Christmas Specials?

No good Christmas specials or episodes this year. The new Sound of Music was panned by critics but it was as boring and terrible as the original so I do not see the big deal.

TV Shows To Be Thankful For

This Thanksgiving let us celebrate the free over the air shows that give us joy.

Persons of Interest
Raising Hope
Sleepy Hollow
NFL Football

Short list but most of the other show are barely worth watching. Persons of Interest has been the best thing on TV lately, not including the premium cable channels.

Lbs.

Lbs. is a movie that aired recently on Thirteen a PBS channel. Often they show classic and indepent films with a brief narrative about the film and the process. This film was remarkable since the main guy in the movie actually lost the weight over the year it took to film.

The film Lbs. introduces us to an overweight Italian-American man from NYC that has a heart attack and must change his habits. He eventually pushes his family to the limit with his lack of will power and buys a trailer in the woods.

Enlisting the help of drug addicted friend they try to get sober together. That fails but it pushes the fat guy to do it on his own. What helps the most is final getting some nookie from a local married woman. He gains enough confidence to lose weight on his own and return to his family. Since most of his family and friends are toxic he keeps his distant and that is the point. He must now be independent and that is the best for him.

What annoys me is that this do nothing has enough money to go around and buy expensive things for a year without working. While he has no job he bought a $5,000 plot of land and buys healthy food for a year then moves into a hotel. The movie is good and Miriam Shor was great in her small role.

NBC Cancellations

Ironside (TV series) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Canceled:

Welcome To The Family, a show about a Latino family that must get along with a white family because their kids are expecting a baby. The white daughter gets knocked up and her mother is also preggers. I watched the most recent episode with a special appearance by Eva Langoria. The show is not that funny and surprisingly not that racial or edgy, despite my description.

Ironside, a remake of the original Ironside except the main character is cool while Raymond Burr, the original was more tough and straight. I tried watching an episode but when Ironside found a gun because it was at eye level saying something like thanks to my wheel chair I  have a new perspective I knew it was poorly written.

Sean Saves the World and the Michael J. Fox show are still hanging on. I have not seen Sean's show but it looks like a typical sitcom. Michael's show is good as I saw the pilot and liked it better than Robin William's show but it is less shiny than Robin's show so it may not last.

Is it a coincident that the "ethnic" shows were canceled first? Probably not but I blame the writers since they are not yet writing for all types of voices.

Community is coming back praise be the lord.

Wishful Thinking

Saw this sportscast the other night about the MLB playoffs and no one noticed that they had the wrong graphics or they just really wanted to go back in time.

That should say Red Sox vs. Tigers ALCS 2013 but instead we were back in happier times when the Yankees played and all was right in the world.

Lottery Feed Error

Technical information not meant for the public. I do enjoy when TV stations make small mistakes.

Un-Lucky 7

Windfall NBC 2006

First canceled show of the season is Lucky 7 a show about 7 lottery winners. I never watched any of the two episodes because it looked long, slow paced, and boring.

I liked a better version that was also unceremoniously canceled years ago called Windfall. Windfall had a well known cast and they used sexier people and storylines. Even with all that at the end it ran its last episodes on a weekend afternoon when absolutely no one was watching.

The legend of nothing ending well for lottery winners is now extended to the shows about them.

Shhhh!

Still have not seen Breaking Bad so shhhh.

New and Shiny Shows

The Crazy Ones: Pilot
Robin Williams is the dad, Sarah Michelle Gellar is the daughter and together they are the perfectteam in an ad agency. Real celebrities like Kelly Clarkson and McDonalds were used in the pilot. Clarkson was great as a version of herself that wanted to become less pure and sweet. Williams was typically and annoying while Gellar was almost invisible.
The Crazy Ones refers to a old commercial that pitched nothing but an idea before a product was made.

