I Am A TV Junkie

So?

I have no vanity when it comes to this. Remember, I'm colorblind.

What works? What doesn"t?

Everyone is welcome to comment. About the new site colors and banner.

Unless there's something in my teeth? You would tell me, right?

Fox's New Sit Down, Shut Up -- Do You Smell Something Fishy?

I know, I know. I'm the harbinger of ill prognostication. I'm not usually that guy. I'm usually the cheerleader. And I love cartoons for adults. Just watched a couple Family Guy eps for fun.

(Not that I usually watch the show as a matter of national security, you know, to hear the coded messages in Peter's farts. But I digress.)

After doing some homework, this show doesn't feel right to me. The source material is an Australian live action sitcom that ran for only 13 episodes. Before it even ran in Australia it was aired in the UK, which leads me to believe that someone thought it was shit and passed on it.

Then today I'm at the Fox press site trolling around for new content (you know, because I love you guys - awww!) and I started noticing the names of the characters on the show.

Names like Sue Sezno, Stuart Prozackian, Helen Klench.

Miracle Grohe? Yes, Miracle Grohe. That's Kristin Chenoweth's role. Gee, think she's the blonde with the rack? Do ya?

I groaned (Grohe-nd). Audibly. Homer heard me and groaned back (he's almost 11, he's allowed to groan these days).

Thought to myself, "Joe, those names are so cartoonish. They couldn't have been the named of the original characters."

They weren't.

Henry Winkler voices a character named Willard Deutschebog.

Says no, Prozac-ian, Clench, Douchebag, Miracle Grow. This all scares me some.

I know that everyone involved has a good reputation. I get that Josh Weinstein has worked on The Simpsons and Futurama and has Emmys blah blah blah ...

But he also worked on The Mullets. Yes, The Mullets.

And Mission Hill (though to be fair, most of that show worked for me, still does when Adult Swim runs the episodes that exist).

Mitch Hurwitz? Well, he did attract some top talent but they seem to be trading pretty heavy on the Arrested connection, like they don't have decent clips to show.

One more thing, what's up with the photographic backgrounds? They're lowering the bar so far now that I could be a cartoon artist. I have a camera. Can't draw a straight line but I have a camera and I could probably fashion a few unique looking character models out of my doodles.

So, note my fear. Still watch it, but keep me sitting there, maybe by your remote (the tiny version of me, that looks up every now and then and squeaks out, "You're watching this?")

It seems to me that shows that hit have a much more organic route to the schedule than smashing together the producer from The Simpsons with a not so successful foreign sitcom format and a few of the people from Arrested Development.

I so wanna be wrong about this. I so would love to see another great animated comedy on Fox.

Family Guy Video -- He's 61 Years Old? Really?

He doesn't look a day over Dirty Old Man. Watch below.

LINK

Carrots? Okay, carrots.

60 Minutes Video -- Conficker Worm Comes Tomorrow, Can You Get Ready in Time?

CBS News.com:

So far, the bad guys who created it haven't triggered Conficker. It's just sitting out there like a sleeper cell.

"Imagine a network of spies that has infiltrated a country. And every day, all of the spies are calling in for their instructions on what to do next," Trilling explained.

Asked what the worm is being asked to do, Trilling told Stahl, "That's the interesting thing. The only thing the worm is being asked to do is to ask for further instructions."

For several months, Trilling says the worm has just been sitting there, awaiting instructions,

It's that ominous, because once the hackers issue instructions, Conficker could turn menacing in an instant.

With one click, the worm's creator can instruct it to suck sensitive data, like bank passwords and account numbers, out of millions of computers, or launch a massive spam attack to clog up the works.

Two 60 Minutes clips on this after the jump. More on Conficker here.

Video -- Jim Gaffigan on Yummy, Yummy Bacon, King Baby Replays Tonight on Comedy Central

As Jim says, bacon is so good they wrap other foods in it to make them better.

Shonagh wraps chicken tenders in bacon on Oscar Sunday, which is fab.

Janet wraps Hillshire Farms Li'l Smokies with bacon. I know, Janet really amps up the nitrates, huh? But they are so, so good.

Gaffigan's stand up special on Comedy Central, King Baby, reruns tonight at 1o, it's very funny and you should watch it.

Clip after the jump to whet your whistle. Which you could also whet with ... bacon.

Other, very not suitable for work definition of Li'l Smokie at this link.

I'm sure we won't be finding any recipes that reference this updated definition.

Today's Disgusting Celebrity News -- Candy Spelling Dishing on Tori for Cash or Just for Sport?

Totally not my deal, I know. Or, rather, "not my milleau."

However, there is something seriously wrong with a mother who airs her dirty family laundry in public to make coin when she has everything she could possibly need to make a lavish life for herself and is sitting on the biggest piece of residential real estate in the country and moving into the most expensive highrise condo unit every sold.

She doesn't need the money, so it's apparent that the reason she's writing about her kids is that she wants people's attention. Attention that she doesn't get anymore for being the wife of uber-prod Aaron.

Attention that she now gets at her children's expense.

(She even seems to have worn out her welcome at Huffington Post where she used to write public letters to the parents of other kid stars.)

And doing it all in a wind drift behind her daughter's return to 90210 as well. You know these things are planned well in advance ... publicists see a perfect storm in these times when projects are readying for release and the press runs with the whole set of Spelling family issues under one banner, then finally getting that coup of an interview with one or both of the adversaries.

Or, even better, like a while back on Entertainment Tonight with Joey Buttafucco and Amy Fisher, the motherlode of both of them for the sit down of the century.

You don't dish on your kids for money. WTF is wrong with you?

This Quizno's Ad Stars a Very Horny (Male) Oven Begging, "Put It In Me, Scott"

Because sometimes we all need a toasty Torpedo inside us, the gang at the ad agency Nitro Group thought (I guess) that they would demonstrate the need, the hunger, the longing even, for something long & meaty to fill the flaming hot chasm.

Interesting they chose a male voice. Good for them for not going the expected route.

My favorite lines are at the beginning when Scott remind him what happened the last time this oven made such a request and the oven says, "We both enjoyed that." Yeah, I've heard that before, too.

Okay, now you need to mop your brow and watch the commercial.

(This is the second of two spots, I can't find the first online.)

Anyone for lunch?

LINK

30 Rock Video -- Liz Lemon's "Hi, I'm Bijou, Call Me" Gig (the full unexpurgated version)

People might also remember another commercial parody starring Tina from the SNL days. Does the word nerfherder mean anything to you? I would post the clip after the jump, but their embed code scares me (looks sketchy, might be a browser hijack or something malicious), so you can click over there to watch it at your leisure, at this link.

For those of you who haven't seen it it includes Paris Hilton as Tom Baker's Doctor (see photo).

That may either amuse you or sicken you.

If it sickens you, I can do nothing but suggest you swallow that in favor of Tina, Rachel Dratch and Amy Poehler. 

I'm kind of surprised that no one has bought the domain name 1-900OKFACE.com yet.

At least they haven't so far. 

Hey, speaking of Amy, did you read the article in the NY Times on Parks & Recreation? It's at this link. Show starts a week from Thursday, NBC giving it a big launch with a wraparound of two new episodes of The Office.

