Megan Smith's blog http://www.blogher.com/blog/11299/atom/feed 2009-10-01T11:50:19-05:00 "Precious," A Film Almost Too Real To Appreciate http://www.blogher.com/precious 2009-11-10T19:05:26-06:00 2009-11-10T19:05:26-06:00 Megan Smith This is going to be sticky, so please, bear with me.  I just saw the film "Precious" and I can barely breathe.

The only way I'm going to be able to write about this movie is in two parts: my hopefully professional and objective review of the movie, and then my gut level, emotional reaction to the movie.  So as I said, please bear with me.

]]> This is going to be sticky, so please, bear with me.  I just saw the film "Precious" and I can barely breathe.

The only way I'm going to be able to write about this movie is in two parts: my hopefully professional and objective review of the movie, and then my gut level, emotional reaction to the movie.  So as I said, please bear with me.

The Cinema Society Hosts A Screening Of "Precious" - After Party

"Precious" is based on the book, "Push" by Sapphire and was directed by Lee Daniels, who was a producer on the Oscar winning film, "Monster's Ball." Set in Harlem in the late 80's, the film tells the story of sixteen-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe), who's pregnant with her second child by her mother's boyfriend, her own father.

Precious is painfully obese, functionally illiterate and at the mercy of her horrific mother, Mary (Mo'Nique).  Mary is a lump that vegetates in front of the television and only lives to play the numbers, work the welfare system, and abuse Precious in every possible way.

When her father repeatedly rapes her, Precious escapes to a rich fantasy life where she's literally a star, flashbulbs popping, adoring crowds cheering, and everyone loves her.

After being kicked out of school, Precious ends up in an alternative school classroom run by Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), a teacher who gives Precious the benefit of her patience and compassion. 

The movie unfolds almost like a documentary with Precious intermittently narrating her thoughts and feelings.  The fitful pacing keeps the audience on edge as much as Mary's dangerous mood swings keep Precious on edge. 

As to the performances, all the Oscar talk about Mo'Nique is well founded because she strips herself bare for this role.  Since the movie doesn't show us much of Precious' father, Mary is the one who represents everything that is wrong with the hellhole of a life Precious was born into, and Mo'Nique  is so authentic, it's truly frightening.

Gabourey Sidibe in her film debut is heartbreaking as Precious.  Mariah Carey is nearly unrecognizable in her role as a social worker, as is Sherri Shepherd who takes a break from "The View" to play a receptionist at the alternative school.

Is the film worth seeing?  Yes, it's well crafted and the performances are extraordinary, but be warned, it's not for the faint of heart.

Now, my gut reaction.  Taking off my professional hat now.

I used to use a news radio station as my alarm in the morning until one day I realized that as soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I heard every day was, "Three men were killed...," "A man was shot and killed...," "The body of a missing woman was found..."

I decided I didn't want to start every one of my days of life hearing about such brutality.  So now my alarm is a buzzer.

"Precious" is one of those films that makes me question art and its value.  I don't think every film should be "Bambi" of course, but as I get older I have very little tolerance for this kind of work which explodes with such brutality.

I saw it because I agreed to the assignment and because as someone who writes about entertainment I felt I needed to see it.  But like the news radio headlines, I'm sorry those scenes and visions are in my head.

I wish I could get more deeply into an intellectual discussion about the issue of stereotypes the film brings up but I'll leave that to the very capable writers I've referenced in the Related Links below.

At this moment, so soon after seeing the movie, I hate men so much I can barely stand it.  I especially hate black men because I'm black and feel ashamed to share even a tiny bit of the same heritage of a man who would do this.

You see, I've met Mary.  I've met Precious.  Maybe we weren't close, maybe we weren't related but I know that in my life, I've met them both.

Sitting in that crowded theatre, watching the fictional Mary do her dirty work, all I could think was that I hated her. 

I wanted her dead.  I wanted her dead and I wanted to be the one to kill her.

She makes me ashamed to be a woman and a black woman especially because she exists: this women who apologizes and make excuses and trades her child for a man like so much chattel.

I hate that it happens.  I hate that it happens so often.  And worst of all, I hate that I can't do anything about it.

Intellectually, I know it's not all black men who do this.  I know it's not all black women who do this.  I know I bring my own personal experiences with a crappy--though not sexually abusive--father to this film, and that colors my experience

But right now, a few short hours after seeing the film and thinking about Precious, the sixteen year-old girl, that's how I feel.

I can barely breathe.

 

Related Links:

Sapphire's "Push," Merciless Honesty by Nordette Adams

Why Everyone Should Know Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe by Suzanne Reisman

Does "Precious" Movie Stereotype Big, Black Women? by Bonnie Davis of The Grio

Stereotypes Reinforced in "Precious?" by Diary of an Anxious Black Woman

Lee Daniels' "Precious:" When The Personal is Political and not Politically Correct by Sylvie K of the Antisocial Ladder

Pushing "Precious:" Don't Hate The Players, Hate The Game by Paula L. Woods of The Defenders Online


Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television/Online Video.     Her other blogs are Megan's Minute, quirky commentary around the clock and Meg's Rad Reviews

]]> "Mad Men's" Betty Draper and the Death of JFK (Spoilers) http://www.blogher.com/mad-mens-betty-draper-and-death-jfk 2009-11-03T14:26:01-06:00 2009-11-03T14:42:39-06:00 Megan Smith It took the death of the President of the United States to shake Betty Draper (January Jones) out of her unhappy, little Stepford world and make her shove on the flaps of her hermetically sealed, suburban envelope .  Not that Betty hasn't shown flashes of defiance before.  Like last season when she challenged her husband Don (Jon Hamm) about his chippies on the side and then thought nothing of a public bathroom quickie with a stranger. 

]]> It took the death of the President of the United States to shake Betty Draper (January Jones) out of her unhappy, little Stepford world and make her shove on the flaps of her hermetically sealed, suburban envelope .  Not that Betty hasn't shown flashes of defiance before.  Like last season when she challenged her husband Don (Jon Hamm) about his chippies on the side and then thought nothing of a public bathroom quickie with a stranger. 

Variety's 1st Annual Power of Women Luncheon - Arrivals

 

But this was the Big Kahuna.  The, "I don't love you anymore" speech.  Of course she still delivered it in her prim and prissy, Stepford way but even Don had to put down his Lucky Strikes and take notice.   Gone was the tarted up sex kitten of just a few short weeks ago in Rome.

Even the Stepford children, especially creepy little Sally Draper, knew something bad was up between the parental units.

First a little background.  Preparations are in full swing for Margaret Sterling's wedding when the day before, the world of Sterling Cooper is thrown into despair by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  Employees gather around grainy black and white images on television sets, barely able to believe that America has changed in an instant.

And the character affected in the most profound way is Betty Draper.

Yes, Roger Sterling's daughter's wedding becomes a distant afterthought as the country mourns and barely anyone attends.  Yes, the King of Weasels, newly demoted Pete Campbell goes totally off the rails and ditches the wedding in favor of watching coverage on TV with his wife Trudy.  Yes, Don's perfectly coiffed facade, already under serious strain after Betty's discovery of his double life last week, cracks even more.

But it's Betty who appears willing to risk the most in the face of the assassination, especially after watching the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby on live television. 

She jumps up screaming, "What is going on!?"  And when Don asks what happened, she says, "They shot him!"

Interesting how that was written.  Not "He shot him," but "They shot him."; implying the feeling among Americans of a grand conspiracy that's survived to this day.  After all, the murders were so monumental it was too awful to believe we were at the mercy of unstable individuals.  Better to believe there were unseen conspirators at work who at least had motives that made some kind of sense. 

Anyway, with Betty's worlds, inside and outside the Draper household collapsing, where does she go?  Why into the arms of the nearest man of course, Henry Francis.

Betty's romantic dance with Francis picks up the pace as she meets him in a parking lot.  She tells him Don's a liar and she's had it, and then Henry surprises us all when he asks her to marry him.

Um, did I miss something?  Like some kind of torrid passion between these two?  Or God forbid, some chemistry!?  Sure, Henry says he'd like to take Betty to see her favorite movie--"Singing in the Rain"--to make her feel better but...so?

What kind of sense would it make for Betty to marry him?  How would life with Henry be any different than life with Don?  Except Don is way hotter.

If Bets is as smart as I think she can be, she'll pass on that offer and get herself some Prozac. 

Meredith O'Brien at Notes From The Asylum agrees with me about the "chemistry" between Bets and good old Henry:

I absolutely did not see coming that witnessing Oswald’s murder on TV would send Betty running to Henry Francis, particularly after the doting behavior Don displayed toward her at the Sterling wedding. I was likewise stunned to watch as Henry proposed marriage to a cash box-hurling woman he doesn’t even know.

Over at Basket of Kisses, Deborah Lipp examines what she believes Betty really meant when she said she didn't love Don:

It usually means what Betty means: My heart is closed. The door is locked. And usually, if the door could be unlocked, there is love behind it. That’s what Don discovered.

But because Betty is right; because Don is the one who has lied and cheated, Betty sees no need to unlock her own door, and without that opening, the love has not been set free.

And after last week's emotional episode, Raked Reviews asked, "Who's Afraid of Betty Draper?":

For someone as collected and suave as Don Draper, it was really unsettling to see Don crumble. And Betty! Betty was like Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Pressing him, needling him, questioning his every move, telling him what a great storyteller he is. Finally, he relents and tells Betty everything, that he’s Dick Whitman, that his brother dead. I have to say it’s the best bit of acting we’ve seen from two characters on the show.

Yup, last week and this week, very good acting all the way around.

Finally, a continuity question:  Was there really water based instant cocoa in 1963?  Pete Campbell's secretary brought him some, but I wonder if it wasn't invented later.  Anyone?

And also on the Pete Campbell front, "Best Quote of the Night" goes to the King of Weasels himself who responds to his wife's incessant questions with:  "Trudy, stop it with the Ellery Queen."  Hee.

