Best of the Week: 3/15/14

Quote of the Week: Miller, would you call this a herd, a gaggle, or a flock of (expletive deleted)? (Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, Justified)

Song of the Week: Chapel of Love – Dixie Cups (Pretty Little Liars)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: A Not So Melancholy Happy Trails to Brandon Weeden: Our long national nightmare is finally over, Brandon Weeden has finally got cut. Two years ago, not only did they waste a first round draft pick on the pushing thirty year old quarterback, they moved up to get him so they used multiple draft picks to get him. And since this is the Browns, of course he sucked, but Weeden somehow managed to not even meet extremely low expectations. The guy got tackled by the United States flag and on multiple occasions tried to throw an underhanded pass under pressure multiple times. So good riddance Brandon Weeden, you will not be missed (well except by people who like to make fun of the Browns). I feel sorry for the fans of which ever Canadian Football League team that picks him up. Now we have a month to see what quaterback bust the Browns will draft next.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“A Is For Answers” Pretty Little Liars season finale, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Lift Your Spirit – Aloe Blacc (iTunes)

New Album Release of the Week: Symphonica - George Michael

New DVD Release of the Week: Frozen

Video of the Week: Yesterday, TNT announced its full summer schedule which will be big as in ten original series, the most scripted dramas than any basic cable channel ever (and will probably be more than most, if not all the networks this summer). Below is the complete list of return days for those that want to mark your calendars now.

Major Crimes: Monday, June 9 at 9:00
Murder in the First (New Series): Monday, June 9 at 10:00
Rizzoli and Isles: Tuesday, June 17 at 9:00
Perception: Tuesday, June 17 at 10:00
Cold Justice: Friday, June 20 at 8:00
The Last Ship (New Series): Sunday, June 22 at 9:00
Falling Skies: Sunday, June 22 at 10:00
Dallas: Monday, August 18 at 9:00
Legends (New Series): Wednesday, August 20 at 9:00
Franklin and Bash: Wednesday, August 20 at 10:00

The first of those new series, Murder in the First just released its first trailer. The show, from Steven Bochco, will follow a single murder investigation across an entire season stars Taye Diggs (Private Practice) and Kathleen Robertson (Boss). Here is hoping that it is better than The Killing (or at the very least actually solve the investigation by the end of the first season). Check out the trailer below:




Next Week Pick of the Week: Pretty Little Liars, Tuesday at 8:00: The show has been hyping for weeks now that the season finale will be where “Ali Tells All.” The title of the episode is even entitled A Is for Answers. Hopefully it lives up it because the show has gotten convoluted lately with all the theoriews floating aroumd on the show and the different A’s and A Team members. Hopefully Allison sets everything straight and we can move forward next season. Although things will get more convoluted in Hanna’s love life next season thanks to the Ravenswood cancelation as her current love triangle will get expanded to a quadrangle because it was announced Caleb will be back to a series regular. I wonder if they will bother to wrap up the Ravenswood storyline or Caleb will just show up and say something like, “My father sold the house so I decided to move back to Rosewood. Oh yeah, and that chick I told you I was going to protect and made you think I was dating: she actually died the day after you left town so you do not have to worry about her.”

Around the Tubes: 3/14/14

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 Deal with It, Being Human, Susan Boyle: Her Secret Struggle, Rufus Wainwright, Billions, Masters of Sex, Bermuda Tentacles, Ascension, and the summer schedules for TNT and ABC Family.

- TBS has great news for comedy fans who just can't wait for the return of the network's popular hidden-camera prank show Deal With It, hosted by Theo Von and executive-produced by Howie Mandel, and the launch of the brand new competition series Bam's Badass Game Show, hosted by Bam Margera (Jackass). One week before the shows launch on TBS, the network is offering full-episode previews of the season openers via TBS's social media platforms, website and mobile apps. The season premiere of Deal With It is already available for viewing through TBS's YouTube channel, while the first episode of Bam's Badass Game Show will be featured on TBS's Facebook page beginning Monday, April 7. This marks the first time that TBS has ever offered full-episode previews of its shows via social media.

- DweebCast host Andy Riesmeyer interviews Sam Witwer, star of SyFy's Being Human. SyFy announced last week that the show's fourth season would be its last, to the chagrin of its devoted fan base. In the interview, Sam explains how the cast of the show has known of the impending cancellation for more than a year. He also explains some of the financial reasons for the cancellation and how the producers and actors are happy because they feel they get to end their show in the best way possible. Sam also mentions that there won't ever be a chance for the show to come back after the end of this season.


- On Wednesday, April 9 at 10:00, Ovation, America’s only arts network, will present the U.S. television premiere of Susan Boyle: Her Secret Struggle. This all-access, intimate and inspiring documentary travels with Boyle as she embarks upon her first tour and uncovers her battles with Asperger’s Syndrome.

- Operatic pop singer Rufus Wainwright has announced a PledgeMusic campaign for the pre-order of the upcoming Prima Donna album, a studio recording of his first opera Prima Donna with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Praised lavishly for his emotionally raw lyrics and recognized for his "genuine originality" from The New York Times, Wainwright has been called "the greatest songwriter on the planet" from the legendary Elton John and has excelled in the worlds of rock, opera, theater, dance and film.

- Showtime has ordered Billions, a new complex, contemporary drama pilot from a script by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big To Fail), and Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Ocean's Thirteen, Rounders), who will also executive produce. Billions is a fictional drama that focuses on the collision and, at times, collusion between an aggressive U.S. attorney in New York and some of the richest hedge fund billionaires in the country. Billions marks the first pilot pick-up for Showtime this year.

- Multi-talented performer Keke Palmer is joining the season two cast of the acclaimed Showtime drama series Masters of Sex. Palmer will recur in the guest starring role of Coral, the nanny hired by the Masters to care for their new baby. Production on season two will begin mid-March in Los Angeles.

- Linda Hamilton (The Terminator) will star as an Admiral of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier battling an ancient monster in the new Syfy Original Movie Bermuda Tentacles, premiering Saturday, April 12 at 9:00. When Air Force One goes down over the Bermuda Triangle, the Navy sends its best rescue team. But in saving the President, the team awakens a monster which threatens America’s entire Eastern Seaboard and, ultimately, the world.

