Ty Watches "Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage"

Last night I watched the new HBO documentary "Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage". I have some thoughts.

I watched a few of the trailers before it was released and was interested in watching based on those. Then I saw some of the people being interviewed and was even more inclined to watch. But then I saw Bill Simmons and his company The Ringer were the producers and that kind of threw me off. I do not like Bill Simmons, I think The Ringer is a toxic workplace and it hires toxic men to work there. I am not a fan. In spite of all that, I still watched the movie.

I was 17 when this festival happened, I remembered it being a trainwreck and I have always wanted to watch a documentary that talked about how bad it truly was for everyone involved. And the movie starts out fine. It is your typical doc, but they had some neat little music cues and I even learned some things I did not know about the original Woodstock. I was interested for sure. And when they got into the actual festival, doing stuff like showing the bands perform, showing the destruction early on, showing the heat and the lack of food and water, it all kept my attention. It was as bad as I remembered hearing. To see the stuff some of these people did in the first two days was disgusting. The amount of nudity was gratuitous. I'm no prude, but this was too much. The majority of the bands were trash. We are talking Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Moby, bands and artists like that that I never listened to. And when they got to some good bands, or even bands I listened to back then, they barely showed them. There was one clip of Wyclef Jean, who I used to love. I barely heard any of Rage perform. Jewel didn't even get her singing voice in the movie. Tragically Hip was just shown performing. It was a drag. This was where my taste for the movie started to wane. Between the crazy amount of male and female nudity and the bad music, I was kind of bored.

Then they started to show and talk about how the attendees started to trash the place. This made my stomach turn. Seeing all the trash littered everywhere was vile. When they talked about the septic tanks not working and the people trashing the porta potties, I literally got sick to my stomach. I was eating some ice cream at the time and I had to put it down when the festival goers started to slide and play in the sewage. It was awful. From there the movie just dove into a milquetoast retelling of Woodstock 99. They showed the rioting, talked about the massive amounts of unreported sexual assaults, talked about some of the attendees that died, showed the promoters being total assholes, but none of it felt resolved while I was watching. It was talked about and then moved on from. It felt kind of unfinished. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know why these white privileged dickheads did the horrific things that they did. Why did they feel fine doing this stuff? Why were they not afraid? One of the festival goers said that had this been a hip hop festival he thinks the police would have treated them differently. They could have talked about that for so much longer. They didn't even touch on it except for the one quote. I guess I just wanted them to dig a bit deeper into the real seediness of this whole ordeal.

All in all the documentary was okay but not without its flaws. I think my generation probably wanted to see a bit more, but maybe younger people, the Coachella and Lollapalooza crowds nowadays will see this movie differently. The movie was just fine. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. I will not watch it again, but I do not feel like I wasted my time watching it now. It was a strong C movie for me.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "The Scheme"

A week or so back HBO had a sports documentary on called "The Scheme". I wanted to watch it, forgotten about it and then remembered that we have On Demand, and that HBO replays stuff all the time. I found it, recorded it and finished it yesterday, and I loved it. Let’s discuss

"The Scheme" follows the embarrassing FBI investigation into Christian Dawkins relationship with high school basketball stars and whether or not he gave coaches money as well as players. I fully believe, and this doc furthers that belief, that Dawkins did not deal with coaches. He was friendly with them, and he talked to assistants, but he did not do anything that most people do, or do not do, when they deal with major head coaches dealing with big time shoe deals. It started with Sonny Vaccaro, and it is still going real, real strong today. In fact, my team Michigan, lost out on two big time recruits last night and today, and after watching "The Scheme", I am curious as to why one kid decided to go play pro overseas, although that actually makes sense because the kid can get paid to play right now, and the other kid chose Arizona State, which I believe is an Adidas school, over Michigan, which is Jordan Brand. I wonder if any of that went into their decisions.

Anyway, I found "The Scheme" to be very well made, but extremely eye opening. I have been on both sides of paying college athletes. When I was younger, thought that a scholarship was more than enough. Then I grew up and realized that was asinine, and that some kids bring in millions to the schools they go to. If a coach can make money hand over fist, and they can pay their assistants a million plus a year, why can't the kids, who bring in the majority of the money, get anything? Why are they treated like indentured servants? Why can't they make choices to further themselves and their families? Why can't they get something more?

As for the show, "The Scheme" introduces us to Christian Dawkins, who's name I didn't know until two years ago, and he seems to have the same questions. He was a player that was okay, good enough to play varsity at a very good high school as a sophomore, but he didn't have the tools to go all the way. He decided then that he was going to be in the business of rated and ranking and getting high school kids into good college basketball programs. He started a blog at first that blew up. He then started to meet people. He got a shoe deal for an AAU team when he was 17 years old. He made moves because of his relationship with other high school players. He knew his crowd, he knew how to market them and he ran with it. He went so far as to join an agency as a "runner". They called him an "agent", but what he did was get high profile players for the agency he worked for to sign with them. He then would find the next kid. He got guys like Malachi Richardson and Elfird Payton, former high first round picks. He then made a mistake, what they called "Uber Gate", and spent way too much of those guys money, he says by mistake, on Uber rides. He was fired from the agency, and that was when he decided to start his own business. This was also when the FBI got involved. There was so much stuff that went into this investigation, this pointless investigation, that it needs to be made into a live action movie. The FBI had two agents pose as money people to try and get Dawkins to get coaches involved. They had another agent type guy, Marty Blazer, working for them as well. They had phones tapped. They had fraud. They used the FBI's money to try and further their case. They tried to film Dawkins doing illicit things with coaches. They tried it all really. And Dawkins is no saint, more on that in a minute. But, the FBI flubbed this thing big time. They kept trying and pushing for Dawkins to get big name coaches involved. Coaches like Sean Miller, Will Wade and Rick Pitino. They wanted to take them all down. But, Dawkins kept insisting that he doesn't deal with head coaches. He dealt with assistants, and more importantly, players. He would tell the FBI informant, or try to explain during phone calls, how absurd it would be to get head coaches involved. He kept telling him it was easier, and quieter to deal with players and assistants. The FBI paid no mind to that, and they tried to take Dawkins down a bit too early. They tried to catch him in the act in Vegas, and while they may have been able to bring up some charges, they didn't do the damage they hoped. I, like a lot of people, thought that this was going to be the death of some major schools, but it really wasn't. Sean Miller is still at Arizona. Kansas was the favorite to win the title. Will Wade still has a job. Creighton was a top 25 team this year. The only person who got hit by this, besides Dawkins, was Rick Pitino, and he is already back in the college game, after one year coaching overseas.

"The Scheme" only made me further despise the NCAA and all their cronies. The fact that they wasted tax payer's money and time is crazy. The fact that they acted all high and mighty, and basically did nothing to the people who should have gotten in trouble, Will Wade and Sean Miller mostly, is ridiculous. The fact that Dawkins had to spend tons of time in court, and a year and a day in jail, is utterly insane. Yes, what he did was immoral and wrong and is against NCAA rules, he did nothing that hundreds and hundreds of people before him have done. Every major school has a guy like Dawkins working for them. I'm 100 percent positive coaches like Coach K and John Calipari and Miller and Wade and Bill Self all have guys like Dawkins, or ties to Dawkins. That is the cost of winning and recruiting at the level they continue to recruit.

I really enjoyed this doc, I highly recommend sports fans watch it and I one hundred percent believe that Dawkins is not the bad guy, and he didn't do anything that a bunch of other people are doing or did. Dawkins said it best when they neared the end when he was asked what he has to say to the NCAA, and he said, "F&*k the NCAA". I couldn't have said it better myself. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Whitmer Thomas: The Golden One"

While scrolling through the comedy portion of Twitter and Facebook recently, I kept seeing people talking about Whitmer Thomas’, a comedian and actor, new HBO special, “The Golden One”. Full disclosure, I did not know who Whitmer Thomas was at the time. I looked into his IMDB to see if I knew him from anything, and while he’s been on some shows I’ve watched, I still came up empty. But, the way people were taking about this special, I kept going back, reading stuff and I decided I really wanted to see it. I guess to see if the hoopla was legit. It happened to be airing on HBO this past weekend, so I recorded it and watched it yesterday.

This special is amazing. It is unlike anything comedy special that I have ever watched. It straddles the line as a comedy special and a documentary. I’m not going to spoil anything, but I will get into bits and pieces.

The special opens with Whitmer looking at old photos with the director, and then he reads a note his mom wrote him when he moved to LA. He goes on to say something along the lines of, “she wrote that, and then I wrote a bunch of jokes about jacking off”. That was when I knew I was in for something good. The special then follows him back home to, I think either Gulf Shores or Floribama, if that’s a place. He filmed this special in his hometown. This is where the documentary portion comes into play. The special goes back and forth from his stand up to him talking to family and friends. He reconnects with people. He gets into deep conversations with people. All of this is spliced with him telling jokes on the topic, and singing songs. And his songs rule. I’m not a huge emo guy, but Whitmer Thomas’ renditions were so good. I also appreciated that he had a screen behind him with the words, almost like karaoke. Thomas can also play and sing, making the music that much better. The songs also help to explain his jokes even further, which I also really enjoyed.

What really makes “The Golden One” stand out is the honesty. Whitmer Thomas is brutally honest in this, and I absolutely love that. “The Golden One” is the most honest, heart breaking, moving, funny, insightful, interesting and coolest stand up special I’ve seen in quite sometime. I’m bummed at myself for not knowing about him, or this special sooner.

Seriously people, go seek this out. It’s so unique and puts the stand up special on its head, in a good way. My hat is off to Whitmer Thomas. He’s a genius, and this special proves that tenfold. Go check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "The Righteous Gemstones" Series Premier

Last night my wife and I watched the new Danny McBride show "The Righteous Gemstones" on HBO. I have been anticipating this show, as I stated on a previous podcast, and boy did the pilot, for me, live up to the hype.

This show has all the elements that I have come to expect from McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green, but amped up by ten. No show of theirs will live up to "Eastbound and Down", that was lightening in a bottle, but "Vice Principals", and now "The Righteous Gemstones" are excellent. What i really enjoyed about "Vice Principals", and I have written about this before, was how comedic, yet dark, it was. That show was excellent, and it had a great run. What I found in the pilot of "TRG" was that, while still funny, this show may be their darkest yet. There was some wild stuff that went on in the pilot episode. I am not going to spoil anything, but man did stuff gets nuts at the end.

