"MILF Manor" Looks Terrible, and I Will Watch It

So I guess TLC is now just ripping off "30 Rock". I was scrolling through Google news last night and saw a new show that made me audibly guffaw. I then saw that the AV Club made the very same "30 Rock" joke that I just did(I wanted to give them their due credit). Anyway, TLC has a show coming out in January called "MILF Manor".

You read that right.

My wife and I had to immediately watch the trailer after I told her what I had just read. As we clicked on the link, I could not believe what my eyes were seeing. This show looks utterly ridiculous. It is pure nonsense. I swear, the powers that be at TLC are not even trying anymore. They are throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. I mean, this show is going to be insane. The preview shows all these mom's, who are as plastic as it gets, talking about their "extremely high libido". They are saying things that make me cringe. It is crazy. I am sex positive and all about sexual freedom, but that stuff happens behind closed doors. That is not my business, as it should not be. So for these "moms" to be doing it on national tv, it is wild. Then they show silhouettes of young guys. The guys are working out, surfing, hanging out at a pool and these "MILFS" are all for it. They cannot see anything but a shadow mind you. Then the preview says, "with one big twist", and all these "MILFS" faces drop. It is pretty clear that the dudes there are their son's and all these other "MILFS" will be boning down with these ladies' kids. It is too much.

TLC has gone too far. They don't even have original ideas anymore. Seriously, go back and watch the "30 Rock" episode with "MILF Island". It is the same thing. The only difference is the guys on "MILF Island" are eighth graders. That is the joke. It is such a nonsensical plot, and what better a show than "30 Rock" to bring that across. But someone at TLC, some higher up, some person in charge either doesn't know about this or doesn't care. "MILF Manor" is "MILF Island", except it is going to try to take itself seriously. It is going to try to be a dating show. They are going to try and have heartfelt moments. It is going to be a mess.

What makes me most angry at myself, I know I will watch, at the very least, two episodes of this show. I feel like I have to see this insanity to believe it. I want to see how it unfolds. I want to sit on my couch and openly bash the contestants to my wife. It is like a trainwreck that I cannot look away from. I hate myself for knowing this, but it is true. I am not going to lie and say I won't watch this. That isn't true. But this is a bad idea. This is not good television. I understand that reality shows, especially reality dating shows, are cheap. But this is too far. People who compete on shows titled "MILF Manor" do not need their 15 minutes of fame.

I wish I didn't care enough to write a blog about it today, but I haven't stopped thinking about the trailer since we watched it. I am part of the problem. I wish we had more creative people out there making cool and unique stuff. Shows like "The Bear" or "Atlanta" or "Joe Pera Talks With You". But we are talking about TLC here. This is the same channel that has given us "90 Day Fiance" and "Seeking Sister Wife" and "1,000 LB Sisters", all of which I have watched before. TLC is not about "learning" anymore. They are an entertainment channel. TLC is porn for dummies. It is akin to MTV still calling themselves "Music" television. It is just a name now. The name has nothing to do with the content. "MILF Manor" is going to be a tirefire. I do not think it will last a full season. And I am going to watch it. That is the most upsetting thing to me. 

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 "Big Mouth" Season Six

Yesterday I finished season six of "Big Mouth". "Big Mouth" is the best show on right now that touches on puberty. Puberty, and growing up for that matter, is a pain in the butt. It is an awful time in your life. It is awkward and gross and disheartening. It is all bad. It is a necessary evil, but it is still very, very evil. "Big Mouth" puts that forth tenfold. They do not shy away from anything.

Everything touched on in the show, I have found a relatable time in my life. That was what drew me to the show in the first place, and that is what keeps me coming back. I remember thinking when it first came out that it would maybe be sustainable for two, three seasons. But they are now in the sixth, and they keep finding fresh ways to talk about this awful time in your life. And while it is still fresh, it is also more of the same. And I mean that in the best possible way. It is like being reacquainted with an old friend. It may feel awkward and weird at first, but then after a minute or so, it is just like the old times. I found myself right back in it after the first episode of the new season. It was great to see all these characters I have gotten to know over these six seasons.

Season six did touch on some new ideas. We got to meet Nick's grandpa and find out about his dad's athletic past. The sport was nipple twisting, but it was still pretty funny to see how they dealt with strained relationships. Andrew had to deal with a breakup of his own and his parents fighting. I like that they gave Andrew a little more of a storyline than just being a pervert. He showed a little growth. I like that. The whole scenario he was involved in in the finale was nuts also. It was wild. Jessi dealt with a new step sister, becoming friendly with her stepmom and finding out that even parents have real feelings too. Missy met and started to date a religious kid. He also happens to be asexual, and the way the writers put that across on screen was pretty rad. They handled it very properly. I also enjoyed the return of Nathan Fillion. Jay grew and found out more about himself just like Andrew. The only difference is that they kept him as gross as ever, but that works with Jay. He is supposed to be the gross one. He is the one we all look at and laugh about, but we all knew someone like him when we were growing up. I also enjoyed the hormone monsters having a baby and then introducing a few new hormone monsters from their spin off show, "Human Resources". There was far more singing this season, a lot more stuff outside of school and even some tech talk. The Apple brooch episode was phenomenal.

I adore "Big Mouth". I have said it before and will say it many more times, but this should be shown to every kid that is currently going through puberty. This show knows how to tackle it better than any show now or in the history of TV. "Big Mouth" is a special show that happens to be very well done. The writing is tremendous. It is at the top of the list. Go watch this show everyone. It is worth it.

Ty

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

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Season Three of "Love is Blind" is One Season too Many

As you all may have heard on a recent X Millenial Man podcast, I enjoy reality dating shows. As much as I wish I did not like them, they always seem to suck me in. I get invested and I want to see how they end. I also like to do further research and see if the couples are still together after filming ends.

One such show that came into my life at the start of quarantine was "Love is Blind". Netflix dropped the first season maybe only a month or two into quarantine and it grabbed me. The whole concept of the show is to see if love is truly blind. There are two dorms of the opposite sex. They have twelve men and 1twelve women living in these dorms and they date members of the opposite sex. But while they are on these dates they cannot see each other. They have pods and they can talk for hours on end, but they do not get to see what each other looks like. It is a very simple premise, but the way the show is made, it is very watchable. The first season also came at a perfect time. I was watching anything to take my mind off of COVID and this was a great distraction. It was perfect.

I enjoyed the first season so much, so when the second season came out you better believe I was tuning in. While still solid, the second season started to show its cracks. The show became more focused on looks. The show started to show its vanity. The contestants did not look like people we see in the world everyday. The cast was more beautiful, more vain, more into themselves and it became tougher to watch. But I still found stuff to hang onto. I still found myself rooting for and against some of the couples. I still had an opinion. It still held weight with me. I was still invested. I was so deep in this season that when the reunion was aired I openly yelled at my TV at some of the things these people were saying.

