Slippin' Into the Future

Noticed something watching the first season of Scrubs on DVD (see my thoughts below). I remember when initially seeing the show that they seemed to do a good job of making the trio of main characters really seem to grow during the season, so that by the last episode, we believed that these doctors had progressed as far as they had; we believed they had gone from first-year interns to residents. But watching the show on DVD it seemed a bit forced, as if not enough time had passed for the transition.

The difference, of course, is that in "real time" we see a TV season over the course of nine months. The actual passage of time does a lot to instill the sense of time passing within the world of the show. On DVD, though, we often watch a season in the span of a week or so, or less. And without that real passage of time, the show's internal passage of time can feel less real. It'll be interesting, over the course of the next decade, to see if TV producers try to account for this. After all, the rough convention of TV show seasons equating to a year developed purely out of the fact that that's how they are produced and shown in real life. With DVD becoming stronger, will writers and producers be more tempted to disband with that convention?

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Buried Beauties: Volume I

The first in an occasional series, of beautiful women whose beauty doesn't seem to get the proper attention. Women who are truly beautiful, and yet seem to get relegated to the "frumpy" or "plain" roles in TV and film.

My first selction is Parminder Nagra, currently of ER. When she made a splash with the delightful Bend It Like Beckham, all of the attention--and subsequent big-ticket roles--went to her co-star, the admittedly also-beautiful Keira Knightley. But Nagra is just as beautiful, but, as an "ethnic," by Hollywood's lights she's just "pretty." Idiots.

Nagra.

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King Who?

Getting excited yet?

I am.

But it won't top this:

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See, a Synonym for "Neophyte" Is . . .



Just finished going through the first season of Scrubs on DVD, and can't recommend it highly enough. I rarely catch it in "real-time," and had forgotten about how deftly, even from the first episode, they were able to juggle and balance absurdist humor with relatively complicated emotional plots. Last month I watched the first season of Arrested Development, and since I often see both shows referred to as "the best comedies on television" I was kind of comparing the two as I watched the Scrubs episodes. And what struck me was how similar and different their approaches really are.

Both sitcoms use absurdist, "wacky" humor to great effect. But AD grounds its flights of fancy in reality, whereas on Scrubs, most of the absurdist moments are completely imaginary. So, on AD you might see a grown man so frightened of his mother that he jumps through and shatters a sliding glass door when he so much as glimpses her. Now, that same moment on Scrubs would most likely be imaginary, not real; it would take place in JD's head. I'm not here to argue that one approach is better than another, but I did think it interesting that they each make use of a similar comedic philosophy, if you will, so differently.

But the biggest difference, and the one that, for me, makes Scrubs the more rewarding and, in the end, better, show, is how the show deals with emotional content. AD makes some half-hearted stabs at the notion that loyalty to family is important, but really the whole ethos of the show is built around the comedy, not the emotion. There are no real morals, or emotional truths being laid out. Just gags. And that's OK, no it's great -- we need shows like AD. We need shows that are just about the funny, and not about the tender, emotional moments that so many shows are built around. TV is littered with sitcoms that attempt to treat their characters in real, emotional ways that fail miserably. They are the rule, not the exception.

The truth is, that balance, between comedy and "drama," is very hard to maintain--especially when the comedy in question is of a more absurdist slant. Which is what makes Srubs so remarkable. The dramatic moments they deal with are treated honestly and often painfully, and yet they are still able to keep the show from ever getting sappy or treacly. Part of this lies in the way that they subvert expectations. There is a gentle cynicism about the show -- for example in the way that it looks at medicine as nothing but a stopgap measure against the tragedy of death that awaits everyone.

Take a look at the instant-classic episode "My Old Lady." It starts with an interesting, if slightly stale-smelling, gambit. We are told that, apart from the maternity wards, one out of every three patients that enters a hospital will die there. And, of course, we are introduced to three patients -- one for each of our primary characters. And for the entire episode we are waiting to see which one will die. But the twist at the end is where we see how seriously the show is willing to treat its premise and characters. All three patients die, and we are reminded that there are no guarantees, and that death is not the rare event, but the only one that never fails.

