It’s Spreading

Now they’re advertising the Muppets singing with the Jonas Brothers. Ew.

So to remember the good ol’ days–before the Disney Channel kills them. Here’s another clip from The Muppet Show. Oh, how I miss it. (YouTube, folks.)

Can you play hatless?

Flashback Muppet Style

I just heard the frightening news that Miley Cyrus and other Disney Channel stars will be singing with the Muppets in early August. 1-800-EW.

So in honor of remembering the good ol’ days, I thought I’d share with you a good Muppet moment. From The Muppet Show, Harry Belafonte.

Thanks, YouTube.

Get a pic, do a blog (tell them it’s Horrible)

WARNING: SPOILERS INCLUDED!!

DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG: Parts I-III

First, I must say that I’ve had these songs in my head for days now. Joss Whedon and his cohorts has done yet another good job of coming up with various catchy and diverse songs to put together an entertaining show. Well done. If I had to choose, I’d say Part II probably had my favorite songs in it, but really, they all had outstanding numbers.

But let’s get to the review, shall we? So as not to spoil the end for some of our RSS readers, I’ll try to save the spoilers for the bottom, so let’s go through performances first. (And let me apologize if I don’t get the exact titles of the songs correct.)

I thought it was great. I really did. I enjoyed every minute–even the not so joyful ones. I think I was most excited about Neil Patrick Harris’ performance. I knew of his interest and talent in singing from various interviews I’d heard from the cast of How I Met Your Mother, so I was thrilled to get to see him in action. And really, every time he opened his mouth, I loved it. His expressions and small gestures especially. His small shoulder dance in “Freeze Ray” and the small smirk at the beginning of “You’re Gonna Die.” I really just loved him and frankly still want to give him a hug.

Captain Hammer was a trip. “Corporate tool” is probably the best description of this person possible. My favorite was when he sang about his hair in “A Man’s Gotta Do.” I know some people might not have enjoyed his Hero song all that much, but it was entertaining. I’m glad he got a moment to sing his own song without having Penny or Horrible cut in.

And Penny was lovable, which I found surprising. I don’t know why. Her lament was a little bored to me–I guess it was too reminiscent to Tara’s “I’m Under Your Spell” in the Buffy musical, and I didn’t necessarily need to know that Penny had a sad childhood. I’d rather just see her as a woman who grew into a nice person who cared. But either way, her smile did cheer me up, and I rooted for the good guy–er, the bad guy–to get together with her in the end (that’s Dr. Horrible if you couldn’t tell). Joss, in a few interviews, mentioned the feelings that were evoked every time Penny and Horrible sang together, and really, it couldn’t be more true. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go back and listen to “On the Rise,” the first song in Part II.

Now, let’s get to the plot.

So when I heard “Sing-Along Blog,” I really had no idea what to expect. I loved the concept. I liked the video blogs intermixed with the storyline. It really added a great aspect to the thing, and really, in the end, it packed a hardcore punch. The severe cut from the final song to his heartbroken, guilt-ridden face with “I won’t feel…a thing” is just so strong. It’s one that will stay with you.

Actually to be honest, I’m quite mad at myself (much more so than with Joss) for not realizing the end. I’ve been a loyal follower of Joss’ work: Buffy, Angel, Firefly/Serenity. So the fact that I didn’t see Penny’s death coming is really just a bad note on me. I’ve been reading other reviews, and I never thought that Penny would become a secret supervillian, but I really never thought of her fate. My mind was focused the ultimate showdown of Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer. I was considering their deaths–or really, the lack thereof, since I doubted Joss would kill them off (hey, I was right). For some reason, I just was expecting something…I don’t want to say happy. Something lighter, I guess. In the end, I just came up with a blank slate.

Honestly, I’m a little torn on my opinion of Penny’s death. On one hand, it blindsided me. I wasn’t expecting it. On the other hand, Joss generally kills someone off! Plus, it tends to be something that other stories tend to do. If someone’s fighting over a girl, the most tragic would be a hero’s death or the death of the loved one. It makes sense that he would sacrifice what he loved most to get what he wanted.

Not to say I’m not hurt or miffed. It took me a couple watches (and I had to watch all three parts together) to really accept it as a decent end. And here’s what I think: In the end, Penny sees Dr. Horrible as Penny and tells him that Captain Hammer saved them. Throughout the show, Dr. Horrible laments on society and the status quo. It’s quite revealing that in the end, the character that seems to see so much good in humanity and seems to see the most about the world is the one blinded the most. She never sees the supervillain–probably to the benefit of Dr. Horrible’s broken heart–and she still thinks Captain Hammer is the hero, like we saw in the first rescue scene. It was Captain Hammer that causes the errs, even if they were originally set into action by Dr. Horrible.

