Around the Tubes:3/11/16

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 Outdoor: Icons Revealed, Skin Wars, He Named Me Malala, Haven, Bob Hope: Entertaining the Troops, Home & Family, and Sheet Music Direct.

- Outside TV, America’s preeminent adventure television network, announces the newest installment of the hit show Outlook: Icons Revealed will premiere this Sunday March 13 at 8:00. The episode will take viewers behind the scenes with Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, as he talks about growing up in Laguna Beach, his love for mountain biking, and his affinity for surfing.

- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, will premiere its third season of Skin Wars, hosted by actress Rebecca Romijn (X-Men), on Wednesday, April 20 at 10:00. Television’s first-ever body painting competition show and GSN’s most-watched original series ever, SKIN WARS seeks to find the most innovative body painter in America. In its third season, twelve contestants will compete in elaborate body painting challenges to avoid elimination and win the approval of judges, including legendary entertainer RuPaul Charles and body painting icons Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina.

- In a new agreement with National Geographic Channels, Hulu has acquired the exclusive streaming video on-demand rights to Academy Award® winner Davis Guggenheim’s feature documentary He Named Me Malala. Following its global television premiere on National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo MUNDO this week, the critically acclaimed feature documentary will make its SVOD debut exclusively on Hulu this summer.

- Haven: The Final Season (Street Date: April 19, 2016) presents hometown heroes Audrey, Nathan (Lucas Bryant), Duke (Eric Balfour) and Dwight (Adam Copeland), with challenges unlike any they've experienced before. Across 13 action-packed final episodes, the town of Haven has been cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious fog bank and is on its own. Through journeys into the past, the future, and the very fabric between worlds, events in Haven hurtle towards a cataclysmic showdown. Will the heroes be able to rid Haven of "the Troubles" forever, or will the town and its inhabitants continue to suffer the curse? Watch and see as tensions rise, allegiances shift and in a harrowing closing chapter, the mystery of "Croatoan" is finally revealed.

- On May 10, Time Life®, creator and direct marketer of unique music and home entertainment products, will deliver Bob Hope: Entertaining the Troops, a single DVD featuring three TV Christmas Specials: a rare, never-before-released 1951 special from The Korean War Era , along with shows from 1970 and 1971 - two of the most-watched shows in TV history! Featuring Hope's hilarious monologues and guest stars aplenty, these shows prove that laughter is truly the best medicine, regardless of the time zone or terrain.

Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point ball. Dale Earnhardt’s legendary pink race car. The American flag draped around goalie Jim Craig after the “Miracle on Ice.” All of those historic objects from indelible moments in sports are either lost or in dispute. Now, Smithsonian Channel debuts a unique six-hour docu-series, Sports Detectives, on Sunday, April 24 at 9:00, to try to hunt down the truth of what happened and find missing treasures behind some of the most iconic moments in American sports history.

- Hallmark Channel’s Daytime Emmy® nominated series Home & Family in partnership with DreamJobbing announces a nationwide talent search to find the next DIY star to join the on-air team. One lucky winner will be chosen to become a DIY expert on Home & Family for one week in mid-April, joining co-hosts Mark Steines and Cristina Ferrare as the newest creative Family Member. They will create their own DIY projects for a national audience from the Home & Family set at Universal Studios, Hollywood. DreamJobbing is an online opportunity platform created to inspire people by giving them incredible opportunities and a chance to change their story – from once in a lifetime opportunities such as Wildlife Volunteer in Thailand, to full time positions such as Writer for Lance Bass Productions, LLC. Producers are looking for enthusiastic candidates with strong DIY ideas, the ability to show viewers step-by-step how they created their DIY projects, great on-camera presence and a fun personality. Video applications will be accepted from March 7–April 15, 2016. Submission details and additional information can be found at: dreamjobbing.com/homeandfamily.

Sheet Music Direct, the world's leading digital sheet music website and destination, today released the worldwide production version of its Sheet Music Direct PlayAlong iPad app for amateur to professional musicians who want to learn, plan, record, share, and perform their favorite songs using the latest iOS technology. The App is available now on the iTunes App Store for FREE with an in-app store for optional song title purchases.

I Want My Music Television: 3/9/16

Best Fake Smile - James Bay


I am not entirely sure James Bay is not just John Mayer changing his name in hopes people forget some of his hotter hot takes that put him in the public’s doghouse (somewhat unfairly; what he said was stupid, not a shunnable offence… but anyway). After a bunch of midtempo songs, this is his first upbeat single, and though catchy, cannot say it is very memorable.


LA Girlz – Weezer


A lot of Weezer’s output over the past decade has mostly been embarrassing but this song does kind of sound like their old self. Okay, and outtake or B-side, not an actual album cut or even a single. Unfortunately the music video is very chringeworthy.


Been To the Moon - Corinne Bailey Rae


The “moon” Corinne Bailey Rae goes to looks a lot like the planet Simmons went to on Agents of SHIELD. Well, without the blueish-grey filter.


Daughters – Lissie


While watching Survivor, it is sometimes easy to forget, that the lack of access to quality drinking water is a reality for large segments of the population. And it is still hard to put it in perspective because even though we know the contestants have to walk to watering hole, then boil the water, we do not see just how long that takes, and then we know that after a month they get to fly home where they can just turn on the faucet to get water (unless they live in a city like Flint or near where fracking takes place where the water is just as poisonous) But there are no plane rides home for those that live in Africa. Though it is hard to put into perspective the 40 billion miles women in Africa have to walk a year for water. I kind of wish Lissie would have done a per woman average to give us a better idea the struggle for water on that continent is.

Previewing Separation Anxiety

When I saw TBS was doing a game show called Separation Anxiety I thought maybe they were getting into the weird, kind of evil Japanese game shows you come across on the internet every once and a while. Thankfully (or disappointingly depending how you look at it), the show is more in the American vein where there is a catch but it is not that evil at all, just slightly misleading, but for the better.

See the show tells a pair of friends or significant others they are going on an internet game show for a chance to win $2500 but they really are going on a basic cable show where they can win ten times that. The name of the show comes from separating the two players, taking on player to the set of the cheap internet game show while the other gets ushered to a bigger studio to find out what the real show they are on.

The second player also learn that they will be the one’s selecting the categories for their still in the dark partners who think the first question will only net them $10, not $1000. Separation Anxiety comes off as a cheaper version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire as the questions get harder the more answers they get right, but if the miss a question, they get nothing. They can stop nd take the money at any time, but only the person that still thinks they are on an internet for chump change can stop (the other person if offered one to pull the plug but they will only get half the money they earned). But like Millionaire, there are two helps throughout the game, Crowd Source, where the host will ask five people in the crowd what they think the answer is, and Smart Phone where they can call their partner for help.

