Category: Television Shows

Are you watching All-Star Celebrity Apprentice?

Fine, I’ll admit it, I’m a fan of “Celebrity Apprentice,” and fine again, I plan on watching the “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice.” As I’m typing this plight the show premiers tonight, with The Donald back with an All-Star, well, at least celebrities who have already been on the show cast, including the likes of Gary Busey, Penn Jillette, Lil Jon, Dennis “Kim Jong Un is my Friend” Rodman, and the “celebrity” who won’t go away, Omarosa. I’m not really sure why I like the show, in fact I probably get more enjoyment from the normal “Apprentice” version, but why would Donald Trump want to go back to helping the average go-getter get further in their career when he can more easily let celebrity folks make fun of themselves. The only problem I generally have with “All-Star” editions of these reality shows is that the second, or third, or forth time around, the folks that return know a little bit more about playing to the camera and over-playing the character they developed originally (This is really becoming prominent in this season’s “Survivor: Caramoan Fans vs Favorites” with Phillip and Brandon overblowing their characters to the point of cartoonish, but that’s a topic for another plight), and sometimes it just becomes boring. For me, though, it’s generally a fun way to end the weekend, with some mindless entertainment to put me to sleep on the way to another normal work week.

And so I plight: Are you watching All-Star Celebrity Apprentice?

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Have You Ever Been to a Funeral With a Theme?

The other day my wife and I are watching “The Soup.” It’s a great way to catch up on all of the crazies/eccentric/odd/Kardashianness on TV, and Joel McHale starts doing a blurb about a special show on TLC called “Best Funeral Ever,” following the goings on at the Golden Gate Funeral Home where it seems they like to make a funeral, well, special and memorable. The episode they spotlighted was a funeral for Willie McCoy known to most people as the dude who sang the “Baby Back Ribs” song for Chili’s. For his funeral the theme was barbecue of course, complete with ribs for the guests and a barbecue sauce fountain for dipping.  The trailer for the special shows training for the employees of the funeral home, as well as some of the other funerals they’ve recently had, complete with a boxing ring and a dancing theme.

I can’t say I’ve been to many, if any, exciting funerals. Sure my Mom nearly had her pants hit the floor at my Dad’s funeral when she leaned over the casket to give him one last kiss, but for the most part I’ve been only to funeral considered normal I suppose. Not that I wouldn’t like some good ribs at a funeral, but I wonder, and so I plight: Have you ever been to a funeral with a theme?

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Do You Plan on Watching American Idol this Season?

It’s almost here! No, not the end of the world, that came and went with the Mayan Apocalypse back in December, or what some people thought was election day last year when President Barack Obama was reelected, but I’m talking about the return of “American Idol!” Some judges are gone, i.e. Stephen Tyler and Jennifer Lopez, and here comes Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, and Keith Urban, and their “Is it real or is it fake” feuding during the audition phase of the show.  Yup, the audition, as always, are first, and we will surely get our share of great singers, singers we think of are great but won’t hear from again, and the assorted train-wrecks and maybe a new William Hung, or “Pants on the Ground” and “I Am Your Brother” dudes.

Yes, I’ll be there, though maybe a little late, as the DVR will be set and it hasn’t become appointment television in a while, but I’m hoping the feuding doesn’t come off as fake, although I’m questioning the acting ability of Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey (Hey, I saw “Glitter,” I know), but we’ll see. The question is will you see, and so I plight: “Do you plan on watching ‘American Idol’ this season?”

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Should Amy Poehler and Tina Fey host another award show?

A lot of The Golden Globe Awards was pretty boring, with much of Twitter calling them a joke, many of the winners looking “shocked” and or astounded, and a Red Carpet show, or should I say “shows” asking people about their clothes and the people wearing said clothes acting like they just threw something on yet knowing everything about who to give credit to for their outfit.

The bright spot, at least for me, was that during the opening Tina Fey and Amy Poehler actually did an okay job of sending some jabs at people in Hollywood, but sadly during most of the rest of the show, well, they were just about nowhere to be found.

Sure, I would have liked to have see more of them instead of the stupid Diet Pepsi commercial with that chick from “Modern Family,” and this coming from someone who loves Diet Pepsi, but award shows are what they are, so I suppose I shod just be happy for a few laughs at the expense of some actor types.

Funny? Yes. Mostly normal award show? Yes. Plight? Should Amy Poehler and Tina Fey host another award show?

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Should “The X Factor” Bring Back Britney Spears?

