"I overheard another teacher tell a concerned couple, 'That could be the reason that your child may end up developing interpersonal difficulties,' and then the couple was shown a drawing of a platypus their son had made and was told that an average platypus should look 'less deranged.'"
just got SO good tonight. If the storyline introduced tonight continues, as I assume it will, I think this show has the potential to be what Southland never was.
Also, I love Michael Imperioli.
Meanwhile, we're several weeks into the return of Real Time, and there's no sign of Eliot Spitzer yet. I guess he's been too busy over at CNN to make any guest appearances. I like him, but not enough to watch CNN. Luckily, my boyfriend will be making an appearance at Mr. Maher's roundtable this Friday. No, I'm not talking about the loser "friend with benefits" who dumped me this weekend and no longer wants to be friends nor engage in benefits. I'm talking about Andrew Ross Sorkin. You know, the kind of guy who graduated college in less* than six years.
*Yes, I know that is supposed to say "fewer." But "less" just makes it sound more spiteful.
Real Time comes back Friday, and I have just one thing to say: I always enjoy me some Sully, along with my boyfriend Andrew Ross Sorkin and The New York Times' conservative columnists, but most importantly, moar Eliot Spitzer plz. kthxbai.
As promised, Part II of my Fall preview. The following excerpts are highlights from TWoP's"Best and Worst New Shows" feature, and include my added comments.
-Terriers (Premieres September 8)The premise admittedly sounds more like a USA Network show -- an ex cop teams up with his best friend to solve crimes -- but FX's execution is dark, gritty and enthralling. Donal Logue stars as a loser who's lost his job, wife and pretty much everything else and is now forced to take on any sort of investigations that come his way. Michael Raymond-James (the vampire-hating Rene from True Blood) plays his younger partner with domestic issues of his own. With its focus on blue-collar underdogs solving mysteries that threaten to expose the corrupt upper class of a California town, this show reminds us of both Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer novels and the late lamented Veronica Mars, which is high praise indeed.
I don't really have time for FX shows (i.e., they're not a priority), but this one made TWoP's "best" list, so it might be worth a viewing.
-Boardwalk Empire (Premieres September 19)We're waiting with bated breath for this highly touted HBO series from Sopranos scribe Terence Winter and producer Martin Scorsese. This period crime drama literally looks fantastic, with Steve Buscemi at the center of the action in a Prohibition-era Atlantic City. If it's half as good as we think it will be, it'll still be the best show of the fall.
Three Letters: HBO.
-The Event (Premieres September 20)This is another complicated, high-concept show like FlashForward, so we were totally hesitant about getting invested. Now that we've seen the pilot, we already like Jason Ritter far more than Joseph Fiennes, although we're worried the show will fall victim to unflattering Lost comparisons (and not just because both had crashing planes in their pilots). The storyline involves a mysterious government operation and how it affects the lives of everyone from the president (Blair Underwood) to a guy on vacation with his girlfriend. Laura Innes co-stars in a totally shady role, which brings back fond ER memories. There's enough intrigue in the premiere to make us want to go along for the ride... but if Dominic Monaghan suddenly shows up with a missing finger, all bets are off.
Though I'm more than a little turned off by the comparison to Lost, I missed FlashForward, so I'm more than a little interested in this. But it might be too...complicated.
-Lone Star (Premieres September 20)We don't like this show just because it co-stars Friday Night Lights alum Adrianne Palicki, but that certainly doesn't hurt. We were actually won over by the concept, which sounded iffy on paper, but succeeds on screen. James Wolk is a con artist who lives a double life, wheeling and dealing and dating one girl while married to another. He swaps identities with ease since he's been doing it for years at the behest of his con-man father David Keith. But when trying to scam the uber-wealthy father of his wife, played by Jon Voight, he ends up trying to be a good person instead of taking the money and running. The pace may feel a little slow at first, but the tricky nuances and character development definitely pay off.
Mostly appealing because of Adrianne Palicki, but the rest sounds cool too.
-Detroit 1-8-7 (Premieres September 21)This is network cop drama done right... which probably means that it'll get cancelled quickly. It's fairly gritty, it's all about disturbing homicide cases, it has a strong cast and it has some dark humor. The premise is straightforward -- cops solving crimes and being badass in a very rough town -- but it's well executed. We're naively hopeful that this will last longer than Michael Imperioli's last cop series, Life on Mars.
I never watched the Sopranos, but Michael Imperioli impressed me in those few Law & Order episodes he was in (in as much as anyone can be impressive in L&O). I also like the idea of a gritty network cop drama done right.
