8/31/10

Final Winners

So how did I do on my Emmy guesses?  I will agree I was far from perfect, but I got half of my choices right.  Here are some of the final winners (and all of them are here).

Best Series, Drama -- Mad Men 

Best Series, Comedy -- Modern Family

Best Actor, Drama -- Bryan Cranston 'Breaking Bad'

Best Actress, Drama -- Kyra Sedgwick 'The Closer'

Best Actor, Comedy -- Jim Parsons 'The Big Bang Theory'

Best Actress, Comedy -- Edie Falco 'Nurse Jackie'

Modern Family received six awards, more than any other regular show, whereas the mini-series The Pacific took in the most awards with eight emmys.  While I did not watch the program, I caught some of the highlights, including the opening skit. It appears Jimmy Fallon did a good job hosting the event.  However, I would rather watch the winning shows than the award show itself. And so, back to our regular programming.

8/21/10

The Emmys

Just one week to go and the Emmy Awards program will be broadcast and awards handed out.  While there are a number of categories and names that I do not follow (I count 104 categories - really?), I have listed some of the more relevant categories (with my choice in red).

Best Series, Drama
  • 'Breaking Bad'
  • 'Dexter'
  • 'Lost'
  • 'Mad Men'
  • 'The Good Wife'
  • 'True Blood'
Best Series, Comedy
  • 'Nurse Jackie'
  • 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'
  • '30 Rock'
  • 'Glee'
  • 'The Office'
  • 'Modern Family'
Best Actor, Drama
  • Bryan Cranston 'Breaking Bad'
  • Michael C. Hall 'Dexter'
  • Hugh Laurie 'House'
  • Jon Hamm 'Mad Men'
  • Matthew Fox 'Lost'
  • Kyle Chandler 'Friday Night Lights'
Best Actress, Drama
  • Connie Britton 'Friday Night Lights'
  • Glenn Close 'Damages'
  • Mariska Hargitay 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'
  • Kyra Sedgwick 'The Closer'
  • January Jones 'Mad Men'
  • Julianna Margulies 'The Good Wife'
Best Actor, Comedy
  • Alec Baldwin '30 Rock'
  • Tony Shalhoub 'Monk'
  • Jim Parsons 'The Big Bang Theory'
  • Steve Carell 'The Office'
  • Larry David 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'
  • Matthew Morrison 'Glee'
Best Actress, Comedy
  • Tina Fey '30 Rock'
  • Lea Michele 'Glee'
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus 'The New Adventures of Old Christine'
  • Amy Poehler 'Parks and Recreation'
  • Toni Collette 'United States of Tara'
  • Edie Falco 'Nurse Jackie'

Beware the Angry TV Writer

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had a good article on writers' revenge in TV episodes.  My favorite relates to Matthew Weiner's revenge on a former employer.  The creator of "Mad Men" got even when he put the man's name on a gravestone in a cemetery scene as part of an episode of "The Sopranos." 

In another case, Seth MacFarlane also got even with the folks at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for never providing him with an award when one of his show's characters is murdered with a Golden Globe statuette.

Check out the article.  It has a number of good stories and may make you a more careful viewer (just in case an old girlfriend or boyfriend is getting even with you).

7/28/10

The Return of Mad Men

The fourth season of AMC's Mad Men is off to an interesting start.  Don Draper is without a family, without an established office, and without a sense of humor.  And his uncharacteristic outburst with clients towards the end of the show makes you wonder if he is approaching a nervous breakdown.  Without his familiar moorings, as well as his irritable disposition, it feels as if anything is possible.  Gone is our cool and calm Don.

I noticed one new addition to the cast - Matt Long, from the earlier WB series Jack & Bobby, is now assisting Peggy.  I expect we may see new additions as the show moves along, though some of the old cast may not be returning (such as Sal the art director).  I was also happy to see Joan back in the office.  While she had a very small part, she may represent the little bit of stability in the new firm.

A few web sites that are starting to faithfully track the fourth season. The New Republic has started a new series, and Slate is back with an ongoing discussion.  Slate had great commentary on the last season of Lost, and it is now faithfully following Friday Night Lights.  I look forward to following both of these sites.

By the way, here is a fun video making fun of Betty's parenting that was highlighted by Slate in its first installment.  And here is an excerpt from "Mad Men and Philosophy, Nothing is as it Seems," should you want to catalog some of the terrific dialogue to date.  I love this quote from Roger, which really sums up the man:  ” On lasting commitment: “I’ll tell you the same thing I told my daughter. If you put a penny in a jar every time you make love in the first year of marriage and then you take a penny out of the jar every time you make love in the second year, you know what you have? A jar full of pennies.”

7/26/10

The Latest Louie

The show just gets better and better. In the latest episode Louie takes on the airlines and the absurd security policies. Trying to bring personal lubricant on the plane, he asks a question we should all ask when told it would have been fine in checked luggage: If the substance is so dangerous in a carry-on, why let it on the plane at all? This is the value of good writing and sharp jokes - we laugh and think at the same time. While simple jokes may have their place at times, give me the thinking man's joke. It is basically an animated political cartoon. Americans are starting to understand Russian humor where you make the best of a crazy and unthinking bureaucracy. Fear has made us dumb, yet such humor shows we still have a chance to get through this period. Slate magazine calls him an "existential hero," stating "having meditated on the world's absurd injustices, he greets them with absurdity in kind."  Go Louie!

7/23/10

Haven: A Weak Version of Fringe

I have now watched the first two episodes of SyFy's new series Haven and the show is barely working for me.  It is a pretty simple story.  An independent female FBI agent, supervised by a secretive African American boss, starts to encounter strange happenings and decides to partner with a loner who has his own secrets.  Sounds a lot like Fox's Fringe to me.  And yet the acting and writing is only half as good, and the story lines are pretty weak.  The second episode starts with a large metal ball crashing into a local bar.  Not exactly as thrilling as Fringe's parallel universes.  With the addition of strange town folk, who are most likely a permanent part of the show since the female lead decided to stick around, it looks like the program will be a mix of Northern Exposure and The 4400 (yes, it appears that many of the townies have unknown special powers). I am not hopeful, but I may watch one or two more before a final verdict.

The End of a Bully


Remember the story about threats to the creators of South Park after they portrayed the Prophet Muhammad in one of the show's episodes?  Well, Zachary Chesser, also known as Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, has been arrested for providing material support to Somali terrorists.  Employees at Comedy Central can now sleep a little better at night.  I wonder if the prison's television will be broadcasting episodes of South Park.