HUMP DE BUMP DAY

Quote of the Week

"Naked women on the Internet are not usually thought of as being fonts of screenwriting talent." --23-year old screenwriter and former stripper Diablo Cody.

Diablo's screenplay Juno, optioned for six-figures after her (future) manager read her raunchy blog on the Internet, goes into production in January.

Man, I've been going about this all wrong. Now, what did I do with those naked jpegs of myself?...

Mea Culpa

Boy, when I'm wrong, I'm REALLY wrong. A year or so ago I blogged about how I just didn't get all the critical hosannahs for ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. It seemed wacky and the actors were all good, but it just seemed like a more grown up version of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE to me. But having caught up with several season three episodes on DVD, I can honestly say I don't think that there's ever been anything on TV as laugh-out-loud funny as this smart, absurdist farce. Now I'm sorry that I didn't watch (and have a Nielsen box).

This Random Digression Brought to You By LEVITRA

I wonder if Lindsay Lohan has a Nielsen "box"?

The TV Mini-Reviews--This Week: HELP ME, HELP YOU & FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

HELP ME, HELP YOU (ABC)
Current timeslot: Tuesdays, after Dancing with the Egomaniacal D-List Stars.
Created by: Jennifer Konner and Alexandra Rushfield.
Stars: Ted Danson, Jere Burns (that guy from Dear John... who wasn't Judd Hirsch), Darlene Hunt.
Episode viewed: The 2nd one, called "The Mattress".
The Good Stuff: When he's in a sitcom--even an "improv" one like CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM--Ted Danson can do no wrong. He's in good form here as Dr. Bill Hoffman, the self-obsessed, neurotic psychologist who runs a therapy group for a colorful collection of misfits. The misfits are pretty interesting too, although the cast of supporting characters are written a little bit too over-the-top wacky, as if the creators didn't trust themselves to write more normally neurotic characters who might still be interesting and funny. The best of the patients are a narcissistic p***yhound played by Jere Burns and a sweet natured but socially inept young woman named Inger played with slyly demented glee by Suzy Nakamura. I imagine every episode will be pretty much like the one I watched, where the wacky, weekly adventures of the patients will be juxtaposed with Dr. Bill's own dysfunctional private life. It's a sound setup for a single camera sitcom.
The Bad Stuff: There's a lot to like but you've probably seen it all before. This show desperately wants to be like a combination of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT and the old animated DR. KATZ, but the writing isn't quite up to either--at least not yet. A couple of the patients (Charlie Finn's office nebbish Dave in particular) are too sketchy and not interesting or funny enough yet.
My Grade: B-. I guarantee you at least one belly laugh per episode...you could do worse, but you could also do a lot better.
Will It Last?: I feel like it will last all season and even get renewed. Has Ted Danson ever been cancelled? Even the horrid BECKER (Ted was the only good thing in it) lasted five excruciating seasons.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (NBC)
Current timeslot: Tuesdays at 8 (ET).
Created by: Peter Berg, based on his film adaptation of the book by his cousin, H.G. Bissinger.
Stars: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton and a bunch of Abercrombie & Fitch looking young un's you've probably never heard of.
Episode viewed: the pilot
The Good Stuff: The cinematography and editing are top notch, as good as you'll find on any TV series, in the same league (although completely different in style of course) as THE SOPRANOS, LOST or BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Kyle Chandler is compelling as the Coach of the fictionalized high school football team which is the focus of the series. He may be a little quiet and "aw shucks" nice for a football coach, but maybe that's a character trait the writers will delve into later. In the pilot, the depiction of the game itself was compelling and the best part of the episode--but can they do that in a fresh way every week?
The Bad Stuff: The kids are too good looking. Yes, it's TV, but couldn't one of them had a pimple or a "five-head"? Even the football players are like something out of a homo--

(The interruption of this abhorrent sexual sterotype is brought to you by MAXIM magazine. At your newsstands today! MAXIM--to the Max!)

Also, I wonder if every episode will revolve around the game of the week? What made the movie so compelling (and the book even more so) was the way it delved into the hopes, dreams and diminished expectations of everyone in a small, West Texas town. Of course, that could be too depressing for network TV.
My Grade: B+
Will It Last?: I'm not sure it's compatible with the LAW & ORDER block after it, so it may have to move to another night to last the season.

That's enough for today. Remember to check out my sports blog and next time in this blog I'll share some thoughts about the whole Mark Foley mess and I'll have my final TV reviews of the new season as I check out DEXTER and the season premiere of LOST. I can't keep watching so much TV folks! It adds fat to my waistline and kills cells in...that big, fleshy thing on top of my neck, I forget what it's called. I'm not supposed to get dumb and overweight until AFTER the wedding, ya dig?

Until then, peace (brought to you by HALLIBURTON! Promoting Peace around the globe for fifty-five years...)