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An Embarrassment of Riches
2007-03-14 20:21:00
Like OMC once sang -- how bizarre, how bizarre. A 24 episode that goes extra-light on the helping of Jack Bauer. It’s just weird. It was a good episode, but weird. And, I can’t be the only person that wants to see Charles Logan die, can I? I’d be sorry to see Martha go down for it, but if that’s what it takes to get rid of Charles, that’s just how it has to be. I’m also incredibly curious about the number of near-coups in the White House over the course of this series. Aren’t we getting perilously close to the season two bit where the other Palmer brother was locked away (and was guarded by Aaron Pierce, if I recall correctly)?  You know, despite the fact that it was explicitly pointed out to Jack that he was repeating old mistakes when he broke into another nation’s embassy, I feel like they are just rehashing old stuff this season and hoping the viewer doesn’t figure it out. Sure, at least they acknowledge it on some level...
More About: Rich , Men , Smen , Barr , Riches

Schooling the Little Ones: Baby Einstein - My First Signs
2007-03-13 22:56:00
Having a nine-month-old child, I have an excellent handle on Baby Einstein and its myriad products; there are DVDs, CDs, games, toys, furniture-type things, the list goes on, and on, and on. The only thing more impressive than the quantity of material they put forth is the quality. Whether or not the DVDs truly enlighten my child I don’t know, but I do know that I don’t mind staring at them for 30 minutes and my daughter doesn’t either. For me, that’s a pretty good sell.On March 13, they added a new title to their DVD collection: Baby Einstein - My First Sign s . The DVD marks the third entry into the Baby Einstein language series. It is currently a very much en vogue thing to do to teach your infant child sign language. Some studies have suggested that children can learn to sign before they can learn to speak (and it’s never bad to learn another language in any case).  I operate on the basic assumption that if my daughter spends enough time seeing s...
More About: School

Tuesday Morning's Monday Television Night Wrap-up
2007-03-13 14:37:00
First up, let me just say that we’re not going to be talking about The Riches today. We’re just not. Come 10 pm last night I had to make an executive decision, and it was The Black Donnellys that won out. We’ll talk The Riches tomorrow, unless the Wii Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 proves simply too fantastically wonderful for me to spare even a moment of my all too precious time. While I hold out ridiculously high hopes for that, I’m still a television guy at heart, I’m definitely checking out The Riches tonight. But I digress (usually more than I should, but I have no intentions on cutting back)… As per my usual, last night I caught up with Battlestar Galactica. In case you’re catching up with this bad boy on DVD and not watching the actual show, I’m not going to give away any big things, but I love the developments over the last two weeks. I was getting so tired of the whining and complaining, and we seem to have suffered through the last of it. That, plus the trial of ...
More About: Television , Night , Morning , Tele , Levi

It's Good to be the Kings of South Beach...Or Not
2007-03-12 19:57:00
Let’s face it, not everything that airs on television is the most wonderful thing ever created. Like anything else, some television is great, some is good, and some is downright awful. Things don’t just fall into these categories however; some things on TV can be described as mildly entertaining at best. Entering into this undistinguished category is A&E’s latest made-for-television movie, King s of South Beach . This original production stars Donnie Wahlberg and Jason Gedrick. Based on a true story, Gedrick plays Chris Troiano, a nightclub owner with a shady past. Wahlberg is Andy Burnett, Gedrick’s new, mysterious best friend, and security guard. Appearing in minor roles in the film are Ricardo Chavira (of Desperate Housewives fame) as a mid- to low-level mob guy and Nadine Velazquez (My Name is Earl) as Troiano’s sister.   The Feds and local police are also operating some sort of sting operation in the background (apparently based on the ...
More About: The King , Good

An Open Letter To Veronica Mars
2007-02-28 23:59:00
Dear Veronica Mars ,I’m a huge fan. Really, I am. I feel horrible about you and Logan. I totally get why you did it, but for some reason I’m still pulling for the two of you crazy kids to get together.I am a little worried though about how college life is affecting you and your detective skills. I totally knew who killed Dean O’Dell weeks ago and for you to only figure it out at 9:55 yesterday was quite disturbing. I thought we’d agreed that the TA was sketchy -- what happened there, did you forget?  Oh, and I’m really sorry about your teacher-mentor guy pleading guilty to manslaughter, that has to just be a kick in gut.  On the upside, you dad being the acting sheriff is pretty sweet. But, on that note, I’m not really comfortable with you stealing files and stuff from his office. Or, for that matter, you stealing stuff from other places and giving it to him. That’s not going to go well down the line, I can just tell. Surely someone...
More About: Open , Letter , Open Letter

