Category: TV

Mister Rogers Gets the Google Doodle Treatment

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Google is the de facto homepage of the internet, but their Google Doodles rarely catch my attention. With all due respect to Gerda Taro, Google’s celebration of her 108th birthday last month didn’t make much of an impression on me. Oftentimes it feels like Google goes out of their way to celebrate someone they found by clicking the “Random article” link on Wikipedia. Today’s doodle, though, might be their best yet.

Mister Rogers passed away 15 years ago, but he is currently experiencing a revival in popular culture. Maybe it’s millennial nostalgia, or maybe it’s a just a general longing for kinder, simpler times. Either way, today’s Google Doodle celebrates the 51st anniversary of the taping of the first episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you can watch that episode right now. Obviously it’s aimed at young children and a bit dry for anyone over the age of six, but it’s fascinating to see that his show was pretty much the same for 30+ years.

In addition to the Google Doodle, the Mister Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor was released in June and is superb. It’s currently at 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and is a surprisingly entertaining look at a seemingly simple man. Rogers is easily one of the best broadcasters of all time. I highly recommend seeing it. Rogers got his own postage stamp earlier this year, a new biography, The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers was published just this month, and Tom Hanks is set to star as Rogers in You Are My Friend, which is scheduled to be released in 2019.

Mister Rogers may have passed away in 2003, but he and his legacy have not been forgotten. Good work from Google today.

Khaleesi Walks the Walk with the Most Fire Game of Thrones Tattoo I’ve Ever Seen

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Don’t just talk about it, be about it. Khaleesi takes that message to heart as she revealed the most fire Thrones tattoo these eyes have ever seen.

Subtle, yet instantly recognizable. Thats a perfect tat, Emilia.

I’ll be totally honest guys, I’ve had a Game of Thrones tattoo in mind for a couple of years now and the only thing thats been holding me back is the crippling fear of George R.R. Martin having the character turn heel and have me get stuck with a Red Wedding level tat. So I’ve told myself I’ll wait it out, make sure this character doesn’t end up being the Night King or something before inking it onto my skin forever.

The Walking Dead is Going to Continue for TEN More Years. HAHAHA

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Yahoo – It looks like The Walking Dead TV universe is going to be with us for the foreseeable future, as AMC has revealed plans to keep it going for at least the next 10+ years. Yep, despite the main show’s dwindling ratings and drop in quality, it seems AMC is still banking on the universe to continue for a while longer yet.

“The Walking Dead is a universe… and we have a plan to manage over the next decade, plus. That plan is a careful plan to respect the world of the fans of that world,” AMC CEO Josh Sapan said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference

Listen, I used to be a huge Walking Dead guy. Through the slog of Season 2 before they fired all the writers, took an extended break, and then came back to unleash a barn full of wild zombies and burn down the entire fucking farm.

That was awesome.

I sat through the whole meandering season of the prison, the promise of the Governor before they ran that train into the ground, even all the way up through a guy named Jesus with some sweet karate moves.

I was pretty jacked up for Jeffrey Dean Morgan when he joined the show. He’s such a great actor, he’s great to watch, but the show burned through that good will real quick as it became the same game of possum aka shitty writing where the writers had no idea how to keep the show going without side quests and new bit characters.

That’s before we even talk about the worst kept secret in the world; the Walking Dead is like living in the Matrix. It’s a constant retelling of the same story. The group finds a new home. The group sets up shop and fends off zombies while looting for supplies in the areas around them. A new rival group emerges and they become enemies. We’re treated to 10-12 episodes of build up. Mid-season finale on the brink of a battle. Season premiere is an all out war. Rick and the group win the battle, but need to leave to find a new home. Rinse, repeat.

We saw it with the CDC, we saw it with the Farm, we saw it with the Prison, Woodbury, Alexandria, the Hill.

All. The. Same. Shit.

So I checked out on the Walking Dead last year after 7 seasons. I fully planned on keeping up with it as I had all the episodes recorded on my DVR, but the more time that passed the more I realized I didn’t miss it. Then Season 8 premiered and I would have had to watch 16 episodes just to catch up? Pass. The Walking Dead had essentially become exactly how Dante describes Lord of the Rings in Clerks 2.

Despite all that, AMC *still* came out with Fear the Walking Dead; a spinoff of the same exact stories with new characters. Fuck outta here with that AMC. Nobody got time for that.

