When I was a kid, we had three channels on the tube and what we watched really depended on what the networks had on. If we were lucky and the stars were aligned, we could sometimes get channels from Memphis where I would drown myself in old horror movies on Channels 13 and 3.
I used to watch a lot of public television and one of the things that hacks me off today as we have a wonderful PBS station right here in Hoots proper that I cannot get on my satellite these days although the station is less than eight miles away and I have to watch the one out of Kentucky, but that’s another story for another day. I loved WLJT, because it was that station that gave me Monty Python, Doctor Who and Ebert and Siskel called Sneak Previews, long
Written by Roger Ebert and Russ Meyer
before the show went into that decade where syndicated television really ruled the airwaves.
I always liked Roger Ebert best. (True story about Ebert. My first visit to Chicago, my family stayed at the Drake Hotel. Homer and I were jaywalking as we were a couple of rube kids and he honked at us to get out of the way. My sister looked at me and said, “Was that the man from PBS?” I nodded. We didn’t care that we had stupidly gotten in his way in the middle of the street, we were excited that a television star almost ran us down in his car because we weren’t the brightest of children. We talked about it all that night. “MOM, DAD, WE SAW ROGER EBERT AND HE ALMOST KILLED US!!” I guess this was in the late 70s. You always remember your first almost demise from a celebrity, you know.)
I used to set my clock around watching the show. My family loved movies and so the show always helped us decide what movies we would go see. You see, because there didn’t used to be cineplexes around here, we would do a movie weekend in Memphis about once a month. (And we loved Irelands restaurants which would be our treat. How I miss you, you little steak on a biscuits.)
Roger Ebert always seemed to like movies even moreso than Gene Siskel. I also like freaky movies so you know that Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is still one of my favorites for it’s awesome terribleness which morphed into the greatest thing ever. In college, we would have parties around this movie and my best friend Dean could quote it almost word-for-word.
Fast forward to now where I’m an old codger butt. Siskel died the year after my mother did and the show went through a variety of changes and we as viewers went from three channels to hundreds. I don’t follow many celebrities on Twitter, but I do follow Ebert, because I think he gets new media as well as anyone. His twittering and blogging seems rather organic to me, and so I keep up with him.
Our new Disney executive from Burbank had other new ideas. She looked at the balcony set at ABC/Chicago, one of the most iconic set ideas in the history of television history, which had survived for more than half of the life of the medium, and decided it needed to be replaced. Don had offered to donate the similar set we used when we did the show at CBS/Chicago to the Smithsonian, which accepted it, but Disney said no to the Smithsonian.
Now workers tore at our set with sledge-hammers, and it collected in a dumpster in the alley.
I am sentimental, because I hated reading this. I hated to see history reduced to a dumpster.
And from reading Ebert’s post, I don’t think he liked it one bit either.
I was a late bloomer to watching the True Blood series on HBO but I have read the majority of the Southern Vampire Mysteries (not the last one though.) I’ve written before that I’m a sucker for not only horror/scifi movies but for parallel universes that combine paranormal elements in to everyday life.
Let’s get to the fact that Charlaine Harris’ novels are like drinking a mocha on a spring afternoon. The mocha is pretty tasty, but you drink it and it’s gone, the sun is still shining and you go back to your car to the next adventure.
It’s unmitigated fluff, but it’s amusing to me at least.
And the funny thing is that her descriptions of juke joints in the south is pretty dead on. I like the quirky (everyone use’s that damn word about these books, but it works) characters because I can pretty much identity them here in Hoots Central. The books focus on small town life, petty gossip that can be heard by the heroine which is the basis of the series of Harris’ novel and those subcultures that make a small town interesting.
Oh, and they are dime-store mysteries thrown in with a bit of Harlequin Romance where the sex is just lying out on the table. There is not doubt that all the characters are very unapologetically sexual. Groovy.
And that, campers, is why I read them because they are light, get some of the gist of small-town Southern USA (especially regarding the easy, or sometimes tense, banter in a bar) and there is that bit of hypocrisy that goes along with anyone who is blind to one cause and devoted to another or is just high falutin’. Happens everywhere (although the TV series has pretty much beat me in the brain with the Fellowship of the Sun, although having read the books, I know where that’s going and it’s important to the canon of the tale.)
So I’m fixin’ (because like Sookie Stackhouse, I’m southern) to talk about the differences between the two mediums, why I think they work and that’s it’s just soap opera fun in all reality.
There I said it, we have a new soap opera on the air where you get to see the sex, the gore, the betrayal, loyalty and supes. This is not your Dark Shadows of 40 years ago, but it’s the same premise behind all the glitter of HBO.
And, I rather like it.
Major spoilers after the break and I’m talking serious spoilers from the book so you have been warned.
I haven’t written about Lost for awhile as I’ve had to process it to a large degree and my schedule this season hasn’t been as easy to watch it in a timely manner.
Last night, however, proved to me one vital clue about this journey we have been on which I will pontificate to avoid spoilers after the jump:
I find myself drawn to character-based dramas. Formula television just really doesn’t work for me because I like layers and, as a commitment-phobe, it’s hard for me to designate time to watch the boob tube. (My DVR is my bestest friend these days. Opened up a brand new world for me.
Although I’m sure that there will be a lot of criticism of last night’s bleak episode of Battlestar Galactica’s first show in six months (that will sadly be gone in nine more episodes), I thought it worked. I thought the scene with Dee was perfect hitting the fact that she needed one last day of hope and that was enough because she was not strong enough to keep going on in a world where she saw no alternatives.
The show for me is set on different levels. Religious mores vs. faith, politics vs. humanity and hope vs. a darkness that is compelling. We see joy in finding earth, only to find that sometimes you get what you want and it’s nothing like you imagined. (The reincarnation theme intrigues me.) The “toasters” were just as disappointed with the discovery as the human survivors of Caprica were.
Hell, I was disappointed for them and as the Geiger counter informed us, the viewer, that this new world would be uninhabitable, I felt bad for these characters. All of them.
Humans, and toasters as well, can only take so much before they hit a breaking point. This was evident last night and red herrings were everywhere on the future although I honestly thought that all of them might be (notice I say MIGHT) Cylons.
BSG remind me of a western set in space to a large degree and maybe, because High Plains Drifter is one of my favorite movies of all time as is High Noon, I can’t help but be compelled to watch it and follow it with adoration. I trust the writers here, as I do with Lost, to take me on a journey.
Things I noticed:
Adama really doesn’t need to drink. Leave the boozehounding to Tigh (who despite his obvious character flaws, I’m smitten with.)
Why was Leoben with Starbuck on earth? I have no idea why this bugs me as he literally would lick her face off if he could, but he was. Kara Thrace always intrigues me though.
Dee was a character I never really thought much about but last night shocked me. I wasn’t expecting her choice, but I watched it twice and I have to say, as she was shaking on the ship home, the writers set it up for us. She did the things that made her happy and she found her smile again. This was very heart wrenching though. Once again, the thing of needing some hope and Dualla just didn’t have it.
The scene where Adama walked through the hall of the ship and people were coming apart at the seams was amazing.
I want to marry Mary McDonnell’s voice. She really has the sexiest voice I’ve ever heard.
The way the politics always plays out in this show, the warts and all, always grabs me. It appears it’s going to get very political next week because Tom Zarek is back.
The shiny Cylons are my favorite. I don’t know why I just love them.
If you haven’t seen the latest episode, you can at Sci Fi Rewind.
My crush on Kathy Griffin, why Star Wars really means nothing to me but Star Trek gives me a happy or what Mabel be plotting in her quest for world domination. These things are meaningless I guess but I still can’t be sure all of these things are connected. My annoyance of not being able to find good films from Hong Kong in Hoots (but by golly, you can find a Chris Farley movie lying on the street like leaves in the fall after a good wind.)
Sigh.
So, this morning I’m avoiding the newsers because I just want to get through the next eight days until Barack Obama takes office and political pontificating just wasn’t on this morning’s agenda.
So I watched Inside the Actor’s Studio instead. I am honestly scared of James Lipton although I’m fascinated with him which is an odd combination. In all honesty, if Chris Isaak doesn’t want to be my one night boyfriend in my mind (purely physical, of course), I guess that Lipton would be the dude that would make sweet passionate love to my mind. And then I would die because I’m not smart enough for Lipton and I know this. He terrifies me. My brain would literally explode. In lieu of flowers if this indeed did happen, send Homer some T-shirt work and Squirrel Queen to the Superbowl.
Gots to take care of my peeps.
You see, I have Lipton phobia due to his large brain.
I’m watching Josh Brolin this morning and then John Travolta came on. He was, in all honesty, a sweet interview, didn’t back up from the Scientology questions and it was obvious that the interview was filmed several years ago.
Now, when I find something profound from Travolta to get me thinking, I have to curse Lipton, my secret crush. I also realize that Travolta lost his son last week and to see him talking about his children on this show was extremely tragic before his son’s death was grim because we, as the viewer, knew the outcome. Something else to think about.
He said “Life should be art.” Yes, Travolta said this apparently to Nick Cage when they were filming Face-Off. And so it started bouncing around in my cranium. He went on to say that people live like life is fast food.
