It’s that time of the year…COMIC-CON!

This is an exciting week. Not only because it’s the one year anniversary for this blog…but also that it coincides with the biggest geek fest in the world: SAN DIEGO COMIC CONVENTION INTERNATIONAL!

Again, I am going into this unsure if I have a pass or not (though I have many leads working on it). This time my partner-in-Con will be Brandon, as a kinda farewell gift before he moves to the Philippines.

Here are the top 5 things I’m looking forward to this year:

1) Random acts of celebrity sightings. I only care about celebrities when they’re relevant to my life. Which is why I only care about them at Comic-Con. Last year I had people randomly walk past me (cast of The Big Bang Theory) and within visual sight (Olivia Munn). Really, there are only three people I really want to meet. Summer Glau, Kristen Bell, and Olivia Munn. I haven’t heard if Kristen Bell is going to be there, Summer Glau has a panel for her new NBC show, and Olivia Munn is usually around the G4 booth. Other than that, I’ll be okay with surprise run-ins while walking the floor.

2) Actually going to panels. The lines get long quick, so I’ll really have to be on point for this. I really want Brandon to go to the Tron panel. There’s a bunch of panels for TV shows (The Big Bang Theory), video games (Halo: Reach), and movies (Thor) I’d like to catch. There’s nothing like being in a room full of fellow fans getting excited about every little piece of spoiler information you have the privilege to receive.

3) Nerds Gone Wild! In cosplay. I’m excited to see who dresses as what. Who puts that extra effort. Who should have put less effort. Who should have came as something else. This is probably the best part of the convention.

4) Friday is Star Wars Day! Nuff’ said.

5) Sunday is the day for those looking for deals. All the big companies dump all their excess freebies. Booths are usually looking to unload all their stuff at reduced prices. Temptation is a big thing. A shrinking bank account is bigger. I look to find a healthy medium which allows me enough money to drive back home.

We’re still trying to compile our ideal Comic-Con schedule. There are also plenty of non-Comic-Con-related activities going on this well too. So I’m pretty sure no one is getting any sleep.

Last year I wanted to blog after each day. I won’t promise that this year seeing how that was an utter failure. But if I can, I will do my best. Check back!

But if you can’t go this year, G4 is going to have live coverage. It’ll be like you’re there without all the sweaty nerds!

The Rotten Tomatoes Show Goes from Fresh to… Well, You Know

So a couple weeks ago I go to current.com to check out my favorite show, The Rotten Tomatoes Show. I wrote an entry awhile back, explaining the show and how I was making a small living off of it. Because of the past few weeks of craziness, I hadn’t been watching TV, movies to review, anything. Eventually I returned, expecting things to be business as usual.

Then I find out the structure of the show had changed! They no longer accepted movie reviews from viewers. Instead, they have professionals appearing on the show (in front of an ugly and distracting background btw) giving reviews.

The viewers were up in arms! Besides the fact that many of us are now deprived of a potential $100 each week, we felt like we lost one of the unique things about the show: a show by viewers, for viewers. Current TV itself is all about viewer-supplied content. Rotten Tomatoes now only allows a minute to minute and a half videos for their segments.

I’ll probably still watch the show when I can. But I definitely feel like it has lost some of its original spark that made it a sort of cult show. If you check out some of the viewer comments, they, like myself, hope the format of the show returns back to normal. Trust me, it’ll be good for everyone. Even if you don’t pay us anymore.

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http://tv.gawker.com/5536415/the-rotten-tomatoes-show-goes-from-fresh-to-well-you-know

Last Thursday, Current TV‘s movie review program The Rotten Tomatoes Show decided to go all New Coke on its viewers and change its formula.

What had previously been a clever mash-up of user-generated reviews of week-old box office releases was transformed into a cookie-cutter professional-critic soapbox of upcoming releases. User-generated content was trimmed to a one-minute Question of the Day determining the “Worst Comic Book Movie.”

Viewers called out the show’s bait-and-switch in the comments, leaving a whopping 76 comments compared to the five-ish comments the show typically scores. Reactions ranged from “can you guys bring the old show back?” to “was that a boom mic or a gun to Brett’s head”?

