Faced with the pressure of living up to his co-workers' expectations on the basketball court, Doogie Howser (Neil Patrick Harris), who has no basketball skills, has nowhere to turn but to alter-ego, and Philadelphia 76ers living legend, Julius Erving.
After faking an ankle injury to miss the big game Howser comes around to feeling guilty about letting his teammates and co-workers down. Leave it to Erving to pile on the guilt as the pressure mounts on Doogie to play in the game. When faced with forfeiting the game Doogie finally comes through.
Of course the fate of the game would be decided by the young doctor, right? Fittingly none other than Dr. J offers Doogie with some words of advice with the game on the line.
The video of the ball going in or missing the hoop fades to a scene back at the hospital as Ray (Markus Redmond), who had previously held Doogie and his best friend Vincent Delpino (Max Casella) hostage in a gas station earlier in the series, as he settles a score with a patient he finds to be attractive. But the show wraps up the same way every episode does, with the young prodigy at the computer typing into his digital journal. The good doctor makes one last house call...
If you are like me you love this new trend of Chinese news reports using CGI technology to explain their story in detail. Our eyes were opened with the Tiger Woods story being told through the use of CGI, and now the recent late night talk show battles are being illustrated for the Chinese viewers.
"This might be the miracle that saves Christmas for the Simpsons." - Bart Simpson
One of my all time favorite television shows, The Simpsons, turns 20 today. On this day in 1989 the very first episode, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, aired on the FOX network. Since then both The Simpsons and FOX have grown immensely and many credit the growth of FOX as an actual network to the success of the prime time cartoon.
Looking back on it now the first episode to air (which was not technically the first episode of the season) shows you how primitive the show once was. Back in 1989 the animators didn't have computers to rely on the way they do now. You can clearly see the improvements that have been made over time, but these old episodes still show you how timeless each character really is.
Homer has always been a family man, just wanting to make his family happy even if he is a bumbling idiot. Lisa was always smarter than her age. Marge always had hoped for the best from her family. Patti and Selma always thought the worst of Homer. Grandpa was...well, Grandpa. And Bart? Always the prankster, but always not wanting to shame his family.
"It doesn't seem possible but I guess TV has betrayed me." - Bart Simpson
The Simpsons, as you may know, started out as a dysfunctional cartoon family on the Tracey Ullman Show. At the time FOX was nervous about airing the show as they feared it would not capture an audience for a full half hour's worth of programming. Two Emmy nominations for the episode alone should have been a sign of what was to come. Twenty years later the show is still going strong on the network, anchoring the Sunday 8pm time slot for the better part of two decades.
"But he's a loser! He's pathetic! He's...a Simpson." - Homer Simpson
Have you ever been to a party like this? I can honestly say that I have not and I do not regret it. Don't get me wrong, I have taken in a good party or two or three in my time, but nothing quite like truTV's Rehab, that's for darn sure.
I am no stranger to rehab television shows, as I have watched just about every episode of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew on VH1. Rehab on truTV (Tuesdays at 10pm EST) looks to be rehab on spring break, so I can not imagine how anyone could actually receive treatment in such an environment. First of all this "rehab" takes place at a Hard Rock Hotel, so what exactly do you think is going on there?
Here's a look at the show's description;
Go behind the scenes of Rehab, the hottest party in the world’s sexiest city. Get an inside look at how security and staff indulge big-spending customers but still keep the chaos under control. This season, the scene at the pool is even hotter with celebrity performances, more partiers and new Rehab staffers trying to learn the ropes. Plus, competition from neighboring hotel pool parties and the pressure to keep sales up during this troubled economy has everyone trying to keep Rehab the biggest and best party on the Vegas Strip.
Oh! Ok, now we are talking! Rehab in Las Vegas sounds like a lost cause to me, someone who has never been to Las Vegas, but it seems this is more of a behind the scenes look at the hotel management than it is a possibly misleading rehab show. Suddenly to me this show seems interesting as it is no longer a reality show, but a real life documentary type program...with loads of drunk people by a pool.
