TCA Friday, 7/20

Today was CW day. Here's what Michael Ausiello and Matt Roush thought of it.

REAPER Preview

Here's what is sure to be my favorite show this upcoming season.

Other CW previews are at the link as well...

Odds and Ends

ABC is going to burn off the remaining episodes of The Nine in August. I'm happy. BTW: I finally watched the eps that aired, and I liked it. The pilot was one of the best I've seen.

Speaking of The Nine, former cast member Camille Guaty (who was also a Prison Break Maricruz) got cast in Las Vegas. I just may have to watch that show again...

Guaty's on the left.

The Bill Engvall Show's premiere was the third-highest rated basic cable sitcom telecast ever. Pray that it drops next week. That show is a turd-- even with Nancy Travis.

I picked up The Flash #13 where [spoiler alert], Bart gets killed by the Rogues. Kinda weird that the last issue I picked up was #1 when he became The Flash and the second I picked up, he gets killed. I didn't like the fact that DC made him The Flash a year ago (by aging him to an adult from a teenager during Infinite Crisis), and I also didn't like feeling that he was killed because sales of the book sucked. But the issue was pretty powerful-- even if I didn't understand everything going on. Bart sacrificed himself for personal as well as "world-saving" reasons, and that's about all a character can ask for in a death story. If there's any good that comes from it, it's that Mark Waid is back writing the newly repowered Wally West's Flash adventures.

I kinda wonder what's gonna happen to Tim "Robin" Drake. The kid loses his dad (killed by Captain Boomerang), friend/crush Spoiler (killed by Black Mask), best friend Connor/Superboy (killed by Superboy Prime) and now Bart (killed by The Rogues) all in the space of, maybe, 18 months of comic book time. Sounds like there is lots of potential for future Robin stories if DC plays its cards right. No way a teenager should brush off that kind of death surrounding him.

I may have to start picking up some titles again if my budget allows...

The Emmy Noms

Here we go. Some ones who should have been there, some who shouldn't, and some missing.
[admittedly, I did some cut-and-pasting from Matt Webb Mitovich's post.

Included are my takes; I won't write anything if I didn't watch the show-- usually. And I'm not trying to dis the ones I wasn't thrilled about (except Two and a Half Men), but sometimes I think some are nominated for a single episode when the entirety of a season is more of what I'm commenting on (Emmy's are won and lost by single episodes entered, not the whole season).

Outstanding Drama Series:
Boston Legal I like the show... but outstanding drama? Not this season.
Grey's Anatomy
Heroes
House
The Sopranos

Outstanding Comedy Series:
Entourage Mandatory
The Office Yep
30 Rock Came on at the end of the season, but isn't ready yet
Two and a Half Men Didn't watch it again this season, but have heard it sucked as much as it did when I actually wasted time on it
Ugly Betty I wish there was a "dramedy" nomination, but I guess it fits here-- and it does deserve praise

Outstanding Reality Series:
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

Outstanding Miniseries:
Broken Trail
Prime Suspect: The Final Act (Masterpiece Theatre)
The Starter Wife

Outstanding TV-movie:
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Inside the Twin Towers
Longford
The Ron Clark Story
Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series:
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Show with David Letterman
Real Time with Bill Maher Absolutely.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:
America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) Yes
Tina Fey (30 Rock) Sorry; not yet
Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) Her best work was dramatic-- but she did overcome bad storylines
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine) She's really underrated; her work on the drunk wedding episode was great
Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds)

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) Yes-- but lead actor?
Steve Carell (The Office) Yes
Ricky Gervais (Extras) Perfect in Season Two
Tony Shalhoub (Monk)
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) Again: didn't see it, but-- REALLY???

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:
Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl) Inspired choice, and very deserving
Jenna Fischer (The Office) I feel like such a heel because I love her, but I'm not sure she had enough going on this season
Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men)
Conchata Ferrell (Two and a Half Men)
Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) Deserving
Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:
Kevin Dillon (Entourage) Yes, yes, a million times yes
Jeremy Piven (Entourage) Has become an automatic selection
Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men)
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) Not as prominent as last season, but had real growth
Rainn Wilson (The Office) I'll take him, but there may have been others

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series:
Dixie Carter (Desperate Housewives) Yep
Laurie Metcalf (Desperate Housewives) Absolutely-- deserves the win
Elaine Stritch (30 Rock) Sure
Judith Light (Ugly Betty) Okay
Salma Hayek (Ugly Betty) Absolutely

