tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84444037861268509472024-02-06T23:06:22.302-06:00Channel SurfingThe Green Bay Press-Gazette's TV Blog. Or where we write about characters named Jim and Pam as if they were actually real. Brought to you with limited commercial interruption by Malavika Jagannathan, Kendra Meinert, Adam Reinhard, Thomas Rozwadowski and Sara Boyd.Press Gazette Blogshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11135926037839138599noreply@blogger.comBlogger866125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-30954420295994875832010-03-11T15:53:00.005-06:002010-03-11T16:00:02.782-06:00We're moving against our willDue to hosting issues related to Blogger, we've been forced to abandon this platform.<br /><br />Either way, you can find the same great Channel Surfing content at <a href="http://tinyurl.com/ycengmr" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">at our new address.</span> <strong></strong></strong></a><br /><br />We're working on having www.greenbaypressgazette.com/tvblog redirect everyone to our new blog, so we ask for and appreciate your patience while our online staff handles the request. In the meantime, follow the new link above and bookmark it.<br /><br />Thanks, everyone!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Channel Surfing staff</span>Press-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-85797263772819894322010-03-11T15:34:00.004-06:002010-03-11T15:43:28.585-06:00Commercial interruption: Feeling 'Lost' and lethargic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZRtLUEVVZwt1N47i3msAlDcjAite5_i23ets6MSMAJ6B9iquffHE6CX7ApMKqukhI_CYMiXdoMqfb2YLXFR-bVzv602Rh26ylg7c-p9rd72KnOfCL2P_TMdT0jqip0oGG9rWvLmBXA/s1600-h/linus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZRtLUEVVZwt1N47i3msAlDcjAite5_i23ets6MSMAJ6B9iquffHE6CX7ApMKqukhI_CYMiXdoMqfb2YLXFR-bVzv602Rh26ylg7c-p9rd72KnOfCL2P_TMdT0jqip0oGG9rWvLmBXA/s400/linus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447493252802902194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Sometimes there's just too much television for one Channel Surfing blogger to handle. That's when we need a break to sit back, relax and indulge in some friendly back-and-forth (via email of course, we don't actually like to speak to one another in person). Beware of the rising black smoke. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thomas Rozwadowski </span>and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam Reinhard</span> are about to tackle their disatisfaction with the final season of "Lost." Perhaps they aren't candidates after all.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thomas:</span> When we last left our “Lost” discussion, both of us were a bit squeamish about the wisdom of the flash-sideways device – which as some TV critics are now theorizing, may in fact be the show’s epilogue.<br /><br />My brain always hurts after watching “Lost” … but usually that’s a good thing. This season, I haven’t been able to muster up much thought or inspiration about “what it all means.” In fact, I struggled to write a simple opening paragraph about Tuesday’s “Dr. Linus” because I didn’t seem to particularly care about any of the off-island developments (even though Michael Emerson was predictably brilliant) and the greater lesson that continues to extend to the post-Jacob island.<br /><br />Honestly, I’m stunned there are only nine episodes left, because I don’t feel as though I’ve had anything affirmed about the past five years I’ve poured into this show. In fact, I feel as though I could’ve started watching last season and that might have been good enough considering how dominant Jacob and the Man in Black have been in shaping these final conclusions we’re supposed to reach.<br /><br />Even a new character like Dogen – who I enjoyed watching – makes me question the wisdom of this final season. Why should I care about his purpose when I don’t even know Richard Alpert’s? Why should I care about Ilana when she’s been introduced so late in the game? Why am I so utterly unsatisfied by Claire (Emilie de Ravin is so not a bad-ass) and Sayid’s transformations? Why did Jack need to be convinced of anything from Jacob when he already decided to return to the same craphole island he had been trying to leave since day one of the Oceanic crash?<br /><br />Oh, and if you’re not questioning time travel, why are you questioning whether some omnipotent being has been watching your childhood home? C’mon, man!<br /><br />Am I asking too many questions, Adam? Do you have any sense of direction here? As cabin bound Jacob would once said … “Helllllpppppp meeeeeeeee.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam: </span>You'll find no bigger "Lost" apologist than me. I've never had trouble defending every half-cooked mystical curveball and metaphysical gobsmacker that the show decided to lob my way. As such I've gotten very good at coming up with excuses for any and all plot inconsistencies and logical conundrums, and trying to convince my more skeptical friends and family to stick with the show, answering every question with a hopeful, "Stick with it! They know what they're doing!"<br /><br />But now even I find myself asking, well, do they know what they're doing? Have my five years of blind devotion to Team Darlton really led to this -- an aimless, wandering final season that continues to pile more questions on top of questions, willing to make up new rules willy nilly? (Where's Claire been all this time? Oh, she's just got "the darkness." Why has Richard lived so long? Oh, Jacob just "touched him," that's all. And Smoke Locke can apparently do magic and break chains off people with the flick of his wrist. They're called rules, people!)<br /><br />Honestly, I feel like I've become Walter Cronkite, Team Darlton is Lyndon Johnson, and "Lost" is the war in Vietnam, and soon they're going to be sitting in their trailer in Hawaii, shaking theirs heads, saying, "If we've lost Reinhard, we've lost middle America."<br /><br />I don't think I'm there yet, though. Because as unfulfilling and maddening as these recent episodes have been, I've seen definite glimmers of hope pointing to a possible satisfying resolution. Like how in this week's episode, "Dr. Linus," we've finally gotten a sense of who will end up of whose side: Team Smoke Monster, and Team Jacob (oh come on, really? How unfortunate.) We're seeing characters bump into each other in Bizarro L.A., and they're starting to seem less random (Rose interviewing Locke) and more like part of some master plan (Ben sacrificing his power play to become principal in order to secure a college recommendation for Alex.)<br /><br />It's not much, but I'm sticking with it. Because, really, I've come this far.<br /><br />What can Team Darlton and "Lost" do next week to help you keep the faith, Tom?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thomas: </span>That's the hardest question of all. What do I want from "Lost"<br /><br />Look, I don't need the four-toed statue to make sense. I don't even need Richard Alpert's backstory on the Black Rock to be all that satisfactory. But I do need some time consuming plot points from the past to be resolved: for instance, the importance of children, particularly Walt. The inability to have a baby on the island. Something, anything being pinned to Desmond as more than just coincidence<br /><br />But you're right: if everything is explained away in mystical terms -- it's Jacob's “touch,” the Man in Black can blink and free you from chains, it's "the sickness" -- frankly, that blows. I never thought "Lost" would be distilled to a war between two supernatural beings, no matter what greater thematic significance they represent in the end. I thought what separated this show from others of the sci-fi ilk was that it didn't deal with metaphysical properties and hocus-pocus. I continue to want to be wrong about that.<br /><br />Yet even the human elements off-island -- Ben as mild-mannered history teacher, Jack as attentive father, Alex as Yale bound nerd, Keamy as egg-eating debt collector -- just aren't doing it for me. I don't care enough about new realities that stray from the old ones I'd come to already know. I understand that the timelines will likely be resolved in the end, but I want it all to matter on first viewing, not a second one once I have the answers in some big bang finale.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbiS6EHmnzV8WKX_P42Fik4UI-7X62cugLjXSc3BlSQ8kB-mJl6OZGIzUIevZpXVAnGgFIq4Mszg9azHj-CuPW9OVmu6y6TmI3GC6wrUqTZCOyAAIZZffULsMDtH3xGARCkg8HCHBNw/s1600-h/lost.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbiS6EHmnzV8WKX_P42Fik4UI-7X62cugLjXSc3BlSQ8kB-mJl6OZGIzUIevZpXVAnGgFIq4Mszg9azHj-CuPW9OVmu6y6TmI3GC6wrUqTZCOyAAIZZffULsMDtH3xGARCkg8HCHBNw/s400/lost.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447493320648527026" border="0" /></a>I suppose starting this week with Charles Widmore's arrival, we'll see some old plot threads get renewed life. That's a good start. Seeing the formula so far, I'm not confident anything off island can get me to care about the alterna-existence. So Ben as a history teacher chooses Alex's future at Yale just as he should have chosen her life as his daughter on the island? Yawn. Way too on-the-nose for me. At this point, I just want some consistency with the old characters and less focus on the newer ones. Like Miles. He only seems to be around so he can make wisecracks and advance any and all plots involving communication with dead people. Has he just been "blessed" with a power, perhaps because Jacob touched him? See ... that doesn't satisfy me. Or why Hurley can see Jacob and communicate with him. Is there an actual purpose to that, or is it simply because someone has to and Hurley asks the fewest serious questions.<br /><br />I'm still in it, too. I still look forward to each new episode. But upon being unable to reconcile how Ben can summon the smoke monster in one season and it suddenly becomes the Man in Black in the next, I find my faith waning. Perhaps I need to be touched by Jacob.<br /><br />What would you like to see starting next week?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam: </span>ABC keeps promo-ing each episode in very dire terms: "Only 9 episodes left before the series finale!" -- which is all well and good and hysterical, so then why not actually give us some sense that the end really is near? A little taste of the endgame, perhaps? A glimpse of some giant ribbon towering over the horizon, on its way to tie this whole glorious package together?<br /><br />What that will entail, I have no idea. But I know what it shouldn't: No more character development (and no more blasted new characters! Submarine navigator, I'm talking to you!) for people we already have a pretty good grasp on. No more mysteries like Richard's inability to kill himself (side note: Is this why Michael was unable to off himself in Season 4?). No more dialogue along the lines of "I can't tell you that right now," (tell us right now!), "You wouldn't believe me," (try me!), or "Jacob said so" (did he say why he's such a enigmatic poopyhead?)<br /><br />Nine episodes? Not a lot of time when you think about it. Get it together, "Lost." Jacob may love you, but you're really trying my patience.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas Rozwadowski,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam Reinhard, </span>areinhard@greenbaypressgazette.comPress Gazette Blogshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11135926037839138599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-72164734449749439632010-03-11T08:29:00.002-06:002010-03-11T09:28:24.620-06:00If you have HBO, watch Tom Hanks' new WWII miniseries "The Pacific" (and invite me over, please)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8VxOF7BxSuPNlPVSy36zCdZdijiKk2a50Mvg_hb_0cibBmNIn4B1fKPQVzNu6kSEBzTjGitQEruNHNxAbRDRAMpN_cKcArLH69kmiD70m4sCtYQV4nDIZbF4Vz5EBNsr9pki8YoJUP0/s1600-h/alg_the_pacific.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447396234693251250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 301px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8VxOF7BxSuPNlPVSy36zCdZdijiKk2a50Mvg_hb_0cibBmNIn4B1fKPQVzNu6kSEBzTjGitQEruNHNxAbRDRAMpN_cKcArLH69kmiD70m4sCtYQV4nDIZbF4Vz5EBNsr9pki8YoJUP0/s400/alg_the_pacific.jpg" border="0" /></a> If HBO's new World War II miniseries "<strong><a href="http://www.hbo.com/the-pacific/index.html">The Pacific</a></strong>" is half as entertaining, powerful or enthralling as 2001's "Band of Brothers" was and is, it'll be an instant hit.<br /><br />"Band of Brothers," a 10-episode miniseries co-produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, is the premium cable channel's biggest DVD success to date. Based on the Stephen Ambrose book of the same name, it followed one company of soldiers (Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division) through the European theater of World War II. Thanks to countless reruns on the History Channel -- reruns I almost always watch despite having seen the series through several times -- the miniseries has become the definitive visual centerpiece of World War II history. (Besides, it proved that New Kids on the Block alum Donnie Wahlberg actually had some acting chops).<br /><br />"The Pacific" is a companion piece to "Band of Brothers" that focuses on the other major battlefront in World War II. Starting this Sunday on HBO, the 10-episode miniseries will track the stories of three Marines from the time they land on Guadalcanal to when they return to the States after V-J Day. Although the series does have the benefit of its predecessor's popularity, it also has the advantage of a $250 million budget and the advance of special effects in the last decade. But anyone who watched "Band of Brothers" can tell you -- it isn't the action that made it gripping television, it's the characters and the moments between firefights that solidified its status as the leader of the the World War II-movie/miniseries pantheon.<br /><br />Reviews so far from critics give the miniseries high praise. <strong><a href="http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/03/the-pacific-hbo-miniseries-is-a-season-high-point.html">Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentine</a></strong>l calls it a "stupendous miniseries that re-creates World War II with gut-wrenching power" and the <strong><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/09/DD2L1CCT3J.DTL&type=entertainment">San Francisco Chronicle's Tim Goodman</a></strong> says it "it offers a resounding yes to a nagging question: Do we really need another movie about World War II?" One of our favorite critics here at Channel Surfing, <strong><a href="http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/03/the_pacific_review_sepinwall_o.html">Alan Sepinwall</a></strong>, says although it isn't quite "the ripping adventure yarn "Band of Brothers" became at times," it's "more visceral and relentless, but as rewarding in its own way."