Around the Tubes: 2/13/15

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 Valentine's Day programming, Happyish, Penny Dreadful, Haunting: Australia, The Librarians, and Funny Or Die's Billy on the Street with Billy Eichner.

- Premium entertainment network EPIX delivers the cinematic equivalent of a dozen roses this Valentine's Day with a line-up of unforgettable romances. This heartwarming (and occasionally heartbreaking) all-day marathon includes a mix of enduring film classics and new romantic crowd-pleasers. Prepare to be charmed as the iconic Audrey Hepburn lights up the screen in Breakfast at Tiffany's, then grab your hankies for the timeless tearjerker Love Story. Laugh it up with modern-era classics, Moonstruck and Pretty in Pink, then sit back and enjoy new romantic stories such as Labor Day, Barefoot and They Came Together.

- This Valentine's Day, as lovebirds swoon over each other in amorous bliss, TBS is going to be commiserating with lonely hearts everywhere by exposing the true horrors of this thing called love. TBS's Un-Valentine's Day Marathon is going to pull back the curtain on dating mishaps and relationship pitfalls with seven hours of episodes from The Big Bang Theory, Friends and Seinfeld. The hilarious misery is set to air Saturday, Feb. 14, from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

- Showtime is giving viewers the first look at the brand new half-hour comedy series Happyish starring Oscar® and Golden Globe® nominee Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn and Emmy® winner and Golden Globe nominee Bradley Whitford. Premiering on Sunday, April 26th at 9:30, the series is a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness and why it continues to be so elusive. To view the tease, go to sho.com.

- Showtime will now premiere the sophomore season of the critically-acclaimed psychological thriller Penny Dreadful on Sunday, May 3rd at 10:00. Penny Dreadful returns with ten episodes and will find Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) and Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) forming a deeper bond as the group, including Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton), Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway), and Sembene (Danny Sapani), unite to banish the evil forces that threaten to destroy them. Meanwhile, Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), the Creature (Rory Kinnear) and Brona (Billie Piper) are all waging battles of their own. Patti LuPone will guest star as a mysterious character of great importance in Vanessa’s past. Helen McCrory returns as Evelyn Poole (a.k.a. Madame Kali), the seductive spiritualist who will pose a unique threat to our protagonists this season, along with Simon Russell Beale, who is back as eccentric Egyptologist Ferdinand Lyle. Additional guest stars include Douglas Hodge as a Scotland Yard investigator; Sarah Greene as Poole’s powerful daughter, Hecate; and Jonny Beauchamp as a man with a singular past.

- EPIX recently announced that stand-up’s biggest and most off-the-wall comics Jim Norton, Jim Breuer and Lisa Lampanelli will star in three new hour-long Original Comedy Events. The laughter begins on April 24 with Jim Norton: Contextually Inadequate, followed by Jim Breuer: Comic Frenzy on May 29 and Lisa Lampanelli: Back to the Drawing Board on June 26.

- Continuing to expand its roster of global programming, Syfy this week announced that it has acquired Haunting: Australia, an eight-part unscripted series featuring six of the best ghost hunters in the world. Haunting: Australia will premiere on Syfy Tuesday, March 24 at 10:00. Hailing from all corners of the globe, the Haunting: Australia ghost hunters join forces to investigate paranormal activity in Australia’s most haunted locations, traveling across the country unearthing ghostly evidence.

- TNT has renewed its hit fantasy-adventure The Librarians. One of the hottest new shows on cable, The Librarians burst onto the scene with a chart-topping launch in December and went on to finish the year as basic cable's #2 new series of 2014, second only to TNT's The Last Ship. The show's success extends across TNT's multiple platforms, with each week's episode reaching an average of 11.4 million viewers through linear telecasts, DVR playback and VOD, digital and mobile viewing. TNT has ordered 10 episodes for the second season, which is slated to launch later this year.

- Funny Or Die's Billy on the Street with Billy Eichner is coming to truTV as part of a multi-layered deal with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. that also includes original specials and pilot commitments for networks across the Turner portfolio. At the center of the deal, the streetwise game show hosted by comedian Billy Eichner is set to become a truTV original series, starting with its fourth season later this year. Sister network TBS will present encores of each episode after initial airings on truTV.

I Want My Music Television: 2/11/15

Only One - Kanye West featuring Paul McCartney



FourFiveSeconds - Rihanna and Kanye West and Paul McCartney


Kanye West christened the new year with a surprised song that featuring instrumentation from Beatle Paul McCartney. The duo then pulled in Rihanna for their next collaboration on a song presumably for her album. I cannot say I was that impressed by either. Only One sounds like a more uplifting version of a song off of 808's an Heartbreaks (my least favorite Kanye record) while FourFiveSeconds sounds just like Stay but with a singular acoustic guitar instead of a piano. Meh to both.


Doing It - Charli XCX featuring Rita Ora


Charli XCX is this bizarrely fun mix of early nineties grunge mixed with late nineties bubblegum pop. Her first album was a bit of a mess in a British version of Ke$ha kind of way. She ironed thing out for her sophomore effort which is a vast improvement. One of the catchier songs on the bubblegum end of the spectrum was Doing It. I jut d not understand why she added Rita Ora to the track who ended up being an even more unnecessary part of the music video that the fat dude in a Speedo.


