Ty Watches "The Super Mario Bros Movie"

Yesterday I watched "The Super Mario Bros Movie" with my son. He had already seen it, but he said he would watch it with me again. He liked it the first time around, but he did have some critiques. I think he wanted a second viewing to get a good grip on how he felt. He loved it this time around. I thought the movie was fine, but I was lost from time to time.

I'm not a gamer, as you all know. I used to try and play "Mario", but being the youngest of four boys I barely got to touch our Nintendo. I would go to my friends' houses who had Nintendo's, but we barely ever played. We would play "NBA Jam" or go outside and play sports. I even tried "Mario Odyssey" when my son first got his Switch, but I am no good at role player games and I gave up on it quickly. I say all this to say, there are a TON of inside jokes in this movie that flew way over my head. My son is 11 and he knew what they were talking about. That was good for me because if a joke flew over my head, he would explain it to me. It was a reverse of how we usually watch shows and movies. But it was nice to have most of this stuff explained to me. While asking all these questions, I would miss plot points or seemingly important story arcs in the movie. I was finding myself confused at times. I would have to rewind, which frustrated my son. After about 30 minutes I promised him no more messing with the movie. I was just going to go with the flow. A lot of stuff cruised right by me. But I did find myself enjoying bits and pieces.

The movie looks cool. Illumination did the movie, and it has that "Minions" look. I enjoy the little I have seen of "The Minions", so this animation was nice and familiar for me. I also thought it was very colorful and pretty. The mushroom kingdom looked spectacular. Bowser's spot was as creepy as it should be for a kids movie. Even the world before they go into the game looked good. I also liked the whole plot of Mario getting sucked into the mushroom kingdom and Luigi going into Bowser's spot. That made for a fast paced movie. That was also great. This movie is 88 minutes long. That is perfect. I very much like it when modern movies are 90 minutes or less. That is the best amount of time. I also thought the voice actors did a fine job. I know people were up in arms about Chris Pratt being cast as Mario. I'm not a fan of his generally, but he was solid here. Anna Taylor Joy was excellent as Princess Peach. Charlie Day crushed as Luigi. Keegan Michael-Key was great as one of the Toads. But they all paled in comparison to Jack Black. Casting him as Bowser was a stroke of genius. He was more than game and he was the best part about this movie by a wide margin. And "Peaches" is a legit good song. The two times they played it in the movie I found myself humming along.

I do think not knowing the lore took away a bit. Me not picking up on certain jokes and missing story points hurt a bit. Having to constantly ask my son who or what certain stuff was hurt a bit. And me not being a gamer definitely took away. The movie is fine though. I texted a buddy of mine who was curious of my thoughts and I told him what I am telling you all right now. He went so far as to say he didn't think it would move me. He was right. I think fans of the video game will really enjoy this movie. It feels like it was made specifically for them. And kids will enjoy it too. I'd go ahead and recommend it, but it is a soft recommendation from me.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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"Reboot" Adds to the List of Great Shows Canceled Too Soon

A ton of tv shows and some movies are being canceled left and right lately. This is a disturbing first world trend. There has been finished stuff, fully completed, that will not see the light of day. People went and worked on these shows, movies, whatnot and they will not see their hard work come to light. There have been plenty of movies and shows that were about to go into production that were shut down with no warning. That stinks.

I was stoked about the "Workaholics" movie, but that isn't happening at the moment. Paramount Plus shut it down a few weeks before they were going to begin filming. I think the problem is, there is too much content. There are too many choices. Every network and streaming service and website seems to have new content going up by the hour. And most of that content is "reality" tv stuff. These shows are cheap, they don't need actors and can be done almost anywhere. It is a problem. It stinks. There is no creativity. Nothing is new. It's a bummer.

