Zombies

The Walking Dead has been on hiatus since December and with the second half of the season starting on February 9th, let us take a look back at the start of fourth season and forward to the upcoming episodes. The story surrounds a former sheriff, Rick, and his son in a world overrun by the walking dead, essentially zombies. 

The Walking Dead new season

Season four on AMC started up with Rick and his group of survivors holed up in a prison, the big walls and cages formerly used to keep criminals in, now used to keep the walking dead out. Surving a secondary purpose as well, it offers some sort of protection against the monsters of the new world, the other human survivors.

And the Governor came back, making peace with his losses and seemingly no longer with a chip on his shoulder. But we saw that the Governor still crosses those lines Rick will not, in the anything goes attempt to survive.

The Walking Dead

Conditions have changed radically for Rick, Carl, Michonne, and the rest of survivors as the mid-season finale saw the prison breached. The outcome of The Governor’s final attack, also saw the group splintered leaving Rick and Carl on their own, with the well-being of the rest of the crew in question, and more members either dead, or presumed dead or lost.

Typical of the television series and the novels from which it was inspired, season four and TWD in general, is filled with twists and turns. Any regular viewer, will by now have realized, no one is safe. The only constants in the Walking Dead are zombies, zombie swarms and that characters die.

Attempting to find additional realism in a world of post-apocalyptic fantasy, the survivors of Rick's team are faced with an everyday malady. A virus is killing off the healthy members.

Any of the main characters could die or disappear at any moment. Your time invested to get to know any one of them may be for naught.

Part of the back story, humans are infected if they get bit. Or, if they die they will awaken as zombies. So, let us assume the bite causes the infection via a blood infection. Otherwise, if it were an airborne infection, there would be no show. Everybody would be zombies. So, if the infection is passed on through blood, why don't the survivors get infected by blood splatter? They don't wear masks, or goggles, yet they are covered by zombie blood and guts.

Okay, okay, suspending belief is required in most fantasy stories. 

So what's up next for the Rick, Glenn, Michonne and the rest of the survivors? I won't reveal any spoiler details. That wouldn't be fair. But the upcoming few episodes will show how some stay safe, and others move on to face new challenges. They won't have each other to fall back on as the group was splintered. Untied we stand. Divided? Check out the Walking Dead season four mid season preview below.

Apparently this is part of a Writing Challenge. To see more, go to www.WeWorkForCheese.com . Today's theme is Zombies.

Razzle Dazzle Show

Rod Hull and Emu

As I flipped TV channels this morning while drinking my coffee I grew nostalgic over the long gone television shows of my youth. Saturday morning TV has changed drastically. What happened to Saturday morning cartoons and kids' shows? One show that stands out in my mind is The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show.

The Razzle Dazzle Show aired from 1974 to 1975 and although it was only on for one year. was a staple of Saturday morning viewing. An eclectic, zany and colourful show, Razzle Dazzle was filled with comedy sketches and musical performances. And don't forget Rod Hull and Emu, and The Bear. And of course Bill, Mark and Brett Hudson.

Hudson Brothers

X Factor

As I started typing this I realized I was being apologetic for watching the TV show the X Factor. I did not plan on watching the series. I watch American Idol (and it's poor cousin Canadian Idol before it was cancelled). I did not want to get into a new show, thinking it would be the same old same old. The promos worked. There are three singers that really caught my attention for their singing abilities. Josh Krajcik from Columbus, Oh., 60 year old LeRoy Bell from, Seattle, WA., and 14 year old Drew Ryniewicz from Chino Valley, Az. The results are in and all three have moved on to the final group of 16. There are a lot of great singers of all ages trying for a second chance, last chance or in the case of Ryniewicz, her first chance. Here is Ryniewicz's terrific and haunting performance of Must Have been Love, a Roxette cover. The song starts about 1:15 in.

X Factor

Josh Krajcik sings Up to the Mountain. Krajcik's got a Joe Cocker voice with less whisky and smokes. The songs starts about 1:20 in.


LeRoy Bell sings the Bob Dylan song popularized by Adele, Make you Feel My Love

The Walking Dead Year 2

TWD: Walker

Season 2 of The Walking Dead kicked off Sunday night and picked up where season 1 left off. Oh, just the usual. Panic, disaster, gore, death and mayhem. The group of survivors are heading down the highway after having just left the Center for Disease Control. Led by former Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes, the group includes his wife, his partner Shane and the others that first met up in Atlanta. The opening sequence features Rick's monologue over a walkie-talkie to Morgan, a survivor he encountered weeks before, who may or may not be on the other end.

