There are very few artists with such a devout following as Daft Punk. Ever since their first album Homework dropped in 1997, even the most casual electronic fan got sucked in. It also helped that Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo kept their identities secret behind ornate robot costumes. The mystery became a huge part of their appeal. Despite the fact that you can easily found out what Bangalter and de Homem-Christo look like online, their robot personas have formed a life of their own and the act obviously wouldn’t be the same without them. With the exception of their Alive 2007 album and the Tron: Legacy Soundtrack, the electronic music duo has remained relatively off the radar since 2005. This absence only added to their appeal as more and more fans got into their music during this time (I know I did). They sort of became this mystery group that, over the years, people fell in love with and desperately wanted another studio album after 2005’s Human After All.

This is why when Random Access Memories was first teased in early 2013, heads almost exploded with excitement. The advertisements started rolling out at a gradual pace and first came to a head on March 2nd when a 15-second television ad aired during Saturday Night Live. It was quick, mysterious, and exactly what you would expect from the band. Then the real big event came during the first night of Coachella Festival 2013. This was when the now infamous third trailer debuted featuring Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, and Nile Rodgers performing “Get Lucky,” the album’s first single. It was shortly followed by the names of the nine total collaborators on the album, including: the aforementioned Williams and Rodgers, and also Giorgio Moroder, Panda Bear, Julian Casablancas, Todd Edwards, Paul Williams, DJ Falcon, and Chilly Gonzalez. The website also started featuring a series of videos called The Collaborators, where each collaborator was interviewed about their experiences recording with Daft Punk. As of this writing, there are eight videos up with Julian Casablancas as the only one missing. Needless to say, the promotion for Random Access Memories was off the charts and was essentially viewed as THE most anticipated album of 2013. So does it live up to the high standard it set for itself?

In many ways, Random Access Memories absolutely delivers. The entire album is catchy and full of danceable tunes that keep you hooked from start to finish. Each collaborator brings their own special element to the songs they’re on which makes each track unique, but still have a sense of similarity. Take “Give Life Back to Music” and “Get Lucky” for example. Both feature legendary guitarist Nile Rodgers who is best known for his work in Chic and the triple platinum single “Le Freak.” This man thrived in the disco era, so it makes sense for the two songs he’s on to have a very distinct rock/disco feel. Then you have “Giorgio by Moroder” which, as the name suggests, features Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder. Moroder is internationally renowned for bringing an electronic and synthpop sound into disco, and his track showcases this beautifully. It’s definitively a piece by Moroder just like how you can clearly see Rodgers’ influences on his two tracks, so the songs are different but still use their similarities to blend perfectly together.

This album still retains a lot of the classic Daft Punk sound that made them so popular to begin with as well, especially on the tracks without the notable collaborators. The final track of the album “Contact” is very heavy on the electronic and house elements and reminds me a lot of their past work. The same goes for “The Game of Love” and “Motherboard,” except those are much slower in comparison. “Beyond” also has a beautiful orchestral score in the beginning which brings me back to Daft Punk’s work on the Tron: Legacy soundtrack. It all just combines to form one beautifully crafted album of changing music styles from multiple eras.

However, I can see how this album could have a lot of detractors, especially from long time Daft Punk fans. Despite the similarities with past work, this album is definitely a lot less focused on the house/French house style that Daft Punk has become known for. I have already read stories of a lot of fans who really dislike Random Access Memories because it’s clearly more focused on disco than house. There’s very little like their past hits “Technologic” and “One More Time” on here, so if you’re pulling for one of those you honestly might be out of luck.

If you’re going to ignore this album because it’s different from previous Daft Punk releases, then I’m going to feel really sorry for you. Differences aside Random Access Memories is an amazing album. There is a lot to love here and many reasons why you should keep coming back for more. I never once expected that Daft Punk was shooting for the moon with the heavy promotion because I knew they could pull it off. Random Access Memories is easily one of the best albums of 2013 and I expect it to be on many Top 10 lists with a few Grammy nominations.

Rating: 9.5/10

It’s one of the more polarizing singles to be released in rock music and for good reason. Diehard Stone Temple Pilots and Linkin Park fans have wildly differing opinions in LP singer Chester Bennington’s decision to be the new singer of STP in the wake of Scott Weiland’s ousting. Don’t believe us? Check out the song’s Soundcloud, and you’ll see the intense love and hate fans have left on the site.

So the gang at The Singles Party have decided to tackle this new single due to its controversy and the fact it’s probably one of the most lauded singles in modern rock.

Lauren Stern: I was never a big Stone Temple Pilots fan before, and now that I heard their first single with their new singer Chester Bennington, I don’t think there’s even a slight chance that will change. This song is everything you’re expecting — screaming, guitars, and more screaming. It’s just noise and not the good kind of noise. So, if you want to avoid the huge headache I have right now, pass on this track. Verdict: One and Done.

Nick Porcaro: Stone Temple Pilots’ first single in three years is solid. Promising, even, save for one not-so-little detail: Chester Bennington of Linkin Park is their new singer, and he sounds displaced. Chester’s pitch is solid, his high notes are pretty strong, but his vocal phrasing is stilted and occasionally clumsy. Of course, it doesn’t help when he’s forced to sing lyrics in the vein of pseudo-tough rock posturing that’s been out of fashion for decades now. An enjoyable listen — especially with relentless, grooving riffs courtesy of the dependable DeLeo brothers — but one that’s uncomfortably off-kilter. Perhaps the collaboration will solidify on their upcoming album. I certainly hope so. Verdict: Add to playlist, by a very narrow margin.

Jason Stives: Interesting fact: Stone Temple Pilots were one of my favorite rock bands of the ’90s, always beating out Nirvana and Pearl Jam thanks in part to their straight-laced hard rock styles. Interesting Fact No. 2: Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory was the CD I played the most during my early teens because, well, it was everywhere circa 2001/02. So by default the combination of both should create something tangible for me to enjoy but that remains to be determined. Bennington while a solid modern rock singer feels very out of place fronting a band whose lyrics tend to fall on the sexually tinged, booze rock side which really can only be covered by one Scott Weiland. Mind you there is a reason he is not in the band currently and while replacing him with a more than approved lead singer is smart for business it’s not setting in just yet. Yes, we have the sound of the DeLeo brothers to remind us of their potent sound but it just doesn’t feel right despite being rather catchy for a straight and narrow rock song. I think I will have to bow out on a final call. Verdict: Abstain.

Jason Kundrath: Weiland is dead! Well, not really. But the man has been on the decline for years, and then he put out that album of Christmas standards. Long story short: while no one can ever take away his massive contributions to alt-rock, Scott Weiland has been a wet blanket on STP for approximately 15 years. But Weiland IS STP, you say? I beg to differ. The riff-tastic DeLeo brothers and drummer Eric Kretz have as much to do with STP’s distinctive sound as anyone. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to create the magic without their troubled singer.

But this newest track featuring Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington gives me hope. Bennie’s aggro vocal attack seems perfectly suited to the bands’ heavy approach. The riff is badass, and Dean’s solo is a perfect reminder of his fantastic skills on the fretboard. Sure, Chester could be accused of ripping off a bit of Weiland’s swagger, but maybe he’s been doing it for his whole career, and we just didn’t notice. Don’t get me wrong – overall, it’s not great, but it’s pretty damned good, suggesting that over the course of a proper album, these guys could really do something awesome. Plus, with Chester’s marquee value, maybe the world will pay these dudes the attention they deserve. Verdict: Add to the Playlist.

Brent Johnson: So the guy from Linkin Park takes over the mic in Stone Temple Pilots … and it ends up sounding like a bad Velvet Revolver knockoff. Spare me. I’ll stick with the solid, sturdy body of work STP put out with Mr. Weiland’s husky vocals and off-kilter lyrics in the 1990s — the happy time before Linkin Park or Velvet Revolver ever entered the universe. Verdict: One and Done.