-Running Wilde (Premieres September 21)The good things about this show: It's from Mitch Hurwitz, who brought us Arrested Development. It stars our beloved Felicity (a.k.a. Keri Russell, who is making her return to TV) and Will Arnett (who can make us laugh in anything... even the horrible When In Rome) and David Cross. What's not good about this show? Pretty much everything else. It's an odd premise (which admittedly worked for AD) about a rich playboy wants to woo the highly principled girl of his dreams by trying to be a better man, but it just isn't funny. At. All. In fact, instead of laughing, we were cringing.
This was on TWoP's "worst" list, but I'm excited to see Keri Russell back on TV and Will Arnett with more than a recurring role.
-The Whole Truth (Premieres September 22)Yes, it's another courtroom drama, but it's actually got a novel twist: it focuses equally on both the defense and the prosecution and their overlapping trial prep, culminating in a suspenseful verdict pronouncement. The great cast includes TV vets Rob Morrow as the laid-back criminal attorney and Maura Tierney as the DA. Here's hoping that this procedural show ups the ante throughout the season like The Good Wife did last year.
I probably don't need another courtroom drama, what with L&O: LA premiering and all, and I'm actually not a big fan of Maura Tierney, but I <3>
-Undercovers (Premieres September 22) Putting aside the overuse of the word "sexpionage" in the pilot and the trailer, this is actually a fast-paced, well-produced show about the spy world overseen by the guy who brought us Alias. Here, J.J. Abrams promises the show will be a little less mythology-based (you don't need to have a doctorate on Rambaldi just to watch an episode) but will still have action-packed, kick-ass scenes. And it doesn't hurt that the married duo who get sucked back into the CIA are played by the extremely attractive stars-in-the-making Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Again, not something I'm dying to watch, but it is getting a lot of hype, and it is J.J. Abrams. Perhaps it should not be overlooked.
- Law & Order: Los Angeles (Premieres September 22) It's hard to judge this one since we haven't seen it, but we're guessing that if you like the rest of Dick Wolf's Law & Order franchise, then this will be your cup of tea. Here, Alfred Molina is the deputy DA, Regina Hall is the ADA, Skeet Ulrich and Corey Stall are cops and Wanda DeJesus is the lieutenant. Something tells us we'd just rather be watching Southland.
Two words: SKEET ULRICH (because of one word: Jericho). Oh, and two more words: Law & Order.
-My Generation (Premieres September 23)The gimmick of this show sounded irksome when we first heard it, but it actually turned out to be kind of an intriguing concept. A few members of a high school are selected to participate in a documentary, then ten years later the crew follows up on their lives to see if they lived up to their potential and achieved their dreams. They're not a group of people who would necessarily be friends or even cross paths, and there's no irksome murder and slowly doled-out reveals like on Reunion. What we learned about the characters from the first episode definitely whetted our appetite for more.
I saw a the trailer for this and thought "barf." Girl is in an unhappy marriage, guy feels unaccomplished, other girl is looking for marriage material, other guy gets call from third girl that she had his baby after they slept together on prom night...blah blah blah. But it's supposed to be about MY generation, so I'm supposed to want to watch it. Either it's supposed to make me feel extremely pathetic, or comforted because there are other people out there as aimless as I am, and I'm betting on the former. But, TWoP did put it on the "best" list... -No Ordinary Family (Premieres September 28) Don't worry, this show isn't really attempting to be the new Heroes; these aren't folks from all around the world coming together to prevent some massive catastrophe. Instead, the show's about a family that goes on vacation, crash-lands in a mysterious lagoon and ends up returning home as supercharged beings with powers of speed, strength, smarts and telepathy. It's more like The Incredibles with the spirit of the original Stan Lee-Jack Kirby Fantastic Four. Michael Chiklis plays an unstoppable force (much like his Fantastic Four character); Julie Benz, Kay Panabaker and Jimmy Bennett round out the nuclear family. Romany Malco from 40 Year Old Virgin steals most of his scenes as Chiklis' overenthusiastic best friend and advisor.
Sounds pretty cheesey, but it made the "best" list and I'm glad Julie Benz found a steady gig after Dexter mercilessly brutalized her last season.
- Blue Bloods (Premieres September 24) It's a cop drama headed up by Tom Selleck as the patriarch of a family in which all the members of his family are in some branch of law enforcement. Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan and Will Estes are among the offspring. Expect skeletons in the closet, sibling rivalry and, of course, some backstabbing.
Selleck, Wahlberg, others...not a bad cast.
