Many Thanks!

Now that my podcast is finally off the ground with 5 episodes, I’m going to stop hounding you with it on my personal Facebook page. But if you like the reminders, by all means give the Wheelers Dog Facebook page a like!

Five freebies are in there as the preview. This sixth episode will ONLY be available on the Patreon website so, if you like what you’ve been hearing you need to jump on that joker.

I have a few supporters right now on Patreon and it’s GREATLY appreciated. I want to get a subscription for Adobe Audition. That’s the production tool that I’ve been using for over 20 years. I know it inside and out.

I’m using Audacity now. It’s free. It does the job, but it just isn’t as user friendly. I spend a lot of time trying to figure it out more than actually getting the job done. But hey… Baby steps.

I want to thank everyone that has given the podcast a listen. I want to thank Jeff Kay from The WV Surf Report podcast for giving me a plug on his latest episode. I want to thank Bob Richardson for the great opening that he composed, performed, and produced. And I want to thank Tim Beeman for his incredible help and patience with me.

A lot of the Patreon episodes will feature stories and events about the MIL. I don’t want to put too many out there where she could find it on YouTube. I don’t want to wake up to find her creeping into our bedroom with a large kitchen knife. She’s a great lady and the house would fall apart without her. She just has her moments that baffle, delight, and sometimes infuriates the rest of us in the Big House. Hell, she had quite a baffling anger just last night. But the wife and I realized that she’s the one with the issue and we weren’t going to be baited into her Bud Light Seltzer fueled anger. We slept soundly as the MIL most likely tossed and turned with asinine conspiracy theories spinning in her head.

Again, I just want to thank all of you. I honestly didn’t realize how much I have missed doing this sort of thing. I hope that you all got some laughs and continue getting some laughs from Wheeler’s Dog.

If you want to show support for my endeavors… JUST CLICK ON THIS BIG OL’ LINK.

Thank You

I open up this blog post with a THANK YOU to everyone that has liked my Wheeler’s Dog Facebook page and those that have taken the time to listen to my first podcast on YouTube.

Into The Great Wide Open

If you’re not a social media kinda person, you may have missed my recent announcement.

I’ve decided to join the over-populated world of podcasting!

That’s right! The world needs more podcasts and I’m finally ready to add my two-cents. I’m aware that no one really wants it, but the calling is there. The kind of calling that feels like a large toothless dog trying to take a chunk of flesh from my forearm. I feel it, but it’s not exactly urging me to jump out of bed, step into some turnout gear, slide down a pole, and hop aboard a wailing fire engine.

I’ve missed being on The Less Desirables podcast. I got to meet some folks from Winston-Salem were doing great stuff. I got to crack wise. And I got to talk about one of my greatest loves… Television.

Kristen Daukas and I toyed with the idea of taking the Tar Heel Taps radio show to podcasting, but my heart just wasn’t in it. Sure, it was great interviewing all of the brewers and owners, but it would be on our dime since finding sponsors is difficult. Why a sports radio station general manager didn’t see the value of keeping that show on the air is beyond me?

But then again, we couldn’t understand why they went with sports after so many have come and gone over the last couple of decades. So, apparently someone has money to burn or money to launder. You know, if the Netflix show ‘Ozark’ has taught me anything.

I see podcasting as the next step for this award-winning blog. Traffic to this joker isn’t what it used to be. It’s like folks don’t really care for reading anymore. That’s cool. I get it. Hell, I’m finally getting on this great podcasting thing. I’ve been enjoying the ever-loving snot out of the Hit Parade podcast. And I’ve been listening to Jeff Kay’s The West Virginia Surf Report’ podcast as well as The Less Desirables.

I plan on keeping them around 30 minutes so they’re easy to digest. And most people can listen to in the car on the way to work or on the way home. Or while they’re in the Hardee’s drive-thru. I just thought about these ideal moments… Listening while waiting at the doctor’s office or exercising at home, the gym, or the Y.

There’s more to come about the Wheeler’s Dog podcast. I got the artwork from some dude on Fiverr.com. I think it turned out great! Now I’m going through my royalty free sound library for a few things that could be considered an opening theme and closer. For those, I want to keep them short. People just can’t seem to sit through things more than 5 seconds. And sadly, I’m like that too.

My attempts at raising some funds by offering a custom t-shirt to offset the cost of the equipment to do it at home fell short of the mark. But hey, that’s cool. There are more pressing things to spend your money on during the holiday season.

