The Rundown 8/21/12

Happy Birthday Honey - A few days ago my wonderful wife had a birthday. So I will dedicate this song to her, a song that has followed me around playing at a few places I went to last week.



And now let's run down the other things to happen in the last ten days -

How much do I tip? - Jiro Dreams Of Sushi is an excellent documentary about a man's lifelong commitment to making kick ass sushi. Mmmm sushi. There's other stuff too about tradition, work ethic, having standards, overfishing of the seas and so on but in the end it's about imbuing sushi on a tv screen with soul. And it works.

Factory Of Funk - Red Hot Chili Peppers I'm With You came out last year and I thought it was solid. The new guitarist doesn't have a big impact on the sound yet doesn't get in the way either. I've enjoyed playing this the past week, groovin on Flea's funky bass lines. Can't get the groove to "Factory Of Faith" out of my head.



Dana is going to talk fast and then SHOUT AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE!!! - Dana on the tv show Hell's Kitchen has found a interview promo pattern that guarantees her tv time. She starts talking fast, builds up speed and then SHOUTS EVERYTHING! And she does it all with a SLEEPY LOOK IN HER EYES!! It's addictively annoying because after a while you FIND YOU ARE DOING THE SAME DAMN THING SHE IS!!! AARGH!!



Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Mr Kotta! - When I was a kid I went through a phase where I pretty much wanted to be Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter (this I think was between times when I wanted to be The Fonz or Jimmy Walker). So sad the actor who played this great character Ron Palillo died recently. Also another sad passing is William Windom, the actor who played Commodore Matt Decker from Star Trek.

Premium Rush - enough with the commercials for this movie already. In an age where package delivery men can't even be bothered to deliver something without throwing it around like a shot put, we're supposed to believe a bike messenger will risk his life to protect...he doesn't even know what he's protecting. Not that it will stop him from putting everything on the line as people try to kill him for the package, that package must make it to it's scheduled destination! Where it will be signed for by some anonymous person scribbling an indecipherable signature on a clumsy lcd pad and the delivery guy says "What's your name?" and you say "Mike" and the delivery guy says "Thanks Mark" and leaves. And does it count as six degrees from Kevin Bacon for Quicksilver? And can Premium Rush beat bike dancing to cheesy music?

The Rundown 8/11/12

In honor of one of the shows I've watched lately, I'm going to put together a catch-all post RIGHT NOW. Okay, it's not that big a deal, but anyway...

Mission Impossible 4 - I watched MI4 this week and had a reasonably good time. Lots of running, fake outs and high tech stuff going on to hold my interest. A little more humor this time out as well. The movie does get carried away with the CGI though, there are sequences (like the sandstorm chase in Dubai...I think that's where the chase was) where I felt like I was playing a video game more than watching a film. Seems like a good warm up for Jeremy Renner in getting down the whole spy moves thang for his Bourne films.

The Newsroom - The new HBO series is for the most part a winner. It kicks off with a fictional news anchor making one of the best public speeches I've heard (and can only exist in fiction) before portraying a news program attempting to adhere to strict journalistic standards. Shades of Broadcast News, one of my all time favorite films, runs through the whole bit with moralistic ethics being discussed among soap opera characters sweating out each others love lives. Jeff Daniels goes gunning for Emmy glory with a strong turn as a hyper intelligent, narcissistic, insecure news anchor. There are some weak points, Daniel's character Will McAvoy is the most left leaning Republican ever and as my wife has noted there is a blatant The Office style Jim and Pam relationship going on with two characters. Plus when it comes to ethics, they are sticklers on verification of information on specific news stories (and make a big deal about it), yet feel free to carry out their personal political agendas on air (such as doing a week long tear down of the Tea Party). The Newsroom does capture a feeling of an adrenalin rush in the pursuit of factual information as well as reveal some nice pocket sized bits of knowledge (the 1 minute modern economics lesson was cool). And hey, Sam Waterston sighting!



Skyfall - The James Bond trailer is out and I have the same reaction every time before I see the whole movie. This movie's gonna be dope yo! Even if they did bring back the "signature gun" gimmick like in Licence To Kill.


Already Gone - I haven't had a song follow me around in many a moon, but it happened today. Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" played twice in my presence at two different places. I think this was the song co-written by that guy from One Republic, that Clarkson said he recycled the beat he already had given to Beyonce for her hit "Halo". Meaning that the beat to her song was...you know what I'm going to say...already gone...


The Olympics - Just can't get excited about this thing. I saw the women's bronze volleyball match on tv though, that was a good match. Also saw some of the closing ceremonies. What a weird program that was. It was supposed to invoke the best of Britian, but after witnessing warmed over new wave hits, a creepy giant sized John Lennon face and too much Jessie J it all seemed like a big mistake. On the upside, USA won the medal count.

Married With Child

Most of the new tv season shows haven't meant much for yours truly, they all seem to clog into a haze of hype and half baked ideas. One show has stood above the rest and to my surprise it's Up All Night. Seeing the average life expectancy of recent Christina Applegate projects I thought this would be the latest in a line of nice tries. And then the guy was that dude who is married to Amy Poehler. But I was bored one day and thought I'd give it a try.

Despite having a tough sell on it's premise (Applegate is a tv producer of a daytime wanna be Oprah talk show starring self absorbed ex teen r&b singer host played by Maya Rudolph while ex-lawyer Mr Amy Poehler is now a stay at home dad) the characters are likeable and the stories are simple enough to get across to an audience. Up All Night is a nice show with warmth and humor. The best new show I've seen this season.

Ten Reasons Why T.J. Hooker Is Awesome

Lately my wife and I have gone back to watching reruns of the classic William Shatner cop show T.J. Hooker. T.J. Hooker, the 80s tv show created with the idea that people like me wanted to see Captain Kirk in a patrol car, ran for more years than I remembered (like three or four) entertaining with one self righteous speech after another. Hooker was the toughest cop in all of L.C. (L.A.) fighting for the rights of the innocent and taking down the scum that plagues society. He used to be a detective, but after a controversial shooting he went back into blues. Not that he was busted down, he asked for the streets! Where he can make a difference! After watching several episodes back to back, I've decided to list ten reasons in no particular order why T.J. Hooker is so awesome.

1. T.J. Hooker is so cool that everyone in the fictional city of L.C. knows him and only refers to him by his last name.

Hooker has contacts throughout the city, everyone who is not a criminal knows Hooker and is on good terms with him. He relates to all walks of life and is revered by them for being the living God he is. Almost all criminals know Hooker too, they're just not on good terms with the man. To be accurate, all snitches know Hooker and can't handle the heat when TJ leans on them for information. Only occasionally does the criminal of the week know Hooker, because obviously he did know Hooker the punk would be too scared to commit a crime in L.C. Along with his fame comes a cache of cool, so everyone calls TJ Hooker by his last name. His partner Vince Romano calls him Hooker. Other police officers. Community leaders. Even his ex wife. Only his kids don't call him Hooker, but maybe that's because he's never around home. Too busy fighting crime to raise his kids.

