How many times have you gone to Wikipedia today, only to get their “Imagine a World without Free Knowledge” message? It’s happened to me four times already (I STILL don’t know the complete biographical background on the dad from “Webster”), and I’m pretty sure it’ll occur nine more times before the day’s out. But I’m not mad; I can wait to know what movies were shot in South Dakota. It’s for a good cause.

Today is SOPA Day on the Internet. Hundreds of websites, including Wikipedia and Reddit, are protesting the very bad Stop Online Piracy and Protect IP acts because, well, they’re very bad. Matt wrote about it back in November, and Señor Fancy Lawyer Man Danger Guerrero would like to add:

I can’t stress strongly enough to all of you how terrible the whole SOPA/PIPA thing is…Not only will this bill throw a giant wrench into the Internet, it also has SERIOUS Constitutional ramifications. It gives mass copyright holders (Disney, record companies, Viacom, etc.) the ability to restrict people’s speech and take away their property (websites) without due process.

That’s my favorite kind of process! So, contact your local representative and tell them, SOPA STINKS. After you’ve done that – ONLY after you’ve done that – check back here to see how the Internet has been reacting to the threat of censorship, through the use of TV shows and characters. I’ve added a few of my own, as should you. Find an image, add text here, and copy the link in the comments. We’ll include the best in the slideshow.

Read the rest of this entry »

Vulture pointed out the similarity between Dark Knight Rises villain Bane and Futurama’s Decapodian doctor, John Zoidberg, and now I can’t stop thinking that Bane should just say WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP the entire movie. It’s not like you can understand him, anyways. (Vulture)

Kate Upton Did Something Fun With Kids — When I was 19, I was getting stoned and playing Super Smash Brothers for endless hours at a time, not making the dreams of children come true. You’ve got my vote, Kate (see below). (With Leather)

Stephen Colbert May Join the Race for the Republican Presidential Nomination — Remember when Roseanne announced she was going to run for President? Would you have voted for her? If not, what celebrity would you piss all over democracy for? (Uproxx)

Hustle Blood: Big Boi’s 20 Best Guest Appearances — As much as I enjoyed Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, I would pay a lot of money to see a reunited Outkast live. I just need to hear “BOB,” and watch the crowd awkwardly try to keep up with the lyrics. (Smoking Section)

SHUT. DOWN. EVERYTHING. Abobo’s Big Adventure Has Officially Begun — One sentence from this post features the words “dragon,” “tears,” “NES,” “killing,” and “kidnapped.” I am intrigued. (Gamma Sqaud)

DROP EVERYTHING! The New Bill Murray/Wes Anderson Has a Trailer — Let’s do this: 1) Rushmore, 2) The Royal Tenenbaums, 3) Fantastic Mr. Fox, 4) The Life Aquatic, 5) Bottle Rocket, 6) The Darjeeling Limited. (Film Drunk)

May These Breaking Bad and Hunger Games Valentines Be Ever In Your Favor — “Yo! We’ve got some great chemistry, bitch” is the “I choo-choo-choose you” of “Breaking Bad” Valentine’s Day cards. (Uproxx)

Side-by-Side Comparison of Average-Sized Woman with a Supermodel Will Blow Out Your Mindhole — Mindhole. Blown. (Pajiba)

12 Stars Who Got Their Start on “One Life to Live” — Thank you for Nathan Fillion and Tommy Lee Jones. You can have Ryan Phillippe back. (The FW)

The 10 Boldest Comedians of Our Time — “Throw the Jew Down the Well” is still one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. (Buzzfeed)

The United States of Binge Drinkers — One out of every four Wisconsin residents is a drunk says SCIENCE. I went to the Wisconsin Wikipedia page, and one of the first things you see is a painting of the first white man to explore the state. He’s wildly shooting his guns in the air to scare away the Native Americans, who in turn are about to destroy the guy with spears. It’s like a real-life “Parks and Rec” mural. (The High Definite)

Every Musical “Guest” Who Ever Appeared on “South Park” — I’m still afraid to say Biggie Smalls’ name three times in a row. (Screen Junkies)

Read the rest of this entry »

Since we’re still new to Warming Glow, I thought it would be useful to provide some context to the television opinions expressed about the current television landscape by looking back a decade and exploring the nine best shows of 2001. Obviously, not all of these shows began their runs in 2001, but they were all airing, and each one had a strong 2001 season (the missing 10th series was “Friends,” but by 2001, it was crap). Also, retrospectives are fun, and if you haven’t caught all of the series below, they’re each worth checking out (and number 8 and number 5 can each be knocked out in a weekend).

Read the rest of this entry »

Did people in the 1960s, when TV was a relatively new source of entertainment, predict that at the end of the “Mr. McBeevee” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show,” the previously-unseen-by-everyone-but-Opie titular character was going to appear? Like we would now. You see, Mr. B is a “Not So Imaginary Friend,” and because of Opie stating that he has 12 hands…The point I’m trying to make is: recognizing tropes have made us more cynical about TV, and that’s why I love them.

One of the reasons why shows like “Community” and “South Park” are so good is because they rarely go the easy route and do something that’s been seen a million times before. Their success comes from the way they subvert tropes, unlike, say, “Two and a Half Men” or “Family Guy,” both of which have been doing the same exact stories with the same exact jokes that “The Honeymooners” did in 1955. Just not as well.

On the following pages are 10 of my least-favorite TV tropes. If ever you’ve groaned at a character screaming in horror when they realize who their bedmate is, or turned the channel when someone thought they were high or drunk when they were actually just given a placebo, this list is for you. (Note: this is not the 10 WORST – it’s 10 that really bug me, even if some of my favorite shows use them. Please list your least favorites.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Season 7 of “Futurama” debuts on June 23rd, and Comedy Central is gearing up for it by posting one clip from the new season every day until the premiere. Above is the first such clip, which shows the characters after they’ve had a gender swap (Leela’s always been kind of a dude, anyway).

You can follow the new scenes as they get posted at this link, although that seems a little excessive. Don’t get me wrong: I like “Futurama,” but I don’t think we need FIFTY days of build-up to it. I mean, Christians only take 40 days to get ready for Easter, and that involved the Son of God getting nailed to a cross to absolve the sins of all mankind. I don’t exactly think “Futurama” deserves the same kind of pageantry. (Although, like Jesus, it did come back from the dead.)

[Comedy Central Insider via TDW]