Humor District

If you grew up during the eighties, or even the early nineties, you are familiar with some of the greatest cartoons to ever be made. These cartoons include He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Transformers, and, of course, Thundercats. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was already revamped for the new millennium, Transformers is a successful film franchise, and now Thundercats is being brought back by Cartoon Network. This is the first new Thundercats series in many years, and no, Avatar does not count as a Thundercats spinoff.

Cartoon Network recently premiered the trailer for the new Thundercats series, and it looks amazing. There is definitely an anime style to the characters, which may or may not be preferred by some, but it cannot be denied that this series looks epic. The music definitely helps as well. It will be great to see Lion-O back in action, along with Panthro and Tygra. I also predict a new generation will be helped to puberty and some confusing thoughts by Cheetara, who is drawn about as slutty as any cat/woman hybrid I’ve seen on Cartoon Network. The only possible downside is apparently Snarf has been included in this new series. Oh well, it still looks good. Enjoy the trailer below.

As you might have guessed from the title of this article, a new red band trailer has been released for the upcoming alien comedy Paul. You may also have deduced that this trailer is fairly tame, at least compared to most red band trailers that are released. The point of a red band trailer is to show the raunchy hijinks and foul language that may make up a movie that you couldn’t otherwise show. A lot of red band trailers, such as the one for Your Highness, feature F-Bombs flying frequently, masturbation jokes, and Natalie Portman’s ass. It is easy to understand why that kind of movie would need a red band trailer. I’m not saying Paul doesn’t need a red band trailer, I’m just saying they could have come up with a better one than they did.

The thing is, it feels like this red band trailer was made just to include one joke about a government agent grabbing an alien’s balls. Don’t get me wrong, that scene is quite amusing and the language involved couldn’t be shown on a regular trailer, but that’s about the only part of the trailer that merits red band status. The only other borderline part is showing Kristen Wiig smoking a joint with the alien. It feels like the few other F-Bombs dropped in the trailer were dropped in simply because it was a red band trailer, the jokes really aren’t comprised of cursing. It is still a very entertaining trailer, and I will definitely be seeing Paul when it comes out. Simon Pegg, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, and Nick Frost are all hilarious, I was just surprised how tame the red band trailer was. Don’t worry though, the actual movie will probably contain far more alien genitals and swears than your grandpa can shake his cane at.

DJ Caruso, the director of upcoming movie I Am Number Four, has officially been chosen to direct the movie adaptation of Garth Ennis’ comic book series, Preacher. Caruso was earlier rumored to be the director of a movie adaptation for another comic book series, Y: The Last Man, but nothing moved forward with that project. Hopefully that will not be the case for the wildly popular Preacher series.

Garth Ennis’ Preacher is a fairly deep comic book series that followed the titular preacher, Jesse Custer, who is on a mission to track down God. Jesse Custer also happens to be bonded with a creature called Genesis, the offspring of an angel and a demon, which makes him possibly the most powerful being in existence. During his travels, Custer meets good guys, bad guys, mediocre guys, and has to do a lot of killing to get where he is going. The series has been both praised and criticized for its handling of religious beliefs, but it cannot be denied that it is one hell of an entertaining and thought provoking story.

DJ Caruso seems like a good choice to handle the directing duties for Preacher. He is a self proclaimed lover of Westerns, and there is definitely a Wild West feel around the whole Preacher story. He also knows how to handle suspense and action, making Disturbia a good suspense movie despite starring Shia LaBeouf. What will be interesting to see is whether Preacher ends up being a movie series, or if the studio tries to cram the whole series into one movie. Chances are Caruso will do whatever he can to include as much of the story as possible, as he is a director who respects the source material. That is probably the one thing about DJ Caruso that should make fanboys of the Preacher series the happiest.