Speaking of Paris, she was in a barfight yesterday. Seriously. (SOURCE)

Speaking of Rachel Dratch, she has a movie with Amy and Parker Posey coming out, but alas it's straight to DVD ... The Smoking Gun has a mugshot of the real-life Debbie Downer (or a reasonable facsimile, anyway).

And I got nothing else. Click over the jump for the clip.

Barrowman's Gay Experiment on BBC America Interesting But How Scientific? And Details on His New BBC Talent Show

Did you catch The Making of Me: John Barrowman last night? I got there faster than you probably, as I just couldn't hang with Any Dream Will Do, which preceeded it last night on BBC America.

(Dress it up any way you want, it's a talent contest with a questionable prize at the end -- I was never much of a fan of Joseph, even when I saw it with ... who was it, Shaun Cassidy I think? Someone like that. I don't even consider Joseph the lead, I think the best role is the narrator role Laurie Beechman made famous on Broadway.)

So, John goes to many places (including Long Beach Gay Pride ... and of course I don't go to such events anymore because of the crowd sitch, but I would have had I known John was there cruising about) to find out what made him gay, and I guess he does eventually come up with some sort of answer, but he knocked down a lot of the other indicators on the way.

His ring finger is longer than his index finger. That pseudo-genetics test came up negative. But he is the third male child her mother conceived, so he's got that, but in the light of not having any of these other indicators I don't know why it means so much.

I would love to know what you thought of the whole thing. And, I also wanna know what's up with John affecting such a Scottish accent with his family? That was awfully weird, wasn't it?

Anyway, while I'm asking for responses (comments section below) I thought I'd grab for you a clip from BBC.com about the next Barrowman-involved unscripted show for the BBC. It's called Tonight's the Night and he talks about it will BBC News after the jump.

There is a Doctor Who component to this show, at least. I just don't like it when actors do stuff other than act on TV. It harshes my suspension of disbelief when I watch them act.

2 Clips -- CBS Cares About Your Colon; Letterman, Kalter & LuPone Team Up for PSA, Contest for Free Colonoscopy

Patti LuPone is concerned about what's going on inside your ass.

So are Dave Letterman and his announcer, Alan Kalter.

Because CBS cares about your upper and lower intestine and all the stuff in between and around.

Variety:

CBS is promoting a colonoscopy sweepstakes in primetime.

As part of its CBS Cares public service initiative, the network is offering a four-night stay in New York to one lucky winner. Oh -- and a free colonoscopy, to be performed by Dr. Paul Miskovitz, a leading gastroenterologist and expert on colorectal cancer.

The tongue-in-cheek (pun intended) spots feature over-the-top "Late Show With David Letterman" announcer Alan Kalter, along with Broadway star Patti LuPone, lying smack down on a hospital bed.

In other words, they don't look like your normal, snooze-inducing public service announcements But the contest is very real.

And, it's after the jump. Hey, four days and three night in NYC and you get a whole bunch of plastic tubing shoved up your ass. Wow, what a Summer!

You can enter the sweepstakes at this link.

I betcha Katie Couric cares about your colon, too. After all, she is crazy about mine and she loves her own.

Cartoon Obama from SuperNews -- Financial System a "Phony Baloney Carnival Run By Bloodsucking Clowns"

Whoever is doing Obama's voice here? He's the best I've heard! From Current TV's SuperNews and Josh Faure-Brac.

I think Barack speaks the truth. "We should check ourselves before we wreck ourselves." Rahm scares me a little.

LINK

Cable Channel Chiller Running Ben Cross-Led Dark Shadows 1991 NBC Revival

Dark Shadows is a particularly memorable thing for me because when I was in first grade my sister was in 4H and when it was at the Farinella's house I got to sit in their TV room and turn on ABC and watch Dark Shadows while pretending to do homework and then I got to eat whatever the troop made during their meeting.

Sometimes it was donuts. Sometimes it wasn't but there was still snacks at the end anyway. It was a perfect relationship.

Some things just stick in your head.

NBC attempted a revival in '91 with Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins and Jean Simmons (yes, the movie star Jean Simmons).

There are twelve episodes in all including a two-hour backend pilot, and they are also available on Hulu, all of 'em, if you are dying to check them out.

Or, look at (possibly, your channel number may differ) Time Warner Cable channel 299.

I'll leave the first one after the jump to get you started. For those of you who have no idea about the source material, it's a daytime soap created by Dan Curtis starring Jonathan Frid (pictured) as Barnabas Collins. It was unique and I remember even as a kid people being obsessed with it.

One of those people btw, Johnny Depp, he's about to bring it to the screen.

From the MTV Movies blog:

Supernatural gothic sagas are crazy hot right now: HBO’s “True Blood,” those “Twilight” flicks everyone keeps talking about, plus a host of upcoming films like Benicio Del Toro’s “The Wolfman” and Nicolas Cage’s “Season of the Witch.” Even “Spider-Man 4”’s rumored villain is a vampire. Another of these Zeitgeist-y projects is the Johnny Depp-starring adaptation of the 1960s soap opera, “Dark Shadows,” which had been in development even before this obsession with monsters, ghosts and witches took hold.

But since word of the planned film surfaced two years ago, reliable “Dark Shadows” news has been hard to come by. Now an executive in Depp’s production company, Infinitum-Nihil, which is developing the movie, confirmed some details for MTV News, left others up in the air, and hinted that we might be seeing the makings of a new supernatural franchise.

Most importantly, we wanted to know if Johnny Depp is still attached to star. “Indeed he is,” confirmed Sam Sarkar, Infinitum’s director of development.

When it came to those Internet rumors about Tim Burton signing on to direct, though, Sarkar was somewhat more circumspect. “I can neither confirm nor deny that,” he said. “But I know it’s out there in the ether.”

And now you're completely up to date. Clips after the jump. Frid as Barnabas Collins first, from when the show was still in black and white, before August 1967.

After that, the two-hour (when broadcast) pilot from the revival.

Interesting fact: There was another version that The WB network attempted in 2004 but it has only been shown once at a convention. And there's an entire website dedicated to that pilot, never aired, never released, at this link.

BTW, there two big sites for the show, DarkShadows.com and DarkShadowsOnline.com. I can't get on the latter right now (I'm guessing because the shows running and they have limited bandwidth).

ABC's Castle -- Nathan Fillion, Like Fine Wine ...

He just gets better with age.

At least that's what people tell me about wine, I have absolutely no clue about wine. I do, however, know what I like on TV, and I like this.

Will it last? Dunno. Never really know now, do we. It's not really up to us, it's up to them, a very ambiguous them, mostly attorneys and accountants I think at ABC. I would hope that someone with some sense would give this show a bit of a chance to catch on.

If you don't know what it's about, Fillion played Richard Castle, murder mystery writer with a large following who follows around Kate, a NYC cop played by Stana Katic.

(She was Heroes' "Wireless" character for a couple eps first season -- don't get a bad taste for her because NBC kept sending you emails from her character for another year despite their irrelevance to the story.)

It's kind of like Maddie and David from Moonlighting with the roles reversed sometimes, and then sometimes it's like Law & Order: SVU with an open tank of laughing gas on set.