Also periodically through the game, there are Mind Meld mini games where the in the know contestant can bet on their partner on silly bets like one bro has to predict correctly if his buddy will talk to a ho model if left alone in a hall with her within thirty seconds. People who guess correctly will win a special prize that they can keep even if they end up losing the money.

A quiz show with only eight possible questions (of which an average of six got asked in the episodes I saw) is kind of small, but host of the real show Iliza Shlesinger (Last Comic Standing) keeps things lively especially when telling co-host Adam Ray (The Heat) what to do via an earpiece as he hosts the fake internet game show. It also helps when the contestants are game like the guy in the second episode who crows every time he locks in an answer. There is no roll over contestants like on Millionaire but the first couple questions are absurdly easy so no one should go out early especially with the two helps so no one should go out early.

Separation Anxiety airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TBS.

Previewing Bates Motel: Season Four

The shortened seasons you see on cable make them better because it is much easier to fill ten hours with quality content than it is to do twenty-two over the course of a year. Of course the big drawback is that the breaks are much longer. On the network shows you only have wait three months after a season finale for a new one where you can conceive and deliver a child in between the seasons of some cable show.

It does not help that the season premiere of Bates Motel does not start off with a “previously on” segment (at least the version I saw; maybe they will whip one up for the broadcast version) so it took me a while to remember what was going on. The season starts off with Romero lugging a dead body on a boat and it took me a while to realize, oh yeah, he killed Ted Chough, or maybe it was Norma and he cover it up, I vaguely remember Norma going to an evil country club last season.

Then there is Norman talking to himself in the middle of nowhere which made me remember he ran away at the end of last season and, oh Norman, why did you have to kill the hot chick? Except it was not him, sort of, because he now has this split personality where he becomes an even more overprotective version on his mother. Alrighty. But that split personality does add to the show and adds a level of paranoia (granted not as good as the way Mr. Robot handles mental illness) as something happens at the end of the season premiere and I have absolutely sure if what I saw happened or not. All of this comes to a head at the end of the second episode of the season, though no answers are given yet.

Bates Motel airs Mondays at 9:00 on A&E. You can also download Bates Motel on iTunes.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/6/16

The Oscars: I have not watched the Oscars since… well, the last time Chris Rock hosted, and again that is the only reason I turned in because I think Ex-Machina was the only nominated movie I saw last year (Straight Outta Compton sits unopened on my desk for the past month; and though I have not seen it, and I do not want to be the last person to go on a race inspired rant, but Ice Cube’s Jheri curl got robbed for Best Hair and Makeup). Okay, so I only watched the first half hour before flipping over to The Walking Dead (I did flip back during the commercials, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the monologue. Obviously Rock had to bring up the lack of diversity in the major categories, but did the topic really have to take up the entire monologue (and from what I heard, but of his bits after that)? Sure it was funny but how about actually talking about this year’s movies, even if I had not seen any? The only none-race joke I heard from the parts I heard from Rock was saying Carol was the third best girl on girl flick he saw last year. Oh well, these are the reasons why I skip the Oscars anyway. It was nice to see Brie Larson (Envy Adams!) win an award as I have supported her going all the way back to her cheesy Avril Lavinge knock-off days. Seriously, go to my list of The 100 Best Songs of 2005, and scroll down to #89.


The Walking Dead: So Abraham is going to die soon. If not those were some weird scenes with him, I am a little surprised he did not die this week. And again I show I would be too smart for the show because my first thought about the Hilltop community was, why don’t they just move in together? A lot of people died in that last zombie attack so there has to be open housing in Alexandra, the Hilltop need better protection than spears and Alexandra needs food. But of course that would be too obvious and neither trust each other anyway. Instead they are going to go kamikaze on some evil warlord camp.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Supergirl: Did they bring in Smallville’s Supergirl to make the current incarnation look like a much better actress in comparison? The Smallville version looks more the part, more than this version, but goodness she is not very good actor.
Supergirl on iTunes.

Gotham: B.D. Wong is having quite the evil moment right now. He looks to be part of some Illuminate-type group in Mr. Robot and now he shows up as Hugo Strange. But really, overall kind of a meh episode for a show returning from a big break. But then again I never really card much for Mr. Freeze.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

The Voice: Big changes on the show!!! Okay, they moved the family waiting room to the side of the stage. Has The Voice had to downsize? They did lose their big phone sponsor last season whereas the coaches’ salaries only grow every season. And come to think of it, I do not remember them mentioning their coffee sponsor either. Though watched on Hulu and every ad was promoting Jordan Smith and some unnamed credit card so they do have some money coming in. The bigger news was how lackluster the first week was I kind of like Caity Peters but I was really bored for the first four hour. But I did go back and six of my seven favorite Blind Auditions were not in the first week, so hopefully they are saving some gems for next week.


Blindspot: Maybe it is the election year and I am really tuned into government spending, but sending a team to a remote island in the Mediterranean because of tattoos does not seem like money well spent even if it did turn out to uncover a lost plane. But the more absurd part of the show was having the PC guy and his mustache being a high ranking official within the FBI. Granted President Trump may very well give the PC guy that position when he is elected.
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

The Muppets: Jack White Jack White being the funniest part of the whole season probably sums up the season as a whole.
You can download The Muppets on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agent Carter: They made a really bad calculation in not having Howard Stark around full time because he is always good time, especially when he wrapped himself around Peggy to help her hold the hose. Bu overall this season just did not live up to last season because Whitney Frost just did not turn out to be much of an antagonist. Dottie was a much better foil last season.
You can download Marvel's Agent Carter on iTunes.

Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty: When the Brains lost, I thought great, Cat Lady is the obvious pick, she lost the challenge and she is annoying. Except when they got back to camp, no one brought up her name. Instead the broke down into three pairs, the “hot” pare targeted the ice cream dude for no reason, the “old” pair” wanted to get rid of Lizzie because she was a threat, and the “weird” pair wanted the doctor gone because he is pompous with the old pair getting their way. Boooo. Lizzie was easily my favorite this season and with her gone I am just now realizing just how unlikeable this cast is. Aside from the annoying cat lady and the pompous doctor, the two Brawn dudes left are douchebags, the gay Asian is also annoying, and I would probably also find Blondie annoying if I did not feel bad for her being stuck with the two douchbags kind of like Shirin two seasons ago. And that is three poorly casts of new contestants in a row if you throw in the first Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty which had three of maybe the ten most unlikeable people in the history of the show in Tony, Kass, and Trish. It may be time to find a new casting agent. Really the only people worth rooting for this season are the hot chick alliance which will probably get eliminated as soon as the tribe swap happens.

