Top Ten TV Tune Ins

Here are my current top ten favorite all time Television shows. Again, these are my choices and age matters, you can have your own opinion and write me if you like. My choices are heavy on comedy and sci-fi, with very little standard comedies. These can change as I remember other shows.

1. Lost
2. The Office - American Version
3. Battlestar Galactica - Re-imagined version
4. The X-Files
5. Star Trek: The Next Generation
6. Arliss: Tales of a Super Agent
7. The Family Guy
8. The Greatest American Hero (Guilty Pleasure)
9. Magnum PI
10. Soap

Then there are many shows from the 70s that would make up one top ten list, but I couldn't put them down as I grew up in the 80s and 90s.

Benson
The Love Boat
The Jeffersons
Mary Tyler Moore Show
Carol Burnett
All in the Family
Mash

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Entourage Finale

Finally watched the Entourage finale. All I can say is "VICTORY". Good for Johnny, finally getting the girl, though he took an extra day to do it - and I can't blame him, that was a small hotel room, and he did book and confirm the suite.

Harvey buys Medellin - will the release be the open of next season? Usually, the guys are jetting off to make a movie at the end of each season. Does this mean they are going to be making "SILO" now? Has E really learned how to produce and if so, will he ever be anything except Vinnie's manager?

It also looks like Ari is finally growing up. He actually missed his wife the last few episodes and made a deal like a man. Too bad everyone else blew it or gave up too much money and left them hanging. HBO has a hit and we can only hope it keeps building an audience.

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Summer Vacation is Over - Top 10 Bands of my Lifetime

So I missed some time it was Summer Vacation time, but now I am back and short but sweet is going to be the name of the game for all my blogs.

Here is the list of my favorite 10 bands. Not the best 10 ever, but my favorite 10. They are my favorites because I can listen to albums years after they come out or just like different songs. These are the choices I make, and you don't have to agree. You can have your own and let me know or post it here.

10. The Eagles
9. Van Halen (and Hagar)
8. U2
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. Third Eye Blind
5. The Police
4. Pearl Jam
3. The Beatles
2. Queen
1. Dave Matthews Band

I reserve the right to update this list on a yearly basis as some music doens't age so well and others get better or come up with new sounds. Obviously this does not include the Beatles or Queen as the "lead singers" are no longer with us.

And yes I know I left out Journey, Pink Floyd, Metallica, STP, Aerosmith and others, but I grew up on the above bands or love them now.

Catching up on past movies Part 1.

I started the blog this year, so lets review some of the biggest movies of the last 6 months and see where they lead. Since most of these will have sequels or will beget sequels I feel they are worth looking back on.

Ghost Rider – no one could be more perfect than the comic book loving Nicolas Cage (he named his son Kal-El) and this will have a sequel. Question; Is anyone better in “comic book” type and western movies as a supporting actor than Sam Elliot (Blade, Wyatt Earp)

Rocky Balboa – Okay, ignoring the fact Sylvester Stallone/Rocky is a little too old, this movie strongly exceeded all my expectations, though I do wish Little Marie and Rocky’s son could have been played by the original actors.

Casino Royale – A blonde Bond and who cares. Daniel Craig harkens back to the 70’s when men were men and stunts weren’t CGI. Similar to the Bourne series, this movie becomes a battle of wits and physical skills. The best part is the gag of Bond breaking into M’s codewords or house. Too bad we don’t find out what M stands for. If Craig stays long enough, he may become the top Bond and I am a Bondophile.

Eragon – definitely a sequel coming since it is the first of three books. Though we are still waiting for book number 3, this is in the vein of Harry Potter - kids love it, adults like me get a thrill also. The best thing was seeing Jeremy Irons be a good guy, rare if you follow movies in the last decade.

Alpha Dogs – Yes. Justin Timberlake can act, and mmm, the girls look good. Based on a true story, I was impressed by the story and the acting all around. Great movie but not uplifting. Highly recommended and can’t wait for some of these guys to work together again. Timberlake proves he can expand his repertoire past “Dick in a Box” and is ready to be a major actor following in the footsteps of

Over the Hedge – Animation that entertains children and adults is a tough balance, but they did it here. Whether it is due to story or the voice actors, I don’t know. However, in general a William Shatner monologue should be in every movie.

The Da Vinci Code – I didn’t want to see this in the movies, the book was too good, but I was impressed anyway. It was much better than expected, raked in the dough around the world, and the sequel is in the works.

Pirates of the Caribbean Part 3: Journey to the End of the World or the end of my wallet.

