Tag / ER

by admin

2024 New Fall Season – Mondays

We continue our annual look at the new fall season with Monday night’s offerings, a night that hasn’t offered something even halfway intriguing since 2018.

7:00

Scrabble – Another attempt to turn the venerable board game into a game show, this time starring Raven-Symoné.

7:30

Poppa’s House – Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. team up on a new family comedy.

8:00

Rescue: HI-Surf – A lifeguard drama set in Hawaii from one of the producers of ER and starring Arielle Kebbel seems worth a shot, at least.

Trivial Pursuit – A new game show, hosted by LeVar Burton, based on the classic board game.

by admin

FOX Upfronts

For the first time in three years, FOX has released a fall schedule during their upfront presentation.  The week starts with procedural dramas on Monday, with the returning 9-1-1: Lone Star followed by Rescue: HI-Surf, a lifeguard drama from ER and The West Wing producer John Wells.  Tuesday is mystery night, with anthology series Accused followed by Murder in a Small Town, a foreign production starring Kristin Kreuk and based on the Karl Alberg series of books by L.R. Wright.

Family-friendly competitions are the order of the day on Wednesday, with the latest installment of The Masked Singer followed by The Floor.  Thursdays focus on reality competitions, with new editions of Hell’s Kitchen and Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.  Sports is taking over Friday, with college football and basketball filling the night.  Sunday, as always, is Animation Domination, with The Simpsons, Universal Basic Guys, Bob’s Burgers, and Krapopolis wrapping things up following football.

On tap for midseason in the drama realm is a third season of Alert: Missing Persons Unit, a fourth season of The Cleaning Lady, Doc, a new medical drama based of an Italian series and starring Molly Parker.  Comedies waiting for a spot include Animal Control, Family Guy, Going Dutch, a new military series starring Denis Leary, The Great North, and Grimsburg.  Reality planned for the winter/spring includes Crime Scene Kitchen, Extracted, Lego Masters, MasterChef, Name That Tune, and Next Level Chef.

Gone and mostly forgotten is Housebroken.

by admin

You Ought To Be In (23) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We continue today with the single actor that has starred in exactly 23 movies that I have seen, a level uncharted three years ago.

George Clooney

George Clooney was bouncing around Hollywood for a while before becoming a superstar on a little show called ER, whose pilot movie was his first entry on this list.  That launched him to great film success.  Two films is my high-water mark for Clooney, one which I have reached five different times, most recently in 2012.  My most recent Clooney experience came in 2022, thanks to Ticket to Paradise.

by admin

Book 39 (of 52) – This Will Only Hurt A Little

This Will Only Hurt a Little – Busy Philipps

From Freaks and Geeks to Dawson’s Creek and ER to Cougar Town, Busy Philipps has been a mainstay on television for over twenty years now.  In her memoir, It Only Hurts a Little, she covers her life story, from Oak Park to Arizona to, finally LA, where she realized her childhood dream to become an actress.

This was the first celebrity memoir I’ve read (or listened to) in a while that I’ve really enjoyed.  Busy takes herself and her career seriously, but not too seriously, and gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into shows that I’ve watched and enjoyed.  She was (and maybe still is?) a big deal on Instagram Reels, so maybe I’ll have to give her a follow.

by admin

Travelling The 50 States – California

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we start today with the 31st state to be added to the Union: California.

State: California
Joined the Union: 1850
Visits: 11

With eleven visits between 1998 and 2019, the Golden State is the state I have visited the most, outside of those I have lived in and/or attended college.

My first visit was in 1998 to attend Comic Con International in San Diego.  I went early, spending the entire week and enjoying some pre-Con time checking out the sights, including the San Diego Zoo.

I returned the following year for Labor Day weekend, but this time up to the San Francisco Bay area, to visit my old friend Scott, who had moved out there after graduating to work at AMD.  What I remember from that trip is my first Giants/Phillies tilt at the former Candlestick Park, my first trip to the toilet that at the time was called Network Associates Coliseum, and a car trip over the Golden Gate Bridge.

I returned to San Diego for Comic Con in 2000 and 2003.  I don’t remember much of the 2000 trip, but the 2003 trip included my one visit to the former Jack Murphy Stadium to see the Padres face the Diamondbacks.  At the Con, I managed to see many of the stars (or, at least, bit players) from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Smallville, and Tru Calling.

With the Cubs coming off their first division title since 1989 and a new stadium opening in San Diego, my friend Pete and I planned a trip for the Cubs mid-May road trip.  We attended all three games at PETCO Park, which the Cubs swept, while also taking in the local sights and the ambience of the Elephant and Castle bar in our hotel. Continue reading →

by admin

You Ought To Be In (21) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the lone actor that has starred in 21 movies that I have seen, the same number, and actor, as 3 years ago.

