Blogulator Radio 74 & 75: Shippin' Parenthood & Robot Prejudice

Episode 74 of the netcast features Qualler and Brigitte
giving you an update on the progress of NBC's fourth season of
everyone's favorite inconsequential family drama, Parenthood.

Episode 75 of Blogulator Radio offers up Chris and Jerksica's
great debate on the multi-cam vs. the single-cam sitcom on the
heels of the news that Up All Night will be turning multi-cam,as
well as a guessing game about shows in development
that may or may not involve Atticus Finch defending robots.

It's been a few weeks since we've updated this here blog. Sowwy. Above you will find links to the latest episodes of the Blogulator Radio netcast, courtesy of the Fancy Pants Gangsters netcast network. And as always:

Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

Blogulator Radio 73: Mental Gasps

Click here to witness a very sleep-deprived married couple
try to speak coherently about a bunch of new TV shows they
watched recently.

It's pilot season! And because Chris and Jerksica like to binge on both television and judging, they have watched nearly a dozen new shows that have aired on the major networks so far this fall and would like to share their opinions about them with you. There are three sitcoms they both genuinely like that they've discussed already and check back in on a few episodes into their debut seasons (including FOX's The Mindy Project at the top of their list), an unfortunate handful that neither Chris nor Jerksica have any affection for (such as NBC's confusingly lauded Revolution, the dreadful Ryan Murphy "comedy" The New Normal, and much more), and finally a number of shows they disagree on. There's some that Jerksica enjoys much to the bewilderment of Chris (*cough cough* Animal Practice) and some that Chris is a sucker for despite Jerksica's constant eye-rolling (like the ABC dramas Nashville and Last Resort). And last but not least they check in on some of their favorite returning shows that have premiered recently, especially NBC's Parks & Recreation and the surprisingly well-retooled New Girl and Up All Night. So yes, there is a lot going on here. Buckle up.

0:00-12:33 New Shows Chris & Jerksica Like
12:33-27:57 New Shows Chris & Jerksica Dislike
27:57-39:12 New Shows Upon Which Chris & Jerksica Have Mixed Opinions
39:12-50:25 Returning Shows Chris & Jerksica Like

Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS

Blogulator Radio 71: Two Dudes Talking About Homeland

Click here to check out the newest, most manly episode of Blogulator Radio yet.

It's a new episode of Blogulator Radio where Chris and Qualler, manly dudes that they are, insert some dudely dude talk into the most dudely show on television this side of Strike Back, Showtime's Emmy-award winning Homeland. Yes, they discuss Sunday night's season two premiere, make some predictions about what will happen throughout the season, talk about the short-term and long-term viability of the show, and, since they do it without any chicks involved, do their best to rank the show within the structure of their favorite totally heteronormative hierarchical scales. Cuz, that is what white dudes who are totally dudely do when they talk about anything, especially the show that oozes more testosterone per second than an entire episode of WWE Raw. Seriously, though, they do discuss the very excellent show for the entire episode, so dig in, smile, and enjoy!

Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

Blogulator Radio 69: It's a Treat To Break This Bad

Click here for a real...wait for it..."treat" of an episode. #groan

In what is sure to be the final installment of Bad Title Puns About Breaking Bad, at least for 2012, Qualler, Brigitte and Chris discuss the finale of season 5.1 of the mega-awesome AMC drama. Within the discussion, the dynamic trio make connections to The Sopranos, Kirkegaard, and Treat Williams (because, hey, remember Treat Wiliams?) The gang also keep referencing a fabled “lost” episode of BR that was recorded directly before recording this one. If you ever run into that episode somewhere on the internet, let us know, mmmkay? Anyway, this week’s episode is heavy on Breaking Bad spoilers and touches upon The Sopranos in general, non-specific spoiler ways, so be forewarned.

Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

Being a modern show for modern people, we’ve got all sorts of ways to find us online. We’ve got your Facebook and your Twitter and your Google+. Of course we always welcome comments or questions either in the comments below or through email at bradio@fancypantsgangsters.com.

Blogulator Radio 68: No Active Hate

Chris and Jerksica don't actively hate FOX's two new sitcoms.
In fact, they kinda like 'em. Click here to hear why.

Returning from the chaos of a new school year starting, Chris and Jerksica continue to wade through the barrage of network pilot previews available for the new fall season. FOX has released the first episodes of their two new flagship sitcoms The Mindy Project (featuring The Office's Mindy Kaling) and Ben & Kate (featuring Oscar winner Nat Faxon) on various On Demand platforms (check your local cable provider or Hulu) and Chris and Jerksica...don't actively hate them. In fact, they both might even have promise. Is FOX's Tuesday night going to be the new NBC Thursday night? They also look back into the past and talk Scrubs, a show they once hated but have grown to love since it went off the air. It's their Netflix Pick o' the Week. And lastly, TV news bits of note include shows in development revolving around Michael J. Fox, director Jodie Foster, and a reboot of Eddie Murphy's adventures of Axel Foley.

