SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 9 - "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Koopa Klaus"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 9: "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Koopa Klaus"

Original air date - October 30th, 1989

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight

One of the very best things about Christmas is getting a great present. During our shopping sprees, it is inevitable to find something that you want for yourself. The desire to get that one great present usually turns into an obsession. For the few weeks leading up to Christmas, we can start to get pretty self-centered about presents. We sometimes forget about all the good feelings experienced by giving other people joy around the holds. Our selfishness can make Christmas a downright icy time of the year.

In the late 1980's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!  was there to capitalize on the sudden popularity of the Mario Bros. video games on Nintendo. Each episode started and ended with a live action adventure of Mario and Luigi with their celebrity friends in New York City. Cindi Lauper, Norman Fell, Vanna White, and many other late eighties luminaries stopped by the Mario Bothers plumbing shop. In between these live action segments was an unrelated cartoon adventure of Mario, Luigi, the Princess, and Toad in the Mushroom Kingdom. The crew was constantly thwarting the evil schemes of King Koopa and his coalition of animal like bad guys (ed note: The Mario games had not named the main bad guy Bowser yet, hence the title King Koopa).

On the day before Halloween in 1989, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! presented an animated adventure titled "Koopa Klaus". The episode starts with Mario and the crew trying to dig a tunnel to HawaiiLand. Due to Toad's terrible navigation, they end up in the North Pole of the Mushroom Kingdom. Before the heroes arrived in the snowy landscape, King Koopa froze Santa's workshop and took Father Christmas hostage. King Koopa hates Christmas for some reason and wants to destroy all the toys Santa will be delivering. Our heroes decide to visit Santa's workshop on suggestion by Toad.  He is obsessed with getting presents. The Princess decides to give Toad his present early in hopes that it calms her servant down. Upon getting his new snowboard, Toad selfishly goes off to play. He never even thanks the Princess for the thoughtful gift.

The joy of Toad and his new snowboard is short lived, because King Koopa spots the crew and decides to attack. Our heroes see that Santa is a captive in King Koopa’s sleigh, and they all decide to save the big guy. Toad agrees to help, but not for Santa’s safety, he wants to save the toys. At one point, a bob-omb hits Toad and knocks him off the snowboard. He is concerned about his new toy, and the Princess scolds him for being selfish and only thinking of himself. Mario and Luigi use some good old platform jumping, some cave chasing, and other assorted video game moves to get Santa away from King Koopa and save the day.

Saint Nick was safe, but Santa’s workshop was still frozen. Toad is beside himself because he fears there will never be any new toys for the little guy. He then feels ok because at least he got a new snowboard, who cares about anyone else. The Princess tells Toad that Christmas is a time to think of others. With the spirit of the season finally coming into focus for Toad, he gives the snowboard to Santa so at least one present will make it for a Christmas delivery. The kindness of Toad’s gift causes the ice to melt, and free Santa’s workshop. Christmas is saved in the Mushroom Kingdom, and as a reward the Mario crew got to spend the evening delivering presents to all the toads, toadettes, and maybe even a few goombas and koopas.

Getting a cool gift is awesome. What we should not forget is that the feeling we get from giving someone a cool gift is what Christmas should be about. We will spend a lot of time in shops, or on the internet, looking for some great gifts. In our searches, there will be something great that catches our heart’s desire. This is not the season to be selfish. The joy of Christmas will be felt when you give someone else their heart’s desire. If your lucky, you will get that gift so someone else can feel the true holiday spirit.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of The X Millennial Man Podcast. He is still waiting for a game to feature the rad talking late eighties Link of The Legend of Zelda cartoon series.

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

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 8 - "The Simpsons - Grift of the Magi"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 8: "The Simpsons - Grift of the Magi"

Original air date - December 19th, 1999

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven

Every holiday season there is some kind of toy that is the must have for children everywhere. We have had, going all the way back to the baby boomer's day, the pet rock. Cabbage patch kids were a big deal when I was a kid. My wife, who is one day younger than me, had to have an American girl doll. The Zu Zu pet was a big deal a few years back. There was a dancing Elmo, that also hugged you, when my son was 2. There have been hundreds of toys that are the must get. The one I remember the best was the Furby. It was some weird mixture of a hamster, a gremlin, an alien, it was just a hodgepodge of things that were fury. This was the toy to have for children. I remember searching and searching for my nieces when this toy came out.

All this leads me to a great "Simpsons" episode that I wanted to write about today for SeedSing's Advent Calendar of great holiday television episodes. The episode in particular is the one with the Funzo, but there is so much more to unfold. This is one of my all time favorite episodes of "The Simpsons". The episode starts out with Springfield Elementary being nearly shut down. They don't have enough money to keep the school going, but at the last minute a corporation comes in and saves the day. They buy out the school and replace all the teachers with their own workers. Some of the kids love this change of pace. Bart is thriving with this new staff. As he says during the episode, "teacher says I'm kicking books at a 10th grade level. But, not all students, really just Lisa, feel like they are being challenged academically. Lisa is very skeptical of this new staff. She mentions that something just doesn't feel right and questions why the guest speaker was, "Jan from marketing". At one point, she is caught doing equations, and she is disciplined with having to write on the chalkboard, a la what Bart does during the theme song.

Other things happen before Lisa gets in trouble. As I said, Bart is thriving. Milhouse, Nelson and Martin all feel like they are contributing when they are asked questions about what they like in a new toy. Ralph does not know what he is doing, as per usual, and even his new teacher, who says that there are no right or wrong answers, yells at him because she is annoyed. While the new staff is trying to figure out what kids want in a new toy, the children yell stuff like, "it needs to be cuddly", and "it needs to have lots of firepower". The corporate big wigs are very confused and frustrated because they do not know what to make. During class, when Lisa is found to be doing actual school work, the teacher asks her to suggest some names for a new toy, and the teacher wants her to use the word "fun" in the title. She says fungus, fun stuff and when she lands on Funzo, the company people love it.

Now, back to Lisa's punishment. She is writing on the chalkboard when Bart walks in and says one of the best lines ever written in television history. He proclaims to his sister, "Lisa in trouble?! The ironing is delicious!". I love this line. I say it all the time. Then Lisa corrects Bart, and as he is gloating and walking out of the room, he cuts off the lights. Lisa is annoyed, but she notices a light coming from the side of the chalkboard. She goes to explore this light and stumbles upon corporate notes and a very bare bones model of the Funzo. She is shocked by what she has found.

Immediately the Funzo becomes the toy to have. The company has made thousands of Funzo's and they sell like hot cakes. Moe and Lenny don't even wait for the store to open to buy one, they just smash the window. The corporate execs are thrilled with what they are seeing. Everyone in town wants, or already has a Funzo, even Bart. Bart loves this new toy. Lisa admits it's cute, but she says it can never replace her Malibu Stacey. At this point, while Bart is shopping for all the accessories that come with the Funzo, we come to realize that the Funzo was made to destroy all other toys. Funzo rips off Malibu Stacey's head and chokes out a talking Krusty doll, in another hilarious scene in this episode.

Bart and Lisa decide then and there that they need to tell the corporation that this toy needs to be taken off the market, and this is where this episode goes from great to classic. When Bart and Lisa show up at the office, they run into the security guard, voiced by Gary Coleman. Bart and Lisa crawl to try and get away from him. They both stop when they hear Coleman talking on a telephone, complaining that he did not get enough prawns in his Galaxy of Prawns order from a Chinese restaurant. His exact words are, "3 prawns is hardly a galaxy". Lisa continues to move on, urging Bart to come with her, but Bart says he wants to stay to see what happens. This is when we realize that Coleman is not even on the phone. In fact, the phone is unplugged. After Bart realizes this, Coleman continues with his "call", and after he is through complaining about the lack of prawns, he is on to his "conversation" with the president. When Lisa and Bart make their way to the 2 people running the company, they are both mad at Coleman, and Lindsay Nagel goes to fire him. She tells him that his service is no longer needed, and Coleman says, "What you talking about Ms. Nagel?". She loves this, calling it adorable, and tells him he is rehired. Then Coleman says, "Ha! I knew exactly what she was talking about!". Awesome.

Now Lisa and Bart are urging the company to shut down the Funzo, but they are making money hand over fist, and they bristle at this idea and tell Lisa and Bart to leave. They decide now that they need Homer's help to stop this toy from destroying every other toy. Homer happily obliges, counting the number of times he has saved and ruined Christmas. Homer goes into each home, while Bart and Lisa sing carols, and takes the Funzo from each Christmas tree. They then go to the Springfield Tire Fire to dispose of the Funzo's, but they are met by Coleman, and they all have a very long and thoughtful chat on ethics and making money the right and wrong way. When they are finally done conversing, they realize it is Christmas morning. Homer, Lisa and Bart are on their way home, and they see a sulking Coleman. It seems like he needs somewhere to go on Christmas. Homer invites him over to their house, but Coleman scoffs at first, saying he has to go to George Clooney's house. Lisa calls him out on this lie, and he ends up at the Simpsons house.

The best part is the very end of this episode. They go through the things that have happened, such as, Mr. Burns finding some extra money in his coat pocket, so he keeps the school going, and Moe shows up with a goose that he cooked, instead of ending his life by putting his head in an oven. When Moe arrives, he says that he dinged up the Jeep that is out front, and Coleman says to him, "What you talkin about Moe?", and everyone laughs. Coleman then turns to the main camera and says "What you talkin about everyone?!", and the episode ends there. It is so funny.

