Category: Television

The Walking Dead Season 5 Trailer

Jul
25
2014

Oh, how I wish I had gotten the chance to go to San Diego’s Comic Con! But I guess Toronto’s Fan Expo next month will have to suffice.

Can’t wait until season 5 of The Walking Dead starts!

As always: if Daryl dies, we riot.

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Guess Who’s Back (and with a Schticky)

Jan
14
2012

Vince Offer, better known as the man who brought you the ShamWow and the Slap Chop (and later arrested for allegedly punching a prostitute), is back with a new infomercial. It’s the Schticky, a sheetless, reusable lint roller.

Got to love the usual one-liners and double entendres, like “Problem with that shedding pussy? Pick up cat hair from clothes!” There’s even an homage to his 1999 arrest in the recent infomercial.

I guess anyone can make a comeback…

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“The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl”

Sep
07
2011
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It’s not every day that I run across a show that really keeps me watching… and I’m the channel surfing queen. Hence, why I think the web series “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl” is so special. Because it isn’t on network television, it doesn’t succumb to the watered-down effect that frequently happen when a new show hits the air from a “based on the book/play/movie by __________” format.

It all started with a new feed “like” update from one of my Facebook friends last month. I was curious to find out what “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” was about. So, being Black… and awkward myself, I clicked the link and was brought to ABG’s fan page. Noticing the large number of fans (it was 10,000 at the time, now the page boasts over 16,000 thanks to a great social media campaign), I decided to watch one of the episodes that was posted via YouTube.

Written by, directed by and staring Issa Rae, ABG centers around our protagonist, J. Like the title says, she’s awkward… and black. J has a job she hates, her boyfriend had broken up with her, she has a love that’s unrequited, and constantly enters these hilarious social situations day after day. The commentary/narration of each episode has be LOL-ing everytime. There are so many quotables. It’s almost as if J says exactly what we are all thinking. She’s so blunt and crass about it, yet her passive-aggressive nature on the show juxtaposes that and makes it that much more entertaining.

“I get you!”
– J

“Am I the only one who pretends I’m in a music video when I’m by myself?” is the first sentence you hear from episode #1. No, J! I do that too! In episode 2 when her boss naively questions her about her new hairstyle, I was because I have to go through that whole song-and-dance routine whenever I change my hair and run into a non-Black acquantice. I was instantly hooked. Seven episodes later, I’m still amazed at the fact that somebody got it: A show was created that I can actually relate to.

“Oooo… you fancy, huh?”
– CeCe, after hearing that J is going on a “night-time date” with White Jay

Now I know that funding a video production can be difficult (hence why I veered away from the film school path). Issa Rae was able to raise over $50,000 through Kickstarter (a funding platform for filmmakers). Hell, I even donated myself. Why? Because along with the myriad of other fans I believe that AGB is a series that is needed in the media. The tweets and Facebook comments speak for themselves: there is something about J that we can relate to. And by “we” I don’t necessarily mean just Black women, but women of all cultures, men of all races, people of all backgrounds. Awkward Black Girl is a universal in its plot (we all go through awkward moments at times) yet it can also specifically hit home for a young Black woman like myself. It’s like J says what we have all been thinking (or even done) at one time or another.

Another important facet about the show that I commend Rae for is writing J without the tendencies that mainstream media has to typecast and sterotype Black women. J isn’t a hoodrat with three kids from five different baby-daddies, doesn’t wear a 12″ Remy weave, and you don’t need urbandictionary.com to understand what she’s saying. She’s a beautiful black woman, looking for love and respect, may be a bit insecure with herself, can’t really dance, and hates confrontation.

“Hair is the best thing to happen to rhythm-less non-Blacks”
– J, after getting advice from her from her best friend, CeCe about dancing.

As extreme as some of the characters on ABG can seem at times, after viewing the show you can admit that these are simply extensions of people who you may have run into at work or at school. Issa Rae is a talented triple-threat with her writing, directing and acting. I commend her for bringing such an entertaining and relatable show to the public eye. Every part of the production of AWB is done well. The storylines are refreshing (interracial dating is always a challenge to script), the cast are gems (can’t help but crack up whenever I hear “Baby Voice Darius” speak, and CeCe’s interracial dating tips were oh-so-funny), and the production is well done from cuts, angles and edits. If you watch closely you can see a few pop culture references throughout the series (such as the well-known dance-off with the characters in Save The Last Dance, or the stair scene from “She’s All That”).