Lay Me Down - Sam Smith


When someone took Hozier's Take Me to Church and inserted images of homosexual Russians being hunted down and killed in stark black and white and uploaded it to YouTube; Hozier saw it and just made it the official music video. Watching the new Sam Smith video makes me think this pitch could had been perfect for the Hozier song had he had done a more proper music video for Take Me to Church. As for the actual Sam Smith song that does accompany the video, much like the rest of his songs, it is kind of a bore.


Straight Outta Compton Red Band Trailer


That intro is a little silly, but I guess for anyone under twenty-five, they may not even know that that dude from the Are We There Yet movies and the guy who sells Beats Headphones were actually rappers at one point. Usually I stay away from bio-flick (I would rather listen to the music or watch a documentary; surprisingly there was never a N.W.A. episode of Behind the Music though Dr. Dre and Ice Cube got individual ones), but I have to admit this trailer got me a little excited for the movie.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/8/15

Super Bowl: I refuse to recognize cheaters as winners because cheaters should never win and winners do not cheat. And lets be honest, the true winners of the Super Bowl was the Green Bay Packers. Seriously, very few people can outshine one of the greatest living humans Anna Kendrick in her own movie trailer. I am definitely not ready for Clay Matthews's jelly, but I cannot wait to see the full performance.


Shameless: Did someone forget to tell Showtime that the Super Bowl was on? And it ended up being the best episode of the short season so far and one of the best of the series. But I guess in the age of DVR and On Demand, I guess watching the first run episode does not really matter much for premium channels who are not selling ads. As long as the viewers watch sometime. But anyway. What a great episode for Frank in his warped The Hangover type plot of trying to figure out what happened to his insurance money. That final reveal with the prosthetics my have been the most "shameless" scene in the show's history. Now with Sheila gone and his money gone, it looks like Frank is back to square one. Does he move in with Sammi at this point?

Pretty Little Liars: Rosewood really has a never ending well of absurdly attractive lesbians. But can they bring back Mona already? The show is kind of boring without her. Because much like Allison, I just do not believe Mona is dead. Hopefully it does not take Mona four years to pop back up in town.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Agent Carter: As entertaining as the show has been it is disappointing that could not figure out how to make use of Dum Dum Duggan more often. Maybe if their is a season two, maybe Peggy can take up his offer of joining the Howling Commandos for next season.
You can download Marvel's Agent Carter om iTunes.

Switched at Birth: I cannot comment on this episode because I will undoubtedly offend people with my thoughts.
You can download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Justified: I could not believe they killed of Dewie Crowe in the season premiere (that really puts a crimp into my Dewie / Dickie spin-off) but Choo Choo may end up being an almost worthy substitute. But that mask scene just showed that Raylan is still the best character on television.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II: What a gutwrenching elimination, on one hand Johnny Bananas wore out his welcome five to ten seasons ago, on the other, Nana has quickly closing in on GOAT status. At least they have that silly ex-ile twist this season (is this the first time The Challenge stole something from Survivor? And now that I think about it, if The Challenge now allows Are You the One castmates, how about recruiting Survivor contestants too). If the show is scripted there is no doubt those two are the ones that make it back into the game. The stupid web show may end up being more entertaining than the actual show.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II on iTunes.

Hindsight: Why was Becca telling the college students how great the next R.E.M. album is? Would that not be New Adventures In Hi-Fi? C'mon Becca, it is one thing to spoil the future, but is another to give people false hope of the future. But she made up for it with a great use of Nightswimming at the of episode, one of my favorite songs ever recorded.
You can download Hindsight on iTunes.

The Americans: Sure, this is still one of the best shows on television, but something needs to happen. The show is still living off close calls every couple episodes, be it the CIA almost catching the Jennings, or Paige discovering what her parents do, but they still have not pulled the trigger on either. Interesting that NBC already beat The Americans to the punch on the second point creating a show where Russians spies tell their son about themselves (or so the previews would have me believe, I did not bother to watch Intelligence). Really the best part of this season so far was the one aspect of the show that chance: Nina in Russian prison. Why did they hold that storyline out of the premiere? Well, the second best, Stan telling Olag that if he if going to shoot him, he will have to shoot him in the back. What a "G" move.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Usually I prefer more serialized moments of television shows, but I really do not care at all about the fire Lizzie was in as a kid. And the more they talk about it, the more confused I get. So now her dad (or who she thought was her dad because it is still very plausible that Red is really her father) died in that fire. But did he not die last season when Red smothered him with a pillow? Meh, just give me the Blacklister of the week for this show. I do not care at all with the backstory.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

King of the Nerds: One thing I noticed this week is there is copious amounts of cleavage this season. In previous season the girls wore a lot of t-shirts with nerd slogans on them, but there are a lot of tank tops this time around. Between that and all the partial lesbians running around it is clear the boys do not have a chance of winning yet again this season. But at least the challenges are silly as ever. Why was there a sumo wrestler in the Nerd Off? Who knows, but it was entertaining.
You can download King of the Nerds on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 2/6/15

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 MTV Movie Awards, Unlikely Animal Friends, Mississippi Inferno, It Takes a Church, Ringo Starr, Building Wild, Cabin Fever, and Katy Perry: The Prismatic World Tour.