Bill Bodkin: I used to be a big Stone Temple Pilots fan, but in recent years they haven’t exactly produced music that has really impressed me. Here, though, with new vocalist Chester Bennington, it seems as though the band’s sound has come alive, bursting with a new badass energy. I’m still not 100 percent sold on the Linkin Park frontman as the band’s new voice. With ‘Out of Time,’ Bennington does a solid Scott Weiland impersonation and it’s probably some of the best vocal work he’s done in a while … but that’s not saying much. As you can guess, I’m not a huge Linkin Park fan. I think I’d need to hear more of the band whether I can fully get behind them or not. However, when it comes to this ‘vintage’ sounding STP track, I so it’s good enough to add to your playlist. Verdict: Add to Playlist.

Final Verdict: While the majority of us approve of this new track, we still have some reservations. So go into this one with an open mind — it really could go either way for you.

Talking with Jason Newsted about his new musical endeavor, aptly and simply called Newsted, and you’d think you were talking to a young kid hitting the road for his first world tour.

No, there’s no naivete or inexperience in the legendary bassist’s Southwestern tinged words. But that same youthful and infectious energy and excitement lay behind every word that comes out of his mouth. You can hear that unquenchable fire that only comes from a person who passionately believes and absolutely loves what he’s doing.

This passion for playing live is something the former Metallica bassist never thought he’d rediscover. He seemed content on performing bass on various projects ranging from Tina Turner to Gov’t Mule, and continuing his highly successful career as a painter.

Then, Metallica invited him to perform onstage at their massive 30th Anniversary show out in California. That experience relit the torch of the dormant musical fire that lay inside his belly. And from that moment he restarted his musical journey with a brand new band but the same musical mission — to kick the audience’s ass with the sweet sound of heavy metal.

Pop-Break’s Bill Bodkin spoke with Newsted about his new band as the quartet prepared to roll into the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J. this Thursday, May 23rd.

Pop-Break: I read in your bio that when you reunited with Metallica at their anniversary show, you had a moment where you said “I’ve got to get back to this. I can’t ignore my feelings. How dare I?” Talk about that moment and what it was about jumping on that stage that made you want to return.

Jason Newsted: It was the hardest thing in my life to walk away from Metallica. It’s in me, always, and I never wanted it to stop. When I got onstage [at the reunion show] the passion in me was restoked and rekindled by the people that originally instilled that fire and passion in me. It was the biggest earthquake that ever shook my heart, my mind.

PB: You recruited Jessie Farnsworth and Jesus Mendez Jr. to be your band — why these guys?

JN: I’ve known Jesus for a long time. He was drum tech for Echobrain and he was a local roadie for Metallica. I started jamming with him in the Chophouse around 2002, 2003. I’d bring him to special events, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, gallery shows. When we were jamming we wanted to do a power trio thing so we brought in Jessie. It’s important to perform with people you get along with and who support you and who you can hang with.

Then Mike Mushok (of Staind) came on and really sealed the whole thing. He added a lot of color and a fantastic musicianship to the band.

PB: You’re taking over lead vocals here. You’ve done vocal work for Metallica before, but was there worry/nerves/excitement about being the lone man behind the microphone?

JN: I love the challenges. I’ve been doing vocals for a longtime, the whole Cookie Monster growl thing. I’ve spent the last eight years developing my voice practicing at The Chophouse. I never thought this would ever happen; I mean I retired at like 37, 38 years old. Then this whole thing happened and there’s a momentum I couldn’t deny. It’s all on me now. It’s like Jordan with the ball with eight seconds left in the game. It’s either you’ll be heralded if you succeed or it’ll be ‘dude what the fuck’ if you miss.

There’s definitely a nervous excitement here. This is my first new band since Flotsam and Jetsam. I’ve always been the new blood in the engine in established bands (Metallica, Ozzy, Echo Brain, Voivod, etc.). So when we were putting a name on the band, I didn’t want to go with something people didn’t recognize or wait to recognize. Metallica was always bigger across the world than in North America, so I was conditioned for years to have a worldview on things. So I thought people would recognize the name ‘Newsted’ right away and the word ‘Metal’ (the name of the band’s EP) means metal in any language.

I’m exited to sing and spread positive vibes to the people and share my music with people.

PB: What is different about Jason Newsted — the musician, the man since you last did a full tour or played with Metallica.

JN: I’m in much better shape than I was at 37 and I’m about to turn 50. When I left Metallica in 2001 I was on pills, James was drinking, the others were doing things they shouldn’t … we were all mentally fucked. But it was ‘let’s plow on and not take time to assess our mental health.’

With this band, we’re taking the old avenue of taking the music to the people. I don’t care if there’s 5,000 people in the audience or 30 people, they are all getting their asses kicked! I’ve always felt that way to go bring the music to the people.

But, there’s many new avenues I haven’t been down or it’s been a long time. I mean I haven’t been on a tour bus in 10 years since I was on the road with Ozzy. But there’s also the technology, the social networking … I’ve tried to repel all of this for as long as I could. I’ve tried and still try to remain as analog as possible. But then I learn and discover that social networking is the way to connect with the people and rekindle my relationship with the fans. Change has made me adapt. Mike just came off the road with Staind in October so he’s been a big blessing in this, because he’s helping me so much. I need that help because with this band it’s all me. I’m the manager, the bassist, the investor, the singer, I’m micro-managing things, booking flights, hotels … all things I never had to undertake before. I was conditioned to have people handle this for me when I was in Metallica. Now, it’s a humbling thing, but it’s also exciting because I’m calling all the shots and I have more control and there’s lots of new things to learn.

PB: Is it odd touring without a big production like Ozzy or Metallica and doing a more club-centric tour?

JN: The idea behind this first tour is to get warmed up because in June we’re hitting 15 different countries playing with Iron Maiden and Slayer. So that’s a pretty big deal. This is the next phase of the band … we’ll be second on the bill and we’re there to take care of business. We don’t have the LP out yet so we just have the EP and the live show, some video is getting out there on YouTube. It’s a challenge to get people to respond to the new stuff, but they are definitely responding.

PB: Then you hit the road with GIGANTOUR this summer — how do you feel about hooking up with Mustaine and this now epic and popular tour?

JN: Dave and Dave (Mustaine and Ellefson) gave my old band Flotsam and Jestam their first shows outside of Arizona when we opened for them back in 1985. So there’s a definite camaraderie there with them. We’re going to be on the bill early, but we’ll be taking it to the people for sure. It kinda reminds me of when Metallica went on the Monsters of Rock Tour in 1988 and we played second before Dokken. (laughs). Man, he got pelted with a lot of shit on that tour. I mean we were playing a take no prisoners 30-45 minute set each night. We weren’t playing no fucking ballads and we didn’t care who was headlining we were bringing the show to the people.

PB: What songs off the new EP METAL do you think people should be checking out to get the full scope of the new band? And will these songs end up on the new record?

JN: “Soldierhead” is our first single and its putting our best big black boot forward. I mean I like all of the songs — all four of them have their own life and personality. As far as the EP goes … I believe their function, when they were created around the ’70s or so, was to be a sampler for the long playing record and that’s what we’re kinda doing here.

When we started this project I was wondering if anyone would give a shit about us. So we put this EP together and did what it was either Clutch or Down did and put it up on iTunes and see where it goes from there in terms of a response. iTunes got flooded the day the EP came, the “Soldierhead” video has a couple hundred thousand views already and we made that video in the God damn garage.

I’m just really overwhelmed by the positive vibes and am glad we did the right thing here. This music is the real deal, new old school metal and if people are into the EP they’re going to love the record.

PB: You performed on a record with Tina Turner and performed with the likes of DJ Shadow and Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule — how was working with artists from outside the world of metal help you improve?

JN: It really required a lot of paying attention and coming in and playing my ass off and it’s made me more well-rounded. I remember when Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath called me on the phone to play on his Who Cares record, I thought “Who’s fucking with me?” My roadies are all British, so I thought it was them at first. (laughs). [When he got into the studio with the Sabbath guitarist] I just learned. I also did work on this Italian pop singer Elisa’s single too. [I get invited to work on projects because] people tell me they respect what I did in Metallica, the way I ‘became the bass’ People still call me to this day and sometimes I’m like “Oh…My…God” at the opportunity. I mean to play with Warren Haynes and Gov’t Mule was other-wordly.

PB: Finally, what’s your pop culture break in your day?

