Braverman Power Rankings: Week 1

The first Braverman* Power Rankings, based on Parenthood Season 4 Episode 1, "Family Portrait"

*Not all ranked members are actually Bravermans. This is the Cyr Era now.

2012 NFL Picks- Week 1

All picks are to win, spread irrelevant. I starred my eliminator pick in my pool. I'm already 0-1 after picking the Giants. Home teams in CAPS.

JETS over Bills
BEARS over Colts
Eagles over BROWNS
LIONS over Rams
Patriots over TITANS
Falcons over CHIEFS
VIKINGS over Jaguars
Redskins over SAINTS
*TEXANS over Dolphins*
PACKERS over 49ers
CARDINALS over Seahawks
Panthers over BUCCANEERS
BRONCOS over Steelers
RAVENS over Bengals
RAIDERS over Chiefs

And my predictions. Wild Cards have asterisks:

AFC
East
Patriots
Jets*
Bills
Dolphins
North
Ravens
Steelers
Bengals
Browns
South
Texans
Titans
Colts
Jaguars
West
Broncos
Raiders*
Chargers
Chiefs

Wild Card Round
Jets over RAVENS
PATRIOTS over Raiders
Divisional Round
TEXANS over Jets
BRONCOS over Patriots
AFC Championship
TEXANS over Broncos

NFC
East
Giants
Cowboys*
Eagles
Redskins
North
Packers
Bears*
Lions
Vikings
South
Falcons
Saints
Panthers
Buccaneers
West
49ers
Seahawks
Cardinals
Rams

Wild Card Round
GIANTS over Cowboys
Bears over FALCONS
Diisional Round
PACKERS over Giants
Bears over 49ERS
NFC Championship
PACKERS over Bears

SUPERBOWL
Packers over Texans

MVP- Ray Rice, Ravens
Offensive Player- Jay Cutler, Bears
Defensive Player- Darrelle Revis, Jets
Comeback Player- Peyton Manning, Broncos
Offensie Rookie- Russell Wilson, Seahawks
Defensive Rookie- Chandler Jones, Patriots

My 2012-13 SNL Host Predictions

I was bored. So I did some charting. And that got me some SNL hosting statistics. I shared a lot of them on Twitter. (UPDATE: Here's my tweets about the stats) But it also led me to the average host breakdown for a season of SNL:

10 Actors

5 Actresses

1 Male Athlete

3 Comedians

1 Comedienne

1 Male Musician

1 Female Musician

I played around with that a bit, changing the athlete to female and making it 9 actors and 6 actresses. And here is what I came up with, based on who SNL likes, who is on NBC, who is in the news, and who has new tv shows, movies, or other stuff. In alphabetical order by first name:

Alec Baldwin- SNL regular, final season on 30 Rock

Anna Kendrick- Breakout young actress, a couple big movies coming out

Anne Hathaway- SNL favorite, coming off The Dark Knight Rises with Les Mis in the winter

Britney Spears- The X Factor

Claire Danes- Will sweep awards, Homeland season 2

Cobie Smulders- Coming off Avengers, HIMYM, fiance in SNL cast

James Franco- Does everything, Oz: The Great and Powerful

Jimmy Fallon- SNL alum, NBC's late night future

John Krasinski- Final season of The Office

Jon Hamm- SNL favorite

Justin Timberlake- SNL favorite

Kristen Wiig- SNL alum

Lena Dunham- Zeitgeisty, New Yorker

Leonardo DiCaprio- Annual A-Lister, Djiago and Gatsby

Matthew Perry- NBC legend with new show

Missy Franklin- Olympic Favorite

Robert Downey, Jr.- SNL alum, Iron Man 3

Robert Pattinson- Final Twilight, rebranding (see Daily Show)

Stephen Colbert- Just a gut feeling

Steve Martin- SNL regular

Tina Fey- SNL alum and regular, final season of 30 Rock

Will Arnett- Wife an SNL alum, NBC star, Arrested Development

Top Tens of the 2011-12 Season

Only qualifications are that I watched at least 1 episode and the show aired new episodes between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012.

Why I Didn't Like Girls

This past Sunday, HBO debuted a new show, created by, produced by, written by, directed by, and starring Lena Dunham.

TV Critics didn't like it. They loved it. And loved it. And loved it. And loved it some more. (That was five overflowingly positive reviews. There are many, many, many more.)

I watched Girls yesterday.

I thought it was fine. I didn't hate it. I certainly didn't think it was anything spectacular.

I expect at some point I will watch another episode, but I also won't be waiting to find it online on Monday. Let alone watch it instead of Mad Men next Sunday at 10:30 (although at least part of that is because I don't have HBO).

I didn't dislike it because I couldn't relate. I'm a 23 year old living in Brooklyn Heights who still depends on his parents for many things.

I didn't dislike it because all four girls were white. I really have no problem with this. The lack of diversity on television is a real problem, but not in the lack of mixed groups of friends. That's pretty realistic. Especially for Hannah and her friends, an insulated all white group seems pretty logical.