H. Jon Benjamin is not a household name, but it should be. If you enjoy watching hilarious cartoons with grown up jokes, then you have probably heard H Jon Benjamin’s voice. He has worked with big names in comedy such as Demetri Martin, Sam Seder, and David Cross, and has appeared in live action shows such as Rescue Me as well. His unique voice, perfect timing, and dry sense of humor make him one of the most entertaining television personalities alive today. That’s why it is not surprising he has been involved in so many shows, and here are some of his best.

Jason and Coach McGuirk in Home Movies

Home Movies was one of the best shows to ever be aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, and H. Jon Benjamin was the one who brought it together. He lent his voice talents to arguably the two funniest characters on the show, 7 year old booger eater Jason, and the heavy drinking Coach McGuirk. He varies his voice enough that I had to double check to make sure he was actually doing both of those characters. The amount of laughs both of these characters cause just confirmed they were the work of H. Jon Benjamin.

Sterling Archer in Archer

Archer is one of my “can’t miss” shows, and has proven to be a huge hit for F/X. H. Jon Benjamin plays the main character, Sterling Archer, a suave, heavy drinking super spy. The kicker is that Sterling Archer is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he somehow manages to get the job done in his own bumbling and hilarious way, cutting down all who stand in his way with witty one-liners. Archer really exemplifies H. Jon Benjamin’s dry sense of humor, and has some very intelligent jokes to boot.

Bob Belcher in Bob’s Burgers

H. Jon Benjamin also voices the lead character on Fox’s newest animated show, Bob’s Burgers. Like Archer, Bob’s Burgers plays off of H. Jon Benjamin’s dry sense of humor and perfect sense of comedic timing, but the content of the jokes is toned down a little bit. After all, Archer is a late night program. That doesn’t detract from Bob’s Burgers though, as H. Jon Benjamin proves he can make just about any show entertaining. It is a credit to his ability as a voice actor (along with the writers and others involved in the creation of Bob’s Burgers) that he can make a poorly drawn show about a fat, balding guy who runs a burger joint with his family into an absolute laugh riot.

F-Bomb in Rescue Me

In one of his rarer live action roles, H. Jon Benjamin played the pimp F-Bomb on the show Rescue Me. This wasn’t a huge role, but dammit, he was one of the most entertaining pimps I have ever seen. This role also proved that H. Jon Benjamin isn’t just a voice actor, but he can do live action acting just as well. The fact that he held his own in a live action role while acting opposite Denis Leary is a testament to H. Jon Benjamin’s acting skills.

Various Roles in Human Giant

H. Jon Benjamin is not just a hilarious actor, he is also a hilarious writer. He demonstrated this best with various sketches he did on MTV’s comedy show Human Giant. It also helped that he was working with other great funny men Aziz Ansari and Paul Scheer. These sketches are the perfect embodiment of H. Jon Benjamin’s offbeat sense of humor, and he got pretty creative with some of them. While Human Giant is no longer on the air, H. Jon Benjamin has continued to do comedy sketches with various groups, and for that we thank him.

Another Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean that all the romance has gone. Look no further than regularly scheduled television programming to see that many of people still have love on their minds. Well, maybe not love, but at least the chance of getting endorsements through being on reality dating shows. With the lengths people will go to for their shot at love, or 15  minutes of fame, it is no surprise that this genre of television is so popular. Here are five of the best examples of reality dating shows.

Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch

Chad Ochocinco has never been accused of being a reserved guy. The outspoken NFL receiver changed his last name to match his jersey number for crying out loud. He had a dating show on VH1 and, surprisingly enough, Ochocinco actually seemed fairly sincere about wanting to meet somebody for a serious relationship. This was proven when he got engaged to Evelyn Lozada two months after the show was over. The only problem was he apparently had no interest in any of the ladies on his show, but they all seemed to be more interested in the fact he was a rich football player than in any actual relationship anyways.

