It’s back to September and another year of school. Unlike the last three years, we aren’t considering September the start of the new season of The Lowdown BlogCast. (We might call the Christmas special the start of the new season just for fun.) That doesn’t mean that we’re taking our collective foot off the throttle. On this episode, Jackie previews all the new shows starting up for the new TV season. The CW is trying to get the jump on everyone with early season premiere but is there much left worth watching on there. The discussion gets particularly interesting when discussing Shit My Dad Says and controversial when Steve opines as to why Undercovers is likely to fail. The boys also talk about a couple of returning shows for good measure. And they also reveal some surprising people who are paid less than Jersey Shore’s The Situation. We also have the usual music features of Jackie’s Single of the Week, It Came From YouTube and the Worst of Music. Sports begins with a look at Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension and Ilya Kovalchuk’s new contract and ends with a new sports game called Report Cards. In all, it’s 95 minutes of vintage Lowdown fun and hilarity.
After a short summer break, the boys are back in town for another edition of The Lowdown BlogCast. The episode is largely about entertainment. The show starts with the guys trying to figure out what a hipster is and what things are hipster. Discussion also includes name definitions on Urban Dictionary and why Jersey Shore is so popular. The entertainment theme carries on to our usual entertainment segment which features Jackie’s Single, It Came From YouTube and the Worst of Music. Entertainment closes with an examination of why Jennifer Aniston is still popular. Sports closes the show with a look at the rules tested at the NHL R&D camp. The boys also debut a new game called “Fair or Fucking Ridiculous.” In total, it’s 105 minutes of Lowdown fun and insanity that’s the perfect end to your summer.
Sorry for the short delay but here’s the latest edition of The Lowdown podcast. The World Cup inspired Steve’s latest strange opening segment. Inspired by Shakira’s performance at the opening ceremony, the guys take a look at examples of self-name checking in song and try to figure out the general douchiness of it. They cover everything from Shakira to Bo Diddley to Vanilla Ice in this segment. That’s followed up with two of Jackie’s singles of the week, It Came From YouTube and the Worst of Music. Steve then talks about a trio of stories showing a lack of common sense: Guys thinking they have a shot with hot women, the Catholic Church making no changes after another abuse scandal, and the 16-year-old girl who tried to sail around the world. The show end with sports where the guys discuss the Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup and Chris Pronger’s impact on the series. In total, it’s 100 minutes of vintage Lowdown fun and insanity in this exclusive podcast.
One of the big storylines that always leads up to the Super Bowl and has nothing to do with football itself is the Super Bowl ads. This year, a lot of hype was generated by a 60-second ad for the upcoming Dreamworks movie Monsters and Aliens and SoBe Lifewater. In addition to the $6-million price tag for the spot, it’s making headlines for being the first 3D Super Bowl ad. NBC is also giving 3D a go beyond the Super Bowl by broadcasting an episode of Chuck in 3D (appropriately titled Chuck vs. the Third Dimension). So here’s some reasons to hold on to your 3D glasses and tune in Monday at 8:00 PM:
1. Yvonne Strahovski
Yvonne plays CIA agent Sarah Walker. Not only can she kick the ass of most the global terrorist network, she looks kick ass (sorry, horrid play on words) doing so often seen in various states of (un-) dress. If the pictures below don’t do her justice, then wait for a Chuck trademark slow-mo glam cam moment… in 3D.
Sarah plays Chuck’s sister Ellie. While Yvonne tends to get the top billing in the looks department, Sarah isn’t someone you would turn a blind eye to. She even got her own glam cam moment earlier this season.
If there’s one thing that the producers of Chuck to better than everyone else, it’s casting guest stars without screwing up the show with ridiculous stories (see Nanny, The). So far this season, we’ve seen Michael Clarke Duncan, John Larroquette, Michael Strahan, Tony Hale and Gary Cole among others with an appearance tonight by Dominic Monaghan in 3D. For the guys, the guest casting has been nothing short of stellar with Rachel Bilson, Melinda Clarke, Nicole Richie, Jordana Brewster, and an upcoming appearance by Tricia Helfer.
Chuck is sort of like James Bond meets… a sci-fi show that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is making continuous nerd cultural references. And in a sci-fi spy action-comedy show like Chuck you would expect car chases, explosions, shootings, saving the world, hot women, and lots of sci-fi/geek references which is all true here. Oh, I almost forgot… CATFIGHTS!
5. First Full TV Show in 3D
Now that we have Super Bowl ads in 3D, this was the next logical step. This isn’t the first time NBC has shown things in 3D. They played parts of a two-part episode of Third Rock from the Sun in 3D. Chuck vs. the Third Dimension will be shown entirely in 3D using Color-Code 3D technology. The only catch is that you need those blue-and-yellow 3D glasses (which you can pickup at Pepsi and SoBe displays in the US). If you can’t get your hands on a pair of 3D glasses, show star Zachary Levi says that drinking 2.1 to 2.4 cans of beer can solve your problem. In Canada, with exchange, that’s 4.3 to 5.1 cans of Canadian beer.
(3)6. The Bus
Jerome Bettis guest stars in this episode making him the second retired NFLer to appear this season. I don’t know what exactly he’s up to but the preview shows him as a Buy More employee. How can it possibly go badly?
7. It’s the Best Show You’re Not Watching
I know you probably get that a lot, especially with the save FNL campaign the blogosphere is running right now. I’d love to see a fourth season of FNL but I’ve become resigned to the fact that clear eyes and full hearts might sometimes lose. With NBC giving Jay Leno an hour of primetime broadcasting each night starting next season (though I expect that experiment to fail spectacularly), we have to save Chuck from a fate that the recession has made more likely for quality programming.
Along with all the stuff I’ve mentioned above, this is one of the best written shows on television. The little bits that you hear throughout the show tie together nicely at the end of the show. There’s all sorts of references to pop and nerd culture scattered throughout the show. The acting is some of the best on television. Even though Chuck and Sarah’s relationship is the fakest on television (because it’s just a CIA cover), it comes off as the realest one on TV.
If you still aren’t convinced, here’s NBC’s promo for Chuck vs. the Third Dimension.
If that isn’t enough, at the very least watch some past episodes of Chuck. And don’t forget to tune into NBC (CityTV in Canada) tonight at 8:00 PM.
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