Hey, did you know Matthew Perry has a new sitcom on NBC? If you watched even 10 minutes of their primetime Olympic coverage you do! The ads were unavoidable. They even interrupted the event coverage one night for a "full episode preview" of Perry's new show, Go On (or, as I like to call it, Goon). I watched it, and though it was a blatant attempt to rip off Community and market it to a more mainstream audience, it was better than anticipated.
Go On was the first major new show of the 2012-2013 TV season to debut (it's official premiere was Monday night). This means that the 2011-2012 season is over, and many of last year's new shows will be making their way to Netflix or DVD soon, if they're not available already. As a public service, I'm going to give (hopefully) brief reviews of every show to debut between August 2011 and August 2012 that I watched at least one episode of. (I've had intentions of doing this since at least last December; hopefully I'll remember the shows well enough that I haven't seen since last fall.)
This is definitely going to require multiple parts, though at this point I'm not sure how many. It will depend on how wordy I get about each show. If you didn't already know I watch a LOT of TV, you're about to. I'll limit Part I to the new cable shows I watched, listed in order from worst to best.
Brand X With Russell Brand, FX
Episodes Watched: 2 of 6
Status for 2012-2013: Seven new episodes ordered
For those who like: I don't know...leaving the TV on after Louie ends?
Comments: Ugh. I've never been a Brand fan; his Saturday Night Live appearance was ok, but his stand-up and his VMA hosting gigs were awful. On Brand X, Brand has an intentionally humorless sidekick (interesting choice for a comedy show) who feeds the host statistics he just Googled, and Brand riffs on them, inevitably making vulgar, unfunny jokes. Stay away from this one.
Baseball Wives, VH1
Episodes Watched: 4 of 8
Status for 2012-2013: Canceled
For those who like: Basketball Wives, but wish it wasn't so, um, urban.
Comments: This is the first show in the "housewives" genre that I've ever watched, and despite my admitted TV addiction, I'm confident it will be the last. Most of those other shows took place in potentially exciting locales like New York, Miami, Los Angeles, etc. Baseball Wives is set in Scottsdale, Arizona. That's strike one. The term "baseball wives" is used pretty loosely, too. The cast members are all either married to or divorced from retired players, except for one, who used to sleep with a current major-leaguer but was never anything close to his wife. That's strike two. And the show is soooo boring. In the confessional interviews you'll hear things like "I invited Anna to lunch to discuss the comment Erika made at our lunch last week." NOTHING happens on this show! That's strike three. Total whiff by Baseball Wives.
Full disclosure: the main reason I gave this show a try was because of Anna Benson. She gained notoriety about a decade ago for her outlandish comments and some racy pictures that littered the Internet. She became a bigger star than her husband, a mediocre pitcher. I thought she would make the show entertaining, or at least be nice to look at. Wrong on both counts. She's a horrible, rude person, and when I finally heard her voice for the first time, any potential physical allure disappeared as well. She sounds like a 80-year-old woman who's smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for 60 years.
Key & Peele, Comedy Central
Episodes Watched: 8 of 8
Status for 2012-2013: Renewed for 2nd season
For those who like: In Living Color
Comments: It's ok sketch comedy from a couple of former MADtv cast members. A couple of laughs per episode, but no single sketch or character that was really memorable. I like the genre, so I'll probably keep watching when the new episodes start up later this month.
Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell, FX
Episodes Watched: 4 of 4
Status for 2012-2013: Unknown; the original order of 6 episodes hasn't even been completed yet
For those who like: Political commentary with a sprinkling of humor
Comments: There's a racial bent to everything on this show, and sometimes it's pretty forced. I love jokes about politics and other potentially divisive issues as much as anyone, but there actually have to be, you know, jokes. Just being indignant about something or insulting those whose views differ from yours is not the same as telling jokes. There's some humor in Bell's monologues, but not enough. He's done a couple of "man on the street" segments that have been pretty entertaining. Biased is a HUGE step up from Brand X, but it's definitely no Daily Show.
The Newsroom, HBO
Episodes Watched: 1 of 10
Status for 2012-2013: Renewed for a second season
For those who like: Every other Aaron Sorkin project
Comments: HBO surprisingly made the full pilot available on YouTube, otherwise I probably wouldn't have ever seen this show. I think I was a little prejudiced by some negative reviews I read before watching the episode, but a lot of the criticisms leveled against the show are true: it's at least a little pompous, the characters' ultra-competence at their jobs is incongruous with their failures in relationships, etc. But I love TV, and I love shows about TV, so I kinda liked it. Not enough to subscribe to HBO, but if they want to put more episodes online for free, I'll watch.
