Mid-Season TV Shows Review

The Cape – The Cape was the show I was most excited about for this mid-season release.  The Cape was promoted as a new superhero series with a dark tone. The premise of the show is about cop who is framed for murder and believed to have died. He was rescued by a group of carnies / thieves. They train him to become a superhero and his main weapon and defense is a cape. (I know it doesn’t sound great but I had high hopes, I mean it has Summer Glau as a main character) This show is a campy nightmare more along the lines of Dick Tracy than Batman Begins. Most of the acting is dreadful except for a few characters and all the “villains” look ridiculous.  It is a terrible waste of time with bad acting and a plot I couldn't bring myself to care about. Do not watch!

Harry’s Law – Harry's Law is a surprising good show, its a legal comedy / drama with a lot of heart. The show opens showing a lawyer named Harriet (Kathy Bates) who is one of the best patient lawyers in the city realizing she hates her job. She gets fired in an amusing scene with her smoking a joint in her office watching cartoons. She opens her own law firm out of an old shoe store in the worst part of town. The show gets better when a young lawyer (who she doesn’t like) and her old assistant join her new firm. The show has great writing and talented actors you even like the antagonists in the show. Everyone isn’t going to like Harry’s Law but if you watch the pilot and don’t like it you probably never will.

                This mid-season premier is not new but has gotten so much better in 2 years I have to put it on the list.

Parks and Recreation – I remember watching the premier of this show and wondering what the hell was NBC thinking. Parks and Recreation was supposed to be spin-off of The Office but it was an unfunny mess with no likeable characters. Accidentlly I watched the season 3 premier and was pleasantly surprised I couldn’t stop laughing. I went back and watched the first 2 season and realized how good this became the character development was great and everyonefound their comedic timing. This show Start of terrible but has become on of the funnier shows on TV.

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My Favorite Games 2001 - 2010

     I have been working on this list for about a week now deciding which games deserve to be on this list. I love video games they are a friend when times are bad, they are a social past time with friends, and they help you escape when life gets to be too much. It should go without saying that I have not played every game that has come out in the past 10 years. So if I missed one you think should be on the list, let me know. I will check it out.


2001 - Year of the Ipod
Final Fantasy X - The graphic on this game were great and the story was good too. I hated Blitzball though. (PS2)


Devil May Cry - Dante is the star as a bad @$$ Mutha Fu*k@.  (PS2)


Grand Theft Auto 3 - GTA 3 changed Video Games forever and it was great. (PS2)


Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 - My favorite Tony Hawk game ever worth every penny. (PS2)


Halo - Great graphics and fun FPS (First Person Shooter) (Xbox)


2002 - George W. Bush versus the Pretzel
Kingdom Hearts - Final Fantasy meets Disney its awesome. (PS2)


Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - You can ride motorcycles now. YAY! (PS2)


Super Mario Sunshine - It was fun and hard (That's what she said) (Game Cube)


Fu*k 2003


2004 - Facebook was Born
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 - Goku and Vegeta kicking @$$. (PS2)


Katamari Damacy - Umm . . . Just play it. (PS2)


Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Did you know they made a video game out of racist stereotypes. (PS2)


World of Warcraft - The biggest MMO ever. (PC)


2005 - Brangelina Begins
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening - Dante got his groove back after the terrible DMC2. (PS2)


Destroy All Humans - An alien bring smacking down on humans, just plain fun. (PS2)


We Love Katamari - Move ball rolling fun. (PS2)


2006 - Dick Cheney will shoot your face off
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Knights fighting the off the apocalypse. Awesome (Xbox 360)


New Super Mario Bros. - Mario bringing his awesomeness to the DS. (DS Duh)


Dead Rising - Killing zombies with trash cans, need I say more. (Xbox 360)


The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Link is an old school gangsta just play it. (Wii)


Rayman Raving Rabbids - Plunger shooting fun. (Wii)

Guitar Hero 2 - Release your inner rock star. (PS2)


2007 - Harry finally Beats Voldermort
Crackdown - Cops with superpowers killing ever drug lord in sight. (Xbox 360)

Super Paper Mario - Mario goes 2D again in a RPG what's not to love. (Wii)

Orange Box - Portal! (Xbox 360)