The invite-only premier of episode #8 is streaming tonight. Yours truly got an invite to the viewing soiree. Episode #7 left us in a cliffhanger: What will happen after White Jay leans in for a smooch with our title character? Or will a love triangle with J’s office crush, Fred, ensue? Tune in tomorrow at 9am PST when episode #8 airs to the public. If you haven’t watched ABG yet, get on it!

“Like” ABG on Facebook or follow on Twitter.

As for now, I’m gonna get my awkward fix on!

Dear Old Spice Guy…

Jul
14
2010

I first saw these hilarious and now infamous Old Spice commercials featuring the handsomely handsome Old Spice Guy earlier this year. Creatively witty, these commercials played on the “insinuation” that men who use Old Spice will smell like the Old Spice Guy, thus being able to miraculously embody the masculine awesomeness he does.

Here’s a couple of the originals featuring actor Isaiah Mustafa:

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Come on now: who can resist tall, dark and handsome? Much less towel-clad, with a sexy baritone voice, 99% muscle, and uses a wildebeest as a loofah to wash his chiseled abs? Isaiah Mustafa plays him well… very well (probably smells damn good too).

The recent, personalized video replies that are currently posted on Old Spice’s YouTube channel are a hit.

It all started just the other day with an Old Spice tweet that stated:
Today could be just like the other 364 days you log into twitter, or maybe the Old Spice man shows up.

I mean, who wouldn’t like the Old Spice Guy replying to one of their posts/tweets/comments, and in real time? I just wonder how many people are going out there and purchasing Old Spice products because of the clever viral marketing and great use of social media?

I must admit that I was (easily) sucked in to watching at least a couple dozen of them before my browser crashed (probably due to The Old Spice Guy’s super manliness). Kudos to the creative marketing and writing team behind this idea. Who would’ve thought that a company that sold after-shave that you would only buy for your 78-year old grandfather for Christmas could turn things around and cater to a younger, tech-savvy generation? The Old Spice brand has delivered a connection with potential consumers on a personal level that was not only effective, but clever, funny, and even used celebrities (e.g. check out the videos for Ellen DeGeneres, Alyssa Milano) as media outlets to get the job done.

Three slow claps for you, Old Spice!

If you haven’t already seen any of the videos in this brilliant advertising campaign, head on over to Old Spice’s YouTube channel. I guarantee you can’t stop at just one. Here are some sample vids:

What would happen if a zeppelin crashed into a bacon factory?

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I wish I had Happy Birthday “sung” to me by this guy.

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That cake sure looked delicious.

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If I were a guy, I would sooo change my voice mail message right now.

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I would so say “yes” if I was proposed to this way.

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So Old Spice Guy: Is it a possibility that Old Spice will release a line of wonderfully-smelling body products for women in hopes that using it will attract a valiant, tenacious, He-Man-like, manly man like yourself?

Season premieres and a moldy bagel

Sep
22
2008

Had a less than appetizing lunch today at school.  I ordered a salami sandwich (on a bagel) with lettuce, tomato, swiss cheese and cucumber.  Looked delicious.  I got through the first half of it (even though the bagel didn’t seem as soft and chewy as I wanted it). I started to pick up the second half of the bagel, begin to take a bit out of it, only to notice a spot of mold on the bread! :(  Ewwwww…. I felt like I was going to upchuck my lunch right there.  While I processed what was probably halfway down my intestines, my housemate went back and got me a refund.  Let’s just say I won’t  be ordering anything there again.

After my moldy bagel experience, I headed home from school to get ready to watch my highly anticipated season premieres: Heroes and CSI: Miami.  Of course since I’m away from school and don’t have a PVR I had to flip between the two shows (hoping to fully watch them in their entirty later), mainly focussing on Heroes.  Then I realized that Prison Break was also airing in the same timeslot on Fox, so now I have to catch up on that as well (can you tell I watch too much TV?).

Anyways, the Heroes premiere was pretty good, but it left WAY more questions than answers after such a promising season finale.  Why was Nathan haunted by Linderman’s ‘ghost’?  Why was Mohinder dumb enough to inject himself with that power-inducing stuff (as much as I loved seeing him without his shirt on)? Why is there a chick who looks like Nikki who can freeze people with the force of liquid nitrogen?  Where is the REAL Nikki? What happened to Micah and Monica?  Where in the world is the Haitian?  How is it that Mrs. Petrelli Sylar’s biological mother? Why is Future Peter such a trouble-maker? Why did Hiro open that damn safe?

It was funny when Parkman thought he could read the turtle’s thoughts, and when Sylar commented on Claire’s question about him eating brains. :D  Can’t wait until next week!