Archive for the 'TV' Category

The “Experts”: ESPN Draft Edition

Gorilla
Grog say Havertini a steal in third round!!!

One of the great things the world of the Internet and blogs has brought us is a large needle with which to deflate the self appointed experts in the press. This deflation usually occurs by researching what they say. In this case ESPN’s draft experts did no better than 5.93%-6.67% accuracy in forecasting the draft.

In other words ESPN could spice up the 2009 draft and make it more entertaining by bringing in an army of gorillas. Seriously, you tell me that you wouldn’t watch 5-7 hours of NYC mayhem perpetrated by gorillas with occasional appearances from future NFL players?

I’m so there.

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Freema Agyeman Goes Beyond Zen

Doctor Martha Jones, I presume? I wanted to visit the UK as it is, now I really feel the need to make it across the pond. Doctor Who is just so much better when she’s on than when she isn’t.

Freema Agyeman in “The Sontaran Stratagem” which is about as British sci-fi a title as you can get:

Freema Agyeman

Continue reading ‘Freema Agyeman Goes Beyond Zen’

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Once A Year, Baby

mel kiper

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Jimmy Fallon Taking Over For Conan O’Brien = NBC Goes From Suck To Blow

It may be possible for NBC to find somebody less funny than Jimmy Fallon to host a TV talk show, but Carson Daly already has a job. Really though, Jimmy Fallon? Ick.

Jimmy Fallon appears to be inching closer to Conan O’Brien’s “Late Night” chair.

For months, Fallon has been widely considered the top choice to succeed O’Brien when he steps down next year. On Thursday, published reports said Fallon has signed, or soon will sign, a deal with NBC.

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Tina Fey Overreaches

I liked Mean Girls. I think 30 Rock is one of the funniest shows currently on TV, but Tina Fey seems to want to compare SNL and The Daily Show. The problem is, Daily is consistently funny. 4 nights a week with multiple laugh-out-loud segments per episode. With SNL you’ve had a good week when you get one or two truly funny skits. The guest host can make a big difference (for instance last week Jonah Hill - who is normally funny - was atrocious in the way he had to constantly read the cue cards, just look here), but overall the quality of the show really stinks. I haven’t found the recent Clinton-Obama skits funny at all, and that’s not because I’m an Obama fan. I love Al Gore, but I loved the way they’ve made fun of him in the past. It’s just not funny now. The skits, as usual, go on way past the time they should - they don’t know how to end it. And some of the worst years were under Fey. She does great work in other venues, but not SNL.

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Law & Order: Angelgrove

So the premise of this episode was essentially: what if you took the kids of Jesus Camp to its logical extreme? While I tend to think that the power and influence of conservative Christian extremists on a mass scale is overstated (I think they have powerful acolytes but there aren’t as many of them), I think we ignore their danger at our peril. Anybody who thinks their God is bigger than someone else’s God and is given a weapon is dangerous.

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Freema Agyeman Weekend Moment Of Zen

It’s not the same as a new season of Dr. Who, but the current season of Torchwood has 100% more Freema Agyeman than before, which is part of the recommended dosage.

Freema Agyeman

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Journeyman Gone

The only one of the new series to hold my attention, and now Journeyman is canceled. Damn. I’ll have to stick to Dr. Who and the return of *sigh* Martha Jones for my time travel fix.

Eliminate! Eliminate! Eliminate The Doc-Tor!

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Like Custer Before His Last Stand

Apparently Jay Leno wants to jump to Fox and take on Conan. The problem here is Conan O’Brien has the advantage of being:

  1. Funny
  2. Relevant
  3. Funny
  4. Likeable

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I Stopped Watching "Bionic Woman"

I was almost halfway into last week’s episode of NBC’s “Bionic Woman” (Episode 3) and I simply stopped watching. I paused the TV for a moment using Comcast’s DVR that sucks compared to Tivo’s interface, and pondered why I was watching the show. Not a single one of the characters interested me. The lead actress - Michelle Ryan - is simply one of the least appealing female leads I’ve ever seen in all of prime time - I don’t think a lead has to be a babelicious airhead to keep you watching, but we also don’t watch TV to see the same boring people you see in everyday life either. And the plot? We’ve seen this plot already. Numerous times. Over and over again. Evil government agencies with shadowy not-quite good but not quite bad counteragencies slugging it out below the surface. Not only have we seen this scenario but it has been done better about a million times before. The show was paint by the numbers TV in the worst way, and I refuse to watch that anymore.

Bionic Woman, you are dead to me.

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Do You Watch Scrubs?

This isn’t related to anything I’ve been writing or anything political. I’m just curious if anyone who reads my site also watches Scrubs. I think that right now, and probably for some time, Scrubs is my favorite show on tv. It is just funny from start to finish and not in that sort of dumb canned sitcom laughter kind of way, but in that “it’s silly but I can relate to that feeling” sort of way.

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Well, Damn

This man is a bonafide comedy legend

Don Knotts, the skinny, lovable nerd who kept generations of television audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on  The Andy Griffith Show, has died. He was 81.

Whether he was playing Barney Fife or Mr. Furley, Don Knotts has always been one of the funniest actors I’ve ever seen.

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Leo’s Gone

One of the better characters on the West Wing

John Spencer, who played vice presidential candidate Leo McGarry on NBC’s “The West Wing,” died of a heart attack Friday, his publicist said.

Spencer, 58, died at a Los Angeles hospital, said publicist Ron Hofmann.

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“Lost” - The Other 48 Days

So in the last few weeks, I watched the DVDs and am completely caught up with the very excellent “Lost”. I was disappointed in tonight’s episode, but mostly because I really hate Ana Lucia. Anyone else watch?

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Santos for President

The West Wing debate was pretty cool, especially the exchange about “liberal”

“Republicans have tried to turn `liberal’ into a bad word,” said Santos. “Well, liberals ended slavery in this country.”

“A Republican president ended slavery,” Vinick retorted.

“Yes, a LIBERAL Republican, Senator. What happened to them?”

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West Wing Live

This sounds cool

In a first for NBC’s “The West Wing” (Sundays, 8-9 p.m. ET), the Emmy Award-winning series will broadcast a live episode featuring a debate between presidential candidates Congressman Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Senator Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) on Sunday, Nov. 6 (8-9 p.m. ET).

Very few contemporary drama series have attempted live episodes. NBC’s “ER” — also from executive producer John Wells — produced a live episode for its fourth season premiere in September 1997.

The format of the episode will allow for a tension-packed debate between Democrat Santos and his Republican opponent Vinick. Two live versions will be telecast, one for the East Coast and another for the West Coast. This episode will be written by Lawrence O’Donnell, and directed by Alex Graves, both executive producers of the series.

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