Grid Effect

Caught up on some television last night including Hard Knocks and Mad Men. Both of which were entertaining, and the latter was insightful as usual, as we got further proof that Draper is probably, nay, definitely an anti-Semite. Is there anything left for this series to delve into? I think this pilot season is only eight episodes long, so I guess its safe to assume they’re not worried about tying up any loose ends. What those ends would be in the first place, I’m not sure. But I want to see something finalized.

Hard Knocks was, if nothing else, assisting us in our fantasy drafts, and we now know to avoid either Brodie Croyle or Damon Huard. But wait, we already knew that. Well, then, it looks like they’re intent on giving the ball to Larry Johnson over 400 times again, so make of that what you will. Honestly, Addai and Gore are better options with the 3 & 4 picks. I also like Westbrook, Henry and Bush more than LJ, but with fantasy drafts, particularly this year, everyone is guessing after Tomlinson and Jackson.

(Thus ends my bitter, off-topic rant)

But yeah, Hard Knocks: definitely entertaining. The lifestyle, the dedication, the unabashedly materialistic wives, are all on display. Herm Edwards seems entirely too magnanimous for how tempremental he can be. Honestly, he’s like Tony Soprano, but he has the makings of a varsity athlete.

Onto the links…

Kid Nation, the new series on CBS is being investigated for some sort of child endangerment. The show is essentially an orchestrated coed version of Lord of The Flies, so this doesn’t come as much of a shock (especially if you read this). But with the developments of such former child stars as Lohan, Spears, and even more archaic than that, Michael Jackson, one would think that parents would strive to keep their kids out of the limelight, not thrust them into it. I wonder how many of them convinced themselves there is something “academic” to the concept. In this case, “academic” would be a high-falutin euphemism for “exploitive”.

We didn’t watch the premiere of Anchorwoman and we never had any intention of doing so. But getting cancelled after on episode is a pretty unmerciful slap in the face. Anyhow, though the participants may not realize it yet, this is probably a blessing in disguise. The show sounded cringeworthy to us, to put it charitably.

American Gladiators is officially on its way back to the small screen. And if they’re looking for a host, I know Joe Theismann is probably looking for a national gig in any arena at this point. Particularly one that’s “visually interesting“. Apparently sarcasm, irony, these things didn’t exist in the 80’s.

Everyone is hopping on the “HBO sucks” bandwagon. I guess that’s what happens when one of the most critically and commercially successful series’ in the history of the medium (much less pay cable) ends its reign. But, with a sixth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Tell Me You Love Me (the borderline soft core porn, as all reports conclude) and Voyeur (Ironically enough, there is reportedly nothing pornographic about) all on the horizon, I’m not counting them down just yet. Also, does getting a divorce increase or decrease the likelihood of a seventh season of Curb? Then again, HBO did turn down Mad Men seven years ago. Is the statute of limitations up on that? can they still be held accountable? Speaking of which…

A Mad Men marathon is scheduled for September 2nd. I implore you people to watch this if you haven’t been already. If you’re planning on sitting around your television labor day weekend, there isn’t a better way to spend it.

This is a weird, if not innovative marketing strategy for NBC. Whatever. I fully support it, so long as it generates viewership for Friday Night Lights.
Also, should you not be satisfied with the product, their first season DVD is fully refundable, but amazingly enough it only cost $30 in the first place. Damn, that beats the snot out of paying $60 a piece for The Wire and The Sopranos. If you’re doing the math at home, that’s twice the price for 60% as many episodes. How can you justify not buying it?

God damnit. Look, I’m thrilled whenever actors from The Wire find other work, particularly work that pays. I never really bought into unconscious race discrimination in hollywood thing until I watched The Wire and saw the best ensemble acting I’ve ever seen, and then never saw any of that ensemble in anything else (with few exceptions). But if Lance Reddick (Lieutenant Daniels) is going to take a role on a primetime series, does it have to be on one I swore I would never watch? Fucking Lost. I guess it’s just beyond me. At least he’s being comparatively financially compensated, even if I don’t understand why now.

I can guarantee, however, that I will be seeing Michael K. Williams (Omar Little) and Amy Ryan’s (Bea Russell) new film, regardless of how obvious and cliche it looks.

That’s it for today, and probably this week. Have a good weekend and if you have a half hour to kill, I highly recommend the It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia episode up on their MySpace page. This is the second time we’ve linked to it, so you know we’re being serious.