Pop-Up Video, VH1
Episodes Watched: Don't know for sure, but probably at least 50 of the 60 new episodes
Status for 2012-2013: The new season is already underway
For those who like: Music videos, and those who LOVE trivial tidbits about the production of said videos
Comments: This is a reboot of the show that aired from 1996-2002. Most of the "popped" videos are from the years after the show's original run stopped, but occasionally they'll slip in some "classic" '90s videos from the likes of De La Soul, Foo Fighters, or Goo Goo Dolls. I love music videos and I love trivia (especially cheeky trivia like the bits given here), so this show is tailor-made for me. It's always a fun half-hour.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Hoffmann of the Month: September
The "Hoffmann of the Month" for September is Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman--joining Dustin as the only men with the tough dilemma of deciding whether their HotM trophy or their Oscar gets the preeminent spot on the mantel.
(Just kidding...you may be surprised to know there is no trophy presented to Hoffmann of the Month winners. Actually, you're probably not surprised. But if there was a trophy, it would be at least as prestigious as the Oscar. And it would probably have chocolate inside.)
The reason for P. Seymour's selection? Later this month, The Master hits theaters. The above trailer, along with the others that have been released, paints a picture of a creepy, intensely awesome movie about a cult (Hoffman plays the leader) that the director swears isn't based on Scientology but probably is.
Although the movie looks great, and it features Amy Adams (who I always like), I probably won't see it, at least not for a while, because I never see movies in theaters. In fact, I've seen very little of Mr. Hoffman's work--just Almost Famous, Mission: Impossible III, and Moneyball. But that's enough of a sample that I can tell he's a good actor, a real actor, one of the few who actually seems to be acting rather than just playing themselves in every movie. Actually, the people I consider good actors would make a good evolutionary chart, with Paul Giamatti on the left, Hoffman in the middle, and Russell Crowe on the far right. I should come up with a few more guys to fill in the gaps.
Also, he was just cast in a major role for the Hunger Games sequel (only mentioning that to make my post come up more often in Web searches).
Congratulations, Philip Seymour Hoffman. You're a master actor, a master "Hoffmann," and I'm excited to eventually see The Master. Nobody post spoilers in the comments.
Friday, August 31, 2012
I am ready for some football
The college football season is now underway, and I'm working on some other blog posts, so this is going to be short. You'll have to get ready for this week's Gospel Doctrine lesson without much guidance from me.
But since I have football on the brain, I'll quickly point out a few instances from this scripture block that proves the Utes and their fans are evil:
--Those with crimson on their clothing are proved to be guilty of terrible crimes (see Hel. 9:29-34)
--The devil is known to have conspired with former U of U quarterbacks (see Hel. 6:27)
--Ok, that last verse might have actually been referring to someone else. But what if it wasn't?
--The people become so wicked that consistent conflict (the Holy War) is replaced by famine (see Hel. 11)
Go Cougars!
But since I have football on the brain, I'll quickly point out a few instances from this scripture block that proves the Utes and their fans are evil:
--Those with crimson on their clothing are proved to be guilty of terrible crimes (see Hel. 9:29-34)
--The devil is known to have conspired with former U of U quarterbacks (see Hel. 6:27)
--Ok, that last verse might have actually been referring to someone else. But what if it wasn't?
--The people become so wicked that consistent conflict (the Holy War) is replaced by famine (see Hel. 11)
Go Cougars!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Don't act so surprised
I have high hopes that someday I will resume posting other stuff on this blog besides the Hoffmann of the Month and the weekly Sunday School update. Today is not that day. Here's this week's BASOTRUSSL. In case you forgot, that's Blog About Something Only Tangentially Related to the Upcoming Sunday School Lesson.
Except this week, it's not so tangential. After corrupting your views of certain scripture passages the last few weeks by detailing my deliberate misreadings, I figured I'd go legit this time. In this week's Sunday School lesson, we cover the verses from which I made arguably my favorite scriptural insight that wasn't prompted by a question or comment from a teacher, manual, General Conference talk, mission companion, etc.
In the opening chapters of the Book of Helaman, there is great upheaval in the church and in the government, due to ongoing wars with the Lamanites, the rise of the Gadianton robbers, and the general tendency of the people to forget their God.
