Found a Cadfael fan

I was talking to someone who takes life very seriously and doesn't participate in much frivolity, and he was describing a seemingly boring novel (though not to him) about life in monasteries and Medieval times, which made me ask the inevitable question: did he ever watch Cadfael?

He said he loved it. Which made me think of my Cadfael post, where I challenged myself to watch an entire episode. It actually wasn't bad once I was able to sit through the simplistic scenery and drab times.

What's up with Cadfael?

The mystery series Cadfael has been on several times, and I have never watched it because it doesn't seem that interesting. But tonight I'm making myself watch it in its entirety because I have to see why it would exist on modern television.

I'm still perplexed why Brits would want to watch it, and why the producers thought that it would be worth the money: there's nothing fancy about it, and there's a constant grayish-brownishness about it. Usually the British mystery shows transport us to rich people's homes and fancy parties filled with intrigue, but Cadfael is like porridge.

I seriously doubt that such a show would be produced in the US--people wouldn't have the patience for the drab aesthetics or bland personalities. I can imagine a Hollywood mogul screaming, "A middle ages mystery? Are you crazy?"

But such a show makes us focus on the words and the mystery instead of being distracted by pretty hairstyles and temperamental personalities. The show is still in progress, and it seems pretty good, and it's actually refreshing to not have a bunch of flash and egos thrown at me.

We would be fired

I watched a few episodes of House during a Saturday TV marathon, and now I think I'm going to watch more often. I think I only watched bits of the show before, where I was impressed with Hugh Laurie's American accent.

I know it's fiction, but I can't believe what Doctor House gets away with: he's often a jerk and breaks the rules, and he's not really suspended and certainly not fired. And if he's dragged to court, the hospital will pay his legal fees (his boss said they budgeted like 50k per year to defend him). He's only a doctor, not management, yet they're often willing to take care of him no matter what.

I think the real departure from reality was when a rich administrator wanted to give the hospital over 100 million dollars, but he wanted the House out of there as a condition, and he expected the Board to vote for his dismissal. But they eventually decided to keep the House instead of the 110 million dollars!

Seriously--what business or organization would give up over 100 million dollars for ONE person, especially a jerk who often gets in trouble, and is a legal risk?

Maybe that's why the show is popular--in real life, we'd be fired, and seeing him get rewarded for his intelligence and talent is escapism for us. Though of course, there are plenty of jerky people in workplaces everywhere who get special treatment because they know how to play the game or know how to bring in the bucks. But Doctor House gets rewarded for just being himself.

It's over!

Here's some tragedy: I've just seen the LAST Inspector Lynley! I guess the Brits weren't into him anymore, so they didn't produce any more shows.

Yes, I'm bummed, even though I think I missed some along the way. But the bottom line is we won't see any more Inspector Lynley episodes! (Unless we want to watch reruns--but there will be nothing new!)

Travel shows

Even though I love traveling (though I haven't been able to do it very much in recent years), I'm not a fan of travel shows. I'm interested in what they're talking about and want to discover new places, even if it's just via the TV, but what I find annoying is when the host does everything, to let us know, "Watch me--I'm having a great time!"

Yesterday I was watching something about Southeast Alaska, and I thought we were going to get different information and insight into the isolated life there. But we ended up getting images of the host introducing himself to the people, and in other scenes, he was struggling to drill holes and attempt difficult tasks. I'd much rather see information and images of the people in Alaska doing things, not the host bumbling through, giving us running commentary of his struggle.

Other shows will show the host swimming or taking crazy rides, exclaiming "I'm so scared!" or eating food, saying "This is delicious!" Well duh, it's supposed to be--I don't have to watch you eating it to understand that concept.

The "host having a good time in front of your eyes" structure must work, otherwise they wouldn't use such a gimmick in so many shows, on various stations. But it still doesn't make me want to watch.