I love this particular episode for many reasons, but Coleman's performance is the best part, by far. This is a must watch during the holidays for me and my family, and I suggest that everyone else out there go watch this episode. It is a true classic.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He desperately wants a mini NES for Christmas. One with lots of firepower. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 7 - "The Late Show with David Letterman - December 19th, 2014 "

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 7: "The Late Show with David Letterman - December 19th 2014"

Original air date - it is right there in the title.

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

Every year around Christmas we listen to the same songs and watch the same television shows. We all have our traditions, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. These little bits of holiday pop culture sometimes get us into the right mood during a cold December night. These annual traditions help us look back to other pleasant times we experienced during the holiday season. There is a comfort in looking forward to that one thing that makes our holiday season extra special.

David Letterman once famously said that it is not the Christmas until he hears Darlene Love sing that song. The song in question is the new standard (Christmas) Baby Please Come Home. Vanity Fair has a great oral history of how Darlene Love ended up on Letterman for almost thirty years singing her iconic song. That first appearance in 1986 was simple, and without pomp, but a beloved holiday tradition was born.

Because this song was - and still is - my favorite rock Christmas song ever, I was so elated back in Dec. 1986 when I heard David Letterman say "tomorrow night's guests include...Darlene Love to sing Christmas Baby Please Come Home".

The small band, and ugly holiday sweaters, had nothing on Phil Spector's iconic Wall of Sound, but Darlene Love still slayed with her vocals. Since that appearance, Darlene Love, Paul Shaffer, and David Letterman made (Christmas) Baby Please Come Home a fixture on Late Night, and then The Late Show. Only a writers strike would stop the trio from letting Letterman start Christmas. Many even believe that Love's Late Show appearances helped her finally, rightfully so, get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On December 19th, 2014, Darlene Love performed (Christmas) Baby Please Come Home for the last time on The Late Show. In May of 2015, David Letterman retired from the late night game. Everyone knew that the December 19th performance was going to be the last, and nothing was held back. The four-piece backing band of 1986 was replaced by a horn section, strings, backup singers, and Paul Shaffer on a grand piano. Love even decided to belt out the last few lines on top of the piano because she was afraid of breaking down when Letterman came to give her a hug. The 2014 performance of (Christmas) Baby Please Come Home was an epic curtain call for a singer, a talk show host who was a fan, and the viewers that counted on Darlene Love to usher in the holidays every year on late night television.

Darlene Love's final performance of "Christmas, Baby Please Come Home" on The Late Show with David Letterman - Dec 18, 2014.

Our holiday traditions are something to be celebrated. Listening to the same songs, or watching the same tv specials, is what makes December a great time. We all have that one special pop culture thing that gets us in the right Christmas mood. David Letterman had Darlene Love sing that song. We were truly lucky to share this tradition with Mr. Letterman.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The holidays do not start for him until he hears Linus and Lucy.

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

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 6 - "The Wonder Years: Christmas"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 6: "The Wonder Years: Christmas"

Original air date, December 14th, 1988

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five

We all wanted that one perfect gift for Christmas. Many times that gift was made by Nintendo. In the mid-eighties there was the original NES, 2006 saw the Wii, and in 2016 we are all out desperately searching for the original NES once again. There was the Furby, Cabbage Patch Dolls, and Tickle Me Elmo that drove people crazy during past holiday shopping sprees. Sometimes we wanted that perfect gift to be a big purchase we have been holding off on. A new car, a big vacation, or even the latest and greatest in television technology could be the gift that makes that particular Christmas the most memorable ever. That big gift would consume much of our holiday spirit.

In 1988, "The Wonder Years" was early in it's second season. The show was coming off a Best Comedy series Emmy and was quickly being recognized as one of the must-watch shows on all of television. Baby boomers loved the nostalgia, and gen xers loved the characters. Kevin, Paul, Wayne, Jack, Norma, and of course Winnie Cooper were people we wanted to spend time with. The third episode of the second season was to be the first of many Christmas-themed stories.

"Christmas" starts off with Kevin, Wayne, and Norma marveling at the new color televisions on display at the local store. They have decided that for this Christmas, color tv is at the top of their wish list. Throughout the entire episode, the members of the Arnold clan find their own way to convince patriarch Jack that a color television would make this Christmas extra special. Jack acts in his normal sensible way, but at one point he even admits to wanting a color television. Is the price worth it, or even feasible, is what troubles Jack. Reality is not on display for the rest of the Arnold's, and the color television becomes the obsession for Christmas.

Kevin Arnold is not only entranced by the hope of color tv, he also is still pining for Winnie Cooper. While daydreaming of a moment with Winnie, she approaches Kevin to present the young man with a Christmas present. Her only wish is that Kevin wait until Christmas to open the gift. This moment drives the smitten younger Arnold to find a perfect gift for Winny. He and Paul end up at a mall so Kevin can find the right perfume for Miss Cooper. After many attempts, he settles for a simple snow globe. In Kevin;s mind, getting a gift is what really matters.

Like any good episode of "The Wonder Years", the third act reveals the folly of Kevin's thoughts. When delivering his gift to Winnie, Kevin learns her family has decided to suddenly leave town and not spend Christmas at home. In the pilot episode of "The Wonder Years", we learn that Winnie's brother Brian was killed in Vietnam. This was to be the Cooper's first Christmas at home without their son, and they decided to spend the holidays elsewhere. Later, Kevin catches up with his color tv obsessed family as the sing Christmas carols. In the middle of song, it starts to pour down rain on the Arnold clan. All the anxiety of the holidays washes away as Jack breaks out into uncontrollable laughter. The rest of the family joins the father, and Kevin realizes what real memories are made on Christmas. The best memories of the holidays come from being together and experiencing the unexpected. Wanting something does not make for Christmas magic, experiencing something does. We learn that the family did not get their color tv that year, but nobody cared. Winnie's gift to Kevin was a simple four leaf clover and the wish of luck in the upcoming year. This Christmas was memorable because of what was unexpected, and welcomed.

There is a very good chance that most of us will not get that new car, big vacation, or mini classic Nintendo this Christmas. Right now in early December we may hope for the unexpected, and unreasonable, to happen. Really though, chances are that the perfect gift we have in mind now will not appear on Christmas morning. The thing is that we will not remember this holiday season for  what we did not get. Something will happen, unexpectedly, that will put this Christmas into our own personal history books. We just have to let those events come to us.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is still interested in that mini NES. It would be an unexpected surprise to find one this holiday season.

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

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 5 - "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 5: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

Original air date, December 6th, 1964

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four

Let's talk about Rudolph.

Usually I will talk about how our modern holiday struggles / joys relate to the television special I am writing about. Not today. Why? Well, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has no connection to what we see during our 21st-century pursuit of the perfect December. It is frankly an outdated story, with a message that is detrimental to the growth of society at large. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" should be an embarrassing relic of a confused time long ago, yet there is still so much charm to the television special. That charm is why we return every year to the tale of a mutant freak who one time saved Christmas.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" premiered on December 6th, 1964. It was already a well-known commodity due to the popular song that was based on a famous poem from 1939. The famous animated talents of Rankin and Bass gave Rudolph and his friends their iconic, beloved, look. The hour-long special holds the distinction of being the longest continuing broadcast Christmas special in the history of television. Multiple generations of kids and adults have been subjugated to the great look, and terrible lessons, of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

The story of the Rudolph is filled with red flags. We have the father, Donner, telling his young son to hide his differences. We have the kids, and the gym teacher, laughing and excluding Rudolph. We have the benevolent dictator that is Santa Claus being angry and disappointed in Donner for creating a non-acceptable specimen for his sleigh engine. Hermey the elf not having a choice in life, he must be a toy making slave. The island of misfit toys being an excuse to discard anything not normal. The victory for the Island of junky toys is for kids around the world to be gifted defective gifts. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is an hour of terrible lessons to teach children. 

Yet, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" has become must watch in many families homes during the holiday season. The animation is awesome, and iconic, so that may be the reason. The song is catchy and part of our culture, that could be the ticket. I think the reason Rudolph persevere is because of it's archaic nature. Not accepting people is from a time we have gladly left behind. In 1964 Donner and Santa may have seemed normal, today they are downright comical. If Hermey wants to try something else, we celebrate that. The U.S.A. has long past the time of racist, uncaring, blowhards being the leaders we look to for guidance (ed. note: We wrote this sentence on November 7th of 2016.) We watch Rudolph because we know the red nosed reindeer, and his wanna be dentist buddy, will win at the end. They represent the society we evolved into away from. We rejected the idiots of Donner and Santa. Rudolph is our victory trophy.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" will always be a part of my holiday viewing pleasure. I am old enough to see the terrible lessons, but still love the music. Children everywhere will watch it for the first time, and question the behavior of their beloved Santa, but they will fall in love the iconic imagery. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is like an Ayn Rand novel, something filled with awesome imagery and terrible lessons. It is part of our holidays, for better or worse. Plus, Yukon Cornelius is all kinds of awesome.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. This holiday season he only wishes for silver and gold. Want to help out? You can.