One such show that just got the axe is "Reboot". I devoured the first season. I thought this show was very well done. It was a neat concept. It worked in the modern television era. It was a spoof of a remake. That is money in the bank. There are reimaginings, reboots, remakes galore now. "Reboot" jumped on that idea and made it their own. Rachel Bloom had this wonderful idea and made it come to life. Bloom is a genius comedy writer. She had this show and she made it her own. I love the idea of taking a goofy sitcom from the 90's and making it grown up. These actors are real people with real problems. The cast of the show was spot on as well. Johnny Knoxville was great as the stoner goofball who gets into network nonsense. Keegan Michael Key was perfectly cast as the wannabe dramatic actor who took this role thinking it was just a starting point. Calum Worthy was great as the child star who grew up in a bubble and had to live in the real world now. And Judy Greer, such a pro and underrated in my opinion, was just great as the female lead who made some interesting choices while on the original running of the sitcom. To see them come back to this show, this new idea for their old show, was awesome. Key had no luck in landing any real roles. He was subjected to helping out his girlfriend with her wildly successful playwright career. He was over helping and over sharing at all the wrong times. Knoxville was trying to clean up his act, he had gotten sober, but he was still making other poor choices. Worthy still acted like a kid and still seemed to live in his bubble. He was hilariously inept. And Greer was simply the best. She married a prince who cheated on her and she was trying to find her way back to fame. And we had Bloom who perfectly took on her role as the daughter of the original creators show. She wanted to make this show to show him how horrible of a father he was. Who played her father you ask? Paul Reiser. And he was exceptional. This show was excellent. The first season was funny and touching at the same time. The actors were great. The writing was spot on. I loved all the scenes in the writers room. Those were special. This show may have been ahead of its time. Hulu gave up on it too soon.

All these cancellations need to slow down. These networks and streaming services need to give them time to grow and get a bigger audience. "Reboot" was excellent and deserved more time. What a bummer. Give these shows a real chance. Be more like FX. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Watches "Reboot"

Monday night my wife and I started the show "Reboot" on Hulu. I was listening to "Comedy Bang! Bang!" and Rachel Bloom was the main guest. I did not know she was on the podcast, but I do enjoy her comedy and she mentioned that she was on this show. I had heard about it because I am a Keegan Michael Key fan, but I never really registered watching the show. But after seeing some of Key's press stuff, and then hearing Bloom on "CBB" only further pushed my interest in the show. It also helps that Steve Levitan, who created "Modern Family", created this show as well. So we decided it was time and we tuned in.

We watched the first two episodes and I was hooked. My wife told me yesterday that she was thinking about the show at work all day, so we went ahead and watched the next two episodes that were available. We got caught up on all four eps last night. This show is great. It is funny and insightful and smart and witty and well acted and just fantastic. I was telling my wife on Monday night how well casted this show is too. Keegan Michael Key is perfect for the male lead. He plays his character so well. He thinks he is a better actor than he actually is. I love the scene from the first episode when they show him auditioning for the role of a gangster. It is incredible. Key plays this type of character so well. Judy Greer is equally as wonderful as the female lead. Greer is in seemingly everything, but now she has a chance to shine in a starring role, and she is nailing it. I enjoy every minute she is on screen. Johnny Knoxville is almost too perfectly cast as the former drug addict turned comedian turned actor twice over. Knoxville is my favorite person on the show. He is so funny. He is out of his element in the real world. He is even better on the show. I adore Knoxville in this show. Calum Worthy plays the former kid actor turned adult. He is a total fish out of water. He still acts like a little kid. He still brings his mom, more on her in a minute, to set everyday. He is very fun. Rachel Bloom plays the creator of the show. She is so good. I totally buy everything about her in the show. She just brings it and she is crushing right now. Paul Reiser is the original creator of the show, and Bloom's dad. Reiser is amazing here. He is having something of a career resurgence. Reiser has always been a good actor but it feels like he is bringing it even harder as of late. The rest of the cast is solid as well. Everyone they got to play bit parts is totally nailing it. They are crushing it. The writing is top notch as well. While not on the level of "30 Rock", this show has a ton of jokes in each episode. They also get some drama in there as well. There are some notable heartfelt moments here. I also like the look and feel of the show. It is very reminiscent of early "Modern Family", when that show was at its best.

I definitely recommend this show. It is so good on so many levels. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers"

I used to watch "Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers" as a kid. It is one of the few shows, outside "The Simpsons", that I actually remember watching when I was young. I did not watch many cartoons as a kid. There were other shows, like "American Gladiators", "Sportscenter" and "Good Times" that appealed to me. I just liked real people as opposed to cartoons I guess. But "Rescue Rangers" was different. It was goofy and silly and fun. It was like a lighter "Pinky and the Brain", a show I got to later in life. And I loved "Pinky and the Brain".