Two and a Half Man: Nangnangnangnang
The episode title refers to the sound/action that Alan made when breast feeding. The show introduced the new "Half Man". Since Angus T. Jones is gone they needed another woman crazy perv. Amber Tamblyn is a horny drunk lesbian who is also Charlie's secret daughter. In this modern day no one on the show asked for DNA proof which seemed a bit false. Amber is a great actress but so far her character is very one-dimensional.

Also Alan is no longer a chiropractor as he refused to pay higher rents for his practice.Now he is Walden's personal assistance.

Parenthood: It has to be now
Amber is going to marry her unstable boyfriend because that will help the situation. Kristina is running for mayor because her opinion matters even though all she cares about is her kids. that autistic kid is huge and now a photographer.

Great that the show is back but I forgot how silly these people act sometime, just like real people.

Sidenote: Optimum is still interrupting breaking news stories with Optimum commercials after 15 minutes of air time.

She's going to be O.K.

When we last left Detective Benson she had a gun to her head as was lead into her bedroom by an
unstoppable rapist/torturer.

Law & Order SVU: Surrender Benson/Imprisoned Lives

A four day journey with one of the most evil men this show has featured left Benson exhausted and mentally, emotionally, and physically abused. Fortunately she was not sexually assaulted. Her ordeal left her full of rage that she took out on her captor. Oddly though she lied about the details of her escape which in real life would not be necessary as since she was tortured that taking revenge would be okay even in the courts.

The entire season will be dealing with her torture but Det. Benson seems to be coping well.

The second hour was a mash-up of the different kidnapped and rescued stories we have been hearing about the last few years. Far from subtle it was a typical post-9/11 story line. For those who remember pre-9/11 storylines typically had the criminals winning.

Marvel's Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Marvel's Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. : Pilot

Well Joss Whedon just calls upon his friends from Firefly and Angel to make this pilot better than most. Whedon has a co-workers as they often appear in his works from Angel to Buffy to Firefly to Dollhouse to How I Met Your Mother.

This show explores the events after the Avengers saved NYC in that big movie that a lot people saw. Agent Coulson is mysteriously alive, his 8 second death and relocation seems to be a cover story. Coulson is putting together a team to find superheroes and make sure they are not a problem.

His team is full of normal humans and must find ways to control the situations created when super-powered beings start showing off. There are also other groups looking to the same and possibly for evil purposes.

I have hope for this show even it is a monster of the week like his other shows since there is always a bigger storyline. Disney is not the kid-first nuts they use to be so hopefully they will allow this show to push boundaries like Buffy did.

CBS Monday Night Premieres

Except for Merritt Wever winning and her short speech the Emmys were just typical.

How I Met Your Mother: The Locket / Coming Back
This is going to be a long weekend. They establish that "The Mother" is adorable and perfect in every way. Ted is stalking Robin, again. Marshall is doing a road trip with Sherri Shepard.  Then on the second half Robin seems more insecure then Barney. Overall some nice moments but too much foreshadowing.

2 Broke Girls: And the Soft Opening
The writers threw every genital joke they saved up over the break into this one episode. I missed this show and glad it is back but they still have Jennifer Coolidge doing the worse character currently on TV.

Mom: Pilot
Horrible women use alcoholism as an excuse for their messed up lives. Maybe there is more to the story but the canned laughs made it distracting. I prefer show without a studio audience so I need to get use to other people laughing at stuff that not funny.

ABC Friday Night Premieres

I skipped the Tim Allen show because I never watched it and do not plan to.

The Neighbors: Family Conference
Funny and sweet episode. The entire plot involved the teenagers new found love for each other. Alien and human love is adorable. The whole alien invasion of Earth is on hold leading to problems for the alien dad that will be featured all season.

Shark Tank
Cake balls ruled the day. I enjoy this reality show about people trying to sell there ideas to established professionals. The rejections are my favorite parts because it is usually well explained and is actually a learning moment.

Tuesday Night Premieres

Fox is on a roll starting a week earlier then every other network.

