57 Channels and Only This Is On - 7/14/12

Quote of the Week: An eye for an eye just make both people blind. (Bobby, Dallas)

Song of the Week: Little Talks – Of Monsters and Men (Covert Affairs)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Comic-Con: Okay, it is not particularly big news this year as nothing that has trickled out so far (I am still waiting for the Homeland season two preview to be released). Really the only thing that raised my eyebrow so far was the trailer to Oz: the Great and Powerful but mostly because it is directed by Sam Raimi. But I fear this film is just a gateway drug for Hollywood to do a full Wizard of Oz reboot starring Kristen Stewart as Dorothy, Justin Timberlake as the Scarecrow, Tyler Perry as the Tim Man, and Channing Tatum as the Cowardly Lion.



Preview Picture of the Week:



Falling Skies: An interesting plot twist with the skidder uprising, considering the overlords did force them into slavery, but the humans do have a very good reason to cautious considering they have the mind controlling harnesses stuck to their back. And they do not know, like the audience does, that the scarred-face skidder has that eye parasite computer thingy that they pulled out of Tom’s eye.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Weeds: Nancy has taken on her fair share of drug lords in the series history, but the drug dealing clown was easily the most entertaining.

Pretty Little Liars: The talk of the Katy Perry movie was so awkward (“It's a behind-the-scenes look at Mrs. Firework.”) I was convinced it was a product placement. And lo and behold the next commercial break, there it was. Why is it so hard for writers come up with product placements that do not seemed shoehorned in? But I guess this is why Pretty Little Liars writers are on this show and not Mad Men.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Dallas: Last week I pondered how Rebecca would stay on the show after Christopher boisterously dismissed her and concluded she would just do some bed hopping. Apparently I forgot the more obvious way to keep her around: make her pregnant. Or at least have her claim she is pregnant. You are in Dallas Christopher, make sure you see the ultrasound live in person and get a blood test (I am still not completely convinced that her “brother” is really related to her). And after two episodes, I am already prepared to call Assistant Director Skinner the best character on the show after J.R.’s eyebrows. Can we get him promoted to the main cast by next season please?
You can download Dallas on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Live at Eddie’s Attic – Rhett Miller (Noise Trade)

Deal of the Week: 2.99 Country Hits: Amazon went country for their super discounted albums for the week including ones by Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Black Shelton and the 61 track box set from Willie Nelson (which comes out to about five cents per song).



New Album Release of the Week: Life Is Good - Nas

New DVD Release of the Week: Friends With Kids

Video of the Week: Mark finally found his love on Burning Love which you can watch below. If you have not been watching, head over to BurningLove.com to watch the entire season. But those that are caught up, do not fret, there is still one more episode where the Woman Tell All. Hopefully it will also be announced there with be a Bachelorette-style spin off featuring Annie. And if so, I would like to offer my throw my hat into the ring as one of the suitor.

Next Week Pick of the Week: Leverage, Sunday at 8:00 on TNT: In a story I broke earlier this week, Leverage returns tomorrow for another season of pure summer fun. Or as much fun as you can get in the rainy pacific northwest. Check out my Preview of Leverage.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 6/30/12

Quote of the Week: How times can you hear Copacabana without totally siding with Rico? (Michelle, Bunheads)

Song of the Week: She's Gone – Hall and Oates (as tried to be sung by Peter, Franklin & Bash)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Health Care for All, or Else: Who would have guessed it would have been the George Bush appointed Chief Justice John Roberts who would become the swing vote on the Affordable Health Care Act (known to its opponents as Obamacare nee Romneycare)? Of course he was able to get a little partisan jab in his decision saying the law was Constitutional because it was a tax and Congress is allowed to tax Americans even though one of president Obama’s biggest selling points was that it was not a tax. Oops. So if you do not buy health care in the next couple years you will be taxed for it (unless you are near the poverty line, then it is Medicare for you). Of course any so called heath care plan that does not treat carbonated soda and other sugary treats like tobacco is pretty worthless.

