Thoughts on What I’ve Watched This Week
Minor and major spoilers on various TV shows. I’ll write the name of the show first, so you can skip to the next show— or skip this whole post altogether—if you care to not know what happened or what I thought about it.
Men in Trees. I’ve seen the first and third episodes (I’ll get to the second when I get a chance) and have to say I mildly enjoy it. I’ve tired of the 30-ish person who’s looking for love shows that are all over, so this is a breath of fresh air because the main character is trying to find out who she is as a single person.
In the pilot, I was a little put off that everyone in Alaska was “backward” and “simple”, but that seems to have been toned down by the third episode, and now Marin is the “odd duck”. The simple lives these people lead (not needing Starbucks, or Fitness Centers, etc simple—not that they are simple-minded) are ones to admire, and I think that’s a unique look at life.
It’s not a great show, and I’m still not sure Anne Heche can carry a show herself, but I’ll be sticking around a while longer.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was as great as you can expect from Aaron Sorkin. The pilot was a bit slow, but the show needed time to be set up. I think by the end credits, the premise of the show has been established nicely.
As I noted in a previous post, I liked the early rant by Judd Hirsch’s character and from bouncing my thoughts off my friend, Brian, I stand by it. Network TV is about as opposite of daring as you can get. I’m not saying the Big Five need to be offensive, but they do need to take chances in quality. Saturday Night Live, which was once the pinnacle of satire, has sucked @$$ for around five years (I stopped watching regularly three years ago and have been sorely disappointed each of the handful of eps I’ve watched each year since) and the slap in the face this show gave SNL is one I hope the new crew over there takes to heart.
If you missed the pilot, you may have another chance on NBC or its cable networks over the weekend (I haven’t checked, but it seems likely it will air again) to check it out. The writing is great and the cast is extremely high caliber.
How I Met Your Mother maintained its status as the best plotted comedy airing right now (IMHO). The episode was a little tricky for a newcomer (thanks to Brian for pointing that out), but fans from last year should not have been disappointed. Ted and Robin finally got together (thank you, producers, for not letting that drag out) but Marshall and Lily are still broken up. The glee on Neil Patrick Harris’ (“Barney”) face when he thought he, Ted, and Marshall were finally all single was priceless; topped only when he realized that Ted wasn’t single anymore.
I can’t pin down why this show is so great. There are better comedies out there, but this one just hooks me. The twisting, turning plots are amazingly put together, and the characters are all likable—even womanizing, over-confident Barney (Harris should have been nominated as a supporting actor in a comedy at the Emmy’s; yet another crime this year’s ceremony committed).
The Office. Well, we waited all summer for the big “will they or won’t they?” moment everyone was expecting between Jim and Pam. So, uh, have you been watching the show at all? Of course this series wasn’t going to blow its wad this early. If this show has proven anything, it’s that we should know by now that to get from “A” to “C”, we’re not hitting “B”, but instead are going through “D”, “L”, and “W”. Yes, Jim and Pam will get together eventually, but there’s still a lot of story left to tell.
I’m hoping we get that wonderful moment the original Office gave us at the very end between Tim and Dawn in this series. I don’t know if America can wait that long, but I hope they hold it off as long as possible. I don’t want to see Jim and Pam as a couple—but I certainly don’t want an overdone Ross & Rachel bit, either.
Leave the romance on the slow burner.
That said, is there any other show where we know so little about the characters and yet whatever they do, it’s perfectly in character? Stanley’s rant about not being able to take back his wedding present to Pam and Roy was spot-on. As was Creed’s mentioning that he may have had sex with a man because he had lots of sex in the ‘60s at concerts where people were covered in mud.
My Name is Earl picked up right where it left off. This is one of the most surprising shows I watch. Even if I know the basic plot or have seen the previews, I still have no idea how these characters get there. It’s an unusual show that can surprise me every single episode.
And you can’t beat the lines this show has.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Quick hits
Culled from tvguide.com and scifi.com:
Prison Break's Amaury Nolasco ("Sucre") said we'll be seeing a darker Sucre in the beginning of the season. He also mentioned that someone else dies-- and they're working on episode 8 as he was being interviewed. Ep 5 just aired tonight, so doing the math... Someone bites it in the next three weeks (presumably).
Cobie Smulders of How I Met Your Mother (one of the best written comedies of last year-- and has one of the best supporting goofballs on TV [Neil Patrick Harris' "Barney"]) said Robin and Ted's relationship is worthwhile to explore-- even though we know they won't stay together. She also said Alyson Hannigan's "Lily" returns. Oh, and we get to meet Barney's brother, who's just like him-- except gay.
I only saw the first twenty minutes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but I can already see that we've got a great show (as expected). Judd Hirsch's speech in the first ten minutes is one of the best I've seen on a network show. Ballsy of NBC to air this tirade against network television (especially since many of the criticisms were leveled at NBC shows). I hope it doesn't let up. We're in a second Golden Age of Television, but there's still a lot of garbage and very little cutting edge programming on the networks. It's nice to see someone "calling out" the networks...
NBC's Heroes is sounding better and better. Comic book great Jeph Loeb is one of the writers and his frequent collaborator, Tim Sale, is painting the pictures for the pre-cog artist (Isaac, I believe, is the name). There will also be an online comic found at nbc.com that will run concurrently with the show. And not everyone with powers is a hero. The first season deals with a super-powered serial killer that forces the characters together. I was over at nbc.com and checked out the trailers and profiles for this show. It looks good.
Just make sure to watch at the least the first two hours, as the original 2 hour pilot was re-edited into two hour-long episodes.
I also watched The Class premiere tonight. It has potential to be a great fit with How I Met Your Mother, but it's not there yet (keep in kind: Mother took a few episodes to get rolling). I'm not liking the comparisons to Friends I've been reading; let this show be its own show.
I watched HBO's Inside the NFL, and as I mentioned in a previous post, that network does the best sports shows, hands down. I care about football only as much as it helps me in my Fantasy leagues, but this show gave me a very human perspective on the Pat Tillman story.
I just didn't like the attention this guy got because he was a "name" and he was killed in Afghanistan after leaving the NFL and joining the Army. I thought "why is this dude more important than the other thousands who have died so far"? Peter King's interview with Tillman's friend Jake Plummer on Inside the NFL opened up my eyes.
Tillman was a person who was a great man in every sense of the word, and the largest tragedy concerning his death is that the Pentagon has given his friends and family four lines of bullsh** so far (the fifth investigation is pending) about his death. It's unconscionable that any family has to go through that.
As usual with an HBO sports show, I'm glad as heck to have seen it.
Lewis Black's tirade at the end of the show was pretty good, too. He went on a rant that the show shouldn't be celebrating being 30 years old because things go downhill after 30. Best, trademark, Lewis Black line: "Sorry to piss on your candles."
Prison Break's Amaury Nolasco ("Sucre") said we'll be seeing a darker Sucre in the beginning of the season. He also mentioned that someone else dies-- and they're working on episode 8 as he was being interviewed. Ep 5 just aired tonight, so doing the math... Someone bites it in the next three weeks (presumably).
Cobie Smulders of How I Met Your Mother (one of the best written comedies of last year-- and has one of the best supporting goofballs on TV [Neil Patrick Harris' "Barney"]) said Robin and Ted's relationship is worthwhile to explore-- even though we know they won't stay together. She also said Alyson Hannigan's "Lily" returns. Oh, and we get to meet Barney's brother, who's just like him-- except gay.
I only saw the first twenty minutes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but I can already see that we've got a great show (as expected). Judd Hirsch's speech in the first ten minutes is one of the best I've seen on a network show. Ballsy of NBC to air this tirade against network television (especially since many of the criticisms were leveled at NBC shows). I hope it doesn't let up. We're in a second Golden Age of Television, but there's still a lot of garbage and very little cutting edge programming on the networks. It's nice to see someone "calling out" the networks...
NBC's Heroes is sounding better and better. Comic book great Jeph Loeb is one of the writers and his frequent collaborator, Tim Sale, is painting the pictures for the pre-cog artist (Isaac, I believe, is the name). There will also be an online comic found at nbc.com that will run concurrently with the show. And not everyone with powers is a hero. The first season deals with a super-powered serial killer that forces the characters together. I was over at nbc.com and checked out the trailers and profiles for this show. It looks good.
Just make sure to watch at the least the first two hours, as the original 2 hour pilot was re-edited into two hour-long episodes.
I also watched The Class premiere tonight. It has potential to be a great fit with How I Met Your Mother, but it's not there yet (keep in kind: Mother took a few episodes to get rolling). I'm not liking the comparisons to Friends I've been reading; let this show be its own show.
I watched HBO's Inside the NFL, and as I mentioned in a previous post, that network does the best sports shows, hands down. I care about football only as much as it helps me in my Fantasy leagues, but this show gave me a very human perspective on the Pat Tillman story.
I just didn't like the attention this guy got because he was a "name" and he was killed in Afghanistan after leaving the NFL and joining the Army. I thought "why is this dude more important than the other thousands who have died so far"? Peter King's interview with Tillman's friend Jake Plummer on Inside the NFL opened up my eyes.
Tillman was a person who was a great man in every sense of the word, and the largest tragedy concerning his death is that the Pentagon has given his friends and family four lines of bullsh** so far (the fifth investigation is pending) about his death. It's unconscionable that any family has to go through that.
As usual with an HBO sports show, I'm glad as heck to have seen it.
Lewis Black's tirade at the end of the show was pretty good, too. He went on a rant that the show shouldn't be celebrating being 30 years old because things go downhill after 30. Best, trademark, Lewis Black line: "Sorry to piss on your candles."
Sunday, September 17, 2006
TV Premieres This Week
The new TV season explodes this week. Get ready. All times in CST.
And I'll try to note the must watch shows out there. I've had a pretty good track record with my picks to watch (at least for me). Others, I'll just recommend you watch to see if they end up being any good.
Sunday, 9/17
Cartoon Network [adult swim] notables tonight. Sorry I don't have the times on me (the beauty of a DVR-- it just records it for me):
Robot Chicken Season 2 Part 2 premieres. Toy doing naughty things.
Squidbillies Season 2. Funny for a while, but I stopped watching after a few eps.
Korgath of Barbaria Series premiere. A near-future barbarian who spends a great deal of time drinking.
Monday, 9/18
The Class Series Premiere; CBS, 7:00
This comedy has enjoyed good buzz. It's one of TV Guide's Matt Roush's favorite shows, and he hasn't steered me wrong much. Must watch.
How I Met Your Mother, CBS, 7:30; Two and a Half Men, CBS 8:00; New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS 8:30; CSI: Miami. Season Premieres.
Wife Swap, ABC, 7:00 and another new ep at 8:00. Season Premiere.
CW Preview Special CW, 8:00 pm. Check out the new season of old WB & UPN shows-- and two new series.
Deal or No Deal, 7-9 pm NBC. Season Premiere.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, 9-10 NBC. Series Premiere.
Created by Aaron Sorkin. Let's see: Sports Night-- great. West Wing (until he got canned)-- great. This show is one of the ones I'm most looking forward to. Must Watch.
Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Guest/: Jason Lee
Tuesday, 9/19
Boston Legal, ABC, 9 pm. Season Premiere.
Guest star: Michael J. Fox, who was great last year.
NCIS, CBS 7-8 & The Unit, CBS 8-9 Season Premieres.
Smith; CBS, 9-10 Series Premiere.
The Ray Liotta/ Virginia Madsen series about a high-end thief. Must Watch.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent, NBC 8-9; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC 9-10. Season Premieres.
Wednesday, 9/20
Jericho, CBS, 7-8. Series Premiere
A man returns to his hometown amid a mystery. Then a mushroom cloud appears on the horizon, and the town is cut-off from civilization. Must Watch.
Criminal Minds; CBS, 8-9 and CSI: NY; CBS 9-10. Season Premieres.
Biggest Loser; NBC 7-9. Season Premiere.
Kidnapped; NBC, 9-10. Series Premiere.
A wealthy son is kidnapped. The FBI is brought in, but the parents hire an anti-social "retrieval expert". I'm sure it's better than FOX's similar Vanished, but I'm not sure if it'll be great. A half-hearted Watch.
America's Next Top Model; CW, 7-9.
Has anyone ever heard of the previous winners? I don't give two craps about modeling, but you think I would have heard about the winners by now...
Tonight Show. Steve Carell discusses the new Office season.
Thursday, 9/21
Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 7-8 (recap) & 8-9 (season premiere).
Let the bloodbath begin: Grey's vs. CSI
Six Degrees, ABC, 9:01-10. Series Premiere.
Six strangers meet through a series of random events. Kinda Watch.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; CBS 8-9. Season Premiere.
Shark; CBS 9-10
James Woods stars in this series about a House-ian prosecutor who mentors young DA's. There's some buzz about this one, so I'll give it a Watch.
My Name is Earl; NBC 7- 7:30. season premiere.
The second season kicks off. Slight changes include more story arcs-- and Earl will not accomplish his task each episode, and may instead take a few episode to cross something off the list.
The Office; NBC 7:30-8. Season premiere.
Michael accidentally outs a gay employee. The Jim/Pam situation is addressed. And sometime this season, the riotous Ed Helms (The Daily Show) joins the company.
ER; NBC 9-10. Season Premieres.
This show is still on? I guess some big sh** went down in the 12th season finale, and this 13th season picks up the pieces. Some people are kidnapped, a pregnant woman is knocked out and bleeding, someone got shot, and John Stamos finally becomes a series regular.
Conan O'Brien, NBC. John Krasinski shows up to discuss The Office.
Friday, 9/22
Ghost Whisperer, CBS 7-8; Close to Home, CBS 8-9; Numb3rs, CBS 9-10, season premieres.
Friday Night Smackdown!, CW, 7-9:00; season premiere.
Law & Order, NBC, 9-10; 59th season premiere.
Conan O'Brien, NBC; Jason Lee discusses My Name is Earl.
Saturday, 9/23
I'd never recommend the horrible crap that was Saturday Night Live from last year (I watched Dane Cook, Jason Lee, and Steve Carell nearly destroy their careers in that wasteland), but the repeat from February NBC is airing was considered a high point with Steve Martin as host and Prince as musical guest. I'll be watching it-- very cautiously.
Sunday, 9/24
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABC 6-8.
The fourth season opens.
Desperate Housewives (ABC, 8-9) looks to pull out the horrible tailspin it was in last year. I think they'll put it off.
Brothers & Sisters, ABC, 9:01-10.
New show with tons of great actors. The show had great buzz, then the pilot was pretty much scrapped to accomodate acting changes. There's been lots of bad buzz since, but I think this is a Must Watch-- at least the first half-dozen episodes.
Cold Case, CBS 8-9, and Without a Trace, CBS 9-10 season premieres.
12 oz Mouse, Cartoon Network [adult swim], 11:45.
A new season of the show I just didn't get-- but has a rabid fanbase (as does most [adult swim] shows).
I hope to explain how I can watch so much (no, I'm NOT watching all the things I post here) in the near future. But since the new season is on top of us already, let me just say one word: record. Watching TV live is not the way to maximize your time. Use the "r" in VCR or DVD-R and record your shows to fast forward through the commercials and watch on your schedule.
Even better: get a DVR. Screw High Def, the DVR technology is the best television invention since color.
And finally: Sorry for the delay between posts. It's been a busy few weeks. Hopefully, I'll get back in the swing of things.
And finally Pt 2: I didn't have time to proofread this post, so please forgive any eggregious spelling/grammer mistakes. I'll try harder next time...
And I'll try to note the must watch shows out there. I've had a pretty good track record with my picks to watch (at least for me). Others, I'll just recommend you watch to see if they end up being any good.
Sunday, 9/17
Cartoon Network [adult swim] notables tonight. Sorry I don't have the times on me (the beauty of a DVR-- it just records it for me):
Robot Chicken Season 2 Part 2 premieres. Toy doing naughty things.
