Tuesday, December 29, 2009

JibJab Guys Say Goodbye to 2009, Plus an Anti-Resolution List

My Notes from the Asylum blogging has been a bit on the light side over the past week or so as I'm trying to give myself a mini-break before I plunge into some major writing/editing/blogging in the new year.

But in between numerous Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations, the kids' Christmas break, barely eluding being guilted into taking my 8-year-old to see Alvin and the Chipmunks The Squeakquel (a friend's mom took him), seeing It's Complicated with a gal pal, baking loads of holiday cookies and, at the behest of my daughter, polishing off the last of the Twilight series (just finished Breaking Dawn today), I learned that the JibJab guys have finally released their comedic send-off of 2009 called, Never a Year Like '09. Don't play this video at work or in front of kids though. The Octomom part made me laugh/cringe, as did the scene with David Letterman's "late night lust" and Miss California fake-humping the state of California.


Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Speaking of the New Year . . . I'm not one for resolution lists and media tips which proclaim to possess the answers to how to make your life better, particularly around this time of year, so for my GateHouse News Service column this month, I wrote a snarky parenting "anti-resolution" list including recommendations on embracing the crazy, acting more like moms on TV and campaigning for national acceptance of "underparenting."

Happy New Year. See you in 2010.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

THIS 'Lost' Promo Has Me Anxious for Feb. 2

Unlike the new Sex and the City 2 trailer, which left me feeling as flat as stale champagne, this latest one for Lost: The Final Season, was riveting.

". . . Every great story must have an end. Everything you questioned, everyone you loved, everything leads to one date, Tuesday Feb. 2nd. It's the beginning of the end."

The last image was of the interior ceiling of a passenger airplane as the "fasten seatbelts" sign was illuminated.

They're raising expectations pretty high over there at ABC. The final season had better live up to them.

Trailer for 'Sex and the City 2,' Sadly, Bores Me

When I saw the trailer for the first Sex and the City movie last year, I was intrigued, and very, very interested. Couldn't wait to see the film. I entered the date of the movie's premiere in my Blackberry.

Would Carrie and Mr. Big actually wed? Did Charlotte adopt the baby and then get pregnant? Did Steve actually cheat on Miranda? What was all this talk about happy, fairy tale endings not working out and what did that mean in Carrie World? These were all questions to which I wanted answers.

But after seeing the just-released Sex and the City 2 trailer (originally saw the news on the Huffington Post), it felt so, what's a good description for it . . . same-old, same-old, with the exception of the scene with the foursome walking in the desert. This time, it seemed as though this second installment -- if you go by the trailer -- just didn't have the allure of the first film.

And I couldn't help but wonder . . . has this Carrie-centric franchise worn itself out?

Compare the new trailer below, to the trailer for the first movie and you tell me.



Notes on Politics/News: More AIG Nuttiness, Health Care Bill Payoffs, Heenes Going to the Slammer

More AIG Nuttiness

Just when you thought that the news about federal bailout recipient AIG couldn’t get any more pathetic – you remember AIG, the company of which the federal government/American taxpayers own nearly 80 percent – the Washington Post comes along and likens them to Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life. (Okay, so the Post didn’t exactly make that comparison. That’s all me and my own editorializing.) Here’s what the Post said today about the latest AIG antics:

“When word spread earlier this year that American International Group had paid more than $165 million in retention bonuses at the division that had precipitated the company's downfall, outrage erupted, with employees getting death threats and President Obama urging that every legal avenue be pursued to block the payments.

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo threatened to publicize the recipients' names, prompting executives at AIG Financial Products to hastily agree to return about $45 million in bonuses by the end of the year.

But as the final days of 2009 tick away, a majority of that money remains unpaid. Only about $19 million has been given back, according to a report by the special inspector general for the government's bailout program.

. . . Dozens of employees have hired lawyers, bracing for a fight if AIG or government officials try to block the payments.”

Now, if it hadn’t been for the infusion of $180 billion in the form of a federally funded capital and loan rescue package, there would be no money for bonuses because the company would've gone bust and those employees now demanding the money would be out looking for work. And these AIG folks are supposedly "bracing for a fight" with lawyers to argue that that’s their money? Sure the funds might’ve been contractually agreed upon BEFORE the economy collapsed and AIG was left teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, but the moment the company accepted a federal bailout, all the rules changed.