Whoever green-lighted the “upgrade” seriously overlooked Current TV & Rotten Tomatoes‘ demographics. Current TV, for the unfamiliar, is sort of like how New Yorkers would do television if New Yorkers weren’t literate enough for print. It’s self-aware, a little sarcastic, and most of all, it’s young.

The “glorious polyamorous marriage of critique” every week was exactly the innovative, Web 2.0-y feature that caused young viewers like yours truly to add Rotten Tomatoes to their Thursday night line-up. While some of the user-generated content had been clips of professional critics or comedians in front of their Macbooks, a great portion of reviewers were just people at home, talking about their latest trip to the movies.

Team Coco: Why do they still pick on the nerds?

With the end of the prime time “Jay Leno Show”, the late night TV world is set to be reset to what it looked like last year. If you’re an NBC executive, you hope things will be exactly the way they were: Jay Leno constantly beating David Letterman in the ratings.

However, you can’t erase the past 8 months. Things have changed.

I’ve been a Conan O’Brien fan for a long time. I remember when I was younger, trying to stay up really late in order to catch his show. Then in high school, having the freedom to stay up really late without my parents on my back about it. I was pretty much raised on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”, as well as his writing stints on “The Simpsons” and “Saturday Night Live”. I know people find different things funny, so I used to gauge my compatibility with people (friendly or romantic) on whether they liked Conan or not because if they didn’t, then it was usually a telltale sign of how we would get along.

In case if you were curious, this one of my top 5 Conan skits:

Want more? Time did their own Top 10 Conan Moments.

Then when he took over ‘The Tonight Show” last year, I was lucky enough to watch a live taping with my good friends, Jessica and Jaye. Props to Jaye for getting the tickets. This was literally a dream come true and one of the best, non-organizing experiences of my life.

Then all this craziness happened at the beginning of the year. Leno started getting killed in the rating. Conan wasn’t doing as well as the network wanted. The local NBC affiliates wanted some kind of action. I won’t rehash all that’s been written and reported. Honestly, I’m tired of it and that’s not the point of me writing this. BUT! I will share this:

Super Bowl XLIV (44): Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints

vs.

This Sunday is the unofficial American Holiday: Super Bowl Sunday. For those who watch football, it’s a match up of two of the most dominant teams from this past season. For everyone else, it’s one more excuse to drink beer, eat junk food, watch expensive commercials, and to observe people get way into a football game.

Football-related: On Sunday, we’ll get to witness a clash of the two teams who went undefeated for most of the season. They were both criticized for resting players and going ‘soft’ at the end of the season. However you felt about this at the time, it seems taking that rest didn’t hurt them. Both are led by powerful offensives. For the Colts, the hilarious Peyton Manning (this year’s NFL MVP) heads an offense with weapons all over the field. Though they don’t have much of a running game…it doesn’t matter when you have a QB like Manning. The Saints are led by ex-Charger Drew Brees. Brees had a monster passing year, completing over 70% of his passes (an NFL record) to a deep receiving corps. Their offense also led the league in scoring.

For both teams, the offense is the breadwinner. But their defenses aren’t exactly pushovers. They may not be the Jets or the Ravens, but they make plays when they need to. For the Colts, they benefit from plenty of experience. They’re anchored by one of the most feared pass-rushers in the league, DE Dwight Freeney (who’s questionable for the Super Bowl due to an ankle injury). The Saints also have several veterans on their squad. One of their breakout veterans from the year was a free agent pickup, S Darren Sharper. But overall, the Saints defense comes into the game with more questions, after giving up over 300 passing yards and 150 rushing yards. Though they came up with the plays to win the game, Brett Favre’s untimely turnovers helped the Saints squeak out the victory. They can’t really count on Manning to do the same. But if Freeney’s injury takes him out as a play maker, that’ll be a big blow to the Colts’ defense.

Non-football-related: This is the 10th time Miami has hosted the Super Bowl, most in the history of the game. Queen Latifah will sing “America the Beautiful” and Carrie Underwood will sing the National Anthem before the game. The halftime show performer will be ‘The Who’ (let the puns and jokes begin!). It’s been reported that they’ll play a medley of some of their top hits. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will call the game. I heard them do the play-by-play for a couple Charger games and thought they did a good job.

