Humor District

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Season 1 of The Walking Dead on AMC was pretty awesome. It was faithful to the comic books without being a word for word reprint. As good as it was, there is a lot of room for the series to grow, which will hopefully happen during the 13 episodes of season 2. AMC has previously shown us some new zombie pictures and a behind the scenes look at the filming of season 2, but now we have our first teaser trailer of what to expect from season 2 of The Walking Dead. As you’ll see in the trailer, things are about to get pretty brutal.

Yeah, Rick Grimes is tired of these damn zombies. One thing I really like about this teaser is that it shows a different mentality in the characters than they had in the first season. Now it is time to fight back. One of the best things about the comic is seeing how far these people are willing to go to survive. It looks like we are about to see Rick Grimes and his motley crew move further away from civilized life than ever before, and I can’t wait.

Those zombies are so dead… 

• Joseph Gordon Levitt joins ‘Dark Knight Rises‘… but not as Falcone, Riddler maybe?
• Interview with Zack Snyder on the Sexuality and World of ‘Sucker Punch’
• Comic book fans go nuts: X-Men 4, X-Men 5, and Deadpool It’s All Happening
• Uma Thurman talks about Quentin Tarantino’s next film
• If All Time Travel Films had Doc Brown
• Will Ferrell to take over from Steve Carell as boss of the office according to… Will Ferrell
• The Lost Roles of Tropic Thunder. Keanu Reeves as Tugg Speedman? Whoa!
• [Poster above: Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2]
• Bonus: Angry Birds: The Movie (Trailer)

MTV Germany have come up with a really fresh way to promote AIDS awareness with these ads as AdFreak explains:

You should always use a condom, unless you’ve got a really good excuse not to—like you were roller-skating down the street, tripped on the curb, fell into the back of a woman who was bent over packing her car, and accidentally had intercourse with her! That’s the message of some amusing new pro-condom cartoons from Grey in Germany for MTV in Switzerland. Read more at AdFreak

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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.

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!

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.

Dr. Drew has become one of the most well known doctors on television, and he might be the most famous guy on tv that actually has a license to practice medicine with the possible exception of Ken Jeong. He hosts shows such as Celebrity Rehab, Sex Rehab, and probably every other show you have heard of that ends in Rehab. He also hosts the radio program Loveline and has done guest appearances on numerous talk shows and less serious shows like Crank Yankers. Mainly Dr. Drew is known for helping people, and I think we can all applaud that, except for the people who think he is simply after fame. Wherever you stand on that, Jimmy Kimmel had a great Dr. Drew themed video during his talk show. If you like dubbed over cartoons you will love this.

The Dr. Seuss/Dr. Drew connection is pretty funny, although I can’t really picture the Cat in the Hat helping to stop chaotic behavior. Having the Grinch involved was a nice little touch for the holiday season. Jimmy Kimmel Live has cemented itself as one of the highlights of late night television with skits like this. We can only hope they keep on producing skits like this.

As you have probably noticed, Thanksgiving has come and gone. That of course means we have been inundated with everything Christmas related. From television to the radio to our showoff neighbor’s front yard, there is no escaping the holiday season. Television specials might be the guiltiest party, whether it is Christmas themed specials of shows or the same Christmas movies played over and over starting the day after Thanksgiving. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m no Grinch. Some of these Christmas Specials are true holiday classics that can be enjoyed each and every year. Others are abominations that make me want to tell children everywhere there is no Santa so that we stop celebrating Christmas and never have to see these terrible Christmas themed movies ever again. Here are some of the worst.

The Star Wars Holiday Special

Do you speak Wookie? if you answered that question with a yes, please contact me, because I would really like to know what was said during the long conversations the Wookies have in The Star Wars Holiday Special that didn’t even have subtitles. I would also like to know what Bea Arthur was doing there and why Han Solo feels like hugging everything instead of being the gruff rebel who shoots first that we have come to know and love. The only thing The Star Wars Holiday Special does is leave me with questions, the biggest one being why this was ever allowed to be made. It makes Jar Jar Binks seem like a good idea by comparison.

A Chipmunk Christmas

A Chipmunk Christmas started off like a pretty generic Christmas special. Alvin and the chipmunks sing a myriad of joyful Christmas songs, Dave yells a lot, people get hugs and presents, pretty standard Christmas fare. The twist here is how Alvin learns that he shouldn’t be so greedy during the Christmas season. A child dying of cholera teaches Alvin the true meaning of Christmas. That is just messed up, kids dying, especially kids dying of freaking cholera, should not be portrayed in Christmas specials which are obviously aimed towards kids. I guess we should be happy the chipmunks didn’t burst into song about the debilitating effects of cholera.

The Smurfs Christmas Special

First off, The Smurfs were terrible already. Why they are making a Smurfs movie is beyond me, but back to the point. You remember how the Chipmunks Christmas Special had a kid with cholera in it? Well the Smurfs start their bit of holiday cheer off by killing a kid’s grandfather in a sleigh crash. Merry Christmas! I could probably get past that, we can just assume the grandfather had lived a long and fulfilled life. What I can’t forgive is how the Smurfs constantly sing songs that are just four poorly written lines repeated over and over and over. I wish Gargamel had eaten every single one of those blue idiots.

He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special

He-Man and She-Ra had cartoons for the sole purpose of selling their action figures. It comes as no surprise that He-Man and She-Ra would try to collect on the holiday season and do some cross promoting. What does come as a surprise is the fact that instead of beating Skeletor to a bloody pulp, He-Man and She-Ra teach him the importance of caring about others. He is Skeletor! He doesn’t care about anything except conquering Eternia! I call shenanigans right now. I guess the real weird part of this Christmas special is the two kids from earth hanging out with a muscular guy who obviously waxes his chest and wears nothing but a speedo at all times, but we won’t get into that right now.