In the face of double-digit unemployment, the fact that these folks have the temerity to argue that they’re right to take this action is akin to saying that Mr. Potter was right to keep the Bailey Building & Loan money because, well, you know what they say about possession and the law.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Home Shopping Success, State Senate Bid, Rolling Dice W/Casino All in a New 'Big Love' Trailer

This first substantive Big Love season four trailer was released by HBO yesterday and it was loaded with potentially intriguing and explosive stuff:

Bill (creator of the backyard Church of Bill during last season's finale) wants to move forward with his scheme to become a casino mogul AND run for state senate? That's a lot of work he's got on his plate: Running two home improvement stores, launching a new casino, having three wives, parenting tons of kids, running your own church AND running for statewide office. And this guy doesn't even use caffeine. Marg is doing well with her home shopping business, there's another trial involving polygamy and, in the wake of Roman Grant's death, there's a struggle over that white prophet's hat at the Juniper Creek.



The new season begins on January 10.

What storyline are you most interested in with the new season?

Another Illustrator Gets Inspiration from 'Mad Men'

I've written frequently in this space about the fabulous illustrations Dyna Moe has crafted featuring Mad Men characters and episodes. (She's also the one who designed the icons for "Mad Men Yourself." )

Today, courtesy of an NPR blog, I came across another artist who drew inspiration from one of the best shows on television. Illustrator Danny Hellman wrote in his blog:

"I'm hopelessly addicted to Matthew Weiner's wonderful AMC series Mad Men, so when Boston Phoenix Art Director Kristen Goodfriend asked in early November if I'd like to draw a Mad Men-themed cover, I felt the familiar rush of nervous excitement that accompanies every dream assignment. I can't speak for other illustrators, but when I'm asked to draw something that I love, the stakes are somehow higher. I suppose that's because in these rare instances, I'm working not just to please the art director, but also myself as a fan.

At first, Kristen said that the Mad Men cover would be part of the Phoenix's Ski Guide, although neither of us knew how they'd manage to connect the show to skiing. Fortunately, the editors soon decided that their Christmas Gift Guide cover would be more appropriate for the Mad Men treatment, and I agreed that this was a much better fit."

The image above is what he came up with, based on the season three finale, "Shut the Door. Have a Seat," where the new firm of Sterling Cooper Draper & Pryce met for the first time in a hotel room at Christmas time. Hellman's blog contains other Mad Men-Christmas themed images he created for the Phoenix.

Image credit: Danny Hellman.

Does 'It's a Wonderful Life' Irritate You or Lift Up Your Spirits?

As I wrapped a gazillion Christmas presents today, I was listening to a Boston area talk radio host trash It's a Wonderful Life as being a depressing movie with a lousy message. Shortly thereafter, the mailman delivered a new DVD copy of It's a Wonderful Life that I'd ordered. (We only owned it on VHS and this year decided it was about time we upgraded.)

The talk radio host was going on and on about how it sucked that George Bailey was taken advantage his entire life, cheated by his greedy brother who took George's college money and never took the reigns of the Bailey Building & Loan as he promised he'd do, left vulnerable to possible criminal charges after Mr. Potter kept Bailey Building & Loan money that Uncle Billy had foolishly left in the folds of his newspaper, being assigned a bumbling guardian angel in training as George contemplated suicide, and then his wife had to go all around town begging for money.

About half of the callers to the radio show thought the host was off base and called it a beautiful film about family and the power of community. However there was a vocal group which agreed with him, saying that it was a shame that George was guilted into giving up on his potential and his talents, that he was railroaded by people who didn't have his best interests at heart.

My husband always complains whenever we watch the film -- I consider it one of my favorites -- about how poorly George is treated, about the martyring choices George made. But watching the old Saturday Night Live skit -- where the gang at George's house learns the truth and then stormed over to the bank and beat the hell out of Mr. Potter -- never fails to bring a snarky smile to his lips.


What do you think about It's a Wonderful Life, does the film irritate you or lift up your spirits? Or both?

Friday, December 18, 2009

Creepy Christmas Greetings from 'Big Love's' Juniper Creek & Its Deceased Prophet

In an attempt to remind people of the dramatic goodness that is Big Love -- the show which netted three Golden Globe nominations this week -- in advance of its season four premiere on January 10, HBO has released a creepy set of Christmas videos/songs featuring the Juniper Creek prophet, Roman Grant, and his many wives singing in harmony.

But wait a second, didn't Roman die in the season three finale? The show's co-creator confirmed that Roman had passed away by telling the Los Angeles Times, and I quote, "Roman is 100 percent absolutely completely dead." I guess Roman came back from the dead for the sole purpose of delivering the likes of the video below, "A Juniper Creek Christmas."



In other Big Love news, TV Guide is reporting that the wonderful Amanda Seyfried -- who plays the disillusioned Sarah Henrickson who's repulsed by her parents' entry into the world of polygamy -- will be leaving at the end of the fourth season in order to pursue a film career. After making a big splash with Mamma Mia! last year, she's got two new films coming out soon, Letters to Juliet and Dear John.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Jack Bauer Grills St. Nick

First saw this on Entertainment Weekly's blog Pop Watch. It's certain to be a viral success: Jack Bauer gets Jack-tastic with a bloodied Santa Claus.