When I heard that they were doing a reboot, and making it a movie, I was skeptical. I am usually not the biggest fan of remakes or reboots. Why rehash an old idea that they got right the first time? I just do not like it. Some stuff has worked, but it is few and far between. And fans will argue with other fans if the show or movie or miniseries or whatever is any good. Those people need to calm the hell down. Stop fighting about useless nonsense on the internet. That is for kids. Anyway, I was hesitant. But then I found out that Akiva Schaffer was directing it. I adore Schaffer. I have liked pretty much everything he has done. His group, The Lonely Island, does things that speak to me. I also found out, through Schaffer's internet presence, that Andy Samberg was going to be voicing a main character. This was when I was fully on board. Samberg is one of my all time favorite actors. The dude is funny. He gets it. He knows how to construct, write and deliver jokes. When he teams up with Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, the other Lonely Island member, they make magic. As I said, the three of them know how to get it done. Then I saw that John Mulaney was attached. I like his comedy, so I was happy about it. Then Tress MacNeille signed on. Then Eric Bana. Will Arnett was next. Then I started to see names like Dennis Haysbert, Flula Borg, Keegan Michael Key, Tim Robinson, Seth Rogen, JK Simmons and Rachel Bloom attached to voice characters. This was an even bigger selling point for me. I also saw that Kiki Layne, from "Coming 2 America", was cast as the human lead in this movie. She was great in that, so I figured she would be just fine here.

This movie really worked for me. I loved that they went the "Roger Rabbit" route with it. This movie mixes a bunch of different animation styles with real life situations. And it is from the jump. We meet Chip and Dale in elementary school where they go with all kinds of animated characters and humans. The movie continues this trend when they show them getting their show. This was a great walk down memory lane. And then when we find them away from the show in modern times, they keep up the "Roger Rabbit" aesthetic. The movie is even in the crime/noir/comedy genre. It mixes all three, but it is not as adult as "Roger Rabbit". This is a kids movie. This is made for the family to watch. My son watched it the day after my wife and I, and he thought it was fun. But being that it is a kids movie at heart, I told my wife while watching that I feel like this movie was made for us. This was made for people who are going to be 40, or already turned 40. This is like going back in time. It brings back all your favorite characters from the original, while taking some old classics and making them look not so great. I loved that about this movie. It was nostalgia for me, and I was all in.

I highly recommend “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers” for everyone, but mainly for people my age that used to watch the cartoon. It is a great walk down memory lane. It was a ton of fun.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Win it All"

I come to you today with yet another movie review and recommendation. Yesterday I watched another one that I have been putting off for a while, and I wish I hadn't. The movie is called "Win It All". It stars Jake Johnson, who also co-wrote the movie, and it is about an addictive gambler who tries to turn his life around but runs into some bad luck. Again, a cliché story, but this movie was so well made.

I think the reason why “Win it All” works is Johnsons' performance is magnetic. He is more known for comedy and being on "New Girl", but giving him a role like this, a little more drama and less comedy, and he shined. I have said it a lot on the site, and I will say it again, I love when actors and musicians take a chance. Johnson did just that and he crushed. He has become somewhat of Joe Swanmberg's muse as well. Swanberg co-wrote the movie with Johnson and he directed as well. Swanmberg is one of these "mumblecore" guys. That genre of movie can be dull and boring, but "Win It All" was not. This movie moved well and transitioned properly. It had comedy and drama. It was "Uncut Gems" very light. "Uncut Gems" is one of my all time favorite movies by the way, and that movie is super intense. It is a relief to watch a movie that deals with gambling that doesn't give me a panic attack. That is "Win It All".

As I was saying, Swanberg and Johnson have a great rapport now. They have done a few movies together, and they are all, at the very least, watchable. None of them are bad. Sure they can be a little blah, but they are fine. With "Win It All" they take it to another level. Johnson is superb. I cannot say enough great things about him in this role. He is the star, he owns the movie, you cannot take your eyes off of him and I was rooting for him to turn his life around. Swanberg does an excellent job of making a more mainstream style movie. There is still some of that "mumblecore" direction in there, but it doesn't take over. The rest of the cast is really good as well. Joe Lo Truglio plays Johnson's brother. He has his act together and all he wants is to help his brother. Truglio is a great comedic actor, and he does a lot of funny stuff in this movie. But his dramatic stuff really hit. He was solid. Aislinn Derbez was the love interest. I had never heard of her before watching this movie. She was outstanding. She was believable. She had a ton of chemistry with Johnson. She was great. Keegan Michael Key played his sponsor. It was nice to see Key not do any comedy. I love his comedic work, but I felt he was kind of falling in a trap of only doing broad comedy. So to see him do a role like this was refreshing. He did a very good job. And they had a bunch of real life poker players in the movie in scenes where they played real games of cards. This added a whole other level to the minimal stress in the movie. It made the games feel real. I found myself really into everything that was happening in this movie. I also really like that it was ninety minutes long.