My wife and I recently watched the entirety of the third season. This may be it for me. The show has lost all of the good will it had garnered in the first two seasons. The contestants are as vain as ever. They care far too much about looks. They care far too much about others. None of these couples should be together or stay together. None of it works. They are too plastic, too fake, not real at all, they are all caricatures of everyday people. It is fully a farce now. It is not even close to what we consider reality tv anymore. I get that reality tv is almost as staged as basic cable comedy or drama, but this is taking it even further. The conversations these contestants have, both in and out of the pods, are asinine. They make no sense. The people involved go from one major point to the next, contradicting themselves all along the way. At multiple points I heard people say stuff like, "there is no way I can marry this person", only to end up marrying them. Or they will say to their SO, "I cannot envision my life without you", and then break up with them. It is maddening.

This season also makes women look insane. The people involved do not do a good job of putting women in a good light. They make them look nuts and drunk and spineless and mean and vindictive. I am fully on the side of the women throughout this entire season. They are right. The men are wrong. They are assholes. They are immature little babies. They blame everyone but themselves. They are ugly inside and out. "Love is Blind" season 3 tries to prop these men up and they fail spectacularly. I did not like a single male contestant on this show. I could not even find little things I liked about any of them. They are all awful. The women, while not being held up to as big a standard, can all do far, far better than the dudes they ended up with. In particular Zenabe. She is so, so, so much better than Cole. Cole is a monster. He gaslights people. He makes people feel bad about themselves. He asked his girlfriend if she were bi polar at one point. I mean, he is a scumbag. And when Zenabe goes off on him, that was probably the only point that I cheered during this season.

Season three of "Love is Blind" is a mess. The show has fallen off. It has lost its way. It has given in to reality tv dating show tropes. I never took it seriously to begin with, but now it is a total farce. The show does not work like it did in early 2020. The jig is up. The show does not have that oomph it once had. I do not know if I will be tuning in to season four at this moment. Season three was so bad and mean and gross that it may have lost me as a viewer. Time will tell I suppose.

Ty

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

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Where are the Good Thanksgiving Centered Television Shows and Movies?

While walking past my wife's home office this afternoon I noticed some turkey stuff on her screen. As I got a closer look it was tv actors in turkey outfits or eating turkey. I asked what they were doing and she said they were having people put down their favorite movies or tv shows centered around Thanksgiving. It seemed like a relatively normal thing that offices do.

After looking at her screen for a minute I went for a run, and then my wheels started to turn. I think a lot when I am out on my own running. So I started to think of tv shows or movies that I enjoy centered around Thanksgiving. I have not seen "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" from start to finish in my lifetime. I remember my mom really liked a movie called "Home for the Holidays", which is solid but also very depressing. "Thankskilling" is also a solid option, but that is a movie that is so bad it is good, and I wouldn't necessarily call it a "Thanksgiving" movie.

My mind wandered to tv shows. There are a lot of tv shows that show a Thanksgiving, or feature a turkey, but no show has a real "Thanksgiving" episode in my mind. And let me be clear, these are tv shows that I watch. I've never seen "Friends". I stopped watching "New Girl" after two seasons. I do not watch a whole lot of regular channels tv programs. But I do watch a ton of "Simpsons". I was racking my brain. They have the episode where Homer is Mr Burns' prank monkey, but that is more of a Christmas episode. It centers on Homer being Santa in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. They also have other episodes that feature a turkey, but again, Thanksgiving is not the holiday being celebrated. I noticed someone on my wife's computer put the episode of "Seinfeld" on there where Newman imagines Kramer as a turkey. But this is not a Thanksgiving ep at all. This is all about Kramer using butter as sunscreen and shaving cream and he sits outside for too long. He also stays in his hot tub too long. There is not even a mention of any holiday within the twenty-two minutes. The closest I can think of a tv show that fully features Thanksgiving is "Bob's Burgers". They have full eps dedicated to the holiday. But, even within these shows, it is all about Bob's joy of cooking the meal. They do not give thanks. There is no real fighting. They do not have turkeys everywhere. The episodes are wonderful, some of my absolute favorites, but they do not scream out Thanksgiving like other shows do with other holidays. Hell, even a show like "The League", which is all about football, barely even mentions the holiday outside of one episode in a late season. I mean, look at a show like "The Office". Their Christmas episodes are legendary. I could say the same thing about "The Simpsons''. Outside "Treehouse of Horrors' ', they tackle Christmas the best. Back to "The Office '', they did a Valentine's Day episode that was classic. "Parks and Rec" also had some really excellent Valentine's Day episodes.

I just do not get why Thanksgiving does not get the love on the shows I watch. But please, tell me some good Thanksgiving stuff you all watch. I want to know what to seek out, what I should be watching this time of year. I am going to remedy my lack of seeing "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", but I need more recommendations. I want more as well. Enlighten me everyone. Tell me what to seek. Thanks in advance.

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 "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law"

Over the past week my wife and I started and finished the first season of “She Hulk”. It took me an episode or two, but I ended up loving this show. It is funny. It is very well written. It is well acted. The fourth wall breaking is wonderful. It’s like the popular mockumentary shows with a superhero as the star.

I also really enjoyed the cameos once I bought in to the fact that they were going to do this as fan service. As I said, it took me a few episodes, but I loved the addition of Hulk. He was important to help push along Jen Walter’s story. He was the reason she got the Hulk ability, and we needed that full first episode to get us to the finish line. I also like Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk. He’s great. But after that first episode he only shows up here and there. It’s not overkill.

I think Tatiana Maslany was the best choice for Walters/She Hulk. She is so funny. She is relatable. She’s a great actor. She brings a unique voice to the MCU. I love that she got this role and she absolutely crushed. I can’t wait to see where she goes with this character from here.

Maslany’s co stars were wonderful. Her assistant at work was a great best friend at the office. The derpy guy they with with at the new office was great comic relief. Tim Roth, as The Abomination, was so funny. His story arc was fantastic as well. Jameela Jamil was so excellent as the influencer who happened to get minimal super powers. The addition, minor spoiler, of Daredevil really helped push the story along. The actors are wonderful.

I really liked the stuff they touch on in the stories. The trials and tribulations of women are at the forefront. They talk about walking home alone at night, getting hit on at work, trying to find good dates online, and so many other things, and they handle it so perfectly. The show got better and better with each episode. I found myself getting more and more into it with each new episode. I loved the tags on a few episodes, but I was also stoked they didn’t do it at the end of every episode. The finale was also a stroke of genius. They really turn the MCU on its head.

“She Hulk” is an excellent show and everyone should check it out. It’s got excellent performances, great writing and cool storytelling. Check it out.

