The PSR Archives

Rob Cesternino and ESPN.com’s AJ Mass (@AJmass) recap The Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 14: The Grove. Right after the end of the episode, Rob and AJ discuss the following points and much more about this week’s episode:

• How great of an episode of The Walking Dead was this? Is this the best episode this season?
• How has Carol gone from Rob’s least favorite character on the show to his favorite character on The Walking Dead?
• Were Lizzie’s actions consistent throughout the show tonight?  Why was she able to shoot the Walkers with her gun earlier in the episode?
• Will there be repercussions for Carol with Tyreese down the line or will this be the end of their conflict?
• Did Carol need to take Lizzie out and shoot her or could she have just let go off on her own?
• Was the fire that was seen in this episode from the house that Daryl and Beth set on fire two weeks ago?
• How was there a working gas stove in the house that Carol and Tyreese found?  Wouldn’t it be better to just crash there for a while longer rather than going to Terminus?
• Will Rick accept Carol back in to the group now that she’s buried the hatchet with Tyreese?
• How many more weeks will be go without seeing Rick or Carl on The Walking Dead?
• What are the questions that we want to have answered before the finale of The Walking Dead Season 4 in just two weeks?
• Why are there so many showmances forming on this show?
• What was the significance of seeing the tea kettle at the top of the episode?
• What does it look like is going to happen next week on The Walking Dead?

Rob Cesternino and Rich Tackenberg recap the most recent SNL hosted by Lena Dunham with musical guest The National. As always Rob and Rich discuss all of the sketches to break down which ones worked and which ones didn’t.

Overall, Rob and Rich felt like the Lena Dunham show was a big improvement over the previous week’s show hosted by Jim Parsons. Rob thought Lena Dunham was very good as host but Rich felt she was more “okay” in her first shot on Saturday Night Live http://loans-cash.net.

What Worked:

• Rob and Rich both liked the cold open and Liam Neeson’s appearance
• Rob and Rich also thought that the “Garden of Eden” sketch was exactly the perfect parody of Girls
• Rich loved the Scandal parody and thought it was Lena Dunham’s best sketch of the night
• Rob and Rich liked the appearance of Jon Hamm during the “What are you even doing?” sketch

What Didn’t Work:

• Both Rob and Rich felt like the monologue was a bit of a miss, especially Kate McKinnon as Lena Dunham’s grandmother
• The Katt Williams sketch felt like your typical SNL talk show sketch
• Rich really didn’t like the final sketch of the guys e-mailing about what to wear to the Will Smith concert.
• Rob and Rich really were not happy to see the return of the “Childhood friends of….” on Weekend Update.
• Everything besides Jon Hamm during the “What are you even doing?” sketch

Rob Cesternino and Josh Wigler recap The Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 13: Alone. Join us LIVE to ask us your questions after the episode. In this episode, Rob and Josh try to get to the answers to the following issues raised by the episode:

• What changed in the relationship between Daryl Dixon and Beth since the end of the last episode?
• How come Daryl never ate any of the pig’s feet that he found in the cabinet?
• Was it a good idea for Beth to be playing the piano in the funeral home?
• What exactly is going on at the funeral home?
• Was Beth kidnapped by the person who lived in the funeral home?  If so, where are they going?
• Is Daryl in danger from Joe and the people that found him at the end of the episode?  Are these the same people who took Beth?
• Was Maggie or Sasha correct in their attitudes towards Terminus?
• Which character from The Walking Dead has the most game with the ladies?
• How did all the Zombies show up at the door of the funeral home at the same time?
• Will we ever see the one-eyed dog again?
• Why did Bob go after Maggie after he put the moves on Sasha?
• What the hell was Maggie doing lying on the ground with the dead bodies when Sasha looked out the window?
• How did Sasha and Maggie catch up to Bob when he seemingly had a huge head start on them.
• Will we ever see Rick, Carl and Michonne again after two straight weeks of not seeing them?
• Is this the longest streak in the history of the show where a main character hasn’t died?
• What is likely to happen next week?
• Is Terminus going to be a good thing or a bad thing for our favorite characters from The Walking Dead?

Be sure to join us for our next podcast, recapping the first season of 24 as Rob and Josh prepare for the premiere of 24 Live Another Day in May.

Listen to the Podcast:

Rob Cesternino and Rich Tackenberg recap the latest episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Jim Parsons. Join us LIVE to ask us your questions after the episode

Things that Worked (the short list):

• Rob liked the Bird Bible sketch for Kate McKinnon, Mike O’Brien and baby Jesus hatching from an egg
• Rich got “Tonked” by Tonk
• Rob thought that the “12 Years a Slave” Auditions were funny
• Both Rob and Rich are becoming smitten by Cecily Strong on Weekend Update
• Jebediah Atkinson performed well again, after having a few months in between appearances rather than just 2 weeks.

Things that Didn’t Work (a longer list):

• Rob thought the cold open with Ellen was a bit of a throwaway
• Rob and Rich didn’t understand why they chose most of the TV characters that appeared in the monologue
• Rich didn’t like the Murder Mystery sketch (though Rob was amused by the antics of Simply Dudley)
• Rob didn’t know how the elevator sketch got on the air
• While Rich appreciated Jay Pharoah as Shaquille O’neal, Charles Barkley is one of Keenan’s worst characters
• Rich really hated the Cowboys birthday sketch which closed out the show.