 0:00-20:50 The Mindy Project and Ben & Kate
20:50-27:22 Netflix Pick o' the Week: Scrubs 
27:22-42:36 TV News: S.H.I.E.L.D., Michael J. Fox sitcom, Showtime's "Female Sopranos", Beverly Hills Cop procedural

Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

Blogulator Radio 66: The Subtle Differences Between Incredulous Looks and Blank Stares

Is Matthew Perry giving you an incredulous look or a blank
stare? Listen to this week's Blogulator Radio to find out!

Chris and Jerksica have realized that it's pretty hard to record a single take hour-long netcast when there is a baby that is constantly pooping, crying, and not letting them have pretentious conversations about television in their midst. So, here's something new (to them, not to the world of netcasting): a four-part episode with each segment focusing on a new aspect of TV discussion. Join them this week as they review Go On and Animal Practice (NBC's two new comedies whose pilots were previewed during the Olympics), as well as talk some in-development news about The Americans (FX's new spy drama starring Keri Russell) and more, plus their new feature, the Netflix Pick o' the Week, in which they...uhhh...pick a show available on Netflix Watch Instantly that they think is pretty cool.

0:00-12:04 -- Go On 
12:04-31:20 -- TV News: FX's spy drama, Kelsey Grammer's police procedural, and Joss Whedon's Marvel series
31:20-42:48 -- Netflix Pick o' the Week: Cheers 
42:48-52:41 -- Animal Practice

The Blogulator Presents: Episode of the Month, July, 2012

It's been a busy last couple of months for the Blogulator crew, what with all the TV to watch! (And a few real life things, so back off.) They've squeezed in a few favorite episodes for the month of July (wait, how is it mid-August already? What is happening with time? Where am I?) and below are some of the crew's favorite episodes of TV that aired at the year's slightly-after-midpoint. And because we were all too Minnesota Nice to each other, none of us picked any episodes of Breaking Bad to write about.

Bunheads "Movie Truck" (ABC Family)

We missed doing an Episode of the Month post for June, but if we did, it would have been "For Fanny," the second episode of Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's new show, hands down. It took an infuriating twist from the pilot and did something extraordinary with it, imbuing a comic dialogue-driven drama with more genuine emotional heft than it really had any right to being a show on ABC Family. But we missed June, so I'll settle for "Movie Truck," which was more classic quirky Sherman-Palladino, but did something very important that the show has taken its sweet time doing: making me care about the teenagers. Michelle and her mother-in-law Fanny have been a pretty ideal odd couple pairing and anchor for the show, but they've been trying to shoehorn in stories of Fanny's dance students since the pilot with little success. This time, however, with a simple sneaking-out-of-the-house-after-dark scenario, we get to know Boo, Sasha, and the other two (okay, so some work is still needed) in ways that actually have made me want to see Michelle actually teach them and get excited for future episodes. [Chris]

Louie, "Daddy's Girlfriend Pt. 2" (FX)

Every episode of Louie's third season to date has been fantastic in its own way. Scenes like the season premiere's surprise parked-car-smashing scene, or the second episode's Gorilla joke, third episode's bar conversation between C.K. and his vacation bromance buddy, or "Daddy's Girlfriend Pt. 1" and its extensive use of Louie's "looking at pretty girls" music are among the highlights of the season thus far. But "Daddy's Girlfriend Pt. 2" has been the season's best to date. Parker Posey turns the Manic Pixie Dream Girl meme on its head by delivering as Emmy-worthy of a guest performance as one can possibly deliver. She's alternately terrifying, hilarious, tragic and life-affirming all in one episode. Woody Allen film editor vet Susan Morse has been this season's primary editor and has improved the general "independent film" feel of the show this season, but this was the most Allen-esque episode of all, what with C.K. and Posey walking around New York together in an Annie Hall-twisted-inside-out kind of way. And it ends with a moment of grace, with Posey sitting on the ledge of the building and affirming her love of life, and ending with a beautiful shot of Manhattan at night. I'm a sucker for those things, so naturally, I'm a sucker for this episode. [Qualler]

Bunheads, "What's Your Damage, Heather?" (ABC Family)

First off, use a quote from Heathers as your episode title and you're almost guaranteed to get some love from me. Secondly, this is the second episode in a row with almost no Kelly Bishop (last episode she had a quick on the phone cameo and this episode Sutton Foster had an imaginary argument with the Kelly Bishop in her head). And while I absolutely love Bishop, her absence really allows the rest of the cast to shine. Foster truly comes into her own in this episode, trying to not lose her mind teaching all the dance classes, being a surrogate mom (against her will) to the spoiled, yet troubled Sasha, then getting heat from the parent of one of her students. She also hired the one-eyed plumber that the whole town knows you never hire to do plumbing (they just use him to "keep an eye on things"). All in all, another hilarious episode that manages to tug on the heartstrings so sneakily, I found myself laughing just as I was tearing up. If this show goes away, I'm going to be so heartbroken. [Sarc]

Blogulator Radio 64: How To Join A (Television) Cult

Click here for the latest episode of Blogulator Radio, which
just might blue your mind. Wait, that doesn't sound right.