JN: My other great passion is painting. I had three shoulder surgeries from 2004-2008, two on the right shoulder, on one the left. I couldn’t really play anymore … painting gave me fulfillment, purpose. I have the same passion for it as I do music, in fact it’s the only thing I’ve discovered that I love as much as music.

I was really unhappy about my injuries so I started painting and I now have done about 1,000 of them. They caught on at gallery shows and I have a few collectors in North America and I have a few studios I own around the country. I do a lot of gigantic paintings, some six-foot by twelve-foot, they all have a direct correlation to my music. It’s as though the music has been transferred to the canvas. It’s got the same kind of of “ARRRR!!!” and intensity.

 Justin Matchick: The NBC of today is a far cry from the ratings dominating juggernaut it was in the 80s and 90s. A decade of poor business decisions and atrocious handling of public relations disasters, coupled with boneheaded programming decisions and a simple lack of foresight has driven the company that was once the highest rated network on television straight down to fighting over fourth place with Univision. When the only aspect of NBC that seems to consistently deliver a quality product is their Sunday Night Football broadcasts, you know the network has to be in panic mode.

Just taking a look at the history of NBC’s “Must See TV” programming block can tell you everything you need to know about why NBC is struggling. From 1982 thru 2006, NBC had at least one show from this block among the top 30 most watched shows on television. From 1995 until 1999, almost every show that aired during this block was one of the top 10 most watched shows on television. An impressive feat made much easier thanks to NBC having quality programming like Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld, and ER to consistently keep viewers watching and coming back for more.

In the years since the end of “Must See TV” and the start of the newly named “Comedy Night Done Right” block, only The Office and ER have made any significant impact rating wise. The 2009 season of The Office is the last time anything from NBC’s Thursday night lineup was able to even break the list of top 50 most watched shows. Viewing the lineups of the 80s and 90s reveals that consistency and longevity was NBC’s gameplan, with shows like The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, L.A. Law, and A Different World stretching on in the same timeslots for multiple seasons. The Thursday lineup for NBC has been far less fruitful in recent years, a minefield of short-lived failures, unjust cancellations, confusing timeslot switching, and constantly waiting until the last minute to renew shows. This has caused a show like Parks and Recreation to have season finales written to act as possible series finales for almost every season so far. At this point the only hope for salvation for NBC would be either a megahit comedy to help anchor Thursday nights, or a complete firing of those in charge of programming. Neither are likely, but both would help.

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Michael Dworkis: The question may sound shocking. Why is NBC failing? Who would have thought a prominent network such as NBC could ever be described as failing? For years their programming was top-notch, but those days of consistent programming and loyal fan base are over.

Law and Order was the staple for NBC programming for years. The gritty, dark, and often shocking police drama left fans drooling for the next episode. Then came Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Like any good show, in eventually comes to an end. The original Law and Order came to its conclusion in May 2010 due to declining ratings. The show lost its touch just a few seasons before due to the passing of Jerry Orbach and many shifting cast members leading to familiar, long-time characters leaving the show. The new cast never caught on, and ultimately the show ended. NBC was so desperate for a replacement show, they began a spin-off, Law and Order: LA which was a disaster from the start. Inconsistent character appearances, it felt like viewers only saw half a show. Even Alfred Molina could not save the show. Law and Order: LA did not last. Lastly, we have SVU. Special Victims Unit has been on a slow decline since Christopher Meloni left the show, and was replaced by not one, but two detectives. Richard Belzer has been promoted to Sergeant, and his screen time greatly reduced. Dann Florek, The Captain of this crew is either fully involved or not at all seen. The focus has greatly shifted off the mainstay characters portrayed by Ice-T and Mariska Hargitay while pushing hard on newcomers Danny Pino and Kelli Giddush, both characters force-feeding internal drama to viewers.

NBC having an obsession over needing a Law and Order program is proof of their decline. The show has run its course, and over ten seasons we watched different characters face demons and live out drama both in the precinct and in their personal lives. The new characters are being pushed as tormented souls, or at least that is the impression given, due to writers pushing ten seasons worth of personal problems into just two. They tried to make a “new Stabler” out of Pino, and it just does not work. NBC has such a hard time letting go, and suffering ratings is the proof.

Remember The Event? We didn’t think so.

It does not get better when they try something new. As evidenced by flops The Cape and The Event. Is it bad writing? Bad ideas? The Event was a concept about the supernatural and aliens living on Earth. It was terrible, yet NBC tried to push it as a ground-breaking new paranormal drama. NBC relied on shock value with death, explosions, and supposed hyper-travel across the globe to keep viewers. NBC forgets that viewers for their station need more than shock, but substance and story. Viewers are turning to ABC and CW for their supernatural fix, because there are stories being told, not bright lights and loud sounds to turn heads.

The Cape was another disaster. I admit, I watched through its abrupt end. It was about a superhero, or so I thought, so I gave it a chance. Maybe there was nothing else to watch. The story about a not-so-dead heroic police officer who has to hide the truth. That he is still alive and he is going after all the corruption in his city. To do so, he wears a cape. The show began with a slight semblance of reality, but quickly turned worse than a C-rate SyFy original movie.

The villains became cartoonish, and even the so-called good guys, were not really that nice and every episode just blended together as there was no development, only repeated morals and glimmers of hope. The main character never grew, just a person with consistent feelings of despair, regret (probably agreeing to the role), depression, and ultimately the predictable feeling of “hey, my life sucks, but I need to be a hero for my son!” Excuse me while I pull the pail of puke closer as these harsh memories are hurting my head. NBC again produced a show with the special effects used for attention-deficit studies and nothing to stimulate the brain cells.

But wait, NBC has Community! Did it not just get renewed? Well, renewals or not, wait and see if it even hits the air. Law and Order SVU just earned a renewal and I pray it is the last. Community, once was a fantastic show with quirky characters, each with their own set of personality dysfunctions to bring to the table. For the first three seasons, showrunner Dan Harmon and his team delivered top-notch humor and comedic drama. The fourth season just flopped like a dying fish. Harmon and the majority of the original writing crew gone, replaced by writers from the failed Aliens in America. The show became more storyline- focused, and viewers were forced to laugh at jokes often repeated over and over to get some sort of punch line across. The main character, Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) became a guy who broke the mystifying stupor the other characters would wind up in, which caused even his witty, unending cynical banter to become predictable. Anything involving the Chang character became ultimately uninteresting, while the outlandish cross-dressing by the Dean turned from a novelty act into boring and predictable.

NBC succeeds with a show, and then runs with it longer than its lifespan should. When a show is great, run with it. When a show begins its decent, you go for as long as it delivers what it expects to deliver. Once the element of a show is gone, you stop the show. Instead, NBC refuses to ever let it go, hoping the once-great attraction will somehow rejuvenate itself. Except it never does, because things change and do not remain the same. NBC at times acts like a skeezy jewelry salesman. Find a quick scheme to gain attention. Forgetting quality, they seek to produce quantity. Using bright flashes and big fireworks to turn heads, hoping the attention is diverted away from the low-quality. Why else have viewers turned to ABC, CBS, and even the CW channels for programming? The majority of shows often deliver what NBC once held in high regard. Quality television. It is as if the other networks took what NBC made famous, and learned from it. Then NBC went and lost sight of what they had. NBC needs to stop, take a breath, and relax. Go back to what worked and take the time and patience to churn out something new and innovative.

While this video is a spoof, it would not be a surprise if NBC actually tried to make a tragedy like this work.

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Dan Cohen: Mad About You. Friends. Seinfeld. Frasier. ER. Yeah … that was NBC’s Thursday night line-up at one point. Remember those days? Before they were the butt of all jokes, NBC was the dominant force of television. It’s been rough going for the peacock these last few years though. So what’s the deal? How did they go from the Yankees to Astros? Now I don’t watch a lot of TV. Ever since the birth of reality television, and the ‘hey, let’s make every sitcom feel like a documentary where we talk to the camera’ trend, television has taken an ugly and sad turn, but that is a discussion for another day.

