Blast from the Past: New Episodes of Futurama!

Seven long years ago, Fox cut the cord on Futurama. Since then, the creative geniuses behind the show, Matt Groening and David Cohen (The Simpsons and Family Guy also check out on their resumes), have fought to release only a couple "specials" for the show in recent years. My teenage years seemed a little gloomy (dramatic exaggeration) as Futurama looked to be a dead end project for quite some time; I was sure that the last we would ever see of Futurama would be overplayed reruns on Comedy Central every night. But forget the past - back to the future. Comedy Central shifted around some of their resources and syndicated the show at it's Thursday, 10 PM slot with 26 new episodes on the slate.

Recap and Refresher Course: If you've never tuned in, Futurama has a unique format - a cartoon, futuristic sci-fi sitcom set in New New York in the year 3000. In other words, anything goes. Because the main characters work for a severely senile scientist at a delivery company, every episode promises the delivery crew traveling to some ridiculous planet to drop off an appropriately fitting package. Usually referring to past, lost civilizations such as our current American government and cultural systems, Futurama also provides the platform for satire of any and all varieties.

You truly must possess an active imagination to write for the show. Possibly the best known behind-the scenes man for Futurama is not a writer, but the talented voice actor Billy West. West primarily rose to fame in the 80s as a featured guest for the Howard Stern Show, namely for his impression of Larry Fine from the Three Stooges (example: search "Larry Fine-A Woodstock Minute" into youtube and you'll see what I'm talking about). He expanded in the early 90s, becoming a writer and the voice of both Ren & Stimpy on the show. Today, the man of many voices lives through the characters of Fry, Dr. Farnsworth, Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan and many more on Futurama.

I'm excited. My only worry is that it falls into the same pit as Family Guy has for the past few years, after McFarlane had the series renewed by Fox. What I mean by this is Family Guy was cartoon phenomenon alongside South Park and The Simpsons back in its 1999-2003 seasons and even in the first season or two of its revival. However, for the past few seasons the writers have relied on old, worn out concepts and terrible joke delivery as the last remaining value the show has to offer. (Example: Ollie Williams used to be my favorite character for his original catch phrase, "It's gone rain!" back in the third season. The writers of Family Guy have long since beaten that character to death with similar jokes of poor taste.) Futurama will be airing on a different network than Fox, so here's to hoping the execs at CC allow Groening to work his magic and breathe life into Futurama's new beginnings.
Comedy Central - Thursday, 10 - 11 PM.

Three Sheets - The Show about Social Lubricant

Before you jump to conclusions, just know that Three Sheets isn't your father's drinking show. Host Zane Lamprey travels around the world observing cultures with unique drinking habits and traditions. Out of circumstance, entertainment value and for the viewer's interest, he also winds up getting fairly hammered throughout his weekend visits. Lamprey films his episodes brazenly and indiscriminately, turning down no drink and befriends a few locals along the way. This show stands out because the only education we commonly receive and perceive of alcohol culture is through stupid beer/liquor/rum commercials. Outside of him drinking plenty of alcohol on the show, Lamprey delivers a raw drinking experience from the local and international watering-holes of the world. In the first season, for example, Lamprey travels to Scotland, buys a fitting kilt, and samples the various specialty scotches and beers offered from that region of the world. Like every episode, he also visits a certain factory or drink bar or restaurant - the guy flies by the seat of his pants whilst drinking. Now, as of Memorial Day, Three Sheets was airing on Fine Living Network (FLN) every night at 10 PM; FLN switched format to The Cooking Channel and no longer carries the series. BUT Lamprey just announced on his website The Travel Channel will be airing episodes from the four-season series starting June 30th at 11 PM every weekday night. Also stated on his website, Lamprey said that after discussing the future of the series with Travel Channel, they would talk about signing Three Sheets up for more seasons if the show debuts well and gathers a following at its 11 PM slot. Three Sheets is one show that should not go unnoticed. You could wikipedia the history and critical review of Congac or you could tune in to Three Sheets on June 30th to watch Lamprey visit a Cognac expert and break down all you want to know about the famous brandy. Then watch him go three sheets to a bottle of the stuff. If you can't wait or 11 is past your bedtime, check out Three Sheets on Hulu. Here's a promo for the show. Listen closely and you'll hear some words to live by. Special thanks to my brother for tuning me in. Enjoy:


Bonus: if you would like to develop a little drinking game from the show, Lamprey suggests you drink anytime he does, whenever the show's toy monkey mascot, Pleepleous, makes an appearance, or his old college drinking buddy, Steve McKenna, is mentioned.
Cheers!