Squidbillies Season 2. Funny for a while, but I stopped watching after a few eps.
Korgath of Barbaria Series premiere. A near-future barbarian who spends a great deal of time drinking.
Monday, 9/18
The Class Series Premiere; CBS, 7:00
This comedy has enjoyed good buzz. It's one of TV Guide's Matt Roush's favorite shows, and he hasn't steered me wrong much. Must watch.
How I Met Your Mother, CBS, 7:30; Two and a Half Men, CBS 8:00; New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS 8:30; CSI: Miami. Season Premieres.
Wife Swap, ABC, 7:00 and another new ep at 8:00. Season Premiere.
CW Preview Special CW, 8:00 pm. Check out the new season of old WB & UPN shows-- and two new series.
Deal or No Deal, 7-9 pm NBC. Season Premiere.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, 9-10 NBC. Series Premiere.
Created by Aaron Sorkin. Let's see: Sports Night-- great. West Wing (until he got canned)-- great. This show is one of the ones I'm most looking forward to. Must Watch.
Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Guest/: Jason Lee
Tuesday, 9/19
Boston Legal, ABC, 9 pm. Season Premiere.
Guest star: Michael J. Fox, who was great last year.
NCIS, CBS 7-8 & The Unit, CBS 8-9 Season Premieres.
Smith; CBS, 9-10 Series Premiere.
The Ray Liotta/ Virginia Madsen series about a high-end thief. Must Watch.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent, NBC 8-9; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC 9-10. Season Premieres.
Wednesday, 9/20
Jericho, CBS, 7-8. Series Premiere
A man returns to his hometown amid a mystery. Then a mushroom cloud appears on the horizon, and the town is cut-off from civilization. Must Watch.
Criminal Minds; CBS, 8-9 and CSI: NY; CBS 9-10. Season Premieres.
Biggest Loser; NBC 7-9. Season Premiere.
Kidnapped; NBC, 9-10. Series Premiere.
A wealthy son is kidnapped. The FBI is brought in, but the parents hire an anti-social "retrieval expert". I'm sure it's better than FOX's similar Vanished, but I'm not sure if it'll be great. A half-hearted Watch.
America's Next Top Model; CW, 7-9.
Has anyone ever heard of the previous winners? I don't give two craps about modeling, but you think I would have heard about the winners by now...
Tonight Show. Steve Carell discusses the new Office season.
Thursday, 9/21
Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 7-8 (recap) & 8-9 (season premiere).
Let the bloodbath begin: Grey's vs. CSI
Six Degrees, ABC, 9:01-10. Series Premiere.
Six strangers meet through a series of random events. Kinda Watch.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; CBS 8-9. Season Premiere.
Shark; CBS 9-10
James Woods stars in this series about a House-ian prosecutor who mentors young DA's. There's some buzz about this one, so I'll give it a Watch.
My Name is Earl; NBC 7- 7:30. season premiere.
The second season kicks off. Slight changes include more story arcs-- and Earl will not accomplish his task each episode, and may instead take a few episode to cross something off the list.
The Office; NBC 7:30-8. Season premiere.
Michael accidentally outs a gay employee. The Jim/Pam situation is addressed. And sometime this season, the riotous Ed Helms (The Daily Show) joins the company.
ER; NBC 9-10. Season Premieres.
This show is still on? I guess some big sh** went down in the 12th season finale, and this 13th season picks up the pieces. Some people are kidnapped, a pregnant woman is knocked out and bleeding, someone got shot, and John Stamos finally becomes a series regular.
Conan O'Brien, NBC. John Krasinski shows up to discuss The Office.
Friday, 9/22
Ghost Whisperer, CBS 7-8; Close to Home, CBS 8-9; Numb3rs, CBS 9-10, season premieres.
Friday Night Smackdown!, CW, 7-9:00; season premiere.
Law & Order, NBC, 9-10; 59th season premiere.
Conan O'Brien, NBC; Jason Lee discusses My Name is Earl.
Saturday, 9/23
I'd never recommend the horrible crap that was Saturday Night Live from last year (I watched Dane Cook, Jason Lee, and Steve Carell nearly destroy their careers in that wasteland), but the repeat from February NBC is airing was considered a high point with Steve Martin as host and Prince as musical guest. I'll be watching it-- very cautiously.
Sunday, 9/24
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABC 6-8.
The fourth season opens.
Desperate Housewives (ABC, 8-9) looks to pull out the horrible tailspin it was in last year. I think they'll put it off.
Brothers & Sisters, ABC, 9:01-10.
New show with tons of great actors. The show had great buzz, then the pilot was pretty much scrapped to accomodate acting changes. There's been lots of bad buzz since, but I think this is a Must Watch-- at least the first half-dozen episodes.
Cold Case, CBS 8-9, and Without a Trace, CBS 9-10 season premieres.
12 oz Mouse, Cartoon Network [adult swim], 11:45.
A new season of the show I just didn't get-- but has a rabid fanbase (as does most [adult swim] shows).
I hope to explain how I can watch so much (no, I'm NOT watching all the things I post here) in the near future. But since the new season is on top of us already, let me just say one word: record. Watching TV live is not the way to maximize your time. Use the "r" in VCR or DVD-R and record your shows to fast forward through the commercials and watch on your schedule.
Even better: get a DVR. Screw High Def, the DVR technology is the best television invention since color.
And finally: Sorry for the delay between posts. It's been a busy few weeks. Hopefully, I'll get back in the swing of things.
And finally Pt 2: I didn't have time to proofread this post, so please forgive any eggregious spelling/grammer mistakes. I'll try harder next time...
Monday, September 11, 2006
And I was having such a good day...
I got into work today feeling rested. Haven't felt like that in months.
Everything that was supposed to happen over the weekend, happened.
Things didn't get any worse.
I got home, and my kids were cuter than usual (bad allergy/tired day yesterday for them).
I am spanking both my opponents in both my fantasy football leagues (I'm even the high scorer in one league-- and I've still got two of my best guys yet to play).
Life is good.
Then I watched Prison Break.
If you haven't watched it yet, I'll advise you to stop reading now and come back when you do.
Just to put a little distance between my good day and my bad...
And to keep the spoilers away....
I can't ****ing believe they killed Abruzzi!!! My favorite character on TV in years, and they Swiss cheese him!!!
I got hooked on the show right at the end of the pilot (when Michael shows Linc his tattoos), but Peter Stormare's Abruzzi was what kept me eagerly awaiting the next episode. Brilliant acting. The guy was unbelievable.
But then, Stormare didn't get on the opening credits for season two and was listed each episode as a guest star. But I thought the producers couldn't be that obvious with who was going to bite it.
I don't believe it. I'm heartbroken.
R.I.P., John Abruzzi.
Everything that was supposed to happen over the weekend, happened.
Things didn't get any worse.
I got home, and my kids were cuter than usual (bad allergy/tired day yesterday for them).
I am spanking both my opponents in both my fantasy football leagues (I'm even the high scorer in one league-- and I've still got two of my best guys yet to play).
Life is good.
Then I watched Prison Break.
If you haven't watched it yet, I'll advise you to stop reading now and come back when you do.
Just to put a little distance between my good day and my bad...
And to keep the spoilers away....
I can't ****ing believe they killed Abruzzi!!! My favorite character on TV in years, and they Swiss cheese him!!!
I got hooked on the show right at the end of the pilot (when Michael shows Linc his tattoos), but Peter Stormare's Abruzzi was what kept me eagerly awaiting the next episode. Brilliant acting. The guy was unbelievable.
But then, Stormare didn't get on the opening credits for season two and was listed each episode as a guest star. But I thought the producers couldn't be that obvious with who was going to bite it.
I don't believe it. I'm heartbroken.
R.I.P., John Abruzzi.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
TV Premieres and Notables: 9/11-9/17
Well, this will be the last "quiet" week for a while. CBS is flooding the schedule with almost all its premieres next week.
Tuesday, 9/12
Big Brother All Stars Season Finale. CBS, 7-8 pm CST.
Now that Will and Janelle got the boot, I don't care. But I'll still watch it.
Dancing With the Stars Season Premiere. ABC, 7-9:02 pm CST
Never seen it, but I'm going with Mario Lopez since he was always busting out dancing moves on Saved By the Bell.
Men and Trees Premiere. ABC, 9:02-10 pm CST.
Anne Heche meets Northern Exposure (although it probably won't be a "smart" as Exposure was). This pilot reairs on Friday at 7, just before the second ep airs in its normal Friday 8 pm timeslot.
Wednesday, 9/13
Rock Star: Supernova Season Finale. CBS, 7-8 pm CST
I've had a like/hate relationship with this show this summer. Last year blew me away with immediate breakout talents, and this year took a while, and I haven't been very blown away even when the contestants got better. It doesn't help that the band is a made-up one just for this show (and we all know it'll be dissolved as soon as the tour wraps). But it still kicks American Idol's ass on the pure talent of these people.
Inside the NFL Season Premiere. HBO, 9-10 pm CST
I was floored when I read that this will be the show's 30th season. Amazing. I don't care about sports at all, but HBO has a way of looking at them a little differently than any other network (even ESPN), and I have to say: some of my favorite shows are HBO Sports shows (Costas Now and Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel). It helps that the brilliant Bob Costas is the key host of the show.
Thursday, 9/14
Survivor: Cook Islands Season Premiere. CBS, 7-8 pm CST
The show with the most ridiculous controversy of the new TV season premieres tonight. In an effort to bring more color/diversity into television, the producers went out and searched for contestants this year (since 90% of applicants to the show are white). Well, since there's so much color, what would be interesting? That's right, put them in teams based on their ethnicity.
So the jackasses of the world are crying foul. As if CBS is going to let one of its biggest show get instantly racist. How stupid do people/media think the network is?
I, for one, am looking forward to it. We're going to get a good chunk of people who aren't students of the show playing, and that'll be interesting to see how the show goes. I think it'll also be interesting to see how people with (maybe) common backgrounds tackle the same problem. I expect stereotypes to be both reinforced and broken this year, and that's what I hope people are talking about by the end of the season.
If the controversy has done anything, it's that people are talking about this show again. Hasn't happened since the All Stars season.
The Underground. Showtime, 9-9:30 CST
Damon Wayan's new sketch show that let's him be as loose as he wants to be without censors. I'd check it out if I still had Showtime, but I'm not too disappointed I'm going to miss this. Sounds like Wayans is falling in the trap so many other talents have by jacking up the raunch in this show. Not because it helps the show, but because he can.
Friday, 9/15
MI-5 Season Premiere. A&E, 10-11 pm CST
I've never seen this show, but I'll be recording it this year. The British import is supposed to be one of cable's greatest shows.
Saturday, 9/16
Mad TV Season Premiere. FOX, 10-11 pm CST
The best sketch comedy on television starts up again. Even when it has down periods, it still whips SNL in quality.
Talkshow With Spike Ferestein Premiere. FOX, 11-11:30 pm CST
I'm not expecting much from this half-hour talk show, but he has a pretty similar writing experience that another decent late night host had: a former show writer named Conan O'Brien.
Sunday, 7/17
The Amazing Race Season Premiere. CBS 7:30-9 pm CST (after football).
The four-time Emmy winner returns. 12 teams, 1 month, 40,000 miles. Amazing.
See ya, WB. As The WB closes shop, it's reairing the pilots of four of its best and most notable shows on Sunday (9/17).
Felicity: 4pm
One of my favorite shows ever, Angel at 5pm
Buffy the Vampire Slayer : 6pm (2 hrs)
Dawson's Creek: 8 pm
That's all for now...
Tuesday, 9/12
Big Brother All Stars Season Finale. CBS, 7-8 pm CST.
Now that Will and Janelle got the boot, I don't care. But I'll still watch it.
Dancing With the Stars Season Premiere. ABC, 7-9:02 pm CST
Never seen it, but I'm going with Mario Lopez since he was always busting out dancing moves on Saved By the Bell.
Men and Trees Premiere. ABC, 9:02-10 pm CST.
Anne Heche meets Northern Exposure (although it probably won't be a "smart" as Exposure was). This pilot reairs on Friday at 7, just before the second ep airs in its normal Friday 8 pm timeslot.
Wednesday, 9/13
Rock Star: Supernova Season Finale. CBS, 7-8 pm CST
I've had a like/hate relationship with this show this summer. Last year blew me away with immediate breakout talents, and this year took a while, and I haven't been very blown away even when the contestants got better. It doesn't help that the band is a made-up one just for this show (and we all know it'll be dissolved as soon as the tour wraps). But it still kicks American Idol's ass on the pure talent of these people.
Inside the NFL Season Premiere. HBO, 9-10 pm CST
I was floored when I read that this will be the show's 30th season. Amazing. I don't care about sports at all, but HBO has a way of looking at them a little differently than any other network (even ESPN), and I have to say: some of my favorite shows are HBO Sports shows (Costas Now and Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel). It helps that the brilliant Bob Costas is the key host of the show.
Thursday, 9/14
Survivor: Cook Islands Season Premiere. CBS, 7-8 pm CST
The show with the most ridiculous controversy of the new TV season premieres tonight. In an effort to bring more color/diversity into television, the producers went out and searched for contestants this year (since 90% of applicants to the show are white). Well, since there's so much color, what would be interesting? That's right, put them in teams based on their ethnicity.
So the jackasses of the world are crying foul. As if CBS is going to let one of its biggest show get instantly racist. How stupid do people/media think the network is?
I, for one, am looking forward to it. We're going to get a good chunk of people who aren't students of the show playing, and that'll be interesting to see how the show goes. I think it'll also be interesting to see how people with (maybe) common backgrounds tackle the same problem. I expect stereotypes to be both reinforced and broken this year, and that's what I hope people are talking about by the end of the season.
If the controversy has done anything, it's that people are talking about this show again. Hasn't happened since the All Stars season.
The Underground. Showtime, 9-9:30 CST
Damon Wayan's new sketch show that let's him be as loose as he wants to be without censors. I'd check it out if I still had Showtime, but I'm not too disappointed I'm going to miss this. Sounds like Wayans is falling in the trap so many other talents have by jacking up the raunch in this show. Not because it helps the show, but because he can.
Friday, 9/15
MI-5 Season Premiere. A&E, 10-11 pm CST
I've never seen this show, but I'll be recording it this year. The British import is supposed to be one of cable's greatest shows.
Saturday, 9/16
Mad TV Season Premiere. FOX, 10-11 pm CST
The best sketch comedy on television starts up again. Even when it has down periods, it still whips SNL in quality.
Talkshow With Spike Ferestein Premiere. FOX, 11-11:30 pm CST
I'm not expecting much from this half-hour talk show, but he has a pretty similar writing experience that another decent late night host had: a former show writer named Conan O'Brien.
Sunday, 7/17
The Amazing Race Season Premiere. CBS 7:30-9 pm CST (after football).
The four-time Emmy winner returns. 12 teams, 1 month, 40,000 miles. Amazing.
See ya, WB. As The WB closes shop, it's reairing the pilots of four of its best and most notable shows on Sunday (9/17).
Felicity: 4pm
One of my favorite shows ever, Angel at 5pm
Buffy the Vampire Slayer : 6pm (2 hrs)
Dawson's Creek: 8 pm
That's all for now...
Saturday, September 09, 2006
40 oz of Fun
The Fantasy Football league I started with some friends this year is named The 40 oz League. Being an anal-retentive Comissioner, I decided to go out and do some 40 oz research along with grabbing some .bmps and .jpegs off the web to stick in the league newsletter.
Five hours of Google searches later, and I doubt I've even scratched the surface. I will say this has been one of the most fun projects I've undertaken in quite some time. I found lots of great sites that gave me laughing fits and thought maybe I should pass them along.
But first (to quote Julie Chen): one thing I'll say is I'm really glad I went to a "keg school", so I wasn't exposed to 40's. I would have been all over the "Edward 40 Hands" drinking game which would have resulted in lots of bad situations both because I have the drinking bladder of a walnut and because my stomach could never handle all that malt liquor without it coming back up.