"Cult TV" is a term that's been bandied about for years, but has never really made much sense to Chris and Jerksica. So when Entertainment Weekly ran a second edition of its Top 25 Cult TV Series of All Time for its latest issue, naturally they had a few things to say about it. What follows is a sprawling conversation about the definition of cult pop culture, the increasing prominence of sci-fi/fantasy television, and the boons and pratfalls of extended mythologies amongst geek shows. Including commentary on everything from rabidly adored short-lived sitcoms like Arrested Development and Party Down to strangely quirky and unique dramas like Twin Peaks and Veronica Mars, is the branding of "cult TV" in the internet age just another way to say "great and greatly missed TV"? Also, what did EW inevitably leave off the too-truncated list that infuriated Chris and Jerksica (and maybe yourself)?

Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

My Own Personal Emmys

The Emmy nominations will be announced a quarter past the first cock crow tomorrow morning by Nick Offerman (NBC's Parks & Recreation) and Kerry Washington (ABC's Scandal). I have not always been as excited about the Emmys as I am about, say, the Academy Awards, but with The Blogulator recently becoming a TV-only blog, I feel I must align my obsession accordingly. Thus, like I do every year with Sir Oscar, I'd like to share what the Emmy nods (and only the categories that I care about) might look like if I were in charge. Probably not that different from any TV critic with half of a brain, but still, fantasy is fun. Let me know if you'd swap out any of the following in the comments. If anything, this will be at least fun for me to compare to who actually gets nominated come the morrow.

Best Comedy

Community (NBC)

Happy Endings (ABC)

Parks & Recreation (NBC)

Louie (FX)

Cougar Town (ABC)

Girls (HBO)

Best Drama

Breaking Bad (AMC)

Mad Men (AMC)

Enlightened* (HBO)

Game of Thrones (HBO)

Justified (FX)

Homeland (Showtime)

*Yes, it's a half hour show, but it's more drama than comedy dammit and this is my fantasy!

Best Actress in a Comedy

Amy Poehler in Parks & Recreation

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Veep

Courteney Cox in Cougar Town

Lena Dunham in Girls

Martha Plimpton in Raising Hope

Tina Fey in 30 Rock

Best Actress in a Drama

Claire Danes in Homeland

Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men

Laura Dern in Enlightened

Jessica Paré  in Mad Men

Lena Headey in Game of Thrones*

Emily Van Camp in Revenge

*Not sure if she submitted in supporting or lead, but I think she was the lead actress of the show this season, just like Peter Dinklage became the lead actor. Tricky with ensembles but this way it spreads the love.

Best Actor in a Comedy

Louis C.K. in Louie

Garrett Dillahunt in Raising Hope

Zachary Knighton in Happy Endings*

Adam Scott in Parks & Recreation

Joel McHale in Community

Steve Dildarian in The Life & Times of Tim

*Once again, not sure if he submitted for lead (or at all), but Dave is the hapless center of Happy Endings even if it is an ensemble in the truest sense of the word. Therefore my fictional wish vote counts.

Best Actor in a Drama

Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad

Jon Hamm in Mad Men

Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones*

Timothy Olyphant in Justified

Damian Lewis in Homeland

Noah Wyle in Falling Skies

*See Lena Headey's asterisk above.

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Casey Wilson in Happy Endings

Gillian Jacobs in Community

Eliza Coupe in Happy Endings

Allison Brie in Community

Allison Williams in Girls

Christa Miller in Cougar Town

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama

Christina Hendricks in Mad Men

Maisie Williams in Game of Thrones

Mae Whitman in Parenthood

Diane Ladd in Enlightened

Anna Gunn in Breaking Bad

Kiernan Shipka in Mad Men

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Danny Pudi in Community

Nick Offerman in Parks & Recreation

Donald Glover in Community

Chris Pratt in Parks & Recreation

Jim Rash in Community

Adam Pally in Happy Endings

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama

Giancarlo Esposito in Breaking Bad

Aaron Paul in Breaking Bad

Jonathan Banks in Breaking Bad

Walton Goggins in Justified

Neal McDonough in Justified

Dean Norris in Breaking Bad

Best Writing for a Comedy

Dan Harmon & Chris McKenna for "Remedial Chaos Theory" (Community)