What I want to focus on more today is the plot and the actors. I love the plot of this show. I am a non religious person, not at all, so to see a show that sends up the whole Evangelical TV minister, and makes them sinister and evil and only interested in making more money than any person could ever need. We have all seen how awful some of these TV ministers, Joel Osteen comes to mind first, are really are behind the scenes. That is what this show shows us. The three main characters, John Goodman as the patriarch and main minister Eli, Danny McBride as the screw up, yet thinks he is more important than he really is Jesse Gemstone and the gullible and wet behind the ears youngest son, Adam Devine as Kelvin Gemstone, are all great in their own ways. Goodman is menacing and in a deep state of depression. His wife has died and his family is constantly fighting each other. Add on the fact that he is trying to be the only game in town, he is a bad dude. Goodman is perfect for this role. McBride is perfect in the role of an asshole who is way in over his head. He seems good on the surface, but he has some demons that he is fighting, and he refuses to go it alone. He wants to drag all kinds of people into his own mess. And Devine, in a very different role for him, is so innocent and maybe has some kind of soul and just wants to help people. They are all great. The third child of the family, Edi Patterson as Judy Gemstone, is definitely the smartest one of the family, but she doesn't get her due because she is a female. Patterson was a revelation on "Vice Principals", and now, in a much bigger role, I feel like she is going to shine.

Outside of the Gemstone family, the supporting actors so far are really good. Tim Baltz is Patterson's soon to be husband, and he is a pushover and hilarious. Dermot Mulroney, as a rival minister, is kind of badass, and I actually found myself rooting for him in the episode. Casidy Freeman as Amber Gemstone, McBride's wife, is so good and menacing herself. She had the line of the episode to me when Baltz's character said that the family is backwards and they never give women a chance, Freeman speaks up, but before going into her rant, she asks McBride if she can speak. Even a guy in a super small role, Tony Cavalero as Keefe, the former Satan worshiper who is now working for the church and has found God, I found him absolutely hilarious. Everyone, so far, has been wonderful, and I cannot wait to see where they take the characters from here on out. I have also seen that Walton Goggins, one of my very favorite actors, is going to show up in upcoming episodes, and I'm sure that will rule. It is not only the characters that I cannot wait to see where they go, it is the story too. Like I said, no spoilers, but the way the pilot unfolded, things are going to get wild in this first season. It should be dark and hilarious.

Look, I am a McBride fan. I am predisposed to like what he does, and a show like "The Righteous Gemstones" is perfect for his sense of humor, and what he wants to do on a show. I have a feeling this will be one of my favorites from 2019, and I cannot wait to see how the next 8 weeks pan out. I highly, highly recommend this show. It is really good.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ok people, one spoiler. Never in your life will you see the efficiency of a Land Rover running over not one, but two people. It was shockingly awesome

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Internet Idiots Could Not Ruin "Game of Thrones" for Me

Maybe Internet idiots need to discover this device

I, along with millions of other people, watched the series finale for "Game of Thrones" last night.

I liked it. I thought it was a solid way to send the show off. I felt like everything that happened was for good cause. I do not want to spoil anything, so I'm not going to go into too serious of detail. I understand that people don't get to watch everything they want to in real time. I'm sure there are a few people that haven't seen the finale yet, so I don't want to ruin it for them.

I do want to say, I thought Peter Dinklage was tremendous last night. His monologues were perfection. I also, like I said before, thought that everyone ended up pretty much exactly where I thought they should have. Sure, it was slower at the start, but things picked up, and the finale wrapped a nice bow on a show that I binged watched for the last year. It was good, the performances were good and I was entertained by all of "GOT".

What I really want to focus on today are the mean spirited internet bullies who have attacked this final season. Look, I have been there. On this very site, in the early stages, I trashed shows like "Mad Men" and "The Walking Dead". I was rude and angry and I let my frustration show. For that, I am a little embarrassed in myself. But, I have tried in the past year to be less cynical about things like movies and TV shows and music. Hell, I have even tried a bit with sports. I understand that all this stuff is here for my entertainment, and I should be thrilled that I have so many options available to me. "Mad Men" was a great show that just lost steam to me. I shouldn't have been that hard on it. As for "The Walking Dead", it just went too far off the rails for me. I know a lot of people still like the show, and the fact that it is still running proves it has solid staying power. The only show, of which I tried to defend at first, that I feel I was right to go after was whatever in the hell Bill Simmons tried to do with "Any Given Tuesday", or whatever in the hell it was called. That was a bad show. I feel no remorse for trashing that. But, I do feel bad for going so hard at the other shows after what I have seen people do to "GOT" now.

Fans have been way, way too hard on this show that has entertained them for nearly a decade. The creators and writers and directors and actors owe us, the viewers, nothing. I know I've mentioned it before, and I am sure I will again, but I always go to the Poochie episode of "The Simpsons" where Comic Book Guy complains that he is "owed" something from the writers. Bart calmly tells him that that show has givens him hours of free entertainment, and if anything, he owes them something. That is exactly how I feel about this season, and for that matter, all seasons, of "GOT". This show has captivating millions upon millions of people. This has to be the most talked about, and I wouldn't be shocked, most watched show of all time. Hell, my wife just had a work party solely based on the show. We had my dad come over every Sunday to watch with us. I have talked to friends and family about it for the past year. It ranks right up there for me with shows like "The Simpsons", "Breaking Bad" and "The Wire". It is that good to me.

So, for the phonies and nerds that hide behind screen names and start dumbass petitions and live in their parents basement, it was never going to live up to their astronomical expectations. I'm sure these deweebs put such a high premium on this show, that no matter what happened, they would have made up something to complain about. And that is just the thing for me. No one can just be happy with a TV show or movie or music anymore. There is always going to be someone who takes it way too seriously and feels they are owed something from people that they will most likely never meet. There is always going to be a group of people that find something to groan about. As I said, I did this just as early as 2 years ago. And now, you have myriads of unqualified people starting a petition to redo the final season. What qualifications do they have? How many TV shows have they worked on before? How much writing have they done? Do they even know the first thing about getting a TV show put on the air? I'd venture to say no to all of these questions.

People need to chill the hell out. We are extremely lucky to have shows that entertain us for years. And to those of you that are saying you are going to cancel your subscription to HBO, or that you were "bored" by this final episode, or that you have "wasted 10 years of your life" on this show, that is just sad to me. "GOT" is a fantasy show about dragons and magic and people coming back from the dead and zombie armies and people who can have visions. It is fake. It is here purely for entertainment, and it entertained the hell out of me. I'm so weary of these bullies that have to hide behind a screen and gripe about one of the best TV shows to ever be on TV.

Anyway, I just needed to touch on that, and say that I really enjoyed this season, and all the previous seasons of "GOT". It was beautiful to look at, well acted, left me speechless at times and kept my interest all the way through. This show was a true achievement. Well done.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty was a big fan of “Game of Thrones” well before he saw an episode, and he has hated internet idiots for a while now.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Timothy Simons is the Star in the Final Season of "Veep"

For the past 6 plus seasons of the show "Veep", currently airing its 7th and final season, I have been amazed at how funny and overall great the show is. It's dark and satirical and filthy and hilarious in all the right ways. My wife and I started late on the show, binge watching the first four seasons, and now watching in real time, and it has to be one of the best comedies to ever be on TV.

The performances on “Veep” are second to none. Julia Louis Dreyfuss is so wonderful, and so very deserving of all the awards she has won. She is gritty and angry and, probably, the filthiest one on the show. Her accolades are more than deserved. Matt Walsh, in a smaller role, is goofy and dumb and a total fish out of water, which I feel like is perfect for him. Tony Hale is tremendous as Selina's aid. He is a total whipping boy, who is the boorish son that Meyer never had. Sam Richardson was a great addition. I crack up every time he is on screen. Gary Cole is always consistent, and on "Veep", he adds so much greatness. Anna Chlumsky is as dirty as anyone, and her character Amy is at times insane, but other times, you feel for her. She really crushes this role. And even some of the people that are just side characters, actors like Patton Oswalt and Diedrach Bader and Andrea Savage, among others, are wonderful. But today I want to focus on the great, and I feel underrated at times, Timothy Simons.

Simons is a gem on the show. He plays Jonah Ryan, and each and every season, just when you don't think he can get any worse, or become more of a joke, he ups the ante. He started out as basically an intern on the show, and now, in the final season, he is running for president. I mean, it's insanely funny to see him mess up at every single turn, yet failing upward. It's funny, but also a little bit scary considering the day and age we live in now. Ryan has connections in the government, and that is the only way he has moved all the way up to a presidential candidate. And man, does Simons nail this. I find myself cracking up at him every time he is on screen. He is never not funny. Every word that comes out of his mouth is wrong and rude and crude and ignorant, and I find myself laughing, and then looking internally at America right now. Jonah Ryan would fit in perfectly in current Washington D.C.

But, "Veep" isn't making him look like a real politician, I feel like, in this final season, the writers and directors and Simons are trying to show the viewers how insane politics and D.C. truly are. The last episode of "Veep" was a great representation of Simons talent to play an ignorant moron. He uses words that no one nowadays should use, and he has to go to sensitivity training, where he is so much of an asshole he makes one of the workers there cuss him out. He also has a scene at a fair where he is, sorry mom and dad, deep throating corn dogs as a joke. He is married to his step sister, and constantly gets into fights with his step dad at rallies. There was a whole scene in the season premiere where women came out and said that they never dated him, and that anytime they went out with him, it was strictly business. He is such a creep that women don't want to be associated with him. His response to this was epic and hilarious.

Timothy Simons, at least so far, has been the star of this season. I am so excited to see what they do with his character and the people that he surrounds himself with. I know it is going to be great because this show is so great, and Simons is perfectly cast. But what makes his performance so much better is the fact that he is as liberal as myself or RD. He knows he is playing a ridiculous person, and totally runs with it. He is awesome, "Veep" is awesome and lets all hope that Jonah Ryan gets the crummy sendoff that he deserves. I really hope Simons gets recognized for some kind of awards come that season because he has totally earned it. He is one the best on a show filled with awesome actors and wild characters.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was thinking of running for President in 2020. Then Ty realized that he would be like President Not Sure, the smartest man in Washington.

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Ty Watches "Game of Thrones" Final Season Premier

Awhile back I wrote about catching up with "Game of Thrones" because I felt out of the loop, as far as social media stuff went. I didn't get a lot of the jokes. I didn't understand GIF's or meme's or jokes on shows I adored that were based on "GOT". My wife kept telling me to watch, but I kept putting it off. I tried once, early on with the show, but I couldn't get into it. But, after seeing how the last season that was on ended, I then decided that I was going to power through and watch it all.

