Death is Undone on Family Guy

Three weeks ago, I wrote about one of the core characters on Family Guy shockingly being killed off. I talked about how surprising and somewhat refreshing it was that this death was implemented with no forewarning in this age of internet spoilers and networks regularly spoiling major plot points in their shows as a way to drum up viewership. While I was skeptical how long lasting this death would be, given the fluidity of animated programs, I thought this could be an interesting way to shake the show up a little bit and breathe some fresh air into a show in its twelfth season.

So, of course, they had to undo everything last night. In a move that wasn’t all that surprising, Stewie was able to bring back his beloved best pal Brian the dog through some time traveling hocus pocus.

 

Thus ends the brief reign of replacement dog, Vinny, who the Griffins never adopted given this wrinkle in the time and space continuum. Sorry Vinny – hope you enjoyed your three weeks in the sun. At least you got to be in the opening credits.

The resurrection of Brian was bound to happen, though I did think that they may draw the whole thing out longer. I never in my heart of hearts thought that they would kill off this character permanently, given his popularity. There was quite a bit of backlash after the episode where he died, including a petition demanding that he be brought back. The only way that I could have seen this death sticking was if Seth MacFarlane, who voices Brian, was simply too busy with other projects to continue to do the voice every week. Otherwise, I figured that this was simply a way to get people talking about the show again and to mix things up briefly before ultimately returning everything to the status quo.

I would like to assume that they always intended to bring the character back this quickly and were not simply bowing to audience pressure; unlike South Park which is famously done at the last minute to stay current, most animated shows are done well in advance and take a lot of time to create, so they cannot change on a dime. Tweets from Seth MacFarlane seem to indicate that this was the plan all along:

I’ve grown a little leery of the role of audience feedback in the creation of pop culture; there seems to be a sense of entitlement that I worry hurt artistic expression and vision. The fact that viewers thought that they could start a petition to demand Brian’s return is a symptom of a greater problem – bowing to fan reaction. I may not always like the direction that shows that I watch take, but ultimately I realize that I am a passive consumer of someone else’s product. I think Homeland has gone off the rails and betrayed a lot of the characters that they created, but it’s their show. If I don’t enjoy it anymore, I stop watching it. However, the rise of Kickstarter and other online forums that try to dictate what happens on shows or demand that every cancelled show receive a movie indicates that other fans don’t think the same way I do. As much as I love Friday Night Lights, I am so relieved that they are not doing a movie. Things have to end eventually and they should do so as the creator sees fit. It makes me nervous that the whole creative process has become so interactive; if you want to dictate what’s happening, go create your own thing or read Choose Your Own Adventure. It’s one thing to vent on message boards or on Twitter; it’s quite another to expect that your voice actually should be taken into consideration by the writers and creators.

Regardless, I am glad to have Brian back on Family Guy as he was always my favorite character and I’m thankful that they didn’t decide to “resurrect” him around Easter time just for the controversy (with MacFarlane, that was a legitimate possibility). I still think that a more prolonged change would be good for the show, but I’m fine with the limited temporary alternative universe that they gave us. This was all ultimately a publicity stunt for the show, but it clearly worked; I haven’t watched Family Guy in a while and now I’ve blogged about it twice in less than a month. Well played, MacFarlane; well played.

Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Awards Season Edition

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – no, not Christmas, but the beginning of awards season. While some people are looking forward to decorating their tree or picking out the perfect present, I am anticipating all the great new movies that are coming out and who will be nominated for all the top awards. To me, December 25th is the day that The Wolf of Wall Street comes out; is there something else going on?

Until we are inundated with awards ceremonies, kill some time by perusing my biweekly roundup of pop culture stories that you may have missed. There is a lot of pop culture goodies this week.

• The Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced this morning. Grammy nominations were announced as well.

• The American Film Institute has named their top films for 2013.

• Movie posters for the fake movie Rochelle, Rochelle from Seinfeld have been popping up in NYC. If someone wanted to steal me one I’d be forever grateful.

• Sundance has announced more films for the 2014 film festival.

• I’m pretty psyched for Comedy Central’s new show Broad City, starring Hannibal Buress and Chris Gethard.

• A Friday Night Lights movie ain’t happening, people. I am totally OK with this. Texas forever!

• This one is for my dear friends who just moved to Florida – there will be a 6 ft. tall Festivus pole made from empty Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans in the Florida Capitol. This is OUTSTADNING on so many levels.

