TV and Burgers

Subway I know what you are asking yourselves; why in the world is Sir Griffin writing about Subway?  I mean seriously, Subway?  I mean it seems like you are never far from a Subway.  There are two Subways near my place of work.  There are three Subways within an equal distance from my house, just in different directions.  And Subway has always bothered me by hoarding napkins and putting as few onions as possible on my sandwich, but yet I go back.  I beg for more onions.  I plead for more napkins.  Why the hell can’t they have a napkin dispenser up by the sodas?  I can drink as much soda or tea as I can, yet I can only have two lousy napkins.  So why am I writing about Subway?  I will tell you. I have been seeing the ads on TV for the Big Pastrami Melt Sub and I knew that I had to try it.  After all, pastrami is the most sensual of all the salted, cured meats and besides that it is delicious.  After several bouts with almost giving it a try I finally did so today. Be

Most of you know that I am an avid Survivor fan.  I have seen every episode of every season thus far and I am not about to stop.  We are in the 27th season of Survivor now and I am still a fan.  For many years I wrote a weekly blog about the show and I probably still would had I not gotten tired of doing it. I only like two reality shows; Survivor and The Amazing Race.  You can keep your Kardashians and your Honey Boo Boo.  You can take all your baking and cooking contests and toss them out the window.  You can take any show about hillbillies and ducks and toss them right in the trash for all I care, but do not mess with Survivor.  That said, I can tell you now that there are things I like and dislike about this season. First of all I like the premise.  Normally I am opposed to bringing back former contestants.  I have always found that the best seasons are ones in which we are introduced to a bunch of strangers that know nothing about each other.  Having familiar people in the m

We conclude our previews with a look at NBC.  Now NBC has been in the doldrums lately and as far as I can see not much of that is about to change.  The experiment with the Million Second Quiz was yet another colossal failure, but then again it deserved to be.  So let us take a look at what NBC will be offering us this fall, shall we? The Blacklist: James Spader stars as Red Reddington, one of the FBI's Most Wanted.  In the pilot he surrenders himself to the FBI, but will only speak to a rookie FBI profiler named Elizabeth Keen.  Why her? Well probably because she's young and attractive, but I am sure there is another reason.  Anyway Red has a list of terrorists, many of which the FBI does not even know exist and he is there to help her find them. Why? Well he obviously has a motive, but that is not going to be quickly revealed.  I Like the premise, I like James Spader and I like Megan Boone.  I think I will like this show.  Though wouldn't it be awesome if James Spader

Much like the CW, the Fox Network generally offers a heavy dose of crap each fall.  Now, that is not to say that everything they have is bad nor is it to say that they have shows I do not watch.  I love Raising Hope and I have been watching Bones since the beginning, however they also offer up garbage like The X Factor and its twin sister American Idol.  (I still don't know what the difference is between those shows)  And of course Fox has long been known as the home of The Simpsons, which I have still only seen once.  So when I saw the schedule I could easily see stuff that looked good to me and the aforementioned crap.  Let's take a look. Sleepy Hollow: First published in 1820, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is an American classic.  Like many of you, I was first introduced to the story by the animated Disney film and like many I was immediately enthralled with the story.  I have read the story and seen many different incarnations of it.  This one makes m

I can honestly say that there are no shows currently running on the CW that I watch.  It is a pretty safe bet that nothing will change once the fall shows premiere.  I think I tried watching Arrow last fall and I just could not get into it and I have never been a fan of The Vampire Diaries despite the presence of the lovely Nina Dobrev.  The CW has only three show premiering this fall so this will not take long. Reign: A show about the early years of Mary, Queen of Scots.  Do I really have to write anything else? This sounds and looks so boring and so dull it makes me yearn for a remake of My Mother the Car just so I can say that there is something I actually want to watch less than this snoozefest.  I suppose we are lucky in that we will likely not have a prequel about James V or a sequel about James VI.  Chances of me watching? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The Tomorrow People: Here comes a show with the incredibly original idea of a g

As we continue our look at the fall schedule we head over to CBS which offers up six new shows.  Will they be any good?  Will any of them last?  Let's take a look, shall we? The Crazy Ones: When I heard that my one time dream girl Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) was returning to TV once again I was thrilled.  Then when I saw the preview...not so much.  Buffy stars as Sydney Roberts; a woman that works for her father at an advertising agency in Chicago.  That part sounded a bit bland, but I could deal with that.  Then I saw that her father was played by Robin Williams and all interest was lost. I have watched the preview several times as it has been showing in movie theaters prior to, well, movies, and I can tell you that I have never laughed.  I'm sorry, but the shtick of Robin Williams has grown old and I am sick and tired of it.  Sure, he made a good Genie 20+ years ago, but seriously, who needs his manic nonsense these day?  As a dramatic actor I can handle him in small d

It is that time of year again my friends and I know I am running a little late again this year, but you will all get over it quickly.  You must because you have no choice.  This year, like we probably did last year, we start with ABC. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. : My friends I am here to tell you that I cannot remember a time when I was so excited about a fall TV show.  We all know that I love Marvel and that superhero movies are among my favorites.  We also know that I consider Joss Whedon to be a genius.  When you combine those things you not only get The Avengers, but an awesome looking TV show to boot.  Phil Coulson is the main character and if you have seen any of the Marvel films you probably know exactly who he is.  The plot is simple; Agent Coulson puts together a team to handle strange cases and find new superheroes in the world.  The casting looks to be terrific with Ming-Na Wen (Mulan) as pilot Melinda May, Chloe Bennet as computer hacker Skye and Elizabeth Hentsridge as sci