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series:
Martin Landau (Entourage) Brilliant. FANTASTIC performance.
Sir Ian McKellen (Extras) Great work
Stanley Tucci (Monk)
Giovanni Ribisi (My Name Is Earl) Just under Landau in this category
Beau Bridges (My Name Is Earl) Good work; not sure if ithere wasn't someone more deserving

Lead Actress in a Drama Series:
Patricia Arquette (Medium)
Minnie Driver (The Riches)
Edie Falco (The Sopranos)
Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters) The show was a little too "actorly" at times, but fully deserves the nom
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)

Lead Actor in a Drama Series:
James Gandolfini (The Sopranos)
Hugh Laurie (House)
Denis Leary (Rescue Me)
James Spader (Boston Legal) Has done fine work before, but I think there could be someone better
Kiefer Sutherland (24)

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:
Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters) Good work, but I'm not sure...
Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy)
Chandra Wilson (Grey's Anatomy)
Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy)
Aida Turturro (The Sopranos)
Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos)

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:
William Shatner (Boston Legal) I love Shat, but he was better in previous seasons
Masi Oka (Heroes)
T.R. Knight (Grey's Anatomy)
Michael Emerson (Lost)
Terry O'Quinn (Lost)
Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos)

Guest Actress in a Drama Series:
Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy)
Elizabeth Reaser (Grey’s Anatomy)
Marcia Gay Harden (Law & Order: SVU)
Leslie Caron (Law & Order: SVU)
Jean Smart (24)

Guest Actor in a Drama Series:
Christian Clemenson (Boston Legal) Yes. Great work. Deserves the nom-- and the upgrade to full cast member for next season
Forest Whitaker (ER)
David Morse (House)
Tim Daly (The Sopranos)
John Goodman (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) Had a great arc.
Eli Wallach (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) The storyline he was in featured great work

Lead Actress in a Miniseries or TV-movie:
Queen Latifah (Life Support)
Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect: The Final Act)
Mary-Louise Parker (The Robber Bride)
Debra Messing (The Starter Wife)
Gena Rowlands (What If God Were the Sun)

Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV-movie:
Robert Duvall (Broken Trail)
Tom Selleck (Jesse Stone: Sea Change)
Jim Broadbent (Longford)
William H. Macy (Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King)
Matthew Perry (The Ron Clark Story)

Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV-movie:
Greta Scacchi (Broken Trail)
Anna Paquin (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee)
Samantha Morton (Longford)
Judy Davis (The Starter Wife)
Toni Collette (Tsunami: The Aftermath)

Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV-movie:
Thomas Haden Church (Broken Trail)
August Schellenberg (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee)
Aidan Quinn (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee)
Edward Asner (The Christmas Card)
Joe Mantegna (The Starter Wife)


Here are Michael Ausiello's and Matt Roush's takes on the nominations.

Thursday TCA

Here's Michael Ausiello's Tour Diary for CBS Day 2.

Not much more from today because of the Emmy noms...

More TCA stuff

Michael Ausiello's Tuesday TCA Diary: NBC Day 2.

And his Wednesday (Part One) Diary-- with How I Met Your Mother scoop: CBS.

And here is the CBS premiere schedule. HIMYM has its season premiere on my birthday. Can't think of a better present than my favorite show of last season premiering that night.

Matt Roush had this to say about the Bionic Woman and Chuck presentations and this to say about CBS' bold new lineup.

And Matt said this about AMC's Mad Men that premieres tomorrow night (Thurs, 7/19). Very high praise. Don't miss the show.

Okay, Now THIS is Pretty Cool

Check out the opening minute of the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed videogame trailer for a cool sequence.

Okay, Now THIS One is Really Wrong

I dare you to read this without having a Santa Claus voice in your head.

Another ONION bit

And sometimes The Onion does a piece that is just so wrong, you've got to laugh.

Check out the quote that dad has about Davey's web browsing.

The link is right here.

Congress Uncool

Click here for a funny The Onion bit about how uncool Congress has gotten.

I don't read the Onion enough. I just love some of the writing, and "articles" like that remind me to check it out more often.

NBC Press Tour Diary

TV Guide's Michael Ausiello can be a little too fan-boy (for a professional) at times, but he does do a great tour diary. Here are what his reactions to the NBC Press Tour presentations from today were.

Gotta say I really like the changes NBC made to its schedule. They have a much stronger lineup on some nights.

In other news, Mandy Patinkin got the boot/isn't coming back to Criminal Minds. That'd be the second time he's gotten off-- while playing the lead character-- a show due to being a prima donna (the other one is Chicago Hope).

