First Impressions - Teachers

New sitcoms this season have been either extremely good (see My Name Is Earl, Everybody Hates Chris, How I Met Your Mother) or extremely bad (see Emily’s Reasons Why Not, Courting Alex, Four Kings). Now NBC is rolling out its latest effort, Teachers, a comedy about, well, the title pretty much sums it up.

The show starts off with two teachers already burned out they have resorted to playing golf in the halls. And being that this isn’t reality, no one even cares except the goody-goody teacher whose room they slice in to. And that’s not even the most farfetched gag of the first episode. That goes to the substitute teacher who asks one of the golfers if they want a beer only to pull one out of her bag. Oh and the teacher just happens to have a bottle opener that “came with the desk.” Then the very next day the sub is given a full time job. Um, yeah, right.

The teacher in question, Jeff, is played by Justin Bartha who actually has Gigli on his résumé (straight from the NBC.com “Bartha also garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of the mentally challenged younger brother of a powerful federal prosecutor in Martin Brest's “Gigli,” opposite Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez and Christopher Walken.”). His golfing buddy Calvin, is portrayed by Deon Richmond who is best know for play token back dudes teen movies including the Token Black Dude in Not Another Teen Movie. Rounding out the trio of slacking teachers is the elder of the group, Dick, with Phil Hendrie who has done a bunch of work for cartoons, and one look at him and it’s easy to see why. Needless to say, no one will be wearing an “I (Heart) Dick” t-shirt at this high school.

Of course the female teachers on the staff are inexplicitly hot especially Sarah Shahi (see at left), who suddenly disappeared from Alias to never be mentioned again for no reason, as the previously mention alcoholic substitute teacher turned full time staff member. Expect a Van Halen sountrack as she walks down the hall in upcoming episodes. Then there’s the token stuck up British import Alice, played by the equally British Sarah Alexander in her first major role on this side of the pond. Also look out for Kali Rocha, best known as Halfrek, Anya’s demon fiend from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as the straight-laced principal at the high school.

Verdict: What’s sad is that Boston Public was funnier than this show yet still better than the recently canceled Four Kings. But then again, even if it was funny, it wouldn't matter as Veronica Mars will be moving into the timeslot in two weeks.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 12

Last night we had two highly anticipated episodes of Lost and Veronica Mars, which one lived up to the hype more than the other, well let’s just go to the Toss Up to see which one come out on top:

Fox Sitcom
Lost: Married... with Children, with Peggy Bundy, ran for decades before it wasn’t renewed without warning.
Veronica Mars: Arrested Development, with George Michael and Maeby, ran for three season of time slot moves and reduced episodes until, well, I guess it hasn’t technically been canceled yet.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Episode Title
Lost: Lockdown (click to dowload it)
Veronica Mars: The Raps of Graff
Winner: Veronica Mars

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Lost: Peggy tosses Locke aside when he chose his father over her.
Veronica Mars: Madison tosses Dick aside when she chose a more mature mate.
Winner: Lost

Hair
Lost: Locke has some in his flashbacks.
Veronica Mars: Maeby has about the same about.
Winner: Lost

Trustworthy?
Lost: Henry Gale
Veronica Mars - Troy Vandergraff
Winner: Veronica Mars

Male Dominance
Lost: Jack schools Sawyer in poker.
Veronica Mars: Dick schools Logan in Mortal Combat.
Winner: Lost

Lies
Lost: Henry Gale says he’s Henry Gale.
Veronica Mars: Veronica shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Ouch
Lost: Locke gets impaled by the hatch.
Veronica Mars: Troy gets punched trying to defend Veronica’s honor.
Winner: Lost

Welcome Back
Lost: Peggy Bundy
Veronica Mars: Troy Vandergraff
Winner: Veronica Mars

Did You See?
Lost: Walt was found on My Name Is Earl (ha-ha, he called Earl a butt-wad).
Veronica Mars: The helicopter in the building.
Winner: Veronica Mars

It’s Legal
Lost: Off-shore gambling with fruit.
Veronica Mars: Madison Sinclair.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Lived Up to the Hype
Lost: Said there were five can’t miss moments, let me count the ways; finding the balloon, the lockdown, Locke getting impaled, Peggy showing up at the motel, Henry Gale is black, and dead.
Veronica Mars: Rob Thomas said it was up there, but not as good, as A Trip to the Dentist. Five most see moments; Veronica pulling her hair in front of her face, Johnny Cash references, Veronica debating her worth, Cliff in handcuffs, “18-It's Legal; Re-Elect Don Lamb,” Veronica giving a different type of shocker to frat boy, “Dad, you’re hooker’s here, and of course anything with Dick.
Winner: Veronica Mars


Finally, of weeks of sluggish episodes Lost has it’s first episode to live up to the hype, even though any Locke-centric episode that doesn’t tell us why he was in the wheelchair is by definition disappointing. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought he was going to be paralyzed when the dudes who were looking for daddy shoot him. But by the end of the episode, Locke was still standing. But the big news of the flashback was Locke had yet another job. By my track you can add housing inspector to toy store and box company employee.

Back on the island, even though the trio found the balloon, I was convinced that Henry was still an Other, which turned out to be true. But something should be said that the Others gave the dude a proper burial even with a cross. It’s looks as if the group already accused not Henry of murder, but I’m not entirely sure. But not Henry didn’t run when he had the chance, but that may be because he didn’t expect Sayid to did up his not wife. Plus he also now has Locke’s word which will obviously come back to hurt Locke in the end.

Then there was the lockdown that came right before the voice of God, sounding like every drive thru speaker I’ve ever been to. The only thing I could decipher was “Leave the hatch now” followed by a countdown. I’m sure some uber-nerd has already figured out the whole warning by now, but I haven’t the time to search again. Then in a try to get out, Locke gets pinned under the door, symbolically crushing his legs. But with the clock running down he gets not Henry to crawl threw the vents to punch in the numbers, which not Henry seemed to memorize quite quickly as if he already knew them. This does beg the question, why didn’t Locke first try to crawl threw the vents first? Wouldn’t that have been easier than trying to lift those doors? But it did give Locke a chance to see the blacklight image, which again I’m sure some uber-nerd has translated by now, while not Henry punched in the numbers, or so he says. And it’s safe to say that the lockdown has something to do with the food that magically appeared outside the hatch.

