Is there anything Adam Savage can't build?

His new Discovery TV show attempts to answer the riddle. Read the rest

This excellent 1982 TV commercial for Mattel's Intellivision game console features a "computerized" futuristic newscast that predates both Max Headroom's cyber-pisstake on the media and A-Ha's rotoscoped classic "Take On Me!"

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Deadwood: The Movie airs on HBO in the US on Friday, May 31.

Can't wait for Swearingen's swears.

“Thirteen years after it was abruptly cancelled, David Milch’s grimy, glorious western finally gets the ending it deserves.”

From James Donaghy's tease in The Guardian:

Set in the historic lawless mining camp in the Black Hills gold rush of the 1870s, Deadwood melded profanity and poetry like no TV show before, reimagining the historic figures of the town in a bloody, grimy revisionist western that felt resolutely arthouse from its first shot to its last. It deserved better and now Deadwood: The Movie is a bold attempt to right that wrong, 13 years after its cancellation.

It does the trick. While it isn’t quite Deadwood at its jaw-dropping best – few things in TV history are – there is enough of the old magic left to deliver a satisfying ending.

We find Deadwood well on its way to gentrification, a far cry from the rough-as-guts encampment that greeted us in 2004, caked in shit and blood. Trains not wagons now deliver newcomers, the thoroughfare looks more like a street, less like a pigpen, and there’s even a public phone. We are 10 years down the line from the final action of the TV show, with the town coming together to celebrate South Dakota becoming the 40th state of the Union. Philosopher king Al Swearengen is in still in situ at The Gem, perma-angry marshall Seth Bullock still inhales and expels pure righteousness and malevolent robber baron George Hearst is back in town.

To boldly go where no pitchman has gone before.

(via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest

Nit pickers rejoice: Revisit the infamous coffee cup from this season, rubber swords, and other goofs and gaffs in Westeros.

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Season two of Future Man continues the hilarity while focusing more on your favorite characters.

The first season of Future Man was a ridiculous comedy designed to feed lovers of science fiction nostalgia. I had hopes that Season 2 would be as good, but recent trends in television had me doubting. I enjoyed the first season so much I was actually reluctant to put this show on. I had nothing to worry about. Season 2 is wonderful.

The first season of Future Man told the story of Josh Futterman saving the future. Josh and his allies from the Future, Tiger and Wolf, commit a heinous act of terrorism to destroy that which turns the future into an awful dystopia. Season 2 picks up where they left off with individual episodes focused on each character. The deep character building sets up a season more focused on their decision-making and growth, rather than simply stopping the evil from taking over the future.

Insanely absurd takes on time travel, paradox, and gourmet cooking punctuate the storyline. Future Man continues to take irreverent pokes at favorite science fiction and fantasy themes, tropes and actual stories. Where season 1 seemed to be running a race to drop silly references to old movies, season 2 tries to be more subtle but no less dedicated.

The actors work just as hard as the writers on Future Man. Josh Hutcherson, Eliza Coupe and Derek Wilson all shine. Each masterfully plays various versions of their characters, frequently playing off themselves, like Patty Duke talking to her 'cousin.'

The story is wonderful, the jokes come fast and hilarious, and the actors deserve awards. Read the rest

From last night's episode of Game of Thrones, as posted to Twitter.

"He was no dragon. Coffee cannot stimulate a dragon." Read the rest

Genius musician Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo fame has been cast in the forthcoming season of Larry David's comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm!" This will be the show's 10th season. No word on whether Tweedy will play himself or someone else entirely, but no matter because I'm sure hilarity will ensue. From Variety:

Tweedy is said to be good friends with Jeff Garlin, who stars on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as Jeff Greene in addition to executive producing.

This will not be Tweedy’s first acting role, as he previously appeared in the role of Scott Tanner in multiple episodes of “Parks and Recreation.” He also portrayed himself in two episodes of “Portlandia” and in the feature film “Hearts Beat Loud.”

Also, don't miss Tweedy's new and much-loved memoir "Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back)." Read the rest

I haven't paid much attention to Swamp Thing since the days of Bernie Wrightson, but this teaser trailer for the upcoming TV series looks promising.