Oh yeah, and we got a big twist this season in the Super Idol! Now anyone who has two Idols in their pocket can play that AFTER the votes had been read. Seems reasonable because if you have multiple Idols that should help you more. But how often has that ever happened, in twenty two seasons that they have had Hidden Immunity Idols, I only remember three times that it has happened: James (who got booted with both in his pocket and really needed that new twist), Parviti (who pulled out the greatest move in Survivor history), and Malcolm (who pulled off the worst as his douchebag alliance went home in consecutive weeks after that). Then my buddy Doug pointed out that both Tony and Jeremy have done it more recently. Still that is about once every four seasons average. It will be interesting if this twist will cause more people share Idols instead of keeping them to themselves like most people have done in recent season, or if it will never even be utilized.
You can download Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 3/4/16

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 Path, Spring Broke, The Brainwashing of my Dad, CeeLo Green: Live In L.A., Yanni: The Drem Concert - Live at the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Joshy, and Satan’s Sisters: A Novel of Fiction.

- The Path follows a family at the center of a controversial cult as they struggle with relationships, faith and power. Each episode takes an in-depth look at the gravitational pull of belief and what it means to choose between the life we live and the life we want. Created by Jessica Goldberg, the show is executive produced by Jason Katims and Michelle Lee of True Jack Productions and stars Aaron Paul, Hugh Dancy and Michelle Monaghan.


- On Friday, March 25th at 9:00, Showtime will premiere Spring Broke, a documentary about the raucous history of the infamous spring vacation revelries in Daytona, Florida. The annual gathering started in the early 60s and by the 1980s led to the arrival of tens of thousands of college students, lured by music, sun, endless parties and eventually, the hope to make it onto MTV.


- Right-wing cable news and "conservative" talk radio attract older Americans like graying moths to an angry flame. But why would someone who was either apolitical or a Democrat in younger days become addicted to conservative talk shows in their twilight years? Filmmaker Jen Senko wondered how her WWII veteran and Kennedy Democrat father had been transformed into a Fox News fanatic, suddenly and inexplicably railing against minorities, homosexuals, poor people, and Democrats. Using her dad as an entertaining example, Senko pulls back the curtain to expose the tools and tricks of the wizards behind the right-wing media revolution. And in discovering what happened to him, Senko reveals the all-too-chilling bigger picture of what’s happening behind-the-scenes to influence our national discourse. The Brainwashing of my Dad, which will open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles with a day and date iTunes/Nationwide VOD release on March 18. The film directed by award-winning documentarian Jen Senko.

- Tune in to AT&T Audience Network for CeeLo Green: Live In L.A. airing Friday, March 11 at 9:00 (DIRECTV Ch 239/U-verse Ch 1114). Watch as the GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter thrills the audience--at the gothic-styled Theatre At The ACE Hotel in downtown Los Angeles--with his electric soul band, performing both his classic hits and new fan favorites.

- The No. 1 selling, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist and global phenomenon Yanni has performed his distinctive music in exotic and historic locations all across the world. From his groundbreaking concert at the Acropolis to his most recent televised performance at El Morro, Puerto Rico, Yanni has pushed the boundaries of the way audiences experience live music. After performing at China's Forbidden City and India's Taj Mahal, Yanni realized his lifelong dream to perform at the foot of the Sphinx at the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt — the last of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World that remains today. The November 2015 concert was captured in 4K state-of-the-art high definition audio and video, and features a career-spanning selection of fan favorites, along with never-before-performed songs and new arrangements of his classic compositions. Yanni: The Drem Concert - Live at the Great Pyramids of Egypt premieres on PBS stations beginning March 5 (check local listings). A CD/DVD or Blu-ray of the historic concert is out June 3 via Sony Music Masterworks’ imprint Portrait Records, and is available for preorder March 4.

- Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader, and Hulu announced this week that they have joined forces to acquire the North American rights to Jeff Baena’s Joshy, featuring an ensemble cast, including Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, Alex Ross Perry, Nick Kroll, Brett Gelman, and Jenny Slate. The film will be released on Lionsgate’s specialty film distribution label, Lionsgate Premiere, and will be available to stream exclusively on Hulu following its theatrical run.

- Tony, Grammy, and Emmy nominated singer/actress Vanessa Williams has signed on to play the lead role in VH1’s upcoming scripted series inspired by Star Jones 2011 book Satan’s Sisters: A Novel of Fiction. Set in the bright lights of daytime television, the fireworks start every weekday at noon when the hosts of "The Lunch Hour" -- a long-running popular TV talk show -- discuss life, love, family, politics, and gossip. Ms. Williams will play the role of Maxine, the creator and host of “The Lunch Hour;” a formidable, powerful, and decisive woman, but fears she's being put out to pasture. Slated for a 2017 premiere, the series will focus on Maxine and her co-hosts, five women with very different points of view, are best friends and sisters...while they're on TV. But behind the scenes, they are “Satan's Sisters” -- a backstage world filled with power struggles, personal demons, diva fits, love affairs, man troubles, cat fights...and cocktails.

I Want My Music Television: 3/3/16

The Sound - 1975


I never really liked Jimmy Kimmel's Mean Tweets segment because it jut feeds the trolls and instead of shaming these idiots, all you are doing is encouraging them to do it more. I am not sure if the critiques if are actual mean tweets or just up by the band or director but it just comes off as cringey. Though I did laugh at "Robotic Huey Lewis" despite making no sense. I guess it is a good thing I never got around to sharing my thought of The 1975's Saturday Night Live performance which was basically a Fameera David Bowie rip-off mixed with a cheesy disco song where the lead singer was trying way too hard to be the lead singer of INXS. And I kind of like that song, and this one too.

Work - Rihanna featuring Drake


Artist make multiple videos for the same song all the time, but this is the first time I remember anyone releasing two aat the sme time in the same video file. But listening to this song back to back only reminds me just how annoying that chorus can be and no matter how see-thru Rihanna's top is, I really cannot sit through it twice.

Fire Away - Chris Stapleton


Alchol has become so ingrained in country culture it has become a cliche, so kudos to Chris Stapleton, who has been flipping the genre on it heels since the release of his last album, for reminding us that there are negative consequences with the drug, especially when dealing with depression and mental illness.

Spirits - The Strumbellas


It is a rare feat to get song stuck in your head after on listen but The Strumbellas did just that with their first song because that chorus has not left my head since. For the past decade or so there has been a weird indie song that somehow manages to become a big mainstream hit, if there is any justice, that will be Spirits this year. Of course if that happens, I may be sick of it by summer.