So obviously I have put my Walking Dead fandom in the attic after years of it being on life support. We had a great run, I look forward to watching some highlights of how the show actually ends and maybe tuning in for the series finale after nearly a decade of a show about zombies.

Wait, whats that? The Walking Dead plans to run for another TEN years?

Even the Simpsons couldn’t maintain quality for more than a decade and that was a cartoon procedural comedy. I don’t know about you guys, but I scrapped that a long time ago. Another 10+ years of the Walking Dead would mean that show ran from when I was in college until I am in my FORTIES!

I can’t imagine anyone sticking around for another decade plus of walkers and relocation plots. Hell even, Rick Grimes is getting off the ride next season.

“The next season of the main show, meanwhile, will see Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes exit the show, though how exactly he’ll go remains a mystery.”

Best of luck, fellas.

A Bunch Of Stuff Has Happened Over The Last Couple Of Days So I’m Going To Comment On All Of It Here

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-First, sad news that broke early this morning/last night, Japanese MMA legend Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 41 and only announced he was fighting the disease in late August. Kid wracked up a 17-1 record, defeating Caol Uno, Bibiano Fernandes, Genki Sudo, and Rani Yahya, among others, before retiring in 2007. He came back 2 years later not even half the fighter he once was and had mixed results, including 4 losses in the UFC. However at 5’3 and about 140 lbs naturally, Kid fought at Lightweight (155lbs) most of his career and was an absolute beast. Rest easy to a true legend of the sport.

-In other MMA news, UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley was notified of a potential out of competition PED violation stemming from a test administered on 8/5, a little over a month before his successful title defense against Darren Till on 9/8. This could be a huge blow to Woodley personally as he has fought like hell to prove he is legit. Pissing hot is not going to help his case and will only strengthen the voice of his detractors. Good thing USADA ties these situations up quickly….

-Any jackass who says Joaquin Phoenix could even sniff Heath Ledger’s jock when it comes to playing the Joker should not be allowed to produce offspring. This would be like having someone else play Daniel Plainview.

-To stick with entertainment, “Game of Thrones” took down Best Series and my motherfucking MAN Peter Dinklage aka Tyrion Lannister took down Best Supporting Actor in a very well deserved nod considering the work he has put in on that show. I remember, two or three seasons ago, some MIT kids did some formulas and IDK some shit with beakers or something and determined the three “main” characters of “Game Of Thrones” were actually Khaleesi, Arya, and believe it or not, Tyrion, and his many internal and external struggles. The greatest achievement in TV history (notice I didn’t say “best show”, relax) wouldn’t be the same without him.

-Bill Hader also won for “Barry” (which you should watch) but Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman both got the shaft for “The Sinner” (which you should realllllllly watch).

-I love the Pats’ acquisition of Josh Gordon. I’ve heard the “he hasn’t done anything in 5 years take” and am infatuated with how dumb it is. He’s still only 27, did not take any hits during his time away from the game, and has showed in the glimpses we HAVE seen him that he is probably the most physically gifted receiver in the NFL. Think about it this way: literally all he has to do to not make this a colossal mistake on New England’s part is to just not kill like, 4 people. Legit that’s it and we’ve already broken even. NOT SO HARD JOSH.

-I’m just seeing this but RIP to Marcus Smart’s mom and a big “hang in there” to Smart from us at the 300’s. Brutal loss. She raised one hell of a player.

-In news from Capitol Hill….haha nah I’m playin.

 

Aaron Paul AKA Jesse Pinkman is Joining Westworld Next Season

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IGN – Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul is joining the cast of Westworld for the show’s third season. According to sources close to Deadline, Paul is set to become a series regular, but no official announcement of his character (or how prominent that character will be) has been made.

Paul won three Emmys during the run of Breaking Bad for his portrayal of high school chemistry flunkee-turned meth cook, Jesse Pinkman. Westworld’s showrunners previously teased Season 3 will mark a “radical shift” for the series.

Aaron Paul is such a great actor that in Breaking Bad he grew from a stereotypical townie, small time drug dealer to a meth kingpin escaping from white supremacist slavery. The guy put on an acting tour de force. So naturally I was pretty fucking bummed when the first role he chose after Breaking Bad, when he could’ve done anything, was NEED FOR SPEED.

