TV and Burgers

In 2013 two of my favorite shows will reach their conclusion; Fringe will air its final episode in January and Breaking Bad will finish its run sometime in the summer. I always come to a series finale with some trepidation knowing that I have been burned in the past by some bad finales, but also with a bit of optimism since I have also seen some fantastic finales. How either of these shows will end is anyone’s guess, but all I ask for is an ending that is satisfying so I am not left to wonder or interpret on my own what really happened. Now the first episode of the first half of this season of Breaking Bad began with a flash-forward to Walter ordering breakfast (but not eating it, what a waste) in a Denny's on his 52nd birthday. Walt is using an alias and has a New Hampshire driver’s license. He meets with Lawson in the restroom and is given the keys to a car that has an arsenal in the trunk. The final episode ended with Hank sitting on a toilet in Walt’s house and finally...

I am a dedicated television viewer. If I like a program I will often stay with a program from beginning to end. However, there are times when I just have to say goodbye to shows that I once loved. Sometimes it is easy to do. Take Heroes for an example. It had a spectacular first season that was fun and inventive. Season two was a completely different story. I stuck with it for about half of season two and then I had enough and let it go. It was off my DVR for good and I was not alone. Today I want to share with you three shows that I have dropped from my DVR so far this season. Glee – When this show began I was absolutely enthralled with it. Since I had been in a group similar to New Directions when I was in high school, the show spoke to me. I enjoyed the songs and the dancing. I liked most of the characters and the show was blessed with a great villain in Sue Sylvester. Then at the end of last season the show began to fade. Sue was not as evil as she o...

On a recent trip to Orlando we discovered a delightful restaurant called BurgerFi . Located in Winter Park on the corner of Fairbanks and Park, BurgerFi may just be the ultimate burger place. The place has both indoor and outdoor seating and has a wide open feel to it. It’s a modern take of an old fashioned burger & shake place. Before I get too much further into our experience I will tell you that while parking in the street is at a premium, we were able to find a public lot that was virtually empty about a block away. Now it is only public parking after 5:00 PM so don’t say I didn’t warn you. It was a comfortable evening in Winter Park and as we strolled towards our destination we saw several other shops & restaurants along the same street. There was sushi, frozen yogurt and French cuisine to name a few. But, we were after the perfect burgers. As we walked through the wide open doors we were welcomed by a young and attractive girl behind the counter who we will ...

Except for Survivor and The Amazing Race, I have virtually no use for reality television. I don’t watch it and by design I know very little about it. I don’t care about anyone named Kardashian, people that drive trucks or hillbillies that fish with their hands. However, I have determined that there are several reality ideas I have in my head that I would watch if they actually aired. So take a look at my thoughts for reality television shows and let me know if you’d watch any of them. Chelsea & Angie – Two of the sexiest and most beautiful Survivor contestants of all time, Chelsea Meissner and Angie Layton, move in to a beach house together. They spend their days and nights wearing bikinis and doing normal, everyday things. Sometimes they read the phone book aloud and they often run in slow motion on the beach. Though I could not promise anything it would be great if they became lovers. The beach house would be near where I live. Seacrest or Death – A conte...

We have finally reached the end of our fall previews with a look at the offerings from Fox.  Now Foxx is only giving us three new shows this fall followed by two midseason programs.  Of the new fall series I can tell you that I have seen the pilot episodes for them all and two of them are brilliant.  However, before I get to those quality shows I want to start with what may be the biggest piece of crap this fall.  The Mob Doctor – Avid readers know that there are two TV genres that I despise: medical dramas and gangster shows.  This one hour drama unsuccessfully combines them into one dull and unwatchable mess.  Jordana Spiro (My Boys) stars as Dr. Grace Devlin, a brilliant surgeon in Chicago who puts herself, her friends and her loved ones in jeopardy due to a family debt owed to the mob.  Now if Dr. Devlin put her family and friends on Jeopardy to battle an evil Alex Trebek this show might have been interesting for a moment.  In...

I am taking today to take a look at the offerings from The CW.  Now, The CW is not offering much in the line of new shows this fall, but a look we will take nonetheless.  Let’s see what we can expect to see on The CW this fall… Arrow – As much as I enjoy superhero movies, superheroes on TV have always been a tough sell for me.  I could never get into Smallville; Heroes had a great first season, but quickly declined in quality and The Cape was The Crap from the first episode.  However, I actually think that Arrow looks pretty good.  Arrow is actually The Green Arrow, a DC comic character whose name has been shortened for reasons I do not know.  Canadian actor Stephen Amell will be playing the main character of Oliver Queen/Arrow and he looks pretty good for the part.  I liked the preview and I feel this could be a fun show.  I also realize that superhero shows can go into an irreversible decline very quickly so I must be cautious....