2. Sub Plot Stacy aka Heather Locklear

Heather Locklear was working double time appearing on both TJ Hooker and Dynasty. Her character Stacy Sheridan started as the desk / dispatch clerk and is the daughter of the police chief. She later becomes a street beat cop with Moondoggie James Darren where she morphs into sub plot Stacy. Whenever a kid or civilian woman needs to be watched, wherever a beautiful young woman is needed as bait, or if a cop is going to be taken hostage by bad guys Stacy is there to do it. Locklear fills in her role as eye candy nicely which is just as well since she's never once believable as a police officer (she looks 90 pounds and has no attitude). It doesn't help her that the Sheridan character is made out to be so naive that she is disarmed and taken hostage more times than I could count. It's as if Sheridan carries a gun so she could arm the criminals that capture her. Part of the fun of sub plot Stacy is to make fun of her character's stupidity in service of the story, plus you get to make Tommy Lee jokes and view possibly the corniest exotic dancing to hit the airwaves. Work those shoulders and snap them fingers baby!



3. Vince Romano is a Vietnam Veteran

I feel bad for Adrian Zmed, his career had such promise. After Grease 2 and TJ Hooker it seemed like he just disappeared. Zmed did a really good job as Hooker's eager young guy on the make sidekick Vince Romano. Completely believable as a rookie cop, completely believable as Hooker's partner with a different acting style, believable in his action scenes...but totally not believable as a Vietnam Veteran. I'm sorry, Adrian Zmed looks like he's in his mid 20s during this show - maybe he looks young for his age? His character is portrayed as a guy in his mid 20s too, which makes it ridiculous to claim Romano is a Vietnam Vet. It's not like they referenced this once and let it go, Romano's Vietnam past is brought up multiple times in the series (including flash backs). It's said Romano went to 'Nam faking his age to join the war, but what was he 5? A 5 year old faked his way into the army? Really?

4. 80's L.C. (L.A.) is a beautiful thing

Remember the old Kentucky Fried Chicken sign? Or when you could buy a new truck for $5999? Or gas for $1.11? You get to see a lot of the ol sights and sounds of Los Angeles. Just watched an episode today that opens with a robbery at Venice Beach. Watch the background, you get to see old company logos ( TJ Hooker makes a speeding left turn through an intersection next to Safeway in many episodes) and businesses that don't exist anymore (1st Interstate bank I think was one). The settings and backgrounds are a nostalgic treat. I hadn't felt that nostalgic since playing Grand Theft Auto - Vice City.

5. TJ Hooker drinks and drives

Particularly in the early seasons Hooker would often frequent bars after work. Then he'd down a few drinks, mull over the case he's working on, flirt with a girl then DRIVE HOME. And we can also assume still carrying his gun too. If a major tv character did this today people would be up in arms I tell you. But again, because he's TJ Hooker we can assume as well that he is immune to the intoxicating effects of alcohol.

6. Worst Car Chase Cops In The Biz

Hooker and Romano are the worst cops to put in a car chase. 81% of the time they lose the bad guy due to traffic or wrecking their vehicle in a fiery explosion. Only if the villian crashes his own car in a fiery explosion do they get caught. Hooker has destroyed so many vehicles not to mention private property (like entire gas stations) that L.C. should be bankrupt from the liability claims on this guy. The general rule of TJ Hooker is this: if the car chase happens within the first half hour, it will end with the criminals getting away and Hooker punching the car while shouting "Damn!" Second half hour, somebody is gonna get caught.

7. The Shatner 2000

It's no secret that the Shat wears a rug. Or has plugs from what one co-worker once told me. In any case, the Shatner 2000 (so named from a classic Night Court episode) lives up to it's hype. A pure masterpiece of false follicles, there are times when I think the 2000 covers not just the top but the front side burns as well. Speaking as a bald man myself, that's impressive coverage.

8. Recycled guest stars and pilots for shows that never came to be

TJ Hooker made two attempts at spin offs that funnily enough did not feature any of the regular cast. The most noticeable one was Sharon Stone - yes, that Sharon Stone - as a tough female detective working the Hollywood beat. She's tough...but she's sympathetic too because she cares (awww...). Stone herself is pretty bland here, no hint of the ice pick wielding psycho she'd successfully portray a few years later. The second spin off attempt wasn't much better, it was a blatant Beverly Hills Cop rip off set in Chicago starring a guy working overtime trying to match Eddie Murphy's manic brilliance and coming up short. And trying to rip off the Pointer Sister's "Jump" as background muzak for a foot chase scene. Classy.

For other guest stars, there is the predictable Star Trek link with Leonard Nimoy making an appearance. Not to mention Ike Eisenmann from ST II ("he stayed at his post, when the trainees ran..."). And I suppose I can throw in Marcy Lafferty (ST:TMP) though that's cheating since she was married to Shatner at the time. I'd also use that to justify her playing two different characters on Hooker (one a murderous thief and the other a psychic) except they did that with actors who weren't married to Shat as well. Clarence Williams III was an armed robber twice and not the same character. Lynne Moody was a doctor one day and then a police clerk in Chicago the next. Most notable was James Darren who first played an illegal street racer before making series regular as Jim Corrigan.

9. TJ Hooker rides the hood of a car

This moment in tv history was so indelible that decades later it became a joke in a Robert DeNiro movie. So here it is, revel in the glory.



10. Danny can't hear!

TJ Hooker tried hard to be sensitive to people in need, but in typical Hooker / Shatner fashion that sensitivity is delivered loudly and clumsily - which is pretty awesome once you get used to it. Nowhere was this more evident than an episode where Hooker berates a gang member / crime suspect until he realizes the punk has a hearing problem. Hooker does a complete 180, trying to get the gang banger a better life and medical operations(!) because (Shatner dramatic pause) Danny can't hear! Hooker goes on and on about how this kid could have been a lawyer or doctor or whatever but because he can't hear (and the kid's brother is a junkie) the kid HAD to join the gangs to survive. Danny...he could have built a rocket ship to the moon, cured cancer, brought world peace but no, he had to join the gangs because...Danny can't hear!

And those are just ten reasons why TJ Hooker is so freakin awesome. But don't take my word for it. You can watch a brief version of one of my favorite TJ Hooker episodes below. And just to give a shout out to a website, www.tj-hooker.com provides tons of info on this beloved tv show.

Chuck Versus The Shark

Chuck has been my favorite tv show for the past few years. I've learned to enjoy every episode like it's going to be the last because Chuck has been permanently on the cancellation chopping block as far back as it's first season. And going into season 4 I was very psyched when I read this round would be guest star heavy with Linda Hamilton (Terminator) and Timothy Dalton (James Bond!). I was ready for another set of frothy spy comedy fun that Chuck does so well.

While the guest appearances paid off well (Dalton in particular was killer) the season overall felt a bit choppy. Some of the fun seemed to get lost as Chuck and crew got locked into saving his Mom from the evil Volkoff conglomerate. The tone was more grim. And the pulling in of all the supporting cast into Chuck's spy world(Morgan, Awesome, Ellie) took away part of the double life shuffle I enjoyed in seasons past.

