Director of Iron Man Interviews Director of Skateboarding

Two men we wouldn’t mind having lunch with.

Here at GP we love a good mashup. Especially when two seemingly opposite ideas come together for something unexpectedly great.

Tonight I’ve got my DVR set to record Iconoclasts on the Sundance Channel. If you don’t know about Iconoclasts, it’s an outstanding show that forgoes the typical interview/interviewee process and pairs two influencers/celebrities/world-changers of seemingly opposite genres and has them interview each other in a casual real-world environment. It’s fascinating.

In it’s forth season and more importantly tonight, Iconoclasts has Jon Favreau, director of the Iron Man movie franchise (but more importantly, creator and actor in Swingers) interviewing Tony Hawk, and vice versa. Other interview pairings include: Wycleaf Jean and Venus Williams, Mike Myers and Deepak Chopra, Quentin Tarantino and Fiona Apple, Cameron Diaz and Cameron Sinclair, Eddie Vedder and Laird Hamilton… and the list goes on.

More than just questions, you’ll see Tony Hawk showing Jon Favreau why he’s scared to do his new jump or what the biggest challenge is between creating a movie like Swingers and Iron Man 2. So watch and learn.

Who knows? Season 10 could feature you.

Editor’s Note: In a Gear Patrol World, our mashup vote goes to resident golf guru Patrick Tuttle talking with Lil Wayne a.k.a Wheezy. Imagine the possibilities.

Iconoclasts | Tonight (October 30) at 10PM eastern

Family Values At Their Best

It’s time to start memorizing a new set of episodes boys. Yup, you can finally own the Griffin clan’s latest set of misadventures on DVD. With a total of 12 episodes ranging from season 5 to 6, and guest appearances by celebrities like Willem Dafoe, Drew Barrymore, Adam Carola, and Neil Patrick Harris (just to name a few), this season doesn’t disappoint.

If you think your downloaded collection has you covered, did we mention the set also comes with over 50 deleted scenes and raucous commentaries by Seth MacFarlane? We’ll see you in line.

Cost: $26

Editors Notes: Looking for an easy way to get it all on DVD? Check out the quintessential Family Guy Freakin’ Sweet Party Pack which also hits stores today. ($116)

Virtual Signing Bonus For The Armchair Quarterback

Must… see… more… football…

If there was ever a reason for you to wish you had a clear view of the Southern skies*, it’s DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket. A literal cornucopia of NFL football viewing, Sunday Ticket offers you more options than Donovan McNabb.

The basic package ($289) allows you to watch every NFL game every Sunday of the NFL regular season. No longer are you restricted to just your markets games. You’ll get enhanced viewing experiences like real-time scoreboards of all the day’s actions, Game and Player statistics (team and individual) and our favorite: Player Tracker.

Football Stats Euphoria - NFL Sunday Ticket Player Tracker

Player Tracker allows fans and fantasy football fanatics to track their favorite players, offering the statistics of up to two teams of nine players each, and receive real-time onscreen alerts.

And the fun doesn’t stop there. For $99 more, you can upgrade yourself to the Superfan tier that gets you:

• Supercast - the entire weekly lineup of live games available via web-stream to their PC or laptop computer every Sunday
• Red Zone Channel –provides up-to-the-minute highlights, combined with live-action of critical plays and moments from game broadcasts.
• Game Mix – Allows fans to view eight game broadcasts on one screen.
• Short Cuts –features edited versions of NFL game broadcasts, allowing fans to watch an entire game in 30 minutes or less.
• NFL Sunday Ticket Mobile - receive in-progress highlights from games on demand via their mobile phones.

You even get the option to choose a remote for your own team.

No peripheral left logoless.

What this means to you: Over the top? We didn’t think so either. As a matter of fact, we’ve already signed on for our second season.

Cost: NFL Sunday Ticket $289 + Superfan $99 @ DirecTV

* - Random info: In case you didn’t already know, DirecTV satellite dishes have to be pointed to the Southwest or Southeast skies depending on your location.

What the Gear Patrol Editors Are Watching DVR’ing

Lets hope the air in Beijing isn’t flammable (ESPN)

NBC is showing that Americans do things big and we do it like no one else. With 3,600 hours of high definition video (2,200 hours of it streamed and archived online), NBC is going for its own gold. The event? Largest hard drive.

The GP Team’s gearing up for some of our own Olympic viewing, but we’ve got our eyes set on a few key events. Our DVR’s can handle about 40 hours, anyway and we’re still not ready to give up that trip to the Caribbean just yet. What are we watching? Read on to find out.

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August 7th - 10th on TNT and CBS Sports

Sand wedge anyone?

It’s crunch time on the PGA Tour. One final opportunity to claim a Major Championship this season. Whoever lifts the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday will have to contend with Oakland Hills…or as Ben Hogan named it, “The Monster”. It’s also the last chance to secure a position on this year’s US Ryder Cup squad. All in all there’s plenty of pressure to go around this week.

The South Course was designed by Donald Ross, who upon seeing the land said, “The Lord intended this for a golf course.” Any Ross designed course is sure to have one thing…multi-tiered greens. Find yourself on the wrong level and putting will become an adventure to say the least. Bring on the 90th PGA Championship. Visit the site for more.

Editor’s Inside Tip: GP’s got an inside look at DIRECTV’s enhanced and expanded coverage of the PGA Championships. Tune in to Channel 701 for free services that include: three unique channels that will focus on a group each day, featured holes and “Players In Depth” segments. Score and stats available at the push of a button, and the creme de la creme - an Interactive Mix Channel (shown right) that offers all four channels on one screen. ESPNZone action in the comfort of your own home. [click on image to enlarge]

It’s that time of year again. That magical event where we all find ourselves glued to the television for one week straight– jaws a gape as tale after tale of maulings are reenacted for our viewing pleasure in high definition. [More on Shark Week after the jump]
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