Tag: TV

Random Thoughts on The Newsroom Season 2, Episode 2

This week I’m posting my observations on The Newsroom after three viewings instead of the 11 I had for episode one. Ha! It was a decent episode, but far from one of the show’s best. There’s still a lot of setup going on. Still, there were some nice moments and an excellent song closed out the show. Here are some random thoughts on  the second episode of The Newsroom.

Anchorman: One of the things I forgot to mention last week was the first episode of The Newsroom season 2 made me think of Anchorman. Will was goofing off a bit and had some Ron Burgundy moments. The substitute senior producer is named Jerry Dantana, which sounds similar to Brian Fantana. Coincidence?!? Probably. Okay, moving onto this week’s episode….

Sloan Becomes Olivia: In this episode the normally brilliant-but-socially-awkward Sloan Sabbith was more like the wretched actress that plays her (Lisa Olivia Munn) — conniving and manipulative. She clearly wants Don and is helping Don’s ex-girlfriend Maggie move on. Her ulterior motives are thinly veiled, but Maggie is too frazzled and self-absorbed to notice. I hope this storyline develops to reveal that beneath Sloan’s formidable intellect and goofy charm, she’s a terrible person inside.

The Passion of the Don: Mr. Keefer spends most of this episode trying to get more coverage for the Troy Davis case. He cares deeply about the situation and the man. It consumes him and he’s frustrated that he can’t do more to help clear a man that he believes is innocent. Last week we got Nice Guy Don, which I wasn’t sure about. This week we got Passionate Don, which is an improvement. Still, I’m anxious for the return of Sardonic Dick Don. That guy rules.

Maggie Gets Caught: Everyone’s favorite flustered pixie (not mine) was in damage control this week. Her life has been rearranged because of a YouTube video and she’s frantically trying to cover her lying ass. It all backfires and she’s called out (by her much hotter roommate and best friend Lisa) for being a liar. I loved how coldly Lisa tore her up. Lisa was completely right…and so sexy when she’s angry. Also, Maggie gets her assignment to cover a story in Uganda, paving the way for her to get messed up by Kamala or something.

Jim Mopes: Captain Whiny is still running away from his problems on the Romney bus. He’s developing a strange relationship with another embedded journalist, played by Grace Gummer. She alternates between goofing on him and showing concern. I couldn’t really tell because I was distracted by Gummer’s resemblance to her famous mother.

Slumdog Millionaire Goes to Jail: The adorably earnest Mr. Sampat gets mocked for pitching an Occupy Wall Street story when the first wave of protests ends up being a trickle. He lucks his way into some awesome footage of cops getting violent with the protesters, ends up in jail, and delivers a funny line about prison changing a man (he was locked up for roughly one hour).

Will’s Mini-Explosion: News Night’s main man didn’t carry this episode narratively, but displayed the heart of the show. On the outside he’s gruff and obnoxious, but if you keep chipping away at the numerous layers of Will McAvoy then you’ll find a sensitive man the cares deeply about American and wanting it to change. It all comes to a head when he goes to the police station to bail out Slumdog Millionaire. He explodes on a police officers, mostly for reasons that have nothing to do with the situation.

Please Don’t Stop the Music: I’ve always loved the show’s use of music. I loved that it used Radiohead’s “High and Dry” in an early episode of season 1 (episode 2?). This episode is capped by Willie Nelson’s “You Were Always on My Mind.” It worked so well for the multiple storylines — a great song that helped improved an otherwise okay episode of The Newsroom.

Coffee Talk #596: Your Favorite Comic-Con 2013 Happenings

Comic-Con 2013 — or as it’s known in some circles, Nerd Heaven — is over! There were tons and tons of geeky announcements, trailers, and news bits. Some of the highlights include:

  •  Man of Steel 2 being a Superman/Batman movie
  • The Avengers 2 being an Age of Ultron movie
  • A lengthy and awesome Kick-Ass 2 trailer
  •  Lots of information on X-Men: Days of Future Past

    • …more

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, A-Rod’s unfortunate (not really) quadriceps injury, your favorite summer fruit, or slogging your way through mediocre coffee beans, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Comic-Con 2013 — or as it’s known in some circles, Nerd Heaven — is over! There were tons and tons of geeky announcements, trailers, and news bits. Some of the highlights include:

  •  Man of Steel 2 being a Superman/Batman movie
  • The Avengers 2 being an Age of Ultron movie
  • A lengthy and awesome Kick-Ass 2 trailer
  •  Lots of information on X-Men: Days of Future Past
  •  Sweet details on The Amazing Spider-Man 2
  •  More footage from Thor 2
  •  More footage from Captain America 2
  •  The first glimpse of WWE Batista as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie
  •  The trailer for Cosmos, a new version of the excellent Carl Sagan show hosted by Neil de Grasse Tyson
  •  Updates on A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones season 4

What got your inner nerd fired up at Comic-Con 2013? What got you worried?