- Syfy is reigniting the channel’s traditional long-form scripted programming event for 4th quarter with the greenlight of the 6-hour series Ascension, it was announced this week by Syfy President Dave Howe. Ascension is an ambitious original drama created and written by Philip Levens (Smallville) who will serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner. Said Howe, “Syfy is more committed than ever to bringing to life epic event television. We have a rich history in this arena, from Steven Spielberg’s ‘Taken’ to the highly acclaimed mini that launched the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ series, to reimagined takes on classic tales such as ‘Alice’ and ‘Tin Man.’ In keeping with that grand tradition, we are delighted to bring this thrilling, provocative and intelligent event to our fans later this year.” In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, a mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

- This week TNT unveiled its summer schedule. Here are the highlights:

The Last Ship (New Series): Sunday, June 22 at 9:00
Falling Skies: Sunday, June 22 at 10:00
Legends (New Series): Wednesday, August 20 at 9:00
TNT's summer slate will also include new seasons of the hit series Major Crimes, Rizzoli & Isles, Perception and Franklin & Bash; new episodes of Dallas; and the launch of Stephen Bochco's new crime drama Murder in the First. Premiere dates for those series will be announced later.

- ABC also unveiled its summer schedule. Again here are the highlights:

Pretty Little Liars: Tuesday, June 10 at 8:00
Chasing Life (New Series): Tuesday, June 10 at 9:00
Switched at Birth: Monday, June 16 at 8:00
The Fosters: Monday, June 16 at 9:00
Young and Hungry (New Series): Wednesday. June 25 at 8:00
Mystery Girls (New Series): Wednesday, June 25 at 8:30

Previewing Live From Space

If you cannot get enough of outer space from Fox’s Cosmos reboot the channel that is re-airing that show is also going live in the final frontier tomorrow. But where Cosmos features Neil DeGrasse Tyson traveling around in a CGI spaceship, Live From Space, starting at 8:00, lives up to the title. Sure there will be some pre-taped segments (ever wanted to know why astronauts eat freeze dried food; you will find out) and you will see that in space sweating can become fatal because it can cause you to drown, which happened on the current mission. Below is the full press release on the event (the guy at right will be watching) including how you can get involved by asking questions to the astronauts that will be answered live on air. And if you want even more Live From Space while watching, head over to LiveFromSpace.com for a second screen experience.

Produce a live television event from a $100 billion studio that’s 250 miles above the Earth’s surface and traveling at 4.9 miles per second? That will be the task at hand this spring for National Geographic Channel (NGC) Worldwide with a television event that will literally take viewers beyond the stratosphere.

Live From Space, a spectacular, groundbreaking two-hour television event from Arrow Media, will be broadcast live from the International Space Station (ISS) and NASA Mission Control in Houston on Friday, March 14, 2014, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Celebrated journalist, producer and television host Soledad O’Brien will host and co-executive produce. Lexus is the presenting sponsor of Live from Space.

With unique access to and footage from the ISS and Mission Control, we’ll go into orbit with astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata from the ISS, while astronaut Mike Massimino (most notably known for fixing the Hubble Telescope) will keep us grounded with O’Brien live from Houston. Live From Space will air on NGC in 170 countries, and on Channel 4 in the U.K. It will simulcast on NGC’s Spanish-language network in the U.S., Nat Geo MUNDO.

The ISS orbits Earth every 90 minutes, meaning NGC will quite literally take viewers on a trip around the world. We’ll see incredible shots of the planet, from sunset and sunrise, to city lights and green aurora, to lightning storms and shooting stars.

For those fascinated by the recent emergency spacewalks to replace a vital cooling system, Live From Space will show even more intimately what it takes to run this floating world. From space, Mastracchio and Wakata will give viewers a fully guided tour, showing us how they live for months in microgravity. In their own words, learn how they sleep upside down, stay fit, maintain personal hygiene and, of course (that question everyone is always curious about), how they use the toilet. They’ll conduct never-before-broadcast experiments that demonstrate the real-world value of the science conducted on the floating laboratory. We’ll also show how science in space is benefiting people on Earth such as the ISS’s robotic systems, which are the inspiration for a neurosurgical robot that removes brain tumors. Astronauts, flight controllers and researchers will be featured in original segments from the ISS and Mission Control during the course of the two-hour live event.

It won’t just be O’Brien asking the questions, either. Viewers are encouraged to post a video question on Instagram using #HelloFromEarth, and a few of those video questions will be sent to the ISS to receive a personal video response from the astronauts during the March 14 live broadcast. For those who are stumped on a question but still want to show the astronauts their appreciation, photos of a simple wave hello, using the same hashtag, will be part of the Live From Space community on the interactive website and second screen experience. A first-of-its-kind second screen experience will also allow viewers to track the space station while exploring the interests of people under its path. This “social-media telescope” will give viewers real-time insight into the collected cares of Earth’s inhabitants.

“Every day at NGC our team tries to reach for the stars,” says NGC President Howard T. Owens. “Now we are literally able to do it! We are honored to have secured such amazing access to the station and the astronauts living there, and are exhilarated by the tremendous challenge to show Earth … live.”

“We’re thrilled to be making this unique event for NGC Worldwide,” adds Arrow Media’s creative director, Tom Brisley. “The technological and logistical challenges of broadcasting live from space may be enormous, but there’s no bigger buzz than creating mind-blowing content that works in micro gravity, on the world’s largest spacecraft!”

Live From Space follows the premiere of the highly anticipated COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey earlier in the week on Sunday, March 9, at 10 p.m. on 10 U.S. networks including Fox, National Geographic Channel, FX, FXX, FXM, FOX Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo and Fox Life. COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey will also air on Monday, March 10, on National Geographic Channel with bonus content and behind the scenes footage. Live From Space premieres Friday, March 14.

After more than 50 years of manned space flights, Live From Space will launch cable television into orbit with an event that is not to be missed.