• Terminator is coming back to TV.

• FX is staying in the Louis C.K. business. Smart network.

• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is gaining two new agents. Hopefully one of them will have some personality.

• Hells yeah – R Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet will be back with new chapters in 2014.

• NBC has renewed The Blacklist.

• Anyone stuck on a Christmas gift for me should look no further than this Breaking Bad Snow Globe.

• Turns out that Chris Hemsworth was kissing his wife, not co-star Natalie Portman, at the end of Thor:The Dark World. That explains the unexpected chemistry.

• Someone made a recreation of the mall chase scene in The Blues Brothers with LEGOs:

Shh….don’t tell anyone, but I’ve never seen The Blues Brothers.

• Martin Scorsese says that he only has a few films left in him.

• Stephen Colbert, a huge Tokien fan, will have a cameo in the second The Hobbit film.

• John Corbett is returning to Parenthood.

• House of Cards will be back for a second season on Valentine’s Day.

• Chris Pratt is in talks for the new Jurassic Park movie.

• Green Day is taking a hiatus.

• Kevin Smith’s new movie, Tusk, will be released in the autumn of 2014.

• The 200^th episode of How I Met Your Mother will be told from the mother’s point of view.

• I am still mad at you people for not watching Happy Endings, but you can redeem yourself when the entire series airs on VH1.

• I’m not saying that the recent NBC version contributed, but the actress who played the baroness in the film version has passed away.

• Julie Andrews did not watch The Sound of Music Live. NBC is re-airing it Saturday if she wants to reconsider.

• The unexpected hero of Twitter during The Sound of Music was DiGiorno’s Pizza.

• NBC will unsurprisingly be doing another live musical.

• Now that they’ve made their peace with the nun demographic, NBC is moving forward with their Rosemary’s Baby miniseries.

• This is great – some child actors re-enacted the “triple-dog-dare” scene from A Christmas Story on a NYC subway:

Seriously – my subway rides are so boring compared to this.

•  Billy Joel has been having a good December so far. He’s among those being honored at the Kennedy Center and he has a residency at Madison Square Garden.

• To celebrate his 90^th (!) birthday, Bob Barker is returning to The Price is Right on Thursday.

• Jenji Kohan is developing a Salem drama for HBO.

• The Walking Dead will return February 9^th.

• Comedy Central has renewed Tosh.O through 2016.

• Second seasons of Kroll Show and Inside Amy Schumer will debut early next year.

• Lady Gaga is going out on tour; I’m trying to convince myself that I don’t have to go.

• The Anchorman 2 publicity train made a stop at Saturday Night Live last weekend:

 

• Ron Burgundy has his own Scotch now. I assume I will buy this, though I don’t drink the stuff.

• Ron Burgundy does some legendary sports calls:

 

• Though his hosting duties on Sportscenter were scrapped, ESPN released Ron Burgundy’s interview with the great Peyton Manning:

 

• A Downton Abbey themed food truck is cruising around New York City, giving away free tea and biscuts.

• Starting December 27^th, AMC is airing every episode of Breaking Bad. So all you people that haven’t caught up officially no longer have any excuses. It will be followed by a marathon of The Walking Dead.

• Some of these pop/emo songs reimagined as lullabies are actually pretty good.

• Jason Momoa is in talks for Batman vs. Superman.

• Also in Batman vs. Superman? Wonder Woman.

• Andrew Garfield may not return for The Amazing Spiderman 4.

• Ben Whishaw (Q in Skyfall) will play Freddie Mercury in a biopic.

• If you are still on the fence about seeing Frozen after my review, watch the full performance of the song “Let It Go.” If that doesn’t convince you, nothing will.

• Starz is developing an Italian drama about drugs.

• BBC has cancelled Ripper Street. Boo!

• Tumblrs of the week: Respectful Rappers and The Bob’s Burger Experiment.

• Thanks to Kickstarter, there will be an online Jane Austen game.

• Another Kickstarer funded project, the Veronica Mars movie, will drop March 14^, 2014.

• Everyone’s favorite local sports anchor is back with a segment with 43 Christmas Vacation references:

 

•  Leighton Meester will appear with James Franco on Broadway.

• Occidental College is offering a course on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

• Speaking of…meet the contestants for the 6^th season of perhaps America’s greatest reality show.

