Sunday Morning Quarterback – Blake Shelton

I know very little about Blake Shelton.  I know he’s one of the judges on The Voice, he’s a Country singer and he’s married to another Country singer Miranda Lambert.  I also know that his brand of crossing over is to play the kinda goofy backwoods guy as opposed to the uber patriotic redneck that many Country singers choose. 

Apparently NBC loves him.  He even had his own Holiday Special a few years back, which was rerun last year.  Despite my misgivings about him as a performer, I was pretty optimistic that SNL’s writers would write to his strengths and that’d he’d follow their lead. 

So, how was the episode? 

Amazon Prime – The Man in the High Castle

I dig high concepts.  There’s something designed to make you think is something that’s right up my alley.  It’s the reason why I like shows like Fringe or even Game of Thrones. 

The Man in the High Castle seemed like the most ambitious Amazon pilot in the batch.  Sadly that didn’t work out too well for The After.  That said, it’s based on a book, just like Bosch. 

Amazon Prime – Point of Honor

At this point, The Civil War can be summed up in by a series of clichés; North vs South, Brother vs Brother, States Rights vs Human Rights.  Also, by this point is there any reason to cover the Civil War if you aren’t saying anything new? 

Point of Honor would say “yes.” 

Amazon Prime - Down Dog

Amazon only has two half hour comedy pilots this pilot season.  It’s kind of disappointing that neither offering has the ambition of Transparent, which has easily become Amazon’s most successful show to date, in every regard. 

That said, does Down Dog offer up enough potential to get picked up by Amazon? 

Amazon Prime – Mad Dogs

You know how sometimes something looks too good to be true?  That’s how felt about Mad Dogs. 

It’s a show from the creator of The Shield, Shawn Ryan, and stars Steve Zahn, Romany Malco and Michael Imperioli.  That’s a pretty good pedigree of talent. 

So, was Mad Dogs too good to be true? 

Amazon Prime – Salem Rogers

One of the cool things about the explosion of “new media” is that it allows for the discovery of new voices and allows for success outside of the traditional means.  Also, because they’re less entrenched in the old ways, Amazon and Netflix are more willing to takes risks. 

Amazon Studios in particular accepts submissions, which presents a huge opportunity for aspiring creators.  Salem Rogers is a show that that was submitted to Amazon Studios and has now become a pilot. 

Amazon Prime – Cocked

I applaud Amazon’s resilience.   They are constantly churning out pilots for public consumption.  I missed out of the first batch, which produced Alpha House and Betas, but I was all in for the last two offerings. 

This time around Amazon has 13 different pilots up review, including six kid shows and one based on the New York Times.  It’s pretty ambitious.  

Adventures with Peanut Butter

Last December I fell ill.  It wasn’t life threatening, it was just a bug, but it wiped me out.  I couldn’t get warm or comfortable, it was a pretty miserable five days. 

But while I was sick, I bought some peanut butter. 

Sunday Morning Quarterback – Kevin Hart & Sia

Happy New Year  It’s been a long time since SNL was new and I’ve genuinely missed it.  Sure things have been pretty rocky so far this season, but I believe it’s going to get better.

Kevin Hart is Saturday Night Live’s first host of 2015 and he’s a star who seems to continually be on the rise.  His last hosting effort didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth, so I’m looking forward to what he’s going to bring to the table this time.