- MTV just released their first promo video featuring host Amy Schumer, along with actress Anna Kendrick, in support of the upcoming 2015 MTV Movie Awards airing live on Sunday, April 12, 2015 at 8:00 from Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California.

Get More:

2015 MTV Movie Awards, Amy Schumer, Anna Kendrick, Latest Movie News

- Never doubt the power of friendship. Sometimes man’s best friend is not who you think it is, and sometimes predator and prey bond in the most unexpected ways. Of all the unlikely animal friends in the world, we search out the most unique, most surprising and most loving in Nat Geo WILD’s popular Unlikely Animal Friends, returning Friday, Feb. 27, at 10:00 with all new episodes.

- This year marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation in American history, the 1965 Voting Rights Act. A new Smithsonian Channel Black History Month two-part special, Mississippi Inferno reveals the essential role played by black landowners and black independent farmers as a real driving force behind the passage of this legislation. Narrated by actor, director and political activist Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), the two-part special premieres Monday, February 16 with Mississippi Inferno: Seeds of Revolt at 8:00 followed by Mississippi Inferno: Deeds of Defiance at 9:00.

- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today the premiere of the second season of their hit dating show, It Takes a Church on Thursday, March 26 at 8:00. Grammy®-nominated vocalist and multiple Dove Award winner Natalie Grant returns as host, visiting churches in California, Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, Indiana and Wyoming, in hopes of finding love for one lucky single. Each week, It Takes a Church travels to a different location, to surprise one unsuspecting single with the news that they’re about to be saved from the dating world, as numerous matchmakers present people they believe would be a great match. However, it is not the bachelor/bachelorette who decides who they will get to know better…it’s family, friends and those closest to them in the community! After a series of dates, one person will be chosen, and the matchmaker who brought the chosen suitor also wins a donation made to the church in their name.

- Universal Music Enterprises proudly announces Ringo Starr's 18th studio release, Postcards from Paradise. With 11 original tracks, the solo album is due out March 31, 2015 and is the first to include a song written and recorded by Ringo Starr and his current All Starr Band - Steve Lukather, Todd Rundgren, Gregg Rolie, Richard Page, Wally Palmer and Gregg Bissonette. Postcards from Paradise was produced by Ringo and recorded at his home studio in Los Angeles and, as always, features friends and family. As Ringo often says, "If I am recording and you're in town and drop by, you're going to be on the record!" The album’s guest artists include: Joe Walsh, Benmont Tench, Dave Stewart, Ann Marie Simpson, Richard Marx, Amy Keys, Peter Frampton, Nathan East, and Glen Ballard.

- Need that perfect spot to watch every big game, or a home away from home to escape the madness of the city? A classic log cabin or a floating getaway — these guys can build it. National Geographic Channel (NGC) is going into the woods to give cabin enthusiasts incredible — and sometimes improbable — wilderness retreats in America’s last frontiers. NGC’s first do-it-yourself series Building Wild returns for a second season (Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 9:) of incredible wilderness havens. And new series Cabin Fever builds beautiful custom log homes for clients across the United States the same night at 10:00.

- Fresh off her Super Bowl XLIX Halftime performance and current world tour, EPIX are excited to announce the World Television Premiere of Katy Perry: The Prismatic World Tour on Saturday, March 28th at 8:00. The recently filmed high-energy two-hour Concert Special will air during the EPIX Free Preview Weekend (March 26-29) and features Katy performing her biggest hits from I Kissed a Girl to Dark Horse.

Around the Tubes: 1/30/15

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 Hannibal, The Blacklist, Fish Bowl II, Hindsight, Alaska State Troopers, Shaq Inq, and The Grim Game.

- Sneak a peek at the upcoming season of Hannibal, returning this summer to NBC.


- In anticipation of The Blacklist’s move to Thursday nights, NBC is launching #RedOnTheRun, a scavenger hunt in 25 cities! From February 2-5, fans will go on a scavenger hunt to find Red Reddington look-alike decoys in their city by solving the clues on the show’s social media handles. This culminates in a national tune-in-and-win sweepstakes with a $25,000 cash prize during the show’s Thursday premiere on February 5. Visit redontherun.com for more information, including clues in each city and the show’s Twitter feed next week.

- The Patriots, the Seahawks and the Goldfish. When the clash of the gridiron is too much to handle, click over to Nat Geo WILD to experience the scientifically proven calming effects of watching aquarium fish (complete with no cheating scandals!). This year Goldie is taking her show on the road, heading to a farm with a clownfish friend to visit some of Dr. Pol’s closest animal pals. Don’t miss Goldie’s relaxing escape to the farm in Fish Bowl II, once again premiering Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015, from 6:00 to 10:00.

- VH1 is moving Mob Wives to 8:00 and Hindsight to 9:00 beginning Wednesday, February 4th. On the new Hindsight, Becca is given her first work assignment from Chester and Victoria, which leads to a road trip with Lolly and Paige to Chapel Hill. Jamie wants to make things right between Andy and Sean. Lolly runs into an old friend who could be something more. And a decision that Becca makes has dire consequences.