Merry Christmas, damn it!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Noteworthy People/Things/Events of 2009


The Notes from the Asylum list of noteworthy people, things and events of 2009, in no particular order . . .

Barack Obama inaugurated. That moment of national pride upon seeing the first African-American president sworn into office seems like a very long time ago. Since that cold January day in Washington, D.C. we’ve seen the president highlighted in the news for:

  • The First Family’s search for a dog
  • The Professor Gates imbroglio
  • The question of whether Obama and the French president actually checked out a teenager’s booty in full view of the media
  • A congressman shouting, “You lie” at the president during his address to Congress about the health insurance reform legislation
  • The swine flu vaccine debacle (not enough vaccines despite government promises) and nationwide H1N1 scare (aided and abetted by Vice President Joe Biden’s I-wouldn’t-put-my-family-on-an-airplane-right-now comment on the Today Show)
  • The contentious debates and town hall meetings about the health care legislation
  • A controversial stimulus bill, with federal money being spent on some, um, controversial items
  • The likes of AIG honchos getting mega-bonuses while unemployment numbers climb into the double-digits
  • The federal government’s attempts to help revive the ailing U.S. automotive industry inspiring the nickname “Government Motors”
  • The massacre at Fort Hood
  • Tens of thousands of US troops being sent to Afghanistan
  • The president killing a fly on camera.
Yes, it’s been a very long, weird freshman year for President Obama.

Sarah Palin, the former VP nominee who resigned the Alaska governorship this year. Hey, who says books are dead? Palin’s autobiography and well attended book tour events says books aren’t quite dead yet. At least all the attention paid to her book and her Oprah interview took the immature daddy of her grandson off out of the news, for a little while.

The season finale of Mad Men. Coupled with “The Gypsy and the Hobo” episode -- where Don finally confessed almost all of his dirty little secrets to his wife Betty -- these two episodes set the bar impossibly high for what it means to deliver intelligent, riveting, quality television. Completely. Besotted.

Morning Joe. The MSNBC talk show, which is always on in the kitchen as I get the kids ready for school on weekday mornings, boasts a lively mix of liberal and conservative ideologies, smart discussion and bar room humor all in one. It has had a great year and has earned my viewer loyalty.

Jon Hamm on SNL. Take note other celeb would-be Saturday Night Live hosts: Jon Hamm may have made being funny in the unevenly written sketch show LOOK easy when he hosted, but it’s not. Just ask his Mad Men co-star, January Jones. Oh, and those two actors being photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair earlier this year . . . those images constituted my favorite photo shoot of the year.

The Gosselin saga. Eight is enough apparently . . . especially when you throw some girlfriends into the mix. This was a sad, sad chapter in American pop culture lore where parents put their eight cute children in front of TV cameras for TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 and were then dismayed when those cameras wound up capturing the disintegration of their marriage. One might’ve hoped that this private-moment-made-public would’ve caused other parents to reconsider putting their kids on reality show programs. Alas, it didn’t.
 

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Golden Globe Nominations: The Good, the Bad & the Odd


Meryl vs Meryl. Meryl Streep is legend for her superb, award winning dramatic acting chops. Now it appears as though she’s conquered the world of comedy as well. This morning’s announcement by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, that she’s competing for a Golden Globe best actress in a comedy film award against herself, just makes it official: Meryl is the greatest actress of all time. This year she was nominated for her portrayal of Julia Child in Julie & Julia, and for her dramatization of a divorced mom who has an affair with her ex (Alec Baldwin) in the yet-to-be-released It’s Complicated.

Love for the Families. HBO's Big Love got three nominations for its solid third season in the categories of best TV drama, best TV actor in a drama for Bill Paxton and best supporting TV actress for Chloe Sevigny. ABC's Modern Family – which just aired one of the funnniest Christmas episodes I’ve seen – got a nod with a best comedy show nomination. I hope it kicks some comedy behind at the Golden Globes.

Enough with the Boring, Spoiled Boys Already. Why is Entourage even in the best comedy series running this year? Why not Parks & Recreation instead? Entourage was wildly uneven and I found myself getting seriously bored on many occasions and feeling as though the adolescent boy/never grew up/has no responsibilities shtick was getting tiresome.

In Dire Need of Some Texas-Sized Love. Where was Friday Night Lights, trusty Coach Eric Taylor and Principal Tami Taylor in the mix here? This show gets no love, honestly, it’s like the Gilmore Girls of the awards set.