<br /><br />Even if war movies aren't your thing, any fan of serious drama who can afford HBO shouldn't pass up the opportunity to catch this epic miniseries (and, if you do have HBO, please invite me over). Here's the trailer for "The Pacific":<br /><br /><object height="240" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hbo.com/bin/hboPlayer.swf?vid=1079389"><param name="FlashVars" value="domain=http://www.hbo.com&videoTitle=Trailer #5"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.hbo.com/bin/hboPlayer.swf?vid=1079389" flashvars="domain=http://www.hbo.com&videoTitle=Trailer #5" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="240"></embed></object><div><a title="Trailer #5" href="http://www.hbo.com/global-video/video.html?autoplay=true&vid=1079389&forumId=the%2Dpacific&view=null&filter=featured">Trailer #5</a></div><br />"The Pacific" premieres on HBO this Sunday at 8 p.m.<br /><br />--<strong>Malavika Jagannathan</strong>, <a href="mailto:mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com">mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com</a>Press-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-14292950842995054912010-03-09T14:46:00.005-06:002010-03-09T15:14:35.676-06:00De Niro to play Lombardi in ESPN movie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/lombardi-762887.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 187px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/lombardi-762841.jpg" border="0" /></a>You <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">talkin</span>' to me, Tom Landry? You <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">talkin</span>' to <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">me</span>?<br /><br />He's no <a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/2009/08/great-lombardi-hunt-who-should-play.html" target="_new"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Dan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Lauria.</span></span> <strong></strong></strong></a>But hey, Robert De <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Niro</span> is a pretty good get as Vince Lombardi.<br /><br />ESPN announced this afternoon that the legendary actor of "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver" fame is set to play coach Lombardi in a motion picture to be released on the weekend before Super Bowl <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">XLVI</span> in 2012. The film, titled "Lombardi," is to be produced by ESPN Films, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Andell</span> Entertainment and the NFL. <p>"There are few actors who could accurately portray the fire, passion and grit of Lombardi and we're thrilled to have Robert De <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Niro</span> on our team," said Charles <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Coplin</span>, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">NFL's</span> vice president of programming. </p><p>ESPN also said that screenwriter Eric Roth has joined the project, "which will chronicle Lombardi during the years he transformed the Green Bay Packers from the worst team in the National Football League into five-time NFL champions."</p>For more on the film, check out our previous post about the <a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/2009/07/biopics-arent-born-they-are-made.html" target="_new"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">initial announcement from July.</span> <strong></strong></strong></a><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">-- Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Rozwadowski</span>,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-41667698496328136522010-03-05T15:08:00.003-06:002010-03-05T15:16:43.567-06:00"Idol" watch: Girls shine, but talentless contestants keep hanging on<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/bower-741549.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/bower-741499.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Because no one else wants to do it -- or in Punishment Pool fashion, has been forced to like some Guantanamo-style form of Channel Surfing torture, Press-Gazette graphics editor <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eric Ebert </span>is stepping in with a weekly "American Idol" recap. We don't know whether to applaud or mock him for this extra shot of CS content. On second thought, we choose to mock.<br /><br /></span><span>A week after a series of forgettable performances from both the men and women of “American Idol,” the males continued their march into obscurity, while the women showed some glimmers of … do I dare say … talent.<br /><br />Four women dominated the week in both performances and headlines. Lilly Scott continued to impress with a fresh take on Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” while Katelyn Epperly made a splash with a self-accompanied piano version of “The Scientist” by Coldplay.<br /><br />The biggest showstopper came from the mouse-y Siobhan Magnus, who belted out an unforgettable rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Think.” The petite Magnus displayed pipes that would make most gospel singers gush, dominating the classic soul song with ease.<br /><br />But judge-favorite Crystal Bowersox was the talk of the nation. After her last-minute hospitalization forced the men to go a day early, Bowersox returned Wednesday with a flawless version of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “As Long as I Can See The Light.”<br /><br />Meanwhile, the men turned in sub par performances for the second week in a row. And the judges’ terrible picks for semifinalists continue to pay dividends.<br /><br />Talent-less musical hack Tim Urban continued his streak of sucking this week by turning in an unbelievably karaoke version of Matt Nathanson’s “Come on Get Higher.”<br /><br />But a week after using his airy falsetto to murder OneRepublic’s “Apologize,” Urban had nowhere to go but up. His boyish good looks and an endless supply of tween voters again saved him from elimination Thursday night.<br /><br />Not so lucky were John Park, Jermaine Sellers, Michelle Delamore and Haeley Vaughn.<br /><br />Again, good riddance.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ERIC'S POWER RANKINGS:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Men:<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/lynche-763662.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/lynche-763660.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Michael Lynche:</span> I don’t know if he’s the best, but he’s been the most consistent of the men, and he blew up the stage Tuesday with James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Casey James: </span>Not so hot vocally this week, but another good performance and excellent guitar skills make him a frontrunner.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Lee Dewyze: </span>After two mediocre performances, this is the judges’ frontrunner? He’s somewhat talented, but he’s nowhere near the best, even this season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Andrew Garcia:</span> The early favorite is quickly sinking off the radar. Can he recapture his Hollywood week genius, or will he fall by the wayside?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Alex Lambert: </span>I know what you’re saying, “another Lambert?” Well, this Lambert is nowhere near as good as season eight’s Adam Lambert, but he is far and away the best male voice — mullet and all.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Women:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Crystal Bowersox: </span>Although extremely talented, she is not my favorite, but a performance that had the judges gushing moves her into the top spot this week.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Lilly Scott:</span> Still the most formidable opponent. Her flawless consistency is her ticket to success with or without "Idol" status.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Siobhan Magnus: </span>Probably the most vocally talented female on the show, this awkward, tiny thing is quickly making her presence known.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Katelyn Epperly: </span>Off the radar last week, she stunned me with her soft performance and raw talent this week.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Katie Stevens:</span> This 17-year-old may not be polished, but she has some pipes.<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Agree? Disagree? Add your own "Idol" comments below. Or just mock Eric for actually caring. It's what we're going to do.</span><br /><br /><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">— Eric Ebert,</span> eebert@greenbaypressgazette.com</span>Press-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-55149125784579331402010-03-05T09:34:00.006-06:002010-03-05T10:16:46.027-06:00Fallon brings the cast of "California Dreams" back together<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/dreams-786373.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/dreams-786370.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Regular Channel Surfing readers will recall how I breathlessly wrote about the theme song to T-NBC's <a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/2008/12/surf-dudes-with-attitudes.html" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">"California Dreams"</span> <strong></strong></strong></a> back in December of 2008.<br /><br />I was actually making a point about the show being a total "Saved by the Bell" rip-off, but nonetheless, conceded that its transcendent theme song reached into my soul like no other Saturday morning sitcom ever could.<br /><br />"Surf dudes with attitude" ... yeah, you're swaying along right there with me.<br /><br />Anyway, having failed in his efforts to reunite the cast of "SBTB," Jimmy Fallon got the REAL band (not those bloated Zack Attack lip-synchers) back together by unexpectedly inviting the cast of "California Dreams" to play its memorable theme song on last night's show.<br /><br />While laughing at something insanely cheesy and nostalgia-based is an easy joke to pull, Fallon has worked some serious magic with it in the lone year he's been on late night. There's a certain charm about Fallon sharing the same pop culture touchstones with a 20-to-30-something audience that had Conan O'Brien's creativity ripped from them and may not relate to David Letterman. Jay Leno? I won't even go there.<br /><br />So while I may not have been a huge Fallon fan when he was hired to replace Conan, I love the ridiculously random energy he brings to his late night experiment. You have to pick your spots with little viral bits that'll get losers like me talking about your show the next morning. Reuniting the cast of "California Dreams" is certainly one of those moments.<br /><br />Anyway, I hope you enjoy the following clip as much as I did last night. Fallon is downright giddy about the appearance. Kelly Packard (Tiffani Smith) looks ridiculously hot. A nervous Jennie Kwan (Samantha Woo) can barely get her words out. And Michael Cade (Sly Winkle) steals the bit by overselling his latest projects, mentioning a porn company and of course, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal the same six-pack abs he had in 1994.<br /><br />Ba-BOOM.<br /><br /><object width="512" height="296"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/dH28n0sIJq5Jp9EuHn8DZg/352/987"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/dH28n0sIJq5Jp9EuHn8DZg/352/987" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="512" height="296"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas Rozwadowski,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-11217629177587045692010-03-04T14:07:00.005-06:002010-03-04T17:27:32.732-06:00TV Potpourri: Favre on "Tonight," "Breaking Bad" marathon and "The Office" baby no one cares about<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/bad-704609.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 177px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/bad-704515.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">AMC's</span></span> "Breaking Bad" still doesn't get as much love as the network's other award-winning drama, "Mad Men" ... but no worries. Its fans are a devoted bunch, as evidenced by recent voting for a six-hour viewers choice marathon to air March 19 at 7 p.m.<br /><br />The winning lineup includes two episodes from a strike-shortened Season 1 -- "Pilot" and "Crazy Handful of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Nothin</span></span>'" -- along with four from Season 2 -- "Grilled," "Peekaboo," "Better Call Saul" and the "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ABQ</span></span>" finale. The marathon will also feature interviews with creator Vince Gilligan, Bryan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Cranston</span></span> (Walter White) and the rest of the cast. It'll then be repeated (minus interviews) on March 20 starting at 10 a.m.<br /><br />Of course, while I'm firmly convinced first-timers would be hooked watching six of the series' best episodes in easy-to-digest marathon form, you really should indulge in the full experience. Season 1 -- again, a scant seven hours of viewing because of the writers' strike that year! -- is already out on DVD. Season 2 will be released March 16, just in time for Season 3 to debut March 21 at 9 p.m.<br /><br />Whew. That's a lot of dates to digest. Get further up to speed at the <a href="http://www.amctv.com/originals/breakingbad/" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">official Breaking Bad Web site</span> <strong></strong></strong></a> -- one of the more comprehensive I've seen for a TV show. You can enjoy tons of extras and Season 3 trailers, along with this <a href="http://www.bettercallsaul.com/" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">hilarious Web site</span> <strong></strong></strong></a> from Walt's sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman, played by the amazing Bob <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Odenkirk</span></span> of "Mr. Show" fame.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/baby-778608.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/baby-778603.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">And baby makes three:</span> Hour-long "Office" episodes aren't anything new. Unfortunately, they also aren't very good, either.<br /><br />Following an Olympics-related hiatus, "The Office" returns tonight ... except with a new face showing up. That's right: Jim and Pam are bringing Baby <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Halpert</span> into the world.<br /><br />This probably should be a bigger deal -- alas, until I saw Mindy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Kaling's</span></span> Tweet this morning, I forgot that it was even happening -- but frankly, "The Office" has lost so much of its <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">mojo</span></span> in recent years, I just can't work up a fresh <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">doody</span></span> in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">ol</span></span>' diaper.