Hank Azaria- Kevin Michael Richardson-Sofia Vergara

I recently saw several articles (including this one) about actor Hank Azaria apologizing for voicing Apu on The Simpsons.  I like Azaria. He's been a voice on The Simpsons for over thirty years, but I also remember him from Herman's Head, The Birdcage, and many, many, many other roles over the years, including as the title character of the show Brockmire, a highly entertaining (and definitely not suitable for kids) show about a disgraced baseball broadcaster that makes his way back. I watched the early seasons of The Simpsons religiously and even hosted a party for the "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" episode. While I'm glad that The Simpsons are still on the air, I just don't watch it anymore.

The articles also mention that Kevin Michael Richardson is now the voice of Dr. Julius Hibbert. That name looked really familiar, so I went to IMDB. What a resume! Kevin Michael Richardson has been a voice actor for decades in dozens and dozens of television shows, films, and video games. He's also the voice of Crusher on Blaze and the Monster Machines, a show that Luigi (age 3) will likely watch today! What's funny is that I remembered Richardson from his live acting on a short-lived show called The Knights of Prosperity. (KMR is on the right.)

Back in 2006, I picked The Knights of Prosperity in a TV death pool (and even mentioned the show several times on this blog). The reason was simple. The show was supposed to be called "Let's Rob Mick Jagger," and the story that I heard was that the show thought that Jagger would be a recurring character, but he only wanted to be in the pilot. They ended up changing it to the odd title, The Knights of Prosperity. The show starred Donal Logue, Richardson, and an actress in one of her first major roles named Sofia Vergara. Sure, you might know Vergara from the multiple-winning Emmy show Modern Family, but she's also now a Steelers fan.

So, that's the post. No point, just random things that came into my head. This is probably what I envisioned when I named this blog Sean's Ramblings!

My 2013-2014 Ted Marshall Open Picks

Although the 2013-2014 television season started months ago, I realized that I never shared my picks for this year's Ted Marshall Open TV Death Pool. I going to blame CW and Oh Sit for this since we still don't have a winner for the 2012-2013 season. JUST CANCEL THE SHOW ALREADY, CW!

Anyway, if you're not familiar with the Ted Marshall Open, it is a contest to see who can guess which TV shows will be canceled during the 2013-2014 season. As someone who has participated in the Open for several years, it completely changes the way you watch and think about television.

Here are the basic rules:
- Eligible shows include all first-run comedies, dramas, prime-time news, daytime and late-night shows running on the five major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW), except for weekend non prime-time shows.

- Certain shows, such Dancing with the Stars, have multiple airings per week. For a show to earn points, all airings of the show must be canceled.

- Each canceled show you selected earns 20 points, plus bonus points for where it was ranked. Your top ranked show earns 10 bonus points, your second 9 all the way down to 1. The maximum score possible is 255 points.

- A show is considered canceled when it is determined that there will be no more first run episodes of the selected show on any of the six major networks after September 8, 2014.

- A show must air at least one first-run episode between September 9, 2013 and September 8, 2014 on the five major networks for any points to be awarded. Shows like Law and Order: Criminal Intent are not eligible since the first-run episodes do not air on NBC.

And now, here are my picks:

10 - How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
9 - American Dad (FOX)
8 - Nikita (CW)
7 - Super Fun Night (ABC)
6 - We Are Men (CBS) - Already canceled!

5 - Dads (FOX)
4 - Ironside (NBC) - Already canceled!
3 - Reckless (CBS)
2 - Trophy Wife (ABC)
1- Sean Saves the World (NBC)

Overall, I feel pretty good about my picks. This is the final season of HIMYM, American Dad is scheduled to move to TBS next year, and this should be the last season of Nikita. The remaining shows are all new this season and don't appear to be doing well in the ratings. Reckless hasn't appeared yet, and while I don't remember what it is about, it seemed (to me) like a show that wouldn't last.