All the time, however, it's an entertaining hour, at least the three I have seen are, and I hope it sticks around a while, though with the NY film and TV development program funding drying up I imagine if it does come back it'll go north of the border, which is just sad.

The supporting cast includes a lovely young woman named Molly Quinn as Castle's daughter and the remarkably fabulous Susan Sullivan (always fab, always fun -- even at a party, which is where I met her and had a great time with her a few years ago) as his former actress mom.

I very much appreciate a smart, funny heroine with subtle beauty, which makes Katic perfect for this.

There's not a lot more to say about it except it's a procedural with a nice personality overlay, which I like. A little crime, a little murder and a little flirting and funny to go along with it.

And Nathan? Better with age, definitely, which spells well for the rest of his career.

Clip for tomorrow's episode after the jump.

Jimmy Kimmel Video -- Unnecessary Censorship From Friday's Show

So simple and so funny. Comic economy = Genus.

LINK

So, Who'll Go Shopping to Piss Off Papa on Kings Tonight & When Does Ben Silverman Get Fired for This Show?

Seriously, shopping? They send the gay son shopping to piss off his father the King?

Why not put him in a pair of sensible pumps and a peach formal with spaghetti straps and have him lipsynch I Will Survive on national TV? Doesn't this alternative world have their own version of Ru Paul's Drag Race? No duct tape in Shiloh to hide your junk?

Note to fans ... once again NBC has not instructed anyone to coerce me into posting the preview clip for tonight, which I equate with giving up on the show.

But wait, there's more ... they didn't even put up a preview clip for this week. It's just not at NBC.com, anywhere.

They're not even putting up photo galleries for each episode. This show is toast, trust me. And you know what? I'm gonna watch it till they tear it out of my cold, dead hands.

This show will be canceled. Before the end of the run. Mark my words.

When does Ben Silverman lose his job? Who does he have naked pictures of that he isn't getting fired?

No clip. Sorry. Tonight at 8 on NBC, I'll be the other person in American watching it.

2 Clips -- Tonight on BBC America, Come For the Singing, Stay for The Gay (and the John Barrowman ... and some Graham Norton)

 

First thing I have to say? Warning: Do not be hopping all over the Internet for information on this new unscripted BBC America show Any Dream Will Do.

Especially, do not go to the BBC.co.uk website. I'm not even gonna provide a link, because I know you people and you get, uh ... itchy.

Unless you wanna know the winner, then just go ahead. But just don't, okay?

I can't even find a clip to show you because just about anything past the premiere of this two-year old British reality show to pick the lead in a West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a spoiler. And you know how I feel about spoilers.

(Updating myself here mid-post ... I found a clip that won't give anything away, from contestant Anthony in tonight's episode. It's after the jump. But be careful about clicking around YouTube as well because they tell you who wins, too.)

So, resist the urge.

Be happy that this logo image above doesn't have a bigger picture of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Oh c'mon, he looks like a wishing troll. You'd think with all that money he would look like Jocelyn Wildenstein by now (or something human).

Now I know that a lot of people who are fans of John Barrowman from Torchwood will also probably resist the urge to see this, especially after seeing the promos where he's just so over the top with his praise for the performances that we have yet to see.

I'm kind of hesistant too. Not only because it looks like John may be the Paula Abdul of this show, but because I don't think it adds to my enjoyment of Torchwood (coming this summer over five nights) to be watching John kvell over young good looking men singing. It's not the men part, it's the kvelling and being John Barrowman for two hours in your home tonight that's the problem.

No better way to take the magic out of a actor's performance than to get to know the actor.

Which leads to the hour after the two-hour premiere of the two-year old reality show. That's something completely different ... yet it has the same effect in a sense.

Tonight's BBC America Reveals shingle hosts The Making of Me: John Barrowman, which ran in the UK last year and had the actor that plays our fearless Captain Jack Harkness putting himself in the hands of various scientists who try to explain (as Rachel Maddow 0ften says on her show ) The Gay.

From the BBC America homepage for the show:

Barrowman seeks to answer the question: why am I the way I am? In this one-hour special, Barrowman sets out to unearth what the latest scientific research can tell him about the origins of his homosexuality.

His search for evidence takes him back to his roots to meet family and old friends. He also meets with psychologists and geneticists, compares his DNA to his heterosexual brother's, and conquers his claustrophobia to undergo a brain scan - all in the quest to find out how nature and nurture might have interacted to make him who he is.

Barrowman tells the BBC: "My sexuality has never been deliberately hidden. I'm in a committed relationship with the love of my life, Scott Gill, and he is as much a part of the family as my sister's husband, Kevin, and my brother's wife, Dot. However, just because I'm comfortable with my sexuality doesn't mean that I'm not curious about it and that's one of the reasons I agreed to take this journey to discover the making of me."

That starts right after Any Dream Will Do at 10 eastern.

I've set my DVR for both, though slightly reluctantly for the former. I guess I'm interested in what the scientists have to say to John about having The Gay, but I do hope it doesn't get into a conversation about one's hair whorl or even worse, how one looks at their nails.

I mean, who looks at their nails, anyway? Am I supposed to?

I would have watched this second show with any random gay person at the helm. I guess John doing it gets more eyes on the subject, which is great, but I'm also one who doesn't want to know too much about the people who act in my favorite shows.

Maybe Scott Gill should have done the show with a cameo from his partner?

Clips from both shows after the jump. I am your full-service guide to BBC America tonight.

My Best Guess Says Economy Putting Kibosh on Heigl Leaving Grey's, She Asks to Stay

I only say that because she is uncharacteristically, uh, genuflective in this AP story featured over at Yahoo! News, which says:

"I was assuming that at one point and I got a lot of shrugged shoulders and shakes of the head, so I don't know if that's a yes or a no. No one will tell me and I don't know how this is going to go," Heigl said, noting series creator Shonda Rhimes' passion for plot secrecy.

"I don't know if I live or die. I don't know how Izzie fares," said the actress, who's played the character since the show debuted in 2005.

"I'm there" if Izzie remains part of "Grey's Anatomy," Heigl said. She called the set "one of my favorite places to be" and said her colleagues are also friends.

Whaddaya think? Think she saw the writing on the wall and the hard times ahead in her crystal ball and thought she better keeps getting an ABC paycheck?

Or, are you of the mind that the whole Katie Heigl is a monster story is hooey?

Osbournes Reloaded Clip -- More Bad News for Lauren Conrad

Hey, at least she doesn't get played by Ozzy, like Audrina does. Yes, that's metal god John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne. That sound you hear is a bunch of people throwing their early Black Sabbath albums off the tops of high buildings.

First Lauren quits The Hills, which makes her irrelevant, right? And then she stops her fashion line because of the recession ... and now she's forced to do comedy with Sharon Osbourne.

Don't get me wrong, I would enjoy a nice lunch with Sharon or maybe a couple of cocktails and some dishing about the plastic surgery victims in the room, but shouldn't one of the people in a comedy sketch be an actor?

Because these people are, respectively, a rock-n-roll manager/impressario and a giggly girl with boy problems.

Would you watch Peter Asher and Audrina Patridge do comedy? Paul McGuinness and Heidi Montag?Malcolm McLaren and Spencer Pratt?