Dads: Pilot
It feels like a 1980s sitcom and that is not a good thing. Everything typical of a sitcom is here with no surprises. One of the dads shows up to his son's work and cost them a multi-million dollar deal and everyone just shrugs it off. That scene just made me dislike everything about this show. Add to that there were no laughable moments. That said this is the pilot which is usually the worst episode so maybe I'll try again.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Pilot
Andy Samberg does bits while solving cases as a detective. Again no laughable moments but at least it is less formulaic then Dads. This show has a better future but it still is a low brow comedy which is not a good time for me.

New Girl: All In
Jess and her new beau run off to Mexico while the roommates continue to ruin their own lives. The show is sweeter than it is funny but worth watching if you like absurd situations.

The Mindy Project: All My Problems Solved Forever
Finally a funny show that I actually laughed out loud. Mindy and the cast are constantly throwing out clever and funny lines showing how the writing and acting are the best among Fox's comedies. New to the cast is James Franco who is great when he tries and yes he is trying for this role.

Monday Premieres and Finales

Bones: The Secret in the Proposal
Bones struggles with her feelings after Booth refuses to marry her for good reasons. While we see Bones softer side the murder of the week is a good reason to bring in Freddy Prinze Jr.. Prinze Jr. plays a CIA agent and former colleague of Booth. Yet all I was thinking is that these two guys made out with Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Detail of The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane. oil, 26 7/8 x 33 7/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sleepy Hollow: Pilot
A promising show about hunting the headless horseman quickly turns into a huge founding father-bible conspiracy show. You can also see there will be a "monster-of-the-week" along with the primary storyline. Luckily more than one person believes that all this supernatural stuff is real as several cops see the headless horseman and his head is secured. I would watch this show again but I will not be TiVoing it. Poor Clancey Brown never made it pass the 10 minute mark.

Under The Dome: Curtains
The dome has got a bad attitude and everyone finally gets all religious. Nothing gets answered but contact with the dome "builders" has begun.

SIDE BY SIDE: The Science, Art and Impact of Digital Cinema

Great documentary about the changeover from film to digital hosted and co-produced by Keanu Reeves. We see how great film is and was then we see how convenient and flexible digital is and is becoming.

Reeves interviews many famous and creative artists who work behind the lenses. Most of the industry is lamenting the reduced use of film but they love the ease of use of digital. There is no judgement but film is still loved for its richer depth but everyone can see that digital has yet to reach its full potential.

As a host Reeves does a great job but they do a lot of cutaways to him that seem unnecessary. Still for all you movie lovers this is a great doc that should be watched for free on PBS. 

Rising Above It All

From my Coined For Money blog:


It has been 12 years since that awful day on September 11, 2001, the day when at least 20 Muslims conspired to kill as many Americans as they could based on their extremist views.

New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. has recovered physically but remains scarred emotionally. The World Trade Center is now at full height and soaring above everything like a beacon of success and recovery.

 

We will never forget what happened and we will only grow stronger.

Super 8

Super 8
Kids meet an alien that just wants to go home. Sounds familiar except this is a Steven Spielberg movie, oh wait never mind.

Nothing new here and the special effects when seen on an old fashion TV looks just okay. I guess every generation needs lonely alien movie but I saw the best and do not care for updates.

For those younger movie goers this may be worth it as it has minor adventures and loud noises. The group of kids are cute and great actors.

Superman vs. The Elite

Superman vs. The Elite


The hero epics continue with yet another cartoon movie. In this one we superman questioning whether is non-deadly use of force is effective. A group of newcomers is much more violent and aggressive and the world seems to like it.

Eventually these newbies known as The Elite challenge Superman defeating him in a very public way. Yet Superman does the old switcharoo and tricks them. Eventually the world see that death is not the answer.

It was an old fashioned morals tale but the use of so much violence obscures the message.

Thor

Thor was another of those Marvel comics movie. It featured Natalie Portman but in my opinion Kat Dennings stole the show. Dennings sense of humor was the only thing that made this movie fun. Portman and Chris Hemsworth made this movie serious and I will applaud them for that seeing how they are dealing with mythical characters.

