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| carrobin |
 Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 10:42 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Great Tony Awards show tonight. There were some time-wasting interludes but not as many as they could have been, and Neil Patrick Harris was phenomenal. There were some really touching moments, like Cicely Tyson's speech, and the right people and shows seem to have won (as far as I know). Generally a good time had by all (except the losers). |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 7:12 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Neil Patrick Harris wipes all other award show hosts in history off the fucking map. Next to him, Bob Hope and Billy Crystal are rank amateurs. Harris is a genuine force of nature.
And, not to categorize unduly, but he makes being gay and out as normal as apple pie. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 9:40 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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Not to mention that he's adorable.
I still can't figure out how he did that fast rap wrap-up at the end of the show. He couldn't have had time to rehearse it (the writing must have been in progress throughout). But he and his backup singer put it over perfectly. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 12:51 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| His focus and concentration are just preternatural. Obviously the words were on teleprompter (as were the opening song lyrics--nobody is THAT good at memorization), but rare is the performer who could make it work that well. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 1:01 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6948
Location: Black Hills
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| What a strangely scheduled series is "Zero Hour" - ep. 1-3 aired in Feb. then ABC cancelled it, but now they are going to run ep. 4-13 this summer. Ep. 4 and 5 ran last night and were actually not too bad. Imagine if the DaVinci Code were jazzed up a bit with some Indiana Jones, evil corporate bigwigs, a Swedish spy/psychopath, and a nun who turns into a sexy Mata Hari - might be some improvement, right? |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:28 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Last night's Mad Men was so riveting I just wanted it to go on and on and on for about two more hours. So much is happening and so much that's game-changing. Next week is the last episode of the season, and next season is the last one. This will be reallllly hard to say goodbye to. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:01 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6948
Location: Black Hills
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Wondered if anyone here had seen either "Life on Mars," and lo the search function actually worked and I found quite a bit of chat about both the UK and US series back in 2008-09. Years I was mostly absent 3rd Eye. Very helpful. I just watched the DVD of the U.S. series, sampled 4 episodes including the tacked-on finale, and wondered if the British series was better. Sounds like it is. I scanned synopses, oozing spoilers but what the heck, and it looks to make more sense just on paper.
In the U.S. version, where naked hippie chicks bring you maryjane lasagna, I think Sam has found the 70's we WISH we had lived through. If you subtract the music tracks from these shows, what you have is cheesy cop procedural combined with sci-fi/surreal bits tossed in haphazardly and all logic holes glossed over at the end by the cheap device of it's-all-an-astronaut's-cryogenic-dream. And everyone, except Sam, is a lurching sexist racist stereotype because I guess that's easier to write than real characters. But Harvey Keitel did his best, I'll give him that.
The biggest logic hole is that Sam doesn't REALLY start out in 2008 and get tossed back to the 70's which would plausibly be his own childhood. He starts out in 2035, which raises the troubling matter of how his 30-something brain contains vivid memories of 1973 and an NYC neighborhood of that period. Oops. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2013 3:39 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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I saw the British "Life on Mars" on BBC America, and liked it a lot. (There was a sort of sequel with a policewoman thrown back in time to the same place, but it ended unsatisfactorily after only one season, at least as shown in the US.) I watched the first episode of the American "Life on Mars" and didn't like it.
Interesting, when I read "Started Early, Took My Dog," I caught a couple of references to "Life on Mars," as well as a few other rather esoteric only-in-England items, like the class difference between folks who shop at Sainsbury's and those who go to Tesco. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 3:19 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6948
Location: Black Hills
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Quote: I caught a couple of references to "Life on Mars," as well as a few other rather esoteric only-in-England items, like the class difference between folks who shop at Sainsbury's and those who go to Tesco
I'm a bit embarrassed, but I bailed on "Started Early..." due to what seemed a hailstorm of esoteric only-in-England items.
Am going to try the BBC version of LoM, however.
My summer guilty pleasure this year is finally dipping a toe into Arrested Development. Starting with the third season, I encountered a funny take on the British, with Charlize Theron guesting as a feeble-minded beauty wrapped in some kind of Bond-ish plot against the Bluths. I am finally getting the intense devotion of AD fans - the jokes come thick and fast and there is no pause for a laugh track or for you to be spoonfed the comedy. There really is nothing quite like it. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| inlareviewer |
| Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:01 pm |
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Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 1949
Location: Lawrence, KS
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bartist wrote: Wondered if anyone here had seen either "Life on Mars,"
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"And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 9:29 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6948
Location: Black Hills
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Thanks, Inla!
CBS, which only comes in here from Omaha, seems to have removed one of its repeaters, so have lost the network until such time as I invest in either cable or roof feelers. So won't be checking out "Under the Dome" tonight. I expect at least one of the King fans here will be tuned in....then again, the lackluster quality of King tv adaptations may deter some. This premise sounds interesting, but I've been burned enough times to be cautious before I climb up on the roof to harvest electromagnetic waves. (well, there's the physical peril, too...) |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:58 am |
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| double post. |
Last edited by marantzo on Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:59 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:59 am |
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| I watched The Killing episode last night. I'd seen it last week also. It's on AMC. Boy, is it gritty. A very realistic explication of life in the grimy, criminal (not all are criminal), lives in run down poverty ridden territory. Not any humour here, but I am impressed with its reality. It's the kind of show that makes you want to take a shower after you've seen it. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2013 5:52 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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marantzo wrote: I watched The Killing episode last night. I'd seen it last week also. It's on AMC. Boy, is it gritty. A very realistic explication of life in the grimy, criminal (not all are criminal), lives in run down poverty ridden territory. Not any humour here, but I am impressed with its reality. It's the kind of show that makes you want to take a shower after you've seen it.
You're on the money, but the show as a result is non-entertainment. That's okay; it just means I'd rather watch Mad Men. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2013 9:39 am |
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| I would watch Mad Men but I haven't seen any of the previous episodes so I don't watch the current ones. I know it is very good though. |
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