I’m So Tired of Being Along These Penitent Wall Are All I’ve Known

The nineties were all about keeping it real, from the rappers to the rockers, you had to be serious to be taken seriously. That was probably why Beck was written off as a one hit wonder when his irreverent song about shaving your face with some mace in the dark became an MTV staple and had teenagers racing to their Spanish to English dictionaries. Beck ended up becoming weirder and more irreverent with his next album Odelay with help from The Dust Brothers (who helped the Beastie Boys get weird on their second album Paul’s Boutique) and ended up becoming one of the most respected artists of the era after its release. He then closed out the slacker decade by defying the logic of our nation’s sexx laws the only way Beck can.

Then came the new millennium and a quite literal Sea Change where all the fun was sucked from Beck’s music. The 2002 album was in result of a failed nine year relationship and was as depressing as you would expect. Was it good? Yes. But did the world need an album full of sad bastard, mostly acoustic tracks from Beck? Probably not.

Twelve years and three albums later (four if you count the sheet music only album), Beck is back with another batch of sad bastard songs. Morning Phase is dubbed a “companion piece” to Sea Change and is filled with the same acoustic based folk that is still manages to wrap itself in a wall of a sound. Much like Sea Change, Morning Phase is haunting and beautiful, but I still prefer my Beck to be weird and irreverent. Leave the mopey acoustic folk to Ray LaMontagne.

Song to Download – Blue Moon

Morning Phase gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Might Dance Like Your Auntie I Don’t Care Cause Were Here to Party

In a post-Beyonce world, it is extremely annoying when artists still drop crumbs every couple months before finally unveiling the full course. It has been almost four months since Lily Allen dropped Hard Out Here, her comeback single, without much of a peep about when a full album would come out. Air Balloon came out about a month later followed a couple weeks later by the Girls’ track L8 CMMR. A couple weeks ago, Lily announced the upcoming album would be called Sheezus but at the time it was unclear if she was being serious or just taking a small jab at Kanye West.


Well the press release has been passed around and Sheezus is indeed the title (as the cover art above suggests) and there is finally a release date: May 6. The 12 tracks (17 if you get the Bonus Tracks Version which includes her version of Somewhere Only We Know, originally by Keane) include the three previously released songs as well as a song for the title track. There is even a new music video for the new track Our Time which features recreating a drunker version of Orphan Black. One that features a hot dog. And it is awesome. Welcome back Lily Allen.

I Want My Music Television: 3/10/14

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.


The Man - Aloe Blacc


I happy for Aloe Blacc to finally be having a moment, but it is hard for me to get into this song. You cannot sing, “You can tell everybody,” like that and follow it up, “I’m the man,” instead , “this is your song.” And it is weird to have a music video that goes through the civil rights era and start it off with an awkward shameless promotion for a music streaming service.


Temple - Kings of Leon


It is family day in the latest Kings of Leon video complete with a Super 8 video. But with all the family around, I thought the lead singer was married to a Victoria Secret model. Why marry a Victoria Secret model if you are not going to shameless put her in your videos? Simon le Bon his shaking his head at this video right now.


Morning Song – The Avett Brothers


The latest The Avett Brothers music video was produced by Judd Apatow. I was expecting some wacky antics and some cameos from the Apatow comedy tree, but alas, it look like most every other simple video from the band.


Never Gonna Change - Broods


C’mon, if your sweater holds that much water, maybe you should think about taking it off. But anyway. This is just another cool track from Broods.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/9/14

Shameless: The show has really gone out of its way to make Frank hit rock bottom, only to go even lower the next week, but Fiona seems to be sinking even lower every week two. But she may have bottom out this week ending a day in an empty house with all her siblings finding a new place to lay their heads for the night. Things may finally be on the upswing for her waking up to Liam’s face at the end of the episode. Of course being Shameless, something will probably still go horribly wrong next week.

The Walking Dead: When did Beth become the most interesting character on this Show? Didn’t she smart out as the other Greene sister who spent most of the second season comatose? Now she is a drunken pyromaniac who is smart enough to grab shards of glass and a broken side mirror to make fire starting easier. But I have to disagree with Daryl that Moonshine is a great starter drink. You might as well give her rubbing alcohol as a first drink. Yeah Peach Schnapps is not very good, but it is a much better starter drink than moonshine. You only give someone moonshine as their first drink to make sure they never drink ever again in their life. Maybe that was the point.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: After the failed I’m Sorry Bracelet, it was obvious that John would try to woo Katherine back with a dance, but I did not see that elaborate cheesily entertaining family hoedown coming.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

The Voice: One of my biggest complaints of the last two seasons was that, unlike the first three seasons that raided my musical library for contestants, not one of the singer from the past two cycles were lurking on my iPod. Last week I did recognize YouTube star Christina Grimmie (but never downloaded her music before and remained less impressed than the coaches by her Blind Audition) despite not owning any of her music. This week there was an actually a auditioner who I actually had a song by. Sure Lindsay Pagano got montaged and Everything U R is one of the more embarrassing songs in my library but it is actually there.

Last week I suggested that Shakira should start taking fliers on contestants that are overlooked and this week she snatched up De'Shawn Washington who I thought gave one of the better auditions this season. Hopefully that works out for them. Granted there were a few no chair turners that she also should have picked up Allison Bray gave one of the better performances this week, yet no love (Allison was much better than the country singer Shakira picked up the previous week). I thought she could have gone far. If Shakira is out of contestants first again this season, she is going to regret not giving her a shot.

The producers really put a quick one over on me Tuesday, they were really pushing hard that Adam did not pick up any artists, or even bothered to push his button the whole hour. So the person who watches too much television in me said, of course Adam is going to get the last, and probably best singer, of the night. Naturally he turned around seconds into it and everything looked to be going towards him. But shockingly Audra McLaughlin went with Blake. So if Usher won week one, Blake seemed to be the clear winner of week two picking up the two best singers. Adam still has a solid team while Shakira pull up the rear two seasons in a row. It does not help that she half of the six montage contestants this week. Never a good sign. But she did pick up Clarissa Serna who is on my very short list of contenders this year.