Thor is rendered powerless for most of the film and must deal with an evil brother. As gods none of them were sympathetic even after losing powers or almost dying. I first learned of Thor from the classic Adventure in Babysitting but never found his story appealing.

The Avengers Movie has several origin movies and I have watched all except Captain America, it seems the most boring. Still none of them are great and yes I include Iron Man. Not to just knock Marvel but I also hated the Dark Knight movies so DC also fails at putting up great superhero movies. The last superhero movie I enjoyed was Batman with Michael Keaton.

Loosing vs. Losing

Internet stupidity is spilling on to the TV. The Sunday August 15, 2013 night edition of the local ABC news had this grammatical error on display. I think what ever college intern who does the on air graphics did not even know they made a mistake.

In the last few months I have encountered over 100 people using loosing when they clearly meant to use losing. Here is the only proper use:

-To cast loose; detach: hikers loosing their packs at camp. 

The Jets coach should be LOSING HIS COOL not LOOSING HIS COOL.  He is not letting is cool detach he is actually having control issue with his cool. Given that Sanchez is his only QB hope I do not blame him.

For the sake of grammar and the future of the 

American-English language please always correct the kids when the spell losing wrong.

The Hunger Games

I tend to avoid the teen adult novels turned into movies but then I still watch them on TV. All the Harry Potters were truly awful, among the worst things put to film since snuff movies were invented.

Now The Hunger Games has a ridiculous plot that I could never get past with an actress who could not act here way out of paper bag.

The plot involves people in the far future from different districts who send there children to fight and die because they borrowed food from the one's in charge. Each district is a stereotype of workers like miners, farmers, and others. Some war that ended at least 74 years earlier lead to the invention of a game where 24 kids fight each other to death until only one person is left. It is not said what the winner gets but fame and fortune is suggested.

Katniss is the tale's hero. She uses her limited emotions, or at least Jennifer Lawrence's limited emotions, to save her sister from the "I-borrowed-food-lottery" and takes her place. Katniss is a hunter so killing is no an issue but she finds the games morally wrong. Although she ends up killing a bunch of kids she wins the love of the audience who watches this tragedy as sport.

After not killing herself and new BFF from her district the two district 12 heroes return home to an unknown future. Something in the world has changed though as Katniss has inspired more than a fanbase.

This movie is forgettable and reminds me of the dozens of 1970s futuristic movies about mankind almost dying. The looked silly back in the 70s and this remake does not add anything new to the genre. 

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

Maybe it is working with young people or the fact I have a new Netflix accounts but I have been watching an abnormal amount of cartoon movies. Working with teens and twenty-somethings you miss a few of their references and most is music and movies. Comic book movies and young adult novels movies are the worst but I have been trying to give them a chance.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
This has Supergirl making her debut and then Apocalypse and friends make things complicated. Not as violent as a Marvel comic movie but still some bad deaths. I do enjoy the rich story lines and the animation is cool. Aside from that nothing stands out, you always know the good guys win.

After the movie they have another DC showcase short but those are much worse. The feature is all you need to watch because the DC universe is too big to explore in one night.

Planet Hulk

I was talking with co-workers about cartoons when I was a kid and how they never actually killed anyone. Even the Hulk was a kind monster. These youngster told me I should watch the new Marvel and D.C. cartoons and I would be shocked. So I did and I was.

In Planet Hulk you have the Hulk being exiled to a paradise planet. Unfortunately The Hulk as usual makes things worse by going off course and becoming a slave. It was just the story of Ben-Hur done by Marvel. Throughout the struggle out of slavery many being were violently killed. Even if none were human they still died in such horrible ways for a cartoon that was not meant to be funny.

Now the graphics and animation were great nothing like the old cartoons the repeated backgrounds to save time. The physics were unrealistic but that is something that is common in all superhero movies whether cartoon or live-action.

Would I watch more of these? Yes, but not with children around.

Mr. Popo

Dragon Ball first came out in cartoon form back in 1986 and the world was rich one filled with fantasy creature living alongside humans in what seem s to be the near future.

