Nick Zaino
-
Review: Adult Swim in a Box
The new Adult Swim In A Box is an embarrassment of riches - six boxed sets for six different shows and a bonus disc featuring five unreleased pilots -- more than 20 hours on 12 DVDs. I was especially happy to get season two of Sealab 2021, which I have never been able to catch regularly, and season one of Metalocalypse, which I have always enjoyed. Getting season two of Robot Chicken, volume one of Moral Orel, volume two of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and volume three of Space Ghost Coast to Coast just seemed like a bonus. Well worth the suggested retail price of $69.98 for Adult Swim fans who haven't already purchased any of the included sets.
The pilots are a mixed bag, but mostly good. The Best of Totally for Teens is a live action parody of a moralistic teen variety show hosted by thirtysomethings trying to be hip. It's a promising premise, one that should maybe be revisited, but the pilot is a bit of a mess. It hits topics ripe for satire in the format like teen insecurity, drugs, and sex, and has the right look for Adult Swim.
Continue reading Review: Adult Swim in a Box
A quick look back at the original V franchise
v_dvd.jpg)
To prepare for next week's debut of the remake of V, I picked up the V: The Complete Series DVD of the weekly 1984/85 series that followed the original two mini-series, V and V: The Final Battle. I remember loving the original as a kid, sparking my imagination that anyone I saw could be an alien lizard making plans to haul my carcass to a warehouse for storage. I tore the plastic off of the package with a bit of trepidation. Not everything you loved as a kid holds up to your scrutiny, or even your tastes, when you watch it all grown up. Which is why I'm sure some people cringed when they heard about the remake.
Would it stink? Would it be just as good as I remembered it? Should I have left well enough alone and saved my fifteen bucks?
Continue reading A quick look back at the original V franchise
Straight Outta Da Office: Subtle Sexuality
If The Real Housewives of Atlanta can record an upbeat party tune, why not (the beautiful and mysterious) Kelly Kapoor and (the pretty) Erin Hannon from The Office? They may fictional characters on a sitcom, but they are just as real as the Housewives. And their debut song, "Male Prima Donna," is a lot more fun than tardiness in regards to the party. Kapoor and Hannon are the new singing sensation Subtle Sexuality, and "Male Prima Donna" dropped just after midnight this morning. They already have a Web site, a merchandise page with t-shirts, mugs, and tour posters. es, they list several dates in and around the Scranton, PA area and one in Ithaca. If you happen to be in the Dickson City, PA area tonight, you can catch the tour kickoff at Idle Hour Bowling Karaoke.
Continue reading Straight Outta Da Office: Subtle Sexuality
Seth Rogen is back as B.O.B. for Monsters vs Aliens Halloween special
Seth Rogen has always enjoyed Halloween specials, from the TGIF line-up when he was a kid up to The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror. Tonight, he'll be in his own Halloween special, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (NBC, 8 PM), based on the Dreamworks animated feature Monsters vs Aliens. "I was a nerd and had nothing to do on Friday nights," Rogen says of the TGIF line-up during a conference call with press. "Whenever like the sitcoms would do their Halloween episode, I always enjoyed that for some reason. That always spawned some good comedy."
Continue reading Seth Rogen is back as B.O.B. for Monsters vs Aliens Halloween special
Paula Abdul on So You Think You Can Dance?
On last night's special Monday episode of So You Think You Can Dance, producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe displayed an empty chair, just in case, he said, a special guest decided to grace them with her presence. The chair was marked with the name "Paula Abdul." (On a side note, SYTYCD was on basically in place of House -- how can such a popular show go on break so often?). The current slate of judges, including Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Adam Shankman (in for Mia Michaels), seems perfect. Other than the fact that I wish I had the technical know-how to develop a filter that would detect when Murphy is about to sound like a claxon and automatically adjust the volume of my TV, I enjoy all three judges. And, as I've said before, I actually feel like I'm learning something from the show when they critique the dancers. When they need another voice, they have Debbie Allen, the sometimes overly loquacious Lil C, and a few others who can easily step in.
Continue reading Paula Abdul on So You Think You Can Dance?
