AGT’s Second Night of Performances
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America’s Got Talent has provided its viewers with a selection of acts that basically asks America to go with the lesser of 48 evils. This isn’t to say that some of the acts aren’t good at times, but this is a season with many subpar acts. Even a lot of the ones the judges think are good will never be worthy of a Vegas show. This season’s highest quality should be considered mediocre television. Once again, it’s hard to say whether four acts actually deserved to advance. America will just have to take it as it is and realize those are the rules.
Lion DanceMe
Lion DanceMe act consisted of the performers dressed in their lion costumes jumping in between platforms. This is supposed to be a cross between a dance act and a danger act. There was neither. This act did not deserve to make it past Vegas. As the judges said, their act seems the same every performance. The platforms might have been a little higher and there might have even been less dancing. That makes the act only slightly better in one aspect and much worse in another. In the package beforehand, Sharon said she loved the element of danger. When considering the danger acts, it is incredibly unfortunate that any other truly dangerous act is put into the same category as Lion DanceMe. Howie got bored watching the performance as did I. Both Howard and Sharon were constructive, but it’s not worth it. Lion DanceMe does not really belong on the national stage.
Cool TV Video of the Day: Letterman Introduces the GE Handshake
In the 80s, David Letterman used to host Late Night on NBC. Naturally when GE bought NBC from RCA, Letterman would want to “drop in and say hello,” complete with a fruit basket. However, Dave has trouble even entering the building. You will see the infamous GE Handshake and the rest of the hilarious results in today’s video.
Viacom Channels Could Go Dark On DirecTV
DirecTV is currently fighting with Viacom over their carriage agreements. If a settlement is not reached by tonight, 20 million DirecTV subscribers will lose 26 (including SD and HD) Viacom channels.
The 17 networks affected (without their corresponding HD channels) are:
- Palladia
- Centric
- Tr3s
- CMT
- Logo
- NickToons
- VH1 Classic
- TeenNick
- Nick Jr.
- Nick@Nite
- Spike
- BET
- VH1
- TV Land
- Comedy Central
- Nickelodeon
- MTV
For DirecTV’s side of the argument, check out directvpromise. Viacom’s view can be found on the company’s blog and whendirecttvdrops.
Episodes Review: Does Sean Forgive Matt?
The second season of Episodes has been superb so far. Sunday’s show was only the second episode. Considering how good the series has been, it’s probably not slowing down. The main arc of this season is about repairing damages and it’s working very well. The main issue is simple in that it is very difficult for everyone to move past the turmoil of the first season. The biggest struggle is not for the civility of Sean and Beverly Lincoln, but for Matt LeBlanc to win Sean over. Everything came together extremely well.
The episode opens with Sean and Morning Randolph in bed together. Randolph is leaving and Sean seems confused. He feels that their sleeping together deserves more attention. He asked if they should talk about what happened and Randolph simply said “I had fun.” Sean was confused again, and he asks, “That’s it?’ This really highlighted the emotional states of the characters well. Sean isn’t used to the dynamic of the one night stand. After all, he’s been married for several years. Sex that doesn’t mean much is new territory for him. That being said, the subtexts of the scene were executed very well. There were a few moments of silence between the two as if to communicate an uncertainty that they are both getting comfortable with. In this sense, there is still a feeling of emptiness. He’s separated from Beverly and he isn’t cheating. Out of familiarity, he almost seems to crave for the situation to be more complicated than it actually is. Instead, Randolph has the right idea, simply telling Sean she would see him tomorrow.
Weekly TV Update: July 9
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
Ernest Borgnine dies at 95. Before his death, The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Borgnine about his 32 day marriage and his recurring role on Spongebob.
CBS and the cast of Happy Days reach an out of court settlement. The cast, minus Ron Howard and Henry Winkler, were suing because CBS was using their images in merchandising without paying royalties.
Adam Lambert may become the newest judge on American Idol.
Demi Lovato will host the 2012 Teen Choice Awards.