Mr. Popo is a genie who lives peacefully and tends the grounds of a lookout. Unfortunately the Japanese animators found stereotypes non-offensive and honestly did not think they did anything wrong. When drawing this guy.

As you may know this cartoon became popular in America a decade ago and currently is in reruns for kids programming all over. As far as I know no one has complained about any of the stereotypes but certain networks have modified Mr. Popo.

Why so blue? Well because people in the U.S. often overreact. There are dozens of Bugs, Tom and Jerry, and others episodes that I remember watching as a kid that are no longer being aired. While some are obvious even the minor violence in those Tom and Jerry cartoons have been de facto banned on televesion.

I do not mind not showing things but modifying them seems wrong. The original is always better and modifying messes with the story in certain ways. Among other Mr. Popo changes was most scenes with his flying carpet. Apparently the genie stereotype is also offensive so they tried to Disney-fy him by making him blue and losing all the references to an Arabic/Persian origin.

I cannot wait to see how future people will modify The Simpsons and all there offensive yellow skin and bulging eyes.

SVU's Season 14 Finale

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Her Negotiation

The season finale has a serial rapist and torturer that is clever enough never to get convicted going after Olivia. This was not revealed until the final seconds of the show and leads to possible big change when the 15th season premieres on Wednesday, September 25.

They came close to assaulting Olivia in the past but never have because that is unrealistic. The show has been heavy on every woman is a potential victim except for Olivia and I hope they have not crossed that line. Detective Olivia Benson is the strongest person on the show and to have some random criminal of the week assault her would put me off the show permanently.

Not every woman is a victim and the will cross a line by making Olivia one. Knowing this criminals pattern I hope she anticipated he was going to hunt her and this is a trap. If not I hope she fights him even if it means she dies because to become a victim seems worse.

I am late in watching the season finale so it would be fresh in my mind as the new season premieres. That faxt that I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see how this storyline plays out proves this show still has great writing. I hope they do not disappoint.

Burn Notice

Burn Notice: Psychological Warfare

With the final episodes of series coming soon the cast has been giving an excellent performance. Each week we see Michael Weston getting deeper undercover and losing himself. This week while being tortured he finds his center and we learn how messed up he may really be. The team tries to help but they must learn how far they can go.

This entire season has been less funny and more dangerous which I enjoyed. Even Sam has done things that he considers are horrible. As we get close to closing this final case I can only hope that tragedy does not follow everyone involved. Unfortunately it looks like their enemy this season is much more sinister than all the others out together.

Breaking News: Cablevision Ads (Update)

For the last three Breaking News / Special Report interruptions Cablevision / Optimum has played a commercial after 30 seconds.

It must be something with transferring the signals but if there were some kind catastrophic event it would be nice to be informed. I just want to put it out there that Cablevison / Optimum has yet to fix or even notice the problem.

Update: There has been 5 more unnecessary breaking news stories and luckily none were interrupted by the Optimum ads so thanks for listening Cablevison.

Emmy's Inside Joke

Emmy nominations are out and as usually the voting actors are voting for themselves. Actors live, work, and have relationships on the set so it is no surprise that the only they vote for is shows that reflect that. Not having normal jobs or going out in bigger circles they cannot relate to comedy from any other point of view. that explains Episodes. Louie and Girls are more about the real life stars not that actual shows.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY - Really does not matter as none of these shows are laugh-out-loud
30 Rock - Funny
The Big Bang Theory - Funny
Girls - Not Funny
Louie - Not Funny
Modern Family - Funny
Veep - Funny

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Laura Dern, Enlightened - Never seen
Lena Dunham, Girls - Not Funny
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie - Funny but more of a drama
Tina Fey, 30 Rock - Funny
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep - Funny
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation - Funny should win

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock - Funny
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development - Funny
Louis CK, Louie - Funny-ish
Don Cheadle, House of Lies - Funny more of a drama
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes - Funny
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory - Funny

