Ty Watches "Detroiters

I'm a real big fan of the show "Detroiters" on Comedy Central. I have watched the show from day one, and everything about it has impressed me.

For those that do not know, "Detroiters" is a show about 2 best friends that run an ad agency for smaller companies. They run an agency that shows commercials that one may see on public access TV, or late at night. What I really appreciate, and love, about the show are the 2 main characters. Sam Richardson plays Sam Duvet, and Tim Robinson plays Tim Cramblin, and their agency is called Cramblin and Duvet. These 2 are a perfect comedy match. They play so well off of one another. They also both have a very unique and weird sense of humor that I really love. They do some weird and wild stuff on the show, but it works because of the 2 of them. They have some outrageous bits, and scenes in the episodes that are so off the wall, but I find myself cracking up every time. Their off the beaten path humor just works.

For example, there have been 2 episodes this season where each of them have been able to really show off their comedy chops. For Richardson, it came when he had to record a jingle with his ex fiancée. He ends the bit by telling Tim that he "came in his pants" while recording, and I was on the floor laughing. Tim has an episode where we meet his brother, played by the drummer in the criminally underrated band Death Grips and their interactions are great. Being someone that has brothers, I could relate. But, they took it even deeper when each of them cried. While sobbing, each one had to wear a Slipknot mask. It was terrifying, confusing and hilarious all at once. That episode may be my favorite one so far.

I love that Comedy Central took a chance on this show and these guys. The show is odd, I cannot stress that enough, but it works. Comedy Central has done this lately too, taking on odd subjects and shows, but they have pretty much nailed it with every one. While "Detroiters" isn't on the same level as say a "Nathan For You", or "Review", it still ranks up there with those shows. I like that they gave Richardson and Robinson a chance too.

Richardson is great as a supporting actor. He has proven that tenfold in "Veep". He is, by far, my favorite character on that show. He is so unassuming and hilarious. His interactions with Jonah early on, and now with Julia Louis Dreyfuss, are the best part of that wonderful show. He is also very good in bit parts in the movies he has been in. Richardson is a solid actor. What I love about him on "Detroiters" is, he gets a chance to be a main character, and he totally nails it. He is every bit as funny as anyone on that show, and it comes off without a hitch.

I also love that they gave Robinson a chance. I think I may be one of the only people that, one, remembers him on "SNL", and two, thinks he didn't get a fair shot on that show. His random characters on "SNL" always cracked me up, and he does a wonderful Gary Busey impression. One of the best if you ask me. But, they dropped him after one season I think. Now, he has this show that he co created with Richardson, and he is every bit as good as Richardson. He is a bit more of the wild card, but that is where he shines. He is so good at the loud and weird stuff. He truly makes me laugh pretty much every time he is on screen.

The rest of the people that fill out the how are great as well. I also love that they use Detroit in the show. They really showcase that city, and the people.

"Detroiters" is well worth your time. I'm so glad that Comedy Central gave it a second season, and if the show continues on the current trajectory it is on, I do not see how they don't get a third. This show is awesome, and if you are a fan of absurd humor, you will love it too. Go watch "Detroiters".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does a fairly good Gary Busey impersonation. Get Ty some thick black glasses, and have him sing "That'll Be the Day", he looks just like Busey playing Buddy Holly.  

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Ty Watches "Westworld" Season 1

I just finished the first season of “Westworld” yesterday. I know that RD has written his peace on this show, and today, I offer a counter to his argument.

I thought "Westworld" was absolutely amazing. The only reason I didn’t watch it at first was stupid. I told my wife, who loves the show, “I don’t like when science fiction and western genres blend”. What an asshole I was being. It shouldn’t matter when a show is this well written and well acted. I was into every single second of the show. I blew through the first season in less than a week. The more I watched, the more I craved the next episode. I wanted to know everything that was happening. I stayed away from spoilers, and I’m glad I did. This made my experience watching it that much better. Every twist and turn was brand new to me, and that’s a great feeling when watching a show.

I believe RD compared the show to an Apple Pencil, and to be honest, that analogy couldn’t be more off, in my opinion. This is a great, well done show. The Apple Pencil was doomed to fail from the beginning. It never had a chance. “Westworld” got great actors to be in their wonderful show. They had people that were ready to fully commit. They got established stars. People like Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton don’t sign on to stuff unless they know it’s good. They make the right choices. Evan Rachel Wood is a very good actress, and she likes to do different things like a “Westworld”. James Marsden usually picks proper projects that suit his skills. Even “lesser” known actors like Tessa Thompson and Paolo from “Lost”, starred on this show.

The stories on "Westworld", my god were they riveting. I’m not going to spoil anything, but with every twist and turn and the new information that came with each episode, it blew me away. The scenery was also extremely beautiful. I read they shot most of the stuff in "Westworld" in Moab, Utah, and seeing what I saw on my TV, I’d like to visit Moab now. Oh, and the music was so great. They took contemporary songs and made them old time western tunes, and it was amazing. They used multiple Radiohead songs, and I loved every version. Their rendition of “Black Hole Sun” was moving. When they played “Paint it Black” during a shootout scene, it couldn’t have worked out better. I was very happy when I found out that there is a “Westworld” playlist on Spotify.

I really, really love this show. I’m very excited to see where they go with season 2. I know it started a few days ago, and I’m chomping at the bit to watch. I have to respectfully disagree with RD. I think “Westworld” is an amazing show. Everyone should watch it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor is considering giving "Westworld" another chance based on Ty's recommendation. RD will not give up his complaint about the music, it was a bad choice.

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Ty Watches "All or Nothing: A Season with the Michigan Wolverines"

I just recently finished the Amazon series, “All or Nothing: A Season with the Michigan Wolverines”.

Of course, I loved it.

The 8 episode documentary series was all about the 2017 season, which was a rough one for Michigan. What I liked about the show was how honest everything was. The footage they show is what they used. I’m sure they edited it, every show does, but what they used was real and true. I really appreciated that. The show showed the few ups, and the many downs of the 2017 season. I relieved all 13 games from last year, and I felt all the feels. I went through the same ups and downs when I watched the games in real time. I was thrilled seeing them best Florida in the season opener. I was happy, yet worried about their inability to put away teams early in the year. The Cincinnati and Air Force games were prime examples. Then we had the Michigan State disaster. Then the Penn State blow out. Then I got to see John O'Korn struggle again, which was tough. I saw the Wilton Speight injury again. I watched Brandon Peters play okay, but realized he wasn’t fully ready. I watched the defense play exceptional, but also get tired from being relied on so much. I mean, Mike McCray, Mo Hurst, Chase Winovich, Khaleke Hudson and Rashan Gary, among many others, play their hearts out all year, and veil that offense out more often than not.

Aside from the football, it was nice to get to know these kids as people. I was explaining to a friend that I always looked at these kids as football robots. Well, this show made me realize that they’re kids first, football players second. These kids have to go to class. These kids have kids of their own. These kids bleed for this program, but they also have lives outside of football. These kids have other aspirations outside of the NFL. These kids get homesick. It made me realize that they have feelings. I know that sounds weird, but it was eye opening.

Another eye opening thing I got from this series was how delusional Speight and O'Korn are. Wilton Speight is a jackass. That kid blamed everyone but himself, and he came off as arrogant. John O'Korn was better, but not by much. He took blame one time, but other than that, he was “trying his best”. He rarely took the fall for his poor play. Karan Higdon is an amazing young man. He is raising his daughter and kicking ass on the field. Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black have me excited for the future of the receiver position.

The show also made me respect Jim Harbaugh even more. He may be grating, but that guy loves football, and he loves to coach. Same with Don Brown. He’s a wild dude, but he gets the best out of his players. The show also made me see Greg Mattison and Pep Hamilton in a whole new light, in a good way.

Look, I was going to love this series no matter what. I’m a dyed in the wool Michigan fan. They are my favorite team of any team that has ever existed. Don’t watch this if you’re not a Michigan fan, it wasn’t made for you. Watch it if you are a Michigan fan, it was obviously made for us. But I’d also recommend it to fans of college football and high school coaches. It is a wonderful, insightful show. I’m glad they did this and I’m glad I watched it. It now has me excited for the 2018 season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to pitch a new show to Amazon about Michigan football fans watching an entire season. Way more people can relate to the stars of this show.

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Ty Watches the Best Episode of "Atlanta"

Last Thursday was probably the best episode of “Atlanta” that I have ever seen.

The episode was titled “Teddy Perkins”, and from start to finish it was, hands down, perfect. The episode started off with Darius(Lakeith Standfield, who better get a god damn Emmy for this performance), getting some stuff for a U Haul, including a confederate hats that reads, Southern Made. He buys a Sharpie and marks it up to read, U Mad. Immediately, I was intrigued. He then drives to a mansion where he is going to pick up a piano with rainbow keys.

