Working Together

2007-09-23T23:45:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone,

Wow. I'm bad at this. But I'm gonna try. Try harder, anyway.

Saw the new Prison Break last week (still haven't seen Gossip Girl or K-Ville) and I liked it. I think they'll definitely get a whole season out of this idea. Especially if Michael Scofield (what's that guy's name again? I'm far too lazy to open a new tab and Google that...) keeps dragging his speech out as he has for the past two seasons. That guy is always out of breath. And I think he taught Linc how to do it over the summer. Sweet. I love William Fichtner. That guy can turn from cool to creepy (creepiest, actually) on a dime. I'm glad to see him finally catch a break.

Other stuff I'm hyped on right now:

Billy Idol - Storytellers
There's a new Dashboard album coming soon
Has anyone heard the new Manson album? I wanna get my hands on that gem.
Season premieres rolling out. Keep 'em coming. Especially, can't wait for "The Bionic Woman" and, then later, "Nip/Tuck."

Do this for me

2007-02-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what I'm going to say here. I don't have much. I'll come up with something soon. Thanks for sticking in there.

so that doesn't work

2006-08-27T12:43:00.000-04:00

Okay, so my postings have become even less regular. I'm still trying to work on that. But it's not going very well. I wrote an e-mail to a friend of mine a while ago about an album I "rediscovered" and I thought I'd share.

Okay, so I know it's not super-cool (but when has that really ever stopped me - Spice Girls t-shirts anyone?) that at least a third of the music reviews I read (and therefore actually pay attention to) are in Blender, but every once in a while they are SOO right on it makes it worth it.

Every month they do a feature about an album that is so good it should be just part of the everyday musical lexicon but somehow, some way, it has been overlooked. A while back - about two months ago or so - said piece featured Neneh Cherry's first album - the one with "Buffalo Stance" - Raw Like Sushi. I've always thought "Buffalo Stance" had a little somethIng special in it and I think her follow-up album, "Homebrew," is one of my all-time favorite albums (though, to be fair, there's so many albums and artists and genres to pick from, it's hard to make those kinds of distinctions, right?).

Anyway, I downloaded most of the Raw Like Sushi album (it was harder to find than I would have thought but then again I don't look in too many places - eMusic may be in my near-immediate future [sidenote: I am now an eMusic member]) shortly after I read that piece and since then it's been in pretty heavy rotation in my iPod with me growing increasingly fond of it.

So, to make a short story long, that damn magazine has convinced me it's worth reading - again. And I've once again been reminded of how ridiculously hot Neneh Cherry was in the first place.

Get it? Got it? Good.

p.s. http://www.hiponline.com/artist/music/c/cherry_nenah/index.html

I'll try to be more regular these days - I swear

2006-05-13T13:02:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I get my SiteMeter numbers every week and I know there are a few of you out there who are still checking in regularly. For that I'd like to thank you and reward you with a new post. So, here it is - you lucky few.

I'm gonna start where I almost always start: with TV.

As the 2005/2006 season winds down I have a short list of both highlights and low-lights that I will now pass on to all of you.

I am still about a month and a half behind in television land so for me there's still plenty of TV left but for everyone else, this is what I think you should have been doing all year.

Highlights (network TV):

1. Prison Break/Lost - To everyone who said that scripted TV was dead, I say, in the immortal words of Bill the Cat, "Ptthbbbt!" These two shows single-handedly brought quality television back to the water cooler. Naturally, 24 did this as well but I don't watch any show that is impossible to get back into if you miss even one episode. This is also why the impending end of Alias means less than nothing to me.

2. Gilmore Girls - Perrenial favorite yes, but still high-quality television suitable for everyone (yes, mom, even you). The girls have been a bit off their games for a while this season but from what I've read that'll be changing even in the episodes I have recorded and have yet to watch. The series creators are taking a walk after this season (presumably to go create another show because, God forbid, someone who hasn't ever made a show get a shot at something new. I mean Carsey-Werner are still making shows and it seems as though every season someone's trying to lure Stephen Bochco back to work) but, also from what I've read, the series will be in good hands after they leave. Call me optimistic, but I'm not worried.

3. Veronica Mars - Ben Green calls this the BEST show on television and I think he's onto something there. Every once in a while I think I'm not into watching this and then I pop one into the VCR or hear that satisfying "bloop" from my TiVo and the next thing I know I'm pulled back in and have to watch like three episodes back-to-back. I mean, come on, it took me like half the season to even really figure out what the actual mystery this season was. Bus crash, I mean, obviously. But I just didn't figure out the fact that it was the search for the "whodunnit" that was the central theme. I think I was too distracted by either Steve Guttenberg or the Veronica/Logan push-pull romance. And what exactly is Charisma Carpenter's job here? I mean aside from filling out dresses (and un-dresses) to perfection.

4. How I Met Your Mother/Two and a Half Men - This back-to-back sitcom duo is the funniest hour on television in ages. Doogie Howser has his schtick down to science and I still can't figure out how come everyone isn't telling everyone else to "Suit up!" like every day. I get the most consistent laughs since Seinfeld from every episode of Two and a Half Men. I am constantly switching back and forth between thinking the genius of the show is Charlie Sheen or Jon Cryer (Go Duckie!) but either way I'm usually too busy busting a gut to care. And, squeaking in under the wire and rounding out Monday nights, The New Adventures of Old Christine has proven, at least to me, that the Seinfeld curse was nothing more than crummy shows. Julia Louise-Dreyfus is a total riot. Everyone else on this show is kinda bland but she holds it down anyway.

5. Bones - I've been a fan of Emily Deschanel's sister, Zooey, for ages but putting Emily together with David Boreanaz (Angel) was the smartest casting on the small screen in ages. The spark (it's been a long time since I've read TVGal at Zap2It.com and I wonder if she's come around to this yet). Every time I start to get bored with this show, it takes a surprising turn and draws me back into a new facet I wasn't even paying attention to earlier. And the "squints" are more than just background scenery in this smart show.

Low-lights (network TV):

1. Inexplicable (and unnecessarily long) breaks - Both Everwood and Prison Break were taken away from us for what seemed like forever. I mean, really, how is that supposed to help a show. Especially something like Everwood which with the coming CW (the combining of UPN and the WB) is already on shaky ground? Prison Break I'm back for and I've watched a couple of Everwood's since it came back but honestly this was not good programming.

2. Grey's Anatomy - I can't take credit for this but I can't remember where I read it so I can't actually give the credit either but I read somewhere about the protagonist fo the show that (probably more of a paraphrase than an actual quote but...) "Not since Ally McBeal has a character been this adept at making EVERYTHING that happens be all about her." And it's true. Izzy not withstanding this show is just plain, bland programming that has somehow caught the eye of America. And the soundtrack is about a year behind good television. If you like the music, watch The O.C. or just about any teen drama on the WB, you'll hear it all first.

3. Reality TV - Isn't this over yet? Survivor, nope. Biggest Loser, really? Those nanny shows or the ones where they trade spouses, are you kidding? And celebrity (and I use that term loosely) reality, I mean, come on, how do they know what's reality? And I save my most vitriolic rants for The Apprentice. Why on Earth is anyone watching the Donald? Seriously, someone tell me.

4. CSI/Law & Order - Now, I, like most people who watched TV in the mid- to late-90s, was a big fan of the original Law & Order series but this is just too much. Too, too much. And don't get me started on CSI. Any of them. Any at all. Like Emily Gilmore said a couple of seasons ago, "I guess I'm just not as interested in forensic science as the rest of America."

5. Living with Fran - It takes a lot for me to not be able to sit through something with Fran Drescher (yes, it's true. I will not apologize for it.) but this show stinks. Badly. Like my old Stan Smiths - and those were some STINKY shoes.

Best of the rest:

Pros Versus Joes on FX - Funny. Think you can take on a pro who's a bit past their prime? So did these guys. And they couldn't. Especially on a football field. Or really any field at all.

Monk - Yeah, it's still like Columbo with less coordination but it's like a little slice of genius in a cable wasteland. That and I love Traylor Howard.

The O.C. - For me, it's all about Summer. All. And then a little Nikki Reid.

Classic Concerts & Decades Live (VH-1 Classic)/Crossroads (CMT)/Austin City Limits (PBS)/SNL (NBC & E!) - TiVo has made it SOO easy to record and then transfer to another medium live music from television. With quality sound. LOVE IT!

Okay. There it is. I promise something a little different for next week.

Thanks everybody. Keep it real. Catch you on the flipside.

Let's just get started

2005-11-22T10:12:00.000-05:00

Okay. Okay. So it's been like FOREVER since I've had a new blog. So I'm just gonna jump right in with a current "must" list (since they seem to be all the rage).

Things I'm crushing on RIGHT NOW.

1. TiVo. I love it. Best purchase I've ever made. All that TV without all the hassle of setting the VCR every day. Well sort of. Since the TiVo only replaced one of the three VCRs running in home. I TiVo regular (read: Prime Time) TV and I also just TiVo funny stuff that interests me, like I Spy (Bill Cosby, Robert Culp) and the old British series The Saint (Roger Moore, pre-James Bond) and Welcome Back, Kotter (do I really need to list this?). But I've also caught a lot of Batman cartoons, Spiderman cartoons, some Mucha Lucha and I'm getting sucked back into Made on MTV. And...it's got a DVD burner built in, so there's a few concerts (Billy Idol acoustic, Morrissey in England) and some old movies (Notorious, North By Northwest and The Asphalt Jungle) laying around now.

2. TV. Everyone knows I LOVE TV like a new puppy but right now I'm particularly enamored with Nip/Tuck, Prison Break, Surface, Bones, Gilmore Girls & Two and A Half Men. I really thought my interest in Nip/Tuck would wane a little this season, but no. It really hasn't. The show continues to shock me and with it's wild plot twists and seemingly out of nowhere story lines I'm still as enthralled as I was in the beginning. Must see TV indeed. Prison Break is just awesome. Equal parts suspenseful, creepy, brainy and intriguing. The thing I like best about Surface is that it deals with a "new" species and it doesn't automatically treat it as a monster. That and Lake Bell. Nice name too, no? My personal hero, TVGal, says she doesn't see the spark between David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel but I think she's kinda nuts anyway. In a good way though. And (nice segue here...wait for it) so is the show. The Gilmore Girls has brought me back after last seasons lackluster-y-ness (although surprising and shocking season cliffhangers). Still the best writing on TV. I've been under the impression that Two and A Half Men is guy's TV but really I think it's just the funniest thing on TV. Naturally, I have a soft spot for '80s stars (Patrick Dempsey not-with-standing) so I'm gonna obviously be into something with John Cryer (and I'm sure everyone remembers Charlie Sheen as the bad boy in the police station with Jeannie in Ferris Bueller's Day Off but that's not enough of a qualification for me and also Charlie's maid on the show is the pizza place owner in Mystic Pizza (I'll learn her name soon, I promise) and if you know me, you know how I love that movie too). This show is full of physical humor but it's really at it's funniest when it revels in sibling rivalry. I'm so happy for Chuck Lorre again.

3. Something Corporate. And a lot of the less screamo emo but not quite as whiny as Bright Eyes. People all around me have been pointing out that I seem lost since I appear to have no musical direction these days. There's no genre pulling me in with any kind of force. I'm definitely digging on emo though but without much direction. Guidance anyone? I'm liking EVERYTHING Something Corporate, about two-thirds of Dashboard Confessional (the slower stuff) and stuff like Taking Back Sunday's "Cute without the E" and Matt Nathanson's "Church Clothes."

4. My iPod. There's something new that I love about it nearly every day. This is the best toy I've bought in ages. And keep in mind I just bought TiVo too. I went on a trip a while ago and while my traveling music used to take up about half of my backpack, this time it all fit in my pocket. With iTrip (or the Monster radio transmitter thing) I can listen to it in my car. I just also figured out it works with my little tape adapter. I'm loving it. All that music in such a tiny package. You can tell how happy I am. I'm sure of it.

5. Winter is almost here. It's supposed to start snowing tomorrow and keep snowing right through Saturday. Okay, so it's Friday night and it didn't really snow today but today's paper had a sweet picture of skiing at the River so Jill and I are planning to head up Sunday morning. And then Dark Star Orchestra on Sunday night. That should be one heck of a day.

Okay, there we go. Let's hope it doesn't take me 4 months to post again.

Back to the Machine

2005-07-20T09:12:00.000-04:00

Okay. So, it's been a while since I've done any blogging and, with the new TV season about to kick off, I thought it was about time to start again.

I spent the long weekend catching up with a lot of summer TV shows (Rescue Me, The 4400, The Inside and a few reruns I missed during the regular season) and I also saw several movies.

Let's start with the movies.

First I saw The Skeleton Key. Kate Hudson is a hottie. The movies HooDoo roots were very cool. The Louisiana bajou (specifically around New Orleans which I imagine looks a LOT different these days for obvious reasons) is creepy enough to begin with without putting all the bad juju on it but while the plot was predictable and the I saw a lot of the "twists" coming ahead of time, the movie made me jump - a few times. I know, I know, it wasn't really that scary but remember, I'm a sissy. All in all, not too bad but lacking in true creativity. It's hard to take a horror movie seriously when all the people make such bad (read: cliche) decisions. Fairly tense though. I'll give it a C+.

Next up was Shaun of the Dead (on DVD). I'd read only good things about this movie. And despite a complete dearth of recognizable actors (aside from the always a bit odd Bill Nighy), this movie was very watchable. The dialogue was decidedly British - but then again it was in England and very, very funny. Low-budget but thoroughly enjoyable. A-

Then it was on to The Transporter 2. I've been looking forward to this movie since I saw the trailer for it a few months ago (and it was pretty nice to me on HSX as well). I loved the first one, with Jason Statham karate-chopping his way through the bad guys like some kind of low-key Jet Li but, honestly, this one was a bit hokey. Several times, people in the audience (me included) let out groans of disbelief as he pulled off suspension-of-disbelief stretching stunts. But, on the other hand, there aren't too many movies that feature the kind of ass-kicking showcased here and, frankly, I miss that - a LOT. So, despite it's over-the-top concept and a very bad (although this is not in any way a surprise given his recent performances) Matthew Modine (Amber Valetta though - so hot), I'm going to say that this is more like what I want to see in an action movie and give it a B.

To finish off the weekend, it was The 40 Year Old Virgin which, despite bad word of mouth from a few people, made me laugh out loud for at least the first hour +. Potty humor and bad pick-up lines made this movie a laugh riot. While I wouldn't say it's any kind of high cinema, I would say it's a quality comedy with enough of a heart to outshine any anti-Steve Carrell feelings you might harbor (and I harbor many - seriously, MANY). Still, B+ to A- (the A- would be mostly for Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan).

After Virgin, I got home in time to catch the majority of the Showtime movie (aired simultaneously on Lifetime (where I caught it)) Speak. Along the vein of like Thirteen, this movie shows a young girl dealing with date rape. Steve Zahn (who I love) and D.B. Sweeney (who I also dig a LOT) were pretty spot on as teacher and father, respectively, and the movies sparse dialogue was particularly effective. I'm a little enamored of girl-power movies (and TV shows) and this one showed that it's sometimes hard to be as brave as we'd all like to think we are. Let's just go ahead and give this one an A.

More later. Mostly TV for a while though.

Somewhere Between 16 and 20 Tapes

2005-07-19T16:54:00.000-04:00

I've had this number on top of my TV now for about 3 months and the piles don't seem to be getting much smaller. Between it being summer and not working at night any longer (at least not exclusively at night anyway) and a few other intangibles (like Jill being my room mate now, for instance), I'm simply not watching as much TV as I would like to be watching. I still squeeze some in but I can't seem to make a noticeable dent in the piles of tapes on top of my TV. So, what follows is like TV reviews if you're like a month behind on TV (like me).

I've started watching that new Jenny McCarthy show on UPN and while most of the jokes are decidedly chick oriented, I still think Miss McCarthy is a credible comedy actress. Albeit, one with very feathered hair. She has impeccable timing and even when the lingo is a bit hip for a conventional joke she pulls them off. This show is definitely worth watching if you happen to be right there anyway.

Beauty and the Geek is not that good. I already want to kill that Richard guy. And the girls are nothing all that special either. Especially since they throw the nice ones out early.

Cuts with Shannon Elizabeth is definitely the worst show I've seen in a long time. Bad (and I mean truly awful) jokes don't help the already flawed premise of putting this show out to begin with.