Obviously I'm not going to watch all these, and the casts appeal to me more than most of the plots, but hopefully some will end up being high quality for seasons to come.
The first of two posts about the television season soon to be upon us. Reprinted below are highlights of TWoP'spreview of returning shows, with my own comments added:
-Sons of Anarchy (Returns September 7) One of the best series on television returns with a vengeance, and we're not expecting any dip in quality in the third season. We have more faith in this show than probably any other (with maybe the exception of Mad Men... and Jersey Shore). Gemma's on the run with Unser, Abel's been kidnapped by a crazy Irishman, Jax and Clay are far from reconciliation -- it's going to be a gory, gripping, excellent season. Can't wait for the ride.
I have never seen this show, but the hype around it, combined with the lecture Henry Rollins gave about his experience as a cast member last time I saw him speak make me curious. Worth some DVR space? Possibly. -The Vampire Diaries (Returns September 9)Our heads are still spinning from the season finale. Seriously, Katherine is one badass vampire, and we cannot wait to see how it all plays out. Also, there will be some new residents in town, which we expect to lead to major characters getting killed. After all, there's no mercy on this show. WTF is up with vampires? and this show? it won a bunch of TWoP Tubeys, and the only reason I even know it exists is because Nina Dobrev, previously of Degrassi: The Next Generation fame is in it. Not on my watch list. I just had to rant. -Parenthood (Returns September 14)This show turned out to be a nice little surprise last year. It's a little corny and slightly boring at times, but the talent is great and it frequently delivers some genuinely moving moments and mindlessly enjoyable light entertainment. Plus, Peter Krause's face is on it! This season, Peter Krause's face returns, and there will be more of Dax Shepard's adorable son Jabbar, who is now a series regular. Unfortunately this does not mean less Dax Shepard, but it could be worse -- Billy Baldwin could be replacing Jason Ritter as Lauren Graham's love interest! Oh wait... crap. It is super corny, and Billy Baldwin can't possibly help it out of any of the major holes it dug itself into last season, but despite not loving Peter Krause's character, I have been a fan of him since Sports Night, so I'll probably keep watching, if only to witness Mae Whitman's superb acting and hope to figure out wtf is up with that Joel character. -The League (Returns September 16) If you didn't watch the short-but-sweet six-episode first season of this comedy about fantasy football fanatics, you have 13 more chances. That's how many episodes FX has ordered for the second season, so expect more hilarity from this group of friends that's only superficially about football. Bengals player (and Dancing star) Chad Ochocinco guest stars in the season premiere, when the League goes to Vegas. More Ochocinco on TV?! Can't miss that! But seriously, this sounds interesting. I may have to DVR it. -Chuck (Returns September 20) She'll be back. In this case, the "she" in question is Mama Bartowski, and she'll be played by the one and only Linda Hamilton. How cool is that? Also Dolph Lundgren, Olivia Munn, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Old Spice Guy will be put in guest appearances and likely make Chuck's life miserable. Another rant: I never got into this show. Why all the love? I'm especially baffled by the nominations Yvonne Strahovski got for her portrayal of Sarah Walker, Chucks handler. I always thought she was terribly miscast. -How I Met Your Mother (Returns September 20) Will we meet the mother? Hard to say. The producers have promised that the season will open with a big, game-changing event and that there will be a general push towards revealing the mom's identity. We do know that Rachel Bilson will be back and that Laura Bell Bundy will be on the show as Robin's new co-anchor. I continue to watch this show, despite no sign of the mother, and incredibly stupid plot devices, like breaking Robin up with everyone she has a seemingly serious relationship with. The TWoP teaser promises big things, though, so hopefully this season will top the last one. Any mention of Stella or the presentation of any Stella-like character/relationship, though, and I'll have to rethink my loyalty.
-Glee (Returns September 21) It's Britney, bitch! The show will reportedly tackle the music of Ms. Spears as the TV juggernaut heads into its second season. There's also a Rocky Horror Picture Show episode in the works, Kurt might get a boyfriend, Kristin Chenoweth will be back and Javier Bardem may stop by. A guilty pleasure. How could I not watch Glee? -Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Returns September 22) While last season saw medical examiner Melinda Warner get shot in the chest in the shocking finale and Assistant District Attorney Sharon Stone leave the show after her arc, look for more famous faces to arrive this season. The new ADA will be played by Paula Patton (Precious), and Jennifer Love Hewitt will guest-star in the first episode as a rape victim who refuses to leave her house. Plus, some scenes will take place in L.A. -- perhaps tying in to the new L&O series Law & Order: Los Angeles. I'm pretty addicted to this show. After realizing I'd seen every episode ever in syndication, I had to start watching new episodes, which I will keep doing despite being blasted with a new ADA with some lame/ridiculous plotline every few episodes. Hopefully Paula Patton won't be an alcoholic, detective's former lover, or anything else crazy. Let's hope for consistency. -Modern Family (Returns September 22)Last season was as stellar a debut year as any show could hope for, so it's no surprise that Modern Family is back for round two. Hopefully they can keep the momentum going and the perfectly over-the-top characters from turning into caricatures, but at this point, we are nothing but optimistic about the show's sophomore season. And that's despite reports of a Nathan Lane guest appearance, so you know our passion really runs deep. I only saw one episode of this last season. It was entertaining. It was funny. It won a lot of awards. DVR-worthy? Perhaps.
