Fall 2008 TV Lineup

Yeah, this is a little behind... but I did write it a few months ago so there's no bias. This is what keeps my PVR constantly full...

SUNDAY 9.07
- Entourage (TMN/MC) - Starts off with aftermath of the Medellin Cannes showing

TUESDAY 9.09
- Kitchen Nightmares (Global) - Just recording this show on the SD channel, no HD for Ramsey
- Fringe (CTV, A, Fox) - From JJ Abrams, like most new shows, on probation

THURSDAY 9.11
- So You Think You Can Dance Canada (CTV) - Our own version

SATURDAY 9.13
- Saturday Night Live (Global, NBC) - Will Phelps perform like Gretzky (bad) or Jordan (good)?

MONDAY 9.22
- Heroes (Global, NBC) - What was this show about again?
- How I Met Your Mother (E!, CBS) - best ensemble comedy on TV

THURSDAY 9.25
- Survivor: Gabon (Global, CBS) - I missed the last one...
- The Office (Global, NBC) - Dilbert in real life
- My Name is Earl (E!, NBC) - Old show on probation
- Grey's Anatomy (CTV, ABC) - My guilty pleasure

SUNDAY 9.28
- The Simpsons (Global, Fox)
- Family Guy (Global, Fox)

MONDAY 9.29
- Californication (TMN/MC) - Duchnovy at his best dark self

TUESDAY 9.30
- Rick Mercer Report (CBC) - Compares well against fake news of Daily Show and Colbert Report. Should have plenty of ammo with the election coming up.

WEDNESDAY 10.01
Private Practice (A, ABC) - Still on probation

SUNDAY 10.05
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (CTV) - Lucas finally hits TV again after 1978's Star Wars Holiday Special

MONDAY 10.13
- My Own Worst Enemy (Global, NBC) - Christian Slater's new show... Time to 'Pump Up the Volume'? (I'm sure someone else can think of a better one)

FRIDAY 10.17
- South Park (Comedy) - another guilty pleasure

THURSDAY 10.30
- 30 Rock (Citytv, NBC) - Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan steal every scene

THURSDAY 11.23
- 24 (Global, Fox) - Prequel movie to hold us over until 2009

2009
- Lost (CTV, ABC) - last season convinced me to come back
- The Cleveland Show (Fox) - Family Guy spinoff
- Doll House (Global, Fox) - Josh Wheldon & Eliza Dushku taking the same great premise from a comic book from 8 years ago, Aphrodite IX, by the great Marc Silvestri.

Superbowl XLII

Ya know the game's a big deal when they get Russell Crowe to do the intro voiceover... Unless my beloved Seahawks are in it like back in 2006, I don't really care who wins, just hope it's not a blowout... Tho there is a little more to see if indeed the Pats can go a perfect 19-0. But for those lucky enough in Canada to get to see the U.S. feed, we know it's all about the commercials.

You got your usual movie spoofs, this year by Audi (Godfather) and Budweiser (Rocky). Pepsi's launched it new 'Max' brand to go against Coke Zero. But this year, they missed the boat as it's all about the vitamin water! Supermodel + Lizards + Thriller = Sobe Life = This year's sexiest ad. Can Nintendo sue Southwest Airlines in their commercial? Oh yeah, Randy Moss finally catches a ball with 22 seconds left in the first half.

Noticed some Arcade Fire in the background music when Fox comes back after the half time show. BTW, a little disappointed that Tom Petty didn't play Mary Jane's Last Dance. Don't think another Janet Jackson incident will ever happen or would you with the last few acts that have played.

Yeah, I get the juxtaposing with Shaq being a horse-jockey, but what's with the kid picking his nose in this vitamin water commercial? Gotta love E-trade. Yeah, the talking baby thing is a little cliched, but it is comic gold when he pukes. Guess they knew they had a good thing going by having another one with a clown. Charlie Brown didn't get the Red-headed girl, but he does get the red-capped Coke bottle during the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. The Amp energy drink tow truck guy charging his nipples is so wrong...

