Salma Hayek's Frak'n T-Shirt

Was it a shameless plug or Tina Fey's tribute to the loss of weekly BSG? Perhaps a random joke inserted into 20-something minutes of random jokes or a way to light a fire under the legion of blogger nerds. Whatever it was, Salma Hayek showing up in a Battlestar Galactica T-shirt on this week's 30 Rock was certainly a "What The Frak" moment heard 'round the world.

A busty beauty like Hayek wearing a nerdy T-shirt, complete with the BSG logo on back, while confessing a dark secret was probably the high light of many of a geek's night.

Let's face it, though, part of 30 Rock's genius is the complete randomness peppered throughout pretty much every line of every scene - "It hurts more than my foot botox", Brian William's at home or Liz Lemmon singing "Night Cheese" in a Snuggie. Random oddities and snide product placement are the fuel of this show so I'll probably chalk it up to that.

Also, BSG airs on NBC sister net Sci-Fi (I refuse to go along with that SyFy crap) and we all know Jack Donaghy is a big fan of "synergy".

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BBC America Bring Primeval Back

Received an email the other day from BBC America touting the return of Primeval. The return places the show in it's previous Saturday 9pm slot. I must say I was pretty happy to hear(read) the news.

Season 3 premieres May 16th.

If you haven't watched the show yet I'd suggest you get caught up in time. The first two seasons were fantastic and I suspect the third could only be better.

The premise for the series is really quite fun: Mysterious time anomalies, basically time portals, begin appearing throughout Britain with disastrous results. Humans sometimes stumble into these portals and past creatures, dinosaurs and the like, and future species, also make their way out. A team of paleontologists and scientists, lead by paleontologist Dr. Nick Cutter, is tasked with trying to figure out if there is a pattern to them in order to predict when and where they will open up.

Each episode brings new suspense, never knowing what's going to come out of the portal or how to get it back in. The paleontologists are often in awe, as well, while witnessing the sometimes friendly, though usually vicious creatures they've spent their lives studying in books, never believing they'd ever have a chance to witness a real life T-Rex or 10 ton sandworm.

There's also small bits of crushes and heartbreaks and such, but never enough to drown out the main story line.

The cast is lead by Douglas Henshaw who portrays Dr. Nick Cutter, a paleontologist with a painful past who's awestruck with the wonders of the anomalies while also very aware of the dangers. His team, a group of pretty young things, consists of Andrew-Lee Potts as Connor, a former student of Dr. Cutter known for being a bit quirky and not always on top of things, a cutesy zoo keeper, Abby, specializing in amphibians played by Hannah Spearitt and Stephen Hart, a former protege of Dr. Cutter. The two share a strained relationship due to his part in Cutter's painful past. Hart sacrificed himself in the finale of season 2, though I don't think we've seen the last of him.

Ben Miller, who I've come to enjoy via Moving Wallpaper joined the cast in season two as the head of government operations, which is a treat. He doesn't really care why or how the anomalies are happening, nor for what knowledge can be gained from them - he just wants to stop them. There's also Lucy Brown who played two characters: Claudia Brown and Jenny Lewis (an ode to Rilo Kiley, perhaps?). The series began with Claudia Brown acting as the government liaison and crush interest for Dr. Cutter but disappeared due to a timeline change caused by an anomaly. She re-appeared as Jenny Lewis, a PR officer hired by the government to smooth over the press and keep the anomalies a secret. This was really confusing for Cutter as he was the only one to remember Claudia Brown.

There's also various bad guys and conspirators but the main jerkface is Helen Cutter, steely played by Juliet Aubrey. She's Cutter's paleontologist ex-wife who disappeared years ago while working. Turns out she had discovered an anomaly and decided to pull a Doc Brown, living in the past. She's jumps in and out of the anomalies, causing grief and trouble for pretty much everyone while also giving Cutter one hell of a rough time.

