Stephen Colbert appeared on "Meet the Press," with Tim Russert Sunday to talk about his recent announcement that he is running for president (only in South Carolina so far). Stephen assured the incredulous Russert that he was very serious about his candidacy, and that this was not "a dream you will wake up from."
I’ve been watching The War, the Ken Burns documentary on PBS. The guy knows how to tell a story. Last night’s episode included the internment of Japanese-Americans, and I could picture Dick and W looking at map, trying to decide where to put the camps for Muslim-Americans.
I was also reminded of my parents telling me that for a good part of WWII, they weren’t sure they’d win. My father was a radio operator in the Navy and saw action in the Pacific, but he never talked about it. At least not to me.
The Larry Sanders Show was a satirical television sitcom that aired from 1992 to 1998 on HBO, starring stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders. The series was partly inspired by Shandling’s stint as a guest host on The Tonight Show.
The Larry Sanders Show is easily one of the best five TV shows of all time (I’m sorry, this is not open for debate). And now I own a DVD with 23 of “the best episodes” of the series as well as eight hours of new stuff. I’m going to try to hoard this like the last baggie of ganja but suspect I’ll burn through these in a week or so. This is just one more reason why it’s better to be me than you.
It seems The Big Question of the last few days is: Will Tony Soprano be alive or dead at the end of the season/series finale this evening? So, for the record, here’s my prediction:
He survives. But he will be completely, existentially alone. No friends. No family. No one. I have no idea how this happens plot-wise, but that’s my guess.
This series –and I was a fan– should have ended a season or two ago. I hope Mr. Chase and the writers can find a way to end it with the same class it began.
Update: I was wrong. Not about Tony being alive at the end, but about being alone. The family was all together, eating onion rings. So what’s David Chase telling us? You can be a self-centered, lying, murdering son of a bitch and live out your life without retribution? Who knows. And it’s his call. He gave us all those great stories for eight years… if he wants to leave it hanging at the end, he’s earned the right.
Talk Soup was a television show on E! from 1991-2002, featuring selected clips of the previous day’s daily talk shows, surrounded by humorous commentary delivered by the host. This is where I first saw Greg Kinnear, who hosted the show from ’91-95.
Somewhere along the way, E! changed the name from Talk Soup to The Soup and the current host is Joel McHale, who looks like a cross between a young Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Seacrest.
And he’s damned funny. Funny in the way David Spade wants to be. Funny in the way Dennis Miller was before he went right-wing nuts. Funny like Jon Stewart with a dash of Matt Frewer.
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino will team on-screen for just the second time in “Righteous Kill,” a $60 million indie production in which they play cops chasing a serial killer. The script is by Russell Gewirtz, the guy that wrote “Inside Man.” De Niro and Pacino had just two scenes together in “Heat” but will be on-screen together pretty much throughout this new flick. With that budget… and these two movie greats… I have to wonder how you could make a shitty movie. Let’s hope they don’t.
The Office is a comedy. And a love story. And probably the funniest thing on television since Seinfeld. And I’m not sure it isn’t the equal of Seinfeld. Here’s a little shout out to bloggers from last night’s season finale. Here’s what I could make out (freeze frame) of Creed’s “blog” post:
“Hey-o, everyone out there in SyberWorld. It’s old Creed Bratton coming at your again, here from my perch as a Quality Assurance Manager at Dunder Mifflin paper. Just a few observations on the world around me. What do you guys think is the best kind of car? To me, you can’t (off screen) motorcyles. They’re small and dangerous.
I go…”
Did one of the writers compose that post? Did they let the actor who plays Creed write it? Did that someone know some blogger/fan would go to the trouble to post Creed’s post? Am I the only person on the planet to do so? Is there another Beck’s in the frig?
PS: Holy shit! The actor who plays Creed (Creed Bratton) was a member of the 60s rock band The Grassroots. I’m the only one that didn’t know that, right?
That’s the question Bill Moyers attempts to answer in “Buying the War” (Bill Moyer’s Journal on PBS). A damning indictment of the coverage of the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Tim Russert looked silly and Dan Rather was pathetic. I kept flashing on the old pre-WWII Nazi propaganda footage.
I always thought a good, strong, free press would be our last line of defense against the crooks and thieves we keep electing. (“Gooks in the wire!”)
After watching Buying the War on Tivo, we watched Moyer’s Conversation with Jon Stewart. An insightful look at The Daily Show. What it is and what it is not.
Following that, Moyers did a great segment with Josh Marshall, the political blogger from talkingpointsmemo.com. Blogging for Truth looked at Marshall’s perspective on the role of politics in the recent firings of federal prosecutors.
Watching these back-to-back was interesting. And somewhat reassuring (if you watch them in the right order). You’ll find video and transcripts on the PBS website. Good stuff.