The Wheeler’s Dog podcast ball is rolling. It’s just a matter of time to take this award-winning blog to the next level. And thank you to everyone that takes time out to read my ramblings. It is greatly appreciated.

If you really want my serious appreciation, feel free to give this blog a vote for the best in the Triad RIGHT HERE. It would be nice to add a second award when the podcasting is in full swing. I don’t like to campaign for such things because they always seem to backfire and I’ll look like a schmuck. So help me look like a schmuck, thanks!

Aerosmith 'The Other Side' [Compact Disc Maxi-Single]

It's been a long time since I've mentioned it, so here goes... The title of each posting is my musical selection of the day. Yes. I have a serious musical OCD where I only choose one thing to listen to during the day in my vehicle. It goes back to a time of the cassette tapes when a friend of mine had a car that could be easily broken into. After losing many cases filled with one-of-a-kind mix tapes and home recordings to thieves, he went with the one-a-day plan.

I felt that it made perfect sense. You only lose one piece of musical enjoyment to thieves or even, heaven forbid, a car accident. The rest of your treasured archives are safe at home.

And since I'm into music as much as television, I just thought I'd use the title of my musical selection of the day to give you some insight into my tastes. It can be difficult coming up with a title for each and every blog. Who has the time for that?

And now we're back to counting down my Top 5 Best New Shows of 2015 and my number one is an hour long drama from USA Network… Yeah! It surprised me too!

‘Mr. Robot’ didn’t grab me right off the bat. The second episode got me hooked while watching in passing… The scene that caught my attention was when Elliott came to visit his friend and drug dealer Shayla only to find her supplier, Fernando in her apartment. Fernando claimed that Shayla was taking a bath and she was all right. Elliott wasn’t convinced, but Fernando was holding a gun. They had a discussion and Fernando opened up long enough to wow the audience.

Elliot is a computer/IT guy for a large corporation. He is recruited by a socially responsible hacker group. He is conflicted about his actions on all fronts.

‘Mr. Robot’ turns and twists like a mountain road. It’s difficult to tell what is going on until the end of the first season. And it’s a helluva ride.

It’s finally good to see Christian Slater on a series that manages to last more than one season.

After the live on television shooting at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia… USA Network delayed the season finale one week. And after seeing that episode, I felt as if they made a wise decision.

The show is gritty, compelling, intelligent, and what book readers refer to as a page turner. As of this writing, you are able to watch the whole first season on USA Network dot com.

The show has a certain way of composing the shots and I love that. It's like they take a big canvas and let the background take up a good portion of the stage. Since I view television as an art, I feel like the point of those wonderful shots show us, the viewers, how small we really are in the big scheme of things.

Here's a shot that just floored me...

I had to snap a picture with my cell phone. The background doesn't always take a backseat on this series and I love it.

'Mr. Robot' will become available to Amazon Prime subscribers in the Spring.

No premiere date for the second season has been given, but sources are pointing towards July of 2016.

Various Artists 'TeeVee Toons Presents Television's Greatest Hits'

We’re counting down my Top 5 Best New Shows of 2015 and my number two is a half-hourish comedy from Netflix… ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’!

Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) is a naïve woman rescued from a Doomsday cult. She decides that she’s going to live in New York City where she meets up with new roommate Titus (Titus Burgess). Titus wants to be the next Broadway star. There’s also the landlady Lillian (Carol Kane) who is a running gag of nuts and Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) who is way too privileged to even identify with the common folk.

The show’s theme song is unforgettable, annoying, and yet hard to keep from singing over and over… Dammit.

‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ was passed over at the last minute by NBC and Netflix picked up this comedy gem. Personally, I don’t think it would have pulled in the millions needed to keep it alive on NBC so I’m grateful to Netflix. The comedy is too smart for the over-the-air broadcast television masses. It moves to rapid and requires the viewer to actually no a little something about pop culture.

The great thing about Kimmy is that she’s still the naïve 15 year old that was tucked away in the Doomsday shelter. She’s still wide-eyed and easily impressed. She’s the perfect fish-out-of-water type of character with a massive amount of optimism that makes ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ so damn likable.

Titus is hilarious in overdrive. I mean, who can forget “Pinot Noir”?

Carol Kane is oddly funny as the landlady with the left out of field inappropriate comments.

‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ is a rapid fire comedy that will please anyone with the tiniest of funny bones. Some of the funniest moments come when the show skewers Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden, the lead prosecutors in the OJ Simpson case. And then there’s the unforgettable crashing of an Asian funeral where Titus sings a Boys II Men song.

If they’re not laughing, they’re dead. And that’s all it is to it.

For some reason, the links to the YouTube vids aren't working. So just copy and paste in your browser. Yeah, it may be over my simple-minded head.

Unforgettable ear-worm of an opening theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIdFa1qLgNQ

Pinot Noir. 'Nuff said. Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6yttOfIvOw

Journey 'Captured'

With only six episodes in 2015, ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ is fourth on my list of Best New Shows of 2015.

Unless you’ve been living in a bomb shelter on a Pacific Island, you already know that it’s a spin off of ‘The Walking Dead’ television series and comic. But it’s really more of a prequel as well as a companion television series (I do hope there’s crossover sometime down the line).

The main character is Madison Clark (Kim Dickens), school guidance counselor with a heroin addicted son Nick and overachieving poster-daughter Alicia. Madison has a boyfriend by the name of Travis who has a bit of baggage himself to bring to the zombie apocalypse.

Now things start off slow for many fans of ‘The Walking Dead’ series that don’t appreciate good storylines, acting, or character studies.

I only say that because the second episode of ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ shed nearly 2 million viewers after debut fetched over 10 million. I saw it all over social media about how boring it was… Where’s the carnage? Blah, blah, blah

And that’s too bad, really. But I guess some viewers just aren’t into really good storytelling or perhaps the deep nuisances of the series are too much to comprehend.

Oh well… I find it very interesting to see what happened at the start of the zombie apocalypse. Seeing how the masses dealt with such an absurd thing as the dead reanimating and coming after them to feed and kill.

Madison adapts quickly to the kill or be killed mentality while Travis wrestles with his liberal political leanings.

I find watching Travis very appealing because he doesn’t like his son being shown a few gun tips from Daniel (Reuben Blades) who obviously has a shady past as some kind of torturer from El Salvador. Slowly, but surely, Travis will come around to the new version of Darwinism that the zombie apocalypse will bring about.

With ‘The Walking Dead’, viewers were thrust into this apocalyptic world when Rick Grimes woke up in his hospital bed. Grimes was forced to move and react with very little time to process what was going on. In ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ it’s more of a slow burn. It’s everything we wanted to see, but some viewers don’t seem to have the patience for it.

The most interesting character would have to be Victor Strand (Colman Domingo).

We meet him in a holding cell as he takes Nick under this wing. Victor is obviously a man of means and he’s interesting because he’s not the blue collar type that permeates the original series. Victor has a seaside mansion and a yacht for escape. He has money, charisma, and “do as I shall” attitude.

Victor seems like the perfect cast member to become either a nasty villain or formidable good guy.

I honestly believe that Victor Strand will fall into the villain category.

Why?

I foresee a moment coming when Nick must make a choice. Will it be his mother Madison or Victor Strand?

We shall see how he develops when the series picks back up in the spring of 2016.

Hobex 'Back In The 90's'

Continuing on my revamped and retooled list of all time favorites, we come to the first animated series on my list… It’s number eight and it’s ‘Futurama’.

Sure, ‘The Simpsons’ opened the door for ‘Futurama’ but it’s a completely different series for the geek set in the world. It’s the kind of geek that appeals to the science-fiction types and those slightly-rounded with pop culture. It’s like ‘The Big Bang Theory’ but actually good and well-crafted. There are references taken from all kinds of geek culture. From sodas to soap operas, just about everything is under the comedic microscope in order to mine the comedy gold that’s gleams in every episode.

And let me be up front… I didn’t like this series from the start. It didn’t grab me right off. And I managed to get hooked during the second season and had to go back and get caught up.

I’m glad I did! Something special within the series could have been spoiled. There’s an unexpected story arc with unexpected time line possibilities throughout the series.

I can’t exactly divulge more than that because I don’t like to giveaway spoilers of any kind.

‘Futurama’ centers around Phillip J. Fry who was accidentally locked into a cryogenic chamber and was awakened in the year 3000. The world has changed, of course, but he has no real problems adapting to his new life with one of his offspring Professor Farnsworth (old as hell). There’s also Leela (cyclops), Bender (a robot that drinks copious amounts of alcohol, smokes cigars, and has a penchant for stealing and schemes), Hermes (Jamaican pencil pusher and world class limbo dancer), Amy (resident slut with little intelligence), and Dr. Zoidberg (a crustacean alien species).