Baffling TV Comedy Actress Selections. Why on earth did Courteney Cox get nominated for the abomination that is Cougar Town? Certainly Amy Poehler from Parks & Recreation is loads funnier, in that wry, Bob Newhart kind of way in its much-improved second season. The Association could’ve also, instead, put Sofia Vergara from Modern Family into that slot, or even Patricia Heaton from The Middle.

And while I’m on the subject of comedy actresses, why is Edie Falco’s excellent Nurse Jackie depiction competing in the comedy category? I really like Showtime's Nurse Jackie but as a comedy? Dramedy maybe. Straight out comedy, no. Ditto for the United States of Tara, also from Showtime and whose lead actress, Toni Collette, is nominated in the comedy category.

HBO Crushes Other Networks. One stat that is likely horrifying the brass at the broadcast networks: HBO got 17 nominations, one less than the combined number of nominations of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. AMC – home of Mad Men which got three nominations for best drama, best actor (the exquisite Jon Hamm), best actress (January Jones) -- got as many nominations as did ABC.

Anything please/displease you about the slate of Golden Globe nominees (find the whole list here)?

Image credit: Adam Taylor/ABC.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Thirty- & Fortysomething Men Having Angst on 'Men of Certain Age' & 'The League'


We've had plenty of TV shows as of late spotlighting modern mid-life challenges faced by women -- on Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle, The Cougar, Desperate Housewives, etc. And now, two brand, spankin' new freshmen shows have waded into the terrain of men's middle aged issues.

In my Mommy Tracked pop culture column this week I spotlighted the guys of TNT's Men of a Certain Age and FX's The League. One's a dramedy about fortysomething men which provides a kind of serious look at the death of one's life's dreams starring a melancholy Ray Romano, while the other's a crude comedy about thirtysomething men obsessed with their fantasy football league, as well as swilling beer and aiming sexually lewd commentary at one another:

"The guys in this fantasy football league see their hobby as a way to avoid facing the oftentimes difficult responsibilties of adulthood because they know that it's just a matter of time before these guys morph into the guys from Men of a Certain Age."

While The League's very raunchy, it does have funny stuff about parenting, including a storyline about a dad who wants to make his 5-year-old daughter hate a beloved character, Mr. McGibblets (he reminded me of Elmo) which she has in the form of a doll that sings and dances. You can catch the half-hour episodes, including the McGibblets one, on Hulu.

Image credit: FX.

Former High-Priced Escort Turns Relationship Columnist


We've all read the grim news, day after day as more professionally trained journalists and columnists are losing their jobs in the mainstream media, particularly in the newspaper business as newspapers close or go online only, shedding jobs along the way.

So when I saw that former high-priced escort Ashley Dupre -- whose dalliances with former New York governor Eliot Spitzer made her famous (and cost him his office) -- had landed a gig as a columnist for the New York Post to write about relationships it made me so very sad for my journalist colleagues.

If newspapers are going to go this route, maybe they should consider giving Bernie Madoff a column where he can answer readers' questions about investments/finances from his jail cell? Maybe Tiger Woods could be the male counterpoint to Dupre, writing a relationship column for the Post? Jon Gosselin could write a parenting column.

Poor Silda Spitzer.

Image credit: Victoria Will/New York Post.

ABC Releases New 'Lost' Promos for Final Season, Highlights Romance

"I had her. And I lost her." -- Jack Shephard

"Soldier of Love."

Seriously. That's the title of the new Lost promo that ABC has released to promote the sixth season premiere on February 2. The video emphasizes the Lost love stories. Jack and Kate. Kate and Sawyer. Sawyer and Juliet. Charlie and Claire. Sun and Jin. Makes ya kind of sad given what we last saw of Juliet in the closing moments of the season five finale.



For those who aren't so thrilled with the romantic angle, there's the Amazing Grace promo that was also released by ABC:



Or you could just go with an old school promo, with grand, dramatic music in the background and the important-sounding voice-over:



Watching these promos provides me with a solid distraction from the fact that there's still a gaping hole in my week that goes unfilled by Don Draper & Co. Sunday nights aren't the same. However once Lost is back with new, mind-boggling episodes in February, the week will seem all the better.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Newsweek Summarizes Decade in Seven-Minute Video



The folks at Newsweek attempted the difficult and controversial job of trying to summarize an entire decade -- 2000-2009 -- in a little over seven minutes by creating this video.

At the end of the video, the narrator asked what they missed. I can think of a few things just off the top of my head: Multi-kid mania (Angelina/Madonna adoptions, Gosselins, Octo-Mom, Duggars); the crazes involving High School Musical, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus and vampires; the Boston Red Sox breaking an 86 year curse (I still get teary-eyed at the memory), the first Latina on the U.S. Supreme Court and the skimpiness of their handling of 9/11. I think Borat got more airtime than did 9/11.

I'd love to hear what you think they left out of the decade summary.

