TV Geek Army.com

Comic Book Men, "Commercial": what's inside the box

2012-02-26 23:24:50

Quick Take: Comic Book Men, “Commercial”
Like inviting Superman to a Kryptonite ball.

Review: Comic Book Men, “Commercial”
(S0103) In a parallel universe, I was born 25 years earlier, never left home, and bought a comic book store. Barring the discovery of such a sci-fi spectacle, I’ll settle for the closest thing we have to an alternate world: New Jersey.

Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men continues to fulfil that niche demographic of proud geeks and nerds looking for their fix of rare comics and collectibles, but this week’s shambles on the side didn’t really hit their mark. In order to pull in some more business, Walt wants to increase the Stash’s local exposure with a television spot. Their “commercial” venture is intentionally cheap and cheesy, but just feels redundant by the time they show off their final product.

The show’s saving grace this week is what could have ultimately been the store’s saving grace for a lifetime, but the clerks are just too kind-hearted for their own good. In between anthologies of Marvel and DC comics and giant Tupperware bins of odd assortments, the Comic Book Men come across a box full of real rarities – what they estimate to contain more than three-quarters of a million dollars’ worth of Golden Age comics.

I’ll skip the history lesson and hope that you can appreciate the significance behind a superhero’s first documented appearance. Not only are there less than a thousand of such issues still in existence, it’s rarer yet to come across one of those first editions featuring Wonder Woman or Robin, for example, still in mint-condition. Walt appropriately gives these treasures the white-glove treatment, but they’re well beyond the store’s price range.

Even though I wasn’t a fan of their putting together a commercial for the Stash, Walt, Bryan, Mike, and Ming are definitely the best entourage for Kevin’s podcasts, and certainly make the transactions more interesting with their cavalier comments. With only three episodes left, I’m reassured by this week’s top-tier trove that there will be some good finds for the store coming up, and hopefully some more interesting intermediaries.

TV Geek Army Field Guide: The Walking Dead (awards)

2012-02-26 19:21:52

While I enjoy seeing things and people I admire get recognition, I've never been much of an awards person. I suppose it's because I so often disagree with the selections and winners chosen (see: 7 Sucky SAG Snubs). Also, I find watching awards shows to be intensely boring and contrived.

Here's something else I'll admit: I've been looking forward to tonight's edition of Celebrity Apprentice all week long. I'm excited about the cast and look forward to cheering on my "top tier" as long as they can manage to avoid getting axed by The Don.

I came within inches of bailing on Luck, but last week's episode pulled me just back from the ledge.

Can one scene reinvigorate a series? The Walking Dead zoomed from decently interesting to the intensity that burned through most of its short first season at the end of last week's "Nebraska." Here's hoping we're in for quite a sprint here.

I caught the Life's Too Short series pilot a few days ago and that it was just so so. However, Liam Neeson's cameo was brilliant.

TV Geek Army Field Guide: marching orders

Premieres & Returning

Unusual Suspects – ID, 10:00

Mission Imperatives

The 84th Annual Academy Awards – ABC, 8:30

The Celebrity Apprentice – NBC, 9:00

The Walking Dead – AMC, 9:00

Luck – HBO, 9:00

Eastbound & Down – HBO, 10:00

Life's Too Short – HBO, 10:30

Weird & Wonderful

Comic Book Men – AMC, 10:00

Rattlesnake Republic – Animal Planet, 9:00

The Real Housewives of Atlanta – Bravo, 9:00

The Donatella Project – Cooking, 8:00

Cupcake Wars – Food, 8:00

Full Metal Jousting – History, 10:00

Jerseylicious – Style, 8:00

Bait Car – truTV, 8:00

What are you looking forward to tonight? Let us know in the comments, and tell us too what should / should not be a "mission imperative"!

Futurama Volume 6 Blu-ray Review: all aboard Planet Express

2012-02-26 03:02:46

Originally airing in 1999, Futurama even now is only in its sixth season. As many shows before it and with an eerie parallel to its fellow animated television series Family Guy, it was once cancelled in 2003. But after several years of popular DVD sales and a couple of straight-to-DVD feature films, the workplace comedy about Philip J. Fry (Billy West), a person from our time who was cryogenically frozen and released 1,000 years later into a world of robots, mutants, and aliens -- only to work as a delivery boy for Planet Express -- returned to television in 2010 on Comedy Central.

Once again following in the footsteps of Family Guy, the return of Futurama was also quite rocky. The new episodes seemed to be trying too hard, like they had something to prove or needed to reach out and grasp the audience’s attention. Unfortunately, the way they choose to do that was to be overly gross with bodily fluids followed up with storylines that were more stream of consciousness than well thought out plots.

But with the release of Volume 6, the crew of the Planet Express delivery company seems to be firmly back on track. While it would have been nice to have included one of the more sentimental episodes in this latest release, it’s nice to see the show back into its solid form of good-natured comedy.

“Overclockwise” exemplifies everything good with the series as Bender (John Di Maggio) keeps upgrading his processor by assimilating more and more technology until he achieves a higher plain of existence. While this could easily be humanity’s greatest nightmare, Bender with godlike power, it ultimately is about friendship and loyalty.