Ty

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

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An Ode to Jillian Bell and Her MVP Performance on "Workaholics"

I am rewatching "Workaholics" for the, what seems like, millionth time. I love this show. It is one of my all time favorites. I enjoy the comedy, like the acting and think it is one of the funniest shows of all time. Everyone on it is very good at their roles. But there is one actor who I think may be the unsung hero of it all. That actor is Jillian Bell.

Jillian Bell plays Jillian on the show and she is the best scene stealer and quite possibly the funniest person on the show. Every time she shows up I find myself laughing harder than normal. I did not notice this until very recently. On this most recent rewatch I am going through and doing my own personal best of. I pick out a few episodes when I turn it on that I love. These ones always hit. And whenever Jillian Bell shows up I get pumped. I was watching one yesterday and it really hit home how great she is.

In this particular episode TAC, the company they work for, is selling a new female based product. All of the male salesmen are horrible at their jobs so they get replaced by the women. The women crush it, mainly Jillian. The success goes to Jillian's head and she starts to treat Blake like an object. Seeing her go from such a sweet, nice person to this mean and vindictive salesperson is a masterclass. She is so funny and scary. When she reveals her tattoo, that whole scenario is magic. When she exclaims, "I need my first cup of coffee ever", I laugh harder each time. She does such a great job.

It is not just that one episode. When she runs for snack manager, that is a classic for fans of this show. When she tells the boys about a promotion, and the way she just blindly goes about her day, genius. When she and Blake get a cat and co parent, oh man, that is some kind of wonderful. When she helps out the guys with their backyard wrestling, that is awesome. I love when she has to take over the office because Alice is sick and it is a disaster. And only someone like Bell could pull this off so well. Her timing, the way she plays this character, her comedy, the line delivery, it is all top notch. I find myself constantly impressed.

I have seen a ton of other stuff that Jillian Bell has been in, and it is all good. I adore "Brittany Runs a Marathon". It is one of the few movies that have made me cry, and that is due to Bell's performance. She is awesome as the villain in "22 Jump Street". It is a true tour de force villain role for her. "Sword of Trust" is an indie favorite of mine, and she is great. "Idiotsitter" is a highly underrated comedy and she was clutch on that show. She is probably the only funny part in "Fist Fight". I loved her in "The Night Before". Bell is a great actor. But it is her work on "Workaholics" that introduced me to her and it is my favorite thing she has done. I do want to see her new movie, "I'm Totally Fine", but I do not think it will be better than "Workaholics".

Seriously, go check out Jillian Bell’s work on this show. She is amazing and really took this role and ran with it. Anyone that can deliver a line, "I'm looking like a boss though, in head to toe Costco" is going to have a special place in my heart. Jillian Bell crushed it as Jillian on "Workaholics".

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 "Atlanta" Series Finale

I just watched the series finale of "Atlanta". This is one of the best shows that has ever been on TV. I was thrilled how they ended it. It did not have to be some hoity toity everyone getting together one last time for a love fest. They were all together, as they should be, but it was not a final type thing.

Looking back one can see that this was not a typical series finale. This was like any other episode of the series, and I mean that in the best possible way. This finale centered on Darius, a superb LaKeith Stanfield, and his day inside a deprivation tank. Or maybe the whole thing was all in his mind. We may never know. And I love that. I am a big fan of movies like "Inception" and that was what this finale ended up being. Spoiler alert, but the ending is up to us, the viewer.

Seeing the day through Darius' eyes was great. We got to go on a ride with him, and he is one of the more fun people in the show. We got to go through his ups and downs. Darius has always been a guy that does his own thing, but we got to meet an old friend of his. This scene was rad. We got to see he had a brother that he still talks to, even though he has, most likely, passed away. That scene was powerful. We also got to see him get real in a situation that was totally messed up. This was all wonderful.

Paper Boi, Van and Earn all had a day all their own that was wild as well. The whole Popeye's thing and going to the black owned sushi restaurant was fantastic. I could not take my eyes off Paper Boi and his journey through the day. Brian Tyree Henry was outstanding throughout the entire series. This episode showcased his talents tenfold. He was dynamite.

Donald Glover and Zazie Beetz had little to do, but they each had their own time to shine throughout the 4 seasons of the show. And in the little time they had in the finale, they crushed. Earn telling Darius that this was all real was great. Seeing how scared Van was while they were getting a swift talking to in the sushi restaurant was some excellent facial acting. I bought how scared she seemed.

I was blown away by how good the finale was, and how great this whole series was. I was finding myself getting closer to the end and saying, "I don't want this to end". I have not had that feeling much about most shows. When "Lost" ended, I was cool with it. I liked "Game of Thrones", but when it was done I moved on. I was ready for both "Parks and Rec" and "The Office" to finish. This finale was better than another favorite of mine, "Brooklyn 99".

Looking back "Atlanta" did things that not many other TV shows have done before. I found myself constantly thinking about episodes after I watched them. Certain episodes, like "Teddy Perkins" and all of season three stayed with me like a horror movie that I enjoyed. This show confused me in all the best ways. There was stuff that I just could not figure out, but reading and searching about it made it that much more enjoyable when it all came into focus. I will forever adore this show. Donald Glover created something that will be a classic. This show will go down in history as one of the best ever.

I, obviously, could not recommend this show more. "Atlanta" is an all time great. Thank you to everyone that worked on this show. Not only Glover, But Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield, Brian Tyree Henry, Hiro Murai, Stepehn Glover and countless other genius individuals, thank you all forever. "Atlanta" rules.

Ty

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

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After All These Years, "The Simpsons" Still Make Great "Treehouse of Horrors"

Last night my wife and I got around to watching the last two new episodes of "The Simpsons". Our son has been begging us to watch them. He has seen them a bunch and loves them. He joined us last night.

The first one though, entitled "Not It", is a Treehouse of Horror Story. I do not know that they have ever done this before. I have been watching this show from the jump and this is the first time I have seen them do something like this. It was cool. I am afraid of clowns. I believe I have mentioned this before. But this "Not It" episode was rad. I enjoyed the hell out of it. But it was scary. There were moments I had to look down. The animators made Krusty very creepy. He looked like Pennywise. It was frightening. It was also funny though. They made fun of Krusty. They shot him down. Krusty also made some jokes. It kind of took the edge off. It made it a little less scary. But there were still moments. When Krusty would show up and frighten them as kids, that made me jump. The ending of the episode, before they defeat Krusty was definitely scary, and gory too. I was taking my eyes on and off the screen the full 30 minutes. But I loved the episode. I thought it was very well made. The movie "It" scarred me when I was young, so I have not watched the new movies. My wife has. She enjoyed them and she said that the writers did a very good job making a parody. She was trying to figure out who each character was in the movie from the show. She said a lot of it was right out of the movie. When they showed that Moe was famous, she immediately pointed out that he was doing the Bill Hader part. I think she was impressed how they pulled it off. She also just watched the movies last week, so it was fresh. "Not It" was a very solid, very good episode of "The Simpsons". Doing a Treehouse of Horror Story episode makes me want more and I kind of wished they had done this in the past. Better late than never I suppose.