Commercials- This year, the cost of a 30 sec. commercial is an est. $2.8 million, down from last year’s all-time high of $3 million. Some notable companies not airing a commercial are Pepsi (first time in 23 years), FedEx, and all U.S.- owned car companies (2nd year straight…I wonder why). Doritos will be airing three viewer-created ads and the U.S. Census has a 30 sec. spot reminding everyone to fill out their census forms (sober, hopefully). I usually look forward to movie trailers the most, and we’ll at least get to see Iron Man 2 (yay!), Robin Hood (hopefully yay?), and Avatar: The Last Airbender (boo!). And of course, there’s some controversy. University of Florida QB Tim Tebow will appear with his mother in a commercial for the ever-so delightful group, Focus on the Family. On the flip side, the gay dating site, ManCrunch, had their 30 sec. ad rejected because “it violated CBS’ broadcast standards”. You can view the ad here:

So overall, the game, commercials, and performances should all be good and worth watching. After the game, I’ll put up a post talking about the commercials.

As for who I think is going to win? I’ll be rooting for the Saints for several reasons:

1) Drew Brees is a former Charger who still gets mad respect from us Charger fans
2) Saints RB Reggie Bush is a native San Diegan
3) My good friends, the Valen brothers, are huge Saints fans
4) As much as I want to cheer for the AFC rep, I still think the Chargers would have beaten the Colts. Not saying they don’t deserve to be in the Super Bowl…just a little bitter still about how our season ended.
5) Come on…it’s New Orleans! It took the Saints a while to get good and the city is STILL rebuilding and recovering from Hurricane Katrina. They deserve this celebration!

But…honestly, I think the Colts are going to win. Sorry. If the Saints have the same soft defense, Peyton will eat them alive. It’s hard to vote against the 4-time league MVP.

But what do you think? VOTE!

The Rotten Tomatoes Show: My new side hustle

If you’re into movies, you probably know about the website, Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a website dedicated to movies and gives a percentage of approval to films based on a variety of critic’s opinions. On Current TV, they have a show called ‘The Rotten Tomatoes Show’. Like the website, they give opinions on movies and other kinds of comedy skits related to films. Since it’s on Current TV, the viewers are involved in the production of the show. They focus on three new films to review each week. Viewers submit a video review for these films and if they chose to use part of your review on air: 1) you get to be on tv 2) they pay you $100.

My sister encouraged me a few months to submit a review. I didn’t take it seriously because I didn’t think I would ever get chosen. But because of an increased need to raise income, I finally got my ass in gear and tried it out.

So far I’m 2 for 2. Not that I mind being on TV for some kind of protest, but I enjoy the diversity in exposure (and my family likes it too of course). The money that I raise from this will go to my expenses for BSB this year.

I encourage folks to also submit reviews. As long as you have something funny or interesting to say, you should get picked to be on the show. I do neither, and I still get on! Amazing. So keep an eye out, I’ll do my best to be on every week.

“Sesame Street”‘s jab at Fox News sparks backlash

I am one out of the millions of people who grew up watching Sesame Street. Who needed pre-school when Sesame Street was free and entertaining?

Connecting to my earlier post about Fox News,  if Sesame Street thinks your news channel is crap…that’s gotta tell you something right?

Oh, and this is why conservatives can never have a funny show like ‘The Daily Show’. They don’t know how to take a joke.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20091105/pl_ynews/ynews_pl968

Thu Nov 5, 3:49 pm ET

Next week will mark “Sesame Street”’s 40th year on the air, and while many are celebrating the iconic PBS show that’s become what the New York Times recently labeled “messianic,” some conservatives are crying foul over the re-airing of a sketch that jabs fun at the right-leaning Fox News network.

In the clip of the sketch that originally aired two years ago without controversy, Oscar the Grouch is playing a reporter for the “Grouch News Network,” also known as “GNN,” which certainly sounds familiar. After Oscar conducts an interview in which he shares hugs and kisses with his royal interview subjects, an irate viewer calls him to complain that his coverage of the news wasn’t quite grouchy enough, saying “From now on, I am watching Pox News,” adding, “Now there’s a trashy news show!”

