Posts Tagged ‘TV’
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If you read the blog here then I’m sure you’ve figured out that I watch wrestling. At least casually. If you follow me on Twitter then you’re likely to have divulged the fact that I’m also a fan of Dancing With the Stars. For your own mental sanity try not to figure that odd combination out. In fact, I highly encourage you to just not think about it and move on.
Now, I don’t watch every season of Dancing With the Stars. It all depends on which celebs they have. For example: I didn’t even start watching until Season 3 when they had Mario Lopez (because I grew up as a HUGE fan of Saved By the Bell). I also have cheered on John Ratzennberger (Cheers and Pixar voice mascot), Kristi Yamaguchi (figure skater superstar), Warren Sapp (football player), and this season WWE wrestler Chris Jericho!!
Chris Jericho has always been one of my favorite wrestlers – even back in the days of the WCW. Not just because he’s got a ton of technical and athletic skill, not just because he can ‘sell’ a match better then most, not even because he stole my last name. All that is great! But the biggest reason I like Jericho is because he’s got charisma and style that just radiates through the screen. He’s Y2J, the “Ayatollah of Rock n’ Rolla”, and “The Best at What He Does” – and right now, what he does is ballroom dancing!
Now, regardless of who Jericho got teamed up with I’d be cheering for him – but he just happened to be teamed with my longtime secret love: Cheryl Burke. She’s been in almost every season of Dancing With the Stars (she missed the first season) and she won her first two seasons becoming the first two-time champion among the professionals. She’s also earned a second and third place finish. That’s a true championship caliber people. A perfect match for the First Ever Undisputed Champion of the WWE.
Now, just because they’re teamed together doesn’t make a pair great – let alone Twitter Tuesday worthy. What makes this team so worthy is because they’re working like a real team. They’ve taken up the nickname Team Chericho, they both Twitter daily about their practices and how proud/thankful they are for each, they’ve been touring together for book signings (which is awesome and I hope they’ll consider heading to St. Louis after the show’s over), and if you watch them on the show you can just tell they get along. How a team clicks (or doesn’t) is often half the fun of watching – and Team Chericho is totally firing on all cylinders together.
So, if you like wrestling, or dancing, or reality TV, or cool celebrities having fun then do yourself a favor and follow @IAmJericho and @CherylBurke and then join me in cheering them on to first place!!! Submit to the Waltz of Jericho!!
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So yesterday I mentioned that iCarly won it’s third Kid’s Choice Award. Pretty good! Now, if you think that’s impressive watch this: I’m a grown man and I’m willing to admit that iCarly is one of my favorite shows on television. Yep, you read that right. I’m okay with admitting it too, because it’s not some powderpuff kids slop. Not even close. It’s smart, witty, well written comedy that works for all ages. I know I’m not the only adult that likes the show either, cause at my ‘real’ job I know three parents who have told me they like to watch the show with their kids. A show that knows how to speak to young adults like their people and not some type of market brand is rare. A show like iCarly that reaches multiple generations at one time is even rarer.
Now, it’s true that a portion of iCarly‘s success comes from great actors like Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy, and Jerry Trainor. Sure. But, in the case of this show, you have to give credit to the creator and writer Dan Schneider.
Dan with the cast of iCarly
Oh, but we should expect that level of skill from Dan – after all you’ll find his name on the credits of several popular shows. See, Dan is the creative force behind a whole slew of Nickelodeon powerhouses. Check it – besides iCarly there’s also Drake and Josh, Victorious, Zoey 101, Kenan and Kel, The Amanda Show, and even All That. If you grew up watching Nickelodeon, or if you’re watching it now for the first time, then you’ll realize that’s an impressive list.
Oh, and that doesn’t even mention the WB success What I Like About You, which gained an even broader fanbase from syndication. Not to mention the movies Good Burger and Big Fat Liar. Yeah, Dan was a creator, co-creator, and/or writer for all of those too.
Now THAT is a resume!
Dan with Drake Bell
So, what’s even more amazing then that? Dude LOVES his fans. LOVES them. Spoils them in fact. I’ve been following him on Twitter @Danwarp for about a year now and hardly a day goes by that he doesn’t link to backstage pictures, or a blog with notes from the recent shows, mini-interview videos of the casts, or maybe just a funny story about lunch with one of his young stars. In fact, one of the funniest days was when he was teaching Miranda Cosgrove to drive. Yeah, he tells those stories and shares those pictures.
I’d go so far to say that Dan has one of the most entertaining twitter feeds I’ve had the priviledge to follow and I highly recommend that any other fans of any of his shows – or just of funny backstage info – tags that follow button. It won’t take long to appreciate his sense of humor.