Here is where we meet Teddy Perkins. Teddy sounds like Michael Jackson, and his skin looks bleached just like his was too. He is creepy from the start. It wasn’t just the voice either. He looked over Darius very creepily. He moved oddly. He spoke very differently from anyone I have ever heard. He eats weird shit like hard boiled ostrich eggs. That scene, where he cracks the egg and offers some to a gagging Darius was wonderfully absurd and hilarious. From the start, things just seem off. Teddy is pretty much refusing to give up the piano, almost forcing Darius to stick around. At one point Teddy calls what we think is a butler to get some water, but no one shows up. When Darius presses him about it, he says he doesn’t have a butler, but that he records everything in his home. He then plays the tape back for Darius to hear. Darius retreats outside to call his buddies and tell them about this super awkward situation. They all make fun of him and tell him that Teddy is for sure going to murder him. Darius describes Teddy’s complexion by telling them to google Sammy Sosa, and their responses are priceless. It was a much needed laugh in this very scary/serious episode. After Darius hangs up his phone, we see Teddy banging on a window, as if he has been watching him the whole time, and gestures for him to come in to get the piano. Darius meets Teddy upstairs and they start to make the deal for the piano. Darius says something that upsets Teddy, and he explodes on him. He yells at Darius very loudly, and it was creepy as hell. Darius finally gets the piano on the elevator and pushes the button for the first floor. He is taken down to the basement level where we see someone wrapped in full body bandages, and they are wheel chair bound. He writes on a chalkboard that Darius must kill Teddy. He lets him know if he doesn’t, Teddy will kill them both. Darius is flustered by this news, and this mysterious person. When he finally gets upstairs and out the door, we see Teddy’s car parked right behind the U Haul. Darius goes in to ask Teddy to move the car and ends up in a weird room where we see a young piano player playing a beautifully eerie song, all the while being whipped in the hands by his father. Teddy then says something and Darius is startled. He has also grabbed a fireplace poker because he is certain that this dude is dangerous. Teddy then stands up, revealing a shot gun. He fully intends on killing Darius and making it look like a home invasion. Teddy leads Darius to the front room and handcuffs him to a chair. Then, the elevator opens up revealing the bandaged person, and that person has a gun and shoots Teddy. He then turns the gun on himself and Darius is left there to watch all this unfold. It clearly shakes him. The episode ends with the 2 bodies and the piano being wheeled out the door.

This was a remarkable episode of a phenomenal show. I’m still shook myself from what I saw. What Glover did, he played Teddy, was amazing. He is unfairly talented. To come up with a story like this and a character like that was incredible. I highly recommend this episode to everyone. It is a masterpiece. Honestly I like it more than “Finding Frances”, and I loved that. “Teddy Perkins” is one of the, if not the, best episodes of TB ever made. Oh, there is no commercial break either. It went 34 minutes straight. I’m still blown away by the genius that this episode was. What a great, all time episode of a great, all time TV show. Go watch it right now. Seriously.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He will never, ever, go to a house that has a piano with rainbow keys. That is down right disturbing.

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Ty Watches the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game

The college basketball season came to an end last night.

I watched because the Wolverines were playing. I have been in and out of this particular tournament, but I have watched all of Michigan's games, either on TV or my phone. I had to watch the entire game last night because it was the title game. I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that this particular Michigan team would make it this far when the season started. I thought they could push for a tournament bid, but to be in the title game, I was kind of in shock. And, even after the spread of 6.5 points, which is a ton in basketball, was released, I still thought that maybe, just maybe, Michigan could find a way to win a title. I bought into the talk that their defense would be able to, not shut down, but slow down Villanova's three point shooting prowess. They came off a pretty impressive second half against Loyola Chicago, the darlings of the tournament, so I also thought that they had momentum going into the title game.

What I failed to realize was how dominant Villanova had been this entire tourney. They pretty much destroyed every team in their way. Hell, two nights before the title game, they throttled a very solid KU team. They made 18 three pointers and they pretty much shut down a pretty solid KU offense. The closest any team had played Villanova was Texas Tech, and Villanova won that game pretty easily, pulling away to a 12 point victory. I looked past all of that and thought that my team could do the unthinkable. No one, and I mean NO ONE, was picking Michigan. I like when that happens because then they can play with a chip on their shoulder.

When the game started, my belief that they could pull off the upset only got stronger. They came out of the gates with their heads on fire. Mo Wagner was killing it down low. Muhammed Ali Abdur Rahkman was finally hitting jump shots. Charles Matthews was attacking the rim and had a great chase down block early. They were doing it all for the first half of the first half.

Then, Villanova calmed down and just took over. As soon as they brought in that red headed Italian dude, it was done. That kid came in the game with Michigan leading 21-14. From that point on, Villanova outscored Michigan the rest of the game 68-41, and it wasn't even that close. Villanova started to hit threes. Villanova made life miserable for Wagner and Matthews. Jalen Brunson was abusing both Zavier Simpson and Abdur Rahkman down low. Mikail Bridges started to assert himself. Villanova's young big men started to destroy Wagner and Jon Teske down low. Basically, Villanova did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted down the stretch of the first half, and the entirety of the second half. Michigan was only down 9 at halftime, but it felt like so much more to me. And, Villanova came out, after giving up an easy 2 to Wagner to start the half, and scored what seemed like the next 11 points to balloon their lead to 15. Then it was 18, then it was 19, and finally, it got as high as 22 points.

I did not give up because anything can happen in a college basketball game, but I'd be lying if I said that I truly thought they could come back. First off, Michigan is not built to make big time comebacks like that. They used to be, because of their three point shooting prowess, but this team was built to dribble drive, play defense and make an occasional three here and there. When Villanova started to hit shots, I kind of knew it was over for them. Also, Villanova's defense, while I felt they got away with a ton of contact, played exceptional last night. They crowded the guards. They forced tough threes from Duncan Robinson. They slowed Wagner down after his hot start. Matthews disappeared in the second half due the defense. They were toast. I also feel like they did not pace themselves properly last night. As I said, they came out on fire, but after that first 10 minutes, they were tired, they had heavy legs and they just couldn't keep up.

The better team won last night. Villanova was clearly, not only last night, the best team in college basketball this year. Last night only further hammered that point home. Watching them for the first time last night, I was blown away at how good they are. They do everything that a winning team should do, and they do it exceptionally. They looked so good last night. I'm sure that is how it was all year. I mean they sat Jalen Brunson, the player of the year, for a good 10 minutes due to foul trouble, and they didn't skip a beat. In fact, their lead grew. This team is a very good team, and they will continue to be a very good team as long as Jay Wright sticks around. They will lose Brunson and Bridges most likely, but every other kid that played important minutes last night will be back. That is scary. Michigan will most likely lose Wagner to the draft, and Abdur Rahkman and Robinson are graduating, but they will return a lot of guys from last night too. They should be good again, but no one is going to be beating this Villanova team any time soon. They have won 2 titles in the last 3 years, and they are only getting better. I have to give props to how good this team is. Villanova is on the verge of being a college basketball dynasty, if they aren't already.

While last night was a very painful watch for me, I am proud of what this Michigan team accomplished this year. I do not believe in moral victories, and last night stunk. That being said, this team won 34 games, won the Big Ten tournament, made the Final Four and made the title game. That is quite impressive for a team that I very little deep postseason hope for coming into the year. John Beilein is doing great work there, and I am now excited to see where this team goes next year. They have a lot of young talent, they will only lose 2-3 guys, and I love the youth that got experience this year.

I will say again, last night was brutal, but I'm excited for next season. Congrats to Villanova though. They  deserved to win, and they showed it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on all the internet.

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Ty Watches the Final Season of "Love"

Ty Watches Season 1

Ty Watches Season 2

I just finished the last season of "Love", and I have to say, what a way to go out. This was a great, great TV show. Everyone involved, be it acting, writing, directing, producing, it was all so very well done. It also had a very pleasing, and proper ending. I'm going to try to limit the spoilers, but I do have to say, the ending, spot on. It was so enjoyable and perfect for what this show was supposed to be.

I've been on this show from day one. When I heard that Paul Rust and his wife had made a show, and Rust would be starring in it opposite Gillian Jacobs, who I adore, I was so on board. I've been a fan of Rust since I started listening to podcasts, mainly his appearances on "Comedy Bang! Bang!", and Jacobs won me over with her performance on "Community". I devoured the first 2 seasons of the show within days of them being released. I have written about my love for the first 2 seasons as well. The third season took me a little longer to finish, I now have 2 kids and longer days and shorter nights. It took me a little over a week to finish, but I was kind of glad I took my time. I'd watch an episode or 2, take a few days to really think about what I saw, then watch a few more. It was almost like the way we used to all watch TV, minus the commercials. It was nice to see the show that way. And the performances were just magical this final season.

Rust and Jacobs are the stars, and it shows. They command the screen every time they are on. There is a wonderful episode where both Gus and Mickey get sick, and it is a perfect microcosm of how a couple acts the first time they are sick around one another. The ending of that episode was spectacular as well. When they went back to Gus' hometown, another gem. It was great to see Mickey interact with Gus' family and the difference between Gus' family, and when Gus met Mickey's dad in season 2. They were both wonderful at all times.

The people around the main stars did just as well. There was an entire episode that they weren't even on. This was the time for the co stars to shine, and boy did they ever. Claudia O'Dougherty was tremendous in her expanded role. She did some things that weren't very nice to Randy, and she played that role so well. Mike Mitchell, who plays Randy, played the unlovable boyfriend/so to be ex boyfriend of O'Dougherty, and he nailed his role. He is so dumb and takes Bertie for granted, and in the long run, he loses her, as he should. Iris Apatow was a gem as Arya. She was so good as the young star of a crummy TV show who is going through some tough times. She is a very, very good actress. Even actors in smaller roles, who have appeared in earlier seasons, really shined through. Mike Hanford, another actor/comedian that I really like, was great in his kind of bigger role. He is one of Gus' buddies who help him with his movie, and also play in his band. Same for Neil Campbell. I believe he was only in one scene, but it was a great scene. Armein Weitzman was so good in his expanded role. We saw his ups and downs, him being high and him getting mad at Gus, butt hen forgiving him. It was great. Keri Kenney was great as Mickey's older friend who is helping her stay sober. The bowling alley scene with her, Jacobs, Rust and Horatio Sanz was really, really good. She is an awesome and underrated actress. Even the guest stars were great. Rich Fulcher as a former bad guy in movies was heartbreaking and hilarious. Ed Begley Jr as Gus' dad, hilarious. Bret Gelman, who was on previous seasons, was so good, even though his character had a big time downfall. Even someone like David Spade, in his one episode, did a wonderful job.

