NXT Finale Preview

This season of NXT has been a different kind of season and the finale approaches tomorrow night, unlike last season, there is clear winner. Which is why I'm going to talk about the top three, who I think should win, deserves to win and needs to win.

Kaval (my official pick)
If this truly is voted on by the fans and the internet vote means anything, he will win this show. Does he deserve it? Yes. Does he need it? Definately. I don't think he will last long in the WWE without the NXT winner tag on his chest. I mean, he's amazing in the ring but I don't think the WWE would keep such a short superstar around that's name is not Rey Mysterio if they don't have a reason. The key if he wins, what belt does he go after? Honestly I would say the IC Title vs. Dolph Ziggler, even if you wanted to do at Survivor Series.

Michael McGillicutty
He can win this show, hands down. But does he really need to? No. I mean, he has made a character all his own and deserves to be in the spotlight, but he would have a job either way. He's Joe Henning, Curt Henning's son. I know he hasn't really played that card, but he wanted to he can play the 3rd generation card, team up with Ted DiBiase and will the tag belts. As a matter of fact, if he does win the show, that's what he should do.

Alex Riley
If this was last year's format, there is no doubt he would win. He's arrogant, a pain in the ass and he's Miz's boy, and Miz is the middle of the push of his life. But in this format, I don't think he can do it. He also doesn't need to win. He has the charisma to be a player in the business on his own. But if he does win, I think he'll go after the US Title, especially if Daniel Bryan beats Miz for it at NOC.  

Emmys 2010:Awesome Show...Terrible Picks

Last night was the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmys. First of all, I have to say that Jimmy Fallon did a great job as host. Much better than I expected, while I don't like the Jimmy Fallon show, I thought he was hilarious last night all the way around. Overall it was good show, dragged a bit at times during the mini-series/tv movie categories (they really have to move those to earlier in the show not right before the big two), but otherwise a fun night. Let's see how bad my pick turned out to be, judging how I never watch alot of primetime TV as it is.

 OUTSTANDING COMEDY (0-1)
Glee-My Pick
Modern Family-Winner
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Nurse Jackie
30 Rock 
The Office

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY (0-2)
Lea Michele (Glee)-My Pick
Tina Fey (30 Rock)
Toni Collette (The United States of Tara)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine)
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)-Winner
Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY (0-3)
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Matthew Morrison (Glee)-My Pick
Steve Carell (The Office)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)-Winner (the only time all night I was excited that I was wrong about an award)
Tony Shalhoub (Monk)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY (0-4)
Chris Colfer (Glee)-My Pick
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)-Winner
Jon Cryer (Two and A Half Men)
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY (1-4)
Jane Lynch (Glee)-My Pick/Winner
Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live)
Jane Krakowski (30 Rock)
Julie Bowen (Modern Family)
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
Holland Taylor (Two and A Half Men)

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES (2-4)
Mike O’Malley (Glee)
Neil Patrick Harris (Glee)-My Pick/Winner
Fred Willard (Modern Family)
Eli Wallach (Nurse Jackie)
Jon Hamm (30 Rock)
Will Arnett (30 Rock)

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES (2-5)
Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory)-My Pick
Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives)
Kristin Chenoweth (Glee)
Tina Fey (Saturday Night Live)
Betty White (Saturday Night Live)-Winner  (Why did I go against Betty White? Seriously!)
Elaine Stritch (30 Rock)
Jane Lynch (Two and a Half Men)

OUTSTANDING DRAMA (2-6)
Lost-My Pick
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Mad Men-Winner
True Blood
The Good Wife

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA (2-7)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Mariska Hargitay (Special Victims Unit)
Glenn Close (Damages)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)-Winner
January Jones (Mad Men)
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)-My Pick

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA (2-8)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)-Winner
Hugh Laurie (House M.D.)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Matthew Fox (Lost)-My Pick

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA (2-9)
John Slattery (Mad Men)
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)-Winner
Martin Short (Damages)
Terry O’ Quinn (Lost)-My Pick
Michael Emerson (Lost)
Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA (2-10)
Sharon Gless (Burn Notice)-My Pick
Christine Baranski (The Good Wife)-Winner
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
Rose Byrne (Damages)
Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES (2-11)
Beau Bridges (The Closer)
Ted Danson (Damages)
John Lithgow (Dexter)-Winner
Alan Cumming ( The Good Wife)
Dylan Baker (The Good Wife)
Robert Morse (Mad Men)
Gregory Itzin (24)-My Pick

