A random collection of the shiny objects and inspirations that I find around my world of interactive technology, gaming, music, entertainment, and the dark corners of the internet.
It was a light week of traditional media while I recovered from my Dexter marathon. In between my slow trek through Season 2 of 30 Rock, I did come across 4 new-to-me gems on YouTube which I’ve assembled in a playlist for you, because you are lazy and I am here to entertain you. Are you not entertained?!
Ultimate Warrior A look back at the Warrior’s unbelievable interviewing skills. Apparently, everyone around him thought he was nuts, too. I just remember him scaring the hell out of me as a kid, but it made me an even bigger fan. So maybe he knew what he was doing even if he didn’t know what he was doing.
Best Fight Scene Ever Transporter Come to think of it, I don’t need to own any of the Transporter movies since I only want this scene. It’s bad-ass enough to make the series last for 2 extra movies, and to certify Jason Statham as an action star.
What’s Next I contemplated finding a new show to hold me over during the True Blood hiatus, but I didn’t have it in me. Californication, Harper’s Island, and Burn Notice have all been trying to get my attention on my Netflix queue, but my wallet is worried I’ll like them too much. It’s already nervous that I added the Blu-ray versions of the Complete Series of Battlestar Galactica AND Seasons 1-5 of LOST to my Amazon wish-list. I need cheaper distractions, so thank you, YouTube, for allowing me to fight the urge this week.
Dexter: Season 1 and 2 I’m really impressed with how incredible tight and contained the story lines are from the first two seasons. I’ve got so used to serial shows that have perpetuating storylines that never seem to come back together - there’s always a loose end left. Not Dexter. Both of the first two seasons have beautiful and meticulous story arcs that climax at just the right times. It’s really phenomenal, and some of the best first viewing of a series I’ve ever had. It took me about a week to finish each season and I’m going to have to wait until mid-August for Season 3 to hit shelves. I couldn’t be more excited to continue this show, as I’ve only heard better buzz about the upcoming seasons, so I may just be getting started.
From the randomly dug up by a friend on Facebook pile, I went back and watched as many Sifl and Olly clips on YouTube as possible this week. This show was really misplaced on Nickelodeon back in the day. It’s definitely somewhere inbetween Nickelodeon and Adult Swim as far as the writing style goes, but man is it witty. I recommend checking out NINJAS and United States of Whatever.
Correction, The Sifl and Olly Show was on MTV not Nickelodeon. I don’t know why my memory placed the show with the old SNICK series of shows, but I won’t argue with @colemonroe or Wikipedia
Favorite New Comedies I found myself watching random episodes of 30 Rock (Season 2) and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 3) when gaming wasn’t holding my attention this past week. These are easily my favorite new comedies of the last 2-3 years, and for completely different reasons.
30 Rock really hits its stride in Season 2 as the show begins to figure out the strengths of its diverse cast of characters. There’s a slight shift to focusing on Alec Baldwin’s character as more than just a supporting role, which is what got me hooked during that season. The Jerry Seinfeld cameo episode is the one that made me a regular viewer.
It’s Always Sunny isn’t for everyone, but the severity of my laugh out loud moments during each episode is only rivaled by South Park. It’s probably more accurate to view the show as a cartoon or fantasy than to try to place this show in the real world. The fact is there are no redeeming characters on this show, they are all self-centered morons, and the plots are unbelievable. I can only hope they continue to top themselves in the upcoming season. “The Gang Gets Invicible” episode always kills me when Elvin from the Cosby Show is called out for who he is.
Public Enemies Hopefully, the best drama of the summer opened this weekend. Johnny Depp + Michael Mann = Can’t Miss. I’m expecting a similar experience to Collateral and Miami Vice from this flick. Which means that I’ll thoroughly enjoy my experience, but will look back to see the minor flaws in the film that prevent it from being great. As long as Depp gets to be a bad ass and the gun shots sound as brutal as the rest of Mann’s movies, I’ll be satisfied with my ticket purchase.
Dexter I thought I was prepared for Dexter. One of those shows that I knew I’d like just from it’s slightly twisted premise. What kept me away was a misunderstanding of that premise, I knew Dexter was a serial killer. I didn’t know that he only killed people that get away with their crimes, and that he works for the cops. I would have been watching this a long time ago, but luckily it timed out that Dexter just became available on Netflix Instant Queue which works quite nicely while I wait on my Blu-ray copies to arrive. I also had some reservations about Michael C Hall playing the main character as I was too used to his character from Six Feet Under. One episode later, not a problem at all, he’s perfect for this role, easy transformation. From everyone else’s reviews of the seasons ahead of me, it looks like True Blood is going to have some competition as my new favorite show.