“Reincarnation” is the other episode in this collection that rises above the others, but not as much for the storyline as for the animation. The story is told in three separate formats. The first is in black and white animation similar to that of a Felix the Cat or original Mickey Mouse. The second is in 8-bit video game format much like that used during the ‘80s. The final is an homage to anime with the big hair, super muscled bodies, and the voiceover dubs that don’t match up correctly.

The video is presented in Widescreen 1.78:1 with a 50 GB Dual Layer and a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. While the animation is clearer and has a sharper contrast than it appears on television, both the visual and audio elements come across as just slightly better than average and don’t offer as much as you would expect from a Blu-ray format.

The Blu-ray contains thirteen episodes that are not in any apparent order, all with full length audio-commentary and some deleted scenes.

There are three special features: “Professor Farnsworth’s Science of a scene,” is a short video on how a scene is created using the episode “Overclockwise” as the example. “Reincarnation Explained!” is Director Peter Avanzino taking the viewers on a tour of the episode and discussing the three different styles used in the episode. The final feature “Futurama F.A.Q.” is the writers and producers answering silly fan questions with silly answers.

This latest collection stands firmly alongside all of the others and is worth having in any Futurama Fan’s collection. But in order for it to have stood out and been one of the best collections, it needed at least one special episode that transcended the others like “The Luck of the Fryish” from season three, “Jurassic Bark” of season five or even “Lethal Inspection” from Season Six.

Northern Lights: The Complete Collection DVD Review - britcom hilarity

2012-02-25 17:37:59

For fans of great British television, Northern Lights: The Complete Collection is a must. The show has had quite a history. A spin-off of the 2004 Christmas special titled Christmas Lights starring Robson Green and Mark Benton, they were such a hit with the public that ITV signed them up for the series. The new Acorn Media four-DVD set Northern Lights: The Complete Collection is quite a package, and contains literally everything they did, plus an intriguing 46-minute behind-the-scenes bonus feature.

The series was produced from 2004-2008, and some called it a Britcom. I suppose that is as good a description as any. It certainly is funny, with some dramatic elements as well. The basic premise follows life-long friends/rivals Colin Armstrong (Robson Green) and Howard Scott (Mark Benton) as they live their unusual lives.

Besides the original Christmas Lights movie, the set contains the Northern Lights series (six episodes), the follow-up City Lights series (six episodes), and the final Clash of the Santas movie. The two characters have been friendly rivals since they were children. As schoolboys, they clashed over soccer teams, girls, and clothes. Now in their thirties, the men compete over jobs, cars, Christmas decorations (!), and plenty more. Surprisingly enough, their wives actually put up with all of the nonsense, but are none too pleased about it.

The series was a big hit on BBC America, and is a nice addition to the Acorn Media line. They specialize in DVD sets of classic British television and movies for the U.S. market. Northern Lights: The Complete Collection is an excellent set, and (as usual with Acorn) priced very affordably. Well worth seeking out.

Fringe, "The End of All Things": the Observer observed

2012-02-24 22:35:17

Quick Take: Fringe, “The End of All Things”
“We are one of countless possible futures for humanity.” – September

Review: Fringe, “The End of All Things”
(S0414) Despite its abrupt autumn postponement, Fringe has managed to pick a pace and stick with it, completely drawing my attention away from the fact that this season is already half over. The reintroduction of David Robert Jones (Jared Harris), the long-awaited arrival of another Nina, and now Olivia’s apparent awareness of a timeline that was erased are all helping to drive the show towards a greatly hoped-for renewal.

Olivia and Nina have been kidnapped by David Robert Jones, apparently picking up on his plans from the first season to force the destruction of both universes. He has Nina strapped to a chair for Olivia to watch while he has her tortured, attempting to activate her Cortexiphan abilities with the all-familiar box of lights. Olivia, however, only associates the use of her powers with being around Peter, remembering herself from his timeline.

Back at the lab, Peter, Walter, Astrid and Lincoln are hard at work trying to go over clues from Olivia’s apartment, possibly providing some subtext as to what is going on. Just like a VHS, the universes have had their timelines “taped over,” leaving remnants of its previous construction to bleed through. Before they can discuss more than the possibility that Peter is still projecting memories onto Olivia, however, a bleeding September appears and slips into a coma in front of everyone.

Determined to discover where Olivia is being held, Peter doesn’t hesitate to request that Walter brew up some LSD, preparing to enter the mind of the Observer. What Peter finds in the Observer’s subconscious is breathtaking, both in terms of the beauty and the truth he is met with. After watching the beginning of the universe, September reveals to Peter the truth about his kind. In essence they are an inevitability in the Fringe universe – the Observers were, are, and will be a potential evolution of the human race, capable of stepping outside of time to observe their/our origins.

As Peter and the rest of us know, September appeared during Walter’s important discovery, upsetting the balance of existence. His actions, however, had the unfortunate consequence of forcing Peter’s son, Henry, to be born to the wrong Olivia. Despite his best efforts, and against the demands of his fellow scientists, September has been unable to correct the course of events, and has no time left to explain to Peter how to fix it; he disappears from Walter’s operating table, mysteriously upsetting a nearby tray.