But as the wars come to an end and the robbers go into hiding, peace is established, and many are drawn to the church, in part because they notice the great prosperity of church members. Actually, "many" is kind of an understatement--"tens of thousands" are baptized over a period of just a couple of years (see Hel. 3:24-26). The church's growth is so staggering "that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure" (Hel. 3:25).
It's very interesting to me that the leaders of the church were surprised by the growth of the church. If anyone should've known that "the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name" (Hel. 3:27), if anyone should've known "that the gate of heaven is open unto all...who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ" (Hel. 3:28), it should've been them.
I know that those things are true. I know that the Lord always keeps his promises. And a big reason for this knowledge is that I regularly read the scriptures, which are full of accounts of and testimonies from people who were blessed because they exercised faith in God and obeyed His commandments.
If I were to break down my reason for doing these BASOTRUSSL posts, it would probably be something like Ensuring I'm Writing On A Consistent Basis (10%), Drawing Attention To Myself (40%), and Promoting Regular Scripture Study (50%). I've had times in my life when I've struggled with most of the "routine" things Mormons are encouraged to do (pray, pay tithing, regular temple attendance, etc.), but thankfully reading the scriptures has not been one of them. It's probably the biggest single reason for my testimony and my commitment to Christ and His church being as strong as it is (though I hope to make both much, much stronger). When you read these posts, I hope you notice when I make a clever comment or chuckle when I make a good joke, but mostly I hope they encourage you to read the scriptures more often. You may be "astonished beyond measure" at how much it blesses your life.
Except this week, it's not so tangential. After corrupting your views of certain scripture passages the last few weeks by detailing my deliberate misreadings, I figured I'd go legit this time. In this week's Sunday School lesson, we cover the verses from which I made arguably my favorite scriptural insight that wasn't prompted by a question or comment from a teacher, manual, General Conference talk, mission companion, etc.
In the opening chapters of the Book of Helaman, there is great upheaval in the church and in the government, due to ongoing wars with the Lamanites, the rise of the Gadianton robbers, and the general tendency of the people to forget their God.
But as the wars come to an end and the robbers go into hiding, peace is established, and many are drawn to the church, in part because they notice the great prosperity of church members. Actually, "many" is kind of an understatement--"tens of thousands" are baptized over a period of just a couple of years (see Hel. 3:24-26). The church's growth is so staggering "that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure" (Hel. 3:25).
It's very interesting to me that the leaders of the church were surprised by the growth of the church. If anyone should've known that "the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name" (Hel. 3:27), if anyone should've known "that the gate of heaven is open unto all...who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ" (Hel. 3:28), it should've been them.
I know that those things are true. I know that the Lord always keeps his promises. And a big reason for this knowledge is that I regularly read the scriptures, which are full of accounts of and testimonies from people who were blessed because they exercised faith in God and obeyed His commandments.
If I were to break down my reason for doing these BASOTRUSSL posts, it would probably be something like Ensuring I'm Writing On A Consistent Basis (10%), Drawing Attention To Myself (40%), and Promoting Regular Scripture Study (50%). I've had times in my life when I've struggled with most of the "routine" things Mormons are encouraged to do (pray, pay tithing, regular temple attendance, etc.), but thankfully reading the scriptures has not been one of them. It's probably the biggest single reason for my testimony and my commitment to Christ and His church being as strong as it is (though I hope to make both much, much stronger). When you read these posts, I hope you notice when I make a clever comment or chuckle when I make a good joke, but mostly I hope they encourage you to read the scriptures more often. You may be "astonished beyond measure" at how much it blesses your life.
Friday, August 17, 2012
A whole new meaning, part 2
I got a good response to my last post, so I'll ruin one more Book of Mormon passage for you by giving it a funny twist.
There's an urban legend about two missionaries who were teaching the discussions to a woman. She responded well to the teachings, but was hesitant to commit to baptism. One day the missionaries stopped by, but the woman wasn't home. They left her a note that said, "Sorry we missed you. We hope you're still thinking and praying about being baptized. We know it's a big decision. We invite you to read 1 Nephi 3:7-8; we think after you read it, you'll know what to do."
As most devout Mormons know, that passage in 1 Nephi teaches that God will not give us a commandment without making it possible for us to keep it. Surely, the missionaries thought, these verses would provide their investigator with the encouragement, the faith, and the determination she needed to accept this major commitment.
