Here are two new podcasts I’m a part of:
NonsenseCast : basically anything goes her
Reality Works Podcast : a show dedicated to work-based reality programs. Especially Deadliest Catch.
Category Archives: Entertainment
The Disney Channel
I recently returned from a trip to Disney World in Orlando, and while there ended up watching far too much Disney Channel. I have a two year-old, so the morning shows, such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, are great. Unfortunately, after about 10 AM it’s all tween garbage, except Phineas and Ferb. There is nothing on either The Disney Channel or Disney XD for younger children after the early morning.
Having two networks you would think they could devote one to the under 10 crowd and the other to the tweens, but this is not the case. The young kids are thrown to the wayside for nauseating tween programs like The Suite Life On Deck and Hannah Montana. I’m sure these are fine shows for certain ages, but why is the under ten crowd completely abandoned? It’s more likely that a 3 -4 year-old will be home at 11am than a 12-year-old, isn’t it? So why not show cartoons until early afternoon? Seventy-five episodes of The Suite Life, each day, are just not necessary.
At home we don’t have The Disney Channel, so I never really notice until vacation. After experiencing the programming, I have no interest in adding it for my son. I can buy a few DVD’s of the shows he likes, and avoid hours of Hannah. I would like to see Disney add a network for younger kids, that minimizes tween comedies and focuses more on cartoons. I don’t know if this will happen, since even in the Magic Kingdom they are abandoning young kids by ripping out Mickey’s Toon Town Fair to put in Pixie Hollow. I’m sure Pixie Hollow will generate more money by selling things to 10 – 12 year-old girls, but if you keep pushing the youngest kids away eventually you will begin to lose them.
Crazy Ass Christmas Songs
Easy E – Merry Muthafuckin Christmas
Lou Monte – Dominick the Donkey
Tiny Tim – Santa Claus Has Got The Aids This Year
Tron Legacy: Why?
The original Tron was released when I was nine and didn’t really have a grasp of the concept of the film. I have watched the original just recently, and in my opinion Tron did not age well. Films like the original Tron, Episodes 1,2 and 3 of Star Wars and Avatar, that rely far too heavily on cutting edge graphics with only a minimal story become dated much more rapidly than other movies. The original Star Wars trilogy has held up terrifically, while that had incredible graphics for the time, they do not seem as cheesy as dated computer graphics.
I have not seen Tron Legacy and probably won’t. I’m really not sure why a sequel was even made at this point and while the original is a cult classic, it is by no means a main stream hit. Reportedly Tron Legacy cost upwards of $320 million dollars, that is insane. $320 mil for a sequel to a film that flopped nearly thirty years ago at this point seems like a ridiculous decision. If I were to say lets do a sequel to Big Trouble in Little China, and we’ll spend a couple hundred million on it, you would think I was crazy. But I would argue that BTiLC is just as much of a cult classic as Tron. It certainly has held up much better than Tron but thankfully no one is rebooting that.
I just hate to see this kind of money wasted on another forgettable movie, that I believe will bomb. $300,000,000 could go a long way to producing several well written, well acted films that may have as good a chance of being a hit as Tron Legacy. Maybe I’m just tired of shitty movies and rehashed ideas and the the public will prove me wrong by eating this up and making TL a huge success. I don’t see that happening but it could. Tron legacy just seems like one of those projects that you look at and say WTF? We will find out soon enough if the huge gamble by Disney will pay off this time or if history will repeat itself and the Legacy will bomb as hard as the original.
Zombies, Zombies, Zombies…
I wanted to take the time to promote a zombie web series put together by Josh Burnell (Gleeful and Idle Review podcasts). Please check out Zombiewood Pines here.
Music I’m Diggin’ Right Now
I really enjoy Ray LaMontagne, and this might be my favorite album of his. Check out Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
This is from Wolfmother “Wolfmother” released in 2006. This song caught my attention because of the film 500 Days of Summer.
The first video is a live version that is not on the album Heartbreaker. This is an older release from Ryan Adams but may be my favorite. The second, also from Heartbreaker is the album version but the video is fan made.
Clutch. Enough fucking said.
Most of these are older but they are things I currently have in my rotation and artists I wanted to promote.
What I am Watching
I have decided to cut back most of my TV watching this fall season. I just do not have enough time to keep up with the mediocrity that networks are pumping out these days. From Lost rip-offs to medical dramas there is so much garbage on right now, that it was incredibly easy to pare it down.
