Here is the last (for now) of Mr. Magness’ guest posts, with his best TV picks of the last year. Since I watch more TV than I do movies I will also add in a couple of my top picks at the end.
1. The Presidential Debates/Election with the Daily Show Commentary
Just like back in 2000 and 2004 Daily Show seems to cover politics the best throughout every Presidential Election. This year Jon Stewart and “The Best F*#@ing News team” would just tear any candidate a new one with great insight and impressive wit. It is great to have people like Jon Stewart around to call bullshit on everyone and anyone in the public spotlight who make fools of themselves. As a government teacher it is nice after reading and watching news all day from CNN, the Post, and our local paper to watch the Daily Show and get more truth then the rest combined. I can’t wait for 2012.
If the election had not happened this year this show would have easily been my number one new show of the year. This show is shot like the Office in documentary style and tells the story of three people at an Australian High School, Summer Heights High. Chris Lilly plays all the main characters to perfection and is the creator of the show. The characters are Mr. G (director of performing arts), Jonah (Puck you, Miss) and Ja’mie (Hot AIDS nurse). I put this show as amazing as Arrested Development and The Office on rewatchablity and just pure genius. From the moment you meet the characters you don’t even realize they are all played by the same actor. Lilly has an amazing story line and I hope we will see a lot more of him in the upcoming years.
It amazes how much I have fallen in love with this show over the course of three years. A couple years back Brooke’s brother Paul told us about this sitcom and how it was on before Two and a Half Men. Now I HATE/LOATHE Two and a Half Men and believed any show that is on near it would suck just as bad but this show has blossomed into one of the funniest and wittiest shows on TV today. I equate this to being a more modern FRIENDS type show with better story telling and better inside jokes. The story is based on a father telling his kids about the events leading up to how he met their mom but the show is much more then that. Also Peter Segal (Freaks and Geeks) and Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser) are absolutely amazing and funny. Free episodes are after the link…
These 2 shows are put together as one for a very good reason…This is the best hour of television on every week. These comedies keep getting better every year and now 30 Rock is getting the acclaim it deserves. Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan are so funny and Tina Fey has really come into her own as an actress on the show. But The Office is no slouch either when it comes to comedy brilliance. Steve Carell is still up their as one of the best around because of his performance as Michael Scott. I wish he would be able to win some more awards for his spot on impression of stupidity with heart. What makes both these shows great is that they always live up to the hype that surround them every single Thursday.
(Because I am not a big fan of Alec Baldwin I refrained from watching 30 Rock so I have to thank Mr. Magness for enriching my life by almost forcing me to watch 30 Rock with his constant praise of the show. So thanks, now it’s one of my favorite shows and I can’t believe I wasn’t watching it. And I am starting to come around on Alec Baldwin.)
5. Lost
This show will always be in my top ten because it is the best drama on television every single year. If you have already tried to watch LOST and it wasn’t for you then there is not much I can say to convince other then YOU ARE MISSING THE BEST SHOW IN THE HISTORY OF TELEVISION.PERIOD. (then why isn’t #1 you ask..because they make me wait 7 months at a time for a new season)
(I watched the first and part of the second season of this show and quit after I realized it was a pointless endeavor. In my opinion JJ Abrams is the hackiest hack in hackdom. I really hate his stuff and I refuse to watch anything that he is the creative force behind. I have so many issues with him and his shows but recounting them would take too much time and is not the topic of this post.)
The other day I saw one of the funniest Robot Chicken sketches I have seen in awhile. Fraggle Rock is rife with potential, and it seems strange that it took them this long to do something with them. I also kind of scared myself when I remembered Wembley’s name. It’s eerie how all that stuff from childhood is still stored in the brain, somewhere (Salacious Crumb). Enjoy.
Next week the new Spaceballs: The Animated Series will premiere on G4 TV. And just to sweeten the pot both Mel Brooks and Daphne Zuniga will be returning to lend their voices. It’s curious that Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis aren’t reprising their roles, seeing as they haven’t been busy for, oh, about 10 years. Here’s a clip from the episode Spidermawg (half man, half dog, and half spider), now go set your DVR’s to record.
Today I dusted off my XBOX 360, and checked out some of the new games and demos. One game that I ended up buying for the arcade was Castle Crashers. So what’s good you say? Well, honestly, pretty much everything from top to bottom. If you can’t tell from the above picture it is an old-school side scroller that is slightly reminiscent of the old TMNT’s arcade game–complete with the retro cell animation look. The plot of the game is pretty simple. You’re a knight (of various colors, but there are a ton of extra characters that you can unlock) who have to go save four princesses who have been kidnapped. You will travel throughout all different kinds of terrains to look for them–volcano, desert, forest, ice et al–and all of the terrains have a distinct look and feel. They really did put a lot of details in all of the different areas–which brings me to the art work.