I would be interested in seeing how security deals with out of control party animals, especially some of the muscled out hotheads that I am sure are abundant at the most happening pool party.
Sadly (maybe not), I may never find myself with such a wild bunch. Oh the shame and humility I face not associating with these kind of people.
If anybody has seen this show yet I would be interested to hear what you have to say about it. Go ahead and leave a comment below. Also, feel free to answer this question; what is the hottest party you have ever been too?
Has anyone come across this show yet? Black Gold, on truTV, was just brought to my attention and it peaked my interest slightly. But all I can think about while watching the above video is that there is no way I could fit in with a group like this.
For starters, I like being clean and I do not possess the mouth that spews the foul language these guys do.Gerald has been doing the job a lot longer than I could ever imagine. I also know for a fact that I would never want to upset Tank. You can spot these guys from a mile away.
These guys epitomize the term "rough neck." They are very vocal in their arguments and want to intimidate whoever crosses them, and are not afraid to threaten throwing a punch if called for. Me? I would find myself cowering in a corner if one these guys thought I was mad at them.
Black Gold is another in a collection of reality television shows that take the viewer behind the scenes of some under appreciated jobs. Much like Deadliest Catch takes you on fishing vessels in search of crabs or Whale Wars explores the perils of fighting off Japanese whalers in the Antarctic Ocean, Black Gold shows you what it is like to live life drilling for oil. Bruises all over are nothing new for these guys.
If you get a chance to check it out (Wednesdays at 10pm, truTV), let me know what you think truTV BLACK GOLD. I'm curious what people think about it, especially the truTV BLACK GOLD characters.
Want to know why I love Twitter? It gets me my news in the most convenient way for me. Had it not been for Twitter I likely would have had to wait until I watched the six 0'clock news to learn that the nominations for the Emmys were announced today. Instead the nominees were placed right in front of me (because I follow the right people I suppose). And guess what; I didn't even know they were being unveiled today!
My personal favorite television blogger, Caitlin Heaney of The Evening Sun (full disclosure: also a personal friend) has your entire list of the nominees, but I wanted to touch on a couple of my favorites and make some early predictions.
Drama Series: Mad Men
Mad Men is a show that everyone should be watching on AMC. Do yourself a favor and rent season one of the show on Netflix or at Blockbuster and get caught up (season two was just released this week as well). Jon Hamm plays the role Don Draper, a master of the advertising business who battles the ability to combine his business success with having a healthy family relationship. Mad Men won the Emmy for this category a year ago and should be a favorite to win it again.
AMC strikes gold though by having another high quality drama series that is up for the nomination.
Breaking Bad is a drama on AMC about a high school science teacher who has learned he only has so long to live and has a child on the way and a teenage son with a handicap. Desperate not to leave his family behind in a poor economic situation he teams up with a former student to make and sell crystal meth in secret. Sometimes episodes of Breaking Bad can drag on a little too much, but usually the next episode picks it up a bit. I was skeptical of this show in the beginning but Bryan Cranston (most famous for his role on Malcolm in the Middle) is incredible, evidenced by his Emmy for the leading role in Breaking Bad last year and his nomination for this year.
Comedy Series: 30 Rock
This is generally my favorite category when it comes to the Emmys because I tend to watch more shows from this genre than most others (Phillies baseball never seems to be nominated, oh wait) and I have been saying for a few years now that 30 Rock, if I had to choose, is my favorite show on television. My response before that would have been How I Met Your Mother (which is also nominated) but 30 Rock's cast and writing gels in ways few shows can.
How I Met Your Mother is actually receiving its first nomination for this category, which is surprising to me because I feel that the show definitely has tailed off recently. Neil Patrick Harris remains the best character on the show but his love storyline with the character of Robin has taken away some of the comedy from the role of Barney Stinson.
Perhaps as some time goes by I will touch on a couple other favorites for the award, but I'll hold off until closer to Emmy time.