-30 Rock (Returns September 23)To certain critics, this show has lost a bit of its luster, but for us, it's still one of the few sitcoms that consistently makes us laugh, and we'll be loyal to it until it doesn't. Which might happen this season, unfortunately, as Jack Donaghy and Avery become parents, Liz Lemon calamitously dates her astronaut and the show finds a way to negate Kenneth's transfer to Los Angeles in some flippant throwaway reversal in the first episode. A lot of it sounds either like a beleaguered trope (a new baby? Ugh) or a stale device relied on far too much by this show (how romantically undesirable can Liz Lemon possibly be, and how many times in a row can we stand to watch it?), so we're a little worried. But only a little. I'm a little worried too. I hated Avery last season, and I don't see how a baby can help that. But hopefully they'll throw in episodes as good as Season 3's "Generalissimo" every once in a while. As long as Tina Fey keeps being Tina fey, I'll be watching.
-The Big Bang Theory (Returns September 23) The show is moving to Thursday nights. That's the big news. Additionally, Sheldon and Mayim Bialik will be continuing what is certainly the most awkward romantic relationships on TV. I think I watched last season's finale at least 3 times. After seeing a couple Season 2 reruns, I tuned in for Season 3 soon after it started. It took me less time than I thought it would to get over Kaley Cuoco's relatively bland character, mostly because the nerd-dom displayed here is so fascinating (and, somehow, relatable). And Jim Parsons won an Emmy. Yay!
-NCIS (Returns September 24)Do you watch this show? Neat! You are one of 18 million people we have never encountered. If we had met you, maybe you could have explained this show's appeal to us, but since that didn't happen, we're going to continue ignoring it as usual. I think TWoP's attitude toward this show is odd. I don't tune in to the new episodes every week, but the reruns got me on TNT, so I understand the appeal. -Dexter (Returns September 26) It's going to be next to impossible to match the Trinity season in quality, but we've decided to be optimistic. Yes, certain plot elements and truly awful guest stars (Julia Stiles? Come on!) we've been hearing about sound annoying, and the fact that the series' showrunner jumped ship after killing Rita makes the show seem like it's in a free-fall, but you know what? The trailer for the new season is awesome. It looks terrifying, actually, and though Quinn is a poor man's Doakes, the stakes seem incredibly high this season, and either way, we know Michael C. Hall will be a joy to watch throughout. So we're going to wait until episode three or so before deciding whether to deem it a total failure. I'm still pissed about Rita. I know a lot of viewers hated her, but she held some things together. I was almost ready to boycott this season, but the trailer really does look awesome. -Bored to Death (Returns September 26)You know you have a unique show on your hands when the season ends with a battle royal between two rival magazine editors and their posses. Season 2 looks like more of the same: Jason Schwartzman's writer/detective, Zach Galifianakis' comic book artist/worrier and Ted Danson's editor/drug addict going on adventures, solving crimes, being pathetic and smoking marijuana. In Brooklyn. I didn't really want to like this show, what with its hipsterness and incessant pot smoking, but I found Season 1 quite entertaining, and have been waiting for its return, which should have come much sooner.
There's also a bunch of shows I either stopped caring about or never got into in the first place. One day I'll catch up on House, start caring about Bones again, and give Community the regular viewing it probably deserves.
NOTE: though the timestamp says July 27, I did not in fact post this until September 1. I meant to put this entry up in, you know, July, but never finished it, so now it's a bit out of date and I have since formed a broader opinion about this season of Mad Men, but here it is, mostly as written the week following the premier, though the last couple paragraphs have just been written today, hastily and without much thought. But, I wanted to get it up since I started it and want to move on to Fall TV now.
Everyone's favorite period drama is back. Or should I say, everyone's favorite drama, period, as I don't see how it won't win this year's Best Drama Emmy.