See what I did there? Do you think Spencer Pratt noticed that I called him a giggly girl with boy problems? In his world his boy problems are all self-inflicted. That's right, Dunk's Dad, I said it!

I got a million of these.

Clip after the jump.

This second screengrab of Lauren? It's the exact moment when she realizes that just being where she is guarantees she'll never get another acting job. Poor Lauren. It's been a bad week.

Video -- Breaking Bad DVD Contest, Win Season One & Preview Sunday's Episode

UPDATE: Hey, we finally, finally have a winner. Thanks everyone for clicking over. Loiter here for as much as you'd like, though. Click this link to go to the homepage.

Thanks to Sony Pictures TV and Shawn and Michelle at Wiredset.

All you gotta do is name the actor who plays Tuco Salamanca. Hint, he's mentioned on this blog.

First to the comments with the answer wins my slightly used copy (I watched episode seven) of season one of Breaking Bad, with lots of DVD extras and of course that Emmy-award winning performance by Bryan Cranston.

After the jump, a preview of this week's episode.

Missing Battlestar Galactica This Week? Read This From Nat Geo, Then Watch Teaser for The Plan

(The lovely Marilyn Terrell sends this along from her place of work, thank you Marilyn.)

National Geographic was an unbilled special guest on the Battlestar finale, as you saw, with Ron Moore reading an issue about "Mitochondrial Eve" as Nick and Nora Charles Angelic Baltar and Angelic Six looked over his shoulder.

Here's a taste:

Battlestar Galactica fans at the magazine were pretty excited to see the magazine in the final moments of the series. Why did you put this pivotal information about Hera being mitochondrial Eve in National Geographic ?

Ronald Moore: We wanted the last voiceover to be in the form of a journalistic article. It was about an archaeological find.  It was in Africa, and we wanted it to have a beautiful map on it. It felt like National Geographic was the obvious choice. 

(snip)

In particular, did you read our March 2006 article about tracking human migrations via genetic mutations? This line in particular seems resonant: "Scientists now calculate that all living humans are related to a single woman who lived roughly 150,000 years ago in Africa, a 'mitochondrial Eve.' "

Moore: When I was doing research online culling through different references, I think I did get linked to that article at some point. I remember there being an article and I think it was an archived National Geographic article that I stumbled across while looking up information on the concept.  That line kind of sounds familiar. 

More at the link above, which includes a discussion of why Kara's storyline was left ambiguous.

Also, there is not one image online from the finale's final scene. Nowhere to be found. So, I'm going with your standard Ron Moore - David Eick pic with some compositing.

After the jump, a clip from the next BSG movie, The Plan. Tricia tells me she gets to wear lots of form-fitting leather and latex in this one.

Sarah Palin's Political Action Committee Run By a Scientologist, Husband of Fox News' Greta

 

Will Xenu run against her for the 2012 Rethuglican nomination?

Best Gawker post EVAH, sez (all links are theirs and worth clicking:

John Coale, currently advising Sarah Palin on running for president in 2012, is a Scientologist. And according to a memo obtained by Gawker, Coale once plotted to use friendly politicians to advance the power-hungry cult's agenda.

Coale is a prominent Washington power broker and husband to Fox News' Greta Van Susteren. According to the Washington Post, he is running Palin's political action committee behind the scenes and "guiding [her] political image in Washington."

In 1986, he masterminded a plan—which was never executed—for Scientology to get into the "MONEY and VOTES game" in order to "create power" for Scientology and win influence Washington, D.C.

[You can read Coale's complete memo and other documents outlining his scheme here.]

What will her spiritual adviser Thomas Muthee say? Well, he'll probably come up with some sort of chant to prompt Coale's demise.

Then again, they're all wrong, you know.

Fonzie is mine and Peter Griffin's spiritual leader.

Academia Finds YouTube (Well, Officially) With YouTube EDU

Find it at YouTube.com/edu. Hat tip to Lifehacker.

There's some outstanding stuff there, lotsa stuff on the TV business, too. I'm currently listening (because I'm typing this and not also watching) to a panel from the University of California Santa Barbara that includes Dana Walden from 20th Television, Anne Flett-Giordano & Chuck Ranberg (writers, started on Kate & Allie, worked on Frasier and Desperate Housewives) and Toni Graphia (Quantum Leap, Melrose Place, Chicago Hope, BSG) and Toby Miller from NYU and UC Riverside.

Then again, there's a Jeff Zucker speech from Harvard from (I believe from 2008) as well, so there's comedy, too.

(See what I did there?)

And, you could get smarter as well, just by clicking around this section of YouTube, which also includes cooking demonstrations from the Culinary Institute of America.

All good stuff. I have the UCSB panel after the jump. It's long, but you can do the YouTube version of fast forwarding through the stuff you aren't interested in.

NBC Begins Two Months of Reintroducing Conan O'Brien to America

Here it comes, gang.

How do you make Conan O'Brien more palatable to the people who used to turn off the television when Leno is over? Or, do you do that at all? Because aren't all those Leno people now going to turn off the TV before the local news?

(And you know what no one has discussed in any detail with all the ink being expended on the NBC late night hierarchy? What about the local 11 pm newscasts across the country that are now going to have the ultimately lower-rated Leno show -- albeit at a lower cost to the network -- instead of big expensive higher-rated dramas leading into their broadcasts? Did no one consider that? Because I happen to know that in Southern California the local NBC-owned station has always made a nice piece of change on their 11 pm news.)

Back to Conan, here's a bunch of his famous friends suggesting to you, average American and not hipster doofus that stays awake past 12:37 am, to get to know Conan.

After the jump, Tina Fey, Adam Sandler, Megan Mullally, and more.

Heroes Question -- Why Do Hiro and Ando Know Who Dr. Phil Is?

Did you catch the moment this week on Heroes when Hiro and Ando talk about Dr. Phil?

How stupid was that, returning prodigal son Bryan Fuller?

No discipline in the writers room, apparently.

You can't just have a character reference anything, there has to be some sort of cogent reasoning behind it.

I'm just not convinced that the two would have any idea who he is.

And if baby Matt Parkman saves all the heroes at the end of this "volume," the next volume will not be read by me.

I'm on the edge of not watching this show anymore ... AGAIN!

At least Daphne is gone. Tracy Strauss? Not so much. The wink said it all.

Noah Gray-Cabey's done a lot of growing up since two years ago, though, huh?

Twits and Twittering, Anderson Cooper Edition

So as you might know I've joined and unjoined Twatter.

I think it's stupid. Not judging you, I just don't see a need for it. 140 characters? Please. I use more than that to say hi, and people love it.

Or I'm too large for them to tell me the truth, choose one.

Anyway, yesterday I went to delete the account and it told me I couldn't, which as funny as it was really pissed me off, so I made a point today of getting there and getting is done.

While I'm there my eyes drops down the screen to Anderson Cooper's account, and I read this: "Abducted in Mexico." And a link follows.

He wasn't abducted in Mexico, he was promoting a clip on the AC360 blog where Randi Kaye interviewed two people abducted in Mexico.

What a twit.

Won't have to read shit like that anymore, I'm left Twatter.

They can all twat without me.