And TV Guide's Matt Roush had these things to say. His post contains the great line: "Hmmm, I’m getting a vision of myself changing the channel."

I'm Gonna Show You My "Oh" Face...

Newsarama posted an early picture of the solicitation of Justice Society of America #10, which has a cover shot of the newest member of the team.

Looks like my favorite character from my favorite story of all-time is back after a decade: Superman from the Kingdom Come mini-series.

I stopped my comics subscriptions a year ago, but I HAVE to have this.

This, my dear readers, is what is known as a "geekgasm".

Van Halen Best Of

I know, I know. I threw down the Best Of Challenge here and then added a bit more at the end of this post but then have been silent the past six weeks.

Well, I was off doing homework. I pulled out all of my Van Halen tapes (for my car drive) and CDs and started listening. Some I haven't listened to in ten years, so I needed to get acquainted again.

The first thing I've gotta say is it's amazing how good this band is. The past decade has been filled with hard feelings, "dick moves" (usually by "Nice Guy" Edward), unfulfilled potential, stalled/abandoned reunions, nutty moves (dumping Mike for Wolfgang) and on and on. It's been really hard to remember that the music is what made me a fan. I guess the reason I and so many other people care about this band is because they are so good. They've played a big part of many peoples' lives. In fact, I'd rank them very near (or at) the top for influences on my life. Everyone needs something to latch onto when they're younger, and this band was something I latched onto.

Before I get to it, I thought I should tell the story of how I "got into" this band; mainly because it's pretty unusual. Back in 1987, at the tender age of 14, I watched Spaceballs in the theatre. There was this song that kinda drew my attention. I bought the Spaceballs Soundtrack not too long later and the song was on it: "Good Enough" by Van Halen.

Now I had heard of Van Halen; I mean, who hasn't? I'd heard much of their material as it's a staple of rock radio. But "Good Enough" was the right song at the right time for me; something clicked. I picked up 5150 (the album "Good Enough" was on) as well as Sammy Hagar's I Never Said Goodbye (the solo album he owed Geffen after he took the VH gig) and just fell right into obsession for the band.

Since then, I've accumulated nearly everything (legal) the band ever worked on as well as their singers (all of Hagar's stuff, almost all of Roth's, and almost all of Cherone's). And some of it was pretty costly (buying entire albums for just one song; paying $30 or more for import albums-- this is all before iTunes made it easier to complete a collection). For a time, I also picked up every magazine I could find that had a VH cover or article and still do buy them if there's enough new content (the "nice" thing about the band laying low the past ten years is there is a lot of repeat info in some of the magazines after all these years and thus, not necessary to pick up again).

Okay, okay, the Van Halen Best Of:

VH has put out two best of albums (Best Of Volume I and Best of Both Worlds), and I have to say they're pretty complete. I'd go with the 2-disc Best of Both Worlds as the one to buy as it really fills some holes that the 1-disc Volume I couldn't.

It contains (all are song titles-- I'm not "-ing them):


Eruption
It's About Time (new song w/Hagar)
Up For Breakfast (new song w/Hagar)
Learning to See (new song w/Hagar)
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Finish What Ya Started
You Really Got Me
Dreams
Hot For Teacher
Poundcake
And the Cradle Will Rock...
Black and Blue
Jump
Top of the World
(Oh) Pretty Woman
Love Walks In
Beautiful Girls
Can't Stop Lovin' You
Unchained

Panama
Best of Both Worlds
Jamie's Cryin'
Runaround
I'll Wait
Why Can't This Be Love
Runnin' With the Devil
When It's Love
Dancing in the Street
Not Enough
Feels So Good
Right Now
Everybody Wants Some!!
Dance the Night Away
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (Live-- w/Hagar)
Panama (Live-- w/Hagar)
Jump (Live-- w/Hagar)


Hey, that was pretty easy. Don't know what took me so long.

Okay, I can't cheat on my own "challenge". While Best of Both Worlds is about as complete as one can expect, there are some missing tracks that someone who may want to dig a little deeper into the band should check out. Let's call it a "bonus disc".

For the record, I'm referring to C.J. Chilvers' book The Van Halen Encyclopedia for some of my more obscure observations (I'll note when I use the book).

The tracks would be:

1. "Bottoms Up!", Van Halen II. Just a fun song; sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

2. "Take Your Whiskey Home", Women and Children First. Good acoustic intro by Edward and then into the full electric band.