But Dr. Horrible has a point. Would it upset the status quo if he puts poison in the water supply, as he sang? Penny still saw everything in black and white, despite her almost discovery during both Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible’s final songs. Meanwhile, the rest of society just shifted their attentions to Dr. Horrible–their new superstar. He may be bad, but the merchandise is still sold and fans are still made. So really, Dr. Horrible becomes the worst villian but the status quo remains the same. Society just wants someone to talk about.

As much as I hate that Penny died and I still question whether it was necessary or just Joss’ habit to tear apart his fans’ emotions, I like the final thought. Even though looking back, it seems like a predictable ending as far as classic literature is concerned, I suppose it’s ok. I don’t know, honestly. I still go back and forth, though I like Penny’s status quo mentioned. And it makes me feel good that Penny saw everything, but to her Dr. Horrible will remain her Billy Buddy.

Now, on brighter notes, Joss did a good job. I enjoyed. I’ll definitely be buying the DVD and soundtrack (rumor is, the commentary on the DVD will be sung as well, btw). I loved the music. I loved the jokes. I loved Bad Horse and the rest of the League. And now suddenly I’m a larger fan of Neil Patrick Harris and a new fan of Felicia Day (she’s not just the Potential that stayed alive and took care of the injured on the bus anymore!). Oh, and Nathan Fillion ain’t that bad anyway. I’ll be keeping my eye out on new projects–and Internet projects.

That is another great thing about this musical, which maybe I’ll delve into another day. I like that we’re now exposed in a grander scale the series that are Internet only. They can be successful (despite some other failures). So way to go Writers’ Strike.

So way to go, Joss and crew. This was definitely NOT Horrible. And hey, if you’re still upset about Penny, just think of it this way. At least he didn’t chop the head off the human race…being Penny, that is.

Happy Halloween

One of my great new readers mentioned that they can’t wait until Halloween when people become Captain Hammer, Moist, and (of course) Dr. Horrible. Well, apparently doctorhorrible.net is already one step ahead of us (more so, though, for Comic Con). Anyway, want to get a jumpstart for your costume? Here are some ideas.

http://doctorhorrible.net/costumes/

And if you haven’t watched the entire Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog yet, there’s only a few more precious hours to do so if you want to watch it for free. Head on to www.drhorrible.com, and then come back here on Monday or Tuesday for a review!

Joss

Joss has done it again. I really want to share my thoughts on Dr. Horrible, but I really can’t because Part III was just posted, and not many people have seen the entire series yet (including 1 of my 2 readers). So come the 21st, you should really keep an eye out.

But wow, Joss, you did it again.

www.drhorrible.com

It’s a Brand New Day

And on this brand new day, Part II has been posted! Go see Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog!

A Man’s Gotta Do…

Did you watch? I hope so! You have until Sunday if you haven’t.

After spending much of yesterday trying to get onto DrHorrible.com, I finally got to watch the first of three parts of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Oh, it’s fun. You need to watch. I’m already loving.

Plus, they mentioned florists, which if you’ve ever noticed in Angel and Buffy seems to be one of those things Joss Whedon likes to mention every now and again (See “Spin the Bottle” and “Doppelgangland”). Anyway, it was barely noticable, but I enjoyed the reference.

Anyway, since the majority of my readers (wow, that’s an overexaggeration since I have 2) haven’t seen it yet, I can’t give anymore info other than I’m hooked, it’s funny, it’s great, and watch it before the 20th or it won’t be free!

The Closest to Rock Is Air Guitar

So I promised my friends that I would post a review of Disney Channel’s Camp Rock. I meant to a while ago, but my life got in the way from writing about this terrible moving that dredges you into a life of alcoholism.

Ok, so it doesn’t really, but after the many many commercials the Disney Channel threw my way, I thought there would be a great drinking game of taking a shot every time they use the word “rock” in some form in the film. ADVISORY: DO NOT DO THIS. YOU WILL DIE. They use some form of the work “rock”–written or spoken–135 times in the film. Of course, that includes the commercial breaks when the hosts were talking about the film.

Anyway, there’s a lot that can be said about the film. I could spend all day. But I don’t have time. See above re: life. So instead, I’ll go song by song and say my thoughts.

Oh, and can I say that it drives me batty just knowing this soundtrack is completely out of order from the movie? Anyway…

1. We Rock

This song kills. Seriously. They say the word “rock” 54 times in the song, so after 54 shots in 3 minutes, you will die. That aside, it lacks originality. How can you be at a rock ‘n roll camp and the main finale song is a pop number? Speaking of, there were no rock songs in the entire movie! And what really made me laugh was the fact that the choreography was playing air guitar! Every tween magazine out there says that’s not cool. Uggh, what is the world coming to.