I’m a fan of “The X Factor.” I’m not sure why, but probably because I end up being a fan of most music shows, and fine, I’m a fan of Simon Cowell.  Oddly “The X Factor” hasn’t been able to catch hold here in the States, being topped by “The Voice” it seems this fall, and lots of people will blame the mentors, with Britney Spears seeming to get some of the blame this time, but I’m blaming a lot of it on the editing of the show itself, and way, way, way too much on the “Let’s visit with our contestant’s lives” montages.

The stories the past few days mostly, though, have to do with rumors that Britney is out, mostly because Simon didn’t find her wacky enough to bring in the ratings, that and the fact that behind the scenes she was really quite a pill to work with. I don’t know if I’m buying any of that, but I do have to say that it was the “mostly reserved” Britney that we were treated to, although she does have some of the best facial expressions out there for TV. As a mentor she wasn’t bad, heck, her contestant nearly won, but she lacked some of the confrontational fire I think people were hoping for.

Me, I’ve always been a fan of Paula Abdul, and I know, that reality show ship has sailed for her, but in terms of TV wacky, she was some of the best. I can’t say I’ll miss Britney if she does get the boot, but I will miss her scrunching face as she didn’t think an act was up to par.

And so I plight: Should “The X Factor” bring back Britney Spears?

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Should Anderson Cooper Report from a Studio or On Location?

I’m watching the coverage of Sandy, the storm that might just be the precursor to the Mayan end of the world on December 21st, and mostly I’m watching CNN. They seemed to have the better weather guy doing a great job explaining just why New York City was screwed with this storm, and they had a variety of reporters in the field which is always entertaining as most people (including me) are hoping something wacky might happen to them, maybe be swept over by a big wave, yet we hope that it’s not bad enough to cause their demise. Piers Morgan was showing why he really shouldn’t be covering nature’s fury, I think it was Ashleigh Banfield in Battery Park in NYC showing the water rising, and then there was Anderson Cooper in Asbury Park, NJ, being battered around by the wind and the rain, his signal cutting in and out, and trying to host a show. I’m watching, fascinated, hoping for that TV moment, amused by him trying to hold an interview with the Mayor of some town where neither of them can hear each other, and my wife says “Why isn’t he in the studio?” I look at her like she is crazy and say, “Because he’s Anderson Cooper.”

Sure, it really isn’t informative TV. I mean we learned pretty much nothing from the interview with the Mayor that Anderson was talking to, but when compared to Rachel Maddow over on MSNBC, safe and sound in her studio and wondering how all of this was going to impact the election, on CNN we get entertained by TV feeds cutting out, reporters putting their finger up to their ear trying to hear the opposite side of conversation, misinformation telling us that the New York Stock Exchange is under four feet of water, and Anderson Cooper showing why he is more man that Rachel Maddow could ever hope to be, or maybe just a little more crazy. And so I plight, wondering if my wife might be correct: Should Anderson Cooper report from a studio or on location?

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Have You Ever Tasted Food Meant for a Dog?

I’m a fan of the show “Shark Tank.” If you’re not familiar with the show the basic synopsis is for entrepreneurs to come before a panel of five potential investors to pitch their projects and companies. If the “Sharks” like their business, or sometimes just have faith in the people, they will offer an investment in the company. There are four people who are the regulars as investors, namely Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, and Robert Herjevec, with the final spot rotated by Barbara Corcoran and Lori Greiner. Each potential investor has their field of expertise and unique personality so for most of the dreamers on the show there is someone there, if the business seems like a good fit and the partnership seems workable, that they will get the mentor of their dreams, or at least a reasonable offer for the smart ones to take and the idiot ones to turn down.

With the show’s simple format, my love of seeing new ideas and projects, sometimes quirky personalities of the entrepreneurs, and the attitudes of the investors, its an entertaining hour of “Why didn’t I think of that?”, “That’s a perfect fit for so-and-so to work with them!”, “That person is an idiot for not taking that deal!”, and “Good for them!” comments. It was the other day that I saw something I never thought I would see, however, and it wasn’t Robert Herjevec dropping a dog. Nope, it was seeing Matt and Meg Meyer, two quirky dog lovers, with their business of frozen yogurt treats for dogs, getting the “Sharks” to taste dog food. Okay, technically it wasn’t dog food, it was doggie yogurt, but it is always fun to also see the investors “try” the products and this was no exception, especially the reactions of Mark and Robert. Matt and Megg didn’t get any takers for their business, as seems to be the norm for people pitching dog products (It keeps looking to me like it’s a bitch of a business to get into on a national scale), however, the episode did stir up an old plight idea I have had for a while, as every now and then, since we have a dog and sometimes see interesting treats for him (the cupcakes at Sprinkles seemed like the closest I would have gotten to do it), I sometimes wonder how those treats taste. I mean, his beef jerky treats don’t seem to be any different from some of the jerky you would find in the candy isle, his little cookies smell wonderful with their pumpkin aroma, and in looking at the ingredients for most of the things we get him, nothing looks that horrible, but I have yet to bridge that gap into dog treat taste-testing as the “Sharks” have seemed to now crossed. And so I plight: Have you ever tasted food meant for a dog?