Is it just me? What is happening to Rick's accent? Andrew Lincoln, the actor who plays Rick Grimes is from London, England. During his conversations with the other characters, his interpretation of an American accent was near flawless. In his attempt at a southern drawl during the monologue though, Lincoln was all over the place, moving in and out of the Kentucky-ish accent.

Grimes and his Zombie Friend

The show picks up similar in tone to last season, if not a little slower. With a full 13 episode arc for this year, expect more character development to go along with the action. If episode 1 is any indication, this season will up the gore factor, so that it more closely resembles the graphic novels on which they are based. And so far we are getting to know some of the secondary characters as both Daryl (played by Norman Reedus) and Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) both had moments to shine.
If I had a critique of the debut season was that it did not stick close enough to the novels. Too many new characters were introduced. That being said, Frank Darabont did a wonderful job and he was a major reason the show was such a hit. With Darabont gone from the series, it is left to be seen how the second time around will fare.
From the preview for episode two, it looks like The Walking Dead will move ahead with more excitement. And typical of the books, the first episode ends with a doozy of a cliffhanger.

And here's the Trailer for Season Two of The Walking Dead.

Top 100 TV Catchphrases

As a distraction from Hurricane Irene I present The top 100 funniest best most memorable television catchphrases and lines. Some of the shows were before my time, and I don't know all of the U.K. shows but I could name about 85 of them.



1. "I shall say this only once" - 'Allo 'Allo!
2. "I have a cunning plan" - Blackadder Goes Forth
3. "Suit up!" - How I Met Your Mother
4. "Bazinga" -- The Big Bang Theory
5. "Blerg" -- 30 Rock
6. "Whoa!" -- Blossom
7. "But I'm Feeling Much Better Now" - Night Court
8. "I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl ..." -- Newhart
9. "Hey hey hey! What's Happening!?" -- Saved by the Bell
10. "You havin' a laugh" -- Extras
11. "Pretty..pretty...pretty good" -- Curb Your Enthusiasm
12. "Don't panic" - Dad's Army
13. "Drink, Feck, Arse, Girls" -- Father Ted
14. "Don't mention the war" -- Fawlty Towers
15. "Well, of course not, don't be ridi-cool-us" -- Perfect Stranger
16. "My Shiny Ass" -- Futurama
17. "Sit on it" -- Happy Days
18. "Hello, Newman" -- Seinfeld
19. "Missed it by that much" -- Get Smart
20. "Giggity, giggity, giggity goo" -- Family Guy
21. "Dy---no---mite!" -- Good Times
22. "Cause I'm the Fonze! Ayyyy" -- Happy Days
23. "I know/see nothing!" - "Hogan's Heroes"
24. "Would you believe it" -- Get Smart
25. "Do you wanna hug it out" -- Entourage
26. "the only gay in the village" -- Little Britain
27. "You Got it Dude" -- Full House
28. "Nanu. Nanu" -- Mork & Mindy
29. "No, no, no, no, no, yes" - The Vicar of Dibley
30. "Oh my god! They killed Kenny" - South Park
31. "Are we having fun yet" -- Party Down
32. "Baby, you're the greatest" -- The Honeymooners
33. "I'm comin' to join ya Elizabeth - Sanford and Son
34. "Here come de judge" - Laugh In
35. "Yada, yada, yada" -- Seinfeld
36. "Burn" - That '70s Show
37. "Time Out" -- Saved by the Bell
38. "How you doing?" -- Friends
39. "Marsha Marsha Marsha." 
40. "One of these days, POW, right in the kisser." -- Honeymooners

Test Pattern

I'm with Busey

I'm With Gary Busey

I'm With Busey was a great show that ran on Comedy Central in 2003. In it comedy writer Adam de la Pena spends time with his idol Gary Busey, with the older actor attempting to mentor the younger Pena. Much of the humour revolves around the wacky Busey-isms and the shenanigans in which the the two get involved. Call the show an earlier version of Shit My Dad Says. Heck, call Busey an earlier version of Shit My Dad Says. The show features Busey and company on various adventures and has some hilarious cutaways to a perplexed de la Pena as he tries to decipher what Busey just said. Here's a clip from episode four, where the two have a field trip building robots. If you don't have the patience to watch a seven minute clip, scroll down and watch the second video that runs just about 90 seconds, where Busey explains how to eat Oysters.