As for me, I was totally jazzed by the return of Cosmos and I loved the Kick-Ass 2 clip. I really didn’t like Joss Whedon strongly hinting that Hank Pym will not be part of Ultron’s origin in The Avengers 2. Yeah, there are ways to write around that like altering Ultron’s origin so that it’s an accidental creation by Tony Stark or S.H.I.E.L.D., but as a longtime comic-book nerd, I can’t buy that. The identities of Ultron and Hank Pym are tied together. Yes, I understand that it frees up The Avengers 2 and the upcoming Ant-Man movie, but it just…feels wrong.

Now it’s your turn! Fire away with your Comic-Con 2013 thoughts in the comments section (please!).

Random Thoughts on The Newsroom Season 2, Episode 1

Now that I’ve watched it more than 11 times, I’m ready to write some random thoughts about the first episode of season two of The Newsroom. In case you haven’t guessed, I’m still enchanted by the show, despite the fact that Bolivia Bunn is in it. Yes, she’s still terrible, but the show is still wonderful. Anyway, here are some musings on the first episode. Please chime in with your own in the comments section!

Salami Wrapped: The show kicks of with our hero, Will McAvoy, fielding questions from ACN’s lawyer, played by the fantastic Marcia Gay Harden. The crew is in legal trouble over the reporting of a black-ops mission called Genoa. Apparently genoa is a type of staysail. Since I have zero knowledge of sailing (other than that rich people and pirates enjoy it), the first thing I thought of was salami. Whether it’s salami or sail, the Genoa ordeal frames the season, with episodes revealing how the scenario developed, peaked, and went to hell. Writer Aaron Sorkin loves skipping around in time and he’s very good at it. Some see this device as Sorkin going back to the well, but as a fan I’m going to chalk it up to using an effective and time-trusted tool (like the parenthetical statements I’m so fond of).

MacKenzie McHale is a Hot Spaz: Sorkin was criticized for writing this character as a flustered nitwit that also happens to be the executive producer of the show. In the first ten minutes of the episode, Mac shows off her producer chops by fixing two potentially huge problems with a broadcast in a matter of seconds. In the hands of a lesser producer, the broadcast would have been ruined, but Mac saved the day (or night, as it were, since their program is called News Night). After that, she spends most of the rest of the episode being a flustered nitwit.

The critics that panned Sorkin for making McHale such a spaz are now accusing him of overcompensating. *sigh* I don’t know what the problem is; I totally believe that Mac is a sharp and capable woman that’s also romantically inept and sometimes socially disastrous. I fell in love with her character last year because Emily Mortimer made her strong, smart, and dorky (plus that accent). I don’t know why some critics have a problem with the show pulling back the curtain and showing (dramatically embellished) technical problems that happen during a news broadcast. I love that more people know what Avid iNews is thanks to the first season of The Newsroom. I love that this episode showed some of the behind-the-scenes issues a television producer has to deal with. And most importantly, I love that Mac saved the day.

Will McAvoy Sings “Friday”: This role has redefined Jeff Daniels to me. He owns it and crushes it in every episode — so much so that I have a hard time watching him in movies like Pleasantville and Dumb & Dumber. His portrayal of Will McAvoy is angry, vulnerable, insecure, gruff, endearing, and charming all at the same time. Will goes through the full spectrum of McAvoy moods in this episode, but also adds some outstanding comedy. While Mac was putting out fires in the control room during a commercial break, Will was singing Rebecca Black’s “Friday.” I’m amazed that he managed to make one of the most wretched and annoying songs of 2011 so entertaining. That’s simply masterful work.

Don Keefer 180: Wow. What the hell happened to Don? Arguably the coolest cat at Atlantis Cable News (which is secretly owned by Aquaman, in my head), Keefer started off last season as an angry dick and ended it as being an angry dick that you’d like to drink beers with. While he still had some of his trademark snarky zingers in the episode, he spent a lot of it being a dashing and sensitive ladies man. He resists the temptation of Bolivia Bunn’s character and deals with a major issue with his girlfriend Maggie in the most unimaginably considerate way possible. I mean, I know nice guys that would have handled Maggie way worse than Don did. While I still dig the character and am curious to see how he changes, the way he dealt with the Maggie/YouTube situation was just unbelievable to me — especially when you consider that he’s suppose to the “dick” of the group.

