More on TV

I was hoping to be able to watch a TV show and recap it for you here, dear readers, but as it so happens, this evening has not been conducive to such activities. I did a lot of useful things, like pick up my child from daycare, go home, make dinner, do some dishes, clean the cat litter box, talk to my SO on the phone, etc. But I didn't watch a recommended TV show and blog about it yet. I'll try to do better in the future (goodness, in what universe do I live, in which promising to watch more TV is considered a positive thing?).

Teluhveeshun

I may have mentioned before (or maybe I haven't) but when I watch a TV series, I become slightly obsessive about it. I prefer to start from the beginning, and watch to the end, which means that overall, I prefer to watch series that have already run their course. I've been burned before. I've started watching, gotten emotionally invested in a series, only to have it canceled mid-season or at the end of a season but with poor closure (see: Firefly, Angel, Veronica Mars). Other shows may as well have been canceled, having become so lousy that I didn't even follow through to any kind of closure (see: Bones). Still others I tried but I couldn't get into them (see: Lost). I've recently realized that while it may be on the verge of unhealthy, I need some TV in which to invest. I enjoy being able to lose myself in another world for just a little while, particularly when there are also cute clothes to be observed.

When in California last month, a few friends made recommendations:
Dr. Who
Downton Abbey
Warehouse 13
Sherlock

I've also gotten recommendations for:
Dead Like Me
The Vampire Diaries (the GFY girls like it, which is close to a recommendation)

I'm looking for other recommendations. Let me know in the comments.

Haute Couture: Sesame Street Edition

Well, it's more pret-a-porter than haute couture, really, but still: Harper's Bazaar interviews a few Sesame Street style icons.

Side note/spoiler: I'm disappointed at the exclusion of Kermit the Frog. The omission of Miss Piggy is arguably forgivable in that she was specifically a Muppet Show fashionista; I don't know if she ever even made an appearance on Sesame Street. But Kermit? With current industry emphasis on eco-conscious "green" design and production, certainly Kermit is THE indispensable style icon of Muppetry, from Sesame Street to Carnaby Street to any rue in Paris.

Glee

I watched a few episodes of Glee that are on Hulu. I don't know why, other than the fact that I've been doing random stuff around the apartment (including cleaning out my fridge/freezer, which explains my sudden spike in consumption of key lime pie, frozen pizza, and even raspberry-flavored vodka--but NOT all at the same time, of course), so I've been able to relax every so often.

Interestingly, I've found Glee to be far more addictive than Lost, another TV show I tried recently on Hulu. As far as I can tell from the first few episodes, the real themes are finding within yourself the power and confidence to be yourself and the need to have courage to believe in your dreams. Ideas like these are nothing new, of course, but in Glee, they are presented in such a way as to be inspiring without being preachy. In fact, it sort of reminds me of Buffy, in that it utilizes a high school setting to present deeper lessons of life.

My favorite moments so far have been when Curt tried out for the football team (so that his dad wouldn't find out he was gay and/or make him quit the glee club) and danced up to the ball (to the tune of "Single Ladies") and then kicked it right through the goalposts; and then later in the episode when he repeated the performance in the game to score the goal and cinch the win for the William McKinley High school (the first win in a very long time).

Wow, it's late here.

Quote of the Day

Emma Caulfield on female comic book superheroes' costumes, and Wonder Woman's in particular: "There's no sense in making her look slutty. Unless she's a slut, and then that makes sense!"

See the entire clip of Crazy Sexy Geeks.

Vintage Sesame Street

A new-found dedication to Elmo, combined with a lack of actual television access, has led to a fair amount of time spent viewing Sesame Street video clips on Youtube. There is a decent selection, and there is always the fun of clicking on a "Related Videos" link and being transported to other venues of awesomeness, which is how I happened upon this clip, featuring folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie teaching Big Bird about early pediatric nutrition.



I think this is so amazing, with the amusing but logical setup (of course Big Bird thinks nursing is a funny way to feed a baby: he's a bird, and females in his species do not lactate) and the simple way that breastfeeding is presented as a natural and healthy action, while at the same time respectfully avoiding condemnation of mothers who don't breastfeed.

I wonder if Sesame Street would ever broadcast a segment today with a celebrity mama nursing her baby in this day and age. I hope so. I'd watch it.

River Tam FTW!!

It looks as though River Tam will win the vote (facing down, in her final round, Dr. House) for Most Badass (their word, not mine!) TV Character of All Time. Obviously, a tiny tail-kicking ESP-sporting genius girl should easily take out a mere human, even if he does wield both cane and sarcasm with deadly precision.