It’s a busy month people! Heck, it’s a busy weekend! Opening Day for Major League Baseball, college hoops Final Four, the Country Music Awards, and Wrestlemania all happen(ed) this weekend!! But, amongst all that mess there’s one big event that I still enjoy every year: Nickelodeon’s Kid’s Choice Awards.
This year the KCAs were hosted by Jack Black – that’d be his second time hosting. I’ve said, often, that I think Jack Black is one of the best adult actors to work with young adults and kids. I thought when he hosted the show before he was great. Sadly, this time he didn’t seem as interested. He didn’t feel like his normal bouncing around the stage shouting like a rocker Jack Black self. He was okay, but a bit stiff and kinda dull really. That said, he did a GREAT job on the opening where he lead a giant dance number to one of the Black Eyed Peas songs. That was a ton of fun. There was also a great exchange at the end of the show with Jim Carrey that lead to both of them getting slimmed. He did take his slime like a champion.
Now, if you’ve not seen the Kids Choice Awards before – there’s three parts to each show. The host, the music, and the slime. I’d wager most kids don’t even know WHERE the slime comes from anymore, but as long as Nickelodeon is a television channel, I’m 100% certain there will be people getting slimmed. This year included Josh Duhamel, Snoop Dogg, and Heidi Klum all getting coated in green goop. I’m still not certain if Heidi knew it was coming or not, because while she looked shocked at the moment it hit her, she also took the disaster with such calm grace I could’ve sworn she had a trial slimming pre-show. Either way though, you have to admire anyone who’s willing to come to a kid’s awards show that well dressed and take three liters of slime with that much charm. Bravo to her!
Now, there was one other slimming that happened, and it was – to me – the highlight of the show. Russell Brand and Modern Family child star Rico Rodriguez came out to present an award when the kids in the audience (who had been slimmed themselves a few times) started throwing handfuls of green slop at the pair. Some people may have freaked out, but Brand soaked it in and stole the show. He jumped infront of poor Rico and started shouting back to the kids “I am ENGLISH, I am your ROYALTY! You naughty, naughty children!” It was endearing and hilarious all at once. It’s nice to see a comedian with a good sense of humour.
Winners at the show are given an orange blimp, which is actually pretty cool looking. Some of the winners included Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Black Eyed Peas for musical acts. Shaq was the male athlete of the year, which proves kids don’t watch sports. Lindsey Vonn was the female athlete. American Idol won a fourth reality show blimp, and iCarly won a third blimp for their show. Karate Kid was the movie of the year, and Despicable Me was the best animated movie (which I think is a bit of an upset.) Eddie Murphy was the voice actor, Johnny Depp and Miley Cyrus the movie actor and actress, and Jacki Chan the “buttkicker.” Dylan Sprouse was the better twin for his TV actor blimp, Jennette McCurdy was the sidekick, and Selena Gomez was the television actress. Oh, and Spongebob Squarepants won yet another blimp for cartoon.
All winners are decided by popular vote from the kids, thus the name of the awards show. It’s nice to see the kids get a voice and even when I don’t agree at all with a choice (see Shaq) I just have to shrug and let it go. As much as I try, I don’t think like a kid.
Which is why I’m not sure how Willow Smith’s song about flipping her hair is so popular. The kids went crazy for her performance though, which felt a little Pink inspired as she was cable-lifted over the audience. I actually enjoyed Big Time Rush’s song and it was cool to see Snoop Dogg join them on stage…and then subsequently get coated in slime. Even the Black Eyed Peas were pretty good, but after their Super Bowl performance they could only do better.
Oh, and I was wrong about The Miz showing up. There was a WWE wrestler present though, as the Big Show emceed the Monster Truck Slime event. It was actually REALLY cool to watch this monster truck hit a dirt ramp, jump a giant blimp balloon, and then land in a shallow pool of slime. I was even cheering. It was a great show.
Really, the whole program was a blast. Musical numbers, a crowd of kids so loud they drowned out the mics sometimes, adults and kids all having a mess of fun (literally), and a lot of good laughs for an hour and a half. It’s little wonder why the KCAs are one of the very VERY few awards shows I ever like to watch.
Now, if you missed out on the fun, don’t worry – Nickelodeon is usually pretty good about replaying it a few times during the month. Plus, eventually, everything ends up on the net one way or the other. Congrats to all the winners, and maybe if I’m lucky next year I can go be there live and get slimmed too! Yeah, that’s right, I wanna get slimmed!
… but only at an official KCA show so don’t just walk up and toss slime on me folks. That’d be gross.
So, I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a big TV fan. In all truth, I’ve never once leased cable in my life. When I was a kid we had cable sometimes off and on, and I had cable when I was in college because the school provided it. Right now, where I’m rooming, there’s full on hi-def cable with a DVR and HDMI cables and the whole nine yards. But any time I’ve lived on my own I’ve all but forgotten TV even exists.
