I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet

That's right kids, it's moving week.  I won't have a lot of free time for the next couple days so my blog posts may feel a little thin for a while.  In any case, for those of you helping with the move here are some helpful hints:

It's A Pity To Waste A Whole Monte Cristo

I don't have a lot of time to blog this week as I am getting ready for the big move.  I would however like to point out that two of my three TV picks for this season will be debuting this week.  'Life' will premiere on Monday followed by another episode on Friday, and 'Pushing Daisies' will be on Wednesday night.

As for that ever-allusive third pick, well it turns out my third choice for a new show that really is an old show coming back for a second season has gained the awful "mid-season-replacement" status, so I feel I still have time to eventually blog about it.  But here's a hint: It involves a hardware store and the devil.

Many have heard that Paul Newman passed away over the weekend at the age of 83.  He was a very talented actor and gave many great performances over his long career.  So here they are, my top five picks of my favorite Paul Newman movies.

5.  Road To Perdition (2002)

One of the last film preformances I saw Newman give, it was good to see that her still had the stuff. Plus, it's always great when an actor who normally plays nice guys gets to be a cold-blooded killer. And in this film, we get both Paul Newman and Tom Hanks as ethics-defying mobsters.

4.  Hud (1963)

This is worth seeing if only for James Howe's Academy Award winning black and white cinematography. A classic american western, some say it was the last of its kind.

3.  The Sting (1973)

I love con-men movies.  Anytime I can get sucked into the wild world of grifters I consider myself lucky.  'The Sting' is really the grand-daddy of all modern confidence-game films.  From 'The Spanish Prisoner' to 'Matchstick Men' all the way to 'House of Games', they all took a page from this original, which always made the criminals fun and endearing.

2. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Probably my favorite Coen Brother's film.  Newman is great as Sidney Mussburger, a greedy business man who promotes an idiot (a proxy) in an attempt to lower the company's value so he can stage a corporate take-over.  This type of dry comedy always served Newman well, as is evident in my number one pick:

1.  Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

I know it's kind of a cliched pick, but I've always loved this movie.  The friendship and chemistry between Newman and Redford set the tone for who knows how many buddy pictures. 

A special performance of note, not on the list because Paul Newman doesn't actually appear on screen, is his 2006 role as Doc Hudson in the Pixar movie 'Cars'. 

He is the heart of that whole film (well him and the entire Route 66 highway).  He infused a cartoon with feeling and depth just with his voice.  All in all, a great talent with a great career.

An Important Public Service Announcement

Save the clock tower! Save the clock tower! As you may have heard, Mayor Wilson is sponsoring an initiative to replace our clock. Thirty years ago, lightning struck the clock tower and the clock hasn't run since. As a representative of the Hill Valley Preservation Society, I think it should be preserved exactly the way it is as part of our history and heritage.

Don't forget to take a flyer. You never know when it might come in handy!

Donations to The Hill Valley Preservation Society can be made at any time, and don't forget to support our local libraries. Thank you.

The Knight They Drove Old Dixie Down

Just a friendly reminder to those of you who enjoy talking cars; the new revamp of the 80's classic 'Knight Rider' debuts tonight on NBC.

I don't know if it'll be better than the TV-movie they produced earlier this year, but it sure would be hard for it to be worse. I loved the original when I was a kid but it seems like this newest incarnation hasn't embraced anything that made the first series great. What was that, you might ask? Well the answer is simple: camp.

The first series was fun and campy because it didn't take itself too seriously. Heck, Michael Knight had and evil twin named Garth (you knew he was evil because he had a goatee). And if that wasn't silly enough, even KITT the car had and evil twin named KARR.

The show was aware that its premise was a little silly and followed suit. The same can not be said of the promos for this new version. 'Knight Rider' 2008 could take a big lesson from one of the greatest unsold pilots of all time; 'Heat Vision & Jack'.

If you have never seen this I suggest you watch this immediately:

This was a TV pilot that a pre-movie star Ben Stiller wrote and directed for FOX back in 1999. It starred Jack Black (a relatively unknown himself back in '99) as Jack, a former astronaut accidently exposed to high levels of solar radiation. Now, whenever the sun is up, Jack's brain expands making him the world's smartest man. But wait, that's not all! Jack rides around on Heat Vision, a motorcycle that contains the soul of Doug, his unemployed room-mate (as voiced by Owen Wilson).

So Jack and his talking motorcycle ride around getting in adventures just like Michael Knight and KITT used to. The only difference, this show turned the camp meter all the way to eleven. It's a real shame the FOX didn't see the brilliance in this show. Can you imagine how fun a weekly TV show with Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Ben Stiller would've been?