"Love" is/was a very, very good television show. It is one of the better comedies about young romance that I have ever seen. It is true, it was believable, it was funny, it was touching, it had everything. I'm going to miss the show, but it ended so perfectly, it won't leave a sour taste in my mouth. "Love" came and went like a blink of an eye, but man was it totally worth it. "Love" is great, and now you can binge all 34 episodes right now on Netflix if you want to watch it. I highly recommend you so.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was going to write about that one show his parents used to watch that is back on tv, but he has better things to do that swim in the nostalgia swamp of the baby boomers.

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Ty Watches "Eric Andre Does Paris"

Eric Andre made his glorious return to Adult Swim on Sunday night with a one off special, "Eric Andre Does Paris".

This 11 minute "special" was one of the weirdest, funniest and most Eric Andre things that I could have ever dreamed of. I follow him on Instagram and Twitter, so I had an idea that a certain thing he was doing was going to make its way to TV. I didn't know what to expect though. He had some weird white suit on with a big ass hat. It was akin to watching a trailer for the show "Legion" to me. I liked what I saw, but I didn't know why, or what was going to come of it. I almost forgot about the special until I was scrolling through Instagram on Saturday and saw his page had one of his "ads" for it. I immediately recorded it and watched it Monday afternoon.

As I said, it was bizarre in the great way that only Eric Andre can pull off. The special started with him talking at his desk on his regular set saying that America was pretty messed up right now, so he was going to go to Paris. We then got a version of the opening of his regular show, where he destroys the set, but this time he was crashing planes, running through the Eiffel Tower, just his basic destruction, just in a few different locations. I was, of course, immediately on board. He then broke into the show, and it was just like any other "Eric Andre Show" episode, but this was all on the street type stuff. There were no celebrity interviews like he does on his regular show. He and his camera crew were just tooling around Paris and doing their random hilarious nonsense. He would go up to people wearing a Charlie Sheen t shirt with some French writing on it, only underwear underneath the shirt, and a crossaint attached to a stick that was dangling in front of him. Oh, he was also wearing roller skates and falling down constantly while yelling stuff like, "I'm a real French person" or, "I'm fitting in". It was riotous. He then switched to doing some on the street type interviews with French people, talking about how in Medieval times people used to just pee and poop out their windows. He then had his people superimpose pictures of Napoleon and Mona Lisa doing these acts on random people. To top this bit off, he made a fake General Insurance ad. You know the ad that I am talking about, with the tiny cartoon general singing about saving on insurance. Well, Andre made his own twisted version of this, and it was odd, but also funny. He also interviewed what seemed to be an American tourist and made him call himself "Potato Boy", and do some random dance. This bit proved to me that people will do anything to get on TV. While he was in the Charlie Sheen outfit, he kept chasing down a bald African American man and calling him Seal and asking him to sing "Kiss From a Rose". It was uncomfortably funny for me. He then jumped cut to a random shot of himself laying down in a field, far enough away from the Eiffel Tower, and pretended to pleasure himself, himself being the tower, and I have to say, it made me crack the hell up. He then cut to himself fishing in a, according to my wife, very famous canal. He kept saying he had a big one, and what he pulled out was a skeleton dressed up as Hitler. He then proceeded to tell everyone around him that he had caught Hitler and asked if they wanted to take pictures. When no one would reciprocate his questioning, he just started to drag the corpse through this lovely town in Paris. Again, it had me cracking up. He also put some cuts in this special where, whenever he was talking to, or approached by an African American man who was bald, save for the Seal guy, with the name Hannibal Burress underneath it. For those that don't know, Burress is his cohost and constant recipient of his destruction. But, Burress gives it right back. The whole thing ended with him in that weird white suit doing his usual hilarious nonsense.

I really loved this special. It made me realize how much I miss having "The Eric Andre" show on a regular basis. As you all know, I am a big fan of his show. "Eric Andre Does Paris" was great, and it made me want more. Hopefully he is filming more episodes, and hopefully it returns to TV soon. This special was a great appetizer to what I hope is a full meal coming from him soon. You definitely have to be an Eric Andre fan to appreciate this special, but if you are, and you haven't watched it yet, go watch it right now. It is trippy and bizarre and wonderful in all the best Eric Andre ways. I thought it was great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The city of love for Ty is east on Interstate 70. The only Paris he needs is on the eastern border of Illinois.

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Ty Watches "Black Panther"

My wife and I, much like the rest of the country, saw "Black Panther" this weekend. It was amazing! This was a perfect music in every single aspect. There is not a single problem that I can find with this movie. It more than lived up to its tremendous hype. I wish all the movies in the MCU were as good, but more importantly, as genius and profound as "Black Panther".

I had never heard of the super hero Black Panther until I saw "Civil War". I loved him in that movie. I loved his suit, his powers and his politics. I was fully on board. Black Panther immediately shot right up there with Wolverine and Deadpool right after seeing "Civil War".

Then, it was announced shorty after that Black Panther was going to get his own movie. I liked the idea. Then, the names that were involved started to get mentioned, and that took my want to see the movie to a whole new level. Of course, Chadwick Boseman was returning to play T'challa, Black Panther, and I have enjoyed him in every performance I have seen of his. Ryan Coogler was then announced as the director. This dude, for me, is 3 for 3 now with his direction. First off, "Fruitvale Station" is one of the best, and most important, movies that I have ever witnessed. Seriously, that movie should be shown in history classes. Then. he made "Creed". I was hyper critical and very nervous that this may mess up "Rocky" for me. Well, "Creed" is amazing as well. For me, it is right up there with "Rocky", "Rocky 2" and "Raging Bull" as best movies about boxing ever made. So, when he was announced as the director of "Black Panther", I was stoked and ready to see it right away. With Coogler came Michael B Jordan. I mean, Michael B Jordan may be my new favorite actor. He was exceptional on "The Wire", as the lead in "Fruitvale Station" and as Apollo Creed's son in "Creed". Even when the movie he is in isn't that good, his performance is fine. For example, he was just fine as the Human Torch in the god awful "Fantastic 4" reboot. He was also decent in that rom com that starred him, Miles Teller and Zack Efron. Michael B Jordan is a very solid actor that will turn in good performances most of the time.

Then, the female cast was announced. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o was cast. I loved it. Then, Danai Gurira, Michonne from "The Walking Dead" was cast. She is the only good person left on that show. And Letitia Wright was cast. I didn't know who she was at the time, but then I watched the "Black Mirror" episode, "Black Museum", and became very familiar with her. Oh, and let us not forget about Angela Bassett. She is wonderful. Some more names that came after the fact were Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, Forest Whittaker, Sterling K Brown and Daniel Kaluuya. Those are all bona fide stars. Hearing all this, then seeing the previews just amped it up to 11 for me. When they attach a Run the Jewels song, that was that. It was a wrap for me. I was going to see this movie, and I was going to see it on opening weekend.

When my wife and I sat down in the sold out theater, and the movie started, I was wrapped by every single second. The way the movie started, flashing back to Oakland I 1991 was perfect. Seeing Wakanda for the first time was amazing. I wish it were a real place, I'd love to visit. The effects and the costumes were astounding. But, what made this movie perfect was the acting and the message. Chadwick Boseman was incredible. He owns this role, and he is perfect for it. Michael B Jordan, as the villain Kilmonger, was hauntingly good. There were moments where I legitimately thought that he was right and everyone else in Wakanda was wrong. He was amazing. Danile Kaluuya, in a small role, was very good. He is becoming a household name now. Lupita Nyong'o was absolutely incredible as the spy that was T'challa's former lover. Nyong'o just crushed this role. She was the strongest female lead, and maybe the strongest person in this movie. Danai Gurira was a total badass, and I loved her. She sure as hell can wield a weapon, but she was also a very strong willed person that answered to no one. Forest Whittaker was very good in his smallish role. He has a very profound moment between him and T'challa. Martin Freeman was pretty good, as a side character, reprising his role from other MCU movies. Andy Serkis, not in motion capture, is a perfect bad guy. Even Sterling K Brown, in a very tiny role, had some great moments. And Angela Bassett was not only beautiful, but wonderful. But the star was Letitia Wright. She was so great in this movie. She played T'challa's techy younger sister. She was the smartest person in a country of extremely smart people. I'm so excited to see what they do with her character moving forward. I hope she is in "Infinity War" because I want to see more of this character.

As far as why this movie is so important, it shows a cultural shift in super hero movies. If we are being honest, pretty much every other super hero movie, that is a big budget movie, is based on a white person. Well, there are only 2 white characters in "Black Panther", and one is evil, and the other is used as a very marginal side character. And it was perfect. This movie belonged to the main cast. Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Bassett, Wright, Gurira, Nyong'o, these were the main characters. These were the people who's stories I wanted to see when watching this movie. They were the most important people, and Coogler put that across tenfold. It was perfect.

I literally have zero complaints about "Black Panther". I'm so happy that it is crushing records left and right. I love that RTJ and Kendrick Lamar have attached their names and music to this movie. I love that Donald Glover came in and did punch up. I love that the movie had jokes in it. I just plain love this movie. Seriously people, go see "Black Panther" for all the reasons I mentioned, and for so many more. It is a perfect movie. I'm so excited to see where they take these characters from here on out. "Black Panther" has made me excited to see super hero movies again.

