Food for thought

Just a few nuggets to pass on...

"Flashforward": Thursdays at 8pm

"FF" is the best new show on TV. It debuted last week
and was riveting!! Following the show's premiere, I immediately had a
flashforward of my own...showing me regularly tuning in on Thursday nights ;)

"Her Fearful Symmetry" - Audrey Niffenegger

Author of "Time Traveler's Wife" has just released her follow-up book. If you liked "TTW", it may be worth checking out...

thirtysomething: Season 1 (DVD)

I'm almost done with the first season of thirtysomething and I am a
big fan! Great ensemble cast with richly drawn characters...and it's
interesting to see the group dynamics among them as well as some of
the individual relationships - some characters get closer, while some characters' relationships are fraying.
Overall, I've been careful to not read articles about the show as the
few I've read have had huge spoilers (understandably since the show is
22 years old). One thing I did see is some mild criticism from some
fortysomethings and fiftysomethings re-watching the show, who now find
some/all of the characters to be whiny.

You're right - but wasn't Rachel a little whiny (or, a lot - depending on the episode) on "Friends"? Diane of the late, great "Cheers" may have perfected whiny...you just may not have noticed it in the
constant barrage of her high-brow vocabulary, that was often over the head of all but Frasier. And Michael Scott's ("The Office") whiny extends far beyond any whiny Hope ("thirtysomething") could muster...in fact he may be more of a child than her daughter, Janey.

And maybe - just maybe - this part of the post could be construed as whining? ;)

You get the picture. Sure - there are actually times when some of the characters might be prone to whine...but I don't think it takes away from the show.

I think the only drawback with the show is the decision - a rights one, I'm sure - to release one season every six months. After twenty-two years, that's how you reward old fans?? Not to mention new ones--don't you run the risk of alienating new viewers who decide they can't/won't wait to pick up the adventures of Hope, Michael, Nancy, Elliot, Gary, Melissa and Ellen because they aren't able to do this until February 2010?? Baffling.

More "Flashforward"...

More to suggest some sort of "Lost" connection - check out the billboard ad for OCEANIC AIRLINES...ooh, creepy!!!

See for yourself at TV Fanatic!

New Show to Watch: Flashforward

I'm tired so this will be brief - if you add one new show to your viewing, TiVo or DVR queue this season, it sounds like "FlashForward" may be the one to make the cut.

Starring Joseph Fiennes, Dominic Monaghan and Sonya Walger (Monaghan and Walger, both of "Lost", Charlie and Penny, respectively), the show is actually being compared to "Lost" and will use similar time slices: the entire world blacks out for two minutes, seventeen seconds; during this time, they experience 'flash forwards' six months into their future.

The show debuts this Thursday, September 24th. You can check out an extended preview here, courtesy of TV Guide:

Where Are They Now: Updated Whereabouts for the cast of "Prison Break"

Thanks to Digital Spy for updating "Prison Break" fans as to where their favorite fictional cons have landed, following the cancellation of the show earlier this year.

You can tell the writer was a fan...the character synopses are dead on, particularly Sucre's 'whiny pining for Maricruz' (yes...he was my favorite...even over Michael!)

Not to mention the clever moniker the writer gives the motley crew...the 'Breaky Bunch' - love it!!!

Alec Baldwin dreams big...Beatle-big!

"30 Rock" may be one of the funniest shows ever on network TV - to say the humor is outrageous would be a great understatement and is constantly upping the ante. Tina Fey, woman of many talents, writes/directs/stars in her comedy and the all-star cast features Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, and other fine comedic actors who have gained fame through this show's repeated Emmy wins and four seasons on the air.

Are the folks over at "30 Rock" satisfied with their success?? Nope, they continue to push the envelope with Alec Baldwin talking to Extra about his 'dream team' for the show.

Can't wait for the new season to start (I've heard October 15 is the season premiere) to see if any of the dream-teamers are put on the roster!!

Failed Flan: Why You Do Not Need To See "Julie and Julia"

A friend and I went to see "Julie & Julia" recently and we were both disappointed with this movie.

The good? Meryl Streep, who I don't think has ever turned in a poor performance in her career, which now spans more than thirty years. Her impression of Julia Child was pitch-perfect (I'm taking this on word of said friend and critics as my knowledge of the great Julia Child is limited). I also liked Stanley Tucci's performance as Child's loving husband, Paul.

The bad? Way too long!! At two hours, fifteen minutes the movie felt tedious; part of the problem was shifting between the two narratives: NYC/Queens circa 2002 - featuring blogger Julie Powell (Amy Adams) and husband, Eric (Chris Messina) - and the 1940's showcasing the Childs, primarily set in France. I'm not sure what could have been done differently - after all, director Nora Ephron did need to provide enough detail to both stories - however someone needed to take a red pen to this screenplay--it was easily thirty minutes too long!

Amy Adams is a talented actress and her performance here was limited by the adaptation of the Julie Powell character; in the book, she was edgier...not as cute...and funnier. Her cooking meltdowns, as depicted on screen, were not nearly as monumental or as messy.

While a fun night out, this one is a skip, in my opinion...especially since the Bronxville movie theatre DID have other options that night...Renee Zellweger's "My One and Only" - has anyone seen this one?

