Category: External TV (Page 400 of 419)

“It’s just part of the big thing.”

November 5, 2006 /

All hail Mayor Carcetti (snicker snicker). That seems to be the general attitude among the Baltimore police department when it’s announced that the mayor-elect will be making the rounds throughout the week. He’s not out to cause trouble, however, but rather to get a feel for how the department operates. Unfortunately, the answer is not very well at all, which takes us back to last week’s discussion about replacing Burrell. While it initially looked like Carcetti would be pulling Daniel all the way up from Major rank to that of Commissioner, the Mayor has instead chosen to promote Rawls to the top spot, with Daniels as his number two. That’s probably a smart choice (promoting Daniels so quickly might turn heads), but it doesn’t necessarily mean that he still won’t catch heat for canning Burrell and hiring a white cop.

Carcetti’s decision doesn’t come without reasoning either. A change does need to be made, or the city is only going to continue to crumble. Heck, he doesn’t even know about half of the shit that’s currently going on in the department. Bunk has proven Omar’s innocence thanks to some grade-A stupidity from Andre, convenience store clerk, and Herc is catching heat for his recent miscue with Marlo at the train station. Herc could really care less, however, because he’s more interested in getting his surveillance camera back on one piece. He even goes all Western District on Marlo’s crew by poking around their hangout, smashing stereos and making empty threats. Marlo actually seems a bit irked by Herc’s guerilla tactics, so it’ll be interesting to see what develops between those two in the coming weeks. Will Marlo buckle under the pressure, take care of Herc himself, or will Herc go all Vic Mackey on us and get his hands dirty?

It’d be nice to see Marlo unleash his top guns (Chris and Snoop) to dispose of Herc, if only because the gun-toting pair light up the screen every time they make an appearance, but he’s far too smart to know that killing a cop wouldn’t be the best thing for his future as the King of Baltimore. That doesn’t change the fact that Chris and Snoop (much like Omar) are some of the most interesting characters on the show, and this week we saw them schooling a new litter of recruits (in a slightly humorous sequence) and cleaning house on all of the New York boys who have come down to Baltimore to swipe up open corner territory. Chris and Snoop even get a little scare when he’s randomly pulled over by Herc (in an attempt to piss off Marlo even more), but never one to take risk, Chris promptly dumps their handguns and the nailgun. Smart man.

On side note, Michael’s complicated home life was brought even further into focus this week when the unreliable “father” figure returned home to take back control. As of now, it looks like the dude’s really trying (i.e. helping Michael’s little brother with his math homework), but Michael still seems weary.

External TV, The Wire, TV

Bullz-Eye for the Kiddies, Vol. 1

November 5, 2006 /

In a gig like ours, we get DVDs of all genres…and that includes stuff aimed at the family market. Sometimes, however, the aim is ever lower. Since some of our readers have nieces or nephews, little brother or sisters, cousins, or even kids of their own, we figured we’d do an occasional spotlight of the kid-vid releases that show up at our offices.

Gerald McBoing Boing Adventures, Vols. 1 & 2: Way back yonder in 1951, a cartoon called “Gerald McBoing Boing” – based on a story by Dr. Seuss about a boy who, when he opened his mouth, would only produce sound effects rather than words – won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. It spawned three sequels as well as a brief stint as an animated TV series, although it proved to expensive to produce for more than a three-month run. In 2005, Cartoon Network attempted to build a block of animation for preschoolers (a la Nickelodeon’s “Nick Jr.”), and one of its matinee shows was a revival of Gerald’s show. Kids will love it, and it’s pretty entertaining for adults as well, especially if you enjoy the animated Dr. Seuss specials that used to air on CBS. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself yelling, “Sound check!” (It’s a recurring bit during the show, and it seems to pop up about every two minutes or so.)

Jay Jay the Jet Plane: Jay Jay’s Sensational Mystery: The title would lead you to believe that this is a full-length feature starring Jay Jay, but it’s not; it’s a collection of episodes from “Jay Jay’s Mysteries.” If you’re not familiar with the show, just imagine “Thomas the Tank Engine,” then imagine that instead of trains, it’s planes. This is actually better than “Thomas,” though, because the lessons expand into science, nature, and shapes…but the faces are still creepy as hell.

Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers – Original Movie: The good news is that the voice talent on this full-length Tom and Jerry adventures is exemplary, including Kathy Najimy, Mark Hamill, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Wallace Shawn. The bad news is that, no matter how you slice it, this is still an 8-minute short that’s been stretched out to 71 minutes. Kudos to the animators for going after the original ’40s-era look of the most famous cat and mouse duo of all time, but if you want Tom and Jerry, stick to the classics.