The Walking Dead Game

It started with the graphic novels, then on to the TV series. The folks over at AMC have created a pretty cool interactive website, included are some themed Walking Dead games. Under AMC Originals click the link to the The Walking Dead page. On it you have the option of The Survival Test, Trivia Tests Comic Book quizzes or The Atlanta Run. Atlanta Run is well crafted but simple RPG. I originally embedded the game into this post but my browser kept crashing. So here is the direct link to the game. Look for season two of The Walking Dead to start sometime in October 2011 on AMC. As of today no official announcement has been made.

The Walking Dead

If you are a fan of The Walking Dead, you already know that the televised episodes started airing on AMC on October 31st. This first season is to run six episodes, it took AMC only two eps to announce it has renewed the show for a second season. Look for a thirteen show arc in year two of TWD.
There is plenty of violence and gore in this show. What's different about this series and the books from which it originates, is that the surviving humans aren't spending all their time hacking up zombies. The last forty or so years of zombie movies was all chase, run, hack, shoot. Yes, in TWD there is plenty of fighting off the undead but consider it a drama where the humans must also fight off the monsters that they themselves are becoming as society regresses.
The show is going strong pulling in 5.1 million viewers in its third week, up from 4.7 million the week prior. Another 5.3 viewed its Halloween night premiere.

Here's a short clip from the show



Just kidding that's Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard in the 1940 movie The Ghost Breakers.
If you haven't seen it yet, here's the trailer for the The Walking Dead. Consider this a warning, while the teaser below is cleaner than the actual show, don't click play if you are bothered by gore.

The Walking Dead

Jersey Shore North ? Please, No !

I hate reality TV so why do I watch it? Maybe it is similar to the rubber necking we do around a car crash, or watching the NASCAR circular waiting for a smashup. We want to see disaster. Or we want to see artistic disaster such as Dancing with the Stars, or Battle of the Blades. I can see a reason for the interest in the above mentioned shows, but Jersey Shore? Someone explain it please.

Word out of Toronto is that a cheap Canadian knock-off entitled Lake Shore is on the way. And the reaction has been mostly negative, including the Canadian Jewish Congress speaking out about the racial categorizing and anti-semitic tones. Let's hope the rumors of a major Canadian network picking up this show, is just the rumors spread by the producers to drum up interest.

Read more here.
Heebonics

Late Night Television

With the upcoming launch of Conan O'Brien's new show, I started thinking about the hosts of late night TV that have come and gone over the years. Who were the best and who were the worst television hosts? I decided to examine the post Carson era. Johnny Carson the legend, was unbeatable and incomparable. And not having been around B.C. (Before Carson) I cannot examine those who came before.

Johnny

The biggest names since then? Letterman versus Leno. David Letterman has been my favourite over the years. His wacky comedy style may have mellowed recently, especially in the last few years. Many of the comedians in the fifty plus generation, including Letterman referred to Carson as their idol. Letterman is just as important in his time as Carson was in his. Ratings aside, for his influence call him the king of late night TV.

Carson, Letterman

Two years of controversy and embarrassing headlines has hurt Jay Leno's reputation. At his peak he was giving Letterman a run for his money, but as a performer he pales by comparison. I never liked his style, whether going back to his stand-up days or as a fill in for Carson. He still has a loyal following but the heritage that was the Tonight Show no longer garners automatic ratings success.

The first late night host to actually make a dent into Johnny Carson's numbers, Arsenio Hall, was not without his own controversies. Generally a very good show that appealed to a younger crowd. An appearance on the show may have been the boost that put Bill Clinton into the White House. In the end it was likely Hall's poor judgement that suddenly ended the shows run.

Hall

If the aforementioned were battling for title of king of late night, the hosts of the late late shows Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon battle it out for title of prince, or jester. Of them all I would rank Ferguson at the top. Having seen him on the Drew Carey Show, and only catching his stand-up act once, I was surprised by the choice to name him as Craig Kilborn's replacement. Ferguson brings a unique style and is funny as all hell. Turns out it was the perfect selection.

Jimmy Kimmel, made his mark on Win Ben Stein's Money and The Man Show. His success at ABC is likely due to his younger male fan base. Sometimes low-brow, and I have no problem with that, Kimmel has the ability to find humour in just about anything.

I haven't watched Jimmy Fallon as much as the I have the other shows. His show got off to a rocky start in 2009 but he seems to have smoothed out lately. Multi-talented, Fallon can do comedy, skits or music. His often too eager to jump on the latest and hottest items has him sometimes coming off as a douche rather than someone in the know.

Maher

In the political ring we have Bill Maher, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Some say Politically Incorrect was pulled off the air for being politically incorrect, others say budget cuts were the cause. His latest, Real Time, tends to have less of the celebrity class on its panel and is more provocative and less controversial then his previous incarnation.