- For seven seasons, National Geographic Channel has embedded with the brave men and women of the Alaska State Troopers as they face treacherous rescue missions in below-freezing temperatures, high-speed pursuits on snowy stretches of highway, unexpected bear encounters and confrontations with unpredictable criminals. Now buckle up for one last ride-along as the eighth and final season of Alaska State Troopers premieres Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 9:00 on National Geographic Channel.

- truTV has ordered a pilot for Shaq Inq. (working title), a workplace comedy loosely based on the wild and frenetic business empire of Shaquille O’Neal, who is executive-producing the show with Mike Tollin (Smallville, Arli$$). The series is being produced for truTV by Mandalay Sports Media. Jeremy Garelick (The Wedding Ringer, The Break-Up) will write the pilot, with John Fortenberry (Galavant, Instant Mom) set to direct. Perry Rogers, Colin Smeeton and Michael Parris will render producer services. This half-hour scripted comedy follows Shaquille O’Neal and the team who runs his sprawling business empire. The offbeat, yet capable, group juggles the mayhem of managing Shaq’s existing products and endorsements while implementing his latest batch of eccentric and oftentimes brilliant business ideas. But while they're all working towards the same goal, each employee is constantly jockeying for the power and recognition to make the big guy proud.

- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is bringing the long-lost Harry Houdini classic The Grim Game (1919) back to the public eye in a world premiere screening during 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival held March 26-29 in Hollywood. This much-sought-after film – a complete print of which was only recently rediscovered and brought to TCM for restoration – features the escape artist and legendary illusionist in one of his few starring roles. The film was discovered and the restoration was produced and restored by award-winning film preservationist and silent-film scholar Rick Schmidli.

Around the Tubes: 1/23/15

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 Sound of Music, Wicked Tuna, Legend of Lead Belly, Scott Weiland & The Wildabouts, Motown 25, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Dreamcatcher, One Big Happy, and Hulu news.

- Hollywood will come alive with The Sound of Music (1965) this spring as the beloved, Oscar®-winning classic returns to the big screen to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a gala opening-night screening on Thursday, March 26 at the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival. Legendary stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer will join Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne at the world-famous TCL Chinese Theater IMAX to introduce the beautifully restored film and kick off the sixth annual festival, which will run March 26-29, 2015, in Hollywood. The film is being presented in collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox, in celebration of their Golden 50th Anniversary Blu-ray release arriving on March 10, 2015. TCM has also announced that Delta Air Lines is returning once again as the festival's exclusive Founding Partner. The official airline partner of the TCM Classic Film Festival, Delta has provided air travel for many of the festival's VIP guests every year since the festival began.

- Last year, millions of viewers watched as one Gloucester captain dominated and outmaneuvered the entire fleet despite a difficult fishing season. But this season, the fish are larger, the competition is tougher and the top spot on the leaderboard is up for grabs once again. Wicked Tuna returns with an all-new season of peril and paydays on the high seas beginning Sunday, Feb. 15, at 9:00 on National Geographic Channel in the U.S., and will air internationally on National Geographic Channel in 171 countries and in 45 languages.

- Lead Belly has inspired generations of musicians, from The Weavers to the Grateful Dead, from Van Morrison, to The Beach Boys and even Nirvana. And yet few people today know his remarkable story, and even fewer know when they are listening to his music. His story is told in the new one-hour Smithsonian Channel special, Legend of Lead Belly, premiering Monday, February 23 at 8:00.

- Scott Weiland & The Wildabouts are partnering with PledgeMusic to release their upcoming album, Blaster due on March 31st. Weiland, along with his bandmates guitarist Jeremy Brown, bassist Tommy Black, and drummer Danny Thompson, who have toured together for years, are coming to PledgeMusic to deepen fan engagement during the music making journey and giving fans an inside look at the process. After their highly successful Purple At The Core tour in 2013, the musicians hunkered down in Weiland's Southern California studio and rehearsal space to write and record what would eventually become the rock album, quickly conjuring a fertile creative chemistry.

- Where were you when Michael Jackson unveiled his iconic moonwalk for the very first time as part of the legendary TV special Motown 25: Yesterday · Today · Forever? You likely remember those "six seconds that changed the world", as the historic concert televised by NBC on May 16, 1983, became an immediate sensation and water-cooler event in an era before social media. Now, music lovers and pop culture aficionados alike will have the opportunity to see magic and history being made as the Emmy® Award-winning program will air exclusively as a fundraising event on public television stations this February and March, marking the first TV broadcast of the concert since its debut more than 30 years ago. It will make its national public broadcasting premiere on February 28 at 8pm ET & PT/7pm CT (check local listings).

- As Hollywood prepares to celebrate the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, host networks TNT and TBS are revving up plans to make this year's ceremony an exceptional digitally connected awards show. In addition to simulcasting the SAG Awards® live from the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday, Jan. 25, the networks will have a team of social media correspondents and influencers to provide behind-the-scenes play-by-play before and during the ceremony using the hashtag #sagawards. In addition, TBS and TNT are once again teaming up with PEOPLE.com to present a live webcast of the SAG Awards Red Carpet Pre-Show, which will also include the announcement of this year's honorees for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Film and in a Television Series.

