Said But True
“Write about Christmas… and Black Friday… and how difficult it is in the mall… and how all the freaks come out at night. And how Sarah Jessica Parker doesn’t shop at the Gap.”
– Chris, my roommate, dishing out the advice
“She was my shorty last year, but then she got served.”
– Seth Cohen, on a date, about his ex-girlfriend, on “The O.C.”
“The not so subtle ass graze – I’ve been a victim of it myself.”
– Jimmy Cooper, about ex-wife Julie, also on “The O.C.”
Jumping the Duck
FOX prime-time drama “The O.C.” has officially jumped the duck as of last night’s episode. Or should I say the “ducky?”
You’ve all heard the phrase “jumping the shark,” typically signifying when a good television show starts it’s downward spiral towards “never being the same.” The phrase is named after the episode of “Happy Days” when Fonzie literally jumps over a shark on waterskis — a daredevil feat he had earlier accomplished on his motocycle over the more traditional set-up of several vehicles — marking the beginning of the end of one of the best sitcoms in TV history. Other famous examples of shows jumping the shark include instances when a family adds a child into the mix, either by adoption or otherwise (Sam on “Diff’rent Strokes” or Olivia on “The Cosby Show”); the main male and female characters of the show finally getting together (Tony and Angela on “Who’s The Boss” or David and Maddie on “Moonlighting”); or anytime Ted McGinley is added to a cast (“Married… With Children” or “Sports Night”).
Well, not more than a month or so into the new season, and no less than two friends of mine have already hinted that they feel my favorite guilty pleasure has jumped said shark. And I admit, the first few episodes were on the uncomfortable side — Ryan seemed to go running back to the Cohens’ rather quickly, didn’t he? Did he even stop over to see how his (ex) girlfriend was doing after losing the baby? Could Seth be any dumber? Why on earth would Caleb name Julie CEO of his company? C’mon, another show where a main character is getting’ it on with the hired help?
But I’m a trooper, there were enough typical “O.C. moments” to keep me watching each week, and I held strong… With last night’s episode, I’m confident enough to say that it may have taken a bit of time for Seth, Summer, Marissa, Ryan and company to settle into their new roles as “just friends” and for the key story arcs to be introduced… but the show has absolutely not jumped the shark.
In fact, it very well may have jumped the duck: it’s back on track now, we have new relationships to root for, problems to watch unfold — and next week, the first big gala to enjoy! I wonder if there’ll be a fight at the party…
Till My Head Falls Off…
This is a segment that I used to close each column with, featuring a quick thought or three that may or may not tie pop culture into “the real world” in some way, and generate some feedback, but is meant to hit on the core InsidePulse topics not touched on above:
– I stand by the point I made in my last Daily Pulse: the Mets have no choice but to be aggressive this off-season. And yes, offering Pedro big money qualifies (oh, and Giambi’s a moron)…
– I’d like to jump on the bandwagon and publicly apologize to Joshua Grutman. I didn’t realize what I was doing, and it truly was an accident. I hope we can be the way we used to be (oh, and I still love your idea of Viacom having CBS plug Jon Stewart into Dan Rather’s role next year)…
– I finally finished Nick Hornby’s Songbook, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t inspiring. It’s been no secret that pop music has failed to impress me at all over the past year or so, but the author of High Fidelity has a way of simplifying things enough to make you realize sometimes we just set expectations too high. That’s not to say I should just shut up and praise every new release (and trust me, I wish I could as far as, say, Mos Def and Eminem’s new CDs are concerned, but after a few listens they’ve fallen short so far); but what it does remind me is that the only way to find the best diamonds is to dig through lots and lots of coal. And no, Santa — if you’re reading — that’s not a suggestion!
Checking The Pulse
Let’s click around InsidePulse, and see what we’ve got in each zone at presstime…
Pulse Music has had a ton of reviews up this week, including the latest additions: Michael Chadwick’s review of The Organ’s Grab That Gun and Aaron Cameron’s review of Young Buck’s Straight Outta Ca$hville. Speaking of Cameron, don’t you dare miss today’s Bootleg. Plus it would be a crying shame if you passed over two of Pulse Music’s best pieces to date: Gloomchen’s column on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs list and D’Errico’s Inside Pulse On … Pearl Jam!…
The Nexus presents me with the opportunity to wish Ben Morse the best as he heads off to greener pastures. The marks may think that Ben’s heading towards a super-cool job; the smarts may feel that he’s selling out; but THE MEAN is simple: Morse’ll be missed, and hopefully won’t forget that he’s always welcome to drop in now and again to say hello…
Pulse Games has the latest Tribunal, with Lucard, Baxley and Platt “contemplating the mysteries of life itself,” or so they say…
Pulse Figures has the latest and greatest toy reviews…
Pulse Sports has Cory Laflin’s latest column, where he talks about my *coughsarcasmcough* favorite sport, college hoops! Sorry, man, call me in March…
Pulse Movies has Travis Leamons’ review of The Terminal DVD posted, and I agree that the film was underrated overall this year. Hanks is great in everything he does, and Zeta Jones has been in my dreams for way too long without showing the common courtesy to drop in on me in real life…
Pulse TV always gives me an excuse to plug Coogan, and let’s face it, why wouldn’t I? Also, never miss John Duran’s “Lost” recap (the recap of the show “Lost” / not a recap that was recently found — but you knew that)…
Pulse Wrestling features the return of Joshua Grutman, as well as Brad Jennette’s fabulous Smackdown recap!
(Also, don’t forget to hit up the InsidePulse FORUMS for a cryptic message about moodspins, coming sooner than you think…)
Until next time…
peace. love. moe.
– Matthew