Peter leaves for Olivia’s house after being forced from September’s mind, but is captured by David Robert Jones after he learns of Olivia’s particular requirement for activation. Despite her new-old memories, Olivia remembers some of being raised by Nina, which leads her to recognize Nina as being from the other universe. Olivia’s abilities become supercharged, sending her captors running from exploding electrical objects. She unties Peter and catches up with Jones, but he crosses over unfazed despite the bullet lodged in his throat.

For such a smart guy, I don’t understand why Peter doesn’t understand that his universe has been erased and this is all he has left; September revealed everything Peter needed to hear, but he only heard what he wanted. He seems to believe himself responsible for forcing memories onto Olivia, and so resolves to keep his distance from her. A defensive Lincoln may also have something to do with Peter’s sudden pulling away, posing an interesting, but ultimately dismissible roadblock to Peter and Olivia’s inevitable, final reunion.

Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis to star in 1960s-era Las Vegas drama

2012-02-24 14:21:28

Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis have signed on to star in a new CBS series. The show, which has yet to be titled, will be a period drama set in the 1960s and is based on "the true story of Ralph Lamb (Quaid) – rodeo cowboy turned longtime Sheriff of Las Vegas- and Johnny Savino (Chiklis), a Chicago mob fixer whose entrepreneurial vision for transforming Las Vegas collides with the law-and-order mandate of Sheriff Lamb," Deadline reports

The pilot will be written by Greg Walker and Nicholas Pileggi, who is best known for writing the script for Martin Scorsese's gangster classics Goodfellas and Casino. "The setting of the Ralph Lamb series is similar to Pileggi’s non-fiction book Casino, about the Mafia’s final glory days in Vegas in the 1970s." Pileggi also co-wrote Wiseguy, the non-fiction that was adapted into Goodfellas, with former mobster Henry Hill.

Directing the pilot is James Mangold, whose previous work has mainly been in film. Mangold directed notable movies such as Cop Land, Girl, Interreputed, Walk The Line, and 3:10 to Yuma.

Quaid and Chikilis will not only star in the series, but the pair will also serve as executive producers. Piliggi, Mangold, Walker, as well as Cathy Konrad and Arthur Sarkissian will also receive executive producer credits.

Chiklis, who starred as Vic Mackey in the legendary cop show The Shield, has deep television credits that includes a recent run on No Ordinary Family. Quaid's career has mostly been in film, so it will be interesting to see how he plays on the small screen.

Stay tuned for updates as more information about this series is released. Although we don't know much yet, the fact that the series has so many impressive names attached to it will certainly generate buzz in the upcoming months.

The Mentalist, "His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts": please state the nature of the medical emergency

2012-02-24 13:27:10

Quick Take: The Mentalist, "His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts"
Jane helps prove the innocence of cult leader Bret Stiles.

Review: The Mentalist, "His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts"
(S0416) Here's a tip. If you don't want people to think your church is a cult, don't convince your members to literally stand up to the police when you're being arrested. It might be a cool power trip but it really makes you look culty.

Watching Malcolm McDowell is a real treat. Whether he's playing a creepy cult leader, time traveling author or an eccentric lawyer, there is a sense of humor about him. I get the feeling that he's always laughing at the audience for some reason. It makes for some very interesting performances.

As I watch this episode it occurs to me that Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) is a lot like the detective version of House. He's extremely self-centered. He thrives on conflict. He only cares about interesting cases and he loves to manipulate people. Going further, the CBI team mirrors House's team as well. Lisbon (Robin Tunney) is the attractive boss for whom Jane has respect and affection but refuses to take orders from, much like Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein). The similarities continue from there. I suppose it's simply a blueprint for television dramas, but I'm surprised that I never noticed the comparisons before.

Once Jane figured out what Stiles was doing, it was a little tedious watching the plan unfold. The most interesting part of the episode came at the end when Jane admitted that he wanted Stiles to owe him a favor. While I'm positive that favor has something to do with Red John, I'm very intrigued to find out what it will be.

Archer, "Bloody Ferlin": a Ray of truth

2012-02-24 13:09:14

Quick Take: Archer, “Bloody Ferlin”
“I wasn’t sure if you knew what ‘amenable’ actually meant, until you followed it up with ‘nonplussed.’” – Archer

Review: Archer, “Bloody Ferlin”
(S0309) When I haven’t been puzzling over the bizarre timeline that allows Archer to take place when the KGB and smart phones exist simultaneously, or waiting for Mr. Ford to show up again, I’ve been trying to come to terms with Ray’s apparent paralysis. After getting shot in the Heart of Archness mini-saga, fabulous ISIS agent Gillette has been confined to a wheelchair, allowing for Cyril’s promotion to field agent. Turns out he was lying.

Ok, technically we just assumed that he was paralyzed because he left the hospital in a mandatory wheelchair, but he didn’t do anything to change that perception, even while he was getting shot at by Cubans and rolling dirty at a rave. Lana and Archer are the first to detect Ray’s deception, catching him gearing up in the ISIS armoury after-hours when he trips the security system. Ray is getting ready for a trip back home to Ferlin, Georgia, but he needs a few things before he leaves – guns, armour, explosives, and a wife.