Making fun of BBC Brits

Someone sent me this spoof of the BBC--I obviously don't understand some of the phrases, which are probably made up for comedy's sake. And it also reminds me of British TV circa the 1960's. But it's still entertaining :D

Writing that seems hard

I've been watching Inspector Lewis, and it's such good quality (in addition to other Mystery shows), I can't help but wonder: how the heck do they write this stuff? They probably structure the episodes like plays (in acts), but beyond that, how do they create at that level?

Unfortunately, many people don't care about such refined quality, so these types of shows aren't plentiful and we have to sift through the junk to find gems. But I still wouldn't mind learning how to write like that, or at least spend the time trying to develop such a skill. Or have the patience to work on it.

The type of show I wouldn't mind doing

This was on a while ago, but I only saw one episode, and I'm catching the rest of it now: Do You Speak American. It's a documentary about American English, where Robert MacNeil (who I'd describe as a "gentleman journalist" because he's been able to live a civilized media life) travels around the country and talks to people about American dialects and accents. It's the kind of show I wouldn't mind being involved with, but I'm quite far away from those types of media gigs (though I enjoy mine).

I should've seen this

Last week, when part one of The Murder Room was on, I didn't pay attention because I was doing other stuff. But tonight I got a chance to look at part two more carefully, and now I wish I'd seen the whole thing. Because I didn't know what was going on, I couldn't keep watching it, and I wish I had.

I think it's because I've never seen the PD James series, but have seen most of the other shows from Mystery, but since the quality of the programs is often consistently good, then I should've given it a chance.

You'd never see this on American TV

I'm not saying that British TV is more intelligent than American TV (I have no opinion on the subject since I haven't seen all of British TV), but I would never see, and have never seen, an extended grammar lesson on an American TV show. Sometimes I think that since Brits speak the "mother tongue" (since we started out as their colony), they tend to be more "aware" of language, so it's not surprising when such discussions show up in their mass media.

She's not annoying

PBS has been showing a lot of Jane Austen lately, and I tried to watch the various series, but I kept thinking they seemed so annoying. Actually, I tried reading the novels, but I didn't have the patience for the writing. Okay, I was an English major and I've read lots of stuff, but for some reason, Jane Austen's stories were too clever and wordy or something. I do recognize her talent and creative and historical importance, but for some reason, I never got into her work.

Well tonight I started watching Sense and Sensibility, and at first I found it annoying, so I started doing other stuff when it was on, but actually, it's quite good, so I've dropped the other stuff and am enjoying watching it :D

So maybe Jane Austen isn't so annoying after all.

Fritalian (or Fretalian?)

Is this English?

This is what would happen if Star Trek was in Scotland. Presumably, they speak English there, and I speak English too, but I can't understand much of what they're saying. I guess what they're speaking would be called Scottish.

The baby sun

This is going to sound weird, but I sometimes like to watch Teletubbies. I don't have kids, so I don't "have" to have it on, but there's something relaxing about it.

I especially like the Baby Sun. I don't know what the proper name of it is, but there's a baby in a sun, and when the Teletubbies come out of their dwelling or whatever it is, and when they say goodbye, the Baby Sun watches over them, and slowly sets at the end of the show. The Baby Sun also laughs sometimes during the show. The Baby Sun knows and sees All.

I have some Important Questions about the Baby Sun: what does it represent? Is it controlling the Teletubbies? Is it giving them energy? Is the Baby Sun their leader? Does the Baby Sun run their universe? Does everything revolve around the Baby Sun?

Watch the show sometime and you, too, will wonder what role the Baby Sun plays, and if it's the Ultimate Power in that world.

Deluded people

Millions of people watch "American Idol," but honestly, I've never watched it for more than a few minutes. But I had to watch it tonight to look for some good audio for the radio show I'm helping out with, and I must say that in spite of the show being on for several seasons, there still seem to be a lot of people who are totally deluded.