Sara Ramirez's Silent Night/'Grey's Anatomy' Video

One of the things I really liked about the recent Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's episode of Grey's Anatomy -- "Holidaze" -- was the music. I went to the show's web page the day after it aired seeking to download several of the tunes (Ingrid Michaelson's Snowfall) used to amplify the mood during the emotional episode. (My favorite scenes involved Bailey and her dad, and Meredith and her de facto dad Richard).

What I was really seeking as I browsed through the list of tunes was the a cappella version of Silent Night sung by Sara Ramirez who plays Dr. Callie Torres. While I haven't yet found this particular recording made available in a downloadable form, ABC has posted a music video where scenes from the current season of Grey's are shown as we hear Ramirez's beautiful rendition plays. Enjoy.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

'Desperate Housewives' Playing Pregnancy Discrimination for Laughs

As I've been reviewing episodes of Desperate Housewives this season, I've become increasingly appalled by the Lynette Scavo/Carlos Solis plotline.

In a nutshell: Lynette, a mom of four, accidentally got pregnant and was planning to tell her boss Carlos -- her longtime friend and neighbor -- about her pregnancy. But before she could inform him, he told her he'd just passed over a talented woman for a promotion because she was pregnant and instead offered the post to Lynette, a job which would double her salary, as she's the sole breadwinner of her family of six, about to become a family of eight (she's having twins and her husband has gone back to college). She opted not to tell Carlos right away, but to make arrangements for her departure by training a (temporary) replacement and by landing a big account. However Carlos found out before Lynette was ready to tell him and pushed her out of the job, treating her as a betrayer of trust whose pregnancy had hurt his business. Then Lynette sued.

The story seems super-serious for the dramedy Desperate Housewives but has been played for laughs. For example, when Lynette's breasts swelled at the beginning of her pregnancy, Carlos thought she had gotten implants and urged her to show off her cleavage with a sexy, revealing dress (which he paid for) in an attempt to lure a male client. And now that Lynette is suing Carlos, his wife Gabby isn't speaking to Lynette and is, in fact treating her wretchedly, calling Lynette an "awful person" who let Carlos down by getting pregnant.



My column on Mommy Track this week centers on this storyline and, once you put aside the typical Wisteria Lane melodrama, asks what a woman in Lynette's situation is supposed to do.

What would you do in this situation?

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Desperate Housewives' Wisteria Lane May Be the Most Dangerous Street in America


*Warning, spoiler from the most recent episode of Desperate Housewives*

I’m dispensing with my normal Desperate Housewives episode review this week in order to state the obvious: Wisteria Lane sure is a dangerous street. It may well be the most dangerous street in America . . . fictional America, that is.

After a small plane crashed onto the Lane in the recent episode and brought with it a wave of destruction and possibly death -- at the very least, it caused bloody injuries – I started thinking about how very unsafe this particular street in Fairview has been over the years. So I decided to go back through the six seasons of the Housewives and damn, there’s been a lot of violence, man-made and natural on Wisteria Lane including (in no particular order):

-- One suicide. (Mary Alice Young)

-- Three “attempted” suicides. (Danny Bolen, Katherine Mayfair, Edie Britt)

-- One fatal car wreck after the driver tried to avoid hitting a burglar running across the street. (Edie Britt trying to avoid Orson Hodge)

-- Two stranglings, one fatal (Martha Huber strangled by Paul Young) and one non-fatal. (Julie Mayer strangled, likely by her ex-lover/married man/neighbor)

-- Two housefires which devastated the homes. (Edie Britt’s and Susan Mayer’s homes, each at the hands of one another)

-- One mentally challenged teen was held hostage in his family’s basement, in chains, though his brother is the one who killed a teenaged girl, though his brother had been blamed. (The Applewhites, Caleb and Matthew, whose mother, at one point, considered euthanizing her challenged son.)

-- Accidental shooting in the shoulder of someone who was lurking outside of a living room window at night. (Katherine Mayfair shot by Susan Mayer outside Susan’s house.)

-- A massive tornado killed three people (Karen McCluskey’s friend Ida Greenberg, Adam Mayfair’s former lover and Gabby Solis’ second husband Victor Lang who, while fighting with Carlos Solis, was impaled in the chest by a flying fence post. Carlos was also blinded during the storm.)

-- A resident was arrested for keeping the body of her deceased husband in a giant freezer in her basement, although it was determined that he died of natural causes. (Karen McCluskey)

-- A pedophile (Art) moved into the neighborhood but was harassed by the neighbors into moving out of it after his wheelchair-bound sister died.

-- One person died from falling off a roof (Alma Hodge fell from a great height)

-- One person had a heart attack while on top of a roof (Handyman Eli Scruggs had a heart attack while fixing Susan Mayer’s roof.)