But it was Veronica Mars that outshined allcomers last night. It totally lived up to Rob’s hype, although I may put the first episode of this season above this one too as of now. It really seemed as if all the actors tonight brought their A game and seemed to walk with a swagger. I loved how the show started off with Wallace and Veronica and she tries to get out of her college visit by pulling her hair across her face. Kristen Bell hasn’t been cuter since Emmy Idol. Of course she goes basically to get out of class for a couple days (who has a three day campus visit anyways). There she runs into Troy Vandergraff, her first bad boy boyfriend, long before Logan. The following conversation was great, drudging up everything bad in their past.

Also on campus we get George Michael, still in geeky George Michael mode except he shot a man in Reno, but it wasn’t to watch him die. Maeby on the other hand take a surprising dramatic turn as rape victim. I’m not sure I was ready to see her in that light just yet. This gets me wondering, as it’s pretty obvious that Veronica will be joining Wallace at Hearst next year, will we see more of George Michael and Maeby, or even Troy, in season three? And as Rob Thomas said at the Blogger’s Press Day, the observant viewer will see the seeds of season three’s mystery later in this season, I wonder if Veronica battling with the frat boys will be involved. I believe they never did find out who exactly was the rapist, just that it wasn’t Troy. Speaking of harebrain theories, I hope everyone noticed Veronica wondered if the bus crash and Felix’s murder were connected when she saw Danny Boyd at the construction site.

But there was much off-campus events in this episode too highlighted by “18-It's Legal; Re-Elect Don Lamb” flyer. May I also point out even Lamb would hook up with Madison Sinclair. But this all came about because Cliff got fooled by a hooker who stole his caseload, including his Logan information, and handcuffed him to the bedpost. And speaking of Logan, after spending a day with Dick, he quickly realizes that not what he wants his life to be, sending him back into the arms of Hannah, even though he had an agreement with pappa to stay away from her. And then she was promptly shipped off to Vermont. Oh Hanna, we hardly knew ya. But this is Veronica Mars, so don’t rule out her staying there, because I’d personally like to see more of her.

And the cool thing about the Blogger Press Day is seeing things that other people wouldn’t even think about like the helicopter in the building in the background during the break up scene of Logan and Hannah while they were walking to the parking lot. Not convinced that what I’m talking about is true, click on the picture at right to see the building in question better. Next to where Veronica Mars shoots, there is a place where the military trains troops in urban warfare in Iraq. Who knew Baghdad was a suburb of Neptune?

Next week, we finally get more of Hurley. Will Libby show up like I theorized earlier? What we do know is that Hurley will see a person from his past ala Jack with his father last season. While on Veronica Mars, someone wins a day with Woody Goodman which includes being able to blow up the former Sharks stadium, possible destroying evidence in the process. I get that sense. Oh and look out for another America’s Next Top Model cameo. Yippee.

Chatting with Rob Thomas and Jason Dorhing

Before I get to the teleconference I want to pass along something my contact at Veronica Mars passed on to me. First thing, there are few things more disturbing thank opening up my e-mail and see something with the subject, “Veronica Mars Has Not Been Canceled.” That means there might be rumblings about that. But for those that have heard there rumors, here’s a statement from my contact at UPN:

Veronica Bloggers, we need your help with only something you can do. There's a rumor on the internet that Veronica Mars is canceled. It's not true. Please help us spread the word.

If you were on the Rob Thomas Blogger Press Conference yesterday, you know that he's planning for a third season. Season three is still absolutely possible with your support!

So tune in tonight, 9 PM, ET/PT on UPN.


It seems like every other day there is a report of shows from UPN and WB that will or will not make it to the CW, but none should be believed. It seems like I heard almost every show currently on both networks will both be picked up and canceled by now. The people at the CW said nothing is set in stone and will unveil their schedule sometime in May, so you shouldn’t believe anything unless it is officially issued by UPN/WB/CW.

That much hyped teleconference I’ve been talking about lately was finally last night as Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas and star Jason Dorhing, the latter who was fashionable late though as he came straight from a looping session. Unfortunately there were much more people invited to participate than I thought there would be so I only got two questions asked but at least that was one more than other (poor Ducky was told they were wrapping up while on hold). Hopefully someday I get an one on one interview with Rob so I can get to all my long list of questions still left over from last night and the Bloggers Press Day in San Diego last month.

Here was my question for Rob (minor spoilers in the answer): I get this sense that the two overlying major themes of this season, who killed Felix and who caused the bus crash, might be related. Am I totally going out their on a ledge here?

Rob: (laughs, and if noticed, of the three questions I’ve posted here, he laughed at everyone): You know, I wouldn’t tell you if you were right. That’s information I want to keep close to the vest right now. I mean, um, there are characters overlaps in there whether we have the same cause at the end of the day, the same villain at the end of the day; I will let you find out. In the next couple episodes, the great thing about season one, and I feel really strong about this in season two, it feels like we spend the first half of the season sort of making the story get bigger, introducing more characters, more plotlines, some of them red herring, some of them very specific, real clues, and we spend the last half of the season sort of narrowing the focus. I though last year our final five or six episodes were really strong an our fan base are really following the year long mystery and I feel confident this year going into last five or six it gets real meaty on both of those storylines. I will say this they don’t resolve at the same time, the two storylines don’t resolve at the same time. It’s a bit of a clue, but not a complete clue.

My question for Jason: With Veronica Mars’ season winding up do you have any plans this summer like any movies lined up?

Jason: You know, I don’t know. There’s a lot of materials I’m kind of spoiled from reading guess from reading a lot of Veronica Mars scripts. There a lot of low budget horror films and I don’t know that’s something I want to do, I think I’m just looking for more quality product or go into theater, doing something that’s kind of acting specific. And I’m going to continue looking for something; I’ve only read one thing so far that I’m like really down to do and their still pulling together their financing for that.


Here are a couple more interesting tidbits asked by other bloggers and I'm sure the other Veronica Mars Press Day Bloggers have more in depth stories and you can look for them on my sidebar. (minor spoiler ahead):

Rob wore Neptune Fish House shirt, something that Dick will be wearing in the future.

This and next favorite of this year

Rob says they are “blowing up the bank on the season finale.” And will be spanning the continent (mmm, Mexico maybe?)