CBS News Video -- Mexican Drug War, Sec. of State Clinton Interviewed by Lara Logan

Serves two purposes, gets you up to date on the roller coaster ride to failed statehood that Mexico is on, and you get to look at Lara Logan.

Because I get huge hit counts every time I post Lara online.

Still getting big hits on the post I wrote about how Billie Piper should play Lara when she eventually writes that book about her Iraq experiences.

Important stuff after the jump. And an attractive woman, for those of you who don't get that this drug war across our Southern border is gonna destroy us if we don't stop it.

Do you want Tuco from Breaking Bad in your neighborhood distributing drugs? 'Cause I've seen what guys like that can do, and it ain't pretty.

You know who is pretty? Lara Logan ... after the jump.

Funniest Thing About Lauer Return to NBC's Today Aren't Jokes About the Bike Accident ...

... but that they decided that this story about the faux-outrage over the YouTube clip of that kid after being at the dentist was worthy of flying the kid and his parents in from wherever and interviewing them at the :45 mark in the first hour, the FIRST HOUR of the show.

First hour used to be reserved for really, very, actually important stuff.

The world is falling apart financially and we fight in two wars that know no end and they spend time during their first hour on shit like this?

I'd rather see Octomom, at least there's something to be genuinely outraged about there.

What the hell is going on at the Today show, anyway? Not only is this just a weak use of their resources, but the clip posted on YouTube on January 30, almost two months ago. Did someone at NBC just discover YouTube?

Clip comes after the jump. This show is getting so weak Jeff Zucker could move back into his old job on it and no one would notice.

And David and his parents would probably get hired to host the fifth hour of Today.

I guess the parents are now selling t-shirts and stuff? So, let 'em, it might pay for the kid's education. Then he can grow up and be a dentist ... or (gasp!) a viral videomaker.

As for my habits, I'm gonna start recording the BBC America news broadcast that happens before I wake up and watch that with my Cheerios.

Graham Norton's Very Big Deal of a Show With Ricky Gervais and Ronnie Corbett, Watch Something Completely Different Here

If you don't know who Ronnie Corbett is and the significance of the generational thing that's going on this week on Graham's show, don't blame me.

You never watched or even read about The Two Ronnies? What? You were having sex in high school instead of learning about British comedy teams from hard to tune-in public TV stations in the New York metro area?

Well, okay then.

Instead of showing you a clip from this episode, however (and I could, but really it's too much clip, the BBC wouldn't appreciate that) I'll just let you see  the Gervais-Merchant contribution to this year's Red Nose Day Comic Relief UK benefit.

Introduced by some blonde woman I don't know and a comic whose name I can't remember.

Too. Many. People.

And it's after the jump.

Video -- It's Already the Season Ender For Demetri Martin

Well, that's not good. Can't they just, you know, get more?

I know they opened big. I don't know what the ratings were since. It would be, however, a huge mistake for Comedy Central to not renew.

That is if Demetri wants to renew. I hope he does.

From tonight ...

LINK

Important Things with Demetri Martin	Wed 10:30pm / 9:30c
Preview - Games - Passive Aggressive Race
comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Caprica -- Now Available for Pre-Order from Amazon

And, you must know that they released seven new to the web clips today. Click over to whatever that network is calling itself today (SySperling.com? Is that it?) and watch 'em.

And yes, I have pre-ordered.

So much easier when it comes right to the house.

Of course, I'll be picking away at the two-hour debut up until the moment it airs on whatever that network is calling itself today (SyHersh.com? Am I right this time?).

It should arrive here on April 21. That's less than a month. Ooooh.

Video -- I Am Stalking Rachel Maddow's in Late Night, Watch Her Make Cocktails With Jimmy Fallon

I think I've picked up on every one of Rachel's late night appearances now.

She makes cocktails in this one, and you can see the recipe for the "very manly" (per Rachel) Bijou cocktail at this link from the Cocktail Data Base.

LINK

David Boreanaz Hints at Stewie Griffin Diva Behavior on Bones Set

As they say, Hot from Fox ...

Stewie Griffin, the youngest member of the FAMILY GUY clan, makes a very unique appearance on BONES Thursday, May 7 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

In “The Critic in the Cabernet” episode, Brennan (Emily Deschanel) decides she wants to have a baby and surprises Booth (David Boreanaz) with a request to father her child. Brennan’s request dredges up a host of unspoken feelings and unresolved issues between the two, and Booth becomes consumed by the prospect of having a child. The stress of the situation, coupled with Booth’s undiagnosed health issue, paves the way for a surprise visit from Stewie. The diabolically clever baby assesses the situation and offers advice in his inimitable style.

After returning from the BONES set, Griffin remarked on the experience of playing his first dramatic role: “Oh, have you seen it? Was I good? Because I heard they said I was amazing and they want me to replace Emily, but that’s just a rumor.”

“The guy was good during the actual scenes, which is the important thing,” Boreanaz commented. “But between takes he literally vanished – nowhere to be seen. I guess it’s true that Brits and cartoons tend to be standoff-ish. Or maybe it was a method thing, I don’t know.”

I haven't used my Bad Celebrity Behavior tag in a while. I don't have a tag labeled Bad Animated Celebrity Behavior.

Would Love to Blog, But I'm Doing the Musty Goaltender With Alan Thicke

Oops, I promised not to tell.

Seriously, you need to click over to this site. One of Barney's favorites.

Watch an explanatory How I Met Your Mother at this link if you're in the US.

Tour the Goliath National Bank Employee Transition Room in a clip after the jump.

I Would Love To Spend the Rest of the Day Writing About Your Favorite TV Show ...

... but to do that I have to watch some TV.

Dontcha think?

Back later. Or, possibly, tomorrow. There's a lot on the DVR.

In the meantime, a picture of Ali Larter for my friend Rob Buckley.

No, not THAT Rob Buckley.

2 Clips -- Breaking Bad DVD Contest Friday, Only Slightly Used; Also, "Tuco" Asked to Be Killed

Friday, Friday, Friday ...

I figure if I start posting on these contests earlier maybe I'll get more zazz out of them.

This time, it's a just very slightly used copy of the Breaking Bad season one DVD package thanks to Sony and Shawn at Wiredset (thank you, Shawn). And it's used because I never saw episode seven of the first season and I wanted to catch up.

Now that I've current with the show you get a chance to win. And, for this event ... first person to take a photo of themselves naked in a grocery store's frozen food section, as Walt was Sunday night, wins. That's no biggie, huh?

Okay, I'll come up with something else, I have until Friday.

Now, about the show ... was Tuco Salamanca the scariest motherfucker you've seen on TV in a while? Because he scared the bejeebees outta me. Tuco's the kind of guy who shouldn't be doing very pure biker-process methamphetamine cooked by a very underemployed Chem teacher and his former student.

And what about Aaron Paul. I know Cranston gets a lot of great notices (and the Emmy) and it's certainly deserved, but in these first three eps of the season Aaron Paul has matched him at every turn. Great young actor, I hope he gets lots of offers via this role.

That scene two episodes ago when he killed No-Doze ... how effective was that? Freaked me totally out.

