Updates
Food poisoning blows. (In more ways than one.)
I've been so sick that I haven't even gotten to watch the return of
Everwood. (I know--I'm horrible and should be shot. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow night I'll feel up to it.)
My roommate's parents are in town visiting and his mom went on
The Price is Right Monday and won the Showcase Showdown! How cool is that? Her episode airs April 12. She didn't get to bid on
Easter Flowers, but apparently was able to guess the correct price of a trampoline.
WOW!
George Mason(also known in JMU Forensics circles as The Tundra)--who knew?
Non-fiction
This is the kind of stuff you can't make up.
Just click the link and laugh. This is so hilarious that I think I'd be willing to advertise it for them just to be able to amuse myself non-stop!
Who knew?
As much as I hate to admit it, this sounds like a reality show I could enjoy. Coursey of
Zap2It:
Political strategist James Carville has advised the campaigns of Bill Clinton and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, among others. His wife, Mary Matalin, has worked for both Bush White Houses.
Now, they're bringing all their political skills and experience to bear on the cutthroat world of ... a high-school election.
Matalin and Carville will star in "Election," an unscripted series for Lifetime that's due to premiere in the fall. The show was one of several projects the cable network announced Tuesday.
"Election" -- no relation to the Alexander Payne movie, though it covers similar territory -- will follow Carville and Matalin as they advise candidates running for student body president at a Washington, D.C., high school. The series is scheduled to run for six episodes.
Carville and Matalin are hardly strangers to the cameras, each having served as host of
CNN's "Crossfire" in the past; Matalin also hosted the show "Equal Time" on
CNBC. They served as consulting producers and appeared on the
HBO show "K Street" and were also featured in the documentary "The War Room."
R.J. Cutler, who produced "The War Room," is also one of the executive producers of "Election," along with Andrea Buchanan and Todd DeLorenzo.
Coming Soon?
It's fascinating to watch TV Pilot season as it kicks into full gear in LA. Every day there's word about actors getting work, signing onto a Pilot in the hope that they will soon have a job that will run 20 years (like
Law & Order
). It's impossible to tell from the loglines which of these is likely to be the next
Head Cases
or the next
Grey's Anatomy
, but there's some that definitely make me want to scratch my head.
For instance:
60 Minute Man
--who cares what it's about? It's a horrible title!
A Day in the Life
--It's about a young couple's wedding day from the points of view of the various participants. Honestly, I don't see how this is going to be a show. What are they going to do? Have jokes about
wedding reception ideas for 22 episodes?
A House Divided
--There's a conflict between a Midwest farming community and the government.
Sex, Power, Love and Politics--A sitcom about Capitol Hill staffers in their 30s? With that title? Why not call it Train Wreck on Constitution? Sigh--but it does have Jane Krakowski.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip--Aaron Sorkin's new show that looks behind the scenes of a
SNL-esque show. Matthew Perry comes back to TV for it. Just not sure I'm that interested. Casting Amanda Peet in it doesn't help.
Six Degrees
--Starring Erika Christensen, Jay Hernandez, Campbell Scott and Hope Davis; executive produced by JJ Abrams. It doesn't matter what this thing is about, I'm there.
Apparently, there are two pilots in contention with the working title
Southern Comfort
. Yet neither of them are about the same thing as the documentary a few years ago called
Southern Comfort.
I don't know how good any of these will be. They might all be brilliant. They're just the ones that everytime I see them, there's something that makes me pay attention. Some are because I'm excited. Others are because--I just don't know how bad they're going to be. And for those, unfortunately, we may never know.
Weekend plans
It's supposed to be cold and rainy here this weekend--again. Maybe I'll take this opportunity to go see
V for Vendetta or
Thank You for Smoking. (I do love Aaron Eckhart and Robert Duvall.) Of course, I could do something really crazy like shop for
truck accessories, but then, that would imply I own a truck.
I guess at the end of the day, what makes the most sense is for me to hole up in my apartment again and work on my spec for
The Shield
.
Federal Cretin Commission
I understand the FCC has a job to do, but the
rulings and fines they levied yesterday were beyond ridiculous and absurd.
They cited "Without a Trace" because it depicted teenage sex in a group setting. While there was no nudity, viewers found this to be offensive. There were teenagers in various stages of undress, but again
nobody was naked. I think I've seen the episode--not sure, but I'll be looking for a copy of it now to see. Sure, the show is sexual sometimes (something the creators apparently make a point of), but it's not offensive. I've been much more appalled by the horrendous quality of
NCIS when I've watched it. It's definitely less sexual than some old episodes of
Ally McBeal. And look at the context! It's not like these kids were having an orgy as a bunch of
bridesmaid gifts! It was supposed to be a mistake--something that they regretted.