The Fifty Best Blind Auditions from The Voice

It is weird to think that The Voice is already up to ten seasons but they really rack up when you are doing two per season (seriously, Survivor just started it thirty-second season. But since I do not need a good reason to make a list I thought I would count down the best Blind Auditions in the show’s history. I read somewhere that The Voice Band prepares over a hundred Blind Auditions so there have probably been over a thousand of them already even though we only get to see maybe fifty to sixty in full every season. Here are the top fifty that stood out to me. I did limit to only allow each song to appear only once (sorry Krista Hughes) due to my long standing theory of if you are going to do a song that has already been done on the show, you best be better than the first time (or at the very least different).

1. The Scientist - Holly Henry


2. Say Aah - Lindsey Pavao


3. We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off - Ellie Lawrence


4. Trouble - Tony Lucca


5. Tiny Dancer - Caroline Glaser


6. Dream a Little Dream of Me - Amy Vachal

7. Gravity - Ryan Innis

8. A Song for You - Jessie Campbell

9. Folsom Prison Blues - Midas Whale

10. Torn - Cassadee Pope

11. Angel From Montgomery - Audra McLaughlin

12. Safe & Sound - Savannah Berry

13. Photograph - Sydney Rhame

14. Titanium - Madilyn Page

15. Anything Could Happen - Caroline Pennell

16. Rumour Has It - Mathai

17. Breakeven (Falling to Pieces) - Xenia

18. It's Too Late - Madi Davis

19. Stand By Me - Ddendyl

20. Good Girl - Amber Carrington

21. Electric Feel - Preston Pohl

22. What's Going On - Anthony Evans

23. Give Me Love - Reagan James

24. All I Want - Deanna Johnson

25. Ain’t No Way - Siaundra Lewis

26. Can't Help Falling In Love - Jess Kellner

27. No One - Whitney Myer

28. Movin’ On Up - Cole Vosbury

29. Ain't No Sunshine - Nelly's Echo

30. Thank You - Andi and Alex

31. Hell On Heels - Raelynn

32. Falling Slowly - Elenowen

33. To Make You Feel My Love - Holly Tucker

34. Landslide - Suzanne Choffel

35. Listen - Trevin Hunte

36. Hard to Handle - Cody Belew

37. That’s How Strong My Love Is - Luke Wade

38. I Want You To Want Me - Morgan Frazier

39. Not Ready To Make Nice - Sasha Allen

40. New York State of Mind - India Carney

41. One More Try - Josh Kaufman

42. Like a Rolling Stone - Lee Koch

43. Skinny Love - Brooke Adee

44. Dancing With Myself - The Shields Brothers!

45. The Lazy Song - Naia Kete

46. Cosmic Love - Caitlin Michele

47. Hey, Soul Sister - De'Borah

48. I Want You - Rob Taylor

49. Saving All My Love For You - Kris Thomas

50. Come As You Are - Rebecca Loebe

And here is a little bonus list of the ten singers that no coach inexplicably turned around for:

1. Jane Smith (Season 4)
2. Ducky (Season 2)
3. Kameron Corvet (Season 3)
4. Preston Shannon (Season 2)
5. Allison Bray (Season 6)
6. Caitlin Lucia (Season 7)
7. Eric Tipton (Season 2)
8. Joe May (Season 9)
9. Betsy Barta (Season 4)
10. Yolanda Barber (Season 3)


For the stat geeks out there I had divvied up the top fifty into a couple of categories.

Artists by Coach
Blake - 14
Adam – 12
Christina - 8
Cee-Lo – 5
Pharrell – 5
Usher – 3
Shakira - 2
Gwen – 1

Artists by Season
Season 1 – 3
Season 2 – 10
Season 3 – 7
Season 4 – 9
Season 5 – 5
Season 6 – 4
Season 7 – 2
Season 8 – 4
Season 9 - 6

Artists by How Far They Went
Battle Round – 8
Knockout Round – 9
Playoffs - 7
Live Shows – 14
Semi-Finals - 9
Finals – 1
Winners - 2

Previewing He Named Me Malala

I knew who Malala Yousafzai was, the name has been floating around for a while popping up in my news feed and I would occasionally get bits and pieces of her life. I knew she was a Pakistani girl who the Talaban tried to kill when she spoke up for education rights for girls in her country and that she went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. It is an important story but to be honest, basically only knew the Cliff Notes version of her story.

And the Cliff Notes version of her life story, but even if you just know the basics (which you should at the very least becaus eI just gave them to you) you should still check out the documentary on her, He Named Me Malala. You will learn just how important that name is and why it is important that young girls have access to an education even if militant Islamist are blowing up schools to make sure it oes not happen.

Not only do you meet Malala the activist, you also get to meet Malala the teenage girl who frets about a mediocre grade on her science test and giggles like a teen would when the interview asks if she like Roger Federer because of his tennis skill or because of his hair. He Named Malala is a powerful movie that should be required viewing for any parent with a daughter and every school age girl. And now you can watch it when it airs commercial free tomorrow on the National Geographic Channel. The documentary was directed by Oscar winner Davis Guggenheim (Waiting for Superman).

He Named Me Malana airs commercial free Monday at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/27/16

Shameless: One thing I have learned from watching the Gallagher's i that even when things start to be looking up, things will still end up being worse. Except for Lip, dude continues to fail upwards. First, he is the only Gallagher that was able to get out and this week he gets fired from his Resident Assistant job and managed to land a better gig as house boy at a sorority. And yet he still messes it up but pining over the old married woman while blowing off the hot sorority sister. You are living the dream Lip, why are you messing up for the rest of us? So instead of participating in a pillow fight, the best scene of the week ended yup being Frank giving another impassioned speech during a suspension hearing (there was one with Carl a couple seasons ago which was just as good). But a close second goes to whoever decided to put subtitles when Carl was talking to his homies. Now I know what is "poppycock" is translated to in urban.

The Walking Dead: Rick and Michonne... who saw that coming? I guess they have been living together for a while now and she treats Carl like a son so it i not that surprising. I guess the big question is which one of them will die in the season finale. You know there is no way they are going to end up happy. Okay, that is probably aa stupid question, of course it will be Michonne they kill of, like a wise man said, always bet on black, especially when it comes to who will die next on this show.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Billions: What a great line about Chuck and Brody sniffing each other and not liking the smell. It was at that point I knew neither would back down even though Wendy pointed out to both of them this could easily go away. The big question as both looked to be willing to sit at the table would be which would be first to go back on their word. Despite saying he would never admit guilt (though how is forfeiting over a billion dollars not an admission of guilt?) Brody still ate it so it was Chuck who went over the line first (or twice if you include the admission of guilt thing) by demanding Brody never trade on the stock exchange ever again leading Brody to rip up the check, throw it in Chuck's face, and listen to more Metallica. But lost in the long game of chicken between Brody and Chuck was another great scene with the guy from the attorney General's office calling out Chuck for going too soft on Axe because of his wife before saying he was going hard after Brody because of his wife. Great question, just how much of this is about his wife, we do know they both enjoy pain.