The AMC Breaking Bad blog talked to Raymond Cruz who played Tuco and it turns out they wanted the character to go on for another eight episodes but he turned them down:

I asked them to kill me. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to coming back and doing the part. [Laughs]. It's really difficult to pull off. They were like, "We want you to come back and do eight more episodes." And I said, "No. I'll do one more and that's it. You guys have to kill me." They're like, "We never heard of an actor that wanted to die." And I'm like, "You don't understand. This part's really hard."

Cruz was outstanding. I know I don't think much of the whole awards thing but this is a performance that really should be singled out.

More about the show and the Friday contest (did I mention the contest on Friday?) as the week progresses.

Behind the scenes clips from episode three, with lots of creator Vince Gilligan and the cast, after the jump.

Audience Research on NBC Parks & Recreation Leaked

Today there's lots of Parks & Recreation news around the web because Nikki Finke got her hands on an audience research report on the pilot episode and printed excerpts at her blog.

Included were remarks like ...

Expectations for this show are very high, especially among OFFICE viewers. Many had seen the promos and were expecting an “OFFICE-type mockumentary” with the same tone, but felt the pilot was too close and similar to the OFFICE. However, many OFFICE fans were quick to point out that THE OFFICE did not become their favorite show overnight. For many, the show grew on them overtime and viewers expect a similar pattern with PARKS & RECREATION and, given their excitement for the show, most are willing to give it a longer commitment than they would another new comedy.

So, many were expecting an Office-type mockumentary but this was too close and similar? Huh?

More ...

The show could use a genuinely likeable male lead. The lack of quality male characters was evident in both the Dial Test and Focus Groups. While Leslie, Ann and April are good characters; all the men in the show were seen as “sleazy” in one way or another. Because there are no “datable” men in the cast, there is little “romantic tension” or “interesting relationship potential” in the show.

Hey, Aziz Ansari isn't dateable? What? Dude, don't let this get you down. To that end, just to cheer Aziz up, go visit his blog today, at this link.

There's this juxtaposition that just delighted me in its irony ...

Focus needs to evolve away from the pit.

The pit is that place you see in the promos where Aziz finds the giant bra. But then the same report has this ...

Highest positive spike comes from Leslie falling into the pit.

Another juxtaposition? I got one for ya ...

Good positive spikes in the opening scenes and during the classroom open forum session but positive spikes flatten during the scenes in Leslie’s office and when she meets Mark out on the patio (Approx Mins 8:30-9:30).

... and then ...

High tune-out during the opening 4 minutes, especially during Ron’s description of public forums.

Now, how do I, your intrepid blogger, play into all this? My experience in the TV industry is in primary research, this practice of bringing in people to watch a pilot and get responses based on some sort of pos-neg button or switch, a questionnaire and then a focus group.

In fact, I think I'm the only person blogging about TV that's worked in that area.

Below is the comment I left under Nikki's post:

I've worked in primary research, and whoever above me that said shows never get negative feedback like this is either a liar or high.

Pick one.

Have you ever met the people who they get to sit down and test these shows in front of? They aren't the brightest bulbs in the Home Depot, let me tell you that, and in the time that I've been away from it I'm sure the Americans that get hoodwinked into sitting down to watch TV (mostly while on vacation in So Cal so that the regional demos can be filled) are even, uh ... dimmer.

A smart comedy could never get by an audience of average Americans ('Mericuns, as they call themselves), they don't have the critical thinking skills to find the funny.

And that's my take. Call me an elitist if you want but I think I'm right. I think comedy is going in the same direction as our intelligence as a nation.

Down.

Reaction from NBC is noted by the EW's Hollywood Insider blog, at this link.

George Lopez Talker Takes 11 pm Eastern Slot M-Th on TBS Starting November

Now this is not something I expected. Did you?

TBS announces this morning that they're ramping up a late-night talkshow hosted by George Lopez, to be produced by Warner Horizon and Jim Paratore's Paramedia (Ellen, Bonnie, Rosie, TMZ) and going on the air in November.

Scheduled at 11, they press release received today doesn't happen to mention how long the show is, but I'm guessing an hour.

Keywords used in the press release include: excitement, street-party, high-energy, casual, new, everyman, change, game-changer & fresh.

So expect all that, because those words come up a number of times. And I saved you the time it would take to read the release so you're welcome.

Oh, one more keyword ... outdoor. Outdoor? As in "outdoor street-party atmosphere" per the release. Does that mean actually out of doors or does that mean in a studio but made to feel like you're outside?

Dunno. Anyone?

More as it develops.

SyFy (SciFi) Warehouse 13 Video -- Since I Have a Dr.'s Appt. This AM, I'm Assigning a Project

I'm not your teacher, I can't fail you if you don't do it, but, I think you might be interested anyway.

I was mopping my brow during a commercial break in the Battlestar finale and I saw this trailer for Warehouse 13, the new SciFi/Syfy (whatev) series with Eddie McClintock.

Watch the trailer after the jump and tell me, don't you think it reminds you of a show produced outside the US that is about secretive agencies and alien technology?

Well, doesn't it?

Because I think it seems a lot like Torchwood.

A description from Shocktillyoudrop.com:

After saving the life of the President, two Secret Service agents find themselves abruptly transferred to Warehouse 13 - a massive, top-secret storage facility in windswept South Dakota which houses every strange artifact, mysterious relic, fantastical object and supernatural souvenir ever collected by the U.S. government. The Warehouse's caretaker Artie (Rubinek) charges Pete (McClintock) and Myka (Kelly) with chasing down reports of supernatural and paranormal activity in search of new objects to cache at the Warehouse, as well as helping him to control the warehouse itself.

See? Sure, they don't call it alien technology but it is otherworldly.

This kind of pisses me off, frankly.

2 Clips -- NBC Kings Fans, I Had An Awful Revelation Just Now

I just noticed that NBC charged no one with the task of getting me to post the preview clip for tonight's episode.

You know what that means, don't you. It means they're banking on the show finding its own audience and they've pulled back on promotion. Which is gonna be tough, but maybe easier than with them throwing words like challenging and brave out there to scare the throngs.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen many promos on air for the show this week, either.

And from the image above from tonight's episode, it looks like David Shepherd is getting his own TV so that he can, what? Bolster the ratings a little himself?

(Toby, he must be, huh? Just an act of self-preservation, isn't it?)

Well, anyhow, the clip is after the jump. It's time for peace talks between Gilboa and Gath, and I have a sense that there's some treachery afoot. Miguel Ferrer shows up in the clip.

After the jump for you homepagers. Also, Ian McShane's Daily Show interview with Jon from this past week.

Portia de Rossi -- Sorry About the Paper Cuts, Pneumonia and Poor Hat Choices

But most of all (and I gotta join her here) sorry about the dog who had to wear that.

LINK

Watch Better Off Ted this Wednesday at 8:30, right after Scrubs.

Do it, the cool kids are watching it.

Better Off Ted video widget after the jump.

So, What Should You Do In Order to Get More Dish? Funny You Should Ask ...

... because I have a plan.

Okay, you've probably just caught on with the show hosted by Danielle Fishel on The Style Network called The Dish. Think of it as a (just slightly) more girly version of The Soup. Take out Joel's sci fi references, add jokes about ludicrous cover lines from magazines with titles like Homeworkers, Crafters & Gluesniffers Annual #3.

