Sept 26: The Sing-Off

We like to keep this on the down low, but the GSD Staff loves singing reality TV shows. There are plenty to choose from these days--American Idol, The X Factor, The Voice, Karaoke Battle USA--but for sheer bang for your viewing buck, snuggle up on the couch on Mondays this fall with NBC's The Sing-Off.

Cashing in on the immense popularity of AI and Glee, The Sign-Off pits the country's best a cappella groups against one another. Age is no limitation, as this year's crop of contestants ranges from a high school group from Oregon to five grandfathers from Boston's North Shore.

The reason you should watch is the creativity of the groups. First, their unique style requires unusual twists on songs we all recognize. Second, the coordination of the costuming is often brilliant. The Dartmouth Aires blew off the roof with their rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," but take a gander at their outfits--preppy chic at its finest! The GSD Staff wants those sweaters.

Lastly, the judges are refreshingly humble and knowledgeable because they are all musicians. There's no TV exec dominating the group with his concerns about the groups' like-ability and how many records they can sell. Ben Folds is nerdy but he's not afraid to speak in technical musical terms that the participants understand far better than TV viewers. Sara Bareilles is humble and sincere and definitely not in it for the face time on a national TV program. Shawn Stockman, from Boyz II Men, brings street soul to the judging group, and he's most effective when he explains his evaluations based on his experiences as part of his three-man signing group.

The Sing-Off is great because it's a lot like D3 athletics--the participants sure ain't in it for the money. The $100,000 grand prize isn't chump change, but the chance that one of these groups will end up at the top of the charts is as likely as the GSD Staff making it to The Sing-Off Season 3 with our rendition of Sammy Cahn's "Let It Snow."

Music in its purest form. Mondays at 8:00 on NBC.

Sept. 24: Moneyball

I suppose it isn't too hard to account for the hype of Bennett Miller's Moneyball with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill as its stars, but a sports movie with a front office man as its main character doesn't sound like the type of film that should be filling the seats of the cineplex.

The GSD Staff took a break from long-term forecasting to sneak out of the office and catch the film. And it just about lived up to our expectations. The film is a cross between The Social Network and The Bad News Bears. Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane has a groundbreaking idea--he wants to apply the new math of baseball to player evaluation--and old school baseball wisdom thinks Beane is a wacky outlier. Because the A's are first in the league in the fewest dollars spent per player, Beane seeks out those undervalued players that traditional statistics and observational scouting would not have identified as talented. At one point, Beane refers to the players he's seeking as baseball's version of "The Land of the Misfit Toys." Most of these misfits work out and are recognizable even today; others do not and at a critical point in the film are abruptly shipped off to other cities.

Once Beane's theory and team are in place, the film chronicles how the A's won 102 games in 2002. What the film (as well as Michael Lewis's book, on which the film is based) fails to mention even once is that A's pitching staff of that year was phenomenal. There's so much emphasis on run-production and scoring that it's almost inexcusable not to at least tip a cap to the A's pitching starters during that season. It would be like making The Social Network and failing to mention the Winklevoss twins.

We think the movie stands on its own even if you aren't a baseball fan. The film is about a progressive idea more than it is about a baseball idea, which is why comparisons to The Social Network are sure to fill the blogosphere. Jonah Hill is very good as Peter Brand, Beane's assistant stat yes-man, and you will also enjoy Kerris Dorsey, who plays Beane's guitar-playing 12-year-old daughter. The film's not as generation-defining as The Social Network, but it is definitely worth the $4.99 HD pay-per-view charge (when it becomes available).

Sept. 5: America's Got Talent

Sure America's Got Talent is just another competitive performance show, but there's something different about NBC's show that makes it stand out in the crowd. American Idol still is the king--and it will be very interesting to see what Simon Cowell's The X Factor will add to the mix--but America's Got Talent has the singers, dancers, BMXers, and magicians--and just enough corniness--to remind us that this is a variety show at its best.

Tomorrow night--September 6--the finals begin for ten competitors. The results show airs on Wednesday. For pure, unpredictable entertainment, you need to check in on Tuesday night's show. The competitors have been ramping up their performances for weeks. What's great is that a few acts will amaze you (e.g., Susan Boyle of two years ago), and a few acts will bomb completely, resulting in CNN's Piers Morgan to press his giant X button (a la The Gong Show back in the 1970s).

What separates AGT from the others is that the grand prize is a headlining act contract in Las Vegas. Because normal rules don't apply in Vegas, any of these acts has a chance to win. I might not pay $5 to watch the Smarge Bros. Riding Show on my local high school stage, but in Vegas, why wouldn't I pay to see them perform? The Vegas factor is the game-changer for this shows' acts, which explains why a Landon Swank the magician is very much alive for the $1 million prize, as is the dancing group the Miami All Stars.

AGT is worth DVRing, at the very least. Watch it live if you want the full effect, but definitely DVR it and catch America's best variety show over the weekend.