Show #38: You'll Say WOW Every Time!

You've found it! It's Show #38 of The Summerhill Gang. We are so glad that you stopped by to check out our show notes. We hope you have some fun looking around here. Feel free to post a comment, send us an e-mail, or call our feedback line. We would love to hear from you. There is plenty of good stuff waiting for you below...

Show Links

Ah, yes...if you don't have it, GET IT...if you don't know about it, watch the video below...


TV

• Scrubs - ABC is airing back-to-back episodes on Tuesdays

M

• 24 - Jack Bauer is back and badder than ever
  
• American Idol - Back for the 8th season and now with a 4th judge
  
• Friday Night Lights - Season 3 is now repeating on NBC
  
• Battlestar Galactica - The final season has begun
  
• Fringe - Our new favorite show is back on Fox
  
• Check out this year's Golden Globe winners for Television.

Movies
We reviewed:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Directed by David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, this is a beautifully crafted cinematic work that is well worth the 2 hour and 47 minute running time. Catch it on the big screen before it wins a slew of Academy Awards...
  

For more movie reviews, check out Trevor's Movie Rundown.
In this show, Trevor reviewed:

• The Dark Knight
  
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
  
• Lars and the Real Girl

Other Movie News:

• Disney drops distribution for the Narnia franchise
  
• Check out the Golden Globe winners
  
• The folks presenting the 81st Academy Awards do not want you to know who is presenting ahead of time...

The Random Top 5 List
Our Top 5 Best Picture Winners:

Jamie's Top 5

1. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
   
2. Titanic
   
3. Dances with Wolves
   
4. Braveheart
   
5. Rocky

Doug's Top 5

1. Forrest Gump
   
2. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
   
3. Gladiator
   
4. Dances with Wolves
   
5. The Godfather

Pop Culture Confessional

This week's question is: What is your favorite movie from 2008?

Doug picked The Dark Knight.

Jamie picked The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Alison called in to say she really liked Bedtime Stories.

Anthony liked Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

John and Jessie picked The Dark Knight.

Jodie picked Get Smart (Comedy), Mamma Mia (Musical), Iron Man (Action), Twilight (Book Adaptation), and The Dark Knight (Culturally Required).

Jeff picked Bolt.

New question: What is your favorite movie from 2008 that is not called 'The Dark Knight'?

Yes, yes...we know....The Dark Knight was totally AWESOME! But now that you have had time to watch some other movies...we want to hear about your next favorite movie from 2008. Call or write to us and confess your favorite movie...I'm sure we will be talking about it in our recap of The Academy Awards...

Listener Feedback

**NEW FEEDBACK NUMBER**
Leave us a voice mail at 206-666-4692 or send us email at summerhillgang@gmail.com

Put your pin in our Frappr! Map.

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Show #37: Merry Christmas 2008!

Welcome to Show #37 of The Summerhill Gang. We are wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Of course, we have some holiday-themed stuff going on in this podcast. Check out the show notes with links to videos for you to watch....all of the holiday pop culture goodness can be found below...

Show Links

Short, but funny...


If you are in California and looking for something to do, check out The Glory of Christmas at the Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim. It is a superb show...

The Random Top 5 List
Our Top 5 Christmas TV Specials:

Jamie's Top 5

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
   Watch a video...
   
2. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974)
   Watch a video...
   
3. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
   Watch a video...
   
4. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970)
   Watch a video...
   
5. Frosty the Snowman (1969)
   Watch a video...

Doug's Top 5

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
   
2. White House Christmas
   
3. A Christmas Carol (1984)
   Watch a video...
   
4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
   
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
   Watch a video...
   

