It's been about a month since I've done one these, and I still can't get the damn thing done at a reasonable time. So without further ado...
The standard warning for those of you who've never seen one of these before: If you would like to see some of the latest entertainment news, celebrity gossip and odd crap making the rounds, keep reading. However, if you are easily offended by half-nude men & women or other such things, you might want to stop right now.
You've been warned.
[Let's Talk TV.....]
Since I'm still... sorta... Human, I can't watch everything, but there are a few shows that keep my fancy. So I thought I might do a little review of some of the shows on Television, and spur a discussion along. Let's start with the big finale for "Battlestar Galactica" that aired last night.
Battlestar Galactica: ek hornbeck had a great diary last night, where a lot of this was hashed out, but before writing this, I watched the final 2 hours of "Galactica" again, just to see if how well it worked on second viewing. I think it was a good finale, but I don't think it was a great finale. In fact, the more I think about it, the less I like it. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was for the most part good television... up until the last act. There's part of me that wishes the show had just ended with finding "our" Earth, and then left it a mystery as to what the survivors may have found (although, I'm sure some would of felt that would of been a copout).
I could nitpick certain elements here & there throughout the finale, but like I said last night, I have a hard time believing that after traveling 1,000,000 light-years across the Universe, people would basically turn into Luddites. I get they were going for a Hernán Cortés vibe of burning the ships to break the cycle & spur the survivors, but I mean no one in that almost 40,000 survivors is going to object? No one is going to say, screw living off the land, I'll take one of the ships you're going to toss into the Sun, and live out my days in orbit with air conditioning? Or short of that, how about we strip the ships of supplies to build some houses?
The other thing that struck me is the philosophy the show ended on. Before "Galactica", Ronald D. Moore wrote & produced a lot of "Trek", specifically "The Next Generation" & "Deep Space Nine." I find it ironic the core philosophies of both shows are basically diametrically opposed.
- The characters on "Galactica" embrace spiritualism, and eventually come to believe "God has a plan" for them & the Universe. They must reject technology (beware of the Sony QRIO robots, they may lead to our doom!) in order to have a chance at unity & peace.
- The philosophy of "Star Trek" (for the most part) rejects spiritualism & religion ("What does God need with a starship?"), and embraces science & technology as the mediums through which humanity & all living things will be united for a common destiny. Artificial intelligence, in the form of Mr. Data, is not something to be feared, but something to be respected & befriended.
To see what creator & Executive Producer Ronald Moore had to say about the finale,
click here.
Eastbound & Down: I had mixed feeling about the pilot, but now that we're five episodes in, this is probably the funniest new show on television, if not the funniest show on television. Danny McBride plays one Kenny Powers, a former relief pitcher who has the permed mullet of Philly favorite Mitch Williams with the outright dickishness of John Rocker. Powers has let drugs & his jag-off behavior drive him from being a star relief pitcher in Major League Baseball, to being driven back to his hometown to be substitute gym teacher at Jefferson Davis Middle School.
The two big storylines weaving through the first season of the show have been Kenny's attempts to reconnect with his High-School girlfriend, April (Katy Mixon), and his battles with asshole car dealer Ashley Schaffer (Will Ferrell), who Ferrell plays as a what if you crossed George W. Bush with "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair & that unholy abomination owned a BMW dealership. Over at the A.V. Club, they've compared the show to "Strangers with Candy."
In tonight’s episode of Eastbound & Down Kenny Powers behaved in an uncharacteristically mature fashion and it felt like a dispiriting admission of failure. Then he behaved like a dangerous, psychotic lunatic and it felt like a roaring, life-affirming success. Like Strangers With Candy, Eastbound & Down has a moral compass. It’s just a crazy upside down moral compass where bad behavior is rewarded and goodness and virtue are punished. Harshly.
One of the show’s greatest accomplishments is eking real pathos and emotions out of the profane, drugged-up misadventures of a deluded, mullet-sporting asshole. We’re feeling Kenny Powers’ pain and rooting for him.
In the last episode, they had a showdown that probably had the best use of Kenny Rogers' "Love Will Turn You Around" ever......
Dollhouse: I think this show has a good premise, but I think it also has a fundamental flaw. While watching the episodes, I really do find the "Dollhouse" storyline interesting (What is the nature of the Dollhouse? Who's behind it? What is Alpha's intentions? What is the long-term effect on the "Actives"?), but where the show looses me is the missions. I could care less whether the problems of someone who is basically renting a slave are fixed. Whenever the story moves to Echo (Eliza Dushku) on her mission, I just can't stay interested since a) there's a lot of it that has nothing to do with the overall mythos of the Dollhouse, and b) we know the character is going to be "wiped", so it's not like its going to be an experience that will have a lasting impact. I know Whedon is trying to have the experiences on the missions act as metaphors for Echo's life as a "Doll", but it just doesn't work. In fact, I think it might have been a better idea to center the series more on Tahmoh Penikett's F.B.I. agent character.