I've been taping but still haven't seen The Closer (TNT), 30 Days (FX), Rock Star; INXS (Fox, I think), the new season of Rescue Me (FX), the new season of The 4400 (USA, I think) and the new season of Monk (USA). I did catch the first episode of The Inside and thought it was a bit murky and a little hard to pick up the back story on but still pretty good.

I'm hoping to get in some quality time with the idiot box sometime in the next week, so until then, this will have to do.

Still so far behind

2005-06-15T08:08:00.000-04:00

Let's see. I've watched a lot of TV lately but I'm still about a month behind. I still haven't seen the season finales of, say, ER, The O.C., Desperate Housewives, Smallville, and so on. I have seen the finales of Veronica Mars, Eve, Joey, etc.

All in all, the end of this year's TV season has left a bland taste in my mouth. I'm not saying I'm not digging the way the networks have finally realized what everyone (including Fox and all of the cable dial) has known for at least 10 years: That people do, in fact, watch TV during the summer, so a little original programming will be appreciated. It's just too bad that, at least what I've seen and what was reviewed in last week's EWeekly, is 90 percent reality shows. That look like they're going to suck. What's the name of that Jerry Hall one, anyone?

But, to attempt to stay on point, I'll move back to the realm of what I have seen.

A friend of the family has called me over and over again to tell me how much he loves Veronica Mars and now how much he digs Grey's Anatomy. I love Veronica Mars and was super glad to hear that Kristen Bell will be back with her merry band of misfits again next season, but, as much as I try, I can't really get into Grey's Anatomy. I simply can't get to the point where I care about the characters. I like Sandra Oh (hello. Arli$$ anyone?), I like that little nebbish-ish guy that has a crush on his room mate Meredith, I like their head doctor lady and I'm even starting to like the girl who cooks instead of sleeping. But I simply can't seem to grasp any reason why I'm supposed to care about the lead character, Meredith, why she can't seem to get what she wants from what's-his-face and how hard it's supposed to be to be a doctor, when, when you see them in scenes, it barely looks like they've even practiced holding a stethoscope much less anything more difficult. A long time ago I read a little thing that gave the percentages of jobs in TV, and something like 85 percent of the people on TV are doctors or cops. What I'm trying to say is, we don't really need any more medical dramas. Especially ones that don't really have very much to do with medicine. ER is still doing fine and I don't really need too many more shows to gross me out on a weekly basis.

I think Joey is pretty funny. It moves along well and there are some real jokes sprinkled in. But really it's not that great. The other night I caught a few back-to-back episodes of Friends on TBS and it made me realize just how far Matt LeBlanc has fallen. Instead of the Central Perk-ers he now has Drea DeMatteo who is definitely the life of the show if a bit over the top raunchy at times, the guy who plays her son who I actually do think is funny but the whole "dude can't get a date" lost most of its funny after the first few episodes, Alex, the girl next door who is almost as lifeless as her soon-to-be-ex-husband, and who can forget Howard, the dorky guy in the building who pops up every few episodes to latch on to how cool Joey is. Even Madchen Amick can't do anything for this show. Perhaps the reason she didn't hook up with Dr. Carter wasn't his fault after all, perhaps it was her distinct lack of ability to act. One saving grace for this show is that woman who was Stiffler's mom and Elle's friend in Legally Blonde movies as Bobbie, Joey's agent. Her grating character adds spice to this show that no one else has yet. With the exception of Lucy Liu. This show has done guest stars pretty well, much like Friends, but guest stars aren't enough. The show's stars are going to need to shine next season.

Everything else is going along kind of as planned. I'm not sure where Smallville is going next season with everyone graduating, but it looks like at least Clark and Lana are sticking around. I know Paul dies in the finale of Desperate Housewives (EWeekly spoiled that one for me) and Alfre Woodard arrives (that happened in the second to last one which I've seen) but frankly I'm not totally sure I care. Here's to hoping for something actually exciting in the finale of The O.C. and far, far less manufactured drama next season. The one I'm really looking forward to though is the finale of the Gilmore Girls. I've heard it's a real doozy.

I'm really going to miss American Dreams next season. And I'll also be missing Third Watch. I thought the finale was truly disappointing. You could really tell they didn't see the cancelation coming either.

P.S. I at least tried to change the settings so that anyone and everyone can leave posts (not just registered users) so please do so. No, really, do it.

I see a pattern here

2005-06-04T11:03:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been nearly a month since my last post (for those of you keeping track, it's been a while since I've posted on the radio show blog as well) and I still don't really have a topic. But I'll just start and see where it goes.

Last weekend, I saw the Longest Yard with a couple of friends and I was told that a posted review would be in order (I think this was supposed to come after all three of us had seen the original as well but that appears to be a long time coming so I'm just going to get to it). Let's start with the quart Nalgene filled to the brim with Lipton iced tea and Jack Daniels. Like Eazy-E said "and from the first sip, my breath starts stinkin'" but that didn't bother me. It apparently did bother Nason though. I guess he was planning to start playing Dungeons & Dragons with the teenagers in front of us or something. CK refrained from helping me with my big mixed drink too claiming something akin to an allergy to JD. Crazy talk I tell ya. I'd just like to say for the record that if you walk into a theater and then enough teenagers to fill an entire row in the theater come in shortly after you, you can rest assured that you are now allowed to talk as loudly as you want about anything you want whenever you want. This is a rule. Just like if you go to a movie with a date and sit in the back, you are allowed to make out as much as you like and no one can give you dirty looks about it.

So, by the end of the movie, I'd finished my quart of Jack and tea and it was time to meet up with the others (who had opted to see Star Wars instead). Heading over for a few beers (and, much to my chagrin, also the Red Sox game) at Sebago, I managed to down a really big beer and half a plate of potato nachos (CK scarfed down the other half and then told me I'd really pigged out).

I'd forgotten how drinking hard liquor works for me. In the theater I noticed I was drinking but it wasn't until much later that I realized how thoroughly drunk I was. I must drink a lot faster than my blood stream absorbs the charming effects of alcohol. Not that there's a lot wrong with that, I guess I just need to drink more often to keep reminding myself of this fact. The other realization of the evening (and this should come as no surprise to anyone but, frankly, I'm really just starting to realize how much it is really true), I don't seem to really have an "inside voice." I mean I do when I'm just talking to people but in any kind of group I'm bound to get a little animated while talking about something and I've come to realize that along with this animation comes a much louder volume to my voice. Now, before you all write snide comments telling me how dense I am for not having noticed this before, I have. Several times. I've noticed that I get done talking and there's an eerie hush that is simply the vaccuum left behind by the absence of me talking. Anyway, just a personal observation. I'd say I'm gonna do something about it but I doubt I will or even can.

Oh yeah, the movie was pretty good. Adam Sandler had some really good one-liners before the football stuff started. The guy who played the jerk with the gun on the space shuttle in "Armageddon" played a jerk in this too. CK almost jizzed about all the ex-football players and pro-wrestlers in the movie. Chris Rock's schtick gets old fast. Courtney Cox-Arquette has weird tits - eerily separated. Burt Reynolds is a pretty old dude but he was The Bandit and the dude who actually knew what he was doing in "Deliverance." And, yes, Rob Schnieder does pop up at the end and shout "You can do it!"

I'll save my other ramblings for later.

a little test

2005-05-18T13:41:00.000-04:00

Jill's friend Bex (Whom I also know, right Bex? Word.), is always putting these little quiz-y, test-y things on her blog. Here's the one I did today.

Your Linguistic Profile:

45% General American English

45% Yankee

5% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Say it ain't so

2005-05-01T11:02:00.000-04:00

If you know how much I love television (and how much television I watch), you know that I think NBC's American Dreams is one of my top 5 shows on television.

Jill asked me a couple of weeks ago which three shows I would pick if I could only pick three. I went with Gilmore Girls, Third Watch and American Dreams. But there was also talk of Two and a Half Men, That 70s Show, Smallville, Lost and Veronica Mars - see it's really hard to pick.

So it is very disheartening for me to that according to one the many entertainment news sources on my "myyahoo.com":

"word is that the fate of NBC's "American Dreams" has now been sealed, and the period drama, long considered a long shot for renewal, will not return next season. NBC declined comment Thursday."

they declined to comment? I'm so shocked since this is probably the most contentious show that had previously been on the bubble. And also because it was easily the most thoughtful show they had on the air.

A little further digging and some recent things I've read:

Zap2It.com news:

The Hollywood Reporter says the 1960s-set series won't be back for a fourth season. The news doesn't come as a big surprise. Ratings for the show suffered this season (7.2 million viewers, compared to 8.7 million last year), and NBC cut its order to 17 episodes, forcing an early season finale. Cast members Will Estes and Rachel Boston also took roles in pilots, which is generally considered a bad sign for a show's future.

TVGal:

"American Dreams": Well, we simply can't have the series end with Meg jetting off to Berkley to live the life of a rebel. No matter how cute Milo Ventimiglia is (and he's pretty darn cute), I simply don't believe that Meg would have left without even saying goodbye to Sam (a relationship I would love to see the series further explore). Set against the backdrop of "American Bandstand" and the tumultuous '60s, the show is a throwback to another television era -- a time when there were quality one-hour dramas that entertained multiple generations. This dream should live on.

Funniest thing she wrote this week though:

They need to staff the heck up on "The O.C." (Thursday, FOX, 8 p.m.). Also raise your hand if you think it might be nice for Marissa to start wearing a bra.

A KRT article that I think summed it up best:

What can be done to save TV’s best family drama?
By Glenn Garvin
Knight Ridder Newspapers

A couple of years ago during an interview with NBC boss Jeff Zucker, I asked him if he feared his tombstone would read “Here lies Jeff Zucker, the man who gave us desperate contestants eating horse rectums on television.” He rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah,” Zucker replied. “I’m the guy who put on “Fear Factor.’ But I’m also the guy who put on “American Dreams’ and the guy who put on “Boomtown.”’

It was a plea to remember that programming a network is a balancing act, and if Zucker should be debited for his share of TV trash, he should also get credit for promoting serious drama.

But since then, NBC’s account books have fallen seriously out of balance. Zucker has introduced a swarm of rancid programs that actually make “Fear Factor” look tasteful, from the smarmy sitcom Coupling to the outright pimpery of “Who Wants To Marry My Mom.” Meanwhile, “Boomtown” — an innovative cop drama that sometimes told its stories from end to beginning — was canceled years ago.

And now “American Dreams,” the finest drama on network television, may be about to join it in the TV trash bin. Over the past couple of weeks, NBC first chopped the show’s season from 19 episodes to 17 and then rescheduled it from Sunday night to Wednesday, where it will be up against ABC’s ratings powerhouse “Lost.”

“We’re a show on the bubble,” agrees “American Dreams” creator Jonathan Prince. “If you like American Dreams, this is the time to say so. This is the time when it would help.”

If ever a TV show deserved help, it’s “American Dreams.” The story of a pair of middle-class families (one white, one black) in 1960s Philadelphia, it’s excellent by any conventional measure of drama. It has an ensemble cast the equal of any on television; a writing staff that’s both thoughtful and witty; and the boppingest rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack ever assembled, period. (Anybody can put together oldies-radio standards like “Baby Love” and “California Girls,” but where else are you going to find buried ‘60s treasures like “Concrete And Clay” or “Grim Reaper of Love”?)

But “American Dreams” goes well beyond the conventional measures. With its unstinting look at the 1960s, it’s one of just a handful of shows in the whole history of television that helps us understand who we are and where we came from, how we became the America of today.

Regardless of what you think of the ‘60s, whether you view them as the beginning of a brave new world of social justice or an orgy of juvenile self-indulgence, they were a historical hurricane that remapped American society. The cultural and political fractures of the decade — the civil rights movements, feminism, drugs, the sexual revolution, the role of U.S. troops in policing the world — are still registering aftershocks 40 years later.

“American Dreams” allows us to examine those issues simultaneously from the distance of four decades, and immediately, through the eyes of the people living through them. It makes them more comprehensible – and yet, paradoxically, emphasizes their complexity — by reducing them to bite-sized chunks.

When her brother J.J. is shipped off to Vietnam, 17-year-old Meg Pryor becomes an anti-war activist — but discovers to her shock that J.J. regards her efforts as disloyal rather than supportive. Her black school chum Sam Walker is frustrated that their interracial friendship runs into as much resistance from his family as hers. When Meg’s mother decides to take a job outside their home for the first time, her children disapprove at least as much as her husband.

Its literal application of the old ‘60s slogan “the personal is political” has made “American Dreams” into a true family viewing experience. In homes all over America, parents watch it with teenage children who are getting an unprecedented (and, occasionally, uncomfortable) glimpse into the warts-and-all world from which Mom and Dad came.

“I love watching it with my son, because I think it’s an insight into that period of our history,” says 48-year-old Jayne Vander Woude, who grew up in Chicago and now teaches art at Miami’s Westminster Christian School. “I was a kid during that time, had two older brothers who received their draft notices. My older brother’s friends went off to Vietnam. I went through integration — my school going from all-white to a more diverse population.

“I think it gives our kids a greater understanding of some of the things that have happened in our country. It’s one thing for them to read about it in history books. But this is a way they can experience it. A lot of our kids don’t grasp, for instance, what racial prejudice was like, even at that time. They think all this stuff just changed, but they don’t really under the struggle of change.”

Her 16-year-old son Jon, a Westminster junior, says he loves the show, too — and is often stunned by what he learns from it. A scene where white liberals venture into the inner city to clean up a park, only to be driven off by angry black nationalists, caught him off-guard.

“I’d never realized the extent of the racism, not just from whites to blacks, but back from blacks to whites,” he muses. “And when J.J. was in the Marines and got sent off on a secret mission to Cambodia — I’d never had a clue that that kind of thing happened.”

As good as “American Dreams” is, NBC isn’t running a charity ward. (Though anybody who stumbles onto an episode of “Fear Factor” could be forgiven for wondering if it’s a mental ward.) But there are good business reasons to keep the show, too.

It’s true the “American Dreams” weekly audience is an unspectacular 7.6 million — and in the crucial 18-to-49 age group, an even less spectacular 3.3 million. (Compare that to the same numbers for the show’s new head-to-head competitor “Lost”: 16.3 million total viewers and 7.8 million among 18-to-49.)

But it’s also true that few shows on TV deliver as much bang for the buck to advertisers looking for upscale, educated viewers. When you start parsing the arcane research numbers that advertising executives use for bedtime reading, you find “American Dreams” is in TV’s top 20 in terms of its percentage of college-educated viewers, and a startling No. 9 in percentage of viewers aged 25-to-54 who make more than $110,000 a year.

There’s another important fact about “American Dreams” that Jeff Zucker should note when he ponders what his tombstone might say. In TV Week magazine’s annual poll of critics conducted in January, “American Dreams” was named the 15th best show on television — better than NBC’s graying “West Wing,” better than its prized sitcom “Scrubs,” better than any other show on the network.

But don’t take our word for it, Jeff. Listen to Mary Potter, a 20-year-old sophomore at Delaware County Community College in Media, Pa., who has collected about 5,000 names and e-mail addresses so far on her Internet petition to save “American Dreams.”

“’American Dreams’ is a family drama, but it’s not a nerdy-nerd show,” she says. “So much on TV today is a reality show, and if it’s not that, it’s medical or murder. This is such an original show. There’s not anything nearly like it.”

Fast Forward Rewind

2005-04-29T12:29:00.000-04:00

Lara sent me this a while ago and I decided it deserved a post. It's taken me a little while though (big surprise, no?) And growing up in the '90s is SO over-rated. The '80s are so where it's at.

You Know You Grew Up In The 80's or Early 90's If :

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "SIKE."
Okay. No. But only because I know how to spell. I ended my sentences with "psych."

2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
Nope.

3. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" ..and can do the "Carlton".
Of course. Can't you. This show was one of those things that kept me up late at night when I first started college (many, many years ago). We'd stay up late just to watch the reruns (and Growing Pains). We also decided it should have been "The Carlton Show" especially whe Carlton and Will were living in the pool house. And Jazz was always there.

4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
This I do remember. And I remember it actually being sexy too.

5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
No, but then again I'm a guy. And this one falls into the '90s category too (e.g. after my time). Sarah B. over at Que Sera Sera has made numerous posts about this though.

6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
Nope. But I do remember them.

7. You know that "WOAH " comes from Joey on Blossom.
I so totally know this. I never did thing that Mayim Bialik was particularly hot but, man, wasn't that Six (Jenna Von Oy)? Speaking of biker shorts under skirts.

