#7 Football Movie- Rudy

Rudy (1993)
Starring: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty

I don't even know if I like Rudy. I've only seen it once or twice and not in a long time. I remember it being quite boring and I know I didn't like Rudy himself. He was an idiot. On the positive side, I do remember the jersey scene as being fantastic. All the dudes on the team laying their jerseys down on the coach's desk so that he will let Rudy suit up for his final game...emotional. Then we have the Ru-Dee chants from the crowd during the final game...awesome. Here's the thing we couldn't embellish the story more so that he didn't just get a single tackle? How bout a forced fumble, fumble recovery and a touchdown? I'm just sayin.

#8 Football Movie- Any Given Sunday

Any Given Sunday (1999)
Starring: Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid

As in most sports movies, and especially the football variety, great coaching characters can make the movie. In Any Give Sunday Pacino is fantastic, if extremely exaggerated, as Coach D'Amato. Cameron Diaz, per the usual, puts a damper on the whole thing, but between Pacino, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J and Lawrence Taylor, there are plenty of positives to bring it back up to par. I love that they couldn't use any of the actual NFL teams or logos, because it was such a negative portrayal of professional football. When it comes down to it, Pacino's final game speech is one of the best and gives the film the number eight spot.

Trio of Trailers

How bout we get a bit excited for movies on the horizon...

July 1st 2009
Public Enemies
Johnny Depp and Christian Bale



December 25th 2009
Sherlock Holmes
Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams



June 18th 2010
Toy Story 3
Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Potato Head

#9 Football Movie- Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights (2004)
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund

The only real reason Friday Night Lights made the list is because it paved the way for one heck of a television show. Although the show, the movie and Varsity Blues were all based on the HG Bissinger book that chronicled a West Texas high school football team, it was this movie that created the buzz for the serialized, scripted drama that is fantastic.

In this version Billy Bob plays the coach and he is somewhere in between Jon Voight's Varsity character and Kyle Chandler's on the show, but he's not as good as either of them. None of the players stand out to me and I can't tell you if they won or lost in the end, and that is why it is no higher than ninth.

#10 Football Movie- The Longest Yard

The Longest Yard (2005)
Starring: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds

I never saw the original, but since it was made a long time ago, we can assume it wasn't very good. Burt Reynolds is good and all, but I wish they had Norm MacDonald playing Burt Reynolds, because that is always hilarious. Chris Rock is never actually funny (but fools A LOT of people) and this is far from Sandler's best work, but it's still a decent football flick. I loved all of the football players and wrestlers in it; Michael Irvin, Goldberg, Bill Romanowski, Diesel and Stone Cold brought a nice vibe to the film.

The Sopranos Award (2009)

The Sopranos Award for Best Action Series

Rank. Show- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Criminal Minds- 1 point

9th. Fringe- 2 points

8th. The Mentalist- 4 points...(5th)

7th. Harper's Island- 6 points

6th. Heroes- 6 points

5th. True Blood- 7 points

4th. Terminator: TSCC- 7 points...(4th)

3rd. Lost- 20 points...(2nd)

Runner-Up
2nd. 24- 21 points...(3rd)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Chuck- 23 points...(1st)


And now with a few words on why Chuck deserves this year's Poolie, here is T-time of Solomons Lines...

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A spy show from the creator of “The OC.” A cast of unknowns. A far-fetched plot line. That seemingly doomed Monday slot on NBC. The prospects for Chuck were dubious at best. Two seasons later, Chuck has defied the odds and become one of the best shows on TV. It does action, comedy and romance and it does them all well. The moments that are supposed to be heartfelt, are. The comedic parts are legitimately funny. The action parts push the plot line, and while no characters are ever in real peril, the contrast enhances the dramatic scenes.

While bringing a little of everything, Chuck manages to not take itself too seriously. It knows what it is, a lighthearted show, about a lighthearted guy. Zach Levi's performance as the title character is outstanding. His character tends to take things lightly, able to find the humor in almost any situation. Seamlessly, humor translates to drama for Levi and as so often in well done comedies, the moments of emotion are incredibly sincere. Relationships built up during comedic and action scenes often possess greater authenticity. Chuck builds toward that concept with well established characters, never ceasing to be entertaining along the way.