Edward 40 Hands is a game where the players hold a 40 oz bottle in each hand, and then duct tape is wrapped around the hands and bottle. You cannot use your hands until both 40's are gone. So anything that you need your hands for (taking a leak, for instance) would require assistance. An especially evil variation on the game: taking a leak is not allowed until both bottles are empty.
I would have tried that game without even thinking about it in college (heck, given the right timing, I'd try it now) and it would have resulted in many laughs at my expense, I'm sure.
Anyway, here are some links to sites that made me laugh:
Modern Drunkard Magazine (Slogan: "Say it Loud, Say it Plowed"):
http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/issues/03_03/03-03_forty_fury.htm
Be sure to check out the "Juicing on the Job" Essay found on the left margin way down at the bottom.
Here's a link to an essay about drinking in Star Trek. Funny as heck (and make sure to read the whole thing-- the Top Ten at the end is hilarious):
http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/issues/05_02/5_02_space%20winos.html
The JangleSquad, a group (about 6 guys did the majority of the drinkin'), who attempted to drink an average of one 40 oz a day for a year. I spent a lot of time in this site just because I found it so funny. A whole website devoted to a year-long contest:
http://www.geocities.com/janglesquad/
Here's the Billy Dee Williams Smooth Test. I scored 30 ot of 36-- I'm 5 bottles smooth.
http://bfcgroup.com/helluvatough/smoothtest.html
The Aug 7, 2006 entry ("Economies of 40s") is a riot.
"Most average beers contain 5% or less alcohol by volume. Light beers are even worse. They cut calories by reducing the alcohol content and carbs. This is super gay, if I want to taste the rainbow then I will eat skittles. I buy beer to get me drunk, not to watch my figure or for the taste."
http://www.highgrav.com/
Terms for "being drunk":
http://members.aol.com/Mira2112/maltliquor/terms.htm
The "Two Colt Challenge". A riotous 13 minute video where two men compete in an Edward 40 Hands challenge. Highlights: (roughly) 1 min-- see them wrap the hands; (roughly) 5 mins-- McGinty talks about bedding a milf; (roughly) 11 mins-- McGinty's words are used against him.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5106481631365687815&q="The+Two+Colt+Challenge"+playable:true
And the motherlode: the site that all the above was linked from: 40 oz malt liquor.com.
Here's the main page:
http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/main.html
The Hilarious images (make sure you go down all the way for the parody images:
http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/images.html
And one site I stumbled on that is awesome that doesn't have anything to do with drinking: P.S.-- I'm Awesome. Think The Onion told in the first person. You HAVE to check out the Apr 2, 2006 entry "I Have Enough Friends I Don't F***", the Apr 26, 2006 entry "You Drive Like a D*ckface", and the newest, "FFL Rejected Team Names". You don't have to know anything about football to enjoy these offensive team names (personal favs: Intelligent Design Can Lick My Balls, Abu Gahreb Hog Pile, and Uncle Bad Touch). I've read the FFL one four times, and tears come to my eyes each time.
http://www.psimawesome.com/dig-it.htm
Five hours of Google searches later, and I doubt I've even scratched the surface. I will say this has been one of the most fun projects I've undertaken in quite some time. I found lots of great sites that gave me laughing fits and thought maybe I should pass them along.
But first (to quote Julie Chen): one thing I'll say is I'm really glad I went to a "keg school", so I wasn't exposed to 40's. I would have been all over the "Edward 40 Hands" drinking game which would have resulted in lots of bad situations both because I have the drinking bladder of a walnut and because my stomach could never handle all that malt liquor without it coming back up.
Edward 40 Hands is a game where the players hold a 40 oz bottle in each hand, and then duct tape is wrapped around the hands and bottle. You cannot use your hands until both 40's are gone. So anything that you need your hands for (taking a leak, for instance) would require assistance. An especially evil variation on the game: taking a leak is not allowed until both bottles are empty.
I would have tried that game without even thinking about it in college (heck, given the right timing, I'd try it now) and it would have resulted in many laughs at my expense, I'm sure.
Anyway, here are some links to sites that made me laugh:
Modern Drunkard Magazine (Slogan: "Say it Loud, Say it Plowed"):
http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/issues/03_03/03-03_forty_fury.htm
Be sure to check out the "Juicing on the Job" Essay found on the left margin way down at the bottom.
Here's a link to an essay about drinking in Star Trek. Funny as heck (and make sure to read the whole thing-- the Top Ten at the end is hilarious):
http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/issues/05_02/5_02_space%20winos.html
The JangleSquad, a group (about 6 guys did the majority of the drinkin'), who attempted to drink an average of one 40 oz a day for a year. I spent a lot of time in this site just because I found it so funny. A whole website devoted to a year-long contest:
http://www.geocities.com/janglesquad/
Here's the Billy Dee Williams Smooth Test. I scored 30 ot of 36-- I'm 5 bottles smooth.
http://bfcgroup.com/helluvatough/smoothtest.html
The Aug 7, 2006 entry ("Economies of 40s") is a riot.
"Most average beers contain 5% or less alcohol by volume. Light beers are even worse. They cut calories by reducing the alcohol content and carbs. This is super gay, if I want to taste the rainbow then I will eat skittles. I buy beer to get me drunk, not to watch my figure or for the taste."
http://www.highgrav.com/
Terms for "being drunk":
http://members.aol.com/Mira2112/maltliquor/terms.htm
The "Two Colt Challenge". A riotous 13 minute video where two men compete in an Edward 40 Hands challenge. Highlights: (roughly) 1 min-- see them wrap the hands; (roughly) 5 mins-- McGinty talks about bedding a milf; (roughly) 11 mins-- McGinty's words are used against him.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5106481631365687815&q="The+Two+Colt+Challenge"+playable:true
And the motherlode: the site that all the above was linked from: 40 oz malt liquor.com.
Here's the main page:
http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/main.html
The Hilarious images (make sure you go down all the way for the parody images:
http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/images.html
And one site I stumbled on that is awesome that doesn't have anything to do with drinking: P.S.-- I'm Awesome. Think The Onion told in the first person. You HAVE to check out the Apr 2, 2006 entry "I Have Enough Friends I Don't F***", the Apr 26, 2006 entry "You Drive Like a D*ckface", and the newest, "FFL Rejected Team Names". You don't have to know anything about football to enjoy these offensive team names (personal favs: Intelligent Design Can Lick My Balls, Abu Gahreb Hog Pile, and Uncle Bad Touch). I've read the FFL one four times, and tears come to my eyes each time.
http://www.psimawesome.com/dig-it.htm
Friday, September 08, 2006
THE OFFICE webisodes
When I first heard about The Office webisodes that were going to be on nbc.com this summer, I have to say I wasn't happy. I like my television on a television, not on a little box on my computer screen. But at least the short episodes were free to anyone with an internet connection. And the characters featured were from the show itself (unlike the Prison Break mobisodes that were on the Best Buy DVD set).
I was lucky enough to catch the webisodes each week. I think that was a bonus over watching them all at once because each webisode had a beginning, middle, and end, so there was bound to be repetition if they were watched all at once.
The premise of the show is that the accountants (Oscar, Kevin, and Angela) discover the books are off by $3000. Because it has to be accounted for, they question their fellow employees (Meredith, Phyllis, Stanley, and Roy) in an attempt to discover who stole it.
The characters were all true to their television roots (Angela's cold, Kevin's a joker, Stanley just doesn't care, Meredith is thinking about booze), and that was nice to see. Dwight even makes an appearance in the final episode that reminded me of how much I missed him over the summer.
And we found out a minor revelation about Angela (and learn a possible reason why she dislikes Pam).
If you can't wait two weeks until a new Office episode airs, check out these ten three-minute webisodes at http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/nbc_off_web_101_20060712.shtml#video
(that's the link to the first webisode. You can also access these through nbc.com directly).
"Angela stinks.".
(You'll get it when you watch Webisode #6)
I was lucky enough to catch the webisodes each week. I think that was a bonus over watching them all at once because each webisode had a beginning, middle, and end, so there was bound to be repetition if they were watched all at once.
The premise of the show is that the accountants (Oscar, Kevin, and Angela) discover the books are off by $3000. Because it has to be accounted for, they question their fellow employees (Meredith, Phyllis, Stanley, and Roy) in an attempt to discover who stole it.
The characters were all true to their television roots (Angela's cold, Kevin's a joker, Stanley just doesn't care, Meredith is thinking about booze), and that was nice to see. Dwight even makes an appearance in the final episode that reminded me of how much I missed him over the summer.
And we found out a minor revelation about Angela (and learn a possible reason why she dislikes Pam).
If you can't wait two weeks until a new Office episode airs, check out these ten three-minute webisodes at http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/nbc_off_web_101_20060712.shtml#video
(that's the link to the first webisode. You can also access these through nbc.com directly).
"Angela stinks.".
(You'll get it when you watch Webisode #6)
Happy 40th ST:TOS
Just a quick one to acknowledge Star Trek's 40th aniversary.
I'm not a Trekker (or Trekkie), but I have watched most of the shows (having only missed the middle years of Deep Space Nine and Voyager), and it's quite an accomplishment that a show that struggled on the network for three years before finally being cancelled is even remembered 40 years later.
It was definitely ahead of its time-- and yet a product of its time.
I admit I had a hard time watching the original series when it got the big push a few years ago on the SciFi Channel because some of the effects and acting were so retro, but the crux of it is very solid.
Now that the show has been "remastered" with updated effects, this may the time to check it out again.
Even if you don't like science fiction, there are things for you in all incarnations of the franchise (I highly recommend Star Trek: The Next Generation as I've found it to be one of the best written and plotted shows on television-- ever).
That's it. Live long and prosper, Trek.
I'm not a Trekker (or Trekkie), but I have watched most of the shows (having only missed the middle years of Deep Space Nine and Voyager), and it's quite an accomplishment that a show that struggled on the network for three years before finally being cancelled is even remembered 40 years later.
It was definitely ahead of its time-- and yet a product of its time.
I admit I had a hard time watching the original series when it got the big push a few years ago on the SciFi Channel because some of the effects and acting were so retro, but the crux of it is very solid.
Now that the show has been "remastered" with updated effects, this may the time to check it out again.
Even if you don't like science fiction, there are things for you in all incarnations of the franchise (I highly recommend Star Trek: The Next Generation as I've found it to be one of the best written and plotted shows on television-- ever).
That's it. Live long and prosper, Trek.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Let's all Raise our Glasses...
I read some news the other day that warmed my heart: L. Brent Bozell, founder and president of the Parent Television Council is going to step down as president of the watchdog group.
I have no real issue with watchdog groups, but the PTC has such a history of outright bullsh** that I have to take my shots.
The PTC, which is tied to the Media Research Center (a group that loves to perpetuate the "liberal media bias" lie-- and just so happens to be a powerful lobbying organization that just must just love our current anti-freedom public servants in D.C.), likes to tout that they are trying to clean up television "for the families". Of course, they just can't get in their heads that maybe parents could do some of their own policing.
Anyway, they've got good intentions (on the surface-- it doesn't take much digging to find their flaws), but their techniques and campaigns have been a little skewed at times.
Like when they they had to cough up $3.5 million to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment for claiming that the WWE was responsible for four children's deaths (supposedly, the killer kids were copying wrestling moves on their victims). That was a lie. They also used WWE footage in their campaign. Oooo-- that's copyright infringement. And they also claimed they persuaded a number of WWE Smackdown! advertisers to stop running ads on the program. The only thing-- the advertisers never ran ads on the show. All of Bozell's lies were heavily reported on by the "liberal" media, but his apology to the WWE didn't get much press. Go figure...
Or their campaign to get Without a Trace busted for showing a teen orgy (well, at least as much as major network CBS could show, which we all know ain't much). Only: no one complained until after the PTC website showed the footage. That's right: no viewers complained when it aired. Complaints were filed by people who saw the clip on the PTC website and then filled out a form letter and turned it in to the inept FCC (don't even get me started on those a-holes). And CBS got hit with a $3.3 million fine (thanks in part to Emperor Bush's signing of a bill that increased the maximum fine the FCC can lay out) that no viewers actually complained about.
In my research for my comments, I found that 99.8% of the complaints filed to the FCC are through the PTC. Flip the numbers: at most, two-tenths of a percent of all complaints filed are by people who watched the show being complained about. And the FCC buys it-- just look at that frickin' CBS fine.
Here's a link to an especially troubling report on the PTC as it pertains to the FCC: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041207-4442.html
I'll admit that as a parent, I'm well aware there's more on TV I don't want my kids to see than anything my parents had to worry about, but the thing is: I'm the parent. It's my job to police the television. We've all heard the phrase "If you don't like what you're watching, turn the channel." Pretty obvious. Heck, with the V-chip in TVs and cable boxes, you can't even get to the blocked channels/ratings without a password. Lazy parenting is what these PTC idiots are using to make their mark on television.
Maybe I'm different ("smart", to use a more precise word), but I think I can handle teaching my children what is and isn't appropriate along with policing content I don't want them exposed to in exchange for being able to watch Deadwood, The Shield, or Prison Break (the PTC website's "worst show of the week"-- woo hoo!).
Even though I'm sure Bozell will be replaced from the same type of UnAmerican fanatic he is, I think the PTC should use this leadership change to find a new target. This is a much more insidious threat than Rescue Me (a popular PTC show to rant about). I think they should go after shows like the last few years of Will & Grace, or shows like Joey, Rodney, Dane Cook's Tourgasm, Yes, Dear, or Conviction (the NBC version, not the BBC version).
Yes, the PTC's new campaign should be against horsecrap TV shows. They're so much more dangerous to society than hearing the F-Bomb or seeing a shooting because they serve no purpose other than being bland shows the PTC is probably okay with (except for the W&G gay thing-- because I'm guessing being gay is an affront to nature in their eyes. Just a guess.)
So let's all raise our glasses and make a toast to the man who gave the last 11 years of his life in an attempt to make the world the way he see fit. It consists of just two words. Two letters, to be more accurate:
F. U.!!!
I have no real issue with watchdog groups, but the PTC has such a history of outright bullsh** that I have to take my shots.
The PTC, which is tied to the Media Research Center (a group that loves to perpetuate the "liberal media bias" lie-- and just so happens to be a powerful lobbying organization that just must just love our current anti-freedom public servants in D.C.), likes to tout that they are trying to clean up television "for the families". Of course, they just can't get in their heads that maybe parents could do some of their own policing.
Anyway, they've got good intentions (on the surface-- it doesn't take much digging to find their flaws), but their techniques and campaigns have been a little skewed at times.
Like when they they had to cough up $3.5 million to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment for claiming that the WWE was responsible for four children's deaths (supposedly, the killer kids were copying wrestling moves on their victims). That was a lie. They also used WWE footage in their campaign. Oooo-- that's copyright infringement. And they also claimed they persuaded a number of WWE Smackdown! advertisers to stop running ads on the program. The only thing-- the advertisers never ran ads on the show. All of Bozell's lies were heavily reported on by the "liberal" media, but his apology to the WWE didn't get much press. Go figure...
Or their campaign to get Without a Trace busted for showing a teen orgy (well, at least as much as major network CBS could show, which we all know ain't much). Only: no one complained until after the PTC website showed the footage. That's right: no viewers complained when it aired. Complaints were filed by people who saw the clip on the PTC website and then filled out a form letter and turned it in to the inept FCC (don't even get me started on those a-holes). And CBS got hit with a $3.3 million fine (thanks in part to Emperor Bush's signing of a bill that increased the maximum fine the FCC can lay out) that no viewers actually complained about.
In my research for my comments, I found that 99.8% of the complaints filed to the FCC are through the PTC. Flip the numbers: at most, two-tenths of a percent of all complaints filed are by people who watched the show being complained about. And the FCC buys it-- just look at that frickin' CBS fine.