<br /><br />However, <a href="http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/03/the_office_has_a_baby_sepinwal.html" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">noted TV critic Alan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Sepinwall</span></span></span> <strong></strong></strong></a> has already seen the episode, and while acknowledging the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">show's</span> recent slump, says, "A baby <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">isn</span></span>’t going to kill 'The Office,' either. As the title suggests, this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">isn</span></span>’t a domestic comedy. We spend a lot of this hour on Pam getting ready to have the baby and then on the couple’s awkward first few nights as parents in the hospital.<br /><br />"But going forward, the baby won’t have any more physical presence on the show than Phyllis’ husband, Bob Vance (Vance Refrigeration). The characters will likely be complaining of fatigue and the other headaches that come with a newborn, but the baby’s not going to be working at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Dunder</span></span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Mifflin</span></span>.<br /><br />"So, no, the baby <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">isn</span></span>’t the problem, no more than Jim and Pam’s relationship was. Rather, what’s hurting 'The Office' this year is a clear lack of direction."<br /><br />Preach on, brother.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/favre-723786.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/favre-723755.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">That <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Favre</span></span> guy: </span>And finally, if you aren't sick of Brett <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Favre</span></span> <span style="font-style: italic;">or</span> Jay Leno (and really, shame on you for being so tolerant), the two will talk about the secret to undermining others on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">NBC's</span> "Tonight Show". Also, we really hope they wear matching denim shirts.<br /><br />According to the <a href="http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_14512823" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">St. Paul Pioneer Press,</span> <strong></strong></strong></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20"> Favre</span></span> agreed to be on tonight's episode since he was already<span><span id="default"> going to be in Los Angeles after his daughter was invited to attend the season-finale taping of the Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana Show</span></span>."<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Favre</span></span> is scheduled to appear as the second guest following Matthew <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">McConaughey</span></span>. According to an NBC employee who spoke to the Pioneer Press on condition of anonymity, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Favre</span> will be asked about "his future, as well as how he liked playing in Minnesota, if he's ever missed a game and what he does in the off-season."<br /><br />Seriously. How can you even <span style="font-style: italic;">think</span> of going to bed before 10:35 p.m. tonight?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Rozwadowski</span></span>,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-3273214244710025822010-03-03T20:30:00.003-06:002010-03-03T22:02:16.508-06:00Russian-American version of "Jersey Shore" is the greatest idea ever<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/russian-shore-769585.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/russian-shore-769545.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div>Do <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">svidanya</span>, "Jersey Shore." Privet, "Brighton Beach!"</div><div><br />As a closet fan of the MTV reality-trash show "Jersey Shore" -- go ahead, roll your eyes -- and a lover of all things Russian, the <strong><a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/meet_brooklyn_8iMblsfXiWjR28fu1zbSsN">news that producers of a copycat version of the "show" featuring Russian-Americans</a></strong> are auditioning for participants just made me about as excited as Vladimir Putin curtailing freedom. According to that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">venerable</span> news institution, The New York Post, the show "aims to be a cross between 'Jersey Shore' and 'Anna Karenina.'" (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Ummm</span>, unless the Russian <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Snooki</span> throws herself under a train, I'm not sure how the "Anna Karenina" comparison works, but I'll allow it).</div><div><br />However, the rest of the description of "Brighton Beach" from co-creator <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Elina</span> Miller seems to take direct inspiration from "Jersey Shore": "There will be plenty of vodka, techno music and guys wearing Adidas pants, leather jackets and gold chains, and driving souped-up cars. There will also be a lot of hot, decked-out Russian girls." Though the producers of "Brighton Beach" are still shopping around for a cable network, the show will mirror its MTV counterpart and feature a group of young <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">partiers</span> living in a house in Brighton Beach, a part of Brooklyn that has long been home to Russian and Ukrainian immigrants and is often dubbed "Little Odessa."</div><div><br />It's been 20 years since the end of the Cold War, so what better way to show our love for our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Russki</span> comrades than by perpetuating stereotypes, right? On the <strong><a href="http://brightonbeachshow.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">show's</span> Web site</a></strong> (yes, I did look it up), sample questions for interested participants include "What percentage of your friends are Russian?" and a caveat that the producers would, quote, "love to meet your grandma." Awe-some. <em>Side note</em>: I really hope they cast a babushka on the show -- nothing speaks more about the Russian culture like an old, nosy woman who tells young people to wear hats so they don't catch a cold. Bet you won't see THAT on "Jersey Shore."</div><div><br />--<strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"> Malavika</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Jagannathan</span></strong>, <a href="mailto:mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com">mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com</a></div>Press-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-51178108119319881932010-03-03T16:46:00.008-06:002010-03-03T17:06:00.456-06:00Enter our Oscars contest, join our chat, read our Tweets and more ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/oscarLOGO-776305.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 206px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/oscarLOGO-776130.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Forget Ryan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Seacrest</span>. The <a href="http://www.greenbayhub.com/" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Green Bay Hub</span> <strong></strong></strong></a> has all the bases covered for the 82<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">nd</span> annual Academy Awards on Sunday.<br /><br />Sure, it's not the Kodak Theatre in California. But we can still give you a taste of the red carpet in our luxurious Wisconsin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">winterland</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">You pick ’em:</span> There’s a reason you ate all that artery-clogging popcorn in the theater, right?<br /><br />Do you have what it takes to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">outpick</span> Adam Reinhard in the major Oscar categories? Beat him and admission passes from Marcus Theatres (we've got 12 to give away!) could be yours.<br /><br />To read the rules and see Adam's picks, head to his <a href="http://tinyurl.com/yd7oxxg" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Down in Front blog.</span> <strong></strong></strong></a><br /><br />To acquaint yourself with the nominees, scroll through our <a href="http://greenbayhub.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=U0&Dato=20100302&Kategori=GPG05&Lopenr=302004&Ref=PH" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Oscar photo gallery.</span> <strong></strong></strong></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Red carpet Tweets: </span>Who are we kidding? The real fun of Oscar Night is watching what goes down on the red carpet before the awards ceremony starts -- the dresses, the couples, the awkward <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Seacrest</span> questions, the bad <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">updos</span>. Follow the Tweets of our Oscar junkies, Amy Bailey, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Malavika</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Jagannathan</span> and Kendra <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Meinert</span>, beginning around 5:30 p.m. Sunday on the Hub. If you want to follow us on Twitter now, click <a href="http://www.twitter.com/gbhub" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">here.</span> <strong></strong></strong></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/bullock-750141.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/bullock-750139.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday morning chat: </span>Join <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Malavika</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Jagannathan</span>, Kendra <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Meinert</span> and Adam Reinhard for a live online chat at 11 a.m. Monday <a href="http://greenbayhub.greenbaypressgazette.com/" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">on the Hub</span> <strong></strong></strong></a> to hash over all of the night’s big winners and losers, best speeches and memorable moments that only Oscar Night can deliver.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Oscar snubs:</span> We know hindsight is 20/20, but with such a big deal being made of the Best Picture race, we started thinking about favorites that should have taken home the top prize from Academy voters. You might be surprised to see what landmark films got robbed. Check out our photo gallery of <a href="http://greenbayhub.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=U0&Dato=20100302&Kategori=GPG0501&Lopenr=302003&Ref=PH" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">“10 Nominated Movies That Should Have Won Best Picture at the Academy Awards."</span> <strong></strong></strong></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">More coverage throughout the week: </span>If going to see “Avatar’’ for a third time or trying to get your hands on a copy of The Hurt Locker’’ this weekend <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">aren</span>’t an option, allow us to get you fired up for all things Oscars with our full coverage of this year’s nominees and broadcast at <a href="http://greenbayhub.greenbaypressgazette.com/" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">the Hub</span> <strong></strong></strong></a> and in Saturday’s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">TimeOut</span>! section of the Press-Gazette.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The 82nd annual Academy Awards with hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin airs at 7 p.m. Sunday on ABC.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Presenters include Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Lautner, Tina Fey, Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Stiller.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />-- Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Rozwadowski</span>,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-55840886641566650912010-03-02T09:16:00.005-06:002010-03-02T12:35:56.848-06:00To Watch Or Not to Watch: NBC's "Parenthood"<a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/parenthood2-701253.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 299px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/parenthood2-701247.jpg" border="0" /></a>With a sudden revival of family-centric shows like "Modern Family" and "The Middle," it might be the right time and place for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">NBC's</span> "Parenthood" to make its debut. But the question remains: should you watch?<br /><br />More than two decades after Ron Howard's film premiered (followed by a not-so-successful attempt to remake it for television starring Ed <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Begley</span>, Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio), Howard, co-producer Brian Grazer and "Friday Night Lights" producer Jason <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Katims</span> take a second shot at turning the movie into a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">dramedy</span> about modern parenting.<br /><br />Better late than never, right?<br /><br />Even so, the show has already faced its share of challenges with Maura Tierney dropping out of the main role after being diagnosed with cancer, pushing the fall premiere back as producers searched for an adequate replacement.<br /><br />As luck would have it, though, that meant producers could tap Lauren Graham, aka the-world's-greatest-TV-mom, to fill Tierney's big shoes (as a side note, can I just say I'm <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">soooo</span> glad they didn't go the Helen Hunt route, no offense to Ms. Hunt). Now, though, comes the biggest challenge of all -- to convince a fickle television audience already bogged with choices that a one-hour <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">dramedy</span> about parenting and family is worth watching.<br /><br />Reviews in general have been good with <strong><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-parenthood2-2010mar02,0,1598339.story">LA Times critic Mary McNamara calling the show nuanced</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/03/parenthood_review_sepinwall_on.html">Alan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Sepinwall</span> calling it "smart and warm and knowing"</a></strong> even if it's not an instant classic. With this in mind -- and given a talented cast that includes Graham, Peter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Krause</span> ("Six Feet Under"), Craig T. Nelson, Monica Potter and Erika Christensen -- I think it's worth giving this show a shot.<br /><br />I've been surprised this year by shows I didn't really expect to like. Shows like "The Good Wife" and "The Middle" seemed like they weren't necessarily reinventing the wheel (and let's be honest, they didn't), but good acting and interesting stories more than made up for the lack of originality in the premise. I am hoping "Parenthood" falls into that category of unexpected must-see TV.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Parenthood" premieres tonight on NBC at 9 p.m. CST. </span><br /><br />Are you planning to watch? Let us know with a comment below.