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 "Black Mirror" Season 4

I have just recently finished season 4 of "Black Mirror", and I want to break down, very simply, each episode, in my personal order. With this being said, there will be some minor spoilers. I will do my best to keep them minimal, but if you haven't watched the new season yet, watch it before reading this piece. Second, I LOVED every episode this season. I thought all 6 were fantastic and different and unique in only a way Charlie Brooker and the rest of the writers can do for a show like "Black Mirror". So, when I say "favorite to least favorite", every episode would get an A grade from me. Third, and final thing before I get into it, this is my own personal ranking. I am going strictly off what I liked about each episode and why I think one episode is better than the other. For a show like "Black Mirror", I purposefully stay away from social media while I'm watching the show. I don't want anything spoiled for me, and I do not want to hear what critics think of the episodes since they get to see them all well in advance. Those are my three rules. Here we go. Oh yeah, I will go from 6-1 by the way.

My sixth favorite episode of the season was "Crocodile". This is a very, very dark and brutal episode of "Black Mirror". There is a lot of murder and covers up that happen in this hour long episode. The acting is very well done. The actors are creepy and silent and fearful and worried in all the right ways. I really enjoy the idea of finding things out by using people's memories. The tech in this episode was very cool too. I like all the tech in this show in fact. The ending was brutal and one of the tougher things I have ever had to watch on TV. While "Crocodile" is a great episode, it is a very tough watch. Some very brutal things, unfortunate things, happen in the episode. Being a father made this one that much more rough. While still great, again, it is a tough, tough watch.

At number 5 I have "Arkangel". Again, this is another tough one for parents to watch. I love the story behind this episode. I am one of those parents that have always said, "if I can put a chip in my kids head and see what they are doing at all times, I would". Well, "Arkangel" has me really rethinking that idea. "Arkangel" shows you all the problems that something like this could cause to your child. Kids with chips in their brains may not know how to properly process things like violence, eroticism, drugs and all the bad parts about growing up. I, just like the mom in this one, a great performance from Rosemarie DeWitt, am OCD, and I could never not look at my screen to see what my kids are doing. She shows a little more control that me, but I would have given in way earlier. This too has some very bad consequences. This episode should be shown to young adults that are contemplating having kids, what with all the advances in tech nowadays.

At number 4 I have "Black Museum". This was a very well done "parody" episode of "Black Mirror". A girl stops at a museum of crimes, and the majority of the exhibits are from past "Black Mirror" episodes. It was pretty cool to see them reintegrate stuff from previous seasons. The lady and the masks from "White Bear" where in there. The bees from the season 3 finale were there. The tub from "Crocodile" was there. The pad from "Arkangel" was there. It is neat. Fortunately "Black Museum" did not rehash these old "Black Mirror" episodes, but told new stories. The pain addict doctor story was nuts. The guy who puts his coma ridden baby mother's conscience in is brain was wild. But, the twist at the end was awesome. Since watching this episode, I have read that this episode was a kind of sequel to the "White Christmas" episode, and I can totally see the similarities. As I said, the twist near the end is incredible and very, very satisfying. This episode is pretty dark too, especially the pain addicted doctor. Also since watching this one, I have heard that some critics don't like it. Those critics are stupid. This was a great episode of "Black Mirror".

At number 3 I have my wife's favorite from this season, "Hang the DJ". This was one of 2 "Black Mirror" eps that have a "happy" ending. The idea behind this one, where you let a computer set you up and tell you how long you will be in a relationship with said person is so real, it is kind of scary. The 2 leads are wonderful. They have a great chemistry together. To see them go through a non-meaningful relationship, one right after the other, until they finally realize they need to be together is really sweet. That was my main takeaway from "Hang the DJ", how sweet and nice it was. My wife likes "Hang the DJ" more than the very well received "San Junipiero". Truthfully, I really like both the same. If you are looking for a nice and happy "Black Mirror", "Hang the DJ" is the right episode for you.

At number 2 I have the wonderful, and bleak, "USS Callister". Jesse Plemmons is amazing in this ep. He totally crushes his role as a put upon CTO of tech company, who is a creep that runs a virtual reality game in his apartment, placing the people he works with in a "Star Trek" type TV show. The whole way this episode was shot was awesome. It made me want to watch "Star Trek", and I have never had that feeling before. It was so cool and retro when they went into the video game world. Jesse Plemmons is very good at playing a creep. I actually felt bad for him at first, a "Black Mirror" staple, and then I found out how twisted he was and I wanted him to get what he deserved, which he does. The other actors in this ep, mainly Cristin Milioti, are awesome. They are subservient in the video game world, but in real life, they walk all over Plemmons' character. This is a classic "Black Mirror" episode. It is so perfect. Like I said, you feel bad, at first, for the main guy, find out he is a creep, then wish him or her the worst. "USS Callister" was awesome, and a great way to kick off the new season. It had me rapt and wanting to watch more. It is an awesome hour plus, and totally worth your time. 

Finally, my favorite episode of the season, which is ironically the lowest fan rated one on IMDB, is "Metalhead". "Metalhead" is the shortest episode in "Black Mirror's" short history. But, I was on edge for all 38 minutes. The episode takes place in a post apocalyptic Australia, I am guessing. It is shot in all black and white, and there are only 3 people in the entire ep. And, only one person makes it to the end, and she meets her demise as well. The three people go searching for something in a warehouse and they are greeted by a metal dog like creature that shoots shrapnel into their bodies so it can track them down, and wipe them out. It was a horrifying glimpse into what I expect the future to be like. The stuff that the one survivor from the initial meeting in the warehouse, the woman, goes through is pretty intense. Her attempts to get away from this murderous metal dog are heart racing and had me on the edge of my seat. "Metalhead" reminded me a lot of "Mad Max". Maybe that is why I liked it so much. I love heart pounding episodes like this, and "Metalhead" was perfect fro someone like me. This is a very sad episode, especially the ending, but everything leading up to that was fast paced and pulse pounding. "Metalhead" was the far and away winner of season 4 for me. I loved it.

With all this being said, "Black Mirror" rules, and season 4 was great. I highly recommend everyone check out this show, especially of you like seeing the dark side of new tech that we now have. "Black Mirror" is an achievement and a treat and I am so glad we have a show like this to watch now. I cannot wait to see where they go with the fifth season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is not aware of a program where Head Editors put chips in their associate editor's head to track their writing output. Let's not tell Ty all about this.

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Ty Watches "Happy"

I have just recently caught up on the show "Happy!" on the SyFy Network. I have mentioned that I wanted to watch this show on the podcast before, and luckily for me, they had a 4 episode mini marathon last night. I watched 2 of them in real time and watched the other 2 this morning while my kids rested.

This show is insane, nuts, wild, jarring, dark, bleak, gory, filled with curse words, hard to watch at times, but above all else, totally awesome. I am fully in on this show. I am down 100 percent with what they are doing. The only thing that baffles me, why is it on SyFy? "Happy!" seems like it was destined for premium cable, networks like HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc. But, SyFy nabbed it. Hell, maybe they were the only network that wanted to take on a show this bizarre. But I say, good for them for taking the chance. This could be their "Always Sunny" for FX. No one else gave "Always Sunny" a chance, but FX did, and now, it is probably their best, and most well known and liked show. Maybe that is what "Happy!" will become for SyFy. We all know SyFy for the wacky and stupid D level movies they make. I believe they had the rights to a show like "Merlin", which my wife loved. And I know that they have weird make up reality shows. What all this tells me, SyFy was a niche, yet sometimes, dumb channel. They have average at best programming. But, "Happy!" could very well be changing all of that.

Like I said, this show is wild. It is based on a graphic novel, of which I have never heard of, but now want to read. It stars Christopher Meloni as a disgraced ex-cop in New York City. Meloni shines on this show. He is amazing. In fact I told RD last night, I feel like he took his character from "Wet Hot", and just made him about 10 times crazier, and it totally works. When he is introduced in the first episode, staring at his face in a dingy bar bathroom, it is great. He then proceeds to have a dream where he blows his brains out, but the way they shot it, it was like a fever dream dance sequence. It was AMAZING. What a great, great way to start off your show. It hooked me immediately. The colors flowing from his head, the weird dancers dancing around him and the upbeat music, it was just so perfect. When he comes to, things start to take place. We find out he is a disgraced cop. We find out that he is now a hitman for hire, of sorts. We find out he is a drunk. We find out he hangs with lowlife scumbags. He is just a down on his luck nobody.

In the pilot episode we also meet a little girl named Haley that gets abducted by the scariest looking Santa that I have ever seen. This guy that plays Santa on "Happy!" is an absolute creep. I literally get sick to my stomach anytime I see him on screen. I have to workout while I watch just so I don't turn my head away in disgust. Through this little girl is how we meet Happy. Happy is a blue unicorn that flies around helping Haley out. He is her imaginary friend. Happy is voiced by Patton Oswalt, and I cannot think of a better person to have cast to do this voice. His upbeat tone and nature is so perfect because of how different it is from everything else on this show. We only think that Haley can see Happy, but after brutally killing three gangsters that he was hired to kill, and falling out a window, we do find out that Happy has tracked down Sacks, that is Meloni's character's name, and Sacks can see him too. Apparently, minor spoiler alert if you haven't watched the show yet, Haley is Sacks daughter, and she sent Happy to find him to come and save her from this demented Santa that has kidnapped her, along with about 5 or 6 other kids.

In the first 4 episodes I have seen things on this show that have made me laugh, blush, feel sick, disgusted me and made me think about hours after watching. But, above all else, I keep going back because this show is very well made. It is brutally violent. I cannot understate that enough. I am talking about some "History of Violence" or "Eastern Promises" type stuff on a basic cable show. The show is also unedited. There are curse words and nudity in every episode. And the demented Santa is very terrifying. Do not, I repeat DO NOT let anyone under 18 watch this show, it will haunt them. But, I am 35, and I love it.