The Seinfeld Award (2009)

The Seinfeld Award for the Best Comedy Series

Rank. Show- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Greek- 0 points

9th. Rules of Engagement- 2 points

8th. My Name Is Earl- 2 points

7th. Flight of the Conchords- 4 points...(4th)

6th. Gary Unmarried- 5 points

5th. Eastbound & Down- 5 points...(5th)

4th. Family Guy- 7 points

3rd. Curb Your Enthusiasm- 26 points...(3rd)

Runner-Up
2nd. 30 Rock- 30 points...(1st)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. The Office- 32 points...(2nd)
And now with some words on The Office here is Jaydon of Jaydon's Cave...

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This past season of The Office has been even better than you remember it. There have been many shake ups over these 25 episodes, and the laughs came steadily. Just think about the starting point (this is all from the first double episode): Andy was still engrossing himself with wedding plans, ignorant of Dwight and Angela's affair; Michael had just met his soul mate in Holly; Pam had just left for art school leaving Jim to fend for himself solo in the office (they got engaged in the rain), Kelly was dating Darryl largely to make Ryan (in secretary mode) jealous and Phyllis had just taken the reins of the Party Planning Committee in a blackmailing power play over the two-timing Angela.

Here are some of the Greatest Hits from what may be the best season of The Office: -Holly thinks Kevin is retarded
-Toby is hospitalized with a broken neck in Costa Rica
-Dwight gives birth to a watermelon to prepare Michael for Jan's baby
-Dwight tests the durability of Jan's baby's stroller with said watermelon
-Michael tries to sing the blues with Darryl on the 7 hour goodbye trip in honor of Holly -Andy and Dwight compete over who loves Cornell more
-Andy and Oscar bond in Winnipeg
-Kelly dumps Darryl via text message for Ryan, Darryl is overjoyed
-Micheal screams "NOOOOO" when Toby returns as HR
-Dwight tricks Angela into marrying him in a Schrute Farm test run wedding
-Dwight sells Princess Unicorn dolls during the Christmas rush, Toby buys one from Darryl for $400 only to find out it is black...http://www.princessunicorndoll.com/
-Andy pins Dwight to the bushes in his Prius after finally finding out about the affair
-Dwight stages a fire drill causing Stanley to have a heart attack
-The Michael Scott Roast hurts Michael's feelings, he reflects in the park throwing whole pieces of bread at pigeons
- "BOOM ROASTED"
-Michael flubs his lecture to Karen's Utica branch: "I have an amazing mnemonic device, by which I have memorized all of your names. Shirty, mole, lazy eye, Mexico, baldy, sugar boobs, black woman."
-In Nashua, Holly's branch, Michael calls out Holly's new boyfriend AJ and leaves in a huff. Pam takes over and throws chocolate bars at the staff.
-Michael hides 5 golden tickets in one batch of paper for one client, threatening the branch's survival.
-Michael and Pam leave to form the Michael Scott Paper Company. The clueless Charles Miner makes Kevin receptionist and Stanley "Productivity Czar"
-Michael prolongs breakfast with Pam as he has no idea how to start his new business
-Charles asks Jim for a "rundown"
-Dwight mentions a major client's gay son to poor results after trying to use Michael's screwy rolodex color codes -Dwight embarrasses Charles in a meeting with David, repeatedly pushing an idea involving a hive of bees to solve their client losses to Michael Scott Paper Company
-Meredith flashes on Casual Friday
-Michael fake fires Pam, then fake fires Erin
-Cafe Disco Dance Off
-Michael and Holly are reunited (the sparks are intact) at the company picnic where they perform "Slum-Dunder Mifflinaire", causing unrest when they prematurely reveal the closing of the Buffalo branch
-Pam is implied to be preggers

With all that said, The Office was an easy winner for our Inaugural Seinfeld Award. A really impressive season.