I think it's because people want fame and to escape their boring lives so badly, they convince themselves that they are great, almost as a kind of associated greatness that results when they latch on to celebrities, living vicariously through them.

I can't believe these people think they are talented. They really need to dwell within reality and work on what they really *are* good at.

Star Trek Rhapsody

This is funny, though I'm not a fan of the original Star Trek series. It's based on Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Often said

Here's a line that I often hear on TV: "Excuse the mess--I wasn't expecting company."

I just saw that on the still-lame Stargate Atlantis. Dr. Beckett went to Dr. Weir's apartment, and when he looked at her coffee table with a few dirty dishes on it, she said, "Excuse the mess--I wasn't expecting company." Which made me think that a lot of stories contain such a line.

How many times have we heard that line in movies and TV? I did a search for that phrase, and didn't find much. That would be a funny project--to see a list of how many, and which, movies and TV shows have included that line. I'm sure eventually some obsessive person will create it.

Can't act

Not that this is life-changing or is going to alter world events, but I've been watching the "special" episode of Without a Trace (one of my favorite shows) that also features characters from CSI (I don't know which one--they take place in a few cities), and it seems quite obvious that the CSI folks can't act. Either that, or they've been directed in their show to appear stiff and shallow. I guess that's why I haven't been attracted to CSI--the characters seem fake and posey, and even the lighting is over-dramatic.

I wonder if other people watching the episode agree and see the vast difference between the casts.

Clark

Tonight I was watching the always-enjoyable Inspector Lynley, and noticed that they said "clark" for the word "clerk".

Actually, I first noticed such "odd" British pronunciation last year, when I saw the episode The Seed of Cunning. I didn't think about it until last week, when that episode was re-broadcast. They kept saying "clark" so often, that I had to look at the plot to make sure that it was indeed the word "clerk."

Why do Brits pronounce a word that has an obvious "e" sound with an "a" sound? It's not "clark", it's "clerk." The spelling obviously demonstrates how it "should" sound.

I'm going to ask my British neighbor to say the word. And if he pronounces it like the folks on Lynley, then I'm going to ask him what is wrong with his English ;)

Understood chav

I was watching tonight's Inspector Lynley episode, and heard one of the characters talk about "chavs". Sometimes I don't understand the slang they use, but I understood what a chav was because I found out about it a while ago. So I guess my language "research" helps in understanding TV programs. Which is important for Entertainment Enjoyment.

But there is some sad news: I didn't know that Series 6 started last week, so I missed the first episode, and have to make due with the remaining few episodes of the series. Which means that I have to somehow find a way to move on in life with an incomplete appreciation of Inspector Lynley's greatness. But I'll get over such a tragedy :)

Monk mistake

I used to like Monk, but I think it's quite lame now, so I occasionally watch it, and if I miss an episode, I don't care. I happened to see it tonight and it wasn't much better than it's been. They've made that show quite annoying, focusing more on Monk's mental problems than actual mysteries. The problem is the departure of his original assistant, even though she was difficult. There are other causes too, I'm sure, but since I don't work in L.A., I have no insider info :) But one thing is quite clear: they're certainly doing a lot of marketing and gimmicks to make up for what the show lacks.

Anyway, I noticed a mistake they made that had to do with English grammar, and something that Monk would've caught. But the show's writers and whoever else looks out for inconsistencies didn't bother to make sure that his character acted accordingly. Monk was in a bar, wasting time as usual, and he met a con man. Here's an approximation of the conversation he had with the con man:

Con Man: I'll bet that I can tell you where you got your shoes.
Monk: Ok.
Con Man: On your feet.
[Monk hands over the money because he lost the bet.]

Okay, if the writers had been paying attention, they'd realize that Monk would've pointed out the grammatical mistake that the con man made. He said "got your shoes." That implies where Monk "acquired" them. If the guy chose to be grammatically correct in order to make the scam work, he wouldn't have used "got" because Monk's feet didn't acquire or give them to Monk. The feet are simply wearing the shoes. So maybe the con man should've said "have."