-- A man's ex-wife and his mother drugged him so his ex-wife could rape him in an attempt to get pregnant with his baby. (Orson Hodges at the hand of Alma Hodge and his mother Gloria.)

-- A woman had her soup drugged by her mother-in-law who planned to place the woman into a tub and slit her wrists to make it look like a suicide. (Gloria Hodge to Bree Van de Kamp Hodge)


-- A man had a heart attack after his local pharmacist tampered with his prescription medication. (Rex Van de Kamp)

-- A senior citizen was beaten up in her home by a mentally unstable teen living on the street. (Felicia Tilman was beaten up by Zach Young)

-- Woman accidentally murdered. (Mary Alice Young accidentally murdered the drug addict mother of the child whom Mary Alice had adopted and started to raise as her own.) Mary Alice’s husband Paul buried the body of the woman – Deirdre Taylor – in a toy chest in their backyard.

-- A man had a fatal tumble down a set of stairs leading to the basement. (A private investigator fell down a set of crumbling stairs in the Applewhite’s house leading to the basement where Caleb Applewhite was being held captive by his mother Betty.)

-- The street was home to teenagers who got into a hit-and-run accident (Andrew Van de Kamp) and who set fire to a restaurant (the Scavo twins)

-- A pedestrian was run down as she was trying to get into a cab. The accident sent her to the hospital where she was in a coma for five months. (Juanita Solis was struck by Andrew Van de Kamp)

-- An abusive ex-husband was shot and killed by his fearful ex-wife. (Katherine Mayfair killed her ex-husband Wayne who was threatening her)

Anything I left out? Would YOU want to live on this street?

Image credit: ABC.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Pop Culture Quick Hits: 'Men of a Certain Age,' TV as Art & the SNL-Woods Controversy


Men of a Certain Age on TNT

Okay, okay TV reviewer people. I’ll program my DVR to record the premiere of TNT’s Men of a Certain Age tonight at 10. It’s a dramedy about three men -- one divorced, one single, one married -- dealing with a variety of dispiriting events that have happened to them as they flounder about in middle age. You critics have convinced me that Ray Romano demonstrates a degree of depth as the sad sack of a guy who’s been left by his wife and is trying to figure out where his life’s dreams went. You've indicated that this program -- also starring Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula -- is worth an hour of my time. You better be right.

The New York Times’ Alessandra Stanley said, “Men of a Certain Age is not violent, exciting or fast-paced, but the series has a quiet charm of its own; it is a believable, sharply observed portrait of ordinary men who, through all-too-common bad breaks and missteps, feel that they are backsliding.”

But they had me at Andre Braugher.

TV as Art

When this decade began, I had twin toddlers at home who were joined by a baby brother in mid-2001. Needless to say, the decade was marked by a lot of TV watching in my house as we didn’t want to have to obtain a second mortgage in order to afford babysitting for our very young children. And while I was watching said TV programs, I noticed the same thing that Emily Nussbaum of New York Magazine did, that TV has evolved into art (which is why when people act as though TV’s just for dummies, I bristle. Have they not seen Mad Men?) In New York Magazine’s ode to the decade of the 2000s, Nussbaum penned a love letter to this new generation of TV series, of the ilk that people like me obsess about on blogs like this one:

“. . . [F]or anyone who loves television, who adores it with the possessive and defensive eyes of a fan, this was most centrally and importantly the first decade when television became recognizable as art, great art: collectible and life-changing and transformative and lasting . . . It was a period of exhilarating craftsmanship and formal experimentation, accompanied by spurts of anxious grandiosity (for the first half of the decade, fans compared anything good to Dickens, Shakespeare, or Scorsese, because nothing so ambitious had existed in TV history).”

She continued:

“But as this decade began, it had already begun to dawn on viewers that television was something that you could not just merely enjoy and then discard but brood over and analyze, that could challenge and elevate, not just entertain. And a new generation of prickly, idiosyncratic, egotistical TV auteurs were starting to shove up against the limits of their medium, stripping apart genres like the sitcom and the cop show, developing iconic roles for actors like Edie Falco and Michael C. Hall. As the years proceeded (and technology inspired new styles of storytelling), even network TV could stage an innovative series like Lost. On pay channels, especially HBO, it was a genuine renaissance: Show-runners like David Chase and Alan Ball and David Milch and Michael Patrick King (and his Sex and the City writers) reveled in cable’s freedom, exploring adult themes in shocking, sometimes difficult ways.”

Among the shows Nussbaum singled out as having elevated the craft were some of my favorites: Lost (of course), Six Feet Under, The West Wing, Alias, and a small show I might’ve written about here a few times . . . Mad Men.

