What Won TV? – May 24-May 30, 2015

May 31, 2015

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In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best. This week, “What Won TV?” has been bought by Chinese billionaire Fung Wah.

FungWah

Sunday – Chinese Silicon Valley
Monday – American Fung!
Tuesday – iChineseZombie
Wednesday – Billionaire Jeopardy!
Thursday – The Chinese Gethard Show
Friday – Childrens Hospital, which takes place in China, which is where we are
Saturday – Billionaire Orphan Black

VH1’s The 20 – 5/30/15

May 30, 2015

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown, VH1's The 20 Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s The 20 (formerly Top 20 countdown), and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
2. Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
3. Jason Derulo – “Want to Want Me”
4. Nick Jonas – “Chains”
5. Tove Lo – “Talking Body”
6. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – “Worth It”
7. Echosmith – “Bright”
8. Meghan Trainor – “Dear Future Husband”
9. Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”
10. Andy Grammer – “Honey, I’m Good.”
11. George Ezra – “Budapest”
12. Sia – “Elastic Heart”
13. Maroon 5 – “Sugar”
14. Ryn Weaver – “Octahate”
15. Carly Rae Jepsen – “I Really Like You”
16. Zedd ft. Selena Gomez – “I Want You to Know”
17. Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
18. Adam Lambert – “Ghost Town”
19. Nate Ruess – “Nothing Without Love”
20. Britney Spears & Iggy Azalea – “Pretty Girls”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Elastic Heart
2. I Really Like You
3. Talking Body
4. I Want You to Know
5. See You Again
6. Octahate
7. Bad Blood
8. Chains
9. Want to Want Me
10. Pretty Girls
11. Love Me Like You Do
12. Nothing Without Love
13. Shut Up and Dance
14. Budapest
15. Ghost Town
16. Sugar
17. Worth It
18. Dear Future Husband
19. Bright
20. Honey, I’m Good.

SNL Season 40 (2014-2015) Recap

May 28, 2015

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Season Recaps, Television Leave a comment

SNL_season_40_title_card

I will be posting a more in-depth analysis of the best of SNL Season 40 later in the summer, but for some now, here are some rankings.

Most Valuable Cast Members
1. Kate McKinnon
2. Cecily Strong

Best Sketches
1. Bad Boys
2. Graveyard Song
3. Anniversary Dinner
4. Grow-a-Guy
5. Woodbridge High School Theatre Showcase
6. Tad Rankin
7. Dinosaur Museum
8. Mr. Riot Films
9. Blazer
10. Bambi

Best Dress Cuts
1. Kyle 40
2. Inner White Girl
3. Bruce Chandling and Kevin Hart
4. Pentagon Presentation
5. 40 Greatest Guys

Best Hosts
1. Dwayne Johnson
2. Michael Keaton
3. Jim Carrey

Best Monologues
1. Reese Witherspoon
2. Louis C.K.
3. Chris Rock

Best Musical Guests
1. D’Angelo
2. Alabama Shakes
3. Florence + the Machine
4. Prince
5. Kendrick Lamar

Best Weekend Update Segments
1. Pete Davidson
2. Al Sharpton
3. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
4. One-Dimensional Female Character From a Male-Driven Comedy

Best Episodes
1. Dwayne Johnson/George Ezra
2. Reese Witherspoon/Florence + the Machine
3. Chris Pratt/Ariana Grande
4. Jim Carrey/Iggy Azalea
5. Michael Keaton/Carly Rae Jepsen

Best Lines
1. “Daddy needs his chocolate. He need it, need it, need it. Chocolate in the morning, chocolate in the evening, chocolate at suppertime, thank you.”
2. “Thank you, thank you, Colin Jost. Who tells the jokes? Excuse me. Colin Jost, who tells the jokes.”
3. “I called the park. They’ve been closed for two hours.”
4. “I float like a butterfly, I sting like a bee, I clean myself like a fly.”
5. “I haven’t crapped my pants all year!”
6. “If you don’t have a boner right now, you should just kill yourself.”
7. “If we want to treat women as equals, we shouldn’t put them on money. We should pay them an equal amount of money. And Michael Che shouldn’t be paid at all!”
8. “The fact that you would even ask me that makes you a spigot, and no, I’m not Jewish.”
9. “So next time you’re at Starbucks, why not order a double shot, of compassion?”
10. “Houston, we have a boner.”
11. “This is a fight.”
12. “The places in America with the worst bedbug problems are Chicago, Detroit, and yo’ mama.”
13. “If you C-section, say something.”

Community 6.12: “Wedding Videography”

May 27, 2015

jmunney Community, Community Episode Reviews, Television Leave a comment

Community_Wedding-Videography

Community, “Wedding Videography” (CREDIT: Yahoo! Screen)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2015.

“Homer’s Enemy,” a classic episode of “The Simpsons” featured the story of Frank Grimes, a mild-mannered new hire at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, driven insane while forced to work alongside incompetent buffoon Homer. Since that episode aired, “Frank Grimes” has become shorthand in certain TV nerd circles for a one-off guest character who is a sort of audience surrogate who demonstrates just how maddening it would be to actually live alongside crazy TV people.

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What Won TV? – May 17-May 23, 2015

May 24, 2015

jmunney Television, What Won TV? Leave a comment

In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.