Ray’s drug-farming redneck brother Randy (30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer) and his wife Janelle (Sons of Anarchy’s Paula Malcolmson) are in dire, White Lightning-esque need of protection from their dirty local sheriff (The Walking Dead’s Michael Rooker). The prospect of moonshine and trailer-park pie is enough to convince Archer to tag along, but Lana’s ethnic circumstance ultimately exempt her from heading south, so she hangs around at ISIS manufacturing an elaborate story to cover up Ray’s lies and his overnight security breach.

Ray and Archer also levy Carol from her mansion in the middle of the night so that she can pretend to be Ray’s new wife. Obviously – and ironically, considering McBrayer’s role as Kenneth on 30 Rock – Randy doesn’t know or believe that his brother is gay, only that he’s a big-shot playboy decorator in New York. Instead of preparing for the Sheriff’s impending arrival, Randy and Archer occupy themselves with a bible lesson on open relationships, prompting a confrontation between the Gillette’s brothers (pronounced with a hard “g” down South).

As the final confrontation between Randy and the Sheriff grows less tense the more the truth is revealed, the opposite can be said for the atmosphere at ISIS. Having caught up Cyril, Pam, and Krieger in her attempt to keep the truth about Ray and Archer’s whereabouts from Mallory, Lana is forced to make the break-in appear worse than it is. Pam ends up spilling the beans when Mallory asks her about the electric-shock gloves she agreed to use in Kriger’s Ultimate Bum Shock Fight, but the fallout is being saved for next week.

Back in Ferlin, Ray hands over Randy and his wife to the Sheriff, who only wanted to scare some sense into the redneck criminal; though with all the guns, dope, and landmines on the property, it seems as though Randy is going to prison for the rest of his life. Carol manages to lie her and Archer’s way out of being involved with the local police, and Ray flusters over the suggestive hints being dropped by the law-abiding, law-enforcing church elder.

Mad Men: Don Draper speaks Hungarian (and isn't afraid to use it)

2012-02-24 03:13:22

Okay, we've now reached desperate times in the seemingly interminable wait for Mad Men's Season Five premiere (March 25th… just one short/long month out now).

And that calls for desperate measures.

Speaking of calls, we've unearthed an oddball voice mail message from none other than Don Draper to distract us if for ever so brief a moment.

Wait a minute, you say. Voice mail messages didn't exist in the mid '60s, or answering machines either for that matter (I'd have to do some research to confirm, but I'd assume they were not in mass production at that time).

And further, isn't a little bit bizarre that we're hearing Jon Hamm as Don Draper speaking in Hungarian?

Maybe we're simply stuck in the middle of one of Don's Season Four drinking binges?

No, not really. It's just Jon Hamm being the amazingly good sport and hard working actor that he is doing a spot for the Sundance Channel, which is syndicating the popular AMC show across Europe, and Metro Newspaper.

It's almost enough to make me want to head back to Season Three to hang out with Don, Betty, and Conrad Hilton in Rome all over again. Anything to get through the next month, right?

I'm not sure what's the most impressive thing about this: that Hamm as Draper manages to deliver a tongue-in-cheek voice mail message about having "ten secretaries" and such seemingly off-the-cuff, or that he pulls it off – for a non-speaker of the language at the least – while speaking Hungarian (a not so easy language to pick up by any measure).

Downton Abbey: Season Two finale brings in record numbers for PBS

2012-02-23 23:38:57

If you had told me a year ago that Downton Abbey would be one of the most globally celebrated shows on television, I would have asked you if it was even a real show, and followed up with a question about your experience with time-travel. As it turns out, Downton Abbey is a very real show with a very real following that only continues to build.

Finishing its North American run on PBS on Sunday, Downton Abbey’s Season Two finale attracted 5.4 million live viewers. Even before the results were tallied from web streams, replays, and DVRs, Downton Abbey surpassed the numbers brought in by Ken Burns’ National Parks premiere in September 2009.

Appropriately airing during PBS’s Masterpiece Classic broadcast, the show was minimally edited to fit the extended time allotment, though with ultimately no omissions. The period piece commences its first season just prior to WWI following the sinking of the Titanic, with its second season taking place during the Battle of the Somme and beyond, and its third season set to cover an eighteen-month period leading out of 1920. Filming has already commenced on the newest season, with its UK premiere date slated for September of this year.

Star Jones returns to The View, later fumes on Twitter

2012-02-23 21:46:06

I'm loathe to admit that there have been days when I've been inexplicably sucked in by the sexist she-banter on The View. It's like sticking a nine-volt battery on your wet lip -- if you hold it long enough it hurts, but you do it all the same and trust yourself to pull away before you do any damage.

Truth be told, I never knew that Star Jones had left The View, never mind had plans to make a reappearance. After all the rumours surrounding her departure six years ago, however, Jones once again takes to the couch and sets the record straight-ish. Though Barbara Walters is ready to chalk up the parting of ways to a contract dispute, Jones clearly believes the issues run deeper.