I started this process last year. This year I decided to go all out, and eliminate anything with more than a twenty episode season from my viewing schedule. I do have two hold-overs with long seasons, Glee and Supernatural, that I have already been watching so I will continue even though they are long seasons. I have concerns for Glee, since they are planning to do a 25 episode season. There is no way to keep up quality with that length of a season. I haven’t actually started Supernatural this season yet, and still have the finale from last season to watch, but I do plan on watching it eventually.
I did watch the first season of Fringe during the summer but, I really did not have the desire to watch another 23 episode season and commit to a long season this fall as well. Another show I picked up over the summer was Eureka, and it has been added to my TiVo season passes. I’m not sure when it comes back on, but I like that it is a lighter show and is only around 15 episodes on average. Also it is not overwrought with an intense overly complicated mystery that drowns out the characters and fun. Basically, I can accept a lighter show having a slightly longer season, 15 – 20 episodes, but serialized dramas with an intense mystery need to be shorter.
I am looking forward to The Walking Dead in a few weeks, I really hope it lives up to the expectations. The bar is going to be set very high for a show that is on the same network as Mad Men and Breaking Bad. AMC has definitely done it the correct way, by giving us shows that concentrate on characters and story, not an event or mystery. I tried watching the first episode of Rubicon but it was far too slow and uninteresting, so that may be the exception. Mad Men on the other hand, had its best season to date. The characters, except Betty, are compelling and complex, making the show a pleasure to watch.
The big four networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) have no concept of how to produce shows with great characters anymore. There is not one thing on those networks that spark my interest at all. There may be a show or two that I am missing but I doubt it. I’m not a huge fan of the network comedies either but they are not as bad as the horrible dramas they put out. I’m not sure if these networks will survive to the next generation. The only shows getting serious ratings are watched by older people. Shows like Two and a Half Men, The CSI‘s and the Law and Orders have ratings, but I’ve never met anyone under 50 who watches any of those shows. What are they going to do to appeal to an audience that wants quality and won’t tune in just because it’s on a major network?
I’m not going to rant about the networks any more, they are digging their own graves without any help. Let me just run off a few other shows I am watching or will be watching once they come back.
Terriers I believe it’s on FX and is a great and gritty detective show
American Pickers is on History Channel and a definite to check out if you like Antiques Roadshow or Pawn Stars
American Chopper the show is much better than it has been in the past two season, a guilty pleasure.
LA Ink 100% guilty pleasure, I’ll put it on in the background or buzz through it
Eureka this show is probably nearing the end of its run but I suggest picking it up from the beginning
Catfish: Do Not Read or You Will Be Spoiled
I was able to go and see the new documentary film Catfish the other day, and I was fortunate to go in with very little information, making the experience that much better. I am warning you now I will be spoiling the movie in this review but before that I absolutely recommend seeing Catfish.
*******SPOILERS AHEAD****************
If you haven’t sen anything about the film, it is a documentary about a New York Photographer (Yaniv “Nev” Schulman) who meets a family online and becomes emotionally attached to one of the women of the family. When we first meet Nev his brother Ariel is convincing him to be the subject of the documentary. We learn how Nev comes to meet this family and see the beginnings of his online interactions with Megan the eldest daughter of Angela. Nev’s interactions with the family are centered around the yougest daughter Abby, who does paintings based on Nev’s photos.
As the film proceeds Nev becomes deeply attached to Megan. While the relationship begins on Facebook it leads to phone calls and even an eventual encounter. After communicating for a while, some of the things Megan is doing begin to make Nev think he is being lied to. This is where the story begins to turn. You will think that you know where this tale is going, but in the end it will lead you down a path that you never expected.
*******************SPOILER WARNING AGAIN********************
Nev begins to suspect something is up with Megan when he finds that she has been lying about songs she supposedly recorded for him. While on a road trip Nev and the film crew decide to go and confront the family leading to some very tense moments and some incredibly surprising moments. I really enjoyed the use of Google Earth and Street Viewer during the traveling scenes as well as other uses of social media during the story.
I’m still hesitant to spoil the ending. So I will say that I expected the general outline of the ending, but the actual details are what surprised me. I truly felt for the family Nev was in contact with by the end, and felt bad for wanting them exposed. Hopefully the subjects of the film do not get too overexposed in the media, and keep the story from becoming too well-known. Going in blind is definitely the best way to see the movie, you will enjoy the ride much more not knowing the destination.
Overall I cannot say enough about this movie. It is one of the best docs I’ve ever seen. Personally, I am a fan of documentaries, but if you are not, please still see Catfish. It explores how disconnected we really are in a world that is so connected.