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

How I Met Your Mother: Oh yeah, I completely forgot that Aira Montgomery was Robin’s sister. I vaguely remembering everyone thinking she was the mother but then never showed up again (or possibly even mentioned again) until this week. Oh yeah, and then apparently Robin’s I do not remember ever being mentioned before mother turned out to be Tracey Ullman. What?!?
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: So they finally revealed something that was hinted out going all the way back to the premiere, that Tom Keen is not who he says he is. And his mission is to love Lizzie. And he is loosely associated with the faux substitute teacher who we also learned this week has been stalking Red. But who do they work for? Is Alan Alda too obvious?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: I figured Quinn shooting Sky in the stomach and walking away was a little Bond villainy of him and there was a reason why he did not make sure to hit an organ that would kill her or at least stick around to watch her die. Nope the Clairvoyant wanted Coulsen to lead him to wherever he was revived and do the same for Skye. And that thing that kept alive was… um. I do not know. My first thought was Dr. Manhattan but that is the wrong comic universe. Then I was wondering is maybe it was one of those aliens from the attack on New York from the end of The Avengers.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: So let me get this straight. Alison disappears and turns out to be dead a year later when the Liars started getting harassing texts from “A”. And now we think that Spencer “killed” Allison and her mom is “A” and is harassing the Liars to find out which one tried to kill Allison so she can return home safely. Somehow “A” recruited Mona to torment the Liars and Ezra is just an enterprising writer looking for a big scoop. But why kill Ian, Garrett, and presumably Wilden? The Allison tells all episode at the end of the season better actually tell all.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

About a Boy: The Lil’ Jon party had a tiger on a gold leash. Natch.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download About a Boy on iTunes

Justified: Raylan really has gotten soft after becoming a dad. How do you give your ill gotten radio winnings to a Crowe? It does say something that he would give that money instead spending it on visiting his daughter (with his new trophy girlfriend in tow). That girl is going to have some serious daddy issues when she grows up. Of course the trophy girlfriend is no longer in play. Raylan is not going to cozy up the Wendy now is he?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: This was a pretty uneventful episode for the third hour. I am most interested with the promo where the monkeys suggested that the Brawn Tribe is debating on throwing a challenge. What a horrible idea. Every tribe that has thrown a challenge has never produced a winner (with the exception of Cochran; but when you fear Brandon Hantz is probably going to go on a murderous rampage, it probably is wise to throw in the towel to get him away from you). Presumably the Brawn will do this to get rid of Cops R Us, but this will end up even more disastrous considering he has the Hidden Immunity Idol. Though it would be highly entertaining if twom people go home in one season with Idols in their back pocket (or wherever Garrett left his because he did not bother to bring it with him).
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

Nashville: As I predicted a couple episodes ago, Juliet would end up on Rayna's record label. I guess the fireworks will start next week when Rayna has to start dealing with the diva and Juliet has to deal with no longer being on a label that can shower cash down upon her. So basically it looks like we are going back to the beginning of season one. I do hope there is room on the label for Layla, I liked the Juliet vs. Layla fued more than than when she was butting heads with Rayna.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: Oh wow, Zack got booted from the house. I wonder if they are having the finals with the last four because he comes back next week and kills everyone, announcing him to the world as the newest evil supervillian. I am also slightly disappointed that they did not incorporate an flying objects into Nerdiocart. Zack got mad just by people spinning him out. Image how more angry he would have gotten had he been hit with a turtle shell multiple times.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Hannibal: She has been vague since the beginning so I have long wondered what exactly does Agent Scully know about Hannibal. I think we learned this week that she does not know anything as fact but pretty much has assumed the worst (most, if not all are true) including that Will is right to think Hannibal set him up. She was also smart enough to leave town before Hannibal came to chop her up in his clear murder suit (I love how he still wears a full suit underneath). And there have been plenty of disturbing images on the show, but the dude ripping himself out of the human eye may actually be the grossest.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 3/8/14

Quote of the Week: Spare us the wiener act. Bullying is a vital part of every ecosystem, it teaches kids resilience. The world is a rough place. Bullying is like getting inoculated: it’s a vaccine. And you little (expletive deleted), you got to learn to stay away from people like my son. That is what you learn when you get punched in the face by a bully. How do you think Steve Jobs turned out so great? Bullies. And I guentee Junior here will be getting the hottest chicks when he’s thirty because he got bullied today. Do you want to peak now? My kid will be picking up roadside garbage in an orange jumpsuit in ten years and you’re kid will be in med school curing cancer and getting laid. You’re welcome. (Frank Gallahger, Shameless)

Song of the Week: Hungry Heart – Bruce Springsteen (Growing Up Fisher)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Something Is Happening in the Ukraine: The Olympics are all about watching sports unite the world. Apparently Vladimir Putin was not paying close attention because just after the Closing Ceremonies, he was turning his eyes to invading former territory Ukraine. Despite spending the last week and a half of news on the subject, I am still not entirely sure what is going on because half of the talking heads are finding ways to blame this all on Obama while the other half are pointing out how crazy the other half is. Le sigh.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Wrong Roads" Justified, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: Headfirst – Jillian Edwards (Noisetrade)

New Album Release of the Week: Veronica Mars: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

New DVD Release of the Week: Inside Llewyn Davis

Video of the Week: Last week at the end of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. we were introduced to Lorelei, an Asgardian temptress who finds her way to Death Valley and gets a newlywed to ditch his wife to drive her somewhere. Since Thor is too important to slum it on television and Marvel needs some extra promotion for his movie which landed on DVD two weeks ago (watch Thor: The Dark World now just in case their are spoilers even though the episode right after the movie hit theaters was fairly vague), the promos show that it will be Lady Sif that will come to battle the villain. Now I have had my issues with the show, but if they somehow manage to get Lady Sif and Skye is a wrestling match, it will likely turn out to be the greatest television episode ever in the history of television.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Once Upon a Time, Sunday at 8:00 on ABC: The show has left Neverland about ten episode two late and now, um, I cannot remember what happened last. (Heads to Wikipedia.) Oh yeah, Peter Pan’s unleashed a new curse that Regina negated by Regina when she un did her original curse. So Storybrooke is no more, all the fairy tale characters back in their respective world with Emma and Henry living together without any memory of what happened. Until Captain Hook started to bang on their door. Hopefully this new direction is a better course because Nederland was a massive drag. There will be a new antagonist in the form of the Wicked Witch of the West. No word yet if Dorothy, the Wizard, or the three other witches will make an appearance. But there better be bad CGI flying monkeys.

