Tag Archives: Netflix

John Wooden on Character

John Wooden Quote

I caught the delightful documentary, John Wooden: Values, Victory featuring the Wizard of Westwood on Netflix, the other night. Despite growing up in a Trojan household, I wish I’d had the opportunity to learn from Mr. UCLA Basketball, himself, while he was still teaching.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Seven Guest Characters I Hope Return to Arrested Development

Arrested Development from Time

The closer we get to May 26th, the more excited I am for the return of Arrested Development. And as anxious as I am to see what the Bluths have been up to after their seven year hiatus (the show was canceled), I’m equally as excited to see which of their many amazing guest-stars will be returning with them.

Here are the seven guest characters I most hope return to season four of Arrested Development.

1. Liza Minelli as Lucille Austero

Lucille Austero

Austero, AKA: Lucille Two, was Lucille Bluth’s chief social rival and Buster’s vertigo-suffering girlfriend. Will she be looking to reunite with her one-handed, former flame or will she still be tied up with Stan Sitwell?

2. Henry Winkler as Barry Zuckerkorn

Barry Zuckerkorn

Winkler as the Fonz was the epitome of ‘50s cool in the ‘70s—quite the opposite of the inept and clearly out of his league, milquetoast who served as the Bluth family attorney. Will the Bluths stick by Barry or will they rehire Bob Loblaw (I read his law blog)?

3. Amy Poehler as The Bride of G.O.B.

G.O.B.'s Wife

I don’t remember Poehler’s character ever having a name on the show—if she did G.O.B. sure didn’t remember it (I blame too many ruffies). Whatever it was, she was a force of chaos to be reckoned with whenever she made an appearance. In real life Poehler and Arnett split last year, but maybe the show can bring them back together if only for a few episodes.

4. Steve Ryan as J. Walter Weatherman

J. Walter Weatherman

J. Walter Weatherman was the George Bluth’s one-armed employee that he would often use in elaborate schemes to teach his kids a lesson. These lessons always ended with Weatherman’s prosthetic arm being ripped off in dramatic fashion. Then came the moral of the lesson—usually something along the lines of “And that’s why you always leave a note!” What lessons would the eldest Bluth have him teach this time around?

5. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Maggie Lizer

Maggie Lizer

On a show full of liars, Lizer was arguably the biggest. She wasn’t blind and Michael never got her pregnant and neither did the two cops whose baby she was supposedly carrying. What whoppers could she have possibly concocted over the last seven years? I hope we get the chance to see.

6. Carl Weathers as Carl Weathers

Carl Weathers

The former Apollo Creed is the star of over thirty movies and served as Tobias Fünke’s acting coach and mentor. Weathers seldom taught Tobias much about the actual business of show, but made up for it by showing him the finer points scoring free food from restaurant dumpsters. What nuggets of wisdom would he share now?

7. Charlize Theron as Rita Leeds

Rita Leeds

In my favorite storyline of the entire series, Theron played Michael’s love interest, Rita. She was as lovely as she was cerebrally challenged. She wasn’t the notorious Mr. F, but instead turned out to be a Mentally Retarded Female (MRF). I don’t know if or how they could bring her back, but I’d love it if they did—tiny teddy and all.

One thing that really set Arrested Development apart during its initial run was the way that they were able to consistently tie in terrific cameo appearances and enhance the story. I hope they can do it again.

Who do you hope makes a stop at the banana stand this season? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are courtesy of the Arrested Development Wiki.

Arrested Development Easter Eggs on Netflix

The Final Countdown

They (Fox) made a huge mistake and now Netflix is set to prove that there’s still plenty of gold to be mined by the show’s incredible ensemble and writers. Unless you’ve been living under a banana peel then you already know that Arrested Development is coming back in a big way.

Netflix hasn’t been shy about promoting the fact that they are resurrecting AD. Starting May 26th, subscribers will be able to stream all 15 episodes of the new season.

I recently discovered that the Netflix site is crawling with Arrested Development themed Easter eggs. Most of them are related to fake shows that were referenced during the series’ brief run. Here are a few of my favorites.

Scandalmakers

Scandalmakers

In this edition of “true stories, ripped from the headlines” Tobias starred as George, Sr. while Dave Attel portrayed Tobias. This episode highlighted the Bluth family’s fall from grace.

