Bye weeks piss me off. Football is not a sport I naturally enjoy, and while I can watch a baseball or a college basketball game for no reason what-so-ever, I must have a rooting interest (general or made-up) to stay engaged when watching football. So it's natural that my mind can tend to drift on a bye week. In that spirit, here's a list of things I'm going to do this weekend while the Buffs are resting (hint, none of it involves leaving the house):
Civ V - I've always been a huge fan of the Civilization series. This past week the newest iteration came out. If you've never played a Civ game before, and are thinking of giving it a try, be forewarned: they are more addictive than crack. I've lost countless hours to the "Next Turn" button blinking happily at me. Larger games can take 6 or more hours to complete, but the gameplay is engaging and varied. Since purchasing this on Tuesday, I've only been able to play a grand total of 1 hour; you better believe this will get some work over the weekend.
Community Season 1 DVD - I've been pushed by reliable sources to give this show a try. While I usually try to stay away from network television, I do like a good modern comedy show (especially one that's smart enough to not have a laugh track). The first disk arrived from Netflix this week, and I'm gonna give it a shot.
Maybe Watch College Football - My word there are some shitty games this week. Take for example the Big XII: Only two teams, Texas and Oklahoma, are playing BCS schools. Texas is hosting UCLA and Oklahoma is going to Cincinnati. Neither of those teams are any good. Overall, if the Big XII doesn't have a perfect week, what with the likes of South Dakota St (Nubs) and Miami OH (Mizzou) on the schedule, something is seriously wrong. Nationally it's not much better. I cant even bring myself to care about Alabama/Arkansas or Boise St/Oregon St. Seriously, not a single game this weekend is worth my time.
NFL Sunday - The roommates and I got Sunday Ticket which allows me to watch my fantasy team slowly die each week in real-time (I hate you Brett Favre). Even though I don't necessarily like the NFL, the Red Zone channel is awesome. You have access to every game, and there are no commercials. No annoying media timeouts, and no annoying "game-breaks;" just action. If there's one problem I've always had with football, its the lack of actual "game" over the course of 3 hours. Last year there was a Wall Street Journal article that talked about the fact that there's only 11 minutes of actual game action in any given football game. Hell, 58.5% of the time they're just standing around! The Red Zone gets rid of that crap and only shows you the most interesting thing going on at any given moment. I hope the person who came up with this gets a Nobel Prize.
Mad Men - I must watch this every week. If you know me at all, you know that time essentially stops Sunday nights when this is on. I can't say enough about this show, so I won't try. Suffice to say it's awesome. It also gives me an excuse to have a Macallan on the rocks. A really nice way to end a weekend.
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
My list of the best Top Gear Episodes
After over 115 episodes, jumping into the Top Gear "canon" could be a little daunting. To give the uninitiated a jumping-off point, I've compiled a seasons worth (8) of my favorite episodes.
Season 7, Episode 5: Jeremy, driving the fastest car in the world (the Bugatti Veyron), is ptited against Hammond and James in a Cessna in a race to see who can get a truffle from the South of France to the top of the Nat West Tower in London the fastest. One of the quintessential TG races, this episode give a great look at the "unique" way that the hosts challenge cars.
Season 8, Episode 3: The boys try to turn ordinary cars into amphibious monstrosities. In a challenge that the show would later reprise, you get a great feel for the presenters personalities.
(It's not looking good for Hammond)
Season 9, Episode 6: In a similar vein to the amphibious car challenge, the crew takes ordinary European cars and turns them into stretch limos. Even for TG, the results are pretty outrageous.
The Polar Special: Of all the big season defining specials (Botswana, Vietnam, South Africa) this is my favorite. You can find a HD version of this one that looks plain magnificent.
(Gin and Tonics for all!)
Season 10, Episode 5: In an extremely practical challenge, TG tries to find the best mode of transportation to get across London.
Season 11, Episode 6: Season ending challenge involving Germans vs. Brits. TG constantly reminds us of "the War" to underscore their quintessentially British narrative. Jay Kay tries to be the fastest Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
(.... before zee Germans get here)
Season 12, Episode 6: No massive challenges or races in this one (Although there is an interesting look at "Communistical" cars). "Traditional" looks at cars like the Caterham are in store; along with a "complete" test of the new Ford Fiesta. The Mayor of London (Boris Johnson) is the SiaRPC.
(Clarkson turns the little Fiesta into a beach assault craft)
Season 14, Episode 1: There's an awe-inspiring GT trip to Romania, complete with Borat jokes (even thought Borat is from Kazakhstan.) Eric Bana is a great guest in the Reasonably priced car.
Season 7, Episode 5: Jeremy, driving the fastest car in the world (the Bugatti Veyron), is ptited against Hammond and James in a Cessna in a race to see who can get a truffle from the South of France to the top of the Nat West Tower in London the fastest. One of the quintessential TG races, this episode give a great look at the "unique" way that the hosts challenge cars.
Season 8, Episode 3: The boys try to turn ordinary cars into amphibious monstrosities. In a challenge that the show would later reprise, you get a great feel for the presenters personalities.
(It's not looking good for Hammond)
Season 9, Episode 6: In a similar vein to the amphibious car challenge, the crew takes ordinary European cars and turns them into stretch limos. Even for TG, the results are pretty outrageous.
The Polar Special: Of all the big season defining specials (Botswana, Vietnam, South Africa) this is my favorite. You can find a HD version of this one that looks plain magnificent.
(Gin and Tonics for all!)