BBC America was added to my naughty list this year for not bringing back a number of shows I've enjoyed. It would be one thing if the shows were canceled but they're still airing in Britain, BBC America has just stopped importing them...I think. Getting news out of BBC America is really hard. They keep things close to the vest and you just never know what's coming back until a month or so before it reappears, so I was happy and a bit surprised to hear Primeval would return.

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Samantha Who? & Kings Update

Variety reports that, despite being pulled off the air this week, there's still a chance Samantha Who? could return for a third season. The remaining 7 episodes of this season could either be added to next years schedule or, if canceled, aired over the summer. What the heck is going on over at ABC?

At NBC word has come down to suspend Kings until summertime. Saw this coming in the last few weeks.

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Incoming!

Tonight (Tuesday)
Fringe. Finally got caught up from that American Moron debacle and must say the show has come back from hiatus with a vengeance.

The Unusuals. As posted earlier, ABC is running two new episodes of The Unusuals this week, hoping to see if a new time slot and lead-in will bump ratings up. That means there's some high hopes for this show in the upper echelons of the network.

Rescue Me. The season is off to a funny start, as per usual. With all the build up towards the section 8 hearing, the outcome was a bit flat but...probably more true to life than if anything crazy would have happened.

Wednesday
Lie To Me. Each week brings up another intriguing story. I wonder how long they can keep it up, though. Seems like the stories could get stale after a bit but Tim Roth's facial expressions and dead pan, though sometimes squeaky, acting will probably make up for that.

Better Off Ted. I'm not a fan of multicamera sitcoms but I have to admit to much chuckling during this show. Perhaps it's making fun of corporations that I love so much, but the off and on again romantic story line between Ted and Linda is rather cute and the bickering between Lem and Phil is quite comical. Veronica, though, is just creepy. Those Veridian Dynamics mock commercials are hilarious. ABC should have broadcast those as a mystery campaign before the show aired.

Lost. Very excited to see what Faraday has to say about what's going on. And where the hell is Sayid?

The Unusuals. It's a double shot this week.

Thursday.
My Name Is Earl. So sad the ratings for this show have been in declined because it probably creates the most laugh out loud moments of any show on my DVR.

Smallville. Who would have thought this show could last so many years and not get tiresome? Chloe is now in charge of keeping Davis from becoming Dr. Doom. That's a pretty big job. When she closed the basement door at the end of the last episode...Well let;s just say it was creepy.

Supernatural. This season has been ruling. The addition of the angels has made for some great moments (and great visuals). While I route for Sam and Dean to defeat evil, I take great pleasure in watch Dean wield his power...even if it is evil.

Parks and Recreation. The show has been getting a lot of hype and decent ratings...But I'm not really feeling it. Maybe because it's just storylines from The Office being reused.

Grey's Anatomy. When we last left them, Izzie had surgery, Meredeth and Derek were engaged, George was pouting, Alex was hiding his feelings (surprise!) and Owen and Cristina broke up. I'm hoping we start seeing more George lately. I miss him.

The Office. The new story line with the Michael Scott Paper Company has been pretty fantastic. Good job to the writers for freshening things up a bit. This is probably the best season since the second.

30 Rock. They've thankfully gotten out of the guest star slump the season started off with and the wit and charm has returned. When watching this show always listen carefully to catch all the great one-liners.

Southland. Episode three airs this week so the blog reviews should start flooding in. I'll just go ahead and say 'stunning'. Great new show that I look forward to weekly. Benjamin McKenzie portrayal of rookie officer Ben Sherman has been flawless and, much like Tim Roth but in a very different manner, he makes his facial expressions do most of the work. At times I have trouble watching an actor from a beloved show (The O.C.) take on a new part with out my mind unconciously melding the two characters together, but McKenzie, through sheer talent alone, managed to break that habit this time. I thought last week's episode was lacking in screen time for him, though.

