PoweR Girls - MTV
This is without a doubt my guilty pleasure of the week, and I’m not even sure why. It’s about kissing celebrity ass, catty backstabbing, pure New York narcissism (D Trump would be proud), and pure octane media uber-culture.
Okay, maybe that’s why. And it’s fun, too, with a great intro song by Fatboy Slim.
This week: more partying in the Hamptons with, among others, the Gotti Boys… I’m not really sure who they are, but they seemed far more like bored frat lads than the ultra-hip celebrity hunk bad boys they were billed as. Does anyone know what they actually do? White rapper dudes? John Gotti’s sons (In the tradition of… Paris Hilton!)?
I’m at a loss.
Friday
Kojak - USA
I only got through about ten minutes of this remake of a classic, and I’ll likely not be back. I really tried to give it chance as I’ve liked Ving Rhames ever since his career-making role in Pulp Fiction (I mean, the guy redefined the word medieval… now that’s pretty cool) but this dog just wuh’nt gonna hunt, I’m afraid.
There were the standard cliché lines and situations and so forth, fine. But does every instant have to be shot like the climactic moment of a bad 70s B-movie crime drama, replete with annoying sax? Then there was the scene set-up to show how cool/badass the new bald, lolly-licking Greek (and black) lieutenant really is: he breaks a wily perp by playing Russian roulette… but he kept the extra bullet in his hand, see? So the perp didn’t know he wasn’t really going to kill him.
Riveting.
But not really. I’ll take Monk or especially the great The Dead Zone on USA any day.
Sunday
Grey’s Anatomy - ABC
Check out Mark Runyon’s analysis here. Hint: the light is green…
For more on this and every other topic under the sun, check out:
Dumpster Bust: Manufacturing Miracles from Mind Trash, Since 2003
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Scott Pepper
Eric, you missed a great episode of Alias, probably the best so far this season. Syd's mission went awry and she ended up buried alive in a German cemetary. At the same time, a biological attack had the rest of APO in lockdown, leaving only Marshall (who was late to work after his kid puked on him) to save Syd on his own. And that was just the first 30 minutes.
I agree that season 4 has not been up to the brillance of the first two seasons, but IMHO it is a big improvement over last season.
2 - Eric Berlin
I was a victim of my own obsession with both 24 and Alias, Scott. Both heavy on the plot shows that I ate up on DVD, that is. Then, when I finally started watching them week-to-week, I lost interest. Therefore, I'll have to catch up again on DVD one day!
I just feel like I've seen the trapped in the grave thing a few too many times... maybe that comes from years of watching Buffy and Angel though.
Marshall's always great, though. I'm glad that they give him a lot more screen time now.
3 - Eric Olsen
very nice EB, thanks! 24 is really great this year
4 - Eric Berlin
Thanks EO!
I meant to say above that I fell victim to my obsessions with Netflix.
What hour is 24 on right now, and is it possible to jump in and not feel completely lost? I imagine that there's lots of running and chasing and shooting and the world about to end stuff afoot (ha ha)?
Ah man... I don't know if I can handle another show on the weekly docket... well, maybe I can squeeze in one more.
5 - Eric Olsen
actually, I think they have a recap of every episode on the 24 site, so you could read that, then jump in quite easily. I think there are maybe 10 or so left?
6 - Eric Berlin
Thanks -- it's nice that shows do that now. It definitely helped me when I had missed a few crucial eps of Lost.
I actually tend toward shows where the story and character arcs build over a season. 24 has really been a clinic on how to keep a taut plotline rolling through 24 hours of TV.
7 - Eric Olsen
I think they pretty much have to help out those who can't make every single episode for a half a year!
8 - Eric Berlin
Exactly right.
In fact, there's no way I could write this column every week if it wasn't for the beautiful DVR that my beautiful wife got me for my birthday in early March.
That DVR has made me so much happier than I could have ever imagined: I get to watch my shows the second that I want to.
I'm not even sure how I feel about the fact that a DVR has changed my life for the better... I should probably just accept facts and happily move on.
9 - Phillip Winn
Lost is definitely a weekly habit with me, and I've been shaking with anticipation for new episodes to come around again. Thanks for the reminder!
BitTorrent, baby...
10 - Aaman
No offence, Eric, but this list is woefully incomplete without the shows from HBO, Showtime, etc. - shows like Deadwood, etc. are way better than some of the network stuff, IMHO
11 - Eric Olsen
perhaps it should be called "broadcast TV" then
12 - Eric Berlin
Aaman, no offense taken -- I don't get the fancy cable channels so I can't talk about them on a week-to-week basis. If you'd like to write about them, send me the links or your thoughts and I'll be happy to work them in. I've been publishing pretty regularly on Friday mornings and hope to keep that pace. Therefore, I kind of go Friday-to-Friday as my "TV week."
13 - Eric Berlin
Phillip: I hope you didn't miss the new episode of Lost this week!
14 - Eric Berlin
By the way, Aaman: I can only handle about 8% of what's on network TV myself. My aim is to write about the best shows (or the ones I can handle, anyway) reflecting the best of what's out there on broadcast and basic cable.
15 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
great stuff as ever Eric. I am truly aniticipating the arrival of Project Greenlight on UK TV, or indeed, BT TV. Ahem.