Dan Harmon & Matt Warburton for "Digital Estate Planning" (Community)

David Caspe, Lon Zimmet, & Dan Rubin for "Part of Six" (Happy Endings)

Bill Lawrence & Kevin Biegel for "My Life/Your World: Part 1" (Cougar Town)

Louis C.K. for "Duckling" (Louie)

Greg Daniels, Michael Schur, & Amy Poehler for "The Debate" (Parks & Recreation)

Best Writing for a Drama

Vince Gilligan for "Face Off" (Breaking Bad)

Matthew Weiner & Semi Challas for "Far Away Places" (Mad Men)

Graham Yost & Fred Golan for "Slaughterhouse" (Justified)

George R.R. Martin for "Blackwater" (Game of Thrones)

Mike White for "Consider Helen" (Enlightened)

Matthew Weiner & Victor Levin for "Mystery Date" (Mad Men)

Blogulator Radio Episode 62 - Honey, I Broke Bad

Click here to listen to Chris, Qualler, and Brigitte discuss
magnets, shrinking, and other science things. But mostly just TV.

Chris, Qualler, and Brigitte gather round the coffee table this week to get hyper about the new season of AMC’s tour de force drama Breaking Bad, which premiered this week, in case this is the only nerdy web site you have frequented in the past month or so. At first it’s tough for the trio to wrap their heads around the idea of talking at length about what is ostensibly just one episode, and a very introductory/self-contained story at that, but after a not-so-brief tangent on the topic of shrinking (à la Rick Moranis) they have no trouble plumbing the depths of the show’s uniquely memorable characters, plot developments, and storytelling techniques. In its two-part final season, there is much to anticipate, predict, and analyze, so join the BR crew as they discuss everything from Jesse Pinkman’s not-so-secret brilliance to Walter White’s debatable and/or inevitable demise and more. If you, like so many, are addicted to the exploits of meth production in Albuquerque as depicted by the dad from Malcolm in the Middle, then take a listen. And we will no doubt be back many times throughout Season 5, Part 1 to continue to conversation.

 Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

Blogulator Radio Episode 61 - Louie & Tim, Not Will or Bill

Click here to listen to a married couple talk about gorillas,
Mormons, faceless corporations, and more!

Chris and Jerksica return to Blogulator Radio after a few weeks off due to baby-raising and what have you and boy do they have a lot to talk about. This week’s episode is split into two parts, not unlike the way their two most recommended shows discussed within the netcast itself. First they’ll catch you up on what’s worth watching that’s currently airing on the boob tube, the most important being the third season of FX’s Louie. Between the little girl from Sleepless in Seattle, Melissa Leo, and the best gorilla joke of all time, y’all should watch. Chris also takes a minute to recommend TNT’s sophomore season of Falling Skies for all the soft-sci-fi fans out there. Lastly, they quickly agree with Qualler and Brigitte from a couple weeks back that ABC Family’s Bunheads is pleasant and HBO’s The Newsroom (especially lead character Will McAvoy) is entertainingly horrendous. Then for the second half of the show Chris and Jerksica dive into old television they’ve been watching during the new-show-drought of the summer and heartily recommend the entire animated series The Life & Times of Tim, available on HBO Go. Unfortunately, they also spent too much time finally completing HBO’s polygamy saga Big Love after a long break from the show after its disappointing fourth season. What was once a solid family drama surrounding Bill Henriksen and his three wives wrapped up in rushed and ill-planned fashion. Listen to find out why and check back next week when Chris, Qualler, and Brigitte give the skinny on the much-anticipated fifth season premiere of AMC’s Breaking Bad!

 Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

Blogulator Radio Episode 58 - "Sad Men"

Click here to hear a married couple jibber jabber about
the merits of heavy-handed symbolism and the like.

This week on Blogulator Radio: Chris and Jerksica dish about Mad Men on the heels of the AMC institution’s season 5 finale this weekend. Since they haven’t chatted about Don Draper and co. since the premiere, there’s a lot of ground to cover, including but not limited to the big water cooler moment with Joan, the abrupt departure of a major firm partner, and why or why not Harry Crane is cute. They also tend to get quite esoteric about the whole thing, because they take this crap seriously, so you’ve been warned. Was it worth the 16-month hiatus wait for another thirteen episodes about people being sad in the 1960s? Should we all sit idly by with bated breath for the final two seasons of Matthew Weiner’s brainchild? Listen to Chris and Jerksica argue for an hour to find out!

Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting.