• Another one of Chris Lilley’s Summer Heights High characters is getting a spinoff.

• Kerry Washington’s pregnancy will mean a shortened Scandal season.

• Jon Favreau is directing a pilot for MTV based on a fantasy novel series.

• Lena Dunham interviewed Judy Blume, but you need to subscribe to The Believer to read the whole thing.

• The Foo Fighters played a surprise gig at a pizza parlor in California.

• Kate Winslet has given birth to a baby boy.

• I totally dig this inforgraphic that puts Pulp Fiction in chronological order.

• Though rumor is that Brian the dog will be returning, he’s been replaced in The Family Guy opening credits:

 

• Forbes has released their list of the year’s most overpaid actors. Congrats, Adam Sandler.

• Susan Boyle has been diagnosed with Asperger’s.

• The Academy has released the short list of possible best documentary nominees.

• Carolina Panthers DE Greg Hardy named Hogwarts as his alma mater on Sunday Night Football. Hilarious.

• Oh how the mighty have fallen; former N’Sync-er Joey Fatone is now a spokesman for a hair loss company.

• Bruce Dern was one babysat by Eleanor Roosevelt.

• X-Men: Apocalypse will be out in 2016.

• A mini Will & Grace reunion – Megan Mullally will appear on Sean Saves the World.

• Christoph Waltz may join the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Not the best career move.

• Kristen Stewart has been named the new face of Chanel; not the face I would have picked unless you wanted to convey miserable.

• See Mad Men’s John Slattery before he became a silver fox:

 

• Game of Thrones is getting its own video game.

• One of the dudes from The Wanted has gotten engaged.

• Some Breaking Bad graffiti turned up in Leicester Square:

 

• Sin City is going to be a TV show.

• There is a petition to name a newly discovered planet after Doctor Who’s homeland Gallifrey.

• Judd Apatow will direct a movie starring Amy Schumer.

• The World War Z sequel will have a new director.

• A Heathers musical will open off Broadway in March. So who’s going with me????

• See every James Bond title card.

• This star of Inside Llewyn Davis does a folk version of Katy Perry’s “Roar” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:

 

• The New York Public Library has bought Tom Wolfe’s papers.

• There will be no tailgating before the Super Bowl this year.

• Dann Florek (Captain Cragan) is leaving Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

• The upcoming FOX series Gotham is currently casting a 10 year old Bruce Wayne.

• We have done something to anger the Gods; Rebecca Blank (“Friday”) is back with a new song, the aptly titled “Saturday.” Only 5 more days to go and this nightmare is over:

 

• Regina King has joined the cast of FX’s The Strain.

• Some photos have been released of Matthew Rhys and Jenna Coleman in the adaptation of Death Comes to Pemberley.

• Sharon Osbourne is writing a children’s book.

• Sleepy Hollow will have a two hour season finale.

• The Kardashian/Jenner clan (klan?) have released their Christmas card and it’s batshit crazy  (and missing a lot of people):

• Andy Serkis is doing a motion-capture adaptation of Animal Farm.

• The Pirate Fairy, starring Christina Hendricks and Tom Hiddleston, is slated for an April 2014 release.

• Brett Ratner is back in the director’s chair for Beverly Hills Cop IV.

• How to make a Star Wars snowflake.

• The Killers cast Owen Wilson in their new music video:

 

• Quentin Tarantino says his next movie is a western.

• Local favorites Phantogram are releasing a new album.

• Six facts you might not know about the children’s TV show, You Can’t Do That On Television.

• Some fake The Simpsons movies get posters with real actors.

 

• Mandy Patinkin without his beard is just weird.

• Breaking Bad and Homeland are influencing the popularity of baby names in the UK. I hope this means parents are naming their kids Skinny Pete and Badger.

• Star Wars has an Instagram account.

• I have never had a barista this talented:

 

• This handy infographic teaches you how to do Conon’s famous “string dance.”

• The NYC subway map gets the Super Mario treatment

• Watch Snoop and Martha Stewart make some mashed potatoes:

 

• The Broadway musical Pippen is getting a big screen adaptation.

• The New York Times did a Mad Lib themed interview with Kristen Wiig.

• The Simpsons LEGO minigifs have hit the market.

• The Cohen brothers are working on a musical comedy.

• Bette Midler is doing a Mae West biopic.

• Chris Elliott will appear on this season of Community.

