Let's Show Some Appreciation for the Awesomeness of Nicole Byer

This morning I went out for a run and I like to listen to podcasts lately when I decide to listen to anything. The podcast is not important though, this piece is all about the guest on the pod. The guest was Nicole Byer. My piece today is an appreciation post to Nicole Byer.

She is the best. She is so funny. She is open and proud of her accomplishments. She's all about empowerment. She is a great actor and stand up. She is a great podcast host herself. I have been a fan of hers for awhile now, and after hearing her this morning it just hammered home my adoration for Byer. I am not one to get starstruck by an actor, but if I saw her I would be scared to talk to her. She has reached that level of fame to me. I'm sure it is silly, and I am sure she would be a delight. But I would still be in awe.

I knew of her awhile ago, but it was really my wife who opened my eyes to Byer. She had me listen to her standup when we were first dating. It was great. I like how blue and gross it can be at times. I also like how truthful and open she was, and still is in her act. We have both continued to follow her ever since I was first introduced to her. Besides her standup, her television performances are a thing of beauty. And she has been in a ton of stuff. I think I may have been one of the few people that watched every episode of "Party Over Here". That was an underrated sketch show, and Byer was the standout for me. Her two appearances on "The Birthday Boys" were awesome. She's excellent in "Michael Bolton's Big Sexy Valentine" special. She does excellent voicework, most notably for me on "Bob's Burgers". She fit so perfectly on her lone scene in "The Good Place". She was a gem as Trudy Judy when she was on :"Brooklyn 99". But the two shows that are her best in my opinion are "Loosely Exactly Nicole" and "Grand Crew".

"Loosely Exactly Nicole" was before its time. The spoof aspect of it was great. If that show were to come out today it would be a humongous hit. And it totally holds up. "Grand Crew" is letting her truly shine. I adore that show. I hope it comes back for another season. I felt like it was hitting its stride at the end of the season. And Byer was my absolute favorite part. I enjoy all the other actors, but Byer outshines them all. I laughed super hard at almost every scene that she was in. I also like when she does some dramatic stuff. This show really lets her be her best self. Please NBC let it come back for another season.

And then we have her podcast appearances and her hosting. There are too many to mention in this piece. When she is on a podcast I listen to, or one she hosts, I get amped to play it. I know it is going to be hilarious. I know she will do something that will resonate with me. I know she will be completely open and honest. I know she will have a good time. I know she will treat the other hosts and guests with respect and integrity.

Nicole Byer is a truly great actor and stand up who is finally getting her time to shine. She is crushing it right now, I like her so much more than John Cena on "Wipeout", and I am a Cena fan as well. Byer is getting work, the work she has deserved for a long time. I am a fan, obviously, and I just wanted to write an appreciation piece to her today. Keep getting queen, you have earned it.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

RIP Gilbert Gottfried

Gilbert Gottfried has passed away at the age of 67. This is a bummer. There are too many people losing their lives lately. It stinks.

I have a fond memory of Gottfried. I have always liked him to be honest. I know people complain about his voice and his movies and other stuff, but that never bothered me. I found his voice unique and hilarious. He was a much better version of the Micro Machine guy. They each had their schtick, but Gottfried was much more my speed. I truly did not care that he yelled at his jokes. I found it funny honestly. It worked for me as a fan of comedy.

As for his movies, I loved "Problem Child". He was awesome in it too. I adore "Aladdin", and Iago is so memorable. He was the only good part about the horrible "Saved By the Bell: The Wedding" movie. He was definitely the biggest get in any "Sharknado" movie that he was involved in. As for TV shows, you could find him doing voicework in any number of shows ranging from the 80's throughout the current day. His voice is everywhere. Going outside of voice work, he was a cast member on what many consider to be the worst season of "SNL", but he was the only one on that season that thrived. Going back and watching those eps awhile back, and man are they bad, but Gottfried had something special. He was the only person that worked that season.

The thing I think made him stand apart was the roasts he did. I have been watching clips of him at these roasts the past couple days, and Gottfried kills every single time. He would just pummel the audience and the roastee with joke after joke after joke. He would crush it out there. He was doing the best in a room full of people that pride themselves on their ability to roast. He would have fit in perfectly in the old time roasts that I used to see commercials for as a kid. Gottfried was the perfect amalgamation of old school and modern time comedians. He knew what he was best at, and he ran with it. The roast clips are an amazing thing to watch.

Of course we all remember him as the Aflac duck. My kids even know his voice from those commercials. But, what I remember most about Gottfried as the Aflac duck was him getting fired from that job. It was classic Gottfried. He tweeted a very unflattering stance on the tsunamis in Taiwan, and he was let go. Part of me always thought that he did that on purpose. I think he wanted out of that job, did something awful and was let go. And we all forgot about it a few months later.

Gottfried went on to do many things after that. That would have ended other people's careers, but Gottfried soldiered on and kept plugging away. It has also been super cool to see the many people coming out and talking about how nice and polite Gottfried was on the stand up scene. He didn't big time anyone or refuse to help out. Quite the opposite. I've seen people like Paul F Tompkins, a comedian and actor I adore, come out and say that Gottfried would let him watch his sets for free. That rules. There have been countless other actors talking about interactions with Gottfried, and they are all glowing.

Gottfried's passing is a bummer. He was so young, I know they said an unknown illness, and that makes it even sadder. It is not on the Chadwick Boseman level, but it is akin. Rest in Peace Mr Gottfried. You will be missed.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches “The Tinder Swindler”

Recently I finished the Netflix documentary "The Tinder Swindler".

I have been in a doc mood lately, and this one spoke to me when I was searching the other day. I have been married for almost 13 years, and been with my wife for 15 years, so online dating has never been a thing for me. I never used it. I did have an eHarmony account at one point, but then I met my wife, and deleted it very soon after because I knew I was going to marry her. I was lucky enough to meet her in real life when a friend set us up. And for that, I am forever grateful. It is so much better that way, in my opinion. I know plenty of people who have met and married someone through the internet. But for me, it is way easier, and way better, to meet in person. The online dating life seems very hard and very easy to scam someone. That is what "The Tinder Swindler" is all about.

The movie focuses on three ladies that were scammed by the same man. But it is not like "Catfish" or movies and shows like that. This was a real person who found a way to scam these very real women. When the movie opens we meet a young lady from Sweden. She is very adept at using Tinder. She breaks it all down. She is very smart and very beautiful. She mentions that she "swiped right" on this gentleman named Simon, and soon after a relationship started. He took her on private planes. They went on exotic vacations. They ate all the best food. They exchanged very expensive gifts. It was all a fairytale, until one day, when he simply seemed to vanish. No contact, nothing. Just gone. He would return, but only to ask for money. We then meet another woman, also from Sweden, and she seems like she knows what she is doing on Tinder. Again, just like the first lady, knows how to game the system to get a guy she likes. She too, eventually, matches with the same guy, Simon. And while it is not a romantic type relationship, she seems to like him very much as a friend. She likes to hang out with him and go clubbing and go to parties. Nothing romantic happens, but they do make a deep, friendly connection. But then, just like the first lady, Simon falls off. And, just like the first lady again, Simon comes back online and asks for money. These ladies give him the money because they have made these connections, but it all seems rather fishy. It is all very weird. Through some deep digging, and after talking to journalists in Sweden, the ladies come to realize that Simon has been scamming them, and many, many other women, for many years. He uses their credit cards to buy all the things he wants. He uses the money they have given him to fly out other women and buy them whatever they want. It turns out he is a very prolific con artist. At this point we meet yet another woman who claims to be Simon's girlfriend. She says they have been together for 15 months. She found out, only after the investigative journalists released a tell all story, that Simon was galavanting with these other women during their "relationship". She is rightfully furious. She decides she is going to swindle him. She pretends to still be in love with him, to tell him what he wants to hear. But, instead of giving him money, she makes mention that she could sell his designer clothing to help him pay for his lavish lifestyle. He agrees, and she starts to sell. But she never tells him that she is making any money. Anytime he asks, she says she hasn't sold anything. It gets so bad that Simon claims to be homeless. All the while, this lady has made over 10,000 dollars selling his clothing. I loved it. She was beating this jerk at his own game.