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES (3-11)
Mary Kay Place (Big Love)
Sissy Spacek (Big Love)
Shirley Jones (The Cleaner)
Lily Tomlin (Damages)
Ann-Margret (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)-My Pick/Winner
Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost)

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW HOST (4-11)
Ryan Seacrest (American Idol)
Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race)
Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars)
Heidi Klum (Project Runway)
Jeff Probst (Survivor)-My Pick/Winner

OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW COMPETITION (4-12)
Project Runway
Top Chef-Winner (upset of the night by far)
The Amazing Race-My Pick
Dancing with the Stars
American Idol

OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM (4-13)
Antiques Roadshow
Dirty Jobs
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution-Winner
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List
Mythbusters-My Pick
Undercover Boss

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES (4-14)
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart-Winner
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live
The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien-My Pick (why else would it get a nom if it's not going to win)

MINISERIES OR MOVIE (5-14)
The Pacific (HBO)-My Pick/Winner
Return to Cranford (PBS)

OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE (5-15)
Endgame (PBS)
Georgia O’Keeffe (Lifetime)
Moonshot (History)
The Special Relationship (HBO)
Temple Grandin (HBO)-Winner
You Don’t Know Jack (HBO)-My Pick

The Power of the Theme Song

Over the last few months I've been talking to people at work and people wonder what the big deal about a good theme song is. This gets brought up because people think the opening of Big Bang Theory takes too long because of the song by the Barenaked Ladies. But I have to remind them that because of that theme, it makes the show more well known. This is something that has been bothering me for years. Nowadays where are all the cool theme songs for TV shows, especially comedies.

Back in the day,  the TGIF era especially, every comedy had a good catchy song. Even the TGIF block had it's own theme song (you remember it if you watched it regularly like I did "It's Friday night and the mood is right. Gonna have some fun, show you how it's done, TGIF!") From Perfect Strangers to Family Matters to Full House to Boy Meets World (who changed to a better song in later years), every show was memorable. Even scores like Dinosaurs is still in people's memory banks.

Two of the most famous theme songs ever were on NBC, the Cheers theme (Everybody Knows Your Name, if you have never heard the full version, look it up it's awesome!) and the Friends theme (who doesn't remember I'll Be There For You even if you didn't like the show).

The problem is nowadays older audiences have become too impatient. Even kids shows, whose auidences have the attention spans of fruit-flies, will sit and get excited when the theme song for their favorite show comes on. (Disney and PBS shows all have theme songs, Disney followed tradition from my generation's Disney Afternoon block.)

Most shows nowadays have a very short intro with like a little music and then ALL the credits roll during the opening sequence of the show. Sometimes there isn't even that much. It's a wonder why people detest the length of the BBT theme so much. They actually have to sit through a 60 second fast paced, very recognizable song.

I've heard the argument that the networks cut theme songs for more commercials, while at times that is true, the networks can't be that stupid. I think, to be honest, if more shows had theme songs again, then more people will remember the show and say to themselves, that show was funny I wanna watch it again. Music sticks in people's minds longer than the show itself at times. If you have a good show and associate with music, like the old days, then more people will remember it and put together "that theme song is stuck in my head, but that show was funny I wanna watch it again".

It worked in the past, it can work nowadays.

On that note I will leave you with a tribute to my Grandpa, because I would be remiss not to mention or include this when talking about this topic:

"Boy the way Glen Miller played, songs that made the hit parade, guys like us we had it made, those were the days, and you know where you were then, girls were girls and men were men, mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again, didn't need no welfare states everybody pulled his weight, gee our old Lasalle ran great, those were the days!"

Big Brother-The Final Five

All season I've been wanting to write an entry about Big Brother, especially since I've been watching it all summer, but there was too many people to recap everything going on. Now it's down to the Final 5. Now it's easy to talk about. After a wild season so far, it's down to three brigade members, the lone girl and the gay guy.

Britney (HOH-1x, POV-3x)
The lone girl left. It helps that she has the safety of brigade member Lane, and doesn't even know it. Does she have a chance of winning? Yes, big time. I think if she sticks it out against the brigade members and gets to the final two she can very easily get the votes to win, especially if the brigade gets outed in the jury house. If she teams up with Ragan, TV will get very interesting, but at this point I actually can't see that happening.