While last season brought us many unforgettable (the lawnmower), inevitable (Betty's discovery of Don's true identity), and surprising (the formation of the new agency) moments, I thought the content between these redemptive occurrences was mediocre. Grandpa Gene, Henry Francis, and Suzanne Farrell were distracting, and I'm still surprised that Mr. Francis and his relationship with Betty did not make the finals in any of TWoP's "Worst Of" categories in the website's annual Tubey awards. But the season finale more than made up for Matthew Weiner's subplot transgressions, and season four brings us SCDP, only in Arial here thanks to Blogger.*
The premier included entirely too much sex and too many references to Don's balls and Roger's crudeness, but also included some gems from the writers, who rarely need to use more than one sentence to show the characters' many layers and the attitudes of the era, as is evident from these lines (and their delivery by the cast):
-"Do you want women who want bikinis to buy your two piece, or do you just want to make sure women who want a 2-piece don't suddenly buy a bikini?" - Regarding the lack of a conference table in the new office, a character (Bert?) notes that circle of chairs demands a conversation , to which Don replies, "about why there is no table"
-"I can use my expense account if I say they're whores, " says Pete, while proposing how to fund a rogue publicity stunt.
-"it was going great. Until it wasn't." - Peggy, on the result of the publicity stunt.
Prior to the premier, Matthew Weiner participated in an interview on NPR's Fresh Air, which included some of the following comments of note:
-"The stakes are so human on this show, there's no murders, there's no explosions...you have to have a different kind of stakes..." on moving on to the next stage in the characters' lives, and the trajectory of a show that does not rely on crime and other extraneous events to move its plot forward. This made me realize how many of the shows that I watch do rely on such devices.
-"Don's phantom limb" ...barf. Weiner is either talking about Dick, whom I really couldn't care less about (for the most part. I actually didn't mind the California episode, but those childhood flashbacks and his grating effort to so fully suppress his true identity beyond all recognition I could really do without), or about Don's penis, which we all know is not a phantom at all and would be fine never hearing about it again.
-Don's "almost self-destructive carnal force" ...barf again...Weiner goes on to comment on the reveal of Don's more kinky desires, saying "I don't care what anybody says, that's part of the human proclivity, so I always sort of, um, take that seriously without any judgment or any politics at all and say, this is the place where Don Draper is living right now." This is all well and good, but Weiner preceded this comment by saying "it's not that that's my particular taste, but..." Should we admire him for recognizing a very believable aspect of Don's human condition, or chastise him for feeling the need to include his own supposed aversion to such acts as a qualifier? I think the latter.
A couple other comments before I sign off: -In the premier, Don offers to walk his date, Bethany, up to her room in the Barbizon. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't men prohibited from the Barizon? Perhaps they were allowed in the lobby, but I'm almost certain they were not allowed near the ladies' rooms. And Matthew Weiner prides himself on being historically accurate...
-moar Trudy plz
*There was some ridiculous controversy started in the blogosphere about whether the SCDP logo was in Arial, which did not exist in the '60s. I'm not a "font nerd" and I could tell easily that the logo was clearly NOT in Arial. Whoever Evan is, he should be ashamed of himself, as no self-proclaimed "font nerd" blogger should ever have confused the SCDP font with Arial.
...which I didn't expect "Pushing Daisies" to have. But there she was, singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from Grease (among other things).
Besides the show being a forum for Kristin Chenoweth's voice (and her boobs), it also looks like one ridiculously large dye destruction print. Along with other quirky aspects, such as the show's use of alliteration, the locationless setting, and the use of pristine old cars in what is seemingly a modern time period, the the show's trademark visual style is one of vivid, supersaturated colors that, while achieved with a blue screen on the show, are reminiscent of the photographic dye destruction (aka Cibachrome, aka Ilfochrome) process for printing color images from slides.
Sandy Skoglund is famous for her dye destruction prints of elaborately produced sets featuring repetitious sculptures arranged in monochromatic spaces. Such images include Revenge of the Goldfish and Radioactive Cats, reproduced below (do click on the images to see them in their entirety): Which we can compare these to a [most likely computer generated] promotional shot for "Pushing Daisies:"or, to compare a more monochromatic shot, this one of "Pushing Daisies's" Anna Friel: While that is more than enough photos to make my point, here's one more, from William Eggleston (from Southern Suite, 1981), one my favorite photographers. Though he does not often use the dye destruction process, here we see the dye transfer process he prefers, which, while not achieving the same saturation levels as dye destruction, does offer a wider color gamut than any other color photo process: I miss the darkroom.
