F--- YOUR REWARDS CLUB

I give you the money, you give me the product. END OF TRANSACTION.

Back to The Future - 25 Years Later

This year is the 25th anniversary of the release of "Back to the Future", a true classic.

Michael J. Fox was on Letterman recently and told the story of how he got the job:

The song "Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News is on the new Rock Band 3 which came out this week. Wow, that's gonna be fun to play.

Late Night - 10/28 Greatest Show Ever?

The Late Night episode from Thursday, October 28th was unusually good. It may be the best "Late Night" ever (of the Jimmy Fallon era). The show had "Remix the Clips", "Head Swap Vol. 6", "If Puppies Could Vote" and the first guest was Dana Carvey who's one of the best guests any talk show could have. Plus, The Roots collaborated with Mr. Carvey on a performance of "Choppin' Broccolli" - one of my favorite skits of all-time.

I couldn't decide whether to post a whole bunch of the clips of the show or just the full episode so I'm doing both.

If you have some spare time, I highly recommend you watch the full episode here.

Otherwise:

Remix The Clips Part 1:

Remix The Clips Part 2:

Head Swap Vol. 6:

Dana Carvey - Choppin' Broccolli

Puppies Predict Politics:

St. Crispin's Day

Today, October 25th is St. Crispin's Day.

At the end of "This is Spinal Tap", Michael McKean makes the joke that there was a St. Hubbins. "What was he the saint of?"

"He was the patron saint of quality footwear."

It's a funny concept and a good line but the odd thing is that it's not that ridiculous. Today is St. Crispin's Day which celebrates St. Crispin (obviously). What was he the patron saint of? Cobblers (shoemakers).

But never mind that silliness, he ought to be the patron saint of awesome speeches.

"

WESTMORELAND.

O that we now had here

But one ten thousand of those men in England

That do no work to-day!

KING.

What's he that wishes so?

My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin.

If we are mark'd to die, we are enow

To do our country loss; and if to live,

The fewer men, the greater share of honour.

God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.

By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,

Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;

It yearns me not if men my garments wear;

Such outward things dwell not in my desires;

But if it be a sin to covet honour,

I am the most offending soul alive.

No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.

God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour

As one man more, methinks, would share from me

For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!

Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,

That he which hath no stomach to this fight,

Let him depart. His passport shall be made,

And crowns for convoy put into his purse.

We would not die in that man's company

That fears his fellowship to die with us.

This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.

He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,

Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,

And rouse him at the name of Crispian.

He that shall live this day, and see old age,

Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,

And say, "To-morrow is Saint Crispian."

Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,

And say, "These wounds I had on Crispian's day."

Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,

But he'll remember with advantages

What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,

Familiar in his mouth as household words,

Harry the King, Bedford, and Exeter,

Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,

Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.

This story shall the good man teach his son;

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,

From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remembered,

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition;

And gentlemen in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

"

Cheer Up, Phillies Phans

Well, given how devastated we Philies fans are, I figured I'd make a post to help get us through the darkness. But before I do that, let's dwell on the negative first.

Our team lost to a team who has a fat guy playing third base.

OUR TEAM LOST TO A TEAM WHO FIELDS A FAT GUY AT THIRD BASE. Look at this guy:

We lost to that guy. No team should ever lose an athletic competition when the other team has a fat guy. Would you lose a 100 yard dash to Rerun from "What's Happening!!"? No, you wouldn't. You might lose a dancing competition, but not a sprint. So painful. And I didn't even mention that their best pitcher is a 14-year-old homeless girl. FACT. Ugh.

So onwards and upwards, I s'pose.

First, as bad as this loss is, and as pathetic I am for investing so much emotion into a sports team, we can all take much comfort in the fact that our patheticness (a word?) isn't even close to the level that this guy achieves:

Secondly, this passed season, lest we forget, was the season of the little Phillies-fan-who-throws-the-foul-ball-back viral video. But less well known is the segment in which Daniel Tosh digs deeper and allows them to redeem themselves.

Tosh.0	Weds 10:30pm / 9:30c
Web Redemption - Phillies Fan
www.comedycentral.com
Tosh.0 Videos Daniel Tosh Web Redemption

That's gotta put anybody in a better mood.

And finally. Cheer up, NBC, ya just gotta. Because even as we speak, the NBC casting department is still hard at work to find the new Seinfeld:

Wait, was that my point? Ah anyways, I still feel pretty crappy. GOOOOORRRRRNUTTTS!

STELLLLAAAA!!!!!

Simply put, "Stella" is perhaps the weirdest sitcom in the history of television and is therefore highly recommended. Although Netflix, and even IMDB, list the show as "sketch comedy" it's clearly not and they're stupid. It's a sitcom but "sitcom" in the tradition of the Marx Brothers/Three Stooges with a definite hint of Monty Python (ok, saying that it's like a sketch comedy show isn't helping the fact that I said it's not a sketch comedy. It definitely isn't.)

