The Best Show You Didn't Watch

Though this post will be mostly about "Better Off Ted" (as pictured above), I do want to give "Scrubs (Med)" a mention as well. Last Tuesday was the final scheduled airing of both shows on ABC. Both were not expected to be back this year, but ABC chose to give them both 13 episodes and another shot, which was amazing for me. Unfortunately the shows continued to draw very low ratings, and not so amazing for me it seems that they are both done.

So first, "Scrubs" and its new format for season 9. The first couple of episodes weren't too great, featuring only a few funny moments. This did not last, as the most recent couple episodes have been, in my mind, very good. There are a couple reasons for why this happened. The first is that the show had a mostly new cast, and time was needed to introduce the new characters which took away from what the show could do.

This was met with the second thing that didn't work, and that was Zach Braff on the show as J.D.. He appeared in 6 episodes, and most of the ones he was in were the bad ones. This was largely due to the fact that they focused too much on him, and not enough of the new characters, who were the new stars. With that they also had him doing too much narration along with Lucy's narration. I think it would have worked if it was shifted either one way or the other, and I'd really prefer that Lucy had taken over.

But when those issues were not being presented, the show worked very well. Lucy wasn't the most enjoyable character in that I didn't care about her perspective as opposed to when the show first started and J.D.'s perspective is what made the show great. I guess this had a lot to do with not wanting to repeat the same things, but oh well. Drew was a great character who became much funnier as it went on. Dr. Cox wasn't as funny this time around, but still great as always. Turk was kind of annoying, but nice to have still. Denise was a nice choice to bring back from season 8, and provided a lot of great jokes.

Then there was Cole. Originally, I hated him. He was douchey, annoying, and a real turn off. Then....he grew on me. Suddenly his doucheyness wasn't a bad thing, but a great and hysterical thing. He quickly became the funniest thing on the show by far, and he is what I'll miss most afterwards.

A couple other quick thoughts:

• Nice to see plenty of Dr. Kelso, Elliot and The Todd
• Only one appearance by Jordan and The Janitor, but great none the less
• No Carla? I think Judy Reyes was pregnant so appearing on the show wasn't really too high on her to do list I imagine. Would have been nice to see her again though

Oh yeah...Better Off Ted

Well, this was one of the funniest shows in a long time, and if you didn't watch it you missed out. Pretty much it was "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" 2.0, and failed the same way. The show was outrageous in that it was clearly unbelievable, but that's what made it great.

Light sensors that can't see black people? Golden. Medieval fight club? Golden. Arguing over if you can harm a baby ("they're not indestructible")? Golden. Mordor the magician? Golden. An army general with a man crush? Golden. Putting children to work in the day care service? Golden.

I didn't even mention the pure genius that was Phil and Lem, the lab guys (pictured above long ago testing pepper spray). I'd watch them as a show (webisodes maybe?) any time, they did nothing but make me crack up. Some of the best things they created in the lab....

• Projected noise that can be targeted...and make people puke when used at full capacity (and not to be called "The Voice of God")
• Cleaning a coffee mug with hydrochloric acid (because soap leave a film)
• Buying a family of robots (but not the grandparents)
• Perfect bagels (that don't expand in your throat to kill the person eating them)
• An energy patch that looks exactly like a Band-Aid
• Throwing needles into the ceiling to see whose sticks the longest ("it's gotta stay in for at least a minutes, same rules as losing your virginity")
• A half organic computer that leaks acid-goo, or "ass-goo" for short, but can be fixed with an acid interface, or "ass-face" for short.

All in all, I hope they air the final two episodes at some point. The first season is on DVD, so when the second season comes out I'll get to see them then. The show was hilarious, and is online, so check it out. Even though it's too little, too late, it's worth enjoying while you can.

Does Your Phone Fully Capture The Pietasters at The Senator Theater? Droid Does

Saturday night the Pietasters headlined the Baltimore Ska Review show at the Senator Theater in Baltimore. Now I've been going by the historic Senator for almost 3 years, but I'm usually very drunk when I walk by it. None the less, it still looks really cool, and I appreciate the history of it. Needless to say, I was quite happy to see one of my favorite bands would be playing a show there.

The place itself was like nothing I've ever experience before for a show. The lobby had dozens of movie posters for sale, but I didn't take much time to look through them. Right through there is the concession stand, which lies below none other than the Millennium Falcon. I didn't look closely, but I saw they had popcorn, soda, and a wide variety of beers and shots to be purchased.

Around the place was more movie memorabilia. Outside the men's room were the marquee letters for the outside board. In the men's room was General Han Solo, frozen in carbonite. It's hard to see, but it is autographed by Harrison Ford at the bottom corner. There was also an R2-D2 garbage can right outside of the bathroom.

The way the show was set up was also very unique. There was a stage set up in front of the screen, and all the seats were open to everyone. Plenty of people stood in the isles, but mostly when the Pietasters were on. Behind the bands the screen had different things playing without sound. First up were these weird, early 90's computer animated short films. During the Pietasters was the first act of "Fantasia" and then all of "Yellow Submarine", which was trippy even without knowing what was actually going on in it. The seats were probably the most comfortable I've ever dealt with in a movie theater. I missed The Modarators and the Players band as I arrived about 2 hours after the show started. I got there in the middle of The Scotch Bonnets (pictured right) set, and they were very good. They were followed by Unity Reggae band, who was also very good and did some good covers (notably "No Woman, No Cry" and "54-46").