• Bart Simpson made an appearance on American Dad:

 

• Miley Cyrus named MTV’s Artist of the Year.

• Actress Malin Akerman and her husband have split.

• Kerri Russel and her husband have also separated.

• Jay Z ranked his own albums.

• Kevin Hart and Lebron James will star in the film Ballers. I prefer to think of this as Space Jams 2: The Search for Curly’s Gold.

• NBC is adapting The Wolfman.

• Benedict Cumbatch reading R. Kelly lyrics is fantastic:

 

• Well this isn’t good – Aron Ralston, the real guy James Franco played in 127 Hours, was arrested on domestic violence charges.

• Adult Swim has renewed The Eric Andre Show for a third season.

• Glee fans get to choose the songs for the show’s 100^th episode. All the surviving original cast members will also be returning.

• Check out these pop culture inspired Christmas ornaments. Now check out some more.

•  A sequel to Dredd will be released in January 2014.

• Unpublished J.D. Salinger stories were leaked online.

Trailer break!

• Barefoot with Evan Rachel Wood

 

• A red band trailer (NSFW) for Jason Bateman’s directorial debut, Bad Words.

 

• A teaser trailer for the new season of Community:

 

• Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis in Jupiter Ascending:

 

• A teaser trailer for the new season of Justified:

 

• The Asylum is really committing to this whole shark thing with Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark (yup – that’s Debbie Gibson):

 

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s new reality show is coming in January:

 

• Heisenberg Bryan Cranston in Godzilla:

 

• The Amazing Spiderman 2:

 

• Leonardo DiCaprio has established a Formula E racing team.

• An oral history of The Kids in the Hall.

• Listen to the first single from Lea Michele’s upcoming album.

• Ridley Scott is producing an adaptation of the YA novel, Fae.

• Season 4 of Portlandia will return in February.

• Aaron Paul, Will Arnett and Amy Sedaris lend their voices to Netflix’s animated comedy BoJack Horseman.

• A new Johnny Cash album will be out in the spring of 2014.

• Dolly Parton will also have a new album next year.

• The ABC comedy The Goldbergs will do a Goonies inspired episode.

• Amy Poehler knows how Parks and Recreation will end.

• Stephen King has joined Twitter.

• Californicataion will end after its 7^th season.

• If anyone has an extra $1,000, I’d like to own Chairy from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.

• Macaulay Culkin is in a band that does Velvet Underground covers about pizza. That sentence doesn’t make any more sense the more you read it.

• In advance of Muppets Most Wanted, Disney is releasing a series of web episodes. The first one features Gordon Ramey (and The Miz, if you know the WWE):

Serious question – when did the Swedish Chef start having human hands? I noticed this during the Lady Gaga special on Thanksgiving and it FREAKS ME THE HELL OUT.

• I’m not saying that Richard Grieco is hard up for money, but he is selling bottles that he painted for $1800 on his website.

• Surprisingly, it sounds like a second Jack Reacher movie is happening.

• BBC is doing a Laurel and Hardy movie.

• The History Channel is doing a miniseries on Jamestown.

• Lance Reddick is coming to American Horror Story: Coven.

• Diane Keaton will accept Woody Allen’s honorary Golden Globe on his behalf.

• HBO is bringing back its Real Sex series.

• Iron Maiden and Metallica will headline the Sonisphere Festival.

• The co-host of HGTV’s Curb Appeal died in a motorcycle accident.

• Barbara Walters has selected her most fascinating people. I once again did not make the cut.

• Lindsay Lohan is suing Grant Theft Auto V for allegedly using her likeness.

As always, we end with the Mashups and Supercuts:

• Bohemian Rhapsody meets Star Wars:

 

• President Obama sings “Jingle Bells”

 

• The Hungover Games (a parody of The Hunger Games and The Hangover, among other things) is a REAL MOVIE:

I am totally watching this.

• Mean Elves (Mean Girls/The Hobbit mashup):

 

• A Doctor Who/A-Ha mashup:

 

• A mashup of 68 songs from 2013:

 

• 50 TV theme songs in five minutes:

 

• And finally, Sesame Street has been killing it with their parodies. See them take on Lord of the Rings in Lord of the Crumbs:

Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Happy Thanksgiving Edition

Hooray – it’s almost Thanksgiving, though honestly I am more excited about the 4 day weekend than the actual holiday. I’ve been running around way too much in the last week and I really just need a few days to relax and get myself back on track. I’m looking forward to just sleeping in and taking it easy and watching a shameful number of movies. I’ll enjoy the turkey dinner and the moment to reflect on all that I’m thankful for (which is a lot), but I’m really ready for some R&R. The last two weeks have kicked my butt.

