I FINALLY Got Arrested

So I finally gave in. After years of people telling me I should watch Arrested Development, Mary Ann and I rented the first DVD from the first season. The straw that broke the camel's back was the fact that the guys who do The Steelehouse Podcast named it as one of their top ten shows of the decade. You should check out that podcast, by the way. A thoughtful and enjoyable look at pop culture from a Christian perspective.

But back to the show: Typical. Really. I don't mean Arrested Development was typical. What's typical is that it was cancelled after three seasons. Good shows don't make it much longer than that. Mary Ann and I are joining the chorus. Arrested Development was quite hilarious.

For those of you who are slow to take recommendations like me, now is the time. Outside of 30 Rock I doubt there's a show that even approaches Arrested Development's level of hilarity. Quirky characters can get old quickly if poorly written, but the cast of Arrested Development, while quirky, never fail to surprise.

If you watch the show now, you can see how much of the writing and direction has pointed the way for comedies currently on the air. If you promise to watch the show that started the trend, then I promise to stop reviewing shows that have been of the air for six years.

Desperately Seeking Laughter

I like to think I don't watch much TV, but that's not true.  I watch plenty of TV.  I watch cartoons with my boys.  I watch CBS Sunday Morning every week.  I eagerly anticipate Antiques Road Show every week.  I also like The History Detectives, and I watch football.

Here's the thing:  I like to laugh.  Not surprising, I guess; a lot of people like to laugh.  I ask you, though, what is there to laugh at on television?  None of the aforementioned programs are comedies.  I've watched episodes of How I Met Your Mother.  I've seen Chuck.  I'm half watching SNL right now.  They don't get it done.  I'm not saying these shows are unfunny, but I don't crack up when I watch them.  I chuckle regularly, but I never get that good, cathartic belly laugh I'm looking for.  I've resorted to perusing YouTube for Mystery Science Theater 3000 clips.

That's why I would like to, publicly and in writing, thank Tina Fey.  Thank you Tina Fey, for 30 Rock.  Yes, I'm aware that the show has been around for a few years now, but until recently I had never seen an episode.  I try to avoid being trendy, you see, and if a show gets popular I usually avoid it.  This had been the case with 30 Rock until my wife recently started watching it.  Since she was watching (and enjoying) the third season, she wanted to see the earlier seasons.  We have Blockbuster Online, so we got the first disc.  We made short work of it, and traded it in at Blockbuster for Season 1 Disc 2.  That was earlier tonight, and we've watched over half of the episodes on that disc.

So thank you Tina Fey.  30 Rock  is the only show on TV right now that keeps me laughing.  The concept is good, the writing is absurdly hilarious, and the cast is spectacular.  I haven't been pleasantly surprised about a TV show in a long time, but 30 Rock has done it.  They consistently hit the mark.  Keep up the good work, folks.  Thanks for lightening my heart.

Ending the Bender

Mary Ann and I have been bingeing on Heroes for the last few weeks.  As fans of the show realize, the third season of Heroes begins this Monday, so we needed to play catch-up.  Let me explain:  I'm a contrary sort of guy.  If a TV show gets popular I do my best to avoid it.  There's something satisfying in the look of bewilderment on a Lost fan's face when I tell them I don't watch the show.  The same goes for 24, though I'm not sure that one has as big a following as it once did.  Up until a couple of weeks ago Heroes fell into the same category.  Fortunately for Milo Ventimiglia, I recently regained an interest in comic books, which lead to a softening of the heart when it comes to shows involving super heroes.  We were picking up some $.99 movies at Blockbuster, so I grabbed season one, disc one.  We got hooked.

Two weeks have passed, and it's all over.  We have seen seasons one and two, often watching two or three episodes in a night.  Most of the time we would start at 10:00 PM and continue until about 1 AM.  This hasn't been great for our ability to think clearly during working hours which, I'm certain, has contributed to my anemic post-count in September.  I can't seem to write anything good these days.

This will seem a bit over the top, but I feel a bit like I've gone on a bender and am just now sobering up.  My head is clearing up, and soon I'll be able to write . . . for my classes.  That's frustrating.  I haven't kept up with my reading very well this semester.   It's been hard because I am heading in a different direction now.  It's not that I don't want to learn the stuff being taught--it's the Bible after all--but I need to be writing so I can have something good ready for an MFA program.  And I need to prepare for the GRE.  But hey, at least I remember what I need to do now.  That's the first step in recovery.

Who Watches the Watchmen . . . Act?

The first trailer for The Watchmen is out.  It looks excellent.  Dr. Manhattan is stunning.  Max and Leo have been cracking me up because, since they saw the trailer, they have been playing Watchmen.

"I'm Dr. Manhattan," Leo says.

"I'm Rorschach," Max replies.

Then they run around and battle and fight the bad guys.  It makes me laugh because their perceptions of what Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach are like are, shall we say, a bit off.  I just don't have the heart to tell Max that Rorschach is a mentally unstable far right conspiracy theorist and not a noble hero.  I also don't want to tell Leo that if he wants to be Dr. Manhattan he needs to be naked.  Because, y'know, he'd probably be fine with that.  They'll find all this out anyway when I take them to see the movie next March.

Just kidding.  If you've read Watchmen you'll probably remember that it's less than kid-friendly.  I do plan on seeing myself, though.  The trailer was one of the best parts about going to see PART of The Dark Knight this past weekend.

That's right.  PART of The Dark Knight.  The story goes like this:  A few of us guys who live on campus here at the Seminary got together to go see The Dark Knight Sunday night.  We all rode together and had a good time chatting.  I was a little disappointed that only a couple of us were old comic book junkies so I couldn't talk comics with them, but we had a good time anyway.

We arrived at the theater later than we had wanted so we couldn't all sit together, but I sat with one of the guys and another found a seat directly behind us.  We had been there for about an hour and a half, I think, when it happened.  At one moment Harvey Dent's large, dimpled chin was occupying the screen, the next, darkness.  The emergency lights came on, and a theater employee told us that the power went out and when it came back on the movie would pick up where it left off.  Unfortunately, it was not to be.  They never got the power back on.  10:30 rolled around and they bounced us from the theater.  We got vouchers for a free movie, of course, but here it is Friday and I've still never seen the end of The Dark Knight.  Hopefully I won't have to wait until it comes out on DVD.