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY - The best acting is in this category
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory - Funny should win
Jane Lynch, Glee - Funny
Julie Bowen, Modern Family - Funny
Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie - Funny
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock - Funny
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family - Funny
Anna Chlumsky, Veep - Funny

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Adam Driver, Girls - Not Funny
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family - Funny
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family - Funny
Ty Burrell, Modern Family - Funny
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live - Funny should win
Tony Hale, Veep - Funny

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Molly Shannon, Enlightened - Never seen
Dot-Marie Jones, Glee - Funny
Melissa Leo, Louie - Never saw
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live - Funny
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live - Funny
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock - Funny

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory - Funny should win
Nathan Lane, Modern Family - Funny
Bobby Cannavale, Nurse Jackie - Serious drama
Louis CK, Saturday Night Live - Funny
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live - Funny
Will Forte, 30 Rock - Funny

Now while the comedies are more dramatic the dramas are deep dramas.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA-As long as Mad Men does not win I will be happy.
Breaking Bad - Yes
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones - Yes
Homeland - Yes
House of Cards
Mad Men

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Connie Britton, Nashville - Yes
Claire Danes, Homeland - Yes
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel - Yes
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men - Yes
Kerry Washington, Scandal - Yes
Robin Wright, House of Cards
 
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad - Yes
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland - Yes
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad - Yes
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey - Yes
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones - Yes
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Morena Baccarin, Homeland - Yes
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire
Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad - Yes
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad - Yes
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones - Yes
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland - Yes

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Margo Martindale, The Americans - Yes
Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones - Yes
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife
Linda Cardellini, Mad Men
Jane Fonda, The Newsroom
Joan Cusack, Shameless - Yes

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA - No one stands out
Nathan Lane, The Good Wife
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Rupert Friend, Homeland
Robert Morse, Mad Men
Harry Hamlin, Mad Men
Dan Bucatinsky, Scandal

The View: Blonde Ambition

The View like most talk shows goes for controversy not actual intelligent conversation. When they first announced Sherri Shepard and Whoopi Goldberg I was excited because I thought two comediennes meant more discussion and logical arguments. I was so wrong.

It turned out Whoopi hardly joins in especially in interview segments. On the other Shepard is constantly jumping in showing how ignorant she is on most topics. Her blind faith dulls her logical side to the point she has made some amazingly stupid quotes that should not be repeated.

That leads us to Jenny McCarthy the replacement for Elizabeth Hasselback. McCarthy is from that funny and talented McCarthy clan and she has hosted many other things before. The fact is she has a great TV personality and her comic timing is great but she is also as ignorant as 80% of The View's former hosts.

McCarthy mistakenly believes vaccines are bad and other ridiculousness about autism. While she has a right to her opinions that does not mean her opinions are right. Just the opposite many of the claims she makes are scientifically inaccurate. What I like about Whoopi is that if she is provided more information she will adjust her opinions which is how science works. McCarthy like Hasselback has chosen a side and set a belief system to it and will never budge even when hard evidence is presented, that is the definition of ignorant.

Hopeful for the seasons without any original members but bracing for a storm of ignorant quotes, like Juror B37.

Café

Café was a movie with then couple Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jaime Kennedy that I just saw on TV. With the exception of Jaime Kennedy trying to play a tough guy everyone else was believable.

The movie centers around an incident in a Café and what happened the days before that led up to the fateful day. The twist is that this is also a sci-fi fantasy. In the style of The Matrix we are told that what is real may not be. The ending was less than satisfying but in all the movie was enjoyable. As a short movie I think this would have worked better. Several characters were not needed and nothing.

That unwritten rule of you should never act on screen with your girlfriend/boyfriend because it will break you up seems to be in effect.

Remembering Joe Conley

Joe Conley spent 50 years on TV playing different characters but he will be best known or his role on The Waltons as Mr. Godsey. As the gentle shopkeeper on Walton's Mountain he brought humor and sympathy to a non-starring role.