The lightness and fun returned with the wrap up of the Volkoff story line, but then there was a slight feeling of "been there, done that" in his spy hijinks. I thought maybe I was judging my favorite show too harshly, even as characters would unconvincingly change direction at the drop of a hat (Robin Given's shift from ruthless hardass to selfless savior at the very end of her arc, or Vivian Volkoff's shift from naive righteousness to evil mastermind in training for example).

Monday's season finale summed up season 4 nicely. The first two thirds went all Empire Strikes Back on the Chuck crew. Sarah was dying, Chuck was stripped of the intersect and his latest new foe revealed as a CIA insider. The drama palpably ramped up until the last commercial break when Chuck gets Sarah the antidote. After the break, the tone shifted to such a light feel I thought maybe we were watching a dream sequence. It was such an abrupt change I was like "Huh?" And to end the show with Morgan getting the intersect? Aw crap, my favorite show had jumped the shark and landed in After MASH.

Chuck has been renewed for season 5 and final season. I'll definitely watch, but I got that sinking feeling like the best ideas are all used up. Though if they give the intersect to Jeffster, I may have to check out.

Oh Mildred!

Rating:




It took some time, finally knocked off watching the 5 part HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce. The first three parts were pretty good, the series started strong by kicking straight into the title character giving her cheatin' husband the heave ho. Kate Winslet, always outstanding, puts her American accent to work again portraying Mildred as a strong willed and grounded pre feminist with a major blind spot when it comes to her children. Winslet's Mildred Pierce is as earnest as the day is long. Director Todd Haynes pushes the Depression era setting hard to ensure we feel the uncomfortable fear and strife giving the piece modern day relevance.

Despite being a book first, Mildred Pierce is best known as first rate melodramatic cinema and one of Joan Crawford's best flicks. I remember watching it on video about 20 years ago, mainly what I remember from that experience was thinking the daugther (Veda) was evil as hell. To differ from that legendary version Haynes and Winslet strive to punch up the realism and get room to do it by spreading out over a miniseries.

It's just too bad the rest of the cast didn't get the same memo. The supporting cast (including Oscar winner Melissa Leo, Mare Winningham, Guy Pierce and two different actresses playing daughter Veda) amp up the drama with snappy performances. The zip of the support actors make Winslet / Haynes seem like a major drag. Watching this show you'd think everyone had fun during the Great Depression except Mildred Pierce.

Nowhere is this disconnect more evident than the key relationship between Mildred Pierce and the daughter Veda (played the first 3 eps by an actress I don't know whose acting has been very controversial online and the last 2 eps by Evan Rachel Wood). The Veda character is always haughty, conniving and stuck up regardless of who is playing her. In the HBO version she is so much so that Kate Winslet's Mildred doesn't even seem related to her. Even though both characters ramble on in heated arguments at the end of most episodes about how much alike they are, it never feels like it's true. Veda's character comes off like someone Mildred got stuck babysitting instead of mothering. Since much of the 2nd half of the series focuses on Mildred's smothering and Veda's viper like qualities, the lack of connection kills off the drama.

And that's why I took a break watching between parts 3 and 4. The story was getting predictable and the mother / daughter relationship that held most the drama wasn't clicking. As the series progresses and you see Mildred, who you're rooting for at this point, repeatedly get put down and faked out by her demon seed daughter you just get wore out. Or at least I did. By parts 4 and 5 even the surrounding characters are sick of watching this trainwreck relationship and exclaim "Oh Mildred!" constantly when she turns a blind eye to Veda's shenanigans.

Because the supporting actors are so appealing no matter how sketched out they are, I came away wishing Haynes had gone the full remake route of complete melodrama. Instead we're left with Kate Winslet proving an unusual thesis: Is it possible to give a terrific lead acting performance that sabotages the piece as a whole? With her humorless nose pressed against the grindstone, the answer is as easy as Mildred Pierce's pies.

You Just Got Blazed!

Syfy channel has resurrected Star Blazers! This classic anime series recalls warm memories of watching it on the local program Captain Cosmic and his robot 2t2. I don't remember a lot about Star Blazers itself, just that I used to watch it daily. The giant battleship Yamato with the big cannon on the front would fly around and stuff would blow up. When you're a kid, that's all that really matters. Now I get a chance to see it and maybe understand what all the running and shouting was all about.


While looking up Star Blazers on the internet, found out a live action version of this was made in Japan. The trailer looks like Armageddon and Battlestar Galactica gone wild.

American Idol 2.0

Is it time for another Fantastic Four movie? Nope, but it is time for another round of American Idol where love don't cost a thing except for in an elevator.

Simon Cowell and his V neck framed scowl had been the trademark of American Idol, the focal point of America's attention even more than the contestants. Cowell's biting sarcasm, high standards and opinionated pontifications took America's PC glad handling "You can do anything if you dare to dream" coddling and flushed it down a toilet of off key warblers and flamboyant hot messes. He was someone who could get up in public and speak his truth with total disregard for others feelings, including teenagers. And we were Ok with it because, well, he's not American, he's British. Not from here, didn't know you can't say negative things about people even when they're making a fool of themselves. This led to a lot of work for British judges on other talent shows flooding American tv but that's another topic.

So when Cowell packed up his bags and left for the X Factor following last year's AI many predicted that was it for the ratings megagiant. American Idol would suck. And why wouldn't it, the last 3 rounds or so hadn't created as many stars as years past and the recent winners have had middling careers at best. The Ellen Degeneres experiment had failed as she seemed lost doling out empty compliments to anyone within earshot. American Idol has been on like 10 years or something, they seemed to have strip mined all the talent the U.S. had to offer.
.

This year when I tuned in to American Idol it was initially out of curiosity. I love music, liked the show generally and can often find at least one contestant to enjoy (last year was runner up Crystal Bowersox). Plus everyone knows the early auditions are where you find the trainwrecks! And there were crash and burn performances, but also there was a re-emphasis on people with actual singing ability and their human interest sob stories. Then the new judging panel caused a commotion by giving a Hollywood plane ticket to anyone half decent, creating a talent pool large enough to run a small city. Speaking of judges, Randy Jackson woke up from a decade long slumber to say something other than "Dawg", "It was OK for me" or "Pitchy". He still says these things, but now he says other words to which is great. Being the only original judge, Jackson actually serves a purpose now as elder statesmen guiding the new crew through the steps of the AI process.

Tonight's Motown episode was the best American Idol full ep in a really long stretch. Strong performances by more than half the contestants made for a great show. It seems the new approach is paying off. The singers are responding to the new judges kid gloves approach, even if Steven Tyler's rambling wackiness is slowly devolving to "That was beautiful and you're beautiful" comments after every performance. J.Lo is either really emotionally invested or a better actress than I thought she was and comes across well - fighting back tears as she delicately eliminates contestants while alternately doing the Paula Abdul cheerleading thing sans nuttiness. And in a crucial move they're using big name producers to help mold the singers resulting in more consistent song quality. Jimmy Iovine? Rodney Jerkins? Don Was? Damn!

