MagneticMediaFed

“Vanessa From Queens

Honestly, she might not be from Queens at all, but how often can one tie in a Malkmus song to an episode of Gossip Girl? (Actually, I don’t know the answer to this either as I’ve never really thought much about linking the two. Perhaps its easier than imagined. This might make a fun game for those of you at home.) Either way, Vanessa is here and she’s intent on shaking things up in that quaint berg known as the UES — so long as the shake-ups don’t last for more than one hour (or 43 minutes after you account for commercials). More after the jump…

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Captain of waxed chests.

I had my own geek-out moment during this Comic-Con centered episode of Beauty and the Geek. The primary challenge for the beauties was to devise their own super-hero complete with backstory, special powers, arch enemy, etc. and then have the geeks actually design the costume which was then presented to a panel of comic book experts. On that panel was Eric Powell who writes and illustrates The Goon. I found this to be utterly awesome as he represents the type of comic book writer I most enjoy: those with little interest in classic super-heroes (I’m sure the more fanatical readers will tell me otherwise, but whatever… let a man dream). More after the leap…

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I’m sitting here trying to think of what I’m going to say about Aliens In America and I’m drawing a blank. The thing is, as good as this show has been (and my god, it has been quite good) it finds itself being the type of television program that doesn’t really spark all that much discussion. That’s OK. Not every series needs to be picked apart, and Aliens In America is funny enough it can stand on its own merit. Still, something should be said if for no other reason than to give this series some visibility. I imagine most people haven’t the slightest idea the show is even on the air.

I suppose what is most notable is how few comedies set in and around high school there have been on television over the years. In the movies the setting has turned into its own highly lucrative genre, but the small screen seems far more interested in mining adolescence for drama instead of comedy. Really, I’m wracking my brain trying to come up with a single show. Perhaps that makes it as good a reason as any to tune into this hysterically funny teen comedy.

Seriously though, can anyone think of another show in this genre? Happy Days?

Lookin’ sharp.

True story: yesterday, having just had my birthday and feeling the need for some change in my life, I decided I was going to stop exclusively wearing my trade-marked low-top navy blue Converse All-Stars (laced in reverse) and instead start dressing like an adult — I was going to wear out my black pair of low-top Converse All-Stars. This was a big step for me. I’ve been rocking “the relaxed dignitary” (as I like to call them) for just about the entire decade. Changing this aspect of my attire (even momentarily) was like changing from PC to Mac or Judaism to Scientology or lungs to gills. There was one problem. I knew there were rules about black shows and certain shades of pant, and I certainly didn’t want to violate said rule. I placed a panicked text message to a highly reliable source, a female, and found out that it was OK to wear those black shoes with dark jeans… just as long as my shirt wasn’t brown or blue. In other words, I found this week’s Beauty and the Geek makeover episode, highly relatable. More after the jump…

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From here on out I’m grouping together Chuck and Reaper into a single post because, let’s be honest, they’re basically the same show with a really good series buried somewhere between the two. While Chuck has continued to grow into itself since it launched last month, Reaper has struggled to provide reasons for return visits. This week it took the first step toward rectifying this problem. More after the jump…

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Watch out for those rockets, they might make you go blind.

Is everyone ready for me to throw down some boldness? Because, dammit, I’ll do it. I’ll do it right here and right now, just like Sammy Hagar. Yeah? You game for this? OK. Fine. Here it goes. After three weeks of new television, lots of ups, lots of down, I think I can say with certainty that Aliens In America is the best new show this season. Unfortunately, I fear it may have reached it comedic climax this week. Though even if they did, we’ll always have “Rocket Club.” More after the jump…

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White Men Can’t Dress

Being rich and powerful can get you a lot of things. It can get you into the school of your choosing. I can get you tickets to your favorite events. It can buy you an awesome apartment in a cool part of town. Though it can’t make you not look like an ass while going to play basketball off Houston and Christie Streets in SoHo. Sorry Charlie, but no one looks good in a blue and yellow sleeveless jersey-shirt and matching headband. No one. Not Lebron, not Tony Parker and certainly not your curiously lumpy frame. More after the jump…

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Hey Rebecca, why don’t you try massaging it!

