January 30, 2008 · 2:52 pm

Apologies and a Podcast: A Cultural Update

You know, folks, I had big plans for this week in my head – a review of last night’s new episode of House, a preview of ABC’s new series Eli Stone, a big post about how to prepare to watch Lost’s Fourth Season, and of course a review of the show’s season premiere. And, well, only one of these things is going to happen, so stay tuned for my review of the premiere tomorrow night.

The reason is I am ridiculously busy: I’m planning a large-scale debating tournament, preparing to enter into thesis hibernation, planning my long-term academic future, helping promote/facilitate a campus event, and fighting off the later stages of a cold. It’s kind of like the perfect storm of every commitment I have at this point, and unfortunately blogging is the most malleable of those commitments.

As a result, I’ll be out of the commission over the next few weeks, but I’m at least happy that I have something to tide you over. This time with a far better microphone (So good it apparently picked up a ridiculous amount of background noise, including my ludicrously loud typing), I was once again a guest of Dave, Devindra and Adam over at The Watchers. These guys know their entertainment, and it’s always a pleasure to join them in discussing the latest in film and television.

The Watchers Episode Four

http://www.alwayswatching.org/

In terms of television, I briefly discuss Eli Stone and Chuck’s final two episodes of the season while everyone gangs up on the hugely successful and hugely exploitative Moment of Truth. We also discuss the return of Weeds and Mad Men’s writers, followed by an indepth discussion of another of last summer’s best shows, Damages. For film buffs, there’s also an indepth discussion of The Nines and our comments about Heath Ledger’s tragic passing.

So head on over to The Watchers to check that out, and check back here at Cultural Learnings on Thursday night for the definitive Lost review*.

*Note: May or may not actually be definitive.

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January 27, 2008 · 10:11 pm

Screen Actors Guild Awards – Television Winners and Thoughts

This will be brief, as I am entering an extremely hectic period in terms of work and the like, but I thought I’d react to this evening’s Screen Actors Guild Awards from a Television (series) perspective. It may only be an hour in, but all six major television awards have been given out, so let’s take a look at the trends.

Drama

Best Actor – James Gandolfini (The Sopranos)

Best Actress – Edie Falco (The Sopranos)

Best Ensemble – The Sopranos

Well, there’s not much room for analysis here: while the Golden Globes might not have been feeling the love for the departing HBO drama, the SAG was certainly feeling reflective when they handed out their awards. I hate to continue to see Michael C. Hall lose awards for his fantastic portrayal, but it’s hard to argue with any of these winners. The only thing I would have liked to see what some love for Mad Men, but the nominations alone indicate that people are paying attention. The series also recently picked up a DGA win for Alan Taylor’s work on the pilot, so its future remains bright.

Comedy

Best Actor – Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)

Best Actress – Tina Fey (30 Rock)

Best Ensemble – The Office

It looked as if two series might be completing a sweep of the awards, but it was not to be: despite having the best male and female performers of the year, it was the expansive and diverse Office cast which took home their second straight trophy for Best Ensemble. I’m happy for them, honestly, as they remain an extremely good cast as a whole – however, I also hate to see 30 Rock, which is also a great ensemble, get hung out to dry just a little. Apparently Baldwin wasn’t even at the ceremony, which is a disappointment; Fey was, however, and was as self-deprecating as ever.

At a certain point, though, she’s going to have to drop the charade and fess up to being pretty damn good. She’s now won two major acting awards, so it’s not as if there is nothing to back up such claims. It is also telling that this is an award from actors; she is well respected in all guild circles, mind you, but for the actors to embrace her this fully demonstrates her genuine likability. It’s awards buzz like this which will ultimately get the show renewed for a third season, especially when you consider that NBC was the first network to ditch pilot season.

For the full list of Screen Actors Guild Award winners in Film, Television and TV Movies, click here. 