I'm not enough of an obsessive nerd to write the show, but maybe there's a Monk fan out there who's going to point it out. I'm just a Grammar Watcher :)

Diana interview transcript

Soon it will be the 10th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana (or Diana, Princess of Wales). I remember watching the wedding on TV--I thought she was entering into a fairy tale, but it was far from the truth. After she got married, I didn't actively seek out any information about her, including reading magazine/newspaper articles about her or watching her on TV. She was just there, and I assumed she'd be around for years to come.

When she did a revealing interview with a British journalist in 1995, I didn't watch it because I still didn't care about her. Then she died in 1997, and I was so shocked that I read and sought out everything I could about her in various media outlets.

Today they broadcast that 1995 interview, but I wasn't home to watch it. Luckily, I found a transcript, which I just read. I can't believe she suffered so much--her life was so sad. And her death was tragic as well. Among the honesty she shares is this statement: "during the years you see yourself as a good product that sits on a shelf and sells well, and people make a lot of money out of you."

Yes, she was an adult, but she was still a victim. She got married young and had so much pressure put on her, from the monarchy, the public, and the media, and Charles was envious of her and had an affair, and no one seemed to want to help her with her problems. I don't know how many people would be able to deal with all the stuff she had to deal with. It was as if she was living in a fish bowl or echo chamber: everything she did was scrutinized inside and outside the media. And one person who she totally trusted betrayed her by selling their story for a book. And then she was killed because the media was chasing after her.

What a pitiful situation. I wonder how history will preserve her life.

Always the wraith

I might say more about Stargate Atlantis sometime, but for now, I just want to say how simple the plots seem to be. I'm surprised the show has been running for a while because sci-fi audiences tend to be more critical. I'm not into sci-fi enough to go to message boards and websites to see what fans are saying, so maybe I'm not the only one who sees it, but it seems like Atlantis plots are always about the Wraith attacking Atlantis and other planets in that sector.

Plus, there doesn't seem to be much mythology or back-story to the show, so there's not much depth. There are some shows that have described certain cultures in that part of the galaxy, but not enough. It's often, "Oh no, the Wraith are coming," or "Look at this--the Wraith were here," or "We're trying to avoid and/or defeat the Wraith."

Basically, I don't go out of my way to watch the show, and if it's on, I often eventually do other stuff and keep it on in the background because their plots aren't very complex or gripping enough.

Too many characters

I've been watching Miss Marple on PBS, and it's hard to follow what's going on because there are too many characters. At the beginning of each show, they seem to introduce us to a group of like 8 to 12 people who are gathering at a house or party or trip, and I think that's too many. So by the end, when Miss Marple solves the murders, I'm sort of worn out from following all those characters and how their lives are involved with the deceased.

Even when I watched the older Miss Marple series (which was from the 1980's and 90's), I still thought there were too many characters. Plus, that Miss Marple (played by Joan Hickson) would be out of it most of the episode, and then at the end, she'd perk up and solve the murders, giving lots of details that were hardly revealed throughout the show about characters we hardly knew.

Well, Agatha Christie was obviously very successful despite the numerous characters, so whatever she did worked. It's just hard to follow on TV--I've never read her books, actually.

It's for real

I was flipping through the channels and came upon a Rock Paper Scissors competition and wondered if it was a spoof, or if it was true. It was.

The winner got $50,000. That's not a bad way to earn a bunch of moolah. I can't believe that not only were people competing, but lots of people were in the audience.

The USA Rock Paper Scissors League has a site that looks legit too.

Very interesting...and seemingly silly.

Lighting matters

This is an obvious observation, but when I watched The Star Trek Voyager episodes of Future's End, I noticed how important lighting is in movies and TV.

For instance, Captain Braxton looks quite different in Part One when he first is trying to destroy Voyager (see pic below).