Now if they made the new 'Knight Rider' more like 'Heat Vision & Jack', I would definitely watch. Especially if it included the villainous actor Ron Silver playing himself trying to hunt down and capture the new 'Knight Rider' just as he did on 'Heat Vision' (according to Jack, he is a talented actor AND a cold blooded killer).

P.S. Pop-culture fun fact: Did you know that Ben Stiller met his future wife Christine Taylor while filming the TV show 'Heat Vision & Jack'? It's true!

The Kids Are Alright

Well my friends it is time again to discuss everyone's favorite topic.  Mainly, what am I listening to this week.  Today's answer: The Black Kids.

This is the debut album from a group of kids out of Florida.  I don't know why they call themselves The Black Kids, to my knowledge not a single member of the band is African American (as one might assume).

When I first heard them I didn't know that they were American, because the lead-singer tends to sing with some sort of British accent.  I don't know what it is about front-men of bands adopting english-accents when they sing, but it is a common practice. I guess this is a phenomenon that goes way beyond Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

In any case, this album is a collection of some pretty good pop songs.  In fact, in discovering The Black Kids I also came across their EP from last year called "Wizard Of Ahhhs".  This collection contains many of the same songs as "Partie Traumatic" but with a rougher, less polished sound.  Which album is better?  Well if you ask me they are both pretty darn good.  It might just depend on your mood.

They got a great sound that reminds me of a little bit of the "Hot Fuss" era of The Killers but mixed with a super-fun vibe of early 80's B-52's tunes.  That sounds like an odd combo I know, but it's basically a great album to have in your car when your just drivin' around.

My favorite track from The Black Kids' record "Partie Traumatic" is "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" (Isn't that a great title for a pop song?). It is sort-of an updated version of the classic 1981 Rick Springfield song "Jessie's Girl", which I like because it makes me think of that dog dressed up in a shirt and tie.  Isn't clothing on animals hilarious?

Other tracks of note are "Love Me Already", "Hurricane Jane", and the title track "Partie Tramautic".

You Can Put Lipstick On An Emmy...

What a sad and depressing day.  First I wake up and it's cloudy and overcast.  A gloomy day often equals a gloomy mood; although I'm not sure why outdoor weather would affect me since I like to spend most of the day inside watching television.  In any case, sadness.

Speaking of television, did you see how terrible the Emmy awards were last night.  And this is from a guy who loves TV!  The winners and losers were fine (but I did wish that 'Lost' would get some much deserved Emmy love--Michael Emerson is one of the most brilliant things on a brilliant show--yet lost last night to Zeljko Ivanek), but I wish the show itself had been better.

I think the problem was the five hosts gathered together from various reality shows.  It reminded why I don't really watch reality TV--it is not entertaining.  The group sure meant well, but the collective whole of the sum of their parts was just painful to watch.  I mean, how do you make a show about television (which is awesome) incredibly boring?  I guess if you pick five hosts, some of which are okay in small doses and spread them out over three hours the result is a snooze-fest.

I did like the idea of getting all the nominees from a single category together to host the show, but why would they pick the reality guys (availability, I guess)?  Wouldn't a great group to host be the supporting comedy actors?  Can you imagine Jeremy Piven, Kevin Dillon, Neil Patrick Harris, Rainn Wilson, and Jon Cryer being the hosts?  Wouldn't that have been fun.  Just to see the buddy from "Grosse Pointe Blank", Dally's real-life brother, Dr. Horrible, Dwight, and Duckie (All Hail!) hosting together would be a lot more interesting.

The only Emmy highlights I saw were Ricky Gervais, The 'Laugh-In' reunion, and anything involving Stephen Colbert.  Other than that, I can't say there was much to blog about. Let me know if I missed something, but to me it seemed pretty weak-sauce.

P.S.  If you can identify the "sadness" photo from above, you are officially cool.  If not, well you got issues my friend.

Doogie Howser Plans World Domination

I'll get to my number three pick of the shows you should be watching sometime next week.  For today, I'll begin part of a random series to assign you to locate stuff on the web that you really should experience yourself.  Today's pick: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog.

If you haven't seen all three acts of this web-only series you really are missing something.  It's about a wannabe super-villian in a comic-book world who video-blogs about wanting to take over the world and join "The Evil League of Evil."  Neil Patrick Harris plays Dr. Horrible and the always brilliant Nathan Fillion (is it possible to still miss him as Captain Malcolm Reynolds on 'Firefly'? Boy that was a great show!) as his nemesis Captain Hammer.  Oh, and did I mention it is a musical.  Check out the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXI3obHfwgU

You can download the show and the soundtrack on itunes and I heard that they will soon release it on DVD, complete with a singing commentary track. Check it out.  It's absolutely brilliant.