...because those three things just naturally go together.
I like to indulge in some Bloggingheads on the few days at work at the library when I get to work at the computer that has internet. Robert Wright initially brought me there, but I was thoroughly entertained when I discovered this conversation involving Ross Douthat about "red" and "blue" families. I have a soft spot for conservative New York Times columnists. While the entire diavlog is worth a listen, I laughed in my cubicle when (around 5:15, should you care to hear for yourself), Douthat noted that great "controversy" recently ensued when the Washington, D.C. Department of Health "bowed to pressure in its condom distribution program and it started distributing larger Magnum condoms" because "people said they didn't want to use...Durex, and nobody really wants to use Durex, you know,it's not...Trojan is really the brand name, and people really want the Trojan Magnums."
"High school students and college-age adults have been complaining to District officials that the free condoms the city has been offering are not of good enough quality and are too small...So D.C. officials have decided to stock up on Trojan condoms, including the company's super-size Magnum variety..."
Of course, as health officials and consumer advocates note,
"...in terms of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, there's no difference between Trojans and the less-expensive Durex condoms that the city is offering... But because Trojans are considered the better-known brand, city officials say, they are willing to spend an extra few thousand dollars a year to try to persuade sexually active teenagers to practice safer sex."
Luckily,
"the Durex condoms will still be offered."
In addition, Michael Kharfen, of the city's HIV/AIDS administration, notes:
"The gold package [of the Magnum condom] certainly has a little bit of the bling quality."
::::Warning: the following paragraph contains some personal information and opinions. Mom, I know you're the only one who reads this. Proceed at your own discretion::::
This is all great news (isn't it?), but I can assure you, both from experience as a peer sexual health educator in college, where we did condom demonstrations with baseball bats, and from, um, personal experience, no one really needs a Magnum condom. Besides, I've always found Durex to be far superior to Trojans. However, my friend Ben recently informed me that " the Japanese have it figured out pretty well with the Crown brand," which I was not formerly aware of. Ben says "they get good reviews. clearly an important thing to be to able to read reviews for. yay internet." Indeed, upon further research, they do get consistently favorable reviews on teh interwebs. Personal research to be conducted at a later date.
The Tour de France has started, so it's time for a bike post! ...that has nothing to do with the TdF, because pro cycling is quite possibly the most horribly arrogant, drug-ridden sport in the world.
So, instead of discussing how roadies should probably start wearing full downhill gear due to the unprecedented number of crashes that have already happened during the Tour, I give you what is quite possibly the best Craigslist bike ad I have ever seen, thanks to some guy in Toronto who is currently going through what looks to be a really rough breakup (yes, it really is worth clicking on):
or, The Wire redeems this season of Friday Night Lights.
Even though critics and fans will have you believe that "Friday Night Lights" is the best thing since sliced bread (or the best thing on television since "The Wire"), I feel it leaves much to be desired. It does many things well, but here are just a few of the issues I have taken with it over its 4 seasons (or 3 1/2, since the fourth is only half over on NBC):
The first season, I was appalled by how much sex everyone had. I guess this was especially apparent with Tyra, and Tim, but it also seemed like everyone treated this as totally normal - that everyone in high school had sex. I guess I dunno what high school is like now, but if everyone was having sex when I was in high school, I certainly didn't know about it. And I really don't think they were...but maybe they are in Texas?
Matt and Julie. I loved how uncomfortably awkward Matt was while pursuing her in the first season, but then they broke up, and then they got back together, and then they had sex, and then they broke up.... I guess I just never found their relationship very convincing. It was a good idea, but the executions seemed off. So, after all of Julie's I-like-him/I-need-to-break-up-with-him crap (seriously, the first time they broke up made no sense at all), the fourth season comes along and she gets so torn up when she leaves cus she thought he was "the one," even though Aimee Teegarden couldn't pull off any sort of soulmate chemistry with Zach Gilford if her life depended on it.
ohhh, look, Dillon has a 'hood! Three seasons of white, middle class football fun without a care in the world about crime, then suddenly in the fourth season Dillon has a park that is overrun with gangs and drugs and shootings. (Actually, I had assumed that all the East Dillon trouble makers had previously gone to Dillon. But, a commenter on TWOP pointed out that it is likely that many of the poorer East Dillon students came from a third school involved in the redistricting. Very plausible, given that there was no sign of car-stealing, gun-toting gangsters at Dillon High for three seasons, but no explanation was ever given on the show, and I still don't like how Dillon just suddenly has a ghetto).