[Movie & Television News]
Movie Trailers: If you have problems with the embedded players below, or want to see other recently released teasers & trailers, click here.
- Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
Other news making the rounds.....
"Of the 39 hourlong pilots and presentations that have been ordered by the Big Four and CW, at least 20 are skedded to shoot outside California's borders."
- 6 Supervillains Who Were Actually OK Guys
- Six evil henchmen who sucked at their jobs... THOSE INCOMPETENT FOOLS!!!
- United Nations takes a break from saving the environment and feeding the world to... discuss the latest episode of "Battlestar Galactica"?
- Sam Raimi Talks Spider-Man 4 and Evil Dead Remake
- The Top 10 Sci-Fi Shows Of All-Time? (List sucks for not having any DS9 love)
- The 15 Most Disturbing Movies?
- 'Hard Boiled' Sequel is Actually a Prequel/Total Reinvention
- Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman are coupling up to star in the silver screen adaptation of the new Leanne Shapton book "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry"
- Speculation is running rampant about that mysterious figure seen in the background on Wednesday night's episode of "Lost"
- Warner Bros. Giving Up On R-Rated Superhero Movies?
- 'Oldboy' Director Park Chan-wook's 'THIRST' Trailer
- The Budget For James Cameron's 'Avatar' Exceeds $200 Million... Most Expensive Movie of All Time?
- Colbert decides to lay the beat down... on Michael Steele
- South By Southwest 2009 (SXSW) Coverage
- Disney has set a July 16, 2010, release date for Jerry Bruckheimer-produced family adventure 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'
- 'Green Lantern' To Shoot in September, Martin Campbell Confirmed as Director
- Harlan Ellison has sued CBS Paramount over its alleged failure to pay him for the merchandising, publishing and other exploitations of "City on the Edge of Forever," an early "Star Trek" episode that he wrote
- The Rise of Movie Theater Popcorn Prices Over The Last 80 Years
- "MacGyver" is Coming to the Big Screen!
- Soprano's creator David Chase to develop HBO miniseries about the dawn of Hollywood
- Director Robert Rodriguez talks 'Sin City 2' and 'Machete'
- "Rome" Movie Moves From Rumor to Reality?
- A New 'Muppet Movie'?
- CBS has renewed "Two and a Half Men" for another three years and "The Big Bang Theory" for another two
- More evidence that CNN is going to have to find a new strategy fast or risk becoming a cable news also-ran: In the month of March so far, the Time Warner-owned network has come in fourth place in prime time among adults 25 to 54, the key demographic for advertisers, more often than not
- Bryan Singer eyeing hot revenge thriller project starring Mark Wahlberg
- Oprah on Ellen, Ellen on Oprah
- Sci Fi Channel Aims to Shed Geeky Image With New Name "SyFy".... and viewers rightfully ridicule
- Esquire wonders why Does David Caruso Still Gets Work as an Actor?
- United Artists has hired Peter Horton to write and direct "Coal River," an adaptation of the Michael Shnayerson book
- The 14 Most Embarrassing Breakout Roles By A-List Celebs
- Layoffs would bring new life to "The Office"
- Michael Bay Says "No Way" To 'Transformers 3' Release Date
- Transformers: Revenge of Stan Bush’s "The Touch"
- The Steven Seagal Movie Title Flowchart
- VH1 To Bring Back Hit Show "Behind The Music"
- Tom Cruise Talking About 'MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 4'?
- NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker defends CNBC, Jim Cramer, calls Stewart Attacks "Absurd"
- Nine memorable TV shows about TV
- Did 'Watchmen' Fail? And Why?
- Robert Downey Jr.: "I'd Rather Beg Forgiveness Than Ask Permission"
- Is the New Jim Carrey Comedy "Too Gay" For American Audiences?