I’m here to talk about NBC’s laughable ratings. Now with the advent of DVR, Hulu, iTunes, and whatever, TV ratings in general are down significantly from the glory days. But why can’t NBC at least do as well as networks like CBS or ABC. I honestly don’t think it’s the quality. Shows like 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, and Community are just as good, if not better then Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory. So what’s the deal? Why can’t those shows get similar ratings? Well, it’s the Ben Affleck/Gigli effect. NBC has such a negative stigma right now that people can’t help but associate ‘Bad TV’ with them, and refuse to give their shows a chance. It took years for Affleck to wash the Gigli stink off him. That’s what’s going on with NBC. So, how did NBC get this ‘stink’ on them in the first place? I’m sure there are many reasons,but there’s two in particular I’d like to delve into.

First of all, the whole Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien Tonight Show debacle in 2010 simply put NBC in a negative light. Remember that whole ordeal? It was reported on incessantly. Remember all the ‘Team Coco’ logos that were plastered all over the internet…cut me a break. And believe me, I was a HUGE Conan O’Brien fan, but the whole Tonight Show thing made me sour on both Leno and Conan. And the Jay Leno 10:00pm show may be the dumbest idea in the history of television. Well, not as bad as ABC’s Cavemen, based on the GEICO Cavemen, but still. The Tonight Show controversy just left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth, and it was NBC that took the brunt of that criticism.

The other show that put NBC in a negative light was Heroes. I cannot remember a show that was so fricking successful and well-loved, and just months later was the target of such vitriol and hatred. Seriously, an Entertainment Weekly cover on how bad the show got…ridiculous. But even though this was one show, there was so much negative coverage and jokes about it, it continued to hurt the NBC name.

They’ll come a time when NBC is back on top, and other networks falter. These things fluctuate. NBC just needs one massive hit, and they can crawl back. Hey…Ben Affleck did it.

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Lauren Stern: NBC’s decline in ratings over the last few years is no secret, but it was for me for a good period of time. Before taking my first media class at Rutgers University in 2010, I saw television and ratings in the eyes of a viewer, not as a media student studying the three major networks and television ratings. But after another season of cancelled programs (some immediately) and bad comedies, any viewer, even those without media education can tell the network is in serious trouble.

Now I could probably discuss some of the history on how this happened as well as some of the major players in this topic but there’s a more important question here: how can NBC fix this mess?

Well, there are multiple solutions. For starters, NBC really needs to do some reconfiguration of its staff. It pains me to write that because I always cringe at the thought of media layoffs but something just isn’t working. Whoever is picking out the programming needs to be let go or put in a different role. Like I said, normally I don’t encourage this, but the fact that shows like Deception or Animal Practice were chosen for the network’s primetime lineup makes my position understandable to say the least.

Which brings me to my next point: the primetime lineup. NBC needs the most stellar shows. They need big hits to put them to the top again or even close to the numbers the Office brought in it’s first few seasons (at least if not better). That means being more careful with picking and choosing before each season starts and replacing the shows that had a good run but just seriously need to be put to rest once and for all! (IE: Community, maybe Law and Order: SVU, even though it has been fantastic this season)

Though the primetime lineup is NBC’s biggest problem, there really needs to be a huge reevaluation of the entire network, including morning and late night programming. Late night may just get better with Jimmy Fallon now replacing Jay Leno, but Today needs a lot of work if it always wants a strong lead in front of Good Morning America. Despite it being in the lead right now (it’s not a strong one), I think the show is still really bruised over the brutal leave of Ann Curry (a.k.a “Operation Bambi”) last year. Maybe the show still needs time to win back it’s viewers but the bad press about Matt Lauer and the network in general is most certainly not helping their image.

I know that all of my ideas of restoration might be a difficult, huge step for the network, but it’s time for the main execs to stop twiddling their thumbs and start make some serious changes for the better.

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Luke Kalamar: Oh NBC. What happened to you? You were once such a powerful network with shows like The Office and 30 Rock absolutely crushing in ratings. At its worst, your “Thursday Night Comedy Block” would at least generate a solid hour of great comedy. Non-sitcom shows, like the many variations of Law & Order, were able to get huge followings and keep people clamoring for more. Now you have the most shows not returning from the 2012-2013 season (a whopping 14), 8 of which got canceled in their first season. It’s gotten to the point where low- rated but highly beloved comedies like Community, with its average of 2-3 million viewers a week, look great by comparison and get an order for another season. How could a once dominant network dig itself into such a deep hole of crap?

From what I can see, NBC’s biggest issue is its decision to focus on comedies more than any other genre. NBC premiered a total of FIVE comedy shows during the last broadcast season (1600 Penn, Go On, Guys with Kids,The New Normal, and Animal Practice) and all of them were cancelled. Fox on the other hand only premiered two, Ben and Kate and The Mindy Project, with the latter becoming a real hit and getting renewed over the former. It’s pretty obvious that NBC is trying to strike gold again in light of their success with multi-Emmy winning shows The Office and 30 Rock (both ended this year, which hurts the network even more), but seemingly approving anything that gets pitched is not the way to go. It also doesn’t help when the now weak network tries to compete with the new comedy juggernaut CBS. The person who decided to put Community on at the same time as The Big Bang Theory should seriously be fired. That’s a perfect metaphor for David and Goliath, except Goliath is a four-armed laser shooting giant and David is a double amputee with leprosy.

I’m not going to pretend to know how NBC can fix their woes, but a good start at least is being a little stricter with their programming. I predicted last year that all the new NBC sitcoms would get cancelled in their first season, and it upsets me that I was 100% right. The Michael J. Fox Show is the first new sitcom in a long time that I’m actually really excited for, and if NBC is smart they will promote this heavily. They also shouldn’t put it at the same time as The Big Bang Theory or else the show will suffer from the start. Give it time to breathe and hopefully it can become that next big comedy hit. That, and a little bit of luck, can hopefully pull NBC out of this hole and actually have it compete with everyone else for the first time in years.

Oh, and do a better job with Olympics coverage. London 2012 coverage was ATROCIOUS and you have a year until Sochi 2014. Learn from your mistakes and make it better.

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Bill Bodkin:  Let’s face it — from investing in a lot of big budget action flops (The Bionic Woman, Crusoe) to the Conan/Leno debacle, to never truly getting behind sitcoms to replace he vaunted sitcoms from their Must See TV line-up, NBC has been their own worst enemy as of late.

However, I’d like to offer a silver lining after looking at 2013 line-up because I really think NBC Is finally doing it right and going for a schedule of solid programming.

First off, NBC can’t be touched when it comes to Sunday Nights — they’re football broadcasts do absurd numbers no one is going to touch.

Second, the Jimmy Fallon/Seth Meyers late night one-two is going to be an awesome upgrade over Leno/Fallon. Fallon I think Fallon is random enough to bring a young audience in and safe enough to keep Leno’s audience in tact. Meanwhile, Meyers has enough of the edge and wit to keep the old Fallon audience happy.

Third, they’ve done the right thing by bringing back Christina and Cee-Lo to The Voice. It cost them some serious cabbage, but look at what the ratings have done this season — they haven’t been as good as seasons past even when they were going up against Idol. Having them on Monday against the hyper masculinity of Monday Night Football and Monday Night RAW, makes sense.

Fourth, their new shows have garnered more positive press than most of the other networks. The Blacklist, the new thriller with James Spader looks out of this world good. Think The Following, but if Joe Carroll was working with the FBI. Ironside with Blair Underwood, which’ll be teamed with Law & Order: SVU (which is coming off its best creative season in a while), should be a solid ratings gainer. Chicago Fire did well teamed with SVU so I have a strong feeling that this courtroom drama. Dracula, the new Jonathan Rhys-Meyers series should do decently paired with Grimm.

However, the ultimate show this season for NBC will be The Michael J. Fox Show. Everyone loves him and the show, which will openly deal with his Parkinson’s, should be a funny and honest series. The rest of the Thursday line-up should benefit from this and I don’t care who’s going up against MJF, he’s going to win that night.

NBC, for the most part, has chosen to go with a more moderate, meat and potatoes line-up. New sitcoms with familiar faces (Fox, Sean Hayes, Mike O’Malley), tried and true competition series (Voice, Biggest Loser), old standard procedurals (SVU, Chicago Fire) and new series that aren’t straying from formulas the network has already done well with.