Even though I'm not seeing a break out star yet that can sell millions of Cds-er, downloads, this is shaping up to be the best group since season 5. The wide ranging casting call has resulted in early favorites like the funky Casey Abrams, gospelish Jacob Lusk and the diva balladeer Pia Toscano. American Idol has temporarily succeeded in reinventing itself into a more genial yet still engaging talent show. It'll never be as great as it once was, but like a classic New York Yankees team they've bought and drafted enough people to make it to the playoffs. Congrats American Idol, you don't suck...yet.

I Like You, Man

I've taken a long break from blogging here, so here's my first shot at getting back on the horse. Been watching a fair amount of television and without realizing it became a fan of a specific actor: Jason Segel. I just think this guy is funny, often playing this sort of sincere buffoon character in a variety of shows and movies. Even looking at photos of the guy to put on this post has me chuckling and all he's doing is standing around (not the pic I eventually picked though). The first time I saw a performance by him where I paid specific attention to his acting was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Marshall funnily enough is his name on How I Met Your Mother but i'm getting ahead of myself). He played his character with the right amount of pathos and humor to keep the film rolling. Next I saw him in I Love You, Man where he was a bit more antagonistic but in a nice way (and also revelled in another recurring theme for this actor, a bit of Rush worship like his character in Freaks and Geeks but again I'm getting ahead of myself).

Anyway, one tv show I've been checking out is reruns of the much acclaimed tv series Freaks and Geeks. It was one of those high school shows from ten years ago that was set around 1980 or so. It was also one of those shows that would gain an American Graffiti / Fast Times At Ridgemont High aura of being a hot bed for young actors that would break big later. F&G included Linda Cardenelli (ER), Seth Rogen (tons of movies), James Franco (Spider Man) and yup, Jason Segel. Having watched about ten episodes I could see why critics still cry at the mention of this one season wonder. It's deftly written with healthy doses of realistic characters, teen drama and nostalgia.

At the same time, How I Met Your Mother has hit syndication giving me an opportunity to catch up on this great show. As scatalogical as it is focused, the five characters clown around and bounce off each other the way a group of friends would. Reruns have let me see the character's rich history of inside jokes and epic events like the Pineapple, the time Aunt Lily kicked Asian Elvis in the nards and a couple's first "I Love You" stemming from a bag of Funions. A fun lightweight show.

I'd say I can't wait to see what Segel does next, but it looks like his next major project is a Muppets movie. Can't say I'm really into Muppet movies (though the first one was OK) but if anyone is gonna make me like it it's probably this guy. Count me in as a fan, bro.

KISS On My List Pt. 2

Been hooked on watching endless reruns of Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Simmons persona of retiring old fogey, shrewd business man and egomaniacal rock star makes for plenty of reality tv "moments". Flanked by his ex-Playmate girlfriend Shannon Tweed, their sarcastic son Nick and grounded daughter Sophie the clan finds lots of trouble to get in and out of with the most silly of consequences. It's happy time tv, a family sit com under the guise of a reality tv show peeling back the layers of rock stardom. Is it real? I don't think so, not fully anyway. Family Jewels shows a specific side of the family's life that displays a mutual love and sense of adventure they share. Things like actual conflict or real problems (like the legal wrangling taking place right now between Simmons and an ESPN makeup girl over alleged sexual harassment) have no place here. And story lines involving stalled cars (both Gene Simmons and the Tweed sisters have had this happen to them this year) or wacky romantic rendezvous has me convinced their episodes are being written by the creators of Growing Pains. But I love Growing Pains so I'm cool with that. Life is a party in this tv show and that's the appeal for me. So rock on Gene!

How I Met Your Mother Is Legend - Wait For It - Ary

While I was laid off work I got into watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother. It was just something to watch at first, I'd seen episodes before and generally liked them. Watching the episodes on a daily basis changed my perception of the show, it went from being pretty good to...wait for it...legendary! HIMYM is a really good sitcom, one of the few good ones left (this and Big Bang Theory pretty much does it for me now on that front). The writing is brisk and knowing, picking up with near Seinfeld like precision on the little personal jags and habits of people and blowing them up to epic proportions. Great bits like the slap bet, the glass breaking with the mutual realization of an annoying habit, Canada trashing, Robin Sparkles...the list goes on. Best of all, a fine ensemble that includes totally awesome Neil Patrick Harris as the jaded womanizer Barney, the red headed girl from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and that guy that stars in a bunch of movies now like I Love You Man. So funny and so consistent, HIMYM has grown over the years and has become a fave of mine. Oh yeah, up top bro!

And now, the playbook by Barney Stinson where he reveals some of his best scams. My personal numero uno? The Lorenzo Von Matterhorn. Spells like it sounds, with two "t"s.

Midnight Madness - Steven Seagal Edition

Lama on the loose: Steven Seagal takes to the streets for real in A&E's reality tv series Steven Seagal: :Lawman

Today's my birthday, I have successfully survived another year. It wasn't a great year in the sense that I've been laid off, but I am still alive eatin food and have a roof over my head so that's still going for me :). A lot of sad news out there in the entertainment world which inspired this post. On the upside, one of my action movie faves is attempting a comeback.

The Last In Line - Ronnie James Dio has been diagnosed with stomach cancer, certainly sad news. He's an iconic singer and as a fan I wish him well.

Standing On Higher Ground - While reading the blog Holland's Comet I found out that Alan Parsons Project singer Eric Woolfson passed away due to cancer. The Parsons Project was a favorite of mine in high school, particularly the Vulture Culture album. His vocals on the songs "Games People Play" and "Time" (not from Vulture Culture) were extraordinary.

The Samoan Bulldozer - Former WWE wrestler Umaga died of a heart attack at age 36. He was an effective heel who had a good gimmick, a big guy who could move quickly. No more Samoan Spike :(

Taken To The Wood(s) Shed - It was not a good week to have that last name, as both the golfer Tiger and the Rolling Stone Ronnie ran into high profile domestic issues. Maybe they should swap lives on a reality tv show just to make things that much more overblown.

Overexposed Movie Of The Week - Speaking of overblown, can we go five minutes without a tv advertisement for Armored? Like Grand Theft Auto: The Movie, it looks like Matt Dillon and some other dudes steal an armored car and then kill each other for possession of it. All I get out of the repetitive commercials is steal the car, some guy locks himself inside, Matt Dillon gets mad threatens dude's family and then someone is running away from the armored car threatening to run him over. I've been playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas the past week and have found this scenario much more exciting on my outdated PS2 than watching these commercials. Someone please turn these losers in for stealing too much tv time.

And The Grammy Goes To... - The list of nominees this year don't interest me too much, just for fun I'll pick my favorite of their top selection list:

• Record Of The Year - I'd go with Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" not that I like the song, it's just the most memorable to me. P-P-P-Poker face.


• Album Of The Year - The only one on this list I have heard is Dave Matthews Band, I liked that album so I'll vote for that.


• Song Of The Year - I realize there are different criteria for this versus Record Of The Year but honestly I never saw the point between the two.


• Best New Artist - I don't know most of these names. The Ting Tings would be my choice. Now shut up and let me go.