In other ill-advised talking points, Walters joins co-host Joy Behar in broaching the subject of Jones’ gastric bypass, and its effects on her personal and work lives by keeping it a secret. Jones attempts to take the cue to discuss women’s health, but it awkwardly clashes with the flow of conversation.

Jones followed up her reappearance to The View with a series of passive-aggressive posts on Twitter, tweeting such slights as “It is easy to walk through the PAST when your PRESENT is so good & your FUTURE is so promising” and “The past is often not subject to evaluation, but open to interpretation.” While I doubt that Jones wouldn’t have ended up talking herself into a corner, something needs to be said to a person’s right to privacy – it just won’t be said by me.

The Asset: Bradley Whitford joins Fox’s new spy thriller

2012-02-23 21:09:31

It may be a wide net to cast, but the array of law enforcement and legal dramas leaves a lot to be desired. Though the multiple incarnations of such shows as CSI and NCIS manage to pull in heady numbers, and more and more investigative sci-fi concepts are being picked up, there are a sparse amount of truly compelling dramas built around the iconic “cops and robbers” formula. Homeland, however, immediately comes to mind for having breathed new life into the genre with its exemplary cast and thrilling story.

Fox appears to be at the top of the queue in picking up on the renewed interest in crime dramas following Homeland’s success, with three pilots ordered for later this year. One of those pilots is Josh Friedman’s The Asset, a spy thriller set around the New York chapter of the CIA. After several recent guest spots on The Mentalist and In Plain Sight, The West Wing alum and Emmy-winner, Bradley Whitford, has signed on to The Asset opposite Ali Larter, penned to play her CIA field operative’s station chief.

Familiar faces can only do so much to strengthen a show’s build up when it revolves around such a thoroughly explored realm of storytelling. Though I’m more partial to the Bonds and Bournes of the spy world, my television is in need of a new iconic infiltrator, and Fox might be ready to fill that order come next season.

The Wire: Season Five thoughts [TVGA Masterworks]

2012-02-23 16:32:50

Well, here we are. Season Fve of The Wire, the final season. Obviously, I was curious to see how it was going to wrap itself up. In addition to dealing with old storylines in come the newspapers as a key piece.

Granted, this is something the show has done before, with Season Two's focus shift to the docks and Season Four focusing on the schools, so I wasn’t surprised. However, I was slightly taken aback by just how much time was spent on the newspaper stuff, especially since in doing so a few key characters from last season barely got any screentime.

That being said, part of the issue was that time spent with the journalists wasn’t terribly interesting. It had some good stuff, sure, and it felt like a fairly detailed picture of how a newspaper is brought to life, which given David Simon’s time spent as a journalist isn’t surprising. While it played a key part in the main storyline of the season, none of the characters were all that interesting to me. Even the most important guy, the writer who was making up facts, wasn’t all that engaging. The newspaper storylines weren’t bad or anything. I overall thought it was pretty good. It was just a bit lacking given how much time we spent with the characters.

On the other hand, McNulty getting more screentime was a positive. Back in the homicide division, McNulty is also off the wagon, and he finally cracks. The budget cutbacks in the government, and in particular the police, was another key storyline, and it was much more interesting. Now, I will say that before I ever watched a second of The Wire I had been warned about the McNulty storyline from season five. A lot of people didn’t like the whole “McNulty pretends somebody is killing homeless men” thing. I, however, didn’t think it was all that bad. It made sense for the character of McNulty, particularly when he is drinking. It made sense that Lester, a kindred spirit of McNulty in terms of not playing by the rules, would go along with it. It also made sense that Bunk wouldn’t say anything. I was worried that when Kima found out she would also not say anything, and that would have gone a bit too far. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

It wasn’t so much that I enjoyed McNulty’s storyline as much as it was that by this point in the show I just really enjoyed the characters of McNulty, Lester, and Bunk. Lester and Bunk are probably my two favorite characters on the show, so pretty much anything they did was at least somewhat worthwhile to me. On the other hand, characters like Marlo, Chris, and Snoop never became all that interesting to me. I thought Marlo’s involvement in the show was better than in previous seasons, but he never could hold a candle to Stringer or Avon, or even Prop Joe. Oh, Prop Joe. I’ll miss you most of all.

The way Marlo’s storyline played out was more interesting than last season, and I particularly like the way it ended. The Wire had to strike the right balance of keeping its tone but also not being too bleak, and they succeeded. The way Marlo’s life was suddenly mirroring Stringer’s, whether he wanted it to or not, was a nice touch.

Of the two main kid characters from Season Four, only Mike and Daquan remained key characters in Season Five. I liked the way their storylines played out as well, even if both were fairly big bummers, particularly how Daquan’s story ended up. However, thematically, it made a lot of sense in terms of the parallel storyline involving Bubbles. I liked that at least one character got some redemption on the show.

All that being said, perhaps the thing that resonated the most regarding the season was what happened to Omar. I only new one thing about this show before I watched it, and that was how Omar’s story ended. Obviously, that lessened some of the impact of it when it happened, but I will say this to the show’s credit: Even though I knew that he was going to get killed, I was still surprised when it happened, given the way the scene played out, and given when in the season it happened. So, kudos to The Wire for that. Additionally, everything that happened in the season vis a vis Omar before his end was quite good. I also like how Mike’s storyline played out regarding Omar much like Bubbles and Daquan.