Mercy Street: With historical dramas I tend to wait until the end of the series to look up really happen because I do not want to look up what happened in the real Deadwood only to find out someone was probably going to die soon. So I do wonder if there really was an attempt to blow up the hospital or was that just added for poetic licence. I am guessing that is the latter because how would anyone know what did not happen? I doubt the guy went home and rote in his journal about almost assassinating the president but did not go through with it to keep a friend from being collateral damage.
You can download Mercy Street on iTunes.

Supergirl: Of course the day I post about the absurdity of Irish names a Sloboden (but sounds like Chevonne) shows up on television that night, though the actress does not look to have any Irish in her. But anyway. A couple of off comments this week which are kind of annoying. First there was a conversation between Hank and Alex mentioned the villain of the week was a bounty hunter but not THAT bounty hunter. My mind first went to Boba Fett but that is not going to happen. I take it they were probably talking about Lobo butif so, just say his name. I guess they did not because they do not have permission to use the charachter which is getting kind of annoying on the comic book shows. Then Kara said there was another city that has people with masks, which again just name the city. Stop being coy. Again I have o guess she was referring to one of the cities depicted on one of the half dozen crappy CW shows. Meh.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The X-Files: After the drag of the season premiere, I actually enjoyed the following episode, unfortunately, and inevitably, they had to end the season with the same story line. And had to bring back Agent Reyes who apparently was been the Cigarette Smoking Man's personal servant for the past decade. I Do not even want to know what the T-1000 was up to since then. Then they just had to end on a cliffhanger. Hurmph. So what was in the spaceship? Scully and Mulder's kid. If it come back, just wrap that story line up quick and just focus on monster of the week cases after that.
You can download The X-Files on iTunes.

Castle: Really, everyone know of the sociology experiment from years ago, but not one person thinks of Saw? Alrighty. And I really should be consulting for the NYPD, because I had that dude pegged early on as the guy running the experiment. C'mon, he had no loved one on the other side. But then again, it was a good thing I was not trapped in the room because my first instinct when the gun showed up was to shoot the bullets in the wall so no one could shoot me later. That would have backfired miserably, quite literally.
You can download Castle on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I have long known that none of these girls are Veronica Mars so I have accept their utter stupidity from time to time, but c'mon, when the hole in Sara's hotel room gets plastered up, seriously, no one thought to show Allison the back door to Radley?
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agent Carter: Obviously Vinnie Van Lowe is great, but I really wanted more of his mother. The dance sequence at the start of the second episode was a nice touch too. Great ending with Rose saying she was not good enough for the fake talent agency. Too bad they did not work that into the show more often because the fake talent agency was comedy gold in the first episode.
You can download Marvel's Agent Carter on iTunes.

Survivor:Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II: Maybe the most annoying part of Survivor is when everyone knows who is going home and yt the editors plant the seed of someone else may also be on the chopping block just to have some suspense at Tribal only for the obvious pick goes home ninety percent of the time. After flubbing last week's vote, obviously the Brawn tribe would actually get rid of Barbie this week. Sure an all-girl alliance seemed like a good idea (especially considering three tribe seasons get mixed up pretty early) so that actually seemed like. Except not only was it not the obvious pick that went home, or even the alternative that producers float to add a little suspense to Tribal, but maybe for the first time ever (not including Idol canceling votes) a third option was the person that went home. Wow, I cannot think of a worse Tribal performance in the history of the show except maybe the dude who basically handed a million dollars to the porn star in Thailand when he attacked the jury. This girl somehow managed to get three people to change their votes at tribal. People changing their votes at Tribal probably happens less than once a season (again, without an Idol in play or being threatened) and here it happened three times at the same Tribal. I did not think any tribe could be as dysfunctional as the last Brains tribe, but this season's Brawn tribe is trying hard. They are really one rice dump away. Seriously, how did they lose that challenge? Is there any bigger lay up for a Brawny tribe than carrying a sixty pound log a half a mile? I was expecting a drop off from the epic last season, but we are off to a strong start. Really my only gripe so far is the cat lady needs to go home sooner than later.
You can download Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II on iTunes.

The Blacklist: So what was in the envelope that Red burned? It has to be info on Lizzie's mom right? But why burn it? And why destroy something on screen that we the viewers will now never know what the contents were?
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 2/26/16

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 Circus, A Year in Space, Penny Dreadful, Deadbeat, America's Greatest Makers, 2016 MTV Movie Awards, They Will Have To Kill Us First: Malian Music in Exile, Dangerous Men, America’s Next Top Model, Bunbury music Festival, and Smurfs™ Epic Run.

- This week, Showtime announced that MSNBC analyst Alex Wagner will be a guest contributor to the Feb. 28 episode of The Circus airing this Sunday at 8:00. Wagner will join the team on the campaign trail in South Carolina this week in the final days before the Democratic primary.

- Scott Kelly, whose current 12-month stay on the International Space Station is testing human limits for space travel and laying the groundwork for a manned mission to Mars, is featured in the first installment of A Year in Space. Scheduled to air on PBS on Wednesday, March 2 from 8:00 (check local listings), A Year in Space is timed to air within a day of Kelly’s planned return to Earth.

- Showtime has released the official trailer for the third season of its hit drama series Penny Dreadful, which premieres on Sunday, May 1 at 10:00 on-air, on demand and over the internet. Starring Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton and Eva Green, Penny Dreadful is a frightening psychological thriller created, written and executive produced by three-time Oscar® nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator).


- Yesterday morning Tyler Labine and Kal Penn announced all episodes of Hulu Original Deadbeat season three will return on 4/20.

Hulu_DB_S3_ANNOUNCEMENT_FNL (1).mp4
It's lit. Deadbeat season 3 premieres 4/20, only on Hulu.
Posted by Deadbeat on Wednesday, February 24, 2016

- Emmy®-winning producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, Shark Tank, The Voice) and TBS, a division of Turner, have brought together a panel of celebrity judges for this spring's exciting new tech competition series America's Greatest Makers, created in collaboration with Intel. The roster includes sports legends Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith; Emmy-nominated actress Mayim Bialik, who co-stars in the hit series The Big Bang Theory; and Massimo Banzi, maker and co-founder and CEO of Arduino, which makes popular development boards for inventors to create. America's Greatest Makers is set to premiere on TBS Tuesday, April 5, at 9:00.