For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

Blogulator Radio 57: Game of Thrones Meets The Never-Ending Story

Click here to listen to the new episode of Blogulator Radio. Get excited, but not as excited as Theon Greyjoy, please.

Hey, check it out! It's a highly topical fresh new episode of Blogulator Radio! Yes, straight from Sunday evening's record-breaking airing of HBO's new signature smash hit series Game of Thrones, Chris, Qualler and Brigitte dissect the minutia that was the second season. (And, as one would expect, there are MEGA-SPOILERS for those who have not finished season two included in the episode.) Among the things they discuss: their favorite characters of the season, their least favorite characters, the gratuitous nudity, the comparison between watching as a reader of the books and watching as a non-reader of the books, how cute Dany's dragons are (THE CUTEST!), geeking out at the extremely well-directed-and-written penultimate episode "Blackwater", the excitement / frustration at how the TV series / book series takes forever to get to the supercool magic stuff, and comparing Dany's journey through the House of the Undying to a similar journey a character takes in The Never-Ending Story, one of the only other Fantasy epics that the gang has also enjoyed. Yes, we are probably the only denizens of the Internet to compare and contrast Game of Thrones to The Never-Ending Story. Also, how goofy does Theon Greyjoy look in that picture? I know, right?

Blogulator Radio Episode 56 - New Crap Airing This Fall Pt. 2

Click the link to hear the Blogulator gang complain about
all the horrible television premiering this fall!

Chris and Jerksica told you all about the pilots ordered to air this fall for ABC and CBS last week and now this week they asked Qualler and Brigitte to join them to discuss the new crap that FOX, NBC, and The CW are rolling out come September-ish. What follows is way too much arguing/awkward pauses about The Vampire Diaries, monkeys/why Brigitte is afraid of them, what makes a network a network, and probably the longest discussion of minor television actor Tate Donovan that's ever been put to tape. Oh and they also talk about a bunch of new shows including but not limited to The Carrie Diaries, Animal Practice, The New Normal, Arrow, 1600 Penn, Ben & Kate, Go On, and The Following. 

Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

Blogulator Radio Episode 55 - New Crap Airing This Fall Pt. 1

This week on Blogulator Radio, take a trip to the magical land of the upfronts, where creative television dreams are twisted and shlockified for network executives and target demographics. Every May the big five networks roll out their new programming for the fall at this sordid presentation and Chris and Jerksica would like to spend this week focusing on the new programming on ABC and CBS that you’ll be welcoming to your television (whether you like it or not) in the latter part of 2012. In this week’s first installment of previewing the trailers and press releases for first season series that may or may not be canceled before the pilot even makes it to Hulu, Chris and Jerksica skewer and ponder the possibilities of new shows like Mistresses, Nashville, Malibu Country, and Zero Hour (and more!) on ABC and Last Resort, Vegas, Partners, and Elementary on CBS. The exciting claptrap that FOX, NBC, and The CW have to offer you will all be covered in next week’s episode. In the meantime, enjoy the skepticism!

Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

Blogulator Radio 53: The Overvalidation of Carson Daly

 Click here to stream or download the latest episode of
Blogulator Radio via the Fancy Pants Gangsters netcast network!

Chris and Jerksica are back to netcasting about television after taking a brief leave due to Jerksica giving birth to a beautiful baby boy that never lets them sleep. So what have they been watching while home with a newborn? Well, something that doesn’t require a lot (read: none) brain cells, such as NBC’s The Voice. The second season finale is happening this week and Chris and Jerksica would like to give you a rundown of all the chaos and inanity that has been happening with Cee-Lo Green, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Carson Daly (plus all the, you know, singing contestants) on this year’s competition. They share their predictions for America’s final vote as well as their critique on how they’ve improved and/or devolved since last year’s surprising hit inaugural season, but the real highlights include discussion of The Muppets (specifically Electric Mayhem), mild death threats, and drunk Cyndi Lauper. All this while they hope their baby doesn’t wake up from the delirious cackling in the next room!


Blogulator Radio is brought to you in part by Netflix, where you can stream your favorite TV shows and movies from your TV, computer, or many other devices as often as you want for just 7.99 a month. Start your free two week trial today and help support independent netcasting. For up to the minute updates all up in your upness, be sure to subscribe to Blogulator Radio via iTunes or RSS.

The Best Episodes of the Month: April 2012

As you may know by now, our opinions (about television) here at The Blogulator are valid. And as such as is true, we'd like to start helping you keep track of when the shows we love churn out particularly spellbinding and/or hilarious episodes. Below you will find five different opinions from five different Blogulator contributors as to what were the most successful episodes that aired (or were seen) in April of 2012. If there's one you've missed, get to Hulu, iTunes, Amazon, or your local cable On Demand menu stat!