Perhaps the most influential of the hosts is Jon Stewart. Many viewers of the 20-something generation view The Daily Show as their number one source for news. From the Daily Show's website "...unburdened by objectivity, journalistic integrity or even accuracy."

You may remember in the 90s, Stewart's attempt to follow in his hero's footsteps, The Jon Stewart Show was funny and managed to get some of the best up and coming actors and musicians around. The show had no chance of success up against his idol Letterman or even Leno. It ran about one year. It may have had more success as a late late show.

Stewart, Colbert

From the in between group, the late Tom Snyder. Originally a newscaster, who delivered a wonderful interview in a conversational style. Low key and perfect for a mellow late night viewing. I remember him most for his hearty laugh.

The soon to be retired Larry King created a zone of his own. King had just as many brilliant interviews as he did absurd. Many of his interviews were driven by his curiosity rather than any knowledge of the topic at hand. I was a fan of his earlier radio show which was simulcasted in part on CNN.

Joan Rivers was big in the 80s and then refused to go away. Rivers greatest success came as a stand up comedian and writer for Johnny Carson. Originally she was guest host for Carson, before jumping ship to Fox for her own ill fated late night show on Fox.

And then there are the bad ones. Those hosts that should have never been given a show in the first place. Allan Thicke, Pat Sajak, Spike Feresten, Chevy Chase, Magic Johnson and the worst of the lot Mike Bullard. How Bullard had a number one show in Canada is beyond me, yet somehow he managed to stay on CTV for six years. He was unfunny, and his interviews were often embarrassing. Global TV stole him away and launched the new late night show to much publicity. It was cancelled within several months due to poor ratings.

There are and were other talented hosts out there, Chris Rock, George Lopez, Bob Costas, Greg Kinnear, Carson Daly, even Craig Kilborn. Who else did I miss?

Rock, Fey, Letterman

Conan O'Brien

Conan O'Brien will launch his new late night show on the 8th of November on TBS in the USA and on CTV in Canada. Earlier this week it was announced that his on-again off-again sidekick Andy Richter will be returning alongside O'Brien when the show premieres.

Richter said the usual, that he's "thrilled" to be working with O'Brien and happy about "getting out of the house again." O'Brien added, "This decision was made without my authority. ... I will get to the bottom of this."

Bobby Versus Satan

Another Kids in the Hall classic featuring the holy trinity of rock. Bobby Versus Satan.

Best Looking Man in the World

Who is the best looking man? On the 10th day of the 10th month on the 10th year at 10:10AM. This Kids in the Hall classic "The Best Looking Man in the World" taken from the Kids early years. Who is the best looking man?

Kids in the Hall

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

I have been watching repeat episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I am running through the seventh and final season and I have found that some of the strongest episodes came in its final two years. The series finished its run of original episodes in 1999. It ended with one unresolved storyline. Everybody went their merry ways except… 

The main story revolved around a new space station commander and his son. There were hundreds of other characters and plot twists but Benjamin Sisko was the central character. Perhaps as foreshadow of events to come, throughout the series, Sisko’s death, potential or actual was examined more than once. Each time, the bond between son and father could not be severed, emotionally or sub-space physics-ly. Each time the son was not yet capable of, or mature enough to handle Sisko's death.

The series ended with son Jake left to contend with his father’s departure and finally capable of being on his own.

But what happened to the Sisko? We know he went to the Celestial Temple to study with The Prophets but he was supposed to eventually come back. While not a pure cliffhanger, the other story-lines were resolved and we are left with this one big question.

Similar to the series finale of Angel, don’t you want to know what happened to Angel, Illyria and Spike after the battle with the demons?

Due to the failure of the later TNG films it is unlikely we will ever see a conclusion to the DS9 story arc on screen. I am curious as to what a J.J. Abrams re-imagined DS9 would look like.

The show was filled with great characters and some fun stories. Last week I watched the DS9 baseball episode Take Me Out to the Holosuite.

During play on the diamond, Sisko encourages his team – who have never played ball before - to chatter at the opposing batter.

In response to,”Batter, batter, batter…” Worf yells, “Destroy the opposition.”

A later scene has the mystified Ferengi catcher not knowing what to do when the runner misses home plate.

Worf yells, “Find him and kill him!”

Of all the ST series DS9 remains my favourite. TNG was more consistent in terms of plot. It also had the luxury of a young and undeveloped Star Trek universe for the writers to create. The darker edge of DS9 appealed to me more.