I mean, let’s be honest, most of the ‘TV’ that I watch is anime that isn’t even on TV. Football? I live in the wrong city so I listen to the Chiefs on internet radio. Basketball? Restaurants, foodcourts, bars, or ESPN3 to catch my Duke games. (National Champs baby!) Anything else is just filler. In fact, 90% of the time I watch television it’s just on in the background to make noise or distract me from getting comics done.
That’s why it got really REALLY weird when fall came around this year and I was eagerly anticipating the return of two of my favorite shows from last year: Glee and Chuck.
Now mind you, I’ve had shows that I liked in the past. Some I even managed to remember to watch all the episodes for an entire season. For me, that’s a feat. Most of the time, if I really like a show I just buy it later on DVD when the sets come out. That’s what I did with Scrubs and 24 – and sometimes I even manage to watch the DVDs after I buy them. Television has just rarely gripped me to the point that I maintain focus for an entire season – and never EEEVER has it drawn me back for a second season.
Until this year.
Yep, even weeks ago I was getting angsty for a couple of shows and it wasn’t until after that first episode that I realized it had happened. Somehow Glee and Chuck have seeped into my brain and created their own little space. Glee totally lived up to my personal hype – and I know this is true because I’m somehow still excited about the new season despite next week being a Britney Spears special. (I actually just cringed writing that, but still excited.) Chuck wasn’t great but I’m hopeful that it’ll heat up in the next few episodes.
So, since I’ve been dragged into TV watching (for now at least) I might as well check out a couple of other shows right? Sure’nuff!!
One of the first shows that caught my attention was Chase. Seemed pretty cool, US Marshall chasing down fugitives. Tough gritty girl for the main character hunting down killers and such in Texas and just miles from the “get out of jail free” line known as the border. Sadly, after the first episode I’ve lost almost all hope for this show. I was bored within fifteen minutes and talking with Rob about it made me realize there’s almost no hope of this show getting good cause as cool as the plot sounds it’s also the drawback and fatal flaw. Final verdict: FAIL.
On the other hand, CW has a new show called Hellcats. I had no idea what this even was till Rob made me watch it. I’ll admit, the original appeal was Alyson Michalka and Ashley Tinsdale in cheerleader outfits, but after a few episodes the show has actually grown on me – enough that I can even watch the silly dance routines without rolling my eyes. Mostly. The writing is still a bit stale at times, and a few of the actors are extremely raw… but it’s still a show with some promise and some fun spunk to it. Not for everyone, but worth a check if you like Disney. Or cheese.
One of the last shows I remember being really drawn into was Survivor. I don’t know that I saw every episode, but I did watch the first two seasons to the point that I remember being so upset with how season 2 went down I completely wrote the show off. I’ve seen maybe four total episodes since Colby gave away his prize money. Going into the new season I had less then no interest in the show because I was convinced having coach Jimmy Johnson on the show was stupid. Then I sat and watch the first episode. I loved Jimmy Johnson on Survivor. I don’t know why I just did. The second episode was even better – and this year’s cast has some seriously SERIOUSLY weird characters. The fights aren’t even fights they’re more like children battling over a sandbox… and I can’t get enough. At least for now I can’t. We’ll see what happens when a few of these nutcase castaways get voted off.
Some shows I’m not even giving a chance: The Event, Mike & Molly, and Hawaii Five-0. A show I gave up on within the first five minutes: Raising Hope. A couple of shows I’ve not gotten to see yet but I am willing to hold out hope for: No Ordinary Family, Boardwalk Empire, and Outsourced. A show I completely misjudged and wouldn’t suggest to anyone: The League. A show I thought had a chance five months ago but now I just think looks lame and thus will not even consider: Undercovers.
I think that pretty much covers my Fall Lineup opinions. How about you guys? What are you into, sick of, or excited about? Toss in a comment and let’s hear it!
So in the midst of all that excitement with E3 I totally forgot to point out the return of one of the best shows to not yet happen. Of course I’m speaking of Futurama - which will be a smashing success in it’s own time but was a short lived disaster according to FOX. And if anyone knows about bad TV it’s FOX, am I right?
Good news everyone, Comedy Central decided to bring the show back. With a plan of 26 new episodes and the entire original voice cast back the future looks bright indeed! The first two episodes were on Thursday night in a special hour long launch, and new episodes are planned every Thursday night on Comedy Central.
By the way, rumors of the relaunch being pushed because of threats from an upset Omicron Persei 8 are completely unfounded (but still believable.)
By the way, if you were worried that the show might have lost some of it’s flair and style from being canceled once before, don’t worry. Rob and I caught those first two episodes last week and I can assure you the show hasn’t missed a step.