Around the Tubes: 3/7/14

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 True Detective, American Comedy Awards, Music Mavericks, On the Menu, Friends of the People, John Ashton, Karla Moheno, and Thick as Thieves.

- True Detective closes out its first season (and only one with the current leads) this Sunday at 9:00 on HBO and here is a clip to get you ready for the finale:


- NBC and Don Mischer Productions announced this week the nominations for the American Comedy Awards, airing May 15 at 9:00 on NBC. The “American Comedy Awards” is one of the only award shows in which the winners are determined through a combination of fan voting and voting among entertainment industry professionals. Voting is now open, and the public is encouraged to help pick the winners in all 19 categories by voting online at nbc.com or on Facebook via the American Comedy Awards Facebook Voting App. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET/8:59 p.m. PT on March 18. You must be at least 13 years old to vote.

- This Sunday, March 9th, Ovation is proud to present the latest episode of Music Mavericks, featuring Billy Joel. A hit-maker in the 70s, 80, and 90s, Joel has had a whopping 33 Top 40 hits, all of which he wrote. He’s won six Grammys, sold over 150 million records worldwide and has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2013, he received the Kennedy Center Honor, the nation’s highest honor, for influencing American culture through the arts. This profile shows how a kid from the Bronx was influenced by the Beatles and went on to become one of the most-successful singer-songwriter-pianists of all time.


- Ty Pennington (Trading Spaces, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) is heading to the kitchen to host TNT's new series On the Menu, with legendary Chef Emeril Lagasse (Emeril Live, Top Chef, Emeril's Florida) signing on as Menu Master. On the Menu is television's first cooking show ever to give viewers the chance to taste the winning dish after every episode, as well as give everyday cooks the chance to have their dish appear in dining institutions across the country.

- truTV has given the greenlight to its first-ever sketch-comedy series: Friends of the People. The series stars comedians Kevin Barnett (Sleepwalk with Me, Guy Code),Jennifer Bartels (In Living Color reboot, Broken Exes), Jermaine Fowler (the upcoming Comedy Underground with Dave Attell), Lil Rel Howery (In Living Color reboot,Variety's "10 Comics to Watch"), The Lucas Bros. (upcoming 22 Jump Street, Fox’s Lucas Bros Moving Co.) and Josh Rabinowitz (I Just Want My Pants Back, Comedy Central's Comics to Watch). The network has ordered 10 episodes, including the pilot, with plans to launch the series in summer 2014. Friends of the People is being produced by 3 Arts Entertainment and Marobru Productions (Chappelle's Show, Comedy Underground with Dave Attell).

- Guitar legend John Ashton and former member of the iconic Psychedelic Furs has announced an all-star project that involves a long list of admired musicians who have shaped the course of music. After years of producing, occasional cameos, and family time, Ashton is making his long-awaited return as an artist with a collection of songs on Satellite Paradiso. Ashton partnered with the PledgeMusic direct-to-fan platform so fans can have the unprecedented chance to be a part of the album-making process. All pledgers receive a digital download of the album once it's ready and access to exclusive updates which document the final journey to the completion of this project.

- New York City-based rock singer and songwriter Karla Moheno releases her new single, Blacked Out and Blue off of her debut album Gone to Town. The single, which premiered on ARTISTdirect, was inspired by Moheno's experience during Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012. "The song is about making the best out of a bad situation", Moheno explains, "In that case, it was riding out the storm with some booze and music making".



- LA Band, Thick as Thieves have released the video to their latest single Ghosts off their EP These Days. Ghosts is about the desire to suppress the longing for someone you can no longer be with, but fearing that the feeling will always haunt you. The video follows the downward spiral of a legendary gaming character after the split from his equally famous wife.

Previewing Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

Since everything from the eighties is getting rebooted these days it should not be that surprising that even nature shows like Cosmos is getting a new millennium version. But where the world did not really need a newer version of Endless Love, Cosmos actually deserved being updated because a lot has been discovered o the subject over the past thirty-four years. Plus, I for one, and probably everyone my age and younger than me, never saw the original.

Like the original, the updated series, this time with the subtitle A Spacetime Odyssey instead of A Personal Voyage, will air thirteen episodes. Stepping in for the dearly departed Carl Sagan is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson who is probably best known to pop culture people for his cameo on the Big Bang Theory and his series of tweets last year criticizing Gravity (sample tweet: “The film #Gravity should be renamed ‘Angular Momentum’”). Near the end of first episode, Tyson gives a touching recollection of the time he met Sagan as a teenager.

Despite looking and sounding like one of the more interesting video your science teacher makes you watch when (s)he does not trust the substitute teacher to be competent, Cosmos is still a very compelling watch. First off we are introduced to Tyson’s “spaceship” (which looks like something out of the newer Star Wars trilogy) that will take us to the ends of the universe explaining our space “address” line by line giving the viewer of just where we are in the grand scheme of things.

Then we are transported back in time to the birth of Renaissance when Giordana Bruno first tried to suggest that Earth was not the center of the universe and that we actually revolve around the sun (which is with crudely drawn cartoons despite boasting Seth McFarlane as a producer). But the most fascinating part of the premiere is when Tyson has us look at the Cosmic Calendar which puts the Big Bang on January 1 and today on New Year’s Eve. Cosmos manages to take a very complex subject and put them in ways that the laymen should easily understand and should be appointment television for learners of all ages.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey airs Sundays at 9:00 on Fox. You can also catch each episode the following day at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel. For those interested in (re)watching the original Carl Sagan version Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, the National Geographic Channel will be airing all thirteen episodes this weekend, from noon to 6:00 on Saturday and will continue on Sunday from noon to 7:00.