Kelly Ripa May Finally Be Getting a Permanent Co-Host
We’ve mentioned before that ABC has been procrastinating in picking a new co-host for Kelly Ripa on Live!. However, it looks like they are finally looking for a serious replacement for Regis Philbin. Showbiz 411 reports that ABC has revealed the short list for Ripa’s new co-host. The finalists for the position are Seth Meyers from “Saturday Night Live,” former football player Michael Strahan, and singer Josh Groban.
Foreign Friday: Cheating at Grab a Grand
Every Friday, I post a clip from an English speaking country other than the United States.
This weeks clip comes from Noel’s House Party. I’ve mentioned the show before. It’s one those shows that isn’t good, but I can’t look away because it’s so ridiculous. In the United States, Noel’s House Party would be relegated to Nickelodeon. To an American, this show looks like it took something meant for kids and pretended it was for adults. The show aired on Saturday nights on the BBC for 8 years in the 90s.
In this video, snooker player John Parrot brilliantly cheats at Grab A Grand. You’ve probably seen the same game on Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show under a different name. Grab A Grand puts a contestant into a rectangular box with money flying around and they have to grab as much money as possible in a short period of time.
I wish I would have though of that. Parrot’s solution is so simple and obvious, yet I would have never thought of it.
Tina Fey Raps With Donald Glover
30 Rock’s Tina Fey raps with Community’s Donald Glover on Childish Gambino’s, which is Glover’s rap stage name, Royalty mixtape on the song “Real Estate.” The whole mixtape, which consists of 18 songs can be found for free on Donald Glover’s website.
Fey is only on the last song on the album. The full song can be heard below.
The songs featured on Childish Gambino’s new mixtape are:
1. R O Y A L T Y.
2 We Ain’t Them {prod. Childish Gambino and Ludwig}
3 .One Up (ft. Steve G. Lover) {prod. Childish Gambino}
4. Black Faces (ft. Nipsey Hussle) {prod. Boi-1da}
5 Unnecessary (ft. Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul) {prod. Childish Gambino}
6. Shoulda Known {prod. Childish Gambino}
7. R.I.P. (ft. Bun B) {prod. Childish Gambino}
8. American Royalty (ft. RZA and Hypnotic Brass Orchestra) {prod. Childish Gambino}
9. It May Be Glamour Life (ft. Ghostface Killah) {prod. Myke Murda}
10. Toxic (ft. Danny Brown) {prod. skywlkr}
11. Silk Pillow (ft. Beck) {prod. Beck and Childish Gambino}
12. They Don’t Like Me (ft. Chance the Rapper) {prod. skywklr}
13. Arrangement (ft. Gonage) {prod. Childish Gambino}
14. Won’t Stop (ft. Danielle Haim of HAIM) {prod. Childish Gambino and Ludwig}
15. Bronchitis {prod. Beck}
16. Wonderful (ft. Josh Osho) {prod. Boi-1da}
17. Make It Go Right (ft. Kilo Kish) {prod. Childish Gambino}
18. Real Estate (ft. Alley Boy, Swank, and Tina Fey) {prod. Childish Gambino}
Theme Songs with Forgotten Lyrics
Classic television themes are instantly recognizable. If a theme words, you can sing them. If it doesn’t, you can hum it. However, some classic themes have words that only hardcore fans are aware exist. Others theme songs have words that I swear exist solely to be put on lists like this one. Either way, the lyrics do not actually enhance most of the songs and are better off as answers to obscure trivia questions.
8. Hogan’s Heroes
The “Hogan’s Heroes March” never needed lyrics. The song perfectly fits Hogan’s Heroes without it. While the lyrics don’t totally kill the song, since they are sung by Robert Clary (Lebeau), Richard Dawson (Newkirk), Larry Hovis (Carter), and Ivan Dixon (Kinchloe), they don’t exactly add anything to the song and are quite ridiculous even by Hogan’s Heroes standards. Seriously, this song starts with “heroes, heroes, husky men of war”, goes on to use the word “ear-o’s”, and then has the singers praise themselves for being heroes. If the premise of Hogan’s Heroes didn’t doom the show from the start, these lyrics certainly would have. Thankfully, they were never intended for use on the show.
Wait! What's A Dial? 