Archive for the ‘television’ category

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DIRECTV Mini Giraffe Commercials…

March 16, 2011

– – He looks, sounds,  and acts like a James Bond villain, and I guess not all Russians have suffered since the breakup of the former Soviet Union;  at least one, Epic Win, lives in opulence that would put the Czars to shame, surrounds himself with beautiful young women, has associates who lift massive weights apparently made of gold, and in what I am most interested in, has an affectionate mini giraffe as a pet, one who even has his own treadmill in the latest commercial!

The aptly-named Russian was previously seen in a DIRECTV commercial pictured here named, Opulence, I Has It. While some people have actually posed the question,  there are no giraffes in reality of that size, with even newborn giraffes being much larger.  The wonderful creature pictured in the commercial moves very convincingly, and would presumably be the product of genetic engineering, which our fabulously wealthy Russian with all of those gold bars could indulge in…

…and check out the wealth of detail in the commercials as well; in the original, the obscenely-wealthy Russian has a Van Gogh, and poker-playing dogs appear briefly in the background (one is cheating)!   But  for one of the females to lift a tray of gold bars as if they were light as feathers is perhaps a reminder that we’re seeing an entertaining fantasy…

…Mini giraffes?–I wants it!

Categories: absurdities, animals, Brilliant but twisted, cool things, strange, television
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Comments: 3 Comments

Geico “Cats and Dogs” Commercial…

March 14, 2011

– – In a wonderful nod to the classic car chase from the movie Bullitt as well as 1970’s detective shows (think “Starsky and Hutch”), the latest Geico “Cats and Dogs” commercial asks whether Geico can save you 15% with actor Mike McGlone answering himself,  “Do dogs chase cats?” Then we’re treated to an old-school car pursuit with a furry twist…

Cool at the wheel of an early 1970’s Mustang is an orange tabby (Jax the cat),  who doesn’t appear overly concerned about a hot pursuit by a boxer (Drake the dog) in a beat-up gas guzzler through mean city streets.  There’s even a  funky jazz fusion soundtrack to accompany the chase sequence!

While we’re not  shown the outcome of the chase, we do get a cool undercarriage shot as one of the cars vaults a rise in the road.   My money’s on the feline wheelman, who needs fear no boxer for torque art with him…


Categories: absurdities, animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, furry, television
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Comments: 5 Comments

Biting Humor?

February 20, 2011

– – I like dark humor and black comedy, but they’re not everyone’s cup of tea.  For this reason, the recent Snickers great white shark commercial has rubbed some shark conservationists and shark attack victims and their families the wrong way, plus done little to dispel the erroneous notion that humans are the preferred food source for sharks.

In the commercial, a group of well-animated and voiced-over CG great white sharks are participating in a focus group where they are questioned about a “blind taste test” of people that they have just eaten.  The preferred victim is revealed to have eaten Snickers Peanut Butter Squared, while the less tasty victim had consumed peanut butter cups.

Now the commercial is intended to be comical, harmless, and light-hearted rather than educational and sensitive, and is a vehicle intended to entertain and linger in the mind so as to sell more Snickers products.  Some contend, however, that the ad was released too close on the heels of actual shark attacks in Egypt and elsewhere, and has accordingly gone too far.- -Sick or slick?  You decide!

Categories: animals, aquatic, Brilliant but twisted, controversial, humor, television
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Comments: 2 Comments

GE’s “The Electric Cattle!”

February 11, 2011

– – In one of several GE commercials for their Ecomagination campaign, we are shown “cows in concert,” touting the company’s use of Biogas Technology using, err, waste from cows and landfills to generate energy.  These cows are the rock stars at a concert that they are powering, and we are shown their hooves working a bass drum pedal, hitting a cowbell (–what else?) with a drumstick, and working a mixing panel slider.

At the end of the clip, one of the bovines even takes to trying a little crowd surfing…very mooving!

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, furry, television
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Comments: 3 Comments

Magnificent Mentos Spider!

February 9, 2011

– – Short of Peter Parker, you aren’t going to find an arachnid as breathtaking as the Mentos Rainbow pack spider! The commercial introduces us to a young couple sitting in their living room when suddenly the female goes ballistic, shrieking and recoiling on their couch.  The view shifts to the carpet, where we are shown…a spider!- –What is it with chicks and spiders, anyhow?!

Anyways, the guy responds by dutifully going to deal with the spider, extending a finger, possibly to crush the inoffensive creature.  The extended digit is all our eight-legged hero needs, however, to demonstrate his profound mastery of Jujutsu or perhaps Aikido, grasping the human’s finger and throwing him like a rag doll across the room no less than three times! A shelving unit and coffee table are splintered in the fracas!  The wrath of the spider is awesome, and the human is hopelessly outclassed!

In the closing images, we see the grounded human’s body dragged forcefully across the floor presumably by the amazing arachnid as the announcer intones, “It’s better to know what’s coming next!” It’s not revealed what fate awaits the human female, but I doubt things will go well for her, either…

…Bravo, I say!  Long may this arachnid martial arts master live and prosper!