Donnellys, Heroes, and Your Mother
2007-02-28 04:04:00
Why, I ask you, does Monday night TV have to be so good? Why do there have to be so many good hours of shows on Monday? Can’t we move some of that stuff to Tuesday and Wednesday, where I personally feel that there is a dearth of entertaining television? Between How I Met Your Mother, 24, Heroes , and now The Black Donne llys. I’ll grant you that Donnellys takes the place of Studio 60, so it’s not like I added a new hour of television viewing, but I now need to get all invested in some other show that I never watched before. It’s stressful, I’m telling you. In any case, on HIMYM, I’m not sure how I feel about Barney not being able to drive. On the one hand, it makes complete sense. A lot of people who grow up in New York City never learn how to drive. On the other hand, Barney admitting to not being able to drive seems odd. His character admitting any such sort of weakness seems out of place. Maybe that’s not quite right, but there was something there, that while funny, d...
More About: Other , Nelly

The Black Donnellys Shoot For Number One
2007-02-27 19:57:00
Last night, NBC premiered its newest series, The Black Donne llys. The drama, scripted by Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco (both of Crash fame, among other places), centers around the four brothers in the Donnelly family: Tommy, Jimmy, Kevin, and Sean. As with most sets of brothers (or siblings in general) the Donnelly boys don’t always see eye-to-eye on everything. Raised in a strictly working class neighborhood, the boys grew up committing small crimes (stealing ice cream bins and the like) and eventually graduated to higher orders of legal problems. Tommy (Jonathan Tucker) is at the center of the show, and is the Donnelly boy that’s trying to go straight. Some of Tommy’s brothers however, most notably Jimmy (Tom Guiry), are not interested in such a life. Jimmy has drug problems and has no compunction about committing various crimes (including stealing a truck full of Hawaiian shirts). Kevin (Billy Lush) is the gambler of the family. Kevin will tag along with Jimmy on the crim...
More About: Black Donnellys , Nelly , Numb

Contemplating the Academy Awards Ceremony
2007-02-26 19:44:00
I know, you’ve been just dying to find out and so I’m here to tell you.  Yes, I watched the Oscars last night.  I did.  I enjoyed it, particularly when I fell asleep at midnight and the show was still going on (hey, I had to get up and go to work this morning).  But, no, I’m not being tongue-in-cheek or sarcastic, I did enjoy the show.  I thought Ellen was really, really funny and despite the ridiculous number of montages and stuff I didn’t need to exist as a part of the show, Ellen was able to keep me from turning the channel.  I like that Ellen.Did Ellen make a mistake and say Penelope Cruz was from Mexico?  I’m not sure, it went by too quickly for me to say definitively.  The upside of it was though that Ellen came out to clear up any misunderstanding and Penelope got more screen time, and that’s really all the upside anyone could ever ask for.And, Ellen in the audience?  Great stuff.  Her with ...
More About: Awards , Academy , Academy Awards , War , Latin

A Solid Friday Night of Television
2007-02-25 01:44:00
Now, normally I eschew a weekend article.  While that might allow for a more easy going weekend, it always prevents me from talking about two of my favorite shows:  Las Vegas and Psych.  Sure, Monk is great, but this past season has been something of a let down there are tons of plot inconsistencies and obvious problems with the stories that prevent me from being able to, this season, list it as one of my favorites.  But, Las Vegas and Psych?  Just plain great. Many people would declare Las Vegas a “guilty pleasure.”  I don’t because I in no way feel guilty at all about watching it.  Is the show terribly intelligent?  No.  Does the show really make you think?  No.  Is it hugely witty or intricate or surprising?  No.  It’s just plain old fun to watch.  The plots are ridiculously over the top, the actors ham it up, and the writing allows for all this outlandishness to take place.  If any...
More About: Television , Night , Friday , Tele , Levi