Mad Men World

My summer tv catch up has begun and today I watched the season one finale of Mad Men. This show was getting buzzed about by everyone and my brother. That is a literal statement. T-time highly recommended watching the Advertising Men of Madison Avenue to me. With awards and high praise from one and all I gave it a chance.

I really choked my way through this one. I struggled. My first reactions were that it was bland, boring and cold. In a sense, it was comparable to a performance by Idol's Lil Rounds. I thought I just had to give it a try, finish off the season. Now that I'm through with the opening season, my opinion of Mad Men has tilted ever so slightly in the positive direction.

Maybe it's a correct portrayal of the times, but all of the characters seem dry and withholding. Between Don and his wife Betty Draper, as well as secretary Peggy Olson, the three main characters hardly show any emotion throughout the season.

Okay so the characters aren't that sweet, maybe it's a story based show? Wrong again. People working in advertising. It's pretty boring. Oooooh, he nailed that presentation. Wow, they got another client. It's all so trivial, and if the characters were 'jump off the screen' interesting, it could still be a top notch show, but I don't think they are.

Characters; good and bad. Although Don is sweet with his cool attitude, Roger Sterling definitely has to be my favorite character from season one. On the flip side, between Peggy and Pete Campbell, Mad Men has two of the worst characters on tv. I absolutely have to stop myself from kicking the screen any time one of these two say anything. Their scenes together? Wowzers.

That seems like a lot of terrible complaining. I will definitely be watching season two.

The Dynasty Award (2009)

The Dynasty Award for the Best Drama Series

Rank. Show- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Breaking Bad- 0 points

9th. Privileged- 0 points

8th. Dirty, Sexy, Money- 6 points

7th. 90210- 6 points

6th. Mad Men- 7 points

5th. One Tree Hill- 7 points...(2nd)

4th. Entourage- 11 points...(4th)

3rd. Gossip Girl- 13 points...(5th)

Runner-Up
2nd. House, MD- 20 points...(3rd)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Friday Night Lights- 23 points...(1st)
And since I'm tired of writing about shows, and Friday Night Lights has already won three other awards, how bout we just give the show a nice pat on the back...

The Corey Matthews Award (2009)

The Corey Matthews Award for
Best Lead Character in a Comedy Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Randy Hickey (My Name Is Earl)- 0 points

9th. Cappie (Greek)- 0 points

8th. Jemaine (Flight of the Conchords)- 1 point

7th. Gary Brooks (Gary Unmarried)- 4 points

6th. Kenny Powers (Eastbound & Down)- 9 points...(5th)

5th. Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)- 17 points

4th. Dwight Schrute (The Office)- 18 points...(2nd)

3rd. Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)- 21 points...(4th)

Runner-Up
2nd. Michael Scott (The Office)- 24 points...(3rd)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Tracy Jordan (30 Rock)- 26 points...(1st)

And now with some words on Tracy Jordan here is Lar...

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Tracy Jordan is a pretty great character. He was definitely the best nominee in this category. That had to be a paragraph! What, that was only two sentences?.....Alright, here comes the fun cooker!

The Frank Pembleton Award (2009)

The Frank Pembleton Award for
Best Lead Character in an Action Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Peter Petrelli (Heroes)- 0 points

9th. John Connor (Terminator: TSCC)- 3 points

8th. Friday (Crusoe)- 5 points

7th. John Locke (Lost)- 6 points

6th. Gabriel Sylar (Heroes)- 8 points...(3rd)

5th. Benjamin Linus (Lost)- 9 points

4th. Patrick Jane (The Mentalist)- 9 points...(2nd)

3rd. Chuck Bartowski (Chuck)- 15 points...(4th)

Runner-Up
2nd. Jack Bauer (24)- 16 points...(5th)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. James 'Sawyer' Ford (Lost)- 16 points...(1st)
And with no guest spot, you are stuck with me on this one...

With all of the ups and downs, ins and outs, curve balls and game changers over the past five years on and off the Lost island, one thing has remained constant. Sawyer is an absolute stud. In the time we’ve spent with James on the island, we’ve witnessed him hoard supplies, kill the real Sawyer, shack up with Jack’s woman and give out plenty of nicknames.