Lastly, there was the political stuff, from the politics on the police force to Tommy Carcetti’s job as mayor to the indictment of Clay Davis. I came to really enjoy Carcetti as a character, and the political stuff in the show was almost always interesting to me. Plus, Clay Davis was always amusing. Aside from Omar’s storyline, the goings on in the mayor’s office was the best stuff in season five.

Of course, I also appreciated seeing old characters get their cameos in the show, such as the Greeks or Nicky Sobotka or Namond. As for the series finale, I thought it was good, although it wasn’t all that spectacular. Not that it felt like the show was trying to have a big blowout finale. It just felt like another episode, even with the ending montage. The show could have continued it if they wanted it to, but they had told their story and that was that for them.

I thought Season Five was good. I had heard a lot of people say it was the weakest, but I wouldn’t agree. If I were to rank the season of the show from worst to first, I’d go 4, 5, 1, 2, 3 personally. However, I thought every season was at least good, and overall I found The Wire to be a really good show. It was very consistent. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of an episode that wasn’t at least good, and certainly there weren’t any episodes than were bad or anything like that. It’s not my favorite drama of all time, and it certainly isn’t one of my favorite TV shows ever. That being said, I still really enjoyed it, and I am glad that I can now count myself among those who have seen The Wire. It had great characters, some great acting, memorable quotes, and engaging storylines. It was a series worth watching to be sure.

Royal Pains, "This One's for Jack": they all knew Jack

2012-02-23 14:45:49

Quick Take: Royal Pains, "This One's for Jack"
Hank deals with the loss of a patient and friend.

Review: Royal Pains "This One's for Jack"
(S0316) It's about time something significant happened on Royal Pains. I am a fan of the show and the wacky antics of all the Hamptons regulars, but for a medical show, there aren't many life and death situations that occur. Considering how likeable Jack (Tom Cavanaugh) was, it seems that his death was probably a calculated move.

The kid with his tongue in a bottle was pretty stupid. Most people have gotten their tongue stuck in or on something once in their lives and removing it is not as big a deal as Hank (Mark Feurstein) made it out to be.

I understand that Hank's involvement with the Satsumi brothers was an effort to show us how he deals with loss, but there was also a good point being made. As fun as internet videos are to watch, there is a serious downside to putting yourself at risk for the sake of entertainment.

I was glad to see Jill (Jill Flint) having guilt about Jack. I couldn't help feeling that she made a mistake by not taking Jack to the hospital earlier. She is a doctor, after all. I wouldn't be surprised to see some malpractice suits next season.

As for the investment opportunity for HankMed, it seems like nothing more than a new avenue for storylines. If Hank Med starts using cool medical gadgets on their patients, it will go a long way to make the show more interesting. Besides, I would hope that Boris (Campbell Scott) and the rest of the Hamptons residents would find that kind of thing impressive.

Molly Sims isn't my favorite actress and casting her as a fashion entrepreneur was pretty lame, but giving her sleep apnea as an excuse to test out the smart shirt was the weakest part of the whole show. I would have preferred to see more realistic case of sleep apnea, i.e. a fat guy who snores like a beast.

As far as season finales go, this one was light one events and heavy on set ups for next season, but I did think that Jack's farewell golf outing was a nice touch.

TV Geek Army Field Guide: memo to NBC

2012-02-23 14:26:25

I'm really missing Community so am thrilled to report that it will return to the NBC lineup on March 15th. Unfortunately that means that Parks and Recreation, perhaps the best comedy on television today, will be going on hiatus.

Here's what I'm thinking: The Office should move to another night, and NBC should roll out a lineup of 30 Rock, Parks & Rec, Community, and Up All Night. That would be one sick two-hour block of the funny.

Here's what I'm also thinking: I've gotten into a pretty comfortable groove on Thursday nights where I take in the NBC lineup in some such order and timing based on schedule, and then top things off with a little slice of blissful debauchery called Jersey Shore. That franchise is certainly aging, but I will miss it when it sails off into the orange-tinged Atlantic Ocean sunrise (after a heavy duty night of fist pumping and floor slamming at Karma).

TV Geek Army Field Guide: marching orders

Premieres & Returning

Lifeguard! – The Weather Channel, 9:00

Mission Imperatives

The Big Bang Theory – CBS, 8:00

30 Rock – NBC, 8:00

Parks and Recreation – NBC, 8:30

The Office – NBC, 9:00

Up All Night – NBC, 9:30

American Idol – FOX, 8:00

Archer – FX, 10:00

Weird & Wonderful

Fat Chef – Food, 10:00

Swamp People – History, 9:00

Sins & Secrets – ID, 9:00

Project Runway All Stars – Lifetime, 9:00

Jersey Shore – MTV, 10:00

NY Ink – TLC, 9:00

World's Dumbest… – truTV, 9:00

Braxton Family Values – We, 9:00

What are you looking forward to tonight? Let us know in the comments, and tell us too what should / should not be a "mission imperative"!

