TV and Burgers

39 days, 20 players, 1 Survivor! Greetings and salutations true believers! For today we will briefly discuss the premiere of Survivor. Now before I go too far let me acknowledge something; I am a true, die-hard Survivor junkie. I have been watching since day one and I just cannot stop. We are into season 39 and it still intrigues me. Obviously there are some seasons I like more than others. I will say I did not like the Redemption Island twist last season. I still believe that once you are voted out you are finished. The sight of Jeff snuffing the torch should be your end on the show. Elizabeth Well this season that appears to be the case. The cast, at first glance, appears to be stellar. I have already chosen a few favorites and I have noticed that no one has come across, at least yet, as the clear villain. While I like the idea of a boot camp, I cannot and will not ever get over the two big ass statues of Boston Rob and Sandra at the Island of the Idols. They...

Hey kids, The 91st Annual Academy Awards have come and gone. Just like this years Super Bowl, I was bored and disappointed. Dammit Academy, a host is desperately needed and you just bucked the mummy train on this one.  Did that even make sense? No, well neither did most of this night. I am not going over the whole thing, however a few of the highlights. While I was really looking forward to Queen opening the show with a guy I had never heard of before named Adam Lambert, it really was a disappointment. Why not just have Rami Malek up there doing his Freddie Mercury imitation? It was lackluster and not a great start to the night. Then three of my favorite women, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and did a very funny yet all too brief routine about how there is not a host. Hello Academy? Why the hell were these three women not the hosts?  Gack! Melissa McCarthy covered in stuffed bunnies. Why? I have no clue. Hilarious? You betcha! One of the best moments of the ...

Hey kids, Being that today is Halloween (okay I realize it’s not Halloween any longer, but it was when I started writing this so get over it) it is my duty to mention that I have never seen the movie “Hocus Pocus”.  When it came out I said “that looks shitty” and I have high hopes that I will never see it.  Okay, that news is out of the way. On with the main event. This past summer when we took a blissfully short road trip we tried using Spotify in the car.  We each took turns choosing artists to listen to (I pretty much always picked The Beatles or Elvis Costello) and then trying not to complain about each other’s selections.  On several occasions I mentioned that there were certain songs that I have heard enough and I never need to hear them again.  Then I recently read an article in which someone on NPR had come up with the same idea that I did; that certain songs need to be retired.  So I decided that I would make a list of the songs I never, ever ...

It was more than a slap in the face; it was a humiliating kick in the crotch.  That was my first reaction to the series finale of How I Met Your Mother (heretofore known as HIMYM) and after thinking about it for a day it has only gotten worse.  This whole season has been a little (okay, a lot) less funny and enthralling as the previous eight, but all of that would have been forgiven if the finale gave those of us who have been fans since day one the closure we deserved.   They failed. When HIMYM first premiered I was hooked from the very beginning.  The show had relatable characters that were fun and the promise of something big to come one day.  Over the years Ted, Barney, Robin, Marshall and Lily became more than just characters in a show; they became family and we cared about them deeply.  I looked forward to Monday nights because I knew I would get some good laughs every week.  Even on those rare occasions when the show didn’t ...

The 86th Annual Academy Awards have come and gone and now that I have had a little time to digest what I saw I am ready to share my thoughts with you.  First of all I want to know if I am the only heterosexual man in America that sits with his beautiful wife to watch all the stars arrive and then critique the gowns, hair and shoes of the women as they walk the red carpet.  Anyone?  No, just me?  Oh well, I feel bad for the rest of you.  I tuned in to the TV Guide Network to watch the arrivals because that evil robot Seacrest was on E and there was no way I could sit through that.  I did like Nancy O’Dell’s gown and I thought that Ireland Baldwin looked nice as well, although she has some really dumbass tattoos and the way she would pop up and then disappear was very odd.  I only wish Nancy would have allowed some of the stars to actually answer her questions.  She would ask and when they would start to answer she would pull the mic...

Although it is one of the only two reality shows that I regularly watch and enjoy, I rarely write about The Amazing Race.  Today I will right that wrong, not with a recap per se, but rather my early impressions on this, the 24th installment of the popular series.  I have to say that when I first saw the lineup for this seasons all-stars I was a bit underwhelmed.  We had a couple of teams that were already running for the third time and frankly only one team of hot women.  When it comes to TAR, as it is know, you need at least two teams of beautiful women.  That should go without saying.  In addition to that oversight I saw that we would once again be stuck with one of the most annoying teams of all time, twin sisters Natalie & Nadiya.  Thankfully they were quickly eliminated by coming in dead last in episode one.  I could hear the cheers from around the world when it happened.  I was also thrilled that one of my favorite t...

Yes my friends you read that correctly; Sir Griffin will not be watching the Winter Games from Sochi Russia. Not one second.  There are several reasons why and I will share them with you now. First of all I am truly repulsed by the anti-gay laws of Russia.  Google ran an excellent pro-gay doodle yesterday with a quote from the Olympic Charter.  It read as follows "The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play," Now while that will do absolutely nothing to change the discriminatory laws of Russia (and I realize that things are not exactly perfect here either, but at least things are changing in the right direction) it was certainly a wonderful tribute. But there is also the stray dog issue.  I realize Sochi has an...

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...

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 ...

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'...

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 incarn...