Luckily for me, I was hooked from the jump. I don't know if it was time away or having my wife explain it to me, or the fact that I just wanted to be in the loop, I was on from episode one. I watched all 7 seasons in less than a month, which is pretty quick for me. After that, I was one of the million, maybe billions of people, that were left waiting for the new episodes, the final 6. I started to feel like everyone else. I was giving my own theories, guessing what was going to happen, siding with people I never thought I'd side with. It was crazy.

Well, last night the long anticipated wait was over. The first of the last episodes premiered, and it did not disappoint.

I'm not going to spoil anything, although, I feel like if you watch the show, you aren't going to watch to binge the final episodes, I'm sure you are going to watch in real time. Anyway, the season 8 premiere, in my opinion, was a great way to open the final season. Yes, there wasn't too many action scenes, although we did get the boat scene, but that is okay. I felt that this episode was more so to remind everyone of the big war that is coming, and reunions. The reunions in this episode were just awesome. I was so excited for the main characters who got to see one another again. The fact that Aarya got to see Jon Snow, Gendry and The Hound was perfect. Her interaction with each of them was so fitting for their respective pasts. I absolutely loved the 5 seconds her and The Hound had together. It was great. Jon Snow got the most scenes with people he hadn't been with in awhile. I already mentioned Aarya, but he also got to see Bran and Samwell. This was awesome, especially when he met up with Samwell. This was a very important scene, and totally sets the stage for the rest of the season, and it was great. To hear the news that was spilled, and to see the reactions, it was excellent. But the biggest "reunion", I don't even want to really call it that, lets go with "sighting", happened at the very end. This isn't a spoiler because it happened in season one, but at the very end, Jaime Lannister arrives in Winterfell, and he locks eyes with Bran. I mean, this has been years I the making. I was stunned, and I knew it was coming. It was such a baller move to end the first episode on that image. It has me very pumped for the rest of the episodes.

Outside of all that, I thought this was a very strong way to start the final season. I don't know why I was worried, this show has always delivered. I'm pumped for the rest, but I will be bummed when it is over. But, I have 5 more weeks, and I bet they are going to start getting very, very action heavy. "GOT" is back, and I'm fully back on board already. What a great, great show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also liked the scene where Jack, Hurley, and Kate got to meet up with Sawyer and Juliet in the past. Wait, that was a different show with a cast of many. 

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Ty Watches "Westworld" Season 1

I just finished the first season of “Westworld” yesterday. I know that RD has written his peace on this show, and today, I offer a counter to his argument.

I thought "Westworld" was absolutely amazing. The only reason I didn’t watch it at first was stupid. I told my wife, who loves the show, “I don’t like when science fiction and western genres blend”. What an asshole I was being. It shouldn’t matter when a show is this well written and well acted. I was into every single second of the show. I blew through the first season in less than a week. The more I watched, the more I craved the next episode. I wanted to know everything that was happening. I stayed away from spoilers, and I’m glad I did. This made my experience watching it that much better. Every twist and turn was brand new to me, and that’s a great feeling when watching a show.

I believe RD compared the show to an Apple Pencil, and to be honest, that analogy couldn’t be more off, in my opinion. This is a great, well done show. The Apple Pencil was doomed to fail from the beginning. It never had a chance. “Westworld” got great actors to be in their wonderful show. They had people that were ready to fully commit. They got established stars. People like Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton don’t sign on to stuff unless they know it’s good. They make the right choices. Evan Rachel Wood is a very good actress, and she likes to do different things like a “Westworld”. James Marsden usually picks proper projects that suit his skills. Even “lesser” known actors like Tessa Thompson and Paolo from “Lost”, starred on this show.

The stories on "Westworld", my god were they riveting. I’m not going to spoil anything, but with every twist and turn and the new information that came with each episode, it blew me away. The scenery was also extremely beautiful. I read they shot most of the stuff in "Westworld" in Moab, Utah, and seeing what I saw on my TV, I’d like to visit Moab now. Oh, and the music was so great. They took contemporary songs and made them old time western tunes, and it was amazing. They used multiple Radiohead songs, and I loved every version. Their rendition of “Black Hole Sun” was moving. When they played “Paint it Black” during a shootout scene, it couldn’t have worked out better. I was very happy when I found out that there is a “Westworld” playlist on Spotify.

I really, really love this show. I’m very excited to see where they go with season 2. I know it started a few days ago, and I’m chomping at the bit to watch. I have to respectfully disagree with RD. I think “Westworld” is an amazing show. Everyone should watch it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor is considering giving "Westworld" another chance based on Ty's recommendation. RD will not give up his complaint about the music, it was a bad choice.

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There are No Small Parts, Just Great Side Characters like Clegg in "Eastbound and Down"

We all could use a good wingman like Clegg

After finishing up "Vice Principals" last week, I decided I wanted to revisit "Eastbound and Down". In the past week I have gotten through the first season, and the show definitely holds up. But, this piece is not about another great Danny McBride and Jody Hill show. It is about a character that I feel like is incredibly underrated in the first season.

Obviously Kenny Powers, Rachel, Cutler and Stevie are the best, but why do more people not talk about how awesome the character of Clegg, played by Ben Best, is? He is a star in the first season. I'm not bull shitting you either. I am a big time Clegg fan. For those that may not remember, Clegg is either the owner, or more likely, just a bartender, of the local bar,  Sha Boom's. He shows up in the first episode when the local lady of the town starts to hit on Kenny. He has one of the best lines when he kicks her out, telling her, "you need a shit ton of Valtrax". It made me laugh just as hard when I saw it the other day as it did the first time I saw it. Clegg then motions to Kenny that they should go do some cocaine. So, we find out immediately that he has some kind of job at the local bar, and he is the town drug dealer.

From there on out in the first season, Clegg is looked at as the guy to get Kenny whatever kind of drugs he needs. In actuality, the more I think about it, he is just as pathetic and needy as Stevie, he just doesn't show it as much. I love when he and Kenny are getting high in their first scene together, and Clegg explains how he left college to follow around Widespread Panic. He, in between snorts of drugs, tells Kenny that he will burn him some of their stuff, but, "only the choice cuts". I cannot tell you how many times I heard those exact words when I was at the many, many Widespread Panic shows that I used to go to. It is oddly familiar, but also a true glimpse into how much Clegg wanted this washed up baseball "star" to like him. He is willing to anything that Kenny asks of him from that point on. Kenny needs drugs, Clegg gets them for him. Kenny needs a chauffer to Ashley Schaffer's BMW for his "celebrity" appearance, Clegg is the man for the job. Kenny needs steroids, Clegg finds a guy. Even when Clegg ditches Kenny at the BMW store, after huffing glue, or maybe paint, with the local homeless people, to have an encounter with one of the female homeless people, he blames himself. Kenny takes him out on his jet ski, acts like everything is cool, then slides him off and reprimands him for leaving him at the dealership. Instead of calling Kenny an asshole, and telling him he is selfish, he apologizes. He takes all the blame. He then makes it his mission to get Kenny the steroids that he now feels he owes him for leaving him high and dry. So, while Stevie is way more forthcoming with his desires to do whatever Kenny wants him to do, Clegg is the same. He just doesn't come off as bad, or pathetic, as Stevie. Even when Kenny goes back to the dealership to have a showdown with the guy that ended his MLB career, Clegg shows up with the wrong drugs for Kenny, but he still shows up with something that Kenny wants, takes and doesn't pay for. Kenny wants steroids, but Clegg couldn't get some in time, but he still brings him oxycotin. And, as I said, Kenny keeps it, and never pays for it. In the first season's finale, Clegg even mentions something about Kenny paying him for all the stuff he has given him, and Kenny just kind of blows him off and changes the subject. And, Clegg seems to just forget about it anyway.

I love this character. I believe, as I said at the top, that he is the most underrated character in the first season. He is so funny and riddled with drugs and is another in a small line of 2 people that want Kenny Powers affection. Go back and watch season one of this show and try and tell me that Clegg isn't awesome, but also, just as lowly as Stevie. Ben Best did so awesome with this person they had him play, and the further I get into my re watching of this wonderful series, the more I hope he still shows up from time to time. Here's to Clegg.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He doesn't know the drugs, but he definitely knows the choicest cuts of Widespread. He will burn you a copy if you like.

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Ty Watches "Vice Principals" Series Finale

This past Sunday was the series finale of "Vice Principals". I've been a fan of this show from day one. I have even said, and RD disagrees with me, that I think it is a better show than "Eastbound and Down". Don't get me wrong, I adore both shows, but I like the darkness and the seediness of "Vice Principals". That is not to say that "Eastbound and Down" wasn't dark at times, but it was always filled with some comedic element. When "Vice Principals" got dark, it stayed dark.

The series finale was a prime example of how far they could go with this show. I felt that the finale was a perfect ending to the show. I know that Danny McBride and Jody Hill and David Gordon Green had always said that it was only supposed to last 2 seasons, and the way they ended it was stupendous. They do not need to do anything else. They closed up every story line perfectly. I was so pleased with what I watched. After I finished the finale, I watched it yesterday, I felt a sense of completeness.

Everyone involved with this show, be it acting, writing, producing or directing, did a wonderful job. Danny McBride was awesome as Neal Gamby. He could have settled into a Kenny Powers esque character, but he went the opposite direction. His character had a soul. He had a conscience. He did some bad things, but his heart was, for the most part, in the right place. He is the hero. Walton Goggins deserves a god damn Emmy for his role. He was the absolute best thing about this show. He was conniving. He was a bad, bad man. He had a troubled past. He constantly lied and cheated to get what he wanted. He was just flat out evil. But, in the end, he came through for his buddy, that is a minor spoiler alert. All the bad stuff he did, he finally, kind of, redeemed himself. Goggins and McBride were the stars, and who the show was based around, and it was a perfect pairing. I did not know how they would fit, but they had tremendous chemistry on screen. I fully bought into their journey and friendship.