Mortal Kombat Meets Postmodernism

Anyone remember the first two Mortal Kombat movies? Me neither. Here's the new one. The trailer for this revamped Mortal Kombat movie introduces the potential cast and background story, but for me it raises plenty of questions about the overall entertainment value of the film. I feel like no video game has ever made a successful jump onto the screen (Max Payne, Street Fighters, Super Mario Bros, and Mortal Kombat - and if you have never seen these movies, don't bother). Every video game-movie I have seen lacked a coherent plot and usually rubs off as "cheesy" and cliche.

On the contrary, Mortal Kombat's latest trailer promises riveting fight scenes and delivers a darker, edgier cinematography (reminiscent of The Dark Knight) which effectively captures the spirit of playing the original game. So in that sense, the film appears like a hopeful advancement from the awful first pair of Mortal Kombat movies. One concern: after watching the trailer twice, I had a problem with the scriptwriting. It's downright cheesy. From what I can tell, the scriptwriters played it safe and continued the concept of a fighting tournament, which seems far-fetched and just...stupid, especially after Fight Club and similar films (Fighting, starring the infectious Channing Tatum) have beaten that idea to death with a lax stick. Outside of the tournament, the beauty of the original Mortal Kombat video game is there is no discernible script. No script = scriptwriter's dream. It's not like this is American Psycho and the director has to slim down a 300+ page novel into an 1 hour 40 minute film. The sky is the limit for the script of this new Mortal Kombat film and here's to hoping they got creative with it.
Cheers



Footnote: I usually do not enjoy mindless fight films and I don't think I will ever like this one. Still, part of me is intrigued to see if this film can capture my adolescent feeling for the game better than its first attempts. Sometimes nostalgia's more addictive than speedballs.

(Disclaimer: I do not partake in, nor do I encourage the consumption of drug reference above)

It's Always Sunny on Comedy Central

Hopefully you have not been missing it, but three weeks ago Comedy Central syndicated the groundbreaking sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia from FX and has been airing them in 2 hour blocks every Monday night, deftly named Happy Hour. In an interview with The Onion's AV Club, primary script writer and actor of It's Always Sunny, Rob McElhenney, explained his inspiration for the sitcom arose in 2004 after considering what he was not seeing on primetime sitcoms. Most sitcoms we watch on Fox, NBC, or CBS are geared toward a family-oriented viewing crowd with wholesome humor and conflicts that are resolved within a 30-minute episode. McElhenney desired the opposite in It's Always Sunny.

Every sitcom has two consistent qualities: 1. they are comprised of main characters who form a "family" or tight-knit circle and 2. for the most part, the main characters behave in a predictable pattern, allowing the audience to feel more connected when they predict their actions. It's Always Sunny has a tight-knit group of main characters (Charlie, Mac, Dennis, Dee and Frank), yet the main characters are all selfish, greedy, impatient, narcissistic, and completely antagonistic of each other. Also, the character's decisions are hardly predictable and perpetually leaving the viewer in the blue about what could go wrong for "the gang" next. (FUN FACT: Coincidentally, McElhenney explained the light, fluttery classical theme music for the show reflects the ever-changing and unpredictable actions of the characters).