All in all, a decent set of winners, none of whom make me want to wretch. This makes for a good awards show, and I can sleep well tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll be back with some brief thoughts on Lost, and then watch for reviews of House’s first new episode in quite some time, ABC’s new drama Eli Stone, and of course Lost’s fourth season premiere. So stay tuned!

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January 25, 2008 · 11:42 pm

Friday Night Lights – “Humble Pie”

“Humble Pie”

January 25th, 2008

The WGA Strike afflicting Hollywood was supposed to be a blessing of sorts for Friday Night Lights, as it stands as one of the only series left with a considerable number of episodes in the can. However, it is obviously also a curse, as “Humble Pie” came across as a stagnant filler episode that provided (attempted) payoff for contrived storylines introduced in the previous episodes.

This is not to say it was all bad: I was happy to finally return to the world of Jason Street, and the Landry storyline was effectively charming to allow me to ignore the lack of post-traumatic stress in his vicinity. But, they were mere sidenotes in an episode that otherwise didn’t seem to go anywhere, and never really settled on what it wanted to be (What DOES Friday Night Lights think it is, anyways?). The result was something that, really, someone could miss and not really mind all that much. And that’s not the Friday Night Lights that can leverage this strike situation.

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January 24, 2008 · 11:59 pm

Season Finale: Chuck – “Chuck Versus The Marlin”

“Chuck Versus The Marlin”

January 24th, 2008

I’ve decided to actually post this after the episode airs, as a courtesy considering that it is a bit of a suspenseful ride of sorts. After “Chuck Versus The Undercover Lover” was amongst the best episodes of the series yet, it’s hard not to see this as a bit of a step backwards in terms of its comic timing in particular. The first episode was certainly funnier, and perhaps more enjoyable, but I think that “Chuck Versus The Marlin” is nonetheless an important and entertaining episode of the series.

It’s particularly strong as a cap of sorts to the first 13-episodes of Chuck’s existing 22-episode order. Both of these episodes do an admirable job of marrying the show’s three elements (Chuck’s Spy Game, Chuck’s Family, the Buy More), and here it comes together in a plot that seems meaningful at this stage of the season. I worry that things will prove largely repetitive if this formula continues, and I hope that the magical hopefully seen this season back nine addresses this, but for now it’s a solid if unfortunately early season finale for the series.

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January 23, 2008 · 3:07 pm

Cable Bound: Sci-Fi Acquires Rights to Air Jericho

A while back, I noted how the Writers Strike finally showed one of its benefits when CTV picked up Mad Men for Canadian broadcast: it was a move that probably wouldn’t have happened if not for a lack of new programming, and it was vindicated by the series’ Golden Globes victory. Now, however, an entirely different sort of benefit has popped up that has big ramifications for the little series that could.

Sci-Fi Network announced today that they have picked up the rights to air the first two seasons of Jericho, starting with a four-hour marathon on February 11th, the day before the series’ new episodes air on CBS. When the series was first canceled, many fans threw out Sci-Fi as a potential alternate home for the series, and now this will become at least partially true. More importantly, however, it also sets an important precedent.

While I don’t want to create rumors with really nothing but speculation to fuel them, this provides a parachute of sorts should Jericho fail to get the ratings CBS is looking for. I don’t want to presume its failure, but it’s always nice to acknowledge a contingency plan – by already establishing this relationship with the Sci-Fi network, there is a greater likelihood that they could pick up the show for a third season.

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January 23, 2008 · 8:00 am

Chuck – “Chuck Versus The Undercover Lover”

“Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover”

January 21st, 2007

While NBC is planning to air the final two pre-strike episodes of Chuck as part of an Apprentice sandwich on Thursday, January 22nd, CityTV chose to air the episodes in Canada on the show’s regular night, Monday. The result is that viewers had a chance to gorge on the last bits of spy dramedy goodness a little earlier here in the Great White North, and that I’ve had a chance to see the final two episodes.

