Herc’s Monday TV Talkback!!
Chat Here About Tonight’s Non-Semen-Guzzling Installment Of FEAR FACTOR!! ALCATRAZ Week Three!! Plus BAD GIRLS, FRANKENHOLE, HOUSE, HOARDERS, PAWN, HUMAN, BACHELOR, RUPAUL, AMANDAS!!

Prison inmates from the 60s are back. Who gives a shit. In reality the whole lot of em are bunch of pussies next to the criminals we have today. Let alone how completely inept they would be to modern society and the investigative techniques we have come up with in the last 40 years. Why is this a mystery people want to find out about? The ads try to build them up like some sort of super villains. Oh no some child serial killer is back! Oh noes its a sniper! That shit is a poor joke to the criminals we have right now moving the drugs in and out of the US and the bloody horror going on in Mexico. I'd swear Abrams just thought that up to see how dumb of an idea he could sell to Fox after getting Fringe's alt reality bullshit on the air. Can't wait to see what he sells them next. I am hoping it is a space traveling cat with psychic powers that lets aliens talk to their dead relatives through a mysterious scratching post. After 6 seasons you find out it was all a dream of a dog.... An ALIEN DOG!

I watched the first three episodes of Alcatraz last night, and I am really enjoying it so far. @saen How is a drug peddler a worse criminal than a sniper that kills at random?

More for the cast then anything else. I'm kinda thankful for the lack of new decent TV shows to some respect.. simply because i now have more free time! house of lies, i've dumped, touch, not bothered with, this..well things will have to pick up considerably. Haven't watched luck as yet, and by all accounts it's rather good. so maybe i'll pick that up.. Think watching American Horror Story has spoiled me, simply because of the pacing and the reveals. No more slow burn for me! I'd prefer quality over quantity anyways.

Some cable network would actually spend money to make a television show called FRANKENHOLE?!

A better questions is some cable network actually spends money to make shitty tv shows like Tim and Eric.

... awesome. Not as good as Moral Oral, made by the same people, but still pretty entertaining if you like that sort of thing. Stupid title though, yeah.

Really, society has advanced to the point where that would show up on TV. Glad to hear the donkey episode got jerked off ... NBC's schedule.

Dino is great at doing over the top and disgusting humor, but then introducing genuine pathos into his little cartoons. Moral Orel towards the end was brilliant. I happen to like Frankenhole better so far.

It's called "Tosh.0". Although as usual, real life is more stupid than anything Mike Judge could come up with even if he tried to engage in hyperbole. It's like the reality and game shows depicted in The Running Man and RoboCop. Besides the actual killing, nothing in those films compares to the over the top idiocy of today's real life programming.

Is Sarah Jones. From her clothes.

A show about a dude who was a young green guard when the '63s dissappeared, waits his whole life for them to reappear. Now he's an old crusty badass dude dishing out justice. Still seems a bit contrived, but weould feel a bit more focused at least.

'Fear Factory' Donkey Semen Controversy: NBC Pulls Episode Though "Fear Factor" has seen its fair share of controversy, NBC finally deemed a stunt un-airable. TMZ reported that what would have been the Jan. 30 episode, entitled "Hee Haw! Hee Haw!," featured contestants being asked to drink a glass of donkey semen and a glass of donkey urine. The stunt was allegedly so extreme that NBC executives decided to pull it from the schedule just the day before it was scheduled to hit living rooms nationwide, according to TMZ. "Fear Factor" host Joe Rogan hinted at the stunt months ago in an interview with The Huffington Post when asked why he said the reality show was going to be "bigger and crazier" this season: The biggest example, I can't tell you unfortunately because they haven't even decided whether or not they're gonna air it. It's really that crazy. I got there and they told me what we were gonna do, and I just started laughing like, 'There's no way. That's not really gonna happen. Wait, is that really gonna happen?' [Laughs] I wish I could tell you. NBC's still looking at the footage going, 'Uhhhh, can we do that?' There's gonna be a lot of people that are going to be upset -- it really is ridiculous. According to TMZ, instead of the donkey-inspired episode in question, NBC will re-air the Jan. 2 episode of "Fear Factor."

anyone have a link to the banned episode?

