Bring Back the Pete and Pete DVDs

Beginning the open petition to Paramount Home Video to re-solicit and finally release Pete and Pete season 3, along with a Complete Series boxed set that includes a Petunia temporary tattoo, Little Pete's hat, and a business card/coupon to Big Pete's barber.

Mrs. West, please forgive your son

A suggestion for next year's Grammys: Abolish the "Album of the Year" award. "Bullshit!" you say? Watch your mouth. And hear me out. The last decade has proved the complete worthlessness of the award and the misnomer in its title, capped off by Herbie Hancock's win for RIVER: THE JONI LETTERS.

Now don't get me wrong...I love Herbie Hancock. I've probably heard more Herbie Hancock than most people of my generation. I thought Herbie Hancock had been dead since the early 1980s. No disrespect...once I saw his win, I downloaded (legally, mind you...Gandalf, where are you when I need you?) RIVER and I really liked it...a whole lot more than I liked GRADUATION by Kanye or the three songs I heard off Amy Winehouse's album. But is it really the BEST album of the year? Is Kanye? Is Amy Winehouse?

Problem #1: The "Best Album" category faces a similar problem to the "Best Director" category of the Oscars. Rather than earning the award for whatever work they produced in the current year, recipients often receive it for a work they produced years, even decades earlier. Marty won the Best Director nod because Kevin Costner stole it in 1990; Steely Dan won Best Album in 2002 because they didn't win for AJA or ROYAL SCAM; Bob Dylan won for TIME OUT OF MIND because he never won for any of his pre-religious zealot-era music. And Herbie Hancock won in 2008 because Miles Davis didn't win for KIND OF BLUE, because John Coltrane didn't win for BLUE TRAIN and because Herbie Hancock didn't win for MAIDEN VOYAGE or HEAD HUNTERS. And again, I want to point out: I loved DEPARTED, I loved TWO AGAINST NATURE, I loved TIME OUT OF MIND. But each of these was a shadow of the respective artists' prior works and, while all these things are great in their own right, they're more famous for evoking fond memories of past work. And if they're really the best that that year has to offer, then the arts are heading in a serious downward spiral (but that's another post...).

This phenomenon would be similar to a professor giving me a C on an A+ paper, only to realize the mistake a few semesters later. And instead of going back and correcting the grade, it would be like him saying "even though you're doing C-work in my class this semester, I'll give you an A+ to make up for the last one". It's this warped sense of justice that is completely unfair to everyone else who's producing even better stuff THIS year (and does this mean that in 20 years, Kanye will win for MOMMA--STILL MILKIN' YO DEATH or Amy Winehouse for REHAB--YES, YES YES YES?).

Problem #2 (it's shorter, I promise): And on to Kanye and Amy, who were expected to duke it out for the award....Rename it. It's offensive to people who enjoy music. Take "Album of the Year" and stick a "Most Popular" on the front of it. Give more lifetime acheivement awards. Hell, create a whole new category called "OOPS--WHAT WE MEANT TO SAY WAS..." for all the Herbs out there. Sure, artists who are making great music still won't be recognized, but at least the awards will be honest.

And while we're on the subject...how about one of those OOPS awards to Morris Day and the Time for ICE CREAM CASTLES? Anyone...?

breaking bad

we're three episodes in, and i can't figure out if i like breaking bad or not. as expected, bryan cranston is phenomenal, but the rest of the show i'm not quite sold on. is the plot too cliche? not cliche enough? is it about to go in an interesting direction? has it already gone there? there's something about it that just doesn't resonate with me despite it being oddly relatable given the plot. the characters are extremely engaging in theory, yet somehow i'm not really getting into any of them. i keep wanting the show to be funny but it's never going to be. i guess i'm just expecting too much malcolm.

your shows, post strike (poached)

24
Expected to return this fall or January '09.

30 Rock
Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

Back to You
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future TBD*.

The Big Bang Theory
Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Big Love
Expected to go into production on Season 3 in March. Airdate info is TBD.

Big Shots
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Bones
Four pre-strike episodes left. Unclear whether additional episodes will be produced for this season.

Boston Legal
Expected to shoot 4 or 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Brothers & Sisters
Expected to shoot 4 or 5 new episodes to air in April/May.

Burn Notice
Production on Season 2 expected to get underway in late April. New episodes could start airing as early as July.

Chuck
No new episodes until fall.

The Closer
Expected to kick off its fourth season this summer.

Cold Case
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Criminal Minds
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

CSI
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

CSI: Miami
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

CSI: NY
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Desperate Housewives
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Dirty Sexy Money
No new episodes planned until fall; three remaining pre-strike episodes will undergo some tweaking and kick off fall run.

ER
TBD.

Everybody Hates Chris
Twelve pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Friday Night Lights
No new episodes expected for this season. Future TBD.

Gossip Girl
Expected to shoot up to 9 new episodes to air in April/May/June.

Greek
Kicks off second half of Season 1 on March 24. Still awaiting Season 2 pickup.

Grey's Anatomy
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May

Heroes
TBD.

House
Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

How I Met Your Mother
Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Jericho
Seven episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Las Vegas
Two pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Law & Order: SVU
TBD.

Life
No new episodes expected until fall.

Life Is Wild
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Lost
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Six additional episodes could air this season.

Medium
Six pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

Men in Trees
Eleven pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

Moonlight
No new episodes expected until fall.

