Why You Should Be Excited for Summer TV 2012.

Anger Management

Airing on FX starting June 28^th, this show is one of the most anticipated shows in years. Charlie Sheen returns to TV in this show loosely based on the 2003 film starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson. Sheen will take the role Nicholson had, as a former athlete who has overcome his anger management issues and now counsels others.

Breaking Bad

One of the best Dramas ever made comes to end starting July. The 5^th and final season is said to be “the craziest one ever”. If you are not a fan of Walter White, you don’t like good TV and in depth characters. Will “the one who knocks” meet his demise or will he come out clean from the drama that has been boiling for three seasons now.

Louie

Coming back for its third season starting June 28^th, Louis C.K.’s hilarious comedy about his everyday life is sure to be yet another hit. C.K. was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People for 2012 and his highly anticipated third season is going to be great.

The Newsroom

HBO’s upcoming drama hits TV screens on June 24^th and is sure to be a hit. With Aaron Sorkin’s writing and Jeff Daniel’s acting, the TV series about a TV show is sure to be full of drama and be a fantastic hit this summer.

Sherlock

PBS, yet PBS, has a hit on their hands. Returning May 6^th, Sherlock comes back to some very happy fans, myself being included. The first season comprised of 3 two hour specials episodes will have the same format this year. The show has quick, intelligent and stylish as a modern day Holmes and Watson solve cases in modern day London.

True Blood

A massive hit already, the 5^th season of True Blood hits HBO on June 10^th. The Show is widely popular and rumors are that there will be characters both returning and leaving the show this season. Yay, more vampire drama!

Franklin and Bash

Zach Morris is back. June 5^th is the return of this funny and very entertaining drama.  The show about two lawyers/best friends is witty and moves more smoothly and less predictably than many lawyer dramas. Mark-Paul Gosselar and Breckin Meyer are awesome in their bromance and I can’t wait for this to come back.

Suits

Another fantastic lawyer show is USA’s Suits, returning on June 14^th. The show about a big shot lawyer and his amazingly genius not so lawyer associate is an awesome show. The show is kind of a mashup of the Practice and Catch Me if You Can. Like Franklin and Bash, this show has a fantastic supporting cast.

White Collar

One of my favorite shows of the decade begins its final season on July 10^th. White Collar is so clever and entertaining I will be sad to see it go. The best part about this show is that the show is constantly moving and brings conclusions to its story lines. Based on the previous season finale, its going to be a great season. 

Why I Shouldn’t Have to Pitch ‘The Pitch’ to you? (Netflix Jewel #6)

If you are a fan of Mad Men, of fantastic Reality TV, or just a fan of pure real drama, you have to watch The Pitch. The Pitch is a new reality drama from AMC. The show focuses on the high stakes world of advertising agencies. Each episode stands on its own as two different ad agencies are pitted against each other in an attempt to score a huge account. Both companies are given a week to come up with and pitch their ideas to the clients with a winner being announced. This show is simply fantastic. It encompasses all that “ad drama” from Mad Men and throws in a modern day reality spin to it. Each episode is riveting as you see the stages these highs takes ad men go through. From receiving the assignment, to eyeing down their competition, to the struggle of coming up with ideas, to the mad dash of getting the campaign done on time and finally the pitch to the client. These are not some small ad agencies and small clients. We are talking about national brands like Subway and Waste Management.

In my opinion, two fascinating things hit me while watching this show (which is into its first season). The first is that Don Draper lives on. For those of who you don’t watch Mad Men for some reason, I am referring to the 60s and 70s mythical Ad Men. The lead pitchmen and idea guys for these agencies are ruthless. The heads of these firms force their employees to work through the night, even taking away their cell phones. These ruthless leaders of our nation’s top ad agencies walk around like they are gods refusing to smile until they are satisfied with what they hear. I honestly didn’t think these mythical and iconic individuals still existed but I was wrong.

The second thing that really stood out to me was just how creative and quick these people were. Teams of individuals are able to bust out complete ad campaigns and unique and innovative ideas within hours. The entire prep for the actual pitch is only a week long. Without sleep and often food, these creative teams create complete concepts out of thin air with every angle and concern taken care of. What is even more amazing is that they often present numerous ideas to their bosses in case their first attempt fails. And while creative teams are often pitted against each other, we see the ruthlessness amongst them as well.