Jakers! – Piggley Gets Into Trouble: If you’re an Anglophile and you’d prefer that your children start to appreciate the coolness of a British or Irish accent now, then steer your kids toward “Jakers!” It’s the adventures of Piggley Winks, an 8-year-old pig in Ireland. Imagine Babe the pig if he were computer-animated, and he and his barnyard buddies ran around on their hind legs like human beings. It’s kind of like that. The dialogue is consistently amusing, and it’s worth noting that Mel Brooks contributes the voice of Wiley the Sheep.

My Little Pony: The Runaway Rainbow: If you’re reading this out loud to your kids, you’ll want to put your hands over their ears. Have you done so? I hope so, because, man, this is a real piece of shit. This is the stuff they were parodying on “The Simpsons” with those “Happy Little Elves” specials Lisa loved so much. It’s also exactly what people are talking about when they bemoan programs that exist solely to hawk toys. I tried twice to get my daughter to sit down and watch this, but neither time was she interested…which was fine, because neither time could I stand to have it on for more than two or three minutes. It’s fucking terrible. Seriously. Stay far, far away from it at all cost.

The Little Mermaid: 2-Disc Special Edition: In a sense, this deserves its own full-length write-up on Bullz-Eye, but I just can’t bring myself to believe that the majority of our readership really wants to read 400+ words on “The Little Mermaid.” In truth, however, this ranks just under “Beauty and the Beast” for sheer watchability. There’s a lot of great music here – it DID win Best Song (“Under the Sea”) and Best Score at the ’89 Oscars – and the characters of Scuttle the Seagull (voiced by Buddy Hackett) and Sebastian the crab (Samuel E. Wright) are among Disney’s most memorable. The latter gets one of the film’s funniest lines when the title character, Ariel, falls in love with a human and goes after him, despite the crab’s best efforts to stop her. “You know what her father’ll say?” asks Sebastian. “I’ll tell you what her father’ll say! He’s gonna kill himself a crab, that’s what her father’ll say!” The bonus disc is, as ever with Disney’s special editions, chock full of extra stuff, like deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, and so forth…but, really, your kids are never gonna sit through Disc 2. They just want to see the movie.

External Entertainment, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, External TV, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews, TV, TV DVDs

A Chat with Jaleel White

November 5, 2006 /

That’s right: the guy who played Urkel on “Family Matters.” He’s starring in a new movie – “Who Made The Potatoe Salad?”, heading to DVD on Tuesday, November 7th – where he finally gets an the opportunity to be the straight man; he also has a small role in a big picture due for release at Christmas…but since he’s already less than thrilled that word of his appearance has leaked out, we’ll at least hold our tongue here and let you be surprised while reading the interview. White sat down with Bullz-Eye to talk about both flicks, and, yes, he was willing to drift into a bit of conversation about the series and role that brought him most of his fame.

Jaleel White: Will H.! What’s goin’ on?

Bullz-Eye: Nothing much. How’s it going?

JW: I’m good, I’m good.

BE: Well, first off, I’m glad to discover that you’re still alive.

JW: (Laughs)

BE: I guess it’s a rite of passage for every former child star to have to deal with someone starting a rumor that they’ve died.

JW: Ah, I don’t even know what to say about that darned thing. As much as you try to live your life your right, you’re gonna get sucker-punched now and then. That was my sucker punch back in June.

BE: I have to admit, I hadn’t even heard the rumor ‘til I started doing some research before this interview.

JW: Oh, really?

BE: I guess I got lucky and missed it. So, anyway, I got a copy of “Who Made The Potatoe Salad?”

JW: Oh, gosh…

BE: And I laughed…but I also felt really, really white and suburban.

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Actors, External Entertainment, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, External TV, Movie DVDs, Movies, TV Comedies

Battlestar Galactica: “Torn”

November 4, 2006 /

So the Cylons have decided that they want to make Earth their new home. Caprica wasn’t good enough? I’m still not clear what their endgame is. Do they want to annihilate the human race? Do they want to make a new race of human/Cylon hybrids? I’m sure that their goals have religious origins, which could mean just about anything. Luckily they have Baltar to lead the way to Earth…that’s just great. Way to sell out your own race (again), Doctor. At least the search for Earth is on. I was wondering when they’d get to that.