Picks episode titles that will make him laugh. Next week’s “The Raps of Graff” may be his favorite.

Doesn’t look like Cupid will make it to DVD.

Logan and Dick will find they can't quit each other.

Rob also mention that he and the writers are thinking of changing up the format from the two major seasons long arcs to maybe going with three short arcs going 7-7-8 weeks. You are welcome to comment here but it may be best to have all the comments at one place and the best would be at Give Me My Remote Forums and post your thoughts on this there. And tomorrow there will be my regularly scheduled Toss Up between one of Rob's favorite episodes of Veronica Mars and Lost's five can't missed scenes.

I (Heart) Madison

Now, it seems as if I’ve started a little feud with one of my Veronica Mars Blogger brethren, The Attractive Nuisance It could be feud bigger than the morons who argue whether Veronica should end up with Duncan or Logan when she obviously should end up with Dick, and may even escalate to Biggie/Tupac proportions. It all started during her review of Versatile Toppings when she said “One poor lesbian girl wrote a love poem to Madison. I'm all for girl on girl action, but...Madison? With the bitchery and the fake, pancake-y tan and Mac's biological family? That's the girl you want to make the sweet, sweet love to? Really? Um...okay.”

Being that I would totally hit that I had to leave a comment that led to this exchange:

Scooter: Would you think less of me if I said I wouldn't mind a little girl on Scooter action with Madison?

TAN: Scooter, in a show full of hot women (and hot men), Madison is the least comely among them. Maybe she's funny.

Scooter: I'm not saying that Madison's on top of my list, she's well below Veronica, Meg, rabbit girl, Carmen, Carrie Bishop and 2 of the 3 Shelly Pomroy's, but I'd still hit that.

TAN: In the words of the cast of Arrested Development...

Her?

Scooter: But in the words of the great philosopher Dick:

(Scooter Note: I have take this out because I quoted a line not yet uttered by Dick but needless to say, it's sexual in nature. I'll update you later in a Toss Up after he says the line. For those in the know, it the line about horses)

And when it comes to Madison, doesn't Dick know best?

TAN: I've learned more from Dick Casablancas than I have from, say, Hegel, but I thought Madison wouldn't let him get fresh with her. Wasn't that why he was trying to slip GHB into her drink in "A Trip to the Dentist"? Dick may not be a reliable source.


Now I killed this conversation because I forgot to check if Dick and Madison ever hooked up, but I’m still under the impression they did sometime. Why would Dick ask his ex-girlfriend for a quickie at the winter carnival if they hadn’t already did it? So I though this mini-feud was dead until I saw this on her blog when she was trolling for questions for tonight’s teleconference with Rob Thomas and Jason Dohring:

TAN: Do you think Scooter McGavin is crazy for saying he would tap Madison's ass?

Scooter: I can't wait until you ask #2 so I can be vindicated. And just so you know, if he avoids the question by bringing up his wife, that's guy code for "I totally hit that, I just don't want to sleep on the couch for a month."

TAN: I am totally asking Jason Dohring about Madison because I am confident that he will agree with me that she is a nasty whore.

Scooter: Whoa, being a nasty whore has nothing to do with if someone would "tap that ass." In fact it may increase the chance that someone would. C'mon he does play a guy who hooked up with Kendall, that's Madison in 5-10 years.

TAN: It pains me, but I think I have to concede the point, especially after I pointed out Madison's over-tanned-ness. Madison may eclipse Kendall and turn into a Louis Vuitton bag before she's Kendall's age, so if you want to tap that ass, now is prime ass-tapping time. Kendall's hair is so much better though.

I just can't understand the desire to tap Madison's ass in the first place. I mean...Kristen Bell? Even I would totally hit that. Girls who write thank you notes are sexy. But Madison?

Scooter: Well right-out-of-high-school is always the prime ass-tapping time. But anyways. And like I have said before, Madison isn't on the top of my list and is definitely behind KB, but that in no way means I'd tell her no.

TAN: Isn't it, like, in the guy rule book that you never say no?

Maybe your question to Jason Dohring can be if he will put in a good word for you with Madison.

Scooter: It's not necessarily in the guy rule book to say no, it's just you can never admit you said no unless she is beyond ugly and is consensus among all guys present that none of them would have hit it.

Unfortunately I have too many other questions, I may not get to Madison, Oh well.

TAN: I am so jealous! I can't think of anything to ask. Not anything serious anyway. Maybe I'll ask Jason to put in a good word for you as a follow up to my question as to whether other guys would hit that.

Incidentally, I don't know how old you are, but I hope it's young enough to make the comment about post-high school girls okay.

Scooter: The high school thing was just a joke, personally I prefer girls who won't be constantly asking me to buy them beer. It's probably wrong for anyone to make that statement seriously unless they are right out of high-school themselves. I just thought it was funny because I assume the chick who plays Madison, like the rest of the people on the show, is well into her twenties. Unfortunately sarcasm is hard to convey with the written word.

And maybe if you are nice to me, I'll send along some of my questions.

TAN: Nice to you, huh? Hm...let's see. I find your blog witty and indicative of a well-rounded personality. Also, your taste in women is impeccable. I'll let you debate which of those statements is true. Can I have some questions now?

Scooter: I was going to ask Rob how was it like writing then performing a song with Santana. You can go ahead and have that one.

TAN: Oh, come on. At least give me some of your C- or D-material. Everyone knows that writing and performing a song with Santana is one of those things that you think is going to be really great and then it ends up being kind of overrated and you have to wear leather pants and he just wants to talk about his new line of women's shoes the whole time. Rob doesn't want to go down that road again.

Scooter: Okay here's another one for Rob that's at the bottom of my list: Did you make Lamb a Big and Rich fan to make more evil than he already is or did you name drop them because secretly you're a fan.

TAN: Aren't Big and Rich those annoying men who sing the country music?

Here's a question I was thinking of asking Rob: Why is the movie called "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector"? Is he both a cable guy and a health inspector? If so, why is this not highlighted in the previews? If not, why isn't it either a movie about a redneck cable guy or else called Larry: Health Inspector? Is Larry not, by definition, a cable guy? Does this make any more sense than, say, MC Hammer: Attaché to Greece? Of course, at that point, I would have taken up a lot of Rob's time and been unfair to the other participants.