SNL-Tiger Woods Controversy

Saturday Night Live went there. With the Tiger Woods scandal. And when they went there, they went, in the opinion of some, too far. With Rihanna, one of this year’s most famous victims of domestic abuse, as the musical guest, SNL had a skit making fun of Woods and domestic violence. The cue cards at the end of the skit where the actor playing Woods had written on the back of them that he was scared and feared for his life at the hands of his abusive wife . . . that was the point at which I was sure they’d gone too far. Several bloggers took umbrage – and rightly so – over the skit and the horrific timing with Rihanna on the show. NYT Arts blogger David Itzkoff has a round-up of quotes from several bloggers who thought the sketch was in poor taste.

What DID I like from SNL this past weekend? The White House party crashers skit. Spot. On.



Image credit: TNT.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Has 2009 Been 'The Year of Women Fighting Back'?


The Daily Beast’s Rebecca Dana was able to shoehorn Betty Draper, Taylor Swift, Jenny Sanford and Tiger Woods’ wife Elin Nordegren into the same column, lauding them for not taking adverse events that befell them lying down. Dubbing 2009, “The Year of Women Not Taking Sh**,” Dana wrote that Woods’ wife taking a “golf club to his Escalade” was only one among many instances of women striking back.

On Jenny Sanford – wife of the South Carolina governor who famously traveled to Argentina to visit his “soul mate” lover – Dana said that in the wake of the sex scandal, Jenny Sanford “declined to pull a ‘Silda Spitzer’ and saddle up next to her over-tanned Republican spouse for his meandering mea culpa. Instead, she released a sternly worded statement and took off with her sons to a house in the country. She gave a strong, unapologetic interview to Vogue and looked lovely in the accompanying photo. Eventually she packed some boxes, called some friends, and moved the hell out.”

After being dumped by a JoBro and then enduring Kanye West storming up onto the stage to interrupt her acceptance speech at the VMAs, Dana wrote that singer Taylor Swift then landed an SNL hosting gig, enjoyed the mammoth success of her hit CD, won a trunk full of awards and is now dating the werewolf from Twilight.

A woman who didn’t do so well hosting SNL, January Jones, fared better when she inhabited the persona of Betty Draper on Mad Men and “finally left serial womanizing husband, Don.” But, as one person mentioned on Twitter, Betty did leave Don to run right into the arms of another guy.

Other women mentioned as kicking some butt this year:

Kate Gosselin whose estranged husband was openly messing around with the daughter of the plastic surgeon who did Kate's tummy tuck and subsequently told ABC that he "despised" Kate, Bristol Palin soldiering on as a single mom -- using her teen pregnancy as a cautionary tale while the dude who impregnated her is making an idiot of himself, and the wife of the Italian prime minister who wouldn’t put up with his philandering any longer and lashed out at him in public.

Is Dana right? WAS 2009 a good year for women standing up for themselves? Anyone else you could add to her list?

Image credit: Illustration by Dyna Moe/Nobody's Sweetheart.

'FlashForward:' No New Eps 'Til MARCH


* Warning, spoilers from recent episode of FlashForward. *

After an uneven first half of the season, ABC’s FlashForward made up for it with its last handful of new episodes which have propelled the story forward in interesting ways, while sprinkling in some character depth along the way. By having two scientists admit publicly that their experiment MAY have caused the killer global blackout -- in which people experienced two-plus minutes of a day six months into the future -- the show has moved beyond the crazy mess and muck of the plotlines involving a Nazi, black crows and suicide societies, which is a good thing.

I was just about to delete FlashForward from my DVR’s scheduled recordings – as I did with Fox’s Fringe which just couldn’t keep me hooked, as much as I am a fan of J.J. Abrams – when I saw the seventh episode, “The Gift,” where a FBI agent committed suicide in order to avoid having his flash-forward come true: That he accidentally kills a mother of two small children. “Live your life,” the man wrote in a letter to the woman whose life he saved by taking his own. “Live every day. And know that the future is unwritten. Make the most of that.” Although this appeared during the Fight Club-like suicide society episode, the FBI agent’s suicide was the most dramatic and interesting part as it established that the flash-forwards folks experienced were not inevitable.

The final new 2009 episode, “A561984” -- where we learned that FBI Agent (Now suspended? Fired?) Mark Benford was the man seen murdering his partner, Demetri Noh, in a mysterious CIA-linked woman’s flash-forward – provided another welcomed and unexpected twists, in addition to Demetri realizing he has to be concerned about his safety around his (former?) partner. The violent abduction of the now-reviled scientist Lloyd Simcoe, which left his son in the custody of his doctor, Olivia Benford, was likewise a smart move, unavoidably binding Lloyd and Olivia together after they shared an odd moment where she realized she almost moved into the building where Lloyd’s wife lived when he first met her. (The side story about Demetri’s fiancé Zoey realizing that her flash-forward wasn’t of their wedding, but of his memorial service, nicely nurtured the emotional, human thread of the episode.)