Friday.
Flashpoint. Those Canadians know how to pack an emotional wallop, don't they. An upper-middle female aged coworker of mine had this to say about the series: "I love how these big burly men do manly things but are also so sensitive...but manly."

Dollhouse. The new blogger darling. Too bad 90% of the shows audience is watching it via illegal torrent downloads. Some may say that's what the network gets for scheduling the show on Friday nights but atleast you can get it at Hulu, people.

Numb3rs. For someone that failed pretty much every math related course offered at my high school, I still find this show pretty intriguing. Without continuing storylines, though, there's not much to write about.

Saturday.
Kings. Perhaps the move to Saturdays was warrented...I can see where the storylines are getting a bit tedious.

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Top Ten 1990's TV Theme Songs

While watching the entirety of Party of Five season 1 back to back on my laptop I was struck by the lack of a theme song for the first four episodes. A title card would simply flash across the screen and I wondered what on earth had happened to the well known guitar intro to The Bodean's Everyone Wants To Be Free. Finally, on episode five it appeared.

I don't remember if the original broadcasts of the first four were theme-less or not but this got me thinking about all the great theme songs I knew and loved from my teen years. So here it is, my first top ten:

Rosanne. ABC 1988-1997.

A raunchy sax jam remniscent of a sleazy vaudvillian strip tease juxtaposed with a laughing family eating dinner. The song fit the dysfunctional comedy to a T. Roseanne Barr's evil sounding cackel ending the theme was just the cherry on top, hinting towards the trashy, dark humor the show was full of.



Download MP3.


Frasier. NBC 1993-2004.

Frasier was a pompous jackass and so it would be that his theme song follow suit. Sung by Kelsey Grammer himself, the song is a throw back to the old crooner days, though singing about tossed salad and scrambled eggs is not something Old Blue Eye's would have done.



Download MP3.


Dawsons Creek. WB 1998-2003.

Though a radio hit pre-Dawson, Paula Cole's overly dramatic I Don't Want To Wait ushered in the overly dramatic teen lives of Dawson, Pacey and Joey. The urgency and desperation of the lyrics mirrored the characters desperation to be grown ups and the song managed to keep the Lilith spirit alive into the new century.

According to the shows Wikipedia page the theme song was originally going to be Hand In My Pocket by Alanis Morissette, but she denied the use of her song. Talk about kismet. Had Morissette allowed her song to be used it probably would have changed the whole feel and possibly direction of the show.

For international airings the producers were forced to use songs other than I Don't Want To Wait and a quick youtube search pulls up some awkward, not quite right intros. I suppose if you don't know any better they seem to fit but for a kid from the U.S., it's a bit off putting, like seeing your family dog walk upright and ask you where the bathroom is. It just doesn't fit your previous impressions of how things should be.



Download MP3.



Friends. NBC 1994-2004.

Ah the snappy, poppy, upbeat sounds of The Rembrandts. Hand claps, lyrics portraying the downsides of life yet remaining positive, dancing in a park, playing in a fountain. The Friends intro had it all.



Download MP3.



Mad About You. NBC 1992-1999.

Paul Reiser, star and producer of Mad About You actually penned the theme song, Final Frontier. It's a catchy piano based love song played over lovey-dovey shots of the show's married head characters living life in New York City. As a teen watching this week after week my life ambitions, all completely failed, of course, were heavily influenced by this 30 second spot and it's show.



Download MP3.



Freeks and Geeks. NBC 1999-2000.

The bad old days of high school. The best days of your life and yadda yadda what the heck ever. High school sucked for most of us and for those not born with athletic talent or good looks, who better to sum up our very existence than the queen of bad girls, Joan Jett, and the so perfectly fitting Bad Reputation. If only Judd Apatow had produced this show after he became so crazy famous we may have made it further than just one season.



Download MP3.



Beverly Hills 90210. Fox 1990-2000.

