No, not the title of the blog or the entry, but the one she ought to use as described in the actual entry.
Very funny blog -- y'all check it out.
I am here, but I have had a ton of work to do, and family all over here, and another headache from hell (one day I will post about the cluster headaches, but I like you all too much to subject you to that right now). And there has been some Gilmore Girls.
For the longest time, I have heard about the Gilmore Girls show, and I hadn't watched it. I watch very little TV in the evenings, and that whole not-TiVo thing and bad memory meant never remembering to watch it, but I somehow managed to catch it from the beginning for the last couple of weeks. Now I see why a lot of people were telling me to watch it; on top of it being funny and extremely well written, it's similar in tone and style to some things I've written, and I like the characters.
I've managed to watch (borrowing taped versions) most of the episodes through season four, though no one seems to have the finale. I've found a great fan site online with the transcripts (which also have the transcripts up through episode 8 of this year, which has only aired episode one or two, I think,) so I know where the show is going and I'm happy. But I really really want to see that finale episode from season four -- the transcripts are good, but not as good as seeing. So if you have the finale on season four and would be willing to make me a copy, I promise to LOVE YOU FOREVER and name a character after you in my book. And if you have all of season four in decent quality and are willing to make me a copy? Wow. I'll have to come up with something. I would of course pay for copying costs / shipping, etc. Just leave a note in my comments and I'll e-mail you.
I must go get some work done now.
There's a question for you at the end of this one...
I'm not a big watcher of reality shows; I can't get into the whole competition thing of trying to kick each other off some island or out of some race. I think part of the problem is that I know a lot of it is edited and manipulated behind-the-scenes. But the one show that sort of morbidly fascinates me is the TLC show, What Not To Wear. This is the show where actual friends and family will apply to the show for someone to get a makeover and a $5000 wardrobe. The friends record the victim for two weeks when the person doesn't even know they're being taped, in their worst outfits... and then on national TV, the hosts of the show appear at a function the unsuspecting victim is attending in order to ambush them and disclose exactly how badly their friends and family think they've been dressing.
I'm not sure about you, but if my friends thought I looked terrible and dressed so horribly that they would not tell me in person, or hint, or hell, kidnap me for a friendly intervention and opted for national humiliation? I'd have to find new friends. It would be different if we were sitting around and decided to apply because it would be cool to have a makeover or new wardrobe, but the public humiliation factor? I'd be drop-kicking people to the other side of the room if they pulled that one.
And yet. I have a morbid fascination with the show. People are embarrassed and humiliated and most of them are convinced they are perfectly fine the way they are, that they're just expressing their personal style. And some of their styles are way-the-hell-out-there.
The makeovers have been nice... in fact, some have been downright dramatic and amazing. The victim records their emotional responses to the events as they unfold (starting immediately after the ambush), and it usually starts out with them being pretty damned mystified as to why their friends think they don't look nice and why they'd apply to a TV show, but they generally try to be decent sports about it (probably because they know that these recordings will go on TV), and sometimes, they're obviously very hurt but trying to hide it.
Now, to give the hosts credit, they aren't trying to make everyone into cookie-cutter copies of something that's trendy. They seem to work really hard to help the people find their own style that reflects their own life choices and show their personality even more. Lots of times, the people have such a low self-esteem, they're hiding in sacks of clothes or buying all of the wrong sizes because they hate shopping so much (or don't have the money, in the case of one mom who shopped at thrift stores), and they're afraid to try new things. Through the middle of the show, there's a lot of disbelief that whatever it is the hosts are telling them will work for them, and there's a lot of suppressed anger, and even tears (when the hair stylists steps in). But always by the end, the people are thrilled with their new look, they agree that their old style sucked and now they're going to be able to be a whole new them.
Sometimes, that's really nice, because they just needed a self-esteem boost. But a lot of times, it makes me cringe, because it's such a public humiliation sort of thing, a "You're not good enough right now the way you are," sort of thing (in some of the cases)... and sometimes, it isn't so much about the person not having self-esteem but simply really liking freakish choices. The makeover mellows that out, finds a more neutral way of them expressing it. Which works...
But I wonder sometimes. There are so many messages there. Some of them are positive -- the person really is way more attractive than they've been giving themselves credit for and now that they're dressing accordingly, they feel great. The opposite, though, is that idiosyncracies have to be buffed down to neutralize the extremes, which mutes that person's persona. The public humiliation aspect bothers me. And yet I watch. Constantly.
What do you think? If you found yourself suddenly in the midst of an ambush where they were telling you that you looked terrible and they were going to offer you $5000 for a wardrobe and you'd have to go there and do what they said and be made over... would you? Would you be embarrassed? Not care? I'm really very curious.
Liz reminded me in this entry about the 20/20 show that Dawn posted about: 20/20 is going to air a show where five families "compete" to be the adoptive family of a new baby. This is so crass, so horrific -- it's treating a human infant as nothing more than a door prize, it's using the desperation of the parents (which they even use as their lead in the ad -- hey, drama! desperate parents!) as fodder for "reality" TV. I thought after Fox sank so low with the Swan show about having so many women having their bodies cut up and mutilated for public consumption that TV could not have fallen any lower, but my god, they have. And 20/20 wants to think of itself as a news show? What's next? "Hey, let's sell someone into slavery and see how they do and if they can escape?" or "Hey, let's put a bunch of untrained people on a dangerous job and see who loses a limb or their life first!" Why not? We've just made a baby a prize.
If there aren't social workers and agencies all over this, there should be.
Please do like Dawn and Liz suggest and write a letter to 20/20 by clicking here for the e-mail form and ask them to please not show this. It may not make a difference, but then again, if enough of us do it, it may. (I think Liz's letter is excellent; I used hers as a template for what I wanted to say.)