TV

• The Amazing Race 13 - Finale aired Sunday, December 7th, 2008
  
• Survivor: Gabon - Finale and reunion aired Sunday, December 14th, 2008
  
• Friday Night Lights - Season 3 repeats on NBC starting January 16th, 2008
  
• Battlestar Galactica - Season 4.5 starts January 16th, 2008
  
• The Office - to air after the Super Bowl with guest Jack Black
  
• Scrubs - returns January 6th, 2008 on ABC
  
• Dollhouse - new Joss Whedon project premieres Friday, February 13th, 2008

Music

Our friend, Ted Vaughn, has put together a CD project called I Feel the Winds of God Today. It is an instrumental CD, recorded live at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church. Ted is gifted at arranging music and bringing together remarkable musicians. This project is a collection of hymns and other spirituals. Check out the CD over at Digstation and let us know what you think.


Movies
We reviewed:

• Bolt - See it in 3-D, if you can. Just be aware that theaters are charging $2 more per ticket for 3-D. We both think this is a fun movie with great animation and it is definitely worth seeing for the whole family.

Pop Culture Confessional

This week's question is: What is your idea for a reality TV Show?

Listen to the show to hear our fabulous ideas!
Who knows, maybe some producer somewhere will pick up on them and make them into a TV show...

New question: What is your favorite movie from 2008?

Call or write to us and confess your favorite movie from this year. Maybe your favorite will get nominated for an Academy Award...

Listener Feedback

**NEW FEEDBACK NUMBER**
Leave us a voice mail at 206-666-4692 or send us email at summerhillgang@gmail.com

Put your pin in our Frappr! Map.

...you can Listen Online...
Just click on the show you want to listen to over on the right...

Show #34: It's the New Fall Season, Part One

Did you know that it is the beginning of the new Fall TV Season? Wow, where did the summer go? The Summerhill Gang is diving into TV in this podcast, giving you the breakdown on all of the shows premiering and returning this Fall. In this first of two parts, we cover FOX, the CW and NBC. Check back here soon for coverage of ABC and CBS...

Show Links

Don LaFontaine, one of the most well-known voice-over artists, passed away at age 68 on 9/1/08. Here's Don in a Geico commercial...


Here's Don talking about how he got started...



Thanks to Tara for adding an Honorable Mention for Top Mascot Names:

• Pepperdine Waves
  
  

TV
Check out all of the Fall Premiere Dates over at TV Squad

• Shows we are watching on FOX...
  
  • Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Season 2 Premiere 9/8/08)
    
  • Fringe (Season 1 Premiere 9/9/08)
    
  • 'Til Death (Season 3 Premiere 9/10/08)
    
  • Kitchen Nightmares (Season 2 Premiere 9/11/08)
    
  • The Simpsons (Season 20 Premiere 9/28/08)
    
  • 24 (2-Hour Movie on 11/23/08, Season 7 Premiere Jan '08)
    
  • American Idol (Season 8 Premiere Jan '08)
  
  
• Shows we are watching on the CW...
  
  • Uh...nothing....
    
  • They did bring back 90210...here's a video...

• Shows we are watching on NBC...
  
  • Heroes (Season 3 Premiere 9/22/08)
    
  • My Name is Earl (Season 4 Premiere 9/24/08)
    
  • The Office (Season 5 Premiere 9/24/08)
    
  • ER (Season 15 Premiere 9/24/08)
    
  • Chuck (Season 2 Premiere 9/29/08)
    
  • Friday Night Lights (Season 3 Premiere 10/1/08)
    
  • My Own Worst Enemy (Season 1 Premiere 10/13/08)
    
  • Crusoe (Premiere 10/17/08)
  
  

The Random Top 5 List
Our Top 5 Supporting Characters on a TV Show...