I'm excited to see where "Happy" goes form here. Happy and Sacks are now working together to find Hailey. There is an entire second story involving local mob and corrupt police. We have a mom dealing with the loss of her child. We have flashbacks to when Sacks was still a "hero".

"Happy!" is a very good crime show. I recommend people watch it with the caveat of knowing that it is not for the faint of stomach. It is brutal. But, check it out. Meloni is so awesome on the show, and Patton Oswalt is crushing it as a blue unicorn. I know it sounds weird, but it works.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also has an imiganary friend who helps out in times of need. Walter the Wolverine is there to take Ty's abuse when Michigan Football is not doing very well.

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Ty is Going to Watch "Black Mirror"

This is going to be short because truth be told, I have a fever and I’m miserable right now. But, what makes me happy is knowing that season 4 of “Black Mirror” is currently on Netflix, and it’s just waiting for my wife and I to watch.

I love this show so much. I was hesitant to watch at first, thinking it was just going to be a horror genre show. “Black Mirror” is so much more though. The people are right, it is a modern day “Twilight Zone”. The subjects they’ve tackled so far, all centered around the bad sides of technology, have all made me think that all of it could happen. The show is so well written. The concepts for each episode are just perfect. I like the shorter seasons too. The first season only had 3 episodes, but I poured over all 3 weeks after I had watched them. The new season has 6 episodes, and I can’t wait to watch when I get back to full health. I’ve read some things about the new season, no spoilers though, and I’m pumped to see how they pull it off.

“Black Mirror” is one of the best shows on TV right now and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, should be watching this show, especially now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is near delirious from his late December sickness, but he is still a boss who writes. We appreciate it here at the virtual cube farm called SeedSing. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty Watches "The Disaster Artist"

I had the great pleasure of seeing “The Disaster Artist” this past Saturday. I’ve been very much looking forward to this movie since I heard they were going to make it over a year ago. I’m a big fan of “The Room”, and when I saw they were going to make a movie about making that movie and Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero’s friendship, I couldn’t wait. Then, I saw the cast and I knew I had to see this movie on opening weekend. “The Disaster Artist” was a hit at every festival, and the early reviews were pretty much all positive. This only built my anticipation. My wife bought us tickets about a week ago, and we finally got to see it on Saturday.

I was absolutely blown away. First of all, the theater we saw the movie in was sold out. I was stunned, but in a good way. I never thought a niche movie like this would appeal to a mass audience. Boy was I wrong. After the previews the movie started and it had my full attention for every single second of its 105 minute run time. This was such a perfect way to tell this story.

The first third of the movie was all about Tommy and Greg’s friendship. “The Room” doesn’t come into the story until about 40 minutes in. We see a “young” Tommy and a young Greg meet in an acting class in San Francisco. We see their friendship grow from scene partners to roommates to collaborators. I must say, all the buzz that James Franco is getting is well deserved. He embodies Tommy Wiseau. It’s not just the accent either. He looks like him. He has his same gestures. He laughs like him. He became Tommy. He was amazing. He better damn well get an Oscar nomination. Dave Franco was just as good as Greg. He embodied the faith and trust that Greg inexplicably has for Tommy to this day. His devotion is at times charming, but also sad. The younger Franco was so good. I imagine this had to have been so much fun for them to do as well. To the best of my knowledge this is the first time they’ve acted together. They crushed it.

Outside of the Francos, everyone else in this movie was awesome. Ari Graynor as the actress that played the infamous Lisa showed us the naive and ultimately disgusted young actress. Seth Rogen and Paul Scheer as 2 key workers on the movie were hilarious. Rogen was a delight, as usual. Scheer crushes his performance. He was great. Josh Hutcherson as Denny, phenomenal. His haircut was worth the admission alone. Zac Efron as Chris R, wonderfully absurd and hilarious. Nathan Fielder as the psychologist, perfect. Jason Mantzoukas and Hannibal Buress as the guys that sell Tommy the equipment for the movie, perfect. There are so many cameos, and they are all amazing. Too many to list. Just know, JJ Abrams shows up in the very first scene.

When we do get to the making of “The Room”, “The Disaster Artist” effortlessly bounces between comedy and drama. This was where James Franco truly shines. The stuff he says and does on the set are so crazy, but it’s all true. Only an actor like James Franco could’ve pulled this off. I do not want to spoil anything for anyone. I will say though, you don’t have to see “The Room” to like “The Disaster Artist”, but if you’ve seen “The Room”, you’ll understand the movie more, and I think you’ll love it like I did.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. It is a true masterpiece. Due yourself a favor and go see “The Disaster Artist”. It has definitely been the best movie I’ve seen in 2017.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He and his brother have worked together on an entertainment product. I wonder what that could be?

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Ty Watches "Search Party" Season 2

Last year around this time I wrote about a show I really liked called "Search Party". Well, "Search Party" is currently in its second season, and I have got to say, this season has been great so far. I'm so fully on board with the direction that they have taken this show in.

The first season centered around a group of stuck up, snobby, shitty and self righteous millennials. Alia Shawkat plays Dory, the main character, John Reynolds plays Drew, Dory's ex boyfriend, John Early plays Elliott and Meredith Hagner plays Portia. These are the stuck up trust fund babies. In season one Dory sees a missing person sign up in New York for a girl named Chantal(Clare McNulty) that they all went to college with. Since Dory doesn't have too much going on in her life, she doesn't really like Drew, she is basically a nanny for an over medicated adult and just seems bored, decides she is going to find Chantal. The first season takes you on twists and turns and is funny and kind of crazy. I really enjoyed everything that happened.

Now, and this is a big time spoiler alert for those that haven't watched any of the show yet, the finale of season one leaves us with Dory and her friends finding Chantal, but Dory and Drew have also killed someone. That someone is a private investigator that Dory gets involved with named Keith(Ron Livingston). Keith and Dory go on missions looking for Chantal, and they start to forge a bit of a romance. Drew finds out about this, and he, along with Portia and Elliott travel up to Canada to find Dory. When they get to where Dory is, Drew sees Dory fighting with someone, he goes to help her and he bludgeons Keith with an award nearby. Keith immediately falls to the ground. Drew and Dory put him in a closet and tell Elliott what happened, and the first season ends on a close up of Dory's face, with blood spattered on it, and she is crying.

That is how season 2 opens. We have a close shot of Dory's face, and we see a flash back to the incident and then Dory throws up in the bathroom sink. From then on it in the season 2 premiere, we see Drew, Dory and Elliott trying to figure out what to do with the body. I have to say, and this is going to sound very dark, but the way they handle the situation at first is kind of comical. They are in over their heads. They clearly have no idea what they are doing. Dory cannot seem to wrap her head around what just happened. Elliott trying to be the voice of reason is great. Drew is so far gone, he just wants to move on and move out of the country. Meanwhile, Portia has no idea what is going on because she is trying to hook up with some guy she met in Montreal. She does see the body when she forces her way into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She doesn't like what she sees, obviously, but she decides to help because these people are her friends. They go to bury the body in a shallow grave, and then they take Chantal home.

From there on out this second season has been nuts, but also spectacular. You get to see the toll that this awful event has taken on these kids that have never really had to worry about anything before in their lives, or really work for anything in their lives. Dory is a mess, but she keeps trying to cover her tracks. She runs into Keith's ex wife at one point, and decides to write her an email from Keith's computer. Bad idea. She cannot sit in a room by herself without having a panic attack. She sees Keith everywhere she goes. Her friends are starting to shun her. Portia is sad and lonely and trying to work on this play with a director that is clearly into her. She wants the attention and love, but she cannot shake the image of what she saw in that kitchen. She is very much out of her element, and that is causing her to not really trust anyone, especially Dory anymore. Drew shacks up with Chantal to get back at Dory, he buries the murder weapon after Chantal sees it at his place and he is trying to get a promotion that would send him to China. And he refuses to speak with Dory at all. And poor Elliott, side note, if John Early doesn't at the very least get some Emmy consideration for his role this season it would be a god damn shame, is unraveling at the seams. On the surface he seems fine, but inside he is losing it. His hair is falling out, he can't control his bowels in public, he is screaming the name Keith in his sleep and he is covered in a horrible rash. He is also writing a book, but he is writing it on paper towels and it is all nonsense. Where we just left off with him is in rehab. He is a mess.

This second season of "Search Party" has been everything I wanted it to be, but so much more. It is very, very dark at times. The humor is still there, which I love. You see the breaking apart of these friends that are all pretty bad people. These pretty bad people now have some really heavy stuff, that they caused, that they have to deal with, and watching all four of them separately deal with it has been wonderful. 

"Search Party" has upped its game in season two and I am so excited to see where they go with the last 4 episodes. I hope they make more, but I wouldn't be surprised if they ended it after this season. I highly recommend people seek this show out and watch it. It is so good. It is so well written and acted and the four main actors are doing something very special right now. Go watch "Search Party".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has never been Canada, and he has never accidentally killed someone. He plans on doing the first part and not the second.

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Ty Watches "Goon: Last of the Enforcers"

I am not a fan of hockey as a sport. I find it very boring and, quite frankly, stupid. This could be because I cannot skate, I never played it as a kid, I never watched it as a kid, there are so many reasons. I just flat out dislike hockey. But, for some odd reason, I do enjoy movies about hockey. I think it is because the movies only show the "exciting" parts of the game. I don't have to deal with any of the other nonsense, and I get to just see the goals and fights. That is all I want to see anyway. I can sit down and watch "Mighty Ducks", or "D2" anytime it is on cable. I have seen "Slap Shot" a handful of times. "Happy Gilmore" has hockey moments in it, and that is one of my all time favorite movies.