Sometimes you come across such a good and justified rant that you simply post a link and hope more people agree and spread the word. I've just discovered Lizbeth's wonderful blog -- y'all go check it out (follow the rant word above to find her blog).
On a side note -- do y'all have trouble seeing the links in the sentences like the above? I know one friend does, and I could make the color darker or bold or something if it's bothering anyone else.
You know, I really thought I was going to love the new Bravo series, Significant Others. It looked edgey, funny, and wonderfully snarky. Then I saw an advertisement about how they had all these funny comedians, so they didn't need writers. (It was a really nasty sort of ad, like "writers suck, so who needs 'em.) And that made me want to smack them, but I was still curious enough about the premise to watch a couple of episodes.
Holy cow, do they need writers. Sure, there are a lot of funny, snarky lines and bitchy moments and viewing of the very worst in these couples (which is what has brought them to see a therapist... the audience "is" the therapist, sitting in the therapists' position and watching the couple on the couch argue, which is interspersed with "real-time" snippets of the events in their various locations which inspired that day's conversation with the therapist.)
There is almost nothing redeeming about a single person on the show, which makes it very difficult to sit through so much bitching. They are so rarely actually nice to anyone (even friends or family) that you wonder what sort of hell hole these people emerged from, and can they go back, please?
Anyone else see this?
I was going to do the big list, but I am tired today. (We've spent three days in a row taking Luke to the doctor because of that allergic reaction. The horrible swelling went down, but he started with a hive-type of reaction which was painful and no real explanation. Three doctors and an emergency room visit yesterday per the last doctor's instructions, and they still don't know the cause... but I think the new stuff they gave him yesterday is working.)
Anyway, back to the Oscars. I'd meant to do this yesterday, with the big list and talk about who I wanted vs. who I thought would win, but nope, now I'm just going to post who I predict just so I can remember later. And laugh, because I am usually very very wrong.
Best Picture: Return of the King
Best Director: Peter Jackson (I think the voters were waiting until the third one to give it to him.)
Best Actor: Bill Murray will probably win, and his was a very nuanced performance, which will win him voter respect. But I wish Johnny Depp would win because his over-the-top performance was just stellar.
Best Actress: Charlize Theron.
Supporting Actor: I'm not sure who should win, but I think Tim Robbins probably will win.
Supporting Actress: Renee Zellweger will probably win, although I've heard that Shohreh Aghdashlo has a shot. (My secret favorite is Holly Hunter.)
Original Screenplay: I suspect Lost in Translation will win, since it's won this award in nearly every other awards show, but I wish In America would surprise everyone.
Adapted Screenplay: Return of the King
Cinematography: I would like Seabiscuit to win for that, because I think what they accomplished with the camera is so well done and understated, it should win. I have no idea who the favorite is, though.
Art Direction: Return of the King
Editing: Seabiscuit for the same reason, but I doubt it will actually win this one.
Costume: Return of the King
Makeup: Return of the King, although I'm pulling for Pirates for this one
Score: Return of the King will probably win, but I have no real choice here
Song: You Will Be My Ain True Love (Cold Mountain)... and I have no idea why I'm picking that one over the others
Sound: I pick Seabiscuit for the same reason as Cinematography, but I doubt this one wins this
Visual Effects: I know Return of the King is probably the favorite here, but really, I actually enjoyed the effects in Pirates of the Caribbean far more -- they were fun and surprising. Particularly the fight scene in the cave between Depp and Rush.
Documentary: The Fog of War (I don't know why, I haven't seen them all)
Documentary short: No idea. Maybe Asylum?
Live Short: Again, no idea. I picked Squash because the name is funny. (Hey, it's as good a reason as any.)
Animanted Short: Gone Nutty. (Same reason as above.) (hmmm, I sense a theme here.)
How long will it last? I dunno... I said 3 hours, 2 minutes. I can't remember what the previous shows ran.
So, I'll come back after the awards and see just how off base I managed to be again this year.
or is anyone else interested in the new Bravo show, Significant Others? It looks like a lot of juicy fun.
Joan of Arcadia. I love this show. I hoped to like it because I knew someone who worked on the show and I wanted it to be a success for his sake, but I was worried... I mean, a show where God talks to Joan through various people she encounters? On a network show? I was worried it was going to be cheesy or preachy or both.
And it's not. I don't really know how it's not. The premise screams cheesy, and instead, it hits the mark every single time. There's a fine balance on the show between difficult choices, and things don't always work out the way Joan hoped -- in fact, they often don't work out the way she expects and she often feels pain from those efforts. There's a texture to the show, a layering that feels real, feels like the writers get how difficult high school is, how even having a "normal" family can have so many problems, just day-to-day difficulties, and yet, have an element of spirituality that seems normal and accessibly and applicable in normal lives, without being the least bit preachy. It surprises me each time; I haven't really predicted an outcome yet, which keeps me interested.
But for every good show I like, I end up liking something super cheesy... I really like the re-runs of this old show called "Seven Days," which should have more appropriately been called "Back Step." It's an SF show, I have no clue who made it or when it aired, only that it's cheesy and bad in a good way. (Hey, it gets me through accounting, so who am I to be choosey?)
Posted by toni at February 9, 2004 01:00 PM | TrackBack
Comments
I love it, too, and the recapper at TWoP loves it, and I've directed the person you know's wife to check the recaps/forums out, because there is so much love out there! I thought I would hate it, too, but I think it's so well done, and I cry every single week.
#1 at the Box Office this week is the teen flick, YOU GOT SERVED. I keep reading that headline as YOU GOT SCREWED.