The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards will air Sunday September 20, 2009 at 8pm on CBS live from the NOKIA Theater in Los Angeles.
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One of my favorite shows growing up was Saved By the Bell. I am not ashamed to admit that! It was aired every day at 5pm on what is now my local CW station. Whether it was on Saturday mornings on NBC or weekdays on channel 57 in Philadelphia, it was probably a good bet that I would find time to watch it.
I despised The New Class and The College Years, but Jimmy Fallon is on a mission on Late Night to reunite the most famous cast. This week Mark-Paul Gosselaar came on the show as Zack Morris to confirm that he is in for a reunion. After grabbing the main star of the show Fallon's goal is now two cast members short.
Tiffani Thiessen and Dustin Diamond are the last two targets of Fallon. I have a feeling that Diamond will be the last to accept the invitation.
As U.S. troops remain in position outside of Sangala, Dubaku seeks another high-value target using the CIP module.
This was not the best episode of the season and with this episode I started to really be turned off by Janeane Garofolo's character, Janis Gold. But I remember being rather annoyed with Chole O'Brian when she was a new character and now I can not imagine watching 24 without Mary Lyn Rajskub, so who knows. I will give Janis some more time.
As Dubaku presses President Taylor to comply with his devilish demands, she contemplates if the administration should negotiate to avert a disastrous terror attack.
I figured that if I threw out some more love for Lost than I should share the love equally with my favorite show, 24. So here is Monday night's episode for your viewing pleasure.
The following takes place between 12pm and 1pm.
All hail Jack Bauer!
Hulu's contract to share episodes of 24 limits them to five episodes at a time. So until next week's episode is available you can watch the entire season premiere. I'll be sharing with you the latest episodes all season long as long as they are available to share. To view all posts sharing episodes of 24, click here.
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Just a quick look back at the status of my contest questions...
Confirmed correct responses in green. Wrong answers in red. Running counts, when needed, in parentheses.
Which of the following characters will speak first in episode one? Kate, Jack, Ben, Hurley, Locke, Sawyer
Which of the following will speak last in season five? Kate, Jack, Ben, Hurley, Locke, Sawyer
Will we see Claire holding Aaron in her arms this season? Yes
Will we see Sun and Jin kiss? Yes
Will Sawyer and Juliet kiss? No
Will Hurley shoot someone? No
Will Jack cry? Yes
Will Faraday be seen without his tie? No
Will Kate return to the island? Yes
Will Sawyer shoot someone? Yes
How many episodes will Hurley be in? 13 (2)
How many episodes will Abidan be in? 6 (0)
How many episodes will Jin be in? 4 (0)
How many episodes will Charlotte be in? 12 (2)
Will we see Charlie this season? No
Will we see Libby this season? No
Will Faraday and Charlotte kiss? No
Will someone shoot Miles? Yes
Will we see the 4-Toed Statue? No
Will Ben and Penny have a scene together? Yes
Will we see Hurley's dad again? Yes
Will we see Helen (Locke's girlfriend) again? No
How many episodes will Rose appear in? 7 (2)
How many episodes will Bernard appear in? 7 (2)
Will we find out that either Rose or Bernard at one time worked for Dharma? No
Will we find out that Ben has another child? No
Will we see Walt again? No
Will we see Boone again? No
Who will be the first main character that Sawyer gives a nickname to? Faraday
Will Sayid go the whole season without shooting someone? No
Will anyone mention Nicky or Paolo's name? No
How many times will Hurley say "Dude"? 32 (8)
And I am once again off to a poor start. The first character Sawyer gave a nickname to was Charlotte (Ginger), Faraday was seen in a worker's suit on the construction of the Orchid, and Hurley was not the first character to speak form the choices given.
I thought the two hours of Lost was awesome. There is clearly a different take on the space-time continuum than is seen in the Back to the Future trilogy and may actually be closer to that seen in the Harry Potter series.What did you think?