Youthful Video Indulgence: Al Alberts Showcase
This isn’t a movie but it is maybe one of the creepiest TV shows ever aired and I had the pleasure of growing up with it. And older guy has a bunch of pageant type kids on his shows to sing, dance and tell jokes. This was on for a very long time and old people loved it. Somehow I just find it creepy. Here is a little clip of Al Alberts Showcase.
Comic Con 2010…Holy Crap part 2
Friday
Friday started off far too early after the the night before, but I had a plan for panels to execute starting with Hawaii Five-O. Overall I thought the show looked decent and I may give it a shot but its not a must see in my opinion. Daniel Dae Kim answered a few Lost related questions, which gave some insight into what he thought of the finale amongst other things. I stayed in the room for the next panel, which was AMC’s The Walking Dead.
The Walking Dead panel started off with zombies roaming the floor. The make-up was absolutely incredibly. I was within a foot of the zombies and between staying in character and the costuming, you felt like a zombie apocalypse was on the horizon. I had never read The Walking Dead before the panel but the show looked terrific and up to the lofty standards AMC has set for itself. Its been two weeks now, so I am forgetting the details but I’ll try and hit the things that really stick out to me.
My next panel was going to be for Fable III, so I went and lined up by the room with about a hundred other people only to find out that it was canceled at the last minute. I think after this I ended up wandering the exhibit floor for a while and then meeting up with a few people for some beverages and a salad at The Field, an Irish Pub in the Gaslamp District. There was a nice selection or beers and I had a very good caesar salad, which hit the spot after a long morning of not eating. Next up was the Jay and Jack meet up at Tivoli.
After having a few at The Field we wandered over the Tivoli’s for the Jay and Jack meet up. This was an absolute blast. Some people were a little intoxicated, as you may have seen from the videos and photos, but I won’t name any names. Meeting up with people was definitely the highlight for me. It was just a good time with no BS and no drama. It truly is a group of people who are genuine and fun. Needless to say the night ended late and Saturday morning rolled around early, too early for some of us.
On Saturday I slept in a bit and had to ship a few things home before heading to the con. The first thing I went to was the Jay and Jack panel with Ryan and Jen from The Transmission. It was nice to get some finale talk in during the trip. I didn’t get to discuss it much with people, and I enjoyed hearing others thoughts on the series as a whole as well as the finale itself. The room had a pretty low ceiling but I think Jay and Jack requested that so they would look taller. After the panel I met up with Josh and Jen of The Gleeful Podcast / Idle Review Podcast and headed to the convention center to check out some panels.
I ended up going to the room where the Mythbusters panel would be later that evening and just stayed there through four other panels. I was glad I did this because each of the other panels (and one pilot) that i saw were very fun and interesting. First was Eureka from SyFy, which I’ve always meant to watch but never did. They split a double session with Warehouse 13, also of SyFy. The casts were very engaging and you could feel the camaraderie and appreciation they have for each other. Next we moved up before Nikita from CW, this proved to be slightly dangerous, for me.
While moving up I was caught in a row that did not have the ammount of seats we needed but, the row in front of me did. So I decided to “hop” over the chairs to the row in front. Im glad I have a son already because I don’t know if it would be possible after my chair adventure. Anyway, Nikita was surprisingly good. They showed the whole pilot before the panel and I will probably check it out in the fall. After Nikita was Human Target, which was also a fun panel but not a show I would ever watch. The main event was up next and that was The Mythbusters.
The entire crew was on the panel, Tory, Grant, Adam, Jamie and of course Kari. Chris Hardwick conducted the panel and was efficient and hilarious. There was great video of the many explosions as well as a sneak peak into next season. The rooom was teeming with energy for these guys andthey absolutely delivered. I would absolutely suggest you find video of their panel and watch it. You may not get the experience of being in the room but its well worth it.
My night ended at The Yard House, which I got lost walking to. I ended up six city blocks from where I was supposed to be, but eventually I did make it. This was the Media Junkyard / SHOE / 10th Wonder meet up and was also my last event of Comic Con. Yards of beer and a confessional cam make for a fun evening. Three ladies in particular dominated the camera corner and made for some of the funnest moments of the trip. I ended up taking a petty cab back to the hotel ,after The Yard House closed, where I ended up staying awake until about 4am, even though I had to be up at 630am to go to the airport. It ended up being four of the most enjoyable days I can recall.
I would like to thank all the great people I met or re-met, you really made this experience memorable.