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

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 4 - "M*A*S*H: Death Takes A Holiday"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 4: "M*A*S*H: Death Takes a Holiday"

Original air date, December 15th, 1980

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three

Christmas memories affect people in different ways. Some remember great joy during the holiday season. Some remember anxiety about the financial demand that Christmas puts on people. Most people experience a mixture of these two memories, along with a whole bunch of other happy / sad feelings. Others look at Christmas as a particular special day . We want everyone to be happy, healthy, and think only of joy. We do not want to think about death and starvation.

In December of 1980, M*A*S*H was one of the most watched shows on television and had recently passed 200 episodes. The adventures of the 4077th often time mixed comedy and drama. On the 15th of December, "Death Takes a Holiday" would be remembered as a great piece of television because of the serious nature of the episode.

The staff and doctors of the 4077th are getting ready to throw a Christmas party for a local orphanage. After learning that the food for the party was lost in an enemy attack, the MASH decide to donate their own food gifts from home to the meal. Everyone is a good sport except for Maj Charles Winchester, who donates very little. Charles was always seen as being snooty, so the rest of the unit believe he is just being a typical Scrooge.

What everyone else does not know is that Charles is upholding a family tradition in anonymously donating his chocolate bars to a needy charity. The Major later finds out that the orphanage sold his fancy chocolate on the black market. Charles is upset and confronts the director of the orphanage, but understands that the chocolate was worth a lot of money, and now the orphanage can afford rice and other staples for many meals. Maj Winchester wanted to give the kids joy on Christmas, but is satisfied to know that his gift allowed for a longer survival for the charity.  

The party itself is good fun, but some are absent because a mortally wounded soldier is brought into the MASH. Hawkeye, BJ, and Margaret are tending to the soldier, and quickly figure out that the man will not live. The group also find out that the man has a wife and young children. It is assured the man will die, but Hawkeye, BJ, and Margaret make a vow to keep the soldier alive until Christmas has passed. They did not want the man's children to remember Christmas as the day their father died.

The surgery is not going well for the mortally wounded soldier, and he dies just before the end of Christmas Day. Hawkeye goes to the clock and moves the hands until it is after midnight. He announces the death as 12:05 am, December 26th. Margaret says she has never falsified a record, and one of the doctors says she should, he informs the group that Christmas should be a time of birth. The group kept their promise to the dying man.

Terrible things happen to people every day. Many of us use Christmas Day as that oasis away from the hurt in the world. Christmas should be a day of birth, and joy, and togetherness. Unfortunately reality cannot use that one day to save starving orphans, or give a young father the chance to watch his kids grow up. What Christmas can give us are happy memories that will carry us through the bad times. The orphans will remember that an anonymous donor gave them months of food, and a family will remember that their father/husband held on for one more Christmas Day. Those memories will make Christmas special.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. 

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

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 3 - "Saved By the Bell: Home for Christmas Part 1 and 2"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 3: "Saved By the Bell: Home for Christmas Part 1 and 2" Original air date, December 7th and 14th, 1991

Opened Doors: One, Two

Going to the mall during the holiday season has its ups and downs. It is always very crowded, people are downright rude, and there are cheesy Christmas activities going on everywhere. Santa is patiently attending to thousands of scared, or overly greedy, children every single weekend. All the stores are playing the same holiday standards you were sick of decades ago. Untrained, seasonal, workers slow down the cash registers at stores people only visit in December. And if you are lucky, there will be a half-assed holiday pageant or play going on near the food court. Nine times out of ten, this production is an extremely loose interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol".

In the early 1990's, the gang from Bayside High taught the gen xers and millennials the important lessons of the late 20th century. Lessons like staying away from caffeine pills, be nice to the hot girl in a wheelchair, and should you use dope? Nope. The lesson on two Saturdays in December was about how homeless people are real. 

Home for Christmas was a two-part episode that took place entirely away from Bayside and The Max. Due to this geographic change, there is no Mr. Belding to be seen in this extended adventure. Instead we have the kids all hanging out at a local mall for a variety of reasons. Kelly is working at a mens store to make some extra money. Jessie assisting Santa as one of his elves. Slater is wrapping presents, very poorly. Zack and Screech are not being employed, but they are still hanging around because Zack's mom is getting ready to put on a mall production of "A Christmas Carol". Lisa is volunteering at a hospital, but she also finds plenty of time to get away and join the crew. Shenanigans were about to start.

The craziness gets started when Zack and Screech discover an extremely well put together homeless man shaving in the mall bathroom. Later, on a date with a girl he just met, Zack remarks unkindly about the homeless man. The new girl promptly storms out. The whole crew becomes obsessed with the encounter with the homeless man. The girl Zack pissed off also happens to work at the same store with Kelly. Storylines start to connect after Zack sees the new girl wolf down a basket of fries. She was eating like an animal, not a classy early 90's socal teenager. We learn that the homeless man and the girl are father and daughter. This Christmas was about get real in Bayside California.

The story progresses like any other good Saved By the Bell. The crew discover a problem, hijinks ensue, a lesson gets learned, and our new friends get a better shot in life. There is the Scrooge-like character of the mens shop owner, the bratty kid who kicks Jessie, and the women rightfully upset about Slaters bad gift wrapping job. All of these people exist in large quantities in the real world, but in the Saved By the Bell world we have the Bayside crew to make it all better. The Scrooge discovers the Christmas spirit, the gang learns a lesson, and the homeless people get to live in the Morris house until next episode. A true god bless us everyone. 

Even if you do all of your holiday shopping online, and you should, it is always fun to get out to the local mall. The people are usually terrible, the kids are brats, and there may be less desirable homeless people in the bathrooms, but the Holidays are alive and well in these retail wastelands. The malls are also filled with teenagers, and some of them may be well meaning. If they lack in empathy, maybe they will at least give you a terrible rendition of "A Christmas Carol". The memories of that awfulness will keep Christmas going all year.

Ed Note: These Holiday music article are meant to be fun. Having said that, this is the most important time of the year to help the homeless in your city. Your time and money is needed to assist your local homeless charities. Contact the United Way to find a charity in your city.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks if you are going to watch only one two-part Saved By the Bell that takes place in a mall, skip this one and watch the one where the crew buys U2 tickets.

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SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 2 - "G.I. Joe: Cobra Claws are Coming to Town"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 2: "G.I. Joe - Cobra Claws are Coming to Town" Original air date, November 7th, 1985

Opened Doors: One

The holiday season tends to see a lot of people taking much needed time off work. Many companies are shorter staffed due to the large amount of employee vacations. The people left in the office around the end of December tend to be the people who do not particularly care for the whole holiday season. They may have no families, or they may not care for the one they have. Thank goodness for these people, because without them we would have no one to do any of the needed work during the end of December. Work like defending our nation from an evil terrorist organization determined to the rule the world.

In November of 1985, the G.I. Joe cartoon presented kids with a Christmas themed episode entitled "Cobra Claws are Coming to Town". The story begins with our real American heroes transporting a bunch of toys for a charity event, and then Cobra attacks. The Joes easily repel the attack, but Cobra agent Firefly leaves something with the toys. Once back at Joe headquarters, the team is getting ready to have Christmas dinner prepared by chef extraordinaire, and heavy machine gunner, Roadblock. Shipwreck, Blowtorch, Tripwire, Dusty, and Wild Bill are a few of the Joes all on duty during this holiday season. Cover Girl remarks to Duke that the Joes are a bit undermanned because so much of the team is off for the holidays. Duke reassures the tank driver that is all good because the Joes have an awesome laser security system to keep Cobra out. Everything should be peaceful this joyous night.

Roadblock's turkey is a big hit with the Joes, even Junkyard the dog gets a leg to feast on. Unfortunately. Junkyard's buddy Mutt is not feeling very festive. Duke chalks it all up to holiday blues. While walking off the blues, Mutt is ambushed by tiny Cobra troops that hid out in the toys Firefly left after the first attack. All of the Cobra high command along with a bunch of troops were shrunk down and made it behind the laser barrier by hiding in the toys. Once free, the Cobra troops are brought back to normal size by Destro's shrinking/enlarging gun. This holiday night was not going to be silent.

What follows is a typical G.I. Joe adventure. Cobra Commander has the upper hand, and can not lose, but he does. Destro invents a world-changing weapon, and once broken, we never see it again. Shipwreck makes lewd comments about a side of beef, and Duke is no nonsense. Oh, and Shipwreck's parrot Polly is shot with Destro's gun and becomes massive. With the gun destroyed, we never get any explanation on how this highly intellectual bird is brought back to normal size. This is what us kids wanted from G.I. Joe. Knowing the familiar plot beats was half the battle.

What makes "Cobra Claws Are Coming to Town" a holiday classic is the fact that it mimics all great Christmas shows, plus we have some kick butt red on blue laser battle action. Mutt is grumpy, then he is not. Cover Girl gives Duke a little kiss on the cheek and wishes him a Merry Christmas. Shipwreck is once again left dateless, plus he has a giant bird to contend with. Cobra Commander has to spend another holiday arguing with Destro and the Baroness. "Cobra Claws are Coming Town" showed that in the world of G.I. Joe, the themes of togetherness and teamwork did not take a vacation on Christmas. Work still had to be done while the small crew enjoyed Roadblock's feast, and that work was done to the same standard as the last 50 plus encounters with Cobra.

