Sports and Entertainment

I have two rules in my house.  1.  Take off your shoes before stepping on the carpet.  2. No television in the bedroom.  I know the first rule is common in this country, but the second is not nearly as accepted.  You see, in my opinion, the bedroom is for two things;  sleep and well you know the other one.

Last night Conan O’Brien took over The Tonight Show and I am finding it harder and harder to follow that second rule.  I never watched The Tonight Show when Leno hosted.  I didn’t watch Letterman either.  I stuck with Stewart and Colbert.  I’m 27 years old and those two guys along with Conan just seem to speak with me more than the older gents that previously filled that time slot.

Last night was Conan’s inaugural Tonight Show and to my delight, he hasn’t lost one step.  The opening gag of Conan running cross country through Chicago, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Arizona…..classic Conan.  It also symbolized that Conan is faster and edgier than Leno is, and that a new regime is in town… literally busting down the walls that so many have become accustomed to.

Conan’s first guest were Will Ferrell who is always funny and Pearl Jam who were good in my opinion last night.  There may have been one too many video gags and the Hollywood D gag fell short, but  the story is not there.  Conan is back.  And better than ever.

So all in unison:  Circle!  Circle!  Circle!

Although network upfronts are months away, the CW took the liberty to relieve fans’ worries today.  Among many renewals is the hit show Supernatural.  (The others are Smallville, 90210, America’s Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, and One Tree Hill.)

This is fantastic news in my opinion.  Supernatural is one of the few consistently great shows airing on our boob tubes today.  Supernatural has slowly gained viewership over the years, and this year marks its highest ratings yet.  Unfortunately, the fifth season of Supernatural will more than likely be the last for head honcho Eric Kripke has stated that the Winchester brothers have a specific arc, and will not “drain the blood” for some extra dough.  Kudos to Mr. Kripke.

If you aren’t watching Supernatural, I give you my fullest guarantee that you will be hooked the second you start watching it on DVD.  It has great laughs and Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have the greatest chemistry this side of 30Rock with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin.  It has scares, it has great story, and great acting.  I urge you to watch it.

On a side note, Smallville has been getting better and better this season compared to the last few, so kudos again to the CW for letting it shine one last season.

Catch up with all seasons!

Warning:  This is not safe for work.  If you have already heard the Christian Bale Rant (and really, who hasn’t?)  then this is the greatest spin on it yet.  Last night on Family Guy, they really spoofed this and hilarity definitely ensued.  Check it out.  Also check out the techno remix. Haha Classic.

Haha you know you’re an awesome actor when a rant of yours is a pop culture phenomenom.

LOL Family Guy Monopoly

In news that shouldn’t surprise you, Prison Break has officially been scrapped.  According to Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly, “the show is just played out”. 

 Played out?  Really?  I would have used words like “Got ridiculous” or “Tried to be something it’s not”.  Prison Break was one of my favorite shows in the first two seasons.  The first season was about breaking out, the second was about being on the run.  Then the third season came along and they were back in a Panama prison and had to escape, then they got out of that and had to become Ocean’s 11 and steal some contraption that really hasn’t been fully explained.  People got there heads cut off and came back to life, people died for no apparent reason, people would become ninja-esque fighters without the ability to do so in the first seasons….it just got really bad.

The head at Fox did go on to say that they will allow the story to finish out strong, but all that really means is that the final filmed episodes will air.  No one really knows if there is a definitive ending, and if there isn’t……expect a lot of upset fans. 

The show will officially take the timeslot of the failing Terminator show on Fridays starting April 17th.  (Ouch, they even gave it the kiss of death by putting on on Fridays.)

Scrubs, the red-headed step child of NBC, was technically cancelled.  NBC gave up on one of its funniest comedies because quite frankly, the boneheads didn’t know how to market it or put it on a night where people actually want to watch TV.  Thankfully though, in what is a very rare move from network television companies, rival to NBC - ABC picked up what is being called by show creator Bill Lawrence: the final season.

So first and foremost:  Thank you ABC.  You are officially in my cool book.  In my opinion, Scrubs is the funniest out of the few constantly funny shows airing on television.  I love The Office, 30 Rock, and on occassion King of Queens, but Scrubs seems to always deliver week to week.  And again, thankfully to ABC to cast can end the show the right way.

So that brings us to the show itself.  Is it still good?  Well, they added Courtney Cox for a three episode arc and she will be playing the new chief of medicine.  (What has two thumbs and doesn’t give a crap Bob Kelso retired last year remember?)  JD has a beard……Elliot and JD are on again after being off again……there are tons of new interns that actually steal a lot of laughs… (I like the “banging dudes” intern — she makes me giggle)….there is a great “f” you to NBC, the Emmy’s, and the Nielson ratings you should look out for…..but most importantly, the show’s heart is still there. 

I can’t wait for these final 18 episodes to air, for story arcs to be closed, and for the Janitor to get a name. 

Scrubs is on tonight on ABC.  Check your local listings.

 Tim Falletti

Hyperbole.  [hahy-pur-buh-lee] -noun.

1. obvious and intentional exaggeration.

2. an extravagent statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity”

None of which I am about to write is hyperbole.  None of this is exaggerated.  None of this is over the top figure of speech.   What I am about to say is all fact.  Zero hyperbole.

Last night’s gut-punching series finale episode was the best 90 minutes of television I have seen.  Ever.  Shawn Ryan and his brilliant team of writers did it.  They pieced together everything the audience wanted to see, and delivered on the promise that was first brought to our televisions seven years ago:  To bring us the most intense thought provoking drama to ever hit the airwaves.

