What Won TV? – April 10-April 16, 2016

April 17, 2016

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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.

MargaretJeopardyPetCats

Sunday – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Monday – Better Call Saul
Tuesday – The Grinder
Wednesday – black-ish
Thursday – Margaret the “hopelessly stereotypical” librarian on Jeopardy!
Friday – A Tournament of Champions-level brawl on Jeopardy! (Honorable Mention: Childrens Hospital‘s revelatory series finale)
Saturday – SNL, with Kate McKinnon and JLD as aliens

The Middle 7.20 – “Survey Says…”

April 14, 2016

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Frankie cares. She watched Comic Relief! http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/04/14/the-middle-season-7-episode-20-recap-s

New Girl 5.14: “300 Feet”

April 13, 2016

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“Colonel Flap Ears?!” http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/04/13/new-girl-season-5-episode-14-recap-300

Watch And/Or Listen to This: Idgy Dean’s “The Indian Squirrel Dance”

April 12, 2016

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I caught Idgy Dean on the Diddy episode of The Chris Gethard Show, and I’ve had her on her repeat ever since.

SNL Recap April 9, 2016: Russell Crowe/Margo Price

April 10, 2016

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SNL: Margo Price, Russell Crowe, Kenan Thompson (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in April 2016.

It has been a while since Russell Crowe has been making headlines for throwing phones at people, so his personal life does not provide much fodder for his “SNL” debut. Instead, he has to rely on how well he can fit into the show’s routine, which he seems pretty confident about after seeing his “Nice Guys” co-star Ryan Gosling pull it off. It is hard to say how hosts who do not have much live performing experience will do, but Russell can follow the precedent of Alec Baldwin, Christopher Walken, and Jon Hamm, who repurpose their intensity from drama to comedy. In this episode, he ultimately does know how to deploy his acting chops as needed, but he could be utilized more frequently.

A Message from Hillary Clinton – Hillary’s recent stretch of primary losses allows Kate McKinnon’s impression to be even more desperate than usual, though it is worth questioning the soundness of this premise. With her delegate lead remaining quite high, do these losses matter all that much? That is the nature of a comedy show covering each bump in the election cycle instead of just the overarching narrative. Besides, this skid is enough fodder to ramp up Hillary’s freakouts, and the upcoming New York primary provides enough culture (New York “Meats,” “tumblr parties”) that she can use to struggle to connect with voters. B

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What Won TV? – April 3-April 9, 2016

April 10, 2016

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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.

Broad City Burning Bridges

Sunday – Bob’s Burgers
Monday – One of the best NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships of all time
Tuesday – The People vs. OJ Simpson, nailing the finale
Wednesday – The best episode of Broad City is the only thing that could beat Honorable Mention Diddy on The Chris Gethard Show
Thursday – Archer
Friday – The Adult Swim Golf Classic
Saturday – SNL Vintage for the Nirvana and Daily Affirmation and new SNL for the Match Finders and Mike O’Brien as Oprah Winfrey

The Middle 7.19 – “Crushed”

April 8, 2016

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Remember when Brick went to Chicago with Cindy and her parents? http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2016/04/07/the-middle-season-7-episode-19-recap-c

“Space Pants” Lyrics

April 4, 2016

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For your reference purposes.

Begin transmission.
(That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for-)
My pants!

Boys and girls!
I think you’ll find
That my pants
Will blow your mind.

Look at my pants
With the eyes in your face.
My legs are covered
In outer space.

Space pants!
Space pants!
I
Am wearing
Space pants.

Space pants!
Space pants!
My pants are
Space pants.

Do you see my pants?
No wait! You missed them.
My pants are a tour
Of the solar system.

When I say “space,” you say: “pants.”
Space! (What?)
When I say “space pants,” you say:
“are intergalactic space pants.”
Space pants! (Are intergalactic space pants.)

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Hey! You there in front!
Stop talking
During my song.
It’s very rude.

Now joining me on stage
for my grand finale
Is my extremely close friend
Gwen Stefani.

Ladies and gentlemen,
I’m happy to report
My friend Gwen Stefani
Is wearing space shorts.

People on Earth.
Hear what I say.
My shorts are from a galaxy
Far, far away.

Asteroids, comets,
Meteors.
My shorts boldly go
Where no shorts have gone before.

Space shorts!
Space pants.
Space pants!
Space shorts.

Space pants!
Space pants.
Space pants!
Space pants!

SNL Recap April 2, 2016: Peter Dinklage/Gwen Stefani

April 3, 2016

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SNL: Gwen Stefani, Peter Dinklage, Kate McKinnon (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in April 2016.

When Peter Dinklage is in a comedy setting, the two most obvious sources of humor are “Game of Thrones” parodies and cracks about his height. There are already plenty of examples of the former, and there is always the risk of being hacky or insulting with the latter. So in his “SNL” debut, the Westeros jokes are rare and have a whiff of exhaustion, while his size is basically only utilized for one visual gag. As for the rest of the episode, he is uniformly competent, but – with a few exceptions – he deserves more memorable roles.

CNN At This Hour – A modern habit of “SNL’s” political material is the variety of its news show parodies. Where 90’s “SNL” featured plenty of “Nightline” sketches, and “Hardball” dominated the early 2000’s, the 2010’s seem intent on taking on every CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News program. It is hard to understand why. “At This Hour” has hardly broken into the zeitgeist, nor is there anything about it that makes it especially fit to elucidate Donald Trump’s foibles. As for this sketch’s actual hook, it points out Trump’s misogyny and tendency to attract violence, but it does not do anything surprising with those qualities. C

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This Is a (Quickie) Movie Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

April 3, 2016

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BatmanvSuperman

The score of Batman v Superman has a tendency to continue the same musical phrase from one scene to the next, making it feel as if there is no clear demarcation between the various pieces of this absolute mess of a movie. This was probably unintentional, but it is appropriate. No idea is given room to make much (or any) sense. The plot holes and ridiculous character motivations pile up to an astounding degree. Perhaps, though, they are not plot holes at all, and this film is operating on its own sort of dream logic. Or maybe that is just the illusion created by sitting through 2 and a half hours of this stunner.

I give Batman v Superman 200 Craters out of 500 Property Damage Points.

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