Eventually Simon gets caught and arrested by Interpol. All three of the women featured feel like they have finally caught him. That Simon is going to pay for what he has done. His picture and story was everywhere. He did get sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraud. I was stoked. So were the ladies in the movie. It felt like a good punishment for what he had done. I assumed the movie was going to end right there. It needed a happy ending after all the wild shit I had watched for 90 minutes.

But then, before the credits rolled, they updated the viewer on the situation. Simon did go to jail, but only for 5 months. He was released and let back into the world. He started an online business for a nominal fee. He had all the fancy things again. He was dating an Israeli model. They were on private jets again. He was back in designer clothes and buying and doing whatever he wanted. He was even back on Tinder. As for the women featured in the movie, they were doing better, but still had pretty big debts they were paying off. The three women look to have become friends, and they have been back on Tinder as well. But I was kind of frustrated when I saw Simon doing all his nonsense again. He clearly hadn't learned his lesson, and the police let him go after serving only a third of his sentence. And when the people making the movie tried to contact him, he sent a very threatening message to them. He is still an asshole. He is still selfish. He is still doing what he wants when he wants to whomever will bite on his scam. He learned nothing and was going about his everyday life like he didn't perform multiple criminal acts. It goes to show that some scum can get away with what they want with minimal consequence. It is a frustrating world that we live in. It makes me sick that people can scam other people, and because they just happen to be rich, they can get away with it.

I do recommend this movie because it is fascinating, but know going into it that you will be angry at the end. Or, at least you should be.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "Atlanta", Season Three Premiere

Yesterday I was able to watch the season three premiere of "Atlanta". I was out of town last weekend, I left early Friday morning, so I did not have time to watch until we got back. But I made damn sure I would watch yesterday,

I did watch, and I was floored, in the best possible way. Season three kicked off with two new episodes, which was a very nice surprise. The first episode, "Three Slaps", was a different story than what we have usually seen on "Atlanta". None of the main characters were even in the episode, until the very end when Earn(Donald Glover) wakes up from a dream. This episode was about a little kid who gets put into foster care and finds his way back home. That is a very vague description though, from what I saw. Spoiler alert is coming by the way if you have not watched the premiere yet. "Three Slaps" shows a young kid in school who, upon hearing that he and his classmates are going to see "Black Panther", jumps on the table and starts to dance. He gets sent to the principal's office. His mom and grandpa come and they are frustrated. A teacher seems to think they can help by putting the kid in remedial classes, but the mom does not want to do that. She chides the young man, makes him dance in the hallway and the grandpa gives him three slaps. We see him at home and he lives a pretty normal lifestyle. His mom works all day, so he feeds himself, but his mom is present and she holds him accountable. Then Child Protective Services shows up, and the mom tells the boy to go. She packs his stuff, and says if he hates living there so much, he can leave. Again, she is tough, but not doing anything that I would consider wrong. The boy ends up at a house with two ladies who have fostered three other children. These ladies are not in good shape. They do not seem to be taking proper care of these kids. They make them work far too hard and they barely feed them. The young man tries his best to get away, but no one believes him because he is now a "foster child". He is miserable. The moms decide they are going to go to the "Grand Canyon". The kid asks one of them what they are really doing, but she gets cut off by her wife. We come to realize that this couple cannot pay bills, refuses to pay bills, has hurt people in the past, and they are going to kill themselves and the kids by driving off a bridge. The young kid figures it out and gets the other kids and himself free. The other kids are saved and the main boy walks back to his home. His mom says she was happy to see he made his way back home. He then eats some spaghetti and watches TV, telling his mom nothing of what happened. Then we see the kid turn to the camera and that is when Earn wakes up.

This first episode was incredible. It was gripping and scary and a great way to get back into this wonderful show. It reminded me of "Teddy Perkins", which is one of the best forty-five minutes of TV ever.

The second episode we get to see the original crew. They are overseas, in Amsterdam, while Paper Boi(Brian Tyree Henry) is on tour. Earn oversleeps and misses his original flight. It was great to see, now that Earn has achieved a little status as Paper Boi's manager, that he is still a screw up. But he works hard and he is trying. While Earn is trying to get on his new flight, he calls Darius(LaKeith Stanfield) and tells him he has to pick up Van(Zazie Beetz) at the airport. Here we see Darius is super duper high, but he does remember to get Van. He also tells Earn that Paper Boi is in jail. This messes Earn up. But he is sick and he is very tired, so he tells Darius he will deal with it when he gets to Amsterdam. He just needs Darius to get Van. Then we kind of have parallel stories. Darius and Van go on an adventure. Van buys a new coat that has an address in it. They decided to have their driver take them to the address. They find a group of people all dressed in white who are on their way to something. Darius and Van join them. When they arrive at the thing, they realize it is a party for a person who is about to die. It is a very weird and surreal scene. Then, Darius comments that he thinks it is Tupac. Van says he is crazy, but then she sees him. She goes to speak to him, and she realizes it is Tupac. After she speaks to him, the death dulla, yeah that is a thing in this world, drops a bag over him and "Tupac" dies. It was wild. But the way Van and Darius handle it, it made the surrealness of the whole situation relatable in a way. I loved their story because I feel like they truly portrayed how I would have acted in a crazy scenario like they were in a foregin country. Paper Boi and Earn have to get ready for a show that night, but first Earn needs to get him out of jail. Earn goes to the venue to get money from the guy putting on the show, and proceeds to bail Paper Boi out. Paper Boi is treated like a king in his cell. The guards love him. The fans outside love him. He is a star in Amsterdam. He likes his cell so much, it was beautiful by the way, that even when his bail is posted, he waits until after he has had lunch and a nap. Then, when he and Earn leave the jail, they head to the hotel before going to the venue. During this time they see a shocking number of people in black face. It was jarring for me as a viewer to see this. They question it, but never get a real answer. Then when they get to the venue Paper Boi says he will not do the show because the entire crowd is in black face. I kid you not. Earn tells the promoter that Paper Boi is not going to do the show and this pisses the guy off. He threatens to "ruin" him. When he chases Earn, he finds a guy that looks like him, but again, it is yet another person in black face. And again, I was uncomfortable. Earn gets out unharmed and heads to his room. He sees Van outside and they have a brief interaction. Then he crashes into his bed before receiving multiple texts from Paper Boi about hanging out. Then the episode ends. Again, I was in awe of what I watched.

"Atlanta" is, quite possibly, the best show on TV. There truly is nothing like it on TV. It is so unique, so original. Donald Glover and his crew really know what they are doing. They are truly creating new and fresh and, most of all, incredibly good content. I cannot wait to see where this season goes. I am fully on board. It was three years in between seasons, but it was more than worth it for what we got in these first two episodes.

If you are not watching "Atlanta" you need to remedy that. This is amazing TV being made by the smartest people in the business. I cannot wait for episode three on Thursday night. I will be watching it in real time. What an amazing, amazing show.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

So Long Maury and Thanks for All the Paternity Tests

After 31 years, "Maury" has been canceled. Or maybe he decided to leave. Or maybe both parties had an amicable split. None of us will ever know, but in the end, Maury Povich is done doing his insanely, and just flat out mind bending, uber popular talk show.

This came as a big surprise to me, and I do not even watch the show. But, my wife and my dad are fans. I know my wife has family members that are fans. Pretty much everyone I know has seen, or knows someone that has seen, at the very least, one episode of "Maury". This show is extremely famous, and super enjoyable. I don't even know how he started his show, or why he started his show. I'm sure he had all intentions to make a very real change in the world. I would be very interested in fact, to go back and watch some of his early stuff just to see what it was like. But let us make no mistake, the fame and glory he achieved was when he started to do the paternity test stuff.