In season five, the con-man really got a chance to shine. With the departure of the Oceanic Six it was Sawyer’s turn to step up to the plate and lead this group of idiots. With time travel happening all around them James is the strong, take action leader that the pastaways need. Time stops in the mid 1970s with the Dharma Initiative in full swing. When the pastaways are captured by Dharma, Sawyer takes the opportunity to put his conniving skills to good use as he comes up with an elaborate story in which his name is Jim LaFleur and his group was on a salvage vessel looking for the Black Rock. Three years pass and Sawyer is sly enough to become head of security at this joke of an Initiative, woo Juliet into a relationship, in which she makes him dinner every night, and live happily ever after in Dharmaville. That is until Jack, Kate and the gang come back and ruin all of his fun.

The Arthur Spooner Award (2009)

The Arthur Spooner Award for
Best Supporting Character in a Comedy Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Tommy Brooks (Gary Unmarried)- 5 points

9th. Stewie Griffin (Family Guy)- 8 points

8th. Phil Knight (Kath and Kim)- 8 points...(4th)

7th. Murray Hewitt (Flight of the Conchords)- 9 points...(1st)

6th. Ryan Howard (The Office)- 10 points...(5th)

5th. Stevie Janowski (Eastbound & Down)- 10 points...(2nd)

4th. Frank Rossitano (30 Rock)- 11 points...(3rd)

3rd. Kenneth Parcell (30 Rock)- 15 points

Runner-Up
2nd. Andy Bernard (The Office)- 20 points

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Kevin Malone (The Office)- 21 points

And now with some words on Kevin Malone here is Mags...

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I would imagine just about everyone has done it in their lifetime: tried to see how many of something you can fit in your mouth. This is a serious undertaking, and it is never a pretty ending. However, as far as I can tell, most people give up on this around the age of ten. Not your winner for Best Supporting Character in a Comedy, The Office’s Kevin Malone. Kevin keeps a huge jar of M&Ms at his desk in the Dunder Mifflin office for this purpose alone.

To fill his time outside the office, Kevin is in a band called Scrantonicity II (newly formed after a rift developed between the members of his former band, Scrantonicity). All you really need to know about Kevin is that a new employee (Holly) was pranked and told that Kevin was mentally challenged. Holly interacted with Kevin frequently, and at no point did Kevin do anything to make her think otherwise. This is a man who enjoys the simple things in life, shredding documents, eating hot dogs on the beach, bathroom humor. While Malone might not be the most dynamic character on The Office, there are few that do so much with so little. Congratulations, Kevin.

CW Upfronts- Gut Reactions

What's Gone
Privileged, Reaper, The Game, Everybody Hates Chris

--Although I've never seen Reaper, I've heard great things. The biggest loss here is Privileged. A great show with a great star. There was a lot of room to grow and it's a shame it's getting dumped to take a chance on a new Melrose and a Vampire show.

What's Back
Smallville, Supernatural, Gossip Girl, 90210, One Tree Hill, America's Next Top Model

--The sci-fi twins return. The Gossip crew heads off to college, while the new kids in Beverly Hills make it to season two. It's a shame they're giving Ethan (Dustin Milligan) the boot, because he was one of the highlights of 90210. One Tree Hill does themselves a favor by letting Chad and Burton hit the road for better things. They were two of my least favorites on the show. Adding Julian (Austin Nichols) to main character status will help the cause.

What's New
Melrose Place, Vampire Diaries, The Beautiful Life, Parental Discretion Advised

--Melrose, a reboot of the original, will be worth a try, and I might check out this Vampire joint as well. No thank you to Micha Barton and The Beautiful Life and whatever this other thing is.

CBS Upfronts- Gut Reactions

What's Gone
Without a Trace, The Unit, Worst Week, Eleventh Hour, The Ex-List

--Nothing to talk about here. Only thing I watched was Worst Week, and that was sub-par at best.