Here's a link to an especially troubling report on the PTC as it pertains to the FCC: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041207-4442.html
I'll admit that as a parent, I'm well aware there's more on TV I don't want my kids to see than anything my parents had to worry about, but the thing is: I'm the parent. It's my job to police the television. We've all heard the phrase "If you don't like what you're watching, turn the channel." Pretty obvious. Heck, with the V-chip in TVs and cable boxes, you can't even get to the blocked channels/ratings without a password. Lazy parenting is what these PTC idiots are using to make their mark on television.
Maybe I'm different ("smart", to use a more precise word), but I think I can handle teaching my children what is and isn't appropriate along with policing content I don't want them exposed to in exchange for being able to watch Deadwood, The Shield, or Prison Break (the PTC website's "worst show of the week"-- woo hoo!).
Even though I'm sure Bozell will be replaced from the same type of UnAmerican fanatic he is, I think the PTC should use this leadership change to find a new target. This is a much more insidious threat than Rescue Me (a popular PTC show to rant about). I think they should go after shows like the last few years of Will & Grace, or shows like Joey, Rodney, Dane Cook's Tourgasm, Yes, Dear, or Conviction (the NBC version, not the BBC version).
Yes, the PTC's new campaign should be against horsecrap TV shows. They're so much more dangerous to society than hearing the F-Bomb or seeing a shooting because they serve no purpose other than being bland shows the PTC is probably okay with (except for the W&G gay thing-- because I'm guessing being gay is an affront to nature in their eyes. Just a guess.)
So let's all raise our glasses and make a toast to the man who gave the last 11 years of his life in an attempt to make the world the way he see fit. It consists of just two words. Two letters, to be more accurate:
F. U.!!!
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Sorry for the delay
What a week last week. Had two Fantasy Football Drafts, was out and about a lot, got my rear kicked at work (bad, bad week to have my job) and just couldn't get on the computer as much as I wanted to.
It'll probably be a short one this time, too.
Premieres I'm already too late on:
House and Standoff started tonight. Sorry you missed them.
Also, MyNetworkTV began its run of Fashion House and Desire tonight. The network is taking a Spanish telenovela approach by airing episodes of each show every night during the week with a recap episode on the weekend for a few months. The shows have a definite ending after their runs, which is cool. But I haven't heard a single good thing about the offerings MyNetworkTV is giving us, so I shied away from it (I don't have any idea what channel is carrying it in my area if that tells you anything).
Nip/Tuck Season Four started as well-- but FX usually repeats the heck out of their shows, so you can still catch it later this week.
The Dane Cook: Vicious Circle special debuted on HBO last night. I would expect it to be replayed dozens of times on the five or so HBO channels in the next month. His Tourgasm summer series was pretty disappointing, but I think Vicious Circle is supposed to be more of a concert show.
Thursday on FOX has the debuts of 'Til Death and Happy Hour. Don't get your hopes up for either (see my previous post about the pilots), but they are new when everything else is repeating right now. 'Til Death has potential, Happy Hour should be canned soon.
FOX Sunday kicks off with new Simpsons (with Metallica), American Dad, Family Guy, and The War at Home. (I'll be watching three of them; guess which ones). Remember, there's football on before these shows, so they could run over their times (those of you taping/DVRing them).
HBO begins the fourth series of The Wire Sunday night. I haven't watched it yet, but I heard it's a fantastic show. Guess I'll have to try to get the previous seasons on DVD from the library.
And the TV Guide Channel is airing preview shows dedicated to all the networks starting next Monday night. I'm sure it'll mostly be crap, but you may get some good looks at what's to come.
My Fall Preview issue of TV Guide came in the mail today. Sweet Jesus-- they give the scoop on 92 new shows! Yeah, I won't be catching them all.
Because I hadn't mentioned it before: I was shocked to hear the news that Star Trek (The Original Series) got a Lucas-esque makeover with updated special effects and music. It hits syndication on September 16. I'm looking forward to seeing the "remastered" episodes (even though I'm a purist at heart, I just had a hard time getting into the series when I finally watched all the eps in the late '90s), but since the shows aren't airing in any logical order, I'm sure I'll be a little peeved (I'm anal retentive that way).
I flipped through the channels a little this weekend and caught the infamous Flava of Love scene when a chick drops a duece on the floor. I missed how or why she did it, but she did it. Crapped right on the floor! Classy bunch of ladies he had to pick from...
I also watched the first two eps of Who Wants to be a SuperHero? which is a show I was expecting to hate but didn't. Stan Lee is a little (okay a lot) cheesy, but the guy knows his sh** and deserves respect for his contributions to the industry. The contestants were hokey, but they weren't made fun of (something I was afraid of-- thankfully little of the casting sessions were aired). And it was really fake about making one of the contestants a super-villain, but I'll give it a pass on that.
The show really tries to get to the crux of what makes a hero, and I don't think that's a bad thing when the word "hero" was all the rage when 9/11 occurred but the context wasn't always used correctly (yes, fire fighters, paramedics, police officers, and volunteers who risked life and limb in the disaster are all heroes, but when people not directly affected by the events who showed up for work the next day are being called heroes, I've gotta draw the line...). The show wasn't to see who had the best costume or "powers", but was to show how the average person can have heroic qualities by their actions. It's cheesy, but no one pinched a loaf on the floor, so it's got a leg up on other shows.
I enjoyed the last two episodes of Prison Break and am liking the direction the show's going in-- and I, like last year, am already trying to put the pieces together for future episodes (like Sucre heading to Las Vegas, which is between Utah and Mexico-- think maybe he'll bump into Linc and Michael? I think so).
Next week's ep looks intense: Abruzzi's back, T-Bag gets picked up by a car, and Tweener may be found out. Two weeks from now, Mahone may apprehend his first escapee (if what I read in TV Guide is telling the whole truth).
And, finally, I just want to acknowledge the passing of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. I didn't watch his show, but I'd seen him on late night shows and a Wiggles DVD, and it's a horrible shame that he died so young. He is a person who genuinely loved nature and its inhabitants as well as life, and the world is worse off for having lost him.
It'll probably be a short one this time, too.
Premieres I'm already too late on:
House and Standoff started tonight. Sorry you missed them.
Also, MyNetworkTV began its run of Fashion House and Desire tonight. The network is taking a Spanish telenovela approach by airing episodes of each show every night during the week with a recap episode on the weekend for a few months. The shows have a definite ending after their runs, which is cool. But I haven't heard a single good thing about the offerings MyNetworkTV is giving us, so I shied away from it (I don't have any idea what channel is carrying it in my area if that tells you anything).
Nip/Tuck Season Four started as well-- but FX usually repeats the heck out of their shows, so you can still catch it later this week.
The Dane Cook: Vicious Circle special debuted on HBO last night. I would expect it to be replayed dozens of times on the five or so HBO channels in the next month. His Tourgasm summer series was pretty disappointing, but I think Vicious Circle is supposed to be more of a concert show.
Thursday on FOX has the debuts of 'Til Death and Happy Hour. Don't get your hopes up for either (see my previous post about the pilots), but they are new when everything else is repeating right now. 'Til Death has potential, Happy Hour should be canned soon.
FOX Sunday kicks off with new Simpsons (with Metallica), American Dad, Family Guy, and The War at Home. (I'll be watching three of them; guess which ones). Remember, there's football on before these shows, so they could run over their times (those of you taping/DVRing them).
HBO begins the fourth series of The Wire Sunday night. I haven't watched it yet, but I heard it's a fantastic show. Guess I'll have to try to get the previous seasons on DVD from the library.
And the TV Guide Channel is airing preview shows dedicated to all the networks starting next Monday night. I'm sure it'll mostly be crap, but you may get some good looks at what's to come.
My Fall Preview issue of TV Guide came in the mail today. Sweet Jesus-- they give the scoop on 92 new shows! Yeah, I won't be catching them all.
Because I hadn't mentioned it before: I was shocked to hear the news that Star Trek (The Original Series) got a Lucas-esque makeover with updated special effects and music. It hits syndication on September 16. I'm looking forward to seeing the "remastered" episodes (even though I'm a purist at heart, I just had a hard time getting into the series when I finally watched all the eps in the late '90s), but since the shows aren't airing in any logical order, I'm sure I'll be a little peeved (I'm anal retentive that way).
I flipped through the channels a little this weekend and caught the infamous Flava of Love scene when a chick drops a duece on the floor. I missed how or why she did it, but she did it. Crapped right on the floor! Classy bunch of ladies he had to pick from...
I also watched the first two eps of Who Wants to be a SuperHero? which is a show I was expecting to hate but didn't. Stan Lee is a little (okay a lot) cheesy, but the guy knows his sh** and deserves respect for his contributions to the industry. The contestants were hokey, but they weren't made fun of (something I was afraid of-- thankfully little of the casting sessions were aired). And it was really fake about making one of the contestants a super-villain, but I'll give it a pass on that.
The show really tries to get to the crux of what makes a hero, and I don't think that's a bad thing when the word "hero" was all the rage when 9/11 occurred but the context wasn't always used correctly (yes, fire fighters, paramedics, police officers, and volunteers who risked life and limb in the disaster are all heroes, but when people not directly affected by the events who showed up for work the next day are being called heroes, I've gotta draw the line...). The show wasn't to see who had the best costume or "powers", but was to show how the average person can have heroic qualities by their actions. It's cheesy, but no one pinched a loaf on the floor, so it's got a leg up on other shows.
I enjoyed the last two episodes of Prison Break and am liking the direction the show's going in-- and I, like last year, am already trying to put the pieces together for future episodes (like Sucre heading to Las Vegas, which is between Utah and Mexico-- think maybe he'll bump into Linc and Michael? I think so).
Next week's ep looks intense: Abruzzi's back, T-Bag gets picked up by a car, and Tweener may be found out. Two weeks from now, Mahone may apprehend his first escapee (if what I read in TV Guide is telling the whole truth).
And, finally, I just want to acknowledge the passing of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. I didn't watch his show, but I'd seen him on late night shows and a Wiggles DVD, and it's a horrible shame that he died so young. He is a person who genuinely loved nature and its inhabitants as well as life, and the world is worse off for having lost him.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Land of the Free
The idea of censorship is an issue of major importance to me. My beloved comics books have been plagued with idiot government officals looking to make a name for themselves by picking on an easy target during election years for decades. The FCC has made waves about going after cable networks the past few years (they don't use the public airwaves, morons), and the TV industry has started to pull back on their attempts to diversify their products. Let's also not even mention the freakin' debates over whether Saving Private Ryan on ABC or a PBS documentary chronicling soldiers' experiences should have the F-Bomb. Sure, let's hack up a masterpiece that would otherwise run uncut over a word that military personnel (and most others) use in conversation.
An interview I read with [This Film Not Yet Rated] director Kirby Dick is what got me on this tangent. He explains what he found when he did an investigation of the MPAA Board that rates the motion picture industry. As a father, I have to say I like having the idea of the ratings, but as an American, I have troubles with how they get to the ratings-- and how directors and studios "play the game" to get the rating they need.
For example: I was watching Eight Below with my kids (4 and 2-1/2 years old), and I was disappointed that they needed to say "Hell" so much (at least three times) to get the coveted PG rating.
The MPAA's guidelines are nebulous at best and contradictory at worst. Here's the link. Hopefully it works. If not, it's from tvguide.com's Insider section for 9/1. It's worth a look.
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Insider/default.htm?cmsGuid={1773DCD6-A322-4087-AAF4-685E134AAD23}
An interview I read with [This Film Not Yet Rated] director Kirby Dick is what got me on this tangent. He explains what he found when he did an investigation of the MPAA Board that rates the motion picture industry. As a father, I have to say I like having the idea of the ratings, but as an American, I have troubles with how they get to the ratings-- and how directors and studios "play the game" to get the rating they need.
For example: I was watching Eight Below with my kids (4 and 2-1/2 years old), and I was disappointed that they needed to say "Hell" so much (at least three times) to get the coveted PG rating.
The MPAA's guidelines are nebulous at best and contradictory at worst. Here's the link. Hopefully it works. If not, it's from tvguide.com's Insider section for 9/1. It's worth a look.
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Insider/default.htm?cmsGuid={1773DCD6-A322-4087-AAF4-685E134AAD23}
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Emmy fallout
I couldn't wait any more. It was bugging me.
I went 5 for 20 on my Emmy predictions.
I got Keifer Sutherland, The Office, Jeremy Piven, Leslie Jordan, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition right.
I'd like to handicap it a little by saying not many other prognosticators made picks for mini-series or TV movie categories, so if you remove those (which I admitted I knew nothing about), I have a more respectable 5 for 16.
And I'd like to mention it was way too hard to find the winners. I actually didn't find all the winners of the 20 categories I picked from until I actually visited the Television Arts and Sciences webpage. Couldn't find it on tvguide.com, cnn.com, or a few others I Googled. Pathetic...
I went 5 for 20 on my Emmy predictions.
I got Keifer Sutherland, The Office, Jeremy Piven, Leslie Jordan, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition right.
I'd like to handicap it a little by saying not many other prognosticators made picks for mini-series or TV movie categories, so if you remove those (which I admitted I knew nothing about), I have a more respectable 5 for 16.
And I'd like to mention it was way too hard to find the winners. I actually didn't find all the winners of the 20 categories I picked from until I actually visited the Television Arts and Sciences webpage. Couldn't find it on tvguide.com, cnn.com, or a few others I Googled. Pathetic...
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Odds and Ends
Sorry for not posting for a few days. Just got too busy and couldn't get on the computer. Here's random stuff I read on tvguide.com or from shows I watched:
The Emmy predictions: I haven't counted the tally of how badly I picked, but Michael Ausiello went 4 for 11, and he gets paid to do this.
All I can say is I'm glad Jeremy Piven won, so I don't have to take a dump on anyone's front porch...
Lane Garrison (Prison Break's "Tweener") confirmed that the first escapee he runs into is T-Bag. In Utah. Uh oh.
Sounds as if this will be Zach Braff's last season as a member of Scrubs. Producers of the show say they will go on without him (assuming NBC doesn't do something stupid like cancel it).
Jenna Fischer and John Krazinski of The Office say that the first episode will touch on the Jim/Pam kiss.
Ricky Gervais (the co-ator of BBC America's The Office) said the episode he wrote will focus on Michael trying (and failing) to be more P.C. And Jim and Pam send Dwight out on a wild goose chase. Gervais also said that the British cast is not slated to appear in the U.S. version, and that some tabloid spread it around and it somehow became gospel. Finally, he said there is little to no chance of a reunion show with the British cast. It saddens me, but the British series ended perfectly (and that ending is why I'm not happy about the Jim/Pam revelation from the NBC season finale).
If you're a Desperate Housewives fan, you may want to know that the main character who gets killed won't be Mike. And I have a good reason to think it's a she.
Well, I better wrap it up. Hopefully next time, I'll fess up and admit how badly I did on my Emmy predictions (seriously, I don't know yet) and maybe touch on some Prison Break thoughts from the second ep.
The Emmy predictions: I haven't counted the tally of how badly I picked, but Michael Ausiello went 4 for 11, and he gets paid to do this.
All I can say is I'm glad Jeremy Piven won, so I don't have to take a dump on anyone's front porch...
Lane Garrison (Prison Break's "Tweener") confirmed that the first escapee he runs into is T-Bag. In Utah. Uh oh.
Sounds as if this will be Zach Braff's last season as a member of Scrubs. Producers of the show say they will go on without him (assuming NBC doesn't do something stupid like cancel it).
Jenna Fischer and John Krazinski of The Office say that the first episode will touch on the Jim/Pam kiss.
Ricky Gervais (the co-ator of BBC America's The Office) said the episode he wrote will focus on Michael trying (and failing) to be more P.C. And Jim and Pam send Dwight out on a wild goose chase. Gervais also said that the British cast is not slated to appear in the U.S. version, and that some tabloid spread it around and it somehow became gospel. Finally, he said there is little to no chance of a reunion show with the British cast. It saddens me, but the British series ended perfectly (and that ending is why I'm not happy about the Jim/Pam revelation from the NBC season finale).