 

Related Links:

Jessica Wakemen at The Frisky, "Betty Draper, Mother of the Year.  No, Seriously!" 

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television/Online Video.     Her other blogs are Megan's Minute, quirky commentary around the clock and Meg's Rad Reviews

]]> Balloon Boy, Reality TV and Twitter: Seeing Was Believing http://www.blogher.com/balloon-boy-reality-tv-and-twitter-seeing-was-believing 2009-10-20T15:12:24-05:00 2009-10-20T21:14:36-05:00 Megan Smith Last week's Balloon Boy story had to be seen to be believed.  Literally.   It was a perfect example of the media deciding because there were pictures, there was a story.  Without the live video of the silvery, homemade flying machine gliding across the skies of Colorado would so many people around the world have been so emotionally invested in the fate of 6 year-old Falcon Heene who they thought was inside? 

Picture the whole episode as a radio story.  How would we have felt then?

]]> Last week's Balloon Boy story had to be seen to be believed.  Literally.   It was a perfect example of the media deciding because there were pictures, there was a story.  Without the live video of the silvery, homemade flying machine gliding across the skies of Colorado would so many people around the world have been so emotionally invested in the fate of 6 year-old Falcon Heene who they thought was inside? 

Picture the whole episode as a radio story.  How would we have felt then?

The whole thing fascinates me for a bunch of reasons.  First of all, I didn't hear about Falcon's little aerial road trip until an hour or so into the story when a repairman fixing the thermostat in my office went on and on about it.   I didn't have access to a television so I was kind of puzzled why he was so caught up in it, telling me how he kept thinking about his own 6 year-old daughter and how scared she would be.

A couple of hours later, I finally got to a TV, saw the balloon on the ground and thought, "Oh my, a 6 year-old might have been in that contraption."  No one could find the kid and there were ominous reports that something might have fallen out of the balloon while it was in flight.

Then I heard the Heene family had been on the reality TV show "Wife Swap."  Hmm, I thought, could this all be phony?

The afternoon progressed, little Falcon was still missing and I was no longer near a TV.  My only connection to the story was on Twitter so I monitored all the tweets using the balloonboy hashtag.

The tweets expressing concern for Falcon's safety were outnumbered by tweets telling Balloon Boy jokes at least three to one.  Though I restrained myself from joining in, I laughed like crazy at the viral Kanye West joke:  "Excuse me balloon boy, imma let you finish but Amelia Earhart had the best disappearance OF ALL TIME!"

Even as I laughed I wondered how I would feel if Falcon was found
pulverized in a Colorado field somewhere after falling to his death. That's where those other tweets came in. The ones from people worried about the kid, and like the repairman in my office, imagining their 6 year-olds up there.

Those people were very upset and I definitely wasn't laughing at them.

But the Kanye jokes? Another story. And honestly, I had experience on my side.

I'm always the one who points a finger at the tearful boyfriend begging for his missing girlfriend's return saying, "Liar!  You did it!"

I'm usually right.

I'm also always the one who points a finger at the tearful reality show contestant who says it was the editing that made her look like a cold-hearted, back stabbing bitch saying, "Liar!  You are a cold-hearted, back stabbing bitch!"

I'm usually right.

But on the flip side, I'm also the one who sometimes points at the Britney Spears' of the world and says, "Yo people!  This ain't funny, this girl is seriously messed up and needs help."

I'm usually right about that too.

So what did I conclude from all of this?  First, I wasn't as emotionally invested in the kid because I hadn't been following the video for hours.  Less video exposure meant less emotional investment.

Second, part of our need as humans these days is not to feel "had."  How many times have we become emotionally invested in some hot news story only to discover we've been duped?  Bamboozled?  Hoodwinked?  Flimflammed?

Too often to count.  No one wants to feel like an idiot, time after time.  Therefore, why shouldn't we make jokes about a reality TV show family whose kid might be about to die?  After all it can't possibly be true.  The Heene's were on a reality show, for gosh sakes and we know those people never tell the truth.

Is that a good way for us to think if we aspire to be compassionate human beings?  Probably not.  But is it how we've been conditioned by our modern day media culture?  Unfortunately, yes.

Because Richard Heene seems to have proven the cynics among us right once again, that every reality TV show contestant will do anything to get rich/famous, I suspect there are a few more people who'll be willing to make jokes on Twitter the next time something like this happens. 

Except next time it might be true.  It might be a real crisis with a real tragedy.  How will we feel then?

The Angry Black Bitch thought about the media's coverage as well.  She wrote this before the sherriff's announcement yesterday that he thinks the whole thing was a hoax:

What I’m currently fascinated by is the press…now doubtful ‘cause of something Balloon Boy said on Larry King last night about doing it because of a “show” (Lawd, have mercy!)…yeah, so now the press is attempting to find out if this entire thing was a stunt or if maybe the kids were pulling a stunt on their parents that got out of control or if this whole thing was really what it was reported to be and Balloon Boy really was hiding in the attic while the whole world was watching his balloon as if his ass was in it.

Observing the difficult time these morning anchors are having getting to the facts of the matter sure as sh*t is fascinating!

My fellow BlogHer CE Nordette Adams watched the sherriff's press conference yesterday and wrote her thoughts on her own blog Whose Shoes Are These Anyway?

What did you think?

Related Links:

Reality TV Magazine:  WifeSwap Balloon Boy A Hoax, Charges To Be Filed

Amy Grindhouse.com:  Balloon Boy Stunt Is Now Officially A Hoax

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television/Online Video.     Her other blogs are Megan's Minute, quirky commentary around the clock and Meg's Rad Reviews

]]> Movie Love In All Its Forms: "Bright Star" and "The Boys Are Back" http://www.blogher.com/movie-love-all-its-forms-bright-star-and-boys-are-back 2009-10-13T07:30:00-05:00 2009-10-13T07:44:07-05:00 Megan Smith Everyone knows that love is a rainbow of many colors.   Parental love, the love of friends, the love of siblings and of course the love of lovers.  Two movies out right now, "The Boys Are Back" and "Bright Star" honor love's vibrant hues in very distinct ways.

]]> Everyone knows that love is a rainbow of many colors.   Parental love, the love of friends, the love of siblings and of course the love of lovers.  Two movies out right now, "The Boys Are Back" and "Bright Star" honor love's vibrant hues in very distinct ways.

"Bright Star," directed by Jane Campion and starring Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish, is about the brief, yet passionate love affair between the poet John Keats and his neighbor Fanny Brawne.  Keats was talented, yet poverty stricken and though deeply in love with Fanny was unable to marry her.   Fanny was a student of fashion, but once enraptured by Keats' allure, became a student of poetry as well.

The movie takes its time and like Keats' writing process, isn't to be rushed.  But be warned, if you like your costume dramas with ripping bodices and rumpled bedclothes, this isn't the movie for you.  This movie plays out like one of Keats' poems:  leisurely, lyrical and exulting in the joy of words.  The lovemaking is verbal, but no less intense.

Ben Shishaw brings a low key charm to the role of the John Keats while Abbie Cornish is fine as the enamoured Fanny.

After seeing the movie, I was inspired to read some of Keats' love letters to Fanny and they're exquisite.   Here's a sample:

My love has made me selfish.  I cannot exist without you - I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again - my Life seems to stop there - I see no further.  You have absorb'd me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I was dissolving - I should be exquisitely miserable without the hope of soon seeing you.  I should be afraid to separate myself far from you.  My sweet Fanny, will your heart never change?  My love, will it?  I have no limit now to my love.

"The Boys Are Back" is a more conventional film.  It's based on the memoir by Simon Carr, who lost his wife to cancer and found himself raising two boys on his own.  Clive Owen stars as Joe Warr, a British sportwriter living in Australia whose life is upended by the death of his wife, Katy.  Left to raise his 5 year-old son Artie, Warr then takes custody of Harry, his bitter teenage son from a previous marriage.

But Warr isn't perfect.  After all, it's revealed he left his first wife and Harry, when his then mistress, Katy got pregnant.  He eventually married her and moved to Australia.  After Katy's death, he not only has to deal with Harry's reappearance in his life, he has to deal with his resentment as well.

As Warr tries to build a life for himself and his boys, he eschews discipline for a laissez-faire style of parenting that would be disastrous in most families.  Warr finds that out the hard way but soldiers on nonetheless.

The movie is beautifully shot and elevated by the reliable skills of Clive Owen.   Owen, a man's man in action films like, "King Arthur" and "The Bourne Identity," is just as capable, and in fact excels, in smaller, more emotional films like this one.  His portrayal of Warr is painfully authentic.

Which brings us back to love.  A man's love for his kids.  A son's love for his father.  A love that means commitment to family, no matter the obstacles.

 

Related Links:

Nanny Goats In Panties:  "The Boys Are Back."

Drugstore Cowgirls:  "The Boys Are Back."

Jane Campion Shines A "Bright Star."

Feminist Review:  "Bright Star."

Girls Can Play:  "Bright Star."

Inside A Black Apple:  "Bright Star."

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television/Online Video.     Her other blogs are Megan's Minute, quirky commentary around the clock and Meg's Rad Reviews

]]> From Kandi Burruss to the Gosselin Saga: Real Tragedy on Reality TV http://www.blogher.com/kandi-burruss-gosselin-saga-real-tragedy-reality-tv 2009-10-05T23:00:36-05:00 2009-10-05T23:00:36-05:00 Megan Smith If you ask me, reality TV has gotten a little too real these days.  First there's the ongoing reality TV "War of the Roses" that is Jon and Kate Gosselin.  Then, over the weekend, Ashley "AJ" Jewell, ex-fiance of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kandi Burruss was killed in a fight outside an Atlanta strip club.

]]> If you ask me, reality TV has gotten a little too real these days.  First there's the ongoing reality TV "War of the Roses" that is Jon and Kate Gosselin.  Then, over the weekend, Ashley "AJ" Jewell, ex-fiance of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kandi Burruss was killed in a fight outside an Atlanta strip club.

Of course neither one of these events could ever be placed under the category of entertainment and yet they are inexorably attached to our modern day entertainment world.  Am I the only one who finds that disturbing in more ways than one?

Regarding Jewell's death, local news reports had this police statement:  "It appears he was involved in an altercation in the parking lot and he received a severe blow to the head," said Atlanta Police Lt. Keith Meadow.  Fredrick Richardson has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in connection with Jewell's death.

2009 BET Awards - Press Room

Poor Kandi Burruss (pictured far right).  When she took this "Housewives" gig, she probably thought, I'll do a season, just enough to put a kick in my career and who knows, it might be fun.  Now not only has she lost someone very close to her, but she has to play out that loss in front of reality TV cameras.  Who can help but sympathize?

On the Bravo TV website, a statement about the incident included the following:

All of us at Bravotv.com were deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of Ashley "AJ" Jewell, featured on The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Kandi is devastated as she is also mourning the death of her uncle, Ralph Leslie, and is attending his funeral today. She has no statement to make at this time and asks for privacy. There are no final details on the death of AJ."

Kandi has also reached out to fans on her Twitter page: "I could never in a million years imagine this happening," she posted. "Please pray for AJ's children. That's who I'm the most concerned for.

Yeah, it's the kids who always get it in the neck, isn't it?  

Kate Gosselin holds a signed poster of Taylor Swift, whom she interviewed today as a co-host on 'The View' in NYC

Which brings me to the Jon and Kate Gosselin natural disaster. 

As someone who's never watched more than ten minutes of their show, let me see if I have this straight:  these two people, Jon and Kate have eight kids, twins and sextuplets.  They do this TLC reality TV show, "Jon and Kate Plus 8."

That's when things go terribly wrong:  Jon cheats on Kate, Jon and Kate split, TV show keeps going except Jon badmouths Kate.  So TLC fires Jon and makes it "Kate Plus 8, Minus Jon."

Then Jon is like, I don't want my kids on that show anymore, it's bad for them.  So make it "Kate Minus Jon, Minus 8."

So then "Kate Minus Jon, Minus 8" co-hosts "The View" and says she needs money, that's why she has to be "Kate Plus 8."  Then "Kate Minus Jon, Minus 8" goes on "The Today Show" and says she really needs money because, "Jon Minus Kate, Minus 8" took $230,000 out of their joint bank account.

So "Jon Plus Kate" do the TV tango while the "Plus 8," who never had a say about any of this, find themselves in front of those same reality TV show cameras.

Who can help but sympathize?

 

Related Links:

Lola Adesioye at The Grio thinks reality TV producers should show more reality and less of the phoniness of reality TV.

Black and Married with Kids has excerpts of an interview Kandi Burruss did with Essence Magazine, published last month.

Lisa Simmons at Socialite Life has more on Kate's appearance on "The Today Show."


Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television/Online Video.     Her other blogs are Megan's Minute, quirky commentary around the clock and Meg's Rad Reviews 

]]> The David Letterman Extortion Plot: CBS Producer Indicted http://www.blogher.com/david-letterman-extortion-plot-cbs-producer-indicted 2009-10-02T15:09:40-05:00 2009-10-02T15:09:40-05:00 Megan Smith I don't know about you, but I feel for David Letterman.  

First there was that woman who stalked him for years before killing herself, then there was the guy who got disturbingly close to carrying out a plot to kidnap his son, and now this attempt by CBS producer Robert J. "Joe" Halderman to blackmail him out of $2 million or face exposure that he had sex with female staffers.

]]> I don't know about you, but I feel for David Letterman.  

First there was that woman who stalked him for years before killing herself, then there was the guy who got disturbingly close to carrying out a plot to kidnap his son, and now this attempt by CBS producer Robert J. "Joe" Halderman to blackmail him out of $2 million or face exposure that he had sex with female staffers.

Halderman was indicted in the extortion scheme on one count of first-degree grand larceny and could face five to 15 years in jail if convicted.  The CBS "48 Hours" producer was ensnared by his own plot when Letterman, instead of paying up, contacted his lawyer and then worked in concert with Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's office to get evidence on Halderman.

During the taping of yesterday's "Late Show," Letterman told his audience of the extortion attempt, which began with a package being left in his car on September 9th and ended with his testimony yesterday in front of a grand jury regarding what Halderman threatened to reveal:

I have had sex with women who work on this show.  Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would, especially for the women.

I feel like I need to protect these people, I need to certainly protect my family.

If you missed it, here's the video:

 

It was fascinating to watch.  The audience obviously didn't know how to take what Letterman was saying and there was plenty of nervous laughter.  But it was also a testament to how Letterman has grown into this kind of elder statesmen of television.  Not perfect mind you, but willing to be more than just a late night comic jock.  Like when he does some of the most interesting and fearless interviews of politicians you'll find on TV, or when he talks about his heart surgery or other serious issues.

Personally, I think what he did was what Bill Clinton, John Edwards and a whole host of other political types should have done when they got caught with their pants down.  Come clean, take the hit, and move on.  But don't be stupid enough to lie about it.

Letterman ain't stupid.

But were these office romances or abuses of power?  Anna N. at Jezebel says they were the latter, especially when talking about Stephanie Birkitt, an assistant of Letterman's who it's been rumored was one of the women in question:

And while Letterman's affairs with employees appear to have been consensual, f**king your assistant while she works for you is still an abuse of power. It's unfair to the assistant herself, and it's unfair to everyone who works with her. So if we can't muster outrage, we should at least be able to register disapproval — and maybe a little disgust.

MJ at mjsbigblog points out the irony:

Letterman goes ahead and pulls a Hugh Grant on his own show and admits to the workplace shenanigans. OMG all those Monica Lewinsky jokes back in the 90’s! Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

But Cynthia Tucker at AJC.com agrees with my point about all those promiscuous politicians:

There is a lesson here for all the politicians who indulge in affairs and then get enmeshed in crooked schemes trying to cover them up. Two who come to mind are John Edwards, former Democratic candidate for president, and John Ensign, Republican senator from Nevada. Both have engaged in cover-ups that are quite possibly illegal; as usual, the cover-up may bring at least as much damage as the original sin.

Then there's Stephanie Guttmann of the Telegraph.com.uk believes that "even the creepy David Letterman deserves sympathy sometimes."

My take?  Yeah, he got caught playing footsie with his employees but seriously, portraying these women as helpless virgins who were coerced into sex with the boss is not legitimate unless and until we hear that from some of the women.

Having worked in the media for years, I can tell you that just like in politics, the hot shot star of any show, male or female, is ripe for all kinds of sexual offers from staffers.  Sometimes those offers are accepted, sometimes not.

Letterman will now be subject to the same brand of skewering he subjects other public figures to and that's only right.  Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney, you listening?

Jay Leno could only hope for this kind of publicity, not to mention ratings.

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television/Online Video.     Her other blogs are Megan's Minute, quirky commentary around the clock and Meg's Rad Reviews

]]> Why "Dollhouse" Is Beginning To Bug Me http://www.blogher.com/why-dollhouse-beginning-bug-me 2009-09-29T06:44:57-05:00 2009-10-01T08:34:37-05:00 Megan Smith I know I'm risking Joss Whedon fans busting down my door and demanding my "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" lifetime membership card back, but I gotta tell you, "Dollhouse" is beginning to bug me.  Remember how when the show premiered last year, I wrote in my review, "Joss is an amazing talent so I'll give "Dollhouse" more time."?  Well Joss, honey?  Time is just about up.

]]> I know I'm risking Joss Whedon fans busting down my door and demanding my "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" lifetime membership card back, but I gotta tell you, "Dollhouse" is beginning to bug me.  Remember how when the show premiered last year, I wrote in my review, "Joss is an amazing talent so I'll give "Dollhouse" more time."?  Well Joss, honey?  Time is just about up.

We all know about "Dollhouse," Joss Whedon's latest TV project on Fox which got renewed at the end of last season pretty much on Whedon's name alone.  We know it stars "Buffy" alum Eliza Dushku and "Battlestar Galactica" alum, Tahmoh Penikett and is about a place called the Dollhouse that imprints people with custom personalities so they can be hired out to wealthy customers.

Last season ended with the show seemingly finding it's stride and promising what I thought was a more interesting direction.

The second season premiere was supposed to be a new beginning.  A reward to those of us who stuck with the show and cheered it on.  It was supposed to entertain and enlighten.  It was supposed to not make us regret giving up an hour to watch it.

It didn't do any of those things, but it did bug the heck out of me.  When we're outside the Dollhouse, I'm confused.  When we're inside the Dollhouse, I'm bored.

***Spoiler Alert***

Out of the Dollhouse, we've got Echo (Eliza Dushku) marrying a shadowy businessman, Martin Klar (guest star Jamie Bamber).  She thinks she's undercover for the FBI and working with ex-agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett), but by the time all her former roles start crowding in on her, jeapordizing her mission, I'm more confused than she is.

What's Paul Ballard doing again?  Why isn't he trying to take down the Dollhouse anymore?

Inside the Dollhouse, all those Actives roaming around with their blank stares and childlike questions have gotten really old.  Bring back crazy psycho Active Alpha and jazz up the place!

In other news, Whisky (Amy Acker) hates Topher (Fran Kranz) 'cause he fried her little Active brain and made her into a doctor.  Pfffft! Who cares?  She should really hate Topher because he's a character who's worn out his welcome.

Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams) and her prissy accent and perfectly creased skirts--what's she doing again?  I know Ballard is a frenemy but why is she working with him again?

I guess what I'm trying to say is though there were some interesting scenes, the plotting was all over the map and I have no clue where the show is supposed to be going.  That's too bad too, because at the end of last season, I thought I did.

The best thing about the episode was seeing "Battlestar Galactica" alum Jamie Bamber hanging out with Penikett, and another "Buffy" alum, Alexis Denisof in a cameo as a politician.  Coming up in future episodes will be Michael Hogan, also of "BSG," and Summer Glau of the now defunct, "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chornicles."  Joss is pulling out all the sci-fi casting stops, but he'd do better to boost the plots and re-think some of his characters.

 

Related Links:

Welcome to the Dollhouse, My Interview with Joss Whedon

Diversity in the Dollhouse Will Take More Than a "Miracle"

A look at the "Dollhouse" premiere at the blog, This Ain't Livin'

Classic Maiden's thoughts on the "Dollhouse" premiere

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television/Online Video.     Her other blogs are Megan's Minute, quirky commentary around the clock and Meg's Rad Reviews

]]> Strong Medicine for Fox's Dr. House http://www.blogher.com/strong-medicine-house 2009-09-22T15:43:43-05:00 2009-09-22T16:58:05-05:00 Megan Smith Last night's two-hour premiere of "House" was almost like an art house movie. It opened with a beautifully done montage of Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) painfully detoxing in a mental facility to the haunting strains of Radiohead's "No Surprises. " 

]]> Last night's two-hour premiere of "House" was almost like an art house movie. It opened with a beautifully done montage of Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) painfully detoxing in a mental facility to the haunting strains of Radiohead's "No Surprises. " 

It then showed us a fascinating character at his most vulnerable. It put that character in a setting where his usual manipulative ways of coping with life are sorely tested. It also gave us two full hours to delve into that character's psyche without interruption. Unless you count the commercials.

But like with many art house movies, bad choices when it came to supporting characters and key plot points took away from what would otherwise have been a very satisfying experience.

***Spoiler Alert: If you haven't watched last night's episode and you want "No Surprises" read on, otherwise get thee to your DVR and then come back.****

First, some things I loved about the episode, starting with the
incredibly talented and still Emmy-less Hugh Laurie. He fills the screen with House's A to Z personality so thoroughly, whether you sympathize with him or hate his guts, you're never bored by his
manipulative antics or his barely hidden agony.

House's current address is the Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital where he's kicked his Vicodin habit and is ready to bolt.  In his way is psychiatrist, Dr. Darryl Nolan (Andre Braugher, photo left) who refuses to recommend reinstating House's medical license until he submits to some serious head shrinking. After all, as Dr. Nolan points out, if Vicodin was House's only problem, he wouldn't have been having long conversations with dead colleagues.

House takes this as well as you might imagine and begins a scorched earth policy of disruption at the hospital to force
Nolan to cave. Like during his first group therapy session when he antagonizes a patient who tried to commit suicide. After being rebuked he says contritely, "Gosh, if I've broken a rule on my first day, I will kill myself."

Andre Braugher's a great actor, but as the low-key but stubborn Dr. Nolan, whose own personal issues House is determined to uncover, he's almost too low-key. A little more spark would have added some much needed fire to the scenes between him and Laurie. Guest star Lin-Manuel Miranda from Broadway's "In The Heights" is awesomely annoying as House's manic/depressive roommate, Alvie, who delights in House's rebellion.

Franka Potente plays Lydia, the visiting sister-in-law of Staring Girl, a patient who hasn't spoken for ten years. Lydia and House develop a mutual attraction that's doomed from the beginning, but nice while it lasts.

As far as the other patients, there are the usual psyche ward stereotypes: the aforementioned Staring Girl; Overweight Shy Girl, complete with glasses held together with tape; Super Boy, who thinks he has special powers; and Paranoid Guy who thinks the aliens are coming back to get him.

This is where the episode runs into trouble.

Not that I didn't enjoy seeing House run amok in the midst of all those crazy people as only House can, but in no way did I believe that someone of House's status and background would be in the same ward with the cast from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." And when House decides to prove his superior smarts by giving Super Boy his own special treatment, really, who doesn't see what's coming next?

On the other hand, what we should have seen coming next was Dr. Nolan's own personal medical issue. Memo to the writers: a few more hints about Nolan's problem would have made his consult with House much less jarring and out of the blue.

Finally, Megan Dodds as Dr. Beasley made me crazy for two--no, make that three--reasons. First, because she bore a striking resemblance to poor, dead Amber. Second, because it annoyed me that I couldn't figure out where I'd seen her before*. And third, because her character graduated from the "let's talk to the mental patients like little children" school of medicine.

The episode wasn't bad, just disappointing because I'd expected more.

"House" airs on Fox, Mondays at 8-9PM ET/PT.

Photo credits: Mike Yarish, Chris Haston ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co.

Thanks to Dixie at Yahoo Answers for the list of music from the "House" premiere.

*Megan Dodds played the CIA liason in London on one of my favorite British shows, "MI-5."

Related Links

The Women Living In Hugh Laurie's "House"

Cathy of Have U Heard disagrees with me about the "House" premiere.

Casey at Other Random Musings did too.

As did Anne at One Word At A Time: "House is in the House"

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television/Online and she suggests you rent BlackAdder if you want to see Hugh Laurie at his comic best. Her other blogs are Megan's Minute, quirky commentary around the clock and Meg's Rad Reviews

 

]]> Chattering the 2009 Emmy Awards http://www.blogher.com/chattering-2009-emmy-awards 2009-09-21T08:33:59-05:00 2009-09-21T08:50:29-05:00 Megan Smith What better way to spend an evening, than watching a TV awards show while chattering away with friends?  Well that's what a group of BlogHer CEs and I did last night during the 61st annual Emmy Awards.  Big winners were "Mad Men," "30 Rock," Glenn Close and Bryan Cranston, but what was the show like?  Well, my fellow CEs and I Chattered live throughout the show and I'm here to let you in on the conversation.

]]> What better way to spend an evening, than watching a TV awards show while chattering away with friends?  Well that's what a group of BlogHer CEs and I did last night during the 61st annual Emmy Awards.  Big winners were "Mad Men," "30 Rock," Glenn Close and Bryan Cranston, but what was the show like?  Well, my fellow CEs and I Chattered live throughout the show and I'm here to let you in on the conversation.

Our Emmy Chatterers were Honeybeast, Sassymonkey, Deb On The Rocks, Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, lauriewrites, and yours truly, Megan Smith.  Enjoy.

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Megan Smith Love Neil Patrick Harris! He's so cute!

sassymonkey Very cute. I like the white tux jacket.

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Megan Smith Just saw Jon Hamm the other day in a repeat of "Gilmore Girls." He was the famous, Payton Sanders.  

Honeybeast I gasped when I saw that rerun -- had forgotten all about it! Now, how can we get Lauren Graham on Mad Men?

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Megan Smith I suppose if Neil Patrick Harris had won, it would have seemed rigged. He should have won though.

lauriewrites    I can tell you who shouldn't have won out of that awesome group - Jon Cryer. Sorry, Jon, just true.

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Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic There's gotta be some Swayze tributizing tonight. North and South? And when he was all hot and dying on M*A*S*H? Good times.

sassymonkey He died on M*A*S*H?

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic   Yeah, he played a wounded soldier who had leukemia.

sassymonkey Oh I think I remember that.

debontherocks I don't have anything to add, but I just wanted to use M*A*S*H asterisks.

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic Hee!

61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Show

**************************************************************

Megan Smith Kristen looks like she's wearing broken mirror pieces on her dress. I'd like to see her on "Mad Men" too.

sassymonkey  I'd like to see her on just about anything. I love her.

debontherocks Kristen's broken mirror dress reminded me of an 80s music video. All of them, actually.

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Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic Great, Kristin Chenoweth's gown, hair, and teeth just blinded me.  

Honeybeast I think the deep, dark, St. Tropez shade of her tan was meant as anti-dazzle. Sweet, if squeaky, speech though.

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic I'm sure all the dogs were happy to be the only ones to hear Chenoweth's speech.

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic  But the contrast was just WHOA!

Honeybeast She looked like Tinkerbell next to Tina Fey in the walkoff.

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic And now I have "Blinded By the Light" in my head. Wonder why.

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sassymonkey The fake husband is sad that Mary Louise Parker did not win. (He has a bit of a crush on her...)

lauriewrites Mary Louise is also sad that Mary Louise did not win, clearly.

*************************************************************

Megan Smith Ken Howard! A Long Island boy! The "White Shadow" himself! Doesn't want to be interrupted by a "congressman or a rapper." Hee hee.

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Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic When Justin Timberlake says "funny ladies," you know he thinks none of them are under 40.

*************************************************************

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic A funny thing happened to Leighton Meester on the way to the forum.

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic And in a follow-up to that last missive, Larry Gelbart is still dead. Sad.

Honeybeast Leighton Meester looks very bored. I personally like to entertain
myself just saying the name "Leighton Meester" every so often.

*************************************************************

Honeybeast "Top Chef" cheftestant Fabio chopping off his finger made it to the reality genre montage. Yay.

*************************************************************

Honeybeast Strange times we live in, that the mainstream actors are now more uniformly tan than the professional ballroom dancers.

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic I'm beginning to think the Mystic Tans are outnumbering the Starbucks.

*************************************************************

debontherocks All the BlogHers are like "I molested Tim Gunn!" 

*************************************************************

Megan Smith Dearbhla, I got 3 words for you: bra, bra, bra!

sassymonkey Yes indeed.

Nordette That's what my daughter kept saying. "She needs a bra!"

*************************************************************

Honeybeast Dr. Horrible buffering gag particularly delightful considering my FAIL to watch the Emmys East Coast stream. Did Whedon direct the skit?

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic I know I should get over my Joss Whedon hate and finally watch Dr. Horrible, but it's just so difficult. And my hate, it is so strong. 

Honeybeast I have a Whedon meh myself, but my NPH adulation overcame it. My own conundrum: Do I have to break down and watch Grey Gardens?

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic Given that Lange seems to still be in character, that might be a yes.

*************************************************************

Megan Smith   Am I the only one who's sick of that "30 Rock" music already? #emmys

debontherocks  Yes! It's like a bad DVD menu page loop when you fall asleep and it eats your brain!

*************************************************************

lauriewrites I have no idea what the guy from Rosanne does anymore or why he is here.

Megan Smith He stars on "The Big Bang Theory." And who knew he was so short?

sassymonkey I don't know who anyone is or why they are there. It's that whole I don't watch tv thing. I'm only in this for the dresses.

Megan Smith I get that. I do watch TV and I can't keep those damn Gossip Girls straight.

*************************************************************

sassymonkey Wait! There was a Muppet Christmas special that I MISSED?!?!?! WTF!?!?! #emmys

*************************************************************

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic Ricky Gervais is living proof how attractive one can end up being purely because of how damn funny they are.

*************************************************************

sassymonkey The fake husband has not watched the last season of Lost. Did not want to see that clip.

Megan Smith Tell him he must watch the last season of "Lost." Must. Watch. "Lost."

sassymonkey He's been waiting to get it on DVD. Just hasn't gotten around to it. We watch *nothing* when it's actually on. lol

**************************************************************

Megan Smith Michael Emerson!!!!!!!!!! Oh man!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo!

debontherocks What a lovely acceptance speech. Sigh.

lauriewrites Best one of the night so far.

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Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic Sarah McLachlan is singing. If this turns into a ASPCA commercial, I'm leaving the room.

Honeybeast  Ah, it's the "In Memoriam" segment that's been crawling creepily across the screen all night. "IN MEMORIAM! 11 MINUTES!"

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic Okay, I totally missed that crawl! Meanwhile, I'm glad they ended with Cronkite.

*************************************************************

debontherocks Bill has just been ruined for me because Stephen Moyer was chewing gum. Vampires don't chew gum.

Megan Smith  He can bite me anytime.  Gum or no gum.

*************************************************************

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic Please have Hugh Laurie win so he can make a funny speech that will make all this worth it.

Honeybeast   But instead we have "Cinderfella."

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Megan Smith  And it's "Mad Men!" If it didn't go to "Lost," I can't complain about it going to "Mad Men."

**************************************************************

Megan Smith January Jones looks like the Chrysler Building, but somehow I like it.

debontherocks   Perfect. I was thinking table runner.

**************************************************************

 

You can see the full list of Emmy winners on the Emmy Awards website.

 

Related Links:

The Divisive But Satisfying 2009 Emmy Awards

Vibrant Colors Dominate Emmys Red Carpet

2009 Emmy Awards, Predictions, Reactions, Results

Neil Patrick Harris Hosts The Most Entertaining Emmycast in Recent Memory

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television and Online Video.  Her personal entertainment blog is Megan's Minute, Quirky Commentary Around The Clock.  Her new review blog is Meg's Rad Reviews. 

 

]]> Beyonce Gives Taylor Swift Back Her Moment on the MTV VMAs http://www.blogher.com/beyonce 2009-09-14T20:16:30-05:00 2009-09-14T21:38:33-05:00 Megan Smith Last night, a bright, beautiful, black woman took the stage in New York and won the hearts and minds of an audience by being extremely classy.

No, I'm not talking about Serena Williams--though she too was at the MTV Video Music Awards.  I'm talking about Beyonce, she of "All the single ladies, all the single ladies...." fame.

]]> Last night, a bright, beautiful, black woman took the stage in New York and won the hearts and minds of an audience by being extremely classy.

No, I'm not talking about Serena Williams--though she too was at the MTV Video Music Awards.  I'm talking about Beyonce, she of "All the single ladies, all the single ladies...." fame.

First of all, can I just ask, how do I keep missing these things!?  Is the music industry doing this to me on purpose?  First it was the BET Awards back in June and now this.  Last night I was watching the "True Blood" finale, the latest episode of "Mad Men" and cheering on Kim Clijsters--you know the player who didn't threaten a line judge with a tennis ball.

I didn't have time to watch the MTV MVAs.  But then this morning, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Beyonce and the MTV MVAs are all over Twitter.  It didn't take me long to find out why.


That's right, Kanye West decided he needed to grab the spotlight from 19 year old pop/country singer Taylor Swift, so he could proclaim to the MTV world that Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video should have won instead of Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me."

WTF, Kanye!?

That would be like Jack Nicholson jumping up on stage at this year's Oscars, grabbing the mic from Sean Penn and saying, "Sean, I'll let you finish in a minute, but Mickey Rourke had the best performance this year, or any year, ever!"

The only difference being, before Jack got five words out, Sean, without even blinking, would have shoved that mic right down Jack's freakin' throat.

But Kanye, bully that he is, knew that he was pretty safe up there with a 19 year old pop/country singer from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.  Man, I wish I'd been her mother in the audience.  His butt wouldn't have been backstage more than five minutes before I would have ripped him a new one.  

But I digress.

Enter Beyonce.  At the end of the evening, she wins for Best Video, for "Single Ladies."  She gets up on stage and does the following:

 


 

That's right, Beyonce gave the kid her moment back, and good for her.  I'm not the first one today to call her gesture a true class act. 

Later on, Kanye apologized later on his blog after Pink and Katy Perry, among others tweeted their displeasure.  Perry said it was like he "stepped on a kitten."

Pink tweeted, "Beyonce is a classy lady.  I feel for her, too.  Its not her fault at all, and her and taylor did their thing.  And douche bag got kicked out.  HA."

Lola Adesioye at The Grio:

Judging from the boos that ensued whenever West's name was subsequently mentioned and the reports claiming that he was escorted from the event soon after the incident, very few people believed he did the right thing. It was left to the gracious Beyonce - whose honor West was apparently trying to defend - to grant Swift her moment.

Kelly Clarkson's blog post about Kanye is quoted on TV Crunch:

What happened to you as a child?? Did you not get hugged enough?? Something must have happened to make you this way and I think we’re all just curious as to what would make a grown man go on national television and make a talented artist, let alone teenager, feel like sh*t.

The Black Snob said the VMAs gave her "brain damage:"

I mean, I was rooting for Pink to win the Moonman for best female video, not Taylor Swift and her annoyingly uptempo country-pop ballad "You Belong To Me," but hey, she's a kid. Most of MTV's viewers are 12 and 13. It's a feel good story. Girl with the Nashville sound wins over My Chemical Romance fans. Good for HER. But OF COURSE because Beyonce was also up for the same award for "Single Ladies" and Beyonce is married to Camel Joe, aka Jay-Z, Kanye's mentor/homie/ace/stalkee, he felt the need to grab the mic from blondie and start screaming out that "Single Ladies" was one of the greatest videos of all time.

Ya' gotta go read the rest of her very entertaining post, 'cause she also explains why "Single Ladies" is not the greatest video ever.

2009 MTV VMA

The Tennessee Guerilla Women also weren't happy with Kanye, calling him "a royal class-A jerk."

Personally, I think Kanye's just pissed that the most press he's gotten lately is because they used a song of his on last week's "Glee."

To get Taylor Swift's reaction in person, she'll be a guest on "The View" on Tuesday.

 

Related Links:

Corvida of SheGeeks.net says talks about the "Negative Impact of Kanye West's Disgraceful VMAs Outburst."

Whose Shoes Are These Anyway, "Kanye, Kanye, Kanye."


Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television and Online Video.  Her personal entertainment blog is Megan's Minute, Quirky Commentary Around The Clock.

]]> Hillary Clinton, Gary Sinise, Gavin DeGraw and Others Commemorate Service on 9/11 http://www.blogher.com/hillary-clinton-gary-sinise-and-gavid-degraw-commemorate-service-9-11 2009-09-12T19:41:59-05:00 2009-09-12T22:18:51-05:00 Megan Smith Last night at the Beacon Theatre in New York, there was a tribute to commemorate the designation of September 11 as an annually observed National Day of Service and Remembrance, as proclaimed by President Barack Obama.  Co-hosted by MyGoodDeed and Service Nation, the evening was a mix of speeches and entertainment. There were musical numbers by singer Anjulie, The Harlem Boys and Girls Club Alumni Choir, John Ondrasik, a rousing number by The Roots and a performance by Gavin DeGraw.  In the audience were 9/11 families, members of service organizations, uniformed firefighters and soldiers.

]]> Last night at the Beacon Theatre in New York, there was a tribute to commemorate the designation of September 11 as an annually observed National Day of Service and Remembrance, as proclaimed by President Barack Obama.  Co-hosted by MyGoodDeed and Service Nation, the evening was a mix of speeches and entertainment. There were musical numbers by singer Anjulie, The Harlem Boys and Girls Club Alumni Choir, John Ondrasik, a rousing number by The Roots and a performance by Gavin DeGraw.  In the audience were 9/11 families, members of service organizations, uniformed firefighters and soldiers.

The keynote address was given by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton:

9/11 will always be a day that represents humanity at its worst and humanity at its best. A day when many of you experienced, senseless violence and tragic, unspeakable loss, but when you also witnessed the heroism, generosity and compassion of our fellow citizens.

In response to adversity, we will rise to the call of service because we discover that we gain more than we give, and because serving is one way to express what it means to be an American.

Secretary Clinton was introduced by Nicole Tsang, the Whole School Whole Child Product Manager of City Year, New York. City Year is an organization that "unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world." It was also one of the many community groups that had representatives in the audience.

Though the words of the speakers may have been different, the sentiments were the same:  by helping the less fortunate, Americans will not only feel better as individuals, they will also make America stronger.  Jay Winuk, who lost his brother on 9/11, and his friend David Paine were the founders of MyGoodDeed and the guiding forces behind the idea that the anniversary of 9/11 should be turned into a day of service.

Other politicians who spoke at the event were New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, Congresswomen Doris Matsui, and New York Governor David A. Patterson. 

But as it is at most of these events, the most compelling words came from the family members of some of those lost.