I am about to get into spoiler territory, so please please please please stop reading now if you haven’t watched it.

Vic and his strike team have done some horrible things the past seven years.  Starting with the murder of a fellow officer at the hands of Vic himself.  Everything they ever done was wadded up and thrown at us in the finale, and in some cases, the outcome was devastating.

Shane - who killed fan favorite Lem two seasons ago - took his own life only after murdering his toddler son, and pregnant wife.  It was the most unsettling scene to watch not only because the build up has been so enormous, but because after seven years you care about these characters.  Seeing Shane pull that trigger, and subsequently seeing what he did to little Jackson, Mara, and unborn Frances Abigail…..who they named in the episode….was without a doubt a very Shakespearian ending to such a tragic story.

That doesn’t make what happens to Ronnie any less unsettling.  Ronnie, who throughout the course of the series has been the guy the audience is rooting for, takes the fall.  For everything.  Everything.  Vic sells him so far down the river that Ronnie is left to do the life sentence for all the sins Vic confessed to an episode earlier.  Seeing Ronnie’s reaction when he finally figures it out and is hauled off to his certain doom in jail….wow.

With the strike team’s story told, Vic’s personal life is now left in shambles too.  Corrine, Vic’s wife, is taken into protective custody.  All his police officer friends look at him like a common criminal, everyone at ICE and especially Olivia hate him.  They all know Vic for the monster he really is.  Vic is now left with no friends, no family, and no allies.  He burnt every bridge he ever made.  And now, he must live with all of it at a crummy clock punching desk job with no action.  Doomed to a life of mediocrity.  Truly a sad ending for our hero/anti-hero.

End Spoilers

With no more episodes to watch, we must now use our imaginations to determine the final outcome for the characters of The Shield.  Some character arcs weren’t wrapped up in a bow like many series finales over the years, and that to me is frustratingly beautiful.  There was a look of unfinished business in Vic’s eyes…but maybe I am looking too much into it.  The slow buzzing sound of the florescent lights  could be the true end to this magnificent series.   Either way, Vic and the rest of the barn and this one of a kind television series will truly be missed.

Ahh Prison Break.  You were once a fun show to watch.  I used to Tivo you in fact.  Michael Scofield and his badass brother Lincoln Burrows used to be a fixture in my living room.  Then……then everything went bad. 

Season 1 they broke out!  Awesome!  Season 2 they ran!  Awesome!  Season 3 they were…..back in prison……in Panama.  Kinda dumb but I will still watched.  Season 4 they are spy-like and trying to take down something and people are coming back to life Zombie style. Huh?!?!

Yeah I haven’t been keeping up with the brothers since the beginning of this season, and it seems as if many other people are following suit.  Fox announced that they have ordered 2 additional episodes to be tacked on at the end of this season…and that can only mean one thing:  Those two episodes will be the series finale.  My heart just broke for Sucre.  No news on if they will air them on Fox, or they will just simply be added to the DVD for fans. 

Prison Break airs on Fox on Mondays.

It’s been thirty-seven years since we last saw Jack Bauer and his fantastic man purse Jack Sack hit our airwaves.  When we last left our hero, he was busy staring wide-eyed into the horizon and it left fans of the show like myself wondering, “WTF?!”  Well it seems our screams have been heard, and the writers of 24 have listened carefully.

Tony “soul patch” Almeida is back from the dead (hell yeah) and is seemingly pissed off and a bad guy now.  We all know he was a Cubs fan, so I don’t blame him for being pissed.  In fact, it would probably hold up in court as a plausible reason for being crazy.  We have a female president, Angelina Jolie’s dad, many many explosions, many many many gunshots, and of course, sour puss Chloe sour pussing it up.  (Is pussing a word?)  24 finally returns this January.  Check out the promo here:

It seems ABC has released a promo for the upcoming fifth season of Lost.  If you haven’t seen the final episodes of season four yet, I highly recommend you don’t watch this clip.  Lost is a funny animal to me.  I get really into the show for 10 episodes and then lose total interest in it.  I like my television shows to give me some answers and for four seasons, it seemed as if I was a dog chasing my tail.  Well last season I finally caught up with my tail and it seems like Lost might just be ready to unveil all the burning questions that fans of the show have been speculating about for its entire run.  Lost returns in 2009.  Check out the trailer and tell me what you think.

Tim Falletti 

 South Park has never been known for being polictically correct.  Since its inception (Santa vs. Jesus) it has defamed, mocked, and on occasion (Scientology) annihalated topics other shows are too afraid to even get close to.

On last night’s episode of South Park, the boys go to see Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  Upon viewing the movie, they realize that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have (literally) raped everything there was to love about the character of Indiana Jones.  In graphic (if you can call a cartoon graphic) scenes, Indy is raped….over and over. 

Some fans are calling it an outrage, and saying that it went too far.  “Rape is nothing to laugh about” one message boarder posted.  Another said, “I love South Park but think they went overboard.  I wonder what victims of rape would think about it…”

While it is my belief that rape isn’t something to joke about, I firmly believe that South Park didn’t go far enough.  Have you seen the newest Indiana Jones?  Aliens?  Nuclear bombs and fridges?  They raped poor Indy. 

Listen, you can’t love a show one minute, then hate it because it’s not funny to you.  It can’t be OK for you to be fine with them making fun of religion or a race, but the next minute it’s not OK because you don’t agree with the humor.  South Park demonstrated it perfectly in the Family Guy episodes when they were told they couldn’t make fun of Muslim beliefs, but it was just fine with Comedy Central to literally s*it on Jesus. 

Get over it.  It’s a cartoon.  And a great one at that.