No crazy big-budget dramas, no left-of-center sitcoms, nothing crazy … just solid programming. And for NBC, this is the plan they need to do. They need to make the climb back up the ratings chart. By being the network you can always fall back on, you can rely on the Peacock Network when other shows start to go on the snide.

Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? Rent (maybe theater). I am a fan of the first Hangover, but truth be told when people acted all strangely toward me when I said I didn’t see it in theaters, well I felt that the movie didn’t really call for that sort of “what’s wrong with you” type ordeal. Anyway, I haven’t given Part 2 the time of day yet, since it’s familiar beats disappointed everyone, therefore keeping me away, but I’ll admit, I’m kind of curious to see the final chapter, only because I want to find out how the whole series of shenanigans concludes. That, and my girlfriend is a major fan of these movies, so one way or another, I know I’m locked in for some sort of viewing. –LJF

Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? No Thanks (in theory, but probably rent). I absolutely love the first Hangover. I cried, my chest hurt, my throat was sore, it was a great night at the movies. Then I saw the second film, which quite frankly was an unmitigated piece of shit. I’m not mincing words here, I just thought it was an utter disappoint and wildly unfunny. I feel as if though, in protest, I shouldn’t even bother watching the third chapter of the Wolfpack’s saga. Why? It’s going to be the same damn jokes! Ed Helms character is going to get beat up and have sex with someone he shouldn’t, Bradley Cooper’s going to be really sweaty and get beat up, Ken Jeong will make a lot of gay jokes and I’m sure we’ll see a shot of his character’s microscopic penis. But then there’s Zach Galifianakis, who can take the worst material and through his wonderfully weird sense of humor, make it work. And that’s why I’ll probably end up renting it. –BB

In 2009 J.J. Abrams was able to do something that not many can say they have done; revitalize a much beloved franchise by updating it for a modern audience while still honoring the legacy of its past. The Star Trek reboot was nothing short of phenomenal and for how loud and bombastic it was, it was an exhilarating engagement to experience in theaters. Four years later, Abrams has returned to Starfleet with Star Trek Into Darkness, but what works well the first time doesn’t always hold over on a second helping. Despite being a thrilling adventure, a less than original narrative padded with an over abundance of big action sequences makes this film a little bloated lacking a truly emotional story.

Themes of friendship and conflict go hand in hand in the Star Trek mythos and once again these act as the main themes of the film. Having his rank and ship pulled after a dangerous mission inside an active volcano, James T. Kirk is called back to helm the Enterprise after a series of terrorist attacks at the hands of one John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) leaves many people and some close personal friends dead. Forced to make their way to the edge of the Neutral zone and possibly inciting war with the Klingons, the Enterprise crew must stop John Harrison. However, the actual intentions of both Harrison and even their own allies in Starfleet may have greater ramifications if they don’t watch their backs.

I wouldn’t doubt that it was the early dailies of this film that made Lucasfilm executives decide that Abrams was the right person to direct a new Star Wars film because this is a bonafide space opera. Everything has a sense of grandeur; everything, from the crimson world that opens the film to the desolate landscape of Kronus, looks fantastic. Abrams clearly has an eye for spectacle but he also enjoys the hell out of big action sequences which make up a good portion of Star Trek Into Darkness. The film comes at you at a furious pace and bombards the senses with lasers, explosions, and the occasional lens flare. This is all well and good, but lost in the shuffle is a story with emotion to it. While we deal with internal conflict with our main characters, it’s never as insightful as it was in the first film. The internal character conflict plays second fiddle to all the stuff that is whizzing by the camera.

It’s quick to forgive plot holes when you consider this film seems to have no time to slow down, but Star Trek Into Darkness feels rather lazy at times especially when it calls back to its ancestry. Although I wasn’t a diehard Trekkie, I found myself very familiar with the references to the show’s lineage especially since much is utilized from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (considered by many to be the crown jewel of the Trek films). Now there is nothing wrong with lifting and paying homage to these things, but when it’s the crux of some of the big moments in your film’s climax, it takes away from the originality. Klingons, Carol Marcus, the Botney Bay, and even an obscure reference to Harry Mudd trickle throughout the narrative. Sometimes it’s okay to pass judgment on it but when your third act is greatly overtaken by a previous film’s most important elements, it can really hurt a good original idea.

BIG SPOILER AHEAD

Which brings us to one John Harrison. Harrison is revealed to be secretly one Khan Noonien Singh, the most iconic one off villain to grace the series. Because the rumor of his reveal has been persistent for months, the actual reveal feels a bit let down. But Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance more than makes up for that. Cumberbatch has already established himself as someone who can induce cold, calculating performances, but here he is simply a virus that picks and chooses his next attack formation. The trouble here is we never get to really delve into the mind of Khan so he never actually flexes his true capabilities beyond convincing Kirk to trust him and couple not so glamorous fight sequences. It’s almost as if Abrams expects the bulk of the audience to be familiar with who Khan can be, but the problem with that is we aren’t just dealing with the established audience/fan base anymore.

While Cumberbatch will no doubt be the most talked about thing in the film, room should be left for the rest of the main leads with Zachary Quinto’s Spock firmly placing himself as the emotional centerpiece of the film. His constant miscalculation of how to handle human emotions makes it all the more important when Spock finally lets the human side of his background out. However, outside of an entertaining sub plot involving Scotty (Simon Pegg), most of the Enterprise crew are there to cause a ruckus or sling one-liners to sometimes abysmal results (Karl Urban’s Dr. McCoy being the main offender there). The newest additions to the cast also fall a bit short of truly interesting; Alice Eve as Carol Marcus is rendered useless while Peter Weller does a serviceable job as her war hungry father but still never reaps the benefits of being a truly dastardly villain.

Through it all Star Trek Into Darkness is entertaining but not without its faults, which makes it hard for it to equal, let alone surpass, its predecessor. The style and the flare (no pun intended) that Abrams punctuated the first film with is all still there but it is, for all intents and purposes, a safe film; one that utilizes its established base elements while dialing back on the scientific concepts making it more action/adventure than traditional science fiction.


Rating: 6 out of 10 (good not great)

It’s Raw! It’s Raw Laadeedadee!

Before getting into the Monday Night madness that is RAW, some funny stuff post-Extreme Rules. WWE.com has a bunch of exclusive videos, and boy are they comedy gold.

Miz defeats Cody Rhodes on the freaking pre-show match, then says his next target is the WWE Championship. Wait. A pre-show win against Cody Rhodes catapults you to main event status?! Sign me up!

John Cena refuses to go to the hospital. Well, there went the opportunity to sell the big fall as a big deal from the match. If it was supposed to be that intense, then you go and script the guy to head to the ER. Hell, have Cena go through surgery. EXTREME!

Chris Jericho talked about his “big win” over Fandango. Congrats Fozzy, your lead singer thinks defeating a scripted dancer is considered a big win. Let me guess, beating Fandango also pushes you to a WWE Title match? Please, sign ME up!!

Kane tries to calm down Daniel Bryan. Oh I just love these guys. Belts or not, Team Hell No is a gorgeous mix of serious wrestling and backstage comedy banter. Keep it rolling fellas.

Kaitlyn beats up AJ Lee. Wait, the face beat up the heel? They were supposed to have a match on the Extreme Rules card but it got bumped off because they needed more time for promos? Oh this must have been an idea from The Great Khali.

Lastly, Sheamus discusses his underdog win over Mark Henry. Probably the only “backstage exclusive” which actually made sense. Ha!

The biggest joke was Wade Barrett not actually on the PPV card. The guy is the Intercontinental Champion. A titleholder. A great in-ring performer and great on the mic. Yet he headlined the pre-show talking with Mick Foley and Titus O’Neal.

Singer Miguel legdropped a few fans while trying a stage jumping stunt during the Billboard Music Awards. Deadspin has a neat video of it with Jim Ross commentary included.

Kane might be the Big Red Machine in the wrestling ring, but Mr. Glen Jacobs is the big red blogger as co-founder of the Tennessee Liberty Alliance where he challenges current Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey to a debate about the Marketplace Fairness Act.

Get this, Mr. Kane might make a senate run. Can you image if Kane were in political office?