If you're a Desperate Housewives fan, you may want to know that the main character who gets killed won't be Mike. And I have a good reason to think it's a she.
Well, I better wrap it up. Hopefully next time, I'll fess up and admit how badly I did on my Emmy predictions (seriously, I don't know yet) and maybe touch on some Prison Break thoughts from the second ep.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Emmy picks
Not much time, so I'll jump the chase. As flawed as the Emmy's are, how can I not make picks?
Outstanding Drama Series:
All good choices from what I understand (I don't watch Grey's Anatomy, and I haven't gotten to the tapes of House, Sopranos, or 24 yet; and West Wing was good but not great).
I think it's Grey's Anatomy's year.
Outstanding lead actor in a drama series:
I think it's Sutherland's, but I understand Leary has a legit show. Who knows if the Emmy voters will actually give FX its due?
Keifer Sutherland.
Outstanding lead actress in a drama series:
No idea. West Wing was the only one I watched, and Janney wasn't a main player (although, believe it or not, that's not really an Emmy consideration).
I think it's going to Kyra Sedgwick.
Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series:
All are good choices. I'm gonna give the front runner status to Gregory Itzen and Alan Alda. I've heard Itzen had a huge turn on 24 and Alda was great as the man who we should hate (but couldn't) on West Wing.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Gregory Itzen.
Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series:
I'd have to say Jean Smart and Chandra Wilson are the front runners. Some people are hoping for a Smart win to pair with Itzen, but I think Grey's Anatomy is going to have a huge year.
Winner: Chandra Wilson.
Outstanding guest actor in a drama series:
I don't much about these nominees, but they all got props when they appeared. I did see Michael J. Fox's appearances on Boston Legal, and I thought they were great. And it had nothing to do with his Parkinson's-- it was a very powerful role that any actor could have played, but not many could have played it as well as Fox.
I'll go with Fox.
Outstanding guest actress on a drama series:
Wow. Didn't see a single performance. Haven't heard anything about them either. There's a lot of love for Six Feet Under, but, like I said, Grey's is gonna be big.
Christina Ricci for Grey's Anatomy.
Outstanding comedy series:
Tough group (so tough, Two and a Half Men got in over many other worthy choices-- I'll chalk that up to split votes). I'd love to see Arrested Development get a nice goodbye, but with its screwed up scheduling last year, I think it lacked what previous seasons had. Curb Your Enthusiasm has always been solid, but it slipped a little this year. Scrubs badly needs the win, but I think The Office will take it.
Winner: The Office.
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series:
Jason Lee. What? He wasn't nominated? Oh yeah, of course-- there wasn't room after Kevin James and Charlie Sheen's noms (I'm trying not be hard on those two because they are competent-- but the best? Hardly). Larry David and Tony Shalhoub are worthy candidates, but I think Carell's taking it.
Winner: Steve Carell.
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series:
Jane Kaczmarek seemed to be going through the paces this year. She was much more worthy in years past. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is funny on Christine, but I don't know if she's outstanding. Stockard Channing wasn't either. I haven't watched Will & Grace since it was good, so it's been a few years since I can remember Messing when the show was decent. I gave Kudrow's The Comeback about two eps before I gave up. But she's got big buzz.
I'll give it to Lisa Kudrow.
Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series:
All the nominees are decent, and I'd love to see Will Arnet get props for Arrested Development, but Piven deserves this Emmy like no other candidate in the entire show.
If Jeremy Piven doesn't win, I will personally visit each Emmy voter's house and take a crap on their front door.
Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series:
Nominees aren't bad in this category, either, but Pressly has to win. She probably won't because redneck characters usually don't get love-- look at f-ing Jason Lee's snub--, but I'm not gonna pick anyone but her and hope voters have a brain.
Winner: Jamie Pressly.
Outstanding guest actor on a comedy series:
Patrick Stewart and Ben Stiller were great on Extras, but Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin are the "sexier" noms.
But I'm going to pick the deserving Leslie Jordan for a long history of fantastic supporting characters. It's not the right thing to do (pick a winner for a lifetime's work instead what s/he was actually nominated for), but it's done all the time.
Outstanding guest actress in a comedy series:
All decent nominees, but Kate Winslet was a blast as the dirty-talking "self" dressed a nun on Extras. Besides, Emmy voters love to pick motion picture actors/actresses as winners to keep them coming back.
Kate Winslet.
Outstanding reality program:
I only watched Penn & Teller's Bullsh-t and Kathy Griffen: My Life on the D-List, but Bullsh-t is not only funny but informative. And it doesn't rely on weepiness that will probably give the statue to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
I'll have to go with Extreme Makeover, but I'd love to be proven wrong by having Penn Gillette give an acceptance speech.
Outstanding reality-competition program:
I like Amazing Race and Survivor, but neither series was at its peak this year. American Idol has done its part to dumb down people's expectations when it comes to music. Dancing with the Stars is the hot program right now. But...
I've heard good things about Project Runway, so I'll pick that.
Outstanding miniseries:
I only saw the slow-starting, but solid as a whole Sleeper Cell, but the rest were given high praise in the things I read as well.
I'll give it to Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre) just because it got lots of press time.
Outstanding made for television movie:
Don't know.
Let's guess: Mrs. Harris.
Outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie:
Big names. Still no idea.
Let's say: Donald Sutherland.
Outstanding lead actress in a miniseries or movie:
More big names. But one stood out in all the reviews I read:
Gillian Anderson.
There you are. If you want a list of nominees and don't have TV Guide handy, print off a list here:
http://online.tvguide.com/special/Emmys2006/nominees.asp
I won't be watching the show live. FF-ing through the commercials and stuff I don't care about will drop my watching time to about an hour with the DVR. I can't even recommend watching these shows anymore because they're so lame, but they're a big deal in the TV world, and the TV world is a big deal to me. And you never know when someone will knock your socks off with a joke or a speech...
Outstanding Drama Series:
All good choices from what I understand (I don't watch Grey's Anatomy, and I haven't gotten to the tapes of House, Sopranos, or 24 yet; and West Wing was good but not great).
I think it's Grey's Anatomy's year.
Outstanding lead actor in a drama series:
I think it's Sutherland's, but I understand Leary has a legit show. Who knows if the Emmy voters will actually give FX its due?
Keifer Sutherland.
Outstanding lead actress in a drama series:
No idea. West Wing was the only one I watched, and Janney wasn't a main player (although, believe it or not, that's not really an Emmy consideration).
I think it's going to Kyra Sedgwick.
Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series:
All are good choices. I'm gonna give the front runner status to Gregory Itzen and Alan Alda. I've heard Itzen had a huge turn on 24 and Alda was great as the man who we should hate (but couldn't) on West Wing.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Gregory Itzen.
Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series:
I'd have to say Jean Smart and Chandra Wilson are the front runners. Some people are hoping for a Smart win to pair with Itzen, but I think Grey's Anatomy is going to have a huge year.
Winner: Chandra Wilson.
Outstanding guest actor in a drama series:
I don't much about these nominees, but they all got props when they appeared. I did see Michael J. Fox's appearances on Boston Legal, and I thought they were great. And it had nothing to do with his Parkinson's-- it was a very powerful role that any actor could have played, but not many could have played it as well as Fox.
I'll go with Fox.
Outstanding guest actress on a drama series:
Wow. Didn't see a single performance. Haven't heard anything about them either. There's a lot of love for Six Feet Under, but, like I said, Grey's is gonna be big.
Christina Ricci for Grey's Anatomy.
Outstanding comedy series:
Tough group (so tough, Two and a Half Men got in over many other worthy choices-- I'll chalk that up to split votes). I'd love to see Arrested Development get a nice goodbye, but with its screwed up scheduling last year, I think it lacked what previous seasons had. Curb Your Enthusiasm has always been solid, but it slipped a little this year. Scrubs badly needs the win, but I think The Office will take it.
Winner: The Office.
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series:
Jason Lee. What? He wasn't nominated? Oh yeah, of course-- there wasn't room after Kevin James and Charlie Sheen's noms (I'm trying not be hard on those two because they are competent-- but the best? Hardly). Larry David and Tony Shalhoub are worthy candidates, but I think Carell's taking it.
Winner: Steve Carell.
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series:
Jane Kaczmarek seemed to be going through the paces this year. She was much more worthy in years past. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is funny on Christine, but I don't know if she's outstanding. Stockard Channing wasn't either. I haven't watched Will & Grace since it was good, so it's been a few years since I can remember Messing when the show was decent. I gave Kudrow's The Comeback about two eps before I gave up. But she's got big buzz.
I'll give it to Lisa Kudrow.
Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series:
All the nominees are decent, and I'd love to see Will Arnet get props for Arrested Development, but Piven deserves this Emmy like no other candidate in the entire show.
If Jeremy Piven doesn't win, I will personally visit each Emmy voter's house and take a crap on their front door.
Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series:
Nominees aren't bad in this category, either, but Pressly has to win. She probably won't because redneck characters usually don't get love-- look at f-ing Jason Lee's snub--, but I'm not gonna pick anyone but her and hope voters have a brain.
Winner: Jamie Pressly.
Outstanding guest actor on a comedy series:
Patrick Stewart and Ben Stiller were great on Extras, but Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin are the "sexier" noms.
But I'm going to pick the deserving Leslie Jordan for a long history of fantastic supporting characters. It's not the right thing to do (pick a winner for a lifetime's work instead what s/he was actually nominated for), but it's done all the time.
Outstanding guest actress in a comedy series:
All decent nominees, but Kate Winslet was a blast as the dirty-talking "self" dressed a nun on Extras. Besides, Emmy voters love to pick motion picture actors/actresses as winners to keep them coming back.
Kate Winslet.
Outstanding reality program:
I only watched Penn & Teller's Bullsh-t and Kathy Griffen: My Life on the D-List, but Bullsh-t is not only funny but informative. And it doesn't rely on weepiness that will probably give the statue to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
I'll have to go with Extreme Makeover, but I'd love to be proven wrong by having Penn Gillette give an acceptance speech.
Outstanding reality-competition program:
I like Amazing Race and Survivor, but neither series was at its peak this year. American Idol has done its part to dumb down people's expectations when it comes to music. Dancing with the Stars is the hot program right now. But...
I've heard good things about Project Runway, so I'll pick that.
Outstanding miniseries:
I only saw the slow-starting, but solid as a whole Sleeper Cell, but the rest were given high praise in the things I read as well.
I'll give it to Bleak House (Masterpiece Theatre) just because it got lots of press time.
Outstanding made for television movie:
Don't know.
Let's guess: Mrs. Harris.
Outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie:
Big names. Still no idea.
Let's say: Donald Sutherland.
Outstanding lead actress in a miniseries or movie:
More big names. But one stood out in all the reviews I read:
Gillian Anderson.
There you are. If you want a list of nominees and don't have TV Guide handy, print off a list here:
http://online.tvguide.com/special/Emmys2006/nominees.asp
I won't be watching the show live. FF-ing through the commercials and stuff I don't care about will drop my watching time to about an hour with the DVR. I can't even recommend watching these shows anymore because they're so lame, but they're a big deal in the TV world, and the TV world is a big deal to me. And you never know when someone will knock your socks off with a joke or a speech...
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Episodes of note coming up
So I was going through my upcoming "scheduled to record" listing on my DVR, and the next two weeks look to have some great moments. I often keep some shows scheduled-- even though I've seen them before-- just to check them out again. Or, to remind myself to remind someone else to watch them.
Here we go:
Venture Brothers Sunday night 8/28; 9:30-10 pm CST (repeats 1:30- 2 am) on Cartoon Network's [adult swim]. Episode "Assassinanny 911".
I can't remember too many particulars about this episode-- other than I laughed like a mo-fo. Brock gets called away on a secret mission, so he asks deadly mercenary Molotov Cocktease to watch the boys. Hank, of course, falls in love.
Moral Orel Sunday night/ Monday morning 8/28; 12:15-12:30 am CST (repeats 4:15-4:30 am) on Cartoon Network's [adult swim]. The episode is "Waste".
This insane 10-minute episode follows Orel's decision to drink his own urine because at Scout Camp, he was told that, in a pinch, urine could help hydrate the body; and, in church, he was told that God thinks to waste is a sin. He decides to mix both pieces of advice-- and hilarity ensues. Best line came when Orel was asked if what he was drinking had Vitamin C in it, and he answers, "I don't know. But there is Vitamin P."
***Please note: Moral Orel does hit on some of the more fervent messages of the Christian Fundamentalists. I would not recommend this show to anyone who does not have a sense of humor about their religion. Seriously, you will be offended. I also wouldn't recommend this show to anyone that absolutely cannot find the humor in a ten year old that doesn't realize that drinking his own urine regularly probably isn't a good thing.
Everyone else: go nuts and check it out...
Green Wing Sunday night/Monday morning 9/4; 2-5 am CST on BBC America. The first three episodes of the first season.
Green Wing is one of the funniest shows I watched last year, hands down. Scrubs has nothing on this racy show. The show opens with new surgical registrar Caroline Todd locked out of her house and has to go to her first day of work with bed head (or "car head" since she slept in her car). After meeting her colleagues, she probably wishes she stayed in her car.
We've got anesthesiologist Guy Secretan, who hits on her immediately. Surgeon (with the "girl hair") Mac McCartney tries not to notice her, but he does try to thwart Guy's attempts at getting close to her. Horny HR Director Joanna Clore both accepts and rejects radiologist Alan Statham's advances. Staff Liason Officer Sue White goes to enormous lengths to keep the residents at a distance. Intern Martin Dear is a subject of constant belittlement. And Junior Intern Boyce does whatever he can to humiliate Statham.
This show is way insane-- and way hilarious. It's not a "typical" U.K. show; its comedy works very well for an American sensibility. It's very surreal until you get acclimated to the "world" the show inhabits. And it is much racier than any American Network would allow.
The only thing I'm afraid of is BBC America won't follow through with the remaining six episodes right away. It did the same thing this summer when it reaired the first three episodes of the brilliant Bodies and haven't reaired the remaining three episodes. I'm sure the remaining eps will air eventually, but it's been a long time...
Well, I hope I pointed you in the right direction for some of the standout episodes of some great shows I had the privilege of watching the past year.
Here we go:
Venture Brothers Sunday night 8/28; 9:30-10 pm CST (repeats 1:30- 2 am) on Cartoon Network's [adult swim]. Episode "Assassinanny 911".
I can't remember too many particulars about this episode-- other than I laughed like a mo-fo. Brock gets called away on a secret mission, so he asks deadly mercenary Molotov Cocktease to watch the boys. Hank, of course, falls in love.
Moral Orel Sunday night/ Monday morning 8/28; 12:15-12:30 am CST (repeats 4:15-4:30 am) on Cartoon Network's [adult swim]. The episode is "Waste".
This insane 10-minute episode follows Orel's decision to drink his own urine because at Scout Camp, he was told that, in a pinch, urine could help hydrate the body; and, in church, he was told that God thinks to waste is a sin. He decides to mix both pieces of advice-- and hilarity ensues. Best line came when Orel was asked if what he was drinking had Vitamin C in it, and he answers, "I don't know. But there is Vitamin P."
***Please note: Moral Orel does hit on some of the more fervent messages of the Christian Fundamentalists. I would not recommend this show to anyone who does not have a sense of humor about their religion. Seriously, you will be offended. I also wouldn't recommend this show to anyone that absolutely cannot find the humor in a ten year old that doesn't realize that drinking his own urine regularly probably isn't a good thing.
Everyone else: go nuts and check it out...
Green Wing Sunday night/Monday morning 9/4; 2-5 am CST on BBC America. The first three episodes of the first season.