Outside of the main guys, pretty much every supporting actor was great too. Georgia King as Amanda Snodgrass, the sometimes love interest of Neal Gamby, was so good. She was tough, no nonsense and didn't put up with Gamby's bull shit. Her arc, especially when she started to date Fisher Stevens, an excellent addition, as a YA novelist, was so good. The fact that she took pride in Gamby's love for her book, which by all accounts sounded pretty bad, showed how naïve, yet faithful she was to Gamby. Kimberly Hebert Gregory as Dr. Belinda Brown, the ire of Gamby and Russell in season 1, was just as good in her much reduced role in season 2. She found a new school, but she popped up here and there to debunk some theories and curse out Russell when he came to her for help. She was so good in season 1, and I did not know how they would incorporate her in season 2, but they found a nice fit for her to come back. Edi Patterson as Ms. Abbot, had a much expanded role in season 2, and she owned it. She was nutso. She was crazy. She had all kinds of ulterior motives, and Patterson crushed in this role. Sheaun McKinney had a bigger role as Dayshawn in season 2, and he was great. He was always there with a joke, but also good advice for Gamby. I loved him in this show. I could go on and on. Dale Dickey was a great addition this season. Busy Phillips and Shea Whigham were just as good this season as they were in the first. All the other teachers at the school, excellent. The cast was one of the best parts of the show, and everyone involved really leaned into their roles.

What truly made this a great show was the writing. As earlier stated, it was dark, but it was also funny, sometimes moving and had a nice mystery involved in the second and final season. I love this show so much. The finale has one of the best guest appearance that I have seen. RD texted me and told me this before I watched it, and he was one hundred percent correct. The finale is crazy. All the stuff they pack into about 34 minutes is nuts, but it works. I loved the whole series, but the finale was exceptional.

I will miss "Vice Principals", but it is going out on top. It ended perfectly. You can always watch it on HBO Go or On Demand, or anywhere you may watch TV. I'm glad that I watched it in real time. It was a show that I looked forward to every week. As I said, I'm sad it is done, but I will remember it as one of the best shows I have ever watch. Watch this show. When Danny McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green get together, they usually knock it out of the park, and with "Vice Principals", they hit a grand slam. What an excellent, phenomenal show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor agrees that "Vice Principals" is one of the greatest shows ever, but the first ten minutes of "Eastbound and Down". that belongs in the Louvre.

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Ty Watches "Tour de Pharmacy"

There are spoilers for the HBO film "Tour de Pharmacy". Go watch and come back to read Ty's review. It is currently showing on HBO Go, HBO Now, and periodically showing on one of HBO's family of channels at some time of the day.

This past weekend The Lonely Island and HBO released their second sports based faux documentary/comedy, "Tour de Pharmacy". I loved the first one, "7 Days in Hell", so I was excited for this second movie. When I say movie, I use that term loosely. This is basically a short. The "movie" runs about 35 minutes long. This is perfect for this subject material, and an excellent amount of time for what is basically a long form sketch.

Anyway, "Tour de Pharmacy" tells the "true" story of the 1982 Tour de France. This was the most drug riddled race in the history of bike races, according to the narrator, Jon Hamm. We all know now that, for the most part, the guys that do the Tour de France are dopers. It is widely accepted. "Tour de Pharmacy" takes this knowledge and makes it the entire basis of the movie.

Early in the program we find out that a rich German guy named Dittmer Klerken, played hilariously by Kevin Bacon, writes a letter to all 170 racers saying that they can do whatever drugs they want and they won't be tested, if they give him 50,000 dollars a piece. Klerken had built up incredible credit card debt due to a very absurd credit card ad in Sweden. The scene with the ad was probably my favorite part of the entire movie. It was so bizarre and odd and the talking heads comments on it were hilarious. If you watch this movie for one reason, make it to see the part with the ad. It was uproarious.

After the ad shows, they cut to the racers. They introduce us to 5 specific riders at the beginning. The first is Nigerian born racer, Marty Hass. He was played by Andy Samberg. Hass was born into a royal family that just happened to mine diamonds in Nigeria. They say that he went to an all American boys private school, and the people of Nigeria hate him. They hate that he is their country's representative. He is the epitome of a spoiled rich kid, and Samberg plays him hilariously. Another great part of this movie is they have the main characters as their older selves, and the actors that portray the older versions are perfect. Jeff Goldblum plays the older Hass. He is so god damn funny. He has some fake blonde hair hanging out of his hat and he wears African coats the whole time. Goldblum is just as funny as Samberg.

We also meet the first female, posing as a male, to ride in the tour. Freddie Highmore plays the young version of Adrian Baton. He was hilarious. His attempts to act like a female acting like a male was classic Lonely Island stuff. Julia Ormond played the older, and real, Baton, and she was equally as funny. She is a classically trained dramatic actress, but she pulls off the comedy to perfection. Her reveal at the end is wonderful.

Next up is Jackie Robinson's nephew, Slim Robinson, who is trying to get out of his uncle's shadow. He wants to be the first African American to break the color barrier, and at the time, cycling was the only sport that did not have many, if any, people of color. Daveed Diggs, of "Hamilton" and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" fame is terrific in this movie. He is so funny, but understated. Danny Glover as the older Slim was equally tremendous. His wig is absolutely bananas. I loved it.

John Cena plays Austrian cyclist, Gustav Ditters, and he may have been the best in the whole movie. They show a picture from him the year before and he is rail skinny, then they show the actual Cena, and he is ripped. His claims that he isn't doping are so funny. The fact that he is that shredded, but constantly denies doping, is awesome. When the big fight breaks out in the first stage, and Cena starts to beat the hell out of people, I was in tears. Dolph Lundgren plays the older Ditters, and the whole "cheetah" and "cheater" scene is comedic gold.

The final main cyclist, JuJu Peppi, played by Orlando Bloom, was classic cycling cheater. He had so many drugs in his body that he actually died during the race due to a heart attack. Unfortunately for Peppi, he died while going pee, so his member was out when he died. There is a ton of male frontal nudity in this movie by the way. I have to say, while I don't like Bloom as an actor, he was really good in this movie.

The reason there are only 5 riders left is due to the fight I mentioned earlier. After the fight broke out, many of the riders came forward and said they were paid to not tell anyone that they were doping, and Klerken was the one that paid them. The only riders to not pay him were the 5 main characters, or as Seth Morris' ESPN anchor dubs them, "The Fab Five", claiming no one else will live up to that nickname ever. This was when we get a mini interview with Chris Webber and underneath his name it days, "a member of the much more famous Fab Five". Again, I was cracking up.

Lots of funny and wacky stuff happens during the race. I mentioned Peppi's death. Ditters get caught with cheetah blood, thus setting off the whole cheetah and cheater scene. Hass and Baton start to fall in love. Slim leaves the race to go be a farmer in France, only to return in the end. James Marsden, who was incredible as the announcer for the BBC, is involved in the race, but it is later found out that he is using a bike with a car motor on it, and Baton throws herself onto him to help her new lover, Hass, win the race. Just tons of crazy, hilarious stuff.

The people that they got to be the talking heads in the movie were phenomenal as well. Maya Rudolph is the head of a cycling magazine. She is great. Nathan Fielder is the head of the anti doping committee and he brings his dry humor to this movie, and it is pitch perfect. Joe Buck is himself, and he is really good. Mike Tyson and Lance Armstrong, both people that have done truly awful things in their personal lives, were actually pretty good in this movie. Lance Armstrong was pretty funny. Mike Tyson was a riot. JJ Abrams was pretty tremendous in his small role, as himself too. He plays a heightened version of himself, and I found him to be pretty good.

The entire cast was phenomenal for this small movie. The star, at least in my opinion, was Cena. He was the funniest of all the funny people in this movie. I have found that I enjoy Cena as an actor. Diggs was also really good too. Watching him try to get out of Jackie Robinson's shadow was just great. Jeff Goldblum was also really funny as well.

What I am trying to say is that "Tour de Pharmacy" was incredibly funny and I highly recommend everyone watch it. The Lonely Island seem to have found another niche that fits them, and I hope they continue to do little movies like this. "7 Days in Hell" was great, "Tour de Pharmacy" was better. I can't wait to see what they do next. Until then, go watch "Tour de Pharmacy" if you want a good laugh.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He recently competed his first mini triathalon and has his sights set on the 2018 Tour de France. Anybody know where he can score some cheetah blood?.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Better Late than Never on Chris Gethard's "Career Suicide"

I know that I'm a little late to the party, but I just watched Chris Gethard's 90 minute comedy special on HBO, "Career Suicide", and I was enthralled. This was more one man show than stand up special. Gethard is a very different and unique voice in comedy these days. He's introspective and smart and pours his heart out and tells people about all his psychological problems. Yes, a lot of comedians do this now, but the way Gethard delivers this message is unique to only him. I had heard a lot of good things about this special. Many, many people were talking about it on social media and on podcasts. I had only known Gethard as a character actor and a writer previous to this. That is why I did not watch it when it premiered. I didn't know what to expect. I recorded it about a week or so ago, HBO reruns everything all the time now, and I finally watched it in its entirety last week.

This special completely blew me away. Yes, Gethard was funny and told a lot of jokes, but he opened up his entire life's book, warts and all, to the audience in the theater, and all of us watching on TV. He told us about all of his struggles that he still deals with to this day. He recounted very funny stories about his college days, but it was told under the guise that he may have actually been an alcoholic. He recounted a story where he continually blacks out and does stuff like, run around the streets of Rutgers University with a Batman mask on, and telling 2 gentleman than he did not know that they needed to leave his house, but these guys wanted Gethard to finish the story he was telling, which Gethard had no idea he was telling. He let everyone know that he drank 2 entire bottles of Mad Dog prior to all of this happening. It wasn't until he saw a shrink when he realized he may have an alcohol problem. It was funny, but also very revealing and, at sometimes, sad.

Gethard also told us the story of the first time to told his mother that he thought he was suicidal. This was sad. I really felt for him. This is a very tough subject and you have to be at your absolute lowest if you consider taking your own life. He was very eloquent when describing this situation, and just when I felt like I was going to cry, he tells a killer joke about how his mother sounds exactly like Edie Falco when she was on the "Sopranos". That is his gift. He can tell these hard and tough stories and wrap it all up with a joke that will make you laugh until you cry, if you aren't already crying.

I also really enjoyed his stories about shrinks and, how some are just in it for the money and others are actually there to help you. Full disclosure, I see a shrink 2 times a year. I have anxiety issues, and my doctor has changed my life. So, that made these stories very relatable to me. He has had his struggles with his feelings towards seeing shrinks, and then accepting that he needed this, and then how one doctor screws him over, but he eventually found his perfect doctor. Again, not funny, but not meant to be funny. this is why I looked at this more as a one man show than a comedy special. He talks about his current shrink a lot, and it is so funny, but at least for me I can see where he is coming from. His shrink has changed his life, even if she may not do things by the book. I loved this part of the show.