There was Cindy McGinty of Foxboro, Massachusetts who lost her husband Mike and told how her local landscaper, Chris Mitchell took care of her landscaping and yard work, free of charge for eight years.  

She drew a chuckle from the audience when she added, "Fortunately for Chris we moved to Connecticut last December."  Chris Mitchell himself, who was in the audience, drew a standing ovation when Mrs. McGinty introduced him.

His example, she said caused her to get involved in the Massachusetts Military Heroes fund that helps families who've lost loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Would I have been so involved in helping others if I hadn't lost Mike? Probably not. Would I have been so involved if not for Chris Mitchell showing me the value of helping others in need? Probably not. Is it possible, as horrible as it was, that there are blessings that came from 9/11? Absolutely.

Retired FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son was visibly moved by the idea of serving others on 9/11:

For somebody to turn around and to do a good deed in their memory, it's especially warm to the families, to all of us that on that evil, horrible day, that something good can come out of it.

An older lady in red, sitting in the audience was brought to audible sobs when Mr. Riches gave this advice to those trying to comfort family members:

As someone who lost a loved one, a bit of advice to people: you know there will never be closure for us, the hurt is always there. Christmas dinners, he's not there, my son's wedding he wasn't there...don't tell them they're in a better place. This is a better place, they should be here. You're better off just talking to the families, and tell us stories about 'em.

Actor Gary Sinise, a member of the My Good Deed national advisory board and someone who's made many trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to entertain and thank the troops, explained why he does it:

For me personally, that terrible tragedy opened my eyes to how vulnerable we can be. And also to how much our country needs all of us to give back something so we might remain strong. From that point on, I was thrust into a level of service and volunteerism I had never known or thought about. That service was a way to heal the terrible pain I felt at what had happened to this nation I love, and to so many of my countrymen and women.

Rachel Jean-Pierre lost her mother Maxima, an employee at Cantor Fitzgerald on 9/11. She attended last night's event with her one year old daughter Madeline. She loves the idea of 9/11 as a day of service.

I'm so for it. It's such a huge impact that it has done on us, that I just feel like it's come to a point where we should remember it not just because of what happened, but because of all the people that helped out.

Another attendee, Denise Gaumer Hutchison said she and her family are involved with programs such as Big Brothers and Big Sister in her home state of Wisconsin.

I work with my children to help them understand how important that whole experience was, and what the value is to our country that we have to stay strong. And that we have to believe in each other, and we have to make a difference with people who can't do the things that we can do.

Heidi Johnson is the Creative Strategist for Service Nation and the founding Creative Director for City Year. She's also a native New Yorker who currently lives in Boston.  "I come for my job but I also come for my heart," she said.

When asked what it was like to help put together an event like last nights' she said:

Always with coalition events, which this really was, people come from very diverse ways of looking at service, and people come to service in different ways.  I am the product of a diverse family, my Mom is white and Jewish, my Dad is black and Christian, so coming to common ground around a vision is something that's been in my history. 

I think the most challenging and interesting thing is, how do you represent the voices but also create a whole.

As an example of the diversity of last night's program, The Harlem Boys and Girls Choir sang, Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror," Gavin DeGraw performed his haunting ballad, "Belief" and John Ondrasik sang "Superman (It's Not Easy)."

Finally, Alice Hoagland, Mark Bingham's mother spoke about how when there is a need, no one cares if the person serving that need is black, white, Jewish, Muslim, or in the case of her late son, gay.  Bingham was on Flight 93 which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

As those guys were charging down that long aisle toward the cockpit yelling, "In the cockpit, in the cockpit...if we don't do it, we'll die." As they were yelling that, they were scaring the guys who had control of the plane...and nobody was asking who was straight and who was gay. 

Or for that matter if the help is coming from a young, black woman from Brooklyn, Tiffany Tucker who at the age 19 created the young people's empowerment organization, Redemption. Now 26 years old, Tiffany spoke last night about how 80% of the 3000 students who've been touched by her program graduate high school and go on to college.

That's the kind of strength, all the speakers and entertainers last night seemed to be talking about.

 

Related Links:

The Shape of Memory:  September 11, 2001 by Maria Niles

911 Day of Service Website: here you can post what you plan to do to contribute.

Remembering 9/11 by Cocoa Fly

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television and Online Video.  Her personal entertainment blog is Megan's Minute, Quirky Commentary Around The Clock.

]]> Fall 2009 Movie Preview: Vampires and Vixens http://www.blogher.com/fall-2009-movie-preview-vampires-and-vixens 2009-09-08T19:00:14-05:00 2009-09-08T19:08:33-05:00 Megan Smith "The Lovely Bones," "New Moon," "Nine," "Whip It," "Avatar."  These are just some of the movies that will be coming to a theatre near you this fall.  As most moviegoers know, fall is the season Hollywood trots out its "serious" films, those they hope Academy members will want to vote for come Oscar nominating time in January.

]]> "The Lovely Bones," "New Moon," "Nine," "Whip It," "Avatar."  These are just some of the movies that will be coming to a theatre near you this fall.  As most moviegoers know, fall is the season Hollywood trots out its "serious" films, those they hope Academy members will want to vote for come Oscar nominating time in January.

But because next year there will also be ten best picture nominees at the Academy Awards, all kinds of films might fall into the Oscar Bait category that wouldn't have in the past.  A lot of those films will be premiering this fall. 

Here are some highlights:

 

Oscar Bait


The Lovely Bones:  12/11, Starring Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon.

Based on the best selling novel by Alice Klebold this film sounds like the most promising of this fall's crop and the most disturbing.  Directed by Peter Jackson, the story is about a 14 year old murdered girl, told from her heavenly point of view.

New Moon: 11/20, Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

Yeah I know I may be pushing it, putting this in the Oscar Bait category, but since it's predecessor, "Twilight" was a huge hit, making nearly $400 million at the box office worldwide, the Academy just might take notice.  Even though the cast is populated with vampires and werewolves. 

Nine:  11/25, Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman

This is a film adaptation of the Broadway musical about a film director and the nine incredibly complicated and talented women in his life.

 


 

Invictus:  12/11, Starring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, this film tells the story of Nelson Mandela after the fall of apartheid and during the early days of his presidency.  During that time, South Africa was host to the 1995 Rugby World Cup and Mandela used the event as a way to help bring the country together.

It's Complicated:  12/25, Starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin.

Meryl's a woman of a certain age who divorces her husband after he cheats on her, and then starts an affair with him.

Shutter Island:  10/2, Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams.

Based on a Dennis Lehane novel and directed by Martin Scorsese, this film is set in 1954 and tells the story of a US Marshall who's investigating the disappearance of a patient from a mysterious insane asylum.

Whip It:  10/9, Starring Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, Eve, Kristen Wig, Juliette Lewis

I don't know about you, but I was just saying the other day how much I wished there was a good roller derby movie out.   Now I'm being facetious of course, but I know there are a lot of people out there who take their roller derby very seriously.  And some of them are BlogHers.  This film is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, and it's about a small town girl who learns to fit in by joining a roller derby league.  The theme of the film, "Be Your Own Hero."

The Boys Are Back:  9/25, Starring Clive Owen, Nicholas McAnulty.

A man tragically loses his wife and is suddenly a single father.  The film is based on the true story of newspaper columnist Simon Carr.  Clive Owen takes a break from playing action man types in this one, and since he's been nominated for an Oscar before, the Academy may be ready to anoint him again.

Avatar: 12/18, Starring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Michelle Rodriguez.

James Cameron's 3-D, sci-fi epic about a battle for survival on a distant planet called Pandora.  This one's going to have cutting edge CGI up the ying yang, so all you sci-fi fans, start lining up.

This Is It:  10/28, Starring Michael Jackson

Rehearsal footage of Michael Jackson during his final days will make up a large portion of this tribute film.

 

Kiddie Korner


Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Squeakquel:  12/25

It's Alvin, it's the Chipmunks, you and your kids both know what to expect.

A Christmas Carol:  11/6, Starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright Penn.

It's Christmas, it's Ebeneezer Scrooge, you and your kids both know what to expect.  Except this one is given "The Polar Express" treatment.

The Princess and the Frog:  11/25, Starring Anika Noni Rose, Terrance Howard, Oprah Winfrey.

Tiana, the star of this animated movie is Disney's first animated, black heroine.  Took 'em long enough, didn't it?  No really, what did take them so long?

 

Affairs of the Heart


Love Happens:  9/18, Starring Jennifer Aniston, Aaron Eckhart.

In this movie Aaron is blond and pretty, and Jennifer is blond and pretty.  Then they fall in love.

Bright Star:  9/18, Starring Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider.

Directed by Jane Campion this costume drama tells the story of the 19th century romance between British poet John Keats and his lady love, Fanny Brawne.  Somehow I have the feeling this won't end well.

Serious Moonlight: 12/4, Starring Meg Ryan.

A take charge kind of woman takes her husband hostage when she thinks he's about to leave her.   Based on the decriptions, I'm not sure what this movie is trying to be, comedy, drama, comedy and drama?  But since I like Meg Ryan, I'm willing to give it a go.

Did You Hear About The Morgans?:  12/18, Starring Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mary Steenburgen.

A New York couple whose relationship is on the rocks, witness a murder and are forced to live together in the Witness Protection Program.  They end up in Wyoming.  What do you want to bet that by the end of the movie their relationship is no longer rocky?

 

Remake City


Fame: 9/25, Starring Naturi Naughton, Asher Book Kherington Payne, Paul McGill.

Yep, they're gonna live forever...at least if Hollywood has anything to say about it.  All those young, starry-eyed, high school kids with big dreams, they're gonna make us pay, in sweat!

The Stepfather:  10/16, Starring Penn Badgley, Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward.

A teen comes home from military school to find a "too good to be true" new man has moved in with his mother.  Turns out, he is too good to be true.  In fact, he's worse.  Psycho-like worse.  What more is there to say?

