He’ll be missed. Here he is, doing his classic “Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television” bit. Extremely NSFW, obviously, unless you work for Al Swearengen.
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Archive for the 'miscellaneous' Category
In the midst of all the dull summer TV, I must say a quick word of thanks to Showtime, who are bringing back Weeds just in time to save us from the unrelenting onslaught of reality TV. On Monday, everyone’s favorite pot-dealing mom returns. I’ve seen the first episodes and will post a review a bit closer to the air date.
In the meantime, if you want to get your hands on a copy of the season 3 box set, today might be your day. We have one complete set to give away. To enter, all you need to do is send an email to marcia @ popvultures.com, telling me what your favorite vice is. If you don’t already have a vice, you have one week to acquire one, since the winner will be randomly selected next Wednesday, June 18.
Tags: weeds
Of course, the one week I need to take off is the same week the season finales start to air and the networks hold their upfronts. More on the latter later this week, but I can at least write a bit about the former. What to do when I’m so far behind that I have no hope of writing real posts on each show? TV haiku, of course!
Supernatural
Sadly, it turns out
My ESP is broken:
Dean did go to hell
Survivor
Which is more shocking,
The final vote, or the fact
The show is still on?
The Office
Did you cringe or laugh?
All hour, I couldn’t choose.
The season’s best ep.
America’s Next Top Model
The plus-sized girl wins!
This would only matter if
She won a career.
And a few bonus ones, for shows that kicked off their finales with the first of a two- or three-parter.
Lost
Oceanic Six
Clearly shown, though I still think
The baby’s a cheat.
House
Great mystery, but
Why did the show stoop to use
A cheap strip club scene?
Bones
Stalkers and Idols
And Eighties karaoke
Hard to go wrong there.
Your turn to 5-7-5 the last week of television.
Tags: america's next top model, bones, house, lost, supernatural, survivor, the office
- Are you feeling the Battlestar Galactica love the way I am? Does Friday seem really far away? To tide you over, here are two crazy theories on who might be the final Cylon. Since I think every possible character has been repeatedly guessed by now, I’m going out on a limb and saying that it’s gotta be that kid they saved from New Caprica in the pilot. Admit it — no one would see that coming
- Want more? How about the BSG cast drawn in the style of the Simpsons? The Wire has also been given the Simpsons treatment.
- Forget all those other Lost questions. Defamer has uncovered the island’s greatest mystery: what happened to all the body hair? The Lost showrunners turned up on Jimmy Kimmel, where they avoided answering that or any other question. It was just like watching the show itself.
Tags: battlestar galactica, lost, the wire
I don’t tend to get emotionally invested in television commercials, at least ones that don’t involve puppies and kittens doing impossibly cute things. And yet, this ad for Discovery Channel gets me every time. It’s nothing more, or less, than a celebration of the entire world. Sure, the world’s got a few problems, but it’s still pretty freaking amazing. This just warms me to the bottom of my jaded, cynical Gen-X heart.
What do you think? Does it inspire all sorts of post-ironic joy in you, too?
Tags: commercials, the discovery channel
There are many (many, many) things that America does better than Britain: peanut-butter-based candies, Halloween, breakfast foods, and Target, to name but a few. But you know what? We’ve got you colonials beat when it comes to radio. And, unlike all the other BBC programming I chunter on about, I am delighted to tell you that our radio shows aren’t just available on this poor Target-less tiny island. Oh no, they’re on the Internet and everything. A pair of headphones is all you need to partake; no passport required. Below is my pick of the best that’s on offer:
Book At Bedtime
The clue’s in the name, really. At 10.45 every week night, great works and lesser-known novels are broken up into fifteen-minute installments and read to you, in the soothing tones of a relatively well-known thespian, as you sit in your jammies clutching a mug of cocoa. It’s a deliciously comforting listen, last thing at night, and a lovely way to discover books you might never otherwise have known about. And now, through the magic of Podcasting, you can listen to it whenever your capricious little heart desires. Book at breakfast-time? Book at 2.36 in the afternoon? Ah, technology.
Mark Kermode’s Movie Reviews
I never go and see a movie until I’ve found out what Mark Kermode thinks of it first. The man has impeccable taste and a complete mastery of the art of the put-down. I particularly relish the reviews of the films he’s hated, because he’s almost poetic in his derision, using phrases like, ‘a totally irredeemable pile of stinking celluloid donkey droppings’, or ‘the cinematic equivalent of tertiary syphilis’. He is allowed to criticise because he’s seen practically every movie ever made, and he expertly weaves his knowledge into his reviews, telling you the director’s influences and the genre references so that you can sound like a complete know-it-all when you’re at the cinema later.