Many people are finalizing their plans for the upcoming holiday season. Offices will be mostly empty, those left behind may have the holiday blues, and work may seem a bit dull. Do not be fooled, the enemy may have revolutionary technology, and will use it to strike when your guard is down. Just remember, your coworkers who were also left behind will be there to have your back. Teamwork will make anyone's season sunny and bright.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He kept yelling out COBRA while writing this, but was calm when he repeated Yo-Joe three times. 

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SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 1 - "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 1: A Charlie Brown Christmas. Original air date December 9th, 1965

The holiday season can be filled with angst, frustration, and depression.The terrible traffic, the non-stop advertisements, the rude people, these all make December a rough month for many people. The latest, hottest, toys are overpriced and can never be found in the stores. Idiots are on YouTube complaining about Starbucks cups. Lexus is still running those moronic ads where some idiot buys his wife a new car for Christmas, and instead of divorcing the jackass, she jumps up for joy when she spies the gauche red bow on top of the car. Many a December night, people cry out in their minds "What does it all mean".

On December 9th, 1965, CBS aired the first, of many, Peanuts holiday specials simply titled A Charlie Brown Christmas. The special was written by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schultz, based on his wildly popular comic strip. The show was an immediate hit. A Charlie Brown Christmas has been shown every year since the premier, and the program has won an Emmy and a Peabody Award. The jazz soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi was also a smash success, and created one of the most iconic holiday songs ever. Multiple generations have grown up watching, and loving, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Part of the appeal that is A Charlie Brown Christmas is in the tone of the story. Many shows that focus on Christmas are filled with joy and excitement. A Charlie Brown Christmas is slow and filled with big questions. Charlie Brown is frustrated with the Christmas season, and he acknowledges that the holidays make him depressed. Everyone around him is only interested in the commercial aspects of the holiday. Even his dog Snoopy is trying to cash in on the facade of Christmas. When Charlie Brown seeks counsel from Lucy on what to do about his depression, she informs him that his problem is that Charlie Brown is not involved enough. Lucy is saying that Charlie Brown should join the crowd and celebrate Christmas like they do.

The way Charlie Brown gets involved is by directing the other kids in a nativity play. Instead of the kids practicing for a manger scene, the world instead gets the greatest dancing ever committed to pop culture. This does not sit well with Charlie Brown, he still does not see the meaning of Christmas. Lucy continues her charitable work and urges Charlie Brown to go get a fancy, modern, tree for the play. The artifice of Christmas wins out over tradition again.

Many people will point to Linus reciting the Gospel of Luke Chapter 2, Verses 8 - 14 as the moment where A Charlie Brown Christmas reveals what the holidays really mean. I disagree. That is a powerful moment, and I am not a religious person, but the real meaning of Christmas is found in the tree Charlie Brown purchases. All the other kids are right to laugh at Charlie Brown, he purposefully bought an inferior product. The little, weak, tree did not represent the modern spirit of Christmas. It was not flashy, new, and exciting. The kids wanted a tree that matched their dancing, and their dancing was crazy.

The little tree purchased at the lot represents the bridge between a traditional and a new Christmas. Charlie Brown's tree was something struggling for life amongst the cold and commercialization of December. The tree represented that little bit of hope the shepherds were looking for in the Gospel of Luke. But while the story of the nativity is an old tale of mankind's hope, Charlie Brown's tree became an updated version of the Bible story. The simple tree brought light into Charlie Brown's dark holiday season. Even when he gives up hope again, the other kids adapt the tree to look more modern. What Christmas means to someone in 1965, or 2016, is not found in a Bible fable, it is found in taking the tale and modernizing it. The Peanuts kids took the simple tree, and made it fit with the time. The clothes that Christmas wears are flashy and new, but the heart can still be a tree that needed someone to care. A group of people quietly humming a beautiful hymn, in the late night snow, with a simple tree dressed for a modern time, that is where we find joy in the holiday season of today.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is the perfect holiday television program in getting one ready for the holiday season. The problems faced by Charlie Brown are the same ones we face today. Over-commercialisation, feelings of isolation, and wicked dancing, these things existed in 1965 and are still around today. The lesson is not to dismiss all the modern problems that have taken over the holidays, we should find a way to meld the traditions with the new, and better, things. The heart of Christmas may originate from a 2000-year-old Bible story that was about finding hope in a dark night, and that heart does not have to change. We can take the ancient lessons of togetherness and humanity and put a modern dress on it. There is nothing wrong with adding some wicked dance moves to the angel of the Lord's message delivered to the shepherds. That is what Christmas is all about.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He will also only eat February snowflakes. December flakes are way too sour.

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Ty Watches "Search Party"

Today I want to write about a new show that I am really enjoying right now. That show is "Search Party" on TBS.

I had heard a lot of things about this show because I am a Michael Showalter fan. He created one of my all-time favorite movies, "Wet Hot American Summer", he put out the "prequel" to that great movie on Netflix a few years ago, "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp", he directed the wonderful "Hello My Name is Doris", and now he has "Search Party". He is clicking on all levels as a creative artist right now. He had one of the best binge-worthy shows that has even been put on Netflix. "Hello My Name is Doris" is not only an indie darling, but is even getting some early Oscar buzz, mainly Sally Field. And now, he has a great episodic show on national TV. He can do no wrong right now.

As I said, I heard a lot about this show before it came out, and everything I heard about it, it made me want to watch it that much more. I was excited to hear that it wasn't going to be a straight forward, goofy comedy like much of Showalter's stuff. He proved that he could do some different things with "Doris", and he is putting that to use on "Search Party". Now, that is not to say that this show does not have comedic moments, because it has a lot of them. There are times that I have laughed out loud while watching. But, each comedic moment is met with moments of clarity, sadness, self reliance, drama and intrigue.

"Search Party" is about a group of over privileged, hipster kids that live in New York. They have little to nothing going on in their lives, although they act much more important than they really are. They are kids born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and it shows. But, the main character Dory(Alia Shawkat), sees a missing person photo on the street in the pilot episode, and we come to realize she recognizes the girl from college. They weren't necessarily friends, but Dory has memories of her. She meets up with her core group of friends, her boyfriend Drew(John Reynolds), Portia(Meredith Hanger) and Elliot(John Early) to tell them the news, but it is met with deaf ears. Dory's friends either don't care, or are way too interested in their own stuff to feign interest in their missing college "friend". But, Dory cannot shake it. She now feels like she needs to find her old college acquaintance. There are a lot of reasons she makes for wanting to find their friend, but it mainly seems like she doesn't have a lot going on in her life. She is bored and tired of the hipster scene and she wants something that will make her feel important. She actually acts kind of selfish in her quest to find Chantal(Clare McNulty). She becomes singularly focused on this search, putting everything else on hold.

Alia Shawkat is tremendous in this show. I know it may sound like I think she is kind of selfish, but that is just her character. Shawkat has been in a lot of stuff, and has been pretty good in her minor rolls, but this is a great vehicle for her as far as starring roles go. She shines as Dory. She is so, so good on this show. I have become a big Alia Shawkat fan during the run of this show. But, the three other friends are great as well. John Reynolds as Drew, Dory's woebegone boyfriend, is excellent. He plays a total pushover with no backbone really well. He is at Dory's beck and call and does anything she asks him. But, he also has heart and soul, and you begin to feel for him when Dory, or anyone else for that matter, starts to go off on him. Meredith Hanger as Portia is perfect as the pretty blonde actress that wants so badly for everyone to like her, but also be proud of her and her career choice. She is an actress, but she is a very mediocre actress that plays small roles on corny crime procedurals. She works hard on her show, but outside of that, she is self-involved and careless. But, she does have moments when she seems to be a caring, loyal friend. She wants to believe that Dory has seen Chantal, she goes to weird parties with her and she genuinely cares for Dory's safety when Dory goes out to do PI work.

Then there is John Early as Elliot. He is so god damn good on this show. Early was excellent on "Wet Hot: First Day of Camp", but man oh man, is he awesome on "Search Party". He is so funny, he has so many skeletons in his closet, he is constantly making up and breaking up with his boyfriend, in very comedic ways and he has a terrible secret that he has kept since he was a teenager. Early has taken the direction to be a New York hipster to the absolute perfect point. He is so douchey and self-involved, and I couldn't love his character more. He is the second best person on this show, next to Shawkat.

There have been some great recurring characters played by some big name people as well. Christine Ebersol is great as Portia's mom that doesn't give her enough attention. Rosie Perez is really good as a crazy lady that claims she has seen Chantal as well, when her and Dory meet for the first time. Christine Taylor is so awesome as Dory's boss, who lives in a whole different world than everyone else on this show. Tunde Adebimpe, as the leader of some weird cult that may or may have some kind of involvement in Chantal going missing, is both mean, but also very funny. Then there is Ron Livingston as the PI that follows, then eventually hires Dory to work with him to find her friend.

"Search Party" is a really good show. All ten episodes were shown in 5 days, 2 episodes a day, and they are all on TV for your viewing pleasure right now. I have watched 7 episodes so far, I will be finishing it this afternoon, and I cannot wait to see how it all ends. Obviously I recommend this show. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He loves new and interesting television, tell him about a show you like. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Be Thankful for All of "The Simpsons"

2016 is not so bad when every single "The Simpsons" is on in a row

Instead of talking about how rough 2016 has been, I want to talk about something that has made me very happy, that started yesterday. Once again, FXX has made a great, brilliant decision, and they are showing every "Simpsons" ever again. It is like the holidays have come early for me. I went out to have lunch with my wife's family for Thanksgiving yesterday, and when we got home, my wife turned on the TV, flipped to FXX, and there it was. I said to her, "oh, that's cool that they are showing "Simpsons" episodes today", but then she reminded me that yesterday was the start of the marathon. This made me very, very happy. I had totally forgotten that they were doing this again. With college football and the NBA in full swing, I completely spaced that FXX was doing this marathon. It was a wonderful surprise.