XOXO

My friends and family know that I spend a decent amout of time breastfeeding my hungry little Nater-bug. He is a healthy boy with a healthy appetite, and I am a passionate advocate of breastfeeding, so I'm more than happy to invest that time. I spend about 5 hours nursing Nathan every day (at least it's better now than when he was a tiny infant, when I actually clocked it and confirmed that he spent 8-10 hours/day just nursing: yes, being a new mom is more than a full-time job), and I'd get bored just sitting there, so I'm always trying to find things to do to fill my time. I can read, but it is difficult to handle a book or magazine one-handed. I occasionally watch TV, but there's usually nothing good being broadcast on most stations. I spend a lot of time on my laptop, since I can work it with just one hand, and I've been known to IM, browse online, post on my blog, and even play WoW that way. Sadly, I find it really hard to do anything serious (job-hunting, updating my resume, planning lessons) while nursing, because I don't have the necessary focus while doing two things at once. Frivolous pursuits are always best.

My lovely BFF Sara came to my rescue a few weeks ago when she introduced me to Surf the Channel. Awesome! Almost every TV show ever, just waiting to be watched! No commercials, no need to adhere to some stupid cable company's arbitrary programming decisions (no, no, I do not need to see endless re-runs of Will & Grace)!

Being me, I promptly began watching through the silliest and least appropriate thing available: Gossip Girl. I started because I saw it listed on the front page as one of their most popular shows, and I thought, "Oh, I've heard of that. I wonder what it's about." So I clicked on it and was swept up into a land far, far away. After viewing several episodes, I still wonder what it's about, although it seems to be roughly analagous to Veronica Mars, being a dramatic and extremely improbable chronicling of the lives of overly experienced teenagers, though Veronica Mars is salted with gritty SoCal attitude, while Gossip Girl is definitely flavored with the tony NY Upper East Side. In a lovely bit of symmetry, the title character of both shows is portrayed by the outstanding Kristen Bell! Anyway, if/when I actually figure out what GG is about, I'll let you know. Meanwhile, I mix it up with NCIS, and I've recently started adding Dark Angel for my sci fi fix.

And am I watching anything else of note? That's one secret I'll never tell. You know you love me!

Confession

I HATE Lauren Conrad.

I know, I know. I shouldn't even mention her name, because just putting it on my blog raises her media profile. We should actually all stop talking about her, pretend she doesn't exist, and she'll just dry up and disappear.

I don't watch MTV, so I'd never even heard of her or The Hills until the Fug Girls (very correctly) panned her fashion show. [Pretty much everyone agrees that the Lauren Conrad Collection, the "line of clothing" that she "designs", is truly tacky, not to mention overpriced.] Since then, I have gradually become aware of how pervasive she is in media, apparently earning lots of money not only from her show, but from lucrative endorsement deals, and maybe even sales of her clothing, even though I don't know who would buy it except blind people and impressionable adolescent girls who idolize Lauren Conrad because they are too immature to realize that she is plastic, shallow, and talentless. Recently, Ms. Conrad even inked a deal to "write" some young adult "fiction" "books". And to think that while she cashes in on her fame-whore celebrity, there are legitimately gifted young designers and writers who are struggling and looking for their big breaks.

The silver lining on this pop culture cloud is the fact that, this world being what it is, Ms. Conrad's proverbial 15 minutes of fame are winding down, and our media will be largely free of her soon enough (within 2 years, is my guess). And after that, she can actually complete her supposed schooling at FIDM, and potentially find her niche as a lead designer for K-Mart, which is pretty much an appropriate aim for someone of her tastes and abilities.

Don't warn the tadpoles!

One thing that Jeff and I have been doing lately is watching through Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Have I mentioned that Buffy is my favorite show? Best. TV. Show. Ever. We're in the middle of Season 4, which is my least favorite season, and yet I still enjoy it.

Quippage and quotage

Charmed can actually be a pretty funny show. Not as funny as Buffy, but funny none-the-less.

Example:
Paige has lost her voice, so she is communicating via writing on a notepad. She is interrogating a demon the sisters have captured.
Paige (writes): WHERE IS OUR WHITELIGHTER?
Phoebe comes in, and sees what Paige is doing.
Phoebe: Did it ever occur to you that Kazi demons might not be able to read?
Demon (gratefully): I tried to tell her that...
Paige (writes): DEMONS LIE!!
Phoebe: Yes, but not about literacy.

Or some great exchanges between Cole and Phoebe (or Cole and, well, anybody):
Phoebe to Cole: Good people don't turn other people into water coolers!
On another occasion:
Cole: Don't you think you might be a little paranoid?
Phoebe: About my demon ex-husband from hell? No, I don't think so.
Cole trying really hard at the relationship thing:
Cole: Did you get my flowers?
Phoebe: Yeah. "Sorry I tried to strangle you." Probably not a card the florist gets to write everyday.