- Showtime Networks has acquired the rights to Dreamcatcher, the inspirational portrait of Chicago’s Brenda Myers-Powell whose Dreamcatcher Foundation fights to end human trafficking and to prevent the sexual exploitation of at-risk youth. The documentary was acquired before its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off today.

- Elisha Cuthbert, Nick Zano and Kelly Brook star in an all-new comedy about an unconventional family, One Big Happy premiering Tuesday, March 17 at 9:30 on NBC.


- Hulu has greenlit an order for a long-form comedy series from Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and RocketJump, the three companies announced today. The series will be produced by RocketJump in association with Lionsgate Television and will stream exclusively on Hulu. Fresh off the Season 3 success of RocketJump’s YouTube series Video Game High School, the new Hulu original will expand upon the global success of Freddie Wong and RocketJump’s short films. Each half-hour episode of the series will chronicle the filmmaking behind RocketJump’s newest short. The eight full episodes will be released exclusively on Hulu on a weekly basis and the newly-created shorts will premiere exclusively on Hulu as well.

- Hulu today announced the launch of Toyota AdZone, an annual experience that brings the best in Super Bowl advertising to one place. Now in its fifth year, Toyota AdZone will host one of the most comprehensive libraries of Super Bowl ads past and present, and will allow fans to vote in real-time for their favorite game day commercial.

Previewing King of the Nerds: Season Three

At the end of the introduction of the third season of King off the Nerds (now on Fridays), Bobby announces at the end of the season someone will be “crowned the King of the Nerds.” After an awkward dramatic pause, Curtis follows that up with a sheepish “or Queen.” Of course they had to add this because technically speaking there has yet to be an actual king to win, they have both been queens. In the first season, an attractive nerd, who was legitimately hot, not just nerd hot, won because what respectable nerd would vote off the token hot chick (if only the contestants of Survivor would be as tongue tied instead they always vote out the token hot chicks within the week usually).

The second season they only had a couple contestants that were nerd hot and even recruited a homosexual nerd who did not even need someone to warn him he should never trust a big butt and a smile, yet the outcome was the same: a female took the Throne of Games. So as the third season starts, you have to wonder if a dude will ever be crowned champion.

One of the funniest bits of the second season was when Bobby and Curtis went on this big dialogue about the big twist in picking teams from the first season and how everyone on the second season knew there was a twist and they knew that the contestants knew. In the end the host just did the same twist. There is a new way of picking teams (as decried by Curtis conjuring his inner Terminator) this season as everyone can tell as there is an even twelve contestants this season.

This time around there is some familiar type of nerds: there is a NASA engineer, marine biologist, mathematician, cosplayer (this one is a professional, just do not ask me how you make money for it), gamer, and a comic book nerd. We are introduced to some new nerd types this season. There is a Jeopardy champion and most people are probably familiar with larpers (which stands for Live Action Role Player) as it has seeped into popular culture a couple times with many movies and television shows mentioning the event before. But forgive me for have no clue what a “brony” was before this season. For the uninitiated, a brony is a grown male fan of the television show My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Alrighty.

As great as the first season was, it seemed like in the second season the writers were running out of ideas for challenges. That is not the case at least in the first episode of the new season. Right off the bat each team is tasked with creating a steam punk Rube Goldberg Machine (the most famous is probably the board game Mouse Trap) within twenty-four hours. Each contraption is then judged by the guy who created the Rube Goldberg Machine for OK Go’s This Too Shall Pass music video, Winny Cooper herself, and legitimate math genius Danica McKellar, and some dude from True Blood. Then for the Nerd Off there is another entertaining Godzilla themed challenge. Some of the other celebrity judges this season will include Yaya Han, Billy Boyd, Moby, Lisa Loeb, Travie McCoy, Penn Jillette and Rachelle Lefevre.

King of the Nerds airs Fridays at 9:00 on TBS.

Winter 2015 Music Preview

Like the past few winters, the marquee names are far and few in between and most are listed in the TBD section but here are the albums coming out in the next couple months that will probably at least be worth a spin on Spotify. Click on the album name to pre-order on Amazon and the artist name to be taken to their iTunes page.

Last Week
Uptown Special - Mark Ronson
Evermotion - Guster
Me EP - RaeLynn
Soundtrack of My Life - Donny Osmond

This Week
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World - The Decemberists
Tetsuo and Youth - Lupe Fiasco
American Beauty/American Psycho - Fall Out Boy
Fear and Saturday Night - Ryan Bingham
Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance - Belle and Sebastian
For the Taking - Elenowen

January 27
The Phosphorescent Blues - Punch Brothers
Wanted on Voyage - George Ezra
Then Came the Morning - The Lone Bellow
Interlude - Jamie Cullum
Forever Charlie - Charlie Wilson
Sco-Mule - Gov't Mule
Tony Lucca - Tony Lucca

February 3
Shadows In The Night - Bob Dylan
Afraid of Ghosts - Butch Walker
Further Deeper - The Church