I didn't dislike it because I think Hannah should "stop complaining and just get a job already" as some have said. I went to law school exactly to avoid this job market. I get it.

I disliked it because I didn't like it. The same reason I don't like a majority of the shows on television.

It wasn't for me. I didn't enjoy it. Not my show.

And as far as I'm concerned, that's a fine enough reason.

2012 MLB Predictions

As a reminder, last year my 2 World Series teams both failed to make the postseason, although I correctly chose the NL MVP.

NL
East
1. Phillies
2. Marlins
3. Nationals
4. Braves
5. Mets

Central
1. Reds
2. Cardinals*
3. Brewers
4. Pirates
5. Cubs
6. Astros

West
1. Giants
2. Diamondbacks*
3. Rockies
4. Dodgers
5. Padres

*-Wildcard

NLWC

Cardinals over Diamondbacks

NLDS
Reds over Phillies

Giants over Cardinals
NLCS
Reds over Giants

Awards
MVP: Joey Votto, Reds
Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
Rookie of the Year: Drew Pomeranz, Rockies
Manager of the Year: Bruce Bochy, Giants

Leaders
Batting Average: Joey Votto, Reds
Homeruns: Joey Votto, Reds
RBI: Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
Stolen Bases: Michael Bourn, Braves
Wins: Mat Latos, Reds
ERA: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
Strikeouts: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
Saves: Brian Wilson, Giants
  

AL
East
1. Rays
2. Yankees*
3. Red Sox
4. Blue Jays
5. Orioles

Central
1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. Indians
4. Twins
5. White Sox

West
1. Rangers
2. Angels*
3. Athletics
4. Mariners

*-Wildcard

ALWC

Angels over Yankees

ALDS
Rangers over Angels

Rays over Tigers
ALCS

Rays over Rangers

Awards
MVP: Evan Longoria, Rays
Cy Young: David Price, Rays
Rookie of the Year: Yu Darvish, Rangers
Manager of the Year: Ned Yost, Royals

Leaders
Batting Average: Evan Longoria, Rays
Homeruns: Josh Hamilton, Rangers
RBI: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
Stolen Bases: Brett Gardner, Yankees
Wins: David Price, Rays
ERA: Felix Hernandez, Mariners
Strikeouts: Justin Verlander, Tigers
Saves: Mariano Rivera, Yankees

World Series
Rays over Reds
World Series MVP
Ben Zobrist, Rays

Managers Fired During/After Season
Fredi Gonzalez, Braves

Brad Mills, Astros

Don Mattingly, Dodgers

Eric Wedge, Mariners

Oscars Predictions

First, the picks in the big 8 categories. The first line is who I would pick, the second is who I think will win, and following that are who several Oscars and movie experts think will win (not all of these experts have Screenplay picks on record:

Now my randomish picks for the other 16 categories:


Animated Feature Film- Rango
Art Direction- Hugo
Documentary Feature- Undefeated
Documentary Short Subject- Saving Face
Cinematography- War Horse
Costume Design- The Artist
Film Editing- Hugo
Foreign Language Film- A Separation
Makeup- The Iron Lady
Original Score- The Artist
Original Song- "Man or Muppet," The Muppets
Animated Short Film- Wild Life
Live Action Short Film- Raju
Sound Editing- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Sound Mixing- Hugo
Visual Effects- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Oscars Update 4

Here is the final version of the Best Picture scorecard. The preview post with picks and such is coming in a couple hours. First some thoughts on "War Horse" and "Hugo":


-"War Horse" was mediocre. Maybe I would have been more impressed if I hadn't seen it on Broadway, but this seemed basically the same level of quality at a much, much lower level of difficulty. I could see maybe a cinematography award, but not much more than that.
-"Hugo" was entertaining, but not much plot. I certainly enjoyed it, but I question if the exact same movie of the exact same quality would be up for awards if it was directed by Joe Smith instead of Martin Scorsese.


The scorecard:

Oscars Update 3

Here is my third Oscar movie update. The final one will be posted Sunday morning, followed by my picks. The remaining movies I have left are "War Horse" and "Hugo."


Some thoughts on the movies I watched last week:
- "The Help" is very well acted, but it drags. I'm also an Emma Stone fan, so I may have been a bit biased, but any movie that gets 3 female acting nominations and none are for Stone has to be pretty well acted.
-"The Tree of Life" is garbage. Just a waste of my afternoon. At different points in the movie I wasn't sure if Sean Penn was playing Brad Pitt's father, brother, or son. Also there were dinosaurs. Like Terra Nova, but less interesting.
-"Midnight in Paris" was fun. It's not a great movie, but it is an enjoyable one. In my mind, it was "Bill & Ted's Neurotic Adventure" for adults.


The scorecard:

In Defense of Glee's Winter Finale

WARNING: This might spoil anything and everything that has ever happened in Glee, as well as some things from Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, The West Wing, and Brothers & Sisters. Consider yourself warned. Because you were probably planning on catching up on Brothers & Sisters this weekend.