Before you head off to spend some time with your loved ones and eat some stuffing, get yourself up to speed on the world of pop culture with your biweekly pop culture roundup. It’s on the long side this week, so there’s plenty to keep you occupied over the long weekend. Plus you never know when you’ll have to make small talk with a relative and there is a little bit of something for everyone in this roundup. So pour over this collection of links before the tryptophan kicks in.

• GQ has a great interview with Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad.

• Someone indexed every death in the Game of Thrones books (so far):

• Whew – Paramount will block the proposed It’s a Wonderful Life sequel. There is a God

• NOOOOOO!!!!!!!! They are remaking Road House. It has better include the line “I used to f*ck guys like you in prison” or it will be complete sacrilege.

This week in Ron Burgundy news:

• Great news – Paramount has moved up the release date for the film by two days.

• Will Ferrell will host the 6pm episode of SportsCenter on ESPN December 6^th – in character.

• The Channel 4 gang sang “Afternoon Delight” at the Australian premiere:

 

• 12 fun facts from a visit to the Anchorman 2 edit bay.

• Hot Topic is turning Black Friday into Burgundy Friday.

• I’m actually super bummed that I won’t see this – Burgundy will call a pro curling event in Winnipeg.

• Emerson University renamed their communication school after Burgundy – for one day.

• Burgundy took over Conan last week and sang a campaign song for Toronto Mayor and crack enthusiast Rob Ford:

 

• Ron Burgundy tries to understand Doctor Who.

• There was a live reading of the original Anchorman to raise money for charity.

• Baxter got his own movie poster:

 

• I wrote earlier this week about an unexpected death on Family Guy; fans didn’t take the development well and 40,000 of them have signed a petition demanding the character be brought back.

• The new Britney Spears album is streaming on iTunes.

• This article looks at how Friends decided to pair off Monica and Chandler.

• The Mindy Project is going on hiatus due to low ratings. Other shakeups at FOX – Dads has been removed from the schedule despite receiving a full season order and Brooklyn Nine-Nine is moving to 9:30 (in The Mindy Project’s old slot).

• The Monty Python reunion show sold out in 43 seconds. The gang is now doing 5 shows instead of just one.

• The actor that plays King Joffrey says he’s retiring from acting once he’s done on Game of Thrones.

• Bruce Springsteen is releasing a new album in January 2014. Happy day!

• EW looks at 12 big changes made in the film adaptation of Catching Fire.

• The forthcoming The Walking Dead spinoff may be a prequel.

• Netflix is bringing back The Killing for one more season. This show has nine lives!

• FXX has struck a deal that will allow episodes of The Simpsons from the first 24 seasons to be streamed on-line.

• This isn’t a pairing I would have come up with: Oprah and Diablo Cody are working on a new HBO comedy.

• This one is for my mom: FOX Japan is going to air the first 10 season of NCIS non-stop and in order over 10 days.

• Stevie Nicks is apparently having a good time over on American Horror Story: Coven since she is sticking around for another week.

• Sadly, Jessica Lange will be leaving the series after next season.

• Once Upon a Time in Wonderland will go on hiatus.

• Jeopardy! recently poked some fun at the Houston Astros’ terrible season in one of their answers.

• Chris Hemsworth and his wife are expecting baby number 2.

• Kelly Clarkson is pregnant.

• James Franco and Seth Rogan did a parody of Kanye’s video for “Bound 2”:

Surprisingly, Kim and Kanye (neither known for their killer sense of humor) apparently found it funny.

• The Hollywood Reporter did a lengthy eye-opening feature on the treatment of animals in Hollywood.

• George Takei is now in the fragrance game.

• The Heat may not be getting a sequel, but two minor characters will get a spinoff.

• Sigh…..CBS is going forward with How I Met Your Dad. That horse is dead – stop beating it.

• Winona Ryder indicated Beetlejuice 2 might happen.

• Anjelica Houston wants to be on Downton Abbey.

• Lauren Hill will perform her first show since being released from prison.

• Orphan Black returns in the US on April 19^th.

• FX has picked up The Strain for series.