But then in Part Two, he looks totally different because events in time changed, which made the future change, which made Captain Braxton change as well (see pic below).



It's all from the lighting--it's very effective. So since I saw those episodes a while ago, I often see how lighting is used in stuff I watch. It's interesting how it sets the mood in addition to aesthetics.

It's over!

I had a feeling and didn't do a search online because I didn't want to know (face reality), but Gilmore Girls, a show that I've been watching consistently from the beginning, is now over!

They say that the show started in 2000, but I thought it started in the 90's, because I was working at a youth hostel when I first saw it. It was the second or third episode, and I was flipping through the channels when I came upon the show. I thought the mother was ditsy and didn't understand what was appealing about watching her not acting her age. But I kept watching because I kept working those nights (it was originally on Thursdays), and got hooked.

This is basically why: it allowed me to escape. I mean, isn't that what entertainment is for? I thought it unbelievable, thus worthy of escapism, that a small town would include so many interesting, quirky people. Usually there is intolerance towards "difference" or odd behavior, but the townspeople seemed to appreciate such qualities. Also, the townspeople got along with each other and they were a true community. Plus, the Gilmore family were rich blue bloods. That's not common, so it was enjoyable to see their fancy parties, exclusive clubs, and tasteful consumerism. Problems were solved, everything was cute, and relationships were interesting.

Of course, there was a point when I thought it jumped the shark, so I didn't watch it for a bit, but I returned because I wanted to keep following the characters. I didn't have the same kind of interest and "love" for it as I originally had, but I still had to know what was going to happen.

And now it's over. My Tuesday nights are going to be lacking, and I won't see any more developments in that make-believe world of wealth, intelligence, and eccentricity. I can't believe it, but I have to accept it.

Funny conspiracy

A while ago, I saw the Voyager Conspiracy, and took it quite seriously as I followed Seven of Nine's explanations of her theories of sabotage aboard the ship. Then I found out that it was all a result of information overload and her resulting paranoia.

Well the episode is on right now, and I'm just cracking up because I know what the outcome is, and I see Janeway and Chakotay distrusting each other, while Seven is even accusing a girl of taking sides in supposed looming destruction. Too much information in her cortical implant. Which reminds me of conspiracy folks I've met who even doubt the validity of the landing on the moon.

Garrett Wang seems cool

I highly recommend listening to the interview with Garrett Wang. It's a podcast, and the interview isn't at the beginning of it--it starts around a quarter of the way in.

It's interesting to hear about his background, and his impressions of Hollywood and Voyager (which includes harsh opinions about producer Rick Berman and tidbits about Kate Mulgrew's negative reaction to the addition of Jeri Ryan).

The interview is long--a rarity in the media, which is why podcasts are sometimes better than other audio/video, and it allows you to really see what Garrett Wang is like: he seems interesting and fun!

I've posted a picture of what he looks like now, with another Trek actor I'd like to meet: Tim Russ.

If anyone wants to grant me a wish, it's that--and I think they'd think I was interesting, too :)

lego Stargate

Here's something delightfully nerdy: a Stargate made totally from Legos. It rotates, "spins the inner ring randomly for x seconds, then reverses direction, seven times" and its chevrons light up!

Check out all the features. It takes real talent to create this type of thing. Incredibly nifty!

Star Trek hell

Today I heard Kira say, "What the hell" when she was wondering why DS9 had disappeared. Even though I'd seen that episode before, I hadn't really questioned her use of the word because various characters say it.

But when I heard it today, I had to wonder: why would a Bajoran say it? Their spiritual beliefs do not include the concept of hell, so if there's no cultural basis for it, then her language wouldn't contain it, either.

Then my mind got going: have any other aliens used it, or is it just Bajorans, or more specifically, just Kira? Could it be that she never speaks English but only speaks in her own language, and the Universal Translator is converting her own Bajoran-based word to an English approximation, which equals "hell"? Did the writers even consider this, or does this go into one of those nerdy lists of Star Trek discrepencies (which I'm sure exists somewhere)?