Maggie Goes Pixie: One of the early hooks in the show was Maggie interrupting Will’s legal interrogation. Her hair has been chopped off and she has a damaged aura about her. This is not the blonde, farm-fresh girl many viewers loved from last year. ACN lawyer Rebecca Halliday went as far as saying that she looked like “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Apparently something awful happened to Maggie while she was reporting in Uganda. When the episode flashes back, she’s still the farm-fresh girl the audience is familiar with. Viewers are going to be wondering what the hell happened to Maggie in Uganda. Superficial viewers are going to wonder why she chose to dye her hair red. Perverted viewers will be wondering if red is her natural hair color and if the curtains match the drapes.

Charlie Skinner Rules: Sam Waterston’s character seems like the coolest drunken executive that ever lived. He’s the hard-ass that you dream about working for. Viewers love the character for his show-stealing scenes and episode-stealing lines. In this episode, he had several snappy Sorkin-esque lines, but they merely seemed like better quips than what everyone else had, rather than those awesome Skinner showstoppers from last year. Still, the character and actor are brilliant.

Jim Harper Goes Emo: While Don was the character male viewers wanted to drink with, Jim was the one they wanted to beat up. After getting his heart vivisected by Maggie, James Tiberius Harper (not his actual name) is having a hard time getting over his heart’s desire and being her boss. He volunteers for a crap assignment as an embedded journalist on the Romney campaign. Mac, being all too familiar with heartache, agrees to let her senior producer do a job that’s suited for a freelancer. Between his mopey sadness and pussified fleeing, you just want to punch Jim (mostly because he’s behaving in a way you can totally identify with). A real man (Don) would have fired Maggie and/or slept with her best friend. Jim runs away on the Romney bus (like I would have done).

Neal Sampat: I’m awfully fond of this character. He’s a dopey idealist that’s also a tech nerd. He’s also brown. Oh wait, no wonder I dig him. Anyway, I’m glad that Slumdog Millionaire is getting an early angle with Occupy Wall Street. All signs point to him falling for one of the Occupy organizers and getting thrown in jail. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all pans out for young Neelamani (it means the blue jewel).

Where’s Tess Westin?!?: The biggest problem with this episode was that there wasn’t any Tess. Hopefully this changes. Fast. Margaret Judson’s so sexy.

Sloan Sabbith…I Guess: It pains me to say this, but Olivia is really good in this show. Her character is sexy, funny, genius-level smart, and socially inept. Remember, that’s her character. Never forget that Olivia Munn is one of the worst people in Los Angeles…and quite possibly the world.

Mika Brzezinski Loves Russell Brand! (Morning Joe)

Here’s an excellent clip from Morning Joe featuring two of my favorite people in entertainment: Russell Brand and Mika Brzezinski. As many of you know, I have a man-crush on Brand and a…uhm…crush-crush on Ms. Brzezinski. The clip shows Brand as this best — funny, intelligent, and utterly charming. It’s funny how his act goes over with Brzezinski; at first she doesn’t know what to make of Brand, then she gets a little uncomfortable, and by the end of the clip she’s charmed (despite being called a “shaft grasper”). This is the Russell Brand that I believe is on the cusp of unforgettable greatness.

El Generico Debuts on NXT as Sami Zayn

As an indie-wrestling fan, I’ve watched a bunch of El Generico matches at Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerilla events. As many of you know, I was a big mark for Claudio Castagnoli’s indie work. With those factors in mind, it was cool watching Claudio and Generico duke it out as Antonio Cesaro and Sami Zayn on the last episode of NXT (highlight clip below). While Claudio has shown that he can be a WWE star, I’m not quite sure about Generico’s future. Part of it is that I’m used to seeing him wrestle in a mask as The Generic Luchador and it’s just weird seeing him without it. While he has strong in-ring skills and good charisma, I’m not sure if his talents mesh with WWE creative. Like Claudio, CM Punk, and Bryan Danielson, I’ll be rooting for him.

Check out the highlights of Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn below and let me know what you think of the new El Generico. Can you see him as a full fledged WWE Superstar?

Jimmy Fallon’s Game of Desks

Here’s a fun sketch from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that blends Game of Thrones with the “late shift” hosting politics. As many of you know, Fallon is taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2014. While I’m excited for the change and hopeful that Fallon’s crew continues to nerd it up (love the tech and gaming content), there are some that aren’t thrilled with the latest late shift. Some are Conan O’Brien fans that are still angry over the last hosting debacle with Jay Leno. Some are Seth Meyers fans that want him manning The Tonight Show desk. This sketch touches on those issues…and also brilliantly casts The Roots as a pastiche of the Night’s Watch. Check it out and let me know what you think (please!).

