I was told to post something to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Seinfeld’s last episode (continuing a TV theme week on my site I guess), so I decided to see what people were writing about it. Ironically the finale was the first episode I ever saw and I started watching the reruns in syndication thereafter. Hearing writers trying to describe and analyze something you love makes me sick, so here are some lines taken out of context I wish I hadn’t read:
- “Another reason the show has held up as long as it has, I think, is the variety and quality of the sets.” Daivd Noonan, Newsweek
- “Perhaps the shallow nature of the characters and the nihilism inherent in the show, which led to its label “a show about nothing”, turned British audiences off.” Dan Worth, The Guardian
- “Seinfeld” was that rare series that was more than just a TV show. Why? It’s hard to say.” Amanda Cuda, Connecticut Post
- “There’s a reason that the great sitcoms—”The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “M*A*S*H” and “Taxi,” to name a few—still work. They’re not just about being funny; they’re about people who grow enough in a week, and over time, to keep them interesting. They have depth. Jerry and George have issues. That can be amusing, even occasionally hilarious. But after a while, it all has started to sound like a whole lotta yadda yadda yadda.” Marc Peyser, Newsweek
- [Headline] Final episode of ‘Seinfeld’ reveals great circle of life. John Gottcent, Evansville Courier Press
Simply put: Seinfeld is still great, TV critics are still not.
Feeling bored in my apartment this weekend, I decided I needed to take a trip and find someplace new to spend a day. In trying to think of where to go, I came up with the idea of searching for the real Stars Hollow, CT. Stars Hollow is the fictional town that played host to the Gilmore Girls, a television show which I embarrassingly admit I used to watch. On the show its portrayed a quaint little town with lots of quirky characters and it kind of shaped my expectations of Connecticut when I moved up here. I did a quick search on the Wikipedia and discovered that show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino based Stars Hollow on the real-life town of Washington Depot, CT. And less than an hour away, it seemed perfect for a quick weekend pilgrimage. Continue reading ‘Visiting the Real Stars Hollow: Washington Depot, CT’
President Bush appearing on NBC’s ‘Deal’. This is a meta moment. Two years ago Paul Weitz directed a farce called American Dreamz which had an unpopular Bush-like president appearing on a reality show to boost his image. Dreamz was a good idea for a staire, but didn’t quite have the guts to be as dark and truthful as Network. Still the fact that Bush has time to make appearances here and at the Nationals game earlier this month makes me think he’s more focused on waiting out the last months in office.
“You Don’t Understand Our Audience”. Former Dateline correspondent’s John Hockenberry writes about the pitfalls of today’s network news coverage. It’s a pretty damning account - stories picked to fit entertainment programming, corporate red tape, and poor news judgment. Think Network. It makes me wonder what it would take to get me to watch TV news again.
New Lost Season 4 Trailer. Lost is coming back in January to satisfy the needs of strike weary TV viewers (and possibly leave an awkward cliffhanger since only 8 episodes were filmed pre-strike). This trailer is longer than the first preview I saw and gives a good idea of what’s to come. It looks like the show is going to take on the seismic shift alluded to in last year’s finale and this season might actually have a little more plot than past years. (credit: Ain’t It Cool News)
MTV: Jason Bateman Refuels Hope For Arrested Development Movie. One can only hope for more from the Bluth family. Arrested Development may be the best comedy of the last decade - I still watch the DVDs and laugh as hard as I did the first time I saw them. Some suggested an AD Christmas special, but a movie would be even better.
TVGuide NBC Planning Major Office Expansion! (via Ain’t It Cool News) This is disappointing because whenever a show becomes a franchise, I feel like it suffers. I feel like the original Office is already mining for new material and I can’t see them succeeding with another “branch”.
I've been having trouble describing my excitement about the season finale of The Office Thursday night. This show quickly matured from a quirky comedy into a television masterpiece, matching and perhaps surpassing its British counterpart. Few shows have guys this excited about a kiss. The workplace humor works because its something everyone can relate to. Similarly, the Jim-Pam relationship encompasses a lot of universal feelings. Everyone has been one of these characters before and that's why we love them.
Another great thing about the show is that is truly an ensemble. Not only did the "Casino Night" finale include a number of great returning guest stars, nearly every cast member had their own story climax. Steve Carell didn't just act, he wrote this great episode that expertly blended humor and romance. John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer also deserve extra credit for their natural performances in the show's climax.
If you don't watch the show, none of this makes a lot of sense to you. I recommend you watch the show on rerun if you get a chance this summer. I think The Office is the best comedy since Arrested Development, with Seinfeld before that. It is that good. (On a side note, several of the cast members have MySpace accounts including Jenna Fischer, who blogs from time to time)
Remember when saying “Wayne Brady makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X” was a joke. These days there’s been a big firestorm about the comments Gumbel made on his Real Sports program on HBO.
“Count me among those who don’t like ‘em and won’t watch ‘em. Try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these Games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. Try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention.”
He also went after some other easy targets like figure skating and judged sports. But the big news was that Gumbel pulled the “race card”. Well he’s absolutely right. And even if you don’t think its a race thing, you have to admit that the Winter Olympics are not for all socio-economic groups. Being a winter athlete requires more than just natural ability, it also requires the resources or support to pay for the training.
The nature of winter sports requiring things like ice or snow makes it more difficult for anyone to pick the sports up and practice regularly. Skiing and snowboarding require a lot of equipment and lift passes. Hockey is also a prohibitively expensive sport for kids to get into with equipment and ice time. Figure skating - damn, you must be rich - because you have to pay for ice time, private coaches, as well as things like costumes and music. I would love to see the upfront required to put Sasha Cohen on the podium. Sure it will payout in the end and the USOC tries to support all athletes regardless of their income levels. Still I am doubtful about how many of our Winter Olympic heroes work at McDonald’s or Home Depot to support their training. And its not surprising that there are fewer developing countries represented in the Winter Games than the Summer ones. Winter Games are elitist sports, period.
And how about the Olympics coverage NBC has treated us to thus far. I have probably watched the prime time coverage at least 1/2 of the days its been on. And all I can remember seeing is figure skating and snowboarding, with 5 minute spurts of speed skating or skiing. Note that figure skating and snowboarding are both judged sports - with little credibility in my mind. Figure skaters are judged for cuteness as much as their talent. And snowboarding is given to the most brainless American teenager who is willing to skip the X Games.
The most satisfying thing about this Olympics games has been Bode Miller’s failure to win at anything this games - despite the media attention. In fact nearly all the athletes featured in any pre-Games previews have blown it. It’s at least reassuring to know NBC can’t script these things - even the French judge couldn’t have made Cohen fall twice during last night’s long program. Anyway, this Winter Olympics has served as a lesson for me. The Winter Olympics is not a moment of global cooperation, but more a self-congratulatory pat on the back for the world’s elite.
Update: Patrick has made some good comments, so be sure to check them out. He’s right that the problem with the Olympics isn’t really racial. I do think that they are more of an elitist event though and not as accessible as other sports. Hopefully we’ll see this change in the years to come.