Back to the game... Finally some football-related drama in the fourth quarter, a few touchdowns and a fourth and short gamble. Then a ridiculous scramble by the other Manning with 59 seconds left. Just when it looks like the Giants will only get a field goal and send the game into OT, with no more timeouts, they get a first down and then Burress is wide-open in the end zone for the lead. Brady gets the ball back with 30 seconds and their full complement of TOs, but his Hail Marys go unanswered.

All of 2008 Superbowl ads can be viewed over at MySpace.com. Enjoy, O.

Superbowl Commercials

Most folks up here may not be able to see Fed-Ex (Britney's latest ex-hubie, not the courier) daydreaming in a $US2.6M commercial, but it looks like AOL.ca has them all online so you won't have to youtube for them... The majority of Bud Lights were pretty good, but the most original had to be Sprint's Connectile Dsyfunction parody and the grossest had to be the Sierra Mist's Combover clip.

PS. Actually watched the half-time show... Interested to see that Prince actually covered the Foo Fighter's "Best of You", since the FFs do a rendition of the Symbol's "Darling Nikki" during their concert sets.

When Fighting Was Still Allowed in the NHL

I managed to go to a Calgary Flames & Anaheim (Mighty still back then) Ducks game through a buddy of mine back on December 8th, 2001. I was looking forward to seeing Paul Kariya play and was instead treated to a late game brawl that went multiple rounds. The best was when Dave Lowry flipped the puck out to free up Craig Berube from the penalty box who then chased Jeff Friesen (who ironically is now a Flame). Youtube.com still has links to revisit that great experience:

• Long Version (22:47) with HOF Peter Maher Commentary
• Medium Version (6:51) edited
• Short Version (3:15: with music)

PS. Here's a bonus Flames Red Hot music video circa 1987.

Sexually Aroused Sea Cows

This new website just shows why Leno should step aside (early) and let Conan speak to the late night masses. He adlibbed the website as a joke during a mascot skit and NBC was forced to actually buy the rights to the domain. So they just ran with it and now it's making the internet rounds as fans and James Lipton have joined in.

Tokyo Commute

Few shows on the CBC, besides HNIC and the RMR, are actually worthy. But in the summer I do tivo Zed. Here's an amusing clip that someone caught in a Tokyo subway:



It's about five minutes long and does build up nicely. Fans of Atom Films should definitely surf around to find some other great gems.

Seinfeld & Soup

A buddy of mine heading over to NYC combined with the canteen at where I work that serves up a great Mulligatawny ("It's an Indian soup. It's simmered to perfection by one of the great soup artisans in the modern era.") on Thursdays has reminded me of the infamous Seinfeld episode (which is based on the proprietor of a real soup kitchen in NYC) and mentions the follow soups:

• turkey chili
• crab bisque
• mulligatawny
  
• jambalaya
• gazpacho
• wild mushroom
• Cold cucumber
• corn and crab chowder

PS. Lobster bisque is mentioned in another classic, the "Yada Yada" episode.

2006 Fall TV Season

The first big TV night of the year is tomorrow according to tv.com's fall preview, so I'd thought I'd put up a list of shows that I'll be series-recording on my PVR along with my summer carry-overs, the Daily Show, the Colbert Report, and G4's AotS.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 5
Standoff (Fox)

SUNDAY, SEPT. 10
The Simpsons (Fox)
Family Guy (Fox)

THURSDAY, SEPT. 14
Survivor: Cook Islands (CBS)

SUNDAY, SEPT. 17
Studio 60 (NBC)

MONDAY, SEPT. 18
The Class (CBS)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

TUESDAY, SEPT. 19
Smith (CBS)

THURSDAY, SEPT. 21
My Name Is Earl (NBC)
The Office (NBC)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

MONDAY, SEPT. 25
Heroes (NBC)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 30
Saturday Night Live (NBC)

SUNDAY, OCT. 1
Everybody Hate's Chris (CW)

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4
Lost (ABC)

MONDAY, OCT. 9
What About Brian (ABC)

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11
30 Rock (NBC)

FRIDAY, OCT. 20
Las Vegas (NBC)

PS. I'm back in town after my trek to Tanzania. Looking forward to catching up on everything now. Later, O.