Here's Edward Van Halen's cameo in last week's season premiere of Two and a Half Men:
So, I thought it was great. Ed's not an actor, so he's on less than 30 seconds, plays a hot riff as you'd expect, and gets the best line of the episode (My VH pal Turd Ferguson said the next album should be named "Two Burritos and a Rootbeer Float". I agree.). Perfect appearance.
What wasn't so perfect: it was on this show. I went on an e-mail rant to Mr. Ferguson, which I'll copy-and-paste here because it needs to be said in public:
I remember really not enjoying Men after maybe the first or second season (and I never really did get into it even before then), and I have tried it once or twice a year (such as the CSI writer experiment) since, but this week's ep was brutal. I felt in pain when I watched it. Actual pain.
I like Jon Cryer. He seems to be a humble person who's grateful for his career, but he never should have won the Supporting Actor Emmy on Sunday. And then to say (or at least how I paraphrased it) that Sheen has been robbed by not yet having an Emmy was about the funniest thing said that night. Acting IS tough, and I'm sure Sheen works hard, but that show should be nowhere near the Emmys. Those guys shouldn't even be valet parking the limos at the Awards for being in Men.
I get the love these actors have for their parts-- especially lucrative parts that get high ratings-- but do they actually watch their show? A great actor in a terrible movie usually can't be blamed, but Sheen and Cryer have been on that show for years. They've got to have some show guidance control by now.
I just don't get how it's the #1 comedy. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the average American is a moron.
I just can't handle how bad this show is. It was fucking painful to sit through last week. I'm no snob (you saw some of the "29 favorite shows" I listed last week), but this show is garbage. Shame on you Neilsen people who flip to CBS Monday at 8 pm CST and don't have the common courtesy to change the channel while you puke from watching it, so it gets high ratings. For Shame!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Fave: The Wire 3: Sideways Cap
And the final clip of the day: the scene that made this show my favorite. It had NOTHING to do with the show or the storyline, but I could not pull my eyes from it after I watched it.
Fave: The Wire: Crime Scene
This is an early scene where I realized just how good this show could be.
An entire 4 minute scene with dialogue only consisting of variations on a single word. It was so brilliant, I didn't even realize what made it special until the scene was half over. Check of the direction and acting. An entire crime was solved without any discussion.
An entire 4 minute scene with dialogue only consisting of variations on a single word. It was so brilliant, I didn't even realize what made it special until the scene was half over. Check of the direction and acting. An entire crime was solved without any discussion.
Fave: The Wire: Series Opener
And now we're to my favorite show of all time.
A single clip can't do it justice, so I thought I'd just show the first scene of the first episode...
A single clip can't do it justice, so I thought I'd just show the first scene of the first episode...
Fave: Babylon 5: Londo Talks About Humans During the Earth-Minbari War
I really tried finding a clip of the beginning of this speech from the movie "In the Beginning" where a dying Londo describes the human race as being "loud". That was the moment I knew I'd love this show.
And love it I did. It remained my favorite TV show of all time (over ten years)-- until I watched The Wire last year.
This was the first show that really felt epic to me. It taught me what television is capable of: telling a story much bigger than it looked.
And love it I did. It remained my favorite TV show of all time (over ten years)-- until I watched The Wire last year.
This was the first show that really felt epic to me. It taught me what television is capable of: telling a story much bigger than it looked.
Fave: Real Time With Bill Maher: New Rules 8/14/09
I've mentioned this show before, so I won't get too into again. I don't always agree with Maher or his guests, but I appreciate how he really stands up for what he believes in. And yes, it helps that I agree with him more than I disagree with him. He gets good guests from both sides of the political and religious spectrums, and he asks them real questions and can get real answers.
And at the end of every episode, he offers up "New Rules". Some are funny, some are pretty mean, but they almost always need to be said, especially those that close out the show and start him off in his closing thoughts.
I could have included most any New Rules segment here, but I included one where he was tough on President Obama. Why? Because right wingers kept whining that he was too tough on that moron Bush, and I wanted to show that he'll call out anyone who doesn't do the job.
And at the end of every episode, he offers up "New Rules". Some are funny, some are pretty mean, but they almost always need to be said, especially those that close out the show and start him off in his closing thoughts.
I could have included most any New Rules segment here, but I included one where he was tough on President Obama. Why? Because right wingers kept whining that he was too tough on that moron Bush, and I wanted to show that he'll call out anyone who doesn't do the job.
Fave: Chappelle's Show: Rick James Pt 2
And here's Pt 2...
"What did the five fingers say to the face?"
"Cocaine is a helluva drug."
"Buy another one, you rich motherf*****."
"What did the five fingers say to the face?"
"Cocaine is a helluva drug."
"Buy another one, you rich motherf*****."
| Chappelle's Show | ||||
| True Hollywood Stories - Rick James Pt 2 | ||||
| ||||
Fave: Chappelle's Show: Rick James Pt 1
Chappelle's lunacy + Charlie Murphy's storytelling + Rick James contradicting nearly everything = One of the funniest bits of television I've ever seen.