Coffee Talk #586: Villains With Villainous Names

[Seinfeld Mode] Did you ever notice that some comic book, movie, and television bad guys have names that make it completely obvious that they’re bad guys? [/Seinfeld Mode] What’s up with that? Are these guys and gals predestined to be evildoers? Or did they legally change their names while sufferings delusions of grandeur (see Hellwig, Jim). Star Wars is especially guilty of this, particularly The Clone Wars cartoons. Look at some of the villains that threatened the universe a long time ago in a galaxy far far away: General Whorm Loathsom, Savage Opress, Moralo Eval, Cad Bane, etc. There might as well be a Star Wars baddie name Evel McEvelson.

One of my favorite villains with a villainous name is…more

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the lead-up to the French Open, the end of the frauds known as the NY Knicks, or Lady Gaga in Machete Kills, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

[Seinfeld Mode] Did you ever notice that some comic book, movie, and television bad guys have names that make it completely obvious that they’re bad guys? [/Seinfeld Mode] What’s up with that? Are these guys and gals predestined to be evildoers? Or did they legally change their names while sufferings delusions of grandeur (see Hellwig, Jim). Star Wars is especially guilty of this, particularly The Clone Wars cartoons. Look at some of the villains that threatened the universe a long time ago in a galaxy far far away: General Whorm Loathsom, Savage Opress, Moralo Eval, Cad Bane, etc. There might as well be a Star Wars baddie name Evel McEvelson.

One of my favorite villains with a villainous name is Thaal Sinestro. Once the greatest Green Lantern in the universe, Sinestro betrayed the Green Lantern Corps, fought them as a rebel, and eventually formed the menacing Sinestro Corps. Did the Guardians of the Universe not see this one coming? Dude’s name is Sinestro! The word “sinister” is part of his frickin’ name. It would be one thing if Connie Congeniality betrayed the Guardians and the Corps, but the guy with sinister in his name? Of course he was going to go turncoat.

Yes, I realize that some of these guys have evil names in order to help younger readers and viewers figure out that they’re evil. But what about the people they fight, backstab, etc.? Shouldn’t they know better? In the immortal words of Chaz Michael Michaels, it’s “mind bottling.”

Anyway, who are some of you favorite villains with villainous names? Kindly leave your choices in the comments section!

Coffee Talk #585: Austin Aries, Christy Hemme, and Fines

TNA Wrestling’s Austin Aries has been fined for an on-air incident with announcer Christy Hemme. On the last episode of Impact Wrestling, Hemme announced the wrong tag-team while Aries and partner Bobby Roode were making their way to the ring. A-Double played up his heel persona by getting in Hemme’s face, telling her to announce the correct team, and eventually putting his crotch in her face. TNA president Dixie Carter tweeted that the company “has ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior.” According to TMZ, Aries has been…more

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the dreaded triumvirate of physical pain, flu, and stomach problems, Koreatown’s new vape shop, or Google I/O happenings, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

TNA Wrestling’s Austin Aries has been fined for an on-air incident with announcer Christy Hemme. On the last episode of Impact Wrestling, Hemme announced the wrong tag-team while Aries and partner Bobby Roode were making their way to the ring. A-Double played up his heel persona by getting in Hemme’s face, telling her to announce the correct team, and putting his crotch in her face. TNA president Dixie Carter tweeted that the company “has ZERO tolerance for inappropriate behavior.” According to TMZ, Aries has been slapped with a “severe fine.”

Some of the Internet reactions have been harsh. Some have accused Aries of bullying and sexual harassment. That seems ridiculous to me. Aries is a heel — a pro-wrestler that’s acts like a villain. He’s playing a part. This is, after all, a character that refers to himself as, “The greatest man that has ever lived.” Of course he’s going to get annoyed and act like a dick when the announcer botches his entrance. Hemme’s mistake was insulting, so Austin Aries — the character — insulted her in retribution.

A few people have compared the situation to Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) getting fired from the WWE for choking announcer Justin Roberts with a necktie. Certainly there are similarities, but ultimately both punishments were stupid. That said, I understand WWE’s stance more than I do TNA’s. WWE has been upfront about making its programming “PG.” Danielson crossed a (vague) line and was unemployed for a short time before being rehired by WWE. As far as I know, TNA doesn’t have the self-imposed restrictions that the WWE has.