One thing, though. You say about how DVR etc has changed your viewing habits, and i can see exactly how that would work... But surely it ain't that big a revoloution? I mean, folks have had VCR's for twenty years. Whats the difference, in your opinion? Apart from having to annoyingly fast forward and rewind for twenty minutes before finding the damn thing.
16 - Aaman
Far easier to program than VCRs
17 - Eric Berlin
It's the ease, I suppose, but that's kind of not quite covering it. You plug in a program once, state how long it will be held for, and whether you want every episode ever made of it recorded or just the new ones. Then you never think of it again, just watch it the second you're ready for it.
For example, when I get home from work, I'll play the first 15 seconds of Hardball with Chris Matthews (a political show for all you non-US folk). If I don't like the topic(s), boom, it's erased.
Then, with the meaty stuff, the shows I care about, I get to line up a time slot to bang out three to five shows for viewing.
More later -- got company...
18 - gonzo marx
oh my stars and garters...
you folks watch network tv??
my whole mental image just went *POP*
only television i can stand anymore is Deadwood and Carnivale...looking forward to the upcoming Rome this fall on HBO
other than that, movies, or news...and the occasional guilty pleasure of Iron Chef....why bother?
but thas just me
your mileage may vary..
Excelsior!
19 - Tom Johnson
Eric, I think you may have missed the real highlights of this week's Arrested Development: all the many barbed digs at Fox. The biggest was the argument Michael had on the phone at the beginning of the episode where he is upset hearing that a housing contract wants to reduce their order from 22 to 18 houses, to which he says that they've already developed all the blueprints (at which point the narrator jumps in with "No, they didn't.") There were far too many to note, actually, and some I didn't even pick up on until quite a bit later, including the possibility of a hint that the show may be moving to FX from Fox (the whole "moved down a story [in the building] to cut costs" storyline.) An absolutely brilliant episode . . . one of many.
20 - Eric Berlin
Several more awesome aspects of the mighty mighty DVR:
- It lets you pause live TV
- There's an instant replay button
- You can record more than one show at a time (at least on mine)
- You can record up to 40, 80, whatever hours at once
So, Duke, it's way way better than the VCR that I had for 8 years and never once was able to properly program.
21 - Eric Berlin
Gonzo - If you read through the post, you'll see why I'm excited about the shows that I watch. If they don't float your boat... then you can be content with your premiere channels then. I like to think that there's 90% crap on network TV, 4% that's just okay, perhaps watchable, and that the other 6% or so is brilliant.
And as I stated above, I don't get premiere channels so I can't talk about them on a week-to-week basis. I'm currently watching The Wire: Season Two on DVD, and it's just one of the best things I've ever watched, period.
22 - Eric Berlin
Tom - What voodoo crystal ball did you visitate to get the obscure shots at Fox references from Arrested Development this week? I'm not disputing them; I'm simply standing in wonderment.
Does the "22 to 18" remark mean that Fox cut AD's season from 22 to 18?
I had also not heard about a possible move to FX. I wouldn't mind seeing it move over there actually as it has perhaps the best original programming of the basic cable up-and-comers. Rescue Me is incredible, a must-see and The Shield is quite good. Never got into Nip / Tuck, but people and critics seem to like it.
23 - gonzo marx
fair enuff Eric..i was not attempting to disparage your taste or choices..
my Apologies if i came off that way..
merely my own sense of drivel and disgust at the Networks...a fued that has been going on for quite the time...
as for the two shows i have mentined, like the soprano's...i'm fairly certain ya can find them on dvd
check it out when ya can..i think ya will find em tasty
and no commercials!
Excelsior!
24 - Eric Berlin
Gonzo - No offense taken, I hope you didn't take any yourself. I largely agree with you about television, which is all the reason more to shout loudest about the shows that are worthy... there can be no better example than Arrested Development, of course.
And I love the HBO shows with all my heart. The Sopranos might just be my favorite piece of visual media of all time. It's just nearly beyond desription of how good, how truthful (in terms of fictional storytelling), how dark, how brutal, how engaging, hand perhaps more than anything: how strange and funny and great it is... usually at the same time.
My second fave just might be Band of Brothers, the 10-part miniseries from HBO. So I'm definitely down with the Home Box Office.
The Wire has the potential to enter the exalted circle... we'll see.
25 - Tom Johnson
Eric, I meant to get back to this but forgot: Fox did cut the AD season from 22 to 18 episodes. The news was quite shocking and saddening to fans a couple months ago - as you know I'm sure, shortening a season is not a good indication of renewal for the next. However, Fox's Gail Berman has defended and supported this show all along and had said that the move was a show-saving maneuver designed to remove it from the sweeps pressure and hopefully shield it from looking too pathetic in the ratings against the onslaught of ridiculously overhyped crap on other networks (not her words!) Anyway, I wish I'd kept the episode on our DVR (best TV technology in years!) to go back and reference, but you may want to check out the script at the amazingly complex fan-site, the OP. Anything pertaining to the Bluth company, especially their prominent location, is a dig at Fox. It's pretty bold stuff for a show that could be in trouble. The line the character "Ted" speaks is what got people talking about the possibility of a move to FX: "You know, a lot of our overhead is tied up in the fact that we are on the top floor of a very expensive building. If we move just one floor lower..."