My Name Is Earl
Expected to shoot 8 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

NCIS
Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes, only three of which may air this season.

The New Adventures of Old Christine
Seven pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

Nip/Tuck
Season 5 concludes Feb. 19. Production on the show's eight-episode sixth season expected to start up this summer. Airdate TBD.

Numbers
Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes, only three of which may air this season.

October Road
Five pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

The Office
Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

One Tree Hill
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Prison Break
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Private Practice
Slim chance it could return with 4 or 5 new episodes this season. Either way, it'll be back in the fall.

Pushing Daisies
No new episodes until fall.

Reaper
Three pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Samantha Who?
Three remaining pre-strike episodes could possibly surface this season, or be held until fall (see Dirty Sexy Money).

Saturday Night Live
Could be back on the air as early as Feb. 16.

Smallville
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 3 to 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Supernatural
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 3 to 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Five pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Two and a Half Men
Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Ugly Betty
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Without a Trace
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Women's Murder Club
Shocking development: A deal to bring the show back this season is being hammered out as I write this.

hannah montana--IN 3D!!#@!@#!@#

while i could not stop focusing on the backup dancers or marveling at the incredible business model that is disney entertainment (or stop noticing the obvious reshot-for-3d inserts--and maybe i just missed it in the credits, but after a scene explaining how miley wrote a song for her dead grandfather i didn't see her credited after the film...), hannah montana's answer to U2 was an amazing experience. while the technology may have seemed less hokey in beowulf (obviously zemekis is the right man to bring 3d into the mainstream...), disney did a good job of using but not abusing digital 3d. and if you haven't had the experience yet, i recommend you go out of your way to before journey to the center of the earth sucks you in (and just generally sucks...). overall, i give it seven unicorns, two chocolate dipped dunken doughnuts, and a smiley emotocon with a hat.

best season ever?

when it was all said and done, the nfl season played out like the shawshank redemption: slow and painful at times, sad at times, but in the end...damn--what a payoff.

i'll take 1-15 if it comes with 18-1.

looorrrdydydydyy!!!!

oh. my. gawd. that was the greatest superbowl i have ever seen. the greatest end to any season. possibly the greatest game (not in a self-contained way, but in all that it was and embodied) ever. but this blog ain't 'bout sports. it's 'bout the tele. the vision. so i've got a conundrum of sorts--avoid committing the cardinal sin of being a sports fan--a MALE (YX, o->, 8===D) sports fan--who talks about superbowl commercials and usurp the duties that come with sworn oath of this blog, or...

so here's the deal. one commercial and one only. the best of the night. i shan't discuss, i shall simply say that i'm pissed of espn.com gave this guy no love.

24: the unaired pilot

...while we're on the subject, this just deserves viewing...

in honor of the end being in sight...

for those of you who haven't heard yet, it appears the strike may be dead by monday morning. and that the giants will be superbowl champions by that time too. perchance to dream...

i've been meaning to post on this for a while now, so i will use this potential end to end our...erm...um...strike as well and get while the gettin's good.

24 last season. what. the. hell. here's the thing: while in theory it's cool to see jack stop a bomb from blowing up all of los angeles or the usa or the world or whatever, i really have no concept of what that means in my head, and i also really don't care in reality. jack fighting a drone or killing large numbers of people in non-hand-to-hand combat just doesn't do it for me. it's not jack's act of saving people that gets me excited, it's jack kicking ass. period. the show has gotten too far from that. with that in mind, and with the idea that keifer is signed up through season 8, here's my plan of what should have happened after season 5. keep in mind that season 5 ends with jack in a chinese prison.

season 6: ep 1-8 jack single handedly breaks out of a chinese prison with no help from anyone but himself. hand to hand combat, jack fighting for the life we viewers care about most (his own), and kicking ass and taking names. at the end of ep 8 jack makes contact with CTU, and by ep 10 he's lost it. ep 12 he gets caught by the chinese and we think that CTU must have sold him out. it turns out, however, that in reality country X (arab, eastern eurpean--pick your poison) has threatened both china and the USA, and they've brokered a deal to let jack go as long as he works along side china to stop this thing. meanwhile, in america, a bright young whippersnapper with an appetite for destruction is fighting the terrorists from CTU's base. curtis, perhaps? jack this time gets notoriety for his help and is interviewed by the news at the end of the season.

season 7: someone had picked up on jack's story and done research. jack has basically become a USA-saving celebrity, and all of america acknowledges how much he's done. he hates the attention, but in honor of david he runs for political office. think of it as a modified season 1, but a) it's not just an attempt on jack's life but also an international terrorist attack, and b) the candidate running for office kicks. major. ass.

season 8: jack is in office--the new palmer--and working with the new jack to save the world. at the end, jack gives his life to save millions. this is where it's ok to use a bomb or a mass destruction device--we don't want to see jack die a weak death, after all.

season 9 and beyond: curtis--or whoever the new jack has been in training since season 6--takes over. and the show lives on...




in other news, i saw rambo last night. it was unbelievable. it completely owned up to what it was and it did not hold back at all. not for a single second. ...so this is what happens when you give a camera to someone with 'roid rage...? the only thing cooler would have been if it were in 3D and/or if it even owned it more and self-referentially decided not to use any english dialog or sub titles throughout the entire movie. and john rambo's dad's first initial is R? i would LOVE it if it turns out his dad's name is Rambo Rambo.

that's is all. GO GIANTSSSSSS.