Onto Raw:

We get The Ryback out rambling how he sent Cena home on a stretcher last night at Extreme Rules. Although, he did not, since once he got backstage, Cena hopped off the wagon and walked off. Not so injured now, is he? The short end of a long-winded story is Ryback challenging Cena to an ambulance match at WWE Payback. Cue the sirens.

Chris Jericho & The Miz defeated Fandango & Wade Barrett
Oh that does it! Just give him a WCW championship and call it a day. While the first, oh, two minutes was entertaining, Fandango decided to ditch Barrett, leaving him alone at the mercy of Miz and Jericho. Fandango dances at ringside while Barrett gets destroyed, jobber-style. Barrett, once again, shown no respect as Intercontinental Champion. So, what is it now? The United States Championship was once a joke, held by Santino and Zack Ryder. Since Cesaro had it, it was given respect again. So I suppose now the Interncontinental Titleholder becomes a joke. Way to freakin’ go. This just column just became Monday Night Barrett. Lawler makes a bunch of lewd comments about Summer Rae. Shock.

Vickie Guerrero announces Jack Swagger will compete later tonight, but the WWE Universe gets to vote between Khali, Truth, and Randy Orton. Uh. Yes. I predict Khali in a landslide.

Backstage: Daniel Bryan is upset but Kane tries to cheer him up with some light humor. Bryan is angry and serious. Kane talks sense to Bryan, who then assumes Kane meant he was the weak-link of the duo. Kingston interrupts to calm down his partners for later tonight, but Bryan storms off. Well, I guess the end of Team Hell No is nearing.

Sheamus defeats Titus O’Neal
Hey! A good match. Did you know Wade Barrett was the first winner of the NXT competition. He then led the NXT group into an invasion of WWE as The Nexus. Sheamus starts out strong, demolishing both O’Neal and Young. Get rid of Young. He holds O’Neal back. Speaking of whom, he is throwing Sheamus around, and it sounded like he just dropped an F-Bomb. Someone remind him this is PG television before he does something stupid and gets fired like his former manager A.W. Sheamus rallies back, but not before Young interferes again to give Titus the advantage. Does not last long as the Celtic Warrior crushes Titus with the White Noise, and follows up with the Brough Kick.

Paul Heyman in the ring: First gloating about how Brock defeated Triple H in the Steel Cage match, then invites the crowd to boo him. The crowd does, and Lawler for whatever reason chimes in. Shut up. Shut up Lawler. No puppies here. He confirms the internet rumors are true (by internet, he means WWE.com), he has a third man ready to make it big on WWE television. This is a man who comes from a long line of wrestlers. A man who has been around a WWE ring longer than we think … Curtis Axel. Huh? Oh, it’s Joe Hennig, more commonly known to WWE and NXT fans as Michael McGillicutty. Alright, this could be good. This is a young man who has a ton of talent and all the skills to be main event. With Heyman at his side, this kid can go places. He looks a bit beefy, perhaps put on a few pounds. Heyman re-brands his new charge with a new name, combination of his father Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig and grandfather, Larry “The Axe” Hennig. His entrance theme, if you listen closely is a remix of his father’s Mr. Perfect theme. Very, very nice touch. He could have lost the beard though. The third generation superstar has been at the bottom, and now he is set to stand in the main event spotlight, where both his father and grandfather once stood. Triple H now hits the ring to interrupt the ceremony and immediately brushes the young star aside in order to address Heyman directly. The Game has no shame losing to Brock at Extreme Rules. HHH threatens to beat the crap out of Heyman, instead Axel gets in the way and is paid back with a slap from Helmsley, who then says he will wrestle Hennig tonight, and then beat up Heyman.

Big E. Langston defeated Alberto del Rio
The announce team talk about the whole instant replay bit from Extreme Rules. Frankly, I do not think anyone cares. Short bout, with Del Rio being overpowered by Langston. Every time Del Rio locked in the cross-armbreaker, Langston just lifts and hurls the former champion. At the point where Del Rio finally gains control, AJ Lee distracts the ref, allowing Langston to deliver an old school eye poke, leading into the Big Ending and the pinfall win.

Wade Barrett was a real “bare-knuckle brawl” champion. Did you know, after winning a cash prize from a fight, he was stabbed multiple times, but still walked away with the winnings due to his assailant mysteriously suffering from multiple injuries.

AJ Lee defeats Layla
So, I guess her title match is pushed off for a while. Layla does the usual stuff, until AJ Lee surprises her with the Black Widow submission hold for the win.

Cody Rhodes defeats Zack Ryder
Wade Barrett and I have something in common. We both cite the Intercontinental Championship main event between Bret Hart and the British Bulldog at SummerSlam 1992 as one of the best ever. Rhodes defeats Ryder. Hey look, Ryback comes out and mauls Ryder, throwing him into the ambulance. Winner of the “Why Is This A Match” award this week.

The Shield vs. Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan & Kane
Ambrose on the mic, and damn those belts look good on the trio. He takes credit for the departures of The Rock and The Undertaker, while also taking credit for Ryback snapping and destroying John Cena. We go to commercial, sparing us from long winded entrances. Back, Kingston and Ambrose put on a mat clinic. JBL is clearly drunk. Rollins takes control, while they talk about how Bryan is one of the best technical wrestlers, but yet very emotionally unstable. Do I see the return of a bad gimmick approaching? Reigns is a bit weird, he does the typical energetic big man routine, growling and howling after every assault. He needs to stop this now. We get it, he is the big man of the crew. Kofi is beaten down for most of the match, until making the hot tag to D. Bryan who goes apenuts on Rollins, clotheslining the Shield member out of his boots. Replay of the clothesline shows Rollins landing badly on his neck. Awesome. Bryan and Rollins putting on a show, Ambrose comes in and eats big top rope dropkick, then is trapped into the No-Lock. He reaches the ropes and The Shield retreat to the outside as the faces stand tall at commercial. Back from the break, Kofi is again at the mercy of Ambrose, but this time mounts a comeback. Bryan tags in, hangs Ambrose upside down in the corner into the Tree of Woe! Rollins gets in and out of nowhere, launches Bryan into the corner with a Turnbuckle Powerbomb! MAIN EVENT! I would love to see more one-on-ones with Bryan against either Ambrose or Rollins. Kane gets a hot tag flooring Reigns while Bryan and Kofi double suicide dive onto Rollins and Ambrose. Kane scores a DDT, but the other members take out Bryan and Kofi on the outside. Kane moves for a chokeslam, but Rollins hits with a top rope diving knee, allowing Reigns to break free and hit Kane with the spear. Ref strikes three.
Winners by Pinfall: The Shield

Backstage: Triple H readies for his fight against Axel. A trainer comes in, saying “Doc” is not clearing Hunter to compete. Triple H says too bad.

Backstage: Kaitlyn and Natalya giggle about something, Rhodes walks by asking if they see something in his “lovestache” and the girls walk away. WHY?! Why does this get more airtime than Wade Barrett, and man who defeated John Cena numerous times during his first year in WWE.

Jack Swagger vs. Randy Orton
Big surprise. You really thought Khali or Truth would win the fan vote? They must be sitting backstage going “awwwww…” with their sad, mopey faces turned downwards. Oh wait, there is a match going on. Orton Orton Orton Orton. Swagger does a wrestling move. Orton punchy punchy kicky kicky. Wait, get more wrestling, Swagger with a few amateur takedowns, but then Orton somehow takes Swagger does with a top rope superplex. Lawler needs to shut up. Swagger counters an Orton punch with a Belly-to-Belly Suplex! Yay! Swagger gets taken down by Orton’s five-moves-of-doom while Colter cries at ringside. Swagger comes back with a huge floatover Belly-to-Back Suplex! Yes! Go Swagger! Hey Orton… Learn how to wrestle! I am amazed how over Randy Orton is. Swagger counters the RKO attempt into the Patriot Lock. Inevitably, Orton does hit the RKO after counters and reversals and so-forth.
Winner: Randy Orton

Alright, it was not a terrible match. I have to give some credit to Randy Orton for being able to keep pace with a real athlete. Barrett vs. Swagger would have been better.

