The Month In Pop Entertainment: November 2013

November is be an interesting month for many reasons. If you’re a gamer, you might be making a big purchase soon. There’s several television events on the way, too.

We may still be a month away from the big holiday season, but there’s plenty of new music and movies to keep us entertained until then.

Free Birds (01 November)

Birds travel through time to prevent turkey from being served at the first Thanksgiving. The settlers and natives also feasted on eels that day, but you don’t see anyone making an animated comedy about that now, do you?

The Wolf of Wall Street (15 November)

I could point out that this is a potential Oscar nominee, directed by Martin Scorsese and based on a best-selling book, but none of that is the best reason to see this film. Instead, you should know that this is the movie that the great GIF of Leonardo DiCaprio dancing came from.

FOX’s Almost Human (17 & 18 November)

The last new show of the Fall 2013 season has been rescheduled to debut after a football game in order to attract more viewers. It doesn’t really need such gimmicks, as the premise alone (a cop bonds with his robot partner in the year 2048) is interesting enough to reel in an audience.

Playstation 4 (15 November) & Xbox One (22 November)

You’ve probably already heard that the Xbox One can be controlled using your voice or that the PS4 boasts region-free games and the ability to “test play” everything online. But what’s really interesting is the race to see which becomes the hottest seller. Over one million PS4s, selling for $399 each, have already been pre-ordered, with critics are claiming that Xbox One’s $499 price tag will make it very unpopular.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (22 November)

This eagerly awaited sequel reportedly cost over $130 million to make and is expected to bring in at least that much in its opening weekend alone. Never bet against a movie with its own line of make-up.

BBC America’s 50th anniversary of Doctor Who (23 November)

Cult hit Doctor Who has been on television in one form or another for half a century. On the golden anniversary of its first episode, American fans can tune in to see a new episode at the exact same time that UK fans can. If you miss it, you might be able to catch a 3D screening at your local theatre.

One Direction Midnight Memories (23 November)

You’re probably going to see a lot of One Direction this month. Their third album, which already features two hit singles, is coming out just in time for the Black Friday sales rush. Its one of the most anticipated albums of the year, and it has the potential to break sales records.

ABC’s The 41st Annual American Music Awards (24 November)

The Grammy’s refers to itself as “music’s biggest night”, but think of the less stuffy AMA’s as music’s second biggest night. This year’s telecast will feature performances by One Direction, Florida Georgia Line, Eminem, and more, while Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Justin Timberlake, and Taylor Swift divvy up the most nominations.

NBC’s The 87th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (28 November)

Details on who will be performing are still scarce, but the parade’s new additions include an Adventure Time balloon, a SeaWorld float, and a seasonally re-designed Spongebob Squarepants balloon.

Frozen (29 November)

Disney adapts the Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” into a digitally animated tale about courage, friendship, and a talking snowman who looks like a rabbit!