Super Mario Galaxy - The Boss of the video gaming world is back. (Wii)

Assassin's Creed - The swan dive rocks (Xbox 360)

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - Little Lego lightsabers (say that 3 times fast) (Wii)

Rock Band - Lets add drums and vocals to guitar hero . . . Genius (Xbox 360)

Mass Effect - A Space RPG this game is epic. (Xbox 360)

2008 - The year of the "Pregnant Man"
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures  - Raiders of the lost ark in Lego form who couldn't love that. (Wii)

Rockband 2 - Better songs than the original. (Xbox 360)

Left 4 Dead - Gruesome zombie killing fun. (Xbox 360)

2009 - The pink dolphin was found
Prototype - A bad @$$ mutant anti-hero. (Xbox 360)

Batman Arkham Asylum - Best Batman game ever. (Xbox 360)

2010 -  Marijuana laced ice cream on sale now!
Darksiders - War one of the four horsemen takes on heaven and hell. (Xbox 360)

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PnP RPGs, The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

     Playing a pen and paper (PnP) Role Playing Game (RPG) has been one of the most fun and rewarding things I have ever done. It lets you enter a world where you have complete control of your character everything from back-story and skills to appearance and family. These are things that Video games are just now delving into the basics of. Now don’t get me wrong I LOVE video games but nothing feels as real or as fulfilling as a PnP RPG.

     My RPG of Choice is the Old World of Darkness Games. Old World of Darkness (oWOD) takes place in a world similar to our just darker and more deranged. The world is home to many creatures’ vampires , werewolves ,mages , changelings , demons , and even wraiths (ghosts). Now I know what you may be thinking this sounds like a twilight fans wet dream. NO, Vampires don’t sparkle; they don’t frolic around during the day falling in and out of love. They are vicious and play mind games with all those around them. Werewolves are fighting a never-ending war to preserve the untamed forests they love. Mages are having a civil war between mages who want to preserve nature and those who want to advance technology. Demons will stop at nothing trying to rid the world of the “human disease” remake the earth as it was before man ruined it. Wraiths are undead sprits trying to affect the world they once roamed.

     It’s hard to explain how wonderful and fulfilling this game really is. Especially, when you try to explain to someone who has never played a PnP RPG you just sound like a crazy person. Now you don’t have to dress up or act out what the character is doing. (You can if that is your sort of thing.)

     So for those of you who read this and have never played a PnP RPG, I’ll explain how it works. First you need to get the core book for the game you’re going to play. (I will put a few in the store so you can look thorough and see what games are for you and your friends). Second you need to decide who is going to be the storyteller (or DM for you D&D fans). The Storyteller will be the controller of the story he/she guides your characters on an adventure. He/she will describe what you see, who you meet; he/she will even play all the NPCs (Non-Player Characters). Once you have the Core book and the story teller now you need to make a character. In oWOD you get to choose everything about your character back-story, talents, skills, appearance, even merits and flaws. For you first character it usually helps to make it as much like yourself as possible. Playing is easier in the beginning to learn the game and not having to think too much about what your character would do next. Last but not least you need dice to play for wod you need a minimum of 10 d10's (10 sided dice). You need a few more dice for D&D d4, d6, d8, d12, d20 and two d10, both of which are used together to represent a d100, d%, or percentile die. Well that’s how to start out playing PnP RPGs give it a try it’s a lot of fun when you play with people you like.

I think this says it best.

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Most Anticipated Movies of 2011

Sucker Punch in theaters March 25 – Sucker Punch is a movie that takes place mostly in a young girl’s imagination that is locked in a mental Institution. The world she creates looks great filled with action, adventure, samurais, and serpents. The trailer looks awesome you can watch it HERE.

Cabin in the Woods in theaters April 15 – There are two reasons I am excited about Cabin in the Woods.
 1. The script is being written by the Joss Whedon. The brilliant mind behind some of the greatest stuff I have ever seen Doll House, Firefly and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.
2. Joss himself stated that it will be a twisted and unusual take on the familiar "cabin in the woods" formula. There aren't a lot of details yet about the script. So guess we will just have to wait and be surprised.