<br /><br />--<strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"> Malavika</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Jagannathan</span></strong>, <a href="mailto:mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com">mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com</a>Press-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-28893962702322315482010-03-01T10:11:00.007-06:002010-03-01T12:20:34.100-06:00How could anyone not like "The Marriage Ref"? Um, easy ...<div><a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/marriage-ref-710796.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 218px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/marriage-ref-710787.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>Even after all his "Bee Movie" overexposure a few years back, Jerry Seinfeld is the rare comedian who remains immune to any major criticism. After all, you don't help create one of the most legendary TV shows of all time and not get a free ride afterwards ... <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">yada</span></span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">yada</span></span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">yada</span></span>.<br /><p>As anyone who has seen his recent stand-up act can attest, an aging Seinfeld has also become a much wiser Seinfeld. He's married, has kids, so naturally, he riffs on the new things he gets to observe -- for instance, the size of kids' heads -- through his role as husband and father. So it's no surprise that a fight with his wife, and the subsequent need to bring in an unbiased friend to settle the dispute, launched <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">NBC's</span></span> new <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">primetime</span></span> show, "The Marriage Ref."<br /></p>Making its high profile debut last night following Olympics coverage, "The Marriage Ref" can be broken down a few ways. First, its debut comes on the heels of the failed "Jay Leno Show" experiment at 9 p.m. The fallout means that NBC is scrambling to populate its schedule with meaningful programming again, and a name like Seinfeld is expected to deliver not just laughs, but ratings.<br /><br />Second, critics have naturally jumped on the "Can Seinfeld Save NBC" bandwagon -- which is just as unfair to Seinfeld as it was to Leno. Third, this is Jerry <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">freakin</span></span>' Seinfeld. There's no way his newfangled spin on non-scripted programming with high profile guest stars like Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Madonna, Ricky <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Gervais</span></span> and Larry David won't succeed, right?<br /><br />Um, have I told you lately how much I love "Seinfeld" reruns?<br /><br />"The Marriage Ref" could work -- and might work -- given the right material. Granted, the TV audience probably isn't looking for Divorce Court meets Jerry Springer here. But last night's two "arguments" -- a dispute over a stuffed family dog and a husband's wish to put a stripper pole in the bedroom -- felt way too canned, way too Jay Leno-y.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/marriage-ref-jerry-seinfeld1-782284.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 320px; height: 227px;" alt="" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/marriage-ref-jerry-seinfeld1-782281.jpg" border="0" /></a> Even worse, Seinfeld, who was a panelist with a super-energized Baldwin (not laugh out loud funny, but amusing) and Kelly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Ripa</span></span>, seemed like more of a distraction than the star attraction. That's unfortunate, because as funny as "Marriage Ref" Tom Papa might be to Seinfeld, he's not the guy viewers are tuning in to watch. If this in his vehicle, and Seinfeld is merely a passenger as executive producer, "The Marriage Ref" has already failed.<br /><br />It would have made more sense to have Seinfeld open with some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">standup</span></span> about marriage difficulties -- and do so each week -- before introducing each couple and their supposedly funny dispute. Clearly, NBC and Seinfeld are looking to keep things family friendly, so you're not going to get an all-out battle over a husband's porn obsession or anything that would cross over into John Wayne Bobbitt territory. Even so, if the joke is solely on the "quirky" couple's cheesy argument, then we're entering "America's Funniest Home Videos" territory here.<br /><br />Then again, I can't imagine Larry David or Ricky <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Gervais</span></span> not being hilarious, even in the face of a minor couple's quarrel over not replacing the toilet paper roll. In fact, watching David and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Gervais</span></span> try to be funny on a very bad show might be even more exciting ... so there's that to look forward to.<br /><br />That said, while my expectations weren't super high, given Seinfeld's track record, I expected something a little bit richer here. Seinfeld has never been an edgy or mean-spirited comedian, so this isn't like comparing Chris Rock's standup to Chris Rock in "I Think I Love My Wife." And while Seinfeld has already said that "The Marriage Ref" isn't supposed to be serious business, since marriage is, it might be wise to dig beneath the surface a <span style="font-style: italic;">little</span> bit so that you don't come off looking like a really lame "Saturday Night Live" skit.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"The Marriage Ref" airs at 9 p.m. Thursday on NBC. Panelists are Tina Fey, Eva Longoria Parker and Jerry Seinfeld.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas Rozwadowski,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-53638308252551579532010-02-25T15:21:00.007-06:002010-02-25T15:39:58.255-06:00"Idol" watch: It's official. This is a flop fest.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/idol1-775795.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/idol1-775793.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Because no one else wants to do it -- or in Punishment Pool fashion, has been forced to like some Guantanamo-style form of Channel Surfing torture, Press-Gazette graphics editor <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eric Ebert </span>is stepping in with a weekly "American Idol" recap. We don't know whether to applaud or mock him for this extra shot of CS content. On second thought, we choose to mock.</span><br /><br />Blame it on the lack of a standout contestant like Adam Lambert.<br /><br />Blame it on nine seasons of culling the American public for “idols.”<br /><br />For all I care, you can blame it on the absence of cracked-out judge Paula Abdul, but Season 9 of “American Idol” has had everything but a star performance.<br /><br />Earlier this week, the first live acts pitted the 12 male finalists against the 12 female finalists. And tonight — based on America’s voting — two men and two women will be sent home.<br /><br />I say good riddance.<br /><br />I watched with anticipation two nights of live performances, waiting to hear some quality vocal talent. Instead, I was treated to karaoke imitations that probably <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">wouldn</span>’t win local singing competitions.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/urban-715586.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/urban-715583.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Aside from several performances — namely, Lilly Scott’s rendition of the Beatles’ “Fixing a Hole” and Casey James’ surprising vocals on Bryan Adams’ “Heaven” — the "Idol" contestants fell flat.<br /><br />In fact, Tim Urban’s version of “Apologize” by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">OneRepublic</span> was downright painful to listen to. And Haley Vaughn’s overexcited smiling took “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles to a creepy — if not tone deaf — level.<br /><br />Maybe it would be better stated that the contestants face-planted.<br /><br />Monday and Tuesday’s performances leave a lot of room to question what judges Simon <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Cowell</span>, Kara <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">DioGuardi</span>, Randy Jackson and Ellen DeGeneres were thinking during the Hollywood week auditions.<br /><br />It’s sad to see a process that has cultivated chart-topping talent like Carrie Underwood, Kelly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Clarkson</span> and Chris <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Daughtry</span> relegated to a sideshow of mullet-sporting, judge-flirting contestants lacking star qualities.<br /><br />Then again, maybe this was just a bad week. But I won’t be shedding any tears for the four contestants headed home.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ERIC'S POWER RANKINGS</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Men:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Andrew Garcia:</span> Although the judges <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">didn</span>’t love his take on Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down,” he is by far the most musically talented performer in this season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Casey James:</span> His heartfelt rendition of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven” had more than just Kara <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">DioGuardi</span> licking their chops.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Michael <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Lynche</span>:</span> The big man had a satisfactory performance with Maroon 5’s “This Love,” but his booming attitude and story should keep him in the running.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Lee <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Dewyze</span>: </span>His <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">pitchy</span> singing and lackluster performance on Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars” was bottom-of-the-barrel in my book, but with Simon <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Cowell</span>’s backing, he will probably succeed in the end.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Joe Munoz:</span> My dark horse candidate at the moment, Munoz displayed better vocal talent than many of his competitors on Jason <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Mraz</span>’s “You and I Both.” But can he dig deep and find some star power?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Women:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Lilly Scott: </span>Clearly the best female contestant after the first week, her rendition of the Beatles’ “Fixing a Hole” was spot on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Crystal <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Bowersox</span>: </span>The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">dreadlocked</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Bowersox</span> eased through <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Alanis</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Morissette</span>’s “Hand in My Pocket” with guitar and harmonica in tow.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The rest:</span> I’d clarify the rest of my top 5, but honestly, they were so forgettable I don’t remember them two days later.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Agree? Disagree? Add your own "Idol" comments below. Or just mock Eric for actually caring. It's what we're going to do.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">— Eric Ebert,</span> eebert@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-69016692548012288322010-02-25T11:23:00.005-06:002010-02-25T11:51:43.112-06:00Favre to join Leno during "Tonight Show's" first week<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/favre-717694.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 306px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/favre-717691.jpg" border="0" /></a>Now, if only John Mayer were added as a musical guest, the trifecta of hate would be complete.<br /><br />Yes, folks, how fitting is it that the NFL's flip flop king Brett Favre will be joining Jay "please don't let me go into that cold, dark world without an NBC show" Leno when "The Tonight Show" returns next week? Let the job stealing jokes commence!<br /><br />OK, maybe that's a tad bit harsh -- but Favre and Leno can certainly discuss what it feels like to be beloved, only to lose a large chunk of respect from alienated audiences following perceived power plays soaked in massive amount of ego (still too harsh?).<br /><br />If Favre is no longer sore from the beatdown he received from the New Orleans Saints last month, perhaps the pair will share a hug and console each other in "Good Will Hunting"-ish fashion by repeatedly saying, "It's not your fault."<br /><br />The ex-Packers quarterback will join Leno on the new/old/hopefully diseased "Tonight Show" couch March 4. Other guests next week include Jamie Foxx, Sarah Palin, Simon Cowell, Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White and Adam Lambert. And "Jaywalking" is back with the "Jersey Shore" cast! Oh, joy! Late night comedy has been saved!<br /><br />Bitter Coco fans, on the bright side, <a href="http://twitter.com/conanobrien" target="_new"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Conan O'Brien is now on Twitter</span> <strong></strong></strong></a>. And he interviewed a squirrel in his backyard.<br /><br />Take THAT, Leno!<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">-- Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Rozwadowski</span>, </span>trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-2308796709196401092010-02-23T16:27:00.004-06:002010-02-23T17:00:37.118-06:00Weekly 10: Our favorite offensive TV comedies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/sunny-727880.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/sunny-727842.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In honor of “Family Guy” fans defending the show’s Sarah Palin-inspired Down syndrome joke last week, our inaugural <span style="font-weight: bold;">Weekly 10 </span>list on the Green Bay Hub looks at the true masters of take-no-prisoners comedy.<br /><br />Enjoy our picks for <a href="http://greenbayhub.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=U0&Date=20100223&Category=GPG0501&ArtNo=223001&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=1" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">“10 Shows That Do Offensive Comedy Better Than ‘Family Guy.’”</span> <strong></strong></strong></a><br /><br />Who did we forget? Leave a comment below.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Channel Surfing staff</span>Press-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-55774908739809730232010-02-17T16:42:00.010-06:002010-02-17T17:07:18.175-06:00Commercial Interruption: Is sideways "Lost" actually going backwards?