Commercials We Loved - "Be Like Mike"

Getting pretty sick of that "What's G?" commercial, where a bunch of recognizable (and not so recognizable) athletes simply scroll past a black background. First there was Gatorade, then somewhere along the line we got Gatorade Fierce, Gatorade Rain, Gatorade Tiger, Propel (also a Gatorade product), and G2. And now original Gatorade is just supposed to be called "G"?

Really people, how many versions of this product do we need?... IATSS! (It's all the same shit!) And now it's supposed to be called "G", as if shortening to just the initial is somehow hipper?

Get over yourself Gatorade. Get back to basics, ditch the fancy new advertising and resurrect this old school commercial.


Related Posts:
Commercials We Loved - "You Will"
Commercials We Loved - "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker"
Commercials We Loved - "Laptop Hunters"
Commercials We Loved - Super Mario Land 2
Commercials We Loved - Cindy Crawford & Little Richard for Charlie
Commercials We Loved - Fruit of the Loom and Big Fig

Pop Culture Fiend Handicaps Dancing with the Stars

Drop everything, read this, then get your bet down. (No joke, there's a legitimate line for this in Vegas.) The Pop Culture Fiend has studied, broken it down and come up with the odds for this season's DWTS contestants:

Lawrence Taylor (retired football star) – Maybe because they're so used to repetitive training and using their entire bodies, but athletes in general and football players in particular (Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Warren Sapp) always do well on this show. LT's also got personality, a great smile and experience in front of the camera. Odds: 4-1

Nancy O’Dell – Dropped out due to injury.

Jewel – Dropped out due to injury.

Holly Madison (Playboy model, reality TV star) - Madison comes to this competition straight off a collapsed reality show. She’s in this largely to remain in the spotlight and improve her Q-rating, but as a late replacement for Jewel, she's had less practice time and is at a distinct disadvantage. Odds: 15-1

Ty Murray (rodeo star) – When his wife Jewel dropped out due to injury, Murray’s chances went right with her. The novelty of seeing he and his wife competing against one another is now gone and Murray has zero name recognition on his own, thereby placing him near the bottom in terms of fan favorites. Odds: 40-1

David Alan Grier (actor-comedian) – Funny guys (Adam Carolla, Jeff Ross) don’t usually do well on DWTS. But Grier was recently on Carolla's radio show and seemed like he was taking this competition pretty seriously. Call it a hunch but we have him as our best longshot. Odds: 10-1

Gilles Marini (actor) – Okay, I never watched Sex in the City so have no idea who this guy is. I know he’s French (maybe that’ll help him?) and his partner is two-time winner Cheryl Burke, who may be the best of all the professionals. Odds: 8-1

Steve-O (reality TV star) – First off, great pick by the DWTS producers. Steve-O's irreverent personality has the potential to really liven up the show and also pull in an entirely new demographic of viewers. But even though he’s paired with Lacey, one of my new favorite dancer, we doubt Steve-O can dance or is interested in putting forth the effort needed to win. Odds: 35-1

Lil’ Kim (recording artist) – Just a quick side note: Lil' Kim was on one of the entertainment shows the other day, and she has had so much cosmetic surgery on her face and her body, she’s virtually unrecognizable from when she first started out in the rap game. Nevertheless, Kim's a performer who seems to love being back in the spotlight. It'll be interesting to see how she’ll click with her partner Derek Hough. Odds: 12-1

Shawn Johnson (gymnast) – The multi-medal winning Olympian has a lot going for her. She’s cute, used to competing, and her gymnastics background gives her all the athleticism, conditioning, discipline, balance and grace she needs to win. It’s all just a question of how well everything translates to the dance floor. Any way you slice it, she’s  the favorite and a lock to make the top three. Odds: 3-1

Chuck Wicks (country singer) – Word is, Wicks has been dating Julianne Hough for awhile (the two opened for Brad Paisley on his last tour.) Hough, it seems, had made up her mind not to return to the show this season but was talked into staying because the producers agreed to have Wicks as a contestant and then pair the couple up. Julianne’s another of our favorites and she’ll no doubt pull out all the stops to get her and Wicks through each week. Even so, we say this duo's dancing (and their relationship) will both be over quickly. Odds: 10-1

Denise Richards (actress) – After running off with her friend Heather Locklear’s husband (Bon Jovi guitarist, Richie Sambora) Richards runs the risk of being unpopular among women viewers. She’ll need to not only dance well but also make nice with everyone in order to repair her image as a man-stealer and make it through. Odds: 8-1