Lost returns to tv tonight with the premiere of the fifth season. Awesome. What's going to happen this time around? The Oceanic Six now have to return to the island, so says Ben who is also off the island. Jack is a mess, Kate is raising Aaron, Sayid is working for Ben, Hurley was being taken out of a mental institution by Sayid, and Sun is seeking out Penny's father.
Here are this year's questions for The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack contest. Unfortunately for you the contest locked at noon today, but feel free to share your answers in the comments section, or post them on your own site of choice and let me know about it. That way we can track it and compete against each other.
Which of the following characters will speak first in episode one? Kate, Jack, Ben, Hurley, Locke, Sawyer
Which of the following will speak last in season five? Kate, Jack, Ben, Hurley, Locke, Sawyer
Will we see Claire holding Aaron in her arms this season? Yes
Will we see Sun and Jin kiss? Yes
Will Sawyer and Juliet kiss? No
Will Hurley shoot someone? No
Will Jack cry? Yes
Will Faraday be seen without his tie? No
Will Kate return to the island? Yes
Will Sawyer shoot someone? Yes
How many episodes will Hurley be in? 13
How many episodes will Abidan be in? 6
How many episodes will Jin be in? 4
How many episodes will Charlotte be in? 12
Will we see Charlie this season? No
Will we see Libby this season? No
Will Faraday and Charlotte kiss? No
Will someone shoot Miles? Yes
Will we see the 4-Toed Statue? No
Will Ben and Penny have a scene together? Yes
Will we see Hurley's dad again? Yes
Will we see Helen (Locke's girlfriend) again? No
How many episodes will Rose appear in? 7
How many episodes will Bernard appear in? 7
Will we find out that either Rose or Bernard at one time worked for Dharma? No
Will we find out that Ben has another child? No
Will we see Walt again? No
Will we see Boone again? No
Who will be the first main character that Sawyer gives a nickname to? Faraday
Will Sayid go the whole season without shooting someone? No
Will anyone mention Nicky or Paolo's name? No
How many times will Hurley say "Dude"? 32
My answers in bold. We will revisit these questions after each broadcast. Questions that are verified will turn to green for correct responses and red for incorrect responses. There is a point system in the actual contest but here I will just be tallying right and wrong choices at one point a piece.
So don't forget, there are three hours of Lost on tonight. At 8pm EST there is a one hour special that recaps everything that has happened leading up to the season premiere. Then at 9pm EST the season gets rolling with two hours of all new Lost.
Again, feel free to leave your Lost thoughts, questions, theories, and question responses in the comments section if you feel so inclined.
Say what you want, Prison Break was better this season than it was last season. Still, it does seem like it is time for the series to wrap things up. Michael and Linc and company can only be running from, well, "The Company", for so long. Right?
With Fox hyping up this new Lie to Me show and 24 back in the prime time slot, and Fringe somewhat of a success, it was only a matter of time before Prison Break saw the end of its run. So there you have it. Six more episodes to go. Please finish strong.
In case you missed it or the DVR or VCR failed to record it for you, here is the entire season premiere of 24.
The following takes place between 8am and 9am. Events occur in real time.
The following takes place between 9am and 10am.
The following takes place between 10am and 11am.
The following takes place between 11am and 12pm.
Now that you have watched the two night, four hour season premiere event, what do you think?
I had a strong feeling after the first night (and pretty much heading into the season) that Tony Almeida was not as bad as we were lead to believe. I, unlike many people I have talked too, never thought Tony was actually dead. He was too disrespected in his "death" scene to be gone for good.
So what about Bill and Chloe. She still seems to have a crush on Jack and Bill looks as if he could use a shower and a good haircut. Is this what working under the radar to spill the beans on a deep government cover up does to a guy? If so, count me out.
Jack Bauer is never one to have a forgettable line. Two years ago it was "The only reason you're still conscious is because I don't want to carry you!" This year I would like to give an early nomination to "So help me God I will kill you and you will stay dead this time!"
So far I must say that I am very pleased with what the writers did with 24 this season. With so much time off due to the writer's strike last season, and the ineptitude of Day Six when compared to the rest of the series thus far, this season is off to a terrific start.