If you read a
complete copy of the finding, it's not anything worse than what you would find in a PG or PG-13 film.
And somebody explain to me how CBS and its affiliates are fined $3.6 million for this, but only $550,000 for Janet Jackson baring her breast. Does that make sense?
Furthermore, the FCC fined FOX because somebody uttered the "F word" at the 2003 Billboard Music Awards. I have no problem if they're going to enforce that, but do it across the board. I remember when Bono uttered the word on the Golden Globes, the FCC declined to fine NBC or the Hollywood Foreign Press. The complaint then alleges that "Each of these words is among the most offensive words in the English language." To whom? Are these the most offensive words in the English language to Nicole Richie? Clearly not. To most people in Hollywood? You've seen the movies, you know not. To me? Not at all. I'd much rather somebody use this than taking the Lord's name in vain, but you don't see the FCC cracking down on shows that do that, do you?
I know that the Administration is struggling in an effort to do something right, but this clearly isn't it. It's primeval, redundant, and stupid.
And I never thought I'd say this, but this week, the FCC makes the MPAA look like they know what they're doing.
Hubris
There's hubris and then there's this
piece of name-dropping. I'm surprised he just didn't start talking about his
vacation home Orlando or the number of models throwing themselves at him.
Good TV
Now that’s what an episode of television should be like!
Tonight’s episode of
The Shield, “Of Mice and Lem” was not only the best of the season so far for this show, but it easily has to be one of the best for any show. Period.
Intensely moving throughout, the show did something surprising, especially in comparison to other series. When it wanted to be profound and emotional, it didn’t bring in new terrorists,
malpractice lawyers, or special guest stars. Instead, it simply focused on the characters and the odd brotherhood that is the Strike Team.
All season, the show has been building to a
High Noon showdown between Vic (Michael Chiklis) and Kavanaugh (Forest Whitaker). Stuck in the middle is Lem (Kenneth Johnson), a pawn who got busted for intent to distribute heroin, but was intended to serve up Vic and his other partners on the Strike Team. Tonight, he’d had enough and decided he wasn’t going to intensify his ulcer anymore. He gave up. He realized that the only way to win was to face up to what he’d done, go to jail, and live in peace with his conscience.
Unfortunately, it’s never that easy. That’s what made the episode so powerful—Johnson’s terrified mouse caught in a rat trap (so perfectly echoed in a subplot about rat traps and gloryholes), coupled with Kavanaugh’s rage and Vic’s refusal to see the answers in anybody else’s terms but his.
Plus, we got the beauty of finally seeing Claudette (CCH Pounder) recognized for her brilliance and dedication to the job.
This is what good television is about. I can’t wait till the season finale next week!
Bye Tony
Can
24 get any more bleak this season? Besides me sobbing a couple of times tonight, I just felt completely thwomped when the whole thing was over.
I thought the sight of Edgar almost about to slump dead over
office room reception chairs was bleak enough, but this was even more heartbreaking.
And is it too soon to start taking out “For Your Consideration” ads for Jean Smart as Best Supporting Actress? I hope not. Her people should call my people and we’ll get right on that.
Desperate Boredom
The nature of television is that some weeks just aren't going to be as solid as other weeks. It just has to happen. The pressure of churning out a new episode every 8 days or so is difficult, draining, and overwhelming. That's why every show has writing staffs. That's why the actors don't all work all the time. The poor little PAs might not get as much a break as some of the other people, but they're peons way down on the food chain. It goes with the territory.
So I'll give a show a pass if it has a subpar episode, but last night were subpar episodes from
Desperate Housewives
and
Grey's Anatomy
. The only thing that really kept me interested in either episode was seeing
Teddy Dunn (Duncan on
Veronica Mars
--yeah it's coming back with new episodes this week) as the high school hockey player on
Grey's
. But even his story was missing a couple of beats at the end. It was like he had three quick scenes and that was it. That's not a storyline. That's a runner.
Sure, there was some interesting stuff with George. But seriously, what's with the Felicity-esque attention to his hair? He's a guy? Who pays that much attention to a guy getting his hair cut short? And it didn't even look that bad! I love the character of George. He's amusing and charming in a completely nerdy way. He's the kind of guy that you'd like to hang out with once--until he started talking about
buying silver coins. Then you realize he needs a new hobby. But, there was still a little too much attention paid to him and his hair last night. The gag with Christina and the baby was great, but not that interesting. In fact, that's really what was wrong with most of the stuff going on last night. Everybody had little vignettes, but nobody had a complete story. There were quick beats with the whole Catherine Deneuve thing, but still, it just didn't feel like a fully formed episode for me.