Flavor of Love

Oh Flavor Flav, it seems that you might truly have a face that only a mother could love, at least for any real amount of time. His success as a rapper has made him appealing enough to some women for him to have a ridiculous amount of offspring, but that doesn’t really help him find true love. It also didn’t help that the ladies brought in for Flavor of Love were some of the absolute worst human beings to ever walk the earth, which also made them some of the most entertaining to watch. This worked out poorly for Flavor Flav, but perfectly for those of us watching from home.

The Bachelorette

The Bachelorette is one of the most straightforward reality dating shows to be on television. It has a group of guys vying for the hand of the titular bachelorette, and the competition can get pretty heated. The refreshing thing is the competition is a bit more straightforward on The Bachelorette, as the guys on the show don’t get nearly as catty as some of the women do on other reality dating shows. That’s not to say that these guys are any less after fame than contestants on other dating shows, but they at least try to be a little sneakier about that fact.

Rock of Love

Bret Michaels was extremely entertaining on Rock of Love as he searched for his approximation of true love. What made him especially entertaining was the fact that he made it clear that his lifestyle as a rock musician meant that he would definitely be getting some loving on the side when he was away doing shows. At least the guy was honest, and it seemed that the ladies on the show appreciated that honesty as their enthusiasm for winning over Bret Michaels was not diminished in the slightest. Rock of Love showed that at least the sex portion in the phrase “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” was not exaggerated.

The Bachelor

The Bachelor is the ultimate reality dating show. The women get catty, like most other reality dating shows, but things stay a bit classier than on other shows like Flavor of Love. What make this show interesting are the many rumors that inevitably end up coming out about the bachelor, such as him being broke, having a criminal record, smelling like feet, or whatever else the tabloids feel like printing. This show doesn’t have a huge success rate for actual relationships, but come one, who wouldn’t want to be a guy living in a house with twenty women who were fighting each other for the honor of being with him? It’s like spending a day in the life of an internet writer!

Take Me Home Tonight looks like it will be a fairly amusing 80′s throwback movie, what with the wacky hijinks, humorous misunderstandings, and teenagers played by actors in their thirties. This isn’t a parody movie, so we don’t have to worry about seeing any Molly Ringwald lookalikes, at least I hope not, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few tributes to famous 80′s movies. In fact, the cast has already been involved in an ode to just about every notable movie you can think of that was made in the 80′s. If you ever wondered what Topher Grace would look like as Marty McFly, watch the following music video and wonder no more.

This cover of “Don’t You Want Me” by Atomic Tom might not be the greatest song to listen to, but it was one of the best music videos I have seen. There are references to many of my favorite movies, such as Terminator, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Teen Wolf, and so many more. My favorite was definitely the Back to the Future gag. If Take Me Home Tonight is anywhere near as entertaining as this music video was, I don’t think it will have any problems in the box office. Which movie references were your favorite? Leave your answers in the comment section below.

Snakes on a Plane was a decent movie about a bunch of snakes that found their way onto an airplane. It also had Samuel L. Jackson, who lost his patience with those snakes very quickly. You might be surprised to learn that Snakes on a Plane actually had a director, David R. Ellis was the man behind the scenes making sure this epic tale of slithering serpents awed audiences. After successfully proving that some people will go to a movie called Snakes on a Plane, even if it was just because Samuel L. Jackson was involved, Ellis has decided to up the ante on stupid movie titles. He wants to call his next movie Untitled 3D Shark Thriller. I’ll give you three guesses as to what that movie will be about.

Look, I enjoy these terrible animal rampage movies, especially ones about sharks and dinosaurs, as much as anybody. Hell, I’ve sat through SyFy channel movies like Supercroc and enjoyed them. The point of these movies is to be stupid and entertaining, but they have their limits. Snakes on a Plane was a straightforward title that was so blunt it garnered quite a bit of interest. Naming a movie Untitled 3D Shark Thriller just takes that bluntness and turns it up to eleven. I hate it. It makes the whole project seem thoughtless, and I like some effort to be displayed, even when I’m watching terrible movies. That title makes me want to roll my eyes and forget I ever heard anything about this movie. If that title sticks, there is no way I will be watching that movie. Unless of course they bring in Samuel L. Jackson. That man can make me watch any movie.