Must See TV Still Exists!
2007-02-23 18:11:00
It’s Friday, and you’re dying to know this sort of thing, so I’m going to tell you. Last night, I watched two hours of Must See TV. Sure, sure, I’m living back in 1999, but that was such a party I don’t want to give it up. And, despite the fact that the comedies NBC airs from 8 to 10 pm on Thursdays don’t garner the ratings they once did, they’re still awfully, awfully funny (at least for the most part).Let’s admit it anyway, until Will & Grace appeared in one of those half-hour time slots, you don’t really know what aired at 8:30 or 9:30 on those heady Thursday nights. We both know that you didn’t watch Boston Common, and no matter how many times they tried to shove The Single Guy down our throats it never really worked. Let’s look at what they put on last night, and you’ll see just how special it truly is. The first hour consists of My Name is Earl and The Office. Earl has Jason Lee starring as a reprobate trying to fix his life because Carson Daly explain...
More About: Stil , Still , Exist

My Weekly Wednesday Fish Biscuit
2007-02-22 19:30:00
What is it about fish biscuits that I just love? You think I’m joking, but I’m not. Jack was there in that cage yesterday and I longed to see a fish biscuit. I couldn’t fathom why they kept bringing him sandwiches when fish biscuits should’ve been plentiful. How will Jack ever work out the wondrous mystery of the fish biscuit machine if The Others keep feeding him? Give a man a sandwich you feed him for a day, teach a man how to get fish biscuits, you feed him for life. For the last two weeks, my Wednesday nights have been as wonderful as fish biscuits. Not because there is a plethora of original programming aired that I watch. I don’t watch that American Idol show. I just can’t. Every season I try, but I can’t. So, in terms of original programming there’s very little there that I’m interested in, pretty much right now it’s just Lost on Wednesdays.Why then, is it wonderful?  Easy, because I get to catch up on great pro...
More About: Fish , Week , Weekly

Just Shut Up & Sing Already!
2007-02-21 19:04:00
There’s just something about Dixie Chicks - Shut up & Sing that just makes me mad.  I’m quite sure that’s one of the points of the entire endeavor, but it doesn’t quite make me happy.  In London in 2003, on the first night of their “Top of the World” tour, Natalie Maines, the lead singer of The Dixie Chicks, unhappy about the U.S.’s plans for war in Iraq stated that she was ashamed the President of the United States was from Texas.  Because the President’s approval rating was sky high at that point and the U.S. was gearing up for war, a group of people felt that the very notion that someone might disagree, publicly, with the Commander-in-Chief was hugely, unforgivably, and ludicrously unpatriotic.  Maines’s comments got skewed and transformed into something far larger and The Dixie Chicks quickly found themselves being boycotted and banned from country radio stations; they had, apparently, alienated their ...
More About: Just , Read , Ready

Forget Babel, It's Just Incomprehensible
2007-02-21 14:02:00
The tragic, ironic, and, honestly, funny, thing about the movie Babe l is that much like the tower of the same name from the biblical story, the entire thing comes crashing down without remorse or pity. While in the biblical story the tower comes crashing down because God decided that people should have limitations, the movie comes crashing down because it takes itself so seriously and puts forth a moderately ridiculous story with only vaguely related, and often completely unbelievable, story lines.In brief, the story follows the effects on several different families when two boys decide to play with a rifle and happen to shoot an American tourist in Morocco (played by Cate Blanchett, with Brad Pitt as her husband). This creates an international incident and sparks an overly-thorough investigation by the police in an attempt to prevent any thoughts by the Americans that Morocco may be soft on terrorists and terrorism.  The various stories in play here include: that of the Americ...
More About: Comp , Just , Forge

Alien Shooter: Vengeance Shall Be Mine!
2007-02-20 13:51:00
As happens on occasion, it is time for another game review...Every time I play a shooter, I say to myself that there are simply not enough enemies to mow down - that, and that the plot is always far too involved. I just want to be able to stand there and mow down row after row of mindless enemy combatants - ones with A.I. so wretched that they will keep trying to attack head-on when you’re standing above them shooting and there is no way for them to reach you.Enter Alien Shooter : Vengeance , the answer to all my prayers.The plot? It’s a relatively incomprehensible story about a future where terrorism has changed the face of the world and caused a new type of capitalism to emerge, and the perils of science, and some sort of gate that has allowed alien creatures to come through it. You, the player, are something of a mercenary, called in to quell the uprising at M.A.G.M.A. Corporation and get to the bottom of what’s going on.Following an incredibly slow load time the ...
More About: Mine , Hall