February 10
The Last Five Years Soundtrack - Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan
Smoke and Mirrors - Imagine Dragons
Tomorrow Is My Turn - Rhiannon Giddens
Love Stuff - Elle King
True Romance - Estelle
Whatever, My Love - The Juliana Hatfield Three
A Quien Quiera Escuchar - Ricky Martin
Last Dragon -Sisqó

February 24
Archis - Archis
First Kiss - Kid Rock
Just Kids - Mat Kearney
Our Own House - MisterWives

March 3
Chasing Yesterday - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
another eternity - Purity Ring
Strangers to Ourselves - Modest Mouse
The Firewatcher's Daughter - Brandi Carlile
Aureate Gloom - of Montreal

March 10
Rebel Heart - Madonna

March 17
Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith - Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield

March 24
Toto XIV - Toto
Short Movie - Laura Marling

March 31
Kintsugi - Death Cab for Cutie
Southern Style - Darius Rucker
Carrie and Lowell - Sufjan Stevens
The Day Is My Enemy - The Prodigy

April 7
After it All - Delta Rae
New Glow - Matt and Kim
Froot - Marina and The Diamonds

TBD
No Pier Pressure - Brian Wilson
Radio Silence - James Blake
Bush - Snoop Dogg
Black Is the New Black - Everclear
Adele
Ashley Monroe
Kacey Musgraves
Kanye West
Metallica
TLC (donate to the Kickstarter now)
Van Halen

As always, let me end with the obligatory maybe this will be the quarter that Dr. Dre will finally drop Detox.

The 100 Best Songs of 2014

1. Destination - Nickel Creek

2. Take Me to Church - Hozier

3. Boom Clap - Charli XCX

4. Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

5. XO - Beyoncé

6. Kansas City - The New Basement Tapes

7. Say You Love Me - Jessie Ware

8. Blue Moon - Beck

9. Get Hurt - The Gaslight Anthem

10. Waiting Game - Banks

11. Mother and Father - Broods

12. Gotta Get Away - The Black Keys

13. Dearly Departed - Shakey Graves featuring Esmé Patterson

14. Keep It to Yourself - Kacey Musgraves

15. Understand - The Roots featuring Dice Raw and Greg Porn

16. Fever - The Black Keys

17. Supernova - Ray LaMontagne

18. Air Balloon - Lily Allen

19. If I Could Change Your Mind - Haim

20. Jungle - X Ambassadors and Jamie N Commons

21. Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

22. Yellow Flicker Beat - Lorde

23. Blank Space - Taylor Swift

24. Bridges - Broods

25. Rollin' and Tumblin' - The Gaslight Anthem

26. Every Breaking Wave - U2

27. Bad Self Portraits - Lake Street Dive

28. Fall In Love - Phantogram

29. Beggin For Thread - Banks

30. I Blame Myself - Sky Ferreira

31. Brill Bruisers - The New Pornographers

32. Budapest - George Ezra

33. Gimme Something Good - Ryan Adams

34. Love Me Harder - Ariana Grande featuring The Weeknd

35. Our Time - Lily Allen

36. My Silver Lining - First aid Kit

37. I Wanna Get Better - Bleachers

38. Magic - Coldplay

39. Left Hand Free - Alt-J

40. Do You - Spoon

41. Right Time - Nikki Lane

42. Rabbit - Lily and Madeleine

43. The Heart - Needtobreathe

44. First Things First - Neon Trees

45. Hurt You - Toni Braxton and Babyface

46. Be Mine - Meiko

47. Hate To See Your Heart Break - Paramore featuring Joy Williams

48. Strong - London Grammar

49. Reflections - Misterwives

50. Ex's and Oh's - Elle King

51. I'm Not the Only One - Sam Smith

52. She Used to Love Me a Lot - Johnny Cash

53. Word Crimes - "Weird Al" Yankovic

54. Ain't It Fun - Paramore

55. Cecilia and the Satellite - Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

56. Just One of the Guys - Jenny Lewis

57. Red Eyes- The War on Drugs

58. Diamond Eyes - Boyz II Men

59. The Wall - Willie Nelson

60. Kingdom - Common featuring Vince Staple

61. The Heart Wants What It Wants - Selena Gomez

62. This Is What It Feels Like - Banks

63. I Don't Want To Change You - Damien Rice

64. Let's Be Still - The Head and the Heart

65. Happy Idiot - TV on the Radio

66. Another Story - The Head and the Heart

67. Talk (Expletive Deleted), Get Shot - Body Count

68. Morning Song - The Avett Brothers

69. High Road - Mastodon

70. Something from Nothing - Foo Fighters

71. Never Gonna Change - Broods

72. The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone) - U2

73. Foil - "Weird Al" Yankovic

74. Automatic - Miranda Lambert

75. Don't - Ed Sheeran

76. Invisible - U2

77. Brain - Banks

78. L.A.F. - Broods

79. Back in the World - David Gray

80. Lazaretto - Jack White

81. Drowning - Banks

82. Girls - The 1975

83. Ink - Coldplay

84. Drive-in Movies - Ray LaMontagne

85. Riptide - Vance Joy

86. The Chamber - Lenny Kravitz

87. Paris - Magic Man

88. Stay With Me - Sam Smith

89. Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating in the Future - Mike Doughty