His talks about prescription drugs, and how they have helped him out so much, again for me, very relatable, and this was funny. He talked about all the side effects that some prescription drugs have. I have dealt with a lot of the same issues, I'm just not as funny at describing it like Gethard is.

I really enjoyed when he would talk about his many odd jobs in comedy and writing. When he talked about how he got his first writing job and had to travel across the country by himself, I could not take my eyes off the screen. It was funny, scary and beautifully told. The bit about the train is tremendous. He talks about performing at Bonnaroo a few years back and describes his relapse in a very funny way. I was shocked that he was so forth coming with all of this information. It was heart wrenching, but also very funny at times.

My personal favorite story was when Jack McBrayer "dissed" him during an Asscat show, and everything that happened after that. He goes into great detail about being paralyzed by fear and eventually running off stage after McBrayer said what he said. He also goes about it a very funny way in revealing that it was McBrayer who "dissed" him. Seriously, go watch how he divulges this information. Writing about it does not do it justice.

He then goes on to talk about how he runs away to Jersey after this, calls his shrink, gets some crazy information from her, going into a restaurant and freaking out all the customers. Look, this 15 to 20 minute story is the gem of this wonderful one man show.

Gethard finishes the show by talking about how, if you need help, get it. He talks about all the people that have contacted him with the same problems that he has faced, and what he has done to try his best and help them. He implores everyone to get help if they need it. He caps it off with talks about his love for Morrissey one more time, he mentions this a lot through the show.

I loved "Career Suicide". Chris Gethard is great at what he does. I love how open he is with everything. This special could lead to some big time stuff for him, and that makes me happy. I was late to this, but I highly recommend, if you haven't already seen it, watch "Career Suicide". It is one of the best specials I have seen in a long, long time.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time suggested that his psychiatrist should get into hip hop. He could be called MC Shrink Rap. The doctor order more sessions.

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Ty Watches the Best Television (So Far) of 2017

With season three of "Fargo" premiering tonight, I want to talk about how incredibly good television has been in the first few months of the year.

2017 has been pretty dreadful so far, except in pop culture. Pop culture such as music, sports and television has been very, very good, with television standing out most. I watch a lot of TV obviously. I seem to write about 4-6 new or old shows a month. 2016 was great too. I mean, we got "Atlanta", and that is the best show I have seen in quite some time. But, for the most part, every show I've sat down and watched in 2017 has been very good, both new and old. I am very stoked for "Fargo" tonight. The first 2 seasons were incredible, and every trailer I have seen for season 3 has looked great.

The greatest television right now is on FX and FXX. FX has the best original programming on all of television. "Taboo" was incredibly weird, historic and very violent. And I loved every single minute of it. Tom Hardy was great. Go back and read my review of the show. It was awesome. Season 12 of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" was great as well. The show is as funny as ever, and, spoiler alert, I do not think Dennis is leaving the show. The second season of "Baskets" just added on to the greatness of the first season. That show is sad and dark but it has its funny moments too. Louie Anderson is phenomenal on the show as well. He is well deserving of all the accolades. Shows I do not even watch like "Archer" and "Feud" seem to get glowing reviews across the board. Also, FXX gives us every "Simpsons" ever, and I will be forever grateful for that.

But, the crème de la crème of all the FX shows is "Legion". "Legion" is one of the most original, yes I know it uses X-Men stories, but very loosely, and innovative shows I have seen. It ranks right up there with "Atlanta" for me. They are different shows, but they are equally great. "Legion" has the pedigree to be a classic. The show is shot beautifully, acted tremendously, directed phenomenally and written perfectly. The cast is absolutely incredible. If you are not watching "Legion", start watching it immediately. It is the best show of 2017 so far, and to be honest, since "Atlanta" and "Louie" aren't coming back for awhile, or ever, "Legion" will most likely be my show of this whole year.

Moving away from FX and FXX, HBO has had some very good TV so far, and some of their classics are back. RD has been the biggest advocate of "The Young Pope". He has said nothing but glowing words about it. I've heard other people say how great it is too. I haven't watched it yet, but I will. My wife watched "Little Big Lies", and she loved it, as did most critics. "The Leftovers" just started its last season, and the reviews have been excellent. My mom and dad both love that show.

For the shows I actually watch on HBO. Pete Holmes' new show "Crashing" was funny and heartbreaking. This was the perfect vehicle for his comedy. The show is a comedy, but there is a lot of drama as well. It toes that line very well. "Veep" is back and it is nasty and funny and sharp as ever. "Veep" is the perfect type of show for the madness that is our current abomination of a "government". I'm very excited to see the rest of where this season takes us. "Silicon Valley" starts this Sunday and I know that it will be great because it has been great since its been on TV. I'm very pumped for that show to come back. HBO definitely has had some great TV in 2017.

I do not watch many other shows on premium cable. I did watch, and loved, "The Knick", but not much else. That is going to change in May when "Twin Peaks" comes back to TV, on Showtime. I have been catching up on the first couple of seasons to get ready for when it comes back on.

Going away from cable and getting to national TV, there are some real gems out there right now. I'm a big fan of "Trial and Error" on NBC. That show had its season finale last night. I hope it is not its series finale because that show is very funny and a perfect "Parks and Rec" or "The Office" replacement. I wrote about the show when it premiered, and I hope the brass at NBC give it a second chance. Remember, both "The Office" and "Parks and Rec" looked dead after their first season. Now, they are looked at as classics. "Brooklyn 99" is back and just as funny as it has always been. "Making History" is another new Fox show that I'm a fan of. It's about a guy with a time machine and he uses it to his advantage. Adam Pally is very funny and the supporting cast is good. I do not think it will get a second season, but if this is its only season, it will be remembered. "Last Man on Earth" is still wonderfully bizarre. "Bob's Burgers" is still doing its thing. And "The Simpsons" just continues to stay steady and be great. I do not watch CBS, but I'm sure they have some good new shows. In fact, I have heard some great things about a show called "Superior Donuts". To be honest, CBS seems like an "old person" channel. Too many procedurals and laugh track infused comedies. ABC doesn't really have any highlights either. "Modern Family" is still on, but that show has become very blah for me.

Finally, we have Netflix, and other streaming devices. This is the place to be for new TV shows. Shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, whatever, can do whatever they want. I personally do not have Hulu or Amazon, we only have Netflix, but I have heard some great things about the other streaming networks. "The Mindy Project" seems to have found a second life on Hulu. "Difficult People" gets phenomenal reviews from everyone. But, I do watch many Netflix shows. My favorite Netflix show is "Love", and season 2 was just on. I watched it all, and reviewed it, so you can go see my thoughts there. "Master of None" season 2 is coming in less than a month. The rebooted "Mystery Science Theater 3000" just released all their episodes last Friday. Marvel and DC has plenty of hit shows on Netflix, a lot of which will have their next season's premiere before 2017 is done. Streaming is the wave of the future, and right now the future looks bright.

Outside of the shows and Networks I have already mentioned, Comedy Central has a great new show, "Gorburger" on. "Detroiters" just wrapped up its first season, and that show is hilarious. "Jeff and Some Aliens" is bizarre, but very funny. Comedy Central has some good stuff that came out this year. I know the show is corny, but my wife loves "Pretty Little Liars", and their final season premiered on FreeForm last night. MTV is still plugging along with their endless run of "Teen Mom" or "16 and Pregnant".

I'm sure that I have forgot some other stuff, but the majority of what I just mentioned has been an absolute homerun and proves that 2017 may be the year for TV. If you take away anything from my piece today, please let it be that you start watching "Legion". It is a dynamite show. Keep it coming TV in 2017, you have been great to us so far.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also forgot to include the greatest reality show of all time on his list, the incomparable "Bar Rescue".

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The Problem With "Any Given Wednesday" was the Not Ready for Prime time Host

Once again, Simmons is better heard. Let it go

Bill Simmons, who I am a big, big fan of, I need to say that before I continue, has been speaking publicly lately about his show, "Any Given Wednesday" being canceled. He has been making many, many excuses for why this show just didn't work out. I wrote 2 separate pieces, one saying the show was okay, but the second talking about how it looked like it was going to be canceled. After about 3 episodes, I started to see what others were saying about the show. Simmons' takes were stale, he was not a good host, the interviews went on far too long, his schtick wasn't good for television, that we had seen him already not do great on TV when he did ESPN's pre-game basketball show, everything they said, and as I wrote earlier this week, I do not like critics, but this was one of the few times they were right. His show just did not work out, and that should have been fine. Yeah, they canceled his show, and to have that aired in public has to be a bit embarrassing, but he is a world renowned podcaster, a great sports writer and seems to know how to run a website.

But, his comments lately have left a sour taste in my mouth. He has blamed everyone but the one person who deserves the most blame, himself. He has called out the producers of the show for giving him a bad day of the week to put out a show. He claims that his takes were stale by Wednesday, and he was already behind the eight ball when compared to shows like "PTI", or stuff on Fox Sports 1. He has said he wished HBO made it a monthly instead of a weekly show. I think that is a terrible, terrible idea. Who wants to watch one show a month about sports. I love, love, love sports, but if he is complaining about having stale takes because his show is on a Wednesday, imagine how bad and old they would be on a monthly basis. All the takes he would have given had his show been monthly would have been talked about a million times over before he released the episodes. And who only does one show a month? That is just a dumb idea.

He has also blamed the viewers for not watching his show enough. Well, when the show is not that good, why would you expect viewers to continue to tune in? The only thing that he had on his show that was even close to being remotely viral was Ben Affleck's drunken take on deflategate, and that was incredibly uncomfortable to watch. Other than that, he had boring interviews with people like Aaron Rodgers, Seth Rogen, Ricky Williams, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, basically everyone that he had on the show was not that good, except for Vince Staples. I actually want Staples to get his own show, because I think that would work out very, very well. He was funny and comfortable on screen. But, juxtapose that to how uncomfortable Simmons looked and it made for bad television.

To blame the company that gave you a humongous contract after the whole ESPN thing, that is childish, and you seem to be poking the bear. Don't publicly call out HBO because they will bury you. It is not their fault that your television show did not work, it was your fault Bill Simmons. You can also still do other things for HBO, so I say again, stop complaining about them in public.