And now back to our previously scheduled programming: D! I must have yelled "D!" at least five times aloud, alone in my apartment, during Friday's episode. Or at least however many times Larry Gilliard, Jr., aka "D'Angelo Barksdale," came on screen. One of the major things that has kept me interested this season has been the addition of Michael B. Jordan, aka "Wallace," to the cast, and one more "Wire" alum just makes it that much better. And not just any "Wire" alums, but D and Wallace, two of my favorite characters from the first season.
Bret Easton Ellis has a new book out. This is of note because the quote at the top of this blog comes from his last novel, and because I like him a lot. I think he's long past his hey day, though, which peaked with American Psycho and tapered off soon after with the brilliance that is Glamorama. This new book, Imperial Bedrooms, is a sequel of sorts to everyone's favorite debut novel, Less Than Zero. Honestly, I'm not that excited about it, because LTZ wasn't my favorite, and his last work, Lunar Park, left much to be desired in the end*.
At the end of "Less Than Zero," the narrator, Clay, leaves the debauchery of Southern California and all his entanglements with boys and girls for a fresh start on the East Coast. The move may save Clay's life, though it's hard to care one way or the other...
The brilliance of "Less Than Zero" was in Ellis' control and economy as a writer. He never let Clay (or any character) say too much, think too much or feel anything at all. For four weeks, Clay wandered through the desolate, beautiful landscape of Los Angeles in a stupor, his emotions atrophied by drugs, booze and his own sadistic inclinations.
"Less Than Zero" is a mesmerizing novel about repulsive characters, an interesting place to visit. "Imperial Bedrooms," on the other hand, is an ordinary noir tale.
Clay returns to Los Angeles ostensibly to help cast a movie for which he's written the screenplay. But it's difficult to know why he does anything. His is the unexamined life.
Ellis's bent for brutal self-referential fiction was original in the 80s and unique through the 90s, but the more he places himself in his novels, the more he becomes a caricature of himself. I don't want to know what Bret thinks Bret should want out of life, I want to know how Bret can bring his signature social satire to the twenty first century without resorting to the same characters and desolate plot lines that got him noticed in the 80s.
Out of loyalty, I will read this book. Out of skepticism, I will hope that one day Ellis will look in the mirror and see himself, not some contrived personality living in a pseudo-fictional world he created. As Janelle Brown of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, "Ellis should stop worrying and start looking for the exit of his own personal rabbit hole." I agree.
*Apparently Jay McInerny feels differently: "The last few pages of that book are among the most moving passages I know in recent American fiction...And I think that’s something you wouldn’t have predicted you would say about Bret Easton Ellis. There’s no question Bret was coming to terms with his relationship with his father in that book.” Moving passages my ass. Ellis needed not take out his unresolved emotions regarding his father's death on his readers by making them the central, sappy conclusion to a book about his alter-ego's supernatural dissatisfaction with suburban Los Angeles.
Everytime I go to the GameInformer website I am dumbfounded by its incredibly slow speed. Despite its graphics/video-intense content, its design is relatively bland, and I would think that the herd of nerds that works there would be able to figure out how to make a predominantly black & white website run at full speed.
Anyway, GameInformer recently informed me of a few things:
Puzzle Quest 2 for Xbox Live Arcade is finally being released today
Nintendo is yet again updating the DS, to the Nintendo 3DS, which apparently can display 3-d images without the need for those awesome glasses*
GI likes Lego games a whole lot
I have long awaited the arrival of Puzzle Quest 2, which I thought was being released in May, but then it was delayed until last week, when it was released for DS, and now it is finally available for XLA download. Yay! Why are video game release dates so often delayed?
I feel so behind with my DS Lite. Soon after I got it, the DSi came out, then the DSi XL (not that I'd want that anyway - the purpose of a portable gaming system is defeated when said system can no longer fit in my purse), and now the 3DS, which uses something called autostereoscopy to produce "3D effects without the need for any special glasses." The 3DS made an appearance at E3 earlier this month, and will be released sometime...after it is released in Japan. I don't really understand how it works, and I don't really care about it unless the console comes in pink and allows me to see Pokemon in 3-d, so whatever. (Actually, it might be pretty cool, but with the release of new hardware also comes the inevitable harassment from Game Stop employees asking "do you want to preorder a 3DS? Are you sure? They're gonna go fast. You can trade in your DS Lite. Come back if you decide to preorder. Are you sure you don't want to preorder a 3DS?" every time you walk in or out of a Game Stop, so I think I'll avoid everything 3DS-related until I can actually see the thing).