But, all of these hockey movies pale in comparison to the wonderful "Goon". That movie is amazing. I saw it on Netflix when it was recommended to me by many people and I was blown away. "Goon" was funny, bloody, raunchy and even a bit moving. Sean William Scott was absolutely perfect as Doug "The Thug" Blatt. This is one of his best roles. In fact, I think he has totally redeemed himself and made himself a great actor and gotten out of the shadow of Stifler. He should be talked about as much as Channing Tatum. I feel like they have both had a great second life as actors.

So, when a sequel to "Goon" was announced, and that Jay Baruchel was going to direct, I was on board. Baruchel co wrote "Goon", so I figured with him directing we would get much of the same. I couldn't get out to the theaters to see it, but I just recently rented and watched "Goon: Last of the Enforcers". And, the movie was okay. It was not even close to the greatness that "Goon" was, but that was an impossible achievement. Everyone is back from the first movie. The hippy goalie, the Russian brothers, Stevenson, La Flamme, the coaches, Alison Pil, Liev Shrieber, Jay Baruchel and Sean William Scott. This time around they added Elisha Cuthbert, in a totally off form role for her, which she was great at, and Wyatt Russell, as the villain.

"Goon: Last of the Enforcers" starts out with the NHL on strike, so this semi pro league that Blatt's team plays in is, for better or worse, the main attraction. This is what everyone in Canada watches. We see the team being give their jerseys and Blatt is named a team captain. Blatt is still the same type player, an enforcer. He is out there to protect his teammates and get into fights. In their first game they face a team that the owners son plays on, this is Wyatt Russell's character. He is a younger, faster and better overall hockey player than Blatt has ever been. They get into a fight in the game, and Russell destroys him. It was a great fight scene. This is when "GLOTE" really shines. The fight scenes are the best moments of the movie. They are just as gory and brutal as they were in "Goon".

Blatt gets his shoulder all messed up, and he has to turn away from hockey. His wife, Pil, is also pregnant with their kid. Blatt goes into insurance, but he hates it. He starts to get the itch to play again when he watches his old team, who has now traded for Russell, and they are miserable. Russell is a great hockey player, but he is also very selfish and crazy. To get himself back into playing shape, Blatt tracks down Schreiber, his nemesis from the first movie. Schreiber is fighting in brawl type competitions because he cannot pull himself away from the game he loves. He helps Blatt learn how to fight with his off hand. The scenes of them working together are pretty good too.

Blatt eventually gets back on the team, but Pil doesn't want him to fight. She needs him around for their kid. He heeds her demands at first. But, in the final regular season game, after the team releases Russell and he is back on his original team, he has to fight him again. Russell knocks out Schreiber, so Blatt goes out to defend his friends honor. He does beat up Russell, but ruins his shoulder in the process. He will never play hockey again.

I mean, "GLOTE" was a fine movie, but it was very color by the numbers. You could tell beat for beat what was going to happen as it happened. That doesn't mean it was a bad movie, I just feel like it may have been a bit unnecessary. "Goon" was classic. I feel like they should have stopped there. But, I get why they made a sequel. No one expected "Goon" to be as great as it was, so why not do it again. Look, everyone was good in this movie. Sean William Scott was great. Jay Baruchel was hilarious. Alison Pil was good. Elisha Cuthbert was just as funny as Baruchel. Schreiber was fine. Even Russell was a decent villain. I just feel like they didn't have to make this movie.

"GLOTE" is fine to have on when you just want to zone out and watch a sports movie. But, when comparing it to the original, it is not even close. I'm glad I watched it, but I will take "Goon" any day over "GLOTE". It was a fine movie, but it was unnecessary.

Ty

Ty Watches "Vice Principals" Series Finale

This past Sunday was the series finale of "Vice Principals". I've been a fan of this show from day one. I have even said, and RD disagrees with me, that I think it is a better show than "Eastbound and Down". Don't get me wrong, I adore both shows, but I like the darkness and the seediness of "Vice Principals". That is not to say that "Eastbound and Down" wasn't dark at times, but it was always filled with some comedic element. When "Vice Principals" got dark, it stayed dark.

The series finale was a prime example of how far they could go with this show. I felt that the finale was a perfect ending to the show. I know that Danny McBride and Jody Hill and David Gordon Green had always said that it was only supposed to last 2 seasons, and the way they ended it was stupendous. They do not need to do anything else. They closed up every story line perfectly. I was so pleased with what I watched. After I finished the finale, I watched it yesterday, I felt a sense of completeness.

Everyone involved with this show, be it acting, writing, producing or directing, did a wonderful job. Danny McBride was awesome as Neal Gamby. He could have settled into a Kenny Powers esque character, but he went the opposite direction. His character had a soul. He had a conscience. He did some bad things, but his heart was, for the most part, in the right place. He is the hero. Walton Goggins deserves a god damn Emmy for his role. He was the absolute best thing about this show. He was conniving. He was a bad, bad man. He had a troubled past. He constantly lied and cheated to get what he wanted. He was just flat out evil. But, in the end, he came through for his buddy, that is a minor spoiler alert. All the bad stuff he did, he finally, kind of, redeemed himself. Goggins and McBride were the stars, and who the show was based around, and it was a perfect pairing. I did not know how they would fit, but they had tremendous chemistry on screen. I fully bought into their journey and friendship.

Outside of the main guys, pretty much every supporting actor was great too. Georgia King as Amanda Snodgrass, the sometimes love interest of Neal Gamby, was so good. She was tough, no nonsense and didn't put up with Gamby's bull shit. Her arc, especially when she started to date Fisher Stevens, an excellent addition, as a YA novelist, was so good. The fact that she took pride in Gamby's love for her book, which by all accounts sounded pretty bad, showed how naïve, yet faithful she was to Gamby. Kimberly Hebert Gregory as Dr. Belinda Brown, the ire of Gamby and Russell in season 1, was just as good in her much reduced role in season 2. She found a new school, but she popped up here and there to debunk some theories and curse out Russell when he came to her for help. She was so good in season 1, and I did not know how they would incorporate her in season 2, but they found a nice fit for her to come back. Edi Patterson as Ms. Abbot, had a much expanded role in season 2, and she owned it. She was nutso. She was crazy. She had all kinds of ulterior motives, and Patterson crushed in this role. Sheaun McKinney had a bigger role as Dayshawn in season 2, and he was great. He was always there with a joke, but also good advice for Gamby. I loved him in this show. I could go on and on. Dale Dickey was a great addition this season. Busy Phillips and Shea Whigham were just as good this season as they were in the first. All the other teachers at the school, excellent. The cast was one of the best parts of the show, and everyone involved really leaned into their roles.

What truly made this a great show was the writing. As earlier stated, it was dark, but it was also funny, sometimes moving and had a nice mystery involved in the second and final season. I love this show so much. The finale has one of the best guest appearance that I have seen. RD texted me and told me this before I watched it, and he was one hundred percent correct. The finale is crazy. All the stuff they pack into about 34 minutes is nuts, but it works. I loved the whole series, but the finale was exceptional.

I will miss "Vice Principals", but it is going out on top. It ended perfectly. You can always watch it on HBO Go or On Demand, or anywhere you may watch TV. I'm glad that I watched it in real time. It was a show that I looked forward to every week. As I said, I'm sad it is done, but I will remember it as one of the best shows I have ever watch. Watch this show. When Danny McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green get together, they usually knock it out of the park, and with "Vice Principals", they hit a grand slam. What an excellent, phenomenal show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor agrees that "Vice Principals" is one of the greatest shows ever, but the first ten minutes of "Eastbound and Down". that belongs in the Louvre.

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Ty Watches "Big Mouth"

Last week I finally got around to watching "Big Mouth" on Netflix. I was waiting until I caught up on other shows to watch, and when I finally sat down and binged the show, and I was very happy with what I saw. I was pretty sure I was going to like it when I saw Nick Kroll was the co creator. I'm a big Nick Kroll fan. Then I saw some of the other people involved, and I was on board. Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Jessi Klein, Jason Mantzoukas, Seth Morris, Kristen Bell, Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, Richard Kind, I could go on and on with the people I am a fan of on this show.

At its core, "Big Mouth" is about teenagers going through puberty. "Big Mouth" hits all the important moments, both male and female, that make puberty such a drag. We get zits, wet dreams, periods, awkwardness with the opposite sex, weird feelings that go through your body, getting hair where there was no hair before, hormones, virtually everything that makes this such a tough time in young people's lives. After watching the first episode I told my wife that this was, by far, the best representation of going through puberty, at least from a male perspective. Puberty stinks. It is the worst. It is so awkward and challenging and there is so much change and new things that do not make sense. And "Big Mouth" captures that perfectly.

