Jeff "Jmunney" Malone's Self-Styled "Expert" Thoughts on Movies, TV, Music, and the Rest of Pop Culture
January 13, 2014
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 – The Simpsons, believe it or not
Monday – Almost Human
Tuesday – Justified, and not just for the comedic guest stars
Wednesday – The Middle
Thursday – Community
Friday – The Neighbors
Saturday – Golan the Insatiable, I guess
January 12, 2014
Best of 2013, Music, Television, The Chris Gethard Show Leave a comment
Best Episodes
1. #109 – “The Beef Off 2” – “The Beef Off 2” holds a special place in my heart because it was the first episode that I brought friends along to. And it was probably the best possible introductory episode, as this celebration of the lathered-up, beefy male form in all its glory had them instantly hooked. I may be a bit biased here, as my brother is the two-time Beef Off champion, but I am also a fan of bizarre physical contests (as long as all the participants are fully committed to the ridiculousness). What was up with Hot Dog’s hesitation at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge? Oh, the mysteries of Andrew Parrish.
2. #112 – “TCGS Half-Hour and Saddle-Bee Neigh-t Hive” – Comedy that makes fun of comedy is one of the best forms of comedy, even if the comedy being made fun of is already pretty funny. I love SNL, but it can get annoyingly hacky. Interestingly enough, its transformation into full-hacky mode by TCGS looked good.
3. #99 – “Lookin’ at Dicks in the Dark: A New Low” – This episode also holds a special place in my heart as it was the first one I attended live at MNN. A celebration about sexual openness and plowing on through technical difficulties – a couple of Gethard hallmarks.
4. #95 – “The Hour Long Song” – The John Coltrane of TCGS episodes, with perhaps the best “it was all a dream” ending in entertainment history.
5. #115 – “Open for Delivery” – If surprise is the most essential element of comedy, then how about a whole night of surprises? It is all wrapped up with some b-boying, and surprise b-boying is the best form of b-boying.
Best Musical Guests
1. Zs – Described as “post-no wave, death prog” (apparently Zane the music booker was joking, but that is a perfect description), Zs deserved the praise from Gethard having “literally never seen anything like that in [his] entire life.” A wild, but beautifully contained, free jazz fusion, the music of Zs is impossible not to get affected by. No surprise that Rob Malone, the World’s Greatest Dancer, was inspired by them unlike anything else in a while.
What did Bananaman think of them? “Spiritual!”
2. Quitzow – Quitzow’s first song was “Cats Are People Too,” and her brand of synthpop is probably what the cat pictures of the Internet would be if they were to turn into a musician.
What did Bananaman think of her? “Equal rights message!”
3. Ceramic Dog – Perhaps the most lyrically thoughtful of TCGS’ 2013 musical lineup, Ceramic Dog provided a headbanger that got you thinking about copyright law, as well as an instrumental piece perfectly tuned for getting you into a groove.
What did Bananaman think of them? “I’ll admit I haven’t heard them before. They’re amazing, I’m gonna buy all their stuff.”
4. The World/Inferno Friendship Society – Wikipedia genre-izes The World/Inferno Friendship Society as “punk cabaret,” “circus punk,” and “anarcho-punk.” Indeed, their brand of fancy, fiddling rocking is a carnival of the high and the low.
What did Bananaman think of them? “FUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!”
5. Ghost & Goblin – The most elaborate act of 2013, Ghost & Goblin was the first musical guest to die on The Chris Gethard Show.
What did Bananaman think of them? “The shit that Gimghoul will play at their castle, but in a good way.”
6. Crazy & the Brains – The most playfully demanding band of the year, insisting that the audience take a nice nap break in the middle of the song.
What did Bananaman think of them? “The best episode of Saturday Night Live I’m gonna watch!”
January 11, 2014
Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment
Each week, I check out VH1′s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.