That was an absolute goldmine. That was a complete stroke of genius. The people involved on the day they decided to do that as the main source of material, they truly had lightning in a bottle. It was pure brilliance. As I said before, my wife did really like this show. When she would have a day off work, and we were home, at 3pm our time, you better believe that she would tune in and we would both watch. I used to moan and groan and complain about it, but damn if I was not fully invested by the end. It even got to a point where I would get annoyed if they were not doing a paternity and lie detector test show that day. Sometimes they would do a boot camp thing. And while that could be good sometimes, it just did not hold the weight of the paternity episodes. I would get so involved that I would be guessing, with my wife, if the guy was a cheater or if the girl truly knew who the father of her kid or kids were. I was amped. And my absolute favorite thing about the show was how animated Povich would get when he announced the results. The way he would wait, and hold for an extra five to ten seconds before stating, either, "YOU ARE... THE FATHER!", or "YOU ARE...NOT THE FATHER!". It was classic. It was better than him reading lie detector results, and that ruled too. I also loved how Maury would play to the people and the camera at the same time. When a dude found out he wasn't the father, or passed a detector test, and he would dance, Maury would sit there and just laugh. But then, when they would shift to the mom, he would go after them offstage and tell them they had other ways they could help them find out who the father really is. I also enjoyed how he would give advice, knowing damn well that no one was going to do what he suggested. I also adored the introductions of people, and how the fans would boo and throw thumbs down at them. And Povich would just let them go as hard as they could. He never really stopped it. He egged it on at times. It was great.

This show has been on TV since I was eight. That is wild. I cannot believe how long it has lasted, but damn if it did not go the distance. I feel like Maury has done all he could. He also probably wants to retire and go do things with his wife Connie Chung. Povich has done his thing and it is classic.

There will never be another Maury Povich, or a show like "Maury". I'm sure people will try to do similar things, or even a carbon copy, but it will not be the same because it will not have Povich at the helm. "Maury" is a snapshot of the time we live in, and I am kind of stunned it is done. At least we will all have the memories.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "Winning Time" Season Premiere

Yesterday I watched the series premiere of "Winning Time" on HBO. The show is about the beginning of the Showtime Lakers. The premiere episode was pretty much all about the Lakers trying to decide if they were going to draft Magic Johnson first overall in the 1979 draft. There was other stuff that happened too, of course.

The show is shot in a very cool, old style type 70's look to it. There are times you can even see the burn marks on the film on the side of the screen. It is pretty neat. The actors also break the fourth wall quite a bit, and I am a fan when directors let actors do that. I just like it when it feels like the person playing a character is talking directly to me. It is a cool change of pace. John C Reilly, who plays Jerry Buss, talks to the audience a ton in the premiere. I love it. Reilly is also really, really good as Buss. I heard this is where the rift between Will Ferrell and Adam McKay started, but Reilly was one of the main reasons this premiere worked for me. I also love, love, love Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson. He moves like him, talks like him, looks like him and embodies the confidence and small town attitude Johnson had as a rookie. Isaiah should get so much more work from this role, and this is based solely on his performance in the first episode. I can only imagine it gets better and better from here. Jason Clarke is wonderful as Jerry West. He is angry and anxious and feels like his voice isn't being heard. Gaby Hoffman is going to be a star on this show. You can just tell. She crushed it. DeVaugh Nixon and Solomon Hughes are perfectly cast as Norm Nixon and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. They both look and sound just like them. The casting is almost as good as Isaiah as Johnson. We also meet a few other people in the premiere, but the people I mentioned are the stars of the first episode. I just can't get over how great Reilly is as Buss. He is confident when he shouldn't be. He is in over his head, but he could care less. He is willing to take a shot, even if everyone tells him he is wrong. The same could be said for Isaiah too. There is a scene where he is at a party and plays Norm Nixon one on one. It is a great insight to a soon to be rookie playing a vet. There are also great moments with him and his dad that felt really real. Those two are going to carry this show.

There are moments in the premiere that felt slow and a little tacked on. I did find myself a bit bored with some of the backstory. But when they shifted the story to Magic, and him being their pick for the draft, things kicked into high gear. I understand that pilot's have to be the table setting, and they have to give a good amount of backstory to people that may not know the whole story. But when the episode ends like this one did, where I am hyped to see what comes next, that is a sign of a, hopefully, good show. I also like McKay being heavily involved with this show. He has a true passion for the NBA, especially the era that they are talking about in this show, and it comes across like gangbusters here.

I have high, high hopes for this show. I think it is going to be a hit. I am pumped for what is going to come and how they are going to tell the story. Now I just have to wait until Sunday for the next episode.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

"The Simpsons" Just Delivered Another All Time Classic Episode

"The Simpsons" returned from what seemed like a few month hiatus this past Sunday. I have missed the show. It is my all time favorite show, I like the new episodes because I am not a hipster and I appreciate when the writers do stuff that makes me feel the way I do today. My wife and I watched the newest episode last night on DVR, and it was one of the best, and sweetest episodes "The Simpsons" have ever done.

The short and sweet plot synopsis sees Homer and Marge watching TV and doing their thing. Bart and Lisa see this and think that they have lost their spark. They think they need to do something adventurous and fun. What Bart and Lisa do not realize, this is exactly what Homer and Marge like to do. They love doing menial things together, like any longtime married couple. But to appease the kids they decide to go on an excursion that they have been putting off. When they get there they realize it is not what they were hoping to do. Then they get lost in the woods and have to basically fend for themselves. They go out, lose their car in the river, take off their clothes to try and dry them off, lose those and have to find a way to stay warm and survive in the wilderness. They do. They find a way. They find an abandoned hotel and they make use of the things that are left behind. They make clothes from the carpet, they use the beds and bathtubs as shelter. They find food. They keep it together. Then a wolverine finds them and attacks. Homer finds a way to stop the wolverine and Marge gets away. Homer follows behind her. They use the wolverine for more food and clothes. Eventually Homer sees a person on a snowmobile and tries to track them down. He cannot and tells Marge that part of him was kind of happy that he could not catch the person. Both Homer and Marge decide they need to track down the snowmobile person and they follow the tracks. Before departing their newfound life, Marge says that maybe they can walk slowly and Homer tells her that they always do. As the episode ends we see Homer and Marge in full clothes and hanging out outside their new cabin. When Homer asks Marge if she is ready to leave she tells him to sit with her and watch her favorite "show". That show happens to be the sunrise and the two of them eat chips and the dust is sucked into the air, just like the cheeto dust in the beginning.

It was beautiful. And sweet. And heartwarming. After we finished my wife kept mentioning how nice the episode was. I just kind of sat there and took it all in. In fact I was contemplating the episode all night, and have been all day. This is one of the best episodes of "The Simpsons" ever in my opinion. My wife was completely right. It was an incredibly sweet 22 minutes of TV. It showed the love that Homer and Marge have for one another. They truly are, as the kids say, relationship goals. It also showed, now that I have been married for almost 13 years, how the littlest things are usually the best. My favorite part of the day is when my kids go to bed and my wife and I have dessert and either watch TV or just talk about our day. I also cherish the lunch dates we have when my wife works from home. It truly is the small things that make a relationship with the person you love so great. And that is what this episode proved and showed. It was just so sweet and so nice and so beautiful and has kept a smile on my face for the past 2 days.

I highly recommend people watch this episode, especially married couples. And leave all your "The Simpsons isn't as good as it used to be" or "they don't know how to tell a proper story anymore" theories at the door. Watch this with open eyes and an open mind. You will be moved. I almost guarantee it.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "The Righteous Gemstones" Season 2

My wife and I just finished season 2 of "Righteous Gemstones" last night. Much like "Eastbound and Down" and "Vice Principals", "Righteous Gemstones" is another big time hit from Danny McBride and Jody Hill. I adore these guys and the content they make. I have recently sung the praises of "Eastbound and Down" and "Vice Principals" on this very site. I was very curious to see how they would do this season of "Righteous Gemstones" since it was filmed during the pandemic. Well, any fears I may have had were easily put to rest after the first episode.

This season was a great follow up to one of the most memorable seasons of TV ever. The first season of "Righteous Gemstones" was amazing. I thought it was going to be pretty hard to follow that up with anything close to what they had accomplished. Well I was wrong. They did an amazing job. They brought up new storylines while still keeping the story very dark and very comedic. I will try to keep the rest of my piece as spoiler free as possible.