Andrew, voiced by John Mulaney, is one of the main characters, and we see a lot of the bad sides of going through puberty through his eyes. He even has a hormone monster that is always at his side telling him the wrong thing to do because, as we all know, our hormones are way out of whack when we are teenagers. We see the wet dreams, the constant urges, the will to fight when told something he didn't like, the yelling at parents, the horribly awkward encounter of asking a girl to be your girlfriend at 13. It is all there, and Mulaney, and the writers, completely nail it. Nick Kroll is his buddy that is a bit behind, as far as growing up goes, but he is just as good. You see the jealousy, the fighting, the wanting to be involved, trying to get girls himself, even drinking at his sister's high school party. Kroll's character also wants the hormone monster to get him, but he is not ready. In fact, that is a very good through line for the first season. Jessi Klein represents the female lead, and as far as I can tell, she is great at showing how rough this time of life can be for girls. She has a bad experience with white shorts, her mom and dad are always fighting and she has crushes on 3 of her different friends that happen to be boys. Klein is great. Jason Mantzoukas is cast perfectly as the crazed 13 year old that cannot control his urges. He also has a crazy home life, and he loves magic. The relationship between him and his pillow, voiced by Kristen Bell, is gold. Nick Kroll and Maya Rudolph play the voices of the male and female hormone monsters, and they are my favorite parts of the show. The hormone monsters tell these kids to give into their urges, and they also have a very odd relationship with each other. But, their lines always made me laugh, and also reflect on how true that situation was at age 13. Richard Kind is great as Andrew's dad, who has a big problem with scallops, and also constantly complains. Rudolph and Fred Armisen play Nick Kroll's folks, and they are almost too loving and caring. They are always eager to give advice that their kids may not want to hear. There is a great few scenes in an episode where Nick doesn't want to be babied anymore, so his mom starts to take care of Jay(Jason Mantzoukas), who is hard pressed for the love of a mom.

I have nothing but good things to say about "Big Mouth". It is perfect in every way. It gets across its message so well, and I am so pumped to see what they do with season 2. The only warning I will give, the show is animated, but it is not a kid's show. My son walked in one day while I was watching it, and I had to turn it off immediately. It is filled with curse words. Anyway, I highly recommend "Big Mouth" for anyone and everyone that went through puberty. There is no show that better represents that time in your life.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He still waiting for the hormone monster to get him. Being a bald prepubescent boy is one of strangest things ever. Something only Charlie Brown knows about.

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Ty Watches the New "Duck Tales"

In August I came home from basketball one evening and my wife and kids were watching "Duck Tales". I naturally assumed that is was the old version, the one I watched as a kid, but was surprised to find out that this classic show was being rebooted. I was a little hesitant at first. As I already stated, the original was a classic. But then my wife told me who was involved with the new version. I was then on board.

First, it is a Disney XD show, and for the most part, they do good TV shows. Disney XD is not your typical children's show network. They make stuff that parents enjoy watching too. Then my wife told me who was in the cast and I was for sure on board. The voices of Huey, Dewey and Louie are Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz and Bobby Monihan. I love Danny Pudi. He is pretty good in everything he does, and he was phenomenal as Abed on one of my favorite shows, "Community". I love love love Ben Schwartz. Everything he does, I am a fan of. I also love that he loves basketball. Ben Schwartz is amazing. He is great in movies and TV shows, most notably "Parks and Rec" as Jean Ralhpio. That role is second to none, and only someone like Ben Schwartz could have pulled it off. Bobby Monihan was the only reason I held on to watching "SNL" as long as I did. I loved every character he played on that show, especially Drunk Uncle. I also loved his bit parts in movies and other TV shows he was in that I saw. His animated show on FX, "Chozen", has to be one of the most underrated and hilarious shows I have ever watched. This new version of "Duck Tales" nailed it with casting the three main characters. They also nailed it with the rest of the casting. Scrooge is voiced by David Tennant. I do not watch the show "Dr. Who", but I know that it has a rabid fan base, and he played Dr. Who. He is perfectly cast, what with the English accent and all. Launchpad McQuack is voiced by Beck Bennett. He is one of the decent current "SNL" cast members, and he has had funny turns on shows like "Ghosted", and I'm sure he is going to start doing more and more big time things. Kate Micucci, who I adore, is the voice of Webbigail, and she brings the perfect energy to this role. Then as you go down the line of people who have showed up in some of the 8 new episodes names like, Jim Rash, Margo Martindale, Josh Brener, Kimiko Glenn and Marc Evan Jackson, all have done voice work. That is a who's who of improv comedy people and good character actor people. I love that the creators of this new version of the show are using not as well known, more up and coming people to do the voices of these classic characters.

When you get passed the names on the show, the episodes are really well done. The animation is wonderful, the stories are well written and well acted and all the people involved are giving it their best shot. The show can be dark sometimes, which I enjoy too. For example, Josh Brener shows up as a tech wiz who is only fleecing people so he can become a billionaire. He actually gets kidnapped by a super strong, easily annoyed bald eagle during the episode. The darkness come when Huey realizes that Brener's character is a phony and is so upset with himself that he looked up to a creep like him. That is dark for a kids show. Of course they played it for laughs, but I loved that the writers went there. In that same episode, Scrooge and a cousin of his plot against Brener, and that got dark too. There is an earlier episode when Huey, Dewey and Louis go out on a boating trip and leave Webbigail behind. She thinks she is making a new friend when she meets someone by the pier, but this person is just trying to get close to Scrooge to get his money. Again, that is some dark stuff for a show made for kids.

For as hesitant as I was about a reboot I have got to say, I enjoy the hell out of this new version of "Duck Tales". It is funny, dark, witty and made for both adults and kids to enjoy. I don't usually like the shows my kids watch, they don't like when I watch "PTI" either, but "Duck Tales" is a ton of fun. I love the theme song as much as my son does too. When we walk to school we will bust into singing it out of nowhere. I highly recommend anyone with kids that wants to watch a show that would appeal to them as well to check out this new "Duck Tales". A new episode comes out every Friday I believe, but you can also watch it On Demand. That is how we do it. Check this new "Duck Tales" out if you haven't already. I'm pretty sure you'll like it as much as me, my wife and my kids do.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is wondering if these improv comics do these new "Duck Tales" cartoons live. That must be tough on the animators.

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Ty Watches "Nathan for You" Season 4 Premier

Last night was the season 4 premiere of the wonderful "Nathan For You". This show is the perfect blend of humor, humility, weird ideas and some of the best deadpan comedy that I have ever witnessed. Nathan Fielder is a master of his craft. He is so good at what he does, and on "Nathan For You", he gets to show that ten fold.

I've been on board with this show from day one. I became a fan of Fielder's when I first saw him on "Jon Benjamin Has a Van", a one season long, hilariously underrated comedy on Comedy Central. He is the best. He has gone on to do many other things, most recently being in "Tour De Pharmacy" with one of the better roles, but "Nathan For You" is his baby and he takes great care of it. The show is based on his business ideas that help businesses that are on the down turn, or that have fallen on hard times. He claims that he went, "to a one of the best business schools in Canada, and got really good grades" during the intro. They even show his grades, and he has a few A's, some B's and one C. He got average grades, which makes the premise of the show even better. Some of his stuff from the first couple of seasons have made national news. He did Dumb Starbucks. He was the one that made it look like a pig was saving another animal from drowning in a lake. He convinced a realtor to become the "Ghost Realtor", who would guarantee that there were no ghosts in the houses she was selling. He created Summit Ice. This is the clothing apparel company that gives all of its proceeds to Holocaust awareness. He had someone ghost write a self help book, which I bought and read, called "The Movement". He's done a lot of crazy, but also sometimes very good stuff for people. He knows that there is comedy in what he is doing, but the people he goes to help are not aware. They are looking for legitimate help, and he wants to provide them with it. And while he knows that the show is comedic in nature, he does it all in a good nature.

Now, before I get hammered for calling last name a premiere, I'm fully aware that last Thursday they did a celebration of sorts and revisited some of his past customers and where they are now. But, for all intents and purposes, last night was the season 4 premiere, and it was just as wonderful as every other episode. In this episode, Fielder goes to a diner in LA that isn't the hopping place that it once used to be. The diner used to be pulling in money and customers left and right. But now, while still having a solid customer base, they weren't doing as great as they once did. Fielder arrived at the diner and met with the owner. First off, the owner kept telling Fielder that he was trying to get on "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives", and Fielder had to keep reminding him that his show wasn't Guy Fieri's show. It was hilarious. The guy kept bringing it up, and every time, Fielder had to shut it down, and he did it in the only way he could, with pure deadpan comedy.

After the guy got over his Guy Fieri stuff, he finally let Fielder tell him his plan. Fielder let the man know that he always saw an uptick in business when a celebrity would leave a big tip. This is true. When famous people leave a crazy tip, it is shown all over the news. The problem Fielder found was that no real celebrities wanted to do this for his show. He found another route though, and he auditioned some celebrity impersonators. It was hilariously sad to watch these people try and get this meaningless job. The Ace Venture/Jim Carrey impersonator was equal parts hilarious and sad. Fielder showed the tapes to the owner, and he picked a guy that was a Kramer impersonator. This led to a whole new set of problems. First, the racist stuff. Enough time had passed that most people brush that off now. But, he needed someone with the name Michael Richards to give him their credit card info, and this was met with all no's, obviously. Next, he found a guy that was willing to legally change his name. This scene was great because of the negotiation between the 2. With the name change came new problems though. They needed a 4 week period where the name change was announced in a publication. So, Fielder hired back the guy that ghost wrote "The Movement", from last season, to be the head editor of a newspaper he called "The Diarrhea Times". This was all perfect Nathan Fielder and "Nathan For You" stuff.

Once the 4 weeks passed and the name change was set, Fielder had the whole crew of the restaurant, and his Kramer impersonator ready to do the deed. Before I continue, please watch the Kramer guy try and figure out how to be Michael Richards and not Kramer. It is gold. Anyway, the Kramer impersonator does all the things Fielder had him do, the staff reacted as they were supposed to, and sure enough, the story made local news. It was on a local LA news station the next day. Fielder, to hammer home his point, had this story be the headlining story on the last issue of "The Diarrhea Times". It was tremendous.

I am so happy that this show is back. It is one of my favorite things on TV right now, and probably ever. Nathan Fielder is so funny and this show is so perfect for him. I'm so excited to see where he takes this season. I have heard that the season finale is going to be 2 hours long! I can't wait. It was a long 2 years to wait for the new season of "Nathan For You", but I'm so happy it is back and I am so happy that it will be in my life for the next couple of months. This show is perfect.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is trying to figure out who is best to help a struggling business. Should you go with Jon Taffer or Nathan Fielder? Either way, the audience will always win.