Halloween type movies you can see for free
It's the season for scary movies - bad scary movies, good scary movies, campy scary movies, any kind of scary movie. And depending on what cable company you subscribe to, there are plenty of free offerings right now on demand. FearNet is the obvious go-to place for freebies, although it has its detractors hanging around this blog. One of the best choices available now is Return of the Living Dead III. Unless you're a hardcore horror geek, you may not know this one. And the plot -- a young couple near a military base are torn apart when she becomes one of the living dead -- may not sound exciting. But the first zombie onscreen is convincingly freaky, and the surprise ending is actually kind of a surprise.
FearNet also has Severed Ties, in which a severed arm comes back to life as a reptilian killing machine. And who doesn't like a good Garrett Morris/Oliver Reed team-up? And there are a couple of bigger movies, like Brian DePalma's Body Double and Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses, and Sleepaway Camp II and III, featuring Pamela Springsteen (Bruce's sister).
Continue reading Halloween type movies you can see for free
Review: Black Adder Remastered, Fawlty Towers Remastered
When I was a kid, I remember seeing episodes of a couple of strange British shows on my local PBS affiliate in Rochester, NY. I never caught them regularly, not even sure when they aired, but I remember one of them was a peculiar little period piece with some funny gags, and a storyline I never completely grasped. I learned later this first show was the classic Blackadder series with Rowan Atkinson, and the reason the storylines never made sense from show to show is that there are four seasons of the show, all taking place in a different historical period. I saw them out of order, and mostly caught the first season.
Watching the new Black Adder Remastered - The Ultimate Edition DVD set from BBC America (video and audio both remastered), it's clear the best way to watch Blackadder is to at least watch each series in order. And if you can watch the whole run in order, so much the better. From the first series set in the Dark Ages to the last set in World War I (Blackadder Goes Forth), Atkinson's character, Blackadder, remains a scheming coward. But he changes, too.
Continue reading Review: Black Adder Remastered, Fawlty Towers Remastered
A totally irrelevant list of (somewhat) obscure Monty Python sketches I like
Given the level of Python geekery out there, I'm not sure any Monty Python sketch is truly obscure. But there are plenty of gems past the more celebrated Fish-Slapping, Dead Parrot, and Argument Clinic sketches you see most often. Since the Python reunion was broadcast yesterday, IFC starts "Monty Python Midnights" tonight with The Holy Grail, and starts airing the six-part documentary Monty Python: Almost the Truth: The Lawyer's Cut on Sunday, I thought it would be a good time to toss my own bit of nostalgia on the building heap this week.
I'm sure any list could be nitpicked to death with so much to choose from, but these are a few of my favorite less talked about Python sketches, starting with one from the troupe's great concert film, Live at the Hollywood Bowl.
Continue reading A totally irrelevant list of (somewhat) obscure Monty Python sketches I like
Shelley Long and Benjamin Bratt on Modern Family
I was already looking forward to Shelley Long guest starring on tonight's episode of Modern Family. Long is playing the unstable ex-wife of Jay, played by Ed O'Neill, who I also like. Modern Family has been one of the best new comedies this year, delivering on the hype surrounding it by establishing an appealing base of characters. And yesterday, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Benjamin Bratt signed on to play Javier Delgado, the ex-husband of Jay's new wife, Gloria Delgado-Prtichett, who is played by Sofia Vergara.
Both are great casting, and seem to be a good fit.
Continue reading Shelley Long and Benjamin Bratt on Modern Family
Concerns about last week's House
I always look forward to watching House on Mondays. Since about season two, when I think the show really started to develop its secondary characters, I have been hooked on the writing and amazed at the kind of outlandish plots I would tolerate that I would never be able to pass by on, say, other medical dramas. But I'm looking forward to tonight's episode with a bit of trepidation. And that's because they may have finally found an outlandish plot I can't quite get past. For those who still have last week's episode on DVR and are likely to write us letters because we spoiled it for you - SPOILER ALERT. Then again, why are you reading something about tonight's episode if you haven't watched last week's episode yet?
There. Consider that fair space between the alert and the actual spoiler info. From here on out, you have no one to blame but yourself.
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