8. Two words: Hammer Pants
Never had 'em. Totally remember 'em. Also I was into Hammer before that whole "Can't Touch This" thing hit. He was an old standby for the early days of "Yo! MTV Raps." Back when it was just an hour on Saturdays with Fab 5 Freddy as the host.

9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock."
I never had HBO back in the day but I did catch it at friends' houses. Never understood the greatness of it though. Although, I know Meaghan did.

10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and "spokey-dokes" or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect.
Oh my God! Heck yes! Well, not the streamers (those got ripped out of everyone's bikes). And "spokey dokes" were for geeks. The card trick was the ONLY way to go.

11. You can sing the entire theme song to "DuckTales " (Woo ooh!)
"Duck Tales" sucked. And it was after my time. I was in college when this was on.

12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
See my earlier (and probably a few future) posts. Although if you miss these days and you get a lot of channels I can probably put together a Saturday morning lineup for you. Including "Mucha Lucha," the new "Batman," new and old "Spider-Man" cartoons and pretty much everything on Boomerang.

13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
Again, not a girl. But I do remember this. Blossom, again, no?

14. You saw the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles " on the big screen...and still know the turtles names.
Also after my time. But I do know the names. I have a cousin who's about 15 years younger than me though who was WAY into them though. Right Mike?

15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
I don't even get this reference.

16. You played the game "MASH " (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House).
Nor this one.

18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
Not a girl. But I so remember this. Those were some hot pants.

19. L.A. Gear....need I say more?
Well, no. Because that stuff sucked. Like B.U.M. Equipment did.

21. You remember reading "Tales of A Fourth-Grade Nothing " and all the Ramona books.
Of course. Once I figured out Judy Blume was putting all that juicy stuff in those books (around third or fourth grade, I think), those were required reading.

22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF."
Man, Ralph Macio kicked ass thanks to Mr. Miyagi's training.

23. You wanted to be a Goonie.
Not really. But Chunk was pretty cool. And that little guy who made all the gadgets totally rocked.

24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us... head-to-toe)
I did. Not head-to-toe. But still.

25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
Look, I don't like people making fun of MJ. But his nose is pretty wack these days. But "Thriller" is still a great album. From start to finish.

26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
Yes, I did. And I had to wonder if she ever got laid too.

27. You took lunch boxes to school.. . and traded Garbage Pail Kids in the schoolyard.
Yeah, but I never had the good lunch boxes. Steve Bois had all the cool ones though. Six Million Dollar Man and The Dukes of Hazzard stood out. I think I still have an assload of those Garbage Pail Kids things kicking around somewhere.

28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
Nope. But I remember Friendship Bracelets. But they never got banned.

29. You still get the urge to say "NOT " after every sentence.
Yes, I do.

30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
I do. Those things rocked. I'm pretty sure I saw one on eBay a while back too.

31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
No.

32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
Why not? There they were, together anyway.

33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
Not really. But the friendship bracelets yes.

34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes. (and like #24, probably in neon colors, too)
Again, not a girl. But I knew plenty of girls who did.

35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are,but what am I?"
Mm-Hmm.

36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
I sure do.

37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
Yeah. And it wasn't any more fun than the ice skating rink. Gosh, I sucked.

38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
No. But I played on them a lot. And I also have done the beer ones.

39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
Yes. Those things were kind of tricky.

40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
Didn't everyone?

41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
Of course. Natch.

42. You remember Popples.
No.

43. "Don't worry, be happy"
Bobby McFerrin has said this song is like the bane of his existence. But it's still funny. "Here's a little song I wrote..."

44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
More of "I'm not a girl." But I remeber this. With those stirrup pants too.

45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do... getting yelled at by "younger hip" members of the family)
More "not a girl."

46. You remember boom boxes.. and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
There was this kid at summer camp from The Bronx or something who had a that huge one that took like 20 D-Cell batteries and had two antennaes to bring in the 45 watts of power. It had an motion alarm on it too. That thing kicked ass. I still see them in old-school ads every once in a while. I always liked those skinny little Sony things that came in different colors though.

47. You remember watching both "Gremlins " movies.
Never saw 'em. Do remember 'em though.

48. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
Yes. But it was never something I was into.

49. You remember watching "Rainbow Bright" and "My Little Pony Tales"
Not really.

50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
Alyssa Milano IS hot.

51. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
Sure I do. There was this kid in my class in high school, Keith Michaud, who was totally into ALF. I also caught his short-lived talk show on TVLand recently a few times and while it was decidedly sucky, it was still a little funny.

52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool... and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB".
Hangin' Tough. Totally.

53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By Bell," The ORIGINAL class.
Yes. Still do. Thank you reruns.

54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
It's actually called "You Give Love A Bad Name."

55. You just sang those words to yourself.
Yes. I did. With that hair-metal scream too.

56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
Mm-Hmm. And the video game too.

57. Homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
This is what I'm still talking about. On girls.

58. You remember when mullets were cool!
Mullets were never cool. But I do remember when they were popular. Perms on dudes too.

59. You had a mullet!
NEVER.

60. You still sing "We are the World"
I have like two copies of this on vinyl and at least one on cassette. I still play some of the stuff off it on my radio show.

61. You tight rolled your jeans.
Yes, I did. With bluchers too.

62. You owned a bannana clip.
No. But then again (once again), I'm not a girl.

63. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
Sure. BK you are the king.

64. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' about Willis?"
I sure do. Especially now that Brendan lives on Willis Street in Portland.

65. You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
Nope. But Josh Ambrutis sure did. And Heather Stickney too.

66. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you?
I am. But again, it's called "You Give Love A Bad Name."

PASS THIS ON TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS WHO GREW UP IN THE 80s or early 90s!

ROCK ON!

Just can't find the time

2005-04-22T13:25:00.000-04:00

With school, work, an exorbitant amount of television piling up on top of my TV and a modicum of a social life, there just doesn't seem to be too much time to write these things. And, to make matters worse, with all of those other things taking up all my time, I really don't have too much to write about.

I have watched a little TV in the past couple of weeks but it seems like instead of gearing up for May Sweeps (are those even happening this year?), April (and frankly I just finished with March) is pretty depressing for television. But here are some highlights.

American Dreams finale: Everytime I think this show has hit an end, it turns around and starts all over again. JJ working in the space program, Meg running off with Milo Ventamiglia (I'm so not sure I spelled that right) and leaving Roxanne to fend for herself. I feel for you Rox. I really do. And, I can just tell, that pretty soon Patty is going to have some real stories on the show.

Eyes premiere: Tim Daly is back on TV and this show is a perfect showcase for his little witicisms and sarcastic banter. And, what's her name, Sidney from Melrose is on too. And so is A.J. Langer. Come on everybody, how much do I love A.J. Langer? You all know the answer to that one.

The O.C.: I keep catching little pieces and not whole episodes (but I will, dear friends, I will) and right now, my impression is: I still love Summer (Rachel Bilson is the best), even Marissa is starting to be interesting, I'm not sure how I feel about Trey and if Seth doesn't stop with that slightly awkward banter with Zach I'm seriously gonna pee myself pretty soon.

And while I'm still lamenting the death of Life As We Know It (and tell me you all saw the teacher who fooled around with the student as the comic book lady on this week's The O.C. - it's sad that I'm lamenting that show and I can't remember the names of any of the characters), I'm still a little happy because Veronica Mars will be back next seasson.

And speaking of seasons, I'm so glad the TV guys have finally figured out what Fox has known for fifteen years now, just because it's summer doesn't mean people stop watching TV. Way to go guys.

Okay, that wasn't too hard (it never really is though - just like everything else, starting is the hard part) and it turns out I could find at least a little to say. I promise I won't make you all wait this long again (and this time I mean it. No, really, I do.).

A bit hazy

2005-04-05T12:43:00.000-04:00

I've been putting myself to sleep with the help of the good people in the pharmaceutical industry who produce Sudafed since I've had a bit of a cold for the past 4 days or so. It seems mostly gone now though. But the weird hazy feeling remains.

Life is really funny sometimes. I've just finished my morning ritual which involves waking up for the fourth or fifth time since about 8 a.m. and realizing I won't be able to go back to sleep no matter how many times I close my eyes and just lie there. So I get up and stumble in the direction of my computer. I hit the power button, hear that reassuring bell-ringing sound of the computer starting and shuffle off to the bathroom. Then I pour myself a little O.J. (today we are using the souvenir cup from The Tropical Isle in New Orleans, La., home of the infamous Hand Grenade - which is what came in this cup) and go check my mail. After I check my mail, and this part is new - just recently started, I read the list of blogs written by friends and people I already feel like I know like friends. Most of these are on the list of links on the side of my page but some aren't. I'll change that today. I promise.

One blog was a woman's monthly letter to her now-14-month-old girl. This blog is one of the sweetest things I've read in ages and this woman writes from the heart. It's sweet and wonderful and gooey but strong. I've watched many of my friends from high school and college get married and most have taken the road of procreation. I have to admit that at first I wondered why they felt the need to have children so early (this was several years ago and for the people my age to be having kids now is, to me, much more normal). But lately I've been seeing even more friends of mine having children and I get this feeling that the time is right. I'm happy for these people and enjoy seeing and visiting with their kids. It's just a shift in perspective and priorities but it's a noticeable one.

I thought I had more to write (and I do - it's called a thesis and I really need to get cracking) but I can't seem to remember what I was going to go on about next. Damn you Sudafed. But I'll be back again soon. I promise. I know you all missed me. I won't make you wait so long for the next one.

SXSW - day 7

2005-03-19T14:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm back in Maine so it's been two days since I last posted and since the airport made me toss out the newspapers I was bringing home because they say my bag was too heavy (it wasn't too heavy going out) I'm doing this mostly from memory. Well, I'll try to use the SXSW web site and I'm going to see if I can find some other cool stuff for you to look at too.

We decided to start Saturday off with a final movie. So we headed back to the Alamo Downtown for "Reel Paradise." The story of how indie-film producer (successful indie film producer) John Peterson (Pierson?) decided to move his family to Fiji for a year where he bought a movie theater and would show movies for free while they were there. It was a good little documentary with some very thought-provoking moments. It might not be truly great but it sparked some discussion and that's a good thing.

Then it was off to the bands. We bounced from bar to bar until about 8 (which is when the scheduled bands officially start in most places around Austin during the festival). We saw a punk band at Shakespeare's Club and we had a beer in Buffalo Billiards. I think we might have gone somewhere else too but I'm not sure.

Then we got a call from Brendan's dad saying he was on his way into town so we made plans to meet him in line at Antone's for Kings of Convenience. Who knew this band was so popular? The line was the longest I'd seen all week. For anything. So we hoofed back to Emo's main room for a Buck 65 show at 9. We watched a little of the Emo's Jr. stage too, catching a little of both Dirty Americans and Illuminati (neither was particularly worth mentioning though).

Buck 65 came out, drawled his easy Canadian rhymes, tossed some confetti (razzle dazzle) in the air and scratched like a madman. It was really a lot better than I'd expected and I expected great things. Then Saul Williams came out. Now, I knew very little of Saul Williams. Some guy in line told me about what he was about. But we stuck around and the originator of Slam! poetry dropped some serious knowledge. He seems to have taken up where everyone from Langston Hughes to Spike Lee and Gil Scott Heron to Chuck D left off. It's a powerful message.

Then, wanting to see several more bands, we headed back down 6th for pizza. We got pizza and decided to head to Maggie Mae's so we could catch Daniel Johnston at 1 a.m. We get inside and buy a beer and it was like we'd hit a serious wall. Both Brendan and I were almost sleeping on the steps. We managed to stay up though through Ariel Pink and the Nightingales (the Nightingales probably would have seemed a lot better if I wasn't propping my eyelids open). Then the inimitable Daniel Johnston came out. Now I'd never even really heard of this guy but after a week in Austin I felt like he was the most famous guy on Earth. He came out, played his emotionally raw music with very minimalist accompaniment and was done by 1:40.

We went home. Slept for a few hours. And then got up Sunday and caught our plane(s) home. They lost our luggage though.

SXSW - day 6

2005-03-19T14:30:00.001-05:00

I'll revise this later when there's a little more time but here's the basic rundown of Friday night.

Candice (R-Bar) singer/songwriter(?) girl with acoustic guitar who messed up a lot and forgot words but in a cute, giggly way. sat by window opened onto 6th street and watched lots and lots of people go by.
Flamingo Cantina line to see The Bus Driver. This is where I left Brendan to go check the line at Exodus.
The Crimea (Exodus) bland. This is where I realized I'd left my ID and ATM card at home. Crap. This severely hampered my options for the evening.
Crown City Rockers (Exodus) The Cure meets U2
Turned away at Soho Lounge for The Silos
Turned away at Friends for ZZZZ
Eilean Rose (B.D. Riley's) acoustic singer/songwriter (kansas/bucknell game too)
Turned away at Elysium for Rezillos/Shonen Knife
Caught a little of the Raveonettes (Emo's main stage) by mistake. They sounded good though.
Exene Cervenka (Emo's Jr.) doesn't look so hot these days but still gets it done onstage. still great. Met this guy and girl so I could get a beer. Turns out girl grew up on L.A.F.B. and we shared an orthodontist. Small world, no?
The Queers (Emo's Jr.) green day ripoff (opened with rock 'n' roll radio) from portsmouth N.H.
Turned away at one door for The Parish to see what I thought was Centro-matic. Made it in through the other door. Turned out to be Pretty Girls Make Graves. Good rocking punk-ish type stuff.
Went to pizza place to get a cheese slice (only had $2.50 in pocket) and Brendan just happened to be there too. Met back up with ease.

SXSW - day 5

2005-03-18T15:21:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, Brendan and I took our little festival tour to a downtown club where we had hoped to see MF Doom and (Brendan a lot more than me) Helmet. Well, we missed MF Doom (apparently by a couple of hours) and caught at least some of (if not most of) Helmet. Helmet is not my thing. Too much of a barrage of sound. I feel assaulted by bands like that.

After leaving that club, where, on the way out the door, Brendan scored a little string backpack full of Scion merchandise (the Japanese/Korean/Chinese/whatever car maker was the sponsor for the show and was filming - so look for a very unexcited looking me in the very back of the crowd if you see it on tv) which included a t-shirt, a visor, some wristbands and a CD compilation, we wandered around for a bit. Ducking, for moments at a time, into little and big bars alike and then promptly leaving when we found no real music.

Eventually we made it to Nuno's on 6th where a guy was sitting at a piano and sometimes strumming an acoustic guitar playing a few Little Feat covers and several other classic rock ditties that leant themselves well to his particular style of playing. We had a beer, sat on big plush sofas and waited for a little bit to head back out to the shows.

We got to Elysium at just about the best possible time, snagging like the fifth and sixth spots in the wristband line (we were just in front of these 5 very punkish but also kind of new wave-y and fey British/Scottish/Irish (probably Irish but how do I know?) guys who were not very good at personal space. But we stood in this line so we could see Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A.

First up was Electrocute, and, the fact that they sport a very unoriginal name (The Electrocutes was the first name of the band that became The Donnas), this little girls-dressed-sexy duo backed by a fairly well-programmed drum machine sang little pop/punk tunes that poked fun at just about everything while they insulted the crowd. Not really great but entertaining. No Mark Mallman, but still entertaining.

Next came dj/turntablist Z-Trip. For the first half of his set he mixed and mashed platters seamlessly but, to me at least, it seemed little more than club mixing to get people dancing. Good but not stunning. While I was in the bathroom though, new rapper The Bus Driver (also playing early tonight so I might try to go to that) came out and dropped some knowledge on the crowd. This guy is as good as everyone is saying. I'll definitely be picking up some of his stuff. And this also gave Z-Trip a chance to get down to heavy mixing. And he was good. He put beats together like I used to build with Legos. He used every available piece. And the end of his show was more of the same - minus The Bus Driver. Beats upon beats and some pretty deft scratching.

Next up was some band called Ratatat and, aside from their name logo bearing a striking resemblence to that of 80s hair-metalers Ratt, their show was pretty generic. Actually I guess that logo ripoff is pretty generic too. Two guys - one guitar, one bass - and a guy at the back at the mixing board putting their backing beats in. This band could have had the same sound from a traditional formation - you know, using an actual drummer - but instead they chose to do it this way. Is this what is called electroclash? I'm really asking. If it is, is this simplistic approach the reason it had a such a shortlived shelf-life of hype?