Triple H vs. Curtis Axel
Maybe Axel Curtis would sound better? Too close to Johnny “Fandango” Curtis. I am not 100% sold on the new name, but I really like how Heyman explained the reason for a name change. My wife for some reason likes seeing a scar from an appendectomy on Curtis. It is about time Joe Hennig gets to main event on Raw, and against Triple H no less. Slow match, due to HHH selling his injuries from his match with Brock Lesnar last night. He is staggering around a lot, leading me to believe they are doing an angle where he will collapse from exhaustion. Oh, look, there it is. He goes to the outside for a water and a towel. Trainers tend to him as the head guy calls for the match to end. Announcers are silent, doing the whole “realism” bit. JBL looks very concerned. Show ends with Triple H down on the arena floor.

That wraps it up. Nice touch explaining the sudden name change for Hennig, not just the usual assuming the WWE fans forgot he existed after being off TV for a year bit. I worry WWE is pulling the usual shtick, once a team loses the titles, they get broken up. Reigns needs some serious crash-coursing in not-sucking. His big man routine is not over and the constant roaring is more irritating than impressive. In case anyone cared, a Jonas Brother was the “social ambassador” for WWE on Twitter. No, you did not care. No one did. The quiet finish introduces a serious gimmick once again, showing how Triple H should not have tried to get in the ring after going toe-to-toe with Brock Lesnar. Well, not much else to call, it is what it is. What you see is what you get, and tonight we got a lot of prep towards WWE Payback.

It’s good to be an eldest son in Westeros, where primogeniture assures the senior boy possession of the titles, lands, and glory that come with being the heir of a highborn family. Unfortunately, the younger sons typically don’t fare as well and are often met with at best, disinterest and at worst, open hostility. Though last night’s episode, “Second Sons,” takes its title from the band of sell swords Daenerys tries to win away from the Yunkai, it also alludes to some of the disavowed, debased, and dismissed lesser sons of Westeros’ noble families whose stories figure prominently in this week’s episode.

The episode opens with Arya attempting to smash the skull of the Hound, who is the latest in her line of loathed travelling partners / captors. Arya’s had a lot of time to hone her rage at Clegane since he killed her friend, Micah, at the behest of Joffrey back in season one, but that intense hatred may subside ever so slightly when she learns that he is planning on taking her back to her mother and brother at the Twins, not the Lannisters. Although dubious about Clegane’s truthful claim to have saved her sister’s life, Arya appears to be grappling with the fact that although he may be a ruthless killer, the Hound may not be the monster he’s made out to be. In addition to being physically and mentally scarred by his elder brother, Gregor’s cruelty, the Hound, as he points out, is often unfairly saddled with his brother’s dark reputation, as well.

Across the sea, Daenerys continues her rapid evolution from timid girl to regal leader, exhibiting much poise and assurance as she entreats with the three leaders from the Second Sons, the two thousand-strong band of sell swords the Yunkai have hired to protect their city, and attempts to win them over to her side instead. When the vulgar Mero (aka The Titan’s Bastard) gropes Missandei and tries to insult and sexually intimidate both women, Daenerys remains cool, smiling in his face, promising titles and lands when she claims her throne, and never losing sight of the goal at hand. (Daenerys’ politic composure when dealing with Mero stands in stark contrast to Cercei’s venomous lashing out at Margaery. While Daenerys control is befitting of a queen, Cercei’s outburst is further indication at just how ill-equipped she is for a leadership role.) While her commanding demeanor and enticing promises don’t win over Mero or the other lieutenant, who plan to assassinate her, Daario Naharis is taken with the beautiful dragon queen and presents her with the heads of the other two lieutenants and pledges the swords of the Second Sons, as well as his heart, to her cause. As Daario, Ed Skrein’s got both the necessary smoldering looks (although he’s no Jason Momoa – RIP Khal Drogo) and a palpable chemistry with Clarke’s Khaleesi, which adds some immediate interest to their new alliance.

The episode spends a great deal of time with the series’ most beloved second son, as Tyrion and Sansa’s betrothal comes to fruition in one of the most awkward and uncomfortable weddings in TV history. From the get-go, the wedding is an utterly embarrassing affair and it’s clear that the only ones having any fun at all are Lady Olenna, teasing her grandchildren about their pending Lannister marriages in her customary superior and detachedly amused manner, and the gleefully sadistic Joffrey, who revels in humiliating both his former betrothed and his uncle. I don’t think Jack Gleeson gets enough credit as Joffrey, since some viewers have the tendency to transfer their hate for the character to the actor, but Gleeson is really magnificent as the boy we love to hate, seamlessly swinging from juvenile bullying tactics (the smug pleasure he takes in walking Sansa down the aisle, his cruel removal of the stepstool from the altar to highlight Tyrion’s dwarfism) to more frightening menace (threatening to rape Sansa).

By the time the reception begins, it’s hard to tell who has suffered the greater indignity – the tortured Sansa, who’s had all of her girlish dreams turn to shit, or the degraded, disrespected, and increasingly drunken Tyrion, seated next to a bride who’s clearly repulsed by him and before a court that openly mocks him. When Joffrey attempts to continue the humiliation by initiating the bedding ceremony, Tyrion finally loses his cool and icily threatens his nephew that he’ll be “fucking your bride with a wooden cock,” if he continues. Even though he immediately has to laugh the threat off as a bit of drunken buffoonery, it’s always great to see Tyrion put Joffrey in his place. Also fantastic is the private scene in the newlyweds’ marital chambers, which serves as a great character study of the two – with Sansa, ever the dutiful lady, bravely preparing herself for her wifely responsibility and Tyrion, too inherently decent and proud to make her go through with it.

Meanwhile on Dragonstone, Stannis welcomes Melisandre and Gendry, the bastard son of Stannis’ late brother, King Robert Baratheon. Initially, Stannis is supportive of Melisandre’s plan to utilize Gendry’s royal blood for their cause by sacrificing him to R’hllor, but after consulting with a temporarily still-imprisoned Davos, changes his mind in favor of a more humane leeching. Although I find Stannis scenes a bit boring at times, I really enjoyed his dungeon conversation with the honest Davos, especially when the discussion turned to the topic of religion. His faith shaken by recent events and the loss of his son, Davos wonders if the gods are merely a fairy tale designed to soothe man’s fears. As Stannis reminds him, though, they have both seen proof of the Red God’s power – Stannis, through his vision and Davos through witnessing Melisandre’s birthing of a shadow assassin. In his supposedly reluctant duty to claim the Iron Throne, Stannis can’t help but choose to align himself with the one god who clearly makes his presence felt and although his often-alienating relationship with Melisandre has seemed questionable in the past, it’s really hard to argue with that logic here.

While Melisandre’s god certainly seems to be responsible for a lot of recent supernatural shit, he’s not the only other-worldly force suddenly let loose in the realm, as Sam, Gilly, and her newborn son come face to face with a white walker. Having escaped the bloodshed at Craster’s Keep, the trio camps at an abandoned shelter, building a fire and brainstorming possible names for the baby boy. When Gilly says she likes the name Randall, Sam asks her not to name the baby after his father, who was a “different sort of cruel,” than Craster, but damaged Sam nonetheless, disowning his sensitive first born because of his cowardice. Despite his cowardly nature, Sam stands up to protect Gilly and her baby when the moment comes. The arrival of the white walker was perfectly eerie, as the sudden appearance of a boisterous flock of crows was followed by a sharp, bone-chilling silence as the walker lurched forward. Sam’s ultimate victory, using the ancient weapon he discovered on the Fist of the First Men to slay the walker was pretty satisfying, too and served as an exciting end to yet another strong Game of Thrones outing.

The UFC returned to Brazil Saturday night for UFC on FX 8. For many fight fans, myself included, this was a very exciting night. It featured the UFC debut of former Strikeforce middleweight champions Luke Rockhold and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. The night did start out a little on the lack luster side, but shaped up to be a phenomenal night thanks to a little help from an MMA legend.