Simmons can do something like "30 For 30" for HBO, and make it even better. HBO has to have more money than ESPN, and I'm pretty sure that HBO has more viewers than ESPN. I watch HBO a whole hell of a lot more than I watch ESPN. I'd love to see you do sports documentaries for HBO. I think that would be awesome. You could make real documentaries too, that don't need commercials for funding, or anything like that. That is where you should put your focus instead of complaining about how everyone but you ruined your show.

All this brings me to my main point for today. You and you alone Bill Simmons were the reason that "Any Given Wednesday" did not work. You just do not seem to have what it takes to be a host of a TV show, and that is okay. But, this blaming of everyone else is childish and immature. Take the blame. You have so many other money making ventures, just bite the bullet on your show being canceled, and let it go. I love your podcast, but I'm getting annoyed that you have to bring up all the reasons that don't involve you being a bad host as to why your show was canceled. The most simple explanation is usually the right one, and the simplest reason is that you were bad on TV.

I almost feel like you are doing this just to have some kind of "hot take". That should embarrass someone of your caliber because you should be above the "hot take". "Hot takes" are for someone like me, a blogger for a small, but up and coming website.

"Any Given Wednesday" was a bad show and it was because of you Bill Simmons. It was nobody's fault but your own, and until you own up to that, people are going to continue to call you out, no matter how much you complain in public. I'll still listen and read your stuff because I like your podcast and your writing, but some people just aren't made for TV, and you are, unfortunately for you, one of those people.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Here is old sports takes on the X Millennial Man mini episodes. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

"Westworld" is the Apple Pencil of Television Shows

Still better than the high tech version.

HBO premiered the long in production "Westworld" television show last Sunday (October 2nd), and the internet has gone nuts. The AV Club, IO9, EW, Time, all the usual suspects who love any HBO show predictably gave "Westworld" high marks. These are the same critics that loved "Vinyl", "John from Cincinnati", and "The Newsroom", so take their advice with caution. Critics at Vox, the Washington Post, and the New York Times were not as praiseworthy, but still found round about ways to find value in watching week to week. Similar to when Apple announces a new product, the zealots overtly praise and everyone else highlight what is good while trying to explain away what is bad. HBO is the Apple of television, and "Westworld" is its Apple Pencil.

Here at SeedSing, we did not receive the first four episodes of "Westworld" like the outlets mentioned. We can only review the show based on the pilot episode "The Original". The first fifteen minutes were amazing. In this introduction we are introduced to James Marsden Teddy Flood. Flood is waking up on a train completing its journey to the old west theme park of the future. As the audience, we know that Flood s heading to a theme park, so no explanation is needed. The false vistas of the old west and the town of Sweetwater look incredible. "Westworld" has the best set design and cinematographers in television. Flood passes a few archetypes of the American old west, the potential of a mid town dual, the sheriff's posse assembling to take out the outlaw, the prostitutes offering their special services. Teddy Flood has no interest in any of these things, he is here to meet back up with a girl. 

The girl is Dolores Abernathy, played expertly by Evan Rachel Wood. It is quite obvious that Dolores is one of the androids, or "hosts" as they are called by the staff. Teddy seems to be playing out a romantic story line with Dolores, and "Westworld" kicks off with a little bit of hope.

That hope does not last long once we get back to the Abernathy ranch. Outlaws have killed Dolores's mother and father. The outlaws drink milk, like all creepy people do. Teddy draws his pistol and guns down the outlaws, playing out the story to be the hero. Then we get a glimpse of the unnamed, dressed in all black, Ed Harris character. Harris is not a good man, and Teddy Flood has his weapon ready to take the evil man down. Here the story takes a turn, Harris is seemingly a guest and Teddy Flood is revealed to be a host. Hosts cannot kill the guests. The Westworld park exists to allow people to live out their fantasies, no matter how depraved, with the hosts as the guests tools. Harris kills Teddy and takes Dolores to barn so he can rape her. "Westworld" had our attention after this great opening.

Once we get an inside look at the behind the scenes brains behind the park, "Westworld" goes off the rails. Jeffery Wright's Bernard Lowe and Luke Hemsworth's Stubbs was ok, and the brief scenes with Anthony Hopkins's Dr. Robert Ford were pretty good, but the scenes with Sidse Babett Knudsen and Simon Quaterman were downright terrible. They may be good actors, but every time Knudsen and Quaterman were on screen, I almost turned off the television. Their dialogue was awful, and their delivery was even worse. No amount of pretty scenery can make up for cringe inducing moments "Westworld" devoted to Knudsens's corporate stooge Theresa Cullen and Quaterman's  guest experience writer Lee Sizemore.

"Westworld" gives us these terrible performances because it is trying so damn hard to be an edgy HBO show. Gratuitous lesbian kiss with no meaning, check. Copious amounts of violence and unnecessary nudity, well of course they have it. Liberal use of the "f" word, hey it's HBO. We are by no means against these things, when there is a point. Outside of the violence, none of these other HBO show staples had any purpose other than to be shocking. "Game of Thrones" did not win multiple Emmy's because of nudity, but the creators behind "Westworld" seem to think that is part of the recipe. It was distracting and took away from the show when one has to question why someone is nude, and how many times can Quarterman say the "f" word until it is a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb? The promising beginning of "Westworld" was completely undone by the distracting need for the show to be an "HBO show".

The bad performances and distracting edginess is not even the worse part of "The Original". The music of the show will make you miss key plot points. Many other writers have praised "Westworld" for using modern tunes like "Black Hole Sun" and "Paint it Black" rearranged as being played on an old 19th century player piano, but it was a bad choice. The music is recognizable enough to make the audience have to play name that tune while the show is trying to move the story forward. It is once again a directorial choice that was made to be edgy, and it turned out being bad.

The entire pretension of "Westworld" is also fairly weak. With the great opening scene, and the awfulness that followed, it is obvious that the show wants you to side with the hosts. Every single guest that was shown in "The Original" is a terrible human being who only wants to do terrible things. We are led to believe that the Westworld park is meant to be like a modern open world video game. It seems that the creators spent ten minutes on Xbox live and learned that anyone who plays a video game is a monster. "Westworld" gives inner life to the random NPCs (non player characters) and wants you to care about their dreams. It is an intriguing idea, but when the humans are just blank evil archetypes, the metaphor gets a little lost. Again a great idea ruined by terrible execution.

Many of the other reviews for "Westworld" urge the audience to wait the show out until the fourth episode. That is not the deal television makes with its audience. A great show should have a pilot episode that asks the audience to come back. We talked about some of these great pilots that captured our minds, for better or worse. The new "Battlestar Galactica" , another show based off of an old cheesy seventies piece of entertainment, started with a miniseries to gauge the audience's interest. If we needed four hours of "Westworld" to get involved, then producers JJ Abrams, Jonathan Nolan, and Lisa Joy Nolan should have made a miniseries first. A bad pilot can turn may people away from the next few episodes that will explain things. At least the miniseries would give people some closure after the first terrible hour.

Every year Apple unveils the newest and greatest thing mankind has ever known. Supposed tech journalist sites like The Verge, CNET, Ars Technica, and many others will give non-stop praise to anything Apple in hopes of clicks and recognition that never comes from Cupertino. In reality, many times Apple will release a new adequate piece of equipment, and sometimes they hit a huge home run. Every once in a while Apple will release something just flat out dumb. The Apple Pencil is such an item. There was no need for it. It was poorly executed, in that what good is it when Apple has been telling how great your fingers are for doing things. It was a copy of things done better before. It looked pretty, but had nothing to make it essential. The zealots fell for it, everyone else quickly forgot. "Westworld" is the Apple Pencil of television.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He talks a big game but may end up giving "Westworld" a few more episodes. It is really pretty like his Apple Pencil.

SeedSing is funded by a group of generous donors. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

"Vice Principals" is Another Great HBO Comedy

Something new and funny is flying into your tv antenna

I know that I'm about five days late, but Danny McBride and Jody Hill have done it again people. Their new show, "Vice Principals", premiered last Sunday, July 17th, but my DVR got all messed up from the storms I wrote about last week, so I finally got to see the premiere yesterday. It was almost as good as their premiere of the all time great TV show, "Eastbound and Down", almost.

"Vice Principals" opened on Bill Murray, who I believe is only in the first episode, as a principal of a high school and that day was his last at the school. He was getting ready to raise the flag one more time and he was chatting with two of his employees, played by Walter Goggins and the great, criminally underrated Danny McBride. They were all cordial at first, but as the conversation dragged on, you could see that Goggins and McBride's characters hate each other. They are literally enemies. When Bill Murray has had enough of the fighting, he makes the two of them perform the pledge of allegiance, all with his back turned, and the quiet back and forth between McBride and Goggins was classic Jody Hill and Danny McBride's comedy writing. The two were fighting, flipping each other off and insulting each other, basically all with their eyes and gestures. Very few words, other than the pledge, are spoken during this first scene.

We then cut to a fight happening inside the school. McBride is the vice principal, and he is the first administrator to see the fight. He goes to break it up, and while doing so, he gets punched in the face. He takes the three kids involved in the fight into his office to hand down punishment. If this wasn't on HBO, it would have been a cut and dry suspension scene, but since it is HBO, and they can be uncut, McBride goes off on these kids. He's calling them names, swearing at them the whole time and hands down a very by the book high school punishment, but the way McBride delivers the lines, it is so funny and so hilarious.

We later come to realize why McBride and Goggins hate each other. We see Goggins at a lunch table with all the other administrators and other teachers, and he is the coolest, most fun person for the to be around. McBride, on the other hand, has no friends at the school, except for the lunch staff, that only seems to tolerate him. He is talking to one of the workers about how much he hate Goggins and that he is so much cooler than him. Again, classic Danny McBride stuff. We also learn a bit later in the episode that McBride has a daughter and is divorced from his first wife, played by Bijou Phillips. The back and forth between them, while watching their daughter take horse riding lessons, is very funny and kind of uncomfortable . It is only made more funny by the fact that Bijou Phillips new boyfriend is a very nice guy that wishes well to McBride all the time.

McBride assumes that he is going to get the principal job, so he tells his ex wife, her boyfriend and his daughter, that he is going to be named principal the next day. His ego is only more inflated when he gets home and has a message from the school saying that they made a decision, and they want to see him in the office in the morning. The next morning, when he arrives at school, he parks in the principals spot and proceeds to the office, sits in the desk and gives Goggins a piece of his mind, because he assumes he is the principal now. But, we come to see that not only did McBride not get the job, but neither did Goggins, or anyone else at the school. They hired a principal from another school with incredibly awesome credentials.