I will say it again, Johnson was electric and I want to see more stuff like this out of him. And I like high stakes movies that find a way to not take itself so seriously. I also really enjoyed the final scene in the movie. It made me hopeful. If you have 90 minutes free and like redemption style movies, check out "Win It All". It is solid.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches "Playing House"

This past Friday "Playing House" returned to our television sets. I was so thrilled to see this show again after the long layoff. I was confused why it took so long for season three to come back on, but after hearing about Jessica St. Clair's battle with breast cancer, it all made sense. I have heard that the cancer is going to be a storyline, and I bet that they will tackle this tough subject matter in a very proper, yet very funny way. Both Parham and St. Clair are comedic geniuses. they are skillful actors, great improvisersand exceptional writers. I know they will create something magical when they get to the cancer story arc of this season.

With that being said, the first 2 episodes of season three did not touch on that subject, yet I still loved them as much as I loved all the episodes from the first 2 seasons. The first episode started with both Parham and St. Clair at a mommy self defense class. This whole bit was a riot. Parham was one of the stars of the class, and she used St. Clair as her partner, whom she deployed her newfound strength on. It was all played for great laughs. The instructor of the class was hilarious too. She was a total badass that, upon hearing Maggie(Parham) and Emma's(St. Clair) story of how they came together, she pauses for a moment and points at them aggressively and tells the whole class, "this is what true friendship looks like. I want you all to admire this". She then goes back to kicking ass.

It is later found in the episode that Maggie's ex husband, Bruce(Brad Morris), has a new girlfriend, and it is the self defense instructor. Maggie is thrown off by this, not because she still has feelings for Bruce, but because she is the only one on her core group without a signifigant other. Emma and Mark(Keegan-Michael Key) are officially a couple as well, after the season 2 cliff hanger. The story of the 2 of them trying to be intimate with each other,  but they both have concerns over their aged bodies, the motto of the episode seemed to be, "this is 40", was very funny. They do eventually get intimate, and they both love it.

Later on, Maggie has a big freak out at a party she has at her house for Bruce, his new girlfriend and Emma and Mark. They are playing a game where they guess movies with vague clues and she gets "Home Alone", and the party guests are all saying that she is alone, that no one except an old man likes her, that she has been forgotten, everything from the movie, and she blows up.

After Maggie's moment, her and Emma have a great moment in the kitchen, and things seem to be smoothed over. I love this about the show. Their moment doesn't seem hacky or tacked on for sympathy sake. Parham and St. Clair are lifelong friends, so their conversations, even in their characters, seems so real.

There was a second episode immediately after the first, and this one finds Emma and Tina, AKA "Bird Bones"(Lindsay Sloane), Mark's ex wife, trying to smooth things over after all that has happened. Tina says she is okay, but she looks like she is on razors edge. She isn't so much mad at Emma as she is overwhelmed with her new career. She has unfortunately gotten involved with a pyramid scheme, even though she keeps saying that she is a business woman. This leads Emma, after profusely apologizing for being with Mark, to try and help. She was a big time business woman herself before she moved back to help with Charlotte, Maggie's baby. She thinks she can take down the head of this pyramid scheme. This only leads to her being too cocky and deciding that she is going to prove to this lady that she can sell all the product. I know, it sounds like your typical sitcom nonsense, but again, all the people involved, mainly Parham and St. Clair are so sharp witted and funny, they make this seemingly typical story line absolutely hilarious. When Emma applies lip balm to Maggie, and it makes her swell up because she is allergic to bees, it was gold. Tina's constant flip flopping of emotions was great and funny. Emma's hubris, then realizing she had screwed up, it was all very well done.

Maggie's other story arc of the episode involved her and another nurse working with a new doctor, possibly Maggie's love interest for the season, who was very cold and no nonsense. The scenes with all three of them, Maggie, the male nurse and the doctor, are comedy gold. The scenes with just Maggie and the male nurse might have been even better. It was all great.

