"He's Gonna Feel THAT One In The Morning ..."

Yes, I WAS ready for some football.

Another Superbowl Sunday has come and gone. Have to say that the lack of the PATRIOTS in the big game this year really made me lose a lot of interest in the event. Still, there is something eternally great about sitting around, watching the Superbowl, waiting for the next great commercial, and getting caught up in all the hype. Plus, the great thing about the Superbowl is that it is one of those few events where the men are men and the women are women. For the most part. I know, I know, call me old fashioned. But it's funny how at Superbowl parties everyone kind of divides by gender, and even the most non-football fans amongst the men are called upon to fulfill their sacred duty of planting themselves on the couch, scarfing down chips, and reveling in the sheer awesomeness of watching TV for three straight hours. Let the women discuss the post-game episode of Grey's Anatomy. Like I care about that show. I am a man and I am there to watch other men fight over a ball in a little thing called the SUPERBOWL. For one day at least I want to debate whether both feet were on the line, nod my head at how badly the refs suck, and yes, do the occasional John Madden impression honed from years of playing his videogames. So even if the game is pretty bad, as it was for most of this year's bowl, I love me some Super Sunday. Whoooooo!

So yeah, Seahawks was robbed I tells ya. The refs were blind! That first Steelers TD was BS! Actually, I could really care less about either team, but still, those are my thoughts and I'm sticking to them.

Commercials? Pretty much sucked this year. That Hummer commercial with the Godzilla-style monsters falling in love Brokeback style was amusing, gotta love anything with MONKEYS, and yes, Bud as always had a few semi-amusing spots. But come on, this year's crop of ads was mostly WEAK. Not much in the way of good movie trailers either. Pirates was the same stuff we've already seen in theaters. MI:3 (As those of us who are cool call it ...) looked decent, and Philip Seymour Hoffman will likely rock in full-on evil mode. V for Vendetta of course is probably my most anticipated movie and I cannot wait to see it. But where was Superman, X-3, or anything else "big?" Oh, that's right - Superman is likely gonna SUCK, and X-3 is one giant cluster waiting to happen. Dammit!

Halftime Show - not much to say, really. Rolling Stones did their thing, same thing they've been doing for 40 years since Superbowl One was going on. Yes, it's amazing that these guys can still rock like they do at their ages, but nothing really too exciting here with their performance, other than a really cool stage setup.

Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention Harrison Ford's um, trippy, commercial appearance in that crazy public service ad. Oh how the mighty have fallen (or, in this case, risen, to new HIGHS, if you know what I'm sayin'). Unless Indiana Jones 4 surprises everyoen and kicks tons of ass (that is if it ever actually comes out), it will be sad if "Get Off My Plane!" was the last real career highlight of one Han Solo.

@ WORK

Had one last (?) go at working The Tonight Show on Wednesday, where I was priveleged to see the leader of the Dogg Pound his own bad self, SNOOP DOGG, as both a guest AND performer on Leno. Dogg was funny as always in his interview (speaking of being high, Snoop must be in a constant state of near-nirvana), and hearing his philosophies for raising his kids was pretty funny, if not disturbing (he wants his sons to be playaz - the earlier they start pimping the ladies the better! but his daughter must remain chaste and innocent always! the man has his priorities straight, Sucka!). But man, the Man can rap! Not that I've seen many live rap performances, but Snoop, Nate Dogg, and the rest of the Posse dropped it like it was hot and delivered their ryhmes with uncanny coolness, and it was nothin' but a G thang all up in the Tonight Show, fo' shizzzzzle.

So yeah, was that my swan song at The Tonight Show? Honestly, I don't know. Still waiting to see how a few potential job opportunities pan out, and I won't jinx anything by going into too much detail here. But if those DON'T come through, well, it may be right back to square one. I have really been plugging away though, sending out emails and cover letters and resumes like it's my job. But will I GET a job? That is the sixty-four million dollar question, Jack.

Otherwise, it's more of the grind at NBC. One cool thing - I've been really making an effort lately to read a lot of scripts that I have access to at work, and have gotten to check out a ton of cool projcts both for NBC and competing networks. And for all you fanboys out there, no, I have yet to get my hands on AQUAMAN. But trust me, I've read some sweeeeeeeet sci-fi / action stuff that will likely be way cooler than a show about a man who talks to fish.

Also looking forward to Wed., when the pages will be in attendance at a talk given by Rick Ludwin, head of Late Night programming at NBC. Should be interesting - any man who has the sense to hand Conan the reigns of the Tonight Show is a-okay with me.

