Posts categorized “TV”

Wotta week! It was especially intense on the social front: there were two barbecues, an out-of-town visitor, and the three-part season finale of NBC’s Community!

And what a three-part finale it was! The first episode saw all the characters’ likenesses digitized into a 16-bit, side-scrolling video game world (not an 8-bit one as was commonly stated). I particularly enjoyed that all of the poses and motions for Jeff’s avatar were based very closely on Mega Man. The whole aesthetic was very much like Mega Man crossed with River City Ransom crossed with Doki Doki Panic.

I am so relieved that Community was picked up for a fourth season, even though by all accounts it will be a half-season and definitely the final season (unless some sort of miraculous ratings increase happens). Still, I think four seasons is just right for a show about a four-year community college.

#sixseasonsandamovie

If you haven’t seen NBC’s Community, well, why the eff not? It is my favorite show on the TeleVision right now, but it has been off the air for the past three months. Well, that changes tonight, Thursday March 15th, when a new episode of Community airs at 8:00!

Listen, I know you’re still mad at NBC because of the whole Conan fiasco, but don’t blame Community for the idiocy in charge of the network. But do get mad at the idiots who took this show off the air for three months!

What has happened in the months since idiots in charge of NBC unceremoniously dumped on the show? Lookit here:

And now that the show is back look what it has in store for you:

Seriously, if you’re not watching this show and loving it I don’t understand you. Find the episodes and catch up as quickly as you can, because Community will Chang your life for the better.

SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE!

Link of the Month:
Popped Culture
A delightful blog that specializes in the mashups of various pop-culture icons. For example, the recent Josey Wales & The Pussycats:

Album of the Month:
Open Mike Eagle: Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes
Just like I did last year, I’ve named Mike Eagle’s new album as my Album of the Month BEFORE it is released! Don’t worry, you won’t have to wait long; it’s released on Tuesday 6/7. Here’s a video to tide you over:

It’s gunna be suh-weeet.

UPDATE: Here it be!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rappers-will-die-natural-causes/id442636707

DVD of the Month:
The Middleman: The Complete Series
The Middleman was a small show that kinda slipped under everyone’s radar a few years ago. It quietly aired a dozen episodes on ABC Family, then disappeared. It’s a shame; it’s one of the geekiest, most gosh-darn fun shows I’ve seen in a good long while. It’s a TV show for people who love TV shows, Movies, and Comic Books. It was canceled before they got to make the final episode, so after you watch the series you should pick up the comic book they made of the finalé.

How is it that I have never heard of this show before? ME!? This is the kind of thing that I know about, and yet I had absolutely no idea.

Quark was a 1977, hour-long sci-fi comedy television series (with a laugh track even) that aired a grand total of 8 episodes before being canned. It was the brainchild of the legendary Buck Henry, who had previously created the Get Smart television show. You can watch one of the episodes in its entirety below (divided into 5 sections). This one is “May the Source Be With You” and is technically the 2nd episode, though it kinda serves as the unofficial 2nd Pilot episode.

Here’s more info on Quark at Wikipedia!

Link of the Month:
My Birfday
It’s my birfday next month. Here’s my Wish List. SHAMELESS PLUG.

DVD of the Month:
Max Headroom: The Complete Series
A unique and fascinating 1980s cyberpunk TV show, where the dominant technology is television broadcasting, not computers (though they do play their part). It’s truly a fascinating world where ratings are king, and your boss at the network is sometimes your enemy and sometimes your supporter. Unusual production design and strangely low-budget production values give this show a real alien feel. Not every episode is a hit, but there aren’t very many, and it is endlessly intriguing.

Game of the Month:
Sketch Online
Here’s the premise: imagine playing Pictionary over the internet with strangers, only there’s no board; just drawing. And you have to draw with your finger on a smartphone screen. It may not sound like it, but Sketch Online is ridiculously fun. Sure, every now and then you get some schmo who doesn’t play by the rules or draws something obscene, but for the most part everyone involved seems to actually be trying their hardest. Look for me online: my username is angrybeef (of course).

Link of the Month:
True American Dog
A site about Photoshopping animals into bizarre & surreal scenarios with a strangely patriotic theme? One of the most fun and strange image blogs to join the ranks of Selleck Waterfall Sandwich and THIS IS FUN TO MAKE A BLOG ON THE COMPUTER WEBSITE.

Album of the Month:
19 Action News: Zombie Christmas
A very well-made 4-song EP that re-imagines the holidays in a post-zombie-apocalypse world. After a spoken-word intro about the beginnings of the zombie infestation (caused by Black Friday shoppers), we go into an eerie and fascinating rendition of “I Heard the Bells” with air-raid sirens in the distance instead of bells. The album gives me a vibe like I’m hunkered down in my hideout, desperately scanning the airwaves for any transmission, when suddenly I manage to tune into these songs. Where are they coming from? Are there more survivors out there… somewhere?

DVD of the Month:
Community: The Complete First Season
One of the best sitcoms in years. Not only is it a show about a disparate group of people coming together as a family, but it is also simultaneously a show that goes out of its way to skewer that trope, and any other trope it can get its hands on. It’s my favorite kind of parody; it’s all played completely straight with impeccable comic timing from a fantastic ensemble cast that includes Joel McHale, Donald Glover, and Chevy Chase. Wait until you get to the paintball episode. Man-o-man.