Author Archives: Rob MacD

Okay, it’s getting totally ridiculous. The incredible quality of HBO programming is just staggering. Over the years, HBO has aired some of my all-time favourite programs. I’m guessing that there would be maybe 6 HBO programs listed in my Top 10 TV programs (this is stated without attempting to come up with a list).

Just this year alone there is The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and debuting last night, the fantastically promising new western Deadwood, plus the upcoming Six Feet Under. Others just off the top of my head: The Larry Sanders Show and Mr. Show. Wow.

I came late to The Sopranos. I avoided it for about the first year and a half. Eventually, though, I succumbed to the hype, and checked it out. I’ve been totally hooked ever since. Last night’s episode “Where’s Johnny” was perhaps the best yet. I only wish my wife would fall under its spell like I did. But she is blinded by her dislike of gangster/mafia movies/shows.

Curb Your Enthusiasm, a fantastic comedy, is at a curious point in its development. This year it kind of reached a point of creation (much like Seinfeld the year when they decided to make all the small storylines in each episode relate to each other. We had to agree to go along with that absurdity.) where it turned towards more outlandish and unrealistic plot devices. Still as funny as all get out, but it’s a question-mark as to whether we will go along with this, if it continues next year.

Deadwood debuted (that looks weird, debuted? Is that even right?) last night, and all I can say is “And I thought Lonesome Dove was a great western”. Unbelievably good first episode. Can it possibly maintain that level of quality? I can’t believe it’s a television program.

Okay, I talked myself into it. Here, at this moment, are my Top Ten Television Programs (of all time)

1. Six Feet Under

2. The Office

3. The Sopranos

4. Law & Order

5. Seinfeld

6. Curb Your Enthusiasm

7. The Larry Sanders Show

8. Mr. Show

9. SCTV

10. All Those Shows That I’m Forgetting That Would Obviously Rate Above, Say, SCTV.

I am struck by the number of comedies. I don’t include TV movies and/or miniseries. Only weekly television programs, comedy or drama.

Sometimes, international sports that are televised live are aired, here on Prince Edward Island, at very early or very late hours. Such was the case with the Formula One race this weekend in Kuala Lampur. It aired live on TSN at 2:30am Sunday morning. There was a repeat broadcast at 3pm on Sunday afternoon. It was this repeat broadcast that I planned on watching.

While it isn’t a very tricky thing, trying to avoid seeing the results of a race already run, there is a certain amount of care that must be taken to ensure one remains oblivious. The usual Sunday morning routine of website visits must be carefully censored, with sites that could potentially so even a headline of the results taken out of the loop. Even though the results are never a part of any radio sports updates, it is best to avoid the radio. Television has its risks, too, especially if one is a remote-flicker like me. Best to stick to a movie channel, or one like TLC, where the threat of results discovery is minimal.

In the past, I found that TSN itself, was a fairly safe channel to watch, when they are planning on airing a repeat broadcast. Self-aware of the impending airing of the race, their ticker usually remains free of the results, until after the repeat broadcast. It was under this presumption that I decided it’d be safe enough to take part in my ritual Sunday morning viewing of TSN’s The Reporters.

Wrong choice. No sooner did I begin watching when, out of the bottom of my eye, I see on the ticker “F1 Malaysia – Final Results…1. Michael Schumacher 2. Juan Pablo Montoya…”
Damn. I quickly averted my eyes, but it was too late. I knew the winner. I knew 2nd place. By the time the results came across the ticker again, I had decided that I’d blow the whole experience and check out the Top 6 results as they came up.

So, I watched the race, knowing full well the outcome.

I’m disappointed in TSN for putting the results on their ticker, before they aired the repeat broadcast. I guess it’s my own fault though for assuming they’d keep the results from those of us who sleep at 2:30 – 5am.