The Awards show usually has a good song performance or two so there's that to look forward to, otherwise this year's model seems kinda dull.

Shields Up! - This week I got to go to a Star Trek exhibit and sit in the Captain's chair on a replica of the Enterprise bridge. Oh what a feeling!

Out For Justice - I watched the first two episodes of Steven Seagal: Lawman on A&E. Seagal doesn't do a whole lot of actual law enforcement compared to his fellow deputies and the phony editing to make it seem like he has a sixth sense to spot crime which is ludicrous. What's more, Seagal starts every sentence with "In my years of martial arts training, I..." to the point of annoyance. Yet like everything else Seagal touches, the hubris is backed up with mad aikido / gun fire skills (even if it is only displayed in training) and I've got to give it up to a guy that does this as a side job. His commitment to law enforcement is commendable and comes across as sincere. Though nothing can top the liquor store fight at the start of Hard To Kill. "C'muh cut mah hart oute! Come uh kut my 'eart out!!!" (The scene, one of my Seagal favorites, is below)

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Random Notes

What do you get when you mix a sub, a pea and a stone? The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame!

I watched the AARP, um, I mean Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert on HBO. The Hall of Fame is often a bone of contention in the blog world, probably because it presents what I would consider an elitist view of rock music. It follows a doctrine that considers R&B and hip hop as part of rock and favors punk and alternative (i.e. critics darlings) over commercially successful bands in the 70s and 80s. Only recently have groups that didn't start out as music critic favorites (Van Halen and Metallica) begin to make it in, presumably because they are running out of people they would prefer to let in before them. I'm sure if they could induct Bob Dylan every year, they would.

Anyway that's my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rant, I'd love to see it if it weren't in Cleveland but that's life. I did see this Hall of Fame concert and found it pretty enjoyable. A nice format where a band would anchor a set that includes its own material and then back various stars on songs as well. The backing bands included Crosby Stills and Nash, Paul Simon, Metallica, U2, Bruce Springsteen and I feel like I left someone out but can't recall. Oh yeah, Stevie Wonder. I wrote down my impressions of the concert while I watched it and in honor of Rolling Stone magazine who seems to have put on this shindig I'm calling it Random Notes:

• Hey it's Jerry Lee Lewis at the start, I saw him play at a concert a few years ago he still can put on a show.


• So that's what Steven Stills looks like sober. I saw CSN&Y play at the same concert as Jerry Lee Lewis, Stills was so wasted he barely performed and spent most of the set wandering the back of the stage that evening. Here he's blasting through his vocals and reeling off burning guitar solos. I feel cheated.


• Jackson Browne, one of my favorite artists singing one of my favorite songs "The Pretender"! With Nash and Crosby on background vox!! Holy crap, Browne has had plastic surgery and his face doesn't move!!! It's like Phantom of the Opera, his eyes and mouth moves but nothin else!!!!


• Stevie Wonder pays tribute to Michael Jackson by performing "The Way You Make Me Feel", is it a crime that I like Wonder's version better than the original?


• Sting, give Jackson Browne his raggedy beard back he needs it more.


• Stevie Wonder is smokin' through his set, everyone brought their "A" game to this show.


• Jeff Beck shaves his arm pits? Is this for more aerodynamic guitar solos?


• The Spectre of Spector is all over this Brill Building montage as I don't remember him getting named in this segment.


• Dion gives Paul Simon a fist bump. You know a trend is about to die when you see the elderly adopt it. Give them both Boost mobile phones while they're at it.


• During Simon & Garfunkel 's set, my wife reminds me of that Flight of the Conchords episode where one of the Conchords is made over by a woman into the image of an Art Garfunkel sex slave. Too funny!


• Oh cool, "The Boxer". Freakin love that song.


• Aretha Franklin slays 'em in Madison Square Garden.


• Sisters are doin' it for themselves again, Annie Lennox joins Franklin for "Chain of Fools"


• Metallica! Finally some actual rock music in this show. Wow, is James Hetfield losing his hair? Never thought I would see that happen to a guy that used to look like the Lion King. "For Whom The Bell Tolls" sounding good. The audience reaction reminds me of when I saw Metallica open for The Rolling Stones, not a lot of movement out there just polite applause.


• Metallica backs both Lou Reed and Ozzy. Guess with their legal battles there was no way Ozzy would show up with the rest of Sabbath?


• I wonder if Ozzy saw Dave Matthews make fun of him on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago?


• Ray Davies jumps a lot through "All Day And All Of The Night" with those awesome crazy split leg poses that you used to see in mid 60's photographs like he's Austin Powers. Groovy!


• "Enter Sandman". F*ck yeah!!


• U2 follows Metallica? I've got "Vertigo".


• U2, Springsteen and Patti Smith charge through "Because The Night" with spectacular results.


• I like how Bono worked in a bit of Springsteen's "The Promised Land" at the end of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"


• Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas steals the show from Jagger on "Gimmie Shelter". Though they can't top the fiery rendition Keith Urban and Alicia Keys gave at Live Earth.


• It's a "Beautiful Day"!


• For some reason Jeff Beck's bass player looks like Chelsea Clinton or Fiona Apple to me.


• Buddy Guy and Jeff Beck deliver some serious six string sting.


• Jeff Beck plays a very cool instrumental version of "A Day In The Life"


• Sam of Sam and Dave jams with Bruce and the E Street Band, PBS is going to have a field day when they get their hands on this. Pledge now!


• I ain't no For-chew-nate-uh. That's John Fogerty speak for "Fortunate".


• Tom Morello kickin' ass with Springsteen on "The Ghost Of Tom Joad".


• Wow, it's "Jungleland". I did not see that coming, generous of The Boss to play a song that highlights his band :)


• Billy Joel's limping, that's a bummer. "New York State Of Mind" trading vocals with Springsteen sounds great and Joel even brought sax man Mark Rivera with him. Joel sounds killer on "Born To Run" too.


• The big finish! All hands on deck.

All in all, this was a good show. Each performer gave 110% in their performance (but wait, it's mathematically impossible to give more than 100%). If you're a fan of rock and roll or old school R&B, its worth seeing.

Welcome To The Occupation

Rating:

I finished watching a BBC miniseries called Occupation, a daring drama looking at three fictional British soldiers who fight in the second Iraq war. After the war, the soldiers find themselves returning to Iraq during the reconstruction for both mercenary and personal reasons. It's a sobering look at the Iraq war and its aftermath.

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Shot in a documentary style with handheld cameras complete with the jittery closeups and swish pans that go with it, Occupation has an undeniable tension and edge throughout. The viewpoint of the piece that I got out of it was of how greed under the guise of emancipation has led to the West mucking about in an area it can never understand, only exploit at a high body count. And it illustrates its points with some strong storytelling.

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The storylines follow three guys, the first being a sargeant who makes headlines for his rescue of a young Iraqi girl during combat. Sgt. Mike becomes a national hero, but he falls in love with the Iraqi doctor who worked on the girl which leads to personal and cultural turmoil for everyone involved. Meanwhile, the more brutish Danny hooks up with an American ex-soldier after the war to become fly by night "security contractors" raking in big bucks with no credentials other than a brief case and guns. The third guy "Hibbsy" starts out as an innocent idealist wanting to build a better Iraq who becomes increasingly disillusioned as the series progresses.