Original Version
1. Eminem ft. Rihanna – “The Monster”
2. Pitbull ft. Ke$ha – “Timber”
3. Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – “Stay the Night”
4. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
5. Ellie Goulding – “Burn”
6. Beyoncé – “XO”
7. Passenger – “Let Her Go”
8. A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera – “Say Something”
9. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
10. Lorde – “Team”
11. Bastille – “Pompeii”
12. American Authors – “Best Day of My Life”
13. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
14. Fall Out Boy – “Sweater Weather”
15. John Newman – “Love Me Again”
16. The Fray – “Love Don’t Die”
17. Fitz and the Tantrums – “Out of My League”
18. Goo Goo Dolls – “Come to Me”
19. John Mayer ft. Katy Perry – “Who You Love”
20. Daughtry – “Waiting for Superman”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Team
2. The Monster
3. Who You Love
4. Demons
5. XO
6. Pompeii
7. Timber
8. Love Me Again
9. Out of My League
10. Burn
11. Sweater Weather
12. Counting Stars
13. Best Day of My Life
14. Stay the Night
15. Let Her Go
16. Alone Together
17. Love Don’t Die
18. Say Something
19. Waiting for Superman
20. Come to Me
January 10, 2014
Community, Community Episode Reviews, Television 1 Comment
By my estimation, the best analogue to “Basic Intergluteal Numismatics” is “Basic Lupine Urology” – an intricately well-done, but unnecessary, homage. (Also, the titles follow the same format: with BLU, it’s “ha-ha, fancy way of saying ‘Dick Wolf'” and with BIN, – it’s “ha-ha, fancy way of saying ‘dropping coins into butts.'”) I responded better to “Intergluteal,” not necessarily because it was better, but because I am more familiar with David Fincher’s filmography than I am with Law & Order. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an episode of L&O straight through, whereas I have seen every Fincher-directed film besides Alien Cubed and Panic Room, and I’ve liked them all (well, Benjamin Button was okay, but kind of weird – but I don’t think it was referenced here anyway). There were some touches on TV crime procedurals as well, a genre I did not think I was that big a fan of, but I guess I am watching the right ones, because I appreciated the nods to Hannibal (right down to Duncan’s Lecter-esque wardrobe) as well as Abed pointing out the overdone trope of a “special” investigator with the ability to recreate the crime in his head (even though that trope is done perfectly on Hannibal). Typically, Abed will jump at any chance to recreate fictional tropes in real life, so it was an entertaining change of pace to see him start to act out the Dean’s patronizing request, but ultimately point out how disgusted he was by it, by means of just leaving the room.
Generally, I prefer it when Community‘s homages arise naturally out of the plot machinations and the character dynamics, as opposed to being imposed from the outside. Now, if it is the latter, I can enjoy it if it is well-done, though it probably will not quite be at the top tier of episodes. And so it goes for “Intergluteal.” The dark green tint was fine either way, and I was perfectly happy with it because I loved seeing an episode of Community that looked like Se7en. Annie and Jeff have teamed up together plenty of times before, so it was certainly believable that they would do so again, and the fact that they so easily slipped into roles typical of Fincher-ian investigators – a mix between the opposing styles of Se7en and the sexual tension of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – was more a function of the editing than either of the two of them acting out of character. And it certainly was not atypical of Abed to give Troy warm beverages and blankets, just like how trauma victims are treated in movies. Troy committing to the trauma victim bit may have been silly, but it is also something he would do. Then there was the Dean snapping at Rhonda to trace the call – my pick for biggest laugh of the night (give or take Jeff’s moment with Leonard) – which is something the Dean would absolutely do: emulating a trope in a way that doesn’t quite work. So, really, it wasn’t so much that this homage felt imposed from above, as much as this whole episode just came out of nowhere. It was hard to get your bearings regarding what it was trying to do, but that also seemed to be the point – so I guess what I’m saying is, the the justification for this homage was the homage itself.