Then M.I.A. came out. I didn't realize she had another girl that rapped along with her but that didn't matter. Diplo was her dj and he spun the records with due diligence (it looked like he was doing stuff but wouldn't you think they'd press that stuff so he didn't have to mix it the same every time?). The skinny little girl took those banghra beats and laid her message on top all while jumping around the stage in some very spangly track pants. Seeing live rap shows is always hard because it's not easy to catch the lyrics when they're muddled with the pants-shaking bass of these clubs' speakers but you could catch a few. It was a very good show.

After this, I took off to head over to the Lava Lounge for Athens, Ga., band Love Tractor. I'm not sure if this was the Athens band I'd wanted to see but they were good enough. Fairly straight up rock with that kind of early Athens vibe. I got a free CD and I'll be playing it on my show so I'll add more to this description later.

The real reason I headed to the Lava Lounge was to see Magnapop. While they never really did have any breakout success, they did enjoy a little fame in the early- to mid-90s and were featured on the soundtrack to the Drew Barrymore/Chris O'Donnel fiasco "Mad Love" along with bands like Seven Year Bitch. This show was just what I expected and the small crowd (like 30 or 40 people) let me get right up to the front for several songs. They may be a little bit older but that doesn't make them any less good. Better than on album and still just a little shy of catchy.

SXSW - day 4

2005-03-17T05:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday (Wednesday) was the first official day of SXSW music in Austin and it was also the highlight of my trip (more later). We made it downtown at around 2:30 or 3 and after checking in at the gate at Stubb's (where we were planning to spend most of the evening), we wandered around the 6th Street area, ate at a Cuban place (Sandwich Cubana and a Mojito, please), put a little more money in the meter and headed to Emo's.

We showed up at Emo's and caught the tail end of a band called Bonk (really the tail end though - like the end of the last song) and then a band called Dropsonic came out. These guys were pretty sure they rocked but I wouldn't say they did anything particularly well or that they were even that good. Next up was a weirdo/showman named Mark Mallman, who, whether riding his electric organ or tying his shoe while still singing and playing piano (and then mentioning it in the song), was wholly electrifying. I'm not sure if his stuff will translate to album form but I'm definitely willing to find out. Following this roucus set, was notable alt-country-ish rockers Cracker. This was a pleasant surprise. And while I've never been a huge fan of Cracker (but I guess I should be since apparently they are made up of members of Camper Van Beethoven? - This is what Brendan said, is it true? - and I do like Camper Van Beethoven so...), I liked what I heard of their alternately acoustic and electric set.

But we ducked out in the middle of Cracker to make our way back over the Stubb's where we would stand for two hours so we could get in to see The Donnas and Billy Idol. We struck up conversations with the people in the line near us and the next thing we knew one guy offered to run to the local liquor store for a sixer (we returned the favor with run No. 2). This made the waiting all that much more bearable. After our two hour sojourn in line (no that line, no this line - Stubb's was pretty unorganized about the whole thing which was surprising after the total organization of the movie part of the festival), we walked down into the Stubb's outdoor pavilion thing. This is a pretty cool way to do shows. All these bars seem to have a front/restaurant or bar section and then you go out back and it's this miniature Great Woods or something.

First up were a band called The Sights who brought a kind of loud but really not that original - or very good - start to the evening. The lead singer/guitarist of this trio (keyboard/organ/piano and drums rounded it out) looked like a more-recently washed combination of Kurt Cobain (the hair especially) and some geek from high school (really, really skinny geek though, so it wasn't me). One of the guys we were sharing beers with in line was there to see The Burden Brothers and I'm not sure why he was willing to pay the $35 "cover" (for those who don't have passes) to see these guys since they were simply everyday noisy punk.

But then, the thing I came down here to see, The Donnas, came out (I saw them while we were in line as they all piled out of a minivan followed by two grown men carrying a little of their luggage and their purses). I've been dying to see The Donnas ever since I was blown away by The Donnas Turn 21 album (which led me to go on to get all of their albums). So after three years of pining for this punk/rock trio, my wait was over. Ripping through a shortened set (damn those earlier bands for going long - the girls get no respect) of stuff from their two most recent albums ("Take It Off" "I Don't Wanna Know (If You Don't Want Me)" and a few others) it was over all too soon. I'm totally going to start posting on their web site that they should include The State Theater in Portland on any tour they plan because those girls seem custom-made for that venue. And then I'll be there with bells on.

Now, I'd come all this way for my beloved rock-chick foursome, but finding out that Billy Idol would be the band following the girls made the night all that much sweeter (despite their short set sandwiched between junk and the rock/punk legend (?)). Billy played a bunch of stuff from his new album (like four or five songs) which wasn't too bad but none of it was as good as anything he did at least 10 years ago and he played the majority of his hits. Everything from Ready, Steady, Go (from the Generation X years) to Eyes Without a Face and Flesh for Fantasy and, apparently, - although I somehow must have missed it or something - Dancing With Myself. He even trotted out Mony Mony (and interjected the cult chorus as well). Billy might be almost 50 but he's still in great form (and great shape too apparently since he repeatedly tore his t-shirts off and was wearing a pair of pants matched in their tightness only by the ones his guitarist was sporting). The sneer remains and so does the ability of his classic songs to whip the crowd into a total, sing-along frenzy.

SXSW - day 3

2005-03-16T12:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this was a couple of days ago (Tuesday) but it was our big movie day. Five movies starting at about 1:30 or so and going until nearly 2 a.m. I'm not going to do the linking thing because a.) I guess I haven't really figured out how to do it right and b.) it takes too long to do. You can look this all up (and a whole lot more) at http://2005.sxsw.com.

First we saw "Max & Grace" starring Natasha Lyonne ("American Pie") and David Krumholtz ("10 Things I Hate About You"). It was helpful that Krumholtz had shaved off his usually tousled, bushy hair for this part as it served to seperate him from his current TV role on "NUMB3RS." This movie had a lot of elements of everything from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" to "Mad Love," and it was a dark comedy at heart. Not the best movie we've seen by any stretch but with David Paymer and Lorraine Bracco playing Krumholtz's parents, we were treated to apathetic comedy that made the movie smarter than it tried to be.

Then we moved on to "The Devil and Daniel Johnston." Now, I'd never really heard of Daniel Johnston - man or music - much less heard this much about him but this tortured soul (and that is being nice about it) is touted as an artistic genius. While I don't see the genius in either his songs or his art, it was explained to me, in patronizing ways, that the true appeal of his music (and "art") is the exposure of his vulnerability which was obvious to see in any of the recorded live performances from his early days until the present.

Then it was back to the Alamo Downtown for Mike's (that's pronounced Me-Kay) "City of Lost Souls." I'm not sure what I was expecting but a Japanese gangster film was not really it. It should have been but up until this point I'd only heard of Mike and hadn't seen any of his stuff (I do have a couple in my NetFlix cue though right after all the episodes of "Angel" and "Alias"). While he's no John Woo (and I don't think that's what he was aiming for) he infused all the ruthless Yakuza elements with a number of random bits of chop-socky for a full-throttle Japenese fun ride.

We then returned to the Paramount (where we saw the first two films of the day as well) for "Kung Fu Hustle." I'd been reading about this movie in everything from Premiere and Entertainment Weekly to the AP wire and was particularly excited for this film. I expected less kung-fu and more hustle but I've got to say that I was not disappointed by the best kung-fu I've seen in years. It didn't have the shine or polish of a Jet Li actioner but it did have fantastical chopsocky that had me on the edge of my seat. Best movie I've seen so far. But I'm a bit partial to kung-fu.

Then it was back to the Alamo Downtown (back and forth, back and forth) for "Dead Birds." This horror-er featured Henry Thomas ("E.T.") and Patrick Fugit (I'm not sure but I'm sure you can look it up on imdb.com). It told a frightening tale of, as the director put it, a group robs a bunch of gold and "bad shit happens." The CGI creatures - as well as the disintegration of the group - were well-done and I found myself jumping out of seat (and closing my eyes) on more than one occasion but I am a bit of a sissy and easily scared. But I wasn't the only one and, judging by the number of people who stuck around at 1:30-ish in the morning for the Q&A with the director, it seemed well received.

SXSW - day 2

2005-03-15T03:36:00.000-05:00

Today, we saw a few movies and ate at a really neat Moroccan restaurant where I rediscovered my distaste for hummus.

We only saw two movies today though. We were shut out of two others ("The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" and "The Roost," which was the midnight movie (read: horror - again) at the Alamo).

Two of the

Alamo

movie theaters here - the downtown and the south - are involved in the festival. We've only been to the downtown. We didn't get into "The Fearless Freaks" at the south the other day. This movie theater is pretty cool. I'm not sure it's as cool as the people who work there think it is but it is pretty cool. You go into the theater and it's lines of chairs with sort of bench tables in front of you. You can order food and beer (by the bucket too - woohoo). I'm a big bucket of beer fan. Apparently they also have theme nights which look pretty awesome (Marcia Brady Fetish Night?).

Today's movies:

"

Strange Fruit

" was a fairly shabby documentary. The filmmaker took a very interesting subject and muddled it with not by not really telling his story well enough, not shooting enough footage and with poor choices of music to go along with his images. There were other problems too but suffice it to say that the movie just didn't do the job it set out to do.

Childstar

" was a look at the world of child acting with a movie starring Jennifer Jason Leigh (so nice) and the director and featuring (among others) Eric Stoltz and Dave Foley. It was funny - but not too much - and it was bittersweet - but not too much. All in all though I liked it. It's worth seeing if only to check out Eric Stoltz's awesomely bad band.

SXSW - day 1

2005-03-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, so after a huge air-travel tie-up Saturday into Sunday (Atlanta's Ramada Plaza is pretty nice and has a really good Mexican restaurant which serves THE BIGGEST margaritas I have ever seen and the waitresses were pretty cute too), we made finally made it to Austin. Brendan's parents met us at the airport and brought us back to their house, where I promptly proceeded to take a nap.

Then we got started with the movies and all. Yesterday (Sunday), we saw "

Mutual Appreciation

," ""

Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt

" and "

Reeker

." We also tried to see "

The Fearless Freaks

."

I'll start with the one we didn't see. We couldn't get in to see "The Fearless Freaks" - a movie centered around the Flaming Lips - because the movie filled up before they let in people without passes. We knew this was going to happen a few times. We just didn't think it was going to happen so early. But it did and we'll get over it.

"Mutual Appreciation" was a cute, quirky little movie. I found the core cast endearing and the script - while a bit heavy on "intellectual" dialogue - was good and paced well with the film. In black and white and with a minimal cast, it is kind of a band-oriented "Clerks" (or at least that's what Brendan's father alluded to when we talked about the movie afterward) with a little relationship (or at least friendship) drama thrown in.

"Be Here to Love Me" told the story of country singer Townes Van Zandt. Now, either I'm starting to like country more (Kasey Chambers, etc.) or I am just calling something country that is more folk-y. Let's call it alt-ish country. Anyway, I'm a Townes fan now and you can bet I'll be picking up some of his stuff when I get home.

"Reeker" was a horror movie. For those of you who know me, you know I'm not a horror fan. This one starred Devon Gummersall (Brian from "My So-Called Life") and had some funny moments. I got into an argument about the purity of horror films after this one. My view is that all horror movies (or at least the majority) start out being true horror movies and most of the comedy is unintentional (some obviously isn't and this movie had several examples) and when it is it's meant to be but when it isn't it detracts from the actual horror of the movie. This one didn't mean for all the things we (and the audience in general) found funny to be funny. And that somehow made it less horror-y. At least to me.

That's day one. More later. Keep it real fellas (and ladies, cuz I know you're out there).

back to form

2005-03-10T12:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, everyone, here I am again. No more experiments, no more coopting sources for my own amusement, no more wicked lame posts involving farts. I aplogize. Don't know what I was thinking.

Let's see. Yes, between work and sleep, I have watched some tv.

I am just about to get to another episode of American Dreams. Now I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not but even if I have it warrants another mention anyway. I have heard that it might be possible that this show is going to be canceled and I have to tell everyone - yes, everyone - how wrong I think this is. Sure the show stumbles occasionally and sure that Will can be annoying and does anyone really need more Milo Ventimiglia but that is not the whole of the show. The way it portrays a family's problems. The way it makes daily interactions between friends, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, business partners and mixes in racial issues, politics, current events and - and not least - pop music via American Bandstand makes the show stand out among a lot of the tired rehashes that populate our schedule these days. If you're not watching this show, you should be.

I am in love with Third Watch (more precisely the women of Third Watch and even more precisely Nia Long although that's no big surprise). But aIso love the way this show hooks you in. I hate Sgt. Cruz but I want to know what she's dying of. That Bosco. How can he ask Faith to do that? And Carlos. Carlos, Carlos, Carlos. When will he learn? And will Ty find out about the baby? I'm riveted. And I love it.

Every episode of Joey I watch makes me like the show more. But could Matt LeBlanc stop making that face where it looks like a.) he is about to poo; or b.) he just ate something very bad; or c.) both? I think everyone knows Joey's (Matt's, whatever) best comedic talent is to take a normal situation and find the absurd in it and at the same time maintain a sweetness that makes you not feel sorry for him but want to explain how that's just not the important part.

I'll write more later. This will be a multi-part post. Multi-part.

Since I've barely had my TV on in the last few weeks

2005-03-02T12:37:00.000-05:00

It has come to my personal attention that some of my adventures in e-mailing could make a good post. I'm gonna try it. The names have been abreviated but all you wicked smart people out there might be able to figure a couple of them out.

----

mw: Also, oh TV god, what happened to Veronica Mars and life as we know it?
me: I was just wondering about that life as we know it thing too. And i'm so far behind in TV land, that as far as I know there is still Veronica Mars because there are episodes on top of my TV I haven't seen yet. But I haven't heard anything about either of those shows being shitcanned or anything.

mw: (adding to a Quote of the Week from TVGal) "Marissa and Alex - no longer welcome in the red states." Seth to Ryan on "The O.C." This is my new all-time favorite quote! Do you think I'm too old for Seth? I think it might cause baby mama drama (sorry, I just like that phrase).

----

jm: i just farted
me: oooh...stinky
jm: actually, no, unless it was and drifted away very quickly...weird. i either put out nose burners or scentless gas pockets...notice our conversation went right back to ass activity?

me: (relaying an earlier event)
keith to me: "then we won't have to worry about misspelling assassinated."
me: "how do you misspell that...it's just ass and then ass and then -inated."
keith: (rolls eyes and walks away)

----

jm: (after a work-related reference) ...and Monique, that huge, obnoxious woman who hosts Showtime at the Apollo...
me: that's Mo'Nique, to you. And the next time I go to the city (it will be my third trip there ever), i am so going to the Apollo and no one can stop me (and i'm going to figure out what that bar that Ella Fitzgerald's table is still sitting in the corner is called and go there too).
jm: (makes several references to me being shot)

----

Oh, and there was a story on the wire about how hippos are really dangerous. Remember this.

Hippo kills tourist in Kenya
NAIVASHA, Kenya (AP) — A hippopotamus flipped and trampled an Australian tourist to death at a popular resort in central Kenya, police said Tuesday.
Vicky Elizabeth Bartlett, 50, was with a group of 12 tourists at Lake Naivasha on Monday night when the hippo attacked, said Simon Kiragu, the regional police chief.
“The hippo attacked the woman, flipping her into the air before tossing her on the ground and trampling her,” he said.
Bartlett was rushed to a hospital but died while undergoing treatment. No one else was injured in the attack.
Wilflife experts say hippos can pose extreme danger to humans. The animals come on shore at night to graze and will attack anything that comes between them and the water, where they feel safe.
The attack took place at Fisherman’s Camp, a popular lakeside campground, where signs warn tourists to beware of hippos after dark.
John Mwangi, the group’s tour guide, said the woman had seen a hippo the night before and was going to look for one again without telling him. The group was on its way to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

Okay, this little experiment fell very flat. Won't be doing this again. On a scale of one to fun, I'd give it a lamey-lame (except for the hippo story - it's funny because it's true).

I'll be back soon. Promise.

Not nice - apparently

2005-02-24T09:37:00.000-05:00

Dear Mr. Le Nasonica,

It has come to my attention via several unnamed (and, shockingly, unknown to you) individuals that I may have been a bit harsh on your blog post.

I would like to go on record as saying that I didn't actually not care for your posting, I was just driving trucks through the holes you left behind. And pointing out that there were several spelling and grammatical errors.