This is another layer that I have yet to explore in that series, which can easily be answered if I did some online research, but I'm not obsessed enough with the show to do that.

noooooooooo!

I just had a very long day: I left at 7:30 am and got home at 9:30 pm. So I settled down, expecting to find some entertaining tv, when I saw that I had missed a fresh episode (at least in the U.S.) of the hot inspector. No! I can't believe it! I've become slack in my obsessive Lynley recording and/or watching (depending on if I'm around to see it "live" or have to tape it for later viewing). In the past, I would've sought out any important Lynley-related info and taped accordingly, but I missed it. Oh, the suffering we endure in our cushioned societies.

I just hope that some nutcase/evil people don't want to celebrate the 9/11 anniversary in some horrific way. :(

Stargate cancelled?

I saw a Stargate SG-1 fan, and the first thing he said to me was, "Have you heard the news?" Well, I couldn't figure out which news: there was no 9/11-type of incident occuring, and there's just so much bad news out there, I don't know what's important sometimes.

And then he told me: Stargate SG-1 has been cancelled. Wow, no surprise there: it was going downhill when some of the actors were scaling back and they added the party slut to the show--I talked about it when I noticed the decline. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to watch it for a while because Comcast yanked it from regular cable, but I doubt I've been missing much. What made the show good was the chemistry of the cast and the interesting storylines and history/mythology.

The problem is, I can't find any official information about the cancellation, which makes me wonder if it's just a rumor. But the guy I was talking to is a big fan, so he probably has acquired a good tip from somewhere reputable.

Essplain to the Mexican

I just saw something that is not available anywhere else: a show on CAN-TV (Chicago public access) called "Essplain to the Mexican."

Unfortunately, there's no information about it online, and I think this is the first mention of it anywhere. But what makes it so Chicago and American is the variety of people who called in and the content of the show, as well as the freedom to do it.

A woman, who is half Mexican and half Guatemalan, sat in a chair and threw out questions about random things, asking the television audience to "essplain" to her what they mean and why the exist. So she asked about such things as water polo and polo, seltzer water and soda water, and other stuff. Then she waited for people to call in to "essplain" them to her.

The callers were typical of Chicago: white, black, ghetto, educated, gay, straight, single, married, and other urban variations. In between calls, she talked to her sister on her cell phone and read text messages. It was like a video blog--that's the best way to describe it.

I wouldn't be surprised if she gets more viewers. It's just so odd, it's fascinating, and something that we can't see elsewhere. Even in the 'burbs.

CNN blondes

Someone read my post about the Fox Blonde Helmet Heads and sent me a video link of CNN's blonde obsessions. It's a spoof, and viewer discretion is advised.

Helmet heads

I'm not crazy about Fox News, and not for the same reason other people aren't crazy about it. I can't bring myself to watch all those blonde helmet heads babble within programming that resembles football pre- and post-game shows.

It reminds me of what people used to say about Alfred Hitchcock: he liked using blondes in his movies and even became obsessed with some (all?) of them. And now that I see this picture of the Fox Boss, there doesn't seem to be much difference between the philosophy or looks of him and Hitchcock.



Below are a few of the helmet heads that either have decided to dye their hair a brassy blonde or were told to. Often I suspect that they were "encouraged" to do it, otherwise the Fox Boss would move on to other chicks for sufficient entertainment. Unfortunately, these pictures do not capture the true tackiness of their helmets. If you dare to watch Fox, you'll see absolute blondeness, which is more of an orange-yellow, with none of the dark roots and strands that are in these pictures.





I've talked to Fox Fans (guys, of course) who like their women cute, and do not see any helmets, just pleasant collagen-injected lips moving to the monitors. One guy even sent me an urgent email, saying that I was wrong, that they do have a variety of non-helmeted women, but at this point, I'm not willing to watch Fox 24/7 to confirm it.

