children’s parties gigs). The show does have some dark undercurrents as Marcella walks in on a suicide attempt in the first episode and has to deal with the death of an ex-boyfriend mother in the second. If you do have the acquired taste of British humour, you may want to give GameFace a try.

All episodes of GameFace is available to stream now on Hulu.

Previewing Mythbusters and Street Science

Mythbusters seems like a show I would like, except it fell into that category of television show that aired on a channel never watched mixed with being too lazy to find it. But there is no way better to get me to watch a show than to send me a screener. So now I know that the show airs on Science channel (okay, I still have no idea what channel that is on my cable box. But again I thought I would like it because I am not a big fan of conspiracy theories and I am more a Occam’s Razor guy which states “that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected” which basically the most obvious answer is usually the right one.

Since I never saw the original I really cannot judge these new guys, who won some Mythbusters Search that I also did not watch. But my first impressions are these guys are overexciteable, the type of guys who think everything is awesome

But I am not here for the host, I am much more interested in the myths. In the first episode the new host test out if when you put your feet up on the dashboard, would deploying the airbags be fatal even at low speeds and can you cut straight threw the neck where the head dramatically stays put before falling of like in ninja and zombie movies? Um, did the bust all the myths in the first run? To me, Occam ’s razor would say, you may lose some limbs but you will not die and you are not getting a blade threw bone. Well, unless a zombie has been rotting for a while. But you will have to watch to find out. I will say it is very amazing how realistic crash test dummies are now.

Then next week’s episode they will be testing that if a burgle gets stuck in a fireplace and the unknowing owners like the propane fireplace with a leak, will he become a “rocketman?” The other myth says that a bullet that is log in a tree will shoot into a lumberjack when he tries to cut into it. In my opinion Occam ’s razor would say guy may not survive but he is not going airborne. Then in the other myth, um, who would ever think of this. I am not sure there is an Occam ’s razor for that.

Mythbusters airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on Science Channel.

Now I had heard of Mythbusters, but not only have I never seen Street Science, I have never even heard of it. But they had me at: a five found Gummy Bear, potassium chlorate, a concrete block, and a blowtorch. Science people. Fun times. It is just in its second season but this show follows a bunch of scientists who perform experiments, well, on the street. Yeah, the title pretty much sums the show up. Okay not all their science happens on the street like in the premiere where the boys try to create a fire ball thrower that comes out their wrist like Spiderman’s web thrower. There is even a running segment of “Will it Burn” which is a lot more entertaining than Letterman’s “Will it Float.”

If fire launcher is not cool enough for you, the guys create a person launcher in the second episode. And the professionals are not helping because they have no interest in sharing trade secrets so the scientist have to figure it out themselves and then test it even though thirty “cannonballers” have died. Street Science is one of those fun science shows that is fun for the whole family. Well unless a member of you family is quick to ignore the “Do not try this at home” warning and go around lighting everything in the house just to see if it will burn.


Street Science airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on Science Channel.

Previewing Future Man

It is interesting in the advertising of Future Man says it is from the same guys behind Sausage Party and This Is the End and not Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s other television show on right now. It is a smart move, not just because it would be kind to say that show got mixed reviews. But Preacher was based on nineties graphic novel and Future Man is from the brains of the writing duo like the previous mention mentions. And what makes those two movies stand out was that they were high concept movies with low IQ characters.

Future Man follows that high concept filled with stupid people as Josh Henderson (Journey to the Center of the Earth) stars as a janitor who spends all his free time playing video games. He becomes so obsessed with Biotic Wars he is basically the only one left playing while everyone has moved on to the latest one. So he becomes the first person to actually beat the game. And while celebrating the only way a guy who spends too much time playing video games can, two characters from the game show up.

It turns out the game was sent from the future to recruit the best fighters from our time to fight the real Biotic Wars in the future because the resistance has run out of fighters to help win the war. (Yes this is the plot of The Last Starfighter, but even the writer cop up to this and that is even part of the trailer.) Except videos games in the future are for training, unlike this time when it is played by the least athletic. See what I said about high concept, I just burned through two paragraphs just explaining the basic plot even though must network executives want you to be able to explain your show in one line. Of course maybe this is why most network shows are boring.

One of the soldiers from the future is Derek Wilson (Preacher) who may actually be dumber than Henderson because the latter at least has a basic liberal arts education; all Wilson knows to do it fight. And his commanding officer, Eliza Coupe (Benched) is not much smarter. Like I said, high concept, stupid people. And you also get a bit of wacky partners mixed in too. The future soldiers are quick to kill the guy who invented the Biotics where Henderson, who is only comfortable with killing cartoon characters on his television would like to change history in less violent way in hilarity, ensues because everyone involved is kind of incompetent.

Oh, and a lot of hilarity ensues. Be it in the past where they debate killing baby Hitler, or in the future where they break into a famous director’s house to get more time travel material. There is a very high laughs per minute ratio. Well that is if you really enjoy sophomoric humor. If you have not liked any of Rogan or Goldberg’s movies, this show will not change your mind about them. But I will be laughing all the way to the end.

Hulu might not be pumping out the content of other streaming options or networks are, but of the three new shows they debuted in 2017, Harlots was really good, The Handmaids Tale was great, and Future Man is already one of the funniest shows on television. Then next week, Marvel’s Runaways premieres and, well, no one bats a thousand. Which may end up being my official review because the screeners I watched of the first two episodes were not for review. Hulu took those two down a month ago and have not put any up for review.

All episode of Future Man are available now to stream on Hulu.

Previewing Ill Behaviour

Cancer is not funny. This is probably why there are not many comedies about the subject. Off the top of my head there is 50/50 where Joseph Gordon Levitt is diagnosed with schwannoma neurofibrosarcoma and Funny People in which Adam Sandler has acute myeloid leukemia. Weirdly enough Seth Rogan was the second lead in both movies coming out two years apart. Leave it to the British to turn tragedy into a television show with Ill Behaviour. Of course since this is an originally a British show, the series lasts just three hours which Showtime will be showing in six half hour episodes here stateside.

Ill Behaviour stars Tom Riley (Da Vinci’s Demons), father of two who has decides after finding a cancerous lump on his neck that he is going to forgo chemotherapy, with a ninety-four percent success rate, for more holistic treatments of acupuncture, enemas and juicing. This does not sit well with his childhood friends including Chris Geere (You’re the Worst) who, after some life changing news too, decide to kidnap their sick friend and force chemotherapy treatments on their friend.

To do so, first they need some chemo drugs, and those are supplied by a morally questionable oncologist in the form of Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex). Needless to say hijinks in sue and concludes is a surprisingly tense climax. Despite hiding behind some cringeworthy British humour and drugged out characters it does tackle some deep philosophic and moral question, most importantly should you and when should you step in when someone you love is doing something harmful to their being. And at just three hours, it does not stick around too long. I wish America would do more bite sized shows like this as there are too many shows on right now whose thin conceit is spread out amongst ten to twenty episodes.