Johnny Depp plays his usual fantastic Jack Sparrow and I couldn’t wait for the pirate version of Ken Watanabe. What happened? A mythical goddess pops out of nowhere and fades into the see taking an extra half hour to cover all the story lines in a movie that was way too long. Without even a hint of this in the second movie, it was a lead anchor on the an incredible action movie.

Years ago we complained when movies were too long, now they are too long and no one says anything. A sequel doesn’t have to be longer than the movie before it, just good (hopefully better) and in itself a contained movie. No one wants to be disappointed so the studio throws in everything it can, but when that is just a Chinese buffet where we eat too much a lunch we are not in for a five star meal.

Knightly becoming a pirate queen in a twist of fate bought about by Sparrow was perfect, the multiple Jack Sparrow crew was great, the final whirlpool battle was fantastic. Why oh why couldn’t they have made this 20 years ago and cut anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and made us walk out going “WOW”. This phenomenon is also seen in Spiderman 3.

Would I recommend seeing this movie? If you liked the first two yes, but try to catch a matinee and save some money, or wait until the DVD comes out and watch it on a big screen TV and decide when you want to have an intermission.

David Chase - You got us....

Sopranos Series Finale

One word…WHAT. Okay so David Chase thinks he is an artiste but still needs/wants to leave the future open for a movie or miniseries back on HBO…so you don’t have to destroy your fans. We know you like the open ended ideas – see the Russian, Adriana, Carlo flipping, fine, but you could have tried to appease us.

No matter what happened, your original 13 episodes became 8 seasons and though the quality had an up and down feel, we were on a journey together. You had a year and a half to make a short season and give us a sense of closure but one last joke was left. How many people thought their Tivo, DVR, VCR, cable box died on them?

I loved 95% of the last episode. The problem is the 5% that wasn’t up to par, was horrible and drags down the rest. This 5% included AJ turning a 180 from a depressed man ready to fight a war after losing his car to laughing and eating chips with his girlfriend, the out of nowhere introduction of the FBI’s agents mistress, and the infamous last scene. Yes we are talking about it but not in a good way.

The last 3 episodes of the series could have made every negative review and thought fade, but all Chase did was make us wonder why nothing happened at the end. If David Chase comes out and says the “black” was Tony being shot and he is dead and no movie is ever made, then my thought may change, but a single gun shot sound could have made the ending relevant in a way we haven’t seen in forever. However, a lead character dying hurts syndication and we know both David Chase and James Gandolfini have never made money like this.

To be continued…

NBC Comedies

The Office - Go Ryan

You knew there would be a twist and Michael Scott returned as you would expect - with a horrible imitation of Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I'll be back...I am back...I am going nowhere" There is good and bad in that for all. And now we know why Ryan doesn't get coffee anymore. Too bad he is such a bad salesman. The biggest disappointment will be Dwight's.

As far as Jim and Pam go, he seems free. Did he just up and leave NY without letting Karen know. If so I can't wait for the season opener. He probably could have had the job as we know he has shown he is a great salesman and corporate wanted him to move up before. The best show on tv? If not, it has to be close.

Scrubs - to get married or not

No one can tell me that this shouldn't be the last season. From the beginning NBC has moved this off the wall comedy around and now that they are finally leaving it alone the cost is going up as most of the actors have been on the show from the beginning. Even the guest appearances have gone up in quality and we know that costs money.

Will Kim and JD have the baby - will it be healthy. What is the deal with Elliot? All comedies, and even dramas, built around unrequited sexual chemistry usually fail when the relationship is consummated. Can we go another season like this? I hope we get a conclusion and then move on. The characters have all grown and need to "get a life".

My perfect ending - Ted moves out of his Mom's house.

Heroes meets Shogun

Time for the Shogun DVD to be looked at, I didn't even know Masi Oka was in it. Awesome ending. Sylar alive but hurt, Matt and DL shot - no Lindeman to save them, too bad Peter (who is alive) hadn't met Lindeman. What is Angela Petrelli's power? Tell me already. From interviews we get a sense the Petrellis have lived, but everything else is in the open.

The cockroach on the manhole harkens back to the beginning of the season and we know Sylar will be back, but did he crawl away or get taken. At least Peter lives (he can heal) but we have the feeling from interviews that Nathan lives too. Did he throw Peter, gain more powers, get a shield of some sort?

All the heroes powers grew over the last few episodes, and George Takei shows he is more involved than before (in the flashbacks), and the next "volume" is called Generations. Will we find out about all the parents and the company, we are seeing some of it in the graphic novels on NBC.com which is something I recommend following all summer. Right now we are learning about the Haitian and the fact his dad had power.