3. "Could This Be Magic?", Women and Children First. One of my favorite Roth-era songs. Just a fun, playful tune I relate to quite a bit. Chilvers' notes: this song is the first time Edward used slide guitar on an album, Roth accompanied him with an acoustic guitar, and Nicolette Larson returned the favor of Ed performing on her 1978 album by providing backup vocals-- the first (and one of very few) guest performer on a Van Halen album.

4. "Mean Street", Fair Warning. A great intro by Edward that falls into a killer riff. A pretty dark song for the band at the time.

5. "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?", Diver Down. I just like the tone of this Kinks cover-- and it was short enough that it just fit in the 80 minutes I had.

6. "Top Jimmy"; 1984. Another great intro by Ed and then the band just keeps it going. Chilvers notes that the song was recorded with a Ripley Stereo guitar, only the fourth in existence at the time. Ed never said what tuning it's in; he just tuned the guitar to the melody in his head. Another note is the song is named after a real Top Jimmy who used to play the clubs in L.A. and then gave out free tacos to homeless people after his shows (he worked at Top's Tacos before he took up music).

7. "Good Enough," 5150. Nice, "crunchy" guitars by Edward, and, like I said, it's got special meaning for me.

8. "Summer Nights", 5150. A great song that means nothing more than having fun in the summer. Like many of Hagar's early "fun" tracks, you can just picture hanging out with friends in the woods or a beach and partying to this song. It's also the first song the new (at the time) band (Sammy, Edward, Alex, and Mike) jammed to and wrote.

9. "The Dream is Over", For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Just like the tune and the chorus.

10. "Don't Tell me (What Love Can Do)", Balance. Ed had a fantastic tone to this song. I'm actually surprised it didn't make Best of Both Worlds. Chilvers notes Sammy wrote it with Kurt Cobain's death in mind.

11. "Humans Being", Best Of Volume I. This song switches back and forth with "Dreams" as my favorite Van Halen song. Edward went all-out with this one; I believe this song marked a turning-point in his playing that led to his work on Van Halen 3. Sadly, this was the song that pretty much shattered the already fractured relationship between Edward and Sammy. Not long after it was released, we found out that Hagar left the band/got booted (depends on who tells the story). Sammy didn't want to write any songs for a Best Of album or a movie soundtrack (the song is featured in the movie Twister), so this was a contentious song to say the least. But it rocks hard, so it has to be here.

12. "Can't Get This Stuff No More", Best Of Volume I. A "grown-up" Roth song recorded for the album after Hagar was out of the band that still has the feel of a Roth-era tune. Chilvers notes it's the first (and only) time Edward used a Talk Box; it had to actually be run by his guitar tech because Ed's mouth wasn't big enough to run it himself.

13. "Me Wise Magic", Best Of Volume I. A continuation of Edward's progression after "Humans Being". This time, Roth gets to sing with the inspired guitars in the first of his "reunion" songs featured on the albums. Very mean riff during the verses by Edward is a classic.

14. "Without You", Van Halen 3. Probably the biggest crime of Best of Both Worlds is this (or any VH3 songs) is missing from the album. Some of Edward's best inventiveness since the early '80s was featured on this record that is too easily forgotten by fans and the band itself. Anyway, this is the first song we got to hear from the Cherone-era, and I thought it rocked; it's nearly perfect from beginning to end. Chilvers notes Edward wrote the lyrics and also used a quarter instead of a pick on the guitar.

15. Fire in the Hole, Van Halen 3. Edward's opening riff sounds like a helicopter and is pretty impressive. It's another song that just rocks.

Bonus track: 16. Mine All Mine (Live), Live: Jump ep. I like the original, but this live version just cooks (which is unusual for me-- I tend to favor the original versions of most songs over the live versions). I also like Sammy's intro: "When it reallys comes down... all you have is you. You are number one. Each person is number one to himself." Chilvers also notes the song is an anti-drug one (which may or may not be true as Hagar has not been shy about the fact that he likes to smoke the bud).

Bonus track: 17. Crossing Over, Balance (Japanese version) or the B-Side of "Can't Stop Lovin' You". Right below "Dreams" and "Humans Being" as my favorite Van Halen song. I love the sound. It's a pretty powerful for song me; I actually "wrote"-- in my head-- a comic book story using the song as inspiration. Chilvers notes that Edward wrote and recorded part of the song in 1983 after the suicide of a friend and revived the song after long-time manager Ed Leffler died in 1994. Edward also plays parts of the drums and sings parts of the vocals on the track on the left channel and Sammy's vocals and Alex's drums are on the right track.