McBride is crushed. He tries to get the administrators and teachers to sign a petition to get the new principal fired, to no avail. He tries to organize a student walkout, to no avail. He sends an open letter to the school board to get rid of the new principal, to no avail. Everything he tries, it doesn't work. He arrives home from work that first day, after getting the hammer from the new principal, and his daughter and his ex wife's boyfriend are throwing him a surprise party. He has to explain to them that he didn't get the job, but his daughter and ex wife's boyfriend, are so complimentary and supportive of him. That scene is one of the best in the entire pilot episode.

Later in the episode as McBride is on duty as basically a crossing guard, we come to see that Goggins, who has been acting like a total gentleman and getting on the new principal's good side the whole episode, dislikes her as much as McBride does. They both want to take her down. They decide to join forces to get this new principal fired. Goggins character said it perfectly, "She is your enemy. You are my enemy and she is my new enemy, so my old enemy has a new enemy, making my old enemy my new friend. Let's join forces". They high five and the credits roll.

I cannot wait to watch more "Vice Principals". Danny McBride is playing a classic Danny McBride character, which he excels at doing. He is a dreamer in a crummy situation, trying to make it sound much nice than it really is. McBride thrives at this kind of stuff. Goggins, who we didn't get a whole lot from in the pilot episode, until the end, is going to be great on this show. He is a menacing, yet very funny actor who I was late on the bandwagon to. I really enjoy him in everything he does, and "Vice Principals" looks like it will be another homerun for Goggins. This show is going to be great. Danny McBride and Jody Hill are great comedy writers. And this is the type of show that HBO excels at doing. I cannot wait for more, and if it turns out to be 1/10 as good as "Eastbound and Down" was, "Vice Principals" will be great. I love this show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He visted the vice principal's office many times in high school due to being too real. Follow Ty's realness on twitter @tykulik.

Bill Simmons is Back with "Any Given Wednesday"

There is some new TV in the air

Last night, Bill Simmons new show, "Any Given Wednesday" premiered on HBO. This show was a long time coming for me. I'm a very big Bill Simmons fan. I like his takes. He is one of the most knowledgeable NBA writers on the planet. He isn't afraid to attack morons like Roger Goodell. And he seems like a pretty genuine, cool person.

I watched the show this afternoon, and it was just fine. I don't know why I was expecting it to be like "Real Sports", which is a great show, but I thought it as going to be more like that. "Any Given Wednesday" is the opposite of a show like "Real Sports". "Any Given Wednesday" is sports and pop culture, mixed with elements of comedy. There is no panel on this show. Simmons has people come on and talk, but it is more interview and less talking head type stuff. What the show all boils down to is, it is a live taping of his podcast. The show is very free flowing. There is a looseness to the show that I found refreshing. Simmons looked totally calm and in his element. The show is a perfect way to get his view across.

Last night, he had Charles Barkley come on to talk about LeBron James. Simmons asked, after doing a great opening monologue about why he now thought James belonged in the conversation as the best NBA player ever, and Barkley shut that notion down immediately. Barkley is definitely stuck in his old view of the NBA, but that is one of the many things that makes Charles Barkley so great. I personally agree with Simmons. I think LeBron is a top 5 all time player, but I liked hearing Barkley say he had to win a couple of more championships before he would put him past Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. I also enjoyed Barkley letting Simmons, the studio audience and everyone watching know that his top five all time players will never change. He is set in his way. Barkley seemed just as comfortable as Simmons was, even when Simmons pushed him on stuff like Barkley holding Larry Bird's arms back so Dr. J could punch him in the face, or Barkley's many past gambling stories. After the Barkley interview, Simmons did a kind of funny spoof on the Under Armor and Steph Curry commercials. There was some decent humor in it, but it was just okay. The commercial Simmons and his writers created was a very funny closing bit to the joke.

Then, Simmons had another one on one interview with Ben Affleck. They talked about the Batman stuff and what drove Affleck to becoming a director, but when Simmons brought up the Patriots and Tom Brady and "deflategate", Affleck went off. This was at times funny and very revealing. Affleck is a true sports fan and a true Boston fan. This dude loves Tom Brady and thinks, like most of the sports watching public, that "deflategate" is so dumb and so unimportant. His speech was impassioned. I recommend people seeking it out on the internet to watch, it is bizarre and telling. I know that I was enthralled.

Once Affleck has done speaking the truth, Simmons did his first of what I'm sure will be a weekly segment, where he gave the "championship belt" to the best thing of the week. This week was the year 2016 and how it has become so unpredictable. He mentioned the Cavs winning the title, the fact that the Cubs have the best record in baseball and that he now has his own show on HBO, among other things. I very much enjoyed this part of the show. Like I said, it was basically a live taping of his podcast, and that is a good thing, in my opinion.

I will be curious to see how future episodes attack sports and pop culture news. I also hope, at some point, he goes off on ESPN. I know he did that recently in a magazine interview, but I want to see him do it live on his TV show, curse words and all, since it is on HBO. I also hope he brings on some of his recurring guests from his podcast for face to face interviews. I don't think it will happen, but I'd love to see Jalen Rose and Zach Lowe on his show, but they both work for ESPN. He can have his buddy Joe House on, or Chuck Klosterman or even more famous NBA players, like Charles Barkley. Anyway, it was a decent premiere of a show that I will watch every week because I am a Bill Simmons fan. Don't go into "Any Given Wednesday" expecting "Real Sports", it is a totally different show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He may not have the slurred passion of Ben Affleck, but Ty is also not a fan of "deflategate". Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Final Days of ESPN

ESPN headquarters circa 2020

I think I need to take a moment today to talk about the mass exodus that is happening at ESPN right now.

I've been known to bash on ESPN on this site, but that's because they are an incompetent network that hires stupid people. They also act like they are the biggest and best thing since sliced bread. That was true about 25 years ago, but times have changed and ESPN refuses to keep up with that. They have barely changed anything about themselves since the internet has basically taken over the world. The only big difference that I have noticed, yes I still watch, but it's an anger watch, is the new set. They also have people hosting their own versions of "SportsCenter", but it's still pretty much the same. The higher ups at the company are either oblivious, or they just don't care, about the changing culture.

Nowadays, almost everything is done on the internet. I wouldn't be able to write if it weren't for the internet. In fact, a lot of people wouldn't have made it without the internet. But, ESPN doesn't seem to care. I wonder if they think it is a fad, or something that will just disappear. Sorry to break the news, but being the millennial writer and podcaster on this site, the internet is no fad and it will only continue to get bigger and bigger. I can't even fathom what it will be like when my kids are my age.

That's another thing, ESPN refuses to get with the times, what with live streaming now. Hell, if I want to watch a Michigan football, basketball or even a baseball game, I can see it in real time on the BTN2Go app. ESPN claims to have a live stream, but you have to pay for the stream, or they just have the "live" stream that is just some random person writing down what happens on each play, waiting what seems like an hour to write it, and the game is so far behind when they finally give you the info. For example, after my daughter was born, I had to watch a Michigan-Northwestern football game on my phone and I started with the ESPN "live stream". It was incredibly bad. I was getting zero updates. I couldn't find out which team had the ball or what they were doing. My dad asked me how the game was going and I could not give him a proper answer. After dealing with this nonsense for almost a half an hour, my older brother told me to go to the BTN2Go app. I downloaded it, searched the game, found it immediately, and was even able to watch it on my iPhone in a hospital room. Side note, Michigan thumped Northwestern that day. When I finally got to see the game, the first quarter was just about over and they were up 21-0. So, why does a channel, BTN, that has only been around for about 15 years have a better app and better internet capabilities that a company, ESPN, that's been around for 35 plus years? That is absolutely insane.

I think the "talent" at ESPN is starting to realize that the company will not get with the times and they have no chance of advancing any further than they already have. Sure, they fired Bill Simmons after he deservedly crushed Roger Goodell, but I guarantee that, had HBO came in and made an offer before he was let go, he would have left in a heart beat. Simmons outgrew that place, so instead of letting him leave on his own terms, they decided they would save face and fire him. That completely backfired on ESPN. Simmons has throngs of fans, me included, that will follow him to whatever network he goes to. They also decided, after letting Simmons go, it was time to shut down Grantland. Another huge mistake from ESPN. They lost a ton of great writers after doing this. Most of those writers are back with Simmons now. Grantland was huge for ESPN, but they wanted to rid themselves of everything Bill Simmons, and that was idiotic. Simmons and his staff write for the younger generation and, as I've said, we will follow him and his writers anywhere. I'm pumped for his show on HBO, I'm an avid listener of his podcast and I have subscribed to and follow The Ringer, his new site, on Twitter. 

Then, there was the news that Mike Tirico was leaving to go to NBC. This is a huge problem for ESPN. While Mike Tirico may not be the nicest, most pleasant person to be around, he was a crucial member of their staff. He was the co anchor on "Monday Night Football". He called big time college football games. He called NBA games. He was huge in college basketball. I mean, the guy is a jack of all trades. And the people at ESPN just lost him. I was legitimately shocked when I read that he was leaving. I don't know who they will replace him with, but I will bet it will someone who is incredibly under qualified.

Hell, they are even losing "journalist" that are not even mediocre, they are terrible. Last year they lost the racist piece of human garbage, Colin Cowherd. And now, the most moronic, nonsensical, I think I'm right because I'm the loudest, idiot Skip Bayless is leaving to join Cowherd at Fox Sports. This gives me a newfound hatred for Fox Sports, but damn, they can't even keep terrible people over at ESPN. Skip Bayless is a flat out dummy. The guy says some of the dumbest things I've ever heard on TV. Some, wait, everything he says is filled with stupidity and an arrogance that he should never, ever have. He is so dumb and so out of his mind. This is a guy that has said that Tim Tebow is an all time great QB, if you need a reference at how truly moronic he is. But, he too is leaving ESPN. I cannot believe they couldn't keep him on board. I wouldn't be shocked if the equally stupid and equally loud Stephen A Smith is the next to go. Yeah, they let Lou Holtz go, but he is about a million years old, so not a very big deal. Sure, they let Mark May go a year ago, but he is so much better off where he is now. They let Robert Smith go, but he was pretty good on TV and I'm sure he will find a job soon. And, after repeated racial slurs and racially insensitive things he put on the internet, they finally let Curt Schilling go.