They returned to the woman's home the next day. Before they could ring the bell, they were stunned to find the woman's copy of The Book of Mormon hanging from the door in a plastic bag. They rang the doorbell, knocked, even called her, but got no answer. Devastated, they took the bag and slumped away.
When the missionaries returned home that evening, they took the book out of the bag to place it with the other copies they hoped to give away to potential converts. One noticed the note they had written the previous day sticking out of it. The missionary opened to the page the note was marking, and saw that it was 3 Nephi, chapter 3. Their investigator had read the wrong passage!
As the companionship read verses 7 and 8 of chapter 3, they began to chuckle as the reason for their former friend's change of heart became clear. They had promised their suggested passage would help her know whether she should be baptized and join the church, and this is what she read:
Speaking of letting fall the sword...this week in Sunday School we're covering the rest of the "war chapters" in Alma. You'll get to read about some of the Nephite captains oozing in the wilderness (see Alma 58:16-17). All right, I promise, no more twisting of the scriptures for humorous purposes (for this week at least). You'll also read about more important things, like the 2,000 stripling warriors and their awesome moms. And when you listen to your mom, you really DO get advice that will help you make tough decisions.
There's an urban legend about two missionaries who were teaching the discussions to a woman. She responded well to the teachings, but was hesitant to commit to baptism. One day the missionaries stopped by, but the woman wasn't home. They left her a note that said, "Sorry we missed you. We hope you're still thinking and praying about being baptized. We know it's a big decision. We invite you to read 1 Nephi 3:7-8; we think after you read it, you'll know what to do."
As most devout Mormons know, that passage in 1 Nephi teaches that God will not give us a commandment without making it possible for us to keep it. Surely, the missionaries thought, these verses would provide their investigator with the encouragement, the faith, and the determination she needed to accept this major commitment.
They returned to the woman's home the next day. Before they could ring the bell, they were stunned to find the woman's copy of The Book of Mormon hanging from the door in a plastic bag. They rang the doorbell, knocked, even called her, but got no answer. Devastated, they took the bag and slumped away.
When the missionaries returned home that evening, they took the book out of the bag to place it with the other copies they hoped to give away to potential converts. One noticed the note they had written the previous day sticking out of it. The missionary opened to the page the note was marking, and saw that it was 3 Nephi, chapter 3. Their investigator had read the wrong passage!
As the companionship read verses 7 and 8 of chapter 3, they began to chuckle as the reason for their former friend's change of heart became clear. They had promised their suggested passage would help her know whether she should be baptized and join the church, and this is what she read:
Or in other words, yield yourselves up unto us, and unite with us and become acquainted with our secret works, and become our brethren that ye may be like unto us--not our slaves, but our brethren and partners of all our substance.
And behold, I swear unto you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye shall not be destroyed; but if ye will not do this, I swear unto you with an oath, that on the morrow month I will command that my armies shall come down against you, and they shall not stay their hand and shall spare not, but shall slay you, and shall let fall the sword upon you even until ye shall become extinct. (3 Ne. 3:7-8)And we wonder why people think we're a cult! (If you're unfamiliar, these verses are part of a letter sent by the leader of a band of robbers who wanted to destroy the church and dominate their society.)
Speaking of letting fall the sword...this week in Sunday School we're covering the rest of the "war chapters" in Alma. You'll get to read about some of the Nephite captains oozing in the wilderness (see Alma 58:16-17). All right, I promise, no more twisting of the scriptures for humorous purposes (for this week at least). You'll also read about more important things, like the 2,000 stripling warriors and their awesome moms. And when you listen to your mom, you really DO get advice that will help you make tough decisions.
Friday, August 10, 2012
A whole new meaning
I've read The Book of Mormon a bunch of times. Like, probably at least 60-70 times, start to finish. Even more if you count the times I plowed through Book of Mormon Stories as a kid. When it was my turn to give the Family Home Evening lesson, I told the story of Captain Moroni and the title of liberty literally every time over a two or three year period.
Because I've read the BOM so many times, in recent years I often find myself going through it on autopilot, not really thinking about much about what I'm reading. This is of course not an ideal way to study the scriptures, but it's better than not reading at all. Every once in a while, though, I read a passage that clicks with me in a way it never has before in dozens of previous readings.
One of the most memorable of these instances happened when I was reading about the first battle of the aforementioned Captain Moroni. Moroni's army had surrounded the enemy Lamanites, but since Moroni was not a violent or vicious man, he halted the attack and gave his enemies an option: surrender your weapons and vow never to come to war against us again, and we'll let you go. If not, we'll continue to kill you until you accept our terms.