It's this kind of writing that makes the show work so well for me, this so well-handled treatment of both comedy, laugh-out-loud-funny, wacky, silly comedy, and real human drama. I'm not sure any show on television is currently combining them better. Well, maybe Gilmore Girls.

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Things I'm Looking Forward To: Volume I

Not much I like better than going to the bookstore and getting a hot-off-the-presses new Stephen King book. Guess where I'll be on October 4?

(Yes; this was just an excuse to try out Blogger's new photo feature. Sue me.)

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Movie Meme

Stealing from Lynn over at Reflections in D Minor:

1. What is your favorite action movie?

Raiders of the Lost Ark. The template they haven't quite beat yet. That truck chase still stands up as the best piece of action choreography I've ever seen.

2. What is the worst movie you've ever seen?

Some TV Christmas movie with Kirk Cameron protecting his mentally disabled sister I saw one year late at night. No idea what it was called.

3. Do you prefer comedy or drama?

Overall drama, but I far prefer fair or mediocre comedy to fair or mediocre drama. A bad comedy will sometimes still be good for a laugh, whereas a bad drama is usually good for nothing.

4. Recommend a good tear jerker:

I don't typically cry at movies that are normally seen as "tear jerkers," but rather at movies that people tend not to see as "sad." I've seen Monsters Inc. several times, and the business with the little girl at the end gets me every damn time.

5. What movie are you looking forward to seeing soon?

Batman Begins. My already-shaky geek credentials are on thin ice. And I've only seen Revenge of the Sith once!

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Who Will Play Dahmer?

Was watching bits and pieces of VH-1's latest exercise in nostalgia, 100 Greatest Kid Stars, last week and was reminded of a pet peeve of mine by former child star Lisa Welchel. Welchel, of course, played Blair on The Facts of Life, and in the "where are they now" portion of her segment, she very strongly discussed her Christian faith, and how that faith would compel her to veto certain storylines Facts of Life producers would bring to her for Blair, storylines in which Blair would act in "less-than-Christian" ways. I remember seeing something similar about Kirk Cameron on a Growing Pains special a few years back--that he would nix storylines for Mike Seaver that he thought "inappropriate."

I hate this. Now, I do happen to be an atheist, but I'm not merely reacting against faith in a knee-jerk negative way. I don't think less of either Cameron or Welchel for having strong faith. My wife is a very faithful person, and I love her more than I do anyone else on the planet. So this is not simply a matter of a non-believer mocking those dumb believers. However, I do think less of actors like Welchel and Cameron for being poor actors.

See, they were playing characters, and if the writers had wanted Mike Seaver to get to third base, that didn't mean that Cameron the person had to condone the activity. If Blair was going to go "all the way" with a guy, that doesn't mean Welchel approved. But for some reason these actors seem unable to make that distinction--to realize that they are playing characters, characters who in many ways may have different moral outlooks than they do. The mindset, frankly, baffles me--that an actor can't portray a character making choices he or she disagrees with. If you commit to acting, to playing a part, than you should also be committing to playing that person--not some idealized version of yourself. And if you are concerned about sending the wrong message to viewers than, quite simply, you are in the wrong business. After all, actors just play parts. If an actor is more concerned with sending messages, moral or otherwise, than they should get into writing, or producing. Not acting.

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Doin' the Friday Shuffle

Up, up, and away!!!

1) "Distant Camera" -- Neil Young -- Silver & Gold

Young in soft acoustic mode, nice coloring by the slide guitar, plaintive singing; pretty song.

2) "Talk Show" -- Andrew Lippa -- john & jen (original cast)

I liked Lippa's Wild Party, so thought I'd like his earlier effort, but it has left me rather flat. Here, a single mother imagines herself on a "Maury"-style talk show discussing problems with her teenage son.

3) "Over the Rainbow" -- Ella Fitzgerald -- Ella Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook

The greatest song of the 20th century, in one of the best renditions it's ever been afforded.