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/locke-704535.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/locke-704462.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Sometimes there's just too much television for one Channel Surfing blogger to handle. That's when we need a break to sit back, relax and indulge in some friendly back-and-forth (via email of course, we don't actually like to speak to one another in person). Gather up your ashy remains and hang onto those rickety rope ladders — <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Rozwadowski</span></span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam Reinhard</span> are about to tackle the flash sideways plot device on "Lost."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thomas: </span>We could continue to ask new questions until we’re passed out like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Sayid</span> at the temple – well, you know, <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> he was resurrected – but three episodes in, I think it’s fair to ask whether the flash-sideways effect is working.<br /><br />Honestly, the last two episodes have been a bit of a drag for me. Yeah, there’s always cool new stuff to take in on the island – whether Jacob or Aaron is the young whippersnapper taunting Faker Locke or why Kate’s name <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">wasn</span>’t referenced in the cave as one of the “chosen” – but I’m more interested in the storytelling aspect of the now-established parallel universe.<br /><br />Obviously, I don’t know the end game here. And it may ultimately be satisfying to see our parallel universes collide or intermingled in some way that’ll lead to meaningful conclusions for our characters. (“Lost” has mastered the swerve, so I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">wouldn</span>’t be surprised if what we’re watching <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">isn</span>’t what we actually think … if that makes sense.) But right now, I see the off-island device being used as a heavy-handed “Lost”-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ian</span> game of “I Spy.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/ben-locke-720097.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 212px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/ben-locke-720057.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Are we supposed to just be enraptured with the random connections from a pure shock and awe standpoint? “Oh, cool, Ethan is a real doctor and he used his last name of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Goodspeed</span>!” “Awesome, Ben is a mild-mannered teacher who loves coffee!”<br /><br />Are these connections intentional, or just meant to get viewers to sit up in their chair and laugh at the absurdity of knowing who these people <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> are, or at least who they've been presented as through the build-up of five previous seasons. I’m not saying it’s an unnecessary fake-out that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">doesn</span>’t (or won’t) serve a greater purpose. I’m just bored with the concept of all this inter-connectedness in a world away from the island.<br /><br />I really just want to stop the guessing games like, “Oh, Locke’s dad was mentioned as a wedding guest! Does that mean he <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">didn</span>’t push Locke out the window?” Those new questions don’t advance the old storyline. Or maybe they will and I’m totally jumping the gun.<br /><br />What do you think so far, Adam? I know you’re really high on happy-go-lucky millionaires buying up temp agencies like they’re going out of style.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam:</span> I'm just trying to wrap my head around whether the sideways universe makes sense within the parameters the show has set for itself. If this alternate timeline is the result of the island being blown to the bottom of the ocean in the late 70s, and Jacob never scratching his list into the cave ceiling (seriously, dude, you've never heard of a Sharpie?) in the first place, then are all these changes the result of his never interacting with the main characters?<br /><br />But that doesn't make sense, because he only first met Locke after Locke's dad pushed him out the window; so why suddenly is the man from <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Tallahassee</span> getting an RSVP to Locke's nuptials (nice to see you again, Katey <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Sagal</span>!)? And Jacob interacted with Kate when she was just a twinkle in her dad's eye before she blew him up, so why is she still on the run as if <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">nothing's</span> changed? The fact that some characters have completely different lives (Mr. Happy-Go-Hurley, temp agency CEO extraordinaire, for example) while others are on their original paths seems to rule out Jacob's influence.<br /><br />Maybe it's possible that the two characters who had the biggest connection with the island (Locke, with his healed legs, and Hurley with the numbers) had the most to gain from its destruction? Because handicapped or not, Locke's life is a fair shade better than the one he led <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">pre</span>-island (er, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">pre</span>-island, other dimension, I guess.) And the same goes without saying for Moneybags Reyes.<br /><br />I agree with you, though, that maybe we're jumping the gun with all this grousing. "Lost" has never let me down before, and I can't believe they haven't thoroughly plotted out their endgame. Which leads to my big question, Tom: Is there any way the explanation for all this isn't going to somehow disappoint us? With five seasons of buildup and rampant speculation by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">diehard</span> fans, surely when the final puzzle piece goes into place there's going to be a disheartening feeling of, "Is that it?"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thomas: </span>It seems as though <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Lindelof</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Cuse</span> have already begun to temper that anticipated lack of enthusiasm by saying that, "Yes, things aren't going to be as magnificently complete as they exist in your head." And I totally understand that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/names-715532.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 273px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/names-715529.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I'm sure whatever answers they come up with for their many, many questions will never match the brilliance of positing those mind-bending queries in the first place. For instance, what if the now mythical numbers are nothing more Jacob's personal Dewey Decimal System for cave <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">scrawlings</span>? Kinda disappointing, eh? Anyway, I think we're right in raising some concerns if it appears the greater sideways storytelling device is going to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors. I hope it's isn't, because the idea of an alternate reality appeared to be pretty cool on paper. But I'm just not feeling an emotional connection to these <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">alterna</span>-"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Losties</span>" -- and the rampant inter-connectedness -- as I thought I would.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Adam: </span>Agreed, and until they establish some real stakes in this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">bizarro</span> world -- give us something, anything that points to this mattering -- I'm afraid I'll be emotionally distant as well. I'd even take Young Jacob/Teen Aaron popping up in the sideways-verse, perhaps as a student in Mr. Locke's gym class, telling him he needs to gather all these people he's been "randomly" bumping into, and going to a mystery island thousands of miles away...<br /><br />... OK, so that would suck. But you get my point. Something like that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas Rozwadowski, </span>trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam Reinhard</span>, areinhard@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-80869649582595555442010-02-17T10:08:00.007-06:002010-02-17T10:57:44.587-06:00Sarah Palin vs. "Family Guy": Which side are you on?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/family-797695.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/family-797693.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Or maybe -- like me -- you're not a fan of either.<br /><br />Yet regardless of how you might feel about Sarah <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Palin's</span> politics, the topic of Down syndrome doesn't really get me in a "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">har</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">har</span>" mood. When you consider that we're also talking about a <span>child</span> with Down syndrome, well, I become even more disturbed.<br /><br />Here's the background in case you've missed the headline grabbing spat.<br /><br />In a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Facebook</span> posting headlined “Fox Hollywood — What a Disappointment,” <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Palin</span>, whose youngest son, Trig, has Down syndrome, said Sunday night’s "Family Guy" episode felt like “another kick in the gut.” The episode features the character Chris falling for a girl with Down syndrome. On a date, he asks what her parents do.<br /><br />She replies: “My dad’s an accountant, and my mom is the former governor of Alaska.”<br /><br />"Those in the special needs community truly are some of the most loving and compassionate people in the world," <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Palin</span> later said on Fox News' "The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">O'Reilly</span> Factor." "So why pile it onto them and make their lives even that much more challenging?"<br /><br />Look, I'm not an easily offended individual, and based on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/15/sarah-silverman-in-twitte_n_462769.html" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sarah <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Silverman's</span> recent flap</span> <strong></strong></strong></a> about use of the word "retard," apparently there's a PC vs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">un</span>-PC debate playing out that's meant to somehow keep a subversive level of comedy alive.<br /><br />But when it comes to Seth <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">MacFarlane's</span> "Family Guy" using a Down syndrome character to make a dig at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Palin</span> family, well, is that even funny? Perhaps if "Family Guy" had addressed <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Palin's</span> hypocritical sidestep of Rush Limbaugh's "retard" fixation, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">there'd</span> be an actual point to make. Or maybe if the "Family Guy" character in question was actually supposed to be Trig, it might have made sense.<br /><br />So while I don't find the actual joke or premise offensive, I do find the idea of jabbing at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Palin</span> family when it serves no greater purpose other than to say -- "Hey, they have a kid with Down syndrome" -- rather ridiculous. Or to make a "Seinfeld"-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">ian</span> analogy, it's like when Tim <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Whatley</span> converts to Judaism just so he can tell jokes about Jewish people -- except his punchlines offend Jerry, not as a Jewish person, but as a comedian.<br /><br />"South Park" makes intelligent points all the time with controversial or seemingly off-limits topics. And even more important, they're usually hilarious. Now, in fairness to "Family Guy," I didn't watch the whole episode -- so maybe they shed a positive light on Down syndrome in some capacity, as well.<br /><br />But that's not really the issue here. Was this particular use of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Palin</span> name either a) funny or b) constructive? I'd say no on both counts.<br /><br />If you find this dig at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Palin</span> family comical, I'd honestly be interested to know why. If you're highly offended that any of this is even up for discussion, also feel free to leave a comment. (Yes, I know that "Family Guy" is in the business of courting controversy, but again, do it with some purpose ...)<br /><br />Here's the clip in question:<br /><br /><object width="512" height="296"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/1xrMQWPJZHNhK-snFnwZCQ/938/981"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/1xrMQWPJZHNhK-snFnwZCQ/938/981" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="512" height="296"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />-- Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Rozwadowski</span>,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-74292076009680191222010-02-16T12:41:00.004-06:002010-02-16T14:33:54.333-06:00Two great tastes that taste great together<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/cakepic-774066.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/cakepic-774062.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Do you like cake? Banjos? Banjo-shaped cakes?<br /><br />Anything and everything could be in store for Food Network's "Ace of Cakes" when The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Avett</span> Brothers arrive for a Thursday episode. The progressive <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">folkies</span>, who've upped their profile with the Rick Rubin-produced "I and Love and You," will be visiting Charm City Cakes in Baltimore for "a lot of baking and a bit of playing."<br /><br />Food and folk music. Two of our very favorite things.<br /><br />Enjoy these clips.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />"I and Love and You" from Austin City Limits</span><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6p4c3AkhAaw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6p4c3AkhAaw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Slight Figure of Speech" from Spinner.com</span><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9Dw9ag7ItJk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9Dw9ag7ItJk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Laundry Room" from "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson"</span><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jgnZ0wEi2JU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jgnZ0wEi2JU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Ace of Cakes" airs at 9 p.m. Thursday on Food Network</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Rozwadowski</span>,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-74247724071878549772010-02-15T16:21:00.008-06:002010-02-16T14:17:03.007-06:00"Gilmore Girls": Or how I learned to stop worrying and love Stars Hollow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/gilmore-712690.