Tag / The Office

by admin

iTunes Top 100: #30 – 40

itunes_imageMy latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 2 iPhones, and an iPad later, that computer is still my main repository of music, with iTunes updating its stats every time I listen to something.

Having already gone through cassette tapes and CDs, it is now time to look at digital music with the Top 100 songs that I’ve listened to as of 6/2/2013, according to iTunes. Today we look at the 11 songs that take up spots 30 – 40, with between 25 and 21 plays.

#30: The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – I’ve Got A Theory/Bunnies/If We’re Together

A plot moving tune that features most of the main cast.

iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 4/28/2013

#30: Foo Fighters – All My Life

A live version of the song from the Live in Hyde Park bootleg.

iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 2/6/2013

#32: Blossom Theme

The catchy theme song from the 90s pantheon to weird teenage girls being themselves.

iTunes stats: 24 plays, most recently on 3/10/2013

#33: Foo Fighters – Everlong

The album version from their second studio release.

iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 3/22/2013

#33: Foo Fighters – Best Of You

A live version of the song from the Live in Hyde Park bootleg.

iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 11/18/2012

#33: The Office Theme

The theme song from the hit NBC comedy that came to a close this spring.

iTunes stats: 23 plays, most recently on 5/15/2013

Continue reading →

by jim

Post Mortem – The Office

the-officeAfter 9 seasons, The Office called it quits after this past season.  It was well past its prime and was really running on fumes at this point, but it will be missed.  Creator Greg Daniels returned for the final season, but had to work around the movie careers of John Krasinski and Ed Helms, which left the show without Jim and/or Andy for large parts of the season.  Which wasn’t always a bad thing, as the writers obviously had nothing more to say with the Andy character.  By the end, one would cringe any time he appeared on screen.

The finale sent the series off on a good note, with Dwight, having finally become the regional manager, getting married to Angela, Steve Carell, B.J. Novak, and Mindy Kaling returning for the wedding, the documentary series that had been filming for 9 years finally airing, and Jim and Pam getting to leave Dunder-Mifflin behind and move on the bigger and, hopefully, better things.

While the show was nowhere near as good as it had been, it will leave a hole in the fall schedule and NBC will likely miss whatever meager ratings it had been bringing in at the end.

by admin

Midseason Review – Thursdays

Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week. Here’s our look back at my pre-season thoughts on what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 6th season, the show is at its ratings high point. They pick up right where last season left off, with Howard married and in space.

Ratings-wise, the show continues to grow, which is somewhat amazing for an older show.  It continues to be consistently funny, despite what the haters might say.

30 Rock – Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin return for the 7th and final season. I will certainly look forward to these last 13 episodes.

The end is near for 30 Rock, and they seem to be bringing back most, if not all, of their stable of guest stars for final appearances.  Last week saw appearances from Chris Parnell’s Dr. Leo Spaceman, Will Arnett’s Devin Banks, Steve Buscemi’s Lenny Wosniak, and Chloë Grace Moretz as Kaylie Hooper.

Last Resort – Early reports are that this show had the best pilot of the season, but left some doubts as to how it could continue on on a week to week basis. I’m looking forward to seeing for myself.

An intriguing premise that just didn’t find any type of viewership.  ABC gave them enough notice to have episode 13 provide some sort of an ending, which we will see next week.

7:30

Up All Night – Christina Applegate and Will Arnett return in the last minute renewal from last spring. The status quo gets shaken up a bit as Ava’s show was cancelled in last week’s season premiere, putting Applegate’s Reagan and Maya Rudolph’s Ava out of work.

NBC pulled the show off the air and is completely retooling the show, moving from a single camera show to a multi-camera show shot in front of a studio audience.  Ratings have not been great, so this is a last ditch effort to keep the show on the air in some fashion.

8:00

Person Of Interest – The enigmatic hit returns for its second season. Michael Emerson was not given as much to do last season as one would have hoped following Lost, but his role did pick up somewhat towards the end of the year.