Previewing Cesar 911

After over a hundred episodes, The Dog Whisperer came to an end two years ago. But Cesar Millan continued his relationship with Nat Geo Wild last year with the premiere of Leader of the Pack where Cesar would try to find homes for high maintenance dogs. Cesar is back with a new show this Friday, Cesar 911 which bares many similarities to the show that introduced him to the nation and will air six episodes this season.

For all intents and purposes, Cesar 911 is just The Dog Whisperer but instead of owners at their wits end calling on his help, it is neighbors, co-workers, relatives, friends, and significant others who call Cesar for essentially a doggy intervention. Then Cesar and the whistleblowers ambush the owners and their unruly dogs usually on walks to air their grievances with Cesar offering his services to help. This small twist does add the intrigue of if the owners are willing to take Cesar’s help. Of course they all do because there would not be a show, but it is clear that one or two are resentful of the ambush. There are a couple of employees that call Cesar on their bosses which could very well effect their employment down the road.

So Cesar is back to familiar territories helping dogs and their owners. Of course the pack and his Dog Psychology Center come back into play (have he always had llamas). This season he will run into a trio of terror who like to honk the horn when they are stuck in the car, a spoiled Chihuahua who likes to go after ankles at a dance studio, and many more. And since the owners are not the ones asking for help, Cesar also has to do much more work training the humans too. There is even one relationship this season where Cesar suggest that an owner should either choose her dog or her boyfriend. And she does end the episode separated from one of them.

Cesar 911 airs Fridays 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

I Want My Music Television: 3/4/14

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.


Midnight – Coldplay


Usually when an artist drops a new song, it is accompanied by big fan fair, maybe a press release about a new album. But now we are living in a post-Beyoncé world where artists are getting more and more cryptic. Prior to releasing a new music video, Coldplay posted on social media that they would be releasing something, at midnight in the time zone local to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. The song ended up being entitled Midnight and is this weird Bon Iver meets Radiohead track with an even weirder accompanying video. A week later they did announce a new album coming in May with pre-order where the insta-download track being a more traditional sounding Magic (though it is more bass heavy than previous Coldplay work) which they are calling the first single instead of Midnight which is stuck in the very middle of the album.


Partition - Beyoncé


Speaking of Beyoncé, she just officially released a new music video (though if you bought the visual album, you have already seen it). It weird that after giving birth, her music videos have gotten more sexual between this and Drunk in Love as if she has something to prove. And she definitely is proving something. Why do I think this is just your average Monday in the Carter household?


If I Could Change Your Mind – Haim


Even though they are a band who play their own instruments, listening to their music, you can easily tell that Haim are heavily influenced by girl groups of the nineties and their latest music video is just a great throwback to that era. Of course the song itself is a throwback lamenting “lying eyes” which were a staple in lyrics back in the eighties and nineties (I guess songwriters today date people with better poker faces). And like I do whenever they release something new, it is time to update the Haim Sisters Power Rankings and after this video I have Alana in pole position.


Arabella – Arctic Monkeys


The golden age of music video nudity continues with Arctic Monkeys who latest looks like a mix between an old noir flick and old time peep show.

Previewing Bates Motel: Season Two

Bates Motel had the unfortunate luck of being the lesser of two serial killer prequel that premiered last spring because the better in almost every single way Hannibal (granted the other serial killer themed show The Following, which I did not bother to watch but hear mostly bad things, doubled their combined ratings). It also did not help that the show was created by Carlton Cuse in his first project after helming quite possibly the most divisive series finale in the history of television with Lost. So Vera Farmiga’s tour de force performance as Norma Bates went mostly unmentioned as the rest of the show failed to live up to her intensity.

Last season ended with Norman getting some sweet loving from the token hot chick at school and then killing his hot teacher in a blind rage. Alrighty. Bates Motel returns tonight (three days after the superb second season premiere of Hannibal) on the next day before quickly forwarding four months after the cold open. Business is surprisingly booming at the Bates Motel (and of course the surrounding pot economy around the city). But much like last season, there is still a dark underbelly to the town and someone is just getting out of a mental facility after what transpired four months ago.

I had some issues with the first season. Most it was boring and all of the characters not named Norma were fairly useless. But the show returns with a bang tonight. More specifically it ends with a bang, setting up a season that should easily surpass the underwhelming first. They even give the most useless of all the useless characters something very interesting to by the end of the first episode. Just based on what happened, the second season premier is a vast improvement over the first but still pails in comparison to Hannibal.

Bates Motel airs Mondays at 9:00 on A&E followed by Bates Motel After Hours at 10:00. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Bates Motel on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/2/14

Shameless: That was a lot more entertaining than last week’s mope fest. Who would have guess womb fratricide could be so funny? And they really should use Mickey more often. Sure he is not the best actor on the show, but he definitely delivers the funniest lines.

The Walking Dead: Where have the three amigos been all this time? As the show struggled to find characters worth caring about, these three show and are already high in the show’s power ranking (same goes with the lesbian tag along). We do learn who they are and what they are about this week. Well that is if we are to believe that the mulletted scientist (seriously, a mulletted scientist is awesome) actually does know what caused the zombie outbreak and how to cure it. Of course Glen and his irrational love ruined the trip to DC. Hey Glen, how about not attacking the military guy? That probably was not the smartest thing ever. I do wonder if Abraham is connected to the military guys The Governor killed a couple seasons back (probably not because I think that was two or three showrunners ago).
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: Who knew you could mumble speaking in ASL? But enough about sign language quirks, Wallace Fennel’s mom stabbed a dude! Did not see that coming.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched at Birth on iTunes.

The Voice: Last year, Usher and Shakira were clearly overmatched with Adam and Blake running circles around them. I give Shakira a pass because no one great picked her over the other coaches aside from the three Latinas (none of which she took to the Live Shows). Usher on the other hand did pull in some ringers during the Blind Audition but managed to end up with a worse team than Shakira when the show went live due to some bad coaching decisions (like cutting Ryan Innes and Jess Kellner) and some horrible Battle Round pairings which led to some of the most painful to sit through performances ever (Josiah vs. Jeff may have been the worst non-montaged Battle ever).