And, to reference one of the characters seen quite frequently in the two episodes, they’re pretty awesome. Taken as a pair, they represent both the care-free and enjoyable elements along with the dramatic core of the series. I’m going to separate them, but this does not mean they do not work in tandem. Rather, I want to stretch out the blog posts. So, for all of the details on “Chuck Versus the Marlin,” tune in tomorrow morning.

For now, let’s talk about how the show was smart enough to return to the well of Adam Baldwin’s Casey.

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January 22, 2008 · 3:49 pm

Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles – “The Turk”

“The Turk”

January 21st, 2008

Last week, I had relatively positive things to say about Sarah Connor Chronicles, which was a surprise to Dave at The Watchers. Over the weekend, he checked out the series for himself, and their third episode has all sorts of not so nice things to say about the series. And while I’m not quite to the point where I am about to agree with the pessimism he brings to the table, I will say that “The Turk” was really, really boring.

Now, it wasn’t “I’m never watching this series again” boring or anything of this nature, but it got mired down in technology and domesticity too greatly. There were some elements that represent intriguing developments for the series, but they were either glossed over or presented almost too literally for the sake of moving the story along. This would be fine if the story actually moved along, or if we saw anything worthwhile within these settings. Perhaps it was my multi-tasking while watching the episode this morning, but did any of this really make any sense?

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January 20, 2008 · 10:19 pm

Who Won The Amazing Race Season 12, and Did They Deserve It?

[Looking for the winner of Season 14 of The Amazing Race featuring Tammy/Victor, Luke/Margie and Jaime/Cara? Click this link!]

[Looking for details on who won Season 13 of The Amazing Race between Nick & Starr, Ken & Tina and Dan & Andrew? Cultural Learnings still has you covered, click here to find out!]

I’ve posted a full recap, but for the sake of further analysis let’s take a look at the question on everyone’s minds:

“Who Won The Amazing Race Season 12?”

It was…

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January 20, 2008 · 10:02 pm

Season Finale: The Amazing Race – Season 12, Episode 11

“The Final Push”

January 20th, 2008

[Looking for the finale of Season 13 airing in December 2008? Well, Cultural Learnings still has you covered: click her for all the details!]

If not for Viva Laughlin’s early exit from CBS’ Fall Schedule, we would just be starting Season 12 of The Amazing Race. We would just be meeting the dating goths, saying goodbye to Ari and Staella, and pondering whether the entire race would be defined by angry animals making Nate and Jennifer’s lives hell.

Well, it turns out that they didn’t need animals but only each other, as Nathan and Jennifer were the last time to be eliminated before we head into a three-team showdown as the teams return to the U.S. in tonight’s finale. Will Ronald and Christina’s tenuous father/daughter bond be strong enough to survive the final leg and propel them to one million dollars? Or is it TK & Rachel’s laidback style that will allow them to nonchalantly waltz over the finish line and win the prize? And, can Nicholas drag his Grandfather Donald across the line at the same speed as the other teams and become the generational winners?

Well, only time will tell. For now, it’s time for the final leg of the Amazing Race.

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January 18, 2008 · 10:18 pm

Friday Night Lights – “Who Do You Think You Are?”

“Who Do You Think You Are?”

January 18th, 2008

While I am certainly not overly antagonistic towards the most recent episode of Friday Night Lights, I can’t help but ask whether or not the titular query should be posed to the series itself rather than its character. On a night in which two guest stars evoked two similarly praised drama series featuring teenage storylines, it would have been helpful if the characters were in line with what we’ve seen in recent weeks.

However, everything was completely out of whack: Smash and Noelle’s relationship went from being dangerous due to her influence to dangerous due to her whiteness, and Riggins went from running from the law to pining after Lyla Garrity. It’s one thing to switch gears, but these two storyline were abrupt shifts to say the least. Combined with a heavy dose of thug life for Santiago and Buddy, and the tragic tale of Matt’s First Quinceañera, I can honestly only say that Eric and Tami Taylor came out as people who understood just who they are.

As for who those guest stars were, and how the episode went off the rails, read on.

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