Okay. That was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I forgot how hard putting together these "mix tapes" can be (I used to do tons to listen to while driving back in high school). And I had it pretty easy because the vast majority of "must include" songs were already included on Best of Both Worlds. Maybe I'll have to do a bare-bones Van Halen Best Of that fits on a single CD in the future as a bit of masochistic torture...

And I'm not done. Part of my homework was also to compile a Best of Edward (an "Essential Eddie" if you will) CD, and I'll be posting that one in (probably) a few weeks. (I still have his "guest appearance" stuff to sort out). That one will, for sure, be at least 2 discs-- the guy is freakin' amazing.

Premieres and Notables July 16-22

Monday, 7/16

Today we have some great examples of "cart before the horse" celeb shows. Are they airing because we give a crap-- or do we give a crap because they're airing? I'd recommend not giving a crap at all, and maybe they'll disappear.

Chelsea Lately; E!. 10:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Just what we needed-- yet another show that focuses on celebrity tabloid journalism. This one is a little different because the host, the star of Girls Behaving Badly, Chelsea Handler, is not a "big fan" of the more ridiculous "stars" out there. Could be interesting, but also could just be a show where everyone is attacked. It airing on E! leads me to believe it'll be the latter.

Victoria Beckham:Coming to America; NBC. 7 pm. Special.
I've got nothing against Becks and Posh, but I am starting to get the feeling that they're being shoved down our throats.

Beach Patrol; Court TV. 7 pm. Season Premiere.
This Cops-on-the-beach show sounds terribly interesting.
Okay, it doesn't...


Tuesday, 7/17

Just For Laughs; ABC. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
Candid Camera-ish show imported from Canada.

It's Not Easy Being Green; Sundance. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
British suburbanites move into a dilapidated farmhouse and try to "live green".

The Bill Engvall Show; TBS. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
On one hand, we have Nancy Travis, who I just love. On the other, we have Bill Engvall, just one of the Blue Collar guys who has overstayed his welcome.

Without Prejudice; GSN. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
Five contestants fight for $25,000 with the help of a panel of strangers who rely on first impressions and prying questions to determine who gets the cash.


Wednesday, 7/18

America's Next Producer; TV Guide. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
One more reality-contest show; this time the winner gets a shot at creating the next TV hit. I don't have high hopes for it, but I like TV Guide critic Matt Roush, who is one of the judges, so I'll watch.

Really Big Things; Discovery. 7 pm. Season Premiere.
The second season of the show that looks at big things begins.

Back to the Grind; TV Land. 9:30 pm. Series Premiere.
Classic TV stars get opportunities to do the actual jobs of the characters they're most famous for. In the pilot, Loni Anderson works as a radio-station receptionist and Erik Estrada rides with the Highway Patrol.
Is this officially the bottom of the barrel?


Thursday, 7/19

Mad Men; AMC. 9 pm. Series Premiere.
A look at the politically-incorrect behind-the-scenes world of 1960s advertising. I think I read somewhere that it's something like 8-9 episodes, so it's not a big commitment.
Every critic I've read says this is must-see TV-- one of the summer's best (I know: not much competition there)-- so I'll say it too: highly recommended.


Friday, 7/20

Set For Life; ABC. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
Jimmy Kimmel hosts this game show where the winner gets monthly checks for the rest of his or her life.


Saturday, 7/21

Beckham-mania continues on ESPN, where they air a special (David Beckham: New Beginnings) at 6:30 that recaps his playing this year so far before it airs an exhibition game between his L.A. Galaxy and England's elite Chelsea team at 7:30.
Much like the question about trees falling the woods: if David Beckham scores a goal in a soccer game in America, does anyone give a shit? I'm not dissing the guy, but I think he's got a little too much pressure on him to "save" the sport in America.

Hex (BBC America, 8 pm) has its series finale.


Sunday, 7/22

The Kill Point; Spike. 8 pm. Series Premiere.
John Leguizamo stars as a criminal who leads a bank heist, and Donnie Wahlberg is the hostage negotiator who has to diffuse the situation. Doesn't sound great, but Wahlberg has made me a fan since Boomtown, so I have to check it out).

Shopping With Chefs; Fine Living. 7 pm. Series Premiere.
Chefs reveal shopping tips to help stock your kitchen with the best ingredients/materials.

Design Star; HGTV. 9 pm. Season Premiere.
Season 2 begins.

And, on Entourage (HBO, 9 pm), Walsh has to try to patch things up with "Suit" (that'd be Eric, or just "E"). I expect that won't go down well.