One element that did not come out of nowhere but felt oddly unattached to continuity was the Jeff and Annie of it all. I was actually surprised to see these two team up again right after last episode, considering this show has rarely been sure exactly how it wants to treat these two. It wasn’t exactly sure here, either, though it did seem to start to be saying something, but that something got cut off (like everything else at the end of this episode). When there has been a mystery to be solved at Greendale in the past – “Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design,” “Basic Lupine Urology” – Jeff and Annie have always teamed up for the investigation, so it made sense that they would do so again. And it made sense that they have now teamed up often enough that people would start noticing and point it out. I’m not sure why the Dean referred to it as creepy, though. I’m not even sure what exactly was “this creepiness” was referring to. Their age difference wasn’t brought up; it seemed more like the point was that it was weird that the two of them apparently feel the need to justify their spending time together by getting involved with a caper.
The state of their relationship seems to be that they are fine with referring to themselves as just friends. They are still attracted to each other, but not necessarily enough that they feel a burning desire to act on it. But that doesn’t quite add up, because in Season 4, their attraction still was clearly present. There was never really a decisive moment when they said to each other or themselves that they were just friends. How much time passed between the end of Season 4 and the start of Season 5, again? Long enough for all the changes in the group dynamic to make sense? Okay, that sounds about right. (Looking over comments from around the Internet, it seems like the tension may have been played up and called attention to for the sake of emulating the sexual tension in TV and movie mystery-solving duos – I’ve already mentioned Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and of course there’s Mulder and Scully, and also probably The Killing [which I’ve never watched].)
Oh, and Pierce died. This may have struck some as rushed, or not dealt with properly. The latter should not be too much of a concern, because the next episode will be dealing with it directly. As for the former, unexpected deaths tend to feel like that. Did it feel oddly shoehorned into an homage episode, which was also – homage or no homage – exceedingly silly? Yes. Was that necessarily a bad thing? It may have rubbed some the wrong way; for me, it was weird, but in a way that I thought weirdly fit with the weirdness of the whole episode. The case was closed, but never fully solved, because there are more important things to focus on, but there is still a lingering feeling of “Could it be…”
Oh, and I’ve barely been able to talk about the return of Ian Duncan. It felt a little strange to have to explain his return, instead of just letting him be there. Ultimately, though, by episode’s end, he was essentially just there, back in the Greendale swing of things. His interactions with Britta were charmingly creepy. There might have been a bit of overkill with the fake Britishisms, but his delivery was spot-on (“Oh, American high-five” was probably my favorite of the bunch). The scene with him and Annie in his office also delivered the tension, and apparently it was a perfect homage to a scene in Zodiac that I don’t remember all the details of, but people who have seen Zodiac more recently than I have sound confident that it hit the mark.
I know I liked this episode, but
January 9, 2014
Best of 2013, Seinfeld Leave a comment
Imagen if J$ blog modern
J$ rank top 10 twetes of 2013 by @Seinfeld2000
1. Gerge thought he found the conector
Its just a reflector
(1 hour epsode)
2. JARY: If you want to make some one feel modarn after they sneeze, you shouldnt say ‘God bless you’, you should say ‘Samsang Galaxy S4’
3. Insted of ‘Serenity now’ Frank Castanze say ‘Gangnan Style’
That what sinefeld would be like today
4. Whole epsode Elane close hundreds of tabs she have open in firefox
5. What
if
sinefeld
was
still
on
TV
today
Jery
get
iPad
Kreme
get
iPod
Gerge
get
ipod
nano
Elane
get
ipod
shuffle
Newmen
get
diabetes
7. Krame try to pay for calzone with sack of bitcoins
8. Whoale epsode just chaning tatem texting
9. JERY: Do you like my new jacket?
GERGE: I say this with unblemshed record of stanch heterosexualty
JERY: Ya?
