Category: TV

I'm surprised we didn't get two Ugly Betty rip-offs

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Back to a North American diet & schedule = half a pound gained.

  • Original weight: 233
  • Weight last week: 221.5
  • Weight this week: 222

I only got to the gym once this week and haven’t been eating well, so this isn’t a big surprise. Must be a little more diligent about both. Must must.

.:.

We went out for dinner and a drink with CBGB last night and bored them to death with stories of France. We went to Volo, in part because I wanted to avoid seeing the Leafs-Canadiens game until I could get home and watch it on the PVR, and Volo has no TV. Or so I thought; turns out there’s a small TV above the bar, but I was able to avoid looking at it for the whole night. Finally, though, I heard someone say “it’s tied 3-3 going into overtime” so I just gave up and watched. The Leafs got a makeup call in overtime and scored on the power play, keeping Leafs management jobs safe for a few more days at least.

While I hate seeing the Canadiens lose to the Leafs, it’s not a bad result for Montreal to leave a hostile building with a point, especially when their goaltender had an off night, they were turnover prone and their opponents were playing desperate hockey, despite being only three games into the season. Most other teams would have shelled them last night, but Toronto’s D let them stay in the game…Montreal even hit the post in overtime on their own power play. Anyhoo, it’s on to a tougher test next week: Pittsburgh Tuesday.

.:.

I have to say, this season’s new TV shows have been rubbish so far. I decided to give a few a try and, while I haven’t yet sampled the entire list, I’ve been pretty disappointed.

  • K-Ville: cops in post-Katrina New Orleans. Interesting premise? You bet. Sadly, it’s formulaic and predictable and an utter waste of a great actor: Anthony Anderson.
  • Bionic Woman: I love Katee Sackhoff as much as the next guy breathing human, but she’s not in the show that much. The star, Michelle Ryan, is stunning but she can’t act. The special effects look dopey, the supporting characters are awful cliches…ugh. This show was the biggest disappointment of the season.

I haven’t gotten to Life, The Big Bang Theory (which I hear has a laugh track…how 80s chic!) or Dirty Sexy Money yet but I’m not hearing great things about them. Most other new shows Nellie’s watched have been shite as well. I’m about to give up on Heroes, and I’ve already walked away from 24. Even Friday Night Lights is scaring me a bit…the first episode of season 2 was drifting into O.C. territory. That’s network television for you though. The next season of The Wire can’t arrive soon enough.

[tags]fatblogging, canadiens, leafs, k-ville, bionic woman, life, big bang theory, dirty sexy money, the wire[/tags]

Tory, zzzzz, ole!

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Would-be Ontario premier John Tory has (kind of) changed his mind on funding for faith-based schools. However, current premier Dalton McGuinty ain’t buyin’ it. Neither am I.

.:.

I thought I was over the jet lag but it’s only 9:48 and I’m barely awake. Then again, it could have something to do with all the corporate finance I just read. That shit could put a SpeedBeaver to sleep.

.:.

The NHL season starts (for all intents and purposes) tomorrow night. I have called Rogers and added RDS to my channel lineup. Though I am filled with the same delusion as any sports fan the day before puck drops, I have steeled myself for yet another season of red, white and blue mediocrity.

[tags]john tory, dalton mcguinty, speedbeaver, nhl, montreal canadiens[/tags]

Conviction. Salvation.

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Remember a month ago when I said that the bloodthirsty hordes should wait until Michael Vick is actually found guilty before calling for his head? Well, he plead guilty yesterday. Put on your lynchin’ shoes and warm up the tar. I hope that punk gets the max.

.:.

Crapmonkey. I don’t want to watch another season of 24 but now I may have to. From The TV Show Blog:

“Although details are scarce at this point, according to Michael Ausiello over at TV Guide, Janeane Garofalo is the newest member of the cast of 24.”

Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in.

[tags]michael vick, 24, janeane garofalo[/tags]

Really, they're both about rejection…

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I just saw two tshirts on the street that I really, really want.

The first one had a picture of Mr. T imposed over a normal distribution graph. At the top it said “Mr. T test”; at the bottom it said something like “I pity the fool who rejects my null hypothesis!” I couldn’t quite read the small print as the wearer was cycling away from me, but I still laughed out loud on the street.