 

Tell me, what movies are you looking forward to this fall?

 

Related Links:

Just Chick Flicks: A preview of the movie Agora

Reel Artsy Fall Movie Preview

Movie Mom Fall Movie Preview

Colored Girls Come To The Big Screen

The Exclamation Point Fall Movie Preview

And a courtesy link to Entertainment Weekly where I got some of my fall movie preview info.

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television and Online Video.  Her personal entertainment blog is Megan's Minute, Quirky Commentary Around The Clock.

]]> I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL http://www.blogher.com/i-can-has-cheezburger-musiclol 2009-09-01T07:40:28-05:00 2009-09-01T07:40:28-05:00 Megan Smith I was probably one of the last people on the internet to know what a lolcat was.  See I'm a dog person and if there had been loldogs, I'd have known all about 'em.  But grammatically challenged pussycats?  Not so much.  "I has funnie pitchures and capshuns?  Wut you talkin' bout Kitty?"  

]]> I was probably one of the last people on the internet to know what a lolcat was.  See I'm a dog person and if there had been loldogs, I'd have known all about 'em.  But grammatically challenged pussycats?  Not so much.  "I has funnie pitchures and capshuns?  Wut you talkin' bout Kitty?"  

Of course I'd seen a couple of funny cat pictures with cutesy sayings and I'd seen the phrase, "I Can Has Cheezburger" but I just thought it was some wise acre blogger poking fun at McDonalds.   It wasn't until I was assigned to go see the "I Can Has Cheezburger, The MusicLOL" at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York that I truly understood the size,  the scope and the power of the monstrous lolcat phenomenon.

First, for the four or five of you who don't know what a lolcat is, a little lolcat history.  Way back in the dawn of the internet age, some guys and gals were sitting around taking pictures of their pussycats.  They uploaded 'em to the web and to make them even more funnie, rote capshuns for 'em in a kitty pidgin Englush. 

They called 'em lolcats--meaning "laughing out loud cats"--and before you could say "humanz is suckers," lolcats were everywhere.  

There was lolcat.com where any kitty owner could upload their very own lolcat star.   The website I Can Has Cheezburger took the fad a step further by adding loldogs, lol celebs, and lol whathaveyou.

Here's a documentary by Ben Burns, the long lost brother of documentarian Ken Burns, that details even more lolcat history:


Eva Thury of When Falls the Coliseum recently explained her theory about why "radioactive lolcats" are such a big deal:

The humor is predicated on an image of cats as
bimodal: endearing but powerful, and affectionately resentful of the
humans who give them shelter. A fairly typical one shows a cat sitting
on a computer keyboard, with the caption, “I sez SYSTEM IZ DOWN:
Petting will now commence.”

There was the "I Can Has Cheezburger" book, based on the website--check out the interview my fellow CE Super Jive did with the authors last year--and now comes the musiclol.

Written by Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg, the musiclol tells the tale of the original lolcat (Seth Grugle) who wanted that legendary cheezburger:

After being uploaded to ICanHasCheezburger.com, a young, impressionable LOLcat embarks on a journey to find his one true love: A cheezburger. Along the way, he meets a colorful cast of characters who help — and hinder — his mission.

Along the way, he has to do battle with Mr. Wrong (Clint Carter), makes friends with Drop (Bryan Welnicki) and romances the keeper of the cheese herself, Jodie the mouse (Carly Zien).

A parade of actual lolcat photos are projected in the background throughout this fanciful tale of kitty kravings, and who could help but laugh at the evil antics of Mr. Wrong as he tries keep the innocent Lolcat under his spell using the promise of that elusive cheezburger?

Yes the musiclol was cuter than cute and I wanted to slap Lolcat a couple of times, but the delightful performances by Clint Carter, Bryan Welnicki and Lauren Kampf who plays Sumz, and some of the catchy tunes, made up for any of the musiclol's shortcomings.  And the audience I saw it with was ROFLMAO throughout the show.

However, not everyone loves the lolcat kitty kraze.  Matthew Gasteier created the FU Pequin Blog partly in response to the lolcat phenomenon.  Just last week my fellow CE ClizBiz did a Babs Walters on Matthew's butt to find out what he has against our cute, furry friends.  His answers may surprise you.

But what Mr. Gasteier may not understand is that "Evolution Explains Why Lolcats Control Your Mind."  That's right, lolcats were part of a Yale study on the human brain. 

Marie of the At The Lighthouse blog isn't quite so sure about Yale's conclusions that an obsession with lolcats indicates humans are conditioned to monitor the animals in their lives because of the hunting instinct:

No, for me the allure of lolcats is definitely rooted in humanities, rather than in biology, with that whole evolutional hunter-instinct thing.  It’s fun to imagine that things and animals around us have human minds to match our human minds.

I think Marie has a point that when it comes to animals, humans are more comfortable when they can imagine their pets as cognizant as they are.  After all, that's the way we get to create fanciful cheezburger lovin' worlds for them. 

 

Related Links:

Lolcats take to the stage with a musical.

Lolspeak in five easy steps.

Petfinder.com works lolcats into adoption efforts.

10 immense internet phenomena that People ended up hating.

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television and Online Video.  Her personal entertainment blog is Megan's Minute, Quirky Commentary Around The Clock.

 

]]> Fall 2009 TV Preview: Stars, Stars and More Stars! http://www.blogher.com/fall-2009-tv-preview-stars-stars-and-more-stars 2009-08-25T14:25:34-05:00 2009-08-25T17:20:09-05:00 Megan Smith Julianna Margulies, Patricia Heaton, John Lithgow, Keith Carradine, Christian Slater, Jenna Elfman, Kelsey Grammer, Chris O'Donnell and L L Cool J. All these stars and more are coming to your Fall 2009 TV screens. If the concept of a year round TV season is like an all you can eat buffet, plentiful but with few memorable morsels, then fall is still when the network chefs trot out their best cuisine for viewers to sample.

]]> Julianna Margulies, Patricia Heaton, John Lithgow, Keith Carradine, Christian Slater, Jenna Elfman, Kelsey Grammer, Chris O'Donnell and L L Cool J. All these stars and more are coming to your Fall 2009 TV screens. If the concept of a year round TV season is like an all you can eat buffet, plentiful but with few memorable morsels, then fall is still when the network chefs trot out their best cuisine for viewers to sample.

At NBC, they've worked overtime in their TV test kitchen and come up with a unique concoction: It's all Jay Leno, all the time.  Depending on where in front of your TV you park your Barcalounger, NBC's decision to schedule "The Jay Leno Show" five nights a
week at 10PM is either: 

a) a brilliant move

b) a reckless gamble

c) a bone-headed act of desperation

d) a sign of the TV apocalypse

Personally I'm going with a combo of c) and d). That much Leno is putting a whole lot of programming eggs in one basket. And I don't know about you but the face of the NBC peacock is looking a lot more like Leno's chunky jawed mug these days. Scary.

There are however, other things going on this fall besides the Leno hijinks, so here are some highlights:

 

New Shows I Won't Miss

Eastwick  (ABC, September 23rd, 10/9c):  As in "The Witches Of," this show is based on the 1987 movie starring Susan Sarandon, Cher and Michelle Pfeiffer.  The TV series stars Rebecca Romijin, Lindsay Price and Jaime Ray Newman as three women whose witchy powers are unleashed by a mysterious stranger.  Cybill Shepherd has been signed for a recurring role.


Flash Forward  (ABC, September 24th, 8/7c):  With "Lost" coming to a close in the spring of 2010---already!!?--this is one of ABC's attempt to retain all us devoted Losties.  Mystery?  Check.  Sci-fi elements?  Check.  Thrills and chills?  Double check.  For 2 minutes and 17 seconds people all over the world black out at the same moment.  When they come to, many have seen what appears to be their futures.  What will happen?  How will they deal?  It stars Joseph Fiennes (Ralph's brother) and Sonya Walger, aka Penny Widmore from "Lost."   I have high hopes for this one.  

Glee  (Fox, September 9th, 9/8c):  Don't stop believin' this show could be a big hit for Fox.  This is a classic "misfits in high school bond and make good, while working toward a common goal" show.  The pilot episode which Fox aired in the spring was sweet, funny and loaded with potential.  It stars Matthew Morrison.  


Melrose Place  (CW, September 8th, 9/8c):  Last season the CW resurrected "90210" so who's surprised they've gone back to the Fox TV mausoleum to unearth "Melrose Place?" All the elements are there, beautiful, young things all living in the same apartment complex with plenty of bed-hopping potential. It stars Ashlee Simpson, Katie Cassidy, and Jessica Lucas.

The Forgotten  (ABC, September 22nd, 10/9c):  Christian Slater wants you to forget about his NBC flop from last year, "My Own Worst Enemy" and think instead about this detective show from Jerry Bruckheimer about a group of amateurs who try to solve the murders of forgotten victims. 

The Good Wife  (CBS, September 22nd, 10/9c):  Former "ER" regular, Julianna Margulies returns to series TV in this show about a politician's wife who has to start from professional scratch after her husband (Chris Noth) is jailed for corruption.  I've never heard of anything like that happening in real life, have you!?


The Jay Leno Show  (NBC, September 14th, 10/9c):  What more is there to say?  Leno, comedy, Leno, guests, Leno, sketches, five nights a week.  Starring....Leno.

The Vampire Diaries (CW, September 10th, 8/7c):   Based on the young adult series of books by L. J. Smith, this show is about Elena (Nina Dobrev), a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers.   I seriously doubt this will come anywhere close to the vampy fun going on in HBO's "True Blood," but it co-stars "Lost's" Ian Somerhalder (Booooooooonnnnnne!) as one of the brothers, so I'm there.

The Wanda Sykes Show  (Fox, November 7th, 11 PM):   Comedian Wanda Sykes is just like Jay Leno except funnier, blacker, gayer and less well paid.   It'll be very interesting to see what this weekly, Saturday night talk show will look like once it hits air.