Happiness is...

an afternoon at the bookstore :)

Thanks to a recently found Barnes & Noble gift card, I had the opportunity to wander the aisles yesterday, bringing a little joy to an otherwise very somber day.

I went there with a few authors/books in mind - Liz Rosenberg, Claire Cook, "Beach House" by Georgia Bockhoven - and didn't purchase any of them!! Of course, I do still want to read these authors but it's nice to have some time to browse...see what finds might present themselves. I cannot resist the siren call of a well laid-out display table of books...ah, book nirvana!

I purchased four new books-- including two by author Julie Buxbaum, "After You" and "The Opposite of Love".

I've already started "After You" and it's a pageturner so far - I'm about seventy pages in. Ellie is a married woman in her mid-30's living in Boston when a tragedy summons her to London: her best friend has been murdered. Ellie doesn't think twice about dropping everything to go and stay with Lucy's husband, Greg, and Lucy's eight-year-old daughter, Sophie, who is Ellie's goddaughter. You may have noticed that Ellie's husband, Phillip, hasn't been mentioned and that is because he doesn't join her in London, which says volumes about the current state of their union.

Will keep you posted as I read more and let you know if this one is worth adding to YOUR reading list :)

Spend your commute with a good book!

Riding the subway - good people watching and could be browsing grounds for your next read! We've all done it - snuck a peek at what the rider across the aisle is reading...thanks to the New York Times, now we're talking about it!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/nyregion/06reading.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=reading%20on%20the%20subway&st=cse

For more info on what gems riders are reading, check out The Subway Book Club, a blog mentioned in the above article - what a great idea!! I especially love the title of the most recent post, 'Book as Accessory'.

So, dear readers, what book(s) are you toting around in your shoulder bag or purse?

All the world's a stage: "State of Play"

If you count "All the President's Men" among one of your favorite films, then you will like "State of Play". A lot.

"State of Play" is a deft political thriller showcasing the vital role journalism can play in unraveling a scandal buried deep on Capitol Hill whose culprits extend beyond the members of Congress. Starring Russell Crowe, as the weathered veteran reporter, and Rachel McAdams, as the cub reporter just starting out, the film also illustrates a current 'state of play' in journalism, namely the war between print journalism and online journalism. Crowe's character, Cal McCaffrey, typifies the old school journalist with his 1990 Saab doubling as a second office on wheels as he tracks down sources and leads, the car littered with crumpled papers and Cheetos bags, steno notebook in hand. Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) embodies the new school as a blogger for their paper (the fictional Washington Globe)--she is churning out copy every hour, constantly writing and updating readers via the newspaper's online blog. Although McCaffrey initially regards Frye as a hack - simply because of the medium she embraces - he comes to begrudgingly respect her and they work together on the expose at the center of the movie.

It is a good movie and it makes the case that a good journalist is comparable to a good cop in the way he or she goes about doing their job: this point is made in the smallest of details - seven minutes into the film, they zoom in on McCaffrey's cluttered desk...lingering for just a moment on a copy of the book, "Blue Blood" by Edward Conlon...a Harvard grad turned Bronx cop who wrote a bestseller about his experiences as a cop...very nice detail for any book nerds familiar with Conlon as a way to show the manner in which McCaffrey approaches his reporting as patrolling a local beat - to entire scenes: one that comes to mind is about 45-50 minutes into the film and is a showdown between the lead reporters & EIC and the local police.

Crowe is excellent, which is no surprise; McAdams is very, very good. I liked the pairing of these two actors (initially I was a little bit unsure of McAdams in this role, even though I like her tremendously) and the dynamic between them. The film features other big names in supporting parts: Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels, and Jason Bateman. Of this acting 'who's who', they were all good - particularly Penn & Affleck - however I slightly objected to Bateman's casting for his role. No bones with Bateman or his acting...just would have liked to see someone slightly smarmier in that role...I just don't know that the choice of Bateman was believable.

See this one!

P.S. Point of disclosure: This film is based upon the British miniseries of the same name which aired in 2003 and is supposed to be excellent. Will update you if/when I watch it to see how the two compare.

One more...

"24" meets "The Office. My only question: where's Chloe?!

http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/05/24-office-parody.html

"Mad Men" spoof

For all you "Mad Men" fans, here's a little laugh for your Wednesday:

http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/television/mad_men_explained_in_60_seconds_130481.asp?c=rss

Thanks to Media Bistro for posting this and a shout out to Sean for sending it on to me :)

Reading the user comments, apparently there's a similar spoof for "24" meets "The Office"...this I gotta see!

"Damnit, Dwight, that sales call was really an attempt to infiltrate Dunder Mifflin's internal ops!! Where's Jack...Chile's again??!?"

Thirtysomething: first review

It's official - I'm hooked on "thirtysomething".

Each night, I'm watching an episode and a half (or so)...until I finally have to give in to sleep.

I really liked that the first episode (the pilot) just jumped right in to the thick of their lives...there wasn't a lot of lay-up or lengthy introductions. As a result, I did get two characters' names confused but it was otherwise easy to follow. The dialogue is quick, the banter witty and much of what they're saying still seems relevant, even though this show first aired twenty-two years ago; we may be wearing different styles in 2009 (which, thankfully do not include shoulder pads!) yet trying to juggle it all - parenthood, careers, friendships - is still something most people contend with, whether their jeans are Sassoon or True Religion.

Stay tuned...