Bridge to Terabithia - Not Like the Trailers at all!
2007-02-16 15:49:00
Having read and enjoyed the novel in my youth, and then seeing the trailers for Bridge to Terabithia now, I was concerned that the entire novel had been changed into a Lord of the Rings-type film, completely geared towards the pre-teen set, and that the entire thrust of the novel had been inexplicably and utterly changed.Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the film. Not only do they stick closely with the novel, the entire film is treated with love and care. But then, it should be, as David Paterson, the son of the woman that wrote the book, helped write the screenplay. In fact, David’s mom, Katherine Paterson, wrote the book for David when he was young and based the main character and some events on David’s life. The story follows Jesse Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) and his budding friendship with the new girl in school, Leslie Burke. Jesse is an outsider, even in his family. He is the only boy and doesn’t get along with his parents or siblings. What ...
More About: Trailer , Trailers , Ridge , Rail

Four and a Half Hours of Great Television
2007-02-15 15:40:00
As I sat there watching 4.5 hours of TV last night (it was a good night), I had an epiphany. An epiphany of enormous proportions. An epiphany to outlast all other epiphanies. An epiphany that makes the sheer notion of other people having epiphanies utterly foolish. Let me tell you about the epiphany I had. But, before I get there, I thought I’d throw out how very much I enjoy Extras. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are utterly fantastic. It’s comedy, it’s drama, and it’s nice to see that fame didn’t go to Andy Millman’s head. The guest stars that they have on every week are incredibly funny. Whether its Orlando Bloom or Diana Rigg or Ian McKellan, the parts are well-written and played over-the-top enough to be ridiculous and believable at the same time. So, I was behind in watching it this week, but Extras was one of the shows I watched during my epiphany.I, of course, sat down and watched Lost as well. That’s one of those shows you just don’t play around with, it...
More About: Television , Great , Tele , Levi , Four

That Steve Martin is a Wild and Crazy Guy
2007-02-14 17:09:00
Steve Mart in is a funny guy.  Let’s face it, he just is.  Not always, but often, and often enough that when people think of Steve Martin they tend to think “he’s a funny guy.”  Helping show off Steve Martin’s comedy roots, Universal Studios has just released to DVD Steve Martin:  The Wild and Crazy Comedy Collection.  Included in the pack, on two DVDs are:  The Jerk, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, and The Lonely Guy and precious little in the way of bonus features.  But, as the movies have held up very well 20-plus years later, they provide enough incentive to purchase the set.The Jerk follows the life of Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin), who is more of a complete and total fool than a jerk persay, because he fails to realize just how not bright he is.  Even so, Johnson manages to invent the “Opti-grab” which helps eyeglasses to not slip off one’s nose (they also have a clever little handle) and...
More About: Steve , Hat

Nova Seeks out "The Last Great Ape"
2007-02-12 19:07:00
Nova’s latest episode, “The Last Great Ape,” has the makings of a wonderful documentary. Check that, it has the makings of two wonderful documentaries. As a single piece, it is fails to hold together or hold the viewer’s interest. And that assessment doesn’t even focus on the misleading title that the producers have given the episode. To say that the bonobo is the “last great ape” implies that there are no other great apes. There are, of course, tons of other great apes. They probably mean that the bonobo is the most recently discovered great ape, or, perhaps, the last great ape discovered. That, however, makes for a far less rousing title. The episode follows the bonobo apes, their discovery, their attitudes, actions, how they differ from humans, how they’re similar, and their genetic relationship to chimpanzees. It then goes on to talk about the difficulty in studying the bonobos, and worries for the bonobos' survival, due to the political strife that currently e...
More About: Nova , Seek , The Last

I am Dwight Schrute
2007-02-11 21:49:00
I had a horrific realization last night, something that scared the utter bejesus out of me. I don’t want this to be true, but it is. Last night, watching The Office, I came to the inescapable conclusion that I am Dwight Schrute.   We’re all trained in a Pavlovian fashion in some way. I don’t salivate for Altoids, but hypothetically I could. When people say things akin to a line from a movie or TV show, I can’t help but start to recite bits of the scene. I think the idea of tossing crashers from a wedding could be fun; not only that, but I absolutely look at people and completely misconstrue what is going on and jump to erroneous conclusions. Dwight knows what the Dharma Project is, or at the very least where the reference comes from. Dwight thinks everyone else should know about Dharma too, as do I.In more general terms, Dwight is a quintessential outsider. He doesn’t want to be, he may not even realize that he is an outsider, but an outs...