Ill Behaviour airs Mondays at 10:30 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/12/2017

The Walking Dead: Well that guy from season one did not last very long. Well, I guess he is still around since Daryl did not shoot him around. Same with the gay homosexual. Seriously, his boyfriend was, sure, fine; he will still be hear during a zombie apocalypse gunfight when I get back? Get the dude to a doctor. I think the characters on this show are somehow getting dumber.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Behavior: Yeah, I am not buying it. I do not see an FBI really chancing losing her job and being sent to a prison possibly fill with people she put there because a petty thief thinks she can rob an FBI evidence locker.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

White Famous: Wait, the fake show is done? I guess they can get funding elsewhere depending on who owns the rights. I would not mind if Floyd would move on to another project though just to get away from Michael Rapaport

Supergirl: Good riddance lesbian. Can we please go back to season one when neither of the Danvers sisters dated? But this probably mean Mon-El will be back next week.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: They are not going to announce the winner until the Reunion Show? How Survivor of them. Except Survivor airs its reunion show for after the finale, so only the contestants have to wait, not the audience. Meh. But at least I can make a guess of who wins and I am going tto go with Jordan and Tori.
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: Booooo, my two favorite contestants out in consecutive weeks. But you really cannot fault Ben or Lauren for going with the Heroes/Hustlers alliances because the alternative would be aligned with super annoying Tony and Cole would cannot keep his mouth shut. Speaking, Tony is a complete and utter moron. When you announce you have an Idol, and no one reacts, that means they are not voting for you. At that point, you either hold onto the Idol for later or give it to someone else. Well at least he no longer has an Idol and looking at the preview, everyone knows who gets the new Hidden Immunity Idol (or some stupid new advantage) so they can easily get rid of him next week.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Yeah, I am getting more and more lost on the whole suitcase subplot.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: Well that was ambitious. It probably took me fifteen minutes to realize that the episode would be one long take. And just when the gimmick started getting stale, a morsel of an idea started growing in my mind that Angela would not get out of the building alive. They clearly were building to something, thankfully that just turn out to be Angela running into Eliot.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Gotham: I think this was the first time anyone called Tabitha “Tigress.” And that was sadly the most interesting part of the episode.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: Ooops, during the premiere when Rich and shared a secret, I just assumed they were doing the nasty. Nope, they were doing white hat hacking. Alright. So are all the new tattoos going to unveil a new secret about the team. Twenty-two episodes, which would be four secrets per team member. Unless they also unveil secrets of other agents not on the team.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Marvel’s Inhumans: I feel like I deserve a I watched every episode and all I got was this stupid t-shirt, t-shirt. Hopefully that is it. Sure Lockjaw and the little sister can show up on SHIELD except SHIELD looks like they are going to space this season.
Marvel's Inhumans on iTunes.

The Voice Season Thirteen Knockout Round Power Ranking

Usually coming out of the Knockouts, I rave about how Blake’s post-Blind team is average at best, but since he made the most strategic pairings and wisest winners, he goes into the Live Shows with the strongest teams. Except this season he is just abysmal. Sure the person he Stole is high on my list but his other four are in the bottom half of my list including the bottom two. Making things worse, two of his castoffs, Adam and Noah, have much brighter futures.

Speaking of questionable decisions, Miley, who has hosted my favorite team up to this point, does not seem to know how to play the game. A quick spoiler for the iTunes chart below, the top two people on the list were on her team at the start of the season, but now or on Adam and Blake’s team, two guys who have been here since the beginning. And that does not even include Karli Webster who did not have a chance to chart this round despite doing well on the charts the previous two rounds because Miley sent her home and she was inexplicably not stolen even though the other three Miley Knockout winners ranged from meh to just bad. Added to that she had the worst Steal of the round.

Imagine Miley could be going into Live Shows with Addison, Karli, Chloe, then take your pick between Brooke or Ashland, and then maybe Stolen Lucas or even gotten Hannah instead of Jennifer, that would have been one of the strongest Live Show teams even, instead, her team is just… meh. Oh well, it may be time for me to check out. Unless the comeback artists are Karli, Lucas, and, um… oh goodness, Blake and Adam really do not have much to bring back. I wonder if they could bring back Ignatious and Shilo, two people Jennifer and Miley should not have dumped in the Battles.

1. Addison Agen (Team Miley Adam): With Karli out, Addison is my token girl whom I am going to be irate when she is eliminate in favor of a bunch of boring white dudes this season. Well either that or Adam will force to sing Shania Twain.

2. Hannah Mrozak (Team Adam Jennifer): The most head scratching decision of the season. Sadly not even the top five worst Adam decisions of all time.

3. Adam Cunningham (Team Blake Adam): Blake is usually the most obvious coach, but I would have to put this second most shocking Blake decision after Nic Hawk over Holly Henry. But now on Adam's team, I have to onder what is worse, Blake's boring country songs, or Adam's bizarre song selections?

4. Chloe Kohanski (Team Miley Blake): Twice she has picked her songs and twice she has gone with Fleetwood Mac, usually not a good sign. Granted The Chain is a rock song and Landslide a ballad. Although if given the chose, Karli would be the better Steal in the long time. Which again shows the flaw in the Knockouts (and Blinds) in that when Steals are gone, they are gone leaving more deserving singers going home. This should be an easy fix.

5. Chris Weaver (Team Jennifer): A Knockout between songs that should be retired. But why is Zombie the only Cranberries song that is ever sung on this show. In fact, Linger, Ode to My Family, and When You’re Gone are better songs too.

6. Janice Freeman (Team Miley): I love my divas on this show, but c’mon, Karli has a much better chance going further. Karli was the iTunes leader while Janice barely sold any at this point and will likely go nowhere during the Playoffs. Seriously, Karli’s Battle performance was not the far two weeks later than Janice’s Knockout this round. If they were doing the stupid Coach’s Comeback again, Karli should be the obvious choice. But then again I remember people thinking that stupid twist was created during the Andi and Alex season, other big iTunes selling, and yet Adam brought back some nobody instead.

7. Davon Fleming (Team Jennifer): That was another fine performance but you really cannot help but roll your eyes at the song choice an think, could you pick something less cheesy next time?

8. Noah Mac (Team Blake Jennifer): Nothing says, this is just a prop more than walking away from the piano during a performance and no one notices the music change.

9. Brooke Simpson (Team Miley): Fine, I guess, but I really do not need to hear another person sing this song, especially a teenager.

10. Shi’Ann Jones (Team Jennifer): Wait, Lucas lost to like a high school freshman? What?

11. Esera Tuaolo (Team Blake): Like I said before, Blake is the most obvious to the point I did not even think I needed to see this Knockout. Adam is a finalist contender (at least on Team Blake, Adam’s track record with country artists is not good), Esera seems like Playoff fodder unless Blake saves him.

12. Jon Mero (Team Adam): From what they shows, it looked kind to montage Jon because what they did show was mostly embarrassing. Make me wonder if the other guy just happen to be worse or they montaged it to keep Adam from looking bad for picking him.

13. Keisha Renee (Team Blake): Yeah diversity I guess, but that was boring.

14. Emily Luther (Team Adam): Is she a late addition to the show because I do not remember her from the first two rounds. Maybe I nodded off like I fell asleep while watching this performance.

15. Adam Pearce (Team AdamMiley): Deep Purple on The Voice? Surprising, what’s not surprising: how much money… a coach on the show wasting a Steal. And that was twice Miley ruined Herstory with an underserving male.