After we put our children down for nap/quiet time, we turned it on, and I was so pleasantly surprised that the first episode we watched was "The Crepes of Wrath". I rarely watch the older episodes, but when I do, I am reminded at how great this show truly is. "The Crepes of Wrath" is an all-timer in "The Simpsons" world. It is an awesome, funny, and even at the end, there is a touching moment. This episode shows everything that "The Simpsons" would, and could, become.

Then, as we settled in, we kept the TV on and watched episode after episode. When the kids came out of their rooms, we continued to watch. My son, who is 4, loves "The Simpsons". He has never really seen any of the early episodes, so it was kind of neat for him to see the show at its very beginning. He loved the episode where Homer and Marge go on a date, and the kids have the mean babysitter that they tie up and call the police on. He thought it was hilarious. Call me a bad parent if you want, but I'd much rather my son watch that besides "PJ Masks" or "Shimmer and Shine". At least "The Simpsons" is well written, thoughtful and can teach lessons, if the parent looks for them. The episode with the babysitter showed me, and my son, to stand up for yourself. For example, the babysitter, voiced excellently by Penny Marshall, was a bully, and it showed that you should not take any crap from bullies. All three children stood up for themselves, got together and took a stand against a mean person, and they prevailed. I feel like that is a much better lesson than anything on another little kids TV show on Disney Jr. So, yeah, my 4-year-old was more than happy to sit there and watch "The Simpsons" with us. This makes him extra cool, and let me tell you, my son is pretty god damn cool.

This was my 1 year old's first time being cognizant of "The Simpsons". It has been on in our house, but she never sat still long enough, or was sleeping when it was on. But yesterday, when Bart and Lisa and Maggie where watching the "Little Elves" show, she was glued to the screen. She thought it was funny and exciting. Then, when they went to Bart and Lisa arguing about the show, my daughter was still on board. She loved the interactions between the kids. She was laughing, looking at me and my wife, then looking back at the screen and laughing some more. Then, when she saw Maggie, sucking on her pacifier, she got much more happy. I swear she thought she was looking at a cartoon version of herself. She walks around the house, pacifier in mouth at most times, so she was very pleased to see someone that resembled her. Again, call me a bad parent if you want, but I adore the fact that my 2 children are advanced and smart enough to love this show that I have been watching since I was my son's age. They have great taste, even if my son deviates and watches Disney Jr occasionally.

But, getting away from why my kids rule, again, I was so happy to watch these early episodes once again. "The Simpsons" has been so successful and wonderful since it has been on the air. This is one of the smartest shows that television has ever aired. I have learned more from "The Simpsons" than I ever learned in high school. I have mentioned that fact on the podcast many times. The writing on this show is impeccable. The jokes are laugh out loud funny, but, they can give you heartfelt moments at any time. There are all different types of episodes too. There's drama, sci-fi, political, religious, sports, but above all, comedic episodes. "The Simpsons" can do no wrong, and I will debate this until the day I die.

I guess this blog is my long winded way of giving many thanks to FXX. They have made me so happy two times in the past 2 years. I love the fact that I can turn on my TV at any time for the next 6-10 days, and see "The Simpsons". I hope they continue to do stuff like this, and it is great to have the best television show ever back on TV for your viewing pleasure at any time. Now that I have finished this, I'm going to go back and watch some more great episodes of "The Simpsons". I suggest you all do the same.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is far and away the most cromulent writer on all the internets. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Thanksgiving should be about Family, Friends, and a Great Episode of "The Simpsons"

I am way thankful for this juicy piece of meat

Today is Thanksgiving, so I'm going to keep this short and sweet, well, maybe not sweet.

As RD and I already stated, 2016 has been pretty rough (seriously, go listen to the podcast. It is free.). Politically, a travesty, pop culture wise, very ho hum, most other stuff, kind of blah. But at least you get to spend this day with family and friends. That is what people should focus on today. Leave your politics, religion, pop culture, any other thoughts you may have inside your home, and just be nice to one another. People should not get together to just argue, that should not be the focus today. The focus is to be kind and thankful for what you have, that is what this holiday is, allegedly, all about.

Might I also recommend watching the great Thanksgiving episode of "The Simpsons", where Homer becomes Mr. Burns' "prank monkey". Every time around this year, I walk around saying "Happy Pranksgiving" to everyone. I do not throw fish guts on people, but I find it very funny when Mr. Burns does, and this episode cracks me up every time.

With that being said, just be nice and thankful that you get to be with family, friends, have food and shelter this time of year. We are all very lucky, and should be very thankful, that we at least have that. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, enjoy your turkey, stuffing and football, I know I will.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is also quite proficient at the Lindy Hop. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches: People of Earth

I recently started watching the show "People of Earth" based on a recommendation. Man am I glad that I took that advice and caught up on this show. "People of Earth" is one of these rare, unique shows that comes along once in a lifetime.

The show's premise is simple. We have a journalist that is sent to a small town in New York to write about a support group for people who claim to have been abducted by aliens, they call themselves "experiencers". Wyatt Cenac, who I adore, plays the lead character, Ozzie, who is sent on this assignment. In the pilot episode he keeps having flashes of a deer, which he hit in an accident, driving to this small town. He finally arrives to this group and finds out way, way more about himself than he ever knew.

When he gets to this town, we get to meet all the weird and wacky people that entail this group. The ensemble cast is wonderful. Luka Jones pays a wannabe alien abductee, AKA, an experiencer, but he is the ultimate alien expert in this small town. Brian Huskey plays an experiencer that claims all the world is run by aliens, which he calls "reptilians". Ana Gasteyer plays the leader of the group, and she is great as the main support, but has a troubled past. Alice Wetterlund and Tracee Chimo are an excellent Yin and Yang of people that claim to have been abducted by the same alien. Nancy Lenahan is great as the lonely widowed lady that had her alien experience. Da'Vine Joy Randolph is great as the local mail person that had a run in with aliens. Daniel Stewart Sherman is very good as the hillbilly esque guy that had your typical run in with aliens. H Jon Benjamin shows up as a cop in the town, and he is great.

The people that play the aliens, Drew Nelson, Ken Hall, Bjorn Gustafsson and Michael Cassidy are the absolute best. They each represent a different style of alien. We have your run of the mill, big head, little body alien. We have the reptilians and we get a very tall, very long haired human looking alien. These actors do these roles so well. I love how normal and regular the alien characters act. Sure, they are abducting people and doing random tests on them but they aren't probing anyone, or eating anyone, or even being mean to the people. They just want to study humans, at least that is what I have gathered from the first four episodes. The aliens bicker with each other. They have conversations like you and I have at our regular everyday jobs. They are as normal as aliens have ever been portrayed on TV or in the movies. I love all the back and forth between the aliens.

But, the star of the show, as it should be, is Cenac. He is absolutely wonderful as Ozzie. The interactions that he has with the deer are wonderfully weird and hilarious. He keeps seeing them, and thinks that it is because of his accident, but we come to realize, spoiler alert, that he was abducted by all three styles of aliens, and they made him think that he hit a deer. When he recalls this to the support group, they are all shocked that he had an experience with the three different aliens, and they want him to stay to tell his whole story and stay in the group. Everyone likes him.

Ozzie decides, after revealing everything to the group, that he wants to stay, so he quits his job and moves to the small town to work for their paper. We do come to realize that his boss at the big newspaper is a reptilian, sent to study Ozzie. This sends us into a whole different world of who is real, and who is a reptilian in this planet that this show has created. The friendships and interactions between the people in the group and Ozzie are funny and heartfelt at the same time.

This show is a great opportunity, and the perfect one for that matter, for Cenac's unique sense of humor. He is a very funny, yet quiet person. He was great on "The Daily Show". He has done some excellent stand up specials. He has had bit parts in movies and TV shows here and there, but "People of Earth" is just perfect for him.

I do not want to give too much away because I think people should watch this show. It is really good, and I feel like it will be around for awhile. Watch "People of Earth" so we can get multiple seasons. The show is different from anything you will see, but it is one of the funnier shows to come out on TV in a long, long time. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has suspected that the head editor is an alien, one of those Midwestern balding ones. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: The Triple Nickel Edition

The season finale of "Bar Rescue" this past Sunday was your typical run of the mill episode. There is a follow up episode coming next week, called "Back to the Bar", that I will review, but this was the finale of this season.

Taffer and crew headed to a bar in Colorado called "The Triple Nickel". This was a family owned bar that had some great times early on. They were making money, the family was happy and all was well. But, things started to get pretty rough over a year ago. The youngest son took over the bar, and at first, he was doing fine, with help from his family. But, his mother got cancer and died. Then, his sister got cancer and she died. Then, his brother got cancer, and he died. That is a whole lot of tragedy to deal with in under a year.