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 257px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/gilmore-712688.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Lorelai</span></span> Gilmore was the mom everybody secretly wished they had. Or at least her wardrobe. But what made the hip single mom-good girl daughter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">WB</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">dramedy</span></span> so endearing and charming without ever getting sappy was the witty, pop culture-peppered, rapid-fire banter between Lauren Graham’s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Lorelai</span></span> and Alexis <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Bledel</span></span>’s Rory – usually over obscene amounts of caffeine, junk food and bad movies. Sometimes <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">snarky</span></span>, sometimes sweet, but always sincere. </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br />-- Kendra <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Meinert</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This family-friendly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">WB</span></span> drama gave birth to one of television’s coolest mom’s — the hip, young <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Lorelai</span></span> Gilmore — but the pop-culture references, mile-a-minute dialogue and an endless group of bizarre but lovable characters made it a classic. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Lorelai</span></span> and daughter Rory (Alexis <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Bledel</span></span>), a smart studious teenager, gave us seven seasons of laughter and tears, not to mention at least a thousand cups of coffee.</span> <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />-- <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Malavika</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Jagannathan</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">As far as shows geared toward the entire family go, the 2000s never topped the superior wit and whimsy of those darned “Gilmore Girls.” With more words per minute than a Mamet play, each episode of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">WB</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">dramedy</span></span> sounded like a classic screwball comedy, with an extended cast of crazies that only gave the story of a young mom and her bookworm teen daughter an amazing emotional heft.</span> <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />-- Adam Reinhard</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/kirk-774719.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/kirk-774707.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ever since the end of Channel Surfing's <a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/2010/01/our-picks-best-tv-show-of-decade.html" target="_new"><strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Best TV Show of the Decade</span> <strong></strong></strong></a>contest in early January, I'd been looking to fill some gaps in my viewing. More specifically, I noticed that when our staff filled out final ballots, three of our esteemed voters had a certain show called "Gilmore Girls" ranked highly on their lists.<br /><br />Me? I'd really never heard or read anything about it. And despite trusting (yet simultaneously mocking) Adam Reinhard's opinion on the matter, I thought "Gilmore Girls" would turn out to be nothing more than a slightly smarter version of "Dawson's Creek" -- which, I know isn't saying much since anyone with an ounce of intellectual integrity should have wanted to punch that Pacey dude in his smug nose.<br /><br />Sorry, but I've been conditioned to naturally loathe anything that even resembles cliche-ridden <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">rom</span></span>-com fare, so just having the word "Girls" in the title made this show reek of "One Tree Hill" for-chicks-only residue. But it was hard to deny the above endorsements, so I started watching toward the end of Season 2 as my wife ripped through the first two DVD sets with unabashed glee.<br /><br />It started off innocently enough -- an episode here and there filled with questions to my wife about why <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Lorelai</span></span> didn't get along with her parents, or random musings on why boring <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">ol</span></span>' heart-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">throbby</span> Dean should get dumped by Rory in favor of bad-boy literature buff Jess. Then I started to remember names, cracking up every time Kirk would appear with a different job uniform or hatch a scheme about phrase of the day T-shirts with slogans like "Babette ate oatmeal." I started to really like the surly diner owner who rejected Stars <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Hollow's</span></span> charming community events, empathize with the suppressed indie rock Korean chick, and geek out every time Grant Lee Phillips -- "Mockingbirds" is one of my all-time favorite songs -- made his recurring cameo as the town troubadour <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">ala</span> Jonathan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Richman</span> in "There's Something About Mary."<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fZRKTvpJmmo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fZRKTvpJmmo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />But things really turned when I began to care about Rory's relationship tug-of-war with Dean and Jess. Just paying attention to quirky characters on the fringe was one thing. But now I had unexpectedly been sucked into the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">show's</span></span> dramatic entanglements. First, I wanted dry-as-toast Dean to get the heave-ho so Rory could be with a more challenging boyfriend, even if he kinda resembled a young Rocky Balboa. Then, as Jess became a relationship drag, I saw Dean more sympathetically and thought, "Hey, at least he treats his girlfriend right."<br /><br />That I cared about <span style="font-style: italic;">any</span> of this reveals the true power of "Gilmore Girls." You see, I'm not the kind of guy who normally wants to watch TV shows that explore teenage love triangles. And admittedly, "Gilmore Girls" is a pretty girly show. But it's girly in the sense that "About a Boy" is girly, or listening to Death Cab For Cutie is girly. "Gilmore Girls" created such a hip little corner of the world -- one filled with idiosyncratic characters, pop culture obscurities and kick-ass music references (Joe <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Pernice</span></span>, Sonic Youth and The Shins all appear on the show) -- that I was able to dial into the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">show's</span></span> more dramatic emotional depths without feeling as though I'd just been doused with a Nicholas Sparks-sized bucket of sap.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/gilmore-742957.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/gilmore-742955.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>It's pretty deceptive that way. Every dark turn the show could have potentially taken has turned out to be delightfully harmless in the end. Sure, there are serious moments, particularly as it applies to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Lorelai's</span></span> relationships with both Christopher and Luke. And for all the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">show's</span></span> sugar-coated whimsy and wonder, there are all-too real family issues that deliver an emotional wallop. A heavy-handed shift in plot development occurs in Season 6, and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">topsy</span></span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">turvy</span></span> nature of the strained roller-coaster ride made for some nauseating viewing. Yet as much as Season 7 (the first without show creator Amy Sherman <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Palladino</span></span>) was supposed to drive a final nail in the "Gilmore Girls" coffin, I actually think it's recovered quite nicely.<br /><br />With only three episodes to go before the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">show's</span></span> series <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">ender</span></span>, my wife has been feeling particularly wistful that our two month race through seven years of "Gilmore Girls" is coming to a close. That familiar theme song, Luke's coffee, Emily's insults, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Lorelai's</span> rambling, Kirk's nudity, Taylor's town meetings, Paul <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Anka</span>, Sebastian Bach, Hep Alien ... "Gilmore" marathons have become part of our routine like Friday night dinners.<br /><br />Then again, last night I reminded her that I still need to watch Season 1. So I guess we won't be leaving Stars Hollow that abruptly after all.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Rozwadowski</span></span>,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-58145446032235489822010-02-09T21:47:00.005-06:002010-02-09T22:12:12.289-06:00"Top Chef Masters" reveals Season 2 field<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/ludo-738247.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/ludo-738243.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ever since Bravo concocted that totally transparent <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Voltaggio</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">smackdown</span> last season, we've been going through some serious "Top Chef" withdrawal at Channel Surfing.<br /><br />So it was nice to finally see the list of esteemed names who'll be competing in Season 2 of the all-star laden "Top Chef Masters" spin-off.<br /><br />Unless you've been avoiding our glorious Channel Surfing odes (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">tsk</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">tsk</span>), you should already know that Chicago's own Rick <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Bayless</span> took the "Masters" crown in Season 1. Well, six competitors from that same culinary-rich season are back, including fellow Windy City restaurateur Graham Elliot <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Bowles</span>, Mark Peel, Jonathan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Waxman</span> and three names that "Masters" viewers should immediately remember, Wylie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Dufresne</span>, Rick <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Moonen</span>, and of course, snooty Frenchman Ludo <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Lefebvre</span>.<br /><br />The show also welcomes back Kelly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Choi</span> as host, along with judges Gael Greene, James <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Oseland</span>, Jay Rayner and another familiar face, "Top Chef" regular Gail Simmons (who apparently is also the host of "Top Chef: Just Desserts" and quite possibly, "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">CSI</span>: Top Chef.")<br /><br />Wait, it gets better! The list of Season 2 special guests includes "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Simpsons</span>" creator Matt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Groening</span> and voice guru Hank <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Azaria</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Mekhi</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Phifer</span> and the casts of "Modern Family" and "Real Housewives of Orange County."<br /><br />Moe the Bartender and Manny Delgado? You've outdone yourself, Bravo network.<br /><br />The new season of "Top Chef Masters" premieres April 7. Here are all 22 competitors:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jody Adams </span>— <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Rialto</span> Restaurant, Cambridge, Mass.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Govind</span> Armstrong</span> — 8 oz Burger Bar, Los Angeles<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Graham Elliot <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Bowles</span></span> — Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jimmy Bradley</span> — The Red Cat, New York<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Burke</span> — David Burke Townhouse, New York<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wylie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Dufresne</span></span> — <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">wd</span>~50, New York<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Susan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Feniger</span></span> — Street, Los Angeles<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Debbie Gold </span>— The American Restaurant, Kansas City<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Carmen Gonzalez</span> — Chef Consultant, New York<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Maria Hines</span> — <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Tilth</span>, Seattle<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Susur</span> Lee</span> — Madeline's, Toronto<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ludo <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Lefebvre</span> </span>— Ludo Bites, Los Angeles<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tony <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Mantuano</span></span> — <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Spiaggia</span>, Chicago<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rick <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Moonen</span></span> — Rick <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Moonen's</span> RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Las</span> Vegas<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Peel</span> — Campanile, Los Angeles<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monica Pope</span> — <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">t'afla</span>, Houston<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Thierry</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Rautureau</span> </span>— Rover's, Seattle<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Marcus <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Samuelsson</span> </span>— The Red Rooster, New York <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Ana <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Sortun</span></span> — <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Oleana</span>, Cambridge, Mass.