We laughed (when it was funny), we cried (when it was painfully pretentious), we watched two old people fuck in the shower (because East Lansing knows how to party). HBO’s freshman dramedy Girls inspired plenty of love of plenty of hate, but more than anything, it inspired discussion. Now, the PPC team chimes in.
SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read this if you haven’t seen Season 1 of Girls. You’ve been warned.
Posted by MR on June 23, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/06/23/roundtable-girls-divides-with-first-season/
We laughed, we cried, we watched two dogs hump in a parking lot. It was an anticipated and eventful season of Mad Men, which means there’s much to discuss. PPC Roundtable Team, assemble!
SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read this if you haven’t seen every single second of every single episode of Mad Men Season 5. You’ve been warned.
Posted by MR on June 15, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/06/15/roundtable-did-mad-men-season-5-live-up-to-the-extraordinary-hype/
Bill Compton, Eric Northman and Nora Gainsborough happily welcome the Vampire Authority during the ‘True Blood’ Season 5 premiere. (HBO)
SPOILER ALERT: This entry contains information through the most recent episode of True Blood, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (Season 5, Episode 1).
Following last week’s Game of Thrones finale, I was crestfallen: It sunk in that I have wait 10 months until the Season 3 premiere. Life will have to go on without Dany, Tyrion and Arya, and I’ll have to cope with a dragon and Robb Stark hair-free existence. Though I’ll see less of Joffrey, I still went through the requisite stages of grief: Denial, uncontrollable rage, and finally, acceptance (It’s going to be okay. Isn’t it? ISN’T IT?!)
Thankfully, something happened to stunt my depression. True Blood made its Season 5 debut. And while shows like Game of Thrones and Mad Men prefer slow burn tactics, steadily building toward late-season revelations, True Blood favors a start-with-a-bang approach, introducing chaos from the onset and making sense of everything (or at least a few things) later.
“Turn! Turn! Turn!” was no exception. Here are five takeaways from our long-awaited return to Bon Temps.
Posted by BG on June 12, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/06/12/five-observations-from-the-true-blood-season-5-premiere/
Posted by MR on June 11, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/06/11/three-reasons-to-love-mad-men-season-5/
Don’s confrontation with Lane in “Commissions and Fees” will remain a defining moment for the series.
SPOILER WARNING: This post contains details through the most recent episode of Mad Men, “Commissions and Fees.”
Two weeks, two bombshells. That’s perhaps the quickest way to sum up the most recent episodes of Mad Men. Following the latest developments, Season 5 has abruptly switched gears, exchanging Howard Johnson-sponsored vacations and glorious Roger Sterling acid trips for scenarios once unfathomable to even the most cynical viewers.
Peggy quit and Lane committed suicide. Just writing that sentence truly, devastatingly hurts.
Now that we’ve picked our jaws off the floor and finished our requisite mourning, however, the folks at PPC are finally ready to react. And there’s no shortage of questions. Namely: Entering Sunday’s finale, what does it all mean?
Posted by MR on June 9, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/06/09/mad-men-finale-preview-peggy-lane-and-what-it-all-might-mean/
Winter is coming … which is really shitty news, because it means another season of Game of Thrones is in the books and we’re facing a long, painful wait until Season 3 finally hits our screens. Before the grief really sets in, we Thrones enthusiasts at PPC wanted to share our thoughts on a highly entertaining second season.
SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read this if you haven’t seen every single second of every single episode of Seasons 1 and 2. You’ve been warned.
Posted by MR on June 6, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/06/06/ppcs-experts-break-down-the-best-and-worst-of-game-of-thrones-season-2/
Welcome to the Season 2 finale edition of Punching Pete Campbell’s Game of Thrones Power Rankings. Before proceeding, be sure to review last week’s rankings to track the movement. We’ve got a new No. 1 and lots of other risers and sliders after an epic 70-minute finale that closed some loops and opened countless others. Season 3 can’t get here soon enough.
Three major factors go into our rankings: 1) overall likability/how much we want the character to die, 2) developments from the most recent episode and 3) how much actual power the characters currently hold in the show. And of course, there’s our own subjectivity, which we won’t hide.
One last very important order of business: SPOILER ALERT: The following entries contain information from the most recent episode of Game of Thrones: “Valar Morghulis” (Season 2, Episode 10).
Posted by MR on June 5, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/06/05/game-of-thrones-power-rankings-valar-morghulis/
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino of MTV’s The Jersey Shore will headline his own comic book.
In case you haven’t heard, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino of Jersey Shore fame is getting his own comic book. We don’t have many details, but here’s what we know: The comic will hit shelves in early August, and the cover will look like this. That’s enough information to inspire some bold predictions from the PPC team.
• Origin story: A young man named Michael Sorrentino is resting in a tanning bed when an eruption at Jersey’s Salem Nuclear Power Plant causes the roof of the salon to cave in, trapping Sorrentino inside. Instead of burning Sorrentino to a crisp after the recommended 20-minute tan time elapses, the UVA rays combine with the nuclear emissions and Sorrentino’s hair gel to turn him into The Situation, a wise-cracking Italian with trademark abs, an uncanny ability to land a one-night stand and an innate talent for lying in almost every situation. Because the hair gel only trickles down to the top half of his body, The Situation has a ripped torso, but comical chicken legs.
Posted by MR on May 31, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/05/31/bold-predictions-for-the-situations-comic/
On June 4, Hell’s Kitchen Season 10 and MasterChef Season 3 will premier on FOX. If you’re wondering why celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay isn’t out and about promoting his two shows, watch the above video and wonder no longer.
Ramsay was an aspiring soccer pro before a knee injury ended his athletic career and sent him into kitchens and living rooms worldwide. Clearly, he honed his culinary muscles at the expense of his actual muscles, because he got flat-out mauled by Teddy Sheringham at the recent Soccer Aid charity match in Manchester, England. Ramsay had to be carted off the field on a stretcher and was briefly hospitalized. For his sake, hopefully none of the hospital caregivers were former Hell’s Kitchen contenders.
Posted by MR on May 30, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/05/30/stick-to-the-risotto-chef/
Welcome to Punching Pete Campbell’s fifth edition of the Game of Thrones Power Rankings. Before proceeding, be sure to review last week’s rankings to track the movement. We’ve got a new No. 1 after Sunday’s epic Battle of the Blackwater, which shook up our rankings almost as much as it shook up the clash of kings in Westeros.
Three major factors go into our rankings: 1) overall likability/how much we want the character to die, 2) developments from the most recent episode and 3) how much actual power the characters currently hold in the show. And of course, there’s our own subjectivity, which we won’t hide.
One last very important order of business: SPOILER ALERT: The following entries contain information from the most recent episode of Game of Thrones: “Blackwater” (Season 2, Episode 9).
Posted by MR on May 29, 2012
http://punchingpetecampbell.com/2012/05/29/game-of-thrones-power-rankings-blackwater/