Rafael Natal

In the first fight of the night we watched as Brazilian submission experts Rafael Natal and Joao Zeferino went at it in the middleweight division. On paper this fight looked incredible, but it did not deliver as promised. This could be in part to the fact that Zeferino took the fight on short notice, so he was unable to get a full training camp in. Regardless, this fight was boring and not the best way to start a main card. The first round was a lot of apprehensive striking from both combatants as they felt each other out, until they went to the ground for most of the remainder of the round trying to heel hook each other. By the second round, Zeferino looked absolutely worn out, but Natal did not really do much to capitalize on it. This went on for the rest of the second and the third, until it finally went to the judge’s scorecards. Natal was able to pull out the decision and we were finally able to move on.
Winner via unanimous decision: Rafael Natal

In the lightweight division we got to watch two of the toughest guys in the division take a shot at each other. Rafael Dos Anjos and Evan Dunham, without a doubt, changed the pace of this fight card. Right out of the gate, you realized these two had come to fight. The match started with some great striking from both men, but with such a different approach to it. Dos Anjos is the more polished stylized striked, moving around a la boxing. Dunham is more straight forward and flat footed. He doesn’t dance around a lot, but he makes every move count. The first round was riddled with great striking from both competitors until Dos Anjos threw a leg kick that Dunham turned into a heel pick and took him to the mat. The basically were able to neutralize each others grappling until they were stood back up by the referee. We move into the second round with more striking followed by a nice takedown from Dunham. They get right back up and back to more striking. These two really used every striking technique there is. Leg kicks, body shots, flying knees. At this point in the fight, I would make the argument that this was a strong contender for fight of the night. Towards the end of the second, Dunham was really hitting his rhythm and landing a lot of his strikes. The third round was no disappointment either. In the last minute, Dunham waved on Dos Anjos to say let’s finish this strong, and they pounded the hell out of each other for the duration. Ultimately, this fight went to the judge’s table, and I could not agree less with the decision they made. I saw in favor of Dunham, but I guess it was just not his day.
Winner via unanimous decision: Rafael Dos Anjos

Rafael Dos Anjos

In the third fight of the main card, we got to see the UFC debut of five time Jiu Jitsu world champion Ronaldo Souza as he took on Chris Camozzi. The first minute or so of the fight involved some back and forth striking, until Souza was able to take the fight to where he is most comfortable. He caught Camozzi with a trip and landed in his half guard. This is where we get to watch as Souza does what he does best. He is fairly easily able to work passed the guard of Camozzi into side control. When Camozzi tried to escape, Souza used omoplata to roll him back over. Again Souza gains side control and is able to sink in the arm triangle joke. I don’t think it’s going to be too long before we see the name Ronaldo Souza in a title match.
Winner via submission: Ronaldo Souza

Vitor Belfort

In a sort of ironic twist for the main event, we get to see the man who took Ronaldo Souza’s Strikeforce title, in his UFC debut. Luke Rockhold was the final Strikeforce Middleweight champion when the promotion folded. He came over to the UFC wanting to make a name for himself, and they gave him the chance by putting him in the cage against UFC legend Vitor Belfort. I’ve got to say on a side note that I was a little disappointed in the way the announcers handled this fight. We got to listen as they droned on and on about what a great athlete Rockhold is and what a great fighter he is. We got to hear how Vitor is going to have his hands full as Rockhold is going to push him to the limit, and that Rockhold is favored in this match. We got to hear about how Rockhold is younger and has a huge reach advantage. Now what the announcers left out is that Vitor Belfort at age 19 became the youngest fighter to ever score a victory in the octagon. They also failed to mention that Vitor has victories over guys like Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva, and even more recently Michael Bisping and Rich Franklin, and that every loss he has suffered has only been at the hands of other legends like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, and Anderson Silva. Meanwhile, the only fighter Rockhold has fought that’s even worth mentioning is Ronaldo Souza. Rockhold looked arrogant and disrespectful in the ring, taunting Belfort and looking put out by even being there. The good news for Rockhold is that he got to make a name for himself. The bad news is that name is “guy who Vitor knocked the fuck out with a back spin kick”. This fight in a matter of minutes became a highlight reel for the ages as Vitor showed us without a shadow of a doubt that at age 36, he’s just getting warmed up.

Winner via KO: Vitor “the Phenom” Belfort

Preliminary Fight Card Results:

Nik Lentz def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision

Francisco Trinaldo def. Mike Rio via submission (arm triangle)

Gleison Tibault def. John Cholish via submission (guillotine)

Paulo Thiago def. Michel Prazeres via unanimous decision

Yuri Alcantara def. Iliara Santos via TKO (punches)

Fabio Maldonado def. Roger Hollett via unanimous decision

John Lineker def. Azamat Gashimov via TKO (punches)

Jussier Formiga def. Chris Cariaso via unanimous decision

Lucas Martins def. Jeremy Larsen via KO (punch)

Post Fight honors:

Fight of the Night: Lucas Martins and Jeremy Larsen

Submission of the Night: Ronaldo Souza

KO of the Night: Vitor Belfort

Snoozer of the Night: Rafael Natal and Joao Zeferino

Best use of a Back Spin Kick: Shutting up Luke Rockhold

The Low Down: Everybody’s gone plum loco! After a visit from Jim Cutler’s (Harry Hamlin) “doctor” who gives the men on the staff a shot of ‘vitamins and supplements’ to help their health and inspiration. This leads to massive, massive bat shit craziness from everyone, but it seems to hit Don (Jon Hamm) the hardest as he begins to have flashbacks of his time growing up in a house of ill repute.

The Bed and Booze Count: Young Don gets lucky with a hooker with a heart of gold, Stan (Jay R. Ferguson) has sex with the I Ching hippie. –BB

I’m not going to even start to figure out how much booze was consumed by Ken Cosgrove and the rowdy Chevy executives. –JS

Favorite Performance: We’ve seen almost every facet of Don Draper, but never whacked out of his gourd on drugs Don. Watching Don go pretty much insane during this episode and doing so in such a manically convincing way was a testament to how good of actor Jon Hamm is. –BB

Linda Cardellini really fascinates me as an ex lover. While Sylvia started off as just another woman Don sleeps with, she very quickly became something more than that. Someone who can take his power away from him by walking away and her conversation with him on the phone about him basically being a stalker was very powerful. –JS

The Supporting Scene Stealer: Jay R. Ferguson’s Stan is usually the comic relief of every episode, but when he breaks down in stoned sorrow about his cousin’s death in Vietnam, he really stole the show. –BB

I’ve talked at great lengths about how entertaining I find Stan to be but him breaking down and grieving about the loss of his friend in Vietnam really tugged at my heart and was difficult to take in. –JS

The Best Part of The Episode: The phone conversation between Don and Syliva (Linda Cardellini) was powerful. Cardellini really showed a lot of fire and conviction whole Hamm showed an extremely fragile and almost desperately irrational side.

The Part We Could’ve Done Without: Young Don loosing his V-Card to the hooker with a heart of gold. –BB

Any flashback regarding Don Draper and losing his virginity. You’re a hound, dude but I don’t want to know how it all started. –JS

The Little Thing We Loved: Kenny Cosgrove’s (Aaron Stanton) soft shoe routine was hilarious. –BB

While I did enjoy Cosgrove’s impersonation of Danny Kaye for some reason I have quite enjoyed Roger’s new found friendship with Cutler. Something about watching them play checkers in the opening was rather amusing. –JS

Final Thoughts: This was a ballsy episode of Mad Men. They really went for something different — almost as if they were trying to capture the psychedelic ’60s. However, this episode was a little too out there for my tastes. It seemed a little too manic, a little too much of a fever dream. When it ended you felt weird, like what the hell was I just watching. Is this what Roger Sterling’s acid trip was like, but on a TV episode? This didn’t jive at all with me. –BB

Whenever Mad Men decides to experiment with its formula it’s either really good or sort of bad. I’m still very indifferent on “The Crash” but I think it was a bold episode to throw in mid season and it did have some great moments. This episode played a lot with the idea of loss which happened a lot here in some subtle and not so subtle ways (ugh, virginity). We are also once again getting a very unpretty picture of Don Draper and while that has always been the case it’s so vivid now that it’s making watching him in action so difficult especially when he was getting all over Ken Cosgrove in the beginning. Don’s declaration of needing to be seen and heard on a grand stage when pitching an ad made him seem more pompous than ever and he is clearly missing the bigger picture of the world he is in. Regardless I found it to be a rather unique and for the most part entertaining episode. –JS

Photos courtesy of AMC, Credit Michael Yarish.