ON TV:

Let's rundown the usual suspects:

THE OC - Die, Johnny! DIE! When even the characters on the show who are his friends barely seem to care that he is dead, you know that the character probably sucked. Alright, this episode, with godawful acting and writing, hit the level of being so awful that it was in many way unintentionally amusing. In fact, I actually legit laughed out loud as Johnny fell to his demise (presumed, at least), as Ryan tried in vain to make a last-minute save. And hold the phone, Seth is smoking pot, and hiding it from Summer! And Sandy is doing nothing, and Julie Cooper is pining for Summer's dad, and, and, and , is that a shark jumping I see out there in the horizon? Sorry OC apologists, this show officially sucks, and if I had any semblance of willpower when it comes to episodic drama TV-watching, I would have abandoned this ship long ago. My grade: D

SMALLVILLE - Well, after a disappointing 100th episode, Smallville rebounded a bit this week with a decent ep that had a number of good character moments from almost all of its main players. The Lionel-Lex stuff, as always, was gold. Clark's anger over his father's deat was also pretty well handled. But come on, this is a show about SUPERMAN, give us a PLOT that is WORTHY OF THE MAN OF STEEL! This week's hamfisted story of a Batman-style vigilante in Metropolis, whose use of a secret identity as a mild mannered reporter is supposed to give Clark some inspiration for how to handle his future double life -- well, it was just plain dumb. This is Superman we're talking about- HE is the archtype for all other heroes, so why would he be inspired in the ways of the urban vigilante by some lame Black Canary knockoff? On the other hand, even if the guest star of the week sucked ten kinds of suckiness, I did JUMP OUT OF MY SEAT when I heard the by-God DANNY ELFMAN BATMAN THEME MUSIC playing throughout this episode. Yes! Best music ever, and I wish they could have kept it for Batman Begins. If only it could have been used for an episode featuring a young Bruce Wayne ... Oh well, like I said - good/great character stuff, annoyingly stupid plot. My grade: B

VERONICA MARS: This week's Mars was a return to form after the previous week's slightly ridiculous episode. Great stuff here, as the focus was once again on the main mystery of the bus crash that has been driving this season forward. A vintage Veronica twist in this episode that I totally did not see coming, and lots of interesting clues as to who was the culprit in that crash, as the mystery continues to deepen. Please, I beg of you, WATCH THIS SHOW. I just cannot fathom how this awesomely atmospheric, darkly comical, and consistently well-written, well-acted, mystery show pulls in the ratings it does while freaking Skating With the Stars grabs big numbers. WATCH IT. My grade: A

THE OFFICE: Decent ep this week, but the show still struggles to walk the line between comedy and drama as the British one did so poignantly. The Pam-Jim stuff felt waaay too heavy handed, and Pam crying was too sudden and not built up well at all. I just do not buy that those two are meant for each other, whereas in the British office everyone and their mother was breathlessly watching each week to see what would become of Tim and Dawn. Steve Carell was funny as always, and Rann Wilson is a comic genious. But not as sharp and funny as last week's hilarious ep. My hope for this show is that the writers can stay away from polls and data that tells them to focus more on realtionships and making characters likable and all that crap. Just make it smart, funny, and the rest will follow. My grade: B-

MY NAME IS EARL - Wow, this was actually one of my favorite eps yet, with a nice mix of humor and heart that this show has kind of struggled to achieve so far. I still wish this show was funnier that it is, but I probably laughed more at this ep than I have at any other, and Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee are friggin' great. My grade: A -

OTHER STUFF:

- I must see THE BORAT MOVIE and I must see it NOW! High five! Honestly, I don't think there's anything or anyone that I find funnier right now that that Krazy Khazakstani Kat.

- NACHO LIBRE looks like another potentially hilarious comedy. Jack Black, the guys behind Napoleon Dynamite, and lucha libre wrestling? I fail to see how this could NOT be amazing.

- As far as kickass blockbuster action movies go, V FOR VENDETTA, baby. Could this fianlly be the Alan Moore adaptation that does NOT see the greatest writer ever spinning in his not-yet-dug grave? If early reviews are an indication, this is gonna rock. Hard.

- Amare Stoudamire of the Phoenix Suns is a beast, even if he is on the injured list! That man probably eats men like you for breakfast. And in other NBA news, the Lakers lose to Charlotte and New Orleans / Oklahoma in a span of two days! And I laugh uncontrollably ...

- Countdown to the almighty AEROSMITH CONCERT begins - T-minus two and a half weeks!

- This Friday: The last four episodes of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT!

- It's official: 7000 Hits to the blog and counting! Thanks to all who frequent this site, to random visitors, and to those who simply hit reload on their internet browser over and over again (ie me). So even though I've been hearing "talk" about other, newer, hipper, cooler blogs out there in cyberland ... don't believe the hype - because THIS is the real deal - the one, the only, dannybaram.blogspot.com.


You want some, come get some.