The Facts Of Life

You know what else you should've been watching last year but probably didn't.  It's my number two pick for the best new show of this Fall's TV season (which again is an old show that debuted last season)!

2. Life

Let's face it, cop shows have been done to death.  Since the advent of television there have been police procedurals (and westerns; but western themed TV shows have been out of vogue for a while--but I haven't forgotten you 'Adventures of Brisco Country, Jr.').  

I remember when I was a kid, Nick at Nite showed actual vintage TV programs from the 50's and 60's, as opposed to reruns of 'Cheers' and 'The Cosby Show' that they currently run.  This gave me a great education in early television, and I learned about the classic cop show.  Chief among them, I was a big fan of the original 'Dragnet' with Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday. He was a tough no-nonsense cop that followed witnesses and clues to solve a crime every week.  Sound familiar?  That's the first half an hour of every 'Law & Order' program (and dozens of other shows).  In fact, I am often surprised just how similar the first half of 'Law & Order' is exactly like an old 'Dragnet' episode from 50 years ago. Some things never change.

There was Hawaii 5-0, Adam 12, TJ Hooker, SWAT, Chips, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, Homicide, Wiseguy, not to mention the slew of "let's solve a crime in about an hour" shows that are so popular these days (Without A Trace, Numbers, Criminal Minds and all The CSI's). And those are just the first shows that come to mind. I know there's a bunch more.

With so many cop shows on TV, the formula is bound to get stale (ask me why I've never watched an entire episode of 'NCIS').  The solution to this problem; whacky characters.  

The whacky cop character had been around for a while, but I think it was perfected in the early 90's with Andy Sipowicz, Dennis Franz's character on 'NYPD Blue'.  He was a tough no-nonsense cop, but he had many personality quirks and character flaws.  He was sexist, racist, a drunk and a bully; and sometimes he'd show his butt.  Basically, he was something different in the type of show we thought we were familiar with.  Andy Sipowicz was the gateway character to some of the crazy crime solvers we have now.

Sometimes it works like with the obsessive compulsive crime solver in 'Monk'.  Then there's the math-whiz who fights crime with his wicked algebra skills on 'Numbers'.  We have the incredibly morally questionable bad-ass cop on 'The Shield'.  We have a fake psychic detective on 'Psych'. And we have a scientist/resident bug expert on 'CSI'. 

But often times the character spin on the cop show doesn't work at all.  Remember 'Hack' about the cop who moonlights as a vigilante/cab driver?  And what about 'Blind Justice' with the cop who lost his eye-sight yet remained on the force and still carried a gun.  Trying to create the balance between cop and quirk can get a little silly at times.

Basically Hollywood is no longer producing normal cops.  All these guys are a little "off" in their crime-solving methods, making them different and some would argue more entertaining that the cops in the police shows of yesteryear.

Which brings me to the show I was trying to recommend.  The NBC show called 'Life'.  For some reason, it seems nobody but me watched this show when it premiered last year, but it is definitely worth a second look.  'Life' is about a good cop named Charlie Crews who was wrongfully convicted of multiple homicides and sentenced to life in prison.  After 12 years in jail, he is exonerated, and given a multi-million financial settlement by the state.  As part of this settlement, he also got back his old job as a detective.  

So now he's out of prison with a lot of money, a badge, and a gun, and he really wants to find the guys that set him up in the first place.  Also, time for a cop behind bars has been difficult, causing him to adopt an odd zen-like philosophy about life and people.  He is a man with a foot in two worlds.  He sees a crime scene from both the perspective of a cop and a criminal, because he has experienced life as both things.  Charlie Crews is funny and off-balanced as a man stuck between his old life and his new one (Did I mention while in prison, his wife left him?  Talk about bad luck).  He is one of those great TV characters, and if you haven't seen it, you should really check it out. 

'Life' season one is now on DVD (Come on--there are only 11 episodes) and the new season premieres on September 29th.  See ya there!

Yippie Kay Aye, Maddie Hayes!

Getting back the the Fall TV season, I do indeed think the crop of new shows are pretty weak (I'm looking right at you 'Gary Unmarried'--and I've noticed you too 'Worst Week').  I think the best new shows of this season will actually be the best new shows of last season.  The programs that most people never even saw due to the writer's strike induced hiatus.  This strike especially hurt new shows that were already fighting to find an audience (Bad news for you 'Journeyman'--we hardly new ya).  

