If you’re reading this then I must have actually found something to write about.
Y’see as I’m typing this, I have no idea what this column is going to consist of. Oh sure, I’m going to give a brief rundown of what I watched this week and I’ll make a note of a cool video. But beyond that stuff, I’m really at a loss.
Ah, let’s just go with the flow and see what happens.
Obligatory Rant!
Well I hope all of you puritans are happy; BET Uncut is no more!
C’mon, you know BET Uncut the hour-long block of videos that featured material so questionable that it could only air between 3-4am? The hour that featured more skin and jiggle than The Biggest Loser? The hour that celebrated the female form, the scantily clad, shiny firm female form.
Anyway, it’s no more. It’s gone. Perhaps one day I’ll look up the reason why, but I’m betting that it’s part of a crackdown on “objectionable” broadcasts.
You know who really loses; the kids. Those kids who have digital cable and can’t watch scrambled porn. Those kids whose fathers or older brothers don’t have a “secret stash.” Those are the kids who looked forward to BET Uncut, as release of sorts. It’s a shame that we only pay lip service to the idea of putting our children first.
Man, all I’ve got to say is that I’m so glad that I can purchase porn legally, and right around the corner.
What I Watched On TV Last Week
Let’s see, there was no Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal, The Wire, or Jack & Bobby. Smallville was a repeat.
Ouch.
For some reason, despite the ample extra time I had by those shows not airing, I still haven’t watched Scrubs or Lost.
Double Ouch.
So what did I watch this week?
Oz – So this is what being Aaron Cameron feels like. Y’see a brief time ago, Aaron Cameron routinely “spoiled” Oz for me over in The Bootleg. At the time I was watching Oz by DVD, which meant I was almost a decade behind. But now I’ve got all of the HBO’s so I can catch reruns of old seasons of Oz. As a result, I now find myself playing the role of Aaron Cameron to Joe Reid, playing me; that is I’m ruining the show for Joe. And with the next DVD release of Oz, the fourth season, around a month away I figure I should avoid giving away any major happenings.
That said, the two episodes I saw this week were way good. Vern is a beast.
The Simpsons – Funny episode. It almost looked like a Lisa episode, so I was wary. But it remained pretty tight and funny. Plus I’m a fan of Moe.
Greatest Show Ever”¦this week – Arrested Development
I’m still in awe of how great a show this is. I marvel at the characters and the storylines. The phenomenal writing astounds me. But most of all I’m surprised at how they managed to unearth Malik Yoba. Remarkable!
Another Portion of the Column
What I have found myself watching is VH1’s My Coolest Years.
Now I don’t know when VH1 officially became a pop culture network to rival E!, but the transition was smooth.
I think that VH1’s programming has almost reached “guilty pleasure” status; I don’t want to miss it, yet I wouldn’t really brag about it.
Anyway My Coolest Years is basically celebrities and personalities recalling their high school experiences. Each episode focuses on a specific demographic of high school; for instance Geeks or Metal Heads.
The episode on Metal Heads was pretty cool. I actually had some Metal Head friends, in Junior High, so I could relate a bit. It wasn’t really anything new. But it was a nice glimpse into a group that I didn’t belong to.
The Geek episode was oddly poignant. I could remember antagonizing Geeks at school (gee I hope I’m not offending any readers or co-columnists. I wasn’t a “bully”, but they clearly resided at the bottom of the pecking order, and I just fell in line. ) Hearing their horror stories was funny, yet sad, yet still hilarious. But again, it didn’t really cover anything new.
The weakest episode thus far was the Hippie one. It didn’t really connect with me, maybe because there wasn’t really a huge population of Hippies at Tucson High. Who knows? But that episode didn’t really resonate with me.
An episode that did resonate with me was the “In The Closet” episode.
No, this isn’t the part of the column where I “come out.”
I consider myself to be a pretty open-minded guy whose very tolerant. I’ve never really had a problem with homosexuality. Still that episode really opened my eyes.
Usually when you hear about the plight of homosexuals, it’s a specific example. But watching all of these men and women recount how it felt to hide who they were in order to fit in or be accepted, it kind of made me sad.
It’s like, it’s tough enough going to high school and being a teen-ager, but those kids had the added pressure of finding out who they were, then accepting it, and concealing it. That sucks.
As the episode came to a close, it occurred to me how if more people watched the episode it might open some minds. Sure there were some stereotypical “sassy homosexual guy” moments, but actually hearing some of those stories might give the concept of homosexuality, that some find so foreign, a human face. I think it should be mandatory viewing in the Red States and some of the Blue ones as well.
Now here’s to hoping that they do a “Black Kid” episode of My Coolest Years.
Phew! That wasn’t so bad. I got up on my soapbox and actually managed to produce a column. I promise next week will be better, especially since a certain Nasir Jones provides the immediate inspiration to focus on a topic I’d already planned on addressing.
But that’s next week. Let’s focus on the present.
Carlos contends that Will Ferrell was more versatile than Phil Hartman. I’d argue that Phil could also be the “straight man” thus he’s more versatile.
Steve focuses on a show that I’ve never seen.
Cheri doesn’t dig VH1 nearly as much as I do.
Didey watched way more television than I did.
Bob once again delves into genres. As usual it results in a good read.
J.A.M. On It!
Aaron was sick. As guy who relatively recently returned to the West Side I can see both sides of the story. It’s not “cold” over here, yet I too came down with something when the weather changed. Oh yeah, he talks about the Golden Globes and Bo Derek, but individually. Cam deserves co-producing credits on next week’s column, since he’s been waiting for it for awhile.
Meanwhile, Joe meanwhile talks about books and football, in a “Movie” column. He’s got co-producing credits for next week too. See Joe, aren’t you proud of me? I didn’t say anything about a Adebisis/Schellinger/Said “Oreo of Love.” D’oh!
Greatest Video Ever”¦this week
Michael Damian – Rock On
Damian is the muggingest guy in front of a camera ever. He’s also a terrible actor. He doesn’t look rock or roll. So what makes this video so great? Four Words; Corey Feldman & Corey Haim. It gets no better than that.