Desperate Housewives
was even less engaging. To have Kathyrn Harold come back as John's mother just for the purpose of sticking it to Gabrielle and Carlos? I didn't buy it for a second. And by the way, does anybody else find it odd that these people are spending money like it's no big deal? Neither of them have a job and they don't seem to have curbed their lifestyle. I don't know how much Carlos made, but they live in suburbia--not Beverly Hills. So where is their money coming from? Are they trying to
make money blogging? Or are they just engaging in some illicit activity on the side?
The Susan storyline just felt like it got really old, really fast and why hasn't Zack figured out who his real dad is? The show is just burning through ideas so quickly, that I'm kind of tired of worried when it's gonna self-combust. Even Lynette and Tom who normally have the most grounded storylines felt off-kilter to me last night. Lynette telling her husband that he needs to take care of his own problems didn't ring true. It's not the couple we've come to love. These are people who want to work things out together. Not point fingers.
The only storyline I bought last night was Bree. I loved the scene with Andrew when she told him that he's not living up to his potential and she intends to make sure he does. I think it's a fascinating idea. I hope the show doesn't lose it. However, I do worry that this whole emancipation thing will be just another teen fantasy run amuck. (Does it seem strange to anybody else that there are multiple emancipated teens on TV? Who does this in real life? I mean, outside Los Angeles.) But if the show holds true to what is core to Bree--she does seem to be a mother than not only cares about how things look, but she also knows how to get them--hopefully Andrew will be able to grow into an interesting adult.
Hopefully. You'd just think that on the first night when the network is going up against
The Sopranos
, they'd try and get the episodes a little stronger.
Huh?
I'm not the up-to-date person regarding international affairs. I'm not as well-versed as I should be, but I try. Nevertheless, this whole
Milosevic heart attack thing strikes me as being very fishy. I do have the tendency to believe in conspiracy theories, but the fact that this man may have been taking some kind of antibiotics to counteract other medication? I might need to consult some
NY lawyers , but this sounds like something bigger than simply an accident.
Of course, this could all be a publicity stunt for
Alias
's return next month, but... I doubt it. If it is, they should just send
gift baskets instead.
Note
WOW! I never thought that
24 would do anything more shocking than killing off President Palmer to start the season, but I was completely wrong. The final moments of tonight’s two-hour special were chilling. It was like the producers wanted to see how many times they could have me screaming at my television set. The last ticks of the silent clock was heartbreaking and terrifying at the same time.
I don’t want to have to wait till next week!
Awards
I never would’ve thought this was possible, but I honestly think that watching an awards show on television is probably more fun than watching it live.
This weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer and help out with the Independent Spirit Awards. A couple of really long days, a little bit of sunburn, but overall it was an interesting experience. I can’t say that I did anything that was groundbreaking or earthshattering. I didn’t get to do anything glamorous (other than a little bit of crowd control), but it was still kind of interesting to see the whole thing happen.
I wish I had exciting things to report, but there really wasn’t anything that big. Allesandro Nivola accidentally thought that he knew one of my friends, so he was really chatty and extremely friendly with her. Sarah Silverman did a great job hosting.
The really exciting thing about the entire thing was that I was less interested in all the celebrities that were coming and arriving than I was in getting the facts regarding how the Forensics kids did at their tournament for states.
I guess that’s good because it means I recognize the things that are important in life and the things that aren’t. Right?
And the Stand Keeps Getting Bigger
So the Forensics team had two big tournaments over the weekend. They had the Tidewater Forensics League Tournament of Champions. And the team came in first. By a WIDE margin. Almost double the team in second!
Then they had the state Catholic Forensics League Tournament on Saturday. And they continued to excel. At that tournament, seven kids qualified for the National Tournament in Chicago in May. Those kids were--Richie Debo (Declamation); Amanda Kuhnley (Original Oratory); Christine Lewandowski (Oral Interpretation); Stephanie Lewis (Original Oratory); Michael Nugent (Extemporaneous Speaking); Elania Sati (Declamation); Jon Tan (Extemporaneous Speaking). Also, congrats to Deanna Flemming who will serve as the first alternate for Declamation.
Umm...
Well, at least now I can say that
Braveheart isn’t the most atrocious Best Picture Oscar winner in my lifetime. Still, congrats to Lionsgate for running a crazy effective campaign.
I’m personally more interested in now reading what the critics have to say about what
Brokeback’s loss means for the state of gay rights in the country, particularly when Hollywood doesn’t want to embrace the movie.