While Aries’ actions were improved, a crotch to the face isn’t the worse thing wrestling fans have seen. Triple H once simulated necrophilia. Kane covered Jim Ross in gasoline and set him on fire. Paul Bearer was buried alive. From that standpoint, I don’t see what the big deal is here. Some are claiming that Hemme was put in an uncomfortable situation. I would completely agree with that…if Aries and Hemme weren’t characters that were part of a show. While I don’t condone men shoving their crotches in women’s faces, the act made sense for the Austin Aries persona. They’re actors on a stage, not accountants in an office.

Obviously I’m biased. Some of you are aware that I know and like Dan Solwold, the gentleman that portrays Austin Aries. As a friend, I’m supposed to stand by him when he’s wrong. The thing is, I really don’t think he did anything wrong. Of course, I’d love to hear your take on the matter. Do you think that Austin Aries crossed a line? Was the alleged “severe fine” by TNA appropriate? Or do you agree with me and think that it’s ridiculous that an actor is being punished for playing his part? Do you think this is all an elaborate angle that will help TNA, Aries, and Hemme get some mainstream press? Am I part of the angle? Shout it out in the comments section (please), but don’t put your crotch in my face or I will fine you.

Mike Tyson Mysteries Coming to Adult Swim

Former boxing heavyweight champion “Iron” Mike Tyson is headed to Adult Swim in Mike Tyson Mysteries. Armed with a magical tattoo and a pigeon, Tyson will be featured in weekly 15-minute episodes later this year. Here’s the official description from the press release:

Mike Tyson Mysteries — In the new animated comedy series Mike Tyson Mysteries, Mike Tyson is taking the fight from the boxing ring to the streets…by solving mysteries! Armed with a magical tattoo on his face and a trusty associate by his side — a talking pigeon — if you have a problem that needs solving, Iron Mike is in your corner. The series incorporates live-action appearances featuring Mighty Mike himself, and the gloves come off as the former heavyweight champ and his fowl-mouthed partner gear up for weekly adventures as they put unsolved mysteries — like how to defeat a super computer at chess or why a famous author/werewolf can’t finish his novel — down for the count. Animated quarter-hour from Warner Bros Animation.

This show sounds like all kinds of awesome. It places one of the biggest sports icons of the ’80s and ’90s in an animated adventure that pays homage to his trademark tattoo, love of pigeons, and Batman-like detective skills. While I’ve had some fun debates with RPadholics over Tyson’s place in boxing history, there’s no denying that he’s one of the most fascinating and interesting athletes the world has seen in the last 30 years. Mike Tyson Mysteries adds to his cult of personality and amazing reinvention.

Tyson started out as a fierce young heavyweight, went onto become a controversial boxer known for biting off ear pieces and making threats to eat opponents’ babies, and later cracked people up in The Hangover movies. And here he is in 2013, as a lovable mystery-solving cartoon character with a pigeon sidekick. Remarkable.

Source

John McCain Calls For A-La-Carte Cable

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has introduced the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013, which calls for “a la carte” cable television and the elimination of sports blackouts. The aim is to give consumers more control — and hopefully lower total prices — over their cable bills by allowing them to buy the channels they want and ignore the ones they don’t.

One of the reasons cable and satellite television prices are so high is that companies bundle their offerings, often forcing consumers to pay for several channels they don’t want in order to get the ones that they desire. For example, there are many ESPN fans that don’t give a rats ass about Disney or AMC channels. Since Disney owns the whole lot, it strong arms cable and satellite providers into carrying all of them, passing the entire cost to consumers. Cable news channels are another example. While I enjoy and recommend watching both Fox News and MSNBC in order to hear what both sides are saying, each network has viewers that would never watch the other. Yet, the majority of those viewers are paying for both networks.

Here’s a clip from Senator McCain’s press release on the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013:

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013. This legislation has three principal objectives: (1) encourage the wholesale and retail “unbundling” of programming by distributors and programmers; (2) establish consequences if broadcasters choose to “downgrade” their over-the-air service; and (3) eliminate the sports blackout rule for events held in publicly-financed stadiums.

For over 15 years I have supported giving consumers the ability to buy cable channels individually, also known as “a la carte” — to provide consumers more control over viewing options in their home and, as a result, their monthly cable bill.

Excusing that period of time when he totally caved to the Tea Party, I’m generally a fan of Senator McCain. As a boxing fan, I love his work on the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. I’m totally digging what he’s doing with the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013. While I’m cynical enough to believe that cable and satellite lobbyists will squash the act, at least McCain is trying to do something about these companies (like crap bag Time Warner Cable) and bringing attention to the issue.

I’d love to hear what you think about the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013. Do you think it will accomplish anything? Fire away in the comments section (please)!

Source via The Verge