Basketball Wives premiere: world war blog

2012-02-23 12:37:12

The title Basketball Wives is rather like those very possessive – arguably possessed – personalities it puts under the lens every week: loosely misleading. The fourth season of VH1’s reality exposé doesn’t actually feature any wives of basketball players, as one might assume. Rather, their lineup of ladies consists of exes, baby-mamas, and the estranged “strange” of NBA stars – in other words, expired arm candy not ready to step out of the spotlight.

Two of the show’s stars – Jennifer Williams and Evelyn Lozado – have known each other for longer than all of the Basketball Wives’ show-earning relationships combined – 14 years. Despite their personal history, either Jennifer or her publicist released a blog post that Evelyn took some serious offense to. In the fourth season premiere, the two try to work through their differences, but end up showing us why they were pushed to the sidelines by their basketball beaus.

Even though I’m rarely offended by vulgarity, it’s hard not to feel a little violated by the vicious spite that drives the petty insults and name-calling between the two women. I even have to feel bad for the rest of the cast, who were embarrassingly subjected to this banter in public despite trying to orchestrate their reconciliation – though I doubt a quarrel could be contained between any of these destructive she-Shivas, public or otherwise.

Basketball Wives airs Mondays at 8 pm on VH1.

American Weed, "Marijuana Dreams": do you love me, Mary Jane?

2012-02-23 12:34:59

Quick Take: American Weed, "Marijuana Dreams"
"Days without weed hurt, days with it are tolerable." - Medical Marijuana Patient

Review: American Weed, "Marijuana Dreams"
(S0101) Generally, I tend to avoid bringing politics into my writing. After all, my job is to review television shows, not write Op Ed pieces for the Wall Street Journal. But American Weed, NatGeo's new reality show based on the medical marijuana industry in Colorado introduces a myriad of political, moral, and ethical questions that need addressing.

First and foremost, I believe marijuana should be legal -- across the board, in every state -- for consumption by adults over the age of 21. Thankfully, the further society gets from the Reagan Era "Just Say No" drug philosophy, the closer we get to legalization. Some states are actually very close to marijuana legalization. These "medical marijuana" states allow patients to obtain a card which grants them the ability to grow their own marijuana or purchase marijuana from a "pot store" called a dispensary.

The idea of the dispensary is a great one. A store that you can walk into legally and buy the highest quality weed around? Sign me up! Unfortunately, in practice, medical marijuana has turned into something of a shell game, where "patients" are forced to invent an illness in order to obtain a medical marijuana card and dispensary owners are forced to take on the responsibility of "caregiver." In reality these "caregivers" are more akin to sommeliers, offering advice on which buds pair best with which munchies.

Look, I get that there are legitimately sick and dying patients who get much needed relief from marijuana. But let's stop pretending that these dispensaries are the equivalent of a doctors office and these growers are in the business of saving lives. The growers are in the business of selling pot, and the "patients", the vast majority of which are your run of the mill stoners, are in the business of getting high. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that arrangement.

The argument surrounding legalization should cease to be "Does marijuana really have medicinal qualities?" and become "Do adults have the right to decide what they put in their bodies?" There is no reason these dispensary owners have should have to jump through legal hoops and incessantly refer to their weed as "medicine." A dispensary should operate just like a liquor store. You walk in, your pick out your purchase, you show your I.D., you go home and get f*cked up. You shouldn't have pretend to have glaucoma or limp around with a cane to have the right to buy marijuana.

To American Weed's credit, the show does a good job of not taking sides or pushing one agenda or another. At it's core, it's simply a show about a bunch of guys doing a job: growing and selling pot. Those of you who are familiar with my reviews know that I'm generally not a huge fan of reality shows about people doing their jobs (Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch, NY Ink, Dirty Jobs, and so on). My job sucks enough, so unless you're a 1960s Advertising Executive, an owner of a chain of chicken Restaurants in New Mexico, or a Baltimore City Murder Poh-Lice, I have very little interest watching you do yours. This rule of thumb mostly holds true for the Stanley Brothers, the stars of American Weeds. Sure, they seem like an affable enough bunch, and their weed looks scrumptious, but I have no interest watching a guy transport potted plants from one green house to another.

"Marijuana Dreams" features a relatively interesting subplot involving a group called Team Fort Collins, which opposes medical marijuana. Scoop Collins, a former school teacher, leads TFC and has successfully lobbied the state to add a referendum to an upcoming ballot regarding the legal status of medical marijuana in Colorado. If the referendum passes, the Stanley's and all of the other growers will be out of business. I wish I could tell you how the vote played out, but I may or may not have passed out before the conclusion as a result of the fatty of OG Kush that I may or may not have burned while watching American Weed.

Mad Men Season Five: Don is back, Roger is back, everyone is back (on March 25th)

2012-02-23 01:43:52

In this final stretch run to Mad Men's Season Five premiere (Sunday, March 25th, on AMC) every scrap of promotion and teaser info we can dig up is both tantalizing and maddening.