Belinda Carlisle (singer) – Not only is she 50, but the Go-Go’s singer came off as somewhat indifferent in previous reality show appearances on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Celebrity Duets. Belinda will have to curb any apathy, be really engaging, and show a lot of personality to last even through the first few weeks. Odds: 25-1

Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) – He’s a gregarious guy but has too much girth and too little name recognition.
Odds: 50-1

The Dichotomy of Nancy and Tonya: A Timely Look Back

It was 1994 -- 15 years ago almost exactly -- that Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding faced off at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Kerrigan, after being attacked and clubbed in the leg by an associate of Harding's at the US Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, could not compete. Harding took first place at the event and secured a spot on the Olympic team and, after she denied involvement in the Kerrigan attack, the USOC (with no proof to the contrary) had no choice but to allow Harding to compete in Lillehammer. Kerrigan, meanwhile, in an unprecedented move by the USOC, was given a spot on the Olympic team in place of Michelle Kwan, who had finished second at nationals. A media frenzy ensued as reporters and cameras followed Harding and Kerrigan's every move leading up to the Olympics.

The next month, Kerrigan and Harding had their showdown at the '94 Games (which incidentally, were the first to be staggered -- i.e., held in a different year -- from the summer games.) The ladies figure skating final that year was packed with contenders and star power, including China's Chen Lu, Canadian national champion Josée Chouinard, reigning World silver medalist Surya Bonaly, and two-time Olympic champion Katarina Witt. Shown in prime time, the broadcast was one of the most watched in US history. An estimated 45 million people (representing about 48% of all households in this country that owned TVs) tuned to watch this intro (culled from the Pop Culture Fiend Archives) and the ensuing drama.



When it came time for Harding to skate, she missed her first jump, then, to most everyone's amazement, interrupted her routine, skated over to the judges sobbing and explained that her shoelace had broken. Harding was allowed to fix her shoe and skate again later, but in the end, Ukraine's Oksana Baiul won the gold medal. Kerrigan (with her Katherine Hepburn looks) had to this point been a media darling and object of sympathy, but -- after seemingly pouting on the medal stand after winning silver -- came off as a sore loser.

It's interesting to see the dichotomy of these two over the last decade -- how fulfilled and content Kerrigan seems today, while Harding appears still bitter and resentful about everything that's transpired. Admittedly, she's had a much harder life than Kerrigan, both before these events took place and after. After all, she grew up poor and struggling to find the funds for training, dropped out of high school, was (allegedly) physically abused by her mother, banned for life by the US Figure Skating Association, cited for multiple DUIs, claims she suffered domestic violence at the hands of various boyfriends, failed at both boxing and singing, and to this day, she's still reviled by the public for her role in the plot against her rival. Even during last fall's Democratic Presidential primary, the two campaigns wound up referencing Harding in a negative way.

And of course, Tonya was also the star of one of the very first celebrity sex tapes. Way before Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian were on anyone's radar, Harding's ex-, Jeff Gillooly sold a home video of he and Tonya having sex on their "wedding night", though later it was revealed that they were just role-playing.

Kerrigan, by comparison, has pretty much led a quiet life since Lillehammer. Upon her return to the US, she was skewered by the media after being caught on-mic complaining during a Disney World Parade honoring her. Afterwards, she retreated from the spotlight and retired from figure skating, only to quickly pop up as the star of a few professional skating shows. She hosted Saturday Night Live, got married, had a cameo in the Will Ferrell comedy Blades of Glory, but has spent a good deal of her time just doing charity work and raising her three kids.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Monday was Dr. Seuss' (Theodore Geisel's) 105th birthday. 

Everyone knows his books and their lasting impact on education, reading and our nation's youth, But I dug into the Pop Culture Fiend Archives to find a great example of how Geisel's writing style and the poetic meter he employed have influenced and inspired other creative works and permeated different facets of our popular culture. In this clip from Moonlighting, watch David, Maddie (Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd) and a maitre d' go at it Dr. Seuss style.

If You Liked Planet Terror...

Was watching TV the other night and saw a commercial for House of the Dead: Overkill -- a new zombie-killing, first-person shooter -- and was immediately struck by how much the graphics, gameplay, and characters remind you of Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror feature from 2007's Grindhouse. Looked into it and it seems the game's creators were indeed "inspired" by Rodriguez's ode to good ole 70's exploitation splatterfests. Just like in the movie, there's a hospital setting, bulbous, gelatinous mutants that explode in sprays of blood, plus a stripper character that's a dead ringer for the film's star, Rose McGowan. And the entire game has that worn out B-movie film look. Even the game's packaging looks like the Grindhouse movie poster. 

Related Links:
House of the Dead: Overkill trailer