4) "There Won't Be Trumpets" -- Sondheim (sung by Bernadette Peters) -- Anyone Can Whistle - Live at Carnegie Hall

This song was cut out of the original production of Anyone Can Whistle, and yet is today one of Sondheim's most oft-recorded songs. A great song for Bernadette's voice.

5) "Kit Kenne Elvenni" -- Zoltan Kodaly (sung by the Rutgers Glee Club) -- Rutgers Glee Club 1999 Tour

Love me the male choirs. Stirring, I think, Russian, choral piece.

6) "People! . . . No, I will speak!" Benjamin Britten -- Peter Grimes (opera)

Short dialogue scene from this, my favorite opera, as the townsfolk argue about what should be done with Peter.

7) "Just About Glad" -- Elvis Costello -- Brutal Youth

Lesser Elvis from this mid-90s Attractions reunion.

8) " 'Let us sleep now' /In paradisum" -- Benjamin Britten - War Requiem

Some gorgeously tender choral writing from Britten's anti-war piece.

9) "Is That Remarkable?" -- Adam Guettel -- Floyd Collins (Original Cast)

Great song in which the reporters who have assembled, vulture-like, to report on the story of Floyd Collins, a caver trapped underground, that captures perfectly how the media can take simple statements and blow then all out of proportion. Set to a jaunty, guitar-led beat, and sung in a wonderful "My Gal Friday" reporter style.

10) "Drowned" -- The Who -- Quadrophenia

Classic, solid Who. Rolling piano, stabbing guitar chords, and that never-duplicated "beat-the-hell-out-of-them" Moon drumming style.

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Hits in the Misses

Sounds like a domestic abuse tragedy. But actually it's a Wired piece about how the new digital entertainment sales model (itunes, Amazon, Netflix, etc.) really represents a world-chainging model for producers and sellers of entertainment. Found by Augie over at Various and Sundry, although I'm pretty sure I remember reading it before. Well worth a read.

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Next Up, Greatest Movie Hairstyles

I jest. I actually like these AFI lists, if only because it reminds me of the many great movies I have never seen. Last night's rundown of the 100 greatest movie quotes, for example, reminded me that I need to see On the Waterfront. My favorites of the honored 100 listed:

96) "Snap out of it!" -- Moonstruck -- It occurs to me that many of these, maybe even most, aren't great lines because of the writing but because of the delivery. I mean, the reason this line resonates, nearly 20 years (gulp) since the release of the film, is because of Cher's perfect delivery, exasperated and scared all at the same time.

91) "Who's on first?" -- The Naughty Nineties -- A great routine more than a line, no?

79) Striker: "Surely you can't be serious?" Rumack: "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley." -- Airplane! -- Any of dozens of lines from this film could be on this list, but this is a great one.

74) "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown." -- Chinatown -- I can't hear this line without thinking of Homer's movie-inspired diatribe in an episode of The Simpsons:

"But Marge, you don't know what it's like! I'm the one out there everyday putting his ass on the line, and I'm not out of order! YOU'RE out of order! You want the truth?!? You want the truth!?!? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!! Cuz when you put your hand down, into a pile of goo, that was your best friend's face! You'll know what to do, forget it Marge, it's Chinatown!"

54) "There's no crying in baseball!" -- A League of Their Own -- So true.

21) "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." -- The Silence of the Lambs -- It's hard to remember how creepy this was, before it became repeated and parodied into meaninglessness.

8) "May the Force be with you." -- Star Wars -- Always.

2) "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." -- The Godfather -- What makes this one great is how it becomes almost a leitmotif throughout the three films.

And the line I think they erred most in omitting?

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

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I Hope Shatner Signs Up

From moviepoopshoot.com, I learn that NBC is planning a reality series, possibly to air later this summer, entitled I'm a Celebrity But I Wan't to Be a Pop Star! The surprise success of ABC's Dancing with the Stars has apparently been inspiring. But what I want to know is how they will determine what marks the line between a celebrity and pop star. I mean, clearly Madonna, for example, would be exempt, even though she has done a load of acting. But what I immediately thought off was the slew of actors who have musical theater backgrounds. I mean, most Law & Order fans probably don't know that Jesse L. Martin, who plays Detective Green, was in the original cast of Rent. Would Martin, were he so inclined, be eligible to compete?