The art work and character design is completely rad, with characters that look new but also familiar (personally I’d say some Futurama, Simpsons, and Ren & Stimpy influences–and probably even more that I don’t get). The gameplay is furious. It is not quite a straight button mashing game, but there are times where it is close, and after a few hours of playing you will be hard pressed to use your hands for anything but the most pedestrian of tasks. There is also a ton of items that have to be collected and found, which some people don’t like, but I have always like collecting items in games. I’m weird like that. Also there is a ton of humor, and hidden easter eggs throughout the game. Stuff that you might not catch until your secon or third time through.
One of the best parts of the game, however, is that you can play 4-player online co-op. More games need to include this feature, because it adds immense replay value to the game. I’m already looking forward to some long seshs hacking and slashing my way through the game whilst drinking some nice cold Colorado Kool-Aid. Besides the main game–that has 20 levels–there are a couple of mini games that it comes with. One is “All You Can Quaff” which is a game where you have to mash buttons to eat food faster than the other knights–this game absolutely kills the hands. The other game is an Arena fighting game where you have to fight a bunch of enemies. Each round you play they increase in number.
So that’s pretty much it. It’s a great game, and if you have a 360 you should definitely buy it because it is worth it. Castle Crashers is a great addition to you XBLA, and it’s an even cooler throwback to the old side scroller days. Go get it…now.
Last year was a terrible year for movies, and there wasn’t a whole lot to be excited about. This summer is shaping up to be much better, considering that there have already been quite a few great movies like Hulk and Iron Man. The next 6 weeks are looking to be a very geeky time for movie fans. Personally, I’m excited. This Friday, July 11, Hellboy 2 will be released. I’m looking forward to this movie for a few reasons. First off, I enjoyed the first movie–although it took a little too long to get going–and now that he doesn’t have to worry about origin stories, we can just jump right into the action. Secondly, I want to see how good this movie can be, because Del Toro is–if you don’t know–going to be directing the two Hobbit movies. I love Del Toro’s style, and I think it will meld well with the LOTR’s imagery. If he can really make this Hellboy movie his own, and really make into something great, then it will assuage some of my apprehension at him doing The Hobbit. So this Friday I will be making my way to the multiplex to check it out:
On the Friday after, July 18, comes the next movie that I am excited about which is The Dark Knight. Everything about this movie is top-notch. Check out the poster, which is one of the best posters I think I have ever seen (BTW thanks to PML friend Mag-10 for sending this my way). Everyone is fawning over this movie, and you know that when movie critics–generally snobbish, fickle, and jealous crowd–start singing the praises of a comic book movie, well then, it’s really good. I originally wasn’t sure about Heath Ledger as the Joker, but the more I see the more I am completely sold on him. Even though I like the Tim Burton Batman and Nicholson’s Joker, I always thought that that vision of the Joker was too campy, and not dark enough. I’ve talked to quite a few people who have said that they don’t care what Ledger does, that Jack Nicholson will always be the Joker. I say shenanigans to that. The thing that is great about the Joker is that he is a sadistic, demented criminal, that has a ton of fun being evil, and has absolutely no conscience. So far there hasn’t been a Joker that has captured that darkness, but I am willing to bet that Ledger’s performance is going to shock a lot of people. There is already Oscar buzz about Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker:
Tomorrow the new Futurama movie, The Beast with a Billion Backs, will be released. Futurama is great and this new one looks to continue the trend of awesomeness. I’m going to go pick it up and you should too. If you don’t I will have to send the Hypnotoad to your house to compel you.
So I’ve been a pretty comic booky mood lately, what with a great Iron Man and Hulk movie. One other show I’m stoked about, however, is the new Spectacular Spider-man cartoon on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t seen this show yet, you should definitely watch or DVR it. So what’s so good about this show you may ask. Well for one the people behind this show get the character so much better than Sam Raimi seemed to. One of the biggest problems with Raimi’s Spider-man was that he was consumed with having the movies be about Peter Parker’s angst about being a teenager, and the death of his Uncle. That’s all fine and dandy, and it is an important aspect of the Spider-man story, but what really drives these stories are the villains. This is where Raimi erred. He forgot to respect the villains.
I mean what’s Bruce Banner without General Ross or Reporter McGee. If he didn’t have them he would just be able to kick it in a lab until he finds the cure. With them it adds drama and tension to the plot line. The thing is though in order to keep that drama you can’t just kill off all the villains Same thing with Peter Parker. Two of the villians, in particular, help to really push his character arc. Venom and the Green Goblin. But the Green Goblin was killed off in the first movie, and he didn’t even get to kill off Gwen Stacy, and he killed off Venom in the last one. In addition, Venom as a character was completely wasted in the third film. I just don’t get Hollywood’s sick fascination with killing off major villains. If you want to kill some of the ancillary villains that’s fine, but the major villains need to live on to come back another day, like Jason and Freddy. Otherwise you get these hamfisted attempts to resurrect a character, which would be unnecessary if the villains had been respected and dealt with correctly. Anyways I feel that this cartoon has greater respect for the story, and handles the characters much better. Check out this episode where Spider-man fights with the Sinister Six.
The head of Al Gore will endorse Obama tonight at 8:30 PM EST. This is something that he should have had the guts to do a few months ago, but I guess he was too busy dubbing his lines for the new Futurama movie. Regardless it’s better late than never I guess.