90. Tough Love - Jessie Ware

91. Let Her Down Easy - George Michael

92. Figure It Out - Royal Blood

93. I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You - The Hold Steady

94. Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon

95. Somethin' Bad - Miranda Lambert with Carrie Underwood

96. Cool Kids - Echosmith

97. Wild - Royal Teeth

98. Stranger to My Happiness - Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

99. Girl In a Country Song - Maddie and Tae

100. Waking Light - Beck

Around the Tubes: 1/16/15

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 12 Monkeys, VH1 + Papa John’s® Super Bowl Blitz: A Concert for the Troops, Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge National Finals, Bob Marley, The Slap, King of the Nerds, Saturday Night Live, Wild Australia, as well as Syfy and Showtime news.

- Watch the first 9 minutes of the new Syfy time travel show, 12 Monkeys! Tune-In for the series premiere tonight at 9:00 followed by a new season of Helix.


- VH1 announced its official kickoff to Super Bowl weekend with a special concert salute to the armed forces at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, AZ. This year VH1 and Papa John’s® are teaming up to bring Fall Out Boy and Charli XCX to headline the VH1 + Papa John’s® Super Bowl Blitz: A Concert for the Troops with host Nick Lachey. The concert will kick off live on Friday, January 30th at 9:00 on VH1.

- The Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge National Finals will be airing nationally on Saturday, January 17 from 3:00-4:00pm on NBC. This year’s broadcast features Inde, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, breaking the Diving Dog World Record with a jump of 33 feet 10 inches!!!

- Bob Marley’s 70th birthday year (2015) will include a variety of releases and events to commemorate the legend, his work and iconic impact. Over the course of the year, his legacy will be remembered by new releases of rare and unreleased material as well as fan favorite deluxe editions of his most memorable work. The first release will be available on February 17. Bob Marley and the Wailers – Easy Skanking in Boston '78, features two historic live shows from Boston’s Music Hall, June 8, 1978. This new and unreleased performance is from the Marley family giving unprecedented access for the first time to their personal material from their private collections and their vaults. The album will be available on blu-ray/cd combo pack as well as dvd/cd and standalone cd versions. Additional newly created animated material will also be a part of this release, marking the first time the family has incorporated this technology into any official Marley releases.


- The Slap premieres February 12 at 8:00, part of the all-new NBC Thursday night.


- As nerds everywhere eagerly await the return of the ultimate geeky competition series King of the Nerds, TBS and Twitch are teaming up for a special sneak preview event to be held at Twitch's San Francisco headquarters on Friday, Jan. 16. King of the Nerds hosts and executive producers Curtis Armstrong and Robert Carradine will be on-hand for the event, which will feature a sneak peek screening of the first episode of season 3 and a chat session with the hosts to take place live on Twitch. Top Twitch influencers Marcus "djWHEAT" Graham and Jon Carnage are set to moderate the event, which will mark Twitch's first-ever live television viewing party. Fans will be able to watch the fun live on Twitch.tv/twitch on today, at 6:00.

- VH1 Classic celebrates the 40th anniversary of the longest-running sketch comedy show in history by bringing fans 40 years of SNL in one place: The SNL Rewind: 2015 – 1975 Mega-Marathon beginning Wednesday, January 28th and wrapping on Sunday, February 15th. Fans can relive the best moments (or binge on all the ones you missed) of SNL history with 19 days of back-to-back SNL episodes in this 433-hour SNL marathon -- the longest ever mounted for a single series on television ever.

- his year, when the weather is too cold to bare, grab the kids and park yourselves in your family room for an amazing once-in-a-lifetime getaway to sunny Wild Australia premiering Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, at 9:00 on Nat Geo WILD. Warm beaches, gorgeous rain forests and deserts that are surprisingly full of life: this is the Australia you haven’t seen. Nat Geo WILD features a four-hour journey across the continent to reveal not only the beauty of the land, but also the amazing wildlife that makes Australia a heaven for animal lovers.

- Syfy today announced it is developing a one-hour drama series about a futuristic prison society, 51st State, from Fox 21 Television Studios. Oscar nominee Craig Borten (Dallas Buyers Club), who sold the pitch to Syfy, will write the pilot. Peter Chernin (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Katherine Pope (New Girl) and Borten will serve as executive producers. As 51st State unfolds, the United States, confronting a prison population stretched to the limit, purchases Greenland and converts it into a frontier prison colony with male and female convicts incarcerated together. Promised conditional freedom, the inmates are driven to the edge of their humanity when that promise, along with others, is broken. Struggling to seize control and exact revenge, reluctant heroes emerge -- but what exactly are they fighting for?

- Syfy announced yesterday that Jim Uhls (Fight Club, Semper Fi, Jumper) has signed on to adapt Robert Charles Wilson’s Hugo Award novel, Spin, into a six hour miniseries. The widely acclaimed novel centers on a young scientist trying to save humanity from the impending apocalypse of a mysterious, impenetrable cloud that has enveloped the entire Earth, blacking out the stars.