The actual "Treehouse of Horror" episode was one of the best I have seen in some time. I have never been the biggest fan of these episodes, but I do find them enjoyable. I also liked the original ones. I liked how they tried to be legit scary. And they usually pulled it off. That was how this new "Treehouse of Horrors" episode was. This was legit scary. The first story was like "The Babadook". They called it "The Pappadook", and it was genuinely frightening. Marge goes full on as the mom from "The Babadook". She continuously attacks Maggie. I can see why my kids were so scared by what they saw. There were very few laughs, and I think that was on purpose. I really liked how dark they went with it. The second story was the anime that they had been promoting. This one was a little more lighthearted, but it also had some heavy stuff going on. Lisa gains the power from a book to off the people she chooses. This episode was pretty heavy with the story telling. It was almost too real. It was wild. And when Lisa learns who found out her secret, it got really real. I was nervous for Bart for a second. But Lisa did the right thing and all was good. What I found most impressive was the animation in this story. It was rad. I was amazed at how they did it all. It was great. The third story was a "Westworld" take. It was my favorite of the night. The way the story unfolded, and what we saw at the end was awesome. I love how the Homer robot gained sentience and got the rest of the family involved. He picked certain robots that he wanted to work with. I also liked all the separate worlds they created and how they showed them all. I also think it was really cool how they got the Ralph robots to come at them continuously, and how they used old gadgets to fight them off. And when they pulled away, after they escaped, the twist was dynamite. When we saw Linda Belcher, and then the camera panned back and we saw all the other worlds they created, that was eerie and very neat. This "Treehouse of Horrors" was one of the best in a while.

These two episodes back to back make me respect this show even more. They are still doing things that nobody else can do. And they do it the best. I love "The Simpsons".

Ty

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

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"30 Rock" is the Funniest Television Show Ever

My wife and I like to watch TV before bed. A lot of people do this. We keep it on after we fall asleep. We put on a sleep timer, but very rarely do one of us stay up to hear the TV shut off. We alternate which shows we pick before bed. We usually pick comedies that we have seen a bunch. It is like comfort food.

The show we are watching now is "30 Rock". This has to be the 10th or 11th time we are going through this show. I did not watch when it was airing in real time, but I knew of it. I think my folks probably watched it. We all love Tina Fey, so when she left "SNL" to do "30 Rock", I'm sure my folks were pumped. And even though I did not watch it in real time, as mentioned before, I have seen it a ton. I have watched it from start to finish many, many times. And I am here today to tell you that I think "30 Rock" might be the funniest show that has ever been on TV.

"30 Rock" is not my favorite show, that is "The Simpsons". And there are other shows I like more, but there is something about the writing on this show that makes me laugh harder with each watch. This show is filled with jokes. My wife read something a while back saying that "30 Rock" has the most jokes per minute in television history, or something like that. And I fully believe it. We are in season four right now and I find myself constantly chuckling at random things on this show.

I do have to say, "30 Rock" is one show that I have made it to the TV shutting off before I go to sleep. That is because I am laughing all the time. For example, we were watching an episode last night where some of the writers take advantage of Kenneth by making up a religion. Kenneth is bringing them a pizza and says, "the pizza needs to be served by a blonde virgin", and smiles and points at himself. It was fantastic. I was howling. And that is how this entire show is made up. In season one, or maybe two, Tracy Jordan talks about a Halloween parody he made and the show cuts to him singing one line from "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah". Not only is that genius, but they ended up making an entire song due to the popularity of this five second clip. When Tracy proclaims, "it is a show within a show! My real name is Tracy Morgan", I cannot help but crack up. I also walk around quoting that all the time. When Tracy's wife gets her own reality show, "Queen of Jordan", and says "HAM", it is perfect. Tina Fey wrote some incredible stuff for Alec Baldwin. One line that has always stuck out for me is when Jack is explaining how he climbed his way to the top stating, "that is why I worked the day shift at that graveyard and the night shift at the Day's Inn". I mean come on, that is next level brilliant.

In the end it is Liz Lemon, the way Tina Fey wrote her, that is as iconic a comedy character as it gets. She has all the juicy lines. She crushes the comedy. The line reads are a stroke of genius. I love every single thing about Liz Lemon. When she gets her own talk show and sings, "you're a star/you're on top/somebody bring me some ham", that is one of the funniest songs ever. When she tells Jack about "lizzing", the way she explains it is amazing. The way she and Pete play off one another is some of the best chemistry I have ever seen between friends and coworkers on TV. The stuff with her boyfriends, namely Dennis Duffy and Jon Hamm is so incredible. I mean, Liz Lemon is a genius character for TV.

I didn't even mention Jenna or Grizz and Dot Com or Dr Spaceman or the multiple people Will Forte has played on the show. And then you get the cameos. Everyone from Al Gore to Pee Wee Herman have shown up here and there.

I have found with each watch I gain even more respect for "30 Rock". It is such a great television show. It will go down as a classic. It is comedy television at its absolute best.

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 "Reboot"

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

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

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

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "House of the Dragon"

The other night my wife and I started "House of the Dragon". We watched "Game of Thrones", my dad was talking up this new show and it is a prequel, so we were pretty easily on board. It did not take much convincing for us. But we did put it off for a bit due to life. My son plays football everyday, my daughter plays soccer and my wife works all the time. For those, and so many other reasons, we could not start the show until Monday.

That being said, we have already watched three of the five episodes available on HBO Max. The show is good. There has been some dope dragon action so far. The characters are pretty well written. The actors are doing a great job to this point. I am fully in on the parts of the story that I understand. I like the easter eggs they have placed here and there. It is cool to hear some names from "GOT" taking place in this world almost 200 years before. It is crazy and violent and gory and nuts. I like it a lot.

The show is also very confusing. I do have a hard time following other story plot points. That is my fault too. There is so much going on that it can be hard for me to keep track. I'm also not nuts about all the politicking that is going on. I wasn't a fan of all the meetings in "GOT", and in "HOTD" they do about the same amount. There is a good amount of time spent talking about who is king, who will be the heir to the throne, people going behind other people's backs,just a lot of shadiness. I understand the importance of it all, but it can be a bit much at times. The violence can also go a bit overboard as well. I have seen a ton of heads caved in, half of other people's body's cut up, eyes gouged out and sword cuts. I think as I get older my stomach gets queasy easier. I can't handle some of the stuff I could when I was younger. But all in all this show is very well done.