(Sorry, can't find a magazines segment clip to refresh my memory, had to make one up.)

At the end of yesterday's episode Danielle said it was the end of the season, which is true -- the show was set for that many weeks -- was it 10?). But, they also haven't gotten picked up for another season yet.

Whereas The Soup runs a 48-week a year schedule. Style just doesn't order shows that way. Though I think they should with this show and give it a chance to build as I'm confident it will.

Anyhow, see this very kind and lovely looking woman to the left here? That's Salaam Coleman Smith, president of The Style Network.

You know when fans of shows under threat of being axed send a particular thing to the people in charge to make a statement? I suggest fans of the show send a dish (paper plate, the small dessert sized plate will fit in a #6 catalog envelope) and either handwrite or in some way reproduce the sentiment expressed in this post re keeping the show on the air.

(The links are just for illustration. You probably have these items in your home already.)

You could, for example, copy the image at the bottom of this post to your hard drive, print it, and then affix it to your paper plate -- cost less to send, less of a bother to the network as well.

That envelope should be addressed to Ms. Coleman Smith at The Style Network, E! Networks, 5750 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

I'll do a little photo feature on how I do mine later in the week as a reminder to you to get this done. I know many of you in the demo don't use snail mail anymore but it's still quite effective in campaigns like this.

After the jump, some clips from the show. Image for you to copy, print and affix to your "dish" directly below.

 

Always say please and thank you.

Video -- Seth MacFarlane & Olbermann on Joe the Horny Plumber, Congressional Sphincter Talk, Sucking the Tit, AIG Hara Kiri

 

Before the clip, I had to click over to the Media Research Center (Brent Bozell's baby) website to look at their mission statement of their Culture & Media Institute (emphasis is mine):

The mission of the Culture and Media Institute is to preserve and help restore America’s culture, character, traditional values, and morals against the assault of the liberal media elite, and to promote fair portrayal of social conservatives and religious believers in the media. CMI, the cultural division of the Media Research Center, is dedicated to correcting misconceptions in the media about social conservatism and religious faith.

As the media and entertainment industry grow more aggressive in assailing people and institutions that hold traditional values, CMI is drawing on MRC’s vast resources to counterpunch with a unique mix of timely facts, analyses and arguments.

Now I would say that being horny is a traditional value. It's been around forever and it drives the world, doesn't it? But the MRC and its minions don't talk about those things being natural and human, they only talk about things being bad and dirty and naughty and ... and the whole time they're talking they're sporting a major chubby just thinking about it all.

So, what does the Institute have to say about CSPAN broadcasting Joe's "I'm horny" comment? Because I think CSPAN should never cover the Media Research Center again because of it.

In fact, why don't we all send email to the Parents Television Council and the Media Research Center's Culture and Media Institute complaining about the offense?

Because I love irony.

Two clips after the jump including Countdown's Worst Persons in the World for Friday (the worst being Twitter -- which I'm souring on as well), because, well, they're there.

Email From the Mutual Friend I Share With Jane Espenson; Also, News on Roslin's Date From the Comments

Remember how I said that my favorite line of the Battlestar finale was when Roslin tells stud blind date guy, "The night is young and so are you, apparently. Let's see what happens."

I got this in email today from the above referenced friend, "At the cast and crew screening I attended, this easily got the biggest laugh of the night."

Also, from commenter "bamberluvr" at the same post was this:

As for Roslin's young beau, he was played by Dan Payne who recently played the father who accepted his homosexuality in "Mulligans" which was written by "Dante's Cove's" Charlie David. Payne also played Dollar Bill in "Watchmen" but he was hidden behind the costume.

So I'll be starting a fansite for Dan Payne in the next ten minu ... well, I think I have enough to do with this blog and the continuing stuggle of a freelancer in a failing economy, maybe I leave the Dan Payne fansite to someone else.

Get this, Dan Payne's website has exceeded its bandwidth and is temporarily down, so I guess the single BSG appearance did wonders for his notoriety.

More Dan Payne on TV, please.

He could be the next Chris Noth.

And, btw, there's also an American athlete based in the San Diego area (former wrestler, rugby player, football player) with the same name and a similar look.

I'm just sayin', if you're looking for ... you know, eye candy.

Photo montage above from iModelManagement.ca.

The video from the electronic press kit for Mulligans, including writer commentary from Charlie David and clips, after the jump.

Video -- Dollhouse Breakout Episode, Watch Two Patton Oswalt Clips

"Eat it, F Bitch I."

I would have paid Fox to say that on TV. No, I don't have anything against the Bureau, it's just the a great line.

Check out Patton Oswalt after the jump in his two great scenes with Tahmoh Penikett from the episode that I guess we can all agree changed the tone on this show. Almost made me forget the bad news suicide-by-fan-abuse pop star from the second ep. Almost.

Lots happening in this one, in fact massive amounts of exposition. Can we all agree that either Dr. Claire or smarmy Topher's lab assistant (whose name I can't come up with) that changed the personality implanted in Echo to allow her to warn Paul? Because I don't think Boyd would have those skills and no one else has motivation.

I find it interesting that they also chose this week to show us that not all the handlers have the best interests of their actives in mind. The story enforces the notion that Boyd, Echo's handler, is one of the good guys, he has his policing skills to fall back on and I imagine that he will eventually have a crisis of confidence that will lead him to FBI Paul.

And, in a nice piece of scripting, we find out that our favorite Italian food wielding single girl across the hall , Mellie, is a sleeper active when she's killing Sierra's handler. I don't think I've ever seen Kevin Kilner on TV as a bad guy, let alone getting killed.

Sleeper active? Are there other technologies we don't know? That threw me, but what didn't throw me was Mellie's having a connection to the Dollhouse. I had a hunch about her right at the beginning of the episode, then when I saw there was surveillance in her apartment I thought I was dreadfully wrong but then it all played out.

(I did have one point of contention ... last week they all marveled over the fact that Echo was wiped by cell phone. This week DeWitt herself is activating sleeper agents with talk about the number and color of flowers. What the frak is up with that?)

(And, about this Sierra-Victor storyline ... this handler stuff with Sierra still doesn't explain why Victor is getting erections in the show and on a personal note I don't get why no one on the show wants to bother to watch those hours and hours or security video from the shower. I'll do it. You know, just to help out.)

Anyhow, the last few moments (you can catch those moments after either of the clips I've posted from Hulu, they'll give you the option of watching the whole ep again) sets up the big umbrella arc for the next seven episodes, and well see where it goes.

This was much better than any of the others. If it's a network issue, I think Fox just got its answer about working with Joss and this story.

Just let him do what he wants.

Oh, another great line Patton gets to spew? "They'll throw the Kindle at you."

Hey, Jeff Bezos, do I get a Kindle for mentioning this moment of unintended product placement?

2 Maddow Clips Instructional on AIG Craphole; See How It Started (and watch a Friends clip too because it's the weekend)

Are you the person in your crowd that retreats like Joey Tribbiani at a MENSA meeting when it comes to current affairs?