So I was disappointed that Usher picked up four of my five favorite acts in the first week. Maybe they can be stolen before Usher ruins them. Then Shakira continued picking up the scraps with three uninspiring singers, none of which seems like Live Shows material. Since she is in his chair, Shakira really should go with the Cee-Lo philosophy of taking fliers on weirder contestants no one else wants. Adam may be the four-chair champion, but it is more impressive what Cee-Lo did when he was the only one to turn around (Jamar Rogers, Nicholas David, Amanda Brown, and Cole Vosbury among them). Shakira may have done better with Marina Mia and / or Keith Shuskie, both who seemed more promising than the three she did pick up who scream fodder to me.


You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

The Blacklist: Was Red’s interpolation of a gay homosexual offensive? Maybe. Was it entertaining? Very.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Castle: After the second person came forward and confessed, I thought for sure that the killer was a hypnotist who convinced people they were the ones to commit the murder. That would be a pretty ingenious way of getting away with it.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: Oh snap, Aria went H.A.M. on Ezra’s apartment. But I am wondering if Erza really is telling the truth about not being A and is just a very overzealous writer doing anything for a story. Then again it is also plausible that he is both and the person who tried to kill Ally is someone completely different. And just how many dudes is Hanna going to awkwardly kiss? Caleb is not going to be happy when he returns to Rosewood now that his spin-off has been canceled.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: Even though it was basically a procedural its first season, it is weird now when they have a standalone episode in the middle of the season (at least I am assuming that this case will not have any bearing on the rest of the series). Of course there was plenty of humor in Raylan chasing down a one legged computer hacker who drained his bank accounts. Although with all that was going on with the Crowders, the Crows, and the brewing feud between Alison and Wendy, the case just seemed rushed.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: A couple seasons ago I suggested that Survivor should do a Morons vs. Masterminds season and though that was a conceit for an All Star version, Brains vs. Beauty vs. Brawn may be as close as they get (as log as you assume jocks and models are not very smart). When the show was announce I originally thought that the Beauty tribe would be at a distinctive advantage because Immunity Challenges are geared to brute strength and mental puzzles, but low and behold they won the first one and came from way behind on the Brains tribe on a puzzle in the second.

That sent the Brains to Tribal for the second straight time. It has become very clear extremely soon that all of them are just overthinking everything and it seems like every master plan backfired on everyone who thought they were in control. First David targeted Garrett because he was a threat later in the game instead of the easy vote of J’Tia. Then Garrett was paranoid to not let anyone out of his sight but was not paranoid to not play his Hidden Immunity Idol. And just like that J’Tia is the Ciera of this season inexplicably surviving two votes she had no business making past (hopfully she turns out to be as entertaining as Ciera). Seriously, how do you not vote off the chick that dumped out your rice when you did not even win the fishing supplies?

But the all-stars of the first two episodes was the new budding friendship of former Trailblazer Cliff Robinson and the guy who had his basketball cards Woo (well those two and Morgan’s overworked underwear; my first impression of the “Beauty” tribe was underwhelming but I was proved extremely wrong with Morgan who sure likes bending over). Hopefully Tony, who is targeting Cliff, overplays his hand like everyone on the Brains tribe and finds his torch being snuffed out with Immunity in his pocket. Cliff and Woo would make a solid final two (and Morgan as the third for other obvious reasons).
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

The Americans: The first season really launched the type of great show that has everything you should want, great acting, great writing, but it was just missing some intangible that keeps me from getting too excited for the show (FX continued that trend with The Bridge over the summer). I do have a feeling that with The Americans, it is hard to root for a couple of communist especially since we know they lost the Cold War. I am still in on the show and though I am still not waiting breathlessly for a new episode, my excitement level has raised a little after the season two premiere. I do like Paige is starting to snoop around her parents and seeing how they deal with learning her parents are Russian spies. But is she going to continue to snoop after catching her parents in the act? And now the parents have seen firsthand what can happen when he walked in on his friends murdered along with their daughter. It will be interesting to see if they are most loyal to their children or their country when it comes down to it. But when it comes down to it, I still hope they fast forward to the end of the Cold War to see how the Jennings adapt then. But that is still almost a decade away on the show.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Nashville: When a producer called Juliet up I was thinking they were going to go in the way of The Dixie Chicks and Rick Rubin when they were shunned by Nashville. Nope, they went completely the other way with harps and weird goth photo shoots that in no way Rolling Stone would put on their cover. Oh yeah, and Lamar died. And Teddy let it happen.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

Hannibal: When NBC released a promo for the new season there seemed to be a very spoilery scene of Hannibal and Jack doing battle (or as spoilery as a prequel when you knew something like that would happen), except that fight scene surprisingly ended up being the very first scene of the new season. Of course we got the dreaded “12 weeks earlier” placecard in the middle of the fight. So it may take a while for us to see the conclusion of that scene. If the show takes place in real time, we would not see it until maybe the penultimate episode.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 3/1/14

Quote of the Week: Guy threw his leg out the window, jumped out, slid down the light pole and then gave me the bird! C’mon, I love this guy, let me catch him. (Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, Justified)

Song of the Week: Don't Put Dirt On My Grave Just Yet – Juliet Barnes (Nashville)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: A Reboot No One Asked For Coming to NBC: When Veronica Mars got itself kickstarted back into existence, it started the inevitable discussion of what should follow it, of course Firefly, Terriers, and every Bryan Fuller show got mentioned. One show that has never gotten mentioned by anyone in the reboot discussion was Heroes. Yet NBC announced very late last Saturday night (if people dump bad news on Friday afternoon hoping that it will get forgotten in the weekend rush, what does it mean to drop a press release on Saturday night) that Heroes Reborn will be returning for a 13 episode mini-series event.