The show follows three men who live together (one of which is Michael Ian Black of "I Love the '80s" fame) and wear suits in every life situation. Yes, that's my synopsis of the show. The rest has to be seen. Oh yes, and it's very different.

If you do check it out (available now on Netflix instant) you'll probably spend most of the first episode trying to figure out what you're watching exactly. Don't panic. That's normal. Stick with it. The second and third episodes are epic. If those episodes don't strike you, you can give up on the show and I question your judgement.

"Stella" aired on Comedy Central in 2005 and was cancelled after only one season. This show is yet another in a line of brilliant television shows that were cancelled way too prematurely and that I've only found out about through Netflix years after the fact. Even today, as far as I can tell, no one knows about this show. Now you're in on the ground floor. Spread the word, see.

Hugh Laurie Is Dead

In this introduction to an episode of "A Bit of Fry and Laurie", Hugh Laurie dies tragically and is remembered by those who know him best.

Love the cameo by Rowan Atkinson to take the skit over the top.

Pauses Are Important

News anchor demonstrates why temporary pauses are important:

Wait... what happened to Dana?! I just saw him on the news the other night! This is awful. Why are you so calm?!

Monkey News

As has been covered in the past, big fan of Ricky, Steve and Karl.... Radio show, podcast, TV shows, all the rest of it.

For the uninitiated, the "Monkey News" feature is always real, it's always factual, it's as hard-hitting and solid as the normal news. It's just with monkeys. So without further ado... OOOH, CHIMPANZEE THAT! MONKEY NEWS!

Historical Note: The "Monkey News" story that serves as the source material for this fan animation comes from the early days of "Monkey News". The monkey that drove to Spain would be a high water mark (low water mark) against which many "Monkey News" stories would be judged.

Late Night - Pee Wee Highlights

Apologies for the slow loading time due to all the videos, apologies also for all the commercials but it's the best way I can do this. Some highlights from Pee Wee Herman's appearance on Late Night:

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Reference.

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Second Guest:

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Musical Guest Ben Folds:

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I love the secret word.

Between Two Ferns

I kind of forgot to keep up with "Between Two Ferns", the most awkward talk show in the world, but fortunately they don't release new episodes often. This is one of the newer ones and I thought it was particularly..... good?

Between Two Ferns with Bruce Willis

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Bruce Willis from Bruce Willis

This is my favorite episode so far:

Between Two Ferns with Steve Carell

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Steve Carell from Between Two Ferns

Such great acting. The reversal where Zach plays it straight and Steve makes the insults about himself is so well done and I could watch them fighting all day.

Beatles 3000

In the year 3000, archeologists look back at the Beatles:

Beatles 3000 - watch more funny videos

My Morning Webcast

My Morning Jacket will be doing a webcast for the Late Show on Tuesday, October 12th at 8 PM. From the Late Show website: "The Kentucky rockers will be performing songs from their most recent CD, 'Evil Urges,' along with their greatest hits, live from the Ed Sullivan Theater."

"Songs" plural and "greatest hits" plural? Sounds like a mini concert. Awesome. Keep in mind this is a webcast and is therefore online. My Morning Jacket will be on Tuesday's episode of the Late Show however you'll only see one song (with a slight, slight outside chance of two songs).

Link.

As mentioned above My Morning Jacket are promoting their new album which I've not heard but I'll definitely check it out. I'm liking their new band photo (above) influenced by The Band much?

Not that I'm complaining.

BLOG BONUS:

This Week In Late Show History - This week in 1991, Richard Simmons offers Dave a check for $25,000 to appear in his video, "Devil with the Blue Dress On"; Dave accepts the check but refuses the invite. Later in the show he signs the check over to guest Kathryn Harrold."

The United States of Space

This video is amazing and yet amazingly simple. "Let's go to space with some string and a toothpick", they say and then set about to do it.

The right edge gets cut off, double click to view on Youtube.

A No-Judging Party

This band has all the elements of the worst band ever. You got way too many members (it's like 30 people on stage), they got d-bag-style plastic sunglasses, there's choreographed audience participation, they got auto-tuning (my word!), they even have a Kenny G saxophone. I want to say, "5 strikes guys". Plus I think that guy in the back left isn't even playing an instrument, he's just there to dance a little and hope he still gets paid. And yet this is why you can't make solid rules with music. Because based on the music, I really, really like this song. I don't know anything about the band but I'll have to check them out.

Gayngs - The Gaudy Side of Town

[Original Video Deleted: Gayngs on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon]

Deadwood

"If I'm to go, I'd as soon get started before the darkness."

"Goin' means the darkness is upon us."

Having just watched all 36 episodes of "Deadwood", I venture it to be one of the best dramas ever made. It's one of my favorite shows of all time, I reckon.