Just curious. Did someone admit to her being an alt troll? Or did Mcgoo hunt her down and bury her under the floorboards of his apartment?

another couple of weeks, but only because there's nothing else (besides Daily/Colbert) that I record on Mondays...

Dino, the creator, also plays Starburns on Community. And I agree about the later episodes of Moral Orel - if those scripts were shot with real actors, they'd be Emmy-worthy for both writing and acting. I love Dino's new production company name too - Starburns Enterprises.

Sure, it's not quite as Fringe's early eps, and nowhere even NEAR Lost's early eps. But I would hardly say it's terrible. Main Chick and Doc Hurley need some time to grow, though. The only thing that really bugs me so far is that they're setting it up to QUITE procedural in format. That and the episode naming, which is always just someone's name ... it makes sense, but no one is going to remember "oh yeah, that guy" every week.

It's a reference to the time portal Dr. Frankenstein has in the series, so it does make sense. It just sounds so dirty.

...it's like JJ just cribbed the character and found the perfect actress for it. Which is probably exactly what happened.

I like that it is mixing up a police procedural with a more conspiratorial supernatural/science fiction mystery type concept. I doubt it will last though, as it is kind of in Lost's shadow with the whole thing centered on an island and the very twisty mystery/conspiracy aspect to it. As for the inmates not being able to function in today's society, we don't know how much info and maybe training of some sort they were given by whatever organization or force sent them forward in time. Also, the whole different inmate killing people of the week thing will probably just be the structure of the show, but there will surely be some overlap and backstory with the captured ones eventually. I can't imagine they will leave the Jack Sylvane dude to just sit in his cell or disappear from the show for good. I could see them possibly using him to help find some of the even worse '63 inmates that are returning. Then there is the grandfather thing with our cute little blonde detective heroine. That will surely be a big subplot that develops more as the show progresses. Oh, and the end of last weeks episode had an interesting little twist at the end. You'll know what it is if you've seen it. So I think Alcatraz will have more cool stuff to it than just capturing a new criminal every week. The biggest danger is if their eventual explanations for all this time traveling tomfoolery ends up being a shitty or unimaginative concept which could deflate the show. Or, will they string us along with all kinds of red herrings like Lost seemed to do, to keep the real answers hidden until much later in the series?

Whatever happened to the Powers TV show? I could have sworn I heard there was going to be an adaptation of that comic for TV. Or am I completely imagining things here?

And she's cuter and has more charisma. And I don't even prefer blondes. And Hurley is really annoying, always has been, even on Lost.

You know he just gargles that shit. For the protein.

Unlike conservatives, who gargle it because they love the taste.

"Republicans drink donkey semen ... nyah nyah nyah nyah..." Dude, really? Are you 12? Great debating skills there. Troll away and insult me now. We both know you will.

Bit of a shame. While the US version pales in comparison to the original, it has taken some interesting creative changes to define it as its own series. and, the characters are quirky enough. Hope it finds an audience before it gets cancelled

Ok, sorry. Some Republicans just bathe in donkey semen. Makes for a glossy coat. Nyuck, nyuck....

I'm all for the concept of putting people in fearful situations as a contest, but being forced to consume disgusting things has nothing to do with fear whatsoever. My fears? Heights. Spiders. Getting trapped in a tight space where I can't move my arms. Having to eat a plate of goat nuts isn't a phobia anyone with a properly functioning brain harbors. Either get rid of these 'stunts' (which are obviously cheap gimmicks to cover up the fact that you can't think of enough creative fear-based contests to round out the hour) or change the name of the show to 'Dignity Factor'.

Well, at least we all know who just admitted he would have no problem eating a plate of steaming leper shit and sucking on blood soaked tampons . What kind of person are you?

... busting out all the guys they've helped catch from that Alcatraz 2.0 they go to?

Nice non sequitur. If you don't have a phobia about something, it means you are willing to do it? So basically the way this works in your fail brain is that you list 3 or 4 things you have phobias about, and then I say 'so then you're fine with having a colombian dictator stuff leeches up your ass?'

I'm surprised it isn't more popular around these parts.

