Stuff @ The Start
My Roommate – So as loyal readers know, I watch most of my TV with my roommate. I don’t know what happened, but my roommate and I managed to not watched our Monday or our Tuesday night line ups. So, effectively we’ve still got four hours (24, Prison Break, Boston Legal and Thief) to watch. It sucks. But at least Lost wasn’t on.
I’m Pissed – I was watching Roc on TVOne this week, and I was struck at what a solid show it was. So I went to look and see if it was on DVD, and it’s nowhere to be found. There are plenty of crappy shows on DVD, yet Roc and Frank’s Place to premier Black shows are nowhere to be found. Where’s the justice?
Crazy Coincidence – Imagine my surprise when I flipped to Criminal Minds and saw that Teddy from Huff was the criminal. Furthermore, he was crazy as a loon, which makes me wonder if, when Teddy ran off at the end of this week’s Huff he didn’t wander over to Criminal Minds to commit a crime.
What I Watched Last Week
Huff (Showtime) – It was nice to see Craig and the Wiz spend some quality time together. It’s funny how I was asking for Byrd to get a bigger role in the show, and they’ve made him a criminal. I don’t know if I dig it, or even get it. Izzy’s a hoot as always, but Teddy’s really scaring me. I’m honestly worried for the character. The Russell development is pretty interesting.
Weeds (Showtime) – I’m so pissed that I missed this show the first time around. It’s such a great show. I loved the different reactions to the gunshots. I loved the acting and the development. This show has such great and rich characters. I swear it’s one of the densest half hour shows out. I’m loving it.
The Unit (CBS) – I’m getting tired of William and Grey getting pushed to the background. I get it that we’ve got to focus on Brown and Jonas and even Mack to an extent, but William and Grey are on the verge of being background characters or even expendable. They remind me of the development that Ronnie gets over on The Shield, which is none. I really hope these guys stop getting neglected and get some use at some point. But the episode was pretty solid.
Desperate Housewives (ABC) – I don’t know why I’m still watching this show. It sucks. I hate that only one of the twins appeared this episode. The whole “kid who’s curious about anatomy” bit was interesting, but underused. Susan should be shot. The Applewhites were nonexistent. Bree’s story was wrapped up nicely, but left me feeling flat. Honestly, when I compare the two shows about women in the suburbs (this and Weeds) I’m appalled at how much more I enjoy the well written one that’s half as long as this piece of garbage.
Big Love (HBO) – I don’t understand why Nikki’s so reckless. She was damn reckless and just because she was tired of “asking.” I think it would have played better had we seen numerous examples in previous episodes and she’d reached her breaking point, thus causing the slip up. But she seemed pretty tolerant until this episode.
I’m digging the dynamic between Margene and the oldest son. I like how there’s chemistry there, but the writers are playing coy as to if anything will develop. I’m also pretty sure that the one Mormon character is only there so that the writers can say “see, we aren’t attacking Mormon’s, because our Mormon character is an upright citizen.” I really can’t see any other reason for the character being present.
I liked the episode though, I’m looking forward to next week.
Monkey Dust (Sundance) – I’m finding this show way too enjoyable. It’s so sick and twisted, yet pure genius. I love the social commentary. If this show could be packaged with Wonder Showzen it’s make a killer hour of skewering humor that covers Britain and the colonies. I really hope that folks at least try this show out; it’s like the Adult Swim lineup, only more pointed. I really might be the best animated thing on the tube.
Smallville (WB) – I just caught Tom Welling’s directorial debut, and it sucked. It was a horrible episode. I really feel for poor Tom, because he had a crappy episode to direct. It was like they wanted him to make a feast out of what was in the garbage behind Walmart. The episode sucked. But it was cool to see Lex put the mack down on Lana. But the episode was terrible.
City of Men (Sundance) – This was a fun episode. Honestly, it’s got a kind of corny stereotypically sitcom set up (dude gets suckered into a gig he can’t handle, but comes up with a plan that eventually makes things worse, but everything ends up right in the end). But when you factor in the slums of Rio and drug lords it gives it a jarring twist that makes it seem less entertaining and more engrossing. This is a great show.
Greatest Show Ever…this week Scrubs (NBC)
This show would have been phenomenal just for giving Janitor the focus, but having Turk trying to prove his Blackness is what really made the show the best thing on. I so felt that storyline because it’s happened to me. Y’see I’m light enough that with the proper hairstyle, I could pass for something “other.” And I once had a coworker question my race, which caused me to fret, because how do you prove that you’re Black? So when Turk was caught in a situation that mirrored that, I really connected with it.
Every other part of the show was funny, but that aspect sent it right over the edge.
What About Brian Black People?
I got home early enough on Sunday night to catch, what I’d imagine was the climax of the premiere of What About Brian. It was the scene where Brian pours his heart out to his best friend’s fiancé, whom he has feelings for. Now, given that I’ve been in a similar situation and I’m a sucker for not quite requited love stories, you’d think that I’d have found the scene poignant. But I didn’t. I couldn’t get over the fact that we got another show with a lily-white cast.