The soon-to-be-scalped Lamanite leader, Zerahemnah, declined the offer. Captain Moroni responded "Now I cannot recall the words which I have spoken" (Alma 44:11). Of course, he meant that he would not take back his words or change his mind on the terms of surrender he had laid out. But this one time I read it, my brain interpreted it to mean that Moroni couldn't remember what he had just said to Zerahemnah. It made me laugh then, and has done the same on each subsequent reading. I'll never be able to read that verse again without thinking about that other, wrong interpretation.
Many people dismiss these "war chapters" of The Book of Mormon as unimportant. Even the Church crams this large section into just a couple of weeks of Gospel Doctrine study, including ten chapters to read for this week's lesson (you'd better get started if you haven't already). But there's plenty of good stuff in the last 20 chapters of Alma, even for those who aren't into the whole neverending Nephite-Lamanite war narrative. I've gained many insights on gospel principles in these pages that have strengthened my faith and solidified my commitment to the Lord and His church. I'm hoping to learn even more as I read these pages for the umpteenth time these next few weeks. And I know, if I do, that I'll never read the scriptures the same way again.
Have you ever misinterpreted a scripture in a funny way? What gospel insights have you gained while studying the "war chapters?"
Because I've read the BOM so many times, in recent years I often find myself going through it on autopilot, not really thinking about much about what I'm reading. This is of course not an ideal way to study the scriptures, but it's better than not reading at all. Every once in a while, though, I read a passage that clicks with me in a way it never has before in dozens of previous readings.
One of the most memorable of these instances happened when I was reading about the first battle of the aforementioned Captain Moroni. Moroni's army had surrounded the enemy Lamanites, but since Moroni was not a violent or vicious man, he halted the attack and gave his enemies an option: surrender your weapons and vow never to come to war against us again, and we'll let you go. If not, we'll continue to kill you until you accept our terms.
The soon-to-be-scalped Lamanite leader, Zerahemnah, declined the offer. Captain Moroni responded "Now I cannot recall the words which I have spoken" (Alma 44:11). Of course, he meant that he would not take back his words or change his mind on the terms of surrender he had laid out. But this one time I read it, my brain interpreted it to mean that Moroni couldn't remember what he had just said to Zerahemnah. It made me laugh then, and has done the same on each subsequent reading. I'll never be able to read that verse again without thinking about that other, wrong interpretation.
Many people dismiss these "war chapters" of The Book of Mormon as unimportant. Even the Church crams this large section into just a couple of weeks of Gospel Doctrine study, including ten chapters to read for this week's lesson (you'd better get started if you haven't already). But there's plenty of good stuff in the last 20 chapters of Alma, even for those who aren't into the whole neverending Nephite-Lamanite war narrative. I've gained many insights on gospel principles in these pages that have strengthened my faith and solidified my commitment to the Lord and His church. I'm hoping to learn even more as I read these pages for the umpteenth time these next few weeks. And I know, if I do, that I'll never read the scriptures the same way again.
Have you ever misinterpreted a scripture in a funny way? What gospel insights have you gained while studying the "war chapters?"
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Cue Jesse Katsopolis
For this week's Sunday School discussion on justice and mercy, I had ambitions to write about examples of justice and injustice in the Olympics, whether it's throwing badminton matches, the vagaries of gymnastics scoring, blatantly corrupt boxing refs, or even a different kind of corruption in the swimming pool.
But it never came together how I wanted. So instead, you get this classic seminary video, a dramatization of Boyd K. Packer's parable of the mediator--a great-in-its-simplicity explanation of the justice/mercy dichotomy and how a mediator (specifically, THE Mediator, Jesus Christ) allows them to coexist.
Oh, and you also get this, in case the post's title confused you. We now move on into the "war chapters" of Alma, and I promise next week's BASOTRUSSL will show a little more creativity.
But it never came together how I wanted. So instead, you get this classic seminary video, a dramatization of Boyd K. Packer's parable of the mediator--a great-in-its-simplicity explanation of the justice/mercy dichotomy and how a mediator (specifically, THE Mediator, Jesus Christ) allows them to coexist.
Oh, and you also get this, in case the post's title confused you. We now move on into the "war chapters" of Alma, and I promise next week's BASOTRUSSL will show a little more creativity.