16. Moriah Formica (Team Miley): I really liked Moriah’s first two performances, but that was just bad. Clearly a sign of Miley knowing who was going to win before anyone sang a note. Maybe Miley should have pitted her with Karli with the latter advancing, that would have made a much stronger team.

17. Ashland Craft (Team Miley) – Well that was kind of boring and bland.

18. Anthony Alexander (Team Adam): Seriously, what was Adam thinking? The coach’s banter has become unwatchable so I just watch the YouTube clips, but I may have to go back and watch that segment just so I can hear Adam’s absurd explanation.

19. Red Marlow (Team Blake): Oh, Blake, you are killing me this season with your most bland brand of country singers in the history of the show.

20. Mitchell Lee (Team Blake): Fork this guy. I actually saw Hootie and the Blowfish and Edwin McCain back in ’95 and this boring soft rocker to ruin both of them. Seriously, fork this guy.


oh wow, the top four are all Steals. Some bad decisions all around. But I mentioned how Blake and Adam know how to play the game since they have been here since the beginning, but apparently her years on The Voice UK gave Jennifer some need experience. Sure her team is a bit homogeneous with Chris and Davon being interchangeable. But to me she has the strongest team followed by Adam, with Miley dropping to third after a bunch of bad decisions and Blake following up the rear with his most boring team ever. Which probably means he will win. But let us look at the iTunes results:


1. Chloe Kohanski (11)
2. Addison Agen (34)
3. Noah Mac (40)
4. Red Marlow (96)
5. Emily Luther (99)
6. Davon Fleming (118)
7. Esera Tuaolo (130)
8. Adam Cunningham (141)
9. Janice Freeman (154)
10. Keisha Renee (159)
11. Mitchell Lee (163)
12. Chris Weaver (169)
13. Ashland Craft (189)
14. Addison Agen and Karli Webster (198)
15. Brooke Simpson (261)
16. Moriah Formica (263)
17. Hannah Mrozak (421)
18. Chloe Kohanski – The Chain (450)
19. Shi’Ann Jones (510)
20. Ashland Craft – You Are My Sunshine (589)
21. Noah Mac - Way Down We Go (704)
22. Adam Pearce (760)
23. Addison Agen – Jolene (744)
24. Anthony Alexander (828)
25. Jon Mero (837)
26. Keisha Renee and Noah Mac (924)
27. Ashland Craft and Megan Rose (1132)

So Addison, Ashland, and Noah are the only three that charted all three songs this round (Chloe being the only one to chart two of them).  Are these your front runners?  Here is how they would rank if you average their three peaks:

1. Addison Agen (91)
2. Ashland Craft (167)
3. Noah Mac (169.3)
4. Brooke Simpson (199)
5. Davon Flemming (299.3)
6. Adam Cunningham (310.6)
7. Mitchell Lee (337.6)
8. Moriah Formica (339.6)
9. Chris Weaver (346.6)
10. Jon Mero (396)
11. Keisha Renee (402.3)
12. Emily Luther (447.6)
13. Anthony Alexander (477.3)
14. Hannah Mrozak (517.3)
15. Red Marlow (670)
16. Esera Tuaolo (673)

There were four who either did not chart their Blind Audition or Battle, but if you average the two that did chart, it would go Janice Freeman (190), Chloe Kohanski (288), Shi’Ann Jones (392.5), and Adam Pierce (520). If you put the top twenty in a formula to see who has the best team, here is how they rank:

Adam – 63
Jennifer – 55
Miley – 54
Blake – 38

As usual, Adam is the iTunes king, except he kind of lucked into this round with his top two charters are both Steals while his original singers are middling from 10-14. Blake is surprisingly bad. His best is at seven, behind two of his cast offs. Of course these are based on averages, just looking at the most recent round, he has two of the top four. And country voters usually do not start buying in force until the semi-finals, so I would not count out Mitchell or Keisha. Alright, prediction time:

Team Adam
America Saves: Addison, Adam
Adam Saves: Jon

Team Blake
America Saves: Mitchell, Red
Blake Saves: Keisha

Team Jennifer
America Saves: Noah, Davon
Jennifer Saves: Shi’Ann

Team Miley
America Saves: Ashland, Brooke
Miley Saves: Janice

Elimination Order: Shi’Ann, Janice, Brooke
Eliminated During Bloodbath: Jon , Addison, Red, Davon, Noah
Finalists: Keisha, Ashland, Mitchell
Winner: Adam (and it will be even more unwatchable next season hearing how Adam beat Blake with his own singer)

Around the Tubes: 11/10/2017

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 Shut Eye, POV, Superstition, The Detour, The Mindy Project, The Alienist, Shameless. Foo Fighters, Chuck Berry, N.E.R.D., Billy Idol, Diana Ross, Aly and AJ, Nickelback.

- Check out the official trailer for the second season of the Hulu original drama series Shut Eye. All 10 episodes of Season 2 premiere Wednesday, Dec. 6 only on Hulu.


- Iraq veterans Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson, haunted by combat experiences, decided to distance themselves from their demons by taking a 2,700 mile walk from Milwaukee to Santa Barbara, seeking redemption, acceptance and a way to close the deep moral chasm opened by war. That trek is the centerpiece of Almost Sunrise, a new film by director Michael Collins and Producer Marty Syjuco, whose Emmy-nominated "Give Up Tomorrow" aired on PBS in 2012. Almost Sunrise debuts on POV and all streaming devices Monday, November 13, 2017 at 10 p.m. (check local listings).

- Superstition centers around the Hastings family, owners of the only funeral home in the mysterious town of La Rochelle, Georgia. The family also acts as the keepers of the town’s dark secrets and history. Known for its haunted houses, elevated graveyards, odd townsfolk, and rich history of unusual phenomena, the town is also a “landing patch” for the world’s darkest manifestations of fear, guided into the world by an ancient, mysterious malefactor. XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon and MVPTV’s Mario Van Peebles (“Roots,” “Bloodline,” “Hand of God,” “Empire,” “Lost”) will produce, and Van Peebles will also write, direct and star in some of the episodes. Joel Anderson Thompson (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Boomtown,” “House M.D.”) has been tapped as showrunner and Laurence Andries (“Alias,” “Six Feet Under,” “Supernatural,” “The Pacific”) will executive produce. Episode 104 - "Through the Looking Glass" - Airs Friday, November 10 at 10:00 on SYFY.

- Created, written and executive-produced by Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, The Detour is an all-too-honest look at the family dynamic. Jones stars in the acclaimed comedy with Natalie Zea, Ashley Gerasimovich, Liam Carroll, Daniella Pineda and Laura Benanti. Season 3 finds the Parkers on the lam in Alaska. After months of running, the family finally finds a community of misfits and decides to settle down and start rebuilding their lives. But they’re not out of the woods, as the law isn’t far behind. While Nate and Robin learn to take on new roles in the family, Delilah starts to become a young woman. And Jareb...well he’s still Jareb. Well intentioned, bad parenting at its best in the Land of the Midnight Sun.


- In the series finale of The Mindy Project, Streaming 11/14, Mindy’s fertility practice is in danger and Annette’s (Rhea Perlman) upcoming surgery looms large. While Mindy and Danny (Chris Messina) wait for word on the surgery, Mindy attends Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) and Tamra’s (Xosha Roquemore) dream wedding, where she and the rest of the Shulman gang try to find their own happy endings.