I would have totally understood had he just sold the bar and did something else, but he did not do that. He chose to keep the bar going, change it to a punk rock venue, stop selling food and drink his sorrows away. I do not blame him for drinking, if I lost 3 family members in one year, I'd drink too, and I do not drink alcohol. But, this drinking led to him forgetting about the bar. He just kind of let things go, and made the place his own personal playhouse. He hired friends to work there, they drank constantly, he belittled people in front of patrons and the bar started to go down the drain.

When Taffer and his experts came to check things out, they were not impressed. The outside of the bar looked drab and old. The interior actually had the look and feel of a country/BBQ bar. It was all finished wood and old chairs and barstools. It looked rather weird, because this guy wanted his bar to be a punk bar. When they watched the workers, they were unhappy. These guys kept treating the place their own personal frat house. They played pranks on each other, they demeaned each other and they drank until they got sick. It was embarrassing to watch. When the owner had physically pushed one of his employees to the ground, that is when Taffer jumped into action. He walked straight into the bar and made a beeline for the owner. He verbally attacked this guy the second he walked into the bar. He started yelling at him, calling him a bully and a fraud and a drunk. The owner, who was completely hammered, was totally taken aback and unprepared for the verbal abuse that was coming from Taffer.

After Taffer got through all the insults and yelling, he closed the bar down and told everyone to go home and sober up and come in ready to work the next day. When the staff arrived the next day, they were all pretty apologetic and seemed to want to change. They wanted their friend who had gone through these horrible tragedies to be okay. The owner himself owned up to all his faults. It was refreshing to see these people not yell and fight with Taffer, but rather, take his advice. One of the first things Taffer decided he was going to do was to reopen the kitchen. This made everyone happy. This meant more revenue. They also decided to make drinks a bit easier, and made it so they did not need a ton of liquor in the bar. That was a problem for them. They kept running out of alcohol and liquor during their operating hours. All the stuff that Taffer and the experts decided to do were all very good, and obvious, choices.

During stress test, the fact that I do not remember many problems speaks to the fact that they did okay enough. There were some small problems, but it wasn't anything that was shocking or made the experts close the bar down. This staff, when locked in, seemed like they knew what they were doing. The owner was very, very involved during the stress test as well. He was in the kitchen, worked at the bar and helped wherever help was needed. He looked really good during stress test.

When they finished the stress test, they closed the bar down, and Taffer and his crew got to work fixing up the bar. They made some nice changes on the inside. They gave them new tables, chairs and barstool. They also made the outside more inviting, and they did not change the name, which I always like. When the staff saw the new bar, they loved it. They loved the new look, the new stage, the new stuff, they were very enthused. During the re launch, things went swimmingly. They were pumping the new food out of the kitchen, the bartenders were cruising behind the bar, the owner was doing his thing and everything was working out very well. They looked to be in good shape.

When the Bar Rescue crew came back for the 6 week check up, one of the staff filmed a thing by himself and said that things were going fine. But, he did not seem as excited as the whole crew did during stress test and re launch. It was odd, but they could be doing just fine as far as I know.

This was a pretty decent season, save for a couple of episodes. I will review the episode next week, and that will be it for this season of "Bar Rescue". Thank you all for reading these particular reviews, and I will continue to do this when "Bar Rescue" returns for its next season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. As long as Jon Taffer is rescuing bars, America will be a ok in Ty's book. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: Fort One Edition

The most recent episode of "Bar Rescue" got back to its greatness this particular season. There was no stupid puns or stories of war, it was a trashy, ridiculous episode, which is what I adore about this show.

The bar they went to "rescue" was called "Fort One" in San Francisco. This bar had a lot of problems, mainly their spoiled brat of an owner. This guy was something else. He was a rich kid whose dad bought him a bar as a "gift". Also, this bar never really was on fire at first like a lot of bars on the show. They did okay at first, turning a small profit, but nothing like the other places that always claim to be "raking it in". After their okay start, the owner started to get heavily involved in drinking and buying things for patrons he deemed attractive. He was giving away free alcohol to try and get phone numbers basically. He brought on a friend that gave him a sizable loan to have a stake in the bar. After getting this money, the owner did not change, and in fact, he demeaned the friend and treated him as one of his employees, instead of a part owner himself.

On the night that Taffer and his "expert" went to do recon, what they saw, they did not like. For starters, when they are watching from their car, they despised the outside of the bar. They do not like the sign, and they claim that it is uninviting. They can't park on the street where the bar is located, so they park in a lot and go to another bar where they can watch from their monitors. One of the first things they notice is how empty this bar is. This is a huge space, I think they said 6,000 plus square feet, with a downstairs nightclub, but this place was dead. They also notice how terrible the décor and the furniture in the bar and nightclub have become. The chairs are old and creaky, the VIP room couches have ripped apart upholstery and the bar is incredibly dirty.

Taffer and the expert also see that the majority of the bartenders, and the primary owner, are hammered. They are taking shots with the paltry amount of patrons and they keep going and going. Taffer sends in 2 more recon spies, 2 attractive, young ladies, to see if the owner lives up to his reputation. As soon as the women enter, the owner makes a beeline for them, sends them to bottle service and sits with them. He orders a bottle immediately for the table. We come to find out that it is an 80 dollar bottle, but the bar sells it for 400 bucks. This is a very common practice in bars we, the viewers, are told. So, he right off the bat gives away a free 400 dollar bottle of liquor. But, he doesn't stop there. He gives them not just 1, but 4 free bottles. That is 1,600 dollars he flat out gave away. That is terrible. When his employee in charge of bottle service and his partial owner ask him to maybe charge the ladies for the bottles, he cusses them out and tells them to leave him alone.

Now Taffer makes his entrance. He doesn't go straight to the owner first, but picks the one bartender that he has seen take the most shots that evening. He goes up to the bar, the bartender has her back turned, and there is about 20 seconds of awkward silence before the bartender finally turns around and drunkenly tells Taffer that she is closed. Taffer then talks to her about how much she drank, asks if she made any money that night, asked about her family and then proceeded to tell her to go home to sober up. After this interaction, he goes to the partial owner and bottle service worker, they tell him how terrible things are, and Taffer finally asks to speak to the main owner. He saunters over drunk as a skunk. Taffer immediately begins to lay into him. He is calling him everything, and then some, and the drunk owner keeps saying things like, "you're stressing me out", or, "could you stop cursing at me like this". It was hilarious, and we all need a laugh right now.

After Taffer closes the bar for the night, he makes everyone go home to sober up and come back in the morning. The next day, they get to business. Taffer asks all the employees about what they think is wrong, and they all say it is the owners fault. The claim he doesn't care, they don't get paid and he is a blowhard. Then, Taffer and the expert do their cleanliness check, and it is a total nightmare. They find mold all over the ice machine. There is mold on the pipes. The owner doesn't know the smallest things about cleaning the stuff that makes the ice. The bottles, and the bar itself, has fruit flies flying everywhere. It is a mess. They find 2 dead mice behind the ice machine, and that is the topping on the crap cake that is this bar. Taffer excuses every employee, rubs some mold on the owners shirt and tells him to clean the place by himself.

Much to my surprise, he does everything that Taffer says with no complaints. Once the bar is finally up to standards, they get to training. Now, I do want to say, the staff at this place was great, when sober. They made quality drinks, and they made them fast. One of the bartenders in fact, was awesome. She was cranking out drinks, making them properly and did it all with a smile. So, training was not as important as getting this owner to get his head out of the gutter. They all get ready for the stress test, and I have got to say, this was the best stress test I have ever seen on "Bar Rescue". They left the rock star bartender at the main bar area, by herself, to see if she could handle it. She did incredible. She was making 5 and 6 drinks at a time, making them right and smiling all along. She was incredible. They put the 2 other bartenders downstairs at the nightclub bar, and even though they started shaky, they came through in the end. They picked up the pace and started making drink after drink the more comfortable they got. The partial owner was running everything great. He had his eye on the prize, and he kept everything running smoothly. The bottle service employee was doing a great job, and making more money than she ever had at "Fort One". Even the owner, who they made be a bar back, showed promise. He worked hard all night, he helped wherever help was needed and did not have one single drink all night. This was the best stress test ever.

When they get to re launch, Taffer tells the whole crew how proud he is, and the rock star bartender I keep mentioning, Taffer tells her that he is going to bring her on some later episodes to be one of his "experts", and she is thrilled. They turn to see the new bar, and Taffer has changed the name to "The Roc". This is actually a good name. It makes sense because of the location near Alcatraz. The inside of the bar is a hell of a lot nicer, with new furniture and a new style. It is so much better looking than when they first arrived. When they re open with the new name and new stuff, they do even better than stress test. They crush it. This "rescue" was so much more about giving this spoiled rich kid a kick in the ass than anything else, and it seemed to work.

After Taffer leaves, they do the 6 week update and sales are up, and things seem to be doing well. This was a refreshing return after the terrible episode last week. There is only one episode left this season and I will be here next week to review it for you.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks we need hope in our world, and Bar Rescue is the epitome of hope. Thank you Jon Taffer. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: Brickhouse Bar and Grill Edition

This past Sunday, "Bar Rescue" turned in one of their worst episodes that I have seen in awhile. Taffer and crew headed to the "Brickhouse Bar and Grill" in Colorado to help save it. From the start, I was not very happy with this episode. The great thing about this season is the fact that it has been so different from the other seasons. This season has not taken itself seriously, or when they do, it is with a coy smile as if to say, we know what we are doing. There have been some home run episodes in earlier seasons, like "The Landing Strip", "Piratz Tavern" and "The O Face Bar", but most early episodes are filled with "redemption" stories and cliché after cliché. It can be pretty off putting. That was the case with "Brickhouse".