I'm beyond thrilled that "Playing House" is back. I've been a fan of this show from day one, and I've been a fan of Parham and St, Clair since I have been listening to podcasts. I highly recommend this show for everyone. It hits all the comedy marks that one could want out of a 30 minute sitcom, and they hit them so much better than any piece of garbage on CBS. I love this show so much and I cannot wait to watch it again on Friday. "Playing House" is a must watch TV show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time went to a daddy self defense class. After hearing the rules, Ty figured out he was at a fight club.

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Better Late than Never on the Violent, Funny, and Perfect "Keanu

That is one bad ass kitty

I know that I am rather late to the party, but I just recently saw the movie "Keanu", and I loved it. I was already a pretty big Jordan Peele and Keegan Michael Key fan before seeing this movie. They were the only decent part of the mid-series run of "Mad TV". I would only tune in to see their skits and stories. I was an absolutely avid fan of their show on Comedy Central, "Key and Peele". They brought a new kind of sketch show to cable TV that was an absolute homerun. I watched every episode, in real time, and some of their skits and bits were some of the funniest things that I have ever watched on television. One of their very first skits, involving 2 guys griping about their wives and saying that they called them a "bitch", but going as far away as outer space so their wives wouldn't hear them, is one of the most memorable things on recent TV. I was saddened when they ended the show after a short, but very memorable run.

I found out one of the reasons they ended the show was to work on this movie "Keanu". I know in a very old podcast, I mentioned how it was one of the movies I was most looking forward to in 2016, but it is hard for me to get to the theaters now, what with 2 kids, work and coaching. So, that is why I was so late to seeing this movie that I have been looking forward to for almost a year. When my wife and I finally had a night with nothing scheduled, we sat down and watched, and laughed, and were just absolutely blown away by how much we enjoyed this movie. I was predestined to like this movie for all the reasons I mentioned above, but I did not think my wife would like it as much as she did. She was laughing as hard, sometimes harder than I was, throughout the whole movie. She put her phone down to watch because she was enjoying the movie so very much. I was very happy that she liked the movie as much as I did.

Lets get back to my review of this movie. I thoroughly enjoyed every single second of "Keanu". I liked how much Key and Peele put their touch on this movie. At its bare bones, the movie is about 2 guys, one who is a pushover, Key, and one that is depressed because his girlfriend broke up with him, Peele, that are lifelong friends. Key's character comes to soothe and help Peele get through the breakup, but when he gets to his house, he sees that Peele has found a cat, which he names Keanu. Now, at the start of the movie, we see a humongous shoot out between two guys called the Allentown 2 take down an entire drug cartel. Throughout the whole shootout, we see this tiny kitty running away, dodging bullets and finding its way through downtown LA to Peele's apartment. Peele finds the cat, and he immediately starts to feel better about the breakup. He then proceeds to give Keanu his full attention. He loves this cat.

Then one night while he is out, some people come looking for his weed dealer, hilariously played by Will Forte, because they think he has the cat, but they soon find out that it is in Peele's house. The bad guys trash his house and steal Keanu. When Peele returns to his home, he is distraught to see that his kitty is gone. Peele then becomes obsessed with finding Keanu, and he drags Key along with him. This is when the movie gets crazy.

There are a ton of big time drug dealers involved in this little cat's life. They go to a strip club, hilariously named Hot Pretty Vixens, or HPV, and that is where they find a notorious drug dealer Cheddar, played by Method Man, who has become a very good actor I might add, and he has Keanu now. He has renamed him New Jack, and he also puts a bandana on his head. From this point on, Key and Peele have to act like they are the Allentown 2, as Cheese has confused them for these guys, and they continue this act because Peele wants his cat back. They have to go on drug deals, a hilarious encounter with Anna Faris playing herself is not to be missed. They have gun fights. They smoke something they call in the movie "holy shit". Key teaches young thugs about how great George Michael is, and that team work and team building exercises are important. Key starts to fall for a female dealer that he meets. All this stuff is great, has Key and Peele's comedic touches everywhere and is just so, so funny. Everything that they go through leads to one big shoot out, where you find out some things about some of the characters that we have already met, and it culminates very violently, but also very funny. Key and Peele end up in jail, spoiler alert, but while in there, they are looked at as bad asses because they are believed to have taken out the Allentown 2.