The writing was on the wall from the first shot in the episode that Will and Rebecca were in the crosshairs of most of the rest of the house. They basically painted themselves into a corner by 1) winning all of the challenges, 2) sending teams to the elimination room that probably shouldn’t have gone, 3) Will acting like a jackass and 4) Rebecca constantly sucking face with Oily Sam. That’s not how you make friends. Though it does raise an interesting question: if you’re trying to play this game to win (versus playing the game to become a better, more well-rounded, individual), how exactly does one do that? More after the jump…

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Why can’t I just let loose a little?

The most telling moment in Tuesday’s episode of Reaper came at the end when Sam was having a heart to heart with Andy and she said, “Right now, I just really need my life to stay the same.” And so goes a potential nail in the coffin for this series of once high potential. In the battle of the big-box employees with superpowers, Reaper is rapidly losing ground to NBC’s Chuck. The series’ problem is the same as Andy’s: it refuses to change. More after the jump…

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It seems like one of the big trends this season when it came to the new shows was to have pilots that gave no real insight into how the series would play out over the long term. Aliens In America certainly fit this mold. Sure, the assimilation of Raja into American culture (and vice versa) is an obvious starting point, but in terms of the narrative, our main characters had a lot of their realizations in that first episode, so I was looking forward to seeing where things were headed. More after the jump…

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One of my biggest conflicts on television is Monday nights at 8:00pm. I have How I Met Your Mother, which is obviously priority number one, but I also have Chuck and Everybody Hates Chris. Chuck is certainly getting preferential treatment these days because its new and because I happen to find it highly enjoyable, but perhaps in fitting fashion, Everybody Hates Chris is getting the short end of the stick. If there has ever been a really great series with so little buzz, it’s this one. More after the jump…

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You wanna rumble, B?

My god this cast is good-looking. I mean, there have been some good-looking casts in television’s long, fabulous history. Actually, you’d be hard pressed to find a series whose cast isn’t at least marginally attractive (though I think a critic once gave that distinction to Homicide)? But there’s attractive and then there’s Gossip Girl whose main characters reach Lakshmi-levels of gorgeousness. Does that make it a better show? Not really, but it certainly doesn’t hurt (especially given the subject matter). More after the jump…

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You gotta get me one of those suits.

This week: Sam versus the lightening monster! Granted, we’re only two episodes into the season, but what I love about Reaper is that it can have a very rigid monster-of-the-week formula, but so far it hasn’t seemed like the monster has ever gotten into the way of the characters interactions — well, aside from the general way being a bounty-hunter for the devil can crimp one’s lifestyle. I guess what I’m saying is that the pursuit of the monster is masterfully woven into whatever problems the characters are going through. This week, for example, Sam’s shift-change at work both affected his hunt of the escaped soul as well as kept him from seeing his crush at work. More after the jump…

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You don’t read beauties Poe.

Early in this week’s episode a truth or dare game breaks out which inevitably ends with hunky-Sam shirtless wearing a cowboy hat. Something tells me this would have happened, game or not. He ends up hooking up with Rebecca and ultimately utters the line, “that girl is very very smart. That head on her shoulders is… … attractive.” You said it, Sam! More after the jump…

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“Fudge is so delicious and yet they keep… on… laughing.” - Raja

Talk about a show of the now. Aliens In America, the new comedy that premiered last night on The CW, couldn’t be any more relevant. In fact, as I was watching it I kept thinking about how this series started up at exactly the right moment in history. Any sooner and it might have come off as culturally insensitive or even borderline repellent. Had they waited, the issue might have lost some of its sting. The issue in question: what happens when a family gets a foreign exchange student for their very uncool Wisconsin son only to have said foreign exchange student be Muslim, not the talk, blond British kid they saw on the pamphlet. More after the jump…
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