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
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iTunes Top 200: #21 – 30

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

We continue today with the 10 songs that comprise #s 21-30, with plays throughout the 30s, four of which come from the same band and another three are television show theme songs.

#30: Foo Fighters – Everlong
iTunes stats: 31 plays, most recently on 10/23/2015
Previous ranking: #36

A live version of the band’s biggest hit, from their Skin and Bones album.

#29: Garbage – Bad Boyfriend
iTunes stats: 32 plays, most recently on 10/17/2015
Previous ranking: #27

The first track from the band’s fourth album features Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame, on drums.

#27: Dr. John – My Opinionation
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 11/7/2015
Previous ranking: #32

The theme song to Blossom, the 90s pantheon to weird teenage girls being themselves.

#27: Katy Perry – I Kissed A Girl
iTunes stats: 33 plays, most recently on 10/27/2015
Previous ranking: #24

A small drop for the song ranked #66 for the decade of the 2000s by Billboard magazine..

FooFighters#25: Foo Fighters – Everlong
iTunes stats: 35 plays, most recently on 10/30/2015
Previous ranking: #23

The second version of the song to make the countdown this week, this one being a live version from the band’s concert in London’s Hyde Park.

#25: The Crystal Method – Bones Theme
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Midseason Review – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look back at my thoughts on the new fall season with the offerings I found myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

The Muppets – ABC brings a new version of the Muppets to television, this time as a work place comedy.  Basically, The Office but with Kermit.

Possibly the new show I was looking forward to the most, but it suffered from tone issues.  A new showrunner is taking over, so hopefully things will more resemble the Muppets everyone knows and loves.

The Flash – A surprisingly fun adaptation of the DC superhero.  The first season was very satisfying and I hope for more of the same.

Still a lot of fun, though the Flash’s secret identity is one of the worst kept secrets in Central City.

8:00

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Another new status quo, following the end of last season and the events of the latest Avengers movie, as we head in to season 3.

More of the same from the fine folks at Mutant Enemy and Marvel.

Scream Queens – Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis team for this horror comedy, hopefully in the vein of the Scream films, from FOX.  I’m certainly willing to give it a shot to impress.

I lasted a few weeks, but once the show came back after the World Series, the schedule got busy and I had to drop it.

iZombie – The zombie comedy, which was a midseason surprise last spring, returns for a full season.  I have a lot of faith in EP Rob Thomas, so I’m looking for good things.

A surprisingly enjoyable procedural from the people who brought us Veronica Mars.

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Book 3 (of 52) – Mr. Kiss And Tell

Mr. Kiss And Tell - Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham

Mr. Kiss And Tell – Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham

Veronica Mars returns in this second novel following the events of last year’s Kickstarter-funded movie.  This time out, Veronica investigates the brutal rape and attack of the sister of an old friend while Keith works on a lawsuit against Dan Lamb and the sheriff’s department on behalf of Weevil.

With another movie likely off the table, Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham have been continuing the story of Veronica Mars in book form, and this second novel picks up some threads from the first while bringing a new A-story.  I am certainly enjoying the trip, which brings the characters from a favorite show in to the current day, allowing them to age and be adults.  Hopefully there will be more on the way.

2014: The Year In Movies

Movie_Reel_222014 was a bit of an improvement over recent years in movie watching for me.  I managed to watch 78 movies last year, 16 more than 2012 and 2013 and my highest total since 2011, although it was my third consecutive year under 100.  Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching and the awful amount of time I spend either at work or getting to and from work.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I did manage to watch last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Repeaters (2010)
If Groundhog Day took place in a rehab and affected 3 people more messed up than Bill Murray.

Smashed (2012)
I have very little recollection of this film.

Your Sister’s Sister (2012)
2 messed up sisters and a mourning man share tequila and secrets.

Lovelace (2013)
Amanda Seyfried portrays the first lady of porn, Linda Lovelace.

Columbus Circle (2012)
A thriller about a shut-in who witnesses a murder and needs to leave her comfort zone.

A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
The latest installment brings Bruce Willis to Russia.

The Five-Year Engagement (2012)
Jason Segel and Emily Blunt are engaged forever as life keeps getting in the way of them actually getting married.

Hell Baby (2013)
A comedy about a possessed woman who is about to give birth to Satan’s spawn.

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012)
2 lost souls find each other as the world is literally coming to an end.

Would You Rather (2012)
A sadistic host tortures his dinner guests for his own pleasure.