I could theoretically be coming up with less silly questions if I wasn't working on a summary judgment motion.

Scooter: Yeah, Big and Rich are country and sadly introduced the word to the first country rapper too. It pains me to even write that last part.

As for the movie, I just assumed all rednecks needed more than one job to help fund their meth habit.

TAN: Country rapper? I'm still grappling with the existence of Matisyahu. Wait. How can you be a country rapper? Isn't that like skiing and playing badminton at the same time?

Speaking as someone from a family full of rednecks, I can tell you that meth has gotten more expensive since Target cracked down on the purchase of OTC drugs. However, making it at home reduces the cost and is something the whole family can do together!

Scooter: Hey, didn't you watch the biathlon during the winter Olympics? That's skiing and shooting at the same time. But yeah Matisyahu creeps me out a bit, but is somewhat entertaining at the same time in a long lost son of ZZ Top sort of way. Can't they lend him that car for his next video?

I thought redneck shopped at Wallmart. I'm sure there's no cracking down there, I mean they sell guns to kids.

TAN: I didn't catch the winter Olympics. Being from Florida, the snow and ice do not interest me. I have a particular grudge against ice, since I think I slipped on it and broke my tailbone 3 weeks ago.

Rednecks like to comparison shop. Wal-Mart has a better firearms department, while Target has the superior pharmacopia.



So it's time to pick sides; either you're with me or against me. Feel free to let your opinion known in the comment section. And be sure to check back tomorrow for a report on tonight’s conference. And since there’s no Cavs game this Wednesday, the regularly scheduled Toss Up will be on Thursday.

The Only Songs to Sing Are Those Sung Again

Ben Harper has gotten a bad rap of ripping off other artist. But in actuality, ever artist out today is derivative of older groups. And in most cases those groups have stolen music from other people. Unlike other artist, at least Harper steals from the best blending The Rolling Stones and Sly and the Family Stone which can be found on his latest album, Both Sides of the Gun.

The title could allude to the double album, split into a more rocking disk and a mellow one even though with both disks clocking in at just over a half an hour, it could have fit on one. This does cause problem as the mellow disk does seem to drag on at times and could have benefited by having an upbeat song in-between them to break up the monotony of the first disk especially with the instrumental Sweet Nothing Serenade which is stuck in the middle of it.

That’s not to say there are plenty of great songs on the mellow version. And with all the great band Harper is influenced by, it seems like his good friend Jack Johnson has rubbed off on him on the mellow disk but takes it a step further with a few orchestral arrangements. The first three songs here are heartbreaking, but still have a grandiose vibe to them. Reason to Mourn sound like he took something from his recent collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama also with the standout track of the first disk, Crying Won’t Help You Know.

But the upbeat disk is by far better than its predecessor. This one starts off with the Middle Eastern inspired Better Way, that doesn’t even lose its appeal when Harper goes into a weird screaming bridge. That song starts off a string of anti-war songs, that’s none more blatant than the early Stones sounding Don’t Talk about Murder While I’m Eating and Gather ‘Round the Stone with lines like old men who send children off to die in vain.” The war isn’t the only thing Harper is angry about as the post-Katrina effort gets addressed on Black Rain starting the song off with the straight-forward lyrics “You left them swimming for their lives down in new Orleans.” The title track goes off in a funky Sly-style diversion by way of Jimi Hendrix and deals with the social issues that would make both proud.

Song to Download - Gather 'Round the Stone

Both Sides of the Gun gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars week 11

Well I finally got to see Veronica Mars last night thanks to it being preempted last week due to the Cavs game and as always it was worth the wait. At first I thought it was just going to be a recap episode after the massively long “Previously on” segment. For those keeping track at home, it clocked in at three minutes. Unfortunately by the time I saw it Lost (download The Whole Truth) had slowly slipped from my mind so the Toss Up this week may suffer creatively from it. It only furthers my assumption that I should re-watch Veronica Mars before or after Lost.

Good to See Again
Lost: The weird looking dude from the last Sun/Jin-centric episode and he apparently is no longer courting the American chick.
Veronica Mars: Cliff is back as Logan’s “If you can’t afford an attorney” attorney and apparently he will soon be in the market for an “I’m with Stupid” T-shirt (what, not an I (Heart) Beaver one).
Winner: Veronica Mars

MIA
Lost: Hurley, Claire, Eko, the crazy French Chick.
Veronica Mars: Jackie, Weevil, Madison
Winner: Veronica Mars

Wizard of Oz Reference
Lost: Dorothy’s uncle may or may not be evil (get it, Henry Gale).
Veronica Mars: Jane laments, “There’s no place like Heidi’s.”
Winner: Lost

Shady Character
Lost: We are not sure whether Henry is evil or not but his breakfast conversation makes it clearer.
Veronica Mars: Vinny VanLowe, back from Mexico got thrown out of yet another bar for stalking.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Bad Vegetables
Lost: When Sun doesn’t follow his command, Jin rips out her garden.
Veronica Mars: Dick assumes Aaron has slimmed down in prison thanks to all the tossed salad (okay Dick really crossed the line with that one).
Winner: Lost

Duped
Lost: Ana Lucia may or may not have been duped by Dorothy’ uncle by leading her into a trap.
Veronica Mars: Beaver may or may not have been duped by inverters eagerly willing to dump real estate that will fall outside of Woody’s proposed cooperation plan.
Winner: Lost

Assumptions
Lost: Jin assumes the kid I his.
Veronica Mars: Dr. Griffins assumes that Logan will stop seeing Hannah in exchange for repealing his testimony.
Winner: Veronica Mars

Rivalry
Lost: In the battle of not letting the other get the upper hand, they unknowingly let Ana Lucia go search for the balloon that could turn out to be a trap.
Veronica Mars: After competing against each other for years, Keith actually gives Lamb some information that hurt his client, Terrence Cook. Lamb then proceeds to gloat and presumable listen to more Big and Rich.
Winner: Lost

Miscommunication
Lost: When Sawyer and Bernard congratulates Jin on being a daddy, he for some reason hears them speak backwards (doesn’t creepy Walt speak backwards too?)
Veronica Mars: When Logan asks Hanna if she wanted to come over to the Neptune Grand all she hears is “Let’s have sex.”
Winner: Veronica Mars