I do find myself more invested in this show as time goes on.

The Office – The producers had previously announced that this season would be the show’s last. With original EP Greg Daniels returning to bring the show to its conclusion. Last week’s season premiere introduced some new, younger employees that might cause Jim and Pam to re-evaluate their lot in life.

One of the behind the scenes deals that allowed the show to return for one final season was extra time off for John Krasinski and Ed Helms to accomodate their movie shooting schedules, which has led to some silly plots, especially for Helms’ Andy.

Grey’s Anatomy – The 9th season opens a few months after the plane crash that closed out last season. There will be some cast shakeups, as Chyler Leigh is gone and Eric Dane is leaving. While not as good as it once was (and what show is after 9 years), it is still an entertaining way to pass an hour.

A new team of interns included Tina Majorino, who I have enjoyed since her time on Veronica Mars.

Continue reading →

by jim

2012 New Fall Season – Thursdays

Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week.  Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 6th season, the show is at its ratings high point.  They pick up right where last season left off, with Howard married and in space.

30 Rock – Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin return for the 7th and final season.  I will certainly look forward to these last 13 episodes.

Last Resort – Early reports are that this show had the best pilot of the season, but left some doubts as to how it could continue on on a week to week basis.  I’m looking forward to seeing for myself.

7:30

Up All Night – Christina Applegate and Will Arnett return in the last minute renewal from last spring.  The status quo gets shaken up a bit as Ava’s show was cancelled in last week’s season premiere, putting Applegate’s Reagan and Maya Rudolph’s Ava out of work.

8:00

Person Of Interest – The enigmatic hit returns for its second season.  Michael Emerson was not given as much to do last season as one would have hoped following Lost, but his role did pick up somewhat towards the end of the year.

The Office – The producers had previously announced that this season would be the show’s last.  With original EP Greg Daniels returning to bring the show to its conclusion.  Last week’s season premiere introduced some new, younger employees that might cause Jim and Pam to re-evaluate their lot in life.

Grey’s Anatomy – The 9th season opens a few months after the plane crash that closed out last season.  There will be some cast shakeups, as Chyler Leigh is gone and Eric Dane is leaving.  While not as good as it once was (and what show is after 9 years), it is still an entertaining way to pass an hour.

Continue reading →

by jim

2012 New Fall Season – Tuesdays

It’s time to take a look at the Tuesday night offerings for this season.

7:00

Raising Hope – The quirky Fox drama returns for its third season with more of the same hilarity.

7:30

Ben and Kate – The premiere episode wasn’t bad, and I was pretty impressed with Dakota Johnson as Kate, but I could feel Nat Faxon’s Ben starting to grate during the first half hour.  I’m not sure how much more of him I am willing to take.

8:00

Go On – Matthew Perry’s latest attempt to escape the shadow of Chandler Bing has aired three episodes already and it isn’t bad.  Perry plays a sports radio host who joins a support group after his wife died.

New Girl – Zooey Deschanel returns in one of last season’s break out comedy hits.  The show got stronger as the season went on and the writers found their footing, and I’m looking forward to its return.

Happy Endings – This went from a late season replacement to one of the most consistently funny comedies on TV last season.  The ensemble group plays well off of each other and the writers bring the funny every week.

Continue reading →

by jim

Saying Goodbye To Dunder-Mifflin

NBC and the producers of The Office announced on Tuesday that the upcoming 9th season would be the show’s last, and hopefully, they can go out with a bang.  Last season, the first without Steve Carell, saw a huge decline in quality as the show tried, and, in my opinion, failed in continuing on without Michael Scott.  Either the story seemed written for Carell’s Scott, which forced Ed Helms’ Andy Bernard to act completely out of character, or they tried to use James Spader to varying degrees of success.  One can only hope that, with the end in sight, they can bounce back some this year and leave on top of their game.

by admin

Midseason Review – Thursdays

Nearing the end of our look back at the fall television season.