Doug's Top 5

1. Ned Flanders (Harry Shearer) on The Simpsons
   
2. Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley) on Scrubs
   
3. Krusty the Clown (Dan Castellaneta) on The Simpsons
   
4. Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) on The Office
   
5. J Peterman (John O’Hurley) on Seinfeld
   

Jamie's Top 5

1. Norm Peterson (George Wendt) on Cheers
   
2. John “The Biscuit” Cage (Peter MacNicol) on Ally McBeal
   
3. Hugo “Hurley” Reyes (Jorge Garcia) on Lost
   
4. Data (Brent Spiner) on Star Trek: The Next Generation
   
5. Walter "Cockroach" Bradley (Carl Anthony Payne II) on The Cosby Show
   

Music
Jackopierce is an acoustic, alt-country duo hailing from Dallas, Texas. Cary Pierce and Jack O'Neill joined forces in 1988 and toured extensively, eventually signing with A&M Records. The band broke up in 1997, Jack going on to perform in theater productions and Cary starting a record company and producing other artists. The two re-joined in 2002 for a few concerts and started putting together songs for a new CD. Promise of Summer was just released on September 9, 2008, the band's first studio album in 12 years. A certain magic happens when these two come together...great songwriting and excellent vocal harmonies...we think you will enjoy this new music from Jackopierce.

Pop Culture Confessional

This week's question is: What is your favorite sports-themed movie?

Doug's Confession:
Rudy (1993) starring Sean Astin.


Honorable Mentions: Hoosiers, Remember the Titans

Jamie's Confession:
Rocky (1976) starring Sylvester Stallone.


Honorable Mentions: Chariots of Fire, Field of Dreams, The Natural

Listener Confessions:

Jodie writes: "Does The Cutting Edge count as a sports movie?" You be the judge...


Josh writes: "Hoosiers...by far the best sports movie ever."


Jeff writes: "Field of Dreams is an easy first choice for me."


Christophe writes: "There are a ton of great sports movies to choose from, but The Sandlot is definitely my all time favorite."


Julie loved to watch Chariots of Fire, which she would always watch before cross country meets in high school to get "pumped up."


Trevor writes: "Ultimately, my favorite has to be Rudy. It's always easy to root for the underdog."

New question: What is your favorite product that has been discontinued?

Call or write to us and confess the movie that gets your competitive spirit going...

Listener Feedback

**NEW FEEDBACK NUMBER**
Leave us a voice mail at 206-426-6470 or send us email at summerhillgang@gmail.com

Put your pin in our Frappr! Map.

...you can Listen Online...
Just click on the show you want to listen to over on the right...

Show #27!

It's Show #27 of The Summerhill Gang...coming at ya! Plenty of TV talk, Movie reviews and our favorite Internet time wasters in the Pop Culture Confessional. Thanks for checking us out!

Show Links

We're continuing the nostalgia trip with this Wendy's commercial from the 1980's...parts is parts...


TV

• Find out when your favorite TV shows will return at Zap2It.
  
• Read about the 24 prequel movie being planned over at TVSquad.
  
• Watch episodes of American Gladiators.
  
• Check out Jokes of the Day and more on the History of the Joke over at the History Channel website.
  
• Catch up on everything that is Lost.
  
• Read about Friday Night Lights getting a renewal for a 3rd season.
  

Movies

The 80th annual Academy Awards aired on 2/24/08. See highlights and a list of all of the winners over at the Oscars website.

Movies discussed in this show:

• Knocked Up (2007)
  
• Stardust (2007)
  
• The Game Plan (2007)
  
• Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
  
• The Dust Factory (2004)
  
• 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
  
• American Gangster (2007)
  

In other news: The new Star Trek movie has been delayed until May 2009. Read about it at Variety and the Star Trek website.

Best of the Web

Watch "Love in a Backwards World" by Chris Vincze below...


Pop Culture Confessional

The question from show #26 was: What is your favorite love song from the 1980's?

Jeff wrote in to tell us two of his favorites:
Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" AND
Dan Hartman with "I Can Dream About You" from the movie St. Elmo's Fire...


This week's question is: What is your favorite time waster on the Internet?

Doug's confession:
He wastes time by playing games over at the Addicting Games website.

Jamie's confession:
He wastes time by buying stocks in Movies, TV, Actors and Directors.
Check out the Hollywood Stock Exchange and you can waste time too!

New question: What was the first concert you ever attended? OR What is the most embarrassing concert you ever attended?

Listener Feedback
Leave us a voice mail at 206-984-GANG (4264) or send us email at summerhillgang@gmail.com

Put your pin in our Frappr! Map.