The finale did everything it was supposed to: brought all the heroes together, showed the explosion, saved NYC (I live close so Yeah.), and set up next years plans. Unlike some other shows there is really no questions/theories floating around (See LOST), but we have a few.

Will Uluru show up?
What does the eclipse have to do with the show? Is it a red herring?
What is Angela Petrelli's power?

I can live with that. Can you? Give me your comments.

Jericho Season (Series) Finale

Oh my god what is going to happen next, helicopters, tanks, cancellation...I hate CBS...NUTS campaign and the show is a mid season replacement. Skeet Ulrich is back and if the 2008 ratings are good enough it will be back on as a full season show. I don't know if it will go that far but at least we aren't left hanging after one of the best and most thought provoking season finales of the year.

Last we left them Hawkins had the tank overlooking the tracks, Jake was in charge of the blockade, and unit of helicopters was flying over to the battle, then bang and the shooting starts. We know who died so far but who is next. Except for Hawkins and Jake, everyone is vulnerable. I think this show can only get better and with the extra time to prepare, the thrills can just go up.

Spiderman 3 and the Sequel Summer to Be

The full Spiderman 3 review is below, but first I have to talk about the crazy number of sequels this summer. So many that even the fact checkers at Newsday have the number wrong. In this weeks edition of Fanfare, Newsday said there were 13 sequels, by my count there are at least 16 and I list them below. If the title is Red, then I already saw it, if Green, then I will be going as soon as possible, the rest I may skip.

28 Weeks Later (May 13) - seeing this weekend.
The Bourne Ultimatum (Aug. 3) - no CGI here.
Day Watch (June 1) - Sequel to Night Watch, a low budget Russian
vampire/supernatural movie. Very cool
Evan Almighty (June 22) - no Jim Carrey, but I can live with Morgan
Freeman and Steve Carrel.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (June 15) - Jessica Alba
Fay Grim (May 18) - Sequel to Henry Fool
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July 13) - Last book comes out the following week.
Halloween (Aug. 31)
Hostel: Part II (June 8)
Live Free or Die Hard (June 27) - Yippee Kay Yay...
Mr. Bean's Holiday (Aug. 31)
Ocean's Thirteen (June 8) - Getting rid of the stench of Ocean's 12
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (May 25)
Rush Hour 3 (Aug. 10)
Shrek the Third (May 18)
Spiderman 3 (May 4)

Next week we will talk about original movies, such as Mr. Brooks, Stardust, and Transformers.

Spiderman 3:

If you are a fan of the Spiderman comic books, then you will have very little to complain about, in regards to the villian or the modifications to the origins of the black suit and the villians. If however, you are not a comic book fan, then the meteor falling and causing the black suit to appear is confusing.

Back story for the Black Suit: (Skip if you know this)
In the 80's Marvel comics had an event called Secret Wars. All the the Marvel superheroes and villians were taken to space to fight it out with each other by a super powerful being. Spidey's outfit got shredded and he went into a machine that made up what you wished for. Unfortunately it was costume that had a parasite in it that bonded with Spidey. There had to be some concessions to the black suit origin, and this was for the introduction of the meteor in the park that had the creature that was the black suit and later caused Eddie
Brock to become Venom.

All the villians origins have been updated to the year 2007 and that had to happen. Comics update there heroes all the time or most would have aged until they were senile. Sandman looked exactly like in the comics and the effects were unbelievable. I can't wait until he comes back in Spiderman 4 or 5 or 6. Well you get the point. Thomas Hayden Church packed on the muscle and made you care about a killer. This only juxtaposed with the Black suited Spidey and the new Goblin.

The black suit came right from the comics and even the way Peter fought it off fit the marvel universe comic book version. My only regret is the introduction of Venom so early. Sandman and Goblin would have been enough (See Batman movies for the problem of using too many villians - they all get short thrift). Peter could have fought the black suit and thrown it off in the church where it could have crawled away. Then the after credit scene could have been when it latched onto Eddie. This would have set up the next movie and made for more focus on the origins of the parasite. Dr. Connors could have been more involved since we are still waiting for him to be the lizard.

All in all a fantastic movie for all action movie fans and comic movie fans to see. This is the classic definition of a popcorn movie and the only thing missing was Jessica Alba.

Season Finales coming and I will be LOST....