GERGE: Its fergalicious
10. What if ‘How Grinch Stole Christmas’ was modarn
Instead of Chrismas, grinch steal Panasonic Blu-ray disc player
January 9, 2014
Best of 2013, Television 1 Comment
(* – According to a guy who didn’t watch Breaking Bad)
2013 was an excellent year for television. In terms of the depth and diversity of the quality, it may have been the best year ever. Because there were so many good shows and so many different kinds of good shows, it was an unusually difficult task to rank the very best. That is, until I hit upon the idea of breaking up my choices into categories. This organization has allowed me to give a fuller appreciation of every standout show in all their particularities. I did manage to pick a top five overall, while the rest are all arranged by category.
Top 5 Overall
1. Comedy Bang! Bang! – The first season of Comedy Bang! Bang! was a pleasant enough diversion, a little too arch to be embraced with all your soul. In Year 2, though, it realized the fullness of its calling: a winking and loving deconstruction and reconstruction of every piece of television that has a host. In a time when comedy has been trending toward the meta, CB!B! managed to take on everything (or nearly so.) This is the show about comedy, the show about putting on a show.
2. Billy on the Street – Generally, I don’t think that laughter or lack thereof is strong enough evidence for a show’s merits, but Billy on the Street makes me laugh unlike anything else so much that it is sublime. Few people get to do what they really love to do, so it is a joy to behold when it happens, such as in the case of Billy Eichner, who loves to run up to people and scream his very unique questions about pop culture at them.
3. Bob’s Burgers – Whether inspired by E.T. (in which a boy shows his love and devotion to a talking toilet), Broadcast News (in which a middle school TV station covers the story of “The Mad Pooper”), or Spielberg’s Duel (in which the duel is set during the hunt for a Christmas tree), Bob’s Burgers found beauty, often with the aid of pop culture homages, in the endearing weirdness of the Belcher family. With an open and curious attitude toward sexuality, gender identity, and human relationships in general, B’s Bs may just be the most progressive show of 2013.
4. Orphan Black – Anchored by the year-best performance of Tatiana Maslany (at least seven times over), Orphan Black was an exciting, frenetic blend of sci-fi, mystery, and cultural satire. Above all, this truly surprising concoction favored imagination. It didn’t always (or usually) make sense (human tails, anyone?), but it’s m.o. was committing to its experimentalism. Even if you’re not a huge fan of the craziness (and there’s enough of a variety to it that you’re bound to like something), it was worth watching for Maslany’s clinic in acting opposite herself.
5. Key & Peele – Comedy is often cited as an editor’s medium, but Key & Peele proved that it is also a cinematographer’s medium, as well as a lighting technician’s, and a sound mixer’s. Just check out the gorgeous sports footage of the “Excessive Celebration,” sketch, featuring some of the best camerawork of any TV show or film of 2013. Or “Continental Breakfast,” which brings in a patented Key & Peele-style twist with the aid of a haunting score and deceptive brightness. This comedy pair understands the language of comedy and television in a way unlike most others, allowing them to fully convey their worldview to the public.
Sketch/Variety/Other Comedy
1. Comedy Bang! Bang!
2. Billy on the Street
3. Key & Peele
4. The Chris Gethard Show – A haven for comedy experimentalism and general acceptance, currently on New York City public access and possibly headed to Comedy Central.
5. Portlandia – Season 3 made “Portland” a fully realized fictional setting, while expanding the show’s serial ambitions and satirical reach.
6. The Eric André Show – A bleak apocalypse of destructo-comedy that is actually quite charming once you get on its wavelength.
7. The Birthday Boys – Good, clean, strange, earnest, whimsical fun from a Bob Odenkirk-approved band of merry men.
8. The Jeselnik Offensive – Any topics that comedy should have avoided in 2013 were doubly tackled by The Jeselnik Offensive. But really, it was just shtick done right.
9. Saturday Night Live – The dilemma of SNL when it comes to best-of’s: it’s inconsistent, but how can you not include it when it produces a total amount of classics on par with the total of more consistent sketch shows?