‘Futurama’ manages to keep me coming back again and again. It’s available on Netflix right now and I keep it in my rotation. I save it for when Jamie goes into her nightly “regimen” of make-up removal, teeth brushing, and slathering of skin products. I’m hoping that something beautiful will catch her eyes and ears to make her a lifelong fan such as myself. Although I feel that she has an appreciation (she laughs), she cannot get past the animation part of the series. She associates the word “animated” with television for children.

After enduring two childhoods with Spongebob Squarepants, I can understand why she also associates the word “animated” with something she describes as loudly obnoxious. And Spongebob is definitely a loud show. So I can’t fault her for indifference towards the series as long as she just doesn’t start using ‘Futurama’ as a pacifier to get me out of her hair.

The bottom line with ‘Futurama’ is simply this… It’s a well-crafted series that skewers and celebrates extreme geek culture. And one episode has more genuine laughs than a full season of the tripe known as ‘The Big Bang Theory’.

Unfortunately, many of the fans of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ would be lost through most of ‘Futurama’.

Why do I say that?

The fans of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ find those characters geeky and awkward. They’re easy to make fun of and laugh at without knowing anything about geek culture. ‘Futurama’ pulls you along for the ride. Instead of presenting viewers with a steady diet of bad joke upon bad joke, ‘Futurama’ is rapid-fire comedy that requires you to bring your brain along. It’s not a passive series. ‘Futurama’ possesses all kinds of geek trivia that has accumulated over the decades. There are references from all kinds of pop culture scattered about. And it’s beautiful in often unexpected ways.

Guns N' Roses 'Use Your Illusion II'

The Less Desirables latest podcast has been available since Wednesday, so I think enough time has elapsed where I can write about my numbers 4 and 5 of the Best New Shows of 2014. But if you haven’t heard it yet, by all means, check it out. It’s free and available on iTunes and with the free Stitcher app.

I couldn’t go into all 5 because I had so many premieres to update the listeners on. If I go too long, Brian’s head may just explode. He’s the time keeper and when you’re running long, he’s over there shifting on his haunches as if scorpions are dancing on his sphincter.

Ever seen the film ‘Scanners’?



That’s kinda how Brian gets when time becomes an issue.

So here goes…

Coming in at number 5 is a show that I didn’t have a whole lot of faith in, but it managed to prove me wrong with the pilot episode.

‘Sleepy Hollow’ comes in at number 5.

Is it a great show?

No. It’s entertaining in a comic book sort of way. It’s filled with things paranormal with a healthy dose of light conspiracies.

The second episode was a bit of a letdown after such a damn fine premiere, but it picked back up.

It’s the kind of show where you can switch off your brain and just enjoy some good storytelling. And if you’re a resident of North Carolina, you can feel proud that the show is filmed in our state. And there’s plenty of eye candy with the stars of the show.

Bottom line… ‘Sleepy Hollow’ is good fun. And with the crop of top 5 new shows, this one is the most light-hearted.

Give it a chance if you haven’t already. It’s not too late. You can find it at here along with Hulu+ and other streaming sites.

Coming in at number 4 is a series that debuted over the summer on FX called ‘The Bridge’.

In my opinion, FX puts out some of the best shows on television. Rarely, do they lay a turd.

‘The Bridge’ starts with a body that’s found on the Mexican / American border near El Paso, Texas. Two detectives from each country work together to solve the mystery only to find out that there’s so much more story behind the corpse.

The characters are frayed and well developed. The acting is superb. The story twists and turns. The subplots and supporting cast are fantastic and at times the show can be funny. There’s a little bit of everything in ‘The Bridge’.

Look for it on sites like Hulu+. The second season will arrive in the summer. So you have plenty of time to find and watch those jokers.

Get The Less Desirables podcast when it’s fresh Wednesday night for my remaining top new shows of 2013. And if you’d like television news be sure to follow me on Twitter @eugenebsims and give The Less Desirables a “Like” on Facebook. I try to get it out hot and fresh.

Charlie Sexton 'Charlie Sexton'

So did you see the season premiere of ‘The Walking Dead’ last night?

Was it not the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever seen?

First of all, let’s give Sweetwater Brewing Company a round of applause for shelling out some bucks for cases upon cases of beer to be displayed during the supply run at the Big Spit store. The product placement worked! It made me want a Georgia Brown at that moment. Yet not one person in Darryl’s supply platoon snaps a case up for later around the campfire. Oh sure, the new guy wanted to snag a bottle of vino for later. But just one?!