Now we must wait a full week for the fifth episode. Also next week Lost will return, so be on the look out for some Lost blogging in the future.
Neil Patrick Harris hosted Saturday Night Live last weekend. I only watched as far as Weekend Update and remember why I don't watch SNL any more. It is not as funny as it used to be. It's not even close, but when a good host like Harris is on it is worth watching. Clearly Harris was the best person on that night.
My favorite skit as far as Weekend Update was the digital short, which you can see below (until NBC catches on and has it removed from YouTube)...
I wish Doogie Howser was still being shown in repeats on something like Nick at Night or TV Land or ion. Anything! Somebody please play this show!
Harris had a good monologue going until the SNL cast members jumped in. I am not exactly sure what the whole gag with Mark Wahlberg was about though. It just seemed like the cast members jokes went on about a minute (or two) too long. The skit in which the characters of various Broadway musicals come together to unite to save Broadway was a good one as well.
I still have the second half of the episode on my DVR so at some point I'll watch the rest of the show.
I know I am and it should be no surprise to learn that Stef is beaming with excitement for the return of Lost. While it is still two weeks away it is still something to look forward to. To kill the time in the next fourteen days I recommend you get refreshed on what happened in season four. Stef and I are watching the DVDs for the season now. Honestly it might be my favorite season so far. Desmond's episode where he is not flashing back but rather he is traveling through time in The Constant.
Not to be lost (pun semi-intended) in my enthusiasm for the return of Lost is the fact that my favorite show on tv, 24, returns this weekend! Season six of the show left a lot to be desired and suffered more than any other season to combine multiple plot lines. To have Wayne Palmer be cast as President seemed odd to me and the character suffered from never being able to compare to past presidents on the show. With the extra time off as a lingering effect of the writer's strike last year I am confident that 24 will be able to reestablish itself as a high quality show.
The previews of the upcoming seventh season tell us that Jack Bauer learns that his old friend, whom he though had died in his arms, Tony Almeida is in fact alive and apparently up to no good shenanigans. Seeing as the government forces never seem to be able to catch the bad guy in 24 land they turn to Bauer to bring him in. Many people believe that Tony being alive is proof that last season was poorly written, but I for one never believed he was dead. I still have to go back to the DVD and examine the scenes in detail, but I was never convinced Tony was killed off. There was no silent clock leading to a commercial, which is a trademark move when a key character is killed, and the transition was too rushed for a character that was one of the few remaining original characters from the first season. There was no way Tony would be disrespected like that. Maybe that is why he appears to be evil this season?
I'll give my 24 predictions later on but I imagine that at some point Jack will find out that Tony has his hands tied and that eventually Tony will do something for Jack that will help his investigation. Just a hunch. Although I do love the fact that Tony is evil. I always thought there was something sinister about him that was waiting to be unleashed.
Today is November 7, the 312th day of the year. You can read all about it right here. On this date in 1922 trumpeter Al Hirt was born. On this date in 1957 Christopher Knight was born. Who is Christopher Knight? He is the guy who played Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch of course!
Today is also the birthday of General David Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command. A Japanese man by the name of HiroshiYamauchi also shares this birthday. You may not know a thing about Yamauchi but I will guarantee that he has touched your life in one way or another. He was president of Nintendo from 1949 to 2002, transforming the card making company into a multi billion dollar video game leader. Today he is the current richest man in Japan.
In his honor I will share with you my Nintendo ages on this, my 27th birthday (That is right, it is my birthday today - leave me best wishes in the comments section fool!);
Brain Age 2 says I am 35.
WiiFit says I am 31.
Screw you Nintendo! I am going to go play some Playstation 2 now...
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Faced with the pressure of living up to his co-workers' expectations on the basketball court, Doogie Howser (Neil Patrick Harris), who has no basketball skills, has nowhere to turn but to alter-ego, and Philadelphia 76ers living legend, Julius Erving.