Not else was released about it other than creator Tim Kring will be back as executive producer. No cast has been mention, but not surprisingly most of the former cast is available other than the cheerleader (who may become available in May as Nashville is currently floundering, but then again, everything on ABC currently so it is really a tossup; a Lost reboot announcement may soon follow).

People who watched Heroes typically fall into one of two camps; there are those that think that the show fell off a cliff creatively after the first season, and people like me who never thought the show was very good in the first place aside from the occasional episode written by Bryan Fuller (who is currently the creator of Hannibal another rating adversed show so he may or may not be available by the Heroes gets started). But Heroes is coming back because superheroes are big again, Marvel launched an empire that came into the televised terrain this season (and will expand onto Netflix with five other shows soon) while DC is playing catch up with multiple shows (most of them not linked) in the works. But why NBC would choose to reboot a universally disliked show is still a head scratcher. If they were going to reboot a sci-fi show, why not the much superior Quantum Leap? I would even take a Misfits of Science reboot over Heroes.


Preview Picture of the Week:

"Brotherhood" Perception, Tuesday at 10:00 on TNT

Free Download of the Week: Live From Austin City Limits – Needtobreathe (Noise Trade)

New Album Release of the Week: G I R L - Pharrell Williams

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

Video of the Week: Orphan Black was easily the biggest surprise of 2013. It was BBC America’s first original scripted series, co-produced by a Canadian network (whose sci-fi shows range from watchable to laughably bad) starring an unknown in almost ten different roles, and airing on Saturday nights. How anyone found it in the first place is a mystery, but I caught up last summer thanks to On Demand (as far as I know the whole fitrst season is still there if you want to catch up). The show ended up being one of the best shows on television. Orphan Black returns April 19 and below is the first trailer for season two:


Next Week Pick of the Week: Shear Madness, Tonight at 10:00 on Nat Geo Wild: Just when yuou thought reality television had exhausted every occupation on the planet, tonight sees the premiere of Shear Madness. The show follows Natalie Redding, a former model turned shepherdess with a master’s degree in animal sciences who runs a successful sheep, goat, and fiber business. Her husband is Sean who is dubbed “son of hair care icon Jheri Redding” who I am under the assumption was the inventor of the Jheri Curl.

We’re All Self Conscious, I’m Just the First to Admit It

It took me a minute to get into Kanye West. His first single was a mublecore track Through the Wire that he quite literally recorded with his mouth wired shut (hence the title of the song). He second single was a song called Slow Jamz and I am against rap slow jams (Bonita Applebum being the lone exception). Then I heard All Falls Down. That was a sit up and take notice moment. Base around an obscure Lauryn Hill hook (he could not clear the sample so that is Syleena Johnson singing) that loops throughout the whole song a self conscious Kanye debates himself on what he thinks other people want him to do and what he knows he should do.

By the time Jesus Walks dropped I was all in. The song is the rare rap song that sounds epic and timeless, something that could fill U2 type stadiums. Again, Kanye was rapping about an internal battle, but this time it was a war for his soul with faith on one side and the almighty dollar, through any means necessary on the other shoulder. Ten years later and it is still a tossup of which side won, but it was at that time I had to check out the whole album.

The College Dropout, March’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame, almost plays out like a concept album on the doldrums of working your way through college. Starting off with We Don’t Care about the mid-twenties with not much to look forward to because “we weren’t supposed to make it past twenty-five.” That concept then end with School Spirit which stand tall amongst the other great tracks on the album. On the track Kanye says goodbye to school without the paper saying he is finished to a piano bounce (which is only enhanced by the like, “I got a Jones like Norah.”) It is a shame the song never got a video treatment or was released by a single.

Even on the first album, you could see Kanye push the boundaries; who else could get Jay-Z to appear on the same track as a spoken word artist (Never Let Me Down). Or get two of the deeper thinking rappers, Talib Kweli and Common, get down and a pick up chicks song (Get Em High). The guy even closed out the album recounting the road to the first album by having everyone involve give an oral history to a beat (Last Call). And right before that, it may be one of the sweetest rap song that managed to not come across as extremely corny (Family Business).

The College Dropout was a game changer that topped my list of The 100 Greatest Albums of the 00’s. It set up a long career. In a genre that has one of the smallest shelf lives, Kanye is still very relevant a decade later and even a bigger lightning rod for better or worse. I would argue that Yeezus would be for worst, but this still does not keep me from hoping a new Kanye West album drops this year, be it solo, another Watch the Throne, an uneven G.O.O.D. compilation, or something completely different that we will never see coming.

Previewing Vikings: Season Two

After the very successful first foray into scripted television with the Hatfields & McCoys miniseries, History quickly followed that up with its first scripted series Vikings. It was decent, but still did not live up to like historical dramas like Rome or Deadwood. Of course the biggest problem was its basic cable limitations which kept them from going overboard with the violence, nudity, and language. Reading about real life Vikings, their story needs to be told in a hard R setting and you are just losing a lot of story being hindered by a PG-13 limitation.

But the show was good enough to warrant a second season and tonight’s premiere ties up all the loose ends when the episode opens up with an epic brother on brother battle after last season Rollo chose to align with one of Ragnar’s enemies. There is a lot of bloodshed. Once that is over, Ragnor has to deal with other problems most notably the very pregnant princess who sails into his port much to the chagrin Lagertha. There is less bloodshed, but this is a loser leaves town situation where one can have the attention of Ragnor at a time (his suggestion of a harem is shot down).

With all the loose ends tied up tonight, season two kicks into high gear next week when the show skips ahead four years. The woman who won is pregnant again to add to two kids that were birthed during the time jump. The break also means we get a new Bjorn played by Alexander Ludwig (The Hunger Games). Enough time has passed now that it is time to go back to England and Ragnor and his new raiding partner this time happen upon Wessex, England which is ruled by a king said to be as ruthless as Ragnor. This info comes from the former monk who has grown out his hair in the past four years and has taken up the Viking lifestyle. It is his story is the most interesting in the second season as he travels back to his former land and struggles with his past his current lifestyle.


Vikings airs Thursdays at 10:00 on History. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Vikings on iTunes.