Watching Newhart episodes on Hulu, and I’m still convinced it was the greatest sitcom ever.
Stephanie was one of the greatest characters ever made.
This post is in: Open Threads, Television
Watching Newhart episodes on Hulu, and I’m still convinced it was the greatest sitcom ever.
Stephanie was one of the greatest characters ever made.
by John Cole| 91 Comments
This post is in: Movies, Open Threads
Horton Hears a Who! is on HBO, and every time it comes on, I am reminded of this review for the Cat in a Hat a few years back:
If you’re hankering for a movie about an awkward yet lovable “outsider” type who wanders into a pastel mock-up of Middle America and cajoles the straights to get saucy, you’re in luck. It’s called Edward Scissorhands, and it’s been available on video for years. Renting it will absolve you of having to endure Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, which is, in essence, Edward with a queasy mean streak, no concept of pacing apart from “faster,” and such a remarkable rift between its charming source material and its heinous cinematic realization that the producers may as well have skipped the hassle of securing licensing rights and simply called this mess Mike Myers: Asshole in Fur.
I’m a big fan of funny but scathing movie reviews. Tim F. sends me some good ones from time to time, but it is never enough.
by John Cole| 18 Comments
This post is in: Military, Television
This:
It was Sunday night in Baghdad, and President Obama was ordering Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of the American troops here, to shave Stephen Colbert’s head. (Not to give everything away, but the general is not as brutal with an electric razor as one would expect a bald man to be; Mr. Colbert’s hairdresser, on the other hand, has a merciless streak.)
War, as things go, is a fairly unironic exercise. Sure, there are endless incongruities to be found and parodied in the speeches about war from politicians, generals and heads of state. But war itself — the dirty, dangerous business of soldiers on the ground — seems to be about as earnest a trade as you can find.
Into this comes Mr. Colbert. He is taping four episodes of “The Colbert Report,” the Comedy Central show featuring his egotistical, fake-macho, nationalist blowhard alter ego, in Baghdad this week. It’s the first time in the history of the U.S.O. that a full-length nonnews show has been filmed, edited and broadcast from a combat zone.
Good for him.
by John Cole| 66 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads, Television
So I’m watching the first night of the new show Expedition Africa, and on the first day, their very first decision was to travel nine miles inland into Tanzania without any water. “We’ll just get some water when we get to our destination,” and off they charged into the wild. They also have one explorer whose job title is “navigator,” and presumably he is along to navigate the party, and NONE OF THEM LISTEN TO HIM.
I’m thinking we should probably start a pool on how many of them die.
by John Cole| 87 Comments
This post is in: Television
Chuck rules.
Just thought I would throw that out there. Sure, it is silly, and immature, and dorky, and that is what I like about it. I’m actually having more fun with this show than I have in a while.
My brother and I agree that one scene from season one may be some of the funniest stuff we’ve seen on television in a long while, if only because of the inane conversations my mother, brother and I have. At any rate, Chuck was accusing Casey (Adam Baldwin, aka Jane from Firefly), of enjoying the surveillance he was doing of Chuck. Casey then went and played back a conversation he had recorded of Chuck and his friend, in which they discussed what kind of sandwich they would take on a desert island, and it devolved into an argument over whether or not Jessica Alba between two slices of bread counted as a sandwich. I was laughing so hard I was crying, because I have had thousands of conversations like this with my brother and mom.
Again, what a fun show.
Also, completely unrelated, but I was thinking a homemade cilantro ice cream would go really well as a side to a particularly spicy Thai or Mexican dish. What do you think of that?
by John Cole| 54 Comments
This post is in: Television
When I started reading Pratchett, you all came up with this handy guide for reading order.
A friend wants to start watching BSG, and my viewing has been so spotty that I can’t remember to tell him what to watch first. What is the definitive order for viewing, including any miniseries and what not?
by John Cole| 91 Comments
This post is in: Television
I’m really liking it so far, and I give it a thumbs up.
This is where a dozen of you armchair Eberts jam the comments with remarks that I have no taste, that so and so was a much better show and that it was first done in an obscure series that no one but someone really cool like you remembers, and that Southland really sucks.