So we only have two more episodes of Heroes (the finale will be two hours) and trying to stop Ted is what is going to make Peter the exploding man. Oh the irony. I didn't see that coming, unless you have ever read science fiction or comic books or a mystery or, well you get the point. Even though some things are obvious, especially when the network shows you paintings of what will happen you still can't wait. What is Angela Petrelli's power anyway, the spoilers out there don't help, but it better be good.

LOST leaves us in 4 weeks (3 of which have new episodes) and one is a review but the finale is 2 hours here too. Again we all knew Lockes dad was the con artist in Sawyers past but it still mad the show a good one. Now we find out more about the island and the others. Note where Anthony Cooper was tied up was more ruins...ah next season - the four toed statue. Why did Rousseau need the TNT - this week or next. Will Charlie die? Will Claire and Jack find out they are related? What wouldn't Jack and Juliet tell Kate? As long as LOST doesn't starting jumping sharks we should make it until the Zombie season, and I for one will be watching.

Shot through the head and Chris is to blame, you give Tim Daly a bad name. No one can tell me you saw that coming on the Sopranos unless you are friggin psychic. Paulie and Chris making up, after Chris beats his nephew. Chris is back in the fold. Is A.J. next? Everyone else has an heir in their son, but not Tony. It is about time. A.J. isn't exactly college material but power tripping, oh hell yeah. Now we are being teased about Meadow's mystery date. David Chase doesn't do anything by luck and he had more than enough time to work this one out.

Entourage is the best 22 minutes of tv. VICTORY. Nice horse Ed Burns. If only Turtle had a story line again as his growth was some of the best on tv. Even Ari has changed in the few seasons the show has been on. Turtle was moving forward but has backslid now, at least make him Drama's "E".

What can I say about The Office. More than Toby would to respond to Creed's hanging brain. Every character seems to feed off the others so well, too bad we can't find out how many takes the "finger pointing" scene took to get done in last weeks episode. FOLIAGE. I said FOLIAGE. Stop Stop. FOLIAGE.

Wow - Sweeps shows rock!

Too bad we can't get 52 new shows a year, but I would settle for 20 if all were as good as the ones in the last few days.

Jericho - pushing Heroes and Lost for my favorite show. Only the movie Red Dawn made war in the American midwest this exciting and had such bad acting. I can't wait for the war between Jericho and New Berg, but bring out the tank already - too much made of it to not use it. Heck Jericho has a nuclear bomb. We all know Jericho has to win, because the pilot "New Berg" was not picked up for next year.

LOST - biggest secret on TV: Locke's dad caused Sawyer's family disaster. Who didn't know this? Who cares, you may know that Darth is going to kill Obi, but it is still a great scene. Great shows are great even the second time around. Shakespeare holds up and so does LOST. This was most awesome and answers mythology questions, what fanboys were waiting for, and kept character growth as part of the show. This is what is needed to keep the ratings up. Keep up the good work.

Heroes: Check this link out: Wired interviews Tim Kring.

The show that made such a large impression gets better with the best episode yet (until next week or the week after at worst). Sylar took over Nathan's role as president solving all the different issues with the paintings, both the oval office one and whether it was Isaac or Ted in the first painting of a dead man in Isaac's loft. History changed so Ted wasn't killed by Sylar, which is why it was now Peter blowing up. Something else has to change. And why can't Hiro kill Sylar (we will find out next week). Heck, someone could just shoot him while he was sleeping.

Jumped the shark: American Idol's Charity event
Killed the shark: American Idol with Bon Jovi - great job guys and girls. (judges were okay too).

I used to buy comics, started again, but went broke. If only DC had more special event weekly comics, tie ins, and special introductions of new series. Oh wait - they do, and they still wonder why sales are down. At $2.99 or more a book, how many kids (the big future audience) can afford more than a few books a week. If you get 52, you need WWIII, JSA, JLA, Legion, Manhunter, Wonder Woman (if it ever comes out), Firestorm, Flash, Green Lantern Corps, Ion, etc...Countdown and soon Booster Gold. How about some sort of simple monthly review of what happened across the continuity so I can get the books I like and afford to fill my car with gas.

10PM tonight - Spiderman 3. Reviews sound great.

A Little Catching Up

This was the weekend that was and ended with American Idol, okay I am a little behind but hopefully it was all worth it.

The weekend really started with The Sopranos, which was okay but didn't live up to the episodes earlier this season. Where did little Vito's issues come from? The same place as Tony's gambling problem? All to make the beating death of Vito seem more important to start off a mob war with Phil. I don't think he ever needed an excuse if this is what comes up. And now we know where Melfi was hiding....on the cutting room floor. We get it - Tony has issues with women and living up to his dad's image. There was no indelible moment like when Tony and Paulie were fishing. That is when Soprano's is at its best, not shitting on the shower floor.