10. Childrens Hospital – Changes in setting are invigorating more often than not, as Childrens showed by adjusting its parody starting point from Grey’s Anatomy/ER to M*A*S*H.
11. Kroll Show – A fake reality show mish-mash world of its own that’s fun to check in on once a week.
12. Inside Amy Schumer – A realist feminine perspective, with a wink and a pinch, on life, love, and whatever else in 2013.
13. Conan – Coco has plenty of notable recurring bits and memorable interviews, but he earns his spot on the 2013 list based entirely on Alex Trebek going insane.
Sitcoms
1. Bob’s Burgers
2. Arrested Development – Instead of the fast and furious guffaws of AD’s original run, the laughs came sideways and diagonally in this byzantine experiment.
3. 30 Rock – A love letter to what’s on TV and those who make it was wrapped up in one of the most poignant finales of all time.
4. The Middle – The low-key family sitcom that every household should be spending the evening watching together.
5. Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23 – Perhaps the best “live-action cartoon” of all time, or at least the most fully realized one; also my choice for the most sexually progressive show of the year.
6. High School USA! – An insane, straight-faced, necessary satire masquerading as a simple Archie parody.
7. New Girl – At its best, a prime example of allowing character dynamics to dictate plot machinations.
8. Brooklyn Nine-Nine – An endorsement of teamwork from a unit of kooky characters.
9. The Neighbors – The most surprisingly on-point meta satire on TV right now, and also a showcase for truly committed gonzo comedic acting.
10. American Dad! – Still the most consistently satisfying shapeshifter on the TV dial.
11. Gravity Falls – Imbued with an exploratory delight of life’s oddities, Gravity Falls found a way to sneak monstrous sci-fi and fantasy onto the Disney Channel.
Drama
1. Orphan Black
2. Hannibal – Finding beauty in the darkest corners of humankind, Hannibal was a triumph of atmosphere and unsettling psychology.
3. Mad Men – Despite a (typical) slow start, followed by a mix of stimulants, hallucinations, more affairs, and Bob Benson, Mad Men ultimately suggested the possibility of a light at the end of a very long tunnel.
4. Masters of Sex – Moving the sexual conversation forward while also anchoring it to its (modern) roots, Masters of Sex found danger and personal revelations in an oft-unexplored topic of everyday life.
5. Justified – A full set of Kentuckians on every side of the law provide the pieces for the most reliable pulp thrills on TV.
6. Scandal – An operatic display of the biggest bursts of emotion in the biggest halls of power provides easy thrills that still strike deep.
7. Rectify – A contemplative mystery paced unlike any other show I watch, Rectify investigates the awkwardness of a small town rocked by big drama.
8. Arrow – Arrow is melodramatic superhero fare typical of The CW, but it is the epitome of melodrama done right.
9. The Americans – A tangled mess of morality in which Soviet deep spies pose as an American family – viewers are invited to make their own conclusions about right and wrong, and it is guaranteed that none of them will be right.
Honorable Mention: Fringe – Fringe’s 2013 output wasn’t multiplicitous enough to merit year-end inclusion, but it deserves mention for an emotionally satisfying conclusion to one of the 21st century’s best sci-fi.
Game Shows
1. Jeopardy! – Still the best.
2. Hollywood Game Night – Game nights are a lot of fun to participate in, but watching them? Trust me, it gets your blood boiling.
Shows I Didn’t Watch
1. Breaking Bad
2. Enlightened
3. Orange is the New Black
4. Game of Thrones
5. Nathan for You
6. The Good Wife
7. House of Cards
January 8, 2014
Fuse Top 20 Countdown, Music, Television Leave a comment
Each week, I check out FUSE’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.