(Now for full disclosure, I only watched the last, oh, let’s say 10 minutes of the show. The previous 50 minutes very well could have been a veritable Rainbow Coalition of Characters, but given that the seven main characters of the show are decidable of a non-minority background, I’m guessing that wasn’t the case.)
Is there really that much of a demand for Aryan-tastic programming? Do Klansmen really have that many Nielsen boxes? I’ve heard it said that the writer crafts their perfect world, so do the creators of What About Brian secretly wish that society was completely fair skinned?
Now I’m sure that there are actually some white people who don’t have any Black friends. However I find that incredibly hard to believe that that’s the case for anyone who lives in a metropolitan area. Wyoming, maybe, but not L.A. Certainly not the L.A. of Six Feet Under and Crash.
That’s what I find so frustrating; the idea that we live in a “melting pot” full of other cultures and writers can’t even conceive a fictional drama that isn’t entirely white? For a second there I almost believed it was 2006.
I’d be more than happy if we’d all just stop paying lip service to the notion that “things are getting better” and “progress in being made” on the racial front. If we could drop the façade that we live in a democracy where the concerns of the minority are actually addressed I think that things would be better. I certainly wouldn’t have the expectation that television shows actually reflect the cities in which they are based.
Of course there’s the argument that “Black shows” don’t connect with the majority (white) of viewers thus have fewer viewers. To that I’d point out The Cosby Show which I believe had a predominately (giggle) Black cast. I seem to recall that show doing pretty well in the ratings.
The real question is; if in 2006 we’ve got a show with an all white cast, can the return of Kingfish, Amos n Andy and Rochester be too far behind?
‘Cats vs Men?
Good news; you’ve got a job. Bad news; you’re a lackey. Good news; you’re basically human. Bad news; you’re not on Earth. Maybe you’re on another planet. Maybe your in another dimension. Perhaps you only exist in the imagination of an autistic child. Who knows the point is you’ve got job security. Good news; it’s a cushy job. Bad news; you’re going to be facing down the business end of some powerful swords.
So, would you rather be Skeletor’s lackey (He-Man) or Mumm-Ra’s lackey (Thundercats)?
IPTV’s own Kevin Wong offered this;
Me, I’d go for Skeletor. Why? Well, he seems to keep a cabal of goons around, most of whom aren’t too bright. I’d think that as long as you stayed on the “good” side of Evil-Lyn and blamed everything on Beast-Man, Trap Jaw, Triclops et al. then you’re sitting pretty. After all, Skeletor is a bit obsessed with the whole “conquering Eternia” thing to notice that he hasn’t physically harmed you in any way…
Another IPTV luminary Bob Reiss concurred;
I’ve actually spent some time watching both of these shows recently. Pretty weird for a 32 year old.
This is a tough one. My first inclinations was The Thundercats. Yet, the more I thought of it, I started going the other way. Firstly, The Thundercats world just blew up, which would have to suck. You would have to live with Snarf, which would bug me to no end, and there are only two females of my species left (at least until the “New Thundercats” arrived with Pumyra.) Now, if I had a shot at Queen Willa, but let’s face it, she’s a hot Warrior Princess and I’m an overgrown cat.
Now, Heman. There are some downfalls. My alter ego is the wussy Prince Adam, and I’d have to deal with Orko. Yet, hot women are all around me. There’s Teela, and The Sorceress. Tet, the kicker would be at the end of every episode I would get to give a little life lesson to the kids, and that rocks.
Column regular Colin said it succinctly;
I think I’m going with Mumm-Ra here. Who wants to get beaten by a clown who calls himself He-Man?
I’m going to admit to being fully swayed by Colin’s argument. Who does want to get beaten by “He-Man?” However I’ve got another reason for picking Thundercats; Panthro. Y’see Panthro was voiced by thespian Earle Hyman, who also played Russell Huxtable on The Cosby Show. So not only would I be one degree from Granpa Huxtable, I’d also get to hang out with one of our great Black actors, kind of.
Obviously this brings us to…
Good News/Bad News/Question of the Week
Good News; you’re getting a new car. Bad News; you can’t really afford “new.” Good News; you’ve got a friend who’s going to get you a deal. Bad News; it’s certainly be used. Maybe it was part of giant robot that fought in space. Perhaps it’s not so much a vehicle as it is a robot in disguise. Who knows, the point is you’ve going to have a unique vehicle.
So, would you rather buy a used Optimus Prime (Transformers) or a used Voltron Lion (Voltron)?
Links
Josh watches Yo Momma. He also digs Seinfeld.
Josh is also the mastermind behind The TV Tourney. Unfortunately I’ve given up on the thing as everything I’ve voted for has fallen by the wayside. But you should still vote.
Sweet Joe Reid
Joe insults accurately describes my town over on his blog.
He’s also completely left me high and dry over at The Film Experience which sucks because he was the one guy I trusted completely.
But he makes up for it by keeping me abreast of current events.
And, yeah, that’s going to do it for me.