The Downside of Thinking
Lost: Well nothing really, I just wanted to type…
Veronica Mars: Thinking makes Kendall’s breasts smaller.
Winner: No contest


The first new Toss Up in over a month is tainted due to the Cavs game. Both shows both had interesting storylines, but neither really holds up to the respective shows best episodes. On Lost it looks like we will have another baby on our hands. Although at the rate the show goes, it won’t be delivered until season eight. I find it interesting that almost everyone thinks the father is Jin and the island gave him some super-sperm. Granted we will have to wait a couple years to see if it’s actually a black baby, but here’s my theory; Sun, wanting a baby to help transition to her new life in America, got artificially inseminated and brought along a home pregnancy test to see if it worked. This would fall in with her telling Jin she’s never been with another dude (although is Jerry Spinger taught me anything, woman lie about who the daddy all the time) and would explain why she would think to ask Sawyer for the test because she knew there was one on the plane.

While down in the hatch, everyone’s ready to convict Dorothy’s uncle, but Ana Lucia gave him one last chance to repent and he did so by drawing a map to his balloon. But his “You’re lucky I’m not evil” speech pretty much confirms that he is indeed evil. Doesn’t it?


While on Veronica Mars yet another presumable throwaway character, Jane, pop ups again to be Wallace’s surprise girlfriend and now even got her own episode last night. It really these little things that makes the show great. I’m mean if Dick, who was originally brought in so Logan would have someone besides Duncan to talk to, can make it into the credits; you never know when a past supporting character will show. Hey there may just be one that shows up next week. Unfortunately Jane’s sister, run away bride reminded me of the Anthony Anderson episode from last season. But second rate mystery of the week aside, the writing made up for it. The tossed salad comment aside, I really loved how the oldest money in Neptune is from the eighties.

There were plenty of season long plot points addressed in the episode. First we saw the first on screen meeting of Aaron and Kendall who seem to joining up. In return for providing her more capital, it looks like Kendall will be setting up Duncan by taking some hair out of his shower drain. During the on-set visit, Rob Thomas mentioned there would be a crucial scene in the shower that didn’t involve people taking a shower. I thinking this may be it. And speaking of Aaron, am I the only one that believes him when he says he didn’t kill Lilly Kane? And while I’m asking question, does anyone else think Beaver may have join Big Dick in exclusion soon because his land trust may go south soon?

Now back to this season’s mystery, I’m still convinced Woody is behind the crash. He had the means to plant the explosives in his own hanger and his with incorporation plan; he still stands to profit from social segregation that the bus crash sparked. Also sparking social segregation was the murder of Felix and I beginning to wonder if the two big mysteries of the reason are connected. Chris Rock once theorized that George Bush sent the white girl to Kobe’s room and killed Lacy Peterson to keep people’s mind of the war. Could Woody be using this technique to keep the population’s mind off of the incorporation plan?

This week Veronica finally confronts Logan about his new girlfriend leading to the great, “You’re cute when you’re jealous” line. But even when Logan seems to get what he wants out of the relationship, her dad changing his testimony, he seems to be conflicted especially after Hannah “Logan’s a great guy” speech to her mother. But I still think Hannah will soon have a WWE type swerve to screw Logan over in the end.

Next week Lost promises not one, not two, but five, count ‘em five can’t miss moments and from the preview, some look to be Ana Lucia’s army finding a balloon and Locke getting caught behind the safety door. The question though is, after so many anemic episodes this season, why stuff all the can’t miss scenes in one episode? Then next week Veronica Mars goes back to campus where she may or may not run into someone from her past and some cousins who, like Dick and Beaver, know something about family members that make shady real estate investments. And if my memory is correct, I believe this is the episode where Rob Thomas said the show will start getting really, really good. Of course that’s opposed to the really good this season has been already.

Also, if you have some questions for Rob or Jason Dohring, you need to e-mail me (ScooterKSU@aol.com) by Tuesday at 8:00 EST and maybe I'll ask them your wquestion during my teleconference with them.

Did Anyone Try to too Hard

Teddy Geiger had a great marketing plan; before his first album, Underage Thinking was ever released, he got himself on a re-accruing role on a new show, playing basically himself, a new singer-songwriter looking to break into the business. Unfortunately for Geiger, the show, Love Monkey, was quickly canceled after three shows, a good month before the album was even released.

When I first saw Geiger on Love Monkey, my first thoughts on his character were "Wayne is actually played by a singer, Teddy Geiger, basically a John Mayer rip-off. This is a problem considering not even John Mayer wants to bite his old style." Well after listening to his album, I realized I was wrong on that account, he doesn’t bite John Mayer, he actually more of a Gavin DeGraw clone with more of a piano driven, pseudo-soul sound whereas Mayer is more of a blues retread.

But the main different between DeGraw and Geiger is the songwriting. DeGraw, and Mayer for that matter, can write songs that people of all ages can relate to even if they were written about a certain time in his life. Geiger’s songs on the other hand are very Middle School which will most likely limit his fan base which could grow out of him within years. Nowhere is this more evident than the lamely title track where the sixteen year old dreams of an adult time thus proving the assessment that youth is waited on the young.

Another negative is his voice. Going for the blue-eyed soul like DeGraw, Geiger stretches his voice too far while reaching for notes which is okay for the opening track, These Walls, but it gets old quick and fails even worse when he goes into falsetto later on the album. When he does tone things back, the songs are much better like on Try Too Hard and A Million Years. Hopefully Geiger grows up like he hopes he does by the next time he starts another album.

Song to Download - Try Too Hard

Underage Thinking gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Veronica Mars Withdrawal Continues

Well it’s been two days since Veronica Mars was supposed to air, but thanks to LeBron James, I still have to wait. And it isn’t having to wait that makes it bad as I didn’t bother me too much when the show is in repeats, it’s knowing that everyone else has seen it and I haven’t yet. To pass the time until I get to see the latest episode I have a bunch of Veronica Mars news. But first, for anyone interested in participating in my fantasy baseball NL Only league, drop me an e-mail, ScooterKSU@aol.com. We will be having a live draft this coming Tuesday, at 9:00 PM EST. You don’t need to be there to play as a computer will make your picks for you.