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

Ty Watches "Vice Principals" Final Season Premier

This past Sunday "Vice Principals" returned to TV. I loved the first season of this show. Anytime that Danny McBride and David Gordon Green get together, save for "Your Highness", I am completely on board. They did great work with "Eastbound and Down", and they are doing it even better, in my opinion, on "Vice Principals". That is very high praise from me. "Eastbound and Down" is one of the greatest shows to ever appear on TV. It was perfect in every possible way. But, I feel like "Vice Principals" is darker, funnier and just a sight bit better. The show is so dark.

The opening scene of the season 2 premiere was intense. I watched it while sitting on the edge of my couch. It only got darker, but also funnier from there. Spoiler alert if you haven't watched the first season yet, McBride's character got shot in the school parking lot by a masked person. I didn't know if the show was going to come back, or if they did, how would they treat what happened? Would McBride be dead? Would he be paralyzed? Who did it? Why did this person do it? I had so many questions. So, when they announced that they were doing a second season, and it would be the last season, I was pumped.

I watched the season 2 premiere yesterday when I finally had a chance to sit down. As I said, they had that crazy dark opening dream sequence, and then the show snapped back to its comedy roots. McBride was awoken by his daughter, and she told him breakfast was ready. What made this so funny, he was staying at his ex wife's house, played by Busy Phillips, and her new boyfriend was his live in nurse. If people remember my review from season one, one of my favorite characters is Busy Phillips new boyfriend. He is so nice to Phillips, her daughter and, especially, McBride. That is hammered home in the season 2 premiere. McBride seems to think he needs a wheelchair and a lift to get up and down the steps, but we find out that he was shot in the shoulder and the hip. He is not paralyzed, but he acts like he is. He has become so reliant on the chair and the lift.

Later on Walton Goggins shows up to give McBride his medicine, so we find out then that he and McBride still hang out. They successfully got the new principal fired, and now Goggins has become principal of the high school. He does find time to help out McBride though. They go on walks and feed ducks. McBride tells Goggins his plans for getting Dr. Brown back, he believes she shot him, but Goggins says that everyone in town, including the police, say that it was a stereo thief that was spooked by McBride's presence. McBride doesn't believe that, and neither does Goggins. But, they have to go along with it so no one will find out all the terrible things they did to Dr. Brown in season 1.

At this recent walk in the park, Goggins gets McBride to get out of his chair and walk. He needs him back at the high school. Goggins is having a hard time being the full time principal. He goes on to explain how hard it has been by describing all things he has to do for the parents and administrators by describing it as "the worst gang bang I have ever been a part of, and believe me, I have been in some gang bangs". McBride returns to the high school the day after his last encounter with Goggins, and that scene was hilarious. He has the student choir sing "Tears in Heaven", and McBride is so very uncomfortable the whole time. It was comedic gold.

The episode did get dark when McBride found out where Dr. Brown was living now and confronted her in the restroom of a restaurant she was at with her kids. She told him she did not shoot him, and at this point, McBride tried to pull a gun on her. It slipped out of his arm, still using humor even in dark scenes, and rolled to her feet. He then pulled the sword out of his cane and told her not to move. She explained then all the reasons why she wouldn't shoot him, and even showed him a tattoo of him and Goggins holding hands and eating shit. She has put them behind her, just like gin, and got it tattooed on her back, as is her way. She then tries to tell him that she thinks it may have been Goggins that shot him because everything worked out for him. McBride storms into the school the next day and asks Goggins if he shot him at their meeting spot in the woods. Goggins is appalled, and starts to walk away. McBride apologizes, and this is when we hear about how bad it is to be principal. Goggins shows him a binder filled with possible suspects of people that could have shot McBride. They seem to be back in business as partners in crime again.

The final scene of the first episode shows McBride getting his gumption back and tearing into students that are acting up at lunch. It was great, and he is most definitely back. I'm very excited to see how this second, and final season, goes. I want answers, hilarious scenes and dark shit to happen, and I'm one hundred percent sure that "Vice Principals", Danny McBride and David Gordon Green will deliver. Everyone should be watching this show. It is amazing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is right that "Vice Principals" is an awesome show. It is not better than "Eastbound and Down". I mean the first ten minutes of that show's premier is the greatest piece of entertainment man has ever created.

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

Ty Watches "Bar Rescue": The Lucky Irish Saloon Edition

"Bar Rescue" was back with a new episode, and it was a classic. This was one of the episodes that I will fondly remember because it was so down the middle, and so perfect.

Taffer and crew traveled out to a smaller town in Florida, I believe it was Davenport, to a bar called "The Lucky Irish Saloon". Right off the bat, the name threw me for a loop. That is a very weird name. This bar had all the typical resounding success right off the bat. The 2 owners bought the bar, turned it into a big time money maker and eventually married each other. They were in love and forking in the money hand over fist. They seemed to have everything going in the right direction. Then, as with almost all the bars on the show, things turned for the worse.

The owners began to fight in front of employees. The employees became afraid of the husband that was the bar owner. He is an old school Irish guy and he talked down to all his employees. He was a real piece of work. It got so bad that the wife owner divorced the husband. But, they remained business partners and lived in the same house. That is a recipe for disaster. After the divorce, things went from worse to horrible. The employees despised whenever the husband owner was there. As I said, he would degrade them, and when he left, the employees would jump for joy. One of them said that they felt like a weight was off their shoulders. The wife owner, after the divorce and the bar starting to go under, basically gave up. She was at her wits end. She was in debt almost 300,000 dollars and was ready to throw in the towel. She tried "Bar Rescue" as a last ditch effort.

Of course this was way too juicy for Taffer to pass up, so he went to rescue this place. When he showed up, he did his usual recon. This time around he brought 2 experts, Phil Wills, his mixology expert, and Vic Vegas, his food expert with him. They watched from outside in the van like they always do. What they saw was a travesty. The drinks were so poorly made. They showed 3 of the exact same drinks all side by side, and they were different shades of color and each had different tastes. The staff was slow. They were deliberate, but very slow and didn't have any proper training. The wife owner kind of kept to herself and just stayed away from all the action. The kitchen was basically for show. They did do bar munchies, but that was it. They had a single fryer for that. Every patron in the bar was there to smoke more so than to buy drinks.

The icing on the crap cake that was this bar was the husband owner. Instead of running his business, he was hustling patrons at pool. He was taking money from the bar to play people in pool to try and win some extra cash for himself. And in between pool games, he would openly yell at the staff. This guy was an ass. In fact, Taffer sent in Vegas to do some in house recon, and what he saw made him very upset. Vegas walked in with a baseball hat on and sat at the bar to get a beer and food, all in the façade of trying to get the husband owner to challenge him in pool. Vegas had a beer, didn't say much about it, and ordered some food. The food was frozen and greasy. It all looked disgusting. The husband owner eventually walked up to him, and Vegas urged him to play some pool. The husband finally said yes, and this was when Taffer blew his lid. He stormed into the bar and immediately started to berate the husband. He must have called him an asshole 15 times in under a minute. He yelled and screamed and forced him to give the people he hustled their money back. The husband tried to fight back but he realized that he had no business to even try and fight Taffer. He relented, paid the people back and closed up shop.

After Taffer ordered them to clean the place up, the staff all sat down and had a heart to heart. The husband owner said he would ease up so they could get their bar back to being a money making machine. This guy's 180 with his attitude was incredible. He was so easy to give up his bad attitude and make a change. The next day Taffer showed up with his experts and they got to training, but not before Taffer explained why he went after the guy the night before. It was unnecessary, but also hilarious. Training was kind of so so. First off, the kitchen needed to be a one item menu because they wanted the bar to stay a smoke friendly establishment. They decided on beer braised hot dogs that they would sell for 99 cents. It was a great idea. The bartender training was a little tougher. The bartenders were inexperienced, and that showed when they tried to make the fairly easy cocktails that Wills taught them. Stress test was an absolute disaster. They couldn't get the drinks out right, or on time. They have 5 and 6 people deep and the bartenders were almost immediately drowning. The food was coming out on time, it is just hot dogs, but it was going to the wrong tables and the wrong people. They had horrible systems in place. The best/worst thing though was a gentleman who took a seat on his stool and the stool exploded. It was a riot. After about 2 hours, Taffer told the owners to shut it down. He moved them to a different bar to train while his construction crew fixed the place up, and the staff, I must say, worked pretty hard. They seemed like they wanted to be successful.

The next day the crew showed up at the newly renovated bar and had their big reveal. The name was changed to "Lucky's Corner Pocket", due to the husband's love for pool, but it sounded more like a sexual innuendo to me. The inside looked much better. No exposed wires, the place was clean, a new bar top, new stools and new POS systems and, of course, a lifetime subscription to Partender. The re launch went great, as always, and everything seemed to be going smooth. Even the divorced couple were smiling and hugging each other, which forced my wife to say, "I bet you they both get lucky with each other tonight".

At the 6 week check up, the bar sales were up 32 percent from the year before and everyone, even the ex husband and wife, were getting along great. I love when "Bar Rescue" comes back after a couple week hiatus and gives me a classic episode like this one. I need more of these. I'm sick of the "Back to the Bar" ones, which they are doing this Sunday. I want more of the timeless classic like "Lucky's". This was a fun watch.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He likes to hustle people at pool. His trick is to convince someone that Ty can pull of a trick shot of hitting a ball over a stack of money. When the money is down, Ty grabs it and runs. It doesn't always work

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