Season 10, Episode 5: In an extremely practical challenge, TG tries to find the best mode of transportation to get across London.
Season 11, Episode 6: Season ending challenge involving Germans vs. Brits. TG constantly reminds us of "the War" to underscore their quintessentially British narrative. Jay Kay tries to be the fastest Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
(.... before zee Germans get here)
Season 12, Episode 6: No massive challenges or races in this one (Although there is an interesting look at "Communistical" cars). "Traditional" looks at cars like the Caterham are in store; along with a "complete" test of the new Ford Fiesta. The Mayor of London (Boris Johnson) is the SiaRPC.
(Clarkson turns the little Fiesta into a beach assault craft)
Season 14, Episode 1: There's an awe-inspiring GT trip to Romania, complete with Borat jokes (even thought Borat is from Kazakhstan.) Eric Bana is a great guest in the Reasonably priced car.
Top Gear America
If I had a top 10 list of television shows from the past decade, Top Gear would be somewhere near the top. (If you haven't experienced the brilliance of TG, please do yourself a favor and seek it out.) It has essentially become my favorite show over the past 3 years. Even 4 years ago, I laughed at my roommate for downloading it. Now, Sundays in-season, I pace around my room, waiting for the download to become available (a note on this. Top Gear is, by most accounts, the "most illegally downloaded show on the planet." Normally, I tend to frown on illegal downloads. Artists should be paid for their endeavors, be it through the advertising model or through pay-for-play model. Top Gear is, currently, my only exception. [should I download any other show, I typically Netflix the subsequent DVD release to make up for it.] By my calculation, there is no legal way to obtain the original broadcast version in America. The BBC America version is edited for length and content, which is wholly unacceptable. Should the ability to pay for the original broadcast version of Top Gear become available, I will make amends with my conscience. However, considering the demand for the pirated downloads of the show, shouldn't this be an option?).
(Must download.......)
It has become an obsession, to be honest. The show offers a format that speaks to me. While the cast may "cock-about" and many bits are contrived, there is a base of honesty with the presentation. These guys are plausible allies, doing outrageous things, and sharing their love with the world. To have a show with a world-wide viewer base of 350 million people, about cars no less, and produce this quality without coming off as forced, is a wondrous achievement.
I love the original version so much that I approach the news of an American version (after 2 previous failed attempts) of the show on the History Channel with trepidation. Already, there is much consternation amongst the American TG faithful over what this could mean for the brand. This writer for instance pans the concept, opining that it may lose much of the base audience that the producers are trying to tap. Initially, I agreed with this sentiment. I mean who the hell are these guys:
(That thing on the right, apparently named "Rutledge," looks like a flaming version of my former roommate Jake. From: Warming Glow)
Because of the unique nature of the original cast (read: the towering pile of awesome that is Jeremy Clarkson), I figured it would be hard to replicate the show successfully (Especially considering the way other British TV imports have been bastardized when crossing the Atlantic). Add to that my general disgust at the NASCAR culture, and the American version gave me a case of the facepalms.
(Clarkson)
I was relieved, however, to read this article. It seems that the producers realize that there is no replacing Clarkson, and that the show is successful around the world without the help of localization. Assuming they're not kidding about the requisite budget and the lack of a corporate master (which I highly doubt; there's always corporate interests in America. Even if the show doesn't have a primary car sponsor, the big 3 do advertise on the History Channel, and would undoubtedly pull ads if the show begins panning their new models with any level of tenacity), the show could avoid sucking. To that end, my jingoistic nature takes over, and I begin agreeing with this guys conclusion. I hope it's good, for the brands sake in this country; just please don't blather about NASCAR constantly. At the very least, I wont have to convert pounds to dollars in my head anymore.
(Must download.......)
It has become an obsession, to be honest. The show offers a format that speaks to me. While the cast may "cock-about" and many bits are contrived, there is a base of honesty with the presentation. These guys are plausible allies, doing outrageous things, and sharing their love with the world. To have a show with a world-wide viewer base of 350 million people, about cars no less, and produce this quality without coming off as forced, is a wondrous achievement.
I love the original version so much that I approach the news of an American version (after 2 previous failed attempts) of the show on the History Channel with trepidation. Already, there is much consternation amongst the American TG faithful over what this could mean for the brand. This writer for instance pans the concept, opining that it may lose much of the base audience that the producers are trying to tap. Initially, I agreed with this sentiment. I mean who the hell are these guys:
(That thing on the right, apparently named "Rutledge," looks like a flaming version of my former roommate Jake. From: Warming Glow)
Because of the unique nature of the original cast (read: the towering pile of awesome that is Jeremy Clarkson), I figured it would be hard to replicate the show successfully (Especially considering the way other British TV imports have been bastardized when crossing the Atlantic). Add to that my general disgust at the NASCAR culture, and the American version gave me a case of the facepalms.
(Clarkson)
I was relieved, however, to read this article. It seems that the producers realize that there is no replacing Clarkson, and that the show is successful around the world without the help of localization. Assuming they're not kidding about the requisite budget and the lack of a corporate master (which I highly doubt; there's always corporate interests in America. Even if the show doesn't have a primary car sponsor, the big 3 do advertise on the History Channel, and would undoubtedly pull ads if the show begins panning their new models with any level of tenacity), the show could avoid sucking. To that end, my jingoistic nature takes over, and I begin agreeing with this guys conclusion. I hope it's good, for the brands sake in this country; just please don't blather about NASCAR constantly. At the very least, I wont have to convert pounds to dollars in my head anymore.
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