Green Wing is one of the funniest shows I watched last year, hands down. Scrubs has nothing on this racy show. The show opens with new surgical registrar Caroline Todd locked out of her house and has to go to her first day of work with bed head (or "car head" since she slept in her car). After meeting her colleagues, she probably wishes she stayed in her car.
We've got anesthesiologist Guy Secretan, who hits on her immediately. Surgeon (with the "girl hair") Mac McCartney tries not to notice her, but he does try to thwart Guy's attempts at getting close to her. Horny HR Director Joanna Clore both accepts and rejects radiologist Alan Statham's advances. Staff Liason Officer Sue White goes to enormous lengths to keep the residents at a distance. Intern Martin Dear is a subject of constant belittlement. And Junior Intern Boyce does whatever he can to humiliate Statham.
This show is way insane-- and way hilarious. It's not a "typical" U.K. show; its comedy works very well for an American sensibility. It's very surreal until you get acclimated to the "world" the show inhabits. And it is much racier than any American Network would allow.
The only thing I'm afraid of is BBC America won't follow through with the remaining six episodes right away. It did the same thing this summer when it reaired the first three episodes of the brilliant Bodies and haven't reaired the remaining three episodes. I'm sure the remaining eps will air eventually, but it's been a long time...
Well, I hope I pointed you in the right direction for some of the standout episodes of some great shows I had the privilege of watching the past year.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Premieres (and others eps) for 8/28 - 9/3
When I was double-checking the credits for the Prison Break premiere after Snoop's comments from yesterday's post (yes, Stormare is listed as a "guest star"-- a little too obvious for me to believe Abruzzi takes a dirt nap), I also double checked if my eyes were playing tricks on me about Schofield's origami message to Sara. On the DVD screener I watched, there was just the written message. In the episode that aired on FOX, there was a written message AND the dots below it.
Don't know what that means, but I'm thinking it means something. (I hope it isn't something the producers threw out there as an experiment to see just how insane some of us are...)
Aaaaaaanyway, here are next week's premieres and shows I am pointing out for whatever reason-- according to TV GUIDE.
Monday, 8/28
Prison Break, FOX. 7-8 pm CST. Duh.
Tuesday, 8/29
Celebrity Duets, FOX 7-9 pm CST. Normally, I'd avoid this claptrap like the plague, but it does have Chris Jericho as a contestant. Sure, he's a pro wrestler (which will be pounded in our heads, I'm sure), but he's all about '80s metal (he's got a whole band-- Fozzy-- that's in the '80s vein). Plus, the dude's funny. It doesn't hurt that one of my Hollywood crushes growing up-- Lea Thompson-- is also a contestant. Or the always-fun Lucy Lawless...
The Rescue Me season finale is also airing at 9 pm on FX. I haven't watched the show since the pilot (I've got every episode on tape; just waiting for the perfect weekend to watch it), but I hear it's good.
Wednesday, 8/30.
Bones, FOX, 7-8 pm CST. Season Premiere. I haven't watched the tapes yet, but how can you go wrong with David Boreanez?
Justice, FOX, 8-9 pm. Series Premiere. I dug Victor Garber on Alias, but I don't have high hopes for this show. I'm going to try to catch the screener DVD this weekend to give a little preview.
30 Days, FX, 9-10 pm. Morgan himself lives in prison for 30 days.It should be eye opening.
Thursday, 8/31.
Who Wants to be Superhero? Sci Fi Channel, 8-9 pm. Season finale. I haven't watched the show yet, but it's gotten some good buzz (even if it is cheesy).
Windfall, NBC, 9-10. SEASON finale. I cannot imagine for a second that this show is coming back, but I guess the ratings were decent, so who knows? It's not as if NBC is just swimming in hits right now (ask again in October, and maybe that comment will have to be changed).
Friday, 9/1
FOX reairs this week's Prison Break and Vanished episodes. This is subject to change, so don't take a chance and miss Monday's airings.
Saturday, 9/2
Icons: The Onion, G4, 6:30 pm. The kick-*ss weekly satirical newspaper/website gets the Icon treatment.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, HBO, 7-8:30 pm. One of the best movies in recent history. Funny, smart, brilliantly acted and directed. Gromit is one of the best sidekicks in history, bar none. Won the 2005 Oscar for Best Animated Film-- deservedly so.
A Day in the Life of Television/ CBS Fall Preview, CBS, 7-9 pm. The first 1-1/2 hrs gives us a behind the scenes look at 12 shows (not all are CBS shows). The last half hour is the Fall Preview. Both shows are bound to be fluff, but there could be a gem in the middle of it all.
Mad TV, FOX, 10-11 pm. A repeat from last year where Kurt Busch takes Ike Berinholtz and Bobby Lee around the track. Dude just abuses Bobby Lee.
Sunday, 9/2.
Family Guy, FOX 7:30-9 pm. If you didn't pony up the money for the "exclusive" Uncensored Stewie movie when it came out on DVD last Fall, catch it here for free (you'll miss maybe a half-dozen bad words). When I watched the DVD (yeah I bought it-- I'm sooo naive), I kept thinking "this just feels like three Family Guy episodes strung together." Imagine my surprise when the last three episodes of last season were these fricking episodes from the DVD. If it ends up on the Family Guy Volume 4 DVD set, I'm gonna be p*ssed.
Don't know what that means, but I'm thinking it means something. (I hope it isn't something the producers threw out there as an experiment to see just how insane some of us are...)
Aaaaaaanyway, here are next week's premieres and shows I am pointing out for whatever reason-- according to TV GUIDE.
Monday, 8/28
Prison Break, FOX. 7-8 pm CST. Duh.
Tuesday, 8/29
Celebrity Duets, FOX 7-9 pm CST. Normally, I'd avoid this claptrap like the plague, but it does have Chris Jericho as a contestant. Sure, he's a pro wrestler (which will be pounded in our heads, I'm sure), but he's all about '80s metal (he's got a whole band-- Fozzy-- that's in the '80s vein). Plus, the dude's funny. It doesn't hurt that one of my Hollywood crushes growing up-- Lea Thompson-- is also a contestant. Or the always-fun Lucy Lawless...
The Rescue Me season finale is also airing at 9 pm on FX. I haven't watched the show since the pilot (I've got every episode on tape; just waiting for the perfect weekend to watch it), but I hear it's good.
Wednesday, 8/30.
Bones, FOX, 7-8 pm CST. Season Premiere. I haven't watched the tapes yet, but how can you go wrong with David Boreanez?
Justice, FOX, 8-9 pm. Series Premiere. I dug Victor Garber on Alias, but I don't have high hopes for this show. I'm going to try to catch the screener DVD this weekend to give a little preview.
30 Days, FX, 9-10 pm. Morgan himself lives in prison for 30 days.It should be eye opening.
Thursday, 8/31.
Who Wants to be Superhero? Sci Fi Channel, 8-9 pm. Season finale. I haven't watched the show yet, but it's gotten some good buzz (even if it is cheesy).
Windfall, NBC, 9-10. SEASON finale. I cannot imagine for a second that this show is coming back, but I guess the ratings were decent, so who knows? It's not as if NBC is just swimming in hits right now (ask again in October, and maybe that comment will have to be changed).
Friday, 9/1
FOX reairs this week's Prison Break and Vanished episodes. This is subject to change, so don't take a chance and miss Monday's airings.
Saturday, 9/2
Icons: The Onion, G4, 6:30 pm. The kick-*ss weekly satirical newspaper/website gets the Icon treatment.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, HBO, 7-8:30 pm. One of the best movies in recent history. Funny, smart, brilliantly acted and directed. Gromit is one of the best sidekicks in history, bar none. Won the 2005 Oscar for Best Animated Film-- deservedly so.
A Day in the Life of Television/ CBS Fall Preview, CBS, 7-9 pm. The first 1-1/2 hrs gives us a behind the scenes look at 12 shows (not all are CBS shows). The last half hour is the Fall Preview. Both shows are bound to be fluff, but there could be a gem in the middle of it all.
Mad TV, FOX, 10-11 pm. A repeat from last year where Kurt Busch takes Ike Berinholtz and Bobby Lee around the track. Dude just abuses Bobby Lee.
Sunday, 9/2.
Family Guy, FOX 7:30-9 pm. If you didn't pony up the money for the "exclusive" Uncensored Stewie movie when it came out on DVD last Fall, catch it here for free (you'll miss maybe a half-dozen bad words). When I watched the DVD (yeah I bought it-- I'm sooo naive), I kept thinking "this just feels like three Family Guy episodes strung together." Imagine my surprise when the last three episodes of last season were these fricking episodes from the DVD. If it ends up on the Family Guy Volume 4 DVD set, I'm gonna be p*ssed.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
More Tidbits
Lots of interesting things in the news today:
Stargate SG-1 exec producer Brad Wright said he has plans to keep the show going as a motion picture, a series of TV movies, or a miniseries. I don't watch the show, but I gotta like the guy's commitment to the fans.
Paramount decided not to renew their contract with Tom Cruise (a 14 year relationship). Or did Cruise decide not to accept a (greatly reduced monetary) renewal? Depend on who you ask. Paramount got the upper hand when Sumner Redstone made a public acknowledgement that they were no longer interested in working with the outspoken (and borderline nutjob) actor.
Huge Survivor: Cook Islands rumor from yesterday about splitting the contestants into ethnic groups is confirmed. Oh, the media frenzy this is bound to create...
Prison Break's season premiere won its timeslot with 9.37 million viewers (about a million less than the series debut and season this spring, but still strong). Its follow-up, Vanished, won its timeslot 8.65 million viewers.
Details on these bits-- and lots more-- can be found at:
http://community.tvguide.com/forum.jspa?forumID=700000044
TV Guide's Michael Ausiello's latest "Ask Ausiello" has LOADS of teasers about dozens of shows. One thing he said about his reaction to Veronica getting killed on Prison Break, was that he was surprised, and that we should "prepare yourself for more bloodshed."
I'm almost afraid to think about who it'll be, but a clue could lie in the credits. Peter Stormare was listed in the episode credits, not during the show opening (where season regulars like Miller, Purcell, et al have their names). I hope not. Sure, the twists and turns got me into this show, but Stormare's work really got me to appreciate it.
If you want to hear tidbits about darn near every show, check out Ask Ausiello every Wednesday at tvguide.com.
Here's today's link: http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ausiello/AskAusiello/
I also read a rumor while I surfed the web last night that claimed that Prison Break's Dominic Purcell may play Bruce Banner in the upcoming Hulk movie. BTW: the movie is rumored to be a complete overhaul of the concept and may go as far as redoing the origin of the monster in the attempt to distance itself as much as possible from the failed theatrical movie directed by Ang Lee.
Finally, http://www.newsarama.com/ had an interview with cover artist god, Adam Hughes on his work writing AND doing the art for the upcoming All-Star Wonder Woman (due next summer). Hughes is one of the three comics creators that I will buy ANYTHING (with about a $10 cover price limit-- anything more will usually break the bank) he works on.
I can't wait. The best "good girl" artist on the planet (and his work has grown by leaps and bounds since he last worked on interiors). This is good news. Hopefully, I'll figure out how to get pics on this thing and include some of his recent work (no luck so far).
Stargate SG-1 exec producer Brad Wright said he has plans to keep the show going as a motion picture, a series of TV movies, or a miniseries. I don't watch the show, but I gotta like the guy's commitment to the fans.
Paramount decided not to renew their contract with Tom Cruise (a 14 year relationship). Or did Cruise decide not to accept a (greatly reduced monetary) renewal? Depend on who you ask. Paramount got the upper hand when Sumner Redstone made a public acknowledgement that they were no longer interested in working with the outspoken (and borderline nutjob) actor.
Huge Survivor: Cook Islands rumor from yesterday about splitting the contestants into ethnic groups is confirmed. Oh, the media frenzy this is bound to create...
Prison Break's season premiere won its timeslot with 9.37 million viewers (about a million less than the series debut and season this spring, but still strong). Its follow-up, Vanished, won its timeslot 8.65 million viewers.
Details on these bits-- and lots more-- can be found at:
http://community.tvguide.com/forum.jspa?forumID=700000044
TV Guide's Michael Ausiello's latest "Ask Ausiello" has LOADS of teasers about dozens of shows. One thing he said about his reaction to Veronica getting killed on Prison Break, was that he was surprised, and that we should "prepare yourself for more bloodshed."
I'm almost afraid to think about who it'll be, but a clue could lie in the credits. Peter Stormare was listed in the episode credits, not during the show opening (where season regulars like Miller, Purcell, et al have their names). I hope not. Sure, the twists and turns got me into this show, but Stormare's work really got me to appreciate it.
If you want to hear tidbits about darn near every show, check out Ask Ausiello every Wednesday at tvguide.com.
Here's today's link: http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ausiello/AskAusiello/
I also read a rumor while I surfed the web last night that claimed that Prison Break's Dominic Purcell may play Bruce Banner in the upcoming Hulk movie. BTW: the movie is rumored to be a complete overhaul of the concept and may go as far as redoing the origin of the monster in the attempt to distance itself as much as possible from the failed theatrical movie directed by Ang Lee.
Finally, http://www.newsarama.com/ had an interview with cover artist god, Adam Hughes on his work writing AND doing the art for the upcoming All-Star Wonder Woman (due next summer). Hughes is one of the three comics creators that I will buy ANYTHING (with about a $10 cover price limit-- anything more will usually break the bank) he works on.
I can't wait. The best "good girl" artist on the planet (and his work has grown by leaps and bounds since he last worked on interiors). This is good news. Hopefully, I'll figure out how to get pics on this thing and include some of his recent work (no luck so far).
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Little Bits
Just random thoughts today. My head still hurts from yesterday.
So, do you think the SciFi Channel could have timed the non-renewal of Stargate SG1 any better? Friday, the show aired it's 200th episode with much hoopla and fanfare, and on Monday, it's announced the current tenth year will be it's last. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was never able to get into the show, but the fact is it ran ten years (longer than any science fiction show in history-- and longer than most any other show of any genre), so it needs to be applauded for that. The folks at SciFi could have let them celebrate the historic achievement for at least a week before making its announcement. Jerks...
Every year a show lasts adds to the expense of producing it, but Igotta say I feel bad for Ben Browder and Claudia Black, who've had a second show pulled out from under them (the cancellation of Farscape still stings-- how do you take one of the best shows ever, one of the highest rated shows SciFi had at the time, and cancel it?).
Oh well, at least SciFi is cleaning up in the ratings with ECW...
-----------------
I tried figuring out what the dots meant on Schofield's note to Sara on Prison Break, but I couldn't. Morse code seems too obvious, and there are only four distinct series of dots, which means only 4 letters are used in the whole message. I'm sure I'll play with it when I'm bored sometime.
This must be what a Lost fan feels like. (No, I haven't watched Lost yet-- I've got the DVD of Season One and all of Season Two taped, I just haven't gotten to it).
---------------------
Is it wrong to be so happy that Brooke Burke still wears skimpy clothes on Rock Star: Supernova even though I know she's got a bun in the oven?
----------------------
USA Network renewed The 4400 for a fourth season of 13 episodes. That's another series I've been taping from the beginning but haven't watched yet.
----------------------
Huge rumor that this fall's Survivor will split the contestants up via ethnicity: whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. Stunt to get press (I'm guessing mostly negative)-- or an honest attempt to see the differences-- and commonalities-- between races?
----------------------
And, finally, I watched the first episode of this season's 30 Days, and it continues to be an essential television series to watch. It's a shame that FX doesn't repeat this show throughout the year after the finale airs because I firmly believe that if each American watched it, this would be a much better country to live in.
A friend of mine complained about the show last year because it skewed "too left", but the fact of the matter is, these kind of issues are what The Right tries to ignore. If trying to gain an understanding of what a gay person, or a Muslim, or an illegal immigrant goes through in this country is a Left or Right issue, then my current belief to permanently dismantle the Two Party system is only reinforced.