Retrospectively campy

Last summer, I complained about the loss of the Sci-Fi Channel on regular cable because I had been watching Stargate SG-1 for a while. Luckily, I was obsessed enough to tape all the reruns they played on Monday, so I would watch those throughout the week before they played the newest episodes on Fridays. Even though the series was getting weird and wacky, I still had to see it. And I saw all the episodes before they yanked the channel, so my "hard work" paid off.

Well, today I saw an episode on broadcast TV (they're a couple of seasons behind the Sci-Fi Channel), and thought, "Wow, that's a weird and campy show." I remember when I first saw the series--I thought it was odd and cartoony. But eventually, thanks to all those successive reruns on cable, I grew to like it until I couldn't go a week without ingesting it.

Now that I've been away from it for several months, I can better see the loopiness of it. Was I really that into it? Why? It's sort of like seeing someone you used to be infatuated with and wondering, "What did I ever see in them?"

Ferengi and farangi

I was telling someone that I think that Quark is my favorite character on DS9 because the actor conveys the character's complexity and depth. Then we were talking about Ferengi, and my friend said that "farangi" (spelled a little differently but with the same sound) is the word for "foreigner" in Farsi (she studied it and had been to Iran). Then I realized that the Thai word for foreigner, farang, sounds similar. So what's the deal?

"One explanation for the origin of this word is that it is borrowed from the Persian word farang which means Frankish. Another explanation is that it derives from farangset, which is the Thai pronunciation of français, the French word for 'French' or 'Frenchman'...In Farsi, the word farangi refers to foreigners."

I guess it's all the traveling that the folks of yore did. Now similar things are happening, except we can travel virtually anywhere via the Internet, so it will be interesting to see how language continues to evolve that way.

By the way, someone who's way into DS9 compiled the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition. Good to know that people have lots of time on their hands.

Still dumb!

What has happened to the show Monk? It's still awful! It used to be a mystery with comedy that came from the characters, but now it's just a stupid situational comedy. There's no mystery--I can easily solve it within the first few minutes. Maybe since Tony Shalhoub won an Emmy, he's on auto-pilot now. Where is there to go but down from his high perch?

I'm not obsessed about it enough to join a message board and talk about it with others, but I did send an email to the network to ask them if they fired the previous writers. This reminds me of when the horrendous Enterprise debuted. I gave up on that T&A series after a few shows--the producers went for the LCD by abandoning intelligence for cheap thrills and stupid characters, with at least one bad actor/slut thrown in with a smattering of semi-decent ones.

Hello, Hollywood, there's still intelligent life out here!

Is he high?

Whenever I watch the show FreeStyle, I often wonder if Aaron Foster films it the day after some serious pot-smoking sessions, or if he takes a toke before the filming begins. He looks as if he likes to "wake and bake." He *is* from northern California, after all. ;)

Usually when you see people on TV or elsewhere, their eyes are focused in some way, even if they're not that intelligent. But his eyes disappear into a haze, and staring into them too long makes me feel lost.

I'm sure someone out there knows if he's partaken in such activities, or if he just has the appearance of a Californian representative of the flakey variety.

Face of stone

I just saw the season premier of Monk. That show has become predictable, with not much plot, and even a non-mystery type like me can easily solve it quickly. It's hardly the show I started watching a few seasons ago.

After seeing such an intelligent show dumbed down, I went to the Jump the Shark site, where a lot of people have complained about Monk's new assistant. Among the complaints about her lack of acting ability, someone said, "She asks for a raise, talks about Trudi and searches for Monk in the graveyard with the same face of stone!!!!!" I never thought of that before. She does seem to not have much emotion, but I don't think she's a bad actress. But it is a good phrase to use when describing people who seem flat, such as: "Wow, Bob really has a face of stone. He never changes his bland reaction."