CBS

Big Bang Theory – The nerds return for more fun.

This show has wisely mixed things up, with the focus nearly equal between the guys and the girls.  The additions of Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik to the cast have made a strong show even stronger.  There was one occassion where the show fell victim to the main charge of its critics, where it laughed at nerds instead of with them.  Hopefully that was a blip and not a tonal shift.

How To Be A Gentleman –  This looks to be horrible.  I doubt it lasts through November sweeps.

And it didn’t.

Person Of Interst – Michael Emerson’s first post-Lost series.  That alone is enough of a reason to give this a chance.

This is not really a bad show, but it isn’t really a good one and it seems like a total waste of Michael Emerson’s talents.  It looks like they may be mixing things up a bit by bringing Taraji P. Henson into the fold, so maybe that will help.

The Mentalist – Based on the premiere, it will be more of the same from The Mentalist.  It’s a good enough show, but I can see it burning out quickly if they don’t shake things up sometime soon.

More of the same indeed.  The addition of one of the kids from the new Melrose Place as the new boss is kind of weird, but beyond that, nothing really new.

NBC

Community – Back for a surprising third season.  John Goodman has joined in a recurring role, and, so far, looks to have brought his A-game. 

Well, John Goodman only appeared 2 or 3 times, but this season has been bizarrely brilliant.  Of course, this means that NBC has pulled it from the schedule, claiming it will return at some undetermined point in the future.  I know 3 seasons is more than most series see, but losing this show will hurt more than most. Continue reading →

by admin

Goodbye, iPhone 3G – Music Edition

As I wait for tomorrow’s delivery of my new iPhone 4S, it is time to say goodbye to the 3G that has been my trusty companion for nearly the past 3 1/2 years.  We’ve traveled the world together (well, at least Canada and the UK) and have listened to a lot of music.  Here is every song (all 1597 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary!

He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 100
Gordon Beckham Intro 91
Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 87
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 84
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 83
sox05_montage 75
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 73
Boom P.O.D. Satellite 70
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 69
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 65

No surprise that the top 10 are all part of (or were part of) my White Sox victory playlist.  This gets played on the way home from every White Sox winner, plus the occassional ride to a game.  Continue reading →

by jim

2011 New Fall Season – Thursdays

CBS

Big Bang Theory – The nerds return for more fun.

How To Be A Gentleman –  This looks to be horrible.  I doubt it lasts through November sweeps.

Person Of Interst – Michael Emerson’s first post-Lost series.  That alone is enough of a reason to give this a chance.

The Mentalist – Based on the premiere, it will be more of the same from The Mentalist.  It’s a good enough show, but I can see it burning out quickly if they don’t shake things up sometime soon.

NBC

Community – Back for a surprising third season.  John Goodman has joined in a recurring role, and, so far, looks to have brought his A-game. 

Continue reading →

by jim

Midseason Review – Thursdays

Our penultimate look back at TV’s most competitive night!  October’s thoughts on Must See TV.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – A lot of nerds don’t like this show, thinking it always goes for the easy jokes about them and their nerd culture.  I disagree.  Consistently one of the funniest shows on TV.

The move from Mondays has worked out for CBS.  There was a slight blip when Kaley Cuoco missed a few episodes after falling off a horse, but it seems to be back to firing on all cylindars.

Community – A pop culture cornocopia that brings the funny every week.  Plus, it has Annie’s Boobs.

Still great, but it may have gone to the wacky theme episode well once too often in an attempt to replicate the glory that was last year’s paintball episode.  Not to mention a return appearance by Annie’s Boobs.

My Generation – This will be cancelled by the end of October. Didn’t even make it the end of September.

Wow.  I had managed to completely forget about this.

Bones – The gang is brought back together to fight crime.  Again, the relationships between the characters trumps the case of the week.

Continues to be enjoyable. Continue reading →