What's Back
Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, CSI: Miami, NCIS, Mentalist, Criminal Minds, New Adv. of Old Christine, CSI: NY, CSI, Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs, Cold Case, Amazing Race, Survivor, Gary Unmarried, Rules of Engagement, Flashpoint

--Surprisingly I watch a good amount of shows on my most hated network. Great move sticking with Gary Unmarried and I'll be tuning in for the Race, Survivor, Rules and Mentalist. How many CSIs does CBS really need?

What's New
Accidentally On Purpose, Three Rivers, The Good Wife, NCIS: LA, Miami Trauma, The Bridge, Undercover Boss, Arranged Marriage

--No thank you to all of them.

What's Switched
Medium

--So NBC cancels Medium and CBS decides to pick it up and put it on Friday nights. The funny thing is that because it's on CBS it will now do well. It's a shame that everything does well on CBS but great shows like Chuck struggle to do well on NBC.

The Titus Pullo Award (2009)

The Titus Pullo Award for
Best Supporting Character in an Action Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Hiro Nakamura (Heroes)- 2 points

9th. Lafayette Reynolds (True Blood)- 3 points

8th. Kimball Cho (The Mentalist)- 3 points

7th. Noah Bennett (Heroes)- 5 points

6th. Hurley Reyes (Lost)- 8 points...(5th)

5th. Derek Reese (Terminator: TSCC)- 8 points...(2nd)

4th. John Casey (Chuck)- 10 points...(3rd)

3rd. Sayid Jarrah (Lost)- 12 points

Runner-Up
2nd. Morgan Grimes (Chuck)- 15 points...(1st)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Tony Almeida (24)- 18 points...(4th)

And now with some words on Tony Almeida here is Mags...

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In the world of black ops, terrorism and constant action on Fox’s 24, Jack Bauer reigns king. Jack has been through more than anyone in the service of his country; the murder of his wife, constant physical torture and mental stress, kidnapping. His experiences run the gamut. Throughout the seven seasons of 24, there has been one man by Jack’s side more than any other, one man who had earned the trust of America’s watchdog. That man is Tony Almeida, your winner for Best Supporting Character in an action series.

Leading up to his apparent death in season five, Almeida was always Jack’s right hand, the one guy he could always count on. Halfway through season five however, Tony died in Jack’s arms after receiving a lethal injection. Season seven begins and surprise! Tony is alive after some terrorist injected him with a magical alive serum 10 minutes after he was left for dead. As anyone who watches 24 knows, every season there is a mole, and Tony has filled that role amazingly. I mean he started the season as a terrorist, switched sides and was fully trusted by Jack, and then switched back. All the while he maintained his unflappable demeanor. Tony really has helped 24 make a great comeback this season. Congratulations, Almeida.

Terminator In the Head

I took in Terminator 2 on Friday and went to see Terminator Salvatione (saying it like Doug Heffernan) last night. I was expecting so much from T2 that I felt a bit disappointed, but all in all it was a great film. Salvation, on the other hand, I wasn't expecting much because I heard it wasn't any good. I enjoyed it a bit more than my expectations, but it still wasn't that great overall.

As Lar pointed out, and I completely agreed with, the worst part about it was their was not enough dialog or down time. It was all action, all the time. Don't get me wrong, it definitely wasn't on the level of Blade Runner bad.

As a movie on its own it wasn't that great, but as a continuation of the Terminator series I think it fulfilled a need. If you are a fan of the series you will have more of an opportunity to really enjoy Salvation, especially because of the classic lines that pop up. Such as when teenage Kyle Reese (left) says to Marcus Wright, "Come with me if you want to live." Or when old John Connor heads out to SkyNet to save Kyle and is asked what they should tell the people. He says to tell them, "I'll be back."

I definitely can see why James Cameron stopped after two, because the first two Terminators had such clever ideas to them. He could just build great stories around the simple yet complex themes of T1 and T2. If you're going to make a movie post judgement day it's gonna have to be a war movie, and that's just not as interesting as the stories of the first two films.