Somehow that movie bombed to the tune of….wait that movie made $200 MILLION dollars?! Either way, that looked awful so I skipped it and I think a lot of Breaking Bad fans felt the same way.

Since then Aaron Paul has been kind of flying under the radar. He’s actually done 16 projects since Breaking Bad, including the Moses movie Exodus: Gods and Kings, an episode of Black Mirror, and a voice acting credit for Final Fantasy XV. Soo for a guy that seemed like he was on the brink of superstardom it’s been kind of a letdown.

Thats exactly why I am STOKED to hear Aaron Paul is coming to Westworld because that show is at a serious crossroads. I love Westworld, despite how I need an Advil after some of the episodes. It’s one of the few think pieces left on TV; a throwback to shows like LOST, which I think is the perfect comparison. I was a huge LOST guy for the first 3-4 seasons and then the show lost its way and introduced time travel.

Suddenly no one gave a shit about the smoke monster and everyone was working a 9-5 at the Dharma Initiative in the 1970s. It was at that point I was forced to take a step back and ask myself where the fuck is this show going?

So Westworld needs to avoid meandering and it never hurts to bring on more great actors. I have zero idea if he’s going to play a host, a human, a human pretending to be a host, or a host pretending to be a human, but if that show can turn the McPoyles into badass characters, then I can’t wait to see what they do with Jesse Pinkman.

Who Should Host SNL?

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As much as college football and pumpkin spice lattes, the Saturday Night Live season premiere is a sure sign that summer is over and fall has arrived. SNL’s 44th season will kick off less than a month from now on September 29. No hosts or musical guests for the upcoming season have been announced yet but since they asked, here are the three guys I’d most like to see host SNL.

  1. Bill Burr A comedian’s comedian and a regular on the late night talk show circuit, Burr would kill on SNL. Burr did some work on Chappelle’s Show back in the day and would bring an edge to Saturday night that SNL hasn’t had in quite a while.
  2. Bob Odenkirk Well before he took on the role of Saul Goodman, Odenkirk wrote for SNL back in the late 80s and early 90s. While he didn’t find the success at SNL that other writers did, he did find sketch comedy success on HBO in the mid-90s with Tobia Funke David Cross on Mr. Show. Currently on one of the best shows on television, Odenkirk going back to 30 Rock to host SNL would be a great story of comedic redemption.
  3. John Krasinski He interned on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in the same building back in 2000 and was a key player on The Office, one of the most important shows on NBC for nearly a decade. It’s hard to believe that this guy has never been invited to host in Studio 8H. With Jack Ryan dropping on Amazon Prime today, now seems like the perfect time for Krasinski to head back to 30 Rock.

And special mention goes to Christopher Walken, who tops my returning hosts list. Walken was a mainstay during my prime SNL viewing years, hosting seven times in the 90s and 2000s. It’s hard to believe he hasn’t appeared on SNL in more than a decade. Definitely need to see him walken through the doors at 8H this fall.

 

Who’d I miss? Let me know on Twitter @The300sBigZ

The New KFC Colonel is None Other Than….George Costanza?

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Ad Age – Jason Alexander is the newest celebrity to hawk KFC. The “Seinfeld” star is promoting $20 Fill Up meals in sitcom-style “What’s for Dinner?” ads breaking Monday.

The campaign featuring Alexander, best known for playing George Costanza on “Seinfeld,” includes a one-minute commercial that’s like the opening credits of a 1980s sitcom. In the spot, released Monday, parental roles and those of others in the cast, like the ever-present nosy neighbor, can apparently be filled by the colonel. There’s also a somewhat creepy couch that we’ll let you see for yourself. Another spot depicts him presenting an unusually wide tray of KFC’s latest offerings–with unusually long arms to match.

“As the son of two working parents, there were plenty of dinnertimes when a bucket of chicken and all the fixins saved the day,” Alexander said in a statement. “It’s been fun to combine my personal love for KFC with my sitcom experience into a new take on the role of Colonel Sanders.”

Its the summer of George! Jason Alexander takes his turn as the latest celebrity to don the KFC Colonel mantle and let me tell you, even for a KFC commercial, this one is bizarre.

And version number 2…

Jason Alexander hasn’t really been in anything of note lately, such is the plight of one of the stars of the most popular TV show of all time. He’s got that syndication money coming in every day so he could legitimately just drape himself in velvet and go eat blocks of cheese the size of car batteries until the day he dies.