Glee isn't good.

This isn't news. Most of the third season has sucked. Most of the second season sucked. If we're being honest with ourselves, a good deal of the first season sucked. Basically ever since we found out that Tina was faking her stutter, Glee stopped being the show that the early airing pilot showed the potential of, and started being a show for overdrama, caricatures, iTunes sales, Nazi hunters, ginger supremacists, single-person marriages, attempted baby theft, crazy titled pamphlets, an overnight Broadway show about April Rhodes, silly celebrity cameos for competition judging, crack house field trips, magic legs, Gwyneth Paltrow singing Cee Lo Green, and spiked slushies. Also that Rocky Horror Picture Show episode happened. And Tina stopped getting any lines. For all we know, she's stuttering again.

And Glee had more of that random shit last night. Blaine rapping,  Sue's random pregnancy, the vampire judge, the out-of-nowhere reemergence of The Troubletones, and Jeff Goldblum and Brian Stokes Mitchell brainstorming absurd ways out of Rachel and Finn's wedding. That stuff was awful. That's not what I'm defending.

So Glee is not usually very good. One area where that is not true is sexuality. Whether with the initial Kurt coming out story (remember when Mercedes had a crush on him?), Kurt and his father, the Karofsky bullying arc, or the Santana/Brittany stuff, sexuality storylines have been one of Glee's strong points. Even the fact that Rachel has 2 dads is treated with stereotypes, but also as no big deal.

The (spoiler) Karofsky suicide story last night was pretty spot on. I'm not defending that either. It doesn't need defending. There is no need to. Even the reviews harshest on last night's episode were pleased with the first 15 minutes or so of last night's episode.

No, what I want to defend is the twist. The last few minutes. The (SERIOUSLY, THIS IS THE SPOILER) truck that literally drove right into Quinn Fabray as she texted Rachel.

Quinn was an important character to some of the early arcs of Glee. She was Rachel's rival, Finn's girlfriend, Puck's baby mama, and the reason Santana and Brittany are in the Glee club. She was essential to season one.

Quinn was not essential to season two. She got engaged to Sam at one point. She ran for prom queen against Lauren Zizes and we learned she had some weird backstory where she was fat which never came up again. She sang that awful version of "Afternoon Delight" with John Stamos and Emma. Don't these people watch Arrested Development?

This season, Quinn has been a disaster. Her major story arc involved her plans to mess with Shelby's apartment, call child protective services, and attempt to steal her baby. Seriously. That's a thing that happened. Over several episodes.

Then Quinn decided to apply to Yale.

Then Quinn got into Yale. Early decision.

From the pilot of Gilmore Girls, Rory Gilmore expresses her desire to attend Harvard. It's what sets the series in motion. It's the first sentence of the second paragraph of her Wikipedia bio. When Rory got into Harvard and Yale and decided to go to Yale, it was based on long-built characterization.

When Quinn applied to and was admitted to Yale, it was just a thing that happened.

Quinn serves no purpose anymore in Glee. And Diana Agron is a good enough actress where she deserves to get out of this show if she's just going to hang around as a 5th or 6th female character and get a storyline once a season, when Sugar or Becky aren't available.

They could send her to Yale. She could pop up for cameos once in a while, but no longer be part of the show. It wouldn't affect anyone else at all.

Or they could kill her.

In the season five finale of Grey's Anatomy, they killed off George O'Malley. He wasn't sick, in fact another character with supposedly incurable cancer looked like she would bite the dust in that episode, but she survived. In the first half of the season five finale, George was fine. At the halfway mark he made a major career decision (joining the Army). Then he got hit by a bus. And that was T.R. Knight's last appearance on the show.

George had served his role. He was essential in the storylines of Meredith, Izzy, Callie, Bailey, and Lexie. They could have sent him off to the military and let Knight return if he ever wanted to. But it would not move the story forward for the other characters at all.

Grey's best echoes the opportunity Glee now has. They had set up the potential other death, but did the surprising thing instead. And now it sets things up.

There is not a single character who would not be affected by Quinn's death. Rachel's guilt. Finn and Sam thinking about what could have been. Brittany and Santana losing their best friend. Puck, losing his ex, telling Shelby and eventually Beth. Sue, reacting to the death of one of her prize Cheerios just a year after losing her sister.

The West Wing killed off Mrs. Landingham out of nowhere (she had just bought her first car and got into a car accident) and it changed President Bartlet and Charlie for the rest of the series. While Brothers & Sisters took a huge downstep (and then was canceled) after killing off Rob Lowe's Senator McCallister, its because they did it the wrong way. Instead of letting the audience feel the fallout and see the characters respond to losing someone in their family, they skipped to a calender year after the crash.

So the fact that Quinn's accident is out of nowhere is not a problem. Introducing a sudden, shocking scenario may actually let Glee finally have some interesting storylines again. They just have to follow through, and kill Quinn Fabray.