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Since this is a British program, Americans are presented as more cold hearted cynics than the heavy hearted Englishmen shown which is interesting to see when you're used to American television like me. Ironically, the real stand out performance in Occupation to me was the main American character Lester played by British actor Nonso Anozie. Anozie is so convincing as the pragmatic profit minded American that I didn't think he was British until I looked it up online. A very impressive and commanding presence with great skill.

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That isn't to say Occupation is perfect, like anything in tv or film that shoots for realism but still wants to moralize by stringing together running characters by "coincidence" (like the "coincidence" crazy Academy Award winning Crash from a few years ago) it reminds you that you are watching a piece of fiction. Ditto a love scene between the British Sargeant and the Iraqi doctor that seemed to shoot for some unneeded shock value, or at least unsubtle symbolism. These little things took me out of the story at key moments in the second half of the series.

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Occupation is a good miniseries packed with drama and some thought provoking moments. In a sad way, it's actually a bit haunting as well. It may not be easy to find here (I found it on the BBC America channel by accident) but well worth seeking out.

Stairway To Cleveland

Rating:

This season the makers of The Family Guy tried for a Sunday night trifecta creating a spin off for the character Cleveland Brown (which I just now got is a play on the name of the football team) called The Cleveland Show (the third show made by Fam Guys makers is American Dad). Going in I had concerns because just having Family Guy and American Dad running simultaneously has caused a drop in the yuks of the main show and dropped its productivity (true to form, shortly after it's season premiere Family Guy is already in reruns). A third show...there just aren't enough jokes for them to do three shows in my opinion.

Still, I wanted to give The Cleveland Show a chance in case they could prove me wrong. After three weeks of watching it, I can safely say they can't. The Cleveland Show isn't bad, it's just boring. Maybe it's because the character Cleveland Brown is such a laid back character to start with. He doesn't launch into impulsive idiotic behavior like Peter Griffin or reactionary paranoia like the American Dad dude. Cleveland is slow and dry, removed from his original purpose of being a foil to Peter Griffin's nutso mania he seems like part of the furniture.

They try hard to surround Cleveland with crazy characters modeled after Family Guy like having a hyperintelligent child or literally having a bear for a neighbor. It just isn't enough. And unlike the strategy of front loading the best jokes into the new show at the expense of other programs that I expected, The Cleveland Show comes across like a contractually obligated mess of left over gags. I think I laughted out loud just once and the rest of the time can only work up to a bemused grin at best.

This show is not worth watching Family Guy go into reruns early in the season for and what's worse it oversaturates the evening with Seth McFarlane's humor down to his sloppy seconds. Even from its modest expectations, The Cleveland Show is a huge disappointment. As Cleveland would say "Oh no."

Boob Tube In Review

A Flash of laughter strikes The Big Bang Theory

Now that we're at the point that many TV series are having their finales to prepare for the big Summer rerun frenzy, it seemed right to look back at the season that was 2008-2009. After blogging about what I was looking forward to at the start of the season, I wanted to take a long hard look at how the shows I thought I would like panned out plus other shows I caught along the way. I just need closure, you see.

Chuck (NBC)

My favorite TV show on the air today got off to a so-so start before picking up steam. No show is funnier to me with Chuck's effervescent mix of pop culture humor, likeable characters and spy fantasy action. And what's wrong with having a government intelligence computer for a brain? The second half of the season started a new direction for the show by pushing Chuck to learn that his father and chief Intersect programmer Orion is one and the same. The season ending episode was all things great about Chuck as he got an upgraded Intersect locked in his head that allows him to do Matrix type stuff. "Guys, I know Kung Fu."

Flight Of The Conchords (HBO)

Like Chuck, Conchords got off to an OK start before finding that sweet spot of absurd naivetee' and kitchy musical numbers. Their Bonnie Tyler style power ballad escapade was a real winner. While it wasn't as good as the first season, Conchords sense of humor remained intact and brought some chuckles to me. The charity concert for epileptic dogs was classic. Who knew New Zealand and Australia were such enemies?

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

One of the reasons Chuck does poorly in the ratings is this show, a brainiac mecca sitcom loaded with sincere geekatude. The presence of hyper intelllectual anal retentive Sheldon upped the yuk factor and the series seemed to delve headlong into the real lives of young nerds. Whether it was Sheldon practicing his Admiral Ackbar imitation ("It's A Trap!"), forming a Wii Bowling league or ecstatic trips to the comic book store, Big Bang had its subjects down cold. And in one of the best guest appearances I've seen this year, geek nation pinup girl Summer Glau's showing spurred the awesomely cheesy pickup line "Is it hot in here, or is it just Summer?" When a show has you freeze framing the end title card of each episode, you know it's on to something.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox)

Speaking of Summer Glau, her show Terminator had a rough second season. Terminator's attempts at X File style mystery and conspiracy fell flat and over arty episodes detracted from the power of the original story. It just seemed to drag forever until the season ender, where the show decided to start kicking ass and taking names. If the rumors are true, it was too little too late as the show is said to be headed for the chopping block. I guess Terminators aren't indestructable after all. You just have to stop looking at them to make them go away.

WWE Raw (USA)

The grapplers got a little more attention this season by pumping up the storyline of Randy Orton and his big boot. Stories and match quality remained rock steady though not much in the way of mind blowing events took place.

Hells Kitchen (Fox)

Gordon Ramsey's latest victims were the usual run of the mill slobs masquerading as "chefs" with the exception of the two finalists. Loudmouths and lazy quitters filled 9/10ths of the show until it came down to the final two, the quiet methodical Paula vs the young hot shot Danny. In last night's finale, Danny took the prize. It's rare to see people who could actually cook on this show so it was great to see two chefs go head to head that could actually make food.

Celebrity Apprentice (NBC)

I haven't watched this show in the past and caught the last half of the season along with my wife. The business world is a brutal place even when playing for charity, these celebs back stabbed and cut each other off at the knees all in the name of donations. It was fun to watch these former famous people struggle to nail assigned projects and snipe each other in and out of the boardroom. Trump knows how to play people, letting them stew as much as possible to goose ratings. Case in point: Senior citizen commedianne Joan Rivers upset win over poker player Annie Duke. Duke played the game better but Rivers was the one people liked. This program delivered one of those stuck-in-my-head moments as River's disgust for Duke led to her withering spite when saying "You're a Poker player...a POKER player!"

American Idol (Fox)

The season isn't over yet, though this round of Idols have been the most entertaining bunch in years. Adam Lambert aka Glambert has drawn a ton of attention for his artful hair metal wailing and ambiguous sexuality. Lambert is unlike any prior Idol contestant, he runs the show; the show doesn't run him. Bands like U2 and Led Zep clear music for his explicit usage. If he doesn't win next week it will be the upset of the Century. And of course my favorite of this season, Allison Iraheta, delivered a blues rock edge to the masses with her raspy voice. And Glambert's duet with Iraheta on Foghat's "Slow Ride" was one of the greatest moments of this TV season. Too bad new judge Kara DioGuardi became more tiresome as the season wore on, I liked her at the outset until they got to the live shows where she just repeated whatever Randy said minus the "Dawg".