But, nay. George Costanza is a worker and he’ll be goddamned if he’s going to go quietly into retirement. I’m sure Lloyd Braun would like that.

Also, I’m pretty sure Jason Alexander is the only one to have the honor of appearing in a KFC commercial as not only the Colonel, but also as himself. That’s range.

You think THATS dated? Check out his other KFC commercial from 2002 alongside the MLB home run king Barry Bonds, ya know before the whole BALCO thing.

Fast food marketing in 2018 is wild man. We got Taco Bell producing full scale movie franchises starring Josh Duhamel for Nacho Fries, Dominos making pizza ordering sneakers, Wendy’s smoking fools on twitter, and don’t even get me started on all the wacky shit Burger King does. The rotating celebrity KFC Colonel though is my favorite marketing campaign since Old Spice’s Director of Marketing, Mr. Wolfdog.

Old Spice paid a couple of guys from a marketing agency hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars for that idea. Only in America.

IT’S OFFICIAL! The 300s Will Be at Boston Comic Con Next Saturday!

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We’ve been talking about going to one of the northeast Comic Cons for years now, but its always either a tough date, the lineup is terrible, or we all just flake and bail on doing it. Not this year. The 300s will be headed to Boston Comic Con on Saturday, August 11th with Red and Papa G to nerd out, shoot some video, and hopefully get a wave from Amy Jo Johnson.

We’ll be looking for the best, worst, and weirdest cosplayers, interviewing anyone moderately funny, and hopefully getting a reaction out of the celebrity guests by bringing up their most obscure roles.

If there’s anything you think we need to do or see or you just wanna get in on the video tweet it at @The300sBoston and let us know!

 

The Beginning of the Elam Ending?

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Yahoo Sports – When the fifth edition of The Basketball Tournament tipped off last month, more was at stake than just which team would claim the event’s winner-take-all $2 million prize.

Also hanging in the balance was the fate of a former middle-school principal’s radical attempt to revolutionize the sport of basketball.

Nick Elam, now a Ball State professor, Mensa member and Cincinnati Reds groundskeeper, has long watched with annoyance as entertaining basketball games deteriorated down the stretch into disjointed, foul-laden whistle fests. He studied the most frequently discussed remedies — stiffer penalties for intentional fouls or allowing hacked teams to pick their free-throw shooter — but none offered trailing teams a reasonable alternative to fouling…

Under Elam’s proposal, the game clock disappears at the first stoppage in the last four minutes of a college game and the last three minutes of an NBA game. Officials then establish a target score by taking the score of the team that leads and adding seven points. The game ends whenever one team reaches that number, ensuring that every contest concludes with the winning team sinking a clinching basket or foul shot.

The Elam Ending is the only reason I watched the last few minutes of Thursday night’s TBT matchup between Louisiana United and Overseas Elite. The guarantee that the game would end on a game-winning shot definitely intrigued me. Too bad that shot is not guaranteed to be a half-court heave. In fact, in last night’s Louisiana United vs. Overseas Elite contest the game-winning shot was a free throw.

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Slogging through a glorified intramural tournament game (with a gym and crowd comparable to my intramural experiences) for its fantastic finish only to see it fizzle out instead was less than ideal. Still, the idea intrigues me.

Essentially, the Elam Ending prevents the final minutes of a game from becoming a parade to the free throw line. Instead of fouling to get the ball back, the trailing team can’t trade buckets and jack up threes to try to close the gap. When the team that’s leading only needs seven points to win, the trailing team is forced to try to play lock down defense. In theory, that should make the final few minutes a little less painful.

This is not like a shootout, that turns the end of a hockey game into a skills competition. Or college football overtime, which removes special teams from the game. This an attempt to make the last minutes of a basketball game look more like an actual basketball game. Nothing radical about that. It might not produce the Christian Laettner shot at the end of every game, but it would make most games more entertaining down the stretch.

Would I want to see this rule used in the NBA Finals, or the NCAA Tournament? No. But for the NBA summer league, or The Basketball Tournament? Why the hell not. It got me to watch a game from The Basketball Tournament last night, and I know I’m not the only one who watched just to witness an Elam Ending. If it gets more eyeballs on your product, it’s a win.