Major issue. How come in Salvation you can kill a terminator by simply shooting them in the head, as John did a few times? Wasn't it really hard to kill one and the other movies (I never saw T3) and in tv series? You had to melt them, crush the whole skeleton, or actually remove the chip. But no, now it's bang, shot to the head, dead.

This last problem I have is mostly for T2 but also works for a problem with Salvation. SkyNet sent back two Terminators to kill Sarah Connor in T1 and John Connor in T2. Why on earth would they send back a T101 (Arnold) to one place and use the much better, T1000 (right), at the other place? They are sending them back at the same time (2029 I believe), why wouldn't they send back their most advanced Terminator to both places? Ooohhh, because we didn't have the technology as film makers to do the liquid metal thing in 1984? Now I see. Not good enough. Should have though of that ahead of time.

The Phoebe Buffay Award (2009)

The Phoebe Buffay Award for
Best Female Character in a Comedy Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Christine Campbell (New Adventures of Old Christine)- 0 points

9th. Audrey Bingham (Rules of Engagement)- 0 points

8th. Rebecca Logan (Greek)- 2 points...(4th)

7th. Joy Turner (My Name Is Earl)- 3 points...(5th)

6th. Elisa (30 Rock)- 8 points

5th. Kelly Kapoor (The Office)- 14 points

4th. Angela Martin (The Office)- 18 points

3rd. Jenna Maroney (30 Rock)- 21 points...(3rd)

Runner-Up
2nd. Holly Flax (The Office)- 23 points...(2nd)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Liz Lemon (30 Rock)- 28 points...(1st)And now here is the Kid to talk about Lemon...

It is rare for me to enjoy a female character even remotely as much as I like the dudes on a show, but over the past three years Liz Lemon has defied the odds and proven herself to be comparable to guys. Albeit on 30 Rock it's my opinion that she's not as good as Tracy, Jack, or Frank, but she's right up there with everyone else. In a comedy that's a real accomplishment, because in general, chicks aren't funny.

This season from Liz we've gotten such gems as:

--I want to go to there.
--Twist.
--Hey, where are my Sno-balls? I'm going to the gym later so I deserve a treat.
--In my experience, 'let's think about it' usually ends up as me watching Solid Gold in my basement on prom night.
--Look, Jack, I don't have a lot of personal life experience, but if I have learned anything from my Sims family... when a child doesn't see his father enough, he starts to jump up and down, and then his mood level will drop until he pees himself.

The Terry Fator Award (2009)

The Terry Fator Award for
Best Male Contestant in a Reality Competition

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Memphis Garrett (Big Brother)- 1 point

9th. Bob Crowley (Survivor)- 4 points

8th. Matt Giraud (American Idol)- 4 points

7th. Nuttin' But Stringz (America's Got Talent)- 8 points

6th. Andrew and Dan (The Amazing Race)- 10 points...(4th)

5th. Coach Wade (Survivor)- 11 points

4th. Randy Bailey (Survivor)- 12 points...(5th)

3rd. Adam Lambert (American Idol)- 13 points...(3rd)

Runner-Up
2nd. Tyson Apostol (Survivor)- 13 points...(2nd)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)- 17 points...(1st)
And now with some words on Dan Gheesling, here is Lar...

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Dan had to battle some really terrible people this season, from a crazy fit senior citizen to a “unique” hair dresser from n'orleans. After he almost got the boot in the second episode (probably should have), he changed his style up to what should be considered almost foolproof. He intentionally did poorly in competitions, which allowed him to stay under the radar for most of the game. As numbers started to dwindle, he made an alliance with a likable fella named Memphis. Calling themselves "the renegades," these two dominated the latter part of the game and it was 97% due to Dan. He hated on other contestants in the confessional, was a convincing liar, and also saved room to make fun of people to their faces. What more can you ask for from a reality competition contestant? And oh yeah, he won the whole thing.

FOX Upfronts- Gut Reactions

What's Gone
Do Not Disturb, King of the Hill, Prison Break, Sit Down Shut Up, Terminator

--Worst move of this season's upfronts was canceling Terminator: TSCC. Not only was it a great show, but it kept getting better and better as it went on. I'm glad to see Sit Down Shut Up and Do Not Disturb gone.