- Global box-office powerhouses and stars of the upcoming action comedy, Central Intelligence, Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart today announced via this video they will host the 2016 MTV Movie Awards. This year’s show will tape at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif. on Saturday, April 9, to air on Sunday, April 10, at 8:00. For the first time ever, MTV will take the telecast entirely outdoors and onto the backlot to capture the essence of movie making magic against a dramatic nighttime backdrop. Performers and presenters will be announced at a later date.

- Since 2007, March 3 has been declared Music Freedom Day around the globe. With unique musical events and initiatives in more than 30 countries, the day commemorating freedom of expression and human rights continues to captivate millions. This March, BBC Worldwide North America will release They Will Have To Kill Us First: Malian Music in Exile, a feature-length documentary which bowed at 2015's SXSW Film Festival. Directed by Johanna Schwartz and featuring an original score by Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), the film - hailed by Indiewire as a "gripping, powerful documentary" and "social journalism of the highest order" by The Austin Chronicle - will open at New York City's Village East Cinema on March 4 and Los Angeles' Laemmle Santa Monica Theater on April 1 and other markets. The commissioned soundtrack, featuring some of Mali's most exciting artists, also releases on March 4.

- Drafthouse Films, the curatorial force behind exceptional repertory releases such as the ninja-blasting synthrock monolith Miami Connection, the psychedelic sci-fi brain-melter The Visitor, and the most dangerous movie ever made, Roar, have announced the their latest cult sensation, Dangerous Men arriving on Blu-ray/DVD for the first time ever this April 5th.


- The most successful fashion show in TV history America’s Next Top Model will rightfully return to the world’s fashion capital New York City for a reinvented debut on VH1. CBS Television Distribution (CTD) and VH1 are partnering on a new season of the iconic franchise for a new generation. Details on the premiere date and a new, re-imagined cast of host and judges will be announced at a later time.

- PromoWest Productions announced today the 2016 lineup for Bunbury Music Festival, set to take place in downtown Cincinnati’s Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove June 3-5. The festival will feature an eclectic lineup spanning three days. Bunbury Music Festival celebrates its fifth year in 2016 and will transform the banks of the Ohio River into a vibrant music festival experience. PromoWest Productions’ Scott Stienecker, festival owner, says, “We are very excited to host the festival again this year. This lineup is the best yet! We are also looking forward to implementing the latest fest technology with RFID wristbands which should alleviate any challenges that we came across in 2015.” Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com. For ticket information and pricing visit BunburyFestival.com/tickets.

Ubisoft today released an update to its mobile hit, Smurfs™ Epic Run. The update, titled, “Ancient Forest,” is a new zone full of Smurfy content, 15 levels to complete and a new hero to unlock – Pilot Smurf! Smurfs Epic Run is FREE to Download. Here are the links:

- iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smurfs-epic-run/id969044213?l=fr&ls=1&mt=8
- Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ubisoft.smurfs
- Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01829GFV8

I Want My Music Television: 2/22/16

Cherry Wine - Hozier


It is nice to see Saoirse Ronan finally get some recognition with all the nominations she has racked up for her work in Brooklyn, I thought she was one of the greatests child actors ever after Atonement but she kind of faded into the background after that aside from an attempt at action stardom with Hanna. I had the theory that it is hard to become a superstar when everyone is afraid to even try to pronounce your name. Even when she told Stephan Colbert it is like "inertia" while discussing absurdly spelled Irish names recently. Now she has teamed up with fellow Irishman Hozier for a powerful music video that brings to light domestic abuse. Proceeds from the single download of Cherry Wine will benefit a series of domestic abuse charities worldwide. Please visit Hozier.com/cherrywine for more information about this campaign.

Upside Down and Inside Out - OK Go


The kings of viral videos are back with maybe their best yet as they claim is completely real and filmed in zero gravity. Lots of replayability trying to figure what was going on. My favorite part is the paint balls. But again, the biggest problem with their video is OK Go made a song that is not very good.

Cosmic Love - Mayer Hawthorne


Mayer Hawthorne is going Trapped in the Closet for his upcoming album in the sense that all the music videos will be part of a detective series, and with his throwback style, of course it is a noirish type story. I think I may just wait until the whole story is release before watching another one.

Golden Gal - Animal Collective


And here is another trippy video from Animal Collective.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 2/21/16

Shameless: So the Gallagher family ends up only spending one episode "homeless." I do have to side with Gus, seriously, if you want something Fiona, you got to at the very least give the ring back. But that also means Carl is the one fronting the money for the house and of course, like everything else on this show, I do not see that going well.

The Walking Dead: So Daryl just has a bazooka taking up space in his newly commandeered truck. Awesome. Just as awesome, they killed off that annoying kid. Not only the kid, they just went ahead and kill the entire family. That is just cold. Unfortunately somehow Carl survived a gunshot wound to the eye. And I thought Bushwick Bill was the only human being that could do that.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Billions: So Brody was scamming everyone all along with his Metallica induced midlife crisis, almost had me fulled. I also though the arrest warrant was going after Brody, not Dollar Bill, kind of petty to make sure they haul away Bill before Brody left the country, and while his wife was playing hooky. I am begininng to think Chuck is actually going to screw up first and let his wife know some classified information before he can nail Brody. And did Chuck and his wife meet in a sex dungeon? Seems like it and not they learned after the fact they were both into domination. I was waiting for someone to pull off the mask to reveal the farmer they just conned. You have to have feeling Chuck will run into someone at some point.

Mercy Street: So Mary Todd Lincoln is going to show up at the hospital next week. That may be a little weird considering Ramona Flowers actually played her previously. I wonder if this Abraham will be killing any vampires on his visit. One can only hope.
You can download Mercy Street on iTunes.

The X-Files: I was a bit harsh on the reboot but the last three episodes have been really good and the country music montage was one of the best in the show's history which was only enhanced by it being placebo induced. And if they do more episodes, they can go ahead and add Lauren Ambrose to the cast. Unfortunately her partner is about as interesting as cardboard. I understand they were going for younger versions of Fox and Scully, but Mulder has dry wit, he is not just dry. Maybe it was intentional, they have the same set up of believer vs. skeptic but this time around the skeptic is the more interesting one while the believer is the wet blanket.
You can download The X-Files on iTunes

Lucifer: I came to the realization what it is wrong with the show. Though I am not sure why it took me so long because it airs after The X-Files, the problem is that it should be more like The X-Files with weird cases. Instead it is more like Castle but instead of a writer being in-bedded in the police department it is the devil. But if Satin is walking around the show, shouldn't these cases be more magical instead of cases you could see on any other cop show? How about throwing in a rogue demon perp every once in a while?
You can download Lucifer on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: So the hole in the wall just a secret way out of the hotel and not a secret evil lair? Meh, kind of boring.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agent Carter: Having back to back episodes really made it very noticeable that Peggy's impaled injury conveniently went away in between the two episode even though maybe two or three days had passed since the injury. And I know she was distracted by Mrs. Jarvis, but oh Peggy, you do not leave a Russian spy along with a rent a cop. But it is interesting to have Whitney and Wilkes together. So is Whitney able to create Zero Matter while Wilkes can destroy it? Is that is what is going on between them?
You can download Marvel's Agent Carter on iTunes.

Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II: Early in the episode the real estate agent on the "Brawn" tribe tried to make a explanation to her inclusion despite her Barbie doll looks. Later we meet a gay Asian on the "Beauty" tribe who straight up wondered aloud why was included on that tribe. It was at that time I began to wonder if they intentionally put one tribe member who did not belong on purpose and that would be a twist. The problem with that hypothesis was the "Brains" tribe. The person there that sticks out like a sore thumb is the social media consultant except she does not really fit on the other two tribes either. So maybe the better theory is that cast the season and decide to split by characteristics afterwards. Which is kind of silly and really defeats the purpose of splitting them in the first place.

The big draw for this season is that it is supposed to be the most grueling season ever with multiple medical and it looked like we were almost going to get our first one right off the bat. The social media consultant came down with a bit of the heat stroke while someone else had a bug crawl into her ear. I knew that was not going to be pulled from the game serious but c'mon, at what point does the medical team show up with a pair of pliers? Since we did get a good look at the people who get pulled in the trailer, the question is do you go back and rewatch it now that you know the contestants better? I think I am going to avoid those spoilers and just wait for them to leave when it gets to that part of the season.

We probably will not see a season as epic as last season with blindside after blindside, but there were off to a good start with a shocker right off the bat: instead of booting the obvious Barbie doll who should have never been on their tribe in the first place, they got rid of the black dude before I could make a The Waterboy reference (he looked and sounded just like the waterboy's buddy in the film right?). Another big shocker was the Brains actually won the first challenge after being disastrous the first time they played this game. And that is why I am going to make a very premature prediction that Lizzie is crowned the sole Survivor. And I am not just saying that because she looks like Lizzie from The Blacklist. Okay, maybe a little.
Survivor: Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty II on iTunes

The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines: What a horrible end to what may have been the worst season ever. The first leg of the final last week was kind of cool, but the last four this week were all sorts of lame. I hate all eating challenge as a rule because I hate watching people puke. Then they had them stand for a train that never came all night. Alrighty, that was useless. The last two were fine but nothing special even though that math problem should be one of the easiest; since it is the middle number, five has to be in center square, then one and nine have to be across from there, it should be just process of elimination from there. And the thing is, this should have been a great season. I am actually looking forward to watch the Reunion because there were some big moments this season. Okay, not excited enough to stay up to 12:30 to watch it or even watch it the next day, but much more than I was to watch the finale.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines on iTunes.

Vikings: I sometime I have trouble remember things that happened on last week's episode let alone something from last season which probably ended about nine months ago, but I could haccw sworn that Ragnor was pretty much dead at the end of last season. Oh well, at least we got someone saying "arsehole" in French in the season premiere.
You can download Vikings on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 2/19/16

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 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016 Revealed, A Year in Space, Conan, Satan’s Sisters, truTV premiere dates, The Mindy Project, morphsuits, Ray Donovan, and The Breaks.

- Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated, TNT and IMG announced who will grace the cover of this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue during the one-hour special Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016 Revealed. Hosts Rebecca Romijn and Nick Cannon announced that for the first time in the history of the annual issue, there will be three separate covers featuring three different models: Hailey Clauson, Ashley Graham and Ronda Rousey.



- President and CEO Paula A. Kerger announced this week at the Television Critics Association Press Tour that PBS has commissioned the two-part series A Year in Space, adapted from TIME’s original digital video series about astronaut Scott Kelly, whose current 12-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS) is testing human limits for space travel and laying the groundwork for a manned mission to Mars. The first installment of A Year in Space, which tracks Scott Kelly’s mission from training and launch, through his 12 months aboard the International Space Station, right up through his descent and landing is scheduled to air on PBS on Wednesday, March 2 from 8:00 (check local listings), timed within a day of Scott’s planned return to Earth. The second installment is scheduled to air in 2017.

- TBS's late-night show Conan will welcome the entire cast of the hit comedy The Big Bang Theory on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 11:00. Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch will all join host Conan O'Brien for a special episode celebrating the 200th episode of television's most popular comedy series, which will air Thursday, Feb. 25, at 8:00 on CBS. TBS, a division of Turner, presents episodes of The Big Bang Theory during primetime five nights a week.

- VH1 has given the greenlight to a one-hour scripted series inspired by Star Jones’ 2011 book Satan's Sisters. Set in the bright lights of daytime television, Satan’s Sisters is the story of The Lunch Hour -- a long-running, popular ladies' talk show in which alliances are forged, careers are made, and bridges are burned. Slated for a 2017 premiere, the series will focus on the five female co-hosts of a popular daily TV talk show and the fireworks that ensue each weekday when they discuss life, love, family, politics, and gossip.

- truTV, a division of Turner, unveiled premiere dates for its upcoming spring lineup, including the return of hit hidden-camera comedy series The Carbonaro Effect (March 23) and the humorous and practical life-hack series Hack My Life (March 29), as well as the launch of the new comedy-centric documentary series truInside (Feb. 29), the bite-size content comedy series Late Night Snack (March 3) and the comedic competition Comedy Knockout (April 21).

- The Mindy Project is back April 12! New episodes of The Mindy Project streaming Tuesdays only on Hulu.

- Ever found yourself watching a film that’s set somewhere far off and beautiful and you suddenly want to leap straight into the screen and on to that gorgeous beach, stunning countryside or happening cityscape? Yup, us too. Which is why we compiled a list of our favourite movie locations. If you can’t go there, at least you can dream, right? And if you don't have the cash to visit all these places you could always dress up as characters from them? Although it may not be quite as much fun, admittedly. For Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney or Harry Potter fancy dress costumes jet set over to morphsuits.com.

- Emmy nominee Lisa Bonet will guest star in a season-long arc on the fourth season of the hit Showtime drama series Ray Donovan. Bonet will play Marisol, a dangerously unstable woman with a damaging secret. Ray Donovan is currently in production in Los Angeles, and will return to Showime later this year on-air, on demand and over the internet.

- VH1’s Original Movie The Breaks has been greenlit for a series slated to premiere on VH1 in late 2016.