After that we had yet another episode of Entourage. How come so many of the best episodes revolve around Turtle and Drama? Just their names are fun. The relationship between all four is less catty and biting than the foursome from Sex and the City. Yet the differences between them are all the greater, at least economically and and in their physical characters. When Johnny raises his arms in the ring after being "gotten", it shows that these guys can grow and in only a few short seasons compared to the men and women on the Sopranos.

Heroes - Hands down the best show currently on TV and Masi Oka deserves an Oscar. Reading about how they had to do the different versions of Hiro, multiple times in a single day, makes this genuis one of the best actors on the tube. This time traveler needs to go back to Samurai days to beat this episode. And for those on the internet or podcasting without reading NBC's comics that fill in the show, what are you thinking. These are not fan comics, but an actual NBC Heroes addition. Read about the relationship between Petrelli and Lindeman and you will know that papa Petrelli never had a power, confirming Angela (Christine Rose) does.

Preview of Lost - If Sawyer doesn't get revenge on the "real Sawyer" then we know the operation the Others performed was not to implant an exploding pacemaker but to remove his Cajones (burying the diamonds with Nikki and Paulo was the biggest clue). Meanwhile the episode takes place only on the island but the show does have flashbacks, they are just about Locke being with the Others. That one comes from Spoiler Fix

Can't wait for Spiderman 3 - tickets for Friday night. Will write about that after we see it (well okay sometime Saturday before the Cinco de Mayo party).

The Week that was

Lost: What Naomi said

Naomi said "I am not the only one to Mikhail" who ran up to the group expecting Naomi, based on the flare and seemed shocked to find Hurley, Sayid, Charlie, and Desmond. Was looking for the phone or something else? What actually hit the water? Anyway - how is Mikhail alive anyway? (http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/04/27/lost-what-naomi-really-said/)

It also seems that Naomi may have run into Charlie and Desmond before. We will find out in the next Charlie flashback. (Ryan at the Transmission on Jay and Jack Podcast).

All I know is talking about this show is one of the reasons I started this blog.

The Office: Dwim vs. Jight

So there may be no better comedic actor on tv today than John Krasinski who plays Jim on The Office, though not the star, he has become the guy who steals the show through eye movement, looks, pauses, etc. Only the best can do this.
If you missed last nights office, check out NBC or iTUNES and laugh your ass off at the intro.



Heroes:

Here is how the genetic power theory works and it keeps showing up.

No parents with powers - spontaneous mutation. Seen in Suresh's daughter, Lindeman, etc.

One parent with power - Nathan, Peter, Hiro? develop power in adulthood under stressful situation or with intense concentration. Nathan and Peter's mom, Hiro's mom? Does Hiro's sister have a power?

Two parents with power - develop power and control at young age. Seen in Claire and Micah.
Micah - Niki and DL, Claire - Nathan and Meredith.

Did Simone have a power, what about her dad? They always seem to end at the Deveaux building.

4 shows left - I want to know why they have the power and how many people are actually following along the graphic novel on NBC. It is not like you have to solve puzzles but just read along. They should at least put an ad on during the show. It is not like we learned anything importat in the comic. Oh wait, here is a list for those who haven't read it.

Wireless - name: Hanna Gittelman, former Israeli army, lost both mom and Grandma to suicide bombers, hates HRG for setting her up in Africa.

HRG - risked his life to save Claire from original fire when she was a baby and set up the shooting and Claire's flight with the Haitian by contacting Wireless.

Lindeman - can heal people and once healed Nathan and Peter's dad in the Army during Vietnam Special Ops mission to kill a girl with power to grow plants. Nathan and Peter's dad was friends with Lindeman and that is how the relationship started. Lindeman saved the girl to be killed in Vietnam and he and Papa Patrelli seem to know the husband. Hiro's dad?

Welcome to Agent Chippy's Pop Culture Review

To all,

I have educated friends, sent out newletters, posted on forums, and been on podcasts, but now everyone can find out my thoughts about today's pop culture medium. This may mean movies, tv shows, books, comic books, and music.

Most of my blogs will focus on science fiction/fantasy in today's media like Heroes, Lost, 300, Harry Potter, Superman, X-Men, etc. as there are theories and thoughts to discuss, but this will also include all tv, movies, books, and any thing I feel is relevant, even American Idol.

The first blog is coming soon, but for now check out my links and listen to the brilliant pod casts that are out there.

Agent Chippy