The story, the one I understand, is interesting. The time jump in episode three didn't affect me as much as I thought it was going to. I read there is another time jump, involving 10 years with new actors taking over, but so what. That is how these shows should work. I have loved all the dragon stuff too. I think that might have been my favorite thing about "GOT", and in this show, that is the story of the main family. I also like seeing some actors I recognize from comedies doing more serious stuff. The main guy, the king, is in most of the Simon Pegg and Nick Frost movies. I've seen him play any number of comedic roles. But seeing him in "HOTD" has been cool. Rhys Ifans, who was in "The Replacements" and a "Spiderman" movie, is the hand to the king. He is his top assistant basically, and he is devious as hell. It is very cool to see him do this kind of role. The girl who plays the young princess is awesome. She is badass and powerful and under control. She is like a less crazy Danerys. I also really enjoy the cast not being filled with white people. It is pretty dope to see a melting pot of characters in this world. I also think it is hilarious that people are mad about this, even though this show is in no way real at all.

I'm excited to see where this show goes from here. I can only imagine it will get more and more crazy, and I like that. I also have to think there is going to be so much more dragon content, and that is what I'm here for. "House of the Dragon" is very good and has potential to be great. Check it out if you haven't yet.

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 "Atlanta" Season Four Premiere

Last week the fourth and final season of "Atlanta" premiered. I just watched it this past Monday. I am going to take this final season slowly. I want it to marinade in my mind. I want to really take my time. I want to watch each episode two or three times. I have watched the first two episodes twice to date. I need multiple views to understand at least half of it.

"Atlanta" is also the best show on TV right now, full stop. Donald Glover is doing magical things. He is hitting home runs left and right. I've talked at length about how awesome and innovative he is on every platform I can. Glover is the best. As is "Atlanta". The final season two episode premiere only further hammered that home.

The first episode has them back in Atlanta. They were overseas last season, but now they have all returned home. But it isn't like it was before they left. Something is different. Something is off. Darius has a crazy lady chasing him all over the place. He is just trying to return an air fryer, but this lady won't quit. Paper Boi is going on some wild scavenger hunt involving the death of one of his favorite rappers. And Earn and Vanessa are in some kind of weird time loop at an outside shopping mall. This episode was nuts. The whole thing with Earn and Van was crazy. They kept running into exes who were seemingly braindead. I was floored. I didn't get what was going on until the second viewing. The whole thing with Darius started off wild enough when he was returning the air fryer. He is oblivious to the store getting robbed with all the alarms going off. He is so focused on what he is doing. But then we have this crazy lady chasing him in her scooter with a knife. I'm still a little confused by this. And Paper Boi goes on one of the coolest, and most fun looking scavenger hunts I've ever watched. I want to do that. And that had the best payoff. And when the episode ended, all I could think of was how in I was on what they were doing.

The second episode is up there as one of my favorites of all time. This one is primarily focused on Earn and his therapy sessions. There is a minor second story involving some lady who is getting a book deal. All throughout we see Earn going to therapy. He seems to be really getting something out of it. He appears to be growing as a person. It is a nice little insight to him maturing. His therapist is great. His friends make fun of him, but he pays it no mind. There are three sessions we see, and with each one the story gets bigger and bigger. They kept cutting to this lady who is getting a book deal, and her life seems sad, but on the come up. Near the end Earn tells his therapist that he wants to try some of the techniques he has learned on his own. He tells him he is going to take a break. The therapist is totally fine with this. After that we see the lady going to do a reading of her new book. It is a disaster. The kids are bored. They all stand up and leave, except for one, who fell asleep. We then cut to Earn at a bar and we see a video of the lady crashing and burning. It turns out that Earn has paid all of these people to ruin her life because she was racist to him, Van and their daughter at the airport. He is out to destroy her. When Paper Boi and Darius show up he is all hype to tell them what he did. He does and they tell him he is crazy. As they walk off and Earn is by himself, he sits back and says that maybe he should continue with his therapy. It was an incredible moment.

This show is the best absurd comedy on TV. They are doing things that I have never seen before. They are so, so, so good at what they do. I highly recommend everyone watch this show. Go back and start at the beginning and then be amazed at how far they have come. "Atlanta" is a true classic of a show.

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 "Operation Flagrant Foul"

Yesterday I watched "Operation Flagrant Foul". This is one of the new Untold documentaries on Netflix. I am a big fan of the Untold series on Netflix. They do cool, interesting sports stories that I may not have been aware of, or even heard of before. That being said, I am well aware of the Tim Donaghy fiasco.

For people who may not know, Donaghy was arrested and sentenced to prison for gambling on professional basketball. To make matters worse, he was a professional referee. To make matters even more worse, he bet on games he was personally reffing. It was all bad when you really think about it.

What I enjoyed about this doc was the backstory we got. Donaghy has a very interesting past, one that I was unaware of when this story first popped. He was married, had kids, had good friends, was a highly rated ref, he lived a relatively normal life as a pro ref. He made some questionable calls as a ref, but he did pretty much everything by the book. He even called stuff on Michael Jordan when that was very much frowned upon. There is a great part in the doc when Donaghy recalls calling traveling on MJ. He called it, and after calling it, while walking down the court Phil Jackson approached him. He yelled at Donaghy and Donaghy told him that he got the same memo that everyone got. Jackson said he gets it, but pointed to Jordan and said, "you don't call it on that guy". That was a fascinating look into the NBA at that time. The NBA has always favored stars, and this was when it seemed to be at its highest. From there Donaghy went about his job. Then a few of his childhood friends, who considered themselves professional gamblers, contacted Donaghy about certain NBA games.

From there on out it got nuts. Donaghy would call other refs to see when they were working. He would look at the schedules and check out the crews for each game. He would contact ref friends and try to get info on certain games they were calling. He started out with his childhood friends, but from there it grew. He was making big money. He was able to buy things for his wife and kids that he was never able to do before. He was living life being rich. He was getting a taste of the supposed good life, and he liked it. He gambled on 47 games and won 37 times. That is too close of a coincidence. It is too fishy. I knew he gambled on games but I did not know it went this deep. It was getting bad enough that he started to get scared. He was afraid that he was going to get caught. But he didn’t stop. Then one of his buddy's said the FBI contacted him. The FBI had contacted him a few times actually. This was when Donaghy knew he was in trouble. He decided he had to confess. When he did he got majorly screwed over by some people, maybe some people named David Stern, RIP. The whole Stern situation was revealing. I did not realize how much of a boss he actually was when he was the commissioner of the league. It was as close to the mob as anything I have seen in a movie. I also found it pretty eye opening that the three main guys of this movie seem to still be lying constantly. They cannot stop themselves. They just vomit words out of their mouths until they believe what they are saying. It is crazy.

All in all this was a solid doc. I knew some of the stuff, but some other stuff was news to me. I like when I can learn something new about a story I thought I knew everything about. I recommend this to fans of basketball, especially fans my age. It was pretty cool.