As for Lego games, I do not understand them. Why bother with Lego Indian Jones when there's regular Indian Jones? or Star Wars or Harry Potter or whatever else. Aside from the novelty of seeing characters break into pieces when they die instead of fall to the ground in bloody agony, I don't see any differences between regular games and Lego games, except that Lego games are cute (and no one dies in Lego Rock Band, so there's really no point to that one). They're also WAY harder than anything that cute should be. (Well, I've only played Lego Indian Jones, but it was NOT easy). Anyway, in honor of the release of Lego Harry Potter, GameInformer compiled this list of Lego games they'd like to see. Their graphic renderings are actually incredibly adorable, especially the Lego Toy Story one. And who wouldn't want to see Lego Pulp Fiction and Jurassic Park? I was going to suggest Lego Gears of War, but Lego Half Life is on the list, so I guess that covers the genre of 'games that are too complicated for me and involve a lot of killing.'
*I have yet to see a 3-d movie, but despite their increasing popularity in recent years, I still think of them as incredibly 80's. You know, back when the glasses were cardboard and had red and blue lenses. I can't think of 3-d movies without thinking of my favorite movie of all time, The Muppets Take Manhattan: "your poppin' corn's in...3-d!"
or Nielsen and T-Shirts, because I am resurrecting the blog so as to detail my experience with a NielsenTV Diary, which I will be starting this Thursday, July 1, and completing the following Thursday.
I would now like to focus on the t-shirts some of our favorite characters have been seen wearing on the small screen. Who the hell picks this shit out? Of note are the following:
Ted Moseby, of "How I Met Your Mother," wearing a Shaker Heights High School t-shirt in an episode I cannot recall at the moment.
Roy, of "The IT Crowd," sporting a Guided By Voices t-shirt my all-time favorite episode* "The Red Door" (S01E04).
Ray Drecker, everyone's favorite male escort in HBO's "Hung," wearing a Museum of the Rockies t-shirt in the season 2 premier, "Just the Tip."
The first example is the least interesting, as Ted is meant to be from Shaker Heights, Ohio. The t-shirt in question was in support of some sport, but I don't remember what. Either way, being from Shaker, it is noteworthy that a character on a major network sitcom was wearing an authentic 'Shaker Lacrosse' (or baseball, or hockey, or whatever) t-shirt. (I can only assume it was authentic, given that one of the show's creators, Carter Bays, graduated from Shaker High).
The second is the most random. "The IT Crowd," a hilarious British sitcom, is, well, British. How Roy comes to hide a CRT monitor under a Guided By Voices t-shirt is beyond me. Perhaps some of you know GBV, an indie-rock band from Ohio, whom I was lucky enough to see perform at some outdoor music festival in Cleveland sponsored by Case Western Reserve University's student radio station in what must have been 2004. GBV has since disbanded (hence why I was "lucky" to see them live...I really couldn't care less, I'd never even listened to them before), but perhaps they were more popular in the UK than I'm giving them credit for, which would explain the t-shirt's appearance.
And lastly, Ray Drecker can be seen bowling with his ex-wife in last night's season 2 premier of the HBO original series "Hung" while wearing a Museum of the Rockies t-shirt. Whether more people know of the Museum of the Rockies or Guided By Voices I cannot say, but suffice it to say that they are probably equally random. The Museum of the Rockies is a natural and cultural history institution affiliated with Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Travelers and residents of the Western United States may be familiar with it, but many people may only know of Bozeman thanks to the episode of "The Big Bang Theory" entitled "The Bozeman Reaction" (S03E13), in which Sheldon decides to move to Bozeman after his apartment is robbed, in order to avoid the crime-ridden hell hole** that is Pasadena, California. It's always nice to see Montana represented on the small screen, but said episode of BBT theory doesn't do the state much justice, as Sheldon gets mugged right after stepping off the bus in Bozeman. This is a grossly unrealistic depiction of Montana, as crime in this state mostly consists of incidents such as "area man robs medical marijuana dispensary." Stay tuned for more TV-related commentary, including the guilty pleasures of VH1 reality shows, a more biting take on "Friday Night Lights" than you will find on Slate.com or the New York Times "TV Watch," and my disappointment that my TV Diary takes place before several highly-anticipated summer premiers, including that of "Eureka," which premiers just one day after I am to return my diary.
*My favorite episode to date. Season 4 is now airing in the UK, and while I don't foresee anything overtaking "The Red Door" in comedic brilliance, it is possible. **I'm unsure of the extent and nature of crime in Pasadena, CA.
