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...

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...

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...

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 in...

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 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 hack...

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 ...

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 hi...

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...