"Keanu" is a great movie that I am glad I finally got to watch. It is funny, but it is also very violent, has bad words and goes way further than any sketch they ever did on "Mad TV" or "Key and Peele". I recommend this movie, and you do not necessarily have to be a fan of Key and Peele's comedy to enjoy. My wife never watched either show, and she thought "Keanu" was great. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once had a roommate with two cats, but Ty could have cared less of they were stolen by drug dealers. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The Great Characters of "Key and Peele" Will Be Missed

Toss out the tv, there is nothing good on anymore

Last week one of the greatest sketch comedy shows on TV aired their final episode.

"Key and Peele" has their series finale last Wednesday. I know I'm a week late, but I needed this time to reflect on what made "Key and Peele" so great. This show came out of nowhere to me. I knew of Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele from their appearances on "MadTV". They were the only ones on that show that left an impression on me. I'm a SNL fan, so "MadTV" was, basically, a joke to me. It came and went, and people may say, look at Will Sasso he's been mildly successful, or look at, I've already run out of names after one person. Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele came later, and they were the only memorable ones on the show. When I heard, three years ago, that they were working on a sketch show for Comedy Central, I was excited. I like both of them, and they each would pop up in movies or shows every once in a while, but the fact that they were getting their own show, had me intrigued.

The first season of the show was just as great as I hoped it would be. In the first sketch of the first season, they put out one of the most quotable and memorable skits that lasted all the way through the five seasons, coming to an end in the final episode. Two husbands were hanging out, with their wives in other rooms, and they were complaining about their significant others. They would get to the end of the complaint, lean in and whisper, "I said biiiiiiitch", and each of the guys would congratulate the other one for standing up to his wife. But, when the wives would enter the room, both men would tense up and say, "we aren't talking about anything". It's one of, if not their most, memorable sketches. Through all the seasons we were also introduced to recurring characters like Wendell, Luther(Barack Obama's anger translator), Andre and Meegan, substitute teacher Mr. Garvey, the East/West Shrine Bowl players(some of the funniest names I've ever heard), MC Mom and many, many other hilarious characters. Wendell, played by Jordan Peele, was a nerdy, loner that would order a pizza, or go to a sex addicts group and make up wild stories. He would always claim to have way more friends than he actually had, his friends were his action figures, and his stories got larger and less true as they went on. Barack Obama's anger translator, Luther, was one of the best characters on sketch TV of all time. Keegan Michael Key played Luther, and Jordan Peele would do his spot on Obama impression, and when Obama spoke, Luther translated every word into a super loud, very angry speech. In the final season we even got a Hilary Clinton anger translator to argue with Luther. It was very funny. Luther was such a popular character, he actually spoke at one of Obama's recent speeches. It was great. Andre(Key) and Meegan(Peele) were your typical mid twenties, douchey couple. Andre was a total pushover, dressed head to toe in gaudy Ed Hardy gear, and he would literally follow Meegan to the ends of the Earth. Meegan was the epitome of a bitchy, over privileged, snotty twenty something year old. Her high pitched tone and the way she treated people was so grating, that everyone who came in contact with her hated her, except for Andre. They almost broke up in the final episode, but Meegan tricked Andre into staying together. The East/West Shrine players had some of the funniest, most ridiculous names I've ever heard. Key and Peele's portrayal of these players were spot on. Some of the names included Hingle McCringleberry or X Wing @aliciousness, just absolutely absurd. Some rumors were, they got the idea for this recurring sketch when they heard there were real players named D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Those are real football players, with Clinton-Dix actually appearing in one of the East/West sketches. MC Mom seemed to be almost a throw away character, but the further she got into her rap, the better the sketch became. This portrayal by Peele was phenomenal and it brought back one of "Key and Peele" most famous catchphrases, "Put the Pussy on the Chainwax!". Fans of the show know exactly what I'm saying with that catchphrase. Substitute teacher Mr. Garvey was the best recurring character on this show. Played to perfection by Keegan Michael Key, Mr. Garvey had an anger that only a substitute teacher could have, and he pronounced all the students names wrong. For example, Aaron was pronounced A a ron or Denise was pronounced De Nice. It is such a funny, yet at the same time, true sketch for all of us who've ever had a substitute. There's so many more excellent characters that they both played, but these are my favorites.

When the show premiered, they used to do it in front of a studio audience, a la "Chapelle's Show" and I really liked that. In the third season, they switched to the two of them driving in a car on a long stretch of road with the desert to each side of them. I was frustrated at first, but as it went on, some of the funniest moments were produced between the two of them simply talking to each other. In the long run, it was clearly a set up to end their very first sketch, the "I said biiiiiiitch" sketch, and it totally paid off.