Conley was a great character actor during a time where if you started on TV you stayed there. He had dementia during the last ten years and passed away in a elder care home. For those too young to have seen his work a quick Waltonsmarathon may help you appreciate what a good actor can do with a small role.

Frontline: Two American Families

Another great documentary from PBS, available free online. In Two American Families Bill Moyers and the Frontline crew chronicle two families over 22 years starting with their unemployment in 1991.

The personal struggles of each family is powerful but the underlying cause is much more important. These families had male head of household who got non-college degree jobs at $18.00 an hour back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The head of these companies decided to make a larger profit and either moved thier jobs or reduced the pay to $7.50 an hour.

Throughout the next 22 years more companies hired women at lower pay and offered only part time positions. This made the executives of the companies richer but destroyed the middle class. The mother in one of the families got a job at an armored truck company for $7.50 and hour but she only stayed for 2 years leading me to wonder what guy lost his job at a high pay while the company got a bonus for hiring a woman in a male dominated industry.

Look I am all for equal rights for equal pay but not at $7.50. These women should be making the $18 the husband made 22 years ago but they are so desperate that they always take less. I always remember that college was not needed in America as long as you work hard. Today so many people have degrees that they are almost useless. 

The kids in these family are fairing worse but it mostly to their own mistakes/choices but in the old America you could redeem yourself by getting a 9 to 5 job and support a family or two. Even at their relative success now these families cannot support more than themselves.

Sunday Night Round-Up 07/07/13

The Simpsons: What Animated Women Want
While I have been an irregular watcher of The Simpsons I still enjoy watching it. This one has Homer trying to please Marge and Milhouse trying to displease Lisa. The whole episode tries to peek into the minds of women and does it very well. After 20+ years The Simpsons still no how to balance adult and kid cartoons well.

Under The Dome: The Fire
After ranting about missing last Monday's episode they repeat it tonight. The townspeople are begin to crack. The villainous types are working hard to try and cover their secrets while the heroic types are moving slow to understand the scale of the problem.

Falling Skies: Be Silent and Come Out
The Masons just cannot catch a break. Fallout from another mind-bug puts everyone in jeopardy but as you know the Masons are a tough bunch. A nice look at new technology for fighting the aliens probes is explored. This show is more of a family drama than a sci-fi or political show.

True Blood: At Last
The obvious Ben/Warlow connection is made but is it too late. Poor baby vamp Jessica cannot control her urges and the funny 4 fairies may have to pay the price. Next week is going to be a tough one to watch. 

All that and I still need to watch Dexter.

This Week in Whoops

I posted about Under The Dome and the I completely forgot to watch Monday's episode. Then I decide to wait until Friday to watch it on CBS.com when suddenly they pulled it off and now it is being sold on Amazon, Under The Dome Online.

Honestly the lack of free repeats in this day and age is annoying.

On the Fourth of July I went to a backyard barbecue and recorded the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks on NBC. Unfortunately it is 2 hours long and I am already out of the celebration mood. As long as I can remember I never missed one but should I spend the time watching it. Even in fast-forward it is a bit long.

Then I checked my TiVo and was upset that none of my weekly show like Burn Notice were not recorded and then I spent some time searching for them. Well it turns out since it is the holidays that all shows took a week off.

Stephen King's Under The Dome

Tonight at 10PM on CBS is the premiere of Under The Dome a short series by Stephen King and Steven Spielberg, and probably a bunch of other people.

The people of a small town suddenly find themselves trapped in a bubble. How they react to this dilemma is the main part of the story while trying to figure out why is it happening is a secondary concern. This was one of Stephen King's most massive books. He also felt the story needs to be stretched out on TV and should span several seasons.

For those fans of The Simpsons Movie you may remember a similar plot but everyone involved agrees it was just a coincident. Another trapped in a fish bowl movie that I enjoyed was Dark City and may be a bit of spoiler to the book.

The book is guaranteed to be different than the series as King himself said that the book ending and reasoning would not work well on TV. Still I would wait to read the book if you have not yet. I find it better to read the book later as people tend to be disappointed with the TV/Movie versions.