- Syfy and The Asylum yesterday announced that the original Sharknado survivors will return for the most epic shark attack yet! Ian Ziering and Tara Reid will reunite for the global pop culture sensation Sharknado 3, reprising their roles as Fin and April, respectively.

- Here are some headlines coming out of Showtime this week:
Golden Globe® winner KYLE MACLACHLAN RETURNS AS FBI AGENT DALE COOPER ON TWIN PEAKS ON SHOWTIME®
SHOWTIME® GETS “HAPPYISH” ON APRIL 26
HIT SHOWTIME® COMEDY SERIES SHAMELESS GETS SIXTH SEASON PICK-UP
THE FINAL SEASON OF NURSE JACKIE AND THE RETURN OF HIT SERIES PENNY DREADFUL TO DEBUT THIS SPRING ON SHOWTIME®
RAPPER/ACTOR COLSON BAKER (AKA MACHINE GUN KELLY) ROUNDS OUT THE CAST OF THE NEW SHOWTIME® PILOT ROADIES

The 50 Best Music Videos of 2014

1. Girl in a Country Song - Maddie and Tae


2. Just One of the Guys - Jenny Lewis


3. My Song 5 - Haim featuring A$AP Ferg


4. Sweatpants - Childish Gambino featuring Problem


5. Word Crimes - "Weird Al" Yankovic


6. Our Time - Lily Allen

7. I Blame Myself - Sky Ferreira

8. Foil - "Weird Al" Yankovic

9. Blank Space - Taylor Swift

10. URL Badman - Lily Allen

11. Tacky - "Weird Al" Yankovic

12. The Writing's on the Wall - OK Go

13. Water Fountain - tUnE - yArDs

14. Break the Rules - Charli XCX

15. Air Balloon - Lily Allen

16. If I Could Change Your Mind - Haim

17. Yellow Flicka Beat - Lorde

18. Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

19. Shesszus - Lily Allen

20. I Wanna Get Better - Bleachers

21. Magic - Coldplay

22. Talk (Expletive Deleted), Get Shot - Body Count

23. Something Bad - Miranda Lambert featuring Carrie Underwood

24. Ain't It Fun - Paramore

25. Girls Chase Boys - Ingrid Michaelson

26. Fever - The Black Keys

27. Desire - Meg Myers

28. Stay Awhile - She and Him

29. Shake it Off - Taylor Swift

30. Sing - Ed Sheeran

31. Make You Better - The Demberists

32. Let Her Down Easy - George Michael

33. Paris - Magic Man

34. Fancy - Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX

35. Katie Queen of Tennessee - The Apache Relay

36. Mission Statement - “Weird Al" Yankovic

37. The Walker - Fitz and the Tantrums

38. Think Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

39. Understand - The Roots featuring Dice Raw and Greg Porn

40. A Sky Full of Stars - Coldplay

41. Do You - Spoon

42. Habits (Stay High) - Tove Lo

43. Guilty All the Same - Linkin Park featuring Rakim

44. High Ball Stepper - Jack White

45. Don't - Ed Sheeran

46. Back to the Shack - Weezer

47. All Washed Out - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

48. Heart Is a Drum - Beck

49. Headphones - Matt Nathanson featuring LoLo

50. Hayloft - Nickel Creek

The 40 Worst Songs of 2014

1. Anaconda - Nicki Minaj

2. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor

3. Turn Down For What - DJ Snake and Lil' Jon

4. Loyal - Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne and Tyga

5. Summer - Calvin Harris

6. BO$$ - Fifth Harmony

7. Black Widow - Iggy Azelea featuring Rita Ora

8. #SELFIE - The Chainsmokers

9. No Mediocre - T.I. featuring Iggy Azalea

10. Booty - Jennifer Lopez featuring Iggy Azalea

11. Ew! - Jimmy Fallon featuring will.i.am

12. Tuesday - I Love Makonnen featuring Drake

13. Really Don't Care - Demi Lovato featuring Cher Lloyd

14. La La La - Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith

15. Achy Breaky 2 - Buck 22 and Billy Ray Cyrus

16. I Luh Ya Papi - Jennfer Lopez featuring French Montana

17. Birthday - Katy Perry

18. I Don't (Expletive Deleted With You - Big Sean featuring E-40

19. Lips Are Movin - Meghan Trainor

20. Chains - Nick Jonas

21. Don't Panic - French Montana

22. Hideaway - Keiza

23. G.U.Y. - Lady Gaga

24. Hello Kitty - Avril Lavigne

25. Drunk On a Plane - Dierks Bentley

26. Mmm Yeah - Austin Mahone featuring Pitbull

27. Maps - Maroon 5

28. Secrets - Mary Lambert

29. Love Runs Out - One Republic

30. Let It Go - Demi Lovato

31. I Mean It - G-Eazy featuring Remo

32. Sledgehammer - Fifth Harmony

33. This Is How We Roll - Florida Georgia Line featuring Luke Bryan

34. Shower - Becky G

35. Main Chick - Kid Ink featuring Chris Brown

36. Trumpets - Jason Derulo

37. Wild Wild Love - Pitbull featuring G.R.L.

38. This Is How We Do - Katy Perry

39. Blame - Calvin Harris featuring John Newman

40. Beg For It - Iggy Azalea featuring MØ