When they opened season two, with a good amount of church people around a big table, there was some big news dropped on everyone and a guy tried to end his life, only to fail and hurt his legs very, very badly. From that point on I knew we were in for some wild and crazy times in the second season. This season more focused on Eli Gemstone's, John Goodman, checkered past. We found out about him being a wrestler and bodyguard and "gun for hire". Eli did some wild things back in his day. He was helped out by Junior, Eric Roberts, who was such a wonderful addition. He was funny with a mean streak and ended up becoming a big time ally. I loved seeing him and Goodman as kids and where they were now. It was great. Jesse and Amber mended their ways, but Jesse still wanted more. He wanted to become head preacher. He wanted to work with Eric Andre's, another massive and wonderful addition to the cast, church and their new development. Danny McBride is so good at playing a guy way in over his head but does not realize it. McBride was simply the best this season. Judy and BJ showed a ton of growth this season. They helped out Tiffany. Judy started to work with other wives in the church. BJ was accepted into the family by Eli and Jesse. There was also an awesome scene of BJ rollerblading this season. I highly recommend checking it out. Kelvin and Keefe were so pathetic and so funny and then, at the end, totally redeemed themselves. It was a great journey for them this season, especially the stuff with Kelvin and Eli. That was incredible.

As the season had its twists and turns, everything came to a head in the finale. And what a wonderful finale it was. I never seem to know how they are going to end this stuff. And with this season being nine episodes as opposed to the usual ten, they found a way to wrap things up nearly perfectly. Even the Jason Schwartzmann character, a journalist exposing these mega churches, had his story all wrapped up by the end.

I adore this show. I am so amped it is coming back for a third season. I think this may be McBride and Hill's best work to date. And the fact that they are giving actors like Edi Patterson, Adam Devine and Tim Baltz a chance to shine, I love that. And I cannot forget the greatness that is Walton Goggins. He is tremendous as Uncle Baby Billy. That character may be as great as Stevie Janowski. Uncle Baby Billy is amazing. Oh, and they even got MaCaulay Caulkin to appear in a few episodes. Please go watch "Righteous Gemstones". It may be the best show on TV right now.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "Peacemaker"

After a good amount of persistence from my wife and RD, my wife and I finished the first season of "Peacemaker" the other night. I was kind of hesitant to watch it because I have some serious superhero fatigue right now. I'm kind of over it in fact. There is so much, I'm expected to watch it all because I am a pop culture writer and I cannot seem to keep up with everything all the time. I have also really disliked the last two super hero movies I've seen. So I was not itching to get at "Peacemaker".

I was wrong. RD and my wife were definitely right. This show is really good, fun and even touching and dramatic at times. John Cena is wonderful as the main character. He brings a new level to this antihero who, especially at the end of the new "Suicide Squad" movie, I assumed was a villain. He absolutely crushes this role. I have been on the fence about Cena as an actor, but with "Trainwreck" and "Blockers" and now "Peacemaker", I am sold. The dude can act.

What makes this show so good is the rest of the cast really knocks it out of the park. Danielle Brooks plays an agent named Adebayo and she is truly fantastic. She is Amanda Waller's daughter, Waller is the true villain from the movie, and Brooks is so good at portraying a person in over her head, but also really wants to help. Chukwudi Iwuji is very good as the stoic, alien like, no spoilers, leader of this new version of a suicide squad. There is a moment when he tries to use emotion that is so, so good on the show. Jennifer Holland is a complete badass. She kicks so much ass on this show, takes no prisoners and is truly the hero of season one. She rules. Steve Agee is hilarious and totally game for anything they throw his way. He also has one of the more touching moments in the season one finale. He is getting a shot on a big time show finally, and he is crushing it. Robert Patrick is scum, and he nails this character. I actively hated him while watching and I have to believe that was his job as an actor. And even some side characters, namely Annie Chang and Lochlyn Munro as detectives.

It truly gets no better than Freddie Stroma who plays Vigilante. He is, by far, the best thing about this show. I would get excited when he would have a long run on an episode. I loved when he showed up in episode two. I knew nothing of this character, and I'm glad that was the case. Seeing Vigilante with fresh eyes was amazing. He deserves Emmy consideration. He is the best thing on a very good show and he shines brighter than any other actor, all of which did a wonderful job. Vigilante is one of my all time favorite TV characters on any show ever. Full stop. He is awesome. I go back to a scene in a jail, man was that incredible. Vigilante is the man.

The season one story is wild, but with James Gunn writing and directing pretty much every episode I expected it to be weird and different. And I think that is what grabbed me about this show. Yes it is a superhero show and it brings back a character from a big movie, but this is not your run of the mill superhero stuff. This is all about an antihero. It is not as good as "The Boys'', but it has a similar feel. Again, I was hesitant, I am bored with superhero stuff, this shouldn't have worked, but damn if I did not really like this season. I know it has been picked up for a second season, and I like that. I will watch. So, even if you might be sick of superhero stuff, I'd still give "Peacemaker" a chance. It is different enough that you do not feel like you are watching a typical Marvel or DC movie. And it is so worth your time to watch Stroma as Vigilante. I cannot overstate how great he is on this show. Check it out.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

"Vice Principals" is an Underrated Television Masterpiece

After finishing "Eastbound and Down" I decided I was going to go back and watch another one of my favorite Danny McBride, Jody Hill fronted shows, "Vice Principals".

I watched it when it first aired on tv. I devoured it in fact. "Eastbound and Down" is an all time classic, next level comedy show, and I figured it would be next to impossible to follow it up with anything remotely close. "Vice Principals" is the rare exception to the rule that the second thing that is made by an artist is not as good. I do firmly believe that "Vice Principals", while a different style of show, is as good as "Eastbound and Down". It just bums me out how incredibly underrated this show was when it was on TV. Hell, it is still underrated now. All three shows that McBride and Hill have done for HBO are incredible, but no one seems to talk about "Vice Principals". "Eastbound and Down" and "The Righteous Gemstones" get much deserved credit, again they are great. But, as I said, how many people actually talk about "Vice Principals"? Not too many in my circle of friends and family. My dad talks about it, and so does RD, but that seems to be it. I have friends who like these types of shows who have never watched it before, or watched it and have never revisited it. I think it got kind of lost in the shuffle. With the success of "Eastbound and Down", and this show being only two seasons, I think too many people just let it pass. That is a mistake. This show needs to be revisited and needs to be celebrated for how great it truly was.

I think what makes this show so great in my opinion is the tonal change from "Eastbound and Down". "Eastbound and Down" was more of a straight forward comedy about a professional athlete who fell on hard times and still thought they were as great as they once were. "Vice Principals" is much darker in tone. There are some heavy, nasty things that happen in this show. The heavy scenes are underscored with comedic stuff, but there is definitely more darkness and bleakness in this show. I also think that making McBride the "good guy" maybe threw some people off. It shouldn't have. He is very good as the foil. It actually is a nice change of pace. But making Walton Goggins the star, the mean guy, the villain, that was a stroke of genius. Goggins is so, so, so good on this show. He should have won multiple Emmys. There are scenes where he is the only person and he absolutely crushes it. He is so vindictive and conniving and cruel and pathetic all at once. It is truly a powerhouse performance.

I also think people may not have been as into the other characters on "Vice Principals" like they were with "Eastbound and Down". April and Stevie and Jason Sudeikes and Andy Daly and so many more are memorable and awesome. But so are Georgia King and Kimberly Herbert Gregory and Edi Patterson and Busy Phillips and Shea Wigham and all the other side characters on "Vice Principals". Edi Patterson, in particular, is phenomenal. This was my first exposure to her acting, and she is hilarious. It is a great jumping off point to now seeing her playing Judy Gemstone now.

"Vice Principals" is dark and funny and just a very, very good show. It did not get its justice when it was on. I think people should go and check this show out once again, especially if you like McBride's other work. "Vice Principals" is a tremendous, and underrated, show. Check it out.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "Grand Crew"

Back when RD and I did the what we are looking forward to pod for this year we talked about TV. One of those shows started in early December, as an early premiere, but the series did not officially start until this month. That show is "Grand Crew", and it is really good so far.