True Blood Speaking of True Blood, I caught the first two episodes of the new season, and it just keeps getting better. Great twist to start the season, and I love how they are developing the other vampires into much more complex characters. I was worried for a while that there were only going to be good and evil vampires with no grey areas inbetween. I’m about halfway through watching season 1, and I’m really enjoying all the hints dropped about Sam’s character the most.
The Hunger While I was on my vampire kick, I checked out 3 episodes of The Hunger since it was also available on Instant Queue. The plotlines of each episode are definitely more interesting in description than execution. The show deals with a lot of dark magic themes, not just vampires. The acting and production values are pretty average. There’s just nothing that ties the episodes together to make the series standout. You can’t rely on subject matter alone, I suppose.
Transformers ROTF Migraines prevented me from my IMAX viewing of Transformers. I’ve been torn about seeing this movie ever since. The reviews this week were just relentless, so my hopes aren’t high. I will probably end up just going to enjoy giant robots, explosions, and popcorn. Just have a feeling that my inner-child won’t wake up like it did during the first one. Also, look at that subtitle acronym one more time.
Press Hop featuring Allen Iverson YouTube video of the week. Combines all of my favorite sports press conference related moments into a stellar rap video. These remixes are amazing.
Alice in Wonderland Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was announced last weekend with his normal cast (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter). The concept art is nothing short of amazing. I’m a huge Tim Burton fan and he was my pick to do this movie for a long time, however I wanted him to use a slightly different version of the plot. Now, that this movie is getting made the chances of a movie version of American McGee’s Alice seem slim. Someone needs to get Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth) on that one.
True Blood(HBO) I’ve never been more conflicted and addicted to a show at the same time as I am with True Blood. It was a bumpy start to the series, but the last 3-4 episodes of Season 1 made all of the build up worth it. I’m still holding off on catching up on Season 2 until a few more episodes are available, but I did pick up Season 1 on Blu-Ray. It’s the first time I’ve rewatched the first episodes since finishing the season, and now I can say this is definitely my favorite new show. The nuances of the characters, especially the main character, Sookie, that annoyed me at first, completely make sense now. On another note, the sound quality of Blu-Ray continues to blow me away and is helping me pick up on details I didn’t notice on my first run through the series.
Vampires As good as True Blood is, it only makes me more annoyed at Twilight. Just the concept of vampires being trendy. I know this show would stand on its own, but it definitely seems like True Blood will always be that “other” vampire series. Too bad the timing had to work out the way it did. The god thing about it is that its definitely fun to introduce this show to Twilight fans that think they know what vampires are.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (movie) Tuesday night, I’ll be checking out my guilty pleasure of the summer. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Should be amazing on the IMAX and I wish I’d had the foresight to see the first on at IMAX. The oddest part about Transformers is that I absolutely hate the director and the two lead actors (Michael Bay, Shia Labeouf, Megan Fox), but have no concerns about this movie at all. As long as they stick to the action formula of the first, it’ll be a great popcorn movie. I have yet to see an action scene top the scale of the final battle of the first Transformers. More of the same is all I need out of this one.
Weeds (Showtime) Speaking of shows I’ve been conflicted on, I think Weeds is treading too close to the border of trainwreck. I can’t help but watch, even if I’m don’t like what I see. I made it through 3 seasons on DVD and am about to break into the 4th season (the 5th season just started up on Showtime). Season 3 was not good, and I don’t know if I can continue through this show unless I find some reason to like at least one of the characters. I need a show to either be completely evil or have a few unique redeeming traits to one of their characters. This show just doesn’t have a character I’ve latched onto, other than my creepy attraction to Mary Louise-Parker, but I’ve got more than enoughTVgirlfriends on HOUSE.
Real Time with Bill Maher(HBO) I’ve done a horrible job of staying up on Real Time during the latest “season,” but I did tune into last week’s episode where Bill surprisingly stuck it to President Obama. As usual, I tend to agree with his underlying statement that Obama is on TV way too much and I’d rather we see some tangible progress and some hard line stances towards making change happen. I want facts now, no more show. Bill did make me cringe with the call to have back some of George W’s attitudes, but that’s what makes him Bill Maher. All in all, it’s much more refreshing opinion than anything I see on Fox News, MSNBC, or even The Daily Show / Colbert Report these days (even though Colbert’s episodes from Iraq were awesome).