I went to a friend’s house last night to eat pizza, drink beer and watch a coupla dvds. While we were eating the pizza, we flipped through the channels and were forced to stop at YTV and watch the spectacle before us. “Forced”, by the sheer oddity and spectacle of the show that was airing. It was an episode of The Powerpuff Girls, a cartoon I enjoy whenever I happen to watch it with my son (when he happens to watch it), that was presented as a musical. It was the trippin’est thing I’ve seen in a long, long time. Very “Hair”ish and psychedelic in style, with a Jack Black-type villain and lots of way-out songs and lyrics. A total “what the f&*%” trip for the kids, I’d guess. For us, too, for that matter. A pleasant surprise.
We then turned our attention to Rock and Roll High School. This is a movie that I wanted to see for a while. It revolves around a group of clean-cut 1979 era high school kids try to keep the evil principal from eliminating rock and roll from their school and their lives. Some good stuff in the movie, some pretty lame stuff, all surrounded by tons of tunes from The Ramones. It was like a 1950’s teen rebel movie infused with a punk attitude.
Next up was Ichi, the Killer. Very violent and very sado/masochistic. A Japanese flick about gangsters who take pleasure and pride in inflicting pain and having pain inflicted on them. While most of the violence was over-the-top, a couple of scenes did make me squirm, which was good. Interesting and somewhat disturbing, that while most of the violence against men was over-the-top, the violence against women was more rooted in reality.
Some pretty cool, interesting visuals, but the main thing about the movie is the extreme violence. Worth watching if you’ve got a stomach for it. On the Internet Movie Database, a user’s comment sums it up pretty well: “Snuff film for cowards”.

Currently, critics are climbing all over each other, each clamoring that they were the THE apostle who first wrote the scripture claiming Franz Ferdinand as the saviour of popular music. While the band is fantastic, and you should go find their album right now, they are too ‘of the moment’ to be taken seriously as the band that will save music.

There needs to be a science behind the claim. In steps Dr. David Thorpe with a very scientific method to determine exactly who might just be our Rock’n’Roll Saviour.

The results of his science are shocking, but perhaps, accurate. I’ll not divulge the results here, but if this saviour does pan out, I hereby claim myself to be a Rock’n’Roll Atheist.

Meantime, on this day of Irish celebration, go and seek out the fantastic music of Scottish phenoms Franz Ferdinand.

I’m a fan of the Lego stop-motion genre of film-making. My son and I have even produced a couple of short Lego films, and if I had more web-space, and/or was more comfortable in my knowledge of how to do so, I’d offer them up for you.

I came across a link for what is, by far, the best Lego movie I’ve ever seen. It’s a close-to-shot-by-shot reproduction of Michael Jackson’s video “Thriller”. It’s a little blurry, but it’s good.

You can download it here. The site is in German, and you have to scroll down near the bottom to find the download link. I’m not sure how big the file is, but it’s definately worth it.

There is a television ad that is airing now. I believe it is advertising a van (maybe it’s a car?).

———
Doorbell rings, mid-40’s man answers the door. At the door is his cool 1980’s self, come to the present to see what the hell happened to him. He’s so square now. He’s so not cool. He’s —
–wait a minute, a van (car?) has pulled up and a woman gets out and starts taking groceries out of the back seat.

This sight of this lovely vision stops 80’s guy in mid-rant. Is he excited about the vehicle, or the woman, obviously his future-wife?
Now, what I noticed right away (and this may be a character flaw on my part) was the rather large behind on the woman. Not fat, but very J-Lo. A big bottom. This size of this bottom cannot be an accident, I think to myself. It is definately big enough to not be an accident. An ass like this can only get into an ad on purpose.
But why would they want a big-assed woman in the ad?

80’s guy runs over to vehicle, looks in the back, where the groceries are, and I believe his only comment regarding the vehicle is a too-excited “Big backseat!!”

…he read on the screen at the movie theatre. Movie cost for 2 adults, 1 child: $25.50. Snack purchases cost: approximately $20.

Piracy, indeed.

…he read on the screen at the movie theatre. Movie cost for 2 adults, 1 child: $25.50. Snack purchases cost: approximately $20.

Piracy, indeed.

On what date will the temperature at Charlottetown next reach +10C or higher?

I’m going on record as saying Friday, March 19th will be the next day that the temperature reaches +10.

What say you?

Sometimes little things amuse me to no end.
Just finished reading the rehash of last week’s The Apprentice at the very funny Television Without Pity. Or was it PlanetSocks? Either way, both are very entertaining sites that present often sarcastic, always funny recaps of recently aired television programs. Sometimes the recaps can be upwards of 15 pages long. (They often go into minute details of observation)

The Apprentice is a ‘reality’ program where a group of business people vie against each other for what is apparently the creme de la creme of business life: a job working for Donald Trump. (personally, I’d prefer a job *not* working for Donald Trump, that is, where the job is ‘not working’). Anyway, one of the most annoying contestants was a woman called Amarosa, but she got fired last week. The little thing that amused me to no end was that the recapper continually calls her “Assorama” instead of Amarosa.

I wish I had thought of that.

If you’re interested, check out the Survivor recaps too. Pretty entertaining.