But fear not loyal couch potatoes, some of the networks have decided to roll the dice (really they didn't have much choice due to the writer's strike also affecting pilot season) to bring back some of those shows in the hope that this time they can attract an audience.  So, I am now going to tell you what you should have been watching last year, and how that is also what you should be watching this year.

 1.  'Pushing Daisies'

Easily the best new show of the last few years.  It's art direction alone makes it unlike anything else on TV.  It is produced by Barry Sonnenfeld (you know, the guy that did 'Men In Black') and is the most fun show I've seen in a long time.  The show is about a pie-maker named Ned with an unusual gift; with a touch he can bring people back from the dead.  But like with most unusual gifts there is a catch.  One touch brings the living back, while a second touch makes them dead again--forever.  Also, if the revived dead person is alive for more that about one minute, someone else in close proximity will die.  Got the rules.  Great; because there is also a subplot about the pie-maker bringing back his childhood love from the grave, and choosing to keep her alive--yet never being able to touch her again.  Isn't that both sad and romantic at the same time!

This show works on so many different levels and is able to wind through several different genres at the drop of a hat.  Ned the pie-maker and his childhood sweetheart Chuck, they banter back and forth like they're in a romantic comedy.  The pie-maker often partners with a private-eye who uses his gift to solve murders, finding clues and suspects in an unfolding mystery.  The basic premise and the high-glossy color scheme presents the show as if they are in a fantasy world.  Plus it also stars Kristin Chenoweth (I've been a fan of hers since her days on 'The West Wing') and given her background in musical theater, she often bursts into songs like she is in a musical (Her singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from 'Grease' was one of last season's highlights).  All the characters and plots combined exist in some sort of crazy screwball comedy.  

So there you go.  It's a romance/mystery/fantasy/musical/screwball comedy.  

Why wouldn't you want to watch that?  For some reason the show reminds me a little of the first couple seasons of 'Moonlighting', back before Bruce Willis was John McClane.  I think it is the combination of both comedic and emotional relationships between the characters together with the weekly murder mystery the group must solve that hearkens back to the 'Moonlighting' glory days.

'Pushing Daisies' season 2 premieres on ABC on October 1st! In the mean time, you can catch up by getting the shortened first season of 'Pushing Daisies' on DVD. It just came out just this week, so put it in your queue right away!

Stay tuned for my number two and number three picks of the best new shows for fall; that are really the best new shows of last fall.

It's A Sunshine Day!

What the heck?! No Monday blog??! What is one to do.  Yes, sadly enough I was out of town yesterday and not able to throw my mindless ramblings online for a day.  I know, it's sad, but sometimes life gets in the way of living (or in this case, blogging).

Where was I? Well the Mrs. and I went to Sun Valley, Idaho for the weekend.  I love going up there.  The weather's nice, the restaurants are terrific, and best of all whenever I am there it is because the Mrs. is working, and therefore her company pays for the trip.

This is our third time staying up at the lodge so far this year.  It is fun to visit a place that is usually reserved for the rich and powerful.  You realize this as you walk to the pool passing photos of the lodge's guests over the years;

  There's Frank Sinatra, 

Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, and even Mork from Ork!  It is 

cool for a moment to think of the great history of the lodge, and that you are now a part of it.  Not that I see them putting my picture on the wall by the pool  any time soon.

I think what I like most most about our trips to Sun Valley is the TV in the hotel room (surely the highlight of most vacations).  There is a channel at the lodge that shows the same movie over and over again.  That movie is 1941's 'Sun Valley Serenade'.  Now I've never seen the movie all the way through, but every time we're in Sun Valley I get to see a little bit more.

I know that the movie begins with John Payne (you know, the lawyer guy from the original 'Miracle on 34th Street') as a piano player who's band desperately want to book a gig in Sun Valley.  The band in question is in fact The Glenn Miller Orchestra, although they are referred to in the movie as "Phil's Band".  Glenn Miller himself appears in the movie as a guy named Phil, proving that putting musicians in front of the camera and trying to get them to act is an old notion in Hollywood.  Glenn Miller's line readings are awkward and uncomfortable, but when he and his band plays, they're great.

I've seen the middle of the movie, so I know that at some point there is a love triangle between the guy from 'Miracle on 34th St.' and two women.  I'm not sure how it is resolved since other than that, I have only seen the last fifteen minutes, and it contains no story or characters.  The ending is simply a long extended ice-skating/dance/musical number in a Busby Berkley style.It doesn't resolve the love triangle, but it is sure cool to watch.  

In any case, I hope to return to Sun Valley soon so I can fill in the other bits and pieces of the film.

Oh--Did I fail to mention that the comic relief in 'Sun Valley Serenade' came from veteran character actor Milton Berle?  Now that's really something!