Original Version
1. A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera – “Say Something”
2. Pitbull ft. Ke$ha – “Timber”
3. Eminem ft. Rihanna – “The Monster”
4. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
5. One Direction – “Story of My Life”
6. Passenger – “Let Her Go”
7. Ellie Goulding – “Burn”
8. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
9. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
10. Avicii – “Wake Me Up”
11. Jason Derulo – “Marry Me”
12. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ft. ScHoolboy Q and Hollis – “White Walls”
13. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
14. Lady GaGa – “Applause”
15. Katy Perry – “Unconditionally”
16. Bastille – “Pompeii”
17. Lorde – “Team”
18. Sara Bareilles – “Brave”
19. Mike WiLL Made It ft. Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, and Juicy J – “23”
20. Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – “Stay the Night”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Wake Me Up
2. Team
3. The Monster
4. Demons
5. Wrecking Ball
6. Pompeii
7. Timber
8. Burn
9. Sweater Weather
10. Counting Stars
11. Stay the Night
12. Applause
13. Let Her Go
14. White Walls
15. 23
16. Brave
17. Unconditionally
18. Say Something
19. Story of My Life
20. Marry Me
January 7, 2014
Conan, Jeopardy!, Television Leave a comment
Alex Trebek is starting to lose it, and as a public service, I will be posting all the evidence of his insanity.
42. Tony Stark builds an armored suit to help Helen Keller escape from Guantanamo Bay in a snowstorm
43. Bill Clinton said that women make the best stink-hole shower gel because they can scrape off the hardened pork like the old-fashioned stuff you’d spread on with a can opener
44. During the George W. Bush presidency, the Secret Service taught drama to fat little pro-slavery bullfighters in preparation for a war with the single-breasted turkeys
45. British people drink snake venom when suffering from alcoholic rage; in the U.S. we tie up a dogie, hoof it across the dance floor & spit. Wow, that’s so weird — I was just thinking about Michael Jackson’s daughter
46. Oh my gosh! Rosie O’Donell’s dog took a crap in her mouth. It helps boost the immune system
January 5, 2014
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 – nothing, really
Monday – Jeopardy!
Tuesday – I didn’t catch too much of the Happy Endings marathon, but I did make sure to see Alex in cornrows.
Wednesday – I didn’t watch that much of the Fiesta Bowl, but I watched enough to see how cool it was that CENTRAL FLORIDA beat Baylor.
Thursday – I obviously want to pick the triumphant return of Community – and it was great! – but Parenthood had its best episode of the season.
Friday – Jeopardy!
Saturday – I didn’t watch Chiefs-Colts, but I’m sure it would have been enjoyable to witness a comeback like that.
January 5, 2014
Music, Television, VH1 Top 20 Countdown Leave a comment
Each week, I check out VH1’s Top 20 countdown, and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.
Original Version
1. OneRepublic – “Counting Stars”
2. Pitbull ft. Ke$ha – “Timber”
3. Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – “Stay the Night”
4. Eminem ft. Rihanna – “The Monster”
5. Beyoncé – “XO”
6. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
7. Passenger – “Let Her Go”
8. Ellie Goulding – “Burn”
9. The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”
10. Fall Out Boy – “Alone Together”
11. A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera – “Say Something”
12. Lorde – “Team”
13. Bastille – “Pompeii”
14. American Authors – “Best Day of My Life”
15. The Fray – “Love Don’t Die”
16. Goo Goo Dolls – “Come to Me”
17. Fitz and the Tantrums – “Out of My League”
18. Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
19. John Newman – “Love Me Again”
20. John Mayer ft. Katy Perry – “Who You Love”
Jmunney’s Revision
1. Team
2. The Monster
3. Demons
4. XO
5. Timber
6. Wrecking Ball
7. Out of My League
8. Love Me Again
9. Pompeii
10. Who You Love
11. Sweater Weather
12. Burn
13. Best Day of My Life
14. Stay the Night
15. Let Her Go
16. Counting Stars
17. Alone Together
18. Love Don’t Die
19. Say Something
20. Come to Me
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