Best of the Week - 9/30/11

Quote of the Week: Honestly after all you sleepovers with the brown boy, a girl is a relief. (Howard’s Mom, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Hello - Lionel Richie (Community)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced: The governing body (or whoever does the nominating) of the Rock Hall released the names of fifteen acts of which five will be inducted next year. Most notable include repeat nominees Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, newbies Eric B. & Rakim and Guns N' Roses. With both the Beasties and Peppers releasing albums this year, I bet both will make it this year (though I contend the Peppers should not get in until the 25th anniversary of Blood Sugar Sex Magic). I have GnR as a lock if only because everyone wants to see who will actually show up. And though a first ballot Hip Hop Hall of Fame inducted, Eric B. and Rakim will doubtfully get in especially with other rappers Beasties likely to be enshrined. If I were a betting man I would put Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and The Spinners grabbing the other two spots. If I am not mistaken, inductees will be announced in December with the ceremony taking place in March here in Cleveland (and I am available to cover the festivities if anyone wants to hook me up with a ticket). Stayed tuned next year when Debbie Gibson finally becomes eligible.

Free Download of the Week: Pilot - Pan Am, Season 1 (iTunes): For those that have missed what I decreed as the best pilot of the new season that I have seen so far, you can catch up before the second episode by downloading the episode on iTunes.

Deal of the Week: Miramax Movies as Low as $5.99 (No Country for Old Men, Sin City, Kill Bill)

New Album Release of the Week: Metals - Feist

New DVD Release of the Week: Friday Night Lights: The Complete Series We are 85 shopping days until Christmas and for those wondering what you can get me, this will do just fine.

Video of the Week: After a slew of some pretty poor chick flicks, Kristen Bell is returning to television this January for House of Lies. I did not know until this teaser that the show is actually a comedy. And hopefully the pantsuit is not a sign of Bell’s wardrobe on the show, but I am always down for watching her dance more.

House of Lies Tease


Next Week Pick of the Week: Pop Up Video, Weekdays at noon on VH1: I have no idea why they ever canceled Pop Up Video returns after a ten year hiatus Monday for sixty new episodes. Personally I cannot wait until the first weekend marathon where I can veg out and enjoy the new episodes for a whole day.

On a side note, "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour hits shelves Tuesday but for those that cannot wait until then or just rather watch it for free, tune in tomorrow to watch Weird Al perform songs from his new album like TMZ, classics like Smells Live Nirvana and of course some polka, most in his traditional costumes. And since the special was filmed in Toronto, Al naturally breaks out Canadian Idiot.

Best of the Week - 9/24/11

Quote of the Week: You can’t ruin a friendship with sex. That’s like ruining ice cream with chocolate sprinkles. (Raj, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Let's Hear It for the Boy – Deniece Williams (Modern Family)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Winners and Losers of Week One: The biggest loser has to be Simon Cowell who’s ego thought he was the reason that tuned into American Karaoke but his new show The X-Factor, which is basically his old show for older people, did not even come close to what his former show did without him last season. The big winner was comedy. After years of people talking about the demise of the sitcom, both Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory beat the heavily hyped X-Factor head to head while the Charlie Sheen-less Two and a Half Men pulled in the most eyeballs this week and helped 2 Broke Girls become the most watched sitcom premiere in a decade (to show you how bad sitcoms have gotten, the last show that premiered that high was Inside Schwartz), while over cable the Charlie Sheen helped his Comedy Central Roast to record breaking ratings. Cancel watch is out for NBC’s The Playboy Club and Free Agents while the surprise hit of the season goes to ABC’s Revenge, but one has to wonder how the rating will be next week when Happy Endings is its lead in instead of Modern Family.

Free Download of the Week: Love the way You Walk Away – Blitzen Trapper (rcrdlbl): Check out my review of their album American Goldwing: You Might Find it Cheap, but You're Never Gonna Find it Free.

Deal of the Week: The Big Bang Theory for $18.99

New Album Release of the Week: The Whole Love (Limited Deluxe Edition) - Wilco

New DVD Release of the Week: Married...With Children - The Complete Series (note that as I write this, the set is listed at $39.99 so if my math is correct, that comes to 15 cents per episode.)

