“He was this gentle giant,” said Bob Schieffer, CBS’s chief Washington correspondent and a close friend…”He was a great role model.” Ed Bradley, 1941-2006.
Category: Television
FOX fire.
“Alas, poor Brit, it was too much for him to bear in the end, I’m afraid. You almost had to feel sorry for the guy…I said almost.” Salon‘s Andrew O’Hehir evaluates last night’s election coverage on FOX News. I admit, I also switched over to FOX in the late hours just to revel in all the sweet, sweet schadenfreude. I’m forced to concede, though, that their graphics were much better than CNN’s — you could actually tell how many House seats Dems were picking up all night over the needed 15, while CNN dropped that ball as soon as the Senate got tight. At any rate, for angry right-wing teeth-gnashing, nothing on FOX topped Stephen Colbert’s hilarious speel last night at the end of the otherwise middling Midterm Midtacular (Click on “Stephen Quits,” in case you missed it.)
The Art of Monologuing.
No, not in that Incredibles way. The House Next Door, an excellent film/television blog I routinely check after every new episode of The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, and Doctor Who, has sparked a fun conversation about choice movie monologues (somewhat akin to the list here.)
Dark Star.
“[I]n keeping with the show’s ominous tone, instead of quick resolutions or merciful diversions, the darkness reaches a palpable extreme during the premiere of the third season…The uninitiated may continue to write off ‘Battlestar Galactica‘ as the remake of a mediocre show, or as the domain of science fiction fans alone, but those who’ve watched the show more than once or twice know better.” Reminder: As noted a week ago, Battlestar Galactica returns tonight. Right now, Season 3 is pulling a 93 over at Metacritic, who call it “the second-best show on television.”
Sportswire.
“It’s an exceptional show, and I’m not even sure ‘exceptional’ is a strong enough word.” I’ve had considerable issues with Bill “Sports Guy” Simmons in the past, but, now that he’s become a fellow Wire enthusiast (see the last few paragraphs), I’m inclined to feel more charitable towards him. “After plowing through the first 37 episodes of ‘The Wire‘ in three weeks this summer, I agree with others who argue that it’s the most important television show of all-time, surpassing even ‘The Sopranos’ because of its ambition and social relevance.”
Ten Doctors, Twelve Cylons.
Season 2 of BBC’s Doctor Who revival premieres tonight on Sci-Fi, with — as most of y’all know — David Tennant (a.k.a. Barty Crouch, Jr. of Goblet of Fire) filling in for Christopher Eccleston as the second/tenth Doc. Meanwhile, season 3 of Battlestar Galactica doesn’t begin until October 6, so you still have a week to catch up on the Vichy/Resistance webisodes online.
When the Thunder Rolls.
Over at The House Next Door, always an excellent destination for quality film and television commentary, Andrew Dignan eloquently dissects the various credit sequences for The Wire, and even show creator David Simon comes by to say a word.
We Still Think of You, Jim Henson.
Alas, today would’ve been Jim Henson’s 70th birthday. In honor of the occasion, my sis-in-law sent along a scan of this sad (and arguably deeply disturbing) comic, which originally appeared in Cerebus back in the day (and which I used to have on a T-shirt, before it disintegrated.) Happy birthday, JH.
Fame | Set Phasers on NIN.
Is it any wonder I reject you first? David Bowie rips up Ricky Gervais on Extras. And, while I’m snarfing arch Youtube links from Ed Rants, see also Kirk and Spock get “Closer,” in the Trent Reznor sense. (Some profanity…but you’ve probably heard the song by now.)
High Wire Act.
“The Wire, which has just begun its fourth season on HBO, is surely the best TV show ever broadcast in America…no other program has ever done anything remotely like what this one does, namely to portray the social, political, and economic life of an American city with the scope, observational precision, and moral vision of great literature.” Slate‘s Jacob Weisberg joins the swelling ranks of Wire aficionados. (Season 4 is currently pulling a lowly 98 over at Metafilter.) “This year, The Wire‘s political science is as brilliant as its sociology. It leaves The West Wing, and everything else television has tried to do on this subject, in the dust.” And, in very happy news that partially atones for Deadwood‘s early demise (although that [expletive deleted] still rankles), HBO re-ups for The Wire Season 5, which will focus on the mass media. I’ll drink a spot of Jamesons to that.