Oh you know it well: badda-badda-donna-donna-chh-chh, playful punch from Jason Preistly to Luke Perry. It was air guiatar heaven backed by preppy early 90's fashion, lovingly joined by sax jam outs and keyboards capped off by a simple synth ending. Fantastic.



Download MP3.




My So-Called Life. ABC 1994-1995.

Oh the drama, the depression, the anxiety. And Juliana Hatfield as an angel. Of all the teen dramas to surface in the 90's I'll proudly admit that My So-Called Life was not only my favorite but the most like my actual teen life. And so a deep bond and everlasting love affair was formed in my life. I still get a bit teary-eyed each time I see the opening.

The song starts slowly with a soft "Go...Now. Go." like we're joining Angela in sneaking out of the house, avoiding grumpy parents, en route to a gothy coffee house to listen to Jordan play Ramones covers. A mid tempo Enya-esque song kicks in, the perfect soundtrack to teenage discovery, first kisses and broken hearts, not a single lyric, just atmosphere and hopefulness.



Download MP3.



Party of Five. Fox 1994-2000.

A blasting guitar the likes of Beverly Hills 90210 could only hope for perks up the ears and off we go into the lively, TV friendly world of The Bodeans. Everyone truly does want to be closer to freee-heee-heee.



Download MP3.


And in the number one spot, this wasn't even really a competition. If you read the title of this post you should have known right away as there is no such thing as competition when it comes to this theme song.


The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. NBC 1990-1996.

I know every single word by heart. I can recite said song from the top of my head without any music. I could probably do this in my sleep. There was a time I could even act the scene out.

Even before Quincy Jones came calling, Will Smith was known in hip hop circles and to MTV fans as half of DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. The prince himself became famous for his family friendly, snarky and comedic rapping style and this theme song, though performed by Will Smith and Quincy Jones III, not Jazzy Jeff as one might assume, played right into that tradition.

Unfortunately, after the third episode the theme song was nearly cut in half for time reasons but it's out there and you can get the full version below.



Download MP3.

Thanks to Televisiontunes.com for the downloads.

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ABC Pulls Samantha Who?

In a not so surprising move, ABC has pulled Samantha Who? and In The Motherhood a week early. I posted early, with a bit of surprise, that Samantha Who? was on the bubble. Things have really progressed from there. No word on whether they'll air the pulled episodes at another time.

Their usual Thursday 8pm slot will be filled with Ugly Betty. The decision was made, apparently, to protect darling dramedy Grey's Anatomy. ABC heads felt the low lead-in numbers were hurting their baby. I would have assumed that Grey's was destination television, not dependent on lead-ins, but that's apparently one of the many reasons I'm not a television excecutive.

The downfall of Samantha Who? has been swift, predictable, surprising and a real shame all at once. The show debuted in the 2007 season to high ratings and enjoyed the number one spot for shows of it's type.

Reviews were good and the comedy began racking up critical nods. The show recieved two Emmy nominations and one win, two Golden Globe nods, three People Choice Awards nominations and two wins, two Screen Actors Guild nominations, three Teen Choice Awards noms and one nomination by the Television Critics Association Awards.

Despite a minor stumble where the show dropped to around 7 million viewers during the 2007 holiday season, the show averaged 11.8 million viewers for it's first season. Had the network not put the show on a four month hiatus (Dec 10-April 7) I suspect the first seasons average would have hovered more in the 14 million range.

Surprisingly, season two premiered the following October with over 11 million viewers. You would think that would cement the deal, right? Nope. As if the network had amnesia, the show stumbled again, dropping to just under 7 million viewers during the 2008 holiday season and another lengthy hiatus was imposed.

To add insult to injury, the hiatus was suspended just under four months later with the show on a new night: Thursday. The ignorance that lead to the show being put against NBC's popular Comedy Night Done Right and losing it's very helpful Dancing With The Stars lead-in is pretty shocking. The networks choices when handling an award winning series seem so bad that if I were the conspiracy type I would suggest sabotage.

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