What Morgan Spurlock tries to accomplish in this series about bringing together opposing viewpoints for 30 days can go a long way toward helping everyone have an understanding of their neighbors. These issues are what the people who lead this country should be trying to address as opposed to the stupid sh*t they usually discuss on Capitol Hill.
I'm sorry I was slow on recommending this show. The six episode first season is on DVD, and I would hope that your local library carries it for loaning out. It's well worth it (even if you buy the set). And there's still one or two new episodes left to air on FX. It airs Wednesdays at 9pm CST and usually repeats around four times during the next week.
So, do you think the SciFi Channel could have timed the non-renewal of Stargate SG1 any better? Friday, the show aired it's 200th episode with much hoopla and fanfare, and on Monday, it's announced the current tenth year will be it's last. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was never able to get into the show, but the fact is it ran ten years (longer than any science fiction show in history-- and longer than most any other show of any genre), so it needs to be applauded for that. The folks at SciFi could have let them celebrate the historic achievement for at least a week before making its announcement. Jerks...
Every year a show lasts adds to the expense of producing it, but Igotta say I feel bad for Ben Browder and Claudia Black, who've had a second show pulled out from under them (the cancellation of Farscape still stings-- how do you take one of the best shows ever, one of the highest rated shows SciFi had at the time, and cancel it?).
Oh well, at least SciFi is cleaning up in the ratings with ECW...
-----------------
I tried figuring out what the dots meant on Schofield's note to Sara on Prison Break, but I couldn't. Morse code seems too obvious, and there are only four distinct series of dots, which means only 4 letters are used in the whole message. I'm sure I'll play with it when I'm bored sometime.
This must be what a Lost fan feels like. (No, I haven't watched Lost yet-- I've got the DVD of Season One and all of Season Two taped, I just haven't gotten to it).
---------------------
Is it wrong to be so happy that Brooke Burke still wears skimpy clothes on Rock Star: Supernova even though I know she's got a bun in the oven?
----------------------
USA Network renewed The 4400 for a fourth season of 13 episodes. That's another series I've been taping from the beginning but haven't watched yet.
----------------------
Huge rumor that this fall's Survivor will split the contestants up via ethnicity: whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. Stunt to get press (I'm guessing mostly negative)-- or an honest attempt to see the differences-- and commonalities-- between races?
----------------------
And, finally, I watched the first episode of this season's 30 Days, and it continues to be an essential television series to watch. It's a shame that FX doesn't repeat this show throughout the year after the finale airs because I firmly believe that if each American watched it, this would be a much better country to live in.
A friend of mine complained about the show last year because it skewed "too left", but the fact of the matter is, these kind of issues are what The Right tries to ignore. If trying to gain an understanding of what a gay person, or a Muslim, or an illegal immigrant goes through in this country is a Left or Right issue, then my current belief to permanently dismantle the Two Party system is only reinforced.
What Morgan Spurlock tries to accomplish in this series about bringing together opposing viewpoints for 30 days can go a long way toward helping everyone have an understanding of their neighbors. These issues are what the people who lead this country should be trying to address as opposed to the stupid sh*t they usually discuss on Capitol Hill.
I'm sorry I was slow on recommending this show. The six episode first season is on DVD, and I would hope that your local library carries it for loaning out. It's well worth it (even if you buy the set). And there's still one or two new episodes left to air on FX. It airs Wednesdays at 9pm CST and usually repeats around four times during the next week.
Monday, August 21, 2006
PRISON BREAK Season Two Episode One "Manhunt"
Spoilers abound in this blow-by-blow of the season premiere. Proceed only if you've seen it-- or just can't wait to find out.
Passages in italics are my thoughts. If you don't want to read the whole recap, scroll down to my end of episode thoughts. If you have a thought yourself, go ahead and post it. This could be a fun exercise (and ease up on the burden I put Brian and Neal through every Tuesday when I dissect the previous night's episode).
Please excuse any mispellings or whatnot, my fingers were flying on the keyboard trying to keep up-- and I know a post this long would cause Hell on the spellcheck...
I have to admit: even though I've already seen the season premiere, I was still shaking like a six-year old who just ate a box of Captain Crunch. I've waited all summer for this...
The episode opens the day after the daring prison escape.
We are introduced to Federal Agent Mahone. He asks his assistant who the escapees are. The assistant rattles off everyone's names and their crimes. A nice background and a primer for new viewers and a refresher for those who haven't seen the show since May.
Mahone asks if Schofield is the ringleader. When it is confirmed, he asks for all the information pertaining to him.
Next we see The Five (Michael Schofield, Lincoln Burrows, Benjamin "C-Note" Franklin, John Abruzzi, and Fernando Sucre) still together. They're still being closely chased by the prison guards and the dogs. They run to a train track where a train is just starting to go past. They end up getting around the train and losing their pursuers. Bellick almost hits Schofield hit a shotgun blast. He's got the wild look in his eye.
Mahone gives a press conference where he opens with passages from John Wilkes Booth's journal he kept while on the run. He mentions that while on the run, all the fears and paranoias a man would have from the original crime are heightened while being chased. Good foreshadowing as the escapees are showing signs that they are getting desperate. Mahone finishes by saying that things will be even tougher now that TV has become a part of the manhunt.
Cut to the escapees, as they argue with each other. C-Note blames Abruzzi's pilots for leaving early; Abruzzi informs him that he wasn't going to be a passenger anyway. C-Note calls out Schofield about Westmoreland's money, and Sucre is shocked to find out that there is a plan to nab money that Schofield never mentioned to him.
Mahone asks Pope to combine resources, and that includes interviewing prison staff, specifically Dr. Tancredi (and mentions that he knows Sara may have left the door unlocked on purpose). Pope refuses, and says, "She isn't going to be speaking to anyone."
Cut to Sara in a coma, hooked to a respirator. We overhear hospital staff saying she's stable but will have to fight to live. Clips from the previous season containing Michael and Sara are shown, and suddenly she wakes up.
T-Bag is rummaging through a campground, grabbing a cooler and all the ice he can fit in there. He threatens the campers with a screwdriver, and in typical T-Bag fashion, gives an almost honest "thank you" before he leaves.
Mahone looks at pictures of Schofield's tattoos and asks an assistant how long it would take a person to undergo that much ink. The answer is "100 hours... 200." The order is given to find the tatoo artist.
Next, Mahone mentions to Bellick the cooperation agreement he has with Pope, and Bellick's having none of it. Looks like Bellick will have to contend with the escapees and the Feds this season.
Next we find out what happened with Veronica and Steadman (who looks a little different than last year due to a necessary recasting-- note to producers: try to secure contracts with your minor characters who play major roles on the show; let's just call it the Patricia Wettig Clause since our new President will now be unseen since she was cast on another series). Veronica finds out she is locked inside the house with Steadman and has no way out.
Privately, Linc tells Schofield to ditch the others, but Michael tells him he can't because they all know about Utah, and the money buried there is paramount to their plans. He tells Lincoln they need to stick together to make sure they succeed (nice touch I think). Michael tells Lincoln that even though the jet is gone, he still has a plan.
Mahone interviews Michael's tattoo artist. She tells him that he was a "detail Nazi"; everything had to be perfect. He begins to piece together the meaning of the English, Fitz, Percy tattoo (remember, they are roads that intersect the prison, tattooed on Michael's wrist).
The five escapees run across a young girl. They almost talk their way out of a confrontation, but her dad arrives and aims his hunting rifle at them when he sees the men in prison garb talking to his daughter. Abruzzi grabs the girl and holds a gun of his own to her head until the father drops his gun. They take the father's gun and car.
Sara is interviewed by an agent and denies leaving the door open. She is told that not only Schofield escaped, but seven other men did, too. She looks genuinely shocked, and manages to ask "Who?" Side note: Sarah Wayne Callies said in an interview I saw that Sara thought she was saving Lincoln's life by helping Michael and had no idea others were escaping as well. Yet another of Michael's lies she will pay for...
T-Bag finds himself at a veterinary clinic. Even though it is closed, he sees a doctor in there and breaks in. He insists that he be helped and threatens the doctor until he agrees to attempt to reattach his hand.
The Five in the stolen car discuss Abruzzi's actions, and say he went too far. Abruzzi justifies his actions by saying they got away. C-Note finds out they're headed west, and says they need to go east to hook up with his family. Abruzzi remnds him that's the first place the police will be looking.
Bellick gets a hold of Schofield's credit card records and finds that he spent $8000 in just over a month in the immediate area before he was arrested.
Mahone visits Schofield's apartment and notices all the pin holes on the wall. He pieces together that Schofield planned the escape methodically and then destroyed the plans by throwing them out the window and into the river. He orders divers to search the river.
Veronica won't give up her efforts to escape from the Steadman house. She tries to get a cell phone signal. He says he is a victim-- and even though he is alive, no one else knows it, so he can't save Lincoln.
Bellick sees from the credit card records that Schofield rented a unit at a storage facility, so he heads off to check it out.
Sara's nurse friend visits her to apologize for letting the police and Feds know that Sara probably left the door to the infirmary unlocked. Sara tells her she has nothing to apologize for. She also tells her friend that her dad's office called, but not her dad as of yet. Her friend reminds her that she isn't the first person that fell for a con, and Sara replies with regret that "He never cared".
In the car, Sucre asks Michael what he is thinking about, and Michael answers: "Mistakes". Sucre knows immediately that he is talking about Sara and reminds Michael that he had to do it. Michaels answers that he didn't have to do it like he did and that he ruined her life. Sucre tells him there's nothing he can do about it now. Michael says, "That's not true."
Steadman pulls a gun on Veronica, but she calls the cops anyway. Steadman does not fire.
T-Bag's doctor tells him he is not qualified to perform the reattachment. T-Bag doesn't care and tells him to try and threatens his family. The doctor tells T-Bag that he has to put him under, but T-Bag refuses any pain killer. The doctor insists that no one can undergo a procedure like that without an anesthetic, but T-Bag replies, "I... ain't... nobody..." Daaaaaamn!
Mahone figures out more of the tattoo's meaning, and then hears that the cops are checking out a storage facility.
Bellick and his men arrive at the storage facility and he tells Mahone (who also just showed up) to stay out of the way. The cops close in, and we see The Five in a storage room grabbing shovels. Bellick opens the unit Schofield rented and finds it empty. "Schofield set us up."
The Five walk through a cemetary, carrying shovels. We are about to see what Schofield was digging up last season in a flashback.
Mahone figures out another tattoo; one that explains where he is headed: the cemetary.
The Five dig up a grave and grab the clothes Schofield had buried before his arrest. They change into the civilian outfits (Abruzzi, being a larger guy, has to wear pants two inches too short). Lincoln and Schofield are about to make a break from the others to a parked car Schofield has the keys to when Mahone shows up. Schofield looks worried that Mahone figured it out so quickly.
Mahone catches a glimpse of The Five as they run away. He chases them into a nearby city and loses them in the crowd.
Veronica gets a call from Lincoln. She tells him to stop running because she found Steadman. The police arrive and shoot Veronica point blank in the head and chest. Lincoln hears everything and is crushed. Another important person in his life is dead.
The "cops" in Steadman's house remind him that he doesn't need a gun in the house as he has them to protect him (and intercept any police calls to check out the house).
Back in the hospital, Sara sees the origami swan Schofield gave her. She opens it up and sees a note from him: "There's a plan to make this all right" with what looks like Morse Code below it. I'm not a hardcore fan of the Michael/Sara romance, but I thought this was the coolest surprise of the episode.
Mahone tells his assistant what the tattoos mean-- that they contain the plans for the prison break as well as the plans for outside of the walls.
The episode ends with Michael dropping the handcuffs he finally got off his wrist into the dirt. Poetic...
Scenes from next week's episode include some faces we didn't see tonight:
Tweener buying a ticket-- to Utah. L.J. (wow, where's he been?) is interrogated by Mahone, and Linc & Michael attempt to break him out of lockup while they have a chance.
The only question marks are "Haywire" and Agent Kellerman. I know Kellerman plays a role this season as Paul Adelstein's been interviewed on the subject and he confirms, but I've heard nothing about Silas Weir Mitchell's "Haywire"...
All in all, a great episode. Things were tied up a little: Veronica, the only one beside L.J. to know a conspiracy exists, gets killed; Pope is being phased out (Stacy Keach is only supposed to be in the first two episodes of the season... for now). And while we didn't see Tweener, Haywire, or L.J., at least two of three will show up next week. Also, threads are being thrown out for this season: Lincoln taking a more active role, The Five beginning to unravel-- even without T-Bag around, Sucre realizing he wasn't told some big parts of the post-escape plans.
And the biggest question of all (although it really shouldn't be a surprise): how will Michael fix the problems he got Sara got into by allowing them to escape? I'm not sure why I'm fixated on that-- maybe because it was a complete surprise-- and gives just a little hope that someone will have a happy ending. Think about it: what are Sucre, Abruzzi, Tweener, T-Bag, Haywire, C-Note and Schofield himself gonna do? Lincoln could get pardoned, but the others still have to pay for their crimes. Heck, Linc escaped from jail, so he's not off the hook even if the murder rap goes away (although, again, he could get pardoned for the escape; maybe even Michael could).
Creator Paul Scheuing and Wentworth Miller have both said that there will be deaths this season, and I don't think they'll stop at Veronica. I'm scared to imagine who'll else will die. Sucre seems the most obvious, but he's a fan favorite (and has a great story yet to be told). C-Note has a great story to tell as well. Stormare and Knepper are too great of actors to lose. Stormare's Abruzzi was brought back from "death" already, and T-Bag, I think, will play a huge part as monkey wrench for the others. I doubt Schofield, Lincoln and Sucre, at least, would allow T-Bag to run wild in public-- their consciences wouldn't allow it.
As I said earlier, Agent Kellerman has a role this year as well, but I'm not sure in what capacity. Tweener is supposed to find love on the outside and is also supposed to play a little comic relief for the show. And President Reynolds will "disappear" for a bit until the ratings for ABC's Brothers and Sisters come in (I think the producers of Prison Break have all the voodoo dolls, prayer beads, and rain dances they can handle hoping Patricia Wetting's new show doesn't take off and she can return to the show-- okay that's pretty harsh, and I don't want to imply anything).
JESUS! Did I just spend two hours analyzing an hour-long show? Oh man, I think I have a problem...
And as if Prison Break wasn't enough, I also watched the other two great scripted shows airing new eps this summer tonight.
Last night's Entourage was fantastic. Drama got busted rubbing one out in his trailer while the director and crew waited for him to show on set. Vince and Turtle were on a quest for limited edition Nikes. And f-ing Jeremy Piven and Martin Landau on the same screen most of the episode. Incredible work. It's a young man's show, but Landau owned his scenes. Piven, of course, took it up a notch to meet Landau head-on. Great work-- there better be Emmy noms for both next summer. And how lucky was Kevin Connolly to be able to have scenes with both of those greats? Connolly held his own, by the way-- muy impressive.
And, finally, last night's Venture Brothers was also a classic. The usual great lines, and the added bonus of the main characters being in costumes. Dr. Venture was Obi Wan Kenobi, Brock was Chewbacca, 12-year old Dean was Princess Leia as Jabba's slave, and Hank was... Batman. Classic lines as Dr. Venture disparaged Hank for ruining yet another attempt at best costumed family. Hank's only response? "I am The Bat!"
Well, I've got some more TV to watch... Catch ya later!
***And if you've got something to say about anything I wrote, post it. If you just want to bask in my genius, that's okay, too... :) ***
Passages in italics are my thoughts. If you don't want to read the whole recap, scroll down to my end of episode thoughts. If you have a thought yourself, go ahead and post it. This could be a fun exercise (and ease up on the burden I put Brian and Neal through every Tuesday when I dissect the previous night's episode).
Please excuse any mispellings or whatnot, my fingers were flying on the keyboard trying to keep up-- and I know a post this long would cause Hell on the spellcheck...