World’s Worst Drivers

Worlds Worst Drivers

Lucille was featured on this reality series featuring the worst drivers in—you guessed it—the world. That she regularly drove while intoxicated and/or under the effects of narcotics may have been a contributing factor.

El Amor Prohibido

El Amor Prohibido

The title of this Novela, or Spanish language soap opera, means “the forbidden love”. This is exactly what was going on between Michael and the star of the show, Marta, who just happened to be dating his hermano, GOB.

Franklin Comes Alive

Franklin Comes Alive

GOB and his extremely un-PC puppet, Franklin Delano Bluth, sing, tell jokes, and manage to offend everyone in so doing. This could be why Marta was keen on ditching him for Michael (“Who is this hermano?”).

Boyfights (or Lucha de Muchachos)

Boyfights

George, Sr. used to egg the boys on until they’d fight. He filmed their fights and sold VHS tapes outside the US.

One last thing …

5 Bananas

When you rate Arrested Development online you don’t rate it in stars. Instead you use bananas. After all, “there’s always money in the banana stand (wink, wink).”

In closing, here’s a clip from the upcoming and final season of AD

“No Smoking”

Have you managed to find any other Easter eggs on Netflix (I’m counting at least five more)? If so, sound off in the comments below.

All images in this post are from Netflix, unless otherwise noted.

Nick Jr. Predicts Cowboys & Aliens

Gary Larson provided the original concept and Clarissa explained it all, but did you know that Nick Jr.’s plucky, young anthropomorphic quintet may have also inspired the Cowboys and Aliens movie***?

Backyardigans - Cowboys & Aliens
Image via my flickr.

Way back in The Backyardigans episode Ranch Hands From Outer Space (Season 3, Episode 14 for anyone who cares) a cowgirl hippo meets up with an alien penguin and pink bug-thing.

Spoiler Alert!

Sadly, there is no shooting of UFOs in this episode. After a series of comedic mishaps the Cowboy (yellow hippo) and Aliens (blue penguin and pink bug-thing) sing, dance, and have a snack.

Singing Dancing Cowboys and Aliens
Image via my flickr.

If, like me, you have kids between the ages of 1 and 8 (or if you’re really weird) you may have seen this episode before. If not, don’t worry. Nick Jr. has the annoying habit of playing the same episode of a show every day for weeks on end—it’ll turn up eventually. For the impatient types, go to Netflix and you can even stream it on demand.

Have you noticed the recent trend of ripping off resurrecting old ideas for TV shows and movies? Which ones in particular have caught your attention? Sound off in the comments below.

***Props to Lynette for bringing this one to my attention!

The Great Streaming Media Experiment of 2011

C & H Pander to Me

Photo courtesy of my flickr

It’s been nearly two weeks since we cut out the cable and I couldn’t be happier.

Truth be told, our kids were pretty apprehensive about the whole thing. They wanted to know why we were “getting rid of the television.”

Since the switch, however, I haven’t heard them once grumble or complain about either the selection or the quality of programming available to them.

In full disclosure I must say that we’ve had intermittent connectivity issues with Hulu Plus, so much so that I actually phoned in to their tech support line.

Imagine my surprise when my call was answered after only one ring! And not by an automated voice response program, but by an actual human being!

He listened to my issue, acknowledged that they were aware of similar problems which other users had faced. He offered to comp us a free week of service for our troubles.

Hulu’s stellar customer service will go a long way towards me forgiving technical glitches. I’m much more willing to put up with a few hiccups while the technology matures due to their patron friendly attitude.

Cutting Out Cable

C&H Missing TV

Photo courtesy of my flickr

We’re finally doing it. This is the week we cancel our cable TV and take the plunge—making the switch to all streaming media.

Instead of shelling out $60 a month for cable, we’re switching to Netflix at $9.99 a month (for unlimited streaming and DVDs) and Hulu Plus at $7.99 on a Roku streaming media player.

This wasn’t a decision we arrived at lightly, but I think we’re going to be happy with our viewing options and with the extra cash in the bank each month.

Have you made the switch from cable to streaming media? Do you have any tips for someone new to the process? Sound off in the comments below.