I have the DVD sets, but I still HAVE to watch this bit every time I run across it.
I have the DVD sets, but I still HAVE to watch this bit every time I run across it.
| Chappelle's Show | ||||
| True Hollywood Stories - Rick James Pt. 1 | ||||
| ||||
Fave: Angel: "I Can't Seem to Care"
I liked Buffy The Vampire Slayer and was really enjoying Angel, until this scene. Then I loved Angel. It instantly became one of my Top Five shows ever with what you'll see next.
After a number of episodes where Wolfram Hart got the best of him, Angel decides to start playing by their rules with this scene. Chilling-- and unlike anything I had seen before in a TV protagonist.
I couldn't embed the clip, but here's a link to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gox181bN0-s
After a number of episodes where Wolfram Hart got the best of him, Angel decides to start playing by their rules with this scene. Chilling-- and unlike anything I had seen before in a TV protagonist.
I couldn't embed the clip, but here's a link to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gox181bN0-s
Fave: Kid Notorious: Kim Jong Il
Babylon 5 was the show that got me really into TV, but Kid Notorious (Comedy Central in 2003) was the comedy that got me digging into TV through the internet (even though it was almost unheard of for networks to post clips back then).
Sadly, very few clips exist on the internet (and none on DVD); Here's one of the few:
Sadly, very few clips exist on the internet (and none on DVD); Here's one of the few:
Fave: Boomtown: Season One ending
Probably the first all-around great show I ever encountered. Fantastic cast, wonderful writing, and a beautiful tone to it. The last three episodes of the first (and only one on DVD) season had me in tears more than once. It's accessible to anyone who can handle great TV and is highly recommended.
One of my Top Five shows ever.
One of my Top Five shows ever.
Fave: The Venture Brothers: Trouble in the Bathroom
Another show that has started to cool off for me (as it gets away from the core concept), but I still have lots of love for earlier episodes like this one from Season 2.
Only Hank and Dean could get into this kind of trouble on a double date.
Only Hank and Dean could get into this kind of trouble on a double date.
Fave: Bodies: Season 1, Ep 1, Pt 1
This was one of the first shows I bumped into when I got BBC America, and I was amazed by how dark it was. Doctors who didn't even care to remember patient names, fucked up records, covered their asses at all costs... Very, very dark.
I've included the the first part of the first episode because, like many 6-part BBC series, this one really works well as a whole piece (all six episodes). The ending of the season was a great way to complete the arc begun in the first episode one remains one of the most heroic moments I've seen in TV.
But before I get to it, I'd like to publicly ask: what the Hell happened to BBC America? When I first got it five or so years ago, it had Bodies, The Office, Green Wing, Rocketman, and Coupling, among others that I just loved (because they were nothing like the more stale American shows I had been watching). Now it's nearly all reality shit, and I barely watch it. It's a shame.
Diversion #2: why is BBC America holding out on us? We never got to see anything other than the first seasons of Bodies and Green Wing, and you can't buy Region 1 DVDs of them (they're limited to the England/European markets for the most part). Sad...
I've included the the first part of the first episode because, like many 6-part BBC series, this one really works well as a whole piece (all six episodes). The ending of the season was a great way to complete the arc begun in the first episode one remains one of the most heroic moments I've seen in TV.
But before I get to it, I'd like to publicly ask: what the Hell happened to BBC America? When I first got it five or so years ago, it had Bodies, The Office, Green Wing, Rocketman, and Coupling, among others that I just loved (because they were nothing like the more stale American shows I had been watching). Now it's nearly all reality shit, and I barely watch it. It's a shame.
Diversion #2: why is BBC America holding out on us? We never got to see anything other than the first seasons of Bodies and Green Wing, and you can't buy Region 1 DVDs of them (they're limited to the England/European markets for the most part). Sad...
Fave: Break from the faves: Prison Break, Simpsons Style
Ran across this one when I was searching for Prison Break clips.
Hadn't seen it before, and that scares me (where did I miss it?).
Hadn't seen it before, and that scares me (where did I miss it?).
Fave: Prison Break: Sexy T-Bag vid
Prison Break had its ups and downs, but it was the one show that really put me into high gear with television. It was the first show I actively went out to the internet to learn about (at least in Season One). There are plenty of great scenes (that I had an impossible time finding for this little "experiment")-- but most were great in the context of the series, and it was tough when I'm trying to distill a series into one or two clips.
So I'm going way off the rails here and posting a fan video about T-Bag; one of the most vile characters ever to be seen on network television.
So I'm going way off the rails here and posting a fan video about T-Bag; one of the most vile characters ever to be seen on network television.
Fave: Frisky Dingo 3: Xander Knows How to Treat the Ladies
I love how Xander treats Grace (who's a little crazy).
Fave: Frisky Dingo 2: "Check Me Out..."
One of my favorite lines is uttered when Xander hears Killface is getting a documentary...
Fave: Frisky Dingo: "That's Not a Pickle"
I loved the first season of Frisky Dingo, and this was one of the biggest reasons why:
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