They have done six episodes so far, they have ten ordered, and each one has gotten better and better. When they did the first two episodes back in December they were good, but looked like they needed a little work. As with all pilots, they usually start slow. "Grand Crew" was no different. But unlike other shows, "Grand Crew" has blasted away as one of the best new shows on TV in some time.

First and foremost, the cast is incredible. They have wonderful chemistry. They play off one another. They play their characters to perfection. They are so goddamn good. The cast is led, in my opinion, by Nicole Beyer. She is so, so, so good in her role. She is funny and smart. She likes to hook up with dudes, but she always finds a silver lining. She is the funniest, looks the best and just crushes her role. She is so good. So is Echo Kellum. He is the first billed in the credits, so I guess he is the "star" of the show. He is almost as amazing as Beyer. He is the typical lover boy. He wants to find love. He loves romantic comedies and tries to live his life as if he is in one. Kellum is really good at portraying this, and he does a good amount of lifting. Carl Tart is hilarious. I am a big time fan of his as you all know. I love that he is getting a real shot to star on a network sitcom and he is crushing right now. Every time he goes off on a rant on the show I find myself rolling on the floor with laughter. He is so good at controlling the room and owning the scenes he is in. Aaron Jennings is the responsible working one of the group, but he has his comedic moments as well. There was an earlier episode where he thinks he is going to get a promotion, but they are just using him because he is a minority. This was some heavy stuff, but Jennings did a great job making it real yet comical at the same time. The most recent episode, where he is learning chess, is a great masterclass in subtle comedy from Jennings. Grasie Mercedes was an excellent addition. It appeared as if she was going to be a love interest, but they scrapped that and it has worked perfectly. She fits in seamlessly with the rest of the cast. And then we have Justin Cunningham. He is the married one, the settled down one, the one who may or may not have kids and he is so good. He is so funny and relatable. I see a lot of myself in him. My wife and I have said multiple times that he and his wife are us. I love the way he plays his role. The cast is wonderful. They have the same chemistry that the cast of "Happy Endings" had, and that is one of my all time favorite shows. And like I said before, they seem to be finding their groove. They have the relationships all figured out. They are connecting on all fronts. Everything they are doing is working right now. I laugh out loud while watching and none of it is forced.

I hope this show gets its due. I do not want it to leave after three seasons. They have a great thing going, and if they keep up at this pace, "Grand Crew" can become a mainstay. It is that good. Check this show out if you have not yet. It is more than worth your time, even if you just watch it to see this amazing cast. "Grand Crew" is excellent.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

There are No Small Parts, Just Great Side Characters Like Stevie Janowski on "Eastbound and Down"

I am currently on my third rewatch of "Eastbound and Down". The show still rules if you were wondering. It is as funny and crazy and wild and nuts as anything McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green have been known to do. What I have noticed more lately though on this watch is how great Steve Little is as Stevie Janowski.

For those that may not know, Little's character is a pathetic former high school mate of McBride's character Kenny Powers. As they got older Janowski became a teacher at the school where Powers ended up working and then became his personal assistant during Powers' comeback to baseball. And he nails his role. At first Janowski seems pretty meek and pretty okay with where his life has taken him. He is okay to be a teacher, he is fine being alone and he seems good with his lot in life. But then Kenny comes back to town and he starts to change. He follows Kenny around everywhere and basically makes himself his assistant. He dresses like Kenny, he acts like Kenny, he curses like Kenny, he tries to party like Kenny, and it is all so pathetic and sad and funny and Little totally nails it. In the first season, seeing him go from meek to sidekick to asshole was pretty amazing. His acting is a masterclass in how to be an also ran, how to cowtail to someone who you think may be better than you. He also totally nails being an obsessed fan of a fallen professional athlete. Janowski still thinks Kenny is rich and famous and important. There are only two people that think this, Powers and Janowski. I love the way Little shows all this during season one. When he starts to dress in all black, it is hilariously sad. When Kenny says he is going to have to let him go, and Janowski starts to cry and complain, it is perfect for his character. When he shows up with the steroids at the pitching contest, it is weirdly sweet, but also super upsetting when he tells Kenny he has never left him. And when he leaves North Carolina, and leaves Stevie behind, he is more upset than anyone else. He is more upset than Kenny's ex-girlfriend, his brother, his in-laws and nieces and nephews, Stevie is the most upset. And when he follows him to Mexico in season two, following his credit card statements, of which Kenny stole, that just takes his character to a whole other sad and depressing level. And Little totally crushes it. He is so good at being Kenny's butler. He does everything he asks of him, with no questions. Kenny shoots him, and Stevie does nothing. Kenny puts him on a truck back to America and Stevie finds a way back to the baseball stadium. And when Kenny then blames him for not being there to support him, Stevie apologizes to him. He is so invested in being Kenny's friend that he will stop at nothing to get him on his side. It is completely pathetic, and I think that is exactly what they wanted with this role. I read that he is really the only person not in the tight knit group that created this show that they kept around because he liked them and they liked him. I also read that he based his character on people he knew from his high school, and truth be told, he does a great job representing former high schoolers everywhere. It is simply perfect.

Steve Little has done a whole lot of stuff, way more than I thought while looking him up for this blog. But Stevie Janowski on "Eastbound and Down" may be the best thing he has done to date. I'm sure he will continue to work, and that's great for him. I just do not know that he will ever top this role. And that is a great, great thing.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

RIP Bob Saget

While quarantining in my basement, again more on that tomorrow, my wife called down to me on Saturday night that Bob Saget had died. I did not hear her correctly at first so I asked her to Facetime me. She did and told me that Bob Saget had passed away.

I was stunned. I truly did not expect to hear this news. He was young. He was in his mid 60's, and nowadays that is young. He was also touring, his opener said he seemed totally fine and I was just in shock. I was watching Comedy Central yesterday and with every commercial break ending they went silent and showed a picture of Saget and it said RIP. This hurt every time it appeared on screen.

I have a weird relationship with Bob Saget. I was born in the early 80's and grew up in the 90's, the TGIF era of TV. Of course I adored "Full House". That was my jam as a kid. I thought it was hilarious. I loved the dynamic of the family in the show. And Uncle Joey was super funny. The show, and some of the people involved are now problematic. But that does not take away from the joy that show gave me when I was a pre teen. I already stated Uncle Joey was my guy. Uncle Jesse was cool. Stephanie and DJ were great foils to one another. And the Olsen twins were great actors as children. But Danny Tanner, Saget's character, was the glue that held that family together. He was never the one that got the most jokes or had the most moving scenes, but he was THE DAD when it came to prime time TV. He was the GOAT. He was the guy we all looked to. He represented a dad doing his best and thriving in a very unfortunate situation that that show gave his character. So I liked Danny Tanner. He was a good person to look up to on TV.

As I got older and stopped watching "Full House". I was too cool and too hip, in my own mind, to watch the show anymore. I kind of forgot about everyone on the show too. Jesse, Joey, Stepahine and DJ, Michelle Tanner and Danny all went away. Then, when I was 16 Saget showed up in the movie "Half Baked". I loved that movie. Jim Breuer is a total douchebag now, and Dave Chapelle can be problematic, but "Half Baked" was my jam. Saget was uncredited for his role, but it was memorable. He played a former junkie, and the stuff that came out of his mouth was vulgar. I couldn't believe Danny Tanner was saying such things. But it made me laugh. Then, in 2005, my dad and I went to see the movie "The Aristocrats". That movie is hilarious. It is also the first movie I have seen people walk out of because of how vulgar it was. My dad and I loved it, and Bob Saget kept popping up telling his version of the joke. If "Half Baked" made me gasp, "The Aristocrats" made my jaw drop and made me guffaw. I was astonished at how dirty and foul and blue Saget could be. Here we have Danny Tanner saying some of the grossest things I have ever heard a human being say. But it made me laugh out loud in the theater. It was only after the movie did I learn, from my dad, that Saget had always been a very blue comedian. Long before any of his TV or movie work he was a stand up comedian and he was a filthy stand up comedian. He would say things that would make Redd Foxx blush(thanks to Krusty the Clown for that line). That was his gimmick, and apparently he was very good at doing it.