If you are not impressed then why don’t you just watch the first five minutes of an episode, give yourself a week and see what ideas you come up. There is an additional fascinating thing that caught my eye. It was so interesting how different firms interpret the client’s needs and just how different their concepts were. 

I am done rambling on. If you don’t go watch this show you are stupid and who knows, perhaps the next time you walk into a restaurant or store and see that company’s slogan, you may just start to think about how that concept was created. 

Why The Avengers Was Everything I Wanted.

It is the same story every time I stay up to see a 12am showing of a film the night it opens. After the first hour and a half of sitting on line a certain question always comes to me, is this worth it? As the start time creeps close and my tiredness grows, I start to wonder if this movie will be worth me staying up to 3am in the morning. In the case of The Avengers, the answer is emphatically yes.

The Avengers is one of those films that you must see for so many reasons. The culmination of over 5 films, The Avengers is a perfect continuation of the successful 5 super hero films on which it is based. For those of you who don’t know, The Avengers is a group of superheroes that gets together to save the world. The group’s main stars are Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, and Captain America. If you saw a majority of these other films, obviously you need to see this one.

When I am looking for a good comic book film, there are three types of moments that make the film good.

1.       Good movie moments

2.       Funny moments

3.       Comic book moments

The Avengers is successful in conquering all three of these areas. The film is a jam packed action adventure that will keep you laughing and wanting more. For those of you who are real comic book fans, Director Joss Whedon gives you all those “omg that is just like the comic book” moments.  Whedon does a fantastic job balances all the different personalities and is able to give each super hero his/her own moment to shine. The film is very good in balancing the superhero action and the comedic humor and fun nature of comic books. The story of the film revolves around The Avengers, the organized group of superheroes led by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). The team is made up of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Hulk ( Mark Ruffalo) Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). The team must defeat Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s brother who plans on opening a portal form his world to Earth in order to bring an army of evil looking creatures.

While there are so many stars in the film, there were only a few stars of the film. The Hulk and Iron Man highlighted this jam packed cast. Iron Man’s Tony Stark is one of the wittiest and “love to hate” characters in the last 20 years. Downey Jr. is as charming as they come and he pretty much steals every scene he was in. The surprising other star was that of the Hulk.  Mark Ruffalo is always good but it is the big scary green monster that steals the show. The Hulk is not only the action star of the film but he provides numerous instances of laugh out loud humor (albeit without saying a word- or does he?!?!?!).

The supporting cast is excellent and everyone including Jackson, Johansson and Renner are stellar in their supporting roles. A surprising break out star is Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) the fan favorite Avengers Agent who has appeared in all the preceding films. 

There are some superhero movies that can be passed on (see the Green Lantern) but there are others that should be seen. This is one of them.

Why the MTV Challenge Needs to Come Back Sooner.

I can’t imagine someone existing without knowing what the MTV Challenge is but for those of you who don’t know, I shall explain. Originally called Real World/Road Rules Challenge, this is a reality television game spun off a combination of MTV’s hit shows The Real World and Road Rules. The show consists of cast members being joined in teams and participating in weekly challenges in order to win money. The contestants all live in one big house in some foreign country and are faced with the physical and mental challenge of living with a bunch of crazy people.

The show has truly developed over the years and has gone through many versions including All Stars, Battle of the Seasons, The Inferno I, II, and III, Battle of the Exes, Fresh Meat, and more.

Now its in 22^nd season, the challenge began when two Real World Casts were introduced to each other and asked to compete in a challenge for cash prizes.  Today, the Challenge has become one of the highest rated TV shows on the planet. There are two major parts to the show: the Cast and the Challenges.

The Cast

The Cast mostly consists of 20-30 year olds who spend all year training and working out for these challenges. These people are just muscle packed, sexually frustrated, and alcoholic young adults who will do anything, and I mean anything, for some money and fame. With almost two seasons every calendar, the cast is often the same and like any amazing show, there is quite the funny cast of characters. There are cliques, popular people, and strategists. The social game is almost as difficult as the physical game. While you can earn your own immunity, team/players are often voted in. So basically, being popular helps. The cast parties every night, sleeps with each other, pulls some of the best pranks you will see on reality TV, and puts their bodies through excruciating pain just for a few thousand dollars.