V (ABC, November 3rd, 8/7c):  A remake of the 1980's TV series, this show is about aliens who come to earth to make our lives better.  To cure the sick.  To heal the wounded.  To make sure every child has ice cream.  But are they really here for our benefit?  I think not.  It stars, Elizabeth Mitchell, aka Juliet of "Lost," and Scott Wolf who used to be on "Party of Five," with Matthew Fox, aka Jack of "Lost."  (See how ABC keeps pushing those "Lost" tie-ins?)

 

What about those other stars I mentioned?  Well, Patricia Heaton's got a new ABC comedy, "The Middle," L L Cool J and Chris O'Donnell are starring in CBS's NCIS Los Angeles, Jenna Elfman is also on CBS, but in a comedy, "Accidentally on Purpose," and Kelsey Grammer returns to TV in ABC's comedy, "Hank." 

Despite all that new show star power, I'm even more jazzed about returning
shows like "Dollhouse," "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "Desperate
Housewives," "Dexter," and "Ugly Betty."  After all, there are many, many burning questions to be answered:

1.  On "House," will Dr. House ever get out of
that asylum or will he drive everyone else there insane?  Especially the doctor assigned to diagnose and treat him, played by guest star Andre Braugher.  Talk about excellent casting!   I can't wait to see Hugh Laurie and Emmy winner Braugher go head to head in the two hour season premiere. (Fox, September 21st, 8/7c)

2.  Will "Dollhouse" fullfill it's Joss Whedon pedigree? And what will guest star Keith Carradine bring to the dollhouse TV table? (Fox, September 25th, 9/8c)

3.  On "Grey's Anatomy," will the funeral of one major cast member be the saddest moment ever?  Will Katherine Heigl ever keep
her mouth shut? (ABC, September 24th, 9/8c)

4.  Will "Ugly Betty" overcome her deadly new Friday timeslot? (ABC, October 9th, 8/7c)

5.  Who the heck is Mike Delfino marrying on "Desperate Housewives?"  (ABC, September 27th, 9/8c)

6.  Will "Dexter" kill
off yet another psycho rival, this time played by John Lithgow? (Showtime, September 27th, 9/10c)

7.  Who will resist tuning in to "Dancing with the Stars" for a glimpse of
Donny Osmond, Macy Gray and Mya  tripping the light fantastic?  Not to
mention Tom Delay just tripping.  (ABC, September 20th, 8/7c)

There are clips and previews of a lot of the new shows all over the
internet.   YouTube lets you view them at their Fall Preview Channel and then you can vote for the shows you think will succeed.  Over at Hulu you can catch up on returning shows like "30 Rock," "Chuck" and
"Castle" so when their new seasons start, you'll be ready.

Looking further ahead, Spring 2010 will bring us the final season of "Lost"---sniff, sniff--- the return of what may be the last season of "24"---sniff, sniff---and what looks like a Paula Abdul-less "American Idol"---Paulaaaaaaaaaaaa! 

But for now, let's stay calm and remain in the present.  There's "Mad Men" on AMC, the triumphant return of "Project Runway" on Lifetime, and a whole lotta blood to be spilled on "True Blood" in the next two weeks.

What tender morsels won't you miss this fall?

 

Related Links:

Check out Laurel's TV Picks for detailed schedules and info on all the Fall 2009 shows.

At the blog, Kari AnnAlysis, Kari writes about what shows she's looking forward to this fall.

Your Complete Guide To Fall Science Fiction TV

By Wendy at TV Crunch, an oldie but a goodie, The 25 Worst TV Dramas of All Time.

CBS unveils the first ever video in a print publication to promote their fall season.

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television and Online Video.  Her personal entertainment blog is Megan's Minute, Quirky Commentary Around The Clock.

]]> "Mad Men" Won't Go Gently Into That Good Night (Spoilers) http://www.blogher.com/mad-men-wont-go-gently-good-night-spoilers 2009-08-17T23:05:52-05:00 2009-10-01T11:50:19-05:00 Megan Smith Pass me a cigarette and pour me a drink 'cause "Mad Men" has returned!  Don Draper (Jon Hamm), his wife, his colleagues and his one night stands are back to once again remind us that the "good old days" were never all that good...just old.  Those guys and gals at 60's ad agency Sterling Cooper are sleek, upscale and trapped in an ordered and unforgiving world, partly of their own making.  They do however look really fabulous there and "Mad Men's" small but loyal audience is just as likely to tune in to see what Betty Draper wears out to dinner as they are to find out whose baby she's carrying.

]]> Pass me a cigarette and pour me a drink 'cause "Mad Men" has returned!  Don Draper (Jon Hamm), his wife, his colleagues and his one night stands are back to once again remind us that the "good old days" were never all that good...just old.  Those guys and gals at 60's ad agency Sterling Cooper are sleek, upscale and trapped in an ordered and unforgiving world, partly of their own making.  They do however look really fabulous there and "Mad Men's" small but loyal audience is just as likely to tune in to see what Betty Draper wears out to dinner as they are to find out whose baby she's carrying.

61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Press Room

That small audience is also growing.   The critical acclaim and the buzz from last year's Emmy win for Best Drama, not to mention all those retro print ads, and "Mad Men" yourself promotions are working their magic.  Last night's premiere set a ratings record for the series. 

***Spoilers Ahead***

Season three takes place several months after last season's finale and the episode gave us a taste of life for the employees of Sterling Cooper under their new English masters.  The personnel blood letting since the takeover was worse than anything you'd see on "True Blood," with a third of the Sterling Cooper employees getting the royal boot.   Last night they finished up by dumping the Head of Accounts, Burt Peterson who as Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton) so eloquently put it, "Did not go quietly into that good night."

That left a plum job opening that the new Brit Head Honcho thought would be fun to fill with two of the firms go-getters:  the aforementioned Ken and King of the Weasels, Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser).  Of course what fun would it be to just give them the job, better to let each of them think the job is theirs alone before lowering the boom that they'll share it--unless of course one of them blows the other out of the water.  Hint, hint, hint.

Pete is as pissed off as you might think but for once listens to the good advice of his wife who tells him to cool it and play the game like a good little flunky.  Meanwhile, Joan is playing hardball with the Brit Head Honcho's male secretary.   He thinks he's too good to be part of the secretarial pool--he is a man after all--and he doesn't take kindly to having Joan above him.  She however puts his Brit butt in its place in the most subtle of ways. 

Finally Don and Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) take a business trip to Baltimore to check in with their London Fog clients.  Don nearly hooks up with a dippy stewardess in between looking at trench coats and Salvatore has a near miss with a hot to trot bellboy.   Both are interrupted when a fire in their hotel causes them to evacuate and also gives Don a revealing eyeful of Sal and the bellboy.

As the series progresses, I'm thinking we've got lots of storylines to look forward to.  In the past the show has foreshadowed the political and social upheaval of the women's movement with example after example of the pervasive sexism of the time.  From Betty Draper's (January Jones) well decorated, suburban prison, to Peggy Olsen's (Elisabeth Moss) fight to be promoted, to the appallingly casual rape of Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) by her fiance, women in the series are accepted by everyone as inferior creatures, suitable only as playthings for men.

The writing staff on "Mad Men," unlike so many television shows is predominantly made up of women, and though that undoubtedly adds somewhat to the authenticity of the female characters, Melissa Silverstein at Women and Hollywood digs a bit deeper into the show's behind the scenes writing staff:

While on the big screen the writer gets the credit for actually writing the script, TV is very different. What all writers and producers on TV want is to get their names on an episode. That becomes their calling card and enables them to use it for their next gig. 

So as we go into season 3 I will be looking at the writing credits and hoping that these women have an influence onscreen, but if the story is to be believed and women are leading the way in the writing of the show they should have the appropriate credits on the episodes and in their job titles.

When it comes to black people, racism has only been touched on obliquely and that's stirred up some discussion about whether "Mad Men" is afraid of to address issue of race.   LaToya Peterson has written a well thought out piece for Double X asserting just that:

In Season 2, the carefully constructed façades start to crack. Betty kicks Don out of the house, and then sleeps with a stranger she meets in a bar. Her friends have affairs, get divorced. Joan, the office sexpot, gets raped by her "perfect" fiancé. Peggy gets her own office. Salvatore, the closeted gay man, has his first gay encounter. The white patriarchy is breaking apart, the rush of the '60s are upon us. But the black characters are still trapped in a romantic haze of noble, silent suffering.

While I agree with many of Ms. Peterson's points, I do however think it bears keeping in mind that the show is currently set around 1962/1963.  It's after the Cuban Missile Crisis and before John Kennedy is assassinated.  Of course there were many black activists working for civil rights even then, but for these characters in this ad agency, those events are on the periphery of their lives.  The show isn't about the black civil rights movement in the 60's, it's about these people who work for this ad agency.

I'm more of the mind of Ta-Nehisi Coates of The Atlantic who writes:

I don't watch Mad Men to get a lesson on gender--though I sometimes do--I watch to see a good story. I understand, given the times, the desire to have the show take on race. But I don't want to see Mad Men "take on" anything. That's for bloggers, and historians to do.

Having said that, as the 60's progress, I will be disappointed
if events relating to the civil rights movement and to black people
don't have more of an impact on the people at Sterling Cooper because historically, no one was untouched by the events that are about to come.

 

Related Links:

John Boot at Pajamas Media asks, "Why Do Women Love "Mad Men?"

Emily McCombs at Lemondrop.com asks, "Where Were The Women On Last Night's "Mad Men?"

Famespy talks "Mad Men" fashions on the blog, Famespy.

 

Megan Smith is the BlogHer Contributing Editor covering Television and Online Video and you can see her "Mad Men" yourself avatar on her Twitter page.  " Her personal entertainment blog is Megan's Minute, Quirky Commentary Around The Clock.

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