Overall, it was a very uneven episode to start the Colin Jost era on SNL, though his performance on weekend update got better as it wen’t along.

Join us back next week when we recap the March 8th edition of Saturday Night Live hosted by Lena Dunham with musical guest, The National.

Rob Cesternino and Josh Wigler recap The Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 12: Still. Join us LIVE to ask us your questions after the episode.  In tonight’s podcast recap, Rob and Josh discuss the following:

• How long were Daryl Dixon and Beth in the trunk of the car for?  Did anybody have to go to the bathroom?
• How does Daryl make a snake look so delicious?
• Why did Beth decide that today was the day when she needed to start getting drunk?
• Would Beth have been better off if she was in the group with Bob?
• What was the significance of the Washington, D.C. spoon found at the country club?
• Was there a theme in tonight’s episode about Rich vs. Poor issues?
• How did a dead woman’s torso end up on the top of a mannequin?
• Is Peach Schnapps really an inferior alcoholic beverage to start Beth on than moonshine?  Did Daryl really need to break the bottle?
• Was the house that Daryl and Beth end up at actually Daryl’s old home?
• What was the significance of Daryl revealing his backstory to Beth?
• In reality, how bad of an idea was it for Daryl to burn the house down in the middle of the night after drinking moonshine all day long?
• What was the significance of Beth saying that Daryl was going to be the last man standing?
• Are we headed towards a Beth and Daryl showmance?
• Which of the other Walking Dead characters are we likely to see again next week?
• Did Norman Reedus inspire all of the middle finger flipping that was seen in this episode?

Join The Roundtable as Jeremiah Panhorst, Zach Brooks, Tyler Smith and Antonio Mazzaro discuss the life of writer, director, actor and producer Harold Ramis.

Rob Cesternino and Zach Brooks recap the season 2 Finale of House of Cards, episode 13 as they review Chapter 26 of the Netflix original series.  In this episode we will recap the finale and take a look back at the second season of House of Cards.

In this podcast, we will discuss:

• How believable was Frank Underwood in his interview on ’60 Minutes’?
• Was it the right move for Walker to offer a pardon to Tusk?
• How smart was it for Walker to retract the pardon on the way to Tusks hearing?
• Why was Claire Underwood crying after talking to Trisha Walker?
• Was there a significance to the Opera music in this episode?
• Is Gavin being set up to be the villain of Season 3 of House of Cards?
• Was it believable that Frank’s letter to the president would be as effective as it was
• Was Remy ever really going to testify or was it trick to make Tusk give up the President?
• Where does Remy end up next season?
• Who has Frank Underwood tabbed for the Vice President?
• Did Frank seem a little cavalier about whether or not the letter got burned in the fire?
• Did President Walker seem like he 100% trusted Frank and forgot about all of the things he had said about Frank over the last 2 episodes?
• Are we going to continue to follow Rachel’s storyline in Season 3 of House of Cards
• What will President Underwood say about the death of his chief of staff, Doug Stamper?
• What was the significance of Frank Underwood knocking on the desk?
• Where will the story pick up in Season 3 of House of Cards?
• What were the best and worst story lines of Season 2 of House of Cards?

We’ll continue to follow the House of Cards news.  Keep sending us your feedback and if we have enough questions to answer, we’ll come back with another House of Cards podcast before Season 3 comes back.

Rob Cesternino and Zach Brooks recap House of Cards Season 2 Episode 12 to discuss Chapter 25 of the Netflix Original Series.

Rob Cesternino and Zach Brooks recap House of Cards Season 2, Episode 11 in our daily recap of the Netflix Original Series.

Rob Cesternino (@RobCesternino) and Josh Wigler (@RoundHoward) recap the Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 11: Claimed. Join the discussion to talk about everything that happened in tonight’s episode.

On this episode Rob and Josh try to discover the following questions and much more:

• Just who is Abraham and what is he up to with Eugene?
• How come Glenn didn’t have any follow-up questions for Eugene about his cure for the Zombie virus?
• Was Glenn guilty of some very questionable decision making?
• What went down at the house that Carl and Michonne were exploring?  How did all those people die?  What was with the painting that Carl gave to Michonne?
• How come everybody comes to the house that Rick is staying in?
• How many of the guys that invaded the house died?  Did any of them turn in to Walkers?
• How come Rick never changes his clothes?
• How do people know which was to go to get to Terminus?
• Is Michonne lactose intolerant or a vegan?  Could this be a reason that she prefers Crazy Cheese to the genuine article?
• Is Abraham’s girlfriend, Rosita, dressed appropriately for the Zombie Apocalypse?
• Did Eugene really act like the smartest person around when the Zombies came strolling out of the cornfield?
• Is Rick Grimes shaving his chest during the Zombie Apocalypse?
• What will happen next week on The Walking Dead?

We hope you enjoy the show almost as much as everybody seems to enjoy Rick’s bed.