mrshl | blog

No word on whether President Lisa Simpson was upset about her adult self being excluded from the list.

Sexiest Ladies of The Simpsons

Now, I’m the last person to suggest that the current crop of Chevrolets is capable of approaching the bad-ass look and feel of an 80s Trans Am, but damn! The producers of the new Knight Rider television series have switched over to Chevy’s pony car rival…a Shelby Ford Mustang.

The result, as you can see, is kind of lame. Apparently, Knight Rider is staying true to its roots. It’s going to be an hour-long TV commercial for young dudes still alarmingly unsure of their sexuality.

It takes freaking forever to load, but it’s really pretty. What is it? Sort of a cross between Digg and YouTube. And NPR. The site is an extension of Gore’s two-year-old TV network Current. Current.tv started out as a new idea in Television. The cable channel, which can now be seen by 52 million people worldwide, was to be an experiment in user-generated cable. A station that explored complex issues via tiny documentaries that could be consumed and absorbed by the short-attention span generation.

The new Web site and the TV station are tightly integrated, and the result is perfect for people who watch TV and surf the Web at the same time. Richard MacManus at Read/Write Web explains the appeal in his excellent review:

What I like about Current, apart from the awesome design, is that they’re attempting to change the way television is consumed and created. It’s a much more interactive experience, where the audience participates and creates.

I buy the theory that young people are watching tv and on a computer accessing the Web at the same time. So the pod format [see pic below] is, in my view, an innovative new UI built around this new form of television watching. It’s a bit like when Google created Gmail - they built it for the Web, rather than copying the desktop paradigm. Likewise, Current has developed their pod UI based on a new form of TV/Web experience, rather than copying traditional TV programming formats.

I encourage you to read the full review. Then click over to Current.com and wait for the damn thing to load.

This lady really needs to go Plinko.

Because I followed a strange arc in my musical education, I had never heard of Alex Chilton or Big Star when I first became acquainted with the equally unfamous Replacements. The words to the ‘Mat’s “Alex Chilton” therefore made very little sense to me when I first heard them.

If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?
If he was from mars, wouldn’t that be cool?
Standing right on campus, would he stamp us in a file?
Hangin down in Memphis all the while.

chorus:
Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes round
They sing I’m in love. what’s that song?
I’m in love with that song.

Cerebral rape and pillage in a village of his choice.
Invisible man who can sing in a visible voice.
Feeling like a hundred bucks, exchanging good lucks face to face.
Checkin’ his stash by the trash at St. Mark’s place.

(chorus)

I never travel far, without a little big star
Runnin’ round the house, Mickey mouse and the tarot cards.
Falling asleep with a flop pop video on.
If he was from Venus, would he meet us on the moon?
If he died in Memphis, then that’d be cool, babe.

The truth is they don’t make much sense now, either. If you had to do a blind Pepsi challenge, you might guess Frank Black wrote these lyrics, what with their references to Mars/Venus, Memphis, & raping/pillaging. To understand the verses, I’d probably have to read a biography of the man, and I haven’t done that.

The chorus is another matter. I know enough about Chilton to understand the central irony of his career as the lead singer of the Box Tops and later as the co-founder of Big Star, a band nearly as unfortunate and influential as the Velvet Underground. Chilton enjoyed early success at age 16 with a HUGE hit: “The Letter.”

The Box Tops had a handful of other hits, too. Children by the millions really dug the hell out of Chilton. He was a bona fide teen idol. But his hits were mostly written by studio pros.

By the time Chilton began his second career as half of the songwriting duo behind Big Star, he had full creative control. But the listeners were gone. Big Star’s twin masterpieces #1 Record and Radio City (available as a single CD) are part of the alt rock canon now, but they were pretty much ignored when they were released in the early ’70s.

Today, the band is most often heard indirectly, through the opening credits of That 70s Show. For the show, the Big Star song “In The Street” is covered by Cheap Trick. Here’s the Halloween version (complete with theremin).

Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes round
They sing I’m in love. what’s that song?
I’m in love with that song.

Best show of all time making yet another comeback:

Hulk Hogan Finalizing Deal to Host NBC’s ‘American Gladiators’ - TVWeek

In the whirlwind of soundbites preceding the 2004 election, CBS news anchor Dan Rather was ill-equipped to defend himself when questions of authenticity arose about documents showing Bush had never completed his Texas Air National Guard Service.

But something funny happened on the way to Rather’s becoming a punchline for Limbaugh republicans: no one ever actually proved the documents were fakes. Indeed, the Bush administration never denied the essential accuracy of Dan Rather’s story. Apparently, that’s because it was true. It didn’t matter. Rather was fired, and disgraced to boot.

Well, Rather’s a very rich man with a lot of free time. So he’s bringing a law suit that will set the record straight and embarrass an awful lot of people. Because unlike a political campaign, lawsuits take an awful lot of time to sort out. Too long, in fact, for idiots like Limbaugh and O’Reilly to shout them down. Salon has the story:  

In making his case, Rather will certainly establish beyond reasonable doubt that George W. Bush never completed his required service in the Texas Air National Guard. Moreover, Rather’s suit will seek to demonstrate that the documents used in his “60 Minutes II” piece were not inauthentic and that he and his producers acted responsibly in presenting them and the information they contained — and that that information is true. Indeed, no credible source has refuted the essential facts of the story.

Most cases of this sort are usually settled before discovery. But Rather has made plain that he is uninterested in a cash settlement. He has filed his suit precisely to be able to take depositions.

Dan Rather vs. CBS, and the truth about George W. Bush | Salon.com

So I’m pretty sure everyone has seen this ad for Halo 3:

But I bet most of you haven’t seen the virtual fly through of the entire diorama!
Halo 3 