There are some events that bring people together and, other than the internet, television is one of the best ways for people to come together for a common interest. Speaking of common interest, the rapidly approaching start of Super Bowl XLV brings to mind the ridiculous amount of people who tuned in to see the New Orleans Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. With all the hype surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers this year, it is entirely possible that today’s Super Bowl will claim the number one spot on this list of the most viewed programs in television history, but until then here are the top 5 viewed programs in television history.

Super Bowl XLIV

2010′s Super Bowl featured a matchup between the powerhouse Indianapolis Colts and America’s sweetheart New Orleans Saints. The Saints were viewed by much of the country as the embodiment of the American Spirit because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Despite this, the Saints made a run through the playoffs and provided a great storyline for the Super Bowl. Apparently the storyline was compelling enough to get 106.5 million viewers to tune in and watch the game. There is no official stat on how many of those people just wanted to watch the Super Bowl commercials.

M*A*S*H Series Finale

From 1983 until 2010, the M*A*S*H series finale was the most watched program in television history. 50.15 million people watched the final episode of this popular series. M*A*S*H gained popularity not just because of it’s humor, but because of the philosophical viewpoints provided on the Vietnam War through the show. One interesting thing about the series is that many episodes were based off of actual accounts of wartime tales as told by MASH surgeons.

Who Shot J.R.?

Dallas was a pretty popular show back in the day, but it reached newfound heights after the promotional blitz during the summer of 1980. The previous season finale featured one of the main characters, J.R., being shot, but the identity of the shooter remained a mystery. CBS started and advertising campaign all based on the slogan “Who Shot J.R.?” and the country was caught up in the mystery. A 2 month delay caused by a strike by the Screen Actors’ Guild did little to quell the curiosity of the public, as 41.47 million people watched to see who was behind the trigger.

O.J. Simpson’s Trial

There used to be a time when O.J. Simpson was among America’s most beloved athletes. He had an amazing career with the Buffalo Bills and was one of the few running backs to rush for more than 2000 yards in a single season. His life took a turn in 1994 after the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. Simpson was arrested for the murders and practically the entire nation tuned in to see how events would unfold in what was coined “The Trial of the Century”. The end result had O.J. Simpson found not guilty and left the world with many memorable quotations from defense attorney Johnny Cochran.

Roots Finale

Roots was an eight part mini-series that followed the genealogical history of an African-American family. The series started out in Africa, moved to America and portrayed the harsh realities of slavery, and introduced America to iconic characters such as Kunta Kinte. The story of this family was so compelling that it launched a wave of genealogical research by people in the United States who wanted to discover their own roots. The series was so popular that 36.38 million people were in front of their televisions to watch the conclusion.

As many of you know, this upcoming Sunday features a fairly significant sporting event. Millions of people will be tuning in to see a clash of titans when the Green Bay Packers face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, and even more will be turning in to see the action in between plays. Of course I am talking about the commercials.

It is well known that the Super Bowl has the best commercials of the year. Companies paid over $2 million for a 60 second commercial in last year’s Super Bowl, and with record viewing numbers that price could only have gone up for this year. With that kind of investment, it is no surprise that everybody goes all out trying to make the most entertaining commercial possible. Hell, some people are more interested in seeing the commercials than the game, especially when their favorite team hasn’t even made the playoffs in years. Over the years there have been many classic Super Bowl commercials, and this year promises to deliver some gems as well. Volkswagen in particular has gone above and beyond in their Star Wars themed commercial for 2011′s Super Bowl. Best of all, they uploaded this great commercial to their YouTube page. Get a taste of the excitement and action that is a Super Bowl commercial right here! It is impossible to resist a miniature Darth Vader.