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rick <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Tramonto</span></span> — <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">TRU</span>, Chicago<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jerry <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Traunfeld</span></span> — Poppy, Seattle<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jonathan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Waxman</span></span> — <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">Barbuto</span>, New York<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">Rozwadowski</span>, </span>trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-80123636849198557592010-02-09T12:00:00.001-06:002010-02-09T12:26:49.456-06:00Hey! What happened to 'Arthur' on Wisconsin Public Television?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/310_Parenting_Arthur_Cont_Lord_orig-max-640x640-797412.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 218px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/310_Parenting_Arthur_Cont_Lord_orig-max-640x640-797038.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I don't have any kids, but if you were to survey the list of recorded shows on my home DVR, you wouldn't believe it. That's because I have at least 10 episodes of "Arthur" saved on my recorder, each lovingly set to "Until I Erase." It is the only show bestowed with that honor.<br /><br />That should give you some idea of the intractable hold this PBS Kids show has over me ... and yes, possibly the level of my immaturity. Yet every night when I get home, "Arthur" is the first show I want to watch. I don't care if I still have last week's "The Office" sitting there — Jim and Pam are nowhere near as cute as Arthur the aardvark and his adorably annoying little sister DW; and whatever bonehead stunt Michael pulls, it won't be nearly as funny as Buster the bunny's latest exploit. "Arthur" may be aimed at tykes, but it's must-see TV for this grown-up.<br /><br />Which is why I'm basically having a child-like hissy fit over Wisconsin Public Television's decision to pull "Arthur" from its schedule until June. Previously on every day at 3:30 in the afternoon — part of an animation block that included "Super WHY!" and "Dragon Tales" ... both unwatched by me, in case you were wondering — "Arthur" is now nowhere to be found.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/arthur-704484.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/arthur-704483.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I emailed the station to complain — because I have nothing else in my life, obviously — and this was their explanation for the absence: "After looking at our schedule and seeing how our viewers watch, and looking at other programming information the decision was made to adjust our afternoon schedule. Arthur will return to the schedule in June."<br /><br />Fair enough. I can't be too upset if they want to hold off airing a show geared toward perhaps more grade school-aged children until a time when those kids will actually be home to watch it. (Airing in "Arthur's" place now is a show called "Dinosaur Train," which features a preschool-aged T-rex who hops aboard a train and meets other dinosaurs. Apologies to our preschool-aged readers, but — <i>la-a-a-ame!</i>)<br /><br />Moreover, I just can't get upset at PBS, period. That would be like kicking a puppy ... a viewer-supported, commercial-free puppy. It would be one thing if I actually donated to them once in a while — which, regrettably, I don't. But to complain that I'm no longer getting something awesome when I got it for free in the first place is kind of a jerky thing to do. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there's an "Arthur" episode that deals with that very life lesson.<br /><br />That's the brilliant thing about "Arthur": It can weave subtle moral and education lessons so seamlessly into a witty, sharply written 12-minute story, that it's almost subliminal. Even the hilarious episode where Buster becomes addicted to a 376-DVD set of a "Lord of the Rings"-style movie also teaches kids (and, let's face it, some adults) to not ditch more important things, like friends and schoolwork.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ziyz_4SKpn8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ziyz_4SKpn8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MNwetJncnnM&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MNwetJncnnM&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <br /> <br />And that's <i>every episode</i>. After 13 seasons, creator Marc Brown and crew seem to have an endless well of story ideas and teachable moments. I, of course, don't need a anthropomorphic aardvark to inform me how important it is to get my homework done on time. And although it's definitely got a laugh-per-minute ratio to rival anything on even network TV, I still laugh more during an average episode of, say, "Community."<br /><br />No, the main reason I look forward to every episode of "Arthur," and I think what makes it such a favorite among adult viewers, is how perfectly it captures the experience of childhood. Think of it as "The Wonder Years" with small mammals, or "The Adventures of Pete & Pete," if the Petes had fur. The characters act like real kids, and they experience things the way I remember experiencing them at that age. When any show can bring back long-forgotten memories of what it was like to be 8 years old, it's a small miracle.<br /><br />Any other closet "Arthur" fans out there? Are you looking forward to June even more now?<br /><br />-- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam Reinhard</span>, areinhard@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-83115715896603980582010-02-08T09:02:00.005-06:002010-02-08T14:19:31.729-06:00What was your favorite Super Bowl commercial?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/superbowlad-797346.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/superbowlad-797215.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>If you watched the Saints march past the Colts last night, you were also treated to a bumper crop of some of the most creative, witty Super Bowl ads in recent memory. The usual suspects were all accounted for (Coke, Budweiser, GoDaddy), but some of the best commercials came from companies not normally associated with the biggest advertising event of the year.<br /><br />Denny's, for example, scored a slam dunk (or is that a Grand Slam dunk?) with this ad about some fairly terrified chickens.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GtSKfb_iCfI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GtSKfb_iCfI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />Bridgestone had a couple ads, but their best was about three buddies trying to get a killer whale back to the ocean.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/632pCs5rLDw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/632pCs5rLDw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />For this ad, Snickers must have figured out that you can never go wrong with Betty White. (And adding Abe Vigoda? Double never wrong.)<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6rauK4fBjkI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6rauK4fBjkI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />This ad by Coke isn't hilarious, but it's great to see just how many "Simpsons" supporting players they're able to cram into this minute-long spot about Mr. Burns losing his fortune. It's great to see ol' Gil finally making a sale!<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EnUKurl7Fog&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EnUKurl7Fog&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />When you think of the Super Bowl, you immediately think of Dove moisturizer, right? But this spot for the company's new line of men's products struck a nice balance between humor and sentimentality.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PcQEm7veQkI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PcQEm7veQkI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />The most buzzed-about ad of the night was actually a CBS promo for "The Late Show with David Letterman," a callback to a similar spot from a couple years ago with Dave and Oprah at a Super Bowl party.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcEx767TIas&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcEx767TIas&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />According to TiVo Inc., however, the most-watched ad (that is, the one the most viewers with DVRs watched, rewound, and rewatched) was this ad for Doritos, featuring an over-protective little boy.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r0EVSP_6XZA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r0EVSP_6XZA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />What was your favorite commercial of the night? Drop us a line in our comments section.<br /><br />-- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam Reinhard</span>, areinhard@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-1049549816132705162010-02-04T12:25:00.001-06:002010-02-04T16:23:36.892-06:00Apu from "The Simpsons" no longer the only Indian character on TV<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 283px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/parks-recreation11-744943.jpg" border="0" />I don't mean to create a racial to-do out in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">blogosphere</span>, but, man, Indian people are all over television these days.<br /><br />For the longest time, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Kwik</span>-E-mart owner <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Apu</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Nahasapeemapetilon</span> on "The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Simpsons</span>" was the only Indian-American character on TV. And, while his "thank you, come again" line is spot on -- seriously, if you've been to a convenience store owned by an Indian or Pakistani, you know it's not far off -- it was a bit, how shall I put it, unrepresentative of the population as a whole.<br /><br />(Just so we're clear, I'm talking about Indians as in people who either come from or have ancestors from India, not Native Americans. Also, as another side note, we're not all good at fixing computers, solving math problems or being doctors, but we tend to enjoy spicy food).<br /><br />In fact, these days Indian-American actors and characters are <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">a-plently</span> on network shows like "The Office," "Parks and Recreation," "Community," "Big Bang Theory, "The Good Wife" and "24." Sweet, we've finally hit the big leagues! Whether it's part of the "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Slumdog</span> Millionaire" bandwagon or perhaps a recognition of the range of talent from Indian-American actors and actresses, this Asian Invasion (am I allowed to say that?) is about to get bigger.<br /><br />NBC announced <strong><a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i662cd5cc93e7334305a575b04489867d">it would pick up a television version of the movie "Outsourced"</a></strong> -- a 2006 indie flick about an American manager who goes to India to train his company's call center employees -- as a half-hour comedy with longtime "The Office" director Ken <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Kwapis</span> at the helm. The movie, by the way, was actually hilarious and would make a great sitcom. Fox is also picking up "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Nevermind</span> Nirvana," a sitcom about a family of Indian-Americans. At the same time, the producers of the British comedy "The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Kumars</span> at No. 42" are looking to translate the show across the Atlantic.<br /><br />Diversity on television is always a good thing, not to mention realistic ("Grey's Anatomy" is often heralded for its diverse cast, but I find it hard to believe there's a hospital in the world, let alone Seattle, without an Indian doctor). In the same year that Barack Obama was elected President, <strong><a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20206185,00.html">"The Cleveland Show" was the only new show anchored by a minority character in 2008</a></strong>. That's right: ONLY. Even then, the main character is voiced by a white guy.<br /><br />While this sudden influx of Indian-Americans on television might be a fluke, I hope it's a sign of things to come -- a television landscape as diverse as the country around us.<br /><br />--<strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"> Malavika</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Jagannathan</span>,</strong> <a href="mailto:mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com">mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com</a>Press-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-2294447946841297332010-02-04T09:34:00.005-06:002010-02-04T16:24:22.076-06:00Spin This: Jon Stewart on "The O'Reilly Factor"<a href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/stewartorelly-735604.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 212px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/stewartorelly-735603.jpg" border="0" /></a>Somewhere between our love of "Lost" (ahem Roz and Adam ahem) and our laziness, the news that Jon Stewart was set to appear on Papa Bear Bill O'Reilly's show on Fox News sort of fell off our radar.<br /><br />In fact, I didn't know it happened until I saw it online today.<br /><br />In the first part of the interview, which aired last night on "The O'Reilly Factor" and can be found in the clip below, Stewart is on his best behavior. This is not quite as potent as the infamous "Crossfire" interview on CNN where he ripped Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala proverbial new ones when they badgered him to be "funny" and criticized his objectivity. Instead, Stewart smartly uses a few well-timed self-deprecating blocks to O'Reilly's slightly nastier jabs to avoid sounding holier-than-thou or overly critical.<br /><br />When O'Reilly -- mockingly or not -- suggests he's surprised "The Daily Show" host is actually smart, Stewart does that wry, "aw, shucks" thing that works well for him, fending off the underhanded compliment (dig?) by saying he's got his writers in his pocket.<br /><br />Stewart's criticism of Fox News -- of which he has many as expressed almost nightly on his Comedy Central show -- was more nuanced as were his answers about what he believes are President Obama's strengths and weaknesses. Said Stewart about Obama: "I can't tell if he's a Jedi Master... or if this is kicking his ass."