- Twenty-three years after its original release, Random House is republishing the Anthony Award-winning international bestseller, The Alienist, by Caleb Carr, available in bookstores nationwide on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The novel sold millions of copies after spending six months on the New York Times bestseller list. Turner's TNT will tap into the critically-acclaimed novel with the eagerly anticipated premiere of its original series, The Alienist, which is slated to premiere on Monday, Jan. 22 at 9:00 across TNT platforms.

- On the heels of Sunday’s eighth season premiere, which delivered 50 percent year-over-year growth, Showtime has given a ninth season order to Shameless. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc.

- Multi-Grammy-winning rock band Foo Fighters delivers an electrifying, historic performance at the famed Odeon of Herodes Atticus from the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, in the latest installment of Landmarks Live in Concert for THIRTEEN’s Foo Fighters – LANDMARKS Live in Concert: A Great Performances Special. Captured this past July, Foo Fighters – LANDMARKS Live in Concert: A Great Performances Special premieres nationwide Friday, November 10 at 10:00 on PBS (check local listings) and will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS OTT apps.

- Geffen/UMe will pay tribute to the immortal spirit of Chuck Berry, who would have turned 91 last month, with the ultimate vinyl version of his landmark greatest hits compilation, The Great Twenty-Eight, as it celebrates its 35th anniversary, with The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition. On December 15, the album will be released as a limited edition five-disc box set on ‘Chess Blue’ vinyl, limited to only 500 copies worldwide and available exclusively via UDiscoverMusic.com. A wide release standard black vinyl edition will be available next year on January 26, 2018.

- The beats of “Lemon,” the surprising new single from Pharrell Williams’ N.E.R.D. band, are now freely available for all music-makers to play and adapt in ROLI’s NOISE app. Breaking the mold of the traditional soundpack, “Lemon by N.E.R.D” is a “Studiopack” that deconstructs the song into easy-to-use sonic elements that anyone can build back up and take in their own creative direction. Simply touching the screen of a smartphone or tablet brings the song’s sounds to life. Explore the pack today in NOISE, the free music creation app from ROLI.

- There are many who would agree that classic jazz from the 1950s and '60s sounds best when played on the medium it was originally intended for - namely, the vinyl LP. With that in mind, UMe is proud to present three vinyl box sets via Verve Records focusing on key albums from three of jazz's biggest and most influential stars from its golden era: singers Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, together with tenor saxophone sensation, Stan Getz. Available December 8, each box set contains five of the artists' most popular and enduring albums mastered on 180-gram vinyl, and presented in authentic period sleeves that reproduce the original artwork. For those who prefer CD, the collections will be available on December 15.

- UMe and punk rock icon Billy Idol celebrate several of his best-loved works with newly remastered vinyl reissues of Idol’s first two solo LPs, Billy Idol and Rebel Yell, plus the expansive double-LP greatest-hits collection Idolize Yourself: The Very Best of Billy Idol. Each release is available beginning November 3rd on high-quality vinyl with faithfully reproduced iconic original album art.

- Diana Ross’ NEW album release, Diamond Diana: The Legacy Collection, is a memorable music journey that celebrates her iconic legacy. The 15-song collection contains some of her biggest hit recordings of her career and will be released digitally on November 17 through Motown/UMe. Diamond Diana: The Legacy Collection also includes as a special gift to her fans an exciting new dance club remix of her #1 hit “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

- Today, the duo arrive with Aly and AJ's staggering next installment, I Know, a glittering ode to friendship. From the opening moments, we're greeted with effortless vocals layered over saccharine synths that build to a climactic finish, complete with booming 80's-inspired 808 drums. "I Know" is the second song from their forthcoming EP, "Ten Years," due for release November 17, 2017, their first musical release in a decade. Their new direction is startlingly honest and a bold statement sonically. With their signature sound at the core of each track, the duo have experimented with wistful synths and breathy vocals that are teaming with a restless energy that is impossible to ignore.

- After a nearly seven-year absence from Las Vegas, multi-platinum, chart-topping rock band, Nickelback, is returning to Sin City for an impressive five-night run at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Monster Truck will open all five shows. The limited run is made even more special with the announcement that these shows will be the only North American dates scheduled in 2018. Nickelback released their highly anticipated ninth studio album Feed The Machine, which debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard charts and recently completed a packed 45-city tour this past summer. Following their Vegas run, Nickelback will embark on the International leg of the Feed The Machine Tour throughout the remainder of 2018 (dates to be announced soon). The Las Vegas shows are scheduled for February 23, 24, 27 and March 2 and 3, 2018. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, November 10 at 10 a.m. PT.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/5/2017

Ray Donovan: One day before I watched the finale, Showtime issued a press release saying Ray would be moving to New York next season to reconnect with his daughter. Um, spoiler alert. They could not wait until after the episode to let us know the show was being renewed? This was the network that did not tell up Penny Dreadful was canceled until it placed a title card at the end of the final episode saying “The End”. So I spent the whole time knowing that once Ray set foot in NYC, he would be staying there. Although the bigger disappointment was the season just ended with so many loose ends. So Bridget and Terry are already there. Is that the whole cast for next year? Lena could move because without Ray, she has no job. It sounds like Bunchy is staying in LA since he now owns the bar. Daryll got a producers job though but Micky’s movie could be made in New York. Speaking of Micky, they seem to have him dead to rights with multiple sworn statements, but he is fighting it. It would be hard to think that father/son storyline ends without one killing the other.

The Walking Dead: After shows are inherently silly and a waste of time, but I do leave Talking Dead on while I let my dog do her doggie business one more time out the back door, then turn the television off before hearing to bed. Like I said, Talking Dead is worthless, but it is a good thing I left it on this week because I had absolutely no clue the guy Rick ran into during the final scene was a guy Rick knew. And just as the guest said the scene sent everyone to the Google machine to remember who he was, I was doing just that. So that dude was from the original camp way back in season? Were we really supposed to remember him seven seasons later?
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

White Famous: I spent most of the dinner party wondering if the sex doll was modeled after an actual actress who will show up later as the late wife. Kind of looked like Paula Marshall to me.

Good Behavior: Why exactly did the FBI chick bring the parole officer to the fake cabin? Just to mess with him? He was no help in catching Javier, even inadvertently, and had he called earlier, could have saved Javier. But I am guess that Javier’s childhood friend will keep Javier and Letty from getting to jail. Though I am surprised Letty did not go to jail sooner because her little get money to pay for the spa did not go entirely to plan. And how does the kid not ID her because that wig was not that much different than her regular hair.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes.

Supergirl: Um, what was that last scene? Where was that pod? What is going on?
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Gifted: You know what, if you know that there was a protest going on that had the potential of being so bad that your boss wants you to come in on your off day, maybe not take your kid to the park right next to where the protest is happening. People that stupid probably should not be having kids. But still, that was cruel to make him forget his child was dead.
You can download The Gifted on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: Oh wow, they almost killed Jordan. But I wonder what would have happened had he not been able to compete since the final challenge has stages you have to compete in pairs. Would they have to bring back Tony to compete? Would they just make all the challenges dne by themselves?
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: What a horrible episode, my favorite got voted out and my least favorite found yet another Idol. But as stupid as it was for Turtleneck not float voting out Roark to Ali last week, it was the right decision to get rid of her now because she cannot tell all the other Hustlers he is a weasel next week and may even be able to get around with telling people they went to rocks. But this should make for an interesting merge. Only one Healer gone, two Heroes, half the orginal Hustlers. But three Hustlers cozied up with a Hero during the swap so seems obvious the Heroes will team up with the Hustlers to take out the Healers. Except the Healers have two Idols so it may be a case of can the Healers guess which one of them are they targeting.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunes.

