“I’m really sick of celebrities being dug up from their graves to sell us products. I was similarly upset when Gap used the image of deceased rapper Common in a Christmas commercial. (What’s that you say? Common’s still alive? Sorry, but after making that ad, he’s dead to me.)” Old friend Seth Stevenson surveys the worst ads of 2006 for Slate.
Tag: Television
Simon Says.
“Thematically, it’s about the very simple idea that, in this Postmodern world of ours, human beings — all of us — are worth less. We’re worth less every day, despite the fact that some of us are achieving more and more. It’s the triumph of capitalism…The show is written in a 21st-century city-state that is incredibly bureaucratic, and in which a legal pursuit of an unenforceable prohibition has created great absurdity.“
Slate publishes a fascinating extended interview with Wire creator David Simon, which touches on, among other things, why there won’t be a Season 6 focusing on Latino immigrants, and what we can expect from Season 5. “Yes, the last season. The last theme is basically asking the question, why aren’t we paying attention? If we got everything right in the last four seasons in depicting this city-state, how is it that these problems — which have been attendant problems regardless of who is in power — how is it that they endure? That brings into mind one last institution, which is the media. What are we paying attention to?” I can’t say it enough — if you’re not paying attention to The Wire, you owe it to yourself to rent Season 1 and start playing catch-up next to immediately. It really is far and away the best show on television, perhaps ever. Certainly, it’s the savviest take on American politics ever put to the small screen.
Son of a Preacher Man.
Word officially comes down that Garth Ennis’ Preacher is being developed for HBO by Mark Steven Johnston (Daredevil, Ghost Rider) and Howard Deutch (Grumpier Old Men.) Not the most exciting development team in the world, but it’s nice to see HBO get into the comic game. (And if Zack Snyder’s take on The Watchmen falls apart for some reason, as so many earlier attempts at it have, a 12-hour series on the Home Box Office would be a good place for Alan Moore’s magnum opus.)
Shia, Sunni, Cylon.
“Surely you’ve heard by now (because we’ve certainly repeated it often enough) that ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ the new remake of the cheesy ’70s series, is the most thrilling and trenchant dramatic series on TV at the moment (except, of course, for “The Wire“)…”Battlestar Galactica” may be set in outer space, with robots, in the far distant past, but it reminds us every week that the other TV shows are the fantasies.” As the New Caprica arc draws to a close, Salon‘s Laura Miller sings anew the praises of Battlestar Galactica.
Bradley Signs Off.
“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.
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.