Also this Tuesday I’ll be participating in a Teleconference, technology willing, with Rob Thomas and Jason Dohring. I know I didn’t ask for questions when I went on the set, but that’s because I had an overabundance I thought myself, and even though I still have more questions, I will be accepting questions from my readers. Just drop me an e-mail with anything you want to now. But please no dumb question because I prefer the dumb questions to come from my own head. Also if you want to ask something like “How was it like working with Santana” or any other Matchbox Twenty questions, please check this post out - No, Not That Rob Thomas.

Something cool for the Veronica Mars faithful who would like to show their love for the show, here’s a way how that the good people at UPN sent along to me and if you are interested, drop me an e-mail and I’ll send along how you can do this:

If you videotape you and your friends watching Veronica Mars, you may get a chance to see yourself on national TV!

UPN is offering its dedicated Veronica Mars bloggers a great opportunity to have your 15-seconds of fame! Every week, get a group of friends together for a Veronica Mars viewing party and shoot some video of your event. The tape can include anything you want: sound bites of your friends talking about their favorite characters, you saying why you love Veronica Mars, or a group shout-out to your friends and family in your hometown. But keep it clean, because your tape could end up airing on UPN during an episode of Veronica Mars!

Every week starting in April, tune in to Veronica Mars on UPN to see if your party is chosen as the featured party that airs during that week’s episode. Even if your party doesn’t make it on UPN, make sure to check out UPN.com to see if it is online.

Creativity counts and don’t forget to express why you are the biggest Veronica Mars fan. This is an excellent opportunity to convert your friends into Veronica Mars fans!!!!

Please keep in mind that if your video is broadcast on TV, it will need to be brightly lit and the audio will need to be clear. Also, in order to ensure that we can use it, the video can’t include any copyrighted materials, such as logos on clothing, music or television programming playing in the background, or signage, like posters, paintings, photographs, and etc.

The featured parties will run during a commercial break and UPN’s producers will be editing your footage into an on-air promo, so the tape only needs to be a few minutes long. Finally, depending on your home video camera, VHS, mini-DV or DVD are best.

In order for UPN to be able to use your tape on air or on UPN.com, you and all of your friends at the party need to sign releases and provide a current photograph of each of you so we can identify who everyone is.

Again e-mail me for more information, Now more Veronica Mars news straight from UPN:

Veronica Mars is moving back to Tuesday nights!

We wanted to let you know that UPN announced today that they are moving Veronica Mars back to her original time period on Tuesdays at 9 PM. Starting April 11, tune in to UPN on Tuesday nights to catch all new episodes of Veronica Mars through the season finale on May 9. Repeats will air on Wednesday nights at 9 pm ET/PT for the first couple of weeks.

The hope is that more people will be able to tune-in to Veronica on Tuesdays. So, tell all your friends that there are no excuses now not to watch Veronica Mars!

Okay as egocentric person I am, I’m somewhat weary of this only because it will mess with my weekly Toss Up between Veronica Mars and Lost which is built around the two shows sharing the time slot. Oh well. I will continue this for the reminder of this season and may also tape Veronica Mars and watch it again either before or after Lost to have both shows fresh in my mind when I thin up Toss Up categories and will continue to post the Toss Up on Thursday. And my last Veronica Mars news is the press release for next week’s episode, not that it means much to me considering I haven’t seen last week’s yet:

VERONICA AND WEEVIL WORK TOGETHER TO BRING FELIX’S MURDERER TO JUSTICE, ON "VERONICA MARS," WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5 ON UPN

Recurring Guest Stars Steve Guttenberg ("The Poseidon Adventure")
and Tina Majorino ("Napoleon Dynamite") Return

"Plan B" -- Weevil enlists Veronica's help to finally prove who killed Felix and bring that person to justice, on VERONICA MARS, Wednesday, April 5 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on UPN. John Kretchmer directed the episode from a script written by Dayna Lynne North.

Meanwhile, Logan wins an essay contest and gets to intern with Mayor Woody Goodman (guest star Steve Guttenberg) as his Honorary Deputy. Also, love is in the air at the Sadie Hawkins dance as sparks fly between former couples.


One non-Veronica Mars story, apparently that wasn’t the only thing I missed Wednesday as Kari, the chick in my preseason poll of America’s Next Top Model whom I most wanted to have dirty, dirty sex with, was voted off. Since I didn’t know she was voted off until today, I didn’t get a chance to participate in the weekly teleconference with the most recent castoff to ask if she wanted to hook up sometime. Oh well. Here is my revisionist pick for girl I’d most like to have dirty, dirty sex with, Joanie Dodds (cue up Preacher’s Daughter). Picture courtesy of UPN:




And cue up It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday for one last look at the fallen Kari, picture also courtesy of UPN:

Take Me Out to the Ballgame 2006

We are almost a week away from opening day so that means it's time for fantasy baseball time and I'm here to help you out with your draft. So keep in mind these rules in mind when ranking the available players.

Rule #1 - The Hellboy Rule - Or the avoid people with big heads rule. With the new steroid testing put into affect, it would not be wise to draft anyone, who in previous season, were drafted based on their power. Their numbers will decrease (or will be suspended). Look what happened to Giambi when he went of the Clear. So I would avoid every one caught up in the recent scandal. The only exceptions to this rule would be Jason Giambi who somwhow recovered last year after everything that went down and Pudge Rodriquez. All catchers put up low numbers anyways so it’s a coin flip on them anyways.

Rule #2 - The Ron Artest Rule - Do not draft anyone who could possibly be suspended for the entire season. Unfortunately I did not abide by this rule during my fantasy baseball draft. That was waste of a third round pick. The baseball equivalent of Artest would be Milton Bradley. Granted Bud Selig doesn't have the grapefruits of David Stern so killing a fan might only some one only a half season suspension, but that is still a lot of games to be missing.

Rule #3 - Don't Follow Trends - It happens every year, some one takes a catcher early, then the next ten picks end up being catchers. There are only three quality catchers (Lopez, Posada, and Varitek), so if you don't get one of them, wait until the later round and pick whatever is left. No catcher can make much of an impact plus they take a lot of days off. On the opposite side of the spectrum, make sure you get a good closer before they run out. Last year I had to trade some offence to get a closer because I waited too long to draft a quality reliever.