Cowboys and Aliens in theaters April 29 – Cowboys and Aliens will most likely not win an Oscar but it promises to be a fun action fueled ride. It has Daniel Craig (James Bond) and Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones and Han Solo) who wouldn’t want to see those two fighting aliens.

Thor in theaters May 6 - Thor is based on the comic book with the same name. I am really excited about this movie since Thor is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel universe.  Thor is the strongest warrior in Asgard, but his arrogance gets him banished by his father, Odin, and sent to Earth. On Earth he meets a few people who humble him and he becomes Earth’s greatest defender.

The Hangover 2 in theaters July 1 - The Gang is all back together again and this time they are heading to Thailand. It’s also been revealed that Ken Jeong is back as Mr. Chow and the boys get to see tigers in their home environment. This looks to be very funny and I cannot wait for it to be released.

Captain America: The First Avenger in theaters July 29 – the third movie on the list that based off a comic book. This is the one I am most excited about but also most nervous about this movie could be one of the best movies ever or a total bomb. Captain America is set primary in the 1940 based around a soldier named Steve Rogers who volunteers for an experiment. The experiment is conducted by the U.S. Army and called the super solider program. The Super Solider experiment takes him from average solider to superhero. Steve is sent to take down the Nazi and his arch nemesis, The Red Skull.

The Muppets in theaters November 23 – The Muppets are coming back to the big screen, with a reboot co-written by Jason Segel. You May Know Jason Segel from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love you, Man, How I met Your Mother, and Freak and Geeks. I am a HUGE fan of Jason Segel, I have loved him in everything I have ever seen him in and I know he will be great with The Muppets. Kermit has to get the Muppets back together again to save the theater their show was in. Kermit will have a hard time since Miss Piggy now works at a plus size magazine and Gonzo became the king-pin of plumbing. The Muppets is sure to be a fun movie for all ages.

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Bane Has Arrived

     I just found out a few days ago that Bane will be the villain in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. I am so excited that Bane will be in this movie. As I hope you all forgot a character they called “Bane” played a minor role in a previous movie “Batman and Robin” as one of Poison Ivy’s henchmen. The real Bane (as in Bane from the comic books) is smart, strong and a master strategist.

     Bane was born in Santa Prisca prison; he was sentenced to life for his father’s crimes. He lived there throughout his childhood and early adult life. While incarcerated he managed to develop a great mind for strategy, fighting, and murder. Bane committed his first murder at age 8 by stabbing another criminal. He used his time in prison to develop his mind and body. He would read any book he could get and used the prison gym daily. He eventually became a king like figure in the prison which made the guards nervous. They forced him to become a test subject for a new drug known as VENOM. Where all other test subjects died Bane survived and it vastly increased his strength, the only drawback is needed to take venom every 12 hours or suffer terrible side effects. He created a suit that pumps venom into his brain. While in prison he heard tales of Batman in Gotham City and he made it his mission to destroy him and rule Gotham with fear. (Read Batman Knightfall to get a grasp of how fearsome Bane really is.)

     So with a back story that intense you can see why I am so excited to see Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises.” Bane will be played by Tom Hardy who previously worked with Christopher Nolan on Inception (My pick for #1 movie of 2010). Anne Hathaway will star as Cat Woman (A.K.A Selina Kyle). I am not sure how I feel about this casting choice. I haven’t seen her in many things I just hope they don’t turn Cat Woman into a joke like the previous Batman movies have did. However, Christopher Nolan has enough talent as a director to know how his cast fits into the Gotham City he created. I mean who would have ever thought that Heath Ledger would play The Joker?  Or that he would do such a phenomenal job?

     I am really excited about this movie and I’m hoping this will be my #1 movie for 2012.

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The Best Shows on TV You’re Not Watching

Chuck – Airs Monday nights at 8:00 P.M. This show has one of the worst premises I have ever heard. A nerdy guy accidently has a NSA / CIA computer (known as “The Intersect”) uploaded into his brain and he must be protected.  Once you get passed the terrible premise, this show is one of the best shows on TV with some of the most lovable characters I have ever seen. Chuck also has some phenomenal guest stars including Scott Bakula, Linda Hamilton, Timothy Dalton, and Summer Glau.  