On paper it seems like the perfect shitstorm of a sitcom. But the sheer opposition of mainstream, conventional sitcom writing compensates as the utter genius behind It's Always Sunny. And for that I, and millions of other fans thank FX for taking a chance on this rogue sitcom. Looking back, the first season was a little rocky and had issues with continuity amongst the gangs interactions, but the show has been flying higher and higher with the addition of Danny DeVito in the second season. Comedy Central will be airing four consecutive episodes from the five various seasons of Sunny every Monday night almost all the way through summer. So, if you have not caught on to this phenomenon of a show or you haven't seen or you just want to catch that rare episode from season one whence Charlie claims he was raped, catch it every Monday night. Besides, a sitcom of this caliber truly deserves much more mainstream exposure than Grey's Anatomy, for example. Here's a little interview below, just to get a feel fo it yo:

The Union: The Business Behind Getting High

Outstanding documentary; watched it again for the first time in a while tonight - this is more of a review and recommendation for those unfamiliar with the doc. "The Union," filmed and released in 2007, delved into the debate of marijuana legality in British Columbia, Canada. The main purpose of the film is to persuade law changes within the province's legislation, but filmmaker Brett Harvey brilliantly lays out the most compelling, convincing and concise argument for ubiquitous marijuana legalization, especially focusing on the relatively strict marijuana laws in the US.

The film begins with a brief history of hemp and cannabis production within the US history and the narrator explains the timeline of events that transformed hemp and cannabis from cash crop to Schedule I illegal substance. The introduction truly hooks you in and the rest of the film does not disappoint. If you have little or no knowledge of cannabis and would like to know everything significant about the plant, then this documentary is where you can start and finish. It provides a complete overview of cannabis and its connection to contemporary culture.

Harvey meticulously tackles every apparent and hidden principle of marijuana prohibition and deeply examines the dirty, gritty black market industry of illegal marijuana trade (spoiler alert: our own government heavily profits from this trade). If you are quite familiar with cannabis and feel like this documentary might just be preaching to the choir, think again. Take my word on it - not one to miss. You can find the documentary on itunes. HOWEVER, if you can't afford it or are a lazy asshole like me, you can find a spliced up version on youtube or the whole film at watch-movies.net

UPDATE: Since 2007, British Columbia has not changed its legislation concerning marijuana legality, but it is considerably more acceptable among authorities (example: see youtube video channel of MarijuanaMan). From what I have read, as long as you don't roll a fat j in front of a cop or blow smoke in a little girl's face, there is no crime.

Enjoy. Because knowledge is power.

Lax Ad

I am a lacrosse player. I have been watching the NCAA lacrosse play-offs for the past three weeks and one advertisement that has been bothering me is one concerning Nicky Polanco and Warrior Lacrosse. Usually I look past the subtle messages and innuendos in Warror's ads and simply take it with a grain of salt, but this one really got under my skin: here

The Warrior Ad features Nicky Polanco, a Major Leage Lacrosse (MLL) player, who has won the hearts of many professional lacrosse faithful. What do I find wrong with him next to women in a hot tub? Nothing. However, I have a problem with the message. In light of the UVa-George Huguely situation, is this what the sport of lacrosse needs as its image? Like the Duke lacrosse "scandal" experienced in 2006, we know that media coverage of this proportion should be handled with exceptional care. However, I have seen the ad on every commercial break watching the NCAA playoff lacrosse games. Should this "babes n Polanco" lacrosse vibe be exacerbated by the media? Sure, I am the first of many to admit this is the lifestyle some, if many, lacrosse players strive to live, but do we need to allow the media to understand that through an advertisement? Whenever I see that ad with Polanco, it reminds me of the brawny, stupid asshole football players from "Revenge of the Nerds." I won't lie; some lacrosse players choose to live like that, but I would rather not have the image of big, brawny and stupid stapled to the word "college lacrosse." I know Warrior and Polanco had good intentions for the ad and most likely just wanted to have fun with it. But the sport does not need that right now. Though certain aspects of the stereotypical lacrosse lifestyle are starting to catch interest in the public sphere, I believe we lacrosse players should keep it to ourselves . Collegiate lacrosse players of America understand the lifestyle associated with the sport. But must we admit this to the associated media? I think not. Stand strong, brothas