Preview Picture of the Week:



Falling Skies: This show and The Walking Dead both seem to suffer from the same problems, the characters are aimless. And whenever they get a destination to get to, another character comes in and says that place has been destroyed or overrun by non-humans. So I am very intrigued with the group heading down to the Continental Congress. Who know what will happen when they get there or if they get there (which may not end up being until the end of the season) but for first time in this series, I am interesting in where they are going with the story.
You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: You would think after Mona blackedmailed herself as A, you would think the Liars would be highly suspicious of anyone else who is being blackmailed. Last week Jena said she continued to pretend to be blind because someone was after her. And this week Spencer’s sister claims she pretended not to be pregnant because someone was blackmailing her. I am guessing in the next episode we will learn that Hermy is being blackmailed too and that is why he is cranky. That and he was totally nailing Mona before she went into the nuthouse and is not getting any since then.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Dallas: What a cruel way to end the episode in mid confession. Thankfully TNT is airing a new episode on 4th of July because on their screeners they had no new episodes airing on the holiday. Granted since I had them at my disposal, I went ahead and watched the opening scene of next week’s episode which ended up playing out exactly how I expected.
You can download Dallas on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Brushfire Records Sampler (Noise Trade, e-mail required)

Deal of the Week: More $2.99 Albums: This week Amazon super-discounted some of my favorite albums (that I paid much more from) including The Black Keys, Mumford and Sons, The Civil Wars as well as the 24-song Led Zeppelin greatest hits package.



New Album Release of the Week: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Soundtrack

New DVD Release of the Week: The Hunter

Video of the Week: In Looper Joseph Gordon Levitt plays a young Bruce Willis who is supposed to kill his future self. Alrighty. I am all up for a weird science-fiction except when I checked out the trailer, Levitt looked nothing like a young Bruce Willis but looked exactly like a young Ed Norton to the point I had to wonder if Norton was originally cast as the older version. It was as if Willis replaced Norton at the last minute and JGL decided that he spent months perfecting his Ed Norton show he just went ahead and did it anyway.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Weeds, Sunday at 10:00 on Showtime: I have already previewed the final season of Weeds, so click the link to read that and be sure to check out the second season Episodes directly following.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 6/23/12

Quote of the Week: The best way to get to know somebody is to talk to their friends… and their enemies. My friends are in the state house. My enemies are harder to find. (J.R. – Dallas)

Song of the Week: Picture In a Frame - Tom Waits (Bunheads)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: A New Member of the Asterisk Club: The Asterisk Club opened its doors to accommodate all the cheating that went on in baseball for the past two decades and has even opened its doors to Olympians, singing competition winners, and even a president. And this week it welcomed its latest member: LeBron James. As a Cleveland sports fan, we had the asterisk locked and loaded when he took his talents to South Beach so he could play with two other All-Stars, one of which was another top five talent in the league. But in the year he won his first championship, that asterisk got even larger. There shortened season, making it an abnormal win to begin with (keep in mind the last time there was a shortened season, an eighth seed made it to the finals). Then the asterisk grew even bigger when Derrick Rose, the best player on the best team, tore his ACL in the first game of the playoffs, giving the Heat an easy path to the championship, playing lower seeds. So enjoy your asterisk and say high to Barry Bonds for me. And if any of this sounds like sour grapes, that is because it is.

The Killing: After a bunch of painful to sit through episodes it was a total shock that the case of Rosie Larsen actually ended competently. A back room deal that Rosie overheard and Jamie had to get rid of her. But why did they wrap it up before the first commercial break. Of wait, this is The Killing and they had to find a way to screw it up. Just when Lynden went to the Larsen’s to tell them they found a broken taillight in a garage they had been in countless number of times. And that taillight was apparently enough evidence for the aunt to confess. Sure she could have lied about it, or gotten it fixed sometime in the last three weeks, or at least explain why the taillight was integral to the story (this is why you solve the case in the first season, everything we learned a year ago, most of us have forgotten). Now it is time to start up a class action lawsuit to get The Killing and AMC to pay therapists to erase any memory of The Killing from our collective minds.
You can download The Killing on iTunes.