Around 11:45 the Pietasters took the stage. Despite technical difficulties, they had a great set and played until about 1:30. This was the first time seeing them knowing more than just one album, so this was the first time I could really enjoy them on a larger scale. Despite that, this was probably they best they had been when I've seen them, especially when you consider that their drummer was new as of about 3 hours before taking the stage. This was also the first time in 3 years I saw them with a trumpet player, so that was a nice touch as well.

Their set (in no order besides the way it came up on my iTunes) included:

• Don't Wanna Know
• Chain Reaction
• Can't Stand It
• Wasted
• Something Better
• Freak Show
• Tell You Why (Opener)
• Maggie Mae
• Girl Take It Easy
• Biblical Sense
• Movin on Up
• Drunken Master
• Out All Night
• Higher
• Without You
• 2-3 songs I didn't recognize
  

As the title of the post suggests, it was aided by new semi-new Droid phone. Well, here are some additional images of the Pietasters I took with it last night to go along. If I figure how to get the video of "Drunken Master" on here I'll add that too.

Overdue Tribute

To Rob Manning! He turned 21 last week and I promised him a blog post in devotion. I'm too lazy to type it, and don't feel like putting up pictures that might prevent him for future employment, so I'll just say happy birthday last week Rob!



























Mets suck

Season 3 of Chuck starts tonight at 9. Oh HELL YEAH

Road to Cooperstown, NY

Wednesday, the 6th, is when the Baseball Writers Association of America cast their annual votes for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Each voter must have been a member of the association for at least ten years, and each vote caster is allowed to vote for up to 10 members of the ballot.

Players on the ballot must be retired for 5 years, have played for 10, and have passed preliminary rounds. Any player who appears on 75% of ballots cast will be elected into the Hall of Fame. After 15 years on the ballot without being voted in, the player is removed from the ballot. Players who receive less than 5% of ballot votes are removed for next year. This year is going to be very interesting, with 4 excellent first timers and several good returning players.

Returning Players: Here I'll show year on ballot, percentage received last year (VLY), whether or not I think they will receive the writer's vote (WV), and whether or not I'd personally vote for them if I had a vote (PV).

• Andre Dawson (9th year), VLY: 67%. WV: Not this year. PV: Yes
• Bert Blyleven (13th), VLY: 62.7%. WV: Not this year. PV: Yes
• Lee Smith (8th), VLY: 44.5%. WV: No. PV: No
• Jack Morris (11th), VLY: 44%. WV: No. PV: Yes
• Tim Raines (3rd), VLY: 22.6%. WV: No. PV: Yes
• Mark Mcgwire (4th), VLY: 21.9%. WV: No. PV: No
• Alan Trammell (9th), VLY: 17.4%. WV: No. PV: No
• Dave Parker (14th), VLY: 15%. WV: No. PV: No
• Don Mattingly (10th), VLY: 11.9%. WV: No. PV: No
  Donald Arthur Mattingly is one of the best Yankee first baseman in history, behind probably only Lou Gehrig. But he is NOT a hall of famer. A retired number and a plaque in Monument Park is appropiate of him, not a trip to Cooperstown.
• Dale Muphy (12th), VLY: 11.5%. WV: No. PV: No
• Harold Baines (4th), VLY: 5.9%. WV: No. PV: Yes

First-Year elligable players: Once again I'll do writers' vote (WV) and my personal vote (PV)

• Roberto Alomar: WV: Yes. PV: Yes
• Edgar Martinez: WV: Not this year. PV: Yes
  Granted I am biased because Edgar Martinez is my favorite baseball player of all time, but I think the fully deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He is by far the best Designated Hitter of all time (Yes, the DH is and has been a position since 1973). Hell, the annual award for the best Designated Hitter is called the EDGAR MARTINEZ AWARD. His numbers compare to some of the all time greats, and I think he certainly has the credentials.
• Barry Larkin: WV: Yes. PV: No
• Andres Galarraga: WV: No. PV: No
• Fred McGriff: WV: Not this year. PV: Yes
• I'll just save some time now. The following first timers are WV: No and PV: No
• Mike Jackson
• Ellis Burks
• Pat Hentgen
• Robin Ventura
• Kevin Appier
• Eric Karros
• Ray Lankford
• Shane Reynolds
• David Segui
• Todd Zeile
• Of that group, I think only Burks will have enough to stay on the ballot next year if anyone.

So if I could cast up to 10 votes this Wednesday, here is my ballot

1. Edgar Martinez
2. Roberto Alomar
3. Fred McGriff
4. Andre Dawson
5. Bert Blyleven
6. Tim Raines
7. Jack Morris

And while we're at it, here are some other quick thoughts about the Hall of Fame

• Pete Rose should be on the ballot for the Hall of Fame and then the writers and Veteran Committee should NOT VOTE HIM IN. He broke the number one rule in baseball, you do not bet on the game. Every club house has a sign that says any betting will result in a life time ban.
• Sterioid associated players should be evaluated based on what the PED's did to make them better statistically. Many players involved are Hall of Famers even when you factor out PED use and the numbers achieved through them. In other words, they were Hall of Famers before they took steroids. On the other hand, players who became Hall of Famers through the use of PED's should not be voted in. For example:
  
  I would vote for: Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Manny Ramirez
  I would NOT vote for: David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire or Gary Sheffield