I like your blog, in theory. I'm generally interested in the things you say when we speak in person and should therefore be entertained by what you put into written form as well.

Anyway, this is complete crap as apologies go. But until I can figure this one out, this is the best it's gonna get.

Damn the man,
me

It sure has been a while

2005-02-13T02:04:00.000-05:00

Okay, I had all this good stuff to get through and now I have to remember what I was saying since my computer froze.

Let's see.

I finally made it to February - at least according to my TV watching. Let me be the last to welcome Lane back to Stars Hollow. She's been missing from Gilmore Girls for a while now. Now, I know this is a particular touchy rant for my favorite on-line columnist, TVGal, but it's necessary to mention. I also want to say hello to Lorelei's new 'do. So curly, bouncy and fun. It made her even cuter, if that's really possible. I also am pleading with network writers to do what they can to make the drama on dramas a little less drama-y. These people will get all bent at the drop of a hat. If someone was that touchy, what would make anyone stick around and care? Take One Tree Hill for instance. As strange as I thought it was when Nathan and Haley got married, I'm rooting for them now and then Haley's sister shows up. This tramp's little secret is that she was Nathan's first. You know, FIRST. Anyway, Haley knows that Nathan was getting around before he hooked up with Haley but she still gets all bent when he tells her. But that's just the beginning. You've got to watch it to believe it. And as trite as the show has become, I'll never give it up. Putting Moira Kelly on TV is never bad. Giving Craig Scheffer a good guy role is a stroke of genius. Letting that douchebag who screwed over Steve Sanders at the KEG house and was such a dick to Kelly Taylor when she rebuffed his advances back on TV might have been a mistake since he seems really one dimensional. And is still a HUGE asshole (at least in character).

Okay. Here's what I read on the AP wire the other day. And it got me thinking. I mean, I like those songs but I'm not sure they're my FAVORITES. But let's see. And let's hear what you think. Write in.

My Top 10 (at least what immediately comes to mind in no particular order - at all)

1. If You Want Blood, You've Got It - AC/DC
2. White Wedding - Billy Idol
3. Your Time Is Gonna Come - Led Zeppelin
4. Whipping Post - The Allman Brothers Band
5. Refugee - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
6. N.I.B. - Black Sabbath
7. Don't Get Me Busted - The Donnas
8. Chinese Rock - The Ramones
9. Midnight Rambler - The Rolling Stones
10. La Grange - ZZ Top

He's not gonna take it.
Dee Snider, Twisted Sister frontman and five-nights-a-week deejay on Philadelphia radio station WMMR-FM, was less than impressed when he heard what listeners of a British radio station decided were the Top 10 rock songs of all time.
The poll by British station Planet Rock got worldwide media coverage.
"It was getting picked up all over the world as gospel," said Snider, who's known almost as much for his onstage profanity as for his music. "I said, "What are we, wood? Why should we have to sit here and be subjected to some arbitrary ... list out of England?" (You can guess what the ellipses were.) "Let's subject them to my arbitrary ... list."
So he did. WMMR conducted an online poll for several months, and came up with a list long on Metallica and AC/DC, with classic rock and grunge mixed in. "It's a little harder, a little edgier," Snider said.

The Planet Rock List:
1. "Stairway To Heaven" Led Zeppelin
2. "Freebird" Lynyrd Skynyrd
3. "Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen
4. "Smoke On The Water" Deep Purple
5. "Paranoid" Black Sabbath
6. "Whole Lotta Love" Led Zeppelin
7. "Hotel California" The Eagles
8. "Rock And Roll" Led Zeppelin
9. "Highway To Hell" AC/DC
10. "All Along The Watchtower" Jimi Hendrix

The Dee Snider list:
1. "Stairway To Heaven" Led Zeppelin
2. "Back In Black" AC/DC
3. "One" Metallica
4. "Freebird" Lynyrd Skynyrd
5. "Sweet Child Of Mine" Guns 'N' Roses
6. "Enter Sandman" Metallica
7. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana
8. "For Those About To Rock" AC/DC
9. "Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen
10. "Gimme Shelter" The Rolling Stones

For the record, no Twisted Sister songs cracked the WMMR top 10, although "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" came in at numbers 21 and 22 respectively.
"The fix is in. I'm on the radio every night," Snider said with a laugh. "I wasn't pushing it, but, you know..."

I was surfing blogs the other night found a link to this Web site (http://www.wxplotter.com/ft_nq.php?im). It's hilarious. Apparently I'm only 4% nerd. I would have thought that would be higher.

The other thing I've noticed is that, according to the blogger.com homepage, the rules for commenting have been changed and you no longer have to register to leave comments. Nor do I have to change my preferences to allow you to leave comments as an unregistered user (sorry, Pat & Meaghan - man, if you wanna see a cute baby check out the Woodford South link on the side of this page). So, I'm expecting an enormous amount of commenting especially since I'm sending an e-mail to you all so you'll know I've finally made an entry again.

So, in the words of Ali G, check it, foo'.

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

2005-02-02T10:35:00.000-05:00

Let's start with an easy television primer. I'll start with Sunday night and work my through the week. I'll try to only pick one show (and one backup - you know, in case of reruns) per day (no guarantees though).

Sundays: Desperate Housewives - This show is infectious. It started really strong and is only getting better. Granted it's all women and that might turn some people off a little (Why? You might ask. I have no idea).

(Arrested Development is worth your time as well though. Jason Bateman returns to television. That is the good part. If you also like Jeffrey Tambor (twice), David Cross and a host of other either really funny or totally annoying characters, well, that'd be another good part. For me it's the bad part.)

Mondays: Las Vegas - This show is like candy for the eyes and mind. Nikki Cox anyone? I thought so. Molly Sims? Check too. And for the girls it's got Josh Duhamel (you know, that guy from Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!). And for all the guy's guys James Caan plays the casino boss. And with more star cameos than you can realistically expect to see in an entire season of television programming this show delivers a fun watch.

(The new Chuck Lorre (Dharma & Greg) comedy 2 And A Half Men is really good too. John Cryer is back and he's playing the straight man to Charlie Sheen. It took me a while to really start laughing at this show but now I do regularly.)

Tuesdays: Gilmore Girls - This show has had a few rough spots (the reading tree?) but as far as solid casts and solid writing go, I pick this for consistently being the best show on television.

(But Veronica Mars runs a very close second and is probably my favorite new show of the season. I'm also a sucker for One Tree Hill if only for the soundtrack but also for the really cute girls. This is the night when I often have to make difficult decisions about what gets taped and what doesn't.)

Wednesdays: Lost - If you're not watching this show, you're missing great television. A plane crashes on a deserted island and 40 something survivors are forced to deal with all its mysteries. And there is a LOT of weird stuff going on.

(I would say Lost narrowly beats out Smallville because it is just that good but everyone knows I love Smallville too. Kristin Kruek is totally hot. And the whole Superman thing is just plain awesome. They squeeze in a lot of foreshadowing and really cool inside jokes as well.)

Thursdays: The O.C. - This one was easy. The most addictive show on television. It's no 90210 but it's good. Peter Gallagher is great too but it's really Adrian Brody that makes the show so great. Rachel Bilson is my favorite girl on television though. She hooked me with the Wonder Woman costume but she really had me at hello.

(I'm starting to really like Joey too though and then, since I can't change the channel with my VCR any longer (damn you cable companies and your stupid little boxes) I can watch E.R. too. And see Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks) and the gang at County General.)

Fridays: Third Watch - I'm not a big cop show fan. I never watched Hill Street Blues, I don't watch NYPD Blue and I can't stand those awful CSI shows but this show keeps me coming back. I'd like to see them get back to their original format of not really focusing on one department (paramedics, police and firefighters) but it's still one of the most watchable shows on television.

(The hard part here is that Fridays also offer some of the best half hour sitcoms of the week. What I Like About You is worth watching if only to see 90210 alum Jenny Garth and I think Grounded For Life with Donal Logue is the funniest comedy on right now. Monk is on Fridays as well. But that's on USA and cable shows don't count toward regular TV watching.)

Saturdays: I don't really tape anything on Saturdays. Big shock I know. But if I did, it'd probably be Cold Case. Mostly because there's nothing else on but also because while it is a police forensics show, being rooted in the past gives it something those other shows lack.

Well, okay. I stuck to my rules (for the most part). And for that I'm happy. I deserve a reward. I think I'll take a nap.

Until next time (where I'll make all new picks, I'm sure), sleep tight.

oh my gawd!

2005-01-28T19:38:00.000-05:00

So, in a continuation of the last post, I forgot to tape The O.C. last night. So if anyone knows what happened and can describe it to me in colorful terms that make me feel as if I'm reliving it, then call, e-mail or text-message me now.

I'm still hopelessly far behind in my television watching and really, truly don't see any relief in sight.

I watched an episode of Third Watch last night and was relieved that they killed off C.T. Finney. I realized the other week that it's been a long, long time since we've seen the fire station guys and even the e.m.t. guys (and girls) aren't getting too much time. Although I'm not really all that into Carlos' relationship with Holly either. That guy makes the rest of us look like prize-winning catches.

I'm also like two weeks behind on Lost. I'm not even sure what's going on on The O.C. I'm pretty well caught up, somehow, on Joan of Arcadia. I feel like it's been an entire season since I've seen an episode of Gilmore Girls and now that High School Reunion is over there's new episodes of One Tree Hill (which I tried to buy the soundtrack of on iTunes today but it wouldn't take my credit card (or any credit cards apparently) and I was mad). Veronica Mars is even passing me by.

I blame a lot of this on my new cable system which won't let me change channels with the VCRs because it's all run through these fancy little boxes with a weird, eerie blue light coming from them but actually being able to change the channels would mean more tv I don't have time to watch. Really the blame goes to sleep, school and extra-curricular activities.

AND, I'm so pissed that after I get Oxford Networks to come in and install my new cable and I finally get the Adelphia monkey off my back, that, one week to the day of installation, I get a flyer in the mail saying that Adelphia now has DVR. I'm tempted to switch back but I'd feel bad since those nice ON guys drilled holes all through the house for that cable. And I get Boomerang now. Maybe they'll just wise up and get the DVR stuff going too.

What is happening to me?

2005-01-21T01:54:00.000-05:00

Last night I actually forgot to set the VCRs therefor missing "life as we know it," "Joey," "The O.C." and the second episode of "Point Pleasant." I got home and realized my mistake before missing "E.R." (phew)

But if you know me, you know this is a very unusual happening. And the worst part was, I didn't really even care. At least not that much. Okay, that's a lie. I do care. A lot.

I've decided my next "big" electronics purchase is going to be a DVR/DVD-R that doesn't require a subscription service (sorry, TiVo). Got any suggestions?

A feeling of vague disappointment

2005-01-19T15:56:00.000-05:00

I can tell it's the middle of winter because it's freezing outside (it's been hovering in the single digits for a couple of days now) and I'm growing dissatisfied by television. I've noticed this for the past couple of years and am finding it difficult to deal with because I love tv so much.

For instance, I watched last week's ER the other night and while it was a good episode, it wasn't as riveting as the previews had made it seem and I was left, at the end, with this less-than-fresh feeling. It just didn't do it for me. Now, I'm not sure that this malaise can be accredited to a just slightly less-than-stellar episode (very little Carter, too much of Weaver being involved in the episode but not actually in the episode, Camille Winbush (Bernie Mac) as the girl who was accidently shot and was incredibly whiny) or the winter blahs. It's hard to tell.

I'm also not nearly as excited for shows on a week-to-week basis. The finale of High School Reunion (my personal guilty pleasure) was last night and I still haven't watched it. I think the second wave of the 2004-2005 television season (Point Pleasant, NUMB3RS, etc.) need to get under way for me to really feel like things are back to normal.

I've recently switched to Oxford Networks cable and aside from having to figure out which channel is which all over again, I'm super happy with it. Hello to you all, VH1Classic, Turner Classic Movies and Outdoor Life Network. It's got this cool little box that glows blue on all the TVs around the house and if they would get some kind of DVR thing going, I'd be the happiest man on Earth.

I'm out of time now so I'm going to cut this short but I'll be back soon with more details into my heavily-involved television watching habit.

Nothing to Say

2005-01-13T17:15:00.000-05:00

I keep looking at the list of my posts thinking to myself, "Self, it sure has been a while since you've posted anything." So here's a post.

I've been trying to get all caught up with my TV watching before class starts again next week.

Somehow I've missed a couple of episodes of some of my favorite shows. I missed what looked like a good episode of "life as we know it" and I feel like I've missed episodes of a few other things but that's probably just me being overly worried. Stupid midseason slump. I always feel like there's stuff I'm missing but I think it might just be the new shows taking their places and the other stuff will come back soon.

Anyway, I've seen the first couple of episodes of Medium and I like it. But that might just be the Patricia Arquette part talking. I read an article on the wire today that said that the most interesting thing about Medium is how it compares unfavorably with NUMB3RS, a new show coming to CBS later this month. I'm not sure how much I buy that though since their argument was that it was an even more in-depth look into the science that makes CSI's Gil Grissom so fascniating, which is the opposite of how I feel about that show.

I've also caught the first few episodes of Committed which is definitely not good television and I don't see it getting any better. The two main characters and the male buddy character (one of the guys from that Urkel show) are good. There is a weird story line involving one of the guys from the Bob Newhart show (the handyman) and Bob Newhart even had a little cameo guest spot in the first episode (how do they do it?). And the girl who married Melissa Etheridge plays the nanny who lives across the hall from the female lead character. But the show itself is simply not very funny. The heavy-handed laugh track takes away from the jokes that are funny and punctuates the ones that fall flat. Even with a complete overhaul, I think it would be hard to put this show back on track.

I was VERY disappointed to hear that the WB has cancelled The Mountain. And just when I was getting inappropriately attached to the women on the show (especially Maria (= foxy)). *sigh* Hopefully Anson Mount and Oliver Hudson can find new places to hang their hats and hopefully it won't be anywhere near Mitch Pileggi. But as soon as we can bring any of the girls from that show back to television television will be a better place.

And the hardest part to believe about this move is that North Shore is still on on Fox. The only good story line on this show is the Frankie/Tessa (who really should come back to The O.C. - double duty anyone?) part which is almost solely based around the fact that Tessa is so HOT. But has anyone else noticed that funny "divot" on her nose?

My guilty-pleasure reality show (which quite frankly has sucked a little this year) High School Reunion is ending after this week's final episode and I must admit I'm saddened by this. Gianni and Loretta are a bit more loosely together than you might have predicted and while Nikol has trashed the heart of an (I'm sure) now-bitter Eze, she does seem happy to be back with Jim (even though I'm sure that's not really going to last too long). And I can't seem to get into the romance between bad-boy Brien and Torrie despite her impressive assets. But this episode is the prom and no matter what else happens, it'll be fun to see.

I'm a couple of episodes behind on Lost now and I have to admit I'm a bit homesick for my deserted-island clan. I'll probably do back to back watchings tonight so I'm sure I'll be back with more unadulterated praise for the only J.J. Abrams show I like.

Anyway, this has gone on long enough and now I'll say good-bye. Until next time folks.

Still at zero

2005-01-09T01:11:00.000-05:00

What I'm wondering is why is the only comment I've received on any entry that I've made in either blog is from some dude I don't even know. This is bugging me. I know a lot of you have tons and tons of free time and I think you must be having a hard time coming up with more and more things to buy on eBay so you should read my blog instead.

I'm actually thinking of starting another one too. But I might just make the Working Together one a bit more inclusive. We'll see.

Anyway, now for some shout-outs, since I realized I haven't talked to some of you all in ages.

A big "What's up?" to Laurie (still in NYC, who knows?), Tom (Motley Crue or what dude?), Sherm (does he have a phone? is he even living in a house?), Doug (didn't get a chance to see you in P.I. hope the trip went well), Chris (I still play your last album on my show. I'll have to get the next one too), Eric (what's he doing?) Mike (last time I knew he was on a weirder schedule than I am), Nick (married and still a gamer - what a life), the other Mike (off to college pretty soon aren't ya?)

Also think I should include a solicitation of sorts. I know a couple of you are in bands. If you send me stuff that you made (or even just send stuff you like), I'll play it. It's so much fun to say "This is my friend's band. Check them out."

The rest of you, I talk to on some kind of a normal basis so I'll just say hi again and let that be that. Remember this little wormhole works both ways and I would say I respond to all of the e-mails I receive. Hint, hint.