2. Play My Music

Ok, I have no real opinion of this song, other than that they somehow needed to get all three Jonas Brothers playing in the movie. It’s fine. Catchy. I have no opinion. Other than that the one Jonas Brother that looks especially emo (really? There’s one that looks especially emo?) had his hair straightened. I just don’t understand why. I guess they spent more time on his hair than Tess’. Aww, poor Tess.

3. Gotta Find You

Ooh, Shane moves me. No, no, he doesn’t. In case you’re wondering, this is where we’re supposed to see that Shane has changed and that he’s not a big jerk anymore. Ok, well first, we should have established that he was a jerk, and then showed a gradual change to when he was not a jerk. BUT we don’t want our tween audience to think that a JoBro could EVER be mean, so let’s just claim it and move on. His jerky-est move is not getting out of bed to teach class. Ouch. Anyway, trust me, he’s deep. Right.

4. Start the Party

Ok, this song…eh, whatever. Let’s just talk about the “hip hop dance class.” Wow. First, define yourself as a hip hop artist by…putting on a hat and holding a microphone. Oh, and why would a pop singer teach a hip hop class? Ok, there’s so much wrong with this scene, I can’t go on.

5. Who Will I Be?

I don’t remember this song in the movie. It’s apparently not worth my time. Wait–is it the one she sings very badly in class that everyone is somehow impressed with?

6. This Is Me

Ok, so I realize this was supposed to be the big moving moment of the entire movie. Here she is! On stage! Making her big debut! Meeting Shane! Falling in love! I was distracted by the entire thing due to this big, overpowering question: WHAT THE HELL IS SHE WEARING?! Seriously, is it a top? A dress? A top and a jacket? Was the jacket attached? Poor Demi…she has to wear this on all the promo pieces, too.

7. Hasta La Vista

Ok, I know it’s sad, but I kinda liked this song. I will give the movie props. Despite its large lack of rock–honestly, that’s just unforgivable for a movie with “rock” in the name, let alone a camp dedicated to it–at least it gave a few different types of music. And this one was fun. Actual fun. Not meaningful. At least it had that. Oh, and trampolines. The choreography was actually fun, too.

8. Here I Am

There were so many things wrong with this. The song was ok, but WHAT was WITH the MONTAGE? Nobody died in this movie. Nor was the movie all that long. Believe it or not, we can remember to that whole, oh, 15 minutes ago, when Peggy was being yelled at by Tess. It’s not that hard. The only reason this montage would be forgivable is if we find out that in Camp Rock 2 (and, yes, there will be one) suddenly lost an arm and can no longer play her guitar. Uggh. I couldn’t watch at that point. If she said “rock” at all, I didn’t count it. I left the room.

9. Too Cool

As always, we have to have that song that blatantly tells us what we already know. In case you’re wondering, yes, Tess was a snob and “too cool” for you. Oh, and I bet Mitchie was glad her mom suggested bringing that gold sequin dress that was just gathering dust in her closet. Seriously, why would they have these outfits? Couldn’t it at least be realistic? At least the green sweats–though still unbelievable that they’d have matching outfits–someone might own.

10. Our Time Is Here

I don’t remember this song either. Obviously unimportant.

11. 2 Stars

Oh, now we see the downfall of our villain. Not only did almost falling off the stage humiliate Tess, but she realized she was a terribly mean person and needed to come clean with everyone around her (except for that poor girl from Hannah Montana, who got no apologies). In my experience, once the mean girl was humiliated, she was generally meaner, but nope. Here, she’s transformed into apple pie.

12. What It Takes

Thank you, Beyonce. Go away. This is the song for open mic night? Not only was it choreographed, but she was singing to the camera! The audience was behind her. And then Mitchie was supposed to be impressed? This song just overall sucked.

So I was pretty harsh, yes, but let me say one thing. The movie was…tolerable. Kinda. But the music was catchy, and as always, it’s got some amazing choreography (ignoring air guitar). The problem was a predictable, overused storyline; flat characters posing as dynamic; and a dizzying effect. Oh, sorry, the dizzying effect was just my eyes rolling too much. I wince for the sequel but as for lasting value, well, those songs will be in my head for probably the next six months (after all, I’m still singing “Bop to the Top” and that was years ago–though The Suite Life of Zack and Cody episode wasn’t that long ago–and I detest that song).

The Secret Life of 7th Heaven

THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER: 1.01 “The Pilot”

Wow. What a terrible show. I really went into it with high hopes, but it was terrible.