Categories: animals, Brilliant but twisted, cool things, insects, Invertebrates, television
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Comments: 2 Comments

“Being Human” Works!

January 21, 2011

– – Those fortunate enough to catch the Syfy Channel’s premiere of Being Human (“There Goes The Neighborhood,  Part I”) caught an appealing show with a promising furry character that I’ll most certainly follow.- -Hey, any show featuring a werewolf, vampire, and ghost as the central characters already has me captivated from the onset!

Josh the werewolf is certainly my favorite character, being a nervous, nerdy, and conflicted individual who hasn’t had sex in two years and wakes up naked following one transformation next to a partly-consumed deer.  He makes quite an impression in a floral print dress he steals from a clothesline to cover his nakedness following the episode.  Josh’s relationship with the vampiric character Aidan is enjoyable and strangely believable.  Add a novice ghost called Sally who’s still coming to terms with her status and capabilities, and you have roommates far more interesting than the old Three’s Company trio.

With drama, good characterization, and decent writing,  Being Human isn’t just your typical paranormal show…


Categories: Brilliant but twisted, cool things, television
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Comments: 6 Comments

Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing!

January 19, 2011

– – It’s Ellie the Elephant, and this perky pachyderm swings out of the jungle in the newest GE Ecomagination commercial to a pulsing soundtrack of the Benny Goodman jazz standard, Sing, Sing, Sing.

Jiving past jet engines and electric car charging stations,  this baby’s got what it takes and she knows how to move it…and as a side benefit the hot licks accompanying her may just interest some of the younger audience in the best of swing jazz…

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cool things, furry commercials, television
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Comments: 2 Comments

Let’s Roll, Kato!

January 13, 2011

– – I was enjoying the Syfy channel’s marathon on the classic 1966-67 The Green Hornet tv series which aired in my area Tuesday night.- -Yes, I enjoyed it…and yes, I do need to get a life!

Unlike the far more successful Adam West Batman series of the same time period, the Green Hornet was not intended to be high camp, and may have failed for that reason as well as for its lack of wildly outrageous villains which helped make Batman memorable.

While hokey, contrived, and dated by today’s standards, The Green Hornet tv series can still be appreciated on a variety of levels, most notably for Bruce Lee’s Kato and the fight scenes.  While Van Williams as The Green Hornet tended to throw haymakers at his opponents until they collapsed, Lee’s Kato launched devastating precision martial arts attacks, at times effortlessly decking multiple opponents.  He was the real deal as well, and The Green Hornet served to introduce Lee to an American audience, foreshadowing roles where he wouldn’t have to play a valet.

With its 1960’s hairstyles, clothing, and vehicles I’ve accordingly got a soft spot for the old series, and it was good to see it taken out of mothballs in anticipation of the upcoming The Green Hornet movie.  I wish them well, and may they be worthy of their heritage!


Categories: movies, Off-topic, television
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“Being Human” Coming Soon!

December 28, 2010

– – Imagine a TV show about three roommates in their 20’s; sounds like familiar territory, right?  Not so if those roommates happen also to be a vampire, werewolf, and a ghost!   As the trio struggles to hide their dark secrets from the world, they help one another navigate the complexities of living double lives while trying to be human.  Such is the core premise of Being Human, a re-imagining on the Syfy network of a dark and witty BBC original series.

British humor and sensibilities don’t always translate well in the States, and so not everyone is happy with the idea of an Americanized reboot of an acclaimed British series.  Syfy has promised that this won’t be a poor recreation of the series, but we’ll just have to wait until the January 17th premier to see.

They had me, after all, with the werewolf character…I still miss “Oz” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cool things, television
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The Big Bang Theory

December 18, 2010

– – Not the cosmological model…but rather what was once called the “dumb show about smart guys.”  Featuring brilliant but socially inept science nerds, the show has an undeniable chemistry among ensemble cast members and makes intellectualism admirable. You might catch a glimpse of someone you know among these characters, certainly not yourself  (snorts while laughing and adjusts his pocket protector)!

Theory is centered around the character of Sheldon as played to perfection by Jim Parsons, who looks as he is taunted on a recent show “like a preying mantis.”   “That’s very hurtful,” he responded.   Sheldon speaks with precise, impeccable, comically fussy grammar, possibly the best delivery on television.  Neurotically afflicted with OCD and hypochondriasis,  Sheldon is living in a world that he can never really be a part of; he is in the world, but not of it.  Truly there is, as Peanuts once observed, no greater burden than having a high potential.

This is one of the best, most intelligently written comedies ever on television!  Who ever would have thought that post-doctoral physicists could be featured in an engaging show on a major network?   Big Bang Theory works on a variety of levels…maybe there’s hope for us yet!


Categories: cool things, humor, science, television
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Comments: 2 Comments

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