The Blacklist: When they said the case of the week involved a travel agency that just happened to stop assassinating people right around the time communism ended I was really hoping we were getting a The Americans crossover.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Mr. Robot: So we know Angela knows the difference between Elliot and Mr. Robot, but does Darlene? Does she know she was tailing Mr. Robot or think she was following Elliot
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

Gotham: Ah, man, why kill Headhunter already? He was the best think since they aged up Poison Ivy (who they are inexplicably recasting).
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: So we learned of one of the big secrets from the premiere, apparently Jame’s big stash of cash was from rescuing kidnapped people… kind of boring.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Marvel’s Inhumans: Someone was telling me they gave up on the show because it was obvious it was going. I actually counteracted that by saying they just killed off the black guy. In the back of my head I thought, of course they will probably find a way to bring him back And they did just that. Thankfully there is just one episode left
Marvel's Inhumans on iTunes.

Previewing Shameless: Season Eight

It seems like every season of Shameless, something happens which I call the most shameless moment in the history of the show never to be topped… only for it to be the next season by something even more wild. That moment happens near the end of the third episode, and, oh my goodness, I doubt the writers can ever top that moment. But they will undoubtedly will somehow next season.

Shameless is predictable that way. Life in the Gallagher house sucks at the start of every season, things start looking up, then something horrible happens, and they are back at where they started by the end of the season. Then we get a couple month flashforward and a soft reboot every season. That is until now. All of the Gallagher love interests from last season are still around even if the couples crashed and burned last season. Ian’s ex-boyfriend who used to be a chick pops up a couple times in the first couple episodes. Lip’s ex-girlfriend is still working with him at the dinner as he offers to babysit. Her brother and Debbie are still a thing.

And though Fiona spent most of last season going from one Tinder hookup to the next, the first season involves her deleting the app because she wants something more. The person who went to the alter twice and averages a boyfriend per season is ready to settle down. Things are changing and growing so much, even Liam I think gets more lines in the first episode than he got in the previous seasons of the show combined.

But the biggest change of all this season may be Frank who, after the death of his wife has seen the error of his ways, is going around making amends and even goes so far to be a functioning member of society by actually getting a job. And not just to get injured so he can get more workmen’s comp. We will see just how long it last (I will predict it will last the season before he takes a copious amount of drugs and is back to his old degenerate self next season). Elsewhere this season, someone gets an unfortunate tattoo, Fiona runs into tenants in her new apartment who as bad as her father used to be (and some hot lesbians), there is a DUI, an ICE raid… of, yeah, and someone has a breast cancer scare. Never a dull moment on the South Side.

Shameless airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

Around the Tubes: 11/3/2017

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 POV, The Librarians, Thanks for the Memories: The Bob Hope Specials, Lavell Crawford, Make it out Alive: USS Indianapolis, The Wallflowers, Fuse, Cimorelli, Winsanity, and The Secret World of Animal Sleep.

- Iraq veterans Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson, haunted by combat experiences, decided to distance themselves from their demons by taking a 2,700 mile walk from Milwaukee to Santa Barbara, seeking redemption, acceptance and a way to close the deep moral chasm opened by war. That trek is the centerpiece of Almost Sunrise, a new film by director Michael Collins and Producer Marty Syjuco, whose Emmy-nominated "Give Up Tomorrow" aired on PBS in 2012. Almost Sunrise debuts on POV and all streaming devices Monday, November 13, 2017 at 10:00 (check local listings).

- TNT is moving the launch of its hugely popular fantasy series The Librarians to a new date. Season four will now have a one-episode premiere on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 8:00. Based on TNT's hit movie franchise, The Librarians centers on an ancient organization dedicated to protecting an unknowing world from the secret, magical reality hidden all around. Rebecca Romijn, Christian Kane, Lindy Booth and John Harlan Kim star in the series as protectors of the world's mystical treasures, with Emmy® winner John Larroquette as their reluctant caretaker. Noah Wyle (Falling Skies, ER) recurs in seven of twelve episodes this season as Flynn Carsen, the role he played in TNT's hit movie trilogy.

- Bob Hope, America's greatest entertainer of the 20th century, is celebrated in Thanks for the Memories: The Bob Hope Specials, the most complete collection of his television specials ever assembled! The TV DVD archivists at Time Life have selected the very best of Hope's 250 network specials spanning five decades, many in support of the U.S. Armed Forces, for this ultimate boxed set. Celebrating the legendary and beloved entertainer's legacy, this one-of-a-kind collection is packed with comedy, music, dancing, movie stars, and, of course, Bob's memorable monologues all perfect for wholesome family viewing. Across 19 DVDs, fans will find more than 37 hours of specials, including 20 that have not been seen since their original broadcast. Available in stores November 14.

- Lavell Crawford is Home for the Holidays in his new one-hour stand-up comedy special premiering Friday, November 3 at 10:00 on Showtime on air, on demand and over the internet. Filmed at The Pageant in his hometown of St. Louis, the endearing funnyman taps into his family experiences growing up poor, offering his hysterical take on a multitude of holiday-related topics such as Black Friday, Christmas lists, “Trick or Treat,” BBQs on the 4th, homemade Easter outfits, Mother’s Day guilt and his family’s rendition of a Disneyland vacation.


- On Sunday, November 12 at 9:0, Make it out Alive: USS Indianapolis airs on Smithsonian Channel, recounting the events of July 30, 1945, when the ship was sailing west towards the Philippines, after completing a secret mission delivering atomic bomb parts to an island in the Pacific. At 12:14 a.m. two torpedoes hit the ship, causing approximately 300 men to go down with it and leaving about 900 floating in shark-infested waters with no lifeboats, lifejackets, food or water. By the time the survivors are spotted by accident, four days later, only 317 men are still alive. Make it out Alive: USS Indianapolis offers an exclusive interview with Edgar, who speaks about his experiences from that day and the challenges he faced.

- On November 3, Interscope/UMe will celebrate the 15th anniversary of alt-rock stalwarts The Wallflowers’ fourth album Red Letter Days with a 2 LP vinyl reissue. Two versions of the album will be made available on wax: standard-weight black vinyl, and a special limited edition on semi-transparent red vinyl with black smoke marbling.

- Tuesdays are Fusedays… On Tuesday, November 7 beginning at 10:00, tune in to Fuse to catch the epic one-hour season six finale of Big Freedia Bounces Back as Freedia takes over Las Vegas. Can Freedia outrun the drama she left behind in New Orleans before it threatens to ruin Freedia’s reputation and show? Plus, don’t miss the series premiere of Trivial Takedown featuring two back-to-back new episodes. YouTube sensation GloZell battles it out against comedian Chico Bean to identify music and pop culture icons at 11:00 while Romeo Miller goes head-to-head to with singer Lizzo at 11:30 to determine who will be the music and pop culture trivia champion. After, enter the world of Social Frabric at midnight where clothing, culture, and style weave a fascinating story about who we are. In the premiere episode, designer Kyle Ng meets up with soul singer Mayer Hawthorne to uncover why, when it comes to hats, the fedora is king. And at 12:30am, Ng takes viewers on a vibrant and colorful journey across the globe to examine plaid, a pattern that crosses cultures and continents.