FlashForward’s behind-the-scenes staff has recently endured a bit of a shake-up, and there was a brief production stop in late November ordered by ABC execs in order to “boost the writing.” What does this mean for the show once it returns in the spring? Will we be treated to a smart and compelling drama that makes viewers care about the characters, or will we go back to that bad place with the crows and the Nazis and I delete it from my DVR's schedule? I’m hoping for the first option.

Image credit: ABC.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

'Psychological' Problems Landed the Doll in 'Rudolph' on Island of Misfit Toys?


I know, I know . . . Thirty-thousand more American troops are being sent to Afghanistan.

The health care reform bill's still being heatedly debated in the U.S. Senate.

No one knows for sure what REALLY happened with Tiger, the golf club, his wife and his car, although for his "transgressions," he's very, very sorry.

But what piece of news really surprised me today?

My local CBS affiliate in Boston, WBZ, reported on its web site, in response to a viewer's question about the rag doll in the 1964 Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer who cries and lives on the Island of Misfit Toys, that the doll:

". . . [B]arely appeared in the original script, so the author did not explain why she was on the island. But over the years, as the special was revised, the doll got more screen time and lines.

One of the producers behind the special, Arthur Rankin, says he believes her problems are 'psychological.'"
Seriously?

Image credit: WBZ.

Looking for Christmas Specials? Which One's Your Favorite?


Warm up your DVR people . . . I found a comprehensive list of Christmas specials and holiday movies being shown on TV on the web site TV Tango. (I found it via Pop Candy.)

However for those of you expecting Christmas specials which were supposed to air in the 8 o'clock hour on ABC on Tuesday night -- ABC heavily promoted them -- you likely were unhappy campers. Due to the president's speech about his decision to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan, the premiere of the new ABC Christmas special Prep and Landing, was pushed back to Dec. 8 at 8:30. A Charlie Brown Christmas also got bumped from Tuesday night to Dec. 8, at 8.

Speaking of favorite Christmas flicks/specials . . . my GateHouse News Service column this month is all about what your favorite holiday flick/TV special says about you. My new favorite Christmas movie -- in addition to my eternal favorite It's a Wonderful Life -- is now, surprisingly, Elf.

What's your favorite Christmas movie/TV special?

Image credit: ABC.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

'It's Complicated' . . . a Grown-Up Love Story

While everyone (including yours truly) has been musing at length about the box office smash of a tragic love story between a vampire, a werewolf and a teenaged human gal, movie theaters have been playing a trailer for a distinctly mature love affair between a divorced couple who have adult children but suddenly find themselves attracted to one another again after all these years.

The trailer for the Meryl Streep/Alec Baldwin/Steve Martin comedy It's Complicated (open Christmas Day) looks so good, I can only hope (and cross my fingers) that the film is half as decent as the ad. Trailers can be utterly deceiving. (*cough* Revolutionary Road *cough*)

Amanda Seyfried Gets Double-Promotion Before 'New Moon'

When I went to see New Moon in the movie theater last week, there were a ton of trailers for love stories, angsty teen tales of affection, stories where the lovers have been kept apart for one reason or another, which makes sense, given the subject matter of the latest Twilight film and the fact that New Moon references the star-crossed Romeo and Juliet so much.

However it did surprise me to see Amanda Seyfried, who plays the eldest daughter on HBO's Big Love and starred opposite Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!, featured in two trailers prior to the New Moon showing. It's going to be a big year for her apparently.

The first trailer was for Letters to Juliet, a film where Seyfried, while in Verona (home of the fictional Romeo and Juliet tale), helps an older woman (Vanessa Redgrave) track down an old lover whom she'd blown off decades earlier. With Taylor Swift's Love Story playing over the tail-end of the trailer, the film appears as though it'll be a sweet confection. Wonder if it'll be any good?



The second Seyfried-centric trailer was for a movie based on the Nicholas Sparks book, Dear John, about a young woman who meets a solider who's on leave, they fall in love during a two-week period and then, after he returns to duty the couple takes it old school and writes letters to one another, actually putting pen to paper. This film, which is slated for a February release, seems heavier that the Juliet fare but, ironically, also involves writing letters. Hmm, will the two films will spark a trend, make it cool to write letters again?

Missing 'Mad Men' Yet?

Sunday nights have felt so . . . empty . . . lately without Don, Betty, Peggy and Joan.

And we can't forget about Roger, whose killer one-liners were reliable moments of humor amid the disintegration of Don's personal life this past season. New York Magazine compiled Roger's one-liners (and two-liners) from the third season in this video below . . . making me miss Mad Men just a little bit more.