Force in Focus: Life Day

Happy Life Day everyone!

If you're looking for a way to celebrate this momentous Wookiee holiday, might I suggest checking out the Star Wars Holiday Special episode of A Very Special Episode, the podcast co-hosted by me & Doctor Bitz (and friends)?

However you choose to celebrate, we'll see you back here next week for Return of the Jedi #2!

Force in Focus: The Star Wars Holiday Special

As you may or may not know, earlier this fall Saved by the Bell Reviewed, the weekly podcast that Dr. Bitz and I co-hosted along with two Oregonian cartoonists, finished its run reviewing every episode of the series (along with some extra stuff).

Shortly after that wrapped, we launched a new podcast, A Very Special Episode, which takes the Saved by the Bell Reviewed format of crass TV analysis and applies it to a wider swath of pop culture, examining "very special" episodes from across TV (rather than looking at just one show), as well other media. Earlier this week, in light of the holidays and the release of Rogue One, we dedicated our latest episode to the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, a 70s-style variety show featuring Chewbacca's family and phoned-in appearances from the principal Star Wars cast, alongside everything from a blackface cooking demonstration, a performance from Diahann Carroll specifically intended by the creators to be as much like softcore porn as network censors would allow, and large swathes of time in which the only dialogue being spoken is a series of unintelligible Wookiee growls and howls (without subtitles).

Happy Birthday, America!

It's a holiday in the US today, so I'm off drinking beer, watching parades, grilling and swimming. "Force in Focus" will return next week with the conclusions to "Han Solo and the Star-Hoppers" in Star Wars #10.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

However you choose to celebrate the holiday (or don't), I hope the day finds you happy and well.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

However you choose to celebrate the holiday (or not at all) I hope the day finds you happy and healthy.

Also, enjoy this ad for the Charlie Brown School of Dance, thanks to Blam, who brought it to my attention.

What's Your Favorite Episode of The Simpsons?

It's lazy day here at GoL (well, lazier than usual): first, I wanted to do some kind of Presidents Day post, but couldn't come up with a good hook. So instead, I'll direct you this older Presidents Day post I did back in 2009 in which I compared America's Founding Fathers to the Avengers.

Second, last night marked the airing of the 500th episode of The Simpsons, a remarkable achievement for any TV show, especially in this day and age (I'll share my thoughts on the episode itself in Friday's "Last Week in TV" post).

 
As someone who both loves The Simpsons and writes about it frequently, I feel like I should have done something significant to mark the occasion (perhaps even my long-gestating "favorite episodes" post). But, frankly, the whole thing kind of snuck up on me. So the favorite episodes post will have to wait for another milestone (perhaps even the end of the show; you have no idea how daunting that post is), but in the meantime, to half-assedly mark the occasion, as I'm sure Homer would appreciate, I turn it over to you, the readers: what's your favorite episode (or episodes) of The Simpsons?

Merry Christmas!

"... on this day a million years ago, a dude was born who most of us think was magic. But others don’t, and that’s cool, but we’re probably right, amen."

- Homer Simpson, "'Tis the Fifteenth Season"

On this day, may you be a double-bacon genius burger, and just a little bit drunk.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

Last Week in TV #13: All Christmas Edition

A couple of quick housekeeping notes. There will be no "Last Week in TV" post next week; if TV can take a week off, so can I. The following week (the 6th), we'll take a look at all the new shows I've been watching (many of which I haven't been writing about consistently) and evaluate what shape they're at mid-season. Then the week after that (the 13th), we should be back with regular material, taking a look at returning shows (and likely playing catch-up on some old stuff as well). Moving into the second half of the season, my hope is that my schedule will even out a bit, and I should be able to cover shows in a more timely manner than I have thus far. We shall see (best laid plans and all that). Anyways, on with the Christmas!

The Simpsons: Holidays of Future Passed

Not surprisingly, The Simpsons has, in its twenty-three season history, managed to create several subsets of episodes. There's the annual "Treehouse of Horror" anthologies, of course, and the themed anthology episodes inspired by those (like "Simpsons Bible Stories" or "Simpsons Tall Tales"). Then there's the clip shows and the high concept episodes, like "22 Short Films About Springfield" and "Trilogy of Error". This episode falls into two subsets: Christmas episodes, and alt-future episodes.

Ten Pop Culture-y Things For Which Teebore is Thankful

The Uncanny X-Cast
I'm not much of podcast listener (aside from the Fantasy Focus baseball podcast and the lie-filled Lost podcasts with the producers back in the day) but I stumbled across Rob and Brian's X-Men podcast this last year and have been slowly catching up on their old episodes while following along with the new ones. It features great discussions of X-Men issues old and new as well as hilarious comic and non-comic related bullshit. Download it on iTunes or check out their website.

Star Wars on Blu-ray

I've geeked out about the deleted scenes already, but two months out and I'm still having fun with this set. The movies look and sound great (Mrs. Teebore and I recently watched Jedi) and I just learned the animated sequence from the infamous holiday special which introduced Boba Fett is on one of the discs as an Easter egg. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

May your pumpkin patch be found the most sincere, and may your vampire attacks be carried out by the genuine ones, not the sparkly kind.

Happy Fourth of July!

May your day be fun and Red Skull-free!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

May your pumpkin patches be found the most sincere, and may TV and beer be plentiful enough to keep you from going insane.

Five Memorable Moments from Beverly Hills, 90210

Much to the continued embarrassment and consternation of Mrs. Teebore, I am an unabashed fan of Beverly Hills, 90210, having grown up watching its ten season run and continuing to watch occasional episodes, thanks in large part to Soapnet reruns. In honor of 90210 Day (9/02/10) here are five of the most memorable moments from 90210.

Happy Memorial Day!

Captain America hopes you have a Nazi-punching day!

Happy Halloween!

The Doom O'Lantern* wishes you a happy Halloween. Doom asks that you not smash his pumpkins, for that is the way of rowdy, no-good teens and that cursed Richards!

Happy Halloween everyone: may your pumpkin patch be sincere, and may you receive more than rocks in your trick-or-treat bags.

*Doom O'Lantern appears courtesy of Dave's Long Box.