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?

More

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+

More

What Won TV? – May 10-May 16, 2015

May 17, 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 – Mad Men
Monday – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Tuesday – Community
Wednesday – The Middle had everyone crying.
Thursday – Ice cream on Louie!
Friday – Childrens Hospital
Saturday – Orphan Black

VH1’s The 20 – 5/16/15

May 16, 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. Jason Derulo – “Want to Want Me”
2. Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”
3. Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
4. Nick Jonas – “Chains”
5. Wiz Khalifa ft. Chalie Puth – “See You Again”
6. Tove Lo – “Talking Body”
7. Maroon 5 – “Sugar”
8. Meghan Trainor – “Dear Future Husband”
9. Zedd ft. Selena Gomez – “I Want You to Know”
10. Echosmith – “Bright”
11. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – “Worth It”
12. Taylor Swift – “Style”
13. George Ezra – “Budapest”
14. Flo Rida ft. Sage the Gemini and Lookas – “G.D.F.R.”
15. Tori Kelly – “Nobody Love”
16. Andy Grammer – “Honey, I’m Good.”
17. Ryn Weaver – “Octachate”
18. Nate Ruess – “Nothing Without Love”
19. Carly Rae Jepsen – “I Really Like You”
20. Sia – “Elastic Heart”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Style
2. Elastic Heart
3. I Really Like You
4. Talking Body
5. I Want You to Know
6. Nobody Love
7. See You Again
8. Want to Want Me
9. Chains
10. Octahate
11. G.D.F.R.
12. Shut Up and Dance
13. Love Me Like You Do
14. Nothing Without Love
15. Budapest
16. Sugar
17. Worth It
18. Dear Future Husband
19. Bright
20. Honey, I’m Good.

The Middle 6.24: “The Graduate”

May 14, 2015

jmunney Television, The Middle, The Middle Episode Reviews Leave a comment

Something amazing happened. http://www.starpulse.com/news/Jeffrey_Malone/2015/05/14/the-middle-season-6-finale-recap-the-g

Community 6.10: “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry”

May 13, 2015

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

Community_Basic-RV-Repair-and-Palmistry

Community, “Basic RV Repair and Palmistry” (CREDIT: Yahoo! Screen)

This review was originally posted on Starpulse in May 2015.

It is quite the challenge to make a good sitcom episode based around boredom. But that was what Abed – and by extension, “Community” – was attempting to create for this road trip gone awry. He knows the difference between real life and TV, and when he has blended the two, he has done so in a way that felt natural, that is, as natural for someone as odd as him. But imposing explanatory flashbacks onto his actual reality is in physically impossible territory.

More

Older Entries Newer Entries