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 "Better Call Saul" - Final Season

I finished "Better Call Saul" this past Sunday. I had been putting off watching because I did not want it to end. This show has been pretty special. I did not know what to think about a prequel to what is one of the best shows of all time, "Breaking Bad", but they pulled it off. I think taking a character like Saul Goodman, who was a bit more comic relief, was the best way to do it. It was not a rehash of what we all saw with "Breaking Bad". Hell, they didn't bring too many people back from the show. There were cameos here and there, but outside of Mike and Gus, nothing too crazy.

This show worked so well because they told Saul's story from the start of his lawyer career. I liked going back and watching him become Saul. He started as Jimmy McGill, but he ended as Saul. Sure, minor spoiler alert, he wanted to be called Jimmy again at the end, but he was still known as Saul by some criminals.

This last season has been anxiety riddled, non stop action, dramatic and as satisfying as one could have wanted. He became Saul, albeit slowly. He ended relationships. He screwed over people close to him with no regard. He became a criminal. He did devious things. He got involved more with Gus and Mike. There was the minor storyline involving Saul and Walter White being stuck together. We got to see Walter and Jesse Pinkman again. There was a wonderful moment between Jesse and Kim. Kim Wexler, played by Rhea Seehorn, was incredible. She was the best part of this final season, maybe even the whole series. She had a moment in the penultimate episode, when she breaks down, that was acting at its finest. I felt so very bad for her and where she was in her life. Carol Burnett showed up for the final four episodes and she was amazing. She was not doing comedy at all. The story with her and her grandson was pretty perfect. It showed how Saul cannot leave his old life behind. He was still miserable and took advantage of people. Even when he tried to do good, when he tried to be better, he would be pulled back in by the allure of money. Saul Goodman was, and always will be a scumbag. Yet I could not help myself rooting for him. I wanted him to be with Kim. I hoped he was going to find a way out of his troubles. I thought he may even become a lawyer again. I figured he could find his way back in the game.

In the long run I felt that the ending was perfect. It was the best way to wrap up this show. They gave everyone the ending that I felt was deserved. We are talking about people who were, or did, criminal things. Even the minor characters, Saul's assistant, some people he helped out as Saul, the film students who helped him mess with people, they all did criminal things and felt the consequences. Again, even when I wanted to feel bad for them, I would remember all the stuff they did to get money and the bad feelings went away. In the end Saul Goodman and Jimmy McGill got what was coming. He literally got his comeuppance. We knew it was coming and we knew it was going to be brutal. But that was the only fitting end to this show.

"Better Call Saul" is now in the pantheon of all time great shows. It nailed the story, the writing was impeccable and the directing was top notch. Vince Gilligan knows what he is doing, especially with these characters. I love this show and will probably visit it again at some point. "Better Call Saul" was awesome.

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 “What We Do In The Shadows” Season Four

"What We Do in the Shadows" wrapped up their fourth season this week. This show is becoming one of the better shows on TV. They are really taking big swings and they are connecting. This show is yet another reason why FX has the best shows going right now. They give the creators carte blanche and let them do their thing. They do not seem to get overly involved and that works in their favor. They allow the creators to create. That is how it should be. The less notes the better the show can be. That is precisely what is happening with "WWDITS".

This show works on every single level. The actors are great. The people behind the scenes are great. The show just works. This past season they went a little more with the drama. I did not know how it would work. I would read some headlines after the show aired, before I watched the DVR version we had, and they would say it was another good episode that was light on jokes. I would be a bit apprehensive at first, but when I watched it it was always great. It always worked in the flow of the show. They still did some big broad comedy stuff, but for the most part, this season was more about building each character and giving them a bit of a dramatic arc.

Nadja got to start her nightclub and she was the funniest on the show this season. But not everything goes her way and she makes a good amount of mistakes that end up being not so great. Nandor had a genie and a wife and seemed like it was all good. But he did too much. He made too many things happen. He couldn;t decide what he wanted, and it just ended up with him being very bored. Guillermo revealed a ton this season. He got to really flesh out his character. But he had some missteps on the way. He lost some stuff. He had some family issues and personal issues he had to deal with. The finale also ended on him with a big time cliffhanger. I cannot wait to see how they handle all of that in season five.

The real drama was all between Laszlo and Colin Robinson. These two had a great end to season 3. Season 4 only built on that. They really went deep into their relationship. It really became a father son type deal with the two of them. Matthew Berry was a revelation this season. I have always liked him as a comedian, but he got to show real depth in the finale. I felt for him. He also wore some crazy outfits and spoke so funny and awkward all season. The way he said New York City in one of the final episodes was simply the best. The AV Club wrote an entire article on it in fact. Colin Robinson was awesome. He got to do some cool CGI acting. Seeing him go from a baby back to himself was remarkable. The VFX crew did a masterful job creating and bringing this character to life. I loved watching the growth all season long. But it was pretty upsetting in the end. I am not spoiling anything either. I was watching the finale with my wife and we both remarked on how upsetting it was in the end, but in a good way.

I adore this show. It continues to get better and better. I love how the show continues to change because it all works. They have great people working on this, and if they continue on the arc they are on right now, "WWDITS" could go down as an all time great. I do truly believe this. I am not being hyperbolic. "WWDITS" rules. Everyone should be watching this show. 

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 "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist"

I recently finished the Netflix two part documentary on Manti Teo called "The Girlfriend who Didn't Exist". It was fascinating.

I remember living through all of this. I am an avid college football fan as you all know. This story was everywhere in 2012. but I knew of Teo before all of this. He was a major recruit. Every big team wanted him. When it was down to USC and Notre Dame I just assumed he'd pick USC. Hell, I thought he would go to BYU, since he is Mormon, before he'd go to Notre Dame. But in the end, he picked the Fighting Irish. I was stunned and so were many other people. But he kept getting better and better every year. He could have left after his junior year and been a high first round draft pick. But he came back. Then he played very well. Then Notre Dame kept winning games. Then his grandma died. Then, on the same day, so did his online girlfriend. It was all a lot. But he kept playing and playing well, and his team was winning.

Right before the Heisman ceremony, he was a finalist, the whole online girlfriend thing exploded. According to the doc, Teo knew about the news before the Heisman trophy was given out. I did not know this. This was all news to me. But after the ceremony, before the BCS title game, the story broke everywhere. Deadspin was the first to report it and then everyone jumped on board. Teo was giving interviews to Katie Couric with his folks. The person that catfished Teo was going on Dr Phil's show to show him how he did it all. Then it was on every news report everywhere. This was not just sports broadcasts, it was national news. CNN, MSNBC, local news stations, I mean it was EVERYWHERE.