From the radically minimal promotional poster to the odd comments made by Matthew Wiener, John Hamm, and others over the last few months, everything we know – which admittedly, is precious little – points to a clean slate and back to basics kickoff to a new adventure with Don Draper, Betty and fam, and the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce advertising firm circa… 1966, maybe?

If nothing else, a new batch of teaser video trailers showcase Mad Men's playful and masterful ability to weave together comedic and dramatic moments on a show that wields unusual emotional power.

Don is back

Roger is back

Joan is back

Pete is back

Betty is back

Peggy is back

All in all, I expect nothing less than the fact that we are going to be in for yet another hell of a ride.

I just wish we could get this thing going already – it feels as though we've been waiting for the new season since 1963 or so.

Full Metal Jousting, "Unhorsed": controlling the pain

2012-02-22 23:27:06

Quick Take: Full Metal Jousting, “Unhorsed”
The second round of challenges reveals an undoctored intensity behind Full Metal Jousting.

Review: Full Metal Jousting, “Unhorsed”
(S0102) I have to say that I’m relatively enamoured with History Channel’s new reality competition, Full Metal Jousting. I’m a big fan of the medieval mayhem that is two horse-bound men barrelling towards each other with ten-foot lances – I just never thought it was still a real thing. As it turns out, you don’t need the magic of Hollywood to recreate the jarring joys of the joust; even with blunted tips and steel suits of armor, there’s no escaping the inevitability of injury.

Shane Adams, world champion jouster and host, continues to provide a knowledgeably nuanced analysis and commentary of the jousters and the competition in general. Even though the Red Team lost last week, Shane isn’t ready to write off Mike, who can still replace an injured teammate. Black Team, however, has the advantage of choosing the week’s competitors, and opt for their strongest teammate against Red’s weakest.

Jack, a theatrical jouster of thirteen years, has the clear upper hand over horse-trainer, Jake. Jack’s training instills even more uncertainty in Red’s underdog, even gritting through a cracked molar from a shot to his helm. When it comes time to joust, however, it’s like seeing two different riders. In the first pass, Jake unhorses his opponent, prompting Mike’s mandatory doctor’s analysis, and risking disqualification by pushing the two-minute window he has to get back on his horse. While they each struggle to score a hit on each other’s Grand Guards, Jake is able to hold on to his first-round lead and emerges victorious for the Red team.

So far the training has been relatively tame, easing everyone into the hard-hitting realities of jousting without making them soil their steel. The intensity is already on a rise, however, with inter-team bantering and peacocking that should hopefully lead up to some intense personal rivalries. We haven’t been force-fed the personalities in the opening two episodes like most other shows, so it’s as interesting to learn about each competitor’s personal and riding history in the week that they’re targeted for battle as it is watching them ride.

Modern Family, "Guns and Dolls": statute of limitations

2012-02-22 21:50:29

Quick Take: Modern Family, “Guns and Dolls”
“She’s like a dream wrapped in a wish poured into jeggings.” – Manny

Review: Modern Family, “Guns and Dolls”
(S0316) One of the smartest but subtlest techniques that Modern Family employs to its maximum advantage is how they play around with standard family roles. Yes, Claire plays a typical neat-freak mom, and Phil and Cam both share typical son-in-law insecurities, but often times it can be the kids who are the most developed, with Alex’s uncanny intellect and Manny’s manic maturity.

For a family that sees so much of each other, there are still a lot of secrets being kept. When Jay declares a statute of limitations on the trouble his kids got into, Mitch takes it a step too far and mars the memory of Jay’s nickname-earning hole-in-one. Phil and Gloria are in for their own discoveries, too, spending the day with Hayley and Claire respectively.

I’m still baffled by the amount of people who find Modern Family offensive – it’s a family show that deals with family issues in a light, heartwarming way. Sometimes, that’s bound to include your toddler dropping a bad word or ten, or discovering that your “baby” isn’t much of a baby anymore.

When Alex makes the ever-rare mistake of not thinking before laughing at one of Phil’s innocuous jokes, she accidentally betrays a secret Hayley didn’t want him to know. Phil has prided himself on being the cool dad, but finding out that Hayley isn’t a virgin shakes him to the core. Him and Hayley tip-toe around the inevitable conversation by projecting onto Lily’s doll, and then onto food-court seating, but Phil’s avoidance of explicit terms keeps him in the “cool dad” books after all.

Gloria, meanwhile, is taking Cam’s advice to break down the wall between her and Claire. She tails Claire to the plaza, hoping to join her for yoga, but she blows Gloria off to try her luck again. While Gloria pulls the trigger on her plan to bond with Claire, Cam takes the opportunity to embellish an injury and ransack the Dunphy house to look for his lost Tupperware, giving us another taste of Eric Stonestreet’s flashy physical comedy.

After trying to get Lily into trouble, Luke and Manny get into some of their own by taking Cam’s car to impress Manny’s crush. Luke coasts him to the point of no return, literally, then lets Manny hop in the driver’s seat and casually roll by his crush’s lemonade stand while blasting some trendy hip-hop – untli then gets stuck in a dead end, having to do everything in reverse. Luckily, Claire is distracted from seeing them by a crashing Cam, who finally finds his lidless Tupperware.