Previewing Cesar 911: Season Three

"What is the deal with dogs and all their barking?" is disappointingly not something Jerry Seinfeld says when Cesar Millan shows up to help the comedian with his four legged friends. See his dog Foxy hates Jerry, something the beloved funnyman is not used to. And to show famous people are just like us, he makes the mistake to try to remedy the situation by giving Foxy a friend, but that made just more shy while the new dog loves barking at anyone who comes to the door. Of course famous people are not like us because where we have to go through lengthy casting sessions, Jerry can probably just call Cesar to come and help right away.

But Cesar is a man of the people so he does help plenty of us regular folk when the new season of Cesar 911 starts up. Also on the premiere tomorrow is Lucky who has become prone to attacking a very dog friendly dog condominium complex. Not only is Lucky not being invited to the Halloween dog parade, he is one dog bite away from the neighbors calling animal control. Lucky for Lucky, Cesar got called first.

Later this season, Cesar runs into maybe his most violent client yet, Simon, a bulldog/terrier mix who killed a pig and ripped off an ear of another that he lived with when the owner was away. Of course Cesar has pigs of his own at his center that he can help rehabilitate Simon from committing any more dog on pig violence. There will also be a Tibetan terrier who attacks dad while protecting mom, a pug that attacks the other five dogs in the family, and another animal killer, this time a goat killing rottweiler / German shepherd mix.

Cesar 911 airs Fridays at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild. You can download Cesar 911 on iTunes.

I Want My Television Trailers: 2/17/16

I usually save my television trailers for upfronts because, well, that is when the vast majority are released. But two just dropped last week that got me very excited (and two that raised my eyebrow) that they are definitely worth sharing.

The Path


The Path had me at "From the executive producer of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood." Heck, I even watched every episode of About a Boy despite some poor casting decisions. Clearly Jason Katims strong suit is drama and he is back at it with this show and much better casting. First off: welcome back Lyla Garrity, where have you been since Charlie's Angels got axed after three episodes? All I remember seeing her in was a horrible Hallmark Channel movie with Earl Hickey (which I highly recommend if you do enjoy extremely cheesy Hallmark Channel movies). Also in the cast is Will Graham straight from Hannibal except he looks like he may be the sociopath this time around. The trailer is very vague, so I could be wrong but he looks to be like some sort of cult leader. Then throw in Lily Kane's husband from Big Love (screw that other overrated show he was in) and the hot chick from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Color me excited. And since Katims does like to recycle his actors maybe Lyla will not be the only familiar face, could Buddy Garrity and Landry Clarke be far behind? How about getting Haddie Braverman some work after sending her off the college. Just do not bring in anyone from About A Boy.

Roadies


I am an absolute Cameron Crowe supporter, I will defend Elizabethtown and even enjoyed Aloha despite its nonsensical plot (seriously, how can anyone trash a movie that features an Emma Stone / Bill Murray dance sequence). So naturally I got extremely excited when Showtime announced Cameron Crowe would be creating his first television show called Roadies. It does seem safe to assume that it will just be Almost Famous set in modern times. And it also has a pretty stellar cast: the better Karen Sisco, the better Wilson brother, the always reliable Luis Guzman. And sure Imogen Poots may be the worst name ever for a hot chick but name a female lead in a Cameron Crowe movie that you did not fall in love with? Seriously, he has been the only person to ever make Kate Hudson likeable. Imogen is already on that list based on the trailer alone, which of course, features a great Eddie Vedder song.

House of Lies


Andy Greenwald likes to joke that Showtime shows go on forever so it is sometimes easy to forget they even exist. Like, oh yeah, House of Lies is still on. But really the big takeaway from the trailer of its fifth (fifth!) season was the inclusion of Vinnie Van Lowe. So for those keeping track at home, on her new show, Veronica Mars has hooked up with Vinnie, Dick Casablancas, and gone on a date with Mercer the rapist. You know Sheriff Lamb is just sitting by his telephone right now. Maybe in the eighth season Don.

Roots


No big surprise that Roots is getting remade, it is getting to the point that is is surprising any big event older than a decade does not get remade or rebooted. Ironically right after watching the trailer for the History remake I was flipping around on television and landed on the CNN The Seventies miniseries right in the middle of the Roots segment where they were talking about how powerful that they cast all the evil while plantation owner with beloved television dad. Compare that with the new one where the only one who gets mentioned in the credits is Johathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) who always seems to play horrible people.

I Want My Music Television: 2/16/16

Formation - Beyonce


I much prefer my Beyoncé when she is singing cheesy ballads or dancy pop song. My ears just glaze over whenever she tries to be hard. Please note I am not making a racist rant about the political overtones of the video. Seriously, anyone calling her Super Bowl performance racist are some of the dumbest people on the Earth like Rudy Guilani calling it an attack on police. Ugg, I do not know if he is a moron or he is just pandering to morons he can charge large amounts of money for speaking fees. But that is what the Republican party has devolved in and then wonder why Donald Trump is so high in the polls. I actually do believe some of the loudest rebel rouser (Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh) only say these crazy things knowing that it turns off a large portion of the population and makes the whole Republican party look crazy and unelectable and they will make more money under a President Hilary Clinton than a President Cruz or Rubio.

Ophelia - The Lumineers


My favorite moment in music this century so far is what I called the Neo Folk moment. Late 2014 I wondered if Shakey Graves' Dearly Departed was the last great song from the Neo Folk Era. Mumford and Sons is probably the biggest group of the era but their sophomore album just sounded like outtakes from their first and their last album it sounded like they were trying to be U2, and for the most part failed massively. The Lumineers had the biggest song of the era with Ho Hey and now are putting out their second album. But like Mumford and Sons, the first single just sounds like a leftover from their first. I guess I should wait to completely pass judgement until I hear the whole album, but this was a pretty "meh" start. The Neo Folk Era may truly be over. But then again, maybe the Fleet Foxes will release another great album this year giving a second wind.


Where the Lights Get In - Primal Scream featuring Sky Ferreira


Sometimes all the Brit-Pop band of the eighties and nineties blend into each other. Primal Scream is the one who sang Movin' On Up. I guess I can see why Sky Ferreira would jump on a track with them because she definitely goes for an eighties New Way type sound. Still kind of a weird collaboration that I am not sure about yet. In a month I am either going to really love this song or hate. Or more likely, forget it even existed.


Hold On (The Break) - Walk of the Earth


I get it, the new Walk Off the Earth song is entitled Hold On and they are hosting a contest to see which number can hold on the longest. Unfortunately there is not much you can do while hanging off a bar as you can tell by the minimal choreography. Instead it came off as one of the boring Survivor challenges that Probst always has to spruce up by tempting people to drop out in exchange for food. Really I was only left wondering if this was a real contest or if it was staged as to when they would give up.