Mad Men - "Mystery Date" (buy on iTunes or Amazon)

For as many gripes as I've had about the new season of Mad Men, I realize after every episode that my gripes don't really make a whole lotta sense, because this show is still one of the best shows on TV. And, specifically, outside of the somewhat bloated two-hour premiere, this season is knocking every episode out of the park in its own subtle way. Although, "Mystery Date" is perhaps one of Mad Men's least subtle episodes ever. Joan tells Greg to get the eff out of her house, poor little Sally learns about the nightmarish things going on in society, and Don has a literal fever dream nightmare where he freakin' strangles Madchen Amick to death and pushes her under her bed. It's an episode shrouded in darkness, so much so that this fake horror movie trailer made out of the episode actually isn't so far off from the overall tone. It certainly seems to be a harbinger of things to come as the season progresses. [Qualler]

Justified - "Slaughterhouse" (buy on iTunes or Amazon)

A lot rested on the third season finale of Justified. This season was more serialized than the two that preceded it. And with two new adversaries competing with Boyd Crowder for Marshal Raylan Givens' scornful looks, some have said this season tried to do too much in a short amount of time and paled in comparison to Season 2. While it did take a few episodes for Robert Quarles to gain some depth beyond being a wacky, volatile villain, once he did give us a peak into his disturbing past, steely-eyed Neal McDonough's performance jumped into Emmy-worthy status. And every episode subtly layered Mykelti Williamson's performance as Limehouse, a sort of down-home Wizard of Oz, smart enough to know when to strike, be even wiser to know when to just sit back and watch everything play out. And, for the most part, as exceptionally entertaining as this season was, the audience was also forced to sit back and watch how everything played out as well. Luckily, "Slaughterhouse" more than rewarded viewer patience a brutal final confrontation between Quarles, Limehouse and Givens. We were also given the extra payoff of Raylan realizing that, over the course of events spanning the entire series, his father had developed a deeper relationship with Boyd Crowder than he ever did with his own flesh and blood. So deep that to keep Boyd out of jail, Arlo took the fall for killing a man that betrayed Boyd in addition to confessing to shooting a State Trooper. Even just thinking about Raylan saying that Arlo "saw a man in a hat pointing a gun at Boyd" still gives me chills. What a way to cap off a ridiculously enjoyable season while adding one more thing to boil under that hat of our favorite US Marshal. [Sarc]

Revenge - "Scandal" (watch for free on Hulu)

God, this show. I started watching it at the beginning of the season with eyes narrowed in suspicion. The ubiquitous ad campaign and huge hype made me think that, like most things that networks (and studios and publishers) push heavily, it was expensive, but absolutely no good. I didn't think the sweet girl from Everwood could pull off being a cold-hearted vengeance machine, and figured that even if she could, she wouldn't be compelling because she was too inhuman and unlikeable. I didn't like the guy who plays Daniel when he was Max on Make It or Break It (yeah, that's a thing that happened), and don't even get me started on how much I dislike Madeleine Stowe. Nevertheless, I started watching--AND COULDN'T STOP. "Revenge" is probably one of the best shows on television, and for the most part lives up to its hype. Every time you think that the story is about to devolve, that Emily can't possibly lie her way out of this one, the show turns everything around, just to show you how wrong you are. "Revenge" is an intricate dance, a complex perpetual motion machine that defies prediction, and multiple satisfying surprises and twists give the impression that the show has so much more up its sleeve. I picked "Scandal" as my favorite ep of the month, but they're all good; "Scandal" does contain a couple of nice reveals, however--what really happened between Daniel and Tyler on the beach, Emily's emerging, genuine feelings for her ersatz fiance, the unsettlingly obtuse machinations of Emily's revenge master, Takeda (how awesome is it that she has a revenge master?), and heretofore uninteresting Ashley's attempt to leverage the Grayson family tragedy for her own gain by releasing bloody pictures of Daniel at the crime scene to the tabloids. I'm glad the show has another bit of scandal to chew on besides the David Clarke/terrorist/plane crash thing, which has always felt like a wrong note in the show, both because of its "too soon" element (anything that smacks of using a 9/11-ish event as a subplot in what is basically a really good soap opera is, I think, kind of cheap) and its general weird unbelievability. Not that I think it's going away--it's integral to the premise of the show--but the fact that other fucked up things are happening keeps it from turning into a stale old chestnut. Now if someone would just actually straight up kill Amanda, that would be super. [Anna]

Community - "Basic Lupine Urology" (watch for free on Hulu)