Agreed, Being Human is a good show. Sadly, once BSG ended, I think a huge part of of Syfy's viewing audience left with it. It's a weird situation for Being Human, as I don't think the show would really last on any other network, but Syfy has a bad stigma attached to it, be it the bade made for Syfy movies, or less than stellar attempts at reality tv. All the same, the channel does have Warehouse 13, Lost Girl, and Being Human..which are three shows I really enjoy. I"m kind of hoping they pick up The Fades for American syndication too. All ranting aside, cheers for your obvious good taste in genre tv

All I can say about Fear Factor, is that I don't see how there is any shock value left in the show. Every bit on every episode is just something recycled from the show's first run. It's one show that will never be on my Monday night viewing list.

I think you are dead on with your prediction sir

is fairly decent show. I'm almost through the first season and while not that enamored with the first half of season one it has started to grow on me. Evil Deeds if you haven't checked out Alphas on SyFy give it shot its another solid show. It's like Heroes except you know good.

It's odd how much I'm noticing this now in TV and movies. To give the characters something to do they set an expository scene in a restaurant, barely touch the food (and in this case order an insane amount), then just walk out on it. Just once I'd love to see them ask for a doggie bag... give the characters a chance to eat something! (hehehe)

Yeah my wife used to watch Friends and it would always bug me how Ross and Rachel had a baby and it was always in the background unless they convinently needed it for a storypoint.

I'm supprised that Lana Lang isn't in here since the main criminal this week played Whitney Lana's boyfriend on Smallville. He was actually pretty interesting. My guess is that sometime the criminals are going to somehow stage a jail break in Alcatraz 2, but I can't see it lasting long since thats too many characters to juggle at once.

Tge sniper episode - at the end they see the sniper on the roof from a neighboring roof. A gunshot would not have hit the sniper but at the least it would have made the sniper stop lining up his targets. Then they get to the sniper on the roof and they let him know they're on the roof with him, he still desperately wants to get a shot off and is basically ignoring the cops and is looking through his scope. Do they shoot him while he's looking through the scope, even in the leg? Nope the give all the time on the world to get a shot off. The one with the kidnapped boy-ok so Hurly is in the diner and spots the kidnapper and the kid. He doesn't get up and go out of earshot to call his partner, he calls right where he is so he has to make chit chat and hole his partner gets what he means, she does of course. But then the worst part is the kidnapper and kid go to leave and all Hurly had to do is stand up angle get in the guys way or just grab him, seeing as he outweighs the kidnapper by a good hundred pounds. I get the point they're trying to make that Hurly is unsure of himself and doesnt think he belongs in the field. The problem is that hes right and theyre trying to convince the audience otherwise. It's not good writing.

Appreciate the recommendation. I was a big fan of Heroes, till it took a nose dive after the first season, so hopefully Alphas can fill that void.

And now that you've noticed it, you'll see how common it is. My mom used to refer to Dallas as "that show where they're always having dinner but no one ever finishes a meal".

seems 'okay' so far. It's 55 minutes of a fairly by-the-numbers police procedural, and 5 minutes of some interesting twist at the end. It just seems like it's asking alot to have me sit through 55 minutes of 'meh' for a compelling final 5 minutes. The one kind of strange thing, the moment that made me sit and say "Wha?" was the toast at the dinner party: Was there a strange homoerotic J. Edgar Hoover/Clyde Tolson thing happening there - or was that just me? Oh and why did Cal Sweeney have 'Flash Gordon' hair? As I say to myself after every episode of this show: "I hope this story kicks into high gear soon, or they put Sara Jones in lots of tight t-shirts, c'mon people give me something..."

"this island!" / "so prisoners could make the jump" / "we have some subterranean visitors". The double locked door, one island,one "landlord", one man in charge, etc. So who are those visitors and why they live in a cave with a door like that? Some elements of the show are fascinating some others are quite boring, and I also fear the routine (identifying ex con / bust/...) might be quickly dull. Maybe 22 episodes per season is too much. Anyway, I'd glad to share your thoughts

Man they have a nice cute short blond with gigantic tits and they dress her up like a guy. BTW I like the show, Hurley is well Hurley and does a decent job. The show is too much formula. Hurley hears of some crime, associates it with a former inmate, they go look at that inmates Alcatraz item box for some clues. Same thing every week but I like the mystery so far. I loved Lost, even if some of the answers were very weak.