• Arcade Fire is asking their fans to dress up for their new tour.

• Chris Brown has been sent to rehab.

• Outkast may reunite at Coachella this summer.

• Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are starring in a new special on E!

• Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA taught a class at the University of Toronto.

• Scarlett Johannsson’s voice work in the upcoming Spike Jonze film Her cannot be considered for a Golden Globe.

• An Underground Railroad miniseries is coming to FX.

• In a Q&A with Chef Mario Batali, he revealed that he ordered 200 pairs of orange Crocs when he heard that they were retiring his signature footwear.

• The person behind the Seinfeld 2000 Twitter account made a music video for Arcade Fire’s song “Here Comes the Night Time.”

• AMC has ordered two new drama pilots.

• The Purge 2 will be released June 2014.

• Zach Braff may have pulled off the greatest photobomb of all time:

• A Star Wars burlesque show now exists.

• Sutton Foster and Amy Sherman-Palladino are reuniting for a Broadway show. (R.I.P. Bunheads)

• Once Upon a Time has cast an actor from Covert Affairs for a guest role.

• Watch Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul read the Breaking Bad finale for the first time (spoilers if you aren’t current):

 

• Wilmer Valderrama has joined the cast of the From Dusk Till Dawn TV show.

• Dave Chappelle sat down for a rare interview with a local news station in Minneapolis.

• You can watch the pilots of HBO’s new comedies Ja’mie: Private School Girl and Getting On online.

• A&E has officially renewed Longmire for a third season, which makes me happy.

• You can explore Middle Earth in Google Maps.

• For those of you that can’t get enough of Jennifer Lawrence (and who can?), here’s a photo of her in junior high.

• Mad Max: Fury Road will be released in 2015.

• Adam Brody (The O.C.) and Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) are engaged.

• I wish this is had happened when I was just there – a kid dressed up like Harry Potter and tried to find the Hogwarts Express in Penn Station.

• Wait….George Brett had something to do with Lorde’s hit song “Royals?”

• Batkid is back on the case, this time rescuing Pitbull from the Joker on Good Morning America.

• Tori Amos is releasing a new album and going out on tour in 2014.

• U2 has released a new song for the movie Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

• Kanye West may have another album by next summer.

• Something to buy your favorite Game of Thrones fan for the holidays: A Dragon Egg Cookie Jar.

• Well here’s a headline you don’t see every day: “Photo of Rick Springfield’s Buttocks Shown to Jury, Which Start Deliberating Today in Injury Lawsuit.”

• I’m not a Doctor Who fan, but the series was honored with a Google Doodle last week in honor of its fiftieth anniversary.

• The Doctor Who 50^th anniversary special drew 10 million viewers in the UK.  The special also had plenty of Easter eggs for the die-hard fans.

• USA network has cancelled Necessary Roughness.

• More Doctor Who: The BBC created an interactive map that allows fans to explore the time travel adventures of all 11 Doctors.

• The surviving members of the Beastie Boys penned an open letter explain their dispute with toymaker GoldieBlox. Their song “Girls” has since been pulled from the commercial.

• Willie Nelson’s tour has been put on hold after a bus accident involving his band.

• James Franco and Chris O’Dowd are on their way to Broadway.

• Wiz Khalifa and Adele are collaborating? Interesting.

• According to this graphic, many Sesame Street character have mental disorders.

• Once Upon a Time co-stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas are expecting a baby.

• Jon Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift and Prince William performed “Livin’ on a Prayer” at a gala.

• Anna Gunn and Jacki Weaver will appear in the U.S. adaptation of Broadchurch.

• You can now watch a short film, Aningaaq, which sheds light on the other side of Sandra Bullock’s call in Gravity.

• I like The Vampire Diaries, but all the relationships can be confusing. TV Guide has a relationship roadmap for the show to help keep everything straight.

• Watch Robert DeNiro’s audition for the role of Sonny in The Godfather:

 

• Empire has a Q&A with George R.R. Martin, who should spend less time giving interviews and more time finishing the damn book series.

• Well….that was short lived – MSNBC fired Alec Baldwin.

• Lifetime has renewed Witches of East End.

• Comedy Central has picked up @midnight for 40 more weeks.

• The Friday the 13^th franchise will release a new film in 2015. True story – though I am a horror fan, I’ve never seen any of these movies.

• Kevin Spacey gave Woody Allen a Netflix subscription.