This is where the doc became truly fascinating to me. All the stuff beforehand, the football and the girlfriend and his family life, it was all out in the open. But after the fact, after he found out he was being catfished, that was when it became truly nuts. Teo started to suffer from panic attacks and true anxiety. He said that football used to be his outlet, that he could let it all go when he walked out there. But after all the shit hit the fan he was not the same. He tried too hard. He had to prove he wasn't just the guy that got catfished. He wanted to show he could still be an elite level linebacker. But he was too in his head. He was thinking too much. He wasn't just playing the game. It became a problem. And seeing him interviewed, hearing him talk about that time in his life, I felt for him. That had to be absolutely brutal for him to live through. I found myself thinking, as gross as it may sound, about how much money he lost by falling to the second round. He had to reprove how good he was. He had to start all over again. That is not fair. Teo was one of the best defensive college football players to ever step on the field. He had all the tools coaches craved. He was a great locker room guy. His teammates and coaches all like him. There was hardly anything to dislike about Teo. I am a lifelong Michigan fan, and I even found myself rooting for Teo. Let me make this clear, I rooted for Teo, not Notre Dame. And to see the lady who catfished him, she was a man at the time, but she is now transgender, to show a little remorse, but not much, kind of made me flinch a bit. This person was taking advantage of someone who was listening and helping them out with their issues. She could have stopped at any time, but she kept going. I get that she was confused at the time and trying to find out who she really is, but she took this way, way too far. I get that Teo forgave her and he has moved on and is living as normal a life as he can. But she could have been a bit more remorseful or showed some kind of regret. I don't know, I expected more I guess.

All of that being said, this two part doc was incredible. Again, I remember this whole thing so vividly, but this doc gave me so much more info, and new info at that. I cannot recommend it enough. It is a fascinating watch, and not just for sports fans. There are tons of real life stories in this and it is great. Check it out.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Trainwreck: Woodstock '99"

Recently I watched the three part documentary series on Netflix about Woodstock 99. I have watched other stuff on this very same topic, but this felt a bit more in depth. This was more involved. They had interviews with festival goers, security workers, background workers and the two main producers. I was fascinated by everything I watched.

The three episodes were built around each day of the festival. And it was awesome. I very much enjoyed hearing about this horrific time from the perspective of the people involved. I liked the interviews with the artists, but it was the people involved in the background and the fans that made this a fascinating watch. It was harrowing to listen to them talk about those three fateful days in 1999.

As I watched, and got more and more into the doc, I started to wonder about how I would have reacted. I think this is why this worked so much for me. I am endlessly fascinated by the mentality that goes into these people deciding when and why to go over the edge. What is the limit that someone will go past? When is enough enough? When do you decide to loot and riot and burn stuff down? All of this has had me thinking since I finished the show. These people were clearly taken advantage of by the people who ran the festival. They price gouged, they had them in an open air force base in the dead of summer, they didn't give them adequate cleaning facilities, it was all bad. The festival goers deserved better. But the festival goers also deserve a good amount of the blame as well. They got angry and acted on their most animal of impulses. They took advantage of women. They did awful things to unsuspecting people. They drank until they couldn't see or think straight. They did copious amounts of drugs. They did the actual tearing apart of the festival grounds. They started the fires. They lost it and took it out on everyone else. They were, mostly, rich, privileged white kids who were not getting their way so they acted on it. And they took it way, way too far.

There is blame to be thrown everywhere. But back to my train of thought from before. What would I have done had I been at Woodstock 99. I most likely would not have gone because the acts were not my cup of tea. I like Rage Against the Machine. I enjoy the idea of a band like Bush. I enjoy some Red Hot Chili Peppers songs. But the rest of the bill was rough. Bands like Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Korn, that is not my cup of tea. But let's just say I went. I like to imagine that, after day one, I would have left. In the best of conditions I usually like to leave a show early to beat traffic. From what I watched and heard, this would have been an utter nightmare for me being at Woodstock 99. I have OCD and like to stay clean. I have sanitizer always at the ready and enjoy cleaning and washing things. That was not viable at Woodstock 99. It was also brutally hot. I love being outside, but the air condition is so, so, so much better. I mean, I can stand the heat for a run or going for a walk or hike. But if I were in a crowd of 250,000 people in that heat, no thank you. I am also straight edge. I do not drink or do drugs. I have never, and at this point, most likely will never do those things. I also get pretty aggravated when I'm surrounded by a big group of stoned or drunk people. That is another mark in the cons column for me. I also do not enjoy being in large crowds for longer than an hour or two. A football game is fun, or even one concert. But three days worth of shows with that many people would have been a disaster. And finally we have the whole idea of camping. I am not a camper. I do not like it at all. I am a city kid through and through. I love the luxuries of not having to camp. The whole idea of camping would have been a big stopping point for me. So, in looking back at all this and thinking about how I would have reacted, I do not think I would have even gone. I think I would have skipped the whole thing. I would not have been involved in any of the horrific events that took place at Woodstock 99. It would have been terrible.

I do recommend watching this three part series. It was very informative and very interesting.

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 "The Rehearsal"

After returning home from vacation one thing my wife and I like to do is get caught up on some TV that we missed. We don't watch too much TV while on vacation. There is too much to do, we plan excursions, we go for dinner and then we are so tired that we crash at bedtime. The TV may come on from time to time, but it is not watched very closely. So arriving home, it becomes much easier to watch some shows that we didn't, or had to wait for.

One such show is "The Rehearsal". This is Nathan Fielder's new HBO show. I remember hearing about this show as much as two years ago. When "Nathan For You" was finished with its run, there were rumors swirling everywhere that Fielder wasn't done with TV, he just needed some time off to think of his next project. He also pretty much immediately signed a deal with HBO after "Nathan For You" was over. It was also rumored that HBO was going to give him carte blanche. He was going to be allowed to do what he wanted, when he wanted as long as he didn't go overboard. With "The Rehearsal" he has achieved something truly magical.

What I loved so much about "Nathan For You" was how uncomfortable it made me feel. The comedy was cringeworthy, but in the best possible way. Everything about that show worked for me as a comedy fan. It cemented Fielder as the modern day Andy Kaufman to me. "The Rehearsal" takes it five-ten steps further.

The premise of the show is to help people rehearse for real life events. The first episode was about a guy that wanted to tell his trivia teammates that he actually did not have a masters degree. The second episode was about a lady who wanted to simulate what it would be like to be a first time mom. But there is so, so, so much more to these episodes than just these baseline summaries. Fielder works with actors to not only help the person who contacted him, but also helps himself in dealing with the people. Fielder hires actors himself to portray the people he will be interacting with. It is wild to see. He has conversations with these people and the show will cut to him rehearsing with actors. He also tells the people all of this after he does the initial interview with him, and shockingly, the people are, for the most part, on board. Again, it is wild. But it gets even crazier. As Fielder is helping the people we see his full process. I'm talking notes, hiring other actors to help out, building extremely elaborate sets, using his own warehouse, having a computer constantly at the ready, having phone calls fully planned out. It is all there and it is all very comprehensive. There were many times I would say out loud, "wow", or, "oh my goodness", completely flabbergasted by what I was witnessing. But what really makes this show stand out is how well the cringe comedy works. I was so uncomfortable the whole time, yet I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I wished there were more episodes when we watched the first two.