Well, are you? Because in an old episode of Friends (The One With the Cuffs), Joey thought he might be able to get up to speed by reading only the "V" volume of that encyclopedia Penn Jillette was selling door to door, everything from Van Gogh to vulcanized rubber.

(Yes, of course I have the clip after the jump, and more ... three in total.)

Rachel Maddow has been doing an outstanding job on finding the root causes of this mess and after the jump I have two clips from her shows on Thursday and Friday of this past week that will get you on the way to full speed on the topic.

Remember the name Phil Gramm, for one, he'll come up in the second clip. Phil Gramm was the guy who called us "a nation of whiners" as he served as McCain's econ guy during the presidential campaign.

That's right, the guy who started it all wanted to be in charge of fixing it, can you imagine? That would be fine, of course, if you could convince him it was his fault and that he must change, but ... it's Phil Gramm.

Ideologue.

Three clips after including a classic Friends clip so that it's not all homework. The homework part is essential, though. Don't pass it up and go straight to the Joey clip, at least give Rachel a chance to make sense of it all for you.

Video -- Russell Brand Hosts a Half Hour on Current

And what we love about Current (Hi Al Gore!) is that everything on the channel is embeddable.

Don't miss this, there's Russell, there's Current pods from the UK and the US, there's Russell plugging his memoir, and discussion of The Queen, Helen Mirren, R. Kelly, peeing, Russell's upcoming movies (a remake of Arthur among them), and there's a lot of Russell talking about the MTV VMAs last year and all that Jonas Bros./Jordin Sparks purity ring stuff and where he likes to wear is purity ring (not on his finger, kids!).

Russell on drugs ... "Drugs were invented by Ebeneezer Drugs." My favorite line, sometimes things just strike you funny. The clip about the spiders after that joke is especially worth watching.

Another clip during the half hour is on Broke Ass Stuart's Goddman Website, filled with cheap or free stuff to do in different cities across the country. Good for the current environment.

More Russell on TV, please.

All of it, in a clip after the jump.

I'm Not Ready to Discuss the Galactica Finale ... Yet

 

I need some more time. I might have to watch it again. I've already gotten one email (from William at AKA William) about the show and that was a while ago. There's may be more by now.

There are things that confuse me and I'm trying to figure out if some loose ends were not tidied up and why not and I didn't quite get the ultimate victory against Cavil and crew, though I did certainly get to see Cavil end things for himself quite quickly.

Hey, at least someone got to kill Tory Hunter, huh?

(Here's me parenthetically letting Rekha Sharma know that it's nothing personal, her character was just hateworthy.)

What I get from it all is that because of Galen taking his hand out of the goopy mantub full of Sam Anders the transmission stopped, the Cavil-led group didn't get resurrection, but it seems to me that the Ones, the Fours and the Fives rolled over pretty quickly after that and Baltar's speech.

Like I said, I have to watch it again.

The episode won't be up on Hulu for a while, and there are also no clips up at the site, either. The episode gets posted in eight days.

Maybe by then. Check with me if you like.

So, Kara has been an angel sent by exactly who for what and how did this happen?

See, I need more time. And another viewing.

I will tell you my favorite line of the episode, however. Roslin turns to her former student, now her date, and says, "The night is young and so are you, apparently. Let's see what happens."

Because it wasn't just about the stud who would later take her to bed (and I'll certainly have more on that guy later on, as soon as I find out who he was), it was about all of us, too.

If you like, use the comments section and have it out with one another, nothing would make me happier than to see someone use the comments section.

Hugo Awards Shortform Noms (All Media): Doctor Who Moffat v. Davies, Battlestar, Lost, Dr. Horrible

The Hugo's are the science fiction awards presented each year at AnticipationSF, the annual convention which this year is being held in beautiful Montreal.

Seriously, I love this city. Take a tour of it at this link.

Two Doctor Who episodes, the Doctor-Lite Turn Left by Russell T. Davies and Steve Moffat's two-parter Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead are nominated. Moffat has won the award for the last three years, all for Doctor Who episode Blink, The Girl in the Fireplace and The Empty Child.

So, I betcha I am the only person on the planet who can say with certainty that I watched a thrice Hugo Award winning writer watch me contract conjunctivis (two years ago at the Who convention in LA.

The Battlestar Galactica nom is for Bradley Thompson & David Weddle for the episode Revelations, which is one of the episodes that should be submitted to the Emmys this year.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is nominated as well. No studio, no censoring, no corporate backing, distributed via the web first ... the first true online video event we've ever seen.

I wrote about it extensively last year, read the posts.

And, btw, there are currently about 6,280 mentions of Wonderflonium on the web via Google search. Last time we looked last July 27th there were only 1,940.

Finally, there's an episode of Lost. This one. I don't watch Lost. I know it's something about a plane and an island and a polar bear and after that I'm outta info. But someday I will, still have that season one DVD set sitting on a shelf.

Some clips after the jump:

• The big reveal from BSG Revelations from Hulu
• Donna decides which way to go in Turn Left, the penultimate cliffhanger of the Doctor Who fourth series (with Japanese subtitles, just because).
• The final moments of Doctor Who Forest of the Dead (so don't watch it if you haven't seen it yet, obviously, and if you haven't seen it the video is sketchy anyway so you're not missin' much).
• All of Dr. Horrible thanks to Hulu.

And, btw, you can see Lost, The Constant, the whole episode, at this link.

Doctor Who BHS Video -- Tennant Video Blog #4 Charmingly Explains the Bus Incident

BHS = Behind the scenes. I should start an acronym key in the sidebar. Soon.

Hat tip to TardisScanner.Blogspot.com, we populate a Widgetbox widget together, see it in my right hand column.

Michelle Ryan loves being hung upside down in a harness. I know a lot of guys who enjoy that, too.

Their harnesses probably look a little different than Michelle's. Mr. S. Leather website link not suitable for work or kids.

I keep telling you, it's an entertainment blog for adults and that's very different that being an adult entertainment blog,  which there are many of and if that's your thing, fine.

This is an entertainment blog for adults.

Video -- If I Was the Gang at Fox Promoting Dollhouse ...

If I was, I would have bought up all the spot cable I could for tonight's Battlestar finale on SciFi and ran countless ads for the show.

And I would have shot a special promo with Joss and Eliza and Tahmoh.

Countless, meaning so many you can't count them. Because as Entertainment Weekly tells us today, tonight's ep is the one to watch.

Of course, I've watched them all so who's the fool? Actually a couple of them (the Matt Kesslar episode and the art heist ep) were fine, it's the others that were ... meh.

Ken Tucker at Entertainment Weekly:

Dollhouse apostates unite! It's time to rise from your pod-beds and become "actives" once again: be sure to watch or DVR tonight's episode, a Joss Whedon-penned doll-changer that finally sends the series spinning into hyperdrive. Plus, it features the great Patton Oswalt in a key role.

That's right, my Facebook friends continue to run the entertainment industry.

Wouldn't it be a rush if all your Facebook friends showed up for lunch one day? I would have to keep

Patton's website at this link, and in eight days on 3/28 he'll be live at Largo in LA, click over to his site for more info.

I've seen him live and it's worth it. Go.

Dollhouse needs eyes. Give them yours today! Watch some footage of the cast at NY Comic-Con after the jump.