Unisex Bud Light

So I'm watching this commercial and I'm thinking "typical sexist ad geared towards stupid guys" when my brain does a spin because the final punch line is for the gals. Now everyone knows how impossible it is to market to both guys and girls so I have to hand it to the Bud Light team for doing it so brilliantly. (Not that I'm switching to Bud Light or anything...)

Sherlock

This network TV season has been so dismal, I'm flabbergasted. I'm talking about the new shows. There's almost nothing (Raising Hope is cute). Is there some kind of virus going around Hollywood that's exhausted all creativity? Even the new J.J. Abrams show Undercovers is like a lame rip-off of a J.J. Abrams show. What's going on? I was in complete despair until I accidentally tumbled upon Sherlock. Reading the promo, I didn't have high hopes, let me tell you. I mean, another retelling of the Sherlock Holmes tale? Come on!  So imagine my shock when I'm finding myself having some serious fun.

Sherlock is not from Hollywood.  It's a co-production of BBC Wales and WGBH for PBS's Masterpiece Mystery. The co-creators are two writers from the Russell T. Davies re-imagined Doctor Who series. And it's a little Doctor Who, a little graphic novel, a little Arthur Conan Doyle. At this point, I dread telling you the premise because it might turn you off:  Sherlock is now a modern guy with a nicotine addiction instead of heroin and he's a sociopath; Watson is an ex-army doctor who saw action in Afghanistan. Now here's the fun stuff:  smart dialog, rapid-fire delivery, great chemistry between Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Martin Freeman (Watson), a charming Rupert Graves as a hopeless detective, and a wonderfully batty Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs) who keeps singing, "Just this once, dear — I'm not your housekeeper!"

But see for yourself:

A Tale Of Two TV Shows

The Defenders vs Hawaii Five-O (2010).

Both shows are mostly about guys doing guy things. Both shows try to be funny. Both shows have convoluted action. Both shows are boring. I keep thinking both shows should be good.

The Defenders have great leads who have real chemistry together. But everything else is so boring.

Hawaii Five-O doesn't even have that. The two male leads have zero chemistry. And it's not like they're not trying. God, they're trying. Make them stop trying. The two supporting characters are great though. Played by Daniel Day Kim and Grace Park, they make me miss Lost and Battlestar Galactica.

Yakult Loves Its Insides

This Yakult ad with a digestive system puppet is the friggin' weirdest ad ever.  Ever.

Friday Night Lights Season 4 End

Once again, the season end of Friday Night Lights has me all torn up.  What a roller coaster ride, from the exhilarating football game to the unbelievable sacrifice that Tim makes.  Again, the writing was so sophisticated, from the simple dialogue between Coach Taylor and an anxious, self-doubting Vince to the whole development of Tim's story — I mean, until the last five minutes, I was sure he was going to do a runner!

Boy, that football game was nail-biting!  Would the writers let poor Landry make that kick? Would they let poor Coach Taylor have one moment of victory?  Yes!  It was so nice to see Coach Taylor smile!  That's the great thing about FNL — you just never know what's going to happen.  How like life!

And what a beautiful scene that was, before the game, when Vince tells Coach Taylor he can't make the Coach's dream come true.  Does Coach give a rah-rah speech?  No.  He just asks Vince what he's doing for Thanksgiving dinner.  Instead of rah-rah, Vince got heart.  Now that's writing.

You can click here if you want to see the episode.

What Happened To The Queens?

Anyone know what happened to The Queens on ICN?  The grandson of the evil bitch is finally in power and now the shows disappears?  Instead, I'm stuck watching Go West and not really liking it.

Gary Numan in DieHard Battery Ad

So what do Gary Numan and DieHard Batteries have in common?  Cars, of course!  In this very clever ad, DieHard asks Gary Numan to perform his song "Cars" using about a dozen real cars powered by DieHard battery.  The look on Numan's face is priceless (oh, that's another ad...).

This comes via Boing Boing: