More TV

We watched Heroes and Shark and long story short, we're staying on them both.

Heroes is interesting. Not necessarily the best acting or writing on tv, but it is interesting to me that they're actually trying a superhero serial on television with no license behind it. I'll be interested to see how it does.
I've never really liked Smallville or Birds of Prey cause the production values are always hella low and the acting talent is virtually non-existent.
Heroes looks like it could be different and I am intrigued by the fact that they told us in episode 1 that it is just volume 1 of the story they are starting.

As for Shark, I really like James Woods. This show is really like House for lawyers. Anyone who knows me knows how much I think House rocks. He's just a great character with depth and a really sharp wit.
Sebastian Stark, from Shark, is not quite to House's level, but in fairness, I have only seen one episode. It is weird to watch this show and Justice, because they're really the same sort of show but from opposite sides. In a world where the two shows were one, Stark could would alongside TNT&G, the ridiculous, but high stakes criminal defense firm from Justice. But in Shark, this guy, this rich, sleazy lawyer switches sides and decides to prosecute criminals instead. I haven't yet determined whether or not the show is demonizing defense attorneys or suggesting that they are truly better lawyers. It seems that there is a lot more going on, a lot more subtext, in Shark as opposed to Justice. It doesn't have the cheap and ridiculous temporary amusement of Justice, but I am not sure if it really has what it takes to ultimately become House for lawyers. But I think I'll continue watching.

More TV

Jericho - very interesting. high concept. I am definitely interested in seeing what happens next, but, as is so common these days, I have no idea how you make this a series. That said, I will definitely be sticking around to find out.

Kidnapped - far exceeded my expectations. i had been interested, but i hadn't really expected much. it's a lot more interesting than I could have imagined. Good acting, interesting premise and a lot better than the similarly themed Vanished.

Six Degrees - booooooring. too many characters and a nothing concept. about ten minutes in, jennifer told me she did not want to watch the rest and, to be honest, i had only waited that long because i thought she might want to see it. she didn't and we dropped it.

So our tally is 4 dropped and 4 picked up. That is 50/50 for us and the new season.
There are still some left and we'll have to see how they go.

Addendum

Oh yeah, we also watched Celebrity Duets.
Yuck. Seriously, bad.
The first episode was 2 hours and we didn't even finish it. The music was bad and not funny or interesting. Jen and I are in agreement on this.

New Fall Season

Thanks to my Tivo, I can try more shows this season than normal. So I will be trying more shows and cutting them brutally and quickly. I should say that I am only checking out shows that seem interesting. Thus, no sitcoms have really made the list and not every show will be watched. This list is purely based on my own tastes and if you don't like it, make your own list.

Here's the stuff I have seen and whether or not I shall keep it.

Vanished - Boring, stupid, and uninteresting. And I suspect they'll cancel it before the end of the season. I dropped it after episode 1.

Justice - Ridiculous and sorta fun. Also, the format of the show is interesting. You have a case, you follow it, and after the verdict, you get to see what REALLY happened. I'm interested in seeing it more.

Standoff - I didn't think I'd like it, but I did. The characters are interesting and they have genuine chemistry. I'm definitely interested in watching more.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - Boring. Really boring. And weird in the sense that I watched the entire episode without getting a feeling of what the remaining episodes will be like. People seem to like this one, but I pass. Jennifer hated it.

Tonight, I'll be sampling Smith.
Tomorrow, I will watch Jericho and Kidnapped.
Thursday, I will be watching Shark and Six Degrees.
These are in addition to the shows we already watch from last season. I'll maybe recap those after I finish next week.

Thank you, black people!!

Anyone who knows me knows of my love of soul music.
When I say soul, I mean Otis Redding, and your Motown, and your Aretha, and "Across 110th Street", and stuff like that.
I personally believe that nothing is purer in the music world. At its best, it is raw, beautiful, and stands up to repeat listenings.
I can't think of a rock song that I could listen to as many times as I have heard "Midnight Train to Georgia" without ever for a second becoming bored.
The reason I decided to post about this is because of soul singers' ability to take a cover song and make it almost completely unrecognizable and yet, still most excellent.
I dare you to find the link between the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" and Aretha Franklin's cover. I'm not even sure she heard the song before recording.
A hobby of mine has, for a while now, collecting all the crazy soul covers I can find. I have like 5 soul covers of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" and they are all by different people (The best being Otis Redding's version".
Some are weird, like Aretha Franklin covering The Band's "The Weight" and the Jackson 5 covering Jackson Browne's "Doctor My Eyes." In fact, I would not believe they existed, but I have them. I paid for them too, so I know that it's really them.

Side note: A pet peeve of mine is people attributing a song to the wrong artist and then giving it away for free over the internet, spreading the ignorance. Cat Stevens did not sing "Cats in the Cradle". I know it's hard because his name IS Cat, but he didn't sing it. Harry Chapin did.

I have more covers by Aretha than anything because damn if she never heard a song she didn't decide to record. My iTunes includes her covers of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Ray Charles, The Temptations, The Beatles, even Elton John.
There are a couple of missteps there, but for the most part, it's good.

God damn, nothing is better than a good soul record and if it includes a cover or two, even better. Thank you, black people for soul music. I am sorry that so much suffering went into it and I appreciate you sharing it with the world.

Go turn on Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and turn it to "The Tracks of my Tears", listen to that awesome opening guitar riff and smile.

Reality TV is NOT a four letter word

In film school, we'd inevitably discuss films that we enjoyed.
Often times, one would mention his or her love for independent film. Or perhaps one loved Hollywood and Tommy Boy was their favorite.
They pretty much ran the gamut.
I always maintained, however, that there is good and bad in every genre and every type of film and television.
Some horror movies suck. Romantic comedies too. But they don't ALL suck. They can't.
It's impossible and you can quote me on that.
Well most people look down on reality tv. It is somehow less than even the shittiest of fictional shows in the eyes of many.
But my theory stands. Not all reality tv sucks. Yeah, there are a lot of shows that feed on the bottom. Just base, ridiculous drama for the sake of drama.
Jennifer loves those shows and I have to admit that from time to time, that works for me too.
But some is actually good.
This brings me to my point in a roundabout way.
I have grown to love many shows on the Discovery Channel. I never thought that would be me. I don't particularly like sharks and I'm not all that interested in science either.
It was THIS man who changed all of that.


THAT is the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin and he was a truly great man. No sarcasm at all. The man loved animals and turned rescuing and caring for them into excellent television. He was charismatic and extremely likeable. Sadly, he is no longer with us, but as it was pointed out, Steve died doing what he loved. I'm not going to tell you the details cause you already know them. And if you don't, you can find them on any of a hundred sites. But this man changed my opinion of reality television.

This next man has a show called Dirty Jobs and while he doesn't usually save any lives, he profiles people.



His name is Mike Rowe and basically, if you have a shitty, dirty job, he'll come and do the job with you on television. He has a great respect for the people who do the jobs that I don't want to do. This week, he celebrated his 100th job with a 2 hour special. He's funny, interesting, and much like Steve, he has a genuine and obvious love for the subject matter.

This brings us to the Mythbusters. Brad and I decided a long time ago that these men truly have the greatest jobs on the planet.



They are Jamie and Adam and they debunk myths. They get to shoot guns, blow shit up, and build all sorts of crazy shit. They rock and there is a hot chick on their show. I only mention her because I did a search on Mythbusters 9/10 of what came up were pictures of this woman.



Her name is Kari and she proves that a lot of horny nerds watch Mythbusters. Sadly, at least half of the pictures on the web are of her in a skin tight outfit (for a myth, no doubt), bending over. That said, she's smart too, so maybe she's the nerd's ultimate dream. Who knows?
Anyway, we'll miss you Steve.
As well, I love you Mike, Jamie, and Adam and yes, you too Kari.
Reality television that doesn't suck. That's a good thing.