Watch the sketch:

Following the rerun, influential conservative blog Big Hollywood ran a post from an anonymous writer using the name “Stage Right”:

“If Mom and Dad watch cable news, it’s better than 50/50 they watch “POX News.”  So what gives? PBS — a network partially funded with my tax dollars — has the right to tell my kids that their parents watch “trashy” news?  The message is clear, I can’t even sit my kids in front of “Sesame Street” without having to worry about the Left attempting to undermine my authority…”

Pam and Jim from “The Office”: The reason why I’m not completely hopeless

For those of you who know me (in real life or in blog life), there are two things that are very apparent:

1) I’m a hopeless, very hopeless romantic

2) I watch a lot of TV.

The first one is true. The second one, not so much lately. At least on the actual television. Now I usually watch TV shows on DVD or the internet.

One show that I used to watch on TV, but stopped because I just didn’t have the time anymore is “The Office” (the US version).

It has changed a lot over the years, from being a mid-season replacement that was criticized for being a too much like a carbon-copy of the original, U.K. version to entering its 6th season, airing 107 episodes and counting, winning numerous awards, and putting Scranton, Pennsylvania on the map (though I still have no idea where it actually is, only that it’s two hours from New York City).

One theme that they’ve been able to capture throughout its existence is the all-too-common “office romance”. It’s natural right? You fall for those you work closely with. Sometimes it’s just a fling. Other times, it’ll be a love story you only see on TV.

That brings me to one of my favorite TV couples of the decade (and maybe even all time), Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) and Jim Halpert (John Krasinski).

Joe Wilson + Kanye West + freshman from Gonzo’s class = when not knowing when to STFU goes wrong

I wasn’t going to write about any of this. Everyone else has been blowing up the internet with how they feel and I felt like it’d be redundant.

But then I saw a pattern going on here. How could I resist?

First off, Joe Wilson:

Wilson (Republican) is a United States Congressman from South Carolina. During Obama’s address on his health care plan to a join session of Congress last week, Wilson yelled out like he was in the audience of a daytime talk show. While Obama was addressing what he felt were myths and misconceptions about his proposed plan, including claims that it included provisions to cover undocumented immigrants (which I don’t think would be a bad idea), Wilson pointed and shouted directly at Obama, “You lie!”: (the exchange begins at 1:10)

I love how Pelosi shoots him a look that only your mom would give you when you’re acting up, right before she beats the shit out of you.

5 Cobra Commander Terror Plots That Might Actually Work

Yeah, this is outdated already. But oh well, I’m almost finished (FINALLY) with my review of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. We need some humor to brighten up our day. And Palin jokes never get old. NEVER.

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5 Cobra Commander Terror Plots That Might Actually Work

By Chris Sims August 1, 2009

http://www.cracked.com/article_17666_5-cobra-commander-terror-plots-that-might-actually-work.html

Cracked usually runs articles about things you used to watch when you were a kid and how, upon further examination, they are way more retarded than you remember. We secretly hate our younger selves for being such embarrassing dumb asses, and pointing out how stupid the Smurph language is helps us cope with the anger.

So we were all ready to point out how far-fetched Cobra Commander’s plots for world domination were, but the more we remembered, the more we were reminded of the news.

#5.

The Wrong Stuff

“We possess the ultimate weapon of control! People trust television! It’s their friend! They believe what television tells them about the news, television… even G.I. Joe!”

The Plot:

In one of their many attempts to use television for evil, Cobra Commander uses stolen satellites and an inexplicable headquarters in the Himalayas to take over the airwaves, broadcasting Cobra TV to turn public opinion against G.I. Joe and in favor of their snake-themed one world government.

Programming includes classic movies with the endings changed to reflect a more anarchistic world view, a version of the Smurfs that was even more socialist than the original, and while we didn’t actually see the Right-Wing Australian punditry of The Zartan Factor, we’re pretty sure it was in there somewhere.

Why It Might’ve Worked:

For an organization that once tried to conquer the world through mind-control chewing gum, this is actually not a bad plan. Sure, their shows are bad and the re-cut movie endings are stupid, but if there’s anything we’ve learned from the fact that Two and a Half Men is the highest rated comedy on television, it’s that people will watch anything, especially if it’s stupid. Seriously, just try getting through one of Jimmy Fallon’s monologues without wishing you were being indoctrinated into the ranks of the Televipers instead.