One of the more amusing comments about just how lame Monk has become is this:

While entertaining and interesting in the beginning, this show is now aiming squarely for the nursing home demographic. Old folks sitting around watching the show, shaking their heads and smiling at "that crazy monk"... anticipating when he'll put his hands in front of his face like a mime and do an exaggerated look around the room. It's become a caricature of itself, much like the later Columbo shows, but with even less of a plot.

I never watched Columbo, but I get the point. I hope they can find some good writers among the thousands who are trying to make it in L.A.

Empty storehouse

I've been taping Star Trek: The Next Generation since the summer because I had no interest in it when it first came out in the 80's and 90's. At this point, I think I've seen most of the episodes, but I've realized that I have a problem: I didn't pace myself. During the holidays, they're not broadcasting any shows, and since I've seen everything on the tapes, the video storehouse is empty, so there's really not much decent TV to watch.

I was so excited that I had so many TNG episodes taped, I stayed up very late to watch them almost every night. As I was going through sleep deprivation, I kept telling myself to be careful, because if I kept watching so many at a time, one day I would have nothing left. And the day has arrived.

It's sort of like spending too much money: you know you should budget, but then you're tempted to spend a lot of money at once, and then when the time comes when you need money for a rainy day, you don't have much left. The same can be said about groceries before a snowstorm: you know you should pile some up because you'll be stuck when the snow comes.

But there's also another problem: I neglected Deep Space Nine because I thought I wouldn't like it, and then when I decided to give it a try and tape those episodes along with TNG, I'd only acquired a few by the time the holiday programming rolled around. If only I would have given DS9 a try even a month before! Then I would have those episodes to enjoy during the holiday season.

So now I'm without both, and soon I won't be able to stay up late anymore because I'll have to start driving a distance to the radio gig, which means early mornings and early bedtimes. It's an entertainment crisis!

Oh yeah, the new year will also bring a programming change:

"[Next] Generation" starts January 8 on G4; it will continue to run on Spike TV as well with time-period restrictions keeping the programs from running in the same daypart. Spike TV will continue to run other "Trek" spinoffs including "Deep Space 9." "Trek" will begin on G4 in the second quarter.

So now my taping schedule will be more complex. Oh, such problems of we who live in comfort!

They must be envious

Actress Alexis Bledel said: "A lot of girls ask for advice on how to get into acting, and I'm kind of the worst person to ask, because it just kind of fell in my lap ... I was just in the right place at the right time."

I'm glad that I don't want to be an actor or a model, because the luck that she has experienced in both professions is remarkable, which might make me envious. It also must make aspiring actors and models envious.

I found an an article that says:

...there's one big reason why Alexis doesn't take her stardom too seriously: She didn't always dream about becoming an actress. In fact, she says that her career just sort of happened to her. When she was 14, Alexis was discovered at a Houston mall and began modeling. During high school she traveled the world as a model...but it wasn't until her freshman year as a film student at New York University that she went to an open audition on a whim and, with no prior professional acting experience, won her starring role on Gilmore Girls.

Imagine that: you're hanging out in a mall, someone affirms your beauty, and then you're sent around the world to model. And then when you get tired of that, you go to a cool school in an interesting neighborhood in one of the best cities on the planet. Then, when you get tired of studying, you decide to audition for a popular television show, and you immediately get the biggest role.

She even recognizes her fortune: "it wasn't a plan of mine to be an actor. It was just something I considered, and then it kind of happened...So it was fortunate timing in a way because it hasn't been a lifelong passion like it is for so many people. Sometimes I wish I felt that way about it--totally enraptured. At the same time, I think it's a great job. And I appreciate it. I'm content with where I'm at right now."

All those wannabe actors waiting tables, wanting to fulfill their dream, and she's arrived, without suffering to get there, or really being that excited about it. And she has the looks too. Can you believe she's Mexican and Argentinian? She looks Northern European--blue eyes, pale skin, and refined features. And she's also fluently bilingual in Spanish and English--that's great.