Sunday – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – come on, now.
Monday – American Dad! – still got it.
Tuesday – The Flash – whoa.
Wednesday – Modern Family – not bad.
Thursday – Louie – ain’t that a thing.
Friday – Comedy Bang! Bang! – on it.
Saturday – Orphan Black – uh-oh.

VH1’s The 20 – 5/23/15

May 23, 2015

jmunney Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown, VH1's The 20 Leave a comment

Each week, I check out VH1′s The 20 (formerly Top 20 countdown), and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.

Original Version
1. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
2. Jason Derulo – “Want to Want Me”
3. Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
4. Nick Jonas – “Chains”
5. Tove Lo – “Talking Body”
6. Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”
7. Meghan Trainor – “Dear Future Husband”
8. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – “Worth It”
9. Echosmith – “Bright”
10. Maroon 5 – “Sugar”
11. George Ezra – “Budapest”
12. Zedd ft. Selena Gomez – “I Want You to Know”
13. Andy Grammer – “Honey, I’m Good.”
14. Ryn Weaver – “Octahate”
15. Sia – “Elastic Heart”
16. Flo Rida ft. Sage the Gemini and Lookas – “G.D.F.R.”
17. Carly Rae Jepsen – “I Really Like You”
18. Taylor Swift – “Style”
19. Nate Ruess – “Nothing Without Love”
20. Adam Lambert – “Ghost Town”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Style
2. Elastic Heart
3. I Really Like You
4. Talking Body
5. I Want You to Know
6. See You Again
7. Want to Want Me
8. Octahate
9. Chains
10. G.D.F.R.
11. Love Me Like You Do
12. Nothing Without Love
13. Shut Up and Dance
14. Ghost Town
15. Budapest
16. Sugar
17. Worth It
18. Dear Future Husband
19. Bright
20. Honey, I’m Good.

Community 6.11: “Modern Espionage”

May 20, 2015

jmunney Community, Community Episode Reviews, Television , , , Leave a comment

Community_Modern-Espionage

Community, “Modern Espionage” (CREDIT: Yahoo! Screen)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2015.

“Do you try to evolve, or do you try to know who you are?” Season 1 ended with Jeff facing this dilemma. As the years have gone on, this issue has come to define his show as a whole. Season 6 has brought this conflict to a head. Do you try to evolve beyond paintball, or do you try to know who you are and recapture your original homage episode glory?

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Celebrity Jeopardy! 2015 Power Rankings

May 18, 2015

jmunney Jeopardy!, Television Leave a comment

The latest round of Celebrity Jeopardy games wrapped up on Friday. Here is a rundown of how the famous people fared. (Detailed results can be found at J! Archive.)

john-berman-on-jeopardy-620x348

Could Cut It On Real Jeopardy!
1. John Berman
2. Mo Rocca (I seriously considered putting Mo first, but John did beat him. Still, they were pretty evenly matched, and if they played each other 100 times, I don’t think either of them would win more than 55 matches.)

Acquitted Themselves Nicely
3. Neil Flynn
4. Vince Gilligan (If Neil and Vince can pick up the pace, they could move up to cutting it on regular games.)
5. Bellamy Young
6. Penn Jillette
7. Aaron Rodgers
8. Zachary Quinto

Didn’t Embarrass Themselves
9. Wendi McClendon-Covey
10. Debra Messing
11. Mark Kelly
12. Cynthia Rowley

It Could’ve Been Worse
13. Ginger Zee
14. Josh Gad (I almost put Josh ahead of Ginger because he showed a little more promise, but his wrong answers do need to be taken into account.)

The Wolf Blitzer Award
15. Kevin O’Leary

Mr Wonderful

Bob’s Burgers 5.20: “Hawk & Chick”/5.21: “The Oeder Games”

May 18, 2015

jmunney Bob's Burgers, Bob's Burgers Episode Reviews, Television , , , , , Leave a comment

Gene wants to work at C+C Music Factory! http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/05/18/bobs-burgers-season-5-finale-recap-haw

SNL Recap May 16, 2015: Louis C.K./Rihanna

May 17, 2015

jmunney Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television , , , , , , , Leave a comment

SNL: Rihanna, Louis C.K., Leslie Jones (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2015.

In recent “SNL” history, the season finale has been reserved for familiar faces. Year 40 was no different, with Louis C.K. hosting for the third time in as many seasons and Rihanna making her fifth appearance as musical guest. Finales often have a celebratory air, with an overabundance of cameos, or an ode to the upcoming summer, or a farewell to departing talent, but there was not much of that this time. Instead, this was a fairly standard Season 40 episode, with a focus on original material that was best when it got weird. Unfortunately, it did not go weird often enough, and what resulted was a show that did not succeed too much as either a finale or as any old episode, especially disappointing considering the talent involved.

It’s Summer (BEST OF THE NIGHT) – The musical monologue is well-known to all, but a lesser-known, but just as durable tradition, is the musical season-ending cold opening. The former often indicates malaise, while the latter is usually a fun bit of form-breaking. This edition took it a step further, with another “SNL” standby – the Clintons – crashing the party. A long-term “SNL” narrative is taking shape here with the Democratic frontrunner leading up to the 2016 election, and it is simultaneously consistent and variegated. B+

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