Here we are again, Pop Culture Week In Review. I love/hate writing these because, unlike feature stories, they’re completely reactionary. Any color added is thanks to what’s happening throughout the week instead of some predetermined idea or narrative. It’s simultaneously exciting and frustrating to not know what you’re going to be writing about until the picture becomes clearer the closer a deadline gets, but if nothing else, it’s unique.

Like the beers we review, sometimes it’s refined, and other times it falls flat. Who knows how this one will go — all I’ve got is a few key ingredients. Let’s see how well they sit.

“Alright chums. Time’s up. Let’s do this …” – Leory Jenkins

February is the worst. Somehow, it always holds the coldest of the cold, the bleakest of the bleak and the dullest of the dull all in one hand. In the other is a club to beat us bloody. Cold weather and snow have long lost their novelty, only existing to further torment us. Luckily the gods are good, and to help us through this tortuous time, they deemed it necessary to begin delivering the best television of the year. The week, Portlandia, Late Night with Seth Myers and The Americans returned to help ward off Polar Vortex PTSD. That’s all wonderful and therapeutic, but most notably, NBC’s stellar Hannibal returns today (Friday). THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: IF YOU ENJOY TELEVISION, WATCH HANNIBAL. By some miracle it was renewed despite low ratings, and while True Detective might scratch a similar itch, give Hannibal a try. You won’t regret trying out one of the most stylized and demented shows on television.

Also in TV news, Heroes, the 2006 NBC smash-hit that proved NBC could screw-up even the most fundamentally popular ideas it stumbles upon, is set to return. “Why?” you ask? Brilliant question.

Do you remember when “Save the cheerleader, save the world?” meant something? When series creator Tim Kring was having his way, Heroes was one of the best and most unique shows available. A bit cheesy, yes, but the potential and mystery behind one of the first superhero shows of its era was certainly exciting. It may be a punchline now, but here’s hoping he can pull off the same magic later this year in his 13 episode miniseries.

Speaking of lost magic, if you haven’t heard by now, Godzilla has been rebooted. Yes, I know…I can feel your eyes rolling out your sockets and down into Robocop/Total Recall territory. You’d be forgiven for that. All I ask is that you invest a few minutes  of your time into one of the most promising looking reboots in recent memory, and decide for yourself.

Do you remember the Pixar Theorist? He’s the guy who figured out that every movie/story in the Pixar universe is connected. It’s a fantastic read, but now, he’s dug even deeper. This week, Jon Negroni developed a new theory about Andy’s mom. Take a deeper look into one of your favorite films to see just how magical the folks at Pixar can get.

In the music world, Kid Cudi decided to pull a Beyonce and drop his next album without any publicity or hype. Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon sounds like a mix between the Tron and Moon movie soundtracks, but Cudi still proves his chops with yet another cerebral/hip-hop mix. Check it out.

Also, Miley Cyrus kissed Katy Perry during a performance. Stunts like this are still effective because we flip out so much about them. Pro-Tip — don’t flip out.

Fine. I’ll get to it.

Harold Ramis died this week.

To the untrained eye, Harold Ramis was just “the nerdy ghostbuster.” The truth is, you’d be doing yourself and pop culture itself an enormous disservice to remember him simply as that. Harold Ramis was the man responsible for Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Stripes, Animal House, National Lampoon, and of course, Ghostbusters. He’s the writer, director and actor who shaped what “funny” meant to an entire generation.

Listen, it’s always strange when famous people die. I tried to brush off Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death a few weeks ago because I felt like I wouldn’t genuinely or accurately articulate what it meant to lose such an artistic force in our culture. Here I am again, this time responsible for telling you what Harold Ramis meant and what his death represents.

But I won’t. I’m just a schmuck who likes movies, TV, comics and video games a little more than the average Joe. Take to the internet and see for yourself why Harold Ramis was so cherished amongst pop culture aficionados.

“Discovering an odd delusion I never knew I had about mortality. Some childish part of me believe you could write around it.” – Dan Harmon

That’s it for this week. Poignant aroma, crisp undertones and a bitter aftertaste. Here’s hoping next week is a little more sweet.

Need something more satisfying before then? Tune-in to our annual Oscar’s live-blog, this Sunday starting at 6:45PM EST/3:45PM PST for some delicious LOLZ.