In the famous parting words of Robert Murphy (whom no one can seem to find - any leads?)
LATERS!

I figured out how to post pictures...

2005-01-07T17:30:00.000-05:00

I Heart Lots

2005-01-06T21:51:00.000-05:00

1.) I've watched Napoleon Dynamite twice so far and I still can't decide if it's absolutely brilliant or just a collection of really dumb crap that makes a funny movie. But John Gries as the uncle (look him up on imdb.com, you'll know who he is) and Tina Marjorino (who I just realized is the computer genius on Veronica Mars) make the movie more than just a pop culture radar blip and the bizarre internet love hook-up and the as-good-as-Travolta dance number make it more than just a collection of its parts. I'm still working my way through Door in the Floor but I've seen this one twice. Go figure.

2.) High School Reunion is so addictive. The bitchiness seems to have worn off a little bit but the previews for upcoming episodes hint that it may come back in force. I'm still waiting for last season to come out on DVD though.

3.) Looking for now-famous guest stars on reruns of "Boy Meets World" has become one of my favorite "hobbies" of late. The other night I spotted Charisma Carpenter as the girl Will Friedle made out with on the New Year's party train. The guy who plays Gary on "What I Like About You" was also on the train. And the supermodel that Will Friedle lost track of was someone I recognized but can't quite place. Ethan Suplee is a regular. Many may recognize him as the best friend guy from "The Butterfly Effect" and also as the guy who called Shannen Doherty Brenda in "Mallrats." Look here for a complete list (note all The Monkees) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105958/guests.

4.) That catchy little ditty that I'm sure I recognize as a surf tune I used to love that they play on those ubiquitous new Chevy commercials. No words but still catchy as all get out.

5.) This one has been going on for a while but I'm of the opinion that "The Replacements" with Keanu Reeves, Rhys Ifans, Orlando Jones, John Favreau and Gene Hackman among others is a great movie. Not only is it a passable sports movie it somehow also manages to be a convincing romance as well. The girl Keanu ends up falling for is the typical girl-next door type (with all the sports movie requisites - a love of sports, owns a bar and is the hottest of all the cheerleaders) but it doesn't make the developing romance any less sweet.

Rush, Rush

2005-01-03T18:10:00.000-05:00

It's come to my attention that there are certain shows that I just can't wait to see. Since I tape all the prime-time television I watch (which has the added convenience of allowing me to skip all the commercials), I usually have a stack of anywhere from five to twenty-five tapes full of television shows sitting on top of - or at least near - one of my televisions. I usually also try to watch everything in nearly a chronological order so that I don't skip over stuff and then miss episodes and stuff like that. But some shows are just too good for this and for those I make exceptions.

These are the shows that have me hooked (not necessarily in order of importance):

The O.C. - This one has had me from the get-go. From Seth's witty one-liners to Summer in a Wonder Woman suit and the upcoming experimental Marissa episode, I can't just let this one sit there. Every week, without fail, I manage to catch this one at my earliest possible convenience.

American Dreams - I've recently been reading a lot of articles, reviews and blurbs that are saying what I've known for two seasons now: This is one of the best shows on television. Some of the characters are annoying, some the guest stars are annoying and some of the story arcs are just dumb but at the same time the opposite is true much more frequently. I've found myself engrossed in the stories of every character (except maybe Will) and Daphne Zuniga as a Playboy Bunny is inspired casting. But that's just a start. Early episodes are on DVD and new episodes are back on every Sunday night.

Lost - I love that the opening credits is just a slow rotation of the word LOST. I love that the season is about half over and I don't feel like I really know all that much about what's going on. I love that Matthew Fox has found a new home on television (albeit a deserted island). I love this show.

High School Reunion - Reality television always seems so contrived and I'm sure the producers of this show picked people for the friction they knew would ensue but even scripted television is rarely this good. They seem to be recycling sound bites more often this season than in past seasons but that doesn't make it more lame and the sniping and cat-fights promise to get even better.

Desperate Housewives/Gilmore Girls (tie) - Between the gleeful treachery of the women of Wisteria Lane and the sometimes glib but always playful banter of the folks in Stars Hollow, I often can't decide which mood I'm in. But either way, I'm always entertained.

Honorable Mentions

New Joys
Joey, Veronica Mars, life as we know it

Returning Favorites
That '70s Show, ER, Third Watch, Eve

Guilty Pleasures
One Tree Hill, Smallville, The Mountain, North Shore

I'll get back to these later.

Long Time Gone

2004-12-25T23:05:00.000-05:00

Hi all. So, I've just returned from the hinterlands of northern Maine where I visited my parents for the holidays and spent a less than acceptable amount of time in the hot tub.

For this blog, I've decided to give accounting of my trip, which was all-in-all, fairly productive. Cold but productive.

I watched a lot of television (not as much as I'd hoped but still, quite a bit)...

I saw Love Actually on video (DVD, natch) but my DVD player was acting fruity and kept going all blue on the screen. It was frustrating but I did get to see the majority of the movie and it was funny. I laughed, I cried - seriously.

I saw Flight of the Phoenix at the theater (yes, THE theater). It sucked. Ass. Hard. I kept wondering if Dennis Quaid is still a coke head. And how Tyrese keeps getting movie roles. And what the hell was the deal with that Outkast montage thingy?

I watched 20+ hours of taped television, which leaves me a week behind still.

I saw the Christmas episode of ER which was very funny - especially Weaver's regifting - but is it just me or is the dude who hooked up with Mandy Moore in that movie turning into a useless feature of the show. Why can't they find more Parminder Nagra's?

Veronica Mars plays poker. Lisa Rinna has HUGE lips. Ugly with a capital F.

I came across a lost episode of Dr. Vegas and now I know why that show got the ax. As much fun as it is to watch Rob Lowe (and he is a funny guy - if Nason ever publishes my stream of consciousness rant involving 80s actors, it'll be a start to something that will definitely include Mr. Lowe), Joe Pantaliano is a curse to any show but to give him the same kind of role as he had in The Sopranos (before he was delicately whacked - and actually his role is more of mash-up of The Sopranos role and The Handler (which also got whacked but in a different way) role) and also to use the same theme song is just a recipe for disaster. I like Rob Lowe but even Sarah Lancaster sucked on this horrible show.

I watched the episode of Joey which guest-starred Lucy Liu (little Charlie's Angel reunion, I guess) and I laughed out loud several times. And it wasn't even that funny. Matt LeBlanc's facial expressions are comedic gold and he is SO Joey.

I got SOO sucked into the drama that is the new season of High School Reunion (I actually jumped ahead in my viewing which is something I normally only do for The O.C.). That Jaime is one crazy bitch (also, natch). That Gianni better watch his back, but methinks he's already distracted by Loretta's unwillingness to meet him halfway on the long distance thing. Okay, hypothetically speaking (and I'll phrase this as if it were happening to me which would be a dream come true), if a girl who played professional basketball in Italy (a la Sanaa Lathan in Love and Basketball *swoon*) asked you to move to Italy with her to continue a relationship you had both been wanting to explore for the ten years since high school, wouldn't you say, "Why yes, I've always wanted to live in Italy with a super hot girl."? So would I. But, my thoughts so far are that this season is already way suckier than last. There is so not going to be a love story that I am going to crave from week to week and the drama is all about that totally crazy chick. And she is SUPER crazy. And that voice. Ugh! WATCH, damnit.

I watched an episode each of Scrubs and Eve and I'm still saying that while Scrubs is definitely growing on me (and it's nice to see Donald Faison being funny), Eve is still my favorite sitcom (although Joey is making that run for it - if only he'd get together with the married neighbor - who'd obviously have to be single first). It's so nice to see a show with black actors (and on UPN no less) that's not all about "black people do this and white people do that."

I also caught a few reruns of Boy Meets World. That Eric Friedle is funny. But I've been noticing all the guest stars lately. The girl who played Harley Kiner sister was familiar but I couldn't place her. I saw Eric Balfour the other night though. And there have been others. It's my new little game.

I'm also nominating The North Shore (TV Gal makes fun of people watching this show) for the "Oh NO They Di'in't" show (to replace Melrose Place and the final years of (a little bit) Bev Hills). Every time something is going on, one of those meddling bastards screws it all up. It's so funny. And bringing in Shannen Doherty has only upped that quotient by about 50 times.

Let's see, aside from all that, what else did I do? I called up this friend of mine from high school to see what he's been up to since I haven't seen him for a few years. Still the same guy and we still got along like it'd only been days since I'd seen him last. That was fun. My parents threw a cocktail party and lots of people (mostly relatives) came. That was fun but it got a little crowded around the drink table (Gritty's Best Bitter and Magic Hat #9 for me please - my friend Albie dipped back into his college years and polished off what can only be described as a couple of handfuls of Rolling Rock - good times). This girl (woman, now - mom, too, actually) who used to live across the street came as well. I'm intimidated by this woman. She's in better shape than most of the people I know put together and every time I see her she is better looking than the last time. Hooray for her.

I'm sure there should be more to this so I'll think about it while I'm watching more TV tonight and I'll add more tomorrow. It's Christmas Break for all the people I know who are still in college (which actually includes me - how funny is that? ask my sister, she can't stop laughing) so I'm looking forward to this week.

See you soon.

See You, See Me

2004-12-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

Okay, Nason, as promised here's a response that's more than a comment.

Now, I thought long and hard about how best to do this upcoming movie list. Okay, not that long and not that hard but I still think this is best. I will start by telling you what's coming in the next three months because beyond that the list gets unwieldy. There seems to be a glut of horror movies coming out soon but I've left most of those off the list for reasons to be explained soon.

I'll start with what is looking good to me these days.

White Noise: The dead communicate through radio and tv static. Less Poltergiest than it sounds I'm going to guess. This is the only horror movie on my list because, frankly, when it comes to horror movies, I am a big ol' sissy. But a friend of mine told me she was scared by the trailer alone and that's gotta count for something.

Elektra: Hollywood has taken the best part of "Daredevil" (Jennifer Garner whooping ass in tight suits) and decided to tell that story. I saw the preview for this last night at Flight of the Phoenix (Don't go.) and it rocked. At least the fight scenes and the tight suits did. There wasn't much talking.

Assault on Precinct 13: Another remake of an old action movie (Flight of the Phoenix was a remake of an old Jimmy Stewart-er), this time with Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Byrne, Drea de Matteo and Maria Bello. Originally tackled in 1976, this update looks stylized but still potent. Probably lacking in the political-ness of John Carpenter's original, Laurence Fishburne always turns in good performances (the final Matrix movie notwithstanding) and Ethan Hawke is starting to make a career of the naive cop role.

Cursed: The guys who brought us the Scream trilogy (and the Nightmare on Elm Street movies and Dawson's Creek, respectively), bring us a new breed of werewolf movie. With Christina Ricci no less. I say, "Yay!"

Alone in the Dark: Christian Slater, who while he never went away, has been seeming to pop up more and more frequently lately stars in this video game adaptation. I say, "Bring it on." The guy who tackled high school bitches (and Winona Ryder), pirate radio (and Samantha Mathis) and some kind of skateboarding conspiracy (and he got the girl in that one too) can take on anything.

A Sound of Thunder: Another Ray Bradbury story (think "I, Robot") gets the big screen treatment. The master of sci-fi knows how to write so unless the screenwriter is some kind of mindless hack (which is a distinct possibility) or the studio muddles it all up with hackneyed stereotypes (think Michael Crichton's time warp wow-er with Paul Walker this summer) then this one should go down nicely.

Upside of Anger: Another Kevin Costner weeper but this one sounds like it has more of a "Door in the Floor" vibe. This is the only limited release movie on my list and if I have my way it'll move nation-wide shortly thereafter.

Be Cool: The sequel to "Get Shorty." Chili Palmer (Travolta, again, natch) moves into the recording industry. Another Elmore Leonard book, another great movie.

The Jacket: This one looks pretty out there but Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley are both good enough to make it stand out. I'm looking forward to it in a big way.

D.E.B.S.: This movie has been making the rounds for what seems like years. Screened favorably at last year's Sundance, it's finally coming to theaters. Hot girls get trained to be government agents. Yes, please.

Sahara: Clive Cussler has written a ton of books and I've been wondering when Dirk Pitt would grace the big screen. Matthew McConaughey brings him to life opposite Penelope Cruz (why is that movie stars can't act together without becoming an item?)

I'm also mentioning this one but not favorably (although it'll probably have a few low-brow moments) - Guess Who: A remake of the Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn/Sidney Poitier classic this time with Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher. This is nearly blasphemy. They better do something really great.

Now, onto Nason's list. I'll start with the ones on which Mr. Josh and I seem to be in agreement.

Batman Begins: Christian Bale revamps Bruce Wayne and the guy who brought us "Memento" makes it watchable.

Million Dollar Baby: Hillary Swank has been gold since she finished off the Karate Kid franchise and since she taught Steve Sanders how to love on "Beverly Hills, 90210." Directed by Clint and starring a knockout actress.

War of the Worlds: I've been seeing photos from the filming of this on the wire for months now and as weird as they look, I'm guessing Speilberg and Cruise are going to pull another one off.

Constantine: A lot of Matrix-esque movie magic but this time the story only has to carry one movie. And it was based on a comic book so there's probably plenty of stuff they didn't even bother to use.

Now for where we differ.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith: I can't decide if it's more like "True Lies" or "Spy Kids" but either way, if it takes after it's lineage which with "The Bourne Identity" director Doug Liman (Is this what he did instead of "The Bourne Supremacy"?) at the helm it might have the punch to give it something new. And by something new, I mean something good.

XXX2: I'm kind of looking forward to this movie. I thought the first one pretty much blew but that had a lot to do with Vin Diesel (for a look at how far this pompous, over-inflated ego-having, money-grubbing (he wasn't given the second one because even after the failure of the first one he demanded an increase in salary) has fallen look no further than the upcoming "The Pacifier") and less to do with the actual movie. Ice Cube is a solid choice for this series (think "Mission: Impossible" but instead of changing directors every time they change the star) and as long as it's better than that one he did with Elizabeth Hurley in South Africa (which was really only half-bad) I think it has promise.

Willy Wonka: I was never a huge fan of the original but started to love it more after Marilyn Manson modeled his stage entrance after the boat ride. I do get a kick out of the maniacal Gene Wilder and it is a fanciful look at the world of candy. While the Johnny Depp/Tim Burton collaboration promises to be nothing short of stunning, it's also gonna be super creepy and that could make it less than the sugary treat it might have been.

Alive and Screaming: Out of the five projects Will Ferrell has in production at the moment, the only one I'm looking forward to is "Confederacy of Dunces" and if he ruins that book I'll never forgive him. Will Ferrell, to me, is not the comic genius he's getting credit for being. Every time I see him in a movie (or anything for that matter), I expect him to break out into that guy with the voice with no volume modulation. Which might make everything he does funnier.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: I shouldn't even get started on how much I'm not even going to think about seeing this movie. I didn't like "Bottle Rocket" and then I didn't like "Rushmore" so I didn't even bother with "The Royal Tennenbaums" and this movie is going to pass me by as well. I recently read a thing where during a press conference some guy who has worked with Bill Murray on some other movie got up and asked Wes Anderson how he could continue to work with such a bastard. If I think of it when I get back to work, I'll post the little article as a comment.

Okay, now for the other stuff.

First, you include "The Roommate" and not me as the trailer obsessed, movie-loving fanboy? I'm deeply hurt. Second, the best Patrick Swayze update I've seen in a long time was his appearance in the Entertainment Weekly back page feature "Stupid Questions" this summer. Find it. You'll laugh. Hard.

For movie (and lot of other entertainment news I use www.imdb.com, www.comingsoon.net, www.aintitcoolnews.com, www.zap2it.com and, of course, the coolest game ever made www.hsx.com.

There used to only be one movie trailer guy (and there pretty much still is just the one) but he's getting super busy (and kinda old) so there are a couple more. I'm not sure how you'd get this job but I'm betting you'd really have to know someone and have one helluva demo tape.

And I just wanted to say hi to Clyde. Action movies are the best thing in cinema. I always sit in the front five rows if there is going to be explosions or a lot of punching. And nothing says a lot of action like a Chinese gang. While I'm glad that at least Steven Segal has stopped making movies (or been run out of Hollywood), I did love his chopsocky style. But my real point here is that you shouldn't let Nason co-opt your love of (bad) movies for his own greedy purposes.

so naive

2004-12-13T17:50:00.000-05:00

So, today, during one of what can only be described as many study breaks, I watched the episode of The O.C. from two weeks ago.