A period western made by HBO from 2004 - 2006, the show tells the story of the goings-on of Deadwood (now of South Dakota) from 1876-1877. As Season 1 begins, Deadwood, as a town, doesn't belong to any U.S. territory and is therefore outside the jurisdiction of ANY government. The only law is that there is no law. And being "in the state of nature" (in Lockean terms) every man is his own police officer, judge, jury and executioner. Murder, prostitution, gambling, thievery, drug use and profanity abound.

No discussion of "Deadwood" would be worth its salt if it didn't mention the profanity. This is the most filthy language you'll probably ever see on any television show... ever. It's estimated that the word "fuck" alone is said 1.53 times for every minute of runtime. The characters generally make Jeff Lebowski look like a school teacher. This is one area where the creators of the show chose to not be true to the time period. That is, the swear words used in the show didn't exist in the 1800's. But this is understandable as any characters going around saying "goldarned", etc. are likely to be laughed at - which would have detracted from the reality of the situation. Not just the type of profanity but the amount of it was an artistic choice. If the characters live in a world without rules - the thinking goes - then their speech should reflect that. The "shock value" of the language serves to draw the viewer into the reality of a lawless world.

But the delightful contradiction of the language of "Deadwood" is that it's simultaneously profane and beautiful. All the while that the characters' language is injected with effin' and jeffin' the writing is almost Shakespearean. Soliloquies, literary references, visual imagery, wit, word play, the "western" use of metaphor and the vocabulary of period language all combine to create dialog that's almost poetic. As in Shakespeare, people today don't sound like the characters in "Deadwood" but you'll wish that they did. It's lyrical to the ear whether the content of the meaning is clever, funny or brutal.

"Deadwood" contains all the usual "western" elements (prostitution, drugs, gun slinging, revenge), but  the show is really primarily about characters. The first few episodes set up 12+ fully-formed three-dimensional characters, each with their own logic, motivations, past history, loves and loyalties. Then it places them in the same town at the same time and then it seemingly "let's them go". Like molecules in a vacuum, they bounce off each and react in every possible way, forming alliances, forming grudges, falling in love, fighting, and so on. The show is a complicated and constantly evolving web of loyalty and conflict. The expected western "good guys and bad guys" routine is partially adopted, at first, but (as previously noted) all of the characters are multi-dimensional. As the show progresses, the "good guys" will do bad things and the "bad guys" will do good things. Well into the series, the lines will  disappear and the viewer will be left with characters without convenient labels.

The writing, acting and characters are so superb and the plot so addictive, it came as a slight shock to me that "Deadwood" is based on actual history. Deadwood, South Dakota is a real town. Former lawman Seth Bullock, "Wild Bill" Hickok and "Calamity" Jane were real people and really did arrive and live in Deadwood in 1876 (Season 1). Saloon owner Al Swearengen, Charlie Utter, Sol Star, George Hearst, again, are all characters and all real people. Some days after arriving, Bill Hickok was assassinated by "the cowardly" Jack McCall just as depicted in the show. In mid-1877 (Season 3) former lawmen Wyatt Earp and his brother arrived in Deadwood - again, actually history. And each episode of the show roughly translates to one historical day. But, it should be noted that the show is not a documentary and it is not meant to be. Historically accurate accounts of the "wild west" are impossible as the history is inextricably entangled in myth and legend. The point is that any level of historicity adds that much more richness to an already-amazing show.

For all its splendor, there is one notable weakness to the series. The show was cancelled abruptly and without warning by HBO after just its third season. This means that although there is some closure in the sense that the season ends, there is no real closure to the series. The plot builds to an unbelievable tension but is left somewhat unresolved as the creators fully expected to make another season. It's a huge disappointment that such a great show was cancelled and that we'll only ever have 3 seasons. Perhaps I don't have a right to be angry. Afterall, I've only started watching the show 6 years after it went off the air - I can only assume few people were watching when it was new. Even now, I don't think it's really caught on with people - certainly not the general public. Even so, HBO, usually so good at recognizing quality, definitely blew it when they cancelled this show. It's an example of dramatic writing and acting at their best. It's a brilliant gold nugget in the increasingly played out mine known as television.

Thank You Notes

Fridays Jimmy Fallon catches up on some personal stuff by sending out 'Thank You' notes.

Seriously, how often does one get to do one's Jackée impression? Almost never and it's unfair. "227" just isn't the topical reference that it used to be. Perhaps it'll make a comeback with the new "Jackée as Lunch Lady Gaga" character.

Shhh, don't tell anyone but the censors forgot to bleep this clip.

Slow Jam The News - Tax Cuts

Fallon, The Roots and Brizzle (AKA Bri-Fi, AKA B Stone, AKA Billy Wills) slow jam the news. Today's topic: the Bush tax cuts set to expire.