Each of the Star Trek series dealt with social issues, DS9 took it a step further and dealt seriously with themes of bigotry, genocide, terrorism, racism, stress of combat and the consequences of war.

Furniture on the Mend and other Broken Things

If you consider that my attention span for anything other than work or TV is quite limited, you would be impressed with how much I accomplished this morning.

I moved into my condo just over a year ago. I finally finished unpacking in June.

For the first time ever I hired someone to do the painting for me. I wanted the job done right and I did not have the time to spare. Also, I did not have many favours left to call upon.

Moving forward to today, as a home-owner, aside from the usual upkeep, there are many things that I would like to change and improve upon. Where to start?

I made a list.

Holy crap! It's a long list.

I started off today trying to find a hardware store in my neighbourhood. That was a challenge in itself. The three that I knew of, all closed in the last few years. Okay, I located a paint store.

Next, I went out to the store and replaced all the painting supplies that I gave away before I moved. I did not think I would need a roller and pan, TSP or drop cloth so soon.

And on down the list I went. Well, I bought groceries. And that's about as far down the list I went. But upon my return I spent 90 minutes scraping the concrete surrounding wall of my balcony. And then cleaned up afterwards. It's always a bigger job than I anticipate. The painting will fall to another day.

No, I'm not procrastinating. I have to write my something for blog. That was also on the list.

Some of the other items on my list:

-Construct a bar. It's a project I started but I need to find specific parts to complete. I am building a bar in a closet. To save the time of measuring and cutting, I took an old bookcase frame and bolted it to the interior wall. I need to reinforce the shelving, add a mirror, a door and a curtain. And buy some alcohol.

-Purchasing and installing light fixtures. It gets dark here. At night. I am not replacing the lighting I have but adding where there is none. I'll try not to cause any explosions this time. I want to string lights so I will likely call an electrician. I am not ready to run wires through my ceiling by myself.

-Reupholster and refinish two of my chairs. I know how to do it. In theory. Again, I will just hire someone. If I attack this task I will likely underestimate the time it will take to complete. And the wood on the chairs has a lacquer finish to it. I am accident prone and will likely burn wholes in everything in my attempt to remove the old finish.

-Replace my computer desk. My office / computer desk was purchased at the same time as my Apple II+. Yes, that long ago.

-Purchase and hang art work. I was offered an old Tintin print. It would match the colours in my place. But, I said no. Perhaps I will regret this decision once the Spielberg directed film hits the big screen in December 2011. My walls are bare and I need to add something to liven up the place. I also need some suggestions. That's the problem with not having a woman in my life. No decorating advice.

Yeah, that's the problem of not having a girlfriend. I miss the art conversations. I miss getting arted.

I have three weeks of vacation left this year. I think the only travelling that I will do is to the hardware store.

The Furniture Guys Book

World Cup Aftermath - The Letdown of Terrible Sports Programming

Talk about a letdown after the World Cup... I was eating my lunch in the kitchen at work yesterday watching Television. (I brought a tuna sandwich in case you were wondering. Tuna with onion, mustard, mayo, and lettuce in a pita). I forgot my newspaper at home so I was stuck in front of the tube. One of the national sports networks (RDS) was trying to fill their empty programming schedule with a show that consisted of killing things with guns. They took a commercial break and then came back with ten more minutes of birds falling from the sky.

Granted, it was a hunting show but oddly enough, there was very little commentary, only animals dying. It reminded me of America's Funniest Home Videos, without the bad jokes.

Amazingly enough I sat there and watched.

I work in a office of about 100 people and there were about twenty others in the kitchen at the time. None of the other office drones changed the channel. I suppose I was too spellbound, or in too much shock to get up and change the channel.

I cannot say that today's show was much better. The featured programming was Table Tennis. Fancy name Table Tennis. Ping Pong for the uncouth.

It's a sports channel. I should call and tell them that anything played on a table is not a sport. Poker, Chess, Billiards - not sports. Games, all of them. I love shooting pool and I enjoy the occasional game of poker. I know pool is often referred to as a table sport. Doesn't matter. 

Pool = Game. 

Ping Pong= Game.

Ping Pong or Table Tennis?

I'm still stuck on the table thing though. If you call table tennis a sport, than synchronized swimming would be considered a sport (OK that's a bit of a leap).

How can something be called a sport just because two people are doing it at the same time? Reminds me of simultaneous orgasms. Which of course are more challenging and harder to complete. Now that is a sport. And, funny enough, you can do it on a table.

I can do that