As we all know Sir Griffin is way behind in his fall TV previews, but there is no need to complain.  I will, eventually, get all of them finished.  I realize that some shows may have already been canceled by the time I get this all done, but as always, Sir Griffin will do his best.  We’re taking a look today at NBC and fortunately for you I have already seen several of these shows so I can give some definitive opinions.  I am going to start with the four shows in which I have already seen the pilot.  Go On – Matthew Perry returns with another attempt to headline his own show.  And while I enjoyed Mr. Sunshine, I can tell you that this show is substantially better.  Perry plays sportscaster Ryan King, a widower who has joined a support group to help him cope with the loss of his wife.  I know it does not sound like a particularly funny topic, but I can tell you that it is very humorous.  I loved the pilot and particularly enjoye...

It is time for Sir Griffin to take a look at the shows that will be offered by the CBS television network.  My apologies for taking so long in my fall previews, but I am doing my best and hopefully will have it all said and done before the new shows begin.  But even if I do not you really can’t complain because I do this for free for your pleasure.  So let’s begin our look at CBS with Partners –   From the creators of Will & Grace comes a show about two men; one gay and one straight.  They have been friends since childhood and are now business partners and still best of friends.  The show delves into their lives as they both begin new relationships.  I have to say that I was a huge Will & Grace fan and the preview for this show indicates I will love this one as well.  It looks funny and appears to have the same wacky charm/  Plus, there is a dog named Elphaba and you can never go wrong there.  The show stars David Krumholt...

It's that time of year again my friends.  The new shows will be arriving very soon and due to a vigorous summer schedule Sir Griffin is behind in his previews.  But fear not TV & Burger fans as it is finally time to begin.  We start with ABC. 666 Park Avenue - This is a show about a couple who move into a Manhattan building and learn that it just might be possessed by a demonic force .   The show  stars Terry O'Quinn from Lost and Vanessa Williams as the building's owner and his beautiful wife.  Also starring is Rachael Taylor and Dave Annable as the aforementioned young couple.  This show looks terrific.  Terry O'Quinn has long been one of my favorite actors and any show that has demonic forces will always pique my interest.  Chances of me watching: 100%. Nashville - I have already seen the premiere episode of this show and I can tell you it sucks.  Big time.  It stars Connie Britton as Rayna, a fading country music s...

"Ezekiel saw the wheel. This is the wheel he said he saw.  These are Unidentified Flying Objects that people say they are seeing now.  Are they proof that we are being visited by civilizations from other stars? Or just what are they? What you are about to see is part of a 20-year search." Those words, spoken by Jack Webb, were the introduction to each episode of Project U.F.O. which ran on NBC for two seasons beginning in February 1978.  The show was based on the files of Project Blue Book, which was a study of unidentified flying objects by the US Air Force between 1952 and 1969.  The show starred William Jordan as Major Jake Gatlin and Caskey Swaim as Staff Sergeant Harry Fitz as two Air Force investigators working on Project Blue Book.  In season two Jordan was replaced by Edward Winter as Captain Ben Ryan and the show suffered greatly.  Winter, who had been brilliant as Colonel Flagg on M*A*S*H*, was a dud here.  His presence and th...

As I have mentioned previously, we always like to try a local place for pizza when we travel.  On our recent trip to Franklin we had several choices and after a little research we chose Vito’s Pizza and Italian Tavern .  It was an excellent choice. We had driven by Vito’s a couple of times during the week so we knew where it was, but we still used the GPS because it’s just fun.  Vito’s is located in a strip plaza and when we drove up I was a bit surprised that it was smaller than I thought.  However, they had a fat chef statue outside which is always a good sign.  An even better sign was when we stepped inside and saw a guy tossing pizza dough in the air.  We were quickly seated in the dining room and I think they had about six or eight tables.  It was a little tough to tell as there were these yentas having some sort of party so some of the tables were obviously pushed together.  Our server, Robin, told us they had a special tha...

If I were asked to use one word to describe Fat Buddies Ribs and BBQ I would have no idea which one to choose.  I could go with outstanding, excellent, amazing, delicious or incredible and each would be a perfect description.  Before I begin the inevitable drooling allow me to tell you a little about the place.  On a recent trip to Franklin, NC we were blessed with a gift of a $40.00 gift card to use at Fat Buddies.  I knew this would not be a wasted gift.  We went on a Tuesday evening for dinner and while I was told that it could get rather busy there at times, we were fortunate enough to go on a less frequented night.  We were greeted at the door by two things that I love…the aroma of BBQ and a hot girl.  I am getting a little ahead of myself here, but based on the lovely ladies that I saw working there I could easily see that Fat Buddy and I had similar taste in women.  As we were seated I perused the menu.  Prince Garri...

On a recent visit to Franklin, NC we had the pleasure of dining at several wonderful restaurants.  On one particular overcast day the Little Prince was in the mood for some trout fishing, but before we went we knew that some nutrition was vital.  So we found what was a small mom & pop restaurant known for its southern cooking and pies called the Sunset Restaurant.  Sunset is a fairly small place and when we arrived we were afraid we’d have to wait as there were very few parking spaces available.  However, when we walked in we were seated immediately.  The first thing we noticed was the aromas that filled the dining room.  The kitchen could be seen from where we were seated and the delicious aromas were wafting right to our table.  The restaurant was decorated in a very quaint and southern style and had a very homey feel.  The menu was quite varied and had several favorites that you would expect from a place that served home c...