Enzo (HOH-0, POV-0)
My Jersey boy. He literally has coasted all the way here, and very impressively might I add. Meow Meow, as he refers to himself, in my opinion, has no chance unless he wins something very soon. He's gotten lucky  between being apart of the brigade and having people against him on the block that the whole house hated more. But honestly he stands no real chance to win this show, even if he gets to the final two.

Lane (HOH-0, POV-0)
This guy is my favorite this season, but he also has to win something. If he can win a HOH and decides to turn on the brigade, it will be a major turning point in the game. While I don't see that happening, if he gets to the final two, he could win the game.

Hayden (HOH-2x, POV-0)
This man has been one of the most consistent players all season. He's always in the mix when it comes to competitions, he's always in the HOH's ear and always seems to stay out of the line of fire. If he sticks it out and maybe even wins one more HOH, he could win this show easily.

Ragan (HOH-0, POV-2x)
America's favorite player.  He has literally saved himself twice and single-handily figured out the brigade. If he brings that information to Britney and they could get Hayden and Enzo out, he could get to the final two. I think the only person that could stop him from winning would actually be Britney. Either way, win or lose, he will get money because he's America's boy.

The 23rd Annual Summerslam:The Results

I'm probably the last person on the internet writing about last Sunday's PPV but it's been a busy week and I'm just getting around to it. For my first PPV predication thread I did pretty good, I went 3-1-2 on matches (one went to a DQ and one got thrown out). Overall it was a good show with a fantastic main event. Let me get into it.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Kofi Kingston (My Pick:Dolph, Result:No Contest)
This match was starting to get really good until Nexus got involved for no real reason. Why did they HAVE to get involved here? It made no sense at all. From what I'm hearing this just means they will have the rematch at Night of Champions. Whatever, it still annoyed me, then again maybe that was the point.

Divas Championship Match
Alica Fox (c) vs. Melina (My Pick:Melina, Result:New Divas Champion, Melina)
Yes!!!! I was so excited to see Melina win and to get that belt off of Alica, she didn't deserve it. Now Raw has a great wrestler as champion again. I didn't get the aftermath with LayCool unless they are going to unify the belts at NOC. If so, awesome. If not, what was the point?


The Big Show vs. The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk, Luke Gallows and Joseph (not Joey) Mercury with Serena) (Handicap Match) (My Pick:SES, Result:The Big Show)
I knew I shouldn't have gone against my instincts! For handicap matches, this one was actually pretty good. The SES actually did look really strong, I didn't quite understand Punk walking off like he did, but I guess he'll explain that on Friday. Big Show won after chokeslamming Mercury onto Gallows and pinning them both.

This is the part where I will say something about The Miz, what a promo he cut in the middle of the show. It was amazing to see how much heat he was getting and him insulting all the members of Team WWE was fantastic. It was entertaining and had me laughing really hard. Him saying he was going to join Team WWE was perfect setup for later in the night.

 WWE Championship Match
Sheamus (c) vs. Randy Orton (My Pick:Sheamus, Result:Randy Orton by DQ)
I was trying to remember the last time that a WWE Title match came on so early in a show. This was a great match. By far the best match Sheamus has had in his short career and Orton showed why he's a perfect anti-hero. The crowd LOVES him. After Orton kicked out of the bro kick I was sure that Orton was going to win the belt, but Sheamus got himself DQed and then Orton beat the shit out of him after the match. I will say I loved the "We Want Miz" chant after Orton RKOed Sheamus onto the announce table and knocked him out. The day Miz finally wins the title will be a landmark day of shock and surprise.


World Heavyweight Championship Match
Kane (c) vs. Rey Mysterio (My Pick:Kane, Result:Still World Heavyweight Champion, Kane)
I really expected this match to come on before the WWE Title match. But whatever, I don't book the shows. The match was alright I guess, honestly Mysterio had NO chance of winning this match. The whole thing was just a setup for Undertaker to come out the casket and attack Kane. What was a massive surprise was that Kane got the upperhand on a weakened Taker and tombstoned him, setting up a NOC match between them.


Team WWE (John Cena, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth and DANIEL BRYAN) vs. Nexus (Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Darren Young, Michael Tarver and Skip Sheffield) (Elmination Match) (My Pick:Team WWE, Result:Team WWE, Cena getting the final fall making Barrett tap out to the STF)
This was a fantastic main event. The major surprise of Daniel Bryan being on the team was fantastic and it was a rare occasion where I didn't mind being wrong. (I picked Triple H as the mystery teammate) This was as exciting as a elimination match as I've seen in years. The fact that they put over Bryan was fantastic and well deserved. It does also seem like they are going to get Jericho and Edge back together in the new reform tag division, I have no problem with that. Having Cena be the hero wasn't a big shock at all. People always seem to have a problem with Super Cena finishes, I never do. Sure it seemed very abrupt but it was damn sure exciting. Plus it was a great way to end an great match and a fun show.

WWE:NXT-And Then There Was Three (8/17/10)

Well last night was a huge night for NXT. Due to the facts that they are taping next week's show in advance, they really want to make all eliminations on live TV so that there are no spoilers, and they want the finale to be on August 31st, there was a double elimination last night. It was a very good show to be honest. The wrestling was good, the promos were good and there was no dumb challenge. The only weird part was the lack of a poll, which just means to me that no matter what the fans actually voted for, the WWE knew who they wanted in their Top 3. Which, to be honest, is no big deal this week especially.

Eliminations:
 "Showtime" Percy Watson: This guy really grew on me over the this season and his promos were actually getting better. His promo last night about his 3-D lifestyle (desire, determination, and dedication) was really good and really reminded me alot of Kurt Angle 3 Is. I hope he gets a legit chance to shine on his own or even in a tag team with MVP. The one thing is that he didn't really belong in the top three with the talent that got there. He was my #4 going into this week so it wasn't a major disappointment or shocker.

Husky Harris: Goodbye! Finally! His promo tonight was terrible and Kaval had to carry the match he had with him. I even felt bad for Michelle McCool when he was hitting on her. Good riddance, stay off my TV set.

The Top Three:
Kaval: This was a big duh. He was either #1 or #2 all season long in polls and he's even on a two match winning streak. His interactions with LayCool has been fantastic and his wrestling has been even better. And last night's promo/rap was awesome and really entertaining and showed alot of personality that he needed to show.

Michael McGillicutty: Another duh. Same as Kaval on the rankings. It just bothers me that they had him lose to Zach Ryder on a very important night. He was on such a tear for weeks and then lost two of his last three. Kinda dumb to me. I think he's going to be a great hell down the road just like his dad (Mr. Perfect, Curt Henning). 


Alex Riley: Well this was obviously going to happen because he's so big with the company, esp since he's the FCW Champion and Miz's rookie. His promo was okay, better than Husky's for sure. Again I don't know why they had him lose to Kofi this week, he really could have used that win going into the final two weeks. Overall though he deserves to be here, he is soooo hated by the fans that he's going to be around for a long time.

WWE Summerslam 2010 Predictions

Tonight is the 2010 edition of the of the big four WWE PPVs, Summerslam. This year's show is pretty stacked and has a HUGE elmination tag match that has been the most hyped and over storyline of the summer, maybe even the year.

Team WWE (John Cena, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth and ???) vs. Nexus (Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Darren Young, Michael Tarver and Skip Sheffield) (Elmination Match)
Wow Nexus has come a long way since the NXT Finale back in June. They went from little known Rookies to a major faction. Now comes this major 14 man tag match that I thought they would have saved for Survivor Series but I guess they wanted to end this storyline sooner so they has something new and fresh for the Series in November. Back to this match though. The big story going in is who will be the seventh man on Team WWE since the Nexus took out The Great Khali on Raw last Monday night. They hinted at The Miz which would be pretty cool but I'm going to say that this is where Triple H makes his big return. With that being said...
Winner: Team WWE

WWE Championship Match
Sheamus (c) vs. Randy Orton
Didn't we do this match back in January at the Royal Rumble? But things are different now. Back then both men were heels and it was more or less a setup for the implosion of Legacy then about the title. Now Orton is mega babyface and Sheamus has actually turned into a credible champion. The added stipulations actually add alot too which is needed to help both mean. If Orton loses, there will be no rematch PLUS is anyone interfers, they will be suspended by the GM so that makes it a 100% guarantee that we will have a clean winner. While I would love to see Orton win the belt, I think the champion needs this victory, especially with possibly Triple H, or even The Miz, right around the corner so...
Winner: Sheamus