It's no secret how much I and 90% of the rest of the nerd contingent of the internet adores the Greendale gang, but upon returning after the dark nightmare that was its third season hiatus, every episode of this show just kept punching me in the groin more than the last - in a good way. And in particular, it took me a few minutes to realize why I loved "Basic Lupine Urology" (AKA the Law & Order ep) even more than the two other perfect episodes the show did this month (the Dr. Who/dreamatorium ep and the Ken Burns/pillow fort ep): because while I maybe wish I had a much deeper understanding of Dr. Who and/or Ken Burns documentaries, I am far more familiar with the tropes and minutiae of Dick Wolf's franchise. Just like great homage/parody Community eps of yore, such as the chicken fingers/GoodFellas one or the Charlie Kaufman/Abed is the Messiah one, every beat is played pitch-perfectly, a couple of my favorite details being the abundance of Greek NYC coffee cups suddenly on campus and Britta's role as the photograph analyzer (which in this case just means she can Instagram it to make it look old-timey). The biggest complaint that many have already hobbled at this twelve-jokes-a-second romp is that it lacks that tender center that deepens our love for the characters like so many forays into the study group's world has before, but I say they just had their cake and ate it too. The episode ends with yet another classic L&O bit, where the climax of solving the case is undercut with an out-of-left-field development that one of the case's primary constituents has died in the most horrifically tragic way possible, and here we got the off-screen death of one of the show's longest-running minor characters: Starburns. It's not huge, but it's a joke and a morbidly hefty moment at once, as we'll now always remember that the weird guy with the top hat and the cosmic facial hair died at the end of the Law & Order episode of Community. [Chris]

30 Rock - "Live From Studio 6H" (watch for free on Hulu)

"...because they thought two black people on the same show would make people nervous. A rule that NBC still follows today!"

Now, I wasn't the biggest fan of the initial foray of 30 Rock into a live episode.  Don't get me wrong- I LOVE a good gimmick.  Can't. Get. Enough. Gimmicks.  This is why I'm one of the only Blogulator crew that unabashedly watches competitive reality television (and not the high-rated shows either).  However, the previous live episode of 30 Rock just fell flat; it was live for the kitsch of being live without any, what do you call those?  Oh yeah, jokes.  Flash forward to the 2012 episode and it's genius.  All the gimmick, plus hilarious jokes and guest stars.  The live episode actually seemed like watching TGS. There were sketches, and funny ones at that.  I love the "flashbacks" to television past narrated by Kenneth, inserted for the purpose of "saving" TGS as a live show.  I watched several television parodies repeatedly, including the sketch of news reporters befuddled by Tina Fey's sex, and the Amos n' Andy spoof Alfie and Abner. Dr. Spaceman got some much needed play, Jon Hamm was in my two favorite sketches, and Paul proposed to Jenna after singing "Zou Bisou Bisou" from Mad Men - "A Little Kiss."  Perfection? Maybe not.  But consider my funny bone satisfied. [Jerksica]

Watching Television with a Newborn

As Qualler pointed out last week, and as you are likely not an idiot and can read this post's title and absorb its implications, Jerksica and I recently had a baby. Life changes drastically for anyone when they welcome a crying, boob-sucking, pooping, sleepy tiny human into the world, but I'd imagine when your primary hobby isn't watching television, it changes more. Just thinking about those poor spelunkers and parkour-ers that have babies and have to cut down on their "me time" saddens me. Luckily, before we had a baby, Jerksica mostly just watched television. And now that we have a baby, we mostly just watch television (and get peed on while changing diapers, etc.). I guess you could say we're living the dream. So while I'm so sleep deprived that I can do little more than make facile obscene jokes not dissimilar from your local world-weary stand-up comedian with kids and some "funny" observations about changing diapers, I'd like to at least guide you through the past week or so of watching TV with a newborn.

Mad Men: Airing on our second day home from the hospital, the Tarantino-esque orange sherbert episode of everyone's favorite AMC period drama was the first show we actually watched in full post-baby, actually understanding and following what was going on on-screen. Four days prior to this we had taken in upwards of four episodes of Wife Swap before going to the hospital, and while in the hospital, apart from having the NBC Thursday shows on hazily in the background, we only watched The Food Network and the oddly ironic Best Yo! MTV Raps Moments on VH1, so actually taking in something with sustenance was refreshing and satisfying. Our son slept through the whole dang thing too (so unfortunately he missed out on seeing Peggy give that stranger an HJ in the movie theater), likely because he was exhausted from a weekend with a family and, you know, being born, so on the watching-with-a-newborn scale, I award Mad Men the coveted LETHARGIC DAD GRIN rating*.