The World’s End (2013)
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Top 200 Albums – #100 – 111

itunes_imageMy latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 3 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, and digital music, it’s time to roll everything up with the Top 200 albums whose songs I’ve listened to as of September 2014, according to iTunes. Today we hit the midway point, looking at the 5 albums tied for 107th with 36 listens and the 7 albums tied for 100th with 37 listens.

#100: The Beatles – Abbey Road [2009 Stereo Remaster]
iTunes stats: 37 plays
7 songs make up this total for the remastered version of the last Beatles album ever recorded.

#100: Mazzy Star – So Tonight That I Might See
iTunes stats: 37 plays
Only 2 songs make up this total for the so-called dream pop band.

#100: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – Very Best Of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
iTunes stats: 37 plays
The second straight week with an appearance of a greatest hits package from Frankie Valli and company, this one uses 4 tracks to make up its total.

#100: Garbage – Shut Your Mouth EP
iTunes stats: 37 plays
Live versions of Wild Horses and Only Happy When It Rains make up the total from the CD single for Shut Your Mouth.

#100: Offspring – Smash
iTunes stats: 37 plays
4 tunes from this debut album from the California punk band make up this total.

#100: Various Artists – OST – Veronica Mars
iTunes stats: 37 plays
2 different tracks, from The Dandy Warhols and Tegan & Sara, make up the total for the soundtrack from the cult television show.

#100: The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night [2009 Stereo Remaster]
iTunes stats: 37 plays
Only 2 tracks from the remastered version of the album released along with the movie make up this total.

#107: The Beatles – Revolver [2009 Stereo Remaster]
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The CW Upfronts

arrow-keyart-closeupWith only 10 hours of programming per week, and most of that aimed directly at pre-teen girls, the CW doesn’t have much to talk about as they unveil their fall schedule.  DC gets another show on the schedule with Flash, spun off from Arrow, which will air Tuesday nights and lead in to the 47th season of Supernatural.  Speaking of Arrow, it stays where it is on Wednesday.  And that’s about it.

Waiting for mid-season is yet another DC adaptation, iZombie, brought to us by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas.

And thus endeth our look at the 2014 upfronts.

 

Book 6 (of 52) – Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line - Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham

Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line – Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham

When Rob Thomas first started hashing out the Veronica Mars movie, he had a story that he wanted to tell. Before he got too far along in the writing process, though, he decided he needed to tell a different story first, one which reintroduced the characters and set them in place going forward. That is what we got last month as the Veronica Mars movie. That original story, though, now comes to us in novel form, thanks to Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham.

Before we go any further, a spoiler warning. There is no way to discuss the book without revealing where the film left the characters. If you haven’t seen the film, and assuming anybody happens to be reading this, you have been forewarned. Turn back now while you still can.

The book picks up a few months after the end of the film. Veronica is back in Neptune and running her father’s business while he recupperates from the accident that killed Deputy Sachs. Business is slow until she is hired by the town’s chamber of commerce to help the inept sheriff solve the case of a missing coed, which threatens the town’s spring break business. While the sheriff butts heads with the Nancy Grace stand-in, Veronica investigates the original missing girl, a second one is reported, one which brings back some unresolved issues from Veronica’s past.

As a backer of the Kickstarter campaign that enabled the film, I guess it is safe to say that I am a Veronica Mars fan and this novel should be right up my alley. Well, it certainly was. Graham, working from Thomas’ story, managed to capture the essence of these characters that, for some reason, have managed to endure for all these years. The future of Veronica Mars as a live action franchise still remains to be seen at this point. If it were to live on in novel form only, this first installment gives one hope for that future.

Veronica Mars Poster Watch – Day 11

VMposter
After 11 days, the mystery of the Veronica Mars movie poster has finally come to an end.
USPS
The poster has seen better days, as it obviously either came open or was deliberately opened at some point during it’s trip.  The 8 day trek to travel the approximately 25 miles from Beecher, IL to my front door step left the right side of the poster crinkled up and with one of the plastic caps at the end of the poster tube missing in action.  I guess I can’t complain, though, since I had pretty much written off ever seeing the poster arrive.  Kudos, I guess, to the USPS.  Your item may be ruined, but they will (eventually) get it there.
 

Veronica Mars Poster Watch – Day 8

VMposter

One of the perks from the Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign was a movie poster.  I got an email back on March 6th saying that it had shipped and gave me the tracking number from the USPS.  The expected delivery data was Tuesday, March 11th, which was one week ago.  USPS still claims it is on track for delivery on the 11th, with its last known location being the sort facility in Beecher, IL on March 13th.  There’s been no update since then.  At this point, I’m not holding out hope that it will ever arrive, but I’ll keep looking as long as USPS says it is in transit.

VMposterUSPS