I have to admit: even though I've already seen the season premiere, I was still shaking like a six-year old who just ate a box of Captain Crunch. I've waited all summer for this...
The episode opens the day after the daring prison escape.
We are introduced to Federal Agent Mahone. He asks his assistant who the escapees are. The assistant rattles off everyone's names and their crimes. A nice background and a primer for new viewers and a refresher for those who haven't seen the show since May.
Mahone asks if Schofield is the ringleader. When it is confirmed, he asks for all the information pertaining to him.
Next we see The Five (Michael Schofield, Lincoln Burrows, Benjamin "C-Note" Franklin, John Abruzzi, and Fernando Sucre) still together. They're still being closely chased by the prison guards and the dogs. They run to a train track where a train is just starting to go past. They end up getting around the train and losing their pursuers. Bellick almost hits Schofield hit a shotgun blast. He's got the wild look in his eye.
Mahone gives a press conference where he opens with passages from John Wilkes Booth's journal he kept while on the run. He mentions that while on the run, all the fears and paranoias a man would have from the original crime are heightened while being chased. Good foreshadowing as the escapees are showing signs that they are getting desperate. Mahone finishes by saying that things will be even tougher now that TV has become a part of the manhunt.
Cut to the escapees, as they argue with each other. C-Note blames Abruzzi's pilots for leaving early; Abruzzi informs him that he wasn't going to be a passenger anyway. C-Note calls out Schofield about Westmoreland's money, and Sucre is shocked to find out that there is a plan to nab money that Schofield never mentioned to him.
Mahone asks Pope to combine resources, and that includes interviewing prison staff, specifically Dr. Tancredi (and mentions that he knows Sara may have left the door unlocked on purpose). Pope refuses, and says, "She isn't going to be speaking to anyone."
Cut to Sara in a coma, hooked to a respirator. We overhear hospital staff saying she's stable but will have to fight to live. Clips from the previous season containing Michael and Sara are shown, and suddenly she wakes up.
T-Bag is rummaging through a campground, grabbing a cooler and all the ice he can fit in there. He threatens the campers with a screwdriver, and in typical T-Bag fashion, gives an almost honest "thank you" before he leaves.
Mahone looks at pictures of Schofield's tattoos and asks an assistant how long it would take a person to undergo that much ink. The answer is "100 hours... 200." The order is given to find the tatoo artist.
Next, Mahone mentions to Bellick the cooperation agreement he has with Pope, and Bellick's having none of it. Looks like Bellick will have to contend with the escapees and the Feds this season.
Next we find out what happened with Veronica and Steadman (who looks a little different than last year due to a necessary recasting-- note to producers: try to secure contracts with your minor characters who play major roles on the show; let's just call it the Patricia Wettig Clause since our new President will now be unseen since she was cast on another series). Veronica finds out she is locked inside the house with Steadman and has no way out.
Privately, Linc tells Schofield to ditch the others, but Michael tells him he can't because they all know about Utah, and the money buried there is paramount to their plans. He tells Lincoln they need to stick together to make sure they succeed (nice touch I think). Michael tells Lincoln that even though the jet is gone, he still has a plan.
Mahone interviews Michael's tattoo artist. She tells him that he was a "detail Nazi"; everything had to be perfect. He begins to piece together the meaning of the English, Fitz, Percy tattoo (remember, they are roads that intersect the prison, tattooed on Michael's wrist).
The five escapees run across a young girl. They almost talk their way out of a confrontation, but her dad arrives and aims his hunting rifle at them when he sees the men in prison garb talking to his daughter. Abruzzi grabs the girl and holds a gun of his own to her head until the father drops his gun. They take the father's gun and car.
Sara is interviewed by an agent and denies leaving the door open. She is told that not only Schofield escaped, but seven other men did, too. She looks genuinely shocked, and manages to ask "Who?" Side note: Sarah Wayne Callies said in an interview I saw that Sara thought she was saving Lincoln's life by helping Michael and had no idea others were escaping as well. Yet another of Michael's lies she will pay for...
T-Bag finds himself at a veterinary clinic. Even though it is closed, he sees a doctor in there and breaks in. He insists that he be helped and threatens the doctor until he agrees to attempt to reattach his hand.
The Five in the stolen car discuss Abruzzi's actions, and say he went too far. Abruzzi justifies his actions by saying they got away. C-Note finds out they're headed west, and says they need to go east to hook up with his family. Abruzzi remnds him that's the first place the police will be looking.
Bellick gets a hold of Schofield's credit card records and finds that he spent $8000 in just over a month in the immediate area before he was arrested.
Mahone visits Schofield's apartment and notices all the pin holes on the wall. He pieces together that Schofield planned the escape methodically and then destroyed the plans by throwing them out the window and into the river. He orders divers to search the river.
Veronica won't give up her efforts to escape from the Steadman house. She tries to get a cell phone signal. He says he is a victim-- and even though he is alive, no one else knows it, so he can't save Lincoln.
Bellick sees from the credit card records that Schofield rented a unit at a storage facility, so he heads off to check it out.
Sara's nurse friend visits her to apologize for letting the police and Feds know that Sara probably left the door to the infirmary unlocked. Sara tells her she has nothing to apologize for. She also tells her friend that her dad's office called, but not her dad as of yet. Her friend reminds her that she isn't the first person that fell for a con, and Sara replies with regret that "He never cared".
In the car, Sucre asks Michael what he is thinking about, and Michael answers: "Mistakes". Sucre knows immediately that he is talking about Sara and reminds Michael that he had to do it. Michaels answers that he didn't have to do it like he did and that he ruined her life. Sucre tells him there's nothing he can do about it now. Michael says, "That's not true."
Steadman pulls a gun on Veronica, but she calls the cops anyway. Steadman does not fire.
T-Bag's doctor tells him he is not qualified to perform the reattachment. T-Bag doesn't care and tells him to try and threatens his family. The doctor tells T-Bag that he has to put him under, but T-Bag refuses any pain killer. The doctor insists that no one can undergo a procedure like that without an anesthetic, but T-Bag replies, "I... ain't... nobody..." Daaaaaamn!
Mahone figures out more of the tattoo's meaning, and then hears that the cops are checking out a storage facility.
Bellick and his men arrive at the storage facility and he tells Mahone (who also just showed up) to stay out of the way. The cops close in, and we see The Five in a storage room grabbing shovels. Bellick opens the unit Schofield rented and finds it empty. "Schofield set us up."
The Five walk through a cemetary, carrying shovels. We are about to see what Schofield was digging up last season in a flashback.
Mahone figures out another tattoo; one that explains where he is headed: the cemetary.
The Five dig up a grave and grab the clothes Schofield had buried before his arrest. They change into the civilian outfits (Abruzzi, being a larger guy, has to wear pants two inches too short). Lincoln and Schofield are about to make a break from the others to a parked car Schofield has the keys to when Mahone shows up. Schofield looks worried that Mahone figured it out so quickly.
Mahone catches a glimpse of The Five as they run away. He chases them into a nearby city and loses them in the crowd.
Veronica gets a call from Lincoln. She tells him to stop running because she found Steadman. The police arrive and shoot Veronica point blank in the head and chest. Lincoln hears everything and is crushed. Another important person in his life is dead.
The "cops" in Steadman's house remind him that he doesn't need a gun in the house as he has them to protect him (and intercept any police calls to check out the house).
Back in the hospital, Sara sees the origami swan Schofield gave her. She opens it up and sees a note from him: "There's a plan to make this all right" with what looks like Morse Code below it. I'm not a hardcore fan of the Michael/Sara romance, but I thought this was the coolest surprise of the episode.
Mahone tells his assistant what the tattoos mean-- that they contain the plans for the prison break as well as the plans for outside of the walls.
The episode ends with Michael dropping the handcuffs he finally got off his wrist into the dirt. Poetic...
Scenes from next week's episode include some faces we didn't see tonight:
Tweener buying a ticket-- to Utah. L.J. (wow, where's he been?) is interrogated by Mahone, and Linc & Michael attempt to break him out of lockup while they have a chance.
The only question marks are "Haywire" and Agent Kellerman. I know Kellerman plays a role this season as Paul Adelstein's been interviewed on the subject and he confirms, but I've heard nothing about Silas Weir Mitchell's "Haywire"...
All in all, a great episode. Things were tied up a little: Veronica, the only one beside L.J. to know a conspiracy exists, gets killed; Pope is being phased out (Stacy Keach is only supposed to be in the first two episodes of the season... for now). And while we didn't see Tweener, Haywire, or L.J., at least two of three will show up next week. Also, threads are being thrown out for this season: Lincoln taking a more active role, The Five beginning to unravel-- even without T-Bag around, Sucre realizing he wasn't told some big parts of the post-escape plans.
And the biggest question of all (although it really shouldn't be a surprise): how will Michael fix the problems he got Sara got into by allowing them to escape? I'm not sure why I'm fixated on that-- maybe because it was a complete surprise-- and gives just a little hope that someone will have a happy ending. Think about it: what are Sucre, Abruzzi, Tweener, T-Bag, Haywire, C-Note and Schofield himself gonna do? Lincoln could get pardoned, but the others still have to pay for their crimes. Heck, Linc escaped from jail, so he's not off the hook even if the murder rap goes away (although, again, he could get pardoned for the escape; maybe even Michael could).
Creator Paul Scheuing and Wentworth Miller have both said that there will be deaths this season, and I don't think they'll stop at Veronica. I'm scared to imagine who'll else will die. Sucre seems the most obvious, but he's a fan favorite (and has a great story yet to be told). C-Note has a great story to tell as well. Stormare and Knepper are too great of actors to lose. Stormare's Abruzzi was brought back from "death" already, and T-Bag, I think, will play a huge part as monkey wrench for the others. I doubt Schofield, Lincoln and Sucre, at least, would allow T-Bag to run wild in public-- their consciences wouldn't allow it.
As I said earlier, Agent Kellerman has a role this year as well, but I'm not sure in what capacity. Tweener is supposed to find love on the outside and is also supposed to play a little comic relief for the show. And President Reynolds will "disappear" for a bit until the ratings for ABC's Brothers and Sisters come in (I think the producers of Prison Break have all the voodoo dolls, prayer beads, and rain dances they can handle hoping Patricia Wetting's new show doesn't take off and she can return to the show-- okay that's pretty harsh, and I don't want to imply anything).
JESUS! Did I just spend two hours analyzing an hour-long show? Oh man, I think I have a problem...
And as if Prison Break wasn't enough, I also watched the other two great scripted shows airing new eps this summer tonight.
Last night's Entourage was fantastic. Drama got busted rubbing one out in his trailer while the director and crew waited for him to show on set. Vince and Turtle were on a quest for limited edition Nikes. And f-ing Jeremy Piven and Martin Landau on the same screen most of the episode. Incredible work. It's a young man's show, but Landau owned his scenes. Piven, of course, took it up a notch to meet Landau head-on. Great work-- there better be Emmy noms for both next summer. And how lucky was Kevin Connolly to be able to have scenes with both of those greats? Connolly held his own, by the way-- muy impressive.
And, finally, last night's Venture Brothers was also a classic. The usual great lines, and the added bonus of the main characters being in costumes. Dr. Venture was Obi Wan Kenobi, Brock was Chewbacca, 12-year old Dean was Princess Leia as Jabba's slave, and Hank was... Batman. Classic lines as Dr. Venture disparaged Hank for ruining yet another attempt at best costumed family. Hank's only response? "I am The Bat!"
Well, I've got some more TV to watch... Catch ya later!
***And if you've got something to say about anything I wrote, post it. If you just want to bask in my genius, that's okay, too... :) ***
This week's premieres, 8/21-8/27
Here's what I hope will be a weekly feature for a while. Includes network premieres as well as notable cable ones (I'm more apt to include them if I intend on watching them). This is by no means all-inclusive, even if I do try...
Monday, 8/21:
Prison Break, FOX. 7 pm CST. Reairs Wed @ 8 pm
Vanished, FOX. 8 pm CST. Reairs Tues @ 8 pm
Wedmesday, 8/23
The Hill, Sundance. 8-8:30 pm CST. Reality series that follows Florida Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler on Capitol Hill. A little dated (at least the opener is) as he drums up support for John Kerry in the fiasco that is "2004: The Year the Putz Actually Got Elected."
Two-a-Days, MTV. 9:30- 10:30 pm CST. I'm guessing it'll re-air a whole lot the next week. An Alabama high school football team tries for a fourth consecutive state title. Friday Night Lights, but with real kids.
Friday, 8/25:
Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO. 10-11 pm CST. Will re-air throughout the week. Yeah, yeah, The Right complains about him (boo hoo-- turn the channel to FOX News and have O'Rilley cup your balls, then), but Maher actually makes sense. He hates Bush, but mainly because he's such a tool. He also despises much of the Democratic Party for laying down the last four years and letting the Republicans have their way with the country and the Constitution. Maher will be out of a job once people use common sense-- so he should stay employed until he keels over dead. He has a bonus on other truth tellers/pundits: he's funny. You may not agree with him, but you should laugh (unless you're on The Right-- they usually don't have a sense of humor). If you get HBO, open your head, cut through the bullsh**, and get reminded of what's really important in the world.
Sunday, 8/27:
The Emmys, NBC. 7:00 -God knows when pm CST. Yes, there were horrible exclusions this year-- but they happen every year. At least the voters tried to get some right, so watch it for them.
Unfortunately, the Emmys will never be perfect until the people who actually watch lots of TV make up the nomination/voting process.
I'm talking critics, not the public. Quality shows finally are getting decent ratings, but I still wouldn't trust the masses to determine what is great art. Hell, we've got f-ing Charlie Sheen and Kevin James nominated for lead actor in a comedy series (along with the actually worthy Steve Carell, Larry David, and Tony Shalhoub)-- and that was by people who are supposed to know a little something. What, afraid Jason Lee wouldn't show up for the awards or something?
Monday, 8/21:
Prison Break, FOX. 7 pm CST. Reairs Wed @ 8 pm
Vanished, FOX. 8 pm CST. Reairs Tues @ 8 pm
Wedmesday, 8/23
The Hill, Sundance. 8-8:30 pm CST. Reality series that follows Florida Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler on Capitol Hill. A little dated (at least the opener is) as he drums up support for John Kerry in the fiasco that is "2004: The Year the Putz Actually Got Elected."
Two-a-Days, MTV. 9:30- 10:30 pm CST. I'm guessing it'll re-air a whole lot the next week. An Alabama high school football team tries for a fourth consecutive state title. Friday Night Lights, but with real kids.
Friday, 8/25:
Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO. 10-11 pm CST. Will re-air throughout the week. Yeah, yeah, The Right complains about him (boo hoo-- turn the channel to FOX News and have O'Rilley cup your balls, then), but Maher actually makes sense. He hates Bush, but mainly because he's such a tool. He also despises much of the Democratic Party for laying down the last four years and letting the Republicans have their way with the country and the Constitution. Maher will be out of a job once people use common sense-- so he should stay employed until he keels over dead. He has a bonus on other truth tellers/pundits: he's funny. You may not agree with him, but you should laugh (unless you're on The Right-- they usually don't have a sense of humor). If you get HBO, open your head, cut through the bullsh**, and get reminded of what's really important in the world.
Sunday, 8/27:
The Emmys, NBC. 7:00 -God knows when pm CST. Yes, there were horrible exclusions this year-- but they happen every year. At least the voters tried to get some right, so watch it for them.
Unfortunately, the Emmys will never be perfect until the people who actually watch lots of TV make up the nomination/voting process.
I'm talking critics, not the public. Quality shows finally are getting decent ratings, but I still wouldn't trust the masses to determine what is great art. Hell, we've got f-ing Charlie Sheen and Kevin James nominated for lead actor in a comedy series (along with the actually worthy Steve Carell, Larry David, and Tony Shalhoub)-- and that was by people who are supposed to know a little something. What, afraid Jason Lee wouldn't show up for the awards or something?
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