- Olga Kurylenko in Neil Marshall’s 'Centurion'
- Nicolas Cage's "Knowing" is a contender for worst movie of 2009:
"It's not even remotely terrifying when [Cage] screams, 'How am I supposed to stop the end of the world?' - it's just laugh-out-loud funny"
- .....On the other hand, Roger Ebert calls 'Knowing' among "the best sci-fi films I've seen"
- Some character on some show on some network is going to commit suicide
- The late Adrienne Shelly, writer-director of the 2007 Fox Searchlight hit 'Waitress', left behind another screenplay before she died that her widower will develop and produce
- Tim Burton & Johnny Depp's 'Dark Shadows' start date pushed back to this fall... the cause for delay was that Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' was taking much longer to finish than anticipated, and with a 2010 release date around the corner, something had to go
- The Ten Best Vampire Movies of the Modern Era?
- What’s In The Box?
- Neil Gaiman on "The Colbert Report"
- Peter Segal In Talks to Direct 'Little Fockers'
- Could 'Star Trek' soon return to TV?
- Captains Log, Stardate 4578.86: I'm sitting in my living room wondering why my wife left me when I brought home this awesome replica chair
- The Wire's David Simon to helm a new HBO series that will focus on musicians in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
- Six movie remakes that missed the point... Or how studio execs learned to stop worrying and fund some bombs
- Video Clip: One Minute of Pixar’s 'Up'
- How George Lucas Almost Made Indiana Jones a Sex Offender
- Natalie Portman Cast in Marvel’s Thor?
- A 'Diamond' heist in Antwerp, Belgium to be the subject of J.J. Abrams next project
- In defence of Jar Jar Binks
- 50 Cent to replace Forrest Whitaker in Sylvester Stallone's 'The Expendables'
- Director David Gordon Green to cast James Franco in a "medieval stoner comedy" called 'Your Highness'?
- David Boreanaz' "Bones" alter ego will suffer a life-threatening health crisis this May that will cause him to hallucinate... The destination of his head trip? Quahog, Rhode Island... Booth is getting a visit from Family Guy's acid-tongued baby villain, Stewie!
- Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor) is going to be present in 'Terminator Salvation'
- Terminator Salvation: 14 New Photos
- Director Catherine Hardwicke Won't Return To 'Twilight' Franchise
- "South Park" Takes on 'Watchmen' and 'The Dark Knight'
[Music News]
Charts: Through the magic of , you can click on any of the song titles below & hear that particular track.
The top 10 songs on Billboard's Hot 100 are.....
- Flo Rida - "Right Round"
- T.I. Featuring Justin Timberlake - "Dead And Gone"
- Lady Gaga - "Poker Face"
- Soulja Boy Tell 'em Featuring Sammie - "Kiss Me Thru The Phone"
- Kelly Clarkson - "My Life Would Suck Without You"
- The All-American Rejects - "Gives You Hell"
- Kanye West - "Heartless"
- Jamie Foxx Featuring T-Pain - "Blame It"
- Miley Cyrus - "The Climb
- Lady GaGa Featuring Colby O'Donis - "Just Dance"
The Top 10 Songs in the United States at the iTunes Store are.....
- Flo Rida - "Right Round"
- Lady Gaga - "Poker Face"
- Carrie Underwood - "I Told You So"
- Soulja Boy Tell 'em Featuring Sammie - "Kiss Me Thru The Phone"
- Miley Cyrus - "The Climb
- Kelly Clarkson - "My Life Would Suck Without You"
- The All-American Rejects - "Gives You Hell"
- Asher Roth - "I Love College"
- Brad Paisley - "Then"
- Lil Wayne - "Hot Revolver"
The Top 10 songs on Billboard's Hot 100, Thirty-five years ago this week, in 1974.....
- John Denver - "Sunshine On My Shoulders"
- Blue Swede - "Hooked On A Feeling"
- Terry Jacks - "Seasons In The Sun"
- Elton John - "Bennie & The Jets"
- Cher - "Dark Lady"
- Carly Simon & James Taylor - "Mockingbird"
- Paul McCartney - "Jet"
- Redbone - "Come & Get Your Love"
- Mocedades - "Eres Tu" (Touch The Wind)
- Sister Janet Mead - "The Lord's Prayer"
Other things percolating through the series of tubes.....
- Next week's Billboard 200 albums chart should find Kelly Clarkson's "All I Ever Wanted" (19/RCA) holding for a second week at No. 1, but with likely less than 100,000 units... The album debuted atop the tally this week with 255,000
- Lil Wayne Jabs At 50 Cent On New Pimp C Track
- Simon and Garfunkel reuniting for tour
- Perry Farrell Drops Lollapalooza Lineup Hints At SXSW
- Nirvana Catalog To Be Re-Released On Vinyl
- Dylan and Nelson To Join Mellencamp Tour?