Video of the Week: One of the great “insert name here” song in recently memories is Barbra Streisand and mash-up artists have take the Duck Sauce song and ran with it inserting everyone from Michael Jackson to Gerry Rafferty into the song. Now Luis Guzman has gotten into the action to promote the return of his show How to Make It in America (returning next Sunday at 10:30) complete with its own video with many see if you can spot them cameos. HBO has also released a mixtape in celeb ration of the new season which you can stream or download on the show’s Facebook page featuring artists like Little Dragon, the Joy Formidable and more.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Pan Am, Sunday at 10:00: Watching the first episode of Pan Am made me wonder air travel has actually gotten worse over the past forty years. If an airplane experience was more like it is depicted on Pan Am than it was today, maybe I would not have a B.A. Baracus affliction to flying. But anyway. You can check out my preview of Pan Am here.

Previewing Pan Am

After the ratings came in for The Playboy Club, I am sure there were many executives out there who thought to themselves, maybe it was not a very good idea to make a network television show inspired by a cable one that only gets about two million viewers per episode. And Pan Am, premiering Sunday, actually could have very well been a Mad Men spin-off from the episode where Don Draper nailed a stewardess from the airlines a couple seasons ago, the new show even features a character with the penchant of hooking up with the local Don Draper in-between flights.

Oh yeah, and imagine the stewardess Draper bedded also moonlights for the CIA, and then you have Pan Am. Before you groan implausibility; executive producer, and former Pan Am stewardess, Nancy Hutt Ganis says the airline employees as covert operatives contribute to the series’ authenticity claiming, “It was suspected but not discussed.” And do not think this plot twist will turn the series into Charlie's Angels in the sky because Kelli Garner (Taking Woodstock), the stewardess the CIA taps is no Sydney Bristow. She’s barely season one Chuck Bartowski.

This plot also looks to set up a Forrest Gumpian way the cast cross path with big moments in history, the crew even touches down in the Bay of Pigs in the first episode. I am guessing it is only a matter of time before we run into The Beatles, who famously used the airline on the first trip to the States and Frank Abagnale Jr., the real life character Leonardo DiCaprio played in Catch Me If You Can, who spent four years masquerading as a Pan Am pilot.

Also onboard for the ride are Christina Ricci (Mermaids), the rebel one who is reinstated in time for the show’s first flight after being suspended for forgetting to wear her girdle. One has to wonder, with Pan Am stewardess being forced into retirement from the profession when they get married or turn thirty-two, will this affect Ricci’s character since the actress turns that age next February in real life or will she be playing younger than that for the run of the show? The previously mentioned character who attracts Don Draper types in every new city is played by Karine Vanasse (Midnight in Paris) whose thick French accent may have reaching for the closed caption button. The token new stewardess and Garner’s younger sister is played by Australian Margot Robbie in her first job stateside and Margot rivals Amber Heard for the award of the hottest new token hot chick on television this season.

Unlike Eddie Cibrian who blatantly steals everything about Don Draper right down to his speech patterns, the men of Pan Am thankfully do not even try. Mike Vogel (The Help) is a new breed of pilot, the one’s that came before him all flew in World War II, on his first day as the first in command who is dating one of the stewardesses and hopes to get her to retire, and not because of her age. His second in command is Michael Mosley (Justified) who has a lot of fun at his new boss.

For those wondering the show starts to feel claustrophobic being featured inside an airplane, there is fair amount of flashbacks in the first episode though it is unclear if this will be a running theme in the show or just exposition into the background of the characters for the first episode, but considering flashbacks make up about forty percent of the Pilot, I am guessing the former. With the flashbacks and novice espionage angle, Pan Am has set up an interesting premise assuming they do not quickly devolve into a guess which famous historical figure show up this week type of show. Even then, seeing Margot Robbie in that uniform every week may be worth tuning in every week anyway.

Pan Am airs Sundays at 10:00 on ABC. You will be able to stream episodes after they air over at Hulu.