Bunheads: A really weird way to start off a series based around someone’s death especially when that death is the husband the main character barely knew. One episode in and I am already content with the show jumping ahead a year where Michelle and Fanny are running the dance studio together with an Odd Couple living arrangement. But since it looks like there will be a fight, or at least some resentment over the estate (how could they be that shocked, even without a will, everything would have gone to the widow anyway).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Bunheads on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: Yeah, Hermy the Hermaphrodite was totally nailing Mona. That is why he has been so moody lately. And I am beginning to think that it is not a good sign that three seasons in, I still have no clue what his real name is and have to resign to calling him Hermy every time.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Dallas: I am glad we got the silly e-mail storyline out of the way. And now that is out of the way, who exactly is Christopher’s new bride, and more importantly who is her brother and what is their agenda? And since this is a soap opera, it is safe to assume their parents are still alive, if they are even related in the first place.
You can download Dallas on iTunes.


Preview Picture of the Week:

The Great Escape, Premiering Sunday at 10:00 on TNT

Free Download of the Week: Love Don't Leave Me Waiting - Glen Hansard (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: Going Solo for $2.99: This week’s ultra cheap albums all belong to group members who struck gold (and platinum) on their on including Lionel Richie, George Michael, Ben Folds and Kenny Loggins.



New Album Release of the Week: Write Me Back (Deluxe Edition) - R. Kelly

New DVD Release of the Week: Christopher Nolan Director's Collection (Blu-ray)

Video of the Week: Sometime when they announce a sequel to a movie you just have to roll your eyes. How many times does Brady Cooper have to get hunover before giving up drinking altogether? How many times are terrorists going to take over a building with Bruce Willis in it? And when they announced Taken 2 I could not help thinking, how many times will the Token Hot Chick from Lost get kidnapped? I originally thought that maybe the person that would be “taken” this time around would be the pop star at the end of the first movie. Nope. The trailer has been released and the family of all the henchmen Liam Neeson killed in the first movie is back for revenge (who knew redshirts had family?) and takes his (ex?)-wife and (presumably) the Token Hot Chick from Lost. But the biggest disappointment from the trailer is the lack of an epic monologue. They better be saving that for the actual movie because if what everyone talks about in the first movie is not in the sequel, you are going to be in trouble.



Next Week Pick of the Week: The Great Escape, Sunday (tomorrow) at 10:00 on TNT: For those going through withdrawals with no Survivor, The Amazing Race, or The Challenge on television for the summer, or wished those three shows would dump the social aspect from their shows and have stand alone episode will want to check out The Great Escape when it premieres tomorrow. Look out for my full review then.

Previewing Bunheads

In a measure of full disclosure since it is every advertisement for the show, I have never seen an episode of Gilmore Girls (though it still was a bit disturbing to me to see a topless Rory Gilmore on Mad Men a couple weeks back). So I really cannot compare and contrast Amy Sherman-Palladino’s biggest show with her most recent one, Bunheads. Besides an awkward word and even more awkward title “and the line “so you wanna be a bunhead?” is the most awkward of the Pilot), a “bunhead” is the name of a ballerina (you know, because their hair is always in a bun to keep them from whipping their dance partners with a ponytail).

Before you stop reading and avoid the show because of its subject matter, Bunheads is the best new show you can watch this summer on basic cable or network television and may end up being the best new show of the entire year and that statement is coming from someone who arbores all those horrible dance shows that populate the channels. Bunheads is akin to Friday Night Lights in that you did not have to enjoy football or even know the difference between interception and an endzone to appreciate the show (and to continue the Friday Night Lights comparison, a Dillon resident even shows up on Bunheads).

The show follows an aging Vegas showgirl after a drunken night ends with her marrying her stalker (you know, a story as old as time) and moves to his sleepy coastal town appropriable called Paradise where his mother (who was the grandmother on Gilmore Girls) runs a dance studio next to their house. Naturally the small town, that does not even have a movie theater (but when you are on the ocean, do you really need to be inside) is quick to talk about the “stripper from Tahoe” even if they do not have all the fact.

Undoubtedly the showgirl will end up working at the mother’s studio where we meet the rest of the cast (all novices that have about five credits to their names combined). Early on they or confined to easy sterotypes, Boo, non-ballet shaped girl who will not let that stop her from her dreams of dancing, Ginnie, the, um, filled out dancer who will let them stop her, Sasha, the perfect ballerina type and knows it (you know there is going to be something dark in her background), and Melanie, the care-free one.