Play With Fire - There's a reason why this is a no-no
2007-02-07 19:32:00
Woo-hoo! It's time for another video game review!Imagine this: a game with poor graphics, a bland concept, less than intuitive controls, and poor camera angles. If you put them all together you may very well end up with a game very close to Manifesto’s Play With Fire .The player is a little ball of fire that has to destroy various blocks, by setting them on fire and having them crumble, in an attempt to get to a black block and go to the next level. Why does the player have to do this? Who knows. After the first two levels does the player care to go any further? I’d imagine not.  The player’s little ball of fire has to, on every level, destroy blocks in a certain order in order to reach the goal, which is the level exit block. Some blocks are completely indestructible, others not so much. The ball of fire has to destroy the blocks in a certain order (usually, anyway) so that they disappear in a timely enough way in order to allow the ball to jump on them as t...
More About: This , Reason

Flags of our Fathers Comes to DVD
2007-02-06 19:06:00
Clint Eastwood’s Flags of our Father s , the first of his two Iwo Jima movies from last year, explores the war and its aftermath from the American side (Letters from Iwo Jima provides the Japanese perspective). Wonderfully conceived and executed, the film takes a look at the battle through the eyes of three of the men who were pictured in the famous flag-raising and subsequently shuttled around the U.S. in an effort to sell war bonds. The film is structured as a series of flashbacks as the son of one of the men involved talks to his father’s comrades-in-arms in order to learn what happened. Within this frame, the three “war hero” soldiers, John “Doc” Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) have their own series of flashbacks on the 35-day battle while on their trip to raise money for war bonds. If that sounds a little confusing, it actually all works quite well. The movie explains that the picture of the soldiers raising the flag ...
More About: Dvd , Come , Hers

Taking ER Off Life Support
2007-02-05 21:57:00
I made an incredibly hard decision this past weekend. It was one that was a long time coming. It cut me to the quick, but I found that I had no other choice. It was one of the harder decisions I’ve had to make in recent times, but now that the decision over with, the trigger is pulled, I stand by it. Hard though it was, this was the right decision.After watching every episode for over 12 years, ER has been removed from my TiVo.  I truly didn’t have an easy time pulling the plug on the show, weak shadow of its former self that it may be, but I just can’t devote 44 minutes of my time 22 weeks a year to it anymore. It gnaws at my insides and just tears me up, but I’ve reached an endpoint.It’s gone. It’s over. I’m done with it. Is it the rehashing of old storylines? Is it that every person that was there from the beginning has left as have many of their replacements? Is it the fact that the new people simply aren’t that interesting? I...
More About: Life , Port , Support , King , Taking

Rules of Engagement: Rule No. 1 - Don't.
2007-02-05 16:21:00
David Spade has managed to make a career out of playing the exact same obnoxious character.  There are absolutely still times that I find the character funny, watching CBS’s new comedy Rule s of Engage ment is not one of them.  Rules of Engagement is not wholly without laughs, but they are certainly few and far between. The show centers on two couples and one single man.  The first couple, Adam (Oliver Hudson) and Jennifer (Bianca Kajlich), has only known each other for seven months, and just got engaged.  The second couple, Jeff (Patrick Warburton) and Audrey (Megyn Price), has been married 12 years, and then there’s David Spade as Russell. Poor Adam, who, let’s face it, jumped into the whole engagement thing rather prematurely, ends up getting advice from two sides:  the man that’s been married forever and the man that refuses to ever head down that path.  In order to try and be funny, both these guys seem to agree that Ada...
More About: Men , Gage

Nova's "Forgotten Genius"...How Can There Be a Show if He's Forgotten?
2007-02-04 19:40:00
For the few who don’t know, February is Black History Month. In celebration of this, the folks at Nova are rolling out a mammoth, two hour episode entitled "Forgotten Geni us" that follows the life of scientist Percy Julian. The story of Julian’s life and work is told both through reenactments and narration by Courtney B. Vance. As an African American born in the south in 1899, Julian faced a huge number of hurdles. After going to elementary school in Birmingham and high school in Montgomery he went on to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana (he was the first of his family to attend college).After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw he went on to try and pursue a career in chemistry. After a number of years of struggle and setbacks, Julian finally earned an M.A. and eventually a Ph.D. Despite his stellar academic performances, due to his race Julian found it exceptionally difficult to obtain gainful employment, before eventually landing at Glidden Paints, working on the s...
More About: Show , Here , Genius