What's Back
24, American Dad, American Idol, Bones, Dollhouse, Family Guy, Fringe, House, Kitchen Nightmares, Lie To Me, Simpsons, Til Death, So You Think You Can Dance

--Really? Dollhouse and Lie to Me were better than Terminator? Interesting. 24 is back so I'm assuming Jacky B makes it through that experimental stem cell surgery. Either that or Renee Walker takes over as the woman that saves the world...no thank you.

What's New
Brothers, Cleveland Show, Glee, Human Target, Past Life, Sons of Tucson, Wanda Sykes Show

--Not much promise for the future of FOX. I'll check out Brothers and Cleveland Show, and maybe give Glee another try, but nothing excites me here.

--Brothers is a sitcom starring Michael Strahan (New York Football Giants) as Mike Trainor, an ex-NFL star that has spent all his money and moves back home. Daryl Mitchell (House Party, 10 Things I Hate About You) plays Mike's brother, a handicapped restaurateur, and Carl Weathers (Rocky, Happy Gilmore) is the father.

--The Cleveland Show is the Family Guy spin-off starring the Griffin's neighbor, Cleveland. That's pretty much it. I'll watch because all Seth MacFarlane's stuff is good.

--I turned the Glee pilot off halfway through because it was pretty awful. I am only hearing good things about it so I might give it one more try this fall.

The Veronica Mars Award (2009)

The Veronica Mars Award for
Best Female Character in a Drama Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Adrianna Duncan (90210)- 1 point

9th. Brooke Davis (One Tree Hill)- 2 points...(4th)

8th. Rebecca Harper (Brothers and Sisters)- 5 points

7th. Megan Smith (Privileged)- 5 points...(1st)

6th. Haley James Scott (One Tree Hill)- 6 points...(3rd)

5th. Betty Draper (Mad Men)- 9 points

4th. Remy '13' Hadley (House, MD)- 12 points

3rd. Blaire Waldorf (Gossip Girl)- 12 points

Runner-Up
2nd. Naomi Clark (90210)- 12 points...(5th)

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Julie Taylor (Friday Night Lights)- 16 points...(2nd)
And here is what I have to say about one Miss Julie Taylor...

Julie Taylor is the daughter of the football coach and principal at Dillon High. We are three seasons into Friday Night Lights and it has been a rocky timeline for this award winner. Early on, I enjoyed her character moderately. Julie was quiet but clever and defiant. She hated football and she hated Texas. It was when she began to fall for Saracen, the socially awkward quarterback, which allowed Julie to come into her own. She absolutely dominated the relationship, which was fun early but proved troublesome after she kicked him to the curb.

Something happened in season two which got me to genuinely dislike Julie. Whether it was breaking up with Saracen to date the two older dudes, or complaining non-stop, I definitely would’ve put her on the characters I hate list back in ’08.

But as the gang from Dillon, TX returned to the screen this past January, we got to witness a retro but improved version of Julie. She had lost her complaining attitude and has fallen back into place with Saracen. Jules has definitely turned the corner as a great character in season three, which was portrayed by her making fun of JD’s trophies with Matt, convincing Coach Taylor to try Saracen at wide receiver, and getting close with Gramma Saracen. I expect great things from Julie in season four.

The Noah Hunter Award (2009)

The Noah Hunter Award for
Best Supporting Character in a Drama Series

Rank. Character (Show)- Total Points...(My Rank)
10th. Jamie Scott (One Tree Hill)- 1 point...(5th)

9th. Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad)- 5 points

8th. Julian Baker (One Tree Hill)- 5 points...(1st)

7th. Ethan Ward (90210)- 6 points

6th. Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy)- 6 points...(2nd)

5th. Buddy Garrity (Friday Night Lights)- 8 points

4th. Landry Clark (Friday Night Lights)- 13 points

3rd. Lawrence Kutner (House, MD)- 13 points...(3rd)

Runner-Up
2nd. Johnny 'Drama' Chase (Entourage)- 17 points

The Poolie Goes To
1st. Ari Gold (Entourage)- 20 points...(4th)
And now with some words on Ari Gold here is Jaydon from Jaydon's Cave...