Therein lies a huge problem for ESPN. If you bad mouth the NFL, a la Bill Simmons calling out Goodell, you get fired immediately. But, it took Schilling being incredibly racist, homophobic and mysoginistic many times before they actually fired him. Bill Simmons says one bad thing about the NFL, boom, he's gone. But, it's not until Schilling takes the side of the backwards ass people in North Carolina, he agreed with them that transgender people shouldn't be able to use the bathroom with the gender they now identify with, to fire him. Schilling is a horrible excuse for a human being. It's a travesty that it took ESPN that long to fire him. And what a crock from people that claim to be forward thinking.

It's just a matter of time now before everyone leaves ESPN, or they just shut down because they refuse to keep up with the change in the world. ESPN is an inept network and that ineptness will soon catch up to them.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does not remember the early days of ESPN, but he sure remembers the last days. The network ended in 2006 if he recalls correctly. Ty is on the internet, follow him on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Really Dislikes the Smell of "Entourage The Movie"

This is the only action you should take when presented with "Entourage The Movie"

Every year around this time HBO gets some of the "bigger" movies that were in the theaters less than one year ago. One such movie that I came across last night was "The Entourage Movie".

So, let's get this out of the way right off the top, I loved the first three seasons of that show. That was appointment viewing TV. I loved the concept, I thought the actors were funny, and who was better than Ari Gold? No one, that's who. Then, the show became pretty stale and very repetitive. I also grew up and realized that the show just wasn't as good as I previously thought it to be. I was in my mid twenties by season four, and I realized that this was a fantasy show. This was Mark Wahlberg's life and only Mark Wahlberg can relate to his own life. The show became immediately unrelatable by season four. I didn't care about Vinny getting the role  in the fake Aquaman movie. I didn't care about E becoming a manager. I didn't care about Johnny Drama doing whatever stupid shit he was already doing and I never truly cared about Turtle at all. He was the worst of the four main actors. He had no reason to be there, other than the fact that he was the chubby friend that they could make fun of, that's it.

Although my love for "Entourage had passe, I'd be lying if I didn't say that my curiosity for the movie was peaked when I saw that it was on HBO last night. So, I decided that I would give the movie a try. Why not I figured, maybe it would be kitschy and maybe after all these years, they'd be in on the joke of how ridiculous the idea for this show really is.

Then, the movie started.

Just to let everyone know, I made it through 20 minutes before I gave up on this horrible piece of garbage that these actors, directors, writers and producers made. I cannot believe that all the people involved truly thought that they put out a good piece of work. They had to know it was really, really bad, right? I hope so, but I'm not that sure.

The movie opened with Vinny on a yacht in Ibiza, Spain, so super relatable to anyone watching in their Saint Louis homes. I kid. Of course they have the obligatory shot of many topless young ladies and Johnny Drama speaks the first line of dialogue, and it's the trashiest piece of writing that I've ever heard. He speaks the line, after seeing all the beautiful young ladies on the yacht, "I'm going to have to jerk it at least once before we get to the boat". Yeah, you read that right and yeah, that made the final cut of the movie. From there on out, at least the 20 minutes I watched, was the most homophobic, mimisogynistic and the worst kind of "bro" type dialogue that has ever been on screen. It was appalling at how terrible and how awful all the dialogue and acting in this movie was. It was so, so bad. Some of the misogyny that was portrayed was pretty absurd. All the fellas are sitting down at a breakfast, or some stupid shit, and Eric has to leave to go meet his new girlfriend for breakfast, but all the guys complain that he is "pussy whipped" and ask "why won't you introduce us to this new girlfriend? Is it because she is fat? HAHAHAHA". I mean, come on, do a rewrite before putting this stuff in the ether. Some more misogyny all dealt with Vinny Chase. He gets all the girls and he "hits it and quits it", or so they say. He was married for 9 days, but they all knew that wouldn't last and when asked if they broke it off on good terms, Vinny tells them "yeah, and then we banged one more time for good measure". That is just absolutely awful writing. As I said, how does all this stuff make the final edit. Who are they appealing to with this awful dialogue. The only people who saw this and liked it, in my opinion, has to be frat boys, because frat boys are stupid.

The homophobia was also very, very strong in this movie. They are constantly making jokes at Turtle's expense, because of all the weight loss, that he now must "be gay" because of how he looks. They use the word "gay" so much in the opening act, I was offended. I jut don't get, in the 21st century, why we think we are so advanced as a society, yet this word still gets used in a negative way. The word "gay" means happy, but these script writers clearly have no idea. They use it so derogatory, it was one of, if not the, main reason I quit watching after 20 minutes. The scene where Lloyd shows up and is on the phone with Ari is so offensive, I'm surprised GLAAD hasn't come out against this movie. They may have, but I've heard nothing about it. This movie is offensive.

Moving on to the acting, it is some of the worst I've seen. Adrian Grenier as Vinny Chase is about as vapid as they come. Grenier is supposed to be this guy who cares about Earth and seems to have some kind of truly good feelings, but he is so bad in this role. He has these empty stares and he delivers lines so poorly, it feels like he is reading off cue cards. Being the "star" of this movie, he fails horribly. The guy that plays Eric is about as douchey as they come. He's supposed to be the anti Ari Gold, but he is just as bad, but not as good at his job. He is forever skirting the issue and passing the buck and he never seems to truly care about throwing himself into his new job as Vinny's manager. He is also a complete dick head to the women in his life in this movie. Eric is an awful human being. Jerry Ferrara as Turtle is about as pointless as they come. He is only there now so they can make skinny jokes about him to replace the fat ones from the TV show. You could remove Turtle from this movie and not miss a beat. It would still be awful, but Turtle is about as unimportant as they come. Jeremy Piven is fine as Ari God, but I feel like Ari is just Jeremy Piven in real life. He seems like an asshole that would constantly berate people that don't seem as important to him as they may be. He is a dick head and it's easy to portray that in a dumbass movie like this.

Then there's Kevin Dillon as Johnny Drama. Johnny Drama is the worst human being in the history of the world. He is rude, crude, ignorant and dumb as hell. He is also homophobic, the biggest chauvinist and the "bro-iest" of all the bros in this movie. Don't forget that he is probably close to his 50's in this movie when you watch it(Don't watch it). Kevin Dillon, at least in my opinion, is doing his best Andrew Dice Clay impression, but that would be a slight to Andrew Dice Clay. The Diceman, yeah I said it, at least had his moment and has been decent in some recent things he's done. Kevin Dillon is just a shitty actor and this performance reaffirms this ten fold.

"Entourage The Movie" is one of the most offensive things I've ever seen and I cannot believe that it got made, that it made millions of dollars and that some dumbass critics actually gave it a good review. This movie is absolute garbage, and I gathered that after only 20 minutes.

"Entourage The Movie" stinks.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host for the X Millennial Man podcast. He figures if "Entourage" gets a movie, where in the hell is the big screen adaptation of "Even Stevens". Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

What did Ty think of HBO's Ballers and the Brink?

Sometimes this machine does not beam garbage into your television

Last night HBO aired the season one finales of "Ballers" and "The Brink". I've written about these two shows on the site, both about their premieres.

One, "Ballers", left me wanting more during the premiere. It was a watered down version of "Entourage", and I hated "Entourage". What kept me coming back to "Ballers" was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. That guy oozes charisma and charm. He's a star because he's so easy to watch when he's on the small and big screen. Rob Corrdry is one of my favorite comic actors, so when I saw that he was in the cast, that was another point before I watched one episode of "Ballers". Then the premiere happened and some more episodes happened and then the finale happened. Nothing of importance or consequence really happened on that show. Like I said earlier, it is a watered down version of an old, crummy HBO show. There were moments, but for all intents and purposes, NOTHING truly happened. The star player got his multi million dollar contract, Dwayne Johnson and Rob Corrdry got what they wanted, enemies became friends and then season one just ended. The finale really left nothing, for me, to be desired. There's no reason or desire for me to come back for season two. A second season has already been confirmed, but I won't be watching. I gave it one season and I feel that's enough for me. "Ballers" has it's fans, but you can't count me as one of them. Best of luck to "Ballers".

"The Brink", on the other hand was great all season long. The stakes were raised each week and the finale was excellent and left me wanting more. I cannot wait for the second season. "The Brink" has been picked up for a second season as well, I believe. Tim Robbins, playing the Secretary of the State, was phenomenal. He deserves an emmy for his performance. He was rude, crude, chauvinistic, oddly lovable and the smartest guy in the room. His performance is an education in how to play smart, political humor that even novices like me can understand. He was great. Jack Black was his typical character. He was working at the US embassy in Pakistan, but he was a buffoon that didn't take his job too seriously. A typical role for him. That being said, he was good and when the stakes were high for his character, he stepped up to the plate and performed really well. One particular scene, in the finale, had him trading stories with the crazed leader of Pakistan and he plays scared, yet in control of the situation, to perfection. Aasif Mandvi was pretty great in his role as Black's driver and only true friend in Pakistan. His family was heavily involved in the show and he was at the center of all the conflict between them and Jack Black. He's a very good, underrated actor and I feel like his role on "The Brink" is perfect for him. He should be a house hold name. The next best person on this show, Tim Robbins is the number one best person, is Pablo Schrieber. He plays the Navy's best fighter pilot, but he's also a screw up with his girlfriend back home and he's a pill popping alcoholic. I had only known Schrieber from his roles on "Orange is the New Black" and the second season of "The Wire". Those were two very different roles and he played two very different types of people. On "The Brink" though, he plays a comically hilarious soldier boy and I loved every second he was on screen. He's a very good comic actor. The finale, unlike "Ballers", ended with consequence and a build up to a second season. Schrieber's fighter jet was flown into a disguised tanker that was actually a bomber about to land on Pakistan. Schrieber and his co pilot escaped the crash by ejecting from the jet and they ended up somewhere in Africa. As the finale comes to a close, you see a young African child with a goat see the damage from the planes crashing, and there's one missile left, unharmed. Next, we see what seems to be a war lord and his troops putting the missile on a truck and they drive away. The music and credits play immediately after this scene. Talk about building up the tension for the next season. It was a great finale. I'm very pumped for season two.

So, "Ballers" left me wanting more, giving me nothing and the decision by me to not return for season two. On the other hand, "The Brink" has me amped and ready for season two with a fantastic finale. HBO needs to quit with the "Entourage" clones and keep making new, interesting shows like "The Brink". "The Brink" was the standout of the two new shows that HBO premiered this summer.

Happy binge watching for those that need to catch up on HBO Go or HBO Now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and co-host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He is in search of a new (or old) show to watch. Give him some ideas and follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.