Full-time job + two college classes at a campus two hours from home = not nearly enough time to watch tv. As most of my friends know, since I work at night, I tape almost everything on television (three vcr's running nearly every night, thank you - and as a sidebar, if anyone from TiVo or one of the other DVR companies is looking to give stuff away, sign me up). Right now there are 12 full 6 hour tapes sitting next to my television waiting for me to watch them. I'll get to them, I know I will.

But now, back to my point. So, I'm watching The O.C. (and while I'm in agreement with TV Gal about the show letting up on the inside jokes - a LOT - and that the best Seth line was the one about Ryan liking long walks on the beach, punching people and not smiling) and I SOOOO did not see the Seth/Alex chemistry coming. Like I said, I'm a little naive. And she's cute. So, when the whole asking out portion of the show came along (how great was Ryan's double-take in the club?) I was just like "Whoa!" But now that it happened I think it's great. Or it could be great. Somehow that show always makes the chase so much better than the actual relationships. Like when Seth and Summer finally got together, the only really great part was when they were trying to have and having sex. That was funny.

So my point is, finally, that while I was really rooting for Seth and Summer to get back together at the same time I was getting really tired of the runaround the show was giving me and now that Seth is happy (ice cream nightcaps anyone?), I am happy.

Now, if they could only find away to remove Julie and Caleb from the show I'd be ecstatic.

Cribbing together

2004-12-11T01:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I was too lazy (and uninspired) come up with anything on my own, so I read a bunch of stuff on the wire and pulled out five things I found interesting (or rather chunks of five things I found interesting). Here goes.

#1.) The story, like an old VHS tape, has undoubtedly been distorted by years of repeated use, but here goes:
It's 1975. Dustin Hoffman is on the set of John Schlesinger's "Marathon Man," running windsprints to prepare for a scene that calls for his character to appear flushed and out-of-breath. Seeing his young co-star jog up and down the street for no apparent reason, Laurence Olivier - the wizened Pharaoh of British theater - haughtily asks Hoffman to explain himself. When Hoffman obliges, Olivier shakes his head and clucks, "Why don't you try acting, my boy?"
Actors - or more accurately, movie actors - don't think that way anymore. You have to remember, Olivier came from a tradition where it was deemed acceptable for a white actor to smear burnt cork on his face and call himself Othello. Call it vanity, call it obsolete classicism, but actors of yesteryear truly believed that all performance - with perhaps a little cosmetic help - came from within. Physical authenticity was of lesser concern.
Today, audiences demand authenticity down to the very last pore...

Is this true? Do we, as an audience, demand this? Or is that just the myth that Hollywood believes? Every story lately points to the lack of interest in and knowledge of the general public constantly referred to by Hollywood "big shots." Perhaps if the actors of our time were better at their jobs (i.e. their "craft"), then they wouldn't have to be so physically "authentic."

#2.) While it's easy enough to label "House of Flying Daggers" a kung-fu movie, the film, like "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" before it, properly belongs to the wuxia (wooshar) genre, which comes from a tradition of Chinese storytelling that mixes folk heroes and martial arts in a period setting. In the movies, it mostly boils down to swordsmen who seem to defy gravity with their supernatural skills.

I have never heard of wuxia. But now I feel so much more knowledgable. And I can now talk about my favorite genre of films with more precise terms. By the way, I am so excited for "House of Flying Daggers" I feel like a Pointer Sister.

#3.) Lindsay Lohan seems like a typical 18-year-old. She's really concerned with boys and her hair, she's fidgety and giggly, and she just bought these fuzzy purple boots from a Marc Jacobs sale.
But this seemingly typical teen, who first got noticed as a child playing those famous twins in "The Parent Trap" remake, has a full-time job. The freckled redhead has made herself a household name with films including "Freaky Friday" and "Mean Girls."
And now she's put out an album, "Speak."

Normal 18-year-old kids shop at Marc Jacobs? And, is it just me, or does the cover art for Tara Reid's BFF's album look like a cross between the album cover for the Toni Basil album with that '80s classic "Mickey" and the wonderfully funny but not very good drawing credited to StrongBad on Homestarrunner.com of Trogdor the Burninator?

#4.) Eddie Levert steps onto the stage.
"O'Jays front man ... a gospel growl that makes Michael Bolton sound like Shirley Temple ... Those sweaty parties in the basement ... Start a love train, love train."
His son, Gerald Levert, joins him.
"Wish these women would stop shrieking ... he is thick and sexy, like a soulful teddy bear ... Sounds just like his dad ... Oh, no, he didn't just roll across the stage!"
If you're of a certain age and a faithful disciple of soul music, then all of these intergenerational, intermingling thoughts swirl through your mind as you watch Eddie and Gerald Levert perform together in their Father and Son tour. And you're reassured knowing that in this age of tinny voices and forgettable lyrics, soul music is alive and kicking as long as these two have vocal cords that work.
Eddie, whose passion-drenched baritone has defined soul music for decades, has joined forces with his son Gerald, a retro version of himself who has penned 14 No. 1 R&B hits, with a newer, hip-hop inflected sound that's inescapably soulful.
The Father and Son tour almost didn't happen. Gerald, who has spent nearly 20 years working to step out of the shadow of his famous dad, didn't want to step back in.

Eddie Levert is Gerald Levert's father? And he was in the O'Jays? How do I not already know these things? I love the O'Jays. I was never too big a fan of Gerald Levert, or his 80s group Levert - yes, just plain Levert, but his dad is Eddie Levert so how bad can that be? I'd go see this tour.

#5.) Emily Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls" (Tuesday, WB): You already know one of my favorite things about "Gilmore Girls" is ability to have multiple story lines that cross generational lines. And yes it is hard to pick just one character out of this great show. But Kelly Bishop has the unique ability to be both humorous (witness her scheming to set Rory up) and heartbreaking(witness her sobbing after her date). As the impeccably controlled and society oriented Emily Gilmore, Bishop is a woman who knows she's made mistakes and is still desperately trying to connect with a daughter she'll never fully understand. Of all the relationships on "Gilmore Girls," it's Lorelai and her mother's that I consistently find the most gripping.

This is why I am constantly professing my love for Zap2It.com's TVGal. This is actually #3 out of her ten best characters on television. Of which I agree with 5 or 6, I'm not sure yet. But I do love this show and while it's hard to pick just one of the Stars Hollow denizens for appreciation, Emily Gilmore is an excellent choice. If you don't watch this show, you should. For the band references alone. But also for all the other pop culture references, the really great writing and characters you don't need to learn to love because they're are like your best friends from the start.

Phew...that's it. I'm done. Until next time (tomorrow for those of you who check out the radio one).

come with the comment

2004-12-03T18:51:00.000-05:00

This was going to just be a comment to my friend's blog where he laments the total dearth of videos on MTV (this should come as news to no one) but it got out of hand so I decided to just post it.

I have also noticed that if you want to see videos (and frankly who doesn't?), you can not rely on our friends at MTV. So, it's come to my attention that in order to see actual music videos (instead of some of the worst stuff on television - Boiling Points, anyone?), you must watch BET.

Best on BET: Celebrity's (mostly rappers) Choice Top 25 Countdown on Saturday afternoons, Midnight Love (slow jams) at midnight on weekdays, BET UnCut (explicit videos) late nights, 106 & Park (the former and original home of BET in the city) afternoons on weekdays and Rap City: The Bassment (although this is pretty hit or miss) afternoons.

Granted those are all (or primarily) rap videos, and that may not be what you're in the mood to see. For a wider variety of videos you need to have to have one of those alternative VH1 (VH1Classic, VH1Soul) channels or Fuse (which is awesome - the newly renamed MuchMusic) or the alternative MTV (MTV2 (which sucks - too much programming now - sound familiar?), MTVJams (basically a VH1Soul ripoff and it sucks because it mostly just plays the shit that'd get regular MTV play if they still played videos) or MTVHits (which is all the stuff that doesn't qualify as a "Jam" but would have been on MTV (or more recently MTV2 before they started running programming all the time too - this also sucks). So BET (for everyone with regular cable only) and Fuse and VH1Soul (my FAVORITE) and VH1Classic (the 80's blocks are the best followed closely by Two-Play Tuesdays).

I recently dumped my all-the-channels cable primarily due to the fact that I hate Adelphia but also because those evil people still do not offer DVR (or In-Demand television, for that matter) and have no plans to in the near future. So, for the time being, I'm living with basic cable (networks, plus regular cable networks (USA, FX, TNT, the Weather Channel, ESPN, NESN, Cartoon Network, etc.) but no HBO or Starz! or Turner Classic Movies or Outdoor Life Network or the vaunted alternative VH1 channels) and running three VCR's to keep up with my television watching.

This is what I'm taping (and watching) these days:

there are sometimes some that don't make the cut due to lack of vcrs (or no TiVo or DVR depending on how you look at it)...

Sunday:

American Dreams (NBC)
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Arrested Development (FOX)
Jack & Bobby (WB)
The Mountain (WB)
Wild Card (Lifetime)

Monday:

One on One (UPN)
Half and Half (UPN)
Second Time Around (UPN)
Las Vegas (NBC)
LAX (NBC) (canceled)
Everwood (WB)
Still Standing (CBS)
Two and A Half Men (CBS)

Tuesdays:

All of Us (UPN)
Eve (UPN)
Veronica Mars (UPN)
Scrubs (NBC)
According to Jim (ABC)
Rodney (ABC)
House (FOX)
Gilmore Girls (WB)
One Tree Hill (WB)
NCIS (CBS)
Clubhouse (CBS) (canceled)
High School Reunion (UPN)

Wednesdays:

Kevin Hill (UPN)
That 70's Show (FOX)
Quintuplets (FOX)
Hawaii (NBC) (hiatus)
Lost (ABC)
Smallville (WB)
The Mountain (WB)
King of Queens (CBS)

Thursdays:

Joey (NBC)
ER (NBC)
The O.C. (FOX)
North Shore (FOX)
life as we know it (ABC)

Fridays:

8 Simple Rules (ABC)
Complete Savages (ABC)
What I Like About You (WB)
Grounded For Life (WB)
Reba (WB)
Joan of Arcadia (CBS)
Third Watch (NBC)
Monk (USA)

Saturdays:
Spider-Man (ABCFam)
The Batman (WB)

also:
Nip/Tuck (FX)
Rescue Me (FX)
Surreal Life (VH1)
Made (MTV)
Things I Hate About You (Bravo)
Crossroads (CMT)
Every made-for-TV movie on ABC Family

Reruns
Dharma & Greg (FOX)
Boy Meets World (Disney)
Angel (WB & TNT)
Buffy (WB & FX)
Dawson's Creek (ABCFam)
PowerPuff Girls (Cartoon)

if there was a hump, this'd be it

2004-11-15T19:57:00.000-05:00

So, we're about halfway through the TV season and I thought this would be a good time to chart our progress.

So far only two shows, dr. vegas (yes, all small letters) and Clubhouse, have been canceled. I would have thought there'd have been more. dr. vegas was Rob Lowe's foray back into television - again. I thought his show from last year, Lyon's Den, was good. At least a lot better than this one. And this one also had the Joey Patoliano curse attached to it. So, it wasn't really a big surprise that it got the axe. Clubhouse with Dean Cain and Mare Winningham who was also in the short-lived "Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.," last year and was, of course, the girl who couldn't let Rob Lowe go in "St. Elmo's Fire" and Kirsten Storms who some may know from Disney's Zenon movies was pretty good but mostly for those latter two people and not for Dean Cain, Christopher Lloyd or the boy who was the center of the show. Either way, I guess it's no big loss because I'm sure both of those actresses will be back on TV soon enough.

I am still in love with Lost as my top favorite new show of the season. If you haven't seen this yet, I'd recommend sitting down and watching whatever you can. It's well worth it.

The O.C. is back. I swear Rachel Bilson just gets cuter and cuter. I really want Seth and Summer to get back together. I think she's being a bit dramatic about the whole thing. And the more I see of Julie Cooper the less I care what happens with that part of the show. And am I the only one who is having a hard time seperating Haley from Tessa (The O.C. versus North Shore)?

American Dreams is still one of my favorite shows on television. The story lines just keep getting better and the music is definitely a high-point in the show. And I think I'm secretly in love with the girl who plays Roxanne.

I don't care how lame Joey gets, it's still going to be a show that I will sacrifice nearly everything to tape.

Desperate Housewives is definitely worth catching too. If not only for Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria looking like they do but also for Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman acting as well as they do. Not that Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria are bad, they're not. The whole show is solid.

I know this hasn't been the most informative thing ever but seriously, if you love tv or just like to watch it a little all of these are worth your time.

I'm sure it's just me

2004-11-13T18:12:00.000-05:00

These are the things that are on my mind this week. In no particular order.

While I'm glad to be finishing my degree, I just wish it wasn't such a stressful, pain in the ass.

I really do agree with all of the jaded TV producers, writers, etc. who say that they are upset with the direction of television today, but with all these Law & Order's and CSI's which I hate and the really crappy sitcoms (schlubby guy/hot wife does not equal funny nearly as often as it's on TV) that take up more and more of the prime time schedule it's not surprising that America has turned to "reality" television for something different. More well-scripted shows would mean less space for "reality" programming.

The worst thing to ever happen to "music" television is when someone realized they had a cable channel and could make programming. Or at least try. Is it wrong to want to turn on MTV or VH1 or (to a lesser extent) BET and want to see actual music videos?

The new The Donnas album rocks.

Where did all the good times go?

2004-11-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

At the behest of Mr. Nason, I will now address an issue that has been bugging me for a long time. Apparently, I am not the only person to notice that the tradition of Saturday morning cartoons has gone the way of the dinosaur - or, perhaps more aptly, The Great Grape Ape.

I can remember waking up at unreasonable hours of the morning on Saturdays to fight with my sister about which cartoons we would be parking ourselves in front of for the next 6 hours, at least. Our fighting was the stuff you read about, in that it was wholly stereotypical. Lots of shouting, lots of hair-pulling, lots of throwing each other around the living room. Stuff like that. Finally, it took mediation from mom to settle this bickering for good. It came down to alternating half-hour stretches, as this was how long most cartoons ran (bartering was allowed which was good as the Bugs Bunny & Road Runner show was an hour and a half). The only rule my sister and I came up with was that until noon (or 11 or 11:30, depending on what was on that season), cartoons were all that was allowed. I do seem to remember watching Saved By The Bell but that may have been on after the appointed hour.

Here's what's on now that I like:
Spiderman cartoons (I don't care if that's MTV one with Doogie Howser or the mid-90s one with CB Barnes as the voice (I think that's who it is) - actually I think that one's the better one or the trippy one from the 60s)
Any and all of those Batman cartoons (like Batman Beyond and the new The Batman)
The Power Puff Girls (Hannah-Barbera-like background animation with pseudo-anime animation for the girls - and Mojo Jo-Jo is the best cartoon villian in a LONG time)
Scooby-Doo (You know how The Beastie Boys feel about Columbo? No? Look up the lyric homie. Well, that's how I feel about Scooby-Doo.)

I know there are a lot of cartoons on the Cartoon Network but to me most of that stuff just runs together. I liked Dexter's Laboratory for a while but it got old (pick up the soundtrack if you get a chance though - mad cool), people tell me I should hop on the Aqua-Teen Hunger Force bandwagon but I haven't and don't really see it happening and as much as I have always been a fan of Space Ghost, I'd rather see him fly the plane and do cool stuff than sit behind a desk.

I find it shocking that no one has taken it upon themselves to make a Cartoon Network Classic. If ESPN can have one, why can't cartoons? The brief glimpses I've caught of Boomerang lead me to believe that it dabbles in this area but since we don't even have DVR or Trio up here yet, I'll be surprised if Boomerang makes it onto my listings anytime soon.

But why doesn't USA still run the Cartoon Express? And what ever happened to the TBS Superstation Fun Time every afternoon after school? And I remember watching Jetsons reruns before I went to school in high school.

As far as what I dug back in the day, well, the list is long. And, a lot like what I dig on TV today, it was subject to change as new seasons rolled out. Although there were definitely classics.

Rather than just produce a list of every cartoon I ever liked, I'll do it in blocks.