• Pitbull and Ke$ha co-star in a new music video:

 

• Sadly, Angelina Jolie did not buy Brad Pitt a heart shaped island for his 50^th birthday.

• Tumblrs of the week: Upworthy: Springfield and Histagrams

• The Broadway musical Matilda is headed to the big screen.

• Patton Oswalt’s new comedy special will air in January on Epix.

• Javier Bardem offered Blackbeard role in Peter Pan origin movie.

• This is fantastic – a guy live tweeted a couple breaking up.

• Jennifer Love Hewitt got married and gave birth to a baby girl.

• Journey guitarist Neil Schon and White House crasher Michaele Salahi are getting married on pay-per-view. Don’t be giving Kimye ideas.

• Vulture has a roundup of all of Ruxin’s putdowns on The League.

• Frankie Munitz has suffered a second mini-stroke. The actor is 27 years old.

• Michael Chiklis is developing a TV show based on his comic book Pantheon. Show of hands – who knew Chiklis had a comic book? Me neither.

• I’m not one to tell people how to spend their money, but $27,000 for a Magic: The Gathering card seems like a bad investment.

• A J.R.R. Tolkien biopic is in development.

• Jimmy Fallon will host SNL in December with musical guest Justin Timberlake (shocker!)

• SyFy has bought the horror project The Woods from the co-creator of Chuck.

• Mad Men has a Christmas album, available only at Target.

• Flavorwire interviews Joel Hodgson on 25 years of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

• Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are developing the DC Comic’s Sleeper.

• Baz Luhrmann may direct a Napoleon miniseries for HBO.

• The A.V. Club looks at what it is like to be a contestant on The Biggest Loser.

Trailers:

• Every new trailer for HBO’s True Detective makes me more and more excited for this show:

 

• A teaser for the new Chicago Fire spin-off, Chicago PD:

 

• Sherlock Season 3:

 

• The obviously NSFW trailer has arrived from Lars von Trier’s upcoming film Nymphomaniac

 

• Season 3 trailer for HBO’s Girls:

 

• A trailer for Devil’s Knot – yet another film about the West Memphis Three:

 

• Another trailer for one of the movies I am most looking forward to this winter, American Hustle:

 

• Kellen Lutz stars in Hercules: The Legend Begins:

 

• A new trailer for Muppets Most Wanted:

 

• Wait….we’re getting another A Haunted House movie? Who asked for this?

• Norman Reedus (Daryl, The Walking Dead) will have a supporting role in The Crow reboot.

• ABC Family has released its 25 Days of Christmas schedule.

• An actor from Smash will be making a guest appearance on The Good Wife.

• Rolling Stone has a list of 50 things Millennials have never heard of.

• HBO is developing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon for series.

• Cary Elwes is writing a Princess Bride memoir. I’ll be reserving my copy ASAP.

• Some deleted scenes from one of my all-time favorite movies, The Shawshank Redemption:

 

• I always knew It’s Sunny in Philadelphia was ahead of its time. Does this mean kitten mittens are next?

• Whoa – Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle album was released 20 years ago. I am feeling old.

• The Wolverine sequel will be based on an existing comic book plotline.

• Mia Waskiowska and Johnny Depp are both returning for Alice in Wonderland 2.

• Sundance Channel may adapt A Visit From the Goon Squad.

• Aaron Paul has joined the cast of Fathers and Daughters (also starring Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried).

• Kevin Bacon’s daughter is Miss Golden Globes 2014.

• Clint Eastwood’s daughter married Jonah Hill’s brother and immediately wants an annulment.

• Boogie Nights almost went directly to video.

As always, we end with the mashups and supercuts:

• Mad Men without the smoking:

 

• Reaping Ball – a Hunger Games/Miley Cryrus mashup:

 

• The Wolf of Bedford Falls (It’s a Wonderful Life re-cut to look like The Wolf of Wall Street):

 

• A Rob Ford/New Jack City remix:

 

• A Rob Ford/Chris Farley mashup (Farley would have been amazing playing Ford on SNL):

 

• Team Coco put together a supercut of season 3 of Conan:

 

• The Sesame Street gang did a Hunger Games parody:

 

• And finally……a Dawson’s Creek/The Walking Dead mashup, Governor’s Creek:

 

The blog is probably going to take a few days off for the holidays, unless I just can’t help myself. Best wishes for a very happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah!!!!