The episode opens with your typical sad, my bar is failing, can you help me Jon Taffer type story. But, we come to realize that the guy running the bar is a member of the army that gets deployed a bunch. I have no problem with the troops, they are doing the US a great service that I could never bring myself to do, but to constantly talk about the fact that you are an army guy, so you need help more than others, stop with that. The bar is not failing because you get deployed, it is failing because the owner likes to get drunk on the job, not charge anyone and hit on patrons in front of his girlfriend, who also works for him. I do not like when people use outside excuses as to why their company is failing. That is some Donald Trump type shit, and Trump is a colossal failure when it comes to pretty much everything in his miserable life. But, this owner used his army and deployment as the only reason his bar was failing. That was a terrible excuse.

Unfortunately, "Bar Rescue" and Jon Taffer didn't really tell him that he was the problem, they kind of ran with the army stuff, because it makes for "touching" TV I guess. Taffer, when talking and berating this guy, kept using military terms and telling him that he needed to run his bar like he runs his platoon. What a bunch of crap. A bar is not a war zone Jon Taffer. I hate, hate, hate when people compare everyday stuff in life to something as horrific and terrifying as war. I don't like when athletes are called "warriors" or "heroic". I don't like when a field or a company is compared to a "battlefield" or a "platoon". It is all nonsense. Athletes are not warriors or heroic, they are athletes. The same can be said for a business owner. He is only a warrior or heroic when he is on the literal battlefield, not when he is running his bar into the ground. But, that did not stop the "Bar Rescue" crew from running this comparison into the ground. Every time the owner got yelled at, or had a nice little sit down with Taffer, everything was compared to his military record. I COULD NOT CARE LESS about his military record. I wanted to know why his bar needed to be rescued. I wanted to know what he was doing wrong. I wanted Taffer to berate him for getting drunk on the job and treating his girlfriend like garbage. I wanted to know why their systems were so terrible. I wanted to see the experts get into it with the employees.

The things I love about "Bar Rescue", we only got a very, very little bit of this. The small bits of good stuff was not enough to get the bad taste of this episode out of mine, and my wife's mouth. The stress test was not nearly as gleefully terrible as it could have been because, any time they ran into a problem, Taffer would yell at the guy and tell him to run this bar like he runs his army unit. What a pile of crap. During training, they kept talking about making cocktails and food that was affordable, but also appealing to an army man. I'm sorry, does every patron at this bar have an army background? I don't think that everyone in the whole state of Colorado is in the military, but this episode tries to make it seem that way. The training was filled with army related puns and it was so, so stupid. After training and the crew fixing up the bar, Taffer renamed it "Garrison's Tavern", I have no idea what this has to do with the military or the people that work at this place, but the people at "Bar Rescue" sure tried to make it seem that way.

After re launch, they of course were firing on all cylinders, and Taffer was praising the owner for running the bar like he runs his army unit. They would not stop the army talk, hanging on to it all the way to the end. It was infuriating.

This was a very lackluster episode lumped into what has been a pretty great season of "Bar Rescue". I guess they can't all be winners, but this was a humongous step down. I loathed this episode, and I hope with the final 2 episodes this season, they stay away from this type of crap. As I said, stop comparing everyday life with scary situations like war. It comes off contrived and superficial. It is also very patronizing to people in the army who fight for their lives everyday. A rescue on "Bar Rescue" will never be as scary or hard as life in the army. This was a bad, bad episode. Do not watch it, unless you want to be frustrated by terrible writing and bad war puns.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Something else Ty really hates are the shenanigans of men's rights activists. Hear all about his anger towards these terrible people. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Happy Halloween from SeedSing

The end of October is upon us. The trick or treaters are getting ready with their store bought costumes to come fleece the neighborhood of it's fun sized candy bars. In honor of the holiday, we here at SeedSing want to present a treasure trove of Halloween related content. Read, and listen, if you dare.

The Monsters Live on Chalie Brown's Street. 

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown has been a Halloween staple for fifty years. The show has delighted generations of readers and views. What is hidden in this classic is a horror story of children without supervision, and the monstrous adults who feel like it is ok to bully a bald, and maybe depressed, kid. There are monsters hiding everywhere.

Treehouse of Horrors is One of the Only Good Things about Halloween

The Simpsons has been going strong for over twenty five years, and in that time the show has presented a triumvirate of Halloween stories every year. Revisit some of the greatest THOH episodes and see what the greatest show on television does with our spookiest of holidays.

Ty says Boo-Urns to Halloween

Pop Culture editor Ty is not a big fan of Halloween. Nothing gets him more annoyed than the terrible puns associated with the holiday. He does not care for "spooktacular" savings or listening to the dulcet tones of "Rocktober". Oh, and adults dressing up, that is not Ty's favorite thing either. Maybe next year the Halloween fad will fade away.

The X Millennial Man Podcast Episode XVII: Strip Clubs, Hangovers, and the Innocence of Halloween

Ty and RD talk about the scary real life consequences of Halloween. Did you know that strip clubs do not always let you enter when you have a mask on. Even on Halloween. Many adults like to dress up and drink on Halloween too. Most of the time, these adults end up forgetting the night's festivities and spend All Saint's Day praying in front of the toilet. Who says kids get to have all the holiday fun.

The X Millennial Man Podcast Episode LXVII: Trolls and the Other Monsters Who Live on the Internet.

The X Millennial Man was doing some internet research on Mad Max: Fury Road, and we learned that there are some men who are not happy with the movie. It seems these fellows do not like a movie that portrays women as strong, or stronger, than men. It also seems many of these upset men can not find dates. In order to express their frustration, these gentleman go to the internet and write about their troubles. It is frightening. Join Ty and RD as they read some of these tales of MRAs and MGTOWs.

We hope you enjoy a cavalcade of Halloween scares. If you really need a good fright, go ahead and read anything we have written on Donald Trump. That will keep you up at night. Have a fantastic All Hallows Eve. 

The Writers of SeedSing

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

Ty Watches "Jon Glaser Loves Gear"

Tru TV is at it again, putting on great, irreverent comedy shows. This past Wednesday, Jon Glaser, who I am a huge fan of, new show premiered, "Jon Glaser Loves Gear". I heard very little about the show until earlier in the week. I was on Facebook and I'm a fan of another Tru TV show called "Those Who Can't", and their page was promoting Glaser's new show. I immediately put it on my DVR so I could watch.

The show's premise is quite simple. Glaser and his gear expert, who he calls "spert", are pitching a show where they go out on random excursions and try out the newest and best gear for that particular trip. The first episode focused solely on a camping trip. After the execs at Tru TV green light the show, Glaser and his "spert" go on a shopping spree. The show is a mix of reality and scripted sequences. I really enjoy this. For example, when they are talking about their upcoming shopping spree, it's easily identified as scripted TV, but when they go to the store, that's when the mix of reality TV comes into play. To watch Glaser and his buddy shop is hilarious. One of my favorite things that Glaser does, after every piece of equipment that he seems serviceable, he loudly yells, "GEAR!!!!". I think this is so funny.

Before they head out on their camping trip, Glaser goes to his home to tell his wife and kids about the show and all the new stuff he purchased. Well, his wife wants nothing to do with the show. She doesn't want to be on camera and she doesn't want her kids on camera. This bit really reminded me a lot of one of Glaser's older shows, "Delocated". It was very goofy, and everyone's face was covered, except Glaser's. So, after his wife says she will not go with him on this trip, he has a casting call for someone to play his wife. Again, Glaser hits it out of the park with this bit. Go watch it, it is comedy gold.

After he hires an actress, they go on their camping trip. A lot of funny stuff occurs during this trip. Glaser's "wife" is way more into his "spert" than him. This makes Glaser very angry and jealous. He goes so far as to fire his "spert" after some advice from "geari". Who's "geari" you ask? That's what he calls Siri. "Geari" is a lot like Siri, but it only gives gear advice, writes scripts, gains the power to feel and basically runs Glaser's life. When Glaser is in the process of firing his "spert", there is another great bit involving a phone call with Andy Richter. Again, go watch it, you won't be disappointed.

Once the camping trip is over, Glaser gives a run down of how his gear did, and the first episode ends. We were granted with a second episode during the premiere. This one focused on bikes. There are some great scenes where Glaser is harassing a guy that sells night vision goggles. He also gives a guy that works on bikes a hard time. He has another run in with his wife where he thinks she's cheating on him.

You know how I mentioned that "Geari" writes scripts, that comes up in this episode. "Geari" writes a ridiculous script about a bike messenger that has to deliver male seed to keep the world afloat. Glaser goes so far as making a trailer for this movie. This episode was more about the movie than any gear. The gear actually takes a backseat to everything else. That's another thing I really like about this show and Glaser's comedy, it can go anywhere.