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network)

The animated adventures of Anakin and Obi Wan turned out pretty good. Some episodes were better than others. On the good ones, the animated show would pick up the zip and zeal of the original Star Wars movies. In brief flashes, I could go home again.

Moral Orel (Cartoon Network)

A series of short episodes that I think lasted for one season because the creator of the program passed away, Moral Orel places a pious kid in a world of selfishness and hidden lies. This show is not afraid to rub the viewer's face in what conservative religion would consider depravity yet is careful to protect Orel's sheltered soul.

Family Guy (Fox)

Like usual, Family Guy new episodes were harder to come by than a winning lottery ticket. When new eps were on, it was pretty good though there was a noticeable attempt to raise the squirm factor this season. There was one episode where the story revolved around OJ Simpson that was particularly uncomfortable to watch. Though seeing Stewie go on steroids or kidnap the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast for his personal pleasure was awesome.

The Simpsons (Fox)

As consistent as a Swiss watch (I think I got that metaphor right), The Simpsons continued to both poke fun and lionize the American way of life.

Burn Notice (USA)

I checked out USA's original series about a spy who has had his spyness stripped from him by the agency he works for. So he hangs around Florida working odd jobs for his selective skills. The key to this show is the knowing voice over from the series stars as he assesses and rhapsodizes about his misfortune and strategies for winning spy games. A decent show.

Best Week Ever (VH1)

Now hosted by that gap toothed comedian that's not David Letterman, what was one of my favorite shows has become achingly unfunny. Focusing on a select staff of comics, the show still has a good eye for memorable video footage from other programs yet the commentary and yuks are really lacking.

Robot Chicken (Cartoon Network)

It's always reruns that are on which sucks and is too bad, this homage to playing dollies in stop motion photography is a blast when they find a joke that sticks.

When I look at a list of programs I meant to watch (The Office, 30 Rock, The Mentalist, etc) I don't understand why I didn't check them out more thoroughly. Oh well, there's always next Fall.

Save Chuck!

Chuck flashes on the overnight ratings and sees danger.

Chuck, my favorite television show going right now, is in danger of being cancelled! For the millions that don't know, Chuck is a tv show about a computer tech nerd who is given a visual download of classified government information. As a result, he becomes a virtual computer for top secret government information. After a sluggish creative start to the second half of the second season, my show of shows picked up steam which included great guest stars (Scott Bakula, Chevy Chase and Jordana Brewster) mixed in with their ingenious blend of geek humor, pop culture sense of play and spy game escapism.

A prime example was the season finale where at Chuck's sisters wedding in the church, he encounters evil mastermind Chevy Chase who threatens to kill the sister if he doesn't get the spy computer. To stall, Chuck asks his Seth Green like friend Morgan to cover who in turn recruits his co-workers that play bad karaoke with a keytar. Next thing you know, Chuck's sister's wedding is pre-empted by an over the top version of "Mr Roboto" (which I didn't know was possible in itself) while in a back room Chuck and his feds get in a shoot out with Chevy Chase and his cronies. It's masterfully timed to give the thrill of battle, the absurdity of bad wedding singing and the crushing embarrassment of a Bride's day gone bad all in one slick montage.

Well written with a knack for likable characters, Chuck has been my Monday evening past time for two years now. It is easily the funniest thing I've seen in ages. Watching the earnest yet befuddled Chuck maneuver his way through black bag operations with the support of his will they / won't they undercover spy girl and the Reagan worshipping commando is great fun. That plus memorable friends at the Buy More (read:Best Buy) and a family that includes "Captain Awesome" can't go wrong. Except it can be on the wrong night, since Chuck gets his ass handed to him each Monday by Dancing With The Stars and The Big Bang Theory (another show I like) in the ratings. The word is this Monday will be the day Chuck finds out if his intersect gets permanently unplugged. I hope not, because Monday night TV will get a lot more boring without it. Save Ferris!

Oh, by the way a link to this awesome "Mr. Roboto " montage is found here. Also there's a great recap of the show up to close to the season finale here. While I haven't bought a Subway sandwich on a Monday yet I've bought a lot this year, so maybe that will help get it renewed? (Subway is a sponsor of Chuck).

Clones (We All Are)

It's the law of diminishing returns. The more copies you make, the lesser the quality can be. Even so, sometimes there are surprises out there.

I was drinking when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray. A long time ago in a childhood far far away, one of the greatest movies of all time was made. Star Wars changed history and the face of mankind was changed forever. So powerful was Star Wars that it spawned a second set of sorry sequels years after the first series of sequels ended. Collectively, the prequel series of Star Wars movies were weak and tainted the brand as a whole. But bad product has never stopped a brand name before, not as long as it keeps selling. And as a result we have a new splinter to add to the Star Wars universe, the CGI animated Clone Wars.

It started with the movie that I got the DVD for in December. All I can say is that I'm glad I waited until DVD to watch this. On TV it's as impressive as the Cartoon Network series, the animation is pretty good, the characters are more lifelike than the live action films and the story telling somewhat plausible (at least not everyone is someone else's uncle, aunt or parent anymore). Star Wars: The Clone Wars is better than say The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones yet that's not saying much. The story to Clone Wars is a little insipid, some nonsense about Jabba the Hutt's baby and kidnapping and what not. In a movie theater this would have been disappointing, at home on DVD it's not bad. On celluloid it would suck to see the start of a tv series on screen without any enhanced graphics or events to make it special as a stand alone item. So good thing I saw it at home.

This movie was a lead in to Cartoon Network's series of half hour weekly episodes. The series is very good, it fleshes out the Star Wars Republic era and many times surpasses the quality of the prequel films in terms of story. At its peak, the Star Wars tv series picks up the zippy sense of fun the original trilogy had. The storm troopers aren't misfiring dolts even (makes me wonder what happened to that gene pool by the time you get to Luke Skywalker's time) My opinion hasn't changed much from the last time I reviewed it, the series is worthwhile and in the words of young Anakin and his friend, pretty "Wizard".

Branded alongside the DVD and TV series is a video game for the Wii, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels. The chance to swing a light saber with a Wii remote is mighty tempting. After playing this a bit, Lightsaber Duels is pretty good. There is some matching with the remote motion to give you a little Jedi juice, though it falls a little short for me. You're limited to five remote direction movement and have to memorize complex move patterns to do combo attacks (never a favorite video game feature of mine. After a year of playing Mortal Kombat I only got down one finishing move half way, where Scorpion eats the opponent's head). I was hoping for omnidirectional control of the saber since the Wii seemed to be up to it control wise. Despite these set backs, I still find playing the game enjoyable even as I flail crazily to try to trigger half the movements I'm supposed to while playing. The Force is with me.

