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I’d
like to share my opinion on some fabulous television
shows. Maybe someone will find this interesting.
If you don’t watch TV, perhaps you should not read this.
(My
editor told me to “punch up” the intro, but I’ve failed.
The presidential debates have made me tired, too tired
to be punchy or uppy. Oh well, here’s the list
of shows:)
Arrested Development, Fox – I can watch this
show over and over again. I suppose it might be a little
silly for some folks, but if you haven’t seen it, you
might as well give it a shot. While that may not sound
like a ringing endorsement, I’ve decided to employ a
soft sell. My wife says this is too soft a sell. She
would like to add, “Arrested Development is
the funniest show in the history of funny.” Like most
fans of the show, I was worried that it would get cancelled,
since it didn’t crack the top 100 in the ratings, but
its five Emmys probably guaranteed a full second season.
Rumor has it that there is an Arrested Development
half-marathon from noon to five on FX this Saturday,
October 16, 2004. If you can’t make that, the DVD of
the first season comes out on October 19th and the season
starts at 8:30 on November 7th.
Foyle’s
War, Series 2 on Mystery!/Masterpiece Theatre,
PBS – If you like understated investigators that blink
and nod their head in a very subtle, yet poignant way,
you’ll love Michael Kitchen’s portrayal of Christopher
Foyle in this British police procedural series set during
the Battle of Britain. Because of this series,
Kitchen has risen to the top of my list of favorite
actors. In addition to blinking and nodding, he
delivers a mean detached gaze, followed by a quick piercing
stare. More often than not, this combo produces
a full confession. The second season still is
bouncing around on some PBS stations and you can purchase
the first season on DVD.
Alan
Alda in
Scientific American Frontiers, PBS – I’m not
a scientist, so I can’t comment on the content of the
show, but it’s interesting and Alan Alda is very nice.
(I studied History of Science, though, so I’ll have
an opinion later.) It’s worth watching the show
just to see Mr. Alda treat people nicely. Even
better, you can imagine that you are watching my dad
treat people nicely because Alan Alda is very much like
my dad, only more famous. Actually, my dad is
more of a mix between Alan Alda and baseball player
Andres Galarraga, also a nice man, except that my dad
speaks Greek with an American accent instead of Spanish
with a Venezuelan accent.
Real Sports
with Bryant Gumbel, HBO – The best part about
this show is watching Gumbel—with his “As you can see
by the smartness of my frames, I could have been a professor”
glasses—pretend to take notes while interviewing the
commentators of each of the documentary shorts. The
rest of the show is pretty great too and compelling
enough to watch even if you aren’t a sports fan. The
show typically delves into weighty topics like racism
and vomiting jockeys, but usually has at least one uplifting
segment. The upcoming installment, scheduled for October
19th, exposes the world of camel racing, controversy
surrounding Chief Wahoo’s goofy grin and the injury
rate among cheerleaders.
Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, Showtime – The
outspoken/unspoken comedic magic duo follows Houdini’s
lead and denounces humbuggery where they see it.
Targets of their skeptical ire include UFOs, psychics,
the New Age movement, recyclers, the death industry
and anti-swearing activists. Santa Voca!
Location,
Location, Location, BBC America – I’m embarrassed
to admit that I’ve conned myself into watching another
reality series, but this one gives some good advice
that may be handy if you’re planning on moving to the
U.K. and want to buy a house. One of the hosts is bald
and the other one is not thin, so if you are tired of
watching reality-based series with sexy hosts, this
is a good option.
The Isaac Mizrahi Show, Oxygen – I’ve now been
watching The Isaac Mizrahi Show, or as I still
like to call it, The
Mizri Mizrahan Show, for about six months.
I’m pretty sure that it’s the best show on the Oxygen
Network, which bills it as, “Fabulous, fun and always
in fashion!” I can’t disagree with that, although
I wish Mizri would stop wearing bandanas. By the
way, he answers fashion questions via email on his show.
I wanted to share his email address with you but I can’t
find it. In lieu of that, I’ll be happy to answer
any questions. I’ve seen nearly every episode
and have worn a fussy pant or two in my day, so I think
I’m qualified to take a first stab at your emails.
If I’m stumped, I’ll ask my wife, who is good at matching.
If she’s at a loss, I’ll look for Mizri’s email address
again.
Mr.
Lewis can be reached at jeff@babblog.com.
Copyright
Jeff Lewis, 2004 |