Rule #4 - The Ken Griffey Jr. Rule - Do not draft a player who is injury prone. Yet every year some one inevitably drafts Griffey saying he will be healthy and return to his Seattle days type dominance. Sometimes it goes well, but the May, Griffey will come up limp running down to first, and the team who picked him will be unmercifully mocked for the rest of the season.

Rule #5 - Draft Multi-Position Players - This will give you more options if you experience injuries or you can plug more players that are on your bench when some of your other players have off-days. This is especially handy if they are eligible at catcher but is an everyday player somewhere else. Unfortunatly the games best multi-position players, Beltran, Pujols, and A-Rod have lost eligbility and are down to one position each.

For those interested in getting beat like a red-headed stepchild by me playing with me in an NL-only fantasy league, drop me an e-mail (ScooterKSU@aol.com) if you want to join. We will be having a live draft Tuesday, March 28th at 9:00 EST.


As for the weekly Toss-Up between Lost and Veronica Mars that usually appears on Thursday, I still haven't seen this week's VM due to the Cavs game last night. I will have that up as soon as I see it, which will be no later than Sunday. For your Veronica Mars fix until then check out the other Bloggers who got an on the site visit in my sidebar especially Ducky who created the greatest t-shirt since "LeBron's Mom Gave Me a Hummer." And even though I didn't post a picture from the set today, you definately want to check out the latest post on my sister site, Scooter McGavin Takes Pictures. I'm sure Dick would approve of it.

We on Award Tour - 2006 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Aside from the Grammy’s, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is the most reliable awards show out there today, sorry VMA’s, it’s time to get Chris Rock back on the phone. This is obviously based on performances by the best of the best that get inducted each year and is very watchable no matter how much VH1 edits the show, chopping out performances and speeches.

Although in recent years I’ve worried about the show when the 80’s bands start becoming eligible, and with it’s twenty-five year eligibly rule, that came last year. But with last year being headlined by U2, this year was the true litmus test on how the Hall would treat the lean years. And without any marquee names releasing their first album in 1981 it looks like they went back and inducted some of the second and third tier acts that got lost in the shuffle the last decade or so. And you know it’s a bad year for the Hall when Bono or Bruce Springsteen don’t show up to induct anyone. Here are some more thoughts on this year’s festivities and inductees.

- The show starts off with a Wilson Pickett tribute led by Solomon Burke, granted not as good as the one at the Grammy’s. I hope this becomes a tradition where they do a medley of songs by any inductee that died that year. That would be more entertaining and better send off than the tradition Grammy’s “Those Have Passed” montage.

- Blondie is the first inducted with Shirley Manson of Garbage doing the duty. Unfortunately VH1 didn’t subtitle her like with Sherman Hemsley because I couldn’t understand a word she said except when she said in their career, Blondie did it with no ridiculous demand. Um, how about Debbie Harry refusing some of the original members from playing. That was extremely shady. Speaking of which, after seeing her perform it was easy to see Harry and her music really hasn’t stood the test of time.

- This year’s “Really? They Weren’t in Already” Award goes to Miles Davis. He should have easily been a first ballot inductee. If you don’t have Bitches Brew, then you just don’t like music. The best part of his induction was when Herbie Hancock told a story about, when backing with Miles, played the wrong not and Miles stopped for a second, then started playing again, turning Herbie’s wrong note into a right one.

- Lars and James of Metallica are next up to induct Black Sabbath including the clichéd “We would be here if it weren’t for…” And for some reason Sabbath themselves didn’t play even though they were all there instead Metallica went threw a couple of their songs including Iron Man. Is it wrong that I thought The Cardigans did a better version?

- Sting then came up to induct Herb Albert and Jerry Moss. Um, okay, next.

- Instead of a proper induction, Jann Wenner instead read the letter John Lydon of the Sex Pistols wrote on his thoughts of the Hall. Funny stuff, but they should have still should have given them an actual induction.

- Last in this year was Lynyrd Skynyrd, inducted by Kid Rock, thankfully sans Scott Stapp. The Hall really missed a golden opportunity by not have Neil Young, a multiple inductee and has inducted his fair share of artists, do the honors. With the induction of Lynyrd Skynyrd, it begs the question; can anyone above the Mason-Dixon Line name three of their songs? I have their Greatest Hits album, been two of their shows, and I can’t. Speaking of their live shows, either VH1 cut it down, or that was the shortest version of Free Bird ever at just over ten minutes. Usually that song clocks in at forty minutes in concert.

- Lastly, in lieu of the usual all star jam, at the end, there was the prerequisite New Orleans tribute that no award show could go without this time headed by Elvis Costello and Alan Toussaint. I like how Elvis saying he would not make an ant-war speech, actually made one. A nice Mardi Gras touch was added when the weird dude started throwing stuff into the audience. And the child of the 80’s cynic would ask why did they cover the song from Rain Man, but much like Costello, I won’t go there.

Just a quick programming note about the 9th Green, my usual Thursday Toss Up between Lost and Veronica Mars will be postponed due to my local UPN station showing the Cavs vs. the Bobcats game. Seriously, the Bobcats, it’s not like they are playing the Pistons or Kobe. But anyways. I’ll have my Toss Up as soon as I see the new Veronica Mars which will be no later than Sunday.

First Impressions - The Surreal Life 6

In the midst of the HBO free preview and watching the first two episodes of Big Love (scroll down for a review), I forgot all about the return of the guiltiest of pleasures on television Sunday, The Surreal Life. But luckily it is on VH1 so it’s been own about ten times since it premiered and will most likely be on another twenty-five time before the next new episode. Now in its sixth incarnation, this season is shaping up to be the best. And that says a lot considering the last two seasons included the Omarosa vs. Janice debacle and the all time greatest television moment, Mini Me, buck naked, on his scooter, peeing in the corner.

This season’s cast sports arguably the biggest star in the show’s history, token washed up actor Sherman Hemsley that everyone remembers as George Jefferson. Well everyone except token Playboy model Andrea Lowell who had to ask who the tanned guy was. Then there are possibly the most volatile cast mates in former Whitesnake hood ornament Tawny Kitaen and the transgender member of the Arquette clan Alexis. I was on the floor when the doorman asked her/him how it’s like to have Cox in the family.