I have no real words of wisdom about this except it’s sitting in my brain this morning. Have I ever told you how much I love the movie Face-Off.
None of this is very exciting or particularly interesting I’m sure but I must say, living life as a work of art might stay with me for a few days. Yeah, I’ve heard it before, quite frankly, but for some reason, this morning it resonated with me.
I’m pimping. I’ve never been a pimp before as I never went to pimp school, but I’m very proud of NewsTechZilla so there. It’s good to be proud of something and I am. (I guess I should break out and start singing “It’s hard out here for a Pimp.”
My mind works in funny ways. That song is for Scout, who loves Hustle and Flow much more than she likes cheese. Well, she hates cheese but she loves Hustle and Flow/Terrence Howard.
Our featured article that went live this morning might have some resonance for those folks who loved, and still love, Nashville is Talking.
Mike Sechrist wrote an editorial for us and I’m just beaming. He’s moved on from the first incarnation of NiT, (here’s a video clip from Rex Hammock of Sechrist from 2006 if you want to take a time machine) but he took some time to pontificate about his opinions on the future of the news business.
The SEVEN DEADLY SINS — lust, envy, gluttony, sloth, greed, anger and pride — have had an enormous impact on the moral compass of the modern world. These sins have had different interpretations in Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and some argue that they have even greater significance than the Ten Commandments. The series traces the history of the sins, how they became part of religious doctrine, and looks at historical figures who have been the worst perpetrators of each. Each of the seven sins is explored, from their origins and nature, their opposing virtue, and their corresponding punishment.
The series is pretty amazing as it’s not only religion that is discussed but how science explains some of the ways that the seven deadly sins has evolved in a modern society.
I’ve always wondered about these seven puppies and how it applies to different religions.
The one that really made me think was the show on Pride. In our society, pride in many ways is honored and revered. Envy creates competition in many ways.
Anyway, there is no point in this post other than it made an impression on me. It could be said that no one is immune to the big Seven. I often wonder if my pride is my biggest enemy.
Oh well, with that said, the History Channel always gives me food for thought. Almost too deep for a Monday morning.
But give us something GOOD–something we want to think about and laugh with and watch and rewatch–and we will pay for it. We will even pay twice and thrice, as with the cases of some wonderful things like Arrested Development (Got it on DVD AND the iPod) and The Wire(Rented them all twice from Netflix and will buy them ASAP). I’ve asked for Season 1 of Pushing Daisies for Christmas and when I get it I’ll watch it again and again and again. In fact, I think I like the recent episodes of PD more than anything I’ve seen at the movies in the last six months. That includes the poor raped Indiana Jones. What does that mean to you? That means that I’d pay to see episodes of Pushing Daisies. I’d pay to see them in the same way I’d pay to rent a movie.
The strike might have killed this show but there really isn’t a commitment to TV like this. It’s one reason I’m quite enamored with the BBC right now. We get a few episodes in seasons that are not set up with preconceived notions from Hollywood. Cable has gotten the memo. Burn Notice, which I like a lot but Bruce Campbell could pull a Divine from Pink Flamingos and I watch it, Battlestar Galactica and other shows think outside the box and keep fans wanting more.
Also remember, if the younger generation opts for a laptop over a television, which I’m seeing happening more and more, network television is going to have to look at new ad revenue structures.
As I feel like a pile of poo and I am so tired of bailouts, politics and mass hysteria regarding Nov. 4, I’m going to write about Heroes.
The first season was fun. We were allowed to get to know some of the characters. The series has a sophomore slump and I blamed a lot of that on the writer’s strike.
But, dudes, seriously too many characters this season. Unlikeable characters, I might add. One of the best episodes of the first season is when Claire’s dad, HRG guy was given his own episode, as was the episode of how Gabriel Gray turned into Sylar with his need to be “special.”
As for the rest, meh. And relying so heavily on Hayden Panettiere for some of the heavy lifting in the series isn’t working. Kristen Bell would have been a better choice as she is quite compelling.
One thing that serial dramas have to do is make us root for someone. Although it’s quite bold to turn Peter and Mohinder into villains and Sylar into something more respectable than a crazy murderer, I’m finding that this just jumps around too much. There are too many characters that are getting time while the one’s that we know are being abandoned.
Joss Whedon was smart with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Spike evolved. Buffy evolved, Willow evolved. Lost even knows to stick to a few and not make everyone the main character. We need a point of view.
That’s one reason I do root for Sylar and Noah is we see a bit of depth. I know those characters better than the other ones. Hiro is still the comic book, one dimensional character that is there for comic relief.
I’m going to continue to give you a shot, if only to see Zachary Quinto, whom I think is pretty cool.