Yes. These are the questions that haunt me.

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Bloggin' the Corporate Way

I see that that lynchpin of the Time Warner empire's publishing arm, Entertainment Weekly, has started up a blog of their own. Truth be told, it's not bad (it's not good), which is somewhat surprising given that it's part of a global media conglomerate.

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My Vote for the Most Sorrowful Piece of Music Ever Written

. . . Goes to Arvo Part's "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten." The piece starts off with a lone bell, chiming, as if in the distance, four times. Then, strings wash in, even as the bell repeats. The piece is almost without melody, much less lyrical than Barber's deservedly lauded piece of "sad" music, "Adagio for Strings." In discordant and faltering iterations, the same descending scale figure is taken up by various string instruments, unfolding very, very slowly as that same bell continues to repeat in the background. It's an almost formless piece of music, almost a soundscape, but somehow it manages to escalate, through subtle effects of orchestration and dynamic control, and the addition of new undertones and pitch ranges, to progress emotionally throughout its length, the intensity very slowly, but inexorably, being ratcheted up to an almost-unbearable finish. The piece ends with one seemingly endless chord being drawn out for well over a minute, with minor cadences within it bringing the piece to a kind of musical resolution. With the last beat we hear that bell one last time in the background, fading away.

Well worth digging up a rendition. The version I know is off of this album, well worth having, even if the bulk of it is taken up with various re-orchestrations of Part's wonderfully moody and evocative "Fratres." Here you'll find a much more thorough and musically literate look at this work. It was also used, to great effect, in Fahrenheit 9/11, during the early Trade Center montage.

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Doin' the Friday Shuffle

Into the wild blue yonder.

1) "If I Should Lose You," Nina Simone, Nina Simone: Compact Jazz

Classic heartbreak from Nina. The woman had a voice that dripped sorrow.

2) "Bookends Theme," Simon & Garfunkel, Bookends

Such a delicately haunting yet simple bit of music. Almost Greensleeves-like in its simplicity and classic nature.

3) "You spotted snakes," Benjamin Britten, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Opera)

Children's choir, starts off as a shimmering bit of business before getting all jaunty and sprightly on us.

4) "Mos Eisley Spaceport," John Williams, Star Wars: A New Hope (Film Score)

Includes an almost foreboding rendition of the force theme as our heroes approach Mos Eisley. The "wretched hive of scum and villainy" cue.

5) "Hear My Song," Jason Robert Brown, Songs for a New World (Original Cast)

This is a beautiful song, the finale to this revue of songs by Brown; it basically served as his calling card into the musical theater world. Optimistic without being cocky.

6) "And that Right Soon," Thomas Newman, The Shawshank Redemption (Film Score)

Andy's escape is discovered. One of the finest film scores of the last twenty-five years.

7) "Fortress Around My Heart," Sting, Dream of the Blue Turtles

One of the Stingster's first solo hits. The metaphor is a little songwriting 101, and overworked in the song, but that chiming guitar figure is insinuating.

8) "Full Force Gale," Elvis Costello, Kojak Variety (Bonus Disc)

Van Morrison cover. A bit of group all-male spiritual style a capella singing.

9) "VIII--Zaporozhye Cossacks' Reply to the Sultan of Constantinople, Allegro," Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony 14

Some good angry baritone singing, over some slashing, pissed-off strings.

10) "Hidden Charms," Elvis Costello, Kojak Variety

Covering the Howling Wolf classic (Kojak Variety was an album of all-covers). Shuffling bit iof rockabilly.

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Boyhood Fantasies

Grabbed this meme from Lefty, because I wanted to. What geek didn't play this game actively as a child?

1.) If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why? (Assume you also get baseline superhero enhancements like moderately increased strength, endurance and agility.)

While I'm tempted to choose something more dangerous and battle-worthy, the truth is that if I somehow were granted a superpower, I'd still not likely be battling supervillians, you know? So that old standby, the power of flight, gets my vote. Who hasn't dreamed of just taking to the air?
2.) Which, if any, 'existing' superhero(es) do you fancy, and why?