Charles “Chuck” Irving Bartowski – Chuck works at an electronic store ”Buy More” for the computer repair department the “Nerd Herd”. Chuck was 12 credits away from graduating Stanford until a friend betrayed him and framed him for cheating while, simultaneously stealing his girlfriend. That betrayal has made Chuck a chronic underachiever until the Intersect was uploaded into his brain. Chuck's feelings for his CIA handler Sarah and the confidence he gains from having "The Intersect" inspire him to become a spy. Chuck is played by Zachary Levi.

CIA Agent Sarah Walker – Sarah is a beautiful super-spy who will do anything to keep Chuck safe. She has been very secretive about her past. One thing we do know about Sarah’s past is that her father is a con-man. This forced Sarah to move around a lot living under false identities which made her a perfect to be a spy. Sarah is played by Yvonne Strahovski.

Colonel John Casey – John is a NSA Agent who is part of Chuck’s team and he is a gun toting badass. Casey is what makes the show for me his one-liners are awesome. John's anger and skills is the stuff of legends are made of. He is a must watch on this show. John is played by Adam Baldwin.

There are so many great characters on this show it would be too much to list here with descriptions. Watch a few episodes of this show you will not be disappointed.  The show is so great a real person changed his real name to Captain Awesome a nick name of one of the characters on this show. Chuck is one of those shows you must devote some time to love it as much as I do. It is great show watch the first few episodes or just start watching it now on TV they give you a recap every episode.  

Some of my Favorite episodes:

(Just click on the episode name to watch it)

Season 1 Episode 1: "Chuck versus the Intersect"

Season 2 Episode 9: “Chuck versus the Sensei"

Season 2 Episode 11: "Chuck versus Santa Claus"

Season 2 Episode 22: “Chuck versus the Ring”

Season 3 Episode 3: “Chuck versus the Angel de la Muerte"

Season 3 Episode 13: “Chuck versus the Other Guy”

Season 3 Episode 18/19: "Chuck versus the Subway / Chuck versus the ring, Part II"

Season 4, Episode 4: "Chuck versus the Coup D'Etat"

Season 4, Episode 9: "Chuck versus Phase Three"






 Fringe – Airs Friday nights 9:00 P.M. Fringe created by J.J. Abrams is the best thing to hit TV since “Lost” in fact it is better than “Lost”. The cast on this show is great and the episodes are full of mystery and intrigue. The Fringe Division is a part of the FBI that is called in to investigate strange occurrences that relate to fringe science. Some of the cases they have investigated deal with genetic mutation of animal species, transhuminist experiments (using technology to overcome human limitations) and the possible existence of a parallel universe. They have a theory that all these things are related through what is known as “The Pattern”.  Walter Bishop is a scientist who earlier in his life dedicated his life to fringe science but was placed in a mental hospital after an accident killed his lab assistant. Newly released from the hospital, Walter is the United States' only hope to figure out “The Pattern.” The only person who can somewhat control Walter is his son Peter Bishop who has a strained relationship with his father. Agent Olivia Dunham just recently found out about “The Pattern”. She is leading up the task force of the fringe division and she will do whatever it takes to figure out "The Pattern".  To get a good feel for the show and background on a few of the characters watch the pilot HERE. It is very hard for me to pick just one episode so buy or watch the first, second, and third seasons at a Random Guy's Store.

Community – Airs Thursday Nights at 8:00 P.M. Community is about a group of students at Greendale (a fictional college). This is hands down one of the funniest shows on TV.  Staring a Phenomenal cast Joel McHale, Chevy Chase, and Ken Jeong.  The Break out star from this show has to be Donald Glover (No Relation to Danny Glover) after watching the commentary on season one found out that he Improvs at least half of his lines. He has great comedic facial expression which cracks me up every time. Every character in this show is great from the main cast down to small reoccurring characters like Star Burns or Leonard. Community is so great it is hard to pick just a few things I love about it.

A Few of my absolute favorite episodes:

(Just click on the episode name to watch it)

Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot”

Season 1, Episode 2: “Spanish 101”

Season 1, Episode 12: “Comparative Religion”

Season 1, Episode 15: “Romantic Expressionism”

Season 1, Episode 17: “Physical Education”

Season 1, Episode 23: “Modern Warfare”

Season 2, Episode 6: “Epidemiology”


Season 2, Episode 8: “Cooperative Calligraphy”

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