As I began to write my annual fall TV previews I thought that it might be fun to look back at this past season and take a closer look as to what worked for me and what did not.  My tastes do not always match up with the masses and some shows I thought should have been successful were canceled while others I did not like got the call for a second season.  Some shows just outright disappointed me.  And with that in mind we shall start with… Revolution – No network show disappointed me more than this one.  It started out okay and it just went downhill from there.  Due to my appreciation and respect for JJ Abrams I hung in there all season, but I will not be back for Season 2.  I was okay with the implausible plot, but the fact that so many people had these secrets and refused to answer questions when asked just bugged the crap out of me.  Plus it really annoyed me that it turns out a lack of power turned everyone violent.  Why could people just work together and create a

I know what you’re thinking because I am pretty much thinking the same thing; how can Sir Griffin hate a show that he’s never even seen?  That’s simply ridiculous, correct?  Well as ridiculous as it sounds and as ridiculous as the reality of it is, it’s true.  There are TV shows that, for one reason or another, I simply hate.  Now I am not talking about ridiculous reality shows that follow around a family or hang out at a business because I should never have to watch Honey Boo-Boo, Ducky Dynasty, Splash or anything involving a Kardashian to know that it is a piece of crap.  No, I am sticking strictly with scripted shows today because if I were to get involved with “reality” shows the list would be almost endless.  Now I don’t hate every show that I have never seen.  I have never seen Revenge, but I don’t hate it.  Same goes for The Good Wife, Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries and several others.  It’s just that some shows just hit me the wrong way or something and I get th

As you may have noticed there was no entry last week after the abbreviated entry from two weeks ago. For that, I do apologize. However, I have so much going on right now with the injury sustained by Lady Gianna and the many activities of the Little Prince that it is getting too difficult to continue doing this recap each week. I am exhausted. I am yawning as I write and my eyes are watering. I need sleep and I need time to do all the necessary work at home. For now I just cannot continue. I may return with recaps later this season, but for now I need a break. Thanks for your understanding.

Due to extenuating circumstances I will be unable to post a complete Survivor Caramoan recap this week. Lady Gianna was injured and hospitalized and my time has been preoccupied with her and her recovery. I will give you a brief recap today: Reynold found another hidden immunity idol. Matt showed us his nasty feet. It rained a lot. The favorites won the reward challenge and had a feast. Corinne drank a lot of wine. Brandon went nuts, dumped the rice & beans, yelled at Phillip and then pretty much everyone else. His tribe forfeited the challenge and gave immunity to the fans. Jeff had to give Brandon an awesome shoulder massage in an attempt to calm him down. They held tribal council right there at the challenge location and they all voiced their votes to Jeff. It was unanimous and Brandon was voted out. Dawn cried. So did Andrea. Hopefully things will settle down and I can get back to full recap next week. Thanks for your support and understanding.

Our episode began with the dysfunctional Gota tribe returning to camp after another testy tribal council. Somehow, Shamar was still in the tribe and boy oh boy was Eddie pissed that his tribe voted off Hope. Eddie said “it’s mindboggling to me that we got rid of Hope tonight. She was the prettiest one here”. I’m with you on this one Eddie. How they can keep that lazy brute Shamar and get rid of Hope is beyond normal comprehension. Seriously, if I am stuck on an island for up to 39 days I want the prettiest people around me. But alas, I am not playing the game. Reynold went on a bit of a tirade as well since he had been blatantly lied to by Laura and apparently he had not realized that being lied to was a time honored Survivor tradition. Over at Bikal it was all unicorns and flowers as Phillip continued enshrining tribe mates into his secret “stealth R us” alliance. Frankly I am having trouble remembering what everyone’s secret name is, but it hardly matters. An

Every season of Survivor needs a good villain. And by villain I mean someone that you just love to hate. Richard Hatch was such a villain. Jerri Manthey was a good villain. So was Coach and so was Russell Hantz. Even Phillip made a good villain, even though he is now more of a cartoon character than villain. You root against them, but at the same time it’s kind of good to have them around for a long time as they add so much to the show’s dynamic. Think about it; if you don’t have Snidely Whiplash to torment Nell then you have no Dudley Do-Right. It’s just the way it is. But this season is different. We have Shamar and he is not a good villain. I am not even sure if he is a bad villain. I think he’s just a clueless asshole with incredible anger issues. He serves no purpose on the show whatsoever. He’s not a hero and not a villain. He’s not likeable in the least and he appears to be despised by everyone except Sherri, who sees him as a cranky teenager working

I’d like to start this out by apologizing to you, my loyal readers. Sir Griffin has been ill and thus has been in no mood to write his annual Oscar review. Despite my illness I did manage to watch all of the red carpet arrivals and the entire show from beginning to end. I do this not only for myself, but for all of you as well and I do hope you appreciate and enjoy it. First I want to tell you that I watched the Red Carpet arrivals on TV Guide Network. It took me about 10-15 minutes to find that channel, but I found it just before they came on the air. I cannot and will not watch the coverage on E! as long as they continue to put that sorry sack of crap Ryan Seacrest on the air. I absolutely refuse to watch anything with him in it. Thus I was subjected to some guy I had never heard of, Chris Harrison. He was okay, but he seemed like he was confused with his questions and comments at times. I just figured he was some yahoo they found on the street until Jennifer