Download the MP3

...or you can Listen Online...
Just click on the show you want to listen to over on the right...

Show #18!

The Summerhill Gang is finally back. It has been over 3 weeks since our last show, so we have plenty to talk about this time. The gang on Summerhill Drive is wrapping up the school year and heading into summer, where I am sure we will have plenty of BBQ and Street Ball action. This week we chat about the end of Little League and Softball seasons, Doug and family joining the mini-van revolution, a fabulous trip to Mexico to build houses over Memorial Day weekend, and our favorite comic, Brian Regan, coming to town.
Plus, we have all of the great discussion and clips about TV, movie reviews and the Pop Culture Confessional.

It's all inside...and waiting for you...

Show Links

This Week's Fun Commercial is brought to you by Alka-Seltzer. This commercial aired in 1965 and was so popular that it helped the music group the T-Bones break the top 100 on the Billboard Charts in 1966. Check out the video below...


Favorite Comedians
Brian Regan is one of our all-time favorite comics. He has started a new tour and is coming to San Diego in August. He also has a new special airing on Comedy Central on June 10th. Check out the Comedy Central website for details on Brian's tour, his new special and for video clips, including the clip we played on the show.

Jim Gaffigan is also a favorite. We played part of his routine on Cake. Check out the longer version at YouTube...

TV

• The Simpsons aired its 400th episode this season. Check out the Top 10 Reasons Why Homer Simpson Should be President...

• The first season of Heroes has come to an end. Is Sylar really dead? What about the Petrelli brothers, did they blow up in space together? Catch up online and prepare for Book 2: Generations in the Fall.
  
• Has 24 lost its edge? This season was a bit of a downer, but the producers are promising big changes for next season. You can read more about that over at CNN.
• American Idol crowned its sixth season champ. Jordin Sparks, a 17 year old from Arizona, won the title. Check out video of the announcement and Jordin's performance.
  
• Jericho finished out its first season on May 9th and was promptly canceled by CBS on May 16th. Fans of the show have cried foul and wonder if there will ever be closure. CBS made a statement that you can read at the Jericho Wiki and you can also check out the Nuts Campaign that fans have started to send tons of peanuts to the CBS offices in protest.
  
• Friday Night Lights is coming back in the fall! NBC announced its renewal for a second season at the Network Upfronts in May.
  
• On The Lot had a great beginning to its season this summer, but we are wondering if FOX will stop messing with the format of the show. You can catch up on episodes and see the movies created by up and coming directors at the show website.
  
• The Next Best Thing started last week. The show is horrible, but there are some definite talents showing up.
  

All of the networks have announced their plans for the fall. Check out their plans below:

• NBC
  
• ABC
  
• CBS
  
• CW
  
• FOX
  

Movies
Shrek the Third followed Spider-Man 3 with its own HUGE opening. Jamie rated it a DVD RENTAL. Listen in to see how he ranks it compared to the first two movies. Also you can read about Shrek's record opening for an animated movie over at Yahoo.

Jamie also saw and reviewed Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It was overly long and kind of weird in spots, but he rates it a MATINEE PRICE movie and recommends you see it in the theaters.

We also reviewed DVDs of Babel, The Prestige and The Nativity Story.

Best of the Web
We found this very funny clip over at YouTube from The Conan O'Brien Show. Check out this commercial spoof of the Apple iPod and its many uses...


Pop Culture Confessional
This week: Is there a movie that you have not seen that surprises people?

Doug's confession: He has yet to see Casablanca...
Jamie's confession: He hasn't seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or The Blair Witch Project.

New question: What is your current iPod dirty little secret?
Call or write to us with your embarrassing confession about a song or podcast that you have on your iPod. We know you have them, now it's time to confess...

Listener Feedback
Leave us a voice mail at 206-984-GANG (4264) or send us email at summerhillgang@gmail.com

Put your pin in our Frappr! Map.

Download the MP3

...or you can Listen Online...
Just click on the show you want to listen to over on the right...