Or one-liners from the fabulous Piper, who tells it like it is:
-Life isn't a garden so stop being a hoe.
-Be careful of the feet you step on, they may be connected to the boot that kicks your ass.
-Phoebe, you're overreacting. That's my department.

Charmed, I'm Sure

One TV show I've been watching (seeing as how I have little better to do) is Charmed, which airs a few episodes each weekday on TNT. It is kind of cheesy at times, and I'd like to say I don't know why I like it so much, but actually, I do. This show has a quirky charm (no pun intended), to be honest, and occasionally whips out a good quip or two; but ultimately, the real foundation of the entire series lies in its exploration of the complexities of relationships among close-knit, but all very different, sisters. The writing and characters of the show are far inferior to those of Charmed's fellow, and distinctly similar, WB dramas Buffy and Angel. Indeed, at first glance, Charmed seems to be almost a cheap knock-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with its pretty and supernaturally gifted chosen females battling demons while constantly griping about the struggle to have normal lives (read: mostly, boyfriends and sex), not to mention the Wicca-infused girl-power rhetoric. However, Buffy was all about being the Chosen One, aware of the weight of the world on her shoulders, while Charmed is, as mentioned before, a portrait of the joys and considerable duties of sisterhood. On that level, really, it works. I don't know if men would "get" Charmed, as they can have sisters, but cannot be sisters. I am not disparaging brotherhood, just observing that sisterhood seems to be its own thing. Never-the-less, a good many men probably watched Charmed on the sly, without admitting it, due to the trios of beautiful, usually scantily-clad, actresses who were the stars.
Note: It must be said (though I wish it wasn't necessary) that I do not support the practice of magic in real life. I approve of it only in a fictional context.

The terror that flaps in the night

For Christmas, Sara gave me a set of Disney's Darkwing Duck cartoons on DVD (Yay! Thanks, Sara!). Darkwing Duck is my favorite cartoon of all time. I watched it when it ran on The Disney Afternoon in the early 1990s, and my whole family loved it. Unlike many silly or saccharine cartoon shows, Darkwing Duck has dark comedy with an edge, featuring humor of the gallows or even (occasionally) potty variety (several IMDB reviewers commented, and rightly, "I can't believe Disney did this-- and got away with it in an afternoon cartoon!"). The basic set-up is something of a satire of Batman: the main character has no supernatural abilities, but relies on handy technical gadgets and a modicum of crime-solving know-how to capture a variety of villains. There are puns, sight gags, inside jokes, running jokes, and a general hilarity related to the characters and the situations in which they find themselves. The alliterative and articulate masked mallard fights crime in the Gotham-like city of St. Canard and encounters evil-doers of both the mutant and simply psychopathic variety. In addition to Darkwing Duck (and his civilian alter ego, suburbanite Drake Mallard), series regulars include goofy pilot sidekick Launchpad McQuack (crossing over from an earlier Disney Afternoon series, Duck Tales), adopted daughter Gosalyn, and the Mallard family's utterly boring and predictable next-door neighbors, the Muddlefoots.

See as many episodes of this cartoon as you possibly can. Someday, you may need to know about vampire potatoes or that "the cows are not what they seem".

[Notice: Darkwing Duck, his image, and anything else pertaining to him, are property of DISNEY. Please buy only legally licensed Darkwing Duck paraphernalia (not that I've seen a big market for illegally licensed Darkwing Duck items, but still). Speaking of which, why doesn't Disney do more to market Darkwing, rather than that lame other duck, Donald, or even that mouse?]

Guilty Pleasure

I've recently started watching a TV show that I secretly really enjoy, even though I know it's trashy and all that. No, it's not American Idol or some other reality show. It's Sex and the City. The reason I really like it is that it's such a portrayal of how empty one's life is when one seeks only pleasure and self-indulgence. The four characters in S&tC supposedly have it all: money (most of the time), great clothes, status-filled jobs, and a lifestyle of guilt-free promiscuity. They were supposed to represent, I suspect, "liberated" women, living it up in New York. But art can cheat life only so far, and eventually, these characters are portrayed as being among the most miserable and directionless creatures one can imagine. Life without a guiding moral compass can be devastating. Instead of being independent and powerful, they are utterly obsessed with men and relationships, enslaved to the very masculine domination they wanted to escape. It's like a female fantasy suddenly gone horribly wrong. But they are often witty in their misery, sort of like a post-modern version of women from a Noel Coward play. Which is why I like to watch their agony.