Line of the week: “I love me some Shaft… that didn’t sound good.” – Joe Rogan, ‘Ultimate Fight Night 5’, talking about Richard Roundtree’s appearance on ‘Blade: The Series’
After recapping four hours worth of reality shows, installing ceiling fans, and working on an assignment for my .Net class, I’m a bit tapped out, so let’s just take a closer look at some things that I’ve been watching.
The Fight Network
As part of signing up for StarChoice, I got a free preview of The Fight Network, and while I don’t think you can get this down in the U.S., there’s an insane amount of stuff here if you’re a combat sports fan – Pride FC, K-1 and boxing are all represented, and if you love your wrestling you get TNA Xplosion, Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Good stuff here folks, and if you get digital cable or satellite TV here in Canada, I suggest checking it out.
Game Show Marathon
This is first on my list because if Eric wasn’t so busy, he’d have pulled his hair out watching their version of “Match Game”. Of course, having Ricki Lake hosting the show was the biggest mistake – she had absolutely no chemistry with the celebs on the panel save for Kathy Griffin, because Kathy might have been the only one to give a shit. Also, Bruce Villanch in the Charles Nelson Reilly role? Sacrilege!
The Ultimate Fighter
This was yet another outstanding finale to one of the best reality shows out there. You had Kendall Grove overcoming the odds and beating Ed Herman for the Middleweight title in a great fight, and one suspects that Dana White handed out that second contract in part because of the “phantom” tapout by Kendall. Kendall definitely showed me a lot here.
Michael Bisping made Josh Haynes his bitch for two rounds, and since Josh comes from the Chris Leben school of not giving up, Bisping was able to showcase all of his skills.
Kenny Florian was impressive in his lightweight debut, choking out Canadian Sam Stout in short order. Given that Lightweight Champion Jens “Little Evil” Pulver is back, I think this might make “KenFlo” the top contender for the belt.
We also got a bonus match, seeing Matt Hamill dominate Jesse Forbes in a preliminary bout.
IP Linkage:
Matt Basilo has put out a “paparazzi wanted” sign.
Mathan has issues with On Demand.
The Week… In Hindsight:
Thursday:
‘Game Show Marathon’ (CBS)
Saturday:
‘The Ultimate Fighter: Ultimate Finale 3 (Spike)
Sunday:
‘Iron Chef America’ (Food Network Canada)
‘Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’ (Food Network Canada)
Monday:
‘Canadian Idol’ (CTV)
‘Hell’s Kitchen’ (CITY, FOX)
‘Treasure Hunters’ (NBC)
Tuesday:
‘Canadian Idol’ (CTV)
‘Last Comic Standing’ (NBC)
Wednesday:
‘Ultimate Fight Night 5’ (Spike)
‘Iron Chef America’ (Food Network Canada)
‘Good Eats’ (Food Network Canada)
‘Blade: The Series’ (Spike)
That’s it for this week. Enjoy your holiday weekend!