Cougar Town: Soon after this, Jerksica's sister came to town and we took it upon ourselves to introduce her to the great yet ill-titled Courtney Cox sitcom. Remember kids, if your show is in danger of not getting renewed, tell a friend about it (and hope they have a Nielsen box)! It wasn't the best episode (the one where Grayson starts selling Laurie's cupcakes and Ellie's mom comes to town), but per usual, it was at least fun to hang out with the cul-de-sac crew again. And since the baby had just eaten brunch (as had we), he was awake but not finnicky throughout the whole thing. I can only hope he heard either Grayson or Andy (can't remember which) yell "black guys!" when impersonating Laurie. I'll give Cougar Town the MILDLY SUCCESSFUL BURPING rating.

Game of Thrones: Rare is the opportunity, especially now that both Jerksica and I are home together all the time, when I can watch the HBO kinda-fantasy series, seeing as how she has less than zero interest in watching it with me. But I found myself able to recently when she was catching a nap and I couldn't fall asleep because I had a rush of adrenaline surging through my veins from freaking out about whether or not the baby monitor was working and whether or not Dignan (that's my son's name by the by, if you weren't already in the know) was okay sleeping in his crib in the other room. So I brought him into the living room and pressed play on the second episode of season two. I found it to be even more table-setting than the season premiere, which was a tad disappointing, but it allowed me the chance to savor this new found alertness from my spazz attack and realize just how good this show is at crackling dialogue, even when it's largely expository. I especially dug Carcetti's (or whatever his name is in this show) speech to the prostitute about why it's so important that she make him the cash monies. Unfortunately I had to watch the rest of the ep at a later date because Dignan cried himself awake, which prompted Jerksy to rub her eyes, hear Theon say something about being king in a British accent, which was enough for her to say to her our son, "I know, baby, G-o-T is dumb, isn't it?" Apart from that last bit, I still think GoT deserves a BABY TOES ARE SOOOO SMALL! rating.

Justified: And then came an even bigger opportunity. I knew I could get away with watching Game of Thrones because it was likely going to be just a lot of talking with a sprinkling of sex noises, but even I was nervous about watching the season three finale of Raylan Givens threatening to shoot people with a newborn in the room. But Jerksica and her sister went to get well-deserved pedicures (is there any other kind?) and I had an hour to kill with a sleeping baby and she hates Justified too and I had been waiting almost three weeks now to watch what happened to Robert Quarles and the rest of Harlan County! So I skedaddled downstairs with the Moses basket and baby in tow, tempered my excitement to the best of my ability, and tried to adjust the volume the best I could while Jere Burns screamed (he's good at that; she should do it more!) over and over again in the show's opening scene. At this point and several others throughout Dignan got startled and almost woke up, and I worried his dreams of breast milk might be interrupted by the sounds of hysterical hookers and backwoods gangsters, but I won't lie - it was totally worth it. Check Sarc's blurb in our Best Episodes of the Month feature tomorrow about it for more reasons why! Ultimately, Justified gets top honors, otherwise known as the ADORABLE KITTY-BABY ENCOUNTER rating.

*Credit where credit's due: I'll admit my watching-TV-with-a-newborn rating scale is basically a modified version of my fellow blogger Brigitte's creative rating scale, in which top honors is "Cast of Frasier." 

Happy Birthday, Dignan Lutz!

We here at The Blogulator are often prone to sarcasm, snark, and what we think are valid opinions, but we are reduced to puddles of joy when happy things come along. And thus, we had to shut business down for a couple of days on account of the newborn son born to Chris and Jerksica last week, Dignan Lutz. He's 8 lbs, 11 oz., mom and baby are doing well, and the first TV program he encountered as a living being was last Thursday's episode of Community.

Congrats, Chris and Jerksy!

(Back to regularly scheduled opinions tomorrow.)

Blogulator Radio Episode 50: Parenting and Buffoonery

 Click here to listen to Chris and Jerksica talk about TV dads and
moms and kids and stuff on this week's episode of Blogulator Radio!

It’s the big 5-0 episode and while it would make more sense for your hosts Chris and Jerksica to do a theme episode about cop shows, they instead want to talk at you about depictions of parenting on television. The reason for this is, well, because Jerksica’s about to burst and they’re about to have a son. It’s kind of on their minds a lot. So join them for a fun-filled yet sincere conversation about the shows they’re watching now that feature parenthood as a focal point (including NBC’s Up All Night and FOX’s Raising Hope) as well as some old favorites like Veronica Mars and The Wonder Years. Then they top it off with the mother of all shows that feature parents in prominent roles (for us kids that grew up in the 90s): The Simpsons, in which Chris reads off and comments on the Top 10 list entitled “The Top 10 Simpsons Episodes in Which Parenting Plays Into the Plot Based on a Cursory Research of Wikipedia.” Can you believe this will be the first time we’ve talked about The Simpsons on a netcast about TV? Oh, how they long for the 2nd-10th seasons of the show.

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