- A vocal harmony group consisting of 6 sisters (ages 17 – 27), Cimorelli has gone from homeschooled kids living in a small town outside of Sacramento, CA to touring the world, winning a Teen Choice award, and accruing over 4 million subscribers on YouTube with over 1 billion views. This past Friday, October 27th, Cimorelli released their new album Sad Girls Club, a collection of songs that are a reaction to fan letters which voiced experiences with depression, eating disorders and domestic discord

- The all new Winsanity, hosted by actor Donald Faison (“Scrubs”), will return for a second season airing weeknights at 5:00 starting Monday, November 27. Winsanity, which debuted in June 2016, was watched by nearly 13.5 million viewers during its initial 40-episode run. Changes to the show in season two include a new set, as well as a new format, with two contestants (instead of one) competing against each other for the $10,000 prize. However, the show continues to offer the opportunity for prizes to be won not only by the contestants but also by the studio audience.

- Siestas are key, especially in the fast-paced lives of some of the world’s most active animals. The fascinating sleeping habits of the animal kingdom hint at a complexity humans are only just beginning to unlock. From birds that take micro-naps mid-flight to dolphins who half-snooze while underwater, Smithsonian Earth examines the myriad ways animals sleep with the new animated, short-form series, The Secret World of Animal Sleep. Narrated by journalist and science communicator Cara Santa Maria, this new series offers a captivating glimpse into the way animals restore energy and get ready for their next day or night on the prowl – all through a series of beautiful picture-book, hand-drawn animations. The premiere episode, Sleepless on the Savanna, is now available for free at SmithsonianEarthTV.com/Sleep. The five additional episodes will be available on Smithsonian Earth tomorrow, November 3rd.

- After carrying Indiana by 19 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election, President Trump now has greater disapproval than approval among Hoosiers, says the Old National Bank/Ball State University 2017 Hoosier Survey. In the telephone survey of 600 adult Hoosiers, only 41percent of respondents approved of the job Trump is doing as president, compared to 45 percent who disapproved. Indiana, the home state of Vice President Mike Pence, is considered a red state. “These survey results add to the evidence that the president’s approval has slipped a great deal since January,” said Chad Kinsella, a political science professor and survey analyst at the Bowen Center for Public Affairs, which conducts the annual public opinion survey.

Previewing SMILF

Showtime recently premiered White Famous loosely based on executive producer Jamie Foxx’s life as he transitioned from stand up to actor. I spend most of my time wondering just how loosely is it based on his life? Did he sleep with his agent’s ex-boss? What show is Angry Black supposed to be on his resume? Who is Michael Rappaport supposed to be? Or is basically, stand up turned actor with a baby mama trying to be white famous and basically everything else is made up?

Starting this week, White Famous is going to be paired with another semi-autobiographical show based on the creator’s life called SMILF. Okay, let us get this out of the way first: SMILF is a horrible name for a television right up there with Better off Ted as the worst of all time. Even the titular character knows how icky that name is when someone calls her that (for those that cannot figure it out, Eleanor from The Good Place would call her a “Single Mother I’d Like to Fork”). Okay, enough with that.

Where Jamie Foxx came up in the nineties where there is not much personal information readily available on the internet and any relation to Floyd Mooney; just a look at Frankie Shaw’s (Mr. Robot) Wikipedia page shows just how much she shares with SMILF’s Bridgette. They are both from Boston, and have a baby daddy who went on to date an extremely attractive Australian. So when SMILF’s Nelson (Samara Weaving, Ash vs. the Evil Dead) says she was named after the saintly Nelson Mandela, it could not make me wonder if Teresa Palmer happened to be named after Mother Teresa.

Yeah, I am not sure if Teresa Palmer, Frankie’s real life baby daddy’s now wife, will want to watch SMILF. In the first episode she is calls her by a name that references one of her amble body parts (only behind her back of course) and later during a Google session of the ex’s new beau, something we all have done, Bridgette goes somewhere I personally I have never gone while cyberstalking one of them. Then in the second episode we learn of Nelson’s irrational love of standing in line. Although, I have to say, no matter how bad she comes across, Nelson is by far my favorite character on the show.

And that really is because as bad as Shaw may make Nelson look; Bridgette comes off looking a lot worse. That post-college time is a time of trial of error and doing plenty of stupid kid, a time that can make for a funny television show. But when that twenty-something has a kid, it makes that moment more cringe worthy than funny. Especially when she covers up her kid in her studio apartment to have sex with a dude for the first time since having a kid. Which of makes this the perfect pair for Shameless (which premieres at 9:00 the same night), Fiona and Bridgette are essentially the same person in someone different situations. The only thing is the Gallaghers come off as cartoony but SMILF just feels a little more real despite about one dream sequence per episode.

Almost as depressing is Rosie O’Donnell (Exit to Eden) who definitely looks like a beleaguered grandmother from the lower middle class. Sure, she will probably get an Emmy for this role, but I think it will be more as a troll to the president than because she is the funniest supporting lady on television. Then the baby daddy played by Miguel Gomez (The Strain) who is a boring as the real life baby day who has an IMDB with movies I have seen but cannot place him in any of them. But he has hooked up with Frankie Shaw and Teresa Palmer so clearly he is doing something right.

SMILF airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.

I Want My Music Television: 11/1/2017

…...Ready For It? - Taylor Swift


No, I am not ready for this crap. I still miss the old Taylor Swift.


Come Together - Gary Clark Jr.


I am all for Come Together - Gary Clark Jr. getting more shine, but isn’t a cover of Come Together for the Justice League team up a little too on the nose for the soundtrack? Well at least they did not get Victoria Justice to be a part of it.


One Foot - Walk the Moon


Recently I published a list of The 100 Greatest Two Hit Wonders of All Time and I was weary of putting newer artists on the list for fear I might be premature. Based on this, Walk the Moon has is not going o prove me wrong.


I Feel Everything - Cara Delevingne


Cara Delevingne was a great model, but she was the second worst part of Suicide Squad and when your antagonist is not good, the movie just fall apart (some bad editing choices also hurt). But apparently not only was she still able to find work, her new movie also lets her be on the soundtrack. I kind of like the vibe of the song but she is mostly bland as a singer.

Previewing Major Crimes: The Final Season

Tonight started the end of an era with the final season premiere of Major Crimes as the unit will close it final case at the end of season six which will include its one hundredth episode which will air December 19. Of course this is after seven seasons and a hundred and nine episodes of The Closer. But the end is still thirteen episodes away.

Tonight they crew starts a multiple episode case of three young boys that is not your typical missing persons case. Well obviously or it would not be a major crime. One is a diabetic, one is a DREAMer, and the third has a step-father with ties to Mexican drug lords, and tangling the web even more, he died under suspicious circumstances not too long ago. Throw in a priest who is not quick to cooperate and a neighbor who probably owns a MAGA hat and a daughter who has eyes for one of the brown skinned boys and you have plenty of suspects but very few leads.