Again, do yourselves a favor and go watch the trailer for "Quick Rush", it's so weird and so funny. I highly, highly recommend everyone check out this show. If you're a Jon Glaser fan, you'll love it, but I think people who do not know of Glaser will enjoy it too. The show is weird, goofy, dysfunctional and very funny. I already love "Jon Loves Gear", and I think you will too. "GEAR!!!!!!!!".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Join him and RD for the X Millennial Man Halloween podcast where they discuss the biggest monsters on the internet, the MRAs. Download it for free tomorrow. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: Sam Jordan's and Tradewinds Edition

Much like yesterday, I'm back today to catch everyone up on another show, "Bar Rescue". Lucky for you and me, the past 2 episodes have been fairly, and kind of shockingly, similar, so I am going to lump the two of them into one blog for you today.

Two weeks ago, Taffer and crew went to a bar called "Sam Jordan's", and this past Sunday, they went to a bar called "Tradewinds". Right off the bat I will let you know that Taffer did not change the name of either bar because they are both landmark places with landmark names. Both bars have been around for 50 plus years, so changing the name would have caused a big problem in the communities, and we know that Taffer does not want to upset any community. So, the names never change, and I think this is a good thing because Taffer always picks something dumb, for the most part, anyway.

Another similarity, both bars were family owned. "Sam Jordan's" was now owned and operated by a brother and a sister, after their father, a former pro boxer, had passed away. "Tradewinds" was run by a step dad, his friend and the step dad's son. "Sam Jordan's" owners had a very splintered relationship since the bar started to go down the drain. The sister ran the day to day and front of house, and the brother ran the kitchen. The sister was doing a fairly good job of running the front of house. The bar was okay, not blowing anyone away, but not hemorrhaging money. The kitchen though, it was a disaster. The brother had kind of thrown in the towel, and was microwaving old BBQ and dousing it in sweet, disgusting sauce. "Tradewinds" was a shit show everywhere. The step dad and his friend had no business running a bar. They were both former car salesman, so the restaurant business seemed a bit much. They couldn't make drinks and their food systems were crap. They gave the step son a 20% stake in the bar because he has restaurant experience, was a manager at most of those jobs, and was young and energetic. Well, after getting his stake, the step son kind of gave up. He would show up late, if he came in at all. He would drink behind the bar. He would leave his bar and go to another bar to drink, thus giving his own competition money. He was a mess.

As you probably can tell by now, "Sam Jordan's" had people that wanted to change and get better, and "Tradewinds" had a spoiled, rotten little brat that got too much too young and was flaming out. As far as "Sam Jordan's" goes, we came to find out later that the brother running the kitchen did not have to pay any rent and all the money the kitchen made, it went straight to him. This pissed his sister, and Taffer off, but it was an agreement they made. Taffer had the people, during stress test, compare the food and drink at "Sam Jordan's". Needless to say, the drinks and bar crushed the kitchen. The brother was taken aback by all this, but I think it opened his eyes, and he seemed like he wanted to care again. He and his sister had a heart to heart, and it looked real, not staged like a lot of these interactions on "Bar Rescue" so often do.

During the first stress test at "Tradewinds", the young owner actually walked out. He was over matched by the amount of customers in his bar. And, try as they might, the two other owners were way in over their heads. The young son's mom was the chef, but she didn't really cook anything. In fact, when people asked for a menu, they said they did not have one, and they offered the people a cup of popcorn. After the horrific showing of the first stress test, all the owners had a big meeting, and it seemed like the young guy wanted to do better. He actually listened during training and helped the other employees. See, both stress tests and families having heart to hearts, really worked out. It was very much the same thing in each episode.

After the brother and sister from "Sam Jordan's" had their talk, and the brother realized that he needed to start giving a shit again, they actually did a pretty good job with their main stress test. They were getting drinks out of the bar fast. The food was coming quick, and it was better tasting. It was pretty nice to see. As far as "Tradewinds" real stress test, it was not so great, but all the people actually put in work. They had terrible systems and the layout was garbage, but, people were putting in effort.

So, after both stress tests, Taffer and crew did their thing, and gussied up both bars. The inside of each bar looked nice. Taffer does have a good eye for making the inside of a bar look nice. As I stated early, the names were not changed, but he made the signage and the layout outside more appealing. Again, Taffer can make a place eye popping. He makes it look like a place you, at the very least, want to check out. At "Sam Jordan's" re opening, everything went very smoothly. The bar did great, the food tasted much, much better and the brother and sister were getting along. I was very happy to see this bar have a decent turnaround. I wanted this bar to become successful, and during the 6 week check up, by all accounts, "Sam Jordan's" was starting to make money again, and the brother and sister weren't fighting anymore. "Tradewinds" re opening went just as well. The staff was on fire, the mom became a calzone making machine, the two main owners were much more invested and doing a better job and the young owner cut his hair, and seemed to care again. He was yelling out drink orders, conversing with the whole bar, making 5 or 6 drinks at a time and always had a smile on his face. During their six week check up, all was well. They were making money, getting along and everyone was coming in, as scheduled.

It was nice to have two similar episodes that I could put into one blog for the readers. I'll be back next week for the next review, and I will be back every week as long as the show keeps pumping out new episodes. Stay tuned

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor recommended Ty get his beard trimmed up, but no one tells Ty what to do with his beard. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches the Eric Andre Show: Season 4 Finale

I know that I'm a week late, I was hyper focused on basketball last week, but I'm back to recap the zaniness that was the season 4 finale of "The Eric Andre Show".

This episode started as most, with Andre destroying the set. He did his usual stuff after his name was announced. He trashed his set. He tackled his drummer and destroyed his kit. He beat the stuff up that was sitting on the set. But, at one point, he stopped, and talked two guys down from beating each other up. He stopped everything that he was doing and that these 2 guys were doing, and became a mediator of sorts. He told the 2 gentlemen that everything was going to be fine, and that they did not need to fight anymore. After they shook hands, Andre told them he was proud of their progress, then he proceeded to finish his destruction.

After all that, Andre sat down and Hannibal Buress was introduced. He came and sat down, and Andre got up to do his monologue. He said some nonsense, and then the show went to a pre taped segment.

This time around, Andre was dressed like the Ranch Dude, but he walked into a karate studio and kept saying, over and over again, "time to deliver a pizza ball!", and he literally had a ball of pizza. Any time that one of the patrons of the karate place came up to talk to him, he would say his catchphrase. This made the people at the studio furious. The leader of the place started to threaten Andre. He picked up some kind of a karate stick and challenged Andre to a fight. Andre did not back down, saying his catchphrase again and again, until he finally realized that the leader was not going to back down, so he left. This was one of the better skits ever. I have been walking around my house for a week now saying, "time to deliver a pizza ball!", much to my wife and kids chagrin.

We then go back to the set, and they introduce the first guest, Jack Black. Black seemed down for anything. He didn't look like he knew what was going to happen, but he rolled with all the punches. He answered all the weird questions and put up with all the usual nonsense. Finally, Andre busted out 2 cans of whip cream and asked Black if he wanted to do whip its with him, and he obliged. They did their whip its and some weird stuff happened after that. Black was foaming whip cream at the mouth. Andre seemed normal, but he was about to pull some stunts on Black.

First though, they went to another pre taped segment, and it was Andre walking around, dressed as a construction worker with a big piece of metal sticking out of his chest. He was stumbling around and asking people if they knew where the hospital was, or if they could help him get home, or give him a ride, anything to get people's attention basically. It was disturbing, yet funny.

They went back to the Jack Black interview, and at one point, Andre's coffee cup started to spurt out coffee. Black nearly jumped out of his seat. Andre just sat there and calmly said, "this thing is broken". I think his calmness freaked out Black even more. The coffee cup shot out more coffee, and Black ran out of the room.

Don't worry, he comes back, and this time, after explaining that his brain felt fried from the whip its, Andre and Buress attached a lie detector test to him, and they tell him that any time he lies, he will get shocked. They ask some easy questions, but any answer Black gives, they shock him. He keeps yelling at Buress and Andre that this is ridiculous, and that he wants out. They push it a bit further, but they finally let Black leave the stage.

After Black, they have Jeanette McCurdy on. I did not know who she was, but my wife told me that she was a Disney Channel actor. Anyway, Andre begins the interview asking random questions about acting, and nude photos surfacing. She claims that is not true, but he pulls out a picture, but it is his same one from all season, of a photo shopped nude photo of Obama. McCurdy laughs it off. I was surprised by her attitude, but it soon changed. After this, Andre started to push. He got right in her face, told her he was not in a good place, and kept telling her that he loved her. McCurdy was definitely put off by this, answering him calmly, but looking extremely uncomfortable. She immediately left after this interaction.

Finally, something we have all been waiting for, Andre finally got to investigate the band 311. This has been a long running joke on the show for all 4 seasons. He is always talking about investigating and interrogating 311, Well, he finally got his chance. The band was playing one of their songs, but they were all tied up or put in some kind of interrogation type situation. The lead singer kept getting shocked, the drummer couldn't drum, the bass player was bound and the other singer and lead guitarist was tied up and eventually water boarded. It was totally worth the wait. It was all done in jest of course, but man was it hilarious and totally worth the wait. At one point, when both the singers could not sing, T-Pain came out and started singing for them. The episode, and thus, season 4, ended.

This was a great season of "The Eric Andre Show". It was bizarre, odd, gross, disturbing, but above all else, hilarious. I love this show. I love Eric Andre and Hannibal Buress and Adult Swim for putting this show on TV. I cannot wait for season 5 and you better believe that I will be back to recap all the episodes for everyone. What a great season of this great show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to investigat on why UB40 thinks they are a reggae act. Stay tuned. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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