The second one was very simple, and will only make sense if you watch Entourage: it had a drawing of Kevin Dillon’s head with the word “DRAMA” in block letters underneath.

I have two questions: where can I get those, and give them to me.

[tags]mr. t, kevin dillon, johnny drama, entourage, tshirts[/tags]

"And chew…and chew…8 more…7 more…"

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

If you’re a Battlestar Galactica fan and you’re reading this article over on the TV show blog, you might be thinking to yourself, “Who knew Katee Sackhoff was such a girly-girl? And where did THOSE come from?!!!?!” *

.:.

I managed to run about 1.5 miles this morning and then just barely made it work on time. I have an 8AM meeting tomorrow, so clearly there will be no early morning run. I think my only workout of the day will be PowerEating at Fieramosca.

.:.

 

[Brilliance from Indexed, by Jessica Hagy]

.:.

I think that if I were to somehow narrow down my all-time favourite songs, “NYC” by Interpol would be on there.

.:.

* You would probably only think this if you’re a guy. Or my wife, who has a girlcrush on Starbuck.

[tags]battlestar galactica, katee sackhoff, indexed, jessica hagy, interpol[/tags]

"She was the still point of the turning world, man."

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The shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize is up. It’s very, very good. You’d have to think the odds are with the Arcade Fire or Feist albums, but my dark horse is…well, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse.

.:.

The Virgin Suicides gets better every time I watch it. The scene near the end where they play music to each other over the phone just kills me.

.:.

Create your own Simpsons avatar over at the official movie site. I made one last night but it’s on another computer and (you guessed it) I can’t be bothered to go gittit. [via Showcase Sideshow]

.:.

Maybe more than any other show, The Shield just stays at an incredibly high level. There’s never really a lull or a down episode; it just stays good.

[tags]polaris music prize, the virgin suicides, simpsons movie, the shield[/tags]

Hollywood loves him and so should you.

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I want to see A Mighty Heart. It’s compelling subject matter. It stars Angelina Jolie. It’s about terrorism and geopolitics and the importance of journalism.

But here’s why I won’t go see it: the name. A Mighty Heart? C’mon. Show me that someone has a mighty heart, don’t try to convince me before I even get to the theatre. You’re supposed to be telling a story, not selling me a hero.

.:.

Even in re-runs Friday Night Lights is better than most things on TV. Within five minutes Jason Street rattles off two classic lines:

“Because I’m crippled and I want to listen to Nirvana. Is that so hard to understand?!?”

-and-

Jason: “If you’re looking for Clay Aiken you’ll find him under A.”

Lyla: “You should know, he’s your boyfriend.”

Jason: “Hey…what Clay and I have is special. America loves him and so do I.”

But it’s the way they all deliver their lines on that show. You just have to watch it, if you’re not already.

[tags]a mighty heart, friday night lights[/tags]

The musical meat grinder, um, grinds on

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

In the last few days at work I’ve had a few periods of uninterrupted work at my desk (!), allowing me to screen some music that’s been sitting in my “inbox” for months, including:

  • apostle of hustle . national anthem of nowhere
  • dalek . abandoned language
  • low . drums and guns
  • ted leo . living with the living

None of them exactly set my world on fire, though each has a few good songs.

Listening to Ted Leo always makes me think of Ottawa, and for an odd reason: I always think of his song/album “Hearts of Oak”, which always makes me think of the Royal Oak (caution: site has loud & cheesy embedded music), an Ottawa pub my brother and I frequented when I lived there for a summer. In fact, we went there on the day that Keith’s was first introduced to Ontario. Anyway, yeah, that’s Ted Leo for me. My brain strolls in weird directions like that.

.:.

Last night was the second episode of the latest season of The Shield (aired here in Canada anyway; the season’s already done), which I’ve always said is one of the best shows on TV. It made me appreciate The Sopranos even more; without the success of The Sopranos, shows like The Shield (and characters like Vic Mackey) wouldn’t exist, let alone entire networks like F/X.

[tags]apostle of hustle, dalek, low, ted leo, royal oak, the shield, the sopranos, f/x[/tags]