From Ars Technica:

The DC Universe series stars Crystal Reed as Abby Arcane who, in the comics, is niece to arch-villain Anton. According to the official synopsis, she's now a doctor with the CDC who comes back to her hometown of Houma, Louisiana, because of "a deadly swamp-borne virus" ravaging the area. She teams up with fellow scientist Alec Holland to investigate—and just like in the comics, Holland is killed. Except he might not really be dead, as Abby learns more about the mysterious, likely supernatural nature of the local swamp.

We don't learn much more from the first teaser about just how Swamp Thing will be reimagined this time around, but the writers are clearly emphasizing the horror aspects. There's no dialogue apart from horrified screams of various folks who encounter something terrible—probably Swamp Thing, but there could be other monsters in the mix.

The Ramones promoting "Ramones Mania (The Best Of 1976-1988)" on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" in 1988.

"Who writes these songs, 'I Wanna Be Sedated' and 'Teenage Lobotomy?' Do you guys write them? Can you give me the lyrics to 'Teenage Lobotomy?" Just talk them..."

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Come on down and, more to the point, get on down to this full version of "Starcrossed," one of the many disco jams from Score Productions used as a musical cue on The Price is Right starting in 1976.

Also, I hadn't realized before that Crystal Waters' 2001 cover of Score Productions' "Come on Down," aka the main Price is Right theme, hit number one on Billboard's Dance Club Songs Chart! I much prefer the original lyric-less version. Both are below.

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MTV has announced RealityCon, a reality TV fan convention to take place next summer. No word yet on whether they will also launch a RealityCon reality show about what happens when people stop being polite and start producing a real convention about reality shows. If only Lance Loud was alive to keynote. From Rolling Stone:

Even though it is hosted by MTV — who created the genre with The Real World in 1992 — the event will be an expansive look at reality television’s history and feature the people behind and stars of shows like The Bachelor, The Real Housewives, Duck Dynasty, Big Brother, RuPaul’s Drag Race and Survivor alongside MTV staples like Jersey Shore and The Hills.

Toledo's WTOL 11 crew thought they were on fleek. Da fuq?

(Thanks UPSO!) Read the rest

They had me at the opening reference to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Read the rest

A grand jury indicted Jussie Smollett on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for falsely reporting that he was assaulted by two men who, he claimed, targeted the Empire actor because he is black and gay. The two men later told police that Smollett paid them to stage the attack as a publicity stunt that Smollett hoped would land him a raise. Smollett will be arraigned on Tuesday. From the Chicago Sun Times:

The indictment, which was made public on Friday, cites Smollett with disorderly conduct for each crime he said he had suffered, with separate counts related to statements he made the night of Jan. 29 to a police officer, and then for repeating the same account to a detective the same night. The charges all are Class 4 felonies, the lowest category of felony offense under Illinois law...

In a statement, Smollett’s attorney Mark Geragos said while the indictment is “not unexpected…What is unexpected however, is the prosecutorial overkill in charging 16 separate counts.”

“This redundant and vindictive indictment is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make headlines in order to distract from the internal investigation launched to investigate the outrageous leaking of false information by the Chicago Police Department and the shameless and illegal invasion of Jussie’s privacy in tampering with his medical records. Jussie adamantly maintains his innocence even if law enforcement has robbed him of that presumption.”

The producers of The Simpsons are pulling the 1991 "Stark Raving Dad" episode featuring Michael Jackson, uncredited, from rerun rotation and streaming services. This follows news that a number of radio stations will no longer play Jackson's music in the wake of the sexual molestation allegations described in the new documentary Leaving Neverland. From Variety:

“It feels clearly the only choice to make,” executive producer James L. Brooks told the Wall Street Journal, which broke the news on Thursday. He told the paper that fellow executive producers Matt Groening and Al Jean agreed with the decision. “The guys I work with — where we spend our lives arguing over jokes — were of one mind on this,” Brooks said.

In the episode, Jackson voiced the character Leon Kompowsky, who meets Homer Simpson in a mental institution. Simpson brings home the character, a large white man who claims to be Michael Jackson. Ultimately, Leon helps Bart Simpson celebrate his sister’s birthday by singing one of the show’s most memorable tunes, “Happy Birthday Lisa.” Jackson didn’t actually sing on the episode; Kipp Lennon mimicked Jackson’s voice on all of the episode’s songs...

“I’m against book burning of any kind. But this is our book, and we’re allowed to take out a chapter,” he told the Journal.