Not sure is "fancy" means "attracted to romantically," or just "think is cool." Assuming it's the latter, Captain America has always been my favorite, hands-down. The idealized model of what a superhero should be--noble, powerful, commanding and yet not without his demons.

3.) Which, if any, 'existing' superhero(es) do you hate?

Not sure about "hate," but I never really got Ghost Rider. Pretty much zero desire to ever pick up a Ghost Rider book.

4.) What would your superhero name be? (No prefab porn-name formulas here, you have to make up the name you think youÂ’d be proud to mask under.)

As a lad I created a human torch-like character named "Heatzone." Twist was that he had to absorb heat, before battle heds have to "charge up" in a big oven or something. To "costume up" he'd snap his fingers, and a flame would emit from his thumb. He'd then touch the flame to his hair and his hair, head, and body would light up. Heatzone!!! (Lord, I was a geeky child)

5.) For extra credit: Is there an "existing" superhero with whom you identify/whom you would like to be?

I don't identify with the good Captain, as I'm nowhere near that noble, brave, or pure, be he's who I'd aspire to be. (You know, if I wasn't all growed-up and cool now).

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Gilmore Girls Addendum

Keiko Agena, who plays Lane, Rory's best bud, is 31 years old, which means that during the first season, when she was playing a high-school sophomore, she was 26. Now, that older actors play high school kids is no shock, but I had no idea that she wasn't at least pretty close to her character's age--as Alexis Bledel is (she was 19 during that first season, also playing a high-school sophomore). It's not just that she looks younger, but she does an admirable job of acting young, something many a twenty-something playing a teen is unable to do.

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It's Got Style!!

Been watching Gilmore Girls, Season Three, on DVD (Gilmore Girls being one of those shows I've either never watched or didn't watch earlier on in "real-time" and am now catching up to on DVD), and noticed something. When I recommend the show to people the most common response is that all of the "fast talking" is just too much, too distracting and annoying for them to watch or enjoy the show. And the first few times I watched, I could kind of understand the complaint. All of the characters, but especially lead characters Lorelai and Rory, do talk fast, very fast, with lots of quick exchanges and quippy one-liners, all sauced with a generous ladlefull of sometimes-obscure references. And, yes, for those first few episodes I sat down to watch it was distracting. But going through this third season now, after having gone through all 44 episodes of the first two seasons, and watching the show regularly on Tuesday nights for the last year (season five), I've realized that I'm just not noticing the rapid dialogue at all anymore.

Why? Have the writers toned it down from previous seasons? I don't think so. See, the particular dialogue quirks on the show are simply a device, a stylization device. We're not meant to hear the dialogue as natural, or realistic, any more than we are supposed to assume that characters in a musical are really, in the literal sense, singing. Singing in musicals, and the dialogue in a Gilmore Girls episode, are devices. And once you get used ot them you tend not to notice them. When I first saw a musical, it was odd that these characters were all-of-a-sudden singing. But when I see musicals now, it's completely natural. Same thing for Gilmore Girls dialogue. I've become accustomed to the device and can now just except it. And it's a good thing, since the device, again, just like the songs in a musical, does an excellent job of telling us things about the characters that they could never tell us with more naturalistic dialogue. It also gives the show a particularity and style that no other show has. In short, it's a wonderful choice, and one well worth taking a few episodes to get used to.

So--the moral of the story. If the dialogue on Gilmore Girls has put you off, give it, not just another chance, but a few of them. You'll be glad you did.

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Link to Joy

This is awesome. Free downloads of all nine Beethoven symphonies. I like Beethoven, but only have the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th symphonies. I eagerly await adding to my collection without paying.

(as linked to by a host of people, Bloggity-blog-blog-blog the one where I saw it)

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Make Your Head Hurt

Whoa.

Optical illusions are cool.

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Perfect Music Moments from the Movies: Volume I

The use of Nina Simone's rendition of the traditional "Sinnerman," during the climactic heist scene of The Thomas Crown Affair.

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