George Clooney

George Clooney was bouncing around Hollywood for a while before becoming a superstar on a little show called ER, whose pilot movie was his first entry on this list.  That launched him to great film success.  2 films is my high water mark for Clooney, one which I have reached 5 different times, most recently in 2012.  My most recent Clooney experience remains to be Money Monster, which I saw back in 2017.

by admin

iTunes Top 200: #144 – 170

itunes_image4 years ago, we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library. Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2020.

Today, we finally wrap up the 31 songs tied for 170th place with 30 plays apiece and move on to the first chunk of the 26 songs tied for 144th place with 31 listens since my stats began in late 2007.

#170: Aerosmith – Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
iTunes stats: 30 plays, most recently on 10/27/2019
Previous ranking: #141

The 1987 hit, which earned the band their first VMA nominations, for Best Group Video and Best Stage Performance, also appears on Volume 2 of my mix tapes.

#144: Usher with Lil Jon and Ludacris – Yeah!
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 11/25/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

An impressive debut for the #1 song of 2004 and #2 for the decade of the 2000s, according to Billboard.

#144: James Newton Howard – Theme From ER
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 8/30/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

Another strong debut, this time for the theme song from the 23 time Emmy Award winner.

#144: Tegan and Sara – Speak Slow
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 10/25/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

The second single from the band’s 2004 album So Jealous makes a strong debut.

#144: Rancid – Time Bomb
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 8/28/2019
Previous ranking: Unranked

Peaking at #8, the song was the highest ranking of Rancid’s releases on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

#144: Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
Continue reading →

by admin

Book 8 (of 52) – TV (The Book)

TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick The Greatest American Shows Of All Time – Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz

Lamenting the lack of serious television criticism in book form, like there has been for years for film, former newspapermen Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz team up to rank the 100 greatest American television shows of all time, giving their explanation on why each one deserves its spot in the American cultural landscape.  Aside from The Simpsons, which has been on the air for 50 years or so and took home the top spot after much deliberation, currently airing shows were not eligible for consideration.

Separated into 4 categories, The Inner Circle, No-Doubt-About-It Classics, Groundbreakers and Workhorses, and Outlier Classics, the list runs the gamut from television’s earliest days, with classics like I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners, to today’s (well, yesterday’s) biggest hits.  As we are living in the golden age of Peak TV, the majority of the list is certainly from the past 20 years or so.

My television watching has had me watch all or a good portion of 24 of these classic series, either in first run or syndication.  Those shows are:

The Simpsons
Cheers
Seinfeld
MASH
Louie
The X-Files
Lost
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Continue reading →

by admin

Post Mortem – Falling Skies

FALLING SKIESFalling Skies, TNT’s science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth meant as an allegory for the Revolutionary War, concluded last summer after 5 seasons.  Starring Noah Wylie as a history professor who becomes second-in-command for the 2nd Massachusetts militia, the show followed his family as they fought back against the aliens that attacked the Earth, eventually becoming allies with a second group of aliens to fight back against the first.

The show ended with the humans eventually winning out over their new alien overlords, but had turned into a mess of plots and characters that made it nearly impossible to follow.  Wylie has been a favorite dating back to his ER days and was part of what initially drew me in, but he deserved better than this.

by admin

You Ought To Be In (19) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.

Today, we dive into the 3 actors that have starred in 19 movies that I have seen.

Ben Affleck

The first Ben Affleck starring role that I saw was in 1997, when I saw both Going All The Way and Chasing Amy.  In 1999, he kicked off a 6 year run where I saw 11 of his films, including 3 films in both 2000 and 2003.  There were 5 years total where I had seen multiple Affleck outings.  In recent years, he has been focusing more on directing, including the last film in which I saw him, 2012’s Argo which I saw last year.  He’s likely to move up this list in the future thanks to his casting as Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel.

George Clooney

George Clooney was bouncing around Hollywood for a while before becoming a superstar on a little show called ER, whose pilot movie was his first entry on this list.  That launched him to great film success.  2 films is my high water mark for Clooney, one which I have reached 5 different times, most recently in 2012.  Like Affleck in the future, Clooney also had the opportunity to wear the cowl and cape in 1997’s Batman & Robin, which killed off that franchise and set the stage for Christopher Nolan’s Bat franchise.  My most recent Clooney experience, which will actually bump him up to the next tier, was Gravity, which I saw earlier this year after the cutoff for this list.

Eddie Murphy

It’s hard to believe now, but at one time, Eddie Murphy was the biggest star in the land.  My first experience with him was likely Beverly Hills Cop.  7 of his films were seen before I started keeping track, so I’m not sure of when I first saw them.  Of the 7 years since that I have seen an Eddie Murphy film, 5 of them have been multiples.  It’s been over a decade since I’ve seen one of his starring perfromances, as I suffered through both Showtime and Adventures Of Pluto Nash in 2004.