Finally, although Trophy Wife didn't look terrible and has actually received decent reviews, the show fell into my "Knights of Prosperity" rule this year. Several years ago, I selected The Knights of Prosperity, a show that featured Donal Logue and a not-yet famous Sofia Vergara, that was originally titled Let's Rob Mick Jagger (I believe). Although Jagger appeared in the first episode, the network wanted him to be a series regular. That didn't happen, so they changed the show's name. Basically, it appeared to be a mess, so I picked it for cancellation. While I ended up being right, I watched all of the episodes and found it to be a funny show. Therefore, while Trophy Wife might be good, I now refuse to watch new shows that I slated for cancellation.

Wish me luck!

Separated at Birth?

ESPN's Page 2 used to have a feature where they would have pictures of an athlete and celebrity next to each other to show a resemblance. Usually, the two didn't look very similar. Well, I think I found a pairing that actually works. I am proud to present actor Donal Logue from the "The Tao of Steve" and the recently cancelled (unfortunately) "The Knights of Prosperity" and NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.

Random Thoughts and Rice Oriental Hamburger Helper

Even though I did not want to, I switched to Blogger Beta. While I enjoy some of the new features, such as labels at the end of each post, it does not seem to be interacting well with DCBlogs. If I post this at 10:00pm Eastern, it will show up on DCBlogs as 5:00pm Eastern. Is there a way to fix this?

Fafarazzi.com has been down all day, so I don’t know if there are still spaces available to join my Fantasy Celebrity League. When the site is working again, I’ll put an update at the bottom of this post.

Although it may not make a second season, The Knights of Prosperity has quickly become one of my favorite shows. What a funny show! I missed tonight’s episode because I was watching Pitt’s impressive win over West Virginia.

Finally, almost two years ago (when I spent a lot of time writing about Kevin Pittsnogle and Spring Break Shark Attack), I asked folks for help in finding the Rice Oriental variety of Hamburger Helper for my dad. Even today, I still receive regular hits from people searching for Rice Oriental Hamburger Helper. Therefore, I thought I would provide a list of places to get this nearly extinct product:

- http://specialty.generalmills.com/
- http://www.amazon.com/Hamburger-Helper-Oriental-7-3-Ounce-Boxes/dp/B000EFFTRA
- A grocery store in Skagway, Alaska.
- Food Lion in Reisterstown, Maryland

If you find other places, feel free to let me (and the world) know.

Update February 2008: I still receive numerous hits from people searching for Rice Oriental Hamburger Helper. Unfortunately, it seems like it is getting more and more difficult to find. People have started to vent on the Betty Crocker forum or click the General Mills Specialty site above and contact the company directly. Good luck with your search. If you find it somewhere, please tell us where you found it in the comments section.

Fantasy TV League

Two of my favorite things are fantasy sports leagues and television. Thanks to JQ, I learned that both of these interests can be combined through The Alison LaPlaca Open Television Death Pool. Now in it's seventh year, the LaPlaca Open is a contest to see who can guess how many TV shows will be cancelled during the 2006-2007 season. To be eligible, a show must air sometime between September 1, 2006 and August 31, 2007 on any of the big five commercial networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW), and presumed not to air a first-run episode after August 31, 2007.

Here are my picks:

10-pointer: What About Brian (ABC)
9-Kidnapped (NBC)
8-Happy Hour (FOX)
7-The Singles Table (NBC)
6-Men in Trees (ABC)
5-Runaway (WB)
4-The Knights of Prosperity (ABC)
3-The O.C. (FOX)
2-Seventh Heaven (WB)
1-The War at Home (FOX)

What About Brian had 6 episodes in the spring and had poor ratings. However, since this show is produced or created by J.J. Abrams (of Lost), I think ABC decided to give it another try in part to keep Abrams happy. I think the ratings have spoken, and there is no chance it will make it to the 2007-2008 TV season.

Of the picks above, I'm a little worried about Kidnapped and The Knights of Prosperity. Kidnapped looks exactly like the movie "Ransom" with Mel Gibson but NBC seems to be hyping the show and it looks decent. The Knights of Prosperity was originally going to be called "Let's Rob Mick Jagger" (or something like that) and still has a terrible title. The show stars Donal Logue (who I like) and, in seeing a preview tonight, looks funny.

I really, really, really hope The War at Home gets cancelled. This may be the worst show on TV.