Hannah-Barbera (the best) - all of it from Deputy Dawg and Yogi Bear and everything in between to Space Ghost and that awesome cartoon with the Herculoids to The Jetsons
Rocky and Bullwinkle (I have all twelve volumes of the set on VHS and I still watch it)
Bugs Bunny and Friends
Stuff like The Smurfs and The Snorks
Ren and Stimpy (the early years)
Mighty Mouse and Under Dog
I'm a huge fan of The Powerpuff Girls
Tom and Jerry
The Archies

Stuff I never really dug
Speed Racer
Johnny Quest
He-Man

I'm sure I've left hundreds of things out of this list but it covers the broad strokes. You get the picture. The thing that really fries my ass though is that these companies (TBS, USA, etc.) obviously have the rights to and miles and miles of reels of the best cartoons ever created and they do nothing with them. What are they holding onto them for? And, more importantly, why are they holding onto them and not putting them out there for all of us to enjoy? That's my plea. Please, put the good shows back on television. It could help rejuvinate scripted programming on television, but that's another entry.

It's been a while

2004-10-17T23:22:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure what I'll write about for this one but let's start with TV.

I'm so far behind but I'll tell what I've been digging so far. They're not all new but they're what I'm excited to watch from week to week.

I finally saw the first episode of Desperate Housewives and it had it's moments. Teri Hatcher is definitely looking good. But really I didn't get as into it as I was thinking I would. But that could just be because it was the first episode. The writing was really good. The characters were starting to be interesting. Felicity Huffman is great but I'm constantly thinking about how it seems weird that she's married to William H. Macy. And with Marcia Cross as one of the housewives and the one that plays the narrator there are two Everwood actors on this show.

I think Lost is really great. I'm hoping it stays this good. The story is interesting, and weird. The flashbacks aren't annoying (as they so often are - see Jack & Bobby for a good example of why they suck). This show I will definitely keep watching.

I really think American Dreams is one of the best shows on TV. It shows the political issues of the era, the musical guests are great and I still can never figure out whether it's really Dick Clark or just old clips. I also love the stories which never seem to get wrapped up but also never seem to take the easy way out. And already this season seems better than the last one (and last year was good).

I know every reviewer I've read recently is hating on Quintuplets but anything that brings Andy Richter back to TV must be fairly good. While a few of the characters aren't great, they are funny and mostly-accurate caricatures, and the guy that plays Patten is hilarious. As his catch-phrase goes, "Yes, I am. You likey?" Yes, I do.

I'm also a big fan of Eve. I'd put this up there with Grounded for Life as an example of why the sticom is still viable. It's great that the Ruff Ryder has made it onto TV but I really like it because I laugh at the jokes, the characters work well together and it's just a smooth show.

Next week I'll try to dig into the stuff I think has slipped since last season.

more and more

2004-09-25T23:06:00.000-04:00

So, I get home last night and I settle in to watch the season premiere of ER, which I was very excited about. I'm sitting there watching it and I'm liking it but as the show goes on certain aspects start to drag my impression of the show down and down.

1. So there's the big car accident (and how cool is it that Pratt's got the hemi car), but how is the "third guy" (Elgin) the only one who dies? Even when Jing Mei was shot?

2. I'm so glad they wrapped up the Weaver child custody story (even though it was in the most ridiculous manner ever considering the amount of time they spent on it last season).

3. I love the Kovac/Sam story line (that's sarcasm if you can't tell). First she (predictably) runs away, then her son, Alex, calls Kovac and he comes running and makes the "you can trust me" argument. As much as I love Linda Cardellini (and I do love her, Freaks and Geeks please), she has the worst story line on the show.

4. Except maybe Morris (Scott Grimes) who is THE most annoying character on the show. Hands down. I can't wait until he kills someone in the ER and they make an example of him.

5. After a summer of reading TVgal columns and hearing about how much everyone hates the Kem/Carter romance (which, had taken a huge turn for the worse with her miscarriage, but that's usually the stuff this show pulls off nicely - like the Weaver child custody thing that they mishandled as well - maybe it's a theme?), I was kind of happy to see her leaving. As sad as I am to see Thandie Newton leave the show.

All in all I was unimpressed with the show as a whole. Here's to hoping it picks back up. After 10 seasons, you'd think they'd know all the tricks.

it's begun

2004-09-19T19:25:00.000-04:00

Okay. This is my favorite time of year. I love new tv. I was telling a friend the other day that the way a lot of people feel about the beginning of baseball or football (or hockey or yachting or whatever) season, is the way I feel about the beginning of TV season. Right now, I'm all caught up on my TV viewing and while I know this won't last since the late-bloomers of the season really kick off this coming week. A lot have started in the last two weeks but there are still a few to go (not to mention shows like The O.C. which isn't starting until November...thanks to the aforementioned and accursed baseball season). But, so far so good and I'm sticking to that.

Here's what I've watched so far:

LAX - after two episodes (the first of which was better than the second), honestly I can't stop looking at Heather Locklear. She's definitely the bright spot of this show. I'm hoping for development over time but I'm a little skeptical. The guy who played Darlene's boyfriend David on Roseanne was the guest star this week. But really, as far as I'm concerned, Heather Locklear on TV is a good thing. And I"m sticking to that too.

Joey - two episodes later and this show is growing on me. More Joey-isms. As long as the writers can keep coming up with clever malapropisms this show will stay fresh. I'm hoping for some more development for Drea de Matteo (oh poor, dearly-departed Adrianna) and for the guy who plays her kid (and Joey's new roomie) but I think that'll come soon enough. It kind of has to. If it doesn't this show will not be around too much longer.

Jack & Bobby - there have been two episodes of this but since one of my VCRs is crap, I missed the second one. The show has Christine Lahti, the kid who played the young Ashton Kutcher in The Butterfly Effect and the guy who played Dennis Martino on Ed. I've always liked Christine Lahti and she's definitely the highlight of this show. The story is interesting but the flashbacks, designed to keep us guessing which brother goes on to be president, are not very useful. In fact they're mostly just annoying. But I'm liking it a little and I'll keep watching it for a while.

Medical Investigation - two episodes. This show has the blonde guy from the now-cancelled Boomtown (that was a total shame and everyone knows it). I thought the show was pretty good but then I read a thing that made me realize how much like all the rest it really is (especially the rematerializing of people in empty spaces a la without a trace (which I can't stand any more, with all due respect to Anthony Lapaglia).

Veronica Mars - I was pretty skeptical about this show (and I'm not sure I'm over it yet), but I just watched the first episode and while I didn't find it riveting the whole way through (I find I seldomly do with one hour show pilots (see the next selection for an exception)), when it came to an end I have to say I was thinking good things. And not just because between the flashbacks and the "present tense," the titular character cut her hair which made her way cuter.

Lost - one episode. Okay, okay, so I'm really glad to see Matthew Fox back on TV (and Bailey's on Everwood which I know makes everyone happy). This show was good. It grabbed me immediately and I was fast-forwarding through commercials as fast as possible. From the guy who does Alias but not spy-y at all. I'm not sure why you have to have a plane crash on an island AND have said island have some mystery creature (?) thing too but I'm sold and I'll keep watching.

They're back:

Everwood - Okay, okay (again) it's good to see another Party of Five-r back on TV (Scott Wolf) and that's not even as cool as just the fact that this show is back. Ephram, Amy, Bright and the whole gang are back to entertain us for another season. As long as they work this whole Madison/baby thing out quickly then I'll be happy and we can move on to bigger and better small town drama.

Gilmore Girls - Luke and Lorelei are still together and Rory and Dean is still complicated. Loving Lane and the band (especially, still, guitarist , you know the guy from ) are still a hoot although I'm kind of hoping for more Lane and her mom stuff this year. Also Rory's dad will be back (especially since I'm With Her got canceled - which I'm bummed about since I like Teri Polo, and that show) but that doesn't happen yet. Anyway, still fantastic. Still loving it.

Third Watch - talk about cliff-hanger endings. This show gets minimal to no love and that's unfair. I'm a big fan of this show. It's got the guy who played Jenny McCarthy's cokehead boyfriend Collin on 90210. But that's not what makes it great. The show just deals with all aspects of rescue services: police, fire department, paramedics. And it does it well. And mixes in the personal drama too. And it's exciting. This should be the show you start watching this season (especially since there's no more Boomtown).

Las Vegas - Eye candy. But really good eye candy. Nikki Cox = really hot. And it's also got the girl who played Gina on 90210, Molly Sims, Josh Duhamel and James Caan (the dudes aren't so much part of the eye-candy for me but James Caan is good in this (as he is in everything)). The show is simply fun.

Smallville - I'm getting pretty tired of the whole Jor-El comes around, Clark gets a little Kal-El mojo, Jonathan (or Martha) Kent goes into a coma, then it all gets tossed around and as soon as Clark is better the parents pop out of it. I'm glad Chloe might not be really dead. But more than that, I'm intrigued at how they'll involve Lana in the story. And how Lois will fit in. And...well, you get the picture: I'm hooked again.

The Mountain - Oliver Hudson helped make the end of Dawson's Creek good again and he's doing what he can for this show. Barbara Hershey as the mom (and Mitch Paleggi as the slimeball who wants to buy said mountain) don't hurt. This show wasn't as bad, at least for the first 45 minutes, as everything said, but it did take a turn for the worse at the end. I'll keep watching for a while but it better get better.

Eve - From the bounce-da-dounce (don't ask, I'm not even sure where this came from) of the Missy theme song to co-star Ali Landry, this show is good. It's got the Australian dude from Off Centre (that show with Fitch from the American Pie movies and the Asian guy from Harold and Kumar) too. I just think this show is funny. I think a bunch of the shows on UPN are good but, you know, I don't have enough TVs and VCRs to tape everything.

Two and a Half Men - This first episode of the second season, despite featuring a stretch with Sean Penn, Elvis Costello and Harry Dean Stanton (if there had been a Duckie joke, this would have been WAY funnier) as Charlie Sheen's "support group," just didn't live up to my expectations. Here's hoping for the laugh-out-loud stuff that came last season. This show is produced by Chuck Lorre, the same guy who did Dharma & Greg (which is now like my tape filler, I'm addicted to the reruns - and Jenna Elfman), which is great solely for the vanity cards at the end of the show (tape it and press pause - it's good stuff).

That '70s Show - missed the actual first episode of the season which upset me a little bit but it's back. Blonde Donna. Gotta love it. And I think that while Ashton Kutcher gets a little more annoying Mila Kunis gets even hotter and Wilmer Valderamma gets a little wierder and Danny Masterston gets funnier. And the dude who played Venus Flytrap on WKRP is Hyde's dad. It's all good in the '70s again.

The rest:

Shannen Doherty is trying to breathe new life into North Shore. Not sure it'll help much but since she's not on Charmed any more, you take what you can get.

I'm also looking forward to that Kevin Hill, Life As We Know It, House and Desparate Housewives. And the returns of American Dreams (more than most, I think), ER, What I Like About You (Jennie Garth, Amanda Bynes and Leslie Grossman - too funny. But the guy who plays Gary is the thing to watch.) and Grounded For Life (this show is funny, take my word for it). I'm also waiting to pass judgement on Dr. Vegas.

With all new TV shows (okay not all, I generally stay away from "reality" shows, with the exceptions of High School Reunion and The Surreal Life), I generally give them four to six episodes (and I'll ocassionally come back again later) to see if the show develops. Some I just don't watch though. I stay away from anything with the words (or letters, as the case may be) Law & Order (yes, I used to love the original and after watching reruns on A&E four times a day for three years, I think I've seen enough) and CSI.

on with the show this is it

2004-07-25T17:45:00.000-04:00

Running On
Since this is my first unprovoked entry (and it's been sitting here as a draft for more than a month) I want to make a few points...

1. I watch what can only be described as a LOT of television. During the beginnings of each TV season I set all three of my VCRs every day (for at least the first month) and there's still stuff I would have like to have taped that I don't. Even right now (back then), in the middle of the summer, I find enough stuff on TV to require two VCRs on most nights. I'm not going to get into what I like on TV. That will be discussed much, much further detail in future postings.

2. I think I'm in love with Zap2It.com's TVGal Amy Amatangelo. I always knew there were girls (ahem, women) out there who like TV as much as I do. It's just hard to find them since if you like TV as much as I do you stay home a lot. There's a lot of TV to watch. And she likes most of the same things I do. We have slightly different prime time tastes (she likes Alias and I don't - at all, positively gushes over Arrested Development which I like but not quite as much and thinks 24 is really great tv while I think it's about time Kiefer Sutherland did something again but this show is too hard to follow - especially when I make a VCR mistake and miss an episode) but that's to be expected. First it's her job, she has to watch critically, I get to watch for pure enjoyment. Second she gets to watch everything (in most cases before it comes out) and I have to make (sometimes very hard) choices. But we agree on a lot of things. Our shared belief that there's no such thing as too much TV, that the best made-for-tv movies are on ABC Family and a mutual love for 90210 (and almost everything Aaron Spelling touches) that is akin to a shared moment.

3. Shows I've been (or at least was) dying to see week-to-week this summer

The Days - I don't know what it is about this show but it's got me hooked. I think it's a bit "My So-Called Life" (read: smart teen angst mixed with interesting parent stories as well) meets something like, say, "Popular" (but without the weird story lines). But now that summer is over, I've heard this show has about zero chance of getting renewed for the new season. This sucks. I'm not happy (a la "Jorge").

Nip/Tuck - So what if this show is going off the rails like a crazy train (speaking of which, I heard a unique take on this song on Emerson College's radio station the other morning. Female, mostly acoustic-ish. Really different. But I digress...). This show is totally great. From Famke Janssen and Natasha Richardson, the guest stars are great. The (recognizable) plastic surgery patient guest stars have all been nearly inspired choices. This show is fantastic. A little too much blood but at least they distract you with a well-chosen musical selection.

Rescue Me - Another FX show gone good. I always forget how good Dennis Leary is and then I see him again. The fire station banter, the spying on his nearly ex-wife, making fun of the "dumb" guy - all serve to make it good but the weird twists and the walking dead are what make it more than just another show. I am getting a little tired of his (dead) cousin's missing finger though.

I'm still watching all of these shows and now many, many more as the new tv season gets under way. I'll be back with more and I'll try make sure I put in at least a few TV picks while I'm at it.

talk talk...and then some

2004-07-23T17:17:00.000-04:00

This first one will be mostly to reference the ramblings of my little buddy Josh.

I'll start where he started and then move on...

1. I'm not sure why this Uncle Kracker development comes as a surprise to the French Cheese but, as I'm sure several other people are aware (maybe not too many but still...), Mr. Kracker has been a VH-1 staple for a quite a while now (since that sappy love song that wasn't a love song but instead was all about adultery). Perhaps you recall the ubiquitous "Drift Away" cover. Now I've been a fan of the Dobie Gray classic for ages (I bought a compilation disc just because that song was on it) and the only thing that saved the former Kid Rock DJ's version is that he recruited Mr. Gray to tag along on the remake. Still it wasn't the original. Like I said, I'm not surprised by this "development."

2. WNBA? Okay, I admit I can get behind anything that's entirely populated by women but it'd be nice if they showed a few of them off a little. Can anyone say Playboy spread? The women of Enron did well enough and they're gonna have Olympians in the next issue so why not some of those WNBA ladies? On a separate tangent, did anyone see Charisma Carpenter a couple of months ago? You may remember her from "Buffy" and then "Angel" but that doesn't make it any less WOW! Moving on...

3. If you don't like TBDSS, and I don't really, don't watch it. Although I think John Salley's pretty funny (even on the apparently short-lived NBC sitcom "Come to Papa" - he was the mailman) but honestly sports shows don't do it for me. If I were going to watch one (and this doesn't happen too often) I'd pick "Cold Pizza" because somehow this show has become THE showcase for upcoming emo artists. Dashboard Confessional played one morning a while back and I ran out and bought the cd. Back to the point though, the words "bring back Tom Arnold" should never be uttered. How many more "jokes" about how painful it was to be married to Roseanne Barr do I have to hear? Oh yeah, and how do you not know who Michael Rappaport is? I thought you modeled yourself after his "Eraserhead" character. Seriously, his little soliloquoy on supermodels in "Beautiful Girls" is timeless. Nearly poetry. And he made "Boston Public" good again (before it finally got axed last season). There's more I could say since I really like the guy as an actor but I'll leave it off there.

4. I saw a guy with a bumper sticker today that said "I support two teams. The Red Sox and whichever team beats the Yankees." I'm gonna let Pazzy and Meo field this one.

keep jabberin' Nason, I'm still here.

jason

P.S. This is fun. I've got so much more to "give."