I am stoked to watch the new episode tonight, yet I know I will be bummed when the 30 minutes are over because I'll have to wait another week. I just can't get enough of this show. Yes it makes me uncomfortable, but I also realize that I am watching gold. This show is genius. I can see why it took so long for this to come out and why there are only six episodes. The amount of meticulous work that went into this show is the stuff of a mad scientist genius. It is truly masterful work.

Nathan Fielder has done it yet again. "The Rehearsal" is must watch TV for any comedy fan out there. Nathan Fielder is on a level only shared by Donald Glover. These people know how to make great TV.

Ty

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

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Let's Talk About the Current State of "Star Wars"

I am a big “Star Wars” fan. I am the right age to have experienced the original trilogy as a kid, the prequel trilogy as a cynical young adult, and the sequel trilogy as a father approaching middle age. I have seen all nine movies during their original theatrical runs, and I have watched every Disney + shows related to all things a galaxy far, far away. I guess what I’m saying is that I am a self proclaimed expert on “Star Wars” and I want to talk about my concerns of my favorite pop culture property.

The pre Disney days of Star Wars is filled with home runs and strikeouts. The originally trilogy, even Jedi, are all timeless classics. The Holiday Special is a special kind of crap that is a must see to believe. The Ewok adventure movies are unwatchable. The re-releases of the original movies are better than they are bad. Once the prequel trilogy came out, Star Wars was already a cultural juggernaut. I will address the prequels in another post, but the short story is that I do not hate them. The prequel era did lead to incredible Star Wars content with great video games and the “Clone Wars” and “Rebels” cartoon shows. I am going to forget about the “Clone Wars” movie as we should all forget that piece of Star Wars.

When Disney purchased Star Wars and announced plans for a sequel trilogy, I was very excited. My favorite pop culture property was in a good spot. I will discuss my thoughts on the sequel trilogy another time, spoiler - I hated The Rise of Skywalker. Along with the sequel trilogy we were give “Rogue One”, great, and “Solo”, better than it’s reputation. Many moviegoers seemed to be getting less and less excited for Star Wars in their movie theaters. Disney’s new cash cow looked to be drying up.

The launch of Disney + brought the first live action Star Wars show with “The Mandalorian” For over a year the public knew very little about this new Star Wars project. Once “The Mandalorian” premiered, and we all were introduced to Baby Yoda, Star Wars was back on top. Everyone loved “The Mandalorian”. The second season further cemented the new age of Star Wars. What seemed to not be working in the theaters, Disney had found a winning Star Wars formula on the small screen.

“The Mandalorian” was followed on Disney + with the last season of “The Clone Wars”, my favorite Star Wars thing ever, “The Bad Batch”, also awesome, “Visions”, go watch it now, and other small one off specials. We started to hear of new Star Wars movies being cancelled or delayed, and new Star Wars shows were being greenlit daily.

Speaking of the new shows, this year we have already seen two, “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi”. This is where I am starting to ask questions about the future of Star Wars. Both shows I enjoyed, but I felt like they were both not really part of a larger Star Wars universe. I saw a meme when “Book of Boba Fett” was out that showed two kids playing with their Star Wars toys and it said “Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau writing the next Star Wars show”. It was cool, but also very true. “Book of Boba Fett” started with a story of redemption and then midway through it took a sharp turn into The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda are back show. It did end with Fett riding a Rancor so that was cool, but cool is not always good. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” seemed to go no where meaningful until the last two episodes. That last fight is awesome, but what were the five hours leading up to it for?

I know that I am being the typical comic book guy and complaining about something that has given me joy for years, but I am a big fan and want to see that fandom continue. I love G.I. Joe and am very sad that my son’s generation doesn’t even know what it is. Right now G.I. Joe only exists as a form of nostalgia, Star Wars looks to be going down that same path. The sequel movies leaned heavily on feeding that nostalgia, and shows like “The Mandalorian”, “Book of Boba Fett”, and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” are just continuing to add to our “remember this” buffet. If you only try to appeal to your aging fans, you will miss out on the next generation.

I do see a new hope on the horizon. “The Clone Wars” invented new exciting characters like Ahsoka Tano, and gave individual personalities to the clone troopers. “The Bad Batch” is telling stories away from the Luke, Reys, and Darth Vaders of the galaxy far, far, away. “Rogue One” took a minor plot point and created iconic characters and moments never seen in a Star Wars. I am thankful for the Dave Filonis and Jon Favreaus of the Star Wars world, but I am also hopeful that the Deborah Chows Taika Waititis get to put their unique marks on Star Wars. I will be there to watch it all, I just hope the next generation is on the couch with me and enjoying it as I have.

RD

RD is the founder and Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ranking the Opening of Every Original "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" Cartoon

I have said this before and I am going to say it again, “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” was a big part of my childhood. The episodes aired on weekday afternoons in suburban St. Louis. I would rush home from school to watch my favorite toy line have adventures on my television. The next day my friends and I would talk about G.I.Joe, play with our G.I. Joe toys, and talk about what new G.I. Joe toys we wanted. I was more obsessed with G.I. Joe than I was even with Star Wars. I am still obsessed and even ranked all 95 episodes of the original Sunbow series. Today I’m going to rank the opening credits/song of the first Sunbow run.

Let’s get to it.

#5 The M.A.S.S. Device miniseries

First things first, all of these openings are great. The biggest thing that hurts the first miniseries is that it is the first. The creative geniuses working on the GI Joe cartoon would always find ways to improve the opening, and they did.

With that being said, this opening is still great. It introduces you the concept, the characters and even clearly tells you the enemy is “Destro and Cobra". truly a classic.

#4 Arise Serpentor Arise - Season 2

The dawn of a new era in GI Joe, the reign of Serpentor.

This opening, like it’s predecessors, is heavy on the action and the characters. Actually, there may be a pit too many characters. Still great and when you saw this opening you knew exactly what era of Joe you were getting.

#3 The Revenge of Cobra

The Revenge of Cobra was the second miniseries and saw the introduction of classic characters like Shipwreck, Flint, Lady Jaye, Zartan, Strom Shadow, and many others. All these new characters get great action moments throughout the intro. What places this opening ahead of the others is the great flamethrower morphing into the series title. Greatness all around.

#2 First Season

Yes the first season of GI Joe was after the third miniseries, that is not a typo.

What an opening. The line of Joe vehicles, the massive Cobra airship, all the punching, this is probably the greatest opening to a 1980’s cartoon, or any other cartoon, ever.

Nothing beats this intro, except…

#1 The Movie

The end of the Sunbow era brought the greatest cartoon intro ever made. The song slaps, the action kicks, the patriotism punches you in the gut. I just wish the movie that followed was as great as this opening.

Yo Joe.

RD

RD is the founder and Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support us and the podcast on Patreon.

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