Woman’s Hour
Now, bear with me here. I know it sounds like a show about baking and ironing, but it’s not. Woman’s Hour has been on the air since 1946 and the reason for its longevity has nothing to do with tips on how to make the perfect soufflé. The show presents reports, debates and interviews about topics including health, history, culture, politics and current affairs. When you tune in you never know quite what you’re going to get, but you do know it will be intelligent and thought-provoking. The last time I listened to an episode, there were segments on women blacksmiths, dementia care, the political situation in Zimbabwe, and the history of the paisley pattern. Give Woman’s Hour a whirl. You’ll almost certainly discover something fascinating about a topic you never even knew you were interested in.
There are other excellent shows as well, of course, and you can find them all here. A few of the other gems on offer are The Archers, the BBC’s long-running radio soap, which is, I’m told, a certain kind of genius. But I’ve never listened to it so I don’t feel qualified to comment. I am a big fan of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, a surreal comedy panel quiz show involving kazoos and nonsensical word games. Whatever your interests, I’m pretty sure you’ll find something amongst the BBC Radio offerings to keep your ears entertained for an hour or so. I firmly believe that, much like cups of tea, moaning about the weather and understanding the rules of cricket (although actually, I don’t understand the rules of cricket), the quality of our radio is part of what makes us British. So come along and partake in my tiny island’s pride and joy.
Tags: bbc, radio
Project Runway took the week off, but there was a surprising amount of new programming this last week. Enough, in fact, that there’s only one way to cover it all: more TV haiku!
American Idol
Yes, I’m still watching
Though I feel unclean and
Would like Paula’s drugs.
Eli Stone
Maybe it’s just me
But based on the latest shows
Quirky’s the new black.
Friday Night Lights
Oh, Matt, you bad boy.
Lost pup in a harsh world
Taking cold showers.
House
A late Christmas House
No Cameron to be seen.
Was that our present?
Lost
Flashback, flash-forward.
One thing is always the same:
Still no new answers.
Supernatural
Dear Dean in danger
Are we still meant to believe
He’s going to hell?
Torchwood
Time-traveling plot
Allows for more emo angst.
I miss aliens.
The Wire
Much to my surprise
The serial killer plot –
Pure comedy gold.
Your turn! How would you sum up last week’s TV through minimalistic Japanese poetry?
Tags: american idol, eli stone, friday night lights, house, lost, supernatural, the wire, torchwood, tv haiku
As a TV blogger, I feel an obligation to post and comment on the winners from Sunday night’s fabulous Golden Globes press conference. There is a small problem with that plan, however: I don’t regularly watch any of the winning shows. There’s something very wrong with that, isn’t there?
The winners:
Drama
Best Drama: Mad Men (AMC)
Best Actor: Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Best Actress: Glenn Close (Damages)
Comedy
Best Comedy: Extras (HBO)
Best Actor: David Duchovny (Californication)
Best Actress: Tina Fey (30 Rock)
The supporting award for best actor went to Jeremy Piven (Entourage) and for best actress to Samantha Morton (for the TV movie Longford).
Oh, dear. This is bad. I thought I was well-viewed, able to converse fluently on all things televisual, and I have failed miserably. Really, couldn’t they at least have thrown a bone to the Dexter folks? It would have made me look a whole lot better.
So far, I’ve seen and enjoyed the first season of 30 Rock, but was also happy to wait till the second season wrapped before watching it all over the summer (now that the strike shows no sign of ending, I suspect I could bump that plan to February). I watched the first half of Mad Men before being distracted by various shiny objects and forgot to return. I know it’s very good, but the fact that I forgot to watch the end made me suspect that it wasn’t a particularly memorable show. Apparently, I was wrong.
I’ve never seen Damages, Extras, or Californication, and I refuse to ever watch Entourage. I must acknowledge the sad truth: I am a bad, bad TV blogger. No biscuit for me.
There’s only one thing to do. It is my job — nay, my duty — to watch as much television as I possibly can. Clearly, I’ve been a lightweight up till now. From here on, I’m going at this like a pro. There will be spreadsheets of viewing schedules, box sets stacked to the ceiling and pizza delivery on speed dial. I don’t have time to cook anymore, people! I’m not giving up till my sofa has permanently molded itself around my body and I can tell you what, exactly, a Longford is. Wish me luck.
Where should I start? I’d love to hear from any fans of these shows that can tell me what I’ve been missing.
Tags: 30 rock, californication, damages, extras, golden globes, mad men
Pop Vultures would like to wish you and yours the happiest of holidays, however you choose to celebrate it. Me, I’ve actually turned the television off for a few days, in order to better focus on family, food and drink. Let me know if I’ve missed anything important.
Normal service will resume once I recover from the food coma.