<br /><br />Although he's not as ridiculous as he is often is on his own show (understandably), Stewart does what he does best in this interview: a combination of smarts and sarcasm with a hint of populist outrage without taking it out directly on his host. O'Reilly is, well, mostly his usual blustering self with an obvious chip on his shoulder when it comes to Stewart's popularity and intelligence, but his efforts to goad Stewart fall flat. Watch the clip and see for yourself:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SDqBvnh-SBM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SDqBvnh-SBM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />The second part of the interview airs tonight on "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News at 7 p.m.<br /><br />--<strong> Malavika Jagannathan</strong>, <a href="mailto:mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com">mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com</a>Press-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-26715123148461917822010-02-03T11:15:00.006-06:002010-02-03T15:02:48.511-06:00"Lost" Quick Thoughts: "Nothing is irreversible."<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/jack-783940.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 214px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/jack-783896.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Of all the nights to work a late shift ...<br /><br />While fellow "Lostie" <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam Reinhard</span> stays away from all forms of communication today for fear of having last night's two-hour "Lost" premiere, "LA X," spoiled, I'll attempt to connect some dots in rudimentary "Quick Thoughts" form. We're officially back, folks, and it feels even more refreshing than a dip in the ol' Temple pool of rejuvenation.<br /><br />* Just a quick note about the hour-long refresher, "Lost: The Final Chapter." A nice, succinct character-by-character breakdown that re-established some important puzzle pieces as the final season winds down. Then again, you can certainly skip it if you need to get crackin' on that DVR.<br /><br />* Looks like an alternative timeline/parallel universe is a reality, though it's hard to wrap your head around that mind-bending concept when the show flips from the new/not-so-original Oceanic flight to island time near the blown hatch. One thing "Lost" has always been able to master is guiding viewers through complex multiple storylines, in multiple times, in multiple locations on the island and beyond. Last night was a classic example of making all three main threads coalesce with ease -- Jack and crew landing on the island in 2007, Jack and crew on an alternative Oceanic flight (one that safely lands at LAX), and finally, the Man in Black's smoky business near the foot statue following Jacob's stabbing.<br /><br />* What if the Oceanic flight landing at LAX is a actually a flashback and everything -- and I mean everything -- will eventually lead to course correction, therefore placing everyone on the island again in the exact same predicament? That'd be a bummer.<br /><br />* Annnnnnnnnnnnd ... the island is underwater in one reality.<br /><br />* Very cool reveal once Richard sees the flare shot off by the temple dwellers following Hurley's news that Jacob is dead and told him so as a ghostly jungle apparition.<br /><br />* Man, what becomes of Ben now that he's been used up? Redemption, thy name is Linus!<br /><br />* The temple waters turn brown following Jacob's death and can no longer heal Sayid. However, our favorite Iraqi torturer awakens at the end for a patented cliffhanger. Jacob inhabiting his body? Just a really good napper? Any theories?<br /><br />* If Jacob could take over Sayid's body, wouldn't that be a good thing? Yet the new guy -- Lennon -- said everyone in the temple would be in trouble if Sayid passed away. Plus, when the Man in Black took over Locke's body, the old one remained. Where's Sayid's real body then? I'm confused.<br /><br />* Why is Hurley the Ghost Whisperer? Will this special Jennifer Love Hewitt quality be explained at some point during the season, or is it something we should simply accept like Miles' ghost-busting prowess?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/locke-711334.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 172px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/locke-711332.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>* One big mystery, one minor mystery solved: Man in Black is not Johnny Cash, but in fact, the smoke monster. Why he takes the form of a smoke monster remains to be seen, but his interaction with Ben -- "Let's not resort to name-calling." "I'm sorry you had to see me like that" -- was incredibly funny. His destruction of Jacob's "bodyguards" is probably a new Top 10 Holy Crap entry when all is said and done. Second mystery: an ankh with a list of special names was inside Hurley's guitar case from Jacob. Gotta have those names.<br /><br />* One can never have too much black powder. Buh-bye, Bram.<br /><br />* Nice goodbye turn with Saywer and Juliet, though probably unnecessary given the gravity of last season's tearful farewell down the noisy hole. But it allowed Miles to speak to Juliet's grave and hear the words, "It worked." The bomb going off? Yeah ... but how does Juliet know? Then again, revelations like that are usually swerves in the Lost-verse.<br /><br />* Gotta love that Terry O'Quinn gets to play a complete bad-ass now.<br /><br />* Boone! Charlie! Arzt! Frogurt!<br /><br />* Great conversation with Boone and Locke. "If the plane crashes, I'm sticking with you."<br /><br />* Another nice touch: Charlie was "supposed" to die. Jack gets no thanks for saving Charlie's life on the plane and gets all the blame for killing Juliet. Tough being Savior Shephard, that's for sure.<br /><br />* Still missing: Christian Shephard's body. Still in a wheelchair: John Locke.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/des-760716.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/des-760714.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>* Desmond is on the new plane, but no Shannon, Walt or Michael. Subtle differences added an almost "Where's Waldo?" element to that scene as I looked desperately for faces and clues. And why did Des disappear? Is he a "constant" for both timelines?<br /><br />* Richard was once in chains and not only knows, but greatly fears, the Man in Black. Slave on the Black Rock? Can't wait for his past to finally be revealed.<br /><br />* Did I mention the return of Arzt?<br /><br />* "Nothing is irreversible." Powerful parting words from Jack. How this parallel universe business plays out should be interesting -- can't say I'm an expert on this particular topic -- but can worlds eventually collide? Will everything come together cohesively, or are we, in essence, watching two shows simultaneously -- with the kicker being that we know what <span style="font-style: italic;">could</span> have happened? Can Kate 1 be with Jack and Kate 2 with Sawyer so that everyone is happy in the end?<br /><br />I'll add more if anything revelatory comes to me this afternoon or upon second viewing in the coming days. What did all you guys think? Please leave your thoughts below.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas Rozwadowski,</span> trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444403786126850947.post-35164510986978864002010-02-02T10:39:00.006-06:002010-02-02T18:39:46.999-06:00"Lost": You have questions, we have ... more questions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/lost-new-751466.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/lost-new-751463.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>"Lost" co-creators Damon <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Lindelof</span></span> and Carlton <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Cuse</span></span> have already cautioned that while several big questions will eventually be answered, not all the little ones will -- which appears to go against the grandiose mythology built by ABC's beloved drama leading to tonight's premiere of the sixth and final season.<br /><br />But episodic writing needs to be stretched for the sake of survival, so not every island mystery from Season 1 can be wrapped up with a neat and tidy bow. And as a "Lost" fan who is more than ready for the show to reach its conclusion, I can accept that.<br /><br />Before tonight's premiere event at 7 p.m., here's a look back at some burning questions <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adam Reinhard</span> and I have raised during our time covering "Lost" for Channel Surfing.<br /><br />Will they finally be answered in Season 6? Are they still relevant in the grand scheme? And for every question answered, does that mean the five new ones created are just as important?<br /><br />As always, these are just the tip of the iceberg -- for instance, the numbers, Hurley's guitar case, the four-toed statue, Pierre Chang's aliases, the donkey wheel, the lists, the Black Rock, the importance of children like Walt, Jacob's confinement ... blah, blah, blah.<br /><br />A list of 100 wouldn't have sufficed, but from past posts, these are the ones that may actually get answered and play an important role in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">show's</span> eventual conclusion.<br /><br />Please, leave your own in our comments section.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What became of Claire?</span> Aaron's mum didn't make an appearance in Season 5, but she's poised to return. But will it be as her sweet Aussie self or Christian <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Shephard's</span></span> ghostly sidekick?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/ben-716603.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/ben-716599.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Is Ben good or evil? </span>Some view Ben as pure evil. Others may not yet understand his devotion to the island and the good involved in his protective stance. So while shades of gray certainly have come to define the man formerly known as Henry Gale, once the fate of the island is determined, there should be some greater clarity here. Either way, his stabbing of Jacob at the end of Season 5 certainly threw another dagger in the ongoing dilemma.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where will Desmond/Penny fit in?</span> Reunited ... and it feels so good. But this storybook romance has to meet a dark end, doesn't it?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How big of a role does Jack's dad play? </span>A big one, no doubt, seeing as how Christian keeps popping up, most notably to Locke as he turned the donkey wheel. Still, there's been hardly any headway in determining why it's Jack's dad who holds a lot of the cards in this ongoing island enigma.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Who do you have in the island death pool? </span>Juliet said goodbye in heroic fashion at the end of Season 5, and several cast members -- Charlie, Boone, Libby and Michael -- are expected to be brought back (even though they're technically still dead) now that the Oceanic crash may have never <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">occurred</span>. A whitewash courtesy of the hydrogen bomb can certainly re-write some rules, but a final season also gives creative license to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">show's</span></span> writers since they no longer have to worry about furthering <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">storylines</span></span>. So, who of those technically still alive on the island will actually make it to the Season 6 finale? Some big names could get capped for pure shock and awe. We'll save our theories for a later post.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/alpert-734854.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/alpert-734852.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why doesn't Richard Alpert age?</span> Alpert's age seems directly tied to the island's origins and secrets, whether it's Black Rock based or otherwise. We can't wait to see what he's always known about its mystical properties.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ilana's</span></span> relationship to Jacob? </span>She knew to ask for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Ricardus</span></span>. Knew about the statue's riddle. Who are these island newbies who brought Locke's real body to Alpert?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where do <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Widmore</span></span> and Ben fit into the grand scheme?</span> Now that Jacob and the Man in Black have been introduced, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Widmore</span></span> and Ben's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">face-off</span> seems like a mere childhood spat. But so much was built up regarding Ben protecting the island from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Widmore's</span></span> exploitative ways -- and Ben being manipulated to stab Jacob because Locke had surpassed him on the island's scale of importance -- there's no way the two aren't tied together.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why did some on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Ajira</span></span> plane end up in 1977?</span> We'd like to get away from any time travel queries (they still make our head hurt), but why did the plane split, sending some to 1977 and others like Sun and Ben to 2007? How does that concept even work?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Did Jacob plan to die, and what is the significance of his touch?</span> Again, two threads that seem directly related. It would appear that Jacob had always planned to fall at the hands of the Man in Black's "loophole" -- hence the flashbacks showing his all-important touch to several of our main characters. Did Jacob find some loopholes of his own? Now that he's been cast into the fire -- quite literally thanks to Ben and Faker Locke -- it should be interested to find out who's "coming" and why.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What IS the island?</span> Will this ever be adequately answered, or are we just supposed to go along with the premise that the show had to happen SOMEWHERE, and an exotic island (that allowed the cast and crew to film and live in Hawaii, ahem) was the best option? Recent interviews with Cuse and Lindelof seem to indicate that fans will just have to accept certain realities.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/smokey-758850.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/channelsurfing/uploaded_images/smokey-758812.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">What, or who, is the smoke monster? </span>Probably one of the biggest ongoing puzzle pieces (besides the numbers) since it goes back to the pilot. Man in Black = Smokey? Even so, what is the monster's primary function as island protector/scanner of fates/mechanical sounding kill machine?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-- Thomas <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Rozwadowski</span></span>, </span>trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.comPress-Gazette bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08510833198551909246noreply@blogger.com0