Some worthy characters worth knowing:

Johnny Devenanzio- 8 season -4 wins- $266,543 in winnings.

Johnny is the bad boy of the Challenge. He is part of the cool clique and is not afraid to make enemies. He began his first few challenges with early exists, as is the case with many rookies. But Johnny has proven to be the Challenge’s greatest champion ever.

Kenny Santucci- 8 seasons -3 wins- $236,293 in winnings.

Mr. Beautiful is one of the most popular characters ever. He is one of the stars who has brought the Challenge to new heights. Santucci is widely considered the best finale player of all time. He is a physical beast and also part of the crew that has dominated the last 10 challenges.

Evelyn Smith-7 seasons- 3 wins- $167,000 in winnings.

Ev is without a doubt the biggest female force in challenge history. With 3 wins and countless elimination wins, she is feared every time she steps up to the competition. Famous for being the first person to stand up to the Crew, Ev sold out in some eyes but I don’t think she cares as she sits at home with $176K.

Darrell Taylor-6 seasons- 4 wins- $240,555.

Darrell was the greatest champion ever before and unfortunate fight. Darrell won $240K over his first four challenges in which he went undefeated. In only his fifth challenge he was on pace to win an astonishing $150K before in a drunken act, punched his best friend in the face and was kicked off the show. Still his challenge record stands for itself as one of the best ever.

Rachel Robinson—7 seasons, 2 wins- $135,555.

Rachel is the original female dominating challenge member. She was absolutely dominant, often treated as a guy since she was so good in the challenge. Rachel was big before the challenge got big but her legacy remains.

Chris “CT” Taburello- 8 Seasons- 0 wins- $73,500 in winnings.

CT is the most infamous challenge contestant ever. He is responsible for both the most beautiful and scary moments in challenge history. The latter took place when he attacked a much younger cast mate for”talking about him”. He almost killed the other member and as 6 other men were needed to restrain him, he famously yelled, “I want to smash his head and eat it.” This was a far cry from the beautiful moment when he fell in love with Cancer-patient-in-recovery Diem and shared one of the sweetest kisses in reality TV history.  CT is the most physically impressive cast member ever. No male wants to face CT in any challenge, let alone a hand to hand combat.

The Challenges

The challenges themselves are absolutely amazing. Whether it is climbing a structure 500 feet in the air while trying to collect flags or running 2 miles after eating an entire cake, the show never ceases to come up with crazy and inventive new challenges. But nothing compares to the elimination challenges and finales. The Elimination challenges are often given a cool name like the Dome, the Inferno, the Duel, and the classic Gauntlet. These are final elimination challenges where the cast members fight for a chance to stay in the game. Some of these are puzzle challenges or require mini marathons to be run. But nothing compares to some of the crazy hand-to-hand combat challenges that go down. Imagine if two UFC cage fighters played steal the bacon. Ya it’s that awesome.

The Final challenges are simply inhumane. These are 14 mile marathons, through jungles, up mountains and across rivers. The members are asked to complete tasks along the way while trying to avoid passing out. Watch one of these final challenges and you will instantly gain a respect for these people.

Point is go back and watch 22 seasons then watch them again. I simply love the MTV Challenge.

Why You Can Never Count A Playoff Team Out. (The Greatest Comebacks)

·         1995 NBA Eastern Conference Semis: Indiana 107, NY 105

Arguably the craziest 16.4 seconds in sports history, Reggie Miller helped his Pacers, who were down by 6 with 16.4 seconds left, come back against the rival NY Knicks. Down by 6, Reggie drained a three only to instantaneously steal the inbound pass, retreat behind the line, and knock down another one. After John Starks missed two potential go-ahead free throws, Miller got fouled after pulling the rebound. He hit the two shots as the Pacer comeback was complete. Spike Lee still cries about it.

·         2000 NBA Western Conference Finals: Lakers 89, Portland 84

With elimination at stake and the strong but troubled Trail Blazers up 15 points in the 4^th quarter, the Lakers mounted a remarkable comeback. Led by Kobe and Shaq, the Lakers went on a 25-4 run to end the game. The comeback was highlighted by the now classic highlight of an Alley-oop from Kobe to Shaq. The Lakers went on to sweep the Pacers and the newest dynasty was born.