Saget was a consummate stand up. He was liked by a lot of people, and they wanted to go on tour with him. I looked up some of his old gigs on YouTube, and they were gross and hilarious. After this I noticed Saget more. He would appear in TV shows and movies I watched. He was even on the very bad Jamie Kennedy rap record, and Saget was the only good part. He was also a good person off stage and off screen. Jimmy Kimmel gave an incredibly touching monologue on Saget last night to open his show. Go check it out if you need a good cry. He also started a charity in honor of his sister who was misdiagnosed with a disease multiple times before it was too late. He helped many people with this foundation. It seems as if his stage persona was just that, and that his acting was a means to an end. It also seems that he was a beloved actor and stand up. I have never heard of anyone saying that he was a bad guy or did bad things. He seemed to be on the level. He was a good guy and this is just straight up bad news.

While this one didn't hit as hard as Norm Macdonald, this one still hurts. Saget could still be doing stand up and doing shows. This is a bummer and Bob Saget will be missed. RIP to another great one, gone far too soon.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

RIP John Madden

Last night after dinner I went on Bleacher Report to check if there were any news stories I had missed during the day. Minus the usual COVID news that is hammering the world right now, I saw that John Madden had suddenly passed away.

I was upset. My wife asked what was wrong because I immediately exclaimed, "No! What a bummer". I told her the news, and she asked, the video game guy?'. My son said the same thing. He then asked if they were still going to make the video game even though Madden had now passed. I told him I assumed they would.

That interaction with my wife, who does not care about football, and my nine year old, who is very new to the game, said a whole lot about John Madden to me. Being the sports fanatic that I am, I knew Madden as the head coach of the Raiders the last time they were really dominant. It also helped that my father taught me the history of sports as a young kid. To my dad, John Madden was a coach. He knows of the video game because I still play it, but he is much more of a coach to my father. I have to assume that is the same for his generation of football fans. He was a great coach too. A Super Bowl winning coach. He turned the Raiders into a power when he was the head man there. He was great.

Madden then shifted to broadcasting. He was instantly a hit. He has won so many more awards as a broadcaster than he did as a coach. He was a classic. For me he is second only to Keith Jackson, and that is because I prefer college football to the NFL. But Madden was great. He was one of the few NFL broadcasters that I actually liked. The team of Madden and Pat Summerall has yet to find an equal. Summerall was such a great play by play guy. He knew the game inside and out. He was incredible. He also knew when to rein Madden in, but more importantly, when to let him go off. These were some of the best Madden moments. He would go on and tell some of the wildest stories you ever heard. He would say some stuff that would make Yogi Berra blush. My favorite was, "the team with the most points at the end of the game usually wins". That one still cracks me up to this day. He would talk about the importance of scoring TD's like it wasn't universally already known. But he did this in a way that was so delightful. It was a joy to hear him spew crazy nonsense out of his mouth. One of my favorite things he ever did was his and Summerall's appearance on "The Simpsons". That is an all time classic episode, and to have him end it with the great line, "now that doesn't make a lick of sense", when Vincent Price invites him on a bus is truly amazing.

Today John Madden is known for his incredible video game. Madden Football is THE football video game. It was the first one I played. It is an instant buy for almost every video game player. It is the most intuitive and educational football game that has ever been made. I have read stories from other people saying that, when Madden agreed to do the game, that he insisted it was as real as it could get. It had to be 11 on 11. They needed to have real plays and playbooks. He even gave the creators his old playbooks. He wanted the game to be as close to the real thing as possible. That is incredible. Most other sports games are just heightened versions of the sports they are representing. I love games like NFL Blitz or NBA Jam or NBA Street, but none of them is as real as Madden is. Even if the game has gotten a bit stale, it is still the closest we have to representing the sport it is supposed to. And Madden Football is universally known. As I stated before, my wife and son knew his name because of the game. I have spoken to some other, younger kids who only know Madden from the video game. I bet if I asked ten people to tell me how they know John Madden, or if they know him, all ten would say something about the video game. It is a classic. And Madden has his prints all over it.

John Madden was a great coach, a better broadcaster and helped to create one of the greatest video games of all time. He will be missed. RIP John Madden. You were, and will be remembered as a true legend.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season 15

Last night my wife and I were finally able to watch the season 15 finale of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". We are getting all caught up on the shows we missed while we were away celebrating the holidays.

This season may have been short, only eight episodes, but it was pretty damn excellent. I was fully in the whole time. They tackled the pandemic. They talked about owning a business during unprecedented times. They traveled to Ireland. They used CGI for the first time. We met Charlie's real father. They even got the waitress involved. And they did it as hilariously uncomfortable as they always do.

"IASIP" is a near perfect show. There are no real problems with it. Even if they have some past controversy, they owned up to it, and even talked about it and made an entire episode confronting it this season. That ep was phenomenal by the way. I also really enjoyed the CGI monkey they used this season. That was another great ep, and it was the nudge they needed to go to Ireland. When they got to Ireland, that was when this season went from good to great. It was some of the best stuff this show has ever done. I like that, the older they get, the more they touch on real life situations. Dennis got COVID, minor spoiler alert. And that brought out the horribleness in other characters, mainly Frank. Dee finally got an acting job, but things kept getting in the way for her. When she got the big bump on her head, and how they redistributed the blood, that was great. This was also how they got the waitress involved, and she becomes pretty important in the penultimate episode of the season. Mac was even looking to get involved with the church after he learned some stuff about his past. That was a great runner this season.

Charlie, at least for me, was the absolute star of the season. He meets his real dad. He finds his place. He knows the people of Ireland. They write and speak and act like him. He finally has a person he can relate to that seems to know him. He finally has someone that really loves him. But all the stuff that this brings up in Frank made it all the better. Frank and Charlie are definitely the best "love story" on the show. They are the only two that seem to genuinely enjoy one another's company. So when Charlie meets his new dad, and wants to spend all his time with him, Frank is noticeably upset. He acts out. But in the end, they come together. And that is not a spoiler for anyone that watches this show regularly. I was blown away by Charlie Day's performance, especially in the season finale. He went to some dramatic places and really shined. He is a good actor, but this performance truly shined through. I was super impressed.

I also love the way they closed out the season, being the usual obnoxious Americans that we have all come to know and love. It was a very fitting ending for this season. The finale reminded me a bit of the one where Mac came out to his dad. While not as moving and poetic, it was still pretty damn awesome and profound.

"IASIP" is a pantheon show. It is iconic. And season 15 is a feather in their cap. I cannot wait for season 16.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

SeedSing Classic: Advent Calendar of Holiday Television Programs: Day 23 - "Seinfeld - The Strike"

ed note: This article was first published on December 18th, 2016

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we are looking back at the great holiday music, movies, television episodes, and food of this great season. Enjoy

Day 23 "Seinfeld - The Strike"

Original air date - December, 18th 1997 

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,  Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two

For SeedSing's Advent Calendar of great holiday television shows, today, I'm going to write about the "Festivus" episode of "Seinfeld". I know the episode is called "The Strike", but lets be honest, I think we all know this as the Festivus episode. The Festivus episode of "Seinfeld" ranks right up there with any "Simpsons", "The Office" or any other TV show we have written about for the Advent calendar. In fact, I'm going to say that the Festivus episode of "Seinfeld" is the best holiday television show ever. I may quote "The Simpsons" more, or laugh at "The Office" more, but this particular episode of "Seinfeld" has literally changed the way I view the holiday. Today marks Festivus, and I will be airing grievances, showing feats of strength and getting the big pole out for this wonderful pre holiday holiday. 

The episode starts off funny. We all learn that Kramer was/is a worker in a bagel shop, and the strike that he has been seemingly on for years, has ended. Funny right off the bat. The whole thing with the bagel shop, and Kramer's past, and now present, are all classic "Seinfeld". We also get another story involving Elaine giving some creeps a phony phone number and there is some wackiness that happens with this plot line throughout. But, the true gem of the episode is when George's dad tells the world of the joyous day of Festivus.