If you have, I would also love your comments if you found it any good, or if your reaction was one of “Yuck” as was the reaction of the “Sharks,” but in any case…

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!!!  L8R!!!

Will You Watch the World Series?

As a Chicago Cubs fan, along with being a Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox fan although not necessarily in that order, I can’t say I was disappointed that the St. Louis Cardinals lost to the San Francisco Giants, but once again it’s a year when unless the TV people do their magic spinning I don’t think I’ll be watching the World Series. It’s not that I don’t like baseball, nor can’t get wrapped into teams I don’t really have an allegiance to, but of the many teams in Major League Baseball I can’t get excited about either the Giants or the Detroit Tigers being in the big game this year.

The thing I do know is that what might bother me the most is the fact that another sporting event I don’t care that much about might be screwing up my normal TV viewing. Yup, this summer it was the Summer Olympics screwing up my watching of “America’s Got Talent”, where it turned out that dogs have the most talent in America, and now I’ve got some baseball possibly interrupting Simon, Britney, Demi, and L.A. as yes, I’m getting sucked into “The X Factor.” I suppose I’ll survive and let me DVR plan my TV viewing (When does Real Housewives of Atlanta come back?), but I’m pretty sure FOX would probably prefer nearly any other teams fighting it out for the Commissioner’s Trophy, and the only people who really care are Giants and Tigers fans. And so I plight: Will you watch the World Series this year?

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Will You Watch the Presidential Debate or Monday Night Football?

This should be a quick plight as it’s pretty much straight to the point, but after sort of paying attention to the previous two debates, knowing that I can get all of the relevant clips filtering out the B.S. the next day, and I’m a Chicago Bears fan, it really won’t be a decision for me at all as they’ve decided to put the final Presidential Debate up against the Chicago Bears/Detroit Lions Monday Night Football game. I have a 99.995% chance of skipping the debate and watching football but wonder about the rest of you, what your decision will be, and if neither of those two, feel free to comment about what your Monday night viewing will be. And so I plight: Will you watch the Presidential Debate or Monday Night Football?

Do You Plan on Watching the Presidential Debate?

I don’t know about you but I can’t wait for the election to be over next month as the over-analysis of everything Presidential has gotten nuts, and I’m not even in a battleground state and subjected to the relentless television advertising. ABC, a somewhat respected new outlet (Peter Jennings was the go-to anchor for the longest time for me), held a poll, and we found out that Americans would prefer to see President Obama on “Dancing With the Stars” instead of good-ol’ Mitt, but at least we don’t seem to be worried about a Mormon watching our kids as people think the President and Mitt would do about the same job babysitting our kids.

With the Presidential Debate on Wednesday night, the pre-analysis now has tried to figure out every bit of the debate before it happens, stressing the the strengths and weaknesses of both candidates, wondering if there will be any “knock-out” punch to the other guy, then debating whether we should even use the term “knock-out” punch anymore as the debates are so scripted it would seem impossible for anyone to land a “knock-out,” but mostly we are waiting to see if one of the guys trips over his own two feet. Does Mitt have an edge because he’s been debating in the primaries, does Barack have the edge because people seem to like him more, will Mitt be able to get under Barack’s skin, or will either candidate actually tell us what they plan to do to save America all in a 90 second soundbite? It seems all of these questions and more will finally be answered sometime tomorrow night, although probably not, to be immediately followed by about a week of analysis trying to figure out who “won” the debate.

As a good American it should be my due diligence to watch the debates and develop an educated analysis of which candidate will best lead our country, or I could just base my decision on whom I’d prefer as a ship’s captain, in which case if I’m not thinking Barack I’m in the minority. And so I plight: Do you plan on watching the Presidential Debate?

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!