- All U.S. Virgin Megastores To Close By June
- NIN | JA - Trent Reznor Announces New Free EP
- Eminem, Jimmy Page to Honor Rock Hall Class
- Jay-Z: 'Hip-Hop Has Done More Than Any Politician To Improve Race Relations'
- Top 10 Music Festival Moments
- Smashing Pumpkins Sheds Chamberlin; Billy Corgan Heads To Studio All Alone
- Phish Announces Second Wave of Summer Dates
- Big Boi Talks OutKast After Rowdy SXSW Gig
- Major artists are making concerts more affordable:
"I don't think anybody is looking around and going, 'Boy, I think I can sell out at $150 a ticket.' That's just not today's reality."
- However, a day after music lovers panned a new $6-per-ticket parking charge for shows at New Jersey's PNC Bank Arts Center, promoter Live Nation eliminated it from its Web site - only to pile it back on top of the basic ticket price
- New York Dolls Reunite With Todd Rundgren For New Album
- 7 Musicians Who Need a Hug
- The Unauthorized History Of Rapper Threats Against The Media
- Prince Plans 3 L.A. Shows In One Day To Launch New Albums, Website
- Metallica Pound SXSW With Greatest-Hits Set
- Woodstock's Michael Lang Seeking Sponsors For 2009 Festival In New York City
[Gratuitous Links & Pics]
Other News & Crap
- Protip: If you ask the cops to examine your laptop because you suspect your ex-boyfriend used it to search for kiddy pr0n, make sure to delete those videos of you getting it on with a beagle named Toby
Meet Michelle Owen (pictured right). Concerned that an ex-boyfriend had used her laptop to search for child pornography, the Indiana woman asked police to search the computer for illegal images, but had her plan backfire when cops discovered two videos of her engaged in illicit acts with a dog. Owen, 24, was charged last week with two felony bestiality counts in connection with the video files, which a detective found in the laptop's "recycle bin." At the time Owen asked cops to search the computer, she was locked up in the Johnson County Jail on a public intoxication charge (which violated the terms of her release in a prior drunk driving case)... a cop told Owen that he had found videos of her on the laptop and asked if she "knew what those files might be." Owen... replied, "The one with the dog." Cops believe that the dog in question, Toby, is a beagle. After asking if she was "going to be charged with this," Owen said that the videos "were just something she did when she was drunk and barely remembers it," adding that she tried to "delete them the next day when she was sober."
Rihanna has split from boyfriend Chris Brown because of his refusal to fire the manager that reportedly sent him a booty call text the night of their infamous fight, a source told Access Hollywood.
- ....But there might be Sex Tapes?
- The Crackie of Camden returned to her old snorting grounds Wednesday night for a nut of tricks, dicks and crackery!
- One of the most memorable -- and hated -- finalists from "Project Runway" is behind bars right now for allegedly fashioning a weapon out of a living, breathing, meowing cat ... and firing it at her ex-fiance
- Justin Timberlake To Launch a New Tequila
- Jessica Lange Injured in Fall
- Don Cornelius just pled no contest to one count "corporal injury resulting in traumatic condition of a spouse" for the beatdown of his estranged wife Victoria back in October
- Octuplet Mom: I'm "Using Denial" to Cope With Life
- Harrison Ford & Calista Flockhart: Engaged!
- Ed Westwick Jokes About Kissing Drew Barrymore
- Christina Ricci & Owen Benjamin: Engaged!
- Usher celebrates wife's recovery..... with strippers
- Marilyn Manson wants Dita Von Teese back
- Marc Jacobs Engaged To Lorenzo Martone
- Charlie Sheen's wife gives birth to twins
- Vin Diesel dropped by his publicist for diva behavior
- Kristin Chenoweth talks about her whacked out experiences off-Broadway
- Dane Cook's half-brother indicted for stealing millions from him
- Kanye West Charged with Three Misdemeanors in Paparazzi Scuffle
- Gwyneth Paltrow's life is so hard... So hard
- Lindsay Lohan is looking for work... and gets one step closer to porn
- John Mayer Is About To Say What He Needs To Say In A Tell-All About His Relationship With Jennifer Aniston
- Stephen Colbert, master of masters, admitted that he has "twatted" before
- Reese Witherspoon & Jake Gyllenhaal: Fendi Freaks
- Fred Durst Looks Back At His Relationship With Britney Spears
- Former adult film actress Jenna Jameson and her boyfriend, Tito Ortiz, welcomed twin boys Jesse and Journey Jett into the world
- Actor Tom Sizemore Investigated for Phone, Highlighter Heist
- Lisa Rinna severely overestimates the casting ability of car horns
- Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush Strip Down in New Photo Shoot
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