·         2002 NBA Eastern Conference Finals: Boston 94, New Jersey 90

Before the big three, Paul Pierce was the lone star for the Celtics who made the largest 4^th quarter comeback ever. Down 21 points to start the fourth, the Celtics outscored the Nets 41-16 in the final quarter for the 4 point win.

·         1993 NFL AFC Wildcard: Buffalo 41, Houston 38

In what many call the greatest comeback in sports history; the Buffalo Bills overcame a 32 point deficit to beat the Houston Oilers. Down 35-3 in the third quarter, the Bills were down and out, especially with star QB Jim Kelly being knocked out early in the game. But with backup QB Frank Reich at the helm, the Bills led a remarkable comeback to defeat the oilers in overtime.

·         1992 NHL Divisional Semifinal: Kings 6, Oilers 5

With the best player of all time, Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers led 5-0 before the Kings amazingly scored 6 unanswered goals to win 6-5 in overtime. The win is all the more stunning considering who was on the heavily favored Oilers. LA took a 2-1 series lead and paved the way for their first round upset of the Oilers. The game became known as the “Miracle on Manchester.”

·         2011 NHL Divisional Round: Sharks 6, Kings 5

The kings were not lucky this time as they blew a 4-0 lead against the Sharks who came back to force overtime before winning the game 6-5. The Sharks were able to use the momentum and take the series 4-2.

·         1972 NFL NFC Divisional Round: Cowboys 30, 49ers 28

After falling behind 28-13 going into the fourth quarter, starting QB Craig Morton was benched for backup Roger Staubach who led a 17 unanswered point comeback to shock the 49ers. With less than two minutes left, Staubach threw a 20 yard touchdown. After recovering the onside kick, Staubach hit Ron Sellers for the game winning score with 52 seconds left.

·         2002 NFL AFC Divisional Round: Steelers 36, Browns 33

With a seventeen point lead in the second half, the Browns were poised for a playoff win over the rival Steelers. But QB Tommy Maddox led the Steelers to 29 second half points including the go ahead TD with 54 seconds left in the game. Maddox’s 367 yards and 3 touchdowns surprised everyone but no one more than the Browns who suffered another franchise devastating loss.

·         2002 NFL NFC Divisional Round: 49ers 39, Giants 38

The 49ers scored 25 unanswered second half points to top the NY Giants. Led by Jeff Garcia and T.O., the 49ers mounted an awesome comeback with a go ahead TD pass from Garcia to T.O. The Giants did have a chance when they lined up for a 41 yard game winning field goal. Unfortunately, the newly acquired long snapper botched the snap and the kicker attempted a down field pass but it fell incomplete. There was plenty of controversy as it appeared there was interference on the lineman down field but it was ruled that there was an illegal man downfield, thus capping the 49er comeback.

·         2003 MLB NLCS: Marlins 8, Cubs 3

The curse of the Billy Goat lives on. In game 6 of the NLCS, with the Cubs needing only one more win to make the World Series, the Cubs were ahead 3-0 with one out in the 8^th when Marlin Luis Castillo lofted a foul ball down the left field line. Cubs outfielder, Moises Alou appeared to have room for the catch but a fan interfered causing Alou to drop the ball. Castillo then walked and two batters later, the Cubs shortstop bobbled a potential double play ball. The Marlins went on to score 8 runs to win game 6. The Marlins ending up winning game 7 by a score of 9-6 as the Cubs were once again left wondering what could have been.

·         2004 MLB ALCS: Red Sox 6, Yankees 4

Not only was this the greatest series comeback ever, game 4 was also one of the greatest single game comebacks ever. The Yankees had dominated the Redsox in the first three games of the series by a combined score of 32-16. The Yankees were leaded Boston 4-3 going into the 9^th with the series in the hands of the invincible Mariano Rivera. But the Sox staged a comeback when after pinch runner David Roberts stole second, Bill Mueller singled off Rivera to tie the game. David Ortiz than finished the comeback with a two run walk off in the 12^th.