Filling out the cast are token washed up rocker C.C. Deville of Poison and the Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth. Also Carol Brady will be dropping by everyday as the house therapist. And as a twist, this season’s token reality star was chosen via a man pageant by the other cast mates. The most notable of the group was former karaoker and Paula Abdul boy toy Corey Clark. I’m actually surprised that with his notoriety VH1 didn’t just put him in the house as no one else was nearly as famous as he was. There was a Big Brother and Survivor alum, neither of which I’ve heard of even though I’ve seen all the Survivors. Then there was Ace of The Real World: Paris. But he was beat out by Tough Enough champion Maven Huffman, who was recently released from his WWE contract that he won on the show.

The first episode was your usual pleasantries of most shows of this type where they chose their roommates and get to know each other, so the claws usually don’t come out until the second episode, and judging by the preview of the upcoming weeks, there will be many claws out this season. Hopefully everyone learns soon to hide Tawny’s shoes from her, just ask Chuck Finley about that. That’s not to say there weren’t any entertain parts of the first episode. In a page out of The Osbournes page book, Hemsley’s stuttering is so bad they had to subtitle him and eventually do it grammatically for an extra laugh. And what could be an interesting development, I’m not entirely sure Maven realized yet that Alexis has the same parts as him yet. And on that note, Alexis propositioning Andrea for the “last ride” before his/her operation was one of the funniest moments on television so far this year.

Verdict: Much like a crack addict, I just can’t stop. Plus I think we are getting closer and closer to our first reality death, whether it be homicide or overdose (who wants to bet either C.C., Steve, or Tawny fall off the wagon during the show, I not all three?) and I don’t want to miss that.

First Impressions - Big Love

Thanks to the HBO free weekend, I got to check out the first two episodes of their latest series, Big Love which follows a rouge polygamist living in secret with his three wives and seven children. The show stars Bill Paxton (Twister) as Bill, a guy who grew among a polygamist compound but was kicked out as a kid and forced to fend for himself. But instead of going far away from those that booted him, Paxton gets himself three wives who live in consecutive houses and whose backyard is starting to look a lot like the compound he left.

Wife number one, Barb, or boss lady as the others like to call her, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn (Waterworld), is the most stable one in the family, someone that everyone looks up to, so it’s pretty clear she will have a mental breakdown by the end of the season. Then there’s Nicki, number two played by Chloë Sevigny (The Brown Bunny), who, even though she seems to be the most Mormon of the bunch, is addicted to shopping. The latest wife, who seemed to be straight from a sorority house, Margene as played by Ginnifer Goodwin whom I will always remember as Diane Snyder on Ed and seems to get more and more attractive on everything she does.

As for the children, the only one of note is Amanda Seyfried, better know as the late Lilly Kane, as the eldest Hendrickson who doesn’t seem to fond of her living situation with the two extra moms. And she isn’t the only Veronica Mars alum to show up either as she quickly befriend new co-worker played by computer nerd Mac who morphs herself Mormon nerd. Then there’s Beaver, who may be sporting an “I (Heart) Dick” shirt on the show in later episodes because I sensed a in the closet gay vibe from his character as Lilly’s brother’s friend.

And the cast just keeps expanding, as the name of the show suggests, as we also get to meet Bill’s eccentric mom and half dead father who has been poisoned with arsenic. Both Bill and pa finger mom, but it seems pretty obvious to me that it was done by compound prophet Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) who just also happens to Nicki’s father. And to add to the creepy factor, Roman, who’s pushing sixty, has just married a chick who just reached her teenage years played appropriately enough by the creepy chick from The Ring.

Now the thought of a polygamist family would make for good television as it would be three times the laugh, but here is the big problem with Big Love, it’s still a Mormon family. Mormons are really known for being all that interesting. I don’t mean that in a bad way as Mormons are the nicest people I have never met but nice doesn’t make for the best TV. If fact the most interesting part of the show is totally stolen from it’s lead in, The Sopranos, with the Roman extorting his son-in-law out of 15% of all the money he makes. But having The Beach Boys God Only Knows as a theme song is pretty cool.

Verdict: It’s interesting, especially with all the Veronica Mars connections, and Goodwin is captivating, but Big Love is definitely not worth the subscription to HBO to see, but definitely worth checking out the DVD is, or when, it comes out if you don’t already subscribe.

No Reason to Get Excited

A couple months ago I reviewed Rev Run’s first solo album (see the review - Your Momma's Favorite Rapper), and now it’s time for the other living half of the seminal rap group, Darryl “DMC” McDaniel, to throw his hat back in the game with his first solo outing Checks, Thugs and Rock N Roll. Whereas Run took the safe route, veering not very far from his previous sound, taking the minimalist approach coming in just over a half an hour with no guest appearances, DMC is more adventuress and packs in multiple singers and rappers to help him out clocking in just under an hour.

The album starts off with one of the most disturbing samples in which Puffy wasn’t involved when DMC brings in the dude from Buckcherry and the less glamorous members of Aerosmith to rework Jimmy Hendrix All Along the Watchtower. And if that isn’t weird enough for you, later he brings in Sarah McLachlan to recreate the Harry Chapin classic Cats in the Cradle and renames it Just Like Me. The song must be heard to be believed especially when they go over the top by bringing in the kids choir.

But that’s it for the unnecessary samples even though Freaky Chick sounds a lot like Tone Loc’s Wild Thing. But the guest parade doesn’t stop there though. Kid Rock shows up on the life after death song Find My Way which is dedicated to Jam Master Jay and Joe C. Old school legend Doug E. Fresh shows up on Lovey Dover and new school go to hook singer Ciara lends her “talents” on What’s Wrong. Even though it sounds a lot like Eve rapping on Cold, it’s really Ms. Jade. And his old buddy Rev Run even spits a verse on Come 2gether that doesn’t really congers up images of the good ol’ days.

But the major problem with the album is that DMC’s voice has change dramatically since he last put his rhymes on wax. In the classics days, he had a smooth baritone delivery but here his voice is higher and more nasally. The content is deeper though as if DMC has spent his down time listing to Public Enemy and watching CNN as there more than a few songs dealing with the world today including the many wars that are raging. Unfortunately it’s hard to get past the voice to listen to the message.

Song to Download - Just Like Me

Checks, Thugs and Rock N Roll gets a on Terror Alert Scale.