At first, I thought, wow, they’re starting with announcing her pregnancy and backtracking. Interesting. Nope. They just started at that point and moved on, which was ok. That’s fine. It’s an interesting twist based on the commercials, and I’m fine with that. Before I turned on the show, I was wondering how many episodes in it would be before she would find out she’s pregnant. So this was new, so that’s good, right?

Then the credits came on. Talk about a mood-killer! What’s with this bubblegum pop cartoon crap? I was completely thrown out of the episode. Completely. It didn’t fit. Maybe if they made Mean Girls into a television series, I would find that theme appropriate, but definitely not for this.

Back to the show. Did anyone else feel like Lucy and Reverend Camden would come walking down the hall any second? I get that it’s created by the same person who did 7th Heaven, but seriously, the music was atrocious. I felt like they used the same soundtrack as the 7th Heaven pilot note for note, not taking into account anything going on in the episode. Every time I got remotely interested in a conversation, piano music would fill the airwaves and throw me out of it. If it was an important conversation, happy music. If it were happier, slow music. And I’m not kidding–I think these were the same interludes we heard in 7th Heaven. It was really annoying me more than anything else. Any composer worth his money would at least be able to write new music that sound similar but different enough from the original. Could it be the fault of the composer? The creator? Director? Who? Even if they did want to use the same music, choose the right mood! I watched 7th Heaven enough to know when it was happy or sad.

Moving on… There were too many characters. Way too many characters. We have two families, plus two guys. Ok, plus two best friends and Grace. That’s fine. Lose the football jock and slut girl. I didn’t care about these people. There was nothing redeeming about them to make me care about them. If they need to be important characters, make me care, ok? I realize it’s only the first episode, but if it takes time to build their characters, take it! We could have waited for their plotlines to develop–especially since we were focused on the main one: a 15-year-old girl is pregnant!

And to be honest, I’m annoyed that there really aren’t many likable characters in general. I loved the support of the best friends, and I liked the quirky charm of Ben’s female friend. Beyond that, who’s to like? Amy’s fine–we kinda like her–and her family is nice. I find Grace fun, but that’s because I grew up with people like that. Otherwise, I’m sure people find her annoying and unbelievable. Everyone else is just a sleaze-ball! Even Ben, who appeared to be our faithful boy in the commercials. Even he has false intentions–intentions that are way too She’s All That, by the way.

Anyway, the one redeeming factor is that she still hasn’t told her parents, and I’m a little interested to see how the show progresses to see when and how they find out. I do hope Molly Ringwald will get a little more screen time. I’m really enjoying seeing her in a new role.

But otherwise, the show is crap. I thought having 7th Heaven people onboard would actually help it, considering how that show was actually decent in the beginning. But it seems like it’s building off of 7th Heaven: The Crappy Years. It even got too obvious and preachy at times. I think I’m willing to see a couple more episodes to see how things progress, but based on this episode, I’m not too excited about it, and I certainly might let my low-resolution, skipping TiVo do the work for me instead of wasting my day trying to get home by airtime.

Just a little tidbit

ARMY WIVES: 2.04 “Leaving the Tribe”

So I feel like I should do a longer post about Army Wives, but I don’t think I will. I think I just want to point out one unique thing about the episode. (Otherwise, I might start bashing and mentioning the annoyance of overdramatizing Trevor being shot in commercials–I knew they wouldn’t kill him off, it’s always a shoulder wound–and my worry of predictable storylines with upcoming episodes of post-traumatic stress disorder. Or maybe the lack of character development for the bomber’s wife despite the initial shock and interest.)

I think what I like about Army Wives is that they give you viewpoints that you don’t normally think of. I mean, when you think of a show that’s going to be about people in army families, you think of the soldiers going away, coming back, getting injured, possibly killed… You don’t think of something as small as coming home and not having someone greet you.

In one of the final scenes, we see Claudia Joy and her husband (sorry, still learning names) watch as soldiers unload from a plane and come home, to the cheers, signs, and smiles of their wives, children, parents, etc. After the initial coming-home speech, they all dash to their families, hugging and smiling.

Two soldiers are left in the back with no one to greet. They don’t look sad. They look ok, just like, “Ok, so here we are. Home.”

Think about that. Who thinks about those people who have no one to greet them. As Claudia Joy and her husband go and thank them for their service, hug them with welcome-home greetings, you really get down to thinking about such a minute detail: Just to have someone say thanks and welcome home no matter who it is–whether you know them or not, are friends or not, even if their a commanding officer or not!

I just think the little details like really are the backbone and strength of television series and should be something to watch out for. It’s definitely something that I’ve noticed in the small time I’ve watched this show.