The Clone Wars series is a decent, respectable extension of the Star Wars brand. It's not perfect and maybe it gets a little good will from the prequel trilogy's low standards. Still, on episodes like the hostage crisis at the senate or the prison break of a trade group informant the show brings back the excitement lacking from a lot of the product. And that makes it worthwhile.

You've Got Chops

Back for another round of endless auditions, so far Simon Cowell's best zingers have been in his battles with new girl Kara Dioguardini.

We're into the second week of the eighth season of American Idol, one of my favorite past times. Like every year, the show kicks off with auditions where a mix of delusional insane asylum screechers mix with Hollywood kids in training. After being a cultural juggernaut for most of it's existence, Idol stumbled a bit in season seven as ratings sagged a bit and participants failed to reach beyond the Idol faithful. Longtime producer Nigel Lythgoe left and a new judge, Kara DioGuardini, was brought in. This left the question: what's the status of the Star Search of the new millennium now?

The answer so far seems to be going Back to Basics. Unlike previous seasons, Idol has become more unassuming - not taking viewership for granted and constantly ramming it's greatness down our throats. It still plugs itself of course, just not every three minutes as in prior shows or extended documentaries on the making of the show. There's a genuine focus on the contestants this time out, much more than last year. An even mix of funny oddballs, showstoppers and sob stories goes a long way. The presence of the judges and Ryan Seacrest have been more subdued, less indulgent so far. They still bicker and needle possible Idol's and each other but are edited into shorter bursts.

Which leads to the new kid on the block, Kara DioGuardini. Being the new person, DioGuardini is getting a sizeable push in camera time equalling Cowell himself. Fortunately, DioGuardini seems to be what the show needs. Her presence gives a slightly bored Cowell a new person to badger, stabilizes Paula and takes over on the musicianly critiques that Jackson used to do before he became content to clown people. She hasn't shied away from saying her opinion and fueled the most noteworthy contestant interaction so far this season. DioGuardini's catch phrase seems to be "You've got chops" as she used that relentlessly during the first week's episodes. By mid-season, "Chops" could be the new "Pitchy" in overuse.

American Idol is settling in for the long haul, it's stopped tripping over itself to wow us and is serving up plenty to talk about. There's already been Bikini Girl and the guy who is like a human Gollum from Lord of the Rings to cause some minor sensations. This is shaping up to be a season of modest yet still watchable fun, assuming they don't find a breakout superstar. Idol may not have the fantastic runs and high notes it once had, so they are showing what they do have: chops.

Top Five Favorite TV Shows and Movies

The end of 2008 creeps even closer, time to close the year out. Here's my five favorite TV shows and Movies of the past twelve months.

TV Shows

5. The Big Bang Theory

In it's second season, I found the Geekamania even more appealing as more focus fell upon supernerd Sheldon. Sheldon's anal retentive ways, cold logic and lack of understanding about human beings is like Mr. Spock in Star Trek IV minus the innocence. While Big Bang Theory won't be confused with great television, it's a fun time passer.

4. WWE Raw

How could I not pick the grappler's premier program? Wrestling still lacks the excitement of the 90's Attitude era though it has levelled off into a consistent spree of choke holds and jumps. And it's interesting to see people who were mid carders when I started to follow wrestling now get the Top Belts (the high flying mic fearing Hardy Boyz are both Champions now). Best of all, Chris Jericho dominated with his egotistical gimmick and rightfully was named Superstar of the Year.

3. The Clone Wars

The idea of a CGI cartoon Star Wars didn't appeal to me initially and poor reviews of the movie didn't help. But I gave the Cartoon Network series a chance and was rewarded with something better than 90% of the junk in those prequel movies. Better acting and tighter stories makes The Clone Wars light years ahead of any Phantom Menace. It's not amazing or at the level of the Original Trilogy, but at least you can watch The Clone Wars without shaking your head at how much what you're seeing sucks.

2. Family Guy

Lots of Animation Domination here, The Griffin clan is still my favorite comedy on TV. However, for the second straight season new episodes were hard to come by after the first four episodes. And with all those spin offs it seems like the jokes are getting spread thin. I really can't stand that I can see two new episodes of American Dad for every one Family Guy. The proposed Cleveland spin off means even fewer jokes to go around, I'm still a fan but a little disappointed. Disappointed didn't mean I stopped loving the crude and insane antics of Peter Griffin and gang, so they'll still rate high with me.

1. Chuck

The human dork computer rolled into the second season and caught fire. This year saw deeper characterizations while maintaining its tone of lovable farce. While too many episodes took place at the main set (the Best Buy knockoff Buy More), Chuck's canny use of spy head game madness, sexual tension (between Chuck and protector spy Sarah) and all out doofiness (an entire episode revolved around a secret code if you defeated Missile Command) made for a weekly hour of entertainment fun.

Movies

5. There Will Be Blood

"I...drink...your...milkshake!" With that phrase, Daniel Day Lewis put the crown jewel on yet another dazzling performance. This time as a paranoid oil Barron, Lewis amazes in this epic meditation on greed and corruption. The story of a thoroughly unlikeable but completely relatable person writ large, There Will Be Blood is a textbook on how to make a good movie.

4. Quantum of Solace

Daniel Craig's second outing as 007 had good and bad points, action excitement and more insight on the soul of James Bond versus well intentioned yet overly stylized direction. Sort of reminiscent of Licence To Kill and The Man With The Golden Gun in tone, Craig expanded on his gritty Bond. I'm sure once it's on DVD I'll watch it 50 more times and get even more out of it. For now, Quantum of Solace is an interesting, deeper yet intermittently exciting addition to the 007 canon.

3. Iron Man

Shellhead locked and loaded with a stand out popcorn flick. Robert Downey Jr brought in an offhand sense of humor while maintaining enough gravitas to sell the drama. Backed by a cast of Academy Award winners and nominees, director Jon Favreau delivers the goods. Like Iron Man himself, the film is part man part machine and designed for maximum impact. Though it didn't answer the one question I've had about Iron Man through the years: how smart is it to place weaponry built into your palm? You go to scratch your head and boom! No more head.

2. Wall - E

Pixar continues to create groundbreaking CGI, though this time out it was less about the actual graphics than the content. The first half hour was almost silent which is asking a lot of a kids audience. But it worked, it worked because Wall-E is well made by creating lovable characters that appealed to both children and adults. Sly social commentary about pollution and sloth also gets worked in nicely. A kids movie that has an artistic edge is tough to pull off. Wall-E makes it work.

1. The Dark Knight

The greatest Superhero movie ever made, The Dark Knight hits all its marks. Adrenalin pumping action, characters that stand out yet are true to the comic roots, brilliant direction and art direction, first class acting performances...the list goes on and on. While there certainly will be a Batman 3, The Dark Knight is so good it's actually worth stopping the series now. You just can't beat perfection. Plus, we all get to do that low gravelly "Batman" voice for fun. Talk like you're taking a big dump that's stuck and say "I'm Batman". Guaranteed hours of entertainment! Okay, maybe I need to find higher forms of entertainment.

And that wraps up the high points of 2008 for me. All right 2009, bring it on!