Baltar goes to inspect the infected ship and ends up strangling a Cylon just to shut her up. Then he lies to the seven Cylons about the presence of the human artifact, but Number Six is onto him. I’m not sure how this is going to play out, but like Gaeta said, Baltar’s instincts for survival are unparalleled, so he’s not in any real danger.

What’s the deal with the other five models of Cylons? They can’t even talk about them? Consider my interest appropriately piqued.

Back on Galactica, Starbuck’s line to Lee on the deck was great: “The bird is on the deck! I’m on the deck! I don’t know what you’re bitchin’ about!” I didn’t really understand why she and Tigh took a bunch of shots at those that weren’t involved in the ground war. That storyline seemed a little contrived, but Adama’s speech and actions in the lounge made up for it. First, he kicks over Starbuck’s chair, causing her to run out the room with her tail between her legs. Then he confronts Tigh, who looks like he’s about to spiral downward into oblivion. I still think all he needs is a patch over that eye.

One surprising thing is how much trust Adama puts in Sharon (Athena). I like her character, so I hope this doesn’t backfire on him. Clear something up for me…this is the Sharon that had the baby – is it the same one that shot Adama? I’m pretty sure that one – Boomer, the one who loved Chief – is back with the Cylons.

And then there’s Starbuck, knife in hand, ready to cut that hair of hers. Inside, I was screaming, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” (She looks much better with long hair.)

Battlestar Galactica, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Jericho, Episode 7: These Are The People in Your Neighborhood

November 2, 2006 /

To say that this week’s episode is better than last week’s is to damn it with faint praise, since – as you may recall – the ending of last week’s episode was officially the WORST. ENDING. EVER. But in all seriousness, this really is a far better episode, providing some much needed fleshing out of the townsfolk and their characters.

So this week, we get to know Jonah, the leader of the band of hooligans outside of town who tried to swipe some horses last week and, in the process, got Jake’s mom pretty roughed up when the horses literally ran roughshod over her. “There’s a lot of things about Jake you don’t know,” Emily tells Heather, when the latter concedes that she’s harboring a crush on Jake. Yeah, turns out there were a few things we viewers didn’t know about Emily…like, say, that Jonah’s her dad. Jake and Jonah clearly have a history…at the very least, Jake’s sweet ride used to belong to Jonah…and it’s equally clear that Jake knows enough about Jonah to not underestimate him. As the episode progresses, we find out that it was Emily’s brother…Jonah’s son…who was killed in the incident from Jake’s past that’s been referenced.

As we predicted, Stanley and Mimi (a.k.a. the accountant from Washington) continue their flirtation, although they’re at least taking the time to give Mimi more of a personality than just the hard-ass government employee she’s been to date. There’s a nice scene which clarifies that her anal tendencies extend before the workplace, as she explains to Stanley how, in a fit of boredom, she reorganized his kitchen. And, for once, the growing relationship between Dale and rich bitch Skylar isn’t mired in predictable teen angst; the situation that erupts when Skylar trades away a family heirloom for a case of diet soda then discovers that her parents might not be dead after all is good viewing, if a bit melodramatic; same with the scenes between Richard and his wife, where – FINALLY! – he’s painted without paranoia.

Gray Anderson finally returns to town after having been all but presumed dead (he’s been MIA for a few episodes), and he’s got a LOT of new information for the townsfolk and for us viewers.

*Topeka’s a mess.
*Lawrence was bombed.
*The governor of Kansas is missing.
*New York escaped being bombed, thanks to all of its post-9/11 security measures. (It’s notable that even know-it-all Robert loses his game face at this news.)
*Washington is gone.

Gray’s return also results in an authority struggle between he and Jake…but, then, Gray’s made a point of always wanting to be right since the first episode. I was indifferent to the jailbreak scene right up until the moment when Jake snatched Gray’s gun, at which point I believe I actually yelled, “Oh, shit!” Sorry, I just think Gray’s an asshole, and that opinion was backed up when he started going all Senator McCarthy on Eric. And speaking of Eric, maybe it’s just me, but the interaction between Jake and Eric – like the scene in the bar toward the end of this episode – always seems kind of forced; Skeet Ulrich and Kenneth Mitchell just do not have the chemistry that brothers should have.

I wasn’t sure if Gerald McRaney’s contract was up this episode, but he’s apparently got at least one more show in him. Nice cliffhanger ending…and the first time in a few weeks that I’m legitimately looking forward to next week’s episode.

External Entertainment, External TV, Jericho, TV, TV Dramas

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