The witty script is rapid-fire dialogue with jokes where you do not even expect them. If there is a complaint is the relatively inexperienced actors sometime cannot keep up with everything (hopefully as they grow into these characters, this is elevated). And the ending goes to a place I am not sure where the show goes from there after what they set up in the first episode. Hopefully by the time the second episode ends, they can get back to what they did so well setting up in the first episode because if they do, it will be a very entertaining summer (sorry for being so vague but the ending is very big and even it is hard to say anything about it without being spoilery).

Bunheads airs Mondays at 9:00 on ABC Family. You can steam recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Bunheads on iTunes where you can currently download the Pilot for free before it even airs.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 6/9/12

Quote of the Week: You let that wax figurine discourage you? (Rodger, Mad Men)

Song of the Week: S&M – Rihanna (Pretty Little Liars)

Scene of the Week:




Big News of the Week: I Need to Stop Watch Award Shows: I grew up on MTV but I rarely even flip to the channel anymore except when The Challenge or Beavis and Butt-head are on. But for some reason I am still drawn into the channel’s award shows even though they have not been watchable in years. I talked myself into checking it out because The Black Keys and Fun. were performing and Emma Stone was getting some made up awards. But other than those three moments, the Movie Awards sucked. Where were the cool parodies? Where were the weird pairings (now every award has to be presented by the “cast” of a movie)? And teen girls are still ruining everything by voting for crappy vampire movies. Remember the good old days when nerds controlled the show? Wow I’m old. Actually I am so old I watched Mad Men live Sunday.

On the flip side I have never seen one previous CMT Awards before but only watched for one reason: Kristen Bell. Yeah, that was a bad idea. Sure the Pistol Annies skit was funny (somebody get that girl a record contract) was entertaining, but the political opening fell flat. And Barack Obama an Mitt Romney not backing Kristen is a disqualifier. Is Ross Perot still around? All was not lost though; Willie Nelson performed a song called Roll Me Up an Smoke Me When I Die God bless you Willie.

Mad Men: I never thought Mad Men would be so literal as to actually have someone fall out a window, but as Lane turned to his after Don fired him, I thought for a second that he may actually throw himself out of his. But after a failed attempted to kill himself via Jaguar that he was not actually able start (which begs the question, at what point does Jaguar sue the show for defamation?) he hung himself in his own office. Well at least Lane got to punch Pete Campbell in the face before leaving this mortal coil. So now in two consecutive episodes, Don has Lane’s suicide and Joan’s prostitution hanging over his head (and that does not take into account the other crap he has dealt with lately with Peggy leaving, his wife drifting apart, the Jewish alien becoming better than him, etc.). Last season ended with a proposal, I do not see anything as celebratory happening in next week’s finale. I would not be surprised if this season gets bookend with the dissolution of Don and Megan’s marriage. Or maybe we will get our first extra marital affair of the season (I hope everyone took the over on the number of episodes before that happened) unless of course you count the dream chick Don nailed than murdered.

You can download Mad Men on iTunes.


Preview Picture of the Week:

Dallas premiering Wednesday at 9:00 on TNT

Free Download of the Week: Daddy – Emeli Sande (iTunes): If that is not enough free from her, you can also grab Where I Sleep on Amazon.

Deal of the Week: Pop Classics for $2.99: The MP3 wars are heating up again as Amazon has deeply discounted albums from Hall and Oates and Hootie and the Blowfish and the soundtracks to Footloose and Dirty Dancing.



New Album Release of the Week: The Bravest Man In The Universe - Bobby Womack

New DVD Release of the Week: Episodes: The First Season

Video of the Week: If you are like me you were too young to watch Dallas (which is basically anyone under forty) when it originally aired. So if you need a catch up on the first run’s 357 episodes, unless you jumped in during its thirteen season run, TNT has released a refresher course on the Ewing family including what has happened at the Southfork ranch in the two decades since the show went off the air. And once you are caught up, tune into the reboot when it has its two-hour premiere this Wednesday at 9:00.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Bunheads, Monday at 9:00 on ABC Family: Sure I am too old and too male to watch yet another show on ABC Family, but besides the subject matter, the show is quick, fun, and highly entertaining. Look for a full review on Monday. And for those not quite sure what a “Bunhead” is, below is photographic evidence showing what is and is not a Bunhead.