Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger

I’m not sure if everyone here realizes the genius that happens every weeknight (well, Monday through Thursday) on The Colbert Report, but one of the better segments is Stephen’s “Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger”, in which he does basically what the title states. I’m going to steal – wait, no, make that pay tribute – to his concept with this blog post.

Wag of the Finger to…

Myself.

I really wish I didn’t have to precede every other post with an apology for not updating in a while, but sadly, it needs done. Easter break was spent breaking, had to get settled back in and now I’ve got three massive papers waiting for me before the month of May exits. Updates probably won’t be too sparse, as long as I concentrate on keeping my study breaks/procrastination focused on blogging and not re-watching Loop episodes for the fifth time. Steady updates to guide all of you lovely folks into and through finals, I promise.

Tip of the Hat to…

Thank You For Smoking, which was a solid B+ if not better. It felt a little fleeting, and could have gotten its hands a little dirtier, but all parties thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is sitting quietly on my shelf, next on the post-finals queue to be read, and I hope it’s as much fun as the movie version. There were a ton of little parts filled by big names, but William H. Macy and Rob Lowe really shined as a Vermont senator and zenned-out Hollywood talent agent. Also loved the Merchants of Death lunch meetings with Maria Bello and Champ from Anchorman (David Koechner needs one more solid performance before I start referring to him as his actual name). Quality flick, highly recommended.

Wag of the Finger to…

Every sportswriter in the country, because nobody’s embraced the concept of Notre Dame’s Bookstore Basketball tournament as an absolutely perfect sports book. With Brady Quinn’s team rolling into the third round –- tonight’s victim were some little guys from Keenan who at least had the crowd firmly behind them – and all of the other great stories just sitting there waiting to be mined, how can nobody realize how great of a read that would be?

(And yes, when I’m unemployed five years from now and wishing to relive my “glory days” of college, I’ll definitely pitch this idea somewhere, hoping to scrape together a few dollars.)

Tip of the Hat to…

Tyrus Thomas declaring for the NBA Draft and winning me a bet with Chad that LSU’s underclassmen frontline would not return in their entirety next year. Tyrus, barring some disastrous workouts or a freak injury, is locked into the top three. He absolutely dominated fellow early-enterer LaMarcus Aldridge, and even though he fell a little flat in the Final Four, his freak athleticism will still have him way up on everyone’s radar.

Also, looking over ESPN.com’s list, there’s a few big question marks. Rajon Rondo can’t shoot, though I guess Tony Parker is an NBA point guard, and Mustafa Shakur has not lived up to the hype in Arizona, so he’s bolting. Lot of big men taking off, such as Boone, Fazekas, Slaughter and Milsap, and it’ll be interesting to see which one gets the most unreasonable hype and moves into the top ten, only to fail miserably and have everyone questioning the GM a year later. (Rafael Aruajo, anyone?)

My favorite question mark of all the early entries? Quincy Douby. Inconsistent at Rutgers, but had flashes of absolutely lethality. If you want to spend a late first, early second round pick on a potential scoring machine or quick-hitter off the bench, Douby might make a fun gamble.

Wag of the Finger to…

FOX, who night not bring back the absolutely fantastic Loop for an extended second run. This show was built for disillusioned college students and recent graduates to sit around and enjoy, with quick-hitting one-liners, surprisingly intricate, although slightly predictable, storylines and smoking hot chicks. It only got a limited run the first time out, buried on Thursday night, with special episodes flashing up in the Idol block from time-to-time. This isn’t an Arrested-like situation where it’s impossible to catch-up with if you haven’t seen the previous episodes.

The premise is simple yet hilarious: Recent college graduate Sam got an executive job at TransAtlantic Airport, where he has loads of responsibility and is known as “Thesis” for his job-gaining paper. Despite this very professional side, Sam lives with his deadbeat brother Sully, smoking hot Lizzie and already-involved-but-still-his-hopeless-crush, Piper.

This show rocks, and if FOX takes it away for good, there will be much anger at killing another beautiful comedy.

Tip of the Hat to…

FOX, again, because despite the fact they can’t handle a new comedy to save their lives, the Prison Break/24 block on Monday nights is as fun as television gets. 24 is requiring a greater and greater suspension of disbelief, but as long as Jack Bauer is shouting orders and you have gun fights between terrorists and the LAPD, I’m in.

Prison Break, after stumbling slightly out of its long winter’s nap, is back firing on full cylinders. While they’re dragging out the actual break-out, the mini-challenges that present themselves to the rogues gallery of inmates make even the seemingly mundane goals – getting enough money to buy Scofield and Sucre’s cell off a corrupt job – are highly entertaining. It really is like somebody mixed Shawshank with Ocean’s Eleven, then added in a few more racial slurs and commercials.

A Preemptive Wag of the Finger to…

American Dreamz, which I was so very excited for, yet is not starting out the Tomatometer strong. I realize it’s very early, with only ten precincts reporting, but I expect a little more out of a movie satirizing both President Bush and American Idol, and featuring the talent load of Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Willem Defoe, Mandy Moore and Chris Kline. Still early, like I said, but even the positive reviews aren’t exactly glowing:

“American Dreamz should really have been funnier. But it's not boring.”

Yikes.

Tip of the Hat to…

The OC for bringing back Samaire Armstrong. Thursday night’s episode could be the worst one since they thought we’d care about Johnny and I still wouldn’t care, just because Anna’s back. Yes.

By the way, this now makes Mischa Barton somewhere around the seventh most attractive female on The OC this season, behind Summer, Taylor Townsend, Sadie, the Jess girl (The Slut from last season) that showed up for one episode and needed Ryan’s help, that hot chick Johnny was dating, the random waitress Ryan banged in Albuquerque, Kirsten and her own little sister, Kaitlyn. She brings nothing to the show. Kill her.

Tip of the Hat to…

The Hollywood Reporter for putting up a comprehensive list of all the shows getting pilot orders. You’ll only see a small number of these make the fall TV slate, but pick your favorites now. A few jump out at me – 20 Good Years, Drive, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip – but peruse for yourself and see if anything catches your eye.