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Kane (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
Is this match even about the title at all? The whole storyline has been about the Undertaker, it's been really pathetic to be honest. I have to say that it is very awesome to see Kane with a world title after all these years. As for this match the ending really depends on when Taker comes down to get involved. If it's during the match, Rey will win back the belt, but I see Taker make his return after the match which means...
Winner: Kane

Intercontinental Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
If you asked me what IC title match I expected to see at Summerslam a few weeks ago, I would have actually said Kofi vs. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes. But they (storyline) Dolph started dating Vickie Guerrero and that led to Dolph getting a big DQ win over Kofi which led to him winning the belt the following week on Smackdown. So now here we are, Dolph is champion for the first time as a singles competitor and Kofi has a huge new rage edge to his character. I will say that if this is the start of the young stars getting massive pushes and storylines, I'm all for it. As for the match itself, I love Kofi but this title reign is too new and it took over a year to get to this point so...
Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Divas Championship Match
Alica Fox (c) vs. Melina
I said a few weeks ago on my Twitter account that if the main reason that Alica Fox won the title was to hold on to it till Melina's big return, then I had no problem with. Well here's the match that I've been waiting for. So, because as much as I don't like Fox and think she's a terrible wrestler, to keep this short and sweet...
Winner: Melina

The Big Show vs. The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk, Luke Gallows and Joey Mercury with Serena) (Handicap Match)
When this storyline started I figured it would have led to a Show-Punk match. But then Punk got injured so the storyline had to change. That led to Punk being de-masked and Mercury being de-masked and shown as the fourth member of the SES. The only thing I can see is Gallows turning on Punk, but honestly I don't see the happening. Officially I picked the Big Show but I don't think that would good for the SES so for storyline purpose and the the fact that the faction needs some major credibility...
Winner: The Straight Edge Society

WWE:NXT (8/10/10)

This past Tuesday the newest NXT Rookie poll came out and there was yet another elimination.

1. Kaval
Yes!!! Kaval won this week and then moved back up to the #1 spot. If things go the way they are going, he should be able to win this show. Why do I have thoughts of a Rey Mysterio-Kaval World Title match?

2. Michael McGillicutty
This is the one man that can very easily steal the show from Kaval. He dropped down a spot, but it doesn't really stop him momentum.

3. “Showtime” Percy Watson
Wow, I actually thought that a couple of rough weeks for him would have dropped him down the poll little lower. I almost thought he could have been on the block. But I guess his contagious personality is just keeping him a float at this point.

4. Husky Harris
Wow, this was a HUGE surprise. Fine he's not as bad as I made him sound the last poll and he does look a little better in the ring but he really needs a better finisher, or else he will definately hurt someone or himself.

5. Alex Riley
This was the biggest shocker of the show. This I didn't expect at all, and by the reactions no one else did either. I figured he would have been in the top three for the remainder of the show. I guess this is the first time that it's majorly obvious that the fan voting actually means something this season.

6. Lucky Cannon
Well, it was only a matter of time I guess. He was good in the ring but not good enough to last long on the same stage as Kaval, McGillicutty and Riley. I really wanted Harris to go before him but this really isn't too big of a loss.
 
This coming Tuesday is a huge double elimination, which means the show is reaching the end, as quickly as it started.

American Idol Judging Disaster

Wow. What a difference a few months makes. At the end of May I blogged about the finale of American Idol. On that night it was a question in my mind if I would watch the show after Simon left. I was set to watch Season 10 with an open mind, especially since at least they would just be replacing one judge, even though it was their biggest one.

Then Ellen announced she was leaving the show. It's no real big loss even though I thought she did a really good job last season. With that in mind I figured that just means that there would be a three person panel, like the old days.

Then word came around that Kara got fired. She was not only good looking but very intelligent in the music industry and did a great job judging the show the last two seasons.

So now what? That leaves Randy Jackson and some random celebrities to make the new panel?

I'm trying to figure out now before January comes around again, do I care or not? Do I want to tune in? If I tune in and the judges are terrible, do I stick it out because I might miss something special? Do I just give up on a show that I've watched for 9 years and even went to a few concerts over the years?

These are the questions that I don't have the answers to. Hopefully I will by January when the show's 10th season starts up, but for now I just don't know what to do about a show that has been ranked as one of my favorite for the better part of the last decade.