Which is probably this is one of the rare cases that do not get solved in one episode. Or even two. They even need to bring in a new detective to the case who is quick to introduce her fist to an unruly perp’s nose. And of course the early season gets plenty of Philip Stroh mentions too, a guy who was first season during season five of The Closer.

Major Crimes airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on TNT. The season starts with back to back episode and concludes with a two episode series finale January 16.

The Voice Season Thirteen Battle Round Power Ranking

Just when you thought Miley’s overhyped all girls team could not get any more annoying, she gave all her Battles girl themed songs. One of them, American Woman, is kind of derogatory to women. But she did get three of her team Stolen. Unfortunately one was not Shilo Gold who deserved a Steal over everyone who actually got Stolen this round aside from Addison. The other seven feel like fodder for the Knockouts. Maybe Noah advances too, but I doubt we will see anymore than those two. Alrighty, here is my power ranking coming out of the Battle Rounds:

1. Karli Webster (Team Miley): My favorite from the Blinds, she did not disappoint and no one else really stood out so she stays on top for another round.

2. Addison Agen (Team Miley Adam): Adam does not turn for them in the Blinds, but he certainly likes Stealing the coffeehouse type females: Caroline Glaser, Amy Vaschal, Lilli Passero. Now if only he can translate these types of singers’ high charting on iTunes to actual votes because they tend not to get very far.

3. Chris Weaver (Team Jennifer) – Ha, have the drag queen sing Dangerous Woman. Clever. And I did like the more rock vibe they did, I just wished Kathrina did not open her mouth to ruin things.

4. Hannah Mrozak (Team Adam): A Battle of two singers who very well may have been montaged during the Blinds, but Hannah really impressed me here. And Brandon probably deserved a Steal over most that did this season even if he overembelished at times.

5. Whitney Fenimore (Team Adam Miley) – I know the Battles were filmed a long time ago but even airing a Tom Petty performance two weeks after his death and doing Stevie Nicks is just something you do not want comparisons of in any circumstance, but she really was herself and refreshing especially considering I do not even remember her Blind Audition at all.

6. Janice Freeman (Team Miley): Most of Miley’s girl power song choices were eye rolling, but this was one of the few that worked.

7. Davon Fleming (Team Jennifer) – Yeah he won, it was alright. Nothing much else worth saying.

8. Moriah Formica (Team Miley) – The song selection being classic rock clearly favored Moriah, but I actually liked Shilo better. Another case of someone who deserved to be Stolen much more that most that actually did.

9. Adam Cunningham (Team Blake): I liked his Blind which had soul to it but now I fear Blake will turn him into a bland country singer.

10. Brooke Simpson (Team Miley) – Pretty even Battle but really, Sophia was much better than pretty much everyone else who got Stolen.

11. Anthony Alexander (Team Adam): All of Adam’s soul Battles just seemed ho hum, this one included. But I guess Anthony deserved it.

12. Keisha Renee (Team Blake) – Blake clearly loves diversity, pushing plenty of non-deserving non-country singers to the Live Shows so Keisha has to be his dream contestant, a black country singer. I think she may actually be the frontrunner. But I have a feeling the longer she is on Team Blake, the more bored I will be of her.

13. Ashland Craft (Team Miley): I was kind of bored, honestly. It was alright.

14. Megan Rose (Team Miley Blake): Oh Blake, you really did not need to Steal any more country singers.

15. Chloe Kohanski (Team Miley): Montage win… yawn.

16. Shi’Ann Jones (Team Jennifer): I did not really care much for her low notes, everything else was fine.

17. Stephan Marcellus (Team Jennifer Miley): Miley ruined her all female team for this guy? Alrighty. But looking at the girls not Stolen, it was slim pickings, Miley had the best unstolen girls.

18. Adam Pearce (Team Adam) – Adam only had three females on his team going into the Battles and my thought when he picked Adam over Whitney, was Adam simply going with an all dude team to balance out Miley’s all female team. (He did eventually pick the other two females to win and Stole a third to keep his team at three females.)

19. Lucas Holliday (Team Jennifer) – One of my favorite Blind Auditions, but an absolutely horrible song choice.

20. Esera Tuaolo (Team Blake): There may be nothing more predictable in the Battle Rounds than Blake forcing two very different singer to duet on an extremely cheesy song that inevitably gets montaged.

21. Dennis Drummond (Team BlakeAdam): He should have won, but honestly, this was one of the Battles where I wished both singers went home instead of them both advancing.

22. Katrina Rose (Team Miley Jennifer): It is never all that exciting when someone who was montaged in the Blinds gets Stolen especially after people who you liked both their Blinds and Battles have already gone home.

23. Eric Lyn (Team Jennifer): I preferred the other guy, kind of shocked at Jennifer picking Eric.

24. Jon Mero (Team Adam): I preferred Brandon because Jon over sang his parts but really I did not care much either way.

25. Noah Mac (Team Blake Jennifer): Interesting Blind, yet got screwed on the song selection. Still I have a feeling he got stolen for his look over his singing.

26. Mitchell Lee (Team Blake) – Why was he smiling throughout his performance? Did he not bother to read the lyrics, this song is depressing. If this guy keeps ruining mid-nineties pop-rock I am going to be out on this show pretty quickly.

27. Dylan Gerard (Team Adam): Montage win… yawn.

28. Anna Catherine DeHart (Team Blake): Double montage win… yawn. Will we get to ever hear her for more than two deconds or will she get Rebekah Samarined?

29. Emily Luther (Team Adam): Montage win… yawn.

30. Kathrina Feigh (Team Jennifer Blake): Oh Blake, why? I have a feeling if I were to do a list of the worst Steals in the History of The Voice; Blake would have half of them.

31. Jeremiah Millerr (Team Jennifer): Montage win… yawn.

32. Red Marlow (Team Blake): These two were at the bottom of my Blind Audition Power Ranking; good new, one went home, bad news, the other stayed.

Oh my, as much as I scoff at Miley, she is clearly the best team, here worst is at seventeen and that was a Steal. Her second worst is someone who was montaged, the others were in my top 13. But let’s put these numbers in my patent pending formula to see who really has the best team:

Miley: 189
Adam: 128
Jennifer: 118
Blake: 93

Usually I come out saying that Blake may have had a weak team coming out of the Blinds but he always pit his best vs his worse and picks correctly and comes out of the Battle with the strongest team. Not this season. He did not have much to care about from the Blinds and added a pretty bad Steal and a mediocre one to boot. He would be wise to Steal someone from Miley in the Knockouts who has two strong pairings teased by the promo (Ashland vs. Chloe and Karli vs. Janice). Of course it does not matter what I think because Blake has shown he can win with boring country singers and he still has Mitchell, Adam and Keisha, at least two of those three make the semi-finals easily unless something funky happens. In fact here is how the iTunes buying public ranks the Battles:

1. Addison Agen & Karli Webster (32)
2. Mitchell Lee & Dennis Drummond (147)
3. Eric Lyn & Ignatious Carmouche (147)
4. Keisha Renee & Noah Mac (151)
5. Jon Mero & Brandon Brown (167)
6. Ashland Craft & Megan Rose (208)
7. Brooke Simpson & Sophia Bollman (209)
8. Janice Freeman & Katrina Rose (227)
9. Adam Cunningham & Natalie Stovall (242)
10. Brandon Showell & Hannah Mrozak (265)
11. Shi'Ann Jones & Stephan Marcellus (275)
12. Adam Pearce & Whitney Fenimore (280)
13. Anthony Alexander & Michael Kight (363)
14. Lucas Holliday & Meagan McNeal (395)
15. Moriah Formica & Shilo Gold (424)
16. Davon Fleming & Maharasyi (438)
17. Chris Weaver & Kathrina Feigh (522)
18. Red Marlow & Ryan Scripps (545)
19. Emily Luther & Gary Carpentier (769)
20. Ashland Craft (880)
21. Anna Catherine DeHart & Kristi Hoopes (1316)
22. Addison Agen (1379)
23. Esera Tuaolo & Rebecca Brunner (1389)
24. Karli Webster (1392)
25. Dave Crosby & Dylan Gerard (1402)

See, Mitchell and Keisha are in the top four from Battle placements. Although what I find interesting I further down that list, only three people recharted their Blind Audition songs, all three original Team Miley members. Are these your front runners? I did look back at last season which only had three recharters, Chris Blue, the eventual winner; Hunter Plake, who many people thought was a lock for the finals for much of the season until an unfortunate song selection in the semi-finals; and Casi Joy, an early frontrunner who flamed out in the Playoffs. Let’s take an average of the peak of each singers Battle and Blind Audition and see how they rank now.


1. Karli Webster (109.5)
2. Addison Agen (119.5)
3. Ashland Craft (156)
4. Brooke Simpson (168)
5. Jon Mero (175.5)
6. Noah Mac (234)
7. Anthony Alexander (302)
8. Moriah Formica (378)
9. Davon Fleming (390)
10. Adam Cunningham (395.5)
11. Whitney Fenimore (416.5)
12. Mitchell Lee (425)
13. Chris Weaver (435.5)
14. Keisha Renee (524)
15. Megan Rose (546.5)
16. Lucas Holliday (550.5)
17. Hannah Mrozak (565.5)
18. Emily Luther (622)
19. Dennis Drummond (725)
20. Esera Tuaolo (945)
21. Red Marlow (957)
22. Dylan Gerard (992)
23. Anna Catherine DeHart (1306.5)

(Janice, Shi-Ann, Kathrina, Eric, Adam P., Stephan, and Katrina all did not chart their Blind Auditions while Chloe and Jeremiah did not chart their Battles, those were actually the only two Battles that did not chart). Again, there are the names Karli, Addison, and Ashland. Thrown in a fourth Team Miley original for that position too. While the three Blake singers I mentioned earlier are middling thanks to poor Blind Audition peaks. The most surprising is the last name on the list Anna Catherine who managed to chart both her songs while there were seven singers advancing singers who failed to chart at least once. Let’s see who has the strongest team according to the iTunes average.

Miley: 93
Adam: 78
Blake: 53
Jennifer: 52

Having three of the top four makes it no surprise Miley is on top, but outside those top five, it is kind of dire, she really needs to choose her time wisely for the Live Playoffs. But if the five-some is Karli, Ashland, Brooke, Moriah, and a good Steal (especially if she can get Addison back) that could be one of the bestselling Playoff teams ever. Though she really should ditch the silly themes and just go with great songs.

Really, I am just going to go ahead and make that my prediction for Team Miley. The other teams are harder to guess (especially since the promo only showed six of the sixteen Knockout pairings). Here are my other predictions:

Team Adam
Addison, Jon, Hannah, Dylan (Steal Noah)

Team Blake
Keisha, Mitchell, Adam, Esera, (Steal Chloe)

Team Jennifer
Lucas, Shi’Ann, Davon, Chris (Steal Janice)

Team Miley
Ashland, Brooke, Moriah, Karli, (Steal Megan back)

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 10/282017

Ray Donovan: When Ray was talking about setting up Avi for the Fed’s death, I thought, um, he blackmailed the Fed to arrest Micky, why not just make Micky look like he did it since he was actually there. But Ray pulled a fast one on me and actually did throw Micky under the bus. But I wonder why the dive team did not find the chopped up sensei down there too. I figure he will be important to freeing Micky. Hopefully Micky was not bluffing when he said he would never trust Ray again because the show is much better when they are going at each other instead of helping each other. Micky vs. Ray, one last time, feels like a final season. With next season being the sixth, it may be time.

The Walking Dead: I am not entirely sure what happened in the episode because I spent most of the time wondering if Future Rick was really listening to “Weird Al” Yankovic.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Behavior: Is it too obvious that Javier’s childhood friend who showed up to the wake is the one who tried to kill him and actually killed Silk? Suspicious timing showing up. Speaking of good timing, Apple just happened to see Javier convince a dud to jump off a cliff. It will be interesting to see if they skip town next episode r stick it out. I kind of want them to stay because Caren with a “C” has really spiced things up this season. But I wonder who will hire a hitman to kill their spouse first Caren or her husband. That would be a very interesting episode Javier being hired to kill someone it turns out he knows.
You can download Good Behavior on iTunes

Supergirl: Wow, two Barenaked Ladies songs in less than a week. But them soundtracking a lesbian wedding shower seemed a little too on the nose.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Gifted: Um, if you have screws in your leg, aren’t they kind of important? And how was there no metal on the bus to manipulate? This show is getting kind of stupid.
You can download The Gifted on iTunes.

The Challenge: Dirty 30: Well that wack a mole challenge was stupid. And what I do not understand is that instead of wacking someone you hope does not win, why not just stand in front of them so they could not see and just make them keep on moving?
You can download The Challenge: Dirty 30 on iTunes.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: Bad move Turtleneck, way too early to turn on your tribe for absolutely no good reason. But seriously, instead of letting Ali think you were going on with her plan, why not ask if maybe it would be smarter to target the lone Healer, an original tribe that had not lost anyone yet. Dude is overplaying and that usually gets you sent home early.
You can download Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers on iTunesr.

Mr. Robot: Oh great, the what was going on with Tyrell in season two episode I never really wanted.
You can download Mr. Robot on iTunes.

The Good Place: Sure, seeing Janet’s beginning was fun but I was most interesting in finding out what was with all the frozen yogurt.
You can download The Good Place on iTunes.

Gotham: When Lee popped back up last week at an illegal fight club I just assumed she was still evil. Okay, it was mostly the bangs, if you get bangs it usually means you are turning evil, or just possibly have bad judgment in general. Except she is using her illegal money to host a clinic out of her apartment. Alrighty.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: So they finally got rid of Sandstorm except Jane’s brother kidnapped her and put on translucent tattoos that are more complex than the original? I was going to roll my eyes at that but I am just excited to get more Rich Dotcom. And then there was a big montage at the end where everyone had a new secret: Roman knows something about Kurt during Jane’s exile in Berlin! Zapata is tied to one of the new tattoos!! Jane has a stash of foreign cash!!! Patterson… wait, she hooked up with Rich Dotcom?!?! Did I miss Reade’s big secret or is just too boring to have one?
You can download Blindspot on iTunes

Marvel’s Inhumans: Wait, they killed off the horse guy? Sure having hooves for feet has to be the lamest of all the superlame Inhuman powers, but at least he was the most fun of the bunch. Ugg, how could this show get any more dour?
Marvel's Inhumans on iTunes.