Ramblings from a bitter old man...

First of all, there's this -

- Arrow has their Flash...Grant Gustin. One of the Warblers from Glee.

I guess it's a big deal, but since Arrow has as much to do with the DCMU as Smallville, I can't get too excited about it.

Then there's all this noise about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where you can get a sneak peek of episode 2.

The show hasn't even aired yet, and now we can text/tweet about the second episode. 

I'm doing everything I can to stay in the dark about the pilot episode. Not making it easy for me Marvel/ABC/Disney...

Speaking of television shows, what happened to starting the first week of September?

In my day, we didn't have to wait until freakin' October for new shows/episodes. What's up with that?

Plus, even though Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. starts September 24th, Hulu won't show it until 30 days after THAT. Thanks a lot technology. I'm still waiting to find out who won So You Think You Can Dance and Face Off.

I remember a song Bruce Springsteen did called "57 Channels (And Nothin's On)". I can only guess what his follow-up song would be. But I can't stand working through a September with nothing to watch but teasers, trailers and pilot episodes that I'm not even sure made it beyond episode two.

Why is Maggie Lawson in a new show? Is Psych done? 

Is Glee or Castle even coming back?

I've never even seen the final season of Chuck.

This sucks...

Crossovers have their limits...

So this month...today in fact, if my intel is right...Archie #641 features yet another crossover:

This isn't the first time Archie's gang enter other universes...

...or even connected with other musicians...

...but I have to say that they've jumped the shark here.

It looks to me as a 'last gasp' effort on both parties. If they want to do a crossover with a musical television show, both sides should go all out.

Here's what I mean, starting with the comic:

* Back in my day, Bloom County (which was a fantastic comic strip by the way) released a book where the characters formed a heavy metal band. To promote the story, they included a 'floppy record' - a square record made of flexible vinyl that could be played on a device my generation called a  r e c o r d - p l a y e r. Nowadays, there'd be a link to iTunes where buyers of the comic could download a copy of the Glee kids singing "Sugar Sugar" or something. That'd be cool.

As for the show:
* They could have a bunch of 'transfer students' show up for a few weeks (and tie into the plot of the comic).
* Or they could meet up with Archie's gang at a different competition in another state.
* They could even have the cast dress up and act as Archie characters for an episode.

My point is - there should be a higher level of commitment on both sides.

But I still have $5 that says there will be a "Sugar Sugar" cover on an episode in the near future.

Now, if they could only get Mickey Dolenz to appear on the show...

"That '80's Sound..."

Glee is one of the shows out now that my wife, daughter and I watch together as a family. There've been some hits and misses this season, but all in all not bad.

I bring this up because most times after watching, my wife and I torture our kid with Youtube videos of songs that were either played in the episode, or inspired by songs that were played in the episode.

We showed her Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal", and she said she liked it once she got over "that 80's sound".

I have to say...it kinda hurt. Then I realized I was the same way at her age whenever my parents brought out '60's music. Not The Beatles or Stones mind you, I'm talking Peter, Paul and Mary...early Bee Gees...stuff like that.

It got to the point where I could tell the songs after the first three notes.

I'm at the point now where I can listen to that stuff and appreciate their place in history, and acknowledge that that music laid the foundation for "that '80's sound"...and the crap my daughter listens to today.

So I'll wait for someone to come along not 5 years from now and start a revival of "that '80's sound".

...Which, by the way...is still cool...