Second… The name of the store is Big Spot, but they use an “!” in place of the “i”. So the obvious name to call the place is “Big Spit”.

Third… And this is the biggest issue with the first episode of the new season… A helicopter crashed onto the roof of the Big Spit. The crash looked horrific, but the store roof was seemingly fortified to take the weight of the impact of the crash along with the remaining wreckage. It’s only when a 90 pound zombie walks across the roof the camel’s back break. A decomposing straw of a zombie is too much trauma for the roof to handle and they all start falling through the roof and onto the unsuspecting group led by easy riding Darryl the bow hunter.

Zombies are crashing onto aisles with blood-spattering gore, falling onto cases of delicious Sweetwater beer, and providing general mayhem while the HEAVIEST thing on the roof (the helicopter) hangs on until the last minute before crashing through.

Now I’m not any kind of structural engineer, but I gotta call BS on this one.

So… They had nearly a year to write up a script for the returning season and this is what we get?

I know that it’s a show where disbelief should be suspended, but poorly thought out plot points are just that… Poorly thought out plot points. How did it ever get to the filming stage? Don’t they sit around and discuss these things before a location is staked out for filming? Doesn’t someone’s common sense kick in during the storyboard pre-production?

Or could the producers, writers, and directors think that the viewers are mindless zombies willing to bite into and swallow anything?

And for the fourth and final thought… Is that not the crappiest prison you’ve ever seen?

The shiny new fencing couldn’t hold back a gaggle of kids at a concert by The Wiggles. It’s flimsy as hell. The buildings don’t seem to resemble any kind of prison buildings that I’ve ever seen either in person or on a ‘Ghost Adventures’ outing.

So why do I keep watching?

It’s fun despite the some of the glaring flaws. I'm still in... For now.

Robert Palmer 'The Very Best Of Robert Palmer'

The new fall television season is well upon us and I couldn’t be more unimpressed. There have been no new shows that have caused me to schedule my life around them like ‘Lost’, ‘Breaking Bad’, or ‘Get A Life’.

My high hopes for ‘Blacklist’ were quickly tossed against the rocks of disappointment within 20 minutes. It joined other bad company such as ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ and the reboots of the ‘Night Stalker’ and ‘Dark Shadows’.

I’m not sure why I understand the popularity of 'Blacklist'.

Is it because of the striking resemblance to the film ‘Silence Of The Lambs’?

Is it because Agent Keen is Raymond Reddington’s daughter?

Surely that last question can’t be that easy to answer, now can it?

Agent Keen is picked up at her home by a helicopter her first day on the job and whisked away to assist in a priority case. Her husband calls… Now keep in mind that we know they’re a happy couple that could spend hours staring into each other’s eyes until one of them farts… She has to tell him over the phone that she’s on a priority case, but he continues blabbing on and on instead of letting FBI Special Agent Keen get back to work. Does her career mean nothing to him?

What a prick. I was so hoping he’d die in the pilot episode. He. Was. Annoying.

‘Blacklist’ has been picked up for the rest of the season, but it’s off my must-see list.

‘Hostages’ was even worse. But since the show airs on CBS I kind of had a feeling that it was going to be bad. The network doesn’t have the most intelligent programs on its roster. ‘Elementary’ is the smartest show in their lineup.

‘Hostages’ lined up all kinds of character subplots within the first 20 minutes… The husband is having an affair. The son owes money to a ruthless drug dealer. The daughter is running around with a boy her parents don’t care for and she may be pregnant. But the BIGGEST plot point goes overlooked until a crew of “Government” men storm Casa de Soap Opera. The mother has to perform surgery on The President of the United States in the morning and he mustn’t get off the table, so to speak. That’s why the family is being held hostage by those “Government” men. The sins of father, brother, and sister could have unfolded as little surprises later on. The real story is with the mother. But I suppose that’s just me. It’s just bad storytelling and it’s off my radar.

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ was a soft disappointment. Andy Samberg is great at writing and performing short comedy bits and skits. Unfortunately, the skit doesn’t work stretched out for a half-hour comedy show. It’s so far out in left field that it’s not funny.

So the hyped new season hits have really fallen flat with me and that’s okay. I have plenty of great shows returning like ‘Supernatural’, ‘Sons Of Anarchy’, and ‘The Walking Dead’.

I’m good.