We learn that when George was a kid, his dad was in line waiting to get him a toy, a doll in fact, and someone else got the last one. He pleaded and prodded the person to give him the doll, but they just would not budge. This caused Frank to lose his mind. He got very, very upset, as he almost always does.  This was when and where he Frank decided he needed to have a "holiday for the rest of us", and thus, Festivus was born. He decided that everyone needs to do many things to make themselves feel a bit better during this holiday season.

Let's be honest, this time of year brings out the anxiety and anger in the best of us. The holiday season can be pretty rough. So, the fact that Frank came up with a holiday where everyone can air their grievances, I love it. I wish this was a real thing and people would not get upset at the outcome. Imagine how nice it would be to tell everyone how you feel, but with the caveat that they cannot get mad at you, and they are allowed to do the same. This would be terrific. To let it all out, that would feel great from both sides. I love that the Costanza's do this every year, because who has more grievances than the Costanza's? No one, that's who. Imagine Frank, Estelle and George sitting around airing their grievances, it must be magically hilarious.

Then, the feats of strength. This would be my absolute favorite. This gives you the chance to prove who is the strongest in your family. I would crush this part of Festivus (ed note: no he would not), and I think my whole family, while they might disagree at first, knows that I would dominate. Now, imagine once again, the Costanza's doing this. I can almost guarantee that Estelle would be the strongest in the family. She may not look it, but I think she would absolutely dominate George and Frank in a feats of strength competition. I bet George is also the weakest, even at everyone's advanced age. He is so meek and mean, but that is just his attitude, I'm sure that does not translate into actual strength.

Then, we have the Festivus pole, which is the alternative to the tree and menorah used during this time of year. It is just an unadorned pole that sits in your living room on December 23rd. It does nothing, but it adds so much to this episode. The fact that Frank just wanted an alternative to all the glitz and glamour of the holiday's is a perfect representation of Frank and the Costanza's. They do not conform to social norms at any times, and I love that.

What makes this episode even more wonderful is the fact that people have made Festivus a real holiday. This has become a real thing. At the time of its airing, it was just an idea that Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David and the "Seinfeld" writing crew came up with, but now, it is real. The computer hasn't proclaimed that I have spelled the word wrong once, there is actual written facts on the internet and most people actually celebrate the day. This has become a world wide, nationally celebrated holiday. I know for a fact that when I go see my family later today, we will celebrate some of the best parts of Festivus, and I cannot wait (ed note: also the fact that Ty will once again lose the feats of strength).

The fact that Festivus is a nationally recognized thing should be more than enough to get this episode on our list, but there are so many more reasons. It is a funny, goofy, Costanza heavy episode, which are usually the best that "Seinfeld" has to offer. While I love "The Simpsons", and it will always be my favorite show, this episode of "Seinfeld" is one of the best episodes of just general television, but it is also the best representation of this holiday that TV has ever put out. It is magnificent.

Go out and have a wonderful Festivus everyone. After all, it is a holiday for the rest of us.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Did we mention that Ty always loses the feats of strength. He does always lose. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Tracey Ullman has Been an Awesome Treat on "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

I give a lot of love to "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on this site, and it is well deserved. And this newest season, which will be over after Sunday, has been amazing. I put it in my top five shows of the year. I have loved everything they have done. I am totally in on how they have attacked this season, and it feels like it could go down as one of the best of the series. But there is one move they made for this season that has put it over the top and made it the classic it will soon become.

Adding Tracey Ullman as Irma has been an absolute home run. She is terrific in this role. She is perfect. She is the funniest part. She makes me laugh harder than anyone else when she is on screen. She commands the viewer's attention, and boy oh boy is she crushing it. I didn't know what to expect when she showed up on screen. She was sitting in a crowd at a political rally and she and David had an interaction. I remember watching that scene and asking my wife if that was Ullman. She later confirmed by looking it up on the internet. We both thought it was going to be a one off, "Curb" does that a lot, but she was there to stay.

Ullman plays a political person in Larry's neighborhood. And for those of us that have watched since the season premiere, Larry needs help from the local government. David decided he was going to date Irma to get what he wants. I am not going to spoil anything further, rather just use the rest of my blog to praise her performance. Ullman's character is supposed to be a gross, loud, obnoxious and simply a miserable person to be around. Everyone who comes in contact with her says as much. And Ullman is nailing it. She is repulsive and gross and hilarious. The interactions between her and David are gold. When Ullman is around other people, say Susie, it is just as great. The most recent episode has a back and forth between Susie and Irma that had me rolling on the floor when I watched last night. Ullman also seems to be having the time of her life in this limited role. She is really going for it and absolutely nailing it. It feels like, and my wife said as much last night, that she and David have known each other for years, and the two of them are just enjoying the hell out of improv-ing off one another. They are clearly having a good time.

Ullman on "Curb" this season has also made me reevaluate how great of a comedy mind the actress has always been. She is not mentioned often enough when people talk about great television minds. "The Tracey Ullman Show" was an absolute treat. It also started "The Simpsons", which will always hold a special place in my heart. On that show she also worked with the likes of Anne Beatts and James L Brooks. She also won multiple Emmys for the show. She then found great success with HBO. She did a bunch of shows based on her character work, which is impeccable. She's also appeared on "Ally McBeal", "How I Met Your Mother", the BBC's "Howard's End" and "Mrs. America". She works. But her role on "Curb" this year has been the creme de la creme. She is simply the best. I hope she sticks around for the next season. I'm super curious to see what they do with her in the season finale.

All I know is, no matter what happens from here on out, Ullman has been dynamite and I am so glad that I got to watch her on this season of "Curb". I recommend you all do the same.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

2021 Top Five - Television

Today I am coming to you with my top five TV shows of 2021. This one was harder than movies for me. I watch a ton of TV. I watched a bunch prior to COVID, and since quarantine, I watch even more. There were so many shows at the start of the pandemic that I rushed through. Then I watched a bunch of crappy reality TV. I watched the end of one of my favorite series, "Brooklyn 99". All of that stuff could have made it, but I was able to finally pair it down to five shows that I felt really surpassed the rest. These shows have separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

At number five I have the newest season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm". The newest season has been a total gem. Every episode to this point has been better than the last. I also really like how they have dealt with the pandemic. They acknowledged it and moved on. Now it is as if the characters live in a post pandemic world. The guest stars have been top notch, especially Tracy Ullman. She has been a great addition. But I think what has been the best thing about this season, it is comforting. It is like it never left. Larry David and crew are simply the best at what they do, and when the newer seasons come out it is like they never left. I truly believe that "Curb" is the best written show of all time, and season 11 further proves that point.

At number four I have season two of "Dave". What Dave Burd has done with this show is nothing short of impressive. I assumed it would be joke after joke after joke. I assumed it would be filled with dick and fart jokes. I assumed it would be silly. While it has its silly moments, it is a damn impressive show with real life elements. "Dave" touches on real world issues. It shows us what the music industry is like. It shows the viewers different features of different people from different walks of life. Everything with Dave and his manager is wonderful and sad. The stuff with his parents and Dave's incessant need for love from his mom was great. The stuff with Dave's ex was amazing. The episode that may have had Rick Rubin was the high point of the season. But the stuff with GaTa took this show to a whole other level. GaTa is the star of this show now in my opinion. The way they have showcased him is simply perfect. I cannot wait to see where the show goes from here. And the way they ended season two was perfection.

At number three I have "WandaVision". This was the most innovative show of the year by a very wide margin. The way they chopped and screwed different eras of TV was great. I was super invested. I was also very intrigued at the end of every episode because they always gave it a very enticing button. There was always something odd lingering behind the scenes. As the show progressed it only got better and better. Elizabeth Olsen was already great as Wanda, and this show put her in the upper tier of superheroes. Paul Bettany was fantastic as Vision. I felt his pain and anger during the season. But Kathyrn Hahn stole the show. Hahn as Agatha was one of the best twists I have seen since "The Good Place" season one finale. I am super interested to see where they go with Wanda in the MCU now. They can really do a lot of things now because of how incredible "Wandavision" was. We do not get many new or cool ideas nowadays, so "Wandavision" was a very nice surprise.

At number two I have season two of "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson". There is no better sketch comedy show on any platform right now. Every single sketch has something memorable in it. Be it Dan Flashes, changing lunch times, not knowing how to drive a car, going on a date and getting roasted by a sculpture on the wall, having your old professor eat your dinner, eating sloppy steaks and so many more, it is all quotable and funny as hell. I am stoked that Netflix is giving Tim Robinson an alley to do comedy his way. He never got that chance on "SNL". Comedy Central canceled "Detroiters" way too soon. But Netflix is really letting him stretch his comedy legs with "ITYSL". This show is so funny too. Everyone I talk to that watches this show agrees. There is something special brewing here, and this could become a classic that is talked about for years to come. It is weird, but it is also so well done and so well written. I love what Robinson, Zack Kanin and Sam Richardson are doing with "ITYSL". If you haven't been watching this show, go do it now. It is so worth your time.

At number one I have "Squid Game". Who thought I was going to try and put "Inside" here? Nope, it is a movie and soundtrack. "Squid Game" is easily the best show that came out this year. I remember my dad telling me about this wild show he was watching on Netflix before anyone else was raving about "Squid Game". He was raving about it. He mentioned it a few times while we were having coffee. And when I left his house he reminded me to watch it when I got home. I did, and boy was he correct. I was hooked immediately. This show is so interesting and brutal and innovative and cool and crazy and so well done. Everything about it is perfect. I would watch multiple episodes a night. I would constantly think about it when I wasn't watching. I would tell my friends about it. I gave my dad all the props in the world the next time I saw him. He was totally on the spot. He was there before it became this tremendous hit. I watched the show all the way through twice. Once by myself and once with my wife. She loved it too. So has everyone else that I know that has seen it. This is a once in a generation type show. I am so extremely excited for season two. I cannot wait to see what they do. I love everything about "Squid Game". It is the best show of 2021.

That is it for today. Come back for my top podcast/podcast episodes of 2021 tomorrow.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season 15 Premier

Last night my wife and I watched the season 15 premiere of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". There were two new episodes in fact. And it was as great as I hoped. The show hasn't been on in awhile, but it felt like they never left with the first two eps of this season. Let’s discuss.

The first one was all about their characters 2020 in review. They posed it as a government official coming in to ask about personal PPP loans, but it was really just a platform for them to do what they do best, make super tasteless, super funny jokes. The fact that they all claimed to have something to do with the 2020 election was pretty great, and kind of scary because of how truthful some of the stuff they did. I could have easily seen people as vile and brutal as their characters doing the same. And to end it with "their guy" being Kanye West, it was simply genius.

The second episode was all about them making "Lethal Weapon 7". For fans of the show, we all know the gang's love for the "Lethal Weapon" series. But this time they wanted to be more sensitive. Again, it was so funny. The pimp Pepperjack, that actor was amazing. All the stuff with Frank was hilarious. Dee's arc, oh man that was some "Always Sunny" at the top of its game. And Dennis explaining how he has changed, it was too perfect.

The premiere was great. Seriously, go watch. But what I want to talk about today is how great "Always Sunny" really is. It has staying power, it is still great, it is one of the funniest shows on tv, it has a "Curb" like appeal of never having a bad episode. The show works so well. It was also nice to have it back. I have found during this pandemic, seeing older shows, returning shows, classic shows coming back for record breaking seasons or in reruns, it makes me forget about how tough the past two years have been. The shows let me escape. Even with the gang talking about the pandemic, hearing them say COVID, seeing extras wearing masks, it did not take me back to how hard the past two years have been. The creators and actors are so good at their jobs that they let me escape into their world. They let me forget what is going on outside for 30 minutes. I really appreciate that. And to have a show like "Always Sunny", that is so great, back on TV, that rules. These people know what they are doing. They know what works. They know how to craft perfect jokes for their characters. It is truly a great thing to see genius people doing genius work. I know a lot of people say that "Always Sunny" is my generation's "Seinfeld". I used to balk at that because I always felt like both shows are so different and so great. But when you sit down and think of it, they are right. "Always Sunny" is a millennials version of "Seinfeld". Both shows have no redeemable characters, but they know that and they roll with it. "Always Sunny" just goes a bit further with their jokes. The shows are also so brilliantly written that it is easy to see the comparison. Very funny, very smart comedic minds coming together to create something classic, that is a thing of beauty.

"Always Sunny" is a classic, and it is a classic for a reason. And again, it is comforting to have it back on TV. I love this show and I cannot be more excited to see where they go from here.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "This is Pop"

Recently I found a new show on Netflix that I have really enjoyed. The show is called "This is Pop". The pure nuts and bolts of the show is how pop music has changed, mixed with genres, tells stories and made its way into our lives for good. There are eight episodes that each focus on a different topic.

I was skeptical of the show at first because I have always said I am not a fan of modern pop music. There are a few bands and singers I like, but for the most part, it is not for me. I was not a fan of boy bands. I did not buy into the bubble gum aspect of Brittany Spears. Pop music was not for me. I like hip hop, rock, blues and folk. Those are my preferred genres, with hip hop being my favorite. But I have got to say, this show has changed my mind on pop music in general.

The first episode was all about Boys 2 Men. I knew of them of course. They were super popular when I was a younger kid. I loved their first single when I was little. But then they went away. What this episode did was show me their process. It showed me how hard they worked and how great a group of singers they were and still are. It also showed me that they were the first true boy band that existed. I also liked learning about them being able to crossover to many different fans. It was fascinating.

The second episode was all about auto tune. This has been my favorite episode. It was so interesting to hear about the auto tune phenomenon and why it is so hated by fans but beloved but some musicians. T-Pain comes off wonderful. I am a fan of his personality for sure. I also really liked how they showed the comedic use of auto tune. It was great.

The third episode is all about how some of the most famous pop songs ever written and recorded come from Stockholm, Sweden. I had no idea that pretty much all of Brittany Spears, The Backstreet Boys and N'Sync's songs were written and produced in Sweden. I also had no idea how hard the Swedes work, and how humble they are about their fame. The people involved in this episode, the people we never see or hear from, have been a part of some of the biggest pop songs ever. "Hit Me Baby", "I Want it That Way", "Bye Bye Bye", all of those songs were written and produced by the Swedes. We also got Roxette and Ace of Base from Sweden. Some of Pink's biggest songs were written by Swedes. It was incredibly informative.

Episode four talks about country music shifting to pop. For a person that is not a country music fan at all, this ep was really cool. I did not realize all the crossover and how stodgy old school country musicians are. Also, Dolly Parton rules. She is the best.

Episode five dove into Britpop. This one was cool because they mostly focused on the "fight" between Oasis and Blur. I am personally a Blur fan, but it was cool to see all the different people talking about why they liked each band. I found it very interesting that Oasis was more the working class band. The episode also made me appreciate Damon Albarn all the more. He is truly a musical genius. This was a good one.

Episode six was all about festivals. This one gave me the heebie jeebies. There were too many people. Too much stuff going on. Festivals were never my thing. This was probably the one ep I would skip if I were to watch this series again.

Episode seven was the most powerful. It was called "What Can a Song Do", and it was all about the power of music. They went from Woody Guthire to Billy Bragg, to Public Enemy to music in the Me Too movement and Riot Grrl stuff. I found this episode to be incredibly important. It was truly wonderful and powerful to see the strength that music has, to see the change that music can create. Hozier was a wonderful narrator for this episode. I am still thinking about everything they said today. It was moving and tremendous.

The final episode is all about the Brill Building in New York and how some of the most famous pop songs were made in this one building. Again, a fascinating event that I have never thought about before. Also, Neil Sedaka seems like a delightful human being. I have not fully finished the episode yet, but I will today.

I think this show is very well done. It tells very good stories about people and events that music fans may take for granted. Each episode is about 40 minutes long, so it is not a total grabber of your time. You can do what I did and watch 2 episodes before bed. Check this show out. It is very good and very informative.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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