Before I get started I want to direct everyone over to a very special column. Ben Morse, the guy who brought me 411 and later to InsidePulse, is leaving the site for greener pastures. If it weren’t for that guy you wouldn’t be reading this. So he deserves either the credit or the blame. Either way, read his farewell.
Sorry for the lack of a column last week. It was Thanksgiving after all, and I didn’t really feel like giving you a lackluster column. I know, I know, my sole fan was let down, but what can I say I needed a day off.
But here’s a question; do folks in Alaska and Hawaii celebrate Thanksgiving? I mean sure they’re part of the United States, but Thanksgiving is more of a “48 states United States” type affair. I don’t know, I was just thinking.
Too Close To Call
I’ll admit it. I’m a big fan of the Destiny’s Child video for “Lose My Breath.” I dig choreography, as a result I dig all the dancing going on. And of course as a fan of Beyonce, it hits all the right cords.
However upon watching that video a couple of times I’m stuck at the stiff competition Beyonce now has in terms of shag-abilty. Beyonce is still thorough, but the other’s aren’t really slouching. Thus upon my final viewing of the video, I have dubbed the race of which member of Destiny’s Child I desire shagging most “too close to call.” It’s a tough competition, and frankly I’m not ready to make a decision.
What I’ve Viewed Recently
The Simpsons – This show is always good for a laugh. This week’s politically themed episode was well written, but it seemed a bit more mean spirited. I can’t put my finger on it, but something seemed off.
Desperate Housewives – This week’s episode really turned me off. I don’t dig nosey women. And if someone went through my cabinets like that, she would be cut off. I’m also finding the idea of a hot married model fiending for a high school kid, increasingly implausible. I could suspend my disbelief at the relationship, but it’s too much of a stretch to believe that 1) he would cut it off and 2) that she practically beg for him back. It’s whatever.
Boston Legal – This show consistently slays me. Who doesn’t love Alan Shore? Seriously?
Smallville – This week’s episode was cool, but nothing to brag about. Lana and Jason broke up. Lex continues his turn to evil. Clark saves the day. Pete, the sole Black character, is still MIA.
The Wire – This show never disappoints. Marlo is vicious. Brother Mouzone is back in Baltimore and looking for Omar. Stringer gives up Avon?! The show is sick!
Lost – The episode was cool. For once, I cared more about the island happenings than the backstory. Claire is interesting, but not that interesting. One thing confused me though, but more on that later.
Jack & Bobby – This week’s episode was above par. Everyone gave solid performances, and everyone got some action. Jack lost his virginity and regretted it, Bobby hooked up with someone his own age, and Grace, well Grace hooked up with her T.A. All in all, a very solid episode.
The Greatest Show Ever”¦this week: Oz
I’ve just begun catching the 4th season on HBOZ or some channel like that. I’m a fan of the show, but until this point I’ve been relegated to watching the series as it’s been released on DVD. It’s nice to actually watch episodes on the air. Sadly Kenny has been killed. McManis has quit. Adibesi is still scary as hell. Apparently Ryan set Dr. Nathan up to get raped and Vern had his son kidnap Beecher’s kids. I can’t wait for Tuesday to come!
But now back to Lost
What Confused Me
The whole psychic thing. I don’t get it.
Now the first time Claire went to the psychic he wouldn’t give her a reading. The next time they met he claimed that it was “blurry” the first time. But then he told her that she needed to raise the kid, implying that he saw what would happen if she didn’t raise him, right? But is that really seeing “the future”?
Anyway he keeps pestering her not to give the baby up once it’s born. At the moment of truth, she decided not to give the baby to an adoptive family. So everything should be cool right? That would have averted what he saw, if he saw how things would have been with another mother.
But then he hands her a rather fateful plane ticket. So if he really saw the potential future of what life would be like with the baby and another family and averted it, then he didn’t really see the future.
Furthermore, how did he know the fate of that plane? Did another passenger of the plane cross his path, so he knows exactly which flight for her to get on? Or does he just get future flashes with is morning coffee? And if he does get future flashes, how detailed are they? Why didn’t he just assume that she already had a ticket for the flight, because after all that was her fate?
Maybe I’m over thinking things, but I don’t “get” psychics or how they can see the future and alter it. It confuses me.
TV on DVD
I recently picked up the first season of The Wire on DVD. Now I thought that I had seen every episode. I was way wrong. I think that I actually missed at least five of the episodes when I was watching them on HBO. It’s never been more fun playing catch up.
Watching the pilot (which I missed the first time around) was quite an experience. The way characters were introduced and set up was done perfectly. The second episode does an equally good job of rounding out the cast.
This DVD set really illustrates how The Wire aspires where most shows rest contentedly. The Wire actually demands your attention. You can’t afford to miss an episode, lest you risk getting lost. But at the end of the last episode you have a sense of fulfillment.
Television are mostly self contained. For instance I haven’t watched CSI or Without a Trace regularly in two years, yet I’m sure that I could tune on next Thursday without missing a beat. But if you haven’t watched an episode of The Wire since the first season, or even the first episode of this season, you will feel disjointed.
And that may be off-putting for some viewers. But to those who tune in on a regular basis, that loyalty is rewarded remarkably. Take for example when Pryzblyewski accidentally shoot a fellow cop this season, it was bad business, bad enough that even a person who had only begun watching this, the third, season would understand.
But when you couple this shooting with the comedic shooting when his character is introduced in the second episode of the first season, or even with the beating (and eventual blinding) of a Black teen later in the same episode, you get a more tragic view of the character. “Prez” was a screw up cop, but he had gotten his act together and had become “good police.”
The Wire is also great for its evenhanded portrayal of the street life. Most cop shows are cast with “good guys” (the cops) and “bad guys” (the criminals.) But this show revels in nuance.
The show cast is divided up into The Law and The Street, and everyone is just playing the role that life has dealt them. Everyone is just doing their “job,” and judgment isn’t really cast.
Some members of The Street are despicable, while others have honor. Some police officers are worthy of scorn, while others are respectable. While most shows divide into “black and white” and “right and wrong”, this show lives in “the gray” and revels in moral ambiguity.
The Wire is to television what films are movie making; the pinnacle of the genre.
But enough of my rambling read this stuff.
Mike’s got some works of wisdom.
Carlos gives you a report card on Weekend Update.
Cheri covers an idea that I was thinking of doing a column on sometime down the road. That’s what I get for procrastinating. Regardless, she does a much better job than I would have.
Didey managed to squeeze some TV in last week.
Coogan, as always has news.
Preserves J.A.M.
Aaron Cameron covers a magazine, and not even a music magazine! He sinks his teeth into Entertainment Weekly’s Top 25 Hip Hop Albums list. Oh yeah, Nick is along for the ride as well.
Joe Reid covers TV ads and not even movie ads! But he does cover movies later, after he suggests the desecration of Weezy’s body. Seriously, you’ve got to read it to believe it.
Greatest Video Ever”¦this week
PJ Harvey – Good Fortune
This is a video from my favorite album of Polly Jeans. It’s a stark video, shot on the streets of New York, which have never looked more unglamorous or more captivating. Ms. Harvey walks the streets performing the song with such fervor and emotion that you can’t tear your eyes away. It’s really an amazing package.
