By CJ Tiernan What does Captain mean to you? In the military, they rank pretty high. On board a ship (sea or air), they are in control of your fate. In gym class, they pick teams. I think we can all agree those are three equally important jobs. Yes, the Captain is in charge of making important decisions. It is with that understanding I acknowledge the gravity of the following list. Below is my Top 11 List of my Favorite Captains throughout media (and one real life character

By CJ Tiernan In the immortal words of John Mulaney, “We’re all on board. We all love mom.” Our moms are almost universally meaningful to us. Caring, nurturing, steeped in unconditional love, the mother is the quintessential symbol of familial love. All that said, it’s fun to watch a show that plays on the troupe by showing the other side of motherhood or taking love and adoration too far. Below is a list of my Top 11 Favorite TV Show Moms I’ve ever seen and, as you will no

By CJ Tiernan Creating something new is hard. To conjure something from nothing takes time and effort. This is a list showcasing people braggadociously showing off their skills. They have created something new, inside of something they created. My list, drawn from books, movies, and TV shows, illustrates invention within creation. Hat tip to all you intrepid writers. This is my Top 11 List of the Greatest Fictional Games in the history of fiction. 1. Jumanji – Jumanji - M

By CJ Tiernan Nicknames of historical figures are curious. Did all of the members of his cabinet refer to Abraham Lincoln as “Honest Abe?” Did he even like that nickname? Did they just whisper it in halls of the parliament building or whatever it is or did they say it to his face? Did that nickname even exist or was it manufactured after he, so to speak, bit the bullet? I don’t know whether some of these nicknames were crafted by contemporaries or issued by historical arbit

By CJ Tiernan A song has the power to hit you in the face; to bowl you over. It can strike an emotional chord that plucks your heartstrings like a harp. Or, sometimes it’s just really funny. Either way, when you hear a song like that, you will often seek that song out to discover more songs by the artist. Unfortunately, sometimes that song is by an artist that doesn’t exist. They have no sprawling oeuvre because they are simply a character in a TV Show or Movie. Alas, you can

By CJ Tiernan We've all had a moment when watching a movie where we saw something that doesn't exist in our world and thought "aw man, I wish that was real." Whether it is a place, a person, or a thing, we've all had that desire. For me, it is often the mode of transportation the characters use. I just want for there to be flying cars already. C'mon, people. Let's make flying cars a thing. In lieu of that reality, we can simply appreciate all the cool stuff we see on screen (

By CJ Tiernan When you watch the Pilot episode of a TV Show, you get to see the foundation. You are given some sense of who the players are and where the story is headed. However, many shows have their characters evolve and grow as the show goes on. This leads to the need for new characters. Anytime a TV Show can introduce a new member into the established cast in a manner that is additive is impressive. It requires great writing to establish a need for the character and grea

By CJ Tiernan Why do we love game shows? We all do. Whether we have a certain one or two that we try to catch every week or we just throw on Game Show Network and let the fates decide, we've all sat down and watched a game show on TV. In fact, now that we've reached the zenith of on-demand entertainment, we can pick and choose which ones we watch and conjure them at the snap of a finger. I believe that we love them for two main reasons. First, we like to play along. If it is

By CJ Tiernan Celebrating a Holiday with family and friends is one of the best things you get to do all year. We all bring our own traditions and practices to a Holiday celebration. It can be fun to watch someone else celebrate a holiday, especially when they bring something different to the table. We've all seen the Christmas episode with someone who is a little too into their traditions or the Halloween episode where a character has a singular focus on scaring someone else

By CJ Tiernan The song that kicks off an animated show is often the baited hook that brings you into the episode. Back in the day of live television, a show would attempt to ensnare you (or in this case: an unsuspecting child) immediately after whatever previous show you just watched so you didn't change the channel. They come on loud and strong and typically offer an extremely abbreviated sense of the plot and/or characters. I love the energy of a TV show theme song. Below i

By CJ Tiernan Saturday Night Live (SNL) has just entered its 51st season. That is an impressive run in a genre that is ever-evolving: comedy. It is a show that has been on for so long, it has touched and shaped the comedic sensibilities of generations. I've seen clips of some of the shows that came out before I as born, but with one or two exceptions, my list is comprised of people that were on the show when I was old enough to watch. Below is a list of my 11 favorite comedia

By CJ Tiernan Phineas and Ferb is one of my very favorite shows of all time. If you've ever watched the show, you know that there is a small list of boxes that get checked every single episode. The boys are going to invent something great, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is going to invent something that is thwarted by Perry the Platypus, Candice is going to fail to bust Phineas and Ferb, and there is going to be a musical number. I have created a list of my 11 favorite songs from the show

By CJ Tiernan Characters are such an important part of a TV Show. Because the story unfurls over such a long period of time, you get to spend so much more time with a character. If you can't stand a character, or don't understand where they're coming from, you might just jump ship on the show altogether. When you get two characters, who are either friends or partners, that can play off one another, especially for comedic effect, it's the best. I highly enjoy watching characte

By CJ Tiernan Before the ubiquity of the smartphone, Sportscenter was the one. It was THE way to get your sports highlights. You'd also watch the bottom line to find scores and other important tidbits. When I was in High School, Sportscenter anchors were deified and revered. Sportscenter has lost a bit of its charm in the intervening decades, but it never gets old to go back and watch the old "This is Sportscenter" commercials. They would very humorously place athletes and an

By CJ Tiernan TV shows are so much fun to watch and rewatch. You get an opportunity to really spend time with the characters and become immersed in the world. It can be pretty devastating when you come to find that your time in that world is cut short or the peril your favorite characters were placed in never gets resolved. This is a list of my favorite TV shows that never made it to season 3. 1. Better Off Ted (2009-2010) Breaking the fourth wall is one of my favorite tropes