by Jac Kern
09.19.2012
Jac's roundup of pop culture news and Internet findings
Google unveiled
its latest Easter egg of a search tool last week, inducing “bacon number” madness. Now when
you’re playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, instead of cross-referencing IMDB,
Googlers can simply type in the actor’s name and “bacon number” for an
automatic calculation.
After hours of
furious research, it was found nearly every human remotely involved in show
business over the years (including ‘90s Nickelodeon star Kel Mitchell and silent
actor Charlie Chaplin) are within just 2 degrees of Mr. Bacon. The only stars I
could find with a higher number are Paula Abdul and Humphrey Bogart (who both
have a whopping BN of 3). Here’s to Google: the company responsible for
incredible technological advances that continues to make us waste time on the
Internet and screw off at work.
Netflix Picks of the Week: Looking for something new on
Netflix now that you’re all caught up on Breaking Bad and Celebrity Rehab? Check out Bobcat Goldthwait’s over-the-top pop culture massacre God Bless America and Winnebago Man, the humorously touching
documentary about the angry star of an early viral Internet video.
Saturday Night Live returned for its
38th season Saturday. Jay Pharoah debuted as Barack Obama, with
Fred Armisen handing over the presidential torch. We also saw Taran Killam will
serve as Paul Ryan and Jason Sudekis will continue to play Mitt Romney
(squashing the rumors that he’d leave SNL
along with Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg). The trio is expected to appear
on SNL Primetime Edition, the special
election season show to air this Thursday and Sept. 27 on NBC. Seth McFarlane hosted
Saturday’s premiere, and to sum up his performance in one word: VOICES. HuffPo
breaks down the episode.
And as one
television show kicks off, another comes to a close. Sunday brought the
one-hour series finale of Showtime’s pot dramedy, Weeds. Without spoiling too
much, the finale gave us a peek seven years into the future. The good news about 2019:
the Botwin crew (plus Doug and Andy) is alive and mostly well. If the show's predictions pan out, fan-made renderings of an even-thinner, transparent future iPhone
were totally spot-on; the next diet craze will feature Regina George’s all-carb regime; and, most importantly, marijuana will not only become legalized, but sold
like cigarettes in stores and in edible forms at coffee shops. The bad news:
Shane grows a bad ‘80s cop mustache.
Everyone has an
opinion on TLC’s hillbilly hullabaloo, Here
Comes Honey Boo Boo, especially regarding the series’ matriarch, mama June
and her scary Jabba neck. But have you seen The Real Housewives of Miami? I
give you Mama Elsa: the stuff of surgical nightmares.
In music news, Ben
Folds Five is back and showing some love to Jim Henson in this new video.
Steven Spielberg's Lincoln is due in theaters this November, and the trailer has just been released. Apparently 90 percent of Hollywood is in the film, including what I’m guessing is an Tupac-inspired Abraham Lincoln hologram (seriously, though, Daniel Day Lewis is scary good). I was
totally captivated, swept away to the 19th century, up until Adam
from Girls arrived on the scene. From
1:37 on, it was all union suits and depraved sex acts to me.
Alison Pill apparently
didn’t learn one lesson explored in the show on which she stars, because
homegirl accidentally tweeted a topless pic last week. The photo tweeted was meant for
boyfriend, actor Jay Baruchel, which reveals that Alison Pill has no idea what Twitter
is or how it works. It was removed immediately and, in the best reaction possible, Pill
owned up to the flub and apologized for being just as technologically inept as The Newsroom's MacKenzie.
0 Comments · Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The 1920s is an era romanticized and
glorified, often by individuals who weren’t even alive at the time. Boardwalk Empire takes what we love about the ’20s, backed with
historically based events and characters, and serves it up with whole a
lot of darkness.
0 Comments · Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Despite being marketed as a violent testosterone fest, Sons of Anarchy (10
p.m. Tuesdays, FX) features a cast of strong characters and a storyline
that is oddly relatable, making it far more than just a gritty dude
show.
1 Comment · Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Let’s face it: The majority of shows on
TV can be considered “guilty pleasures” at best. Just based on the sheer
ratio of churned-out, crappy television to quality programming, the
Kardashians and gypsies far outnumber the Drapers and Game of Thrones. But there’s nothing wrong with a little indulgence, right?
0 Comments · Wednesday, August 15, 2012
When IFC took
on Bullet in the Face (10 p.m. Thursday and
Friday), the network embraced the campy side of action favorites to
present an explosive, comedic television event.
0 Comments · Tuesday, July 31, 2012
“You’re either in, or you’re out.” In
addition to cranking out catchphrases, Heidi Klum has kept her
infectious runway reality show going for nearly a decade. Project Runway pits designers against each other as they
create ensembles to be shown
on the catwalk and judged by big names in fashion.
0 Comments · Wednesday, July 25, 2012
When one of the guys behind Mr. Show and Between Two Ferns creates
a podcast-turned-television series, you can’t expect a modern day
Johnny Carson. Scott Auckerman's Comedy Bang! Bang! playfully
spoofs the conventional talk show format, featuring interviews, shorts and skits
0 Comments · Wednesday, July 4, 2012
During the past seven years, audiences
have seen Mary-Louise Parker’s Nancy Botwin transform from loveable,
suburban pot-dealing widow/mom to arsonist to Mexican cartel queen to
prison lesbian and back again in Weeds.
0 Comments · Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Ever since the days of Stick Stickly
(Nickelodeon’s popsicle stick seasonal host of the ’90s), I’ve loved me
some summer television. When you get burnt out on bikinis and barbeques,
crank up the AC, crack open a beer and check out these summer shows.
Comedian Kevin Nealon's act gets more personal
0 Comments · Tuesday, November 3, 2009
In addition to the popular Showtime series 'Weeds,' comedian/actor Kevin Nealon is probably most widely known for his work on 'Saturday Night Live,' where he anchored the "Weekend Update" segment for so many years. While he skillfully parodied current events on that program, these days his outlook is more domestic, and that's reflected in his stand-up set.