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I've been of the opinion since the beginning that Entourage is an ok show at best. Were Ari not on the show I would probably have stopped watching early season 2. Ari and Drama pretty much are Entourage as far as I'm concerned. In season 5, Ari was offered a studio head position at Warner Bros with a monumental pay hike to boot. He declined in order to keep his agent job which he had come to love and to avoid the added pressures of the studio position. He maneuvered the deal to his advantage anyway, installing Dana Gordon in his stead and getting the ice cold Vincent Chase a job on Smoke Jumpers, a move that would not pan out as well as he hoped. He also made moves to get a former colleague, Andrew Klein, back on track after he had hit rough times staging a mini-coup with his partner Barbara for new terms on their deal. Klein was thereafter employed as a new agent. In short, Ari proved to be a pretty good guy after all in season 5, helping his friends out at the expense of personal gain.

He still found the time to utter these gems though:

E: Wow, golf on a wednesday huh Ari? In the next life I wanna come back as you.
Ari: Wish I can return the compliment E, but I’d rather come back as one of Michael Vic’s dogs.

Ari: You will come back stronger then ever. Like Lance Armstrong. But with two balls.

E: Come on Ari, I’m calling as a friend, all right? I need your help. It’s a really good script, can you help me?
Ari: Yes, I can E. Lloyd! Get the number for UCLA Extension so Eric can take a course of finally learning how the movie business works.

Lloyd: What did he want?
Ari: F*ck you Yoko, get E on the phone.

(Lloyd rants about Ari leaving the company)
Ari: You throw a lot of Jew guilt for a chinaman.

ABC Upfronts- Gut Reactions

What's Gone
Samantha Who, Cupid, Unusuals, In the Motherhood, According to Jim

--I don't watch any of these shows but I'm glad to see According to Jim go off the air. How does that show stay on tv so long?

What's Back
Lost, Castle, Scrubs, Better Off Ted, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Ugly Betty, Dancing w/ Stars, Supernanny, Extreme Makeover: HE, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Bachelor, Wife Swap, True Beauty

--Wow ABC has kept a lot of shows. Lost heads into its final season come January. Housewives and Grey's need to end their runs as soon as possible and Ugly Betty moves to the dead zone (Friday). I've been hearing good things about Better Off Ted so I might give it another try.

What's New
Cougar Town, Hank, The Middle, Modern Family, Flash Forward, Eastwick, Shark Tank, Forgotten, V, Happy Town, Deep End

--I will pass on the attempts at comedy that are Courgar Town and The Middle, as well as Forgotten, Deep End and Shark Tank. Althought I will give Eastwick, Flash Forward and Hank a look, here are the three new ABC shows that get me buzzing.

--V is a reboot on the 80s miniseries in which earth has its first encounter with aliens that call themselves the Visitors. Although they seem friendly, it seems a divide occurs between humans that feel they are here for good and those that think they are here for evil. With a stellar trio of Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost, Santa Clause 2), Morris Chestnut (Like Mike, Boyz N the Hood) and Scott Wolf (Double Dragon, Party of Five) it seems like a good one.

--Modern Family is a sitcom about three different couples. One is a newly married Ed O'Neil (Married With Children, Little Giants) and Sofia Vergara (Knights of Prosperity). The second is Ty Burrell, who killed it on Back To You a year ago, and Julie Bowen (Lost, Happy Gilmore) who have a bunch of kids. And last but not least we have a gay couple, one of which is fat. It doesn't get much more comedic than that.

--Watching Harper's Island gets me kinda excited for Happy Town. It's a show about a run of the mill town, Haplin, where everything seems to be hunky dorry. That is, until a serial killer named the Magic Man gets started. With Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters), the dude who plays video games with Vince Vaughn in The Break Up (Geoff Stults), Mr. Friendly from Lost (MC Gainey), and the Jurassic Park guy (Sam Neill), Happy Town is getting a watch from me.