Both of these guys will continue to work because they're so talented and I'm glad that Comedy Central gave them a platform so more people could find out how funny they are. The two of them wrote a movie that will be filmed soon, and both are working in TV and movies very consistently now. I will miss you "Key and Peele".Wednesday nights will not be the same without you, but you ended the show at the right time for yourselves and it was a very pleasing ending to fans like me. Thanks for the three plus years and five seasons of some of the most hilarious sketch comedy I've ever seen.

You guys definitely put the pussy on the chainwax.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the co-host of the X Millennial Man podcast. With all of his shows ending, what will he watch next? Supergirl? Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

"Playing House" is one of the best comedies on television

USA has to be on the UHF band

Last week season two of "Playing House" premiered on the USA Network.

I was out of town and my wife and I were unable to watch. We got back from our trip last night and not only were we able to see the season premiere on On Demand, but we got to see the next two episodes as well. "Playing House" is back and it's just as good as the first season. Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair are comedic geniuses. Not only are they excellent comedy writers, but they're phenomenal actors. They're both so funny and their chemistry is great. It's easy to see that they are best friends in real life.

USA is a great network for this show to be a part of. St. Clair and Parham had a show on NBC a couple of years ago, but it wasn't a good fit. USA lets them take chances and they let the show be a bit risqué. In the three episodes we saw last night I heard them say asshole and shit. That doesn't happen on channels like NBC. I feel, and I think they'd agree, that the cancellation from NBC was the best thing for them. This opened up the possibility of doing the show they wanted on a network that would let them take chances. USA hit a home run by putting "Playing House" on the air. They scored even more points for me when they renewed it for a second season.

In season one, we all know that Emma(St. Clair) left her high powered job in China to move home to help a very pregnant Maggie(Parham) get ready for the birth of her baby. We also found out that Maggie's husband, Bruce(Brad Morris) was cheating on her, so she needed her friend more than ever. In the season two premiere, we see Maggie, Emma and the baby posing for pictures at a mall. The baby girl, Charlotte, looks to be about four months old. St. Clair and Parham play up the photo shoot for very big laughs. After the photo shoot, they run into "Bird Bones"(Lindsay Sloane) and Mark(Keegan Michael Key), friends from the town that they can't see anymore because Emma is in love with Mark and "Bird Bones" isn't happy with that. "Bird Bones" and Mark are working out their relationship problems, so they are at the photographers to get family photos with their new dog Renee. It's supposed to be a bonding time for them, but it's just awkward after running into Maggie and Emma. We find out later that Maggie is secretly bringing Charlotte over to Mark's house so he can see her and they can continue their friendship. This encounter runs us into the big problem they run into in the premiere. Charlotte has a doll called Mr. Kooky and it's the only thing that can get her to sleep. Maggie and Emma go over to Mark's house, Maggie knows the code to get in, and look for the doll. We then see Renee chewing on Mr. Kooky. Maggie and Emma eventually get the doll back, but by that time, "Bird Bones" and Mark arrive home. It eventually gets found out that Maggie and Emma are in the house. The four of them have a big talk where they reveal all their problems and, having this out in the open, makes everyone more comfortable around each other. Maggie and Emma are told that they can have the toy back, but we then see Renee humping it, so they leave Mr. Kooky be. When Maggie and Emma go to Bruce's house to get Charlotte, Charlotte is sound asleep. When they ask him how he got her to sleep, Bruce replies, "I told her she's the love of my life, kissed her and put her to bed". Simple as that. The three of them are looking at their picture from the photo shoot and while Emma and Maggie are unhappy with how they look, Charlotte looks great and that's all that matters. A very sweet ending.

It was a very solid season two premiere. I don't want to spoil the next two episodes from anyone, but they're both very funny and very good. Jane Kaczmarek is back as Emma's mom and Zach Woods is back as Charlotte's uncle. They both have very good scenes in the next two episodes. The real standout to me, so far, is Keegan Michael Key. He is so funny and a very good actor. He plays Mark as a strong, but understandable husband and friend to the three ladies in his life. He's a top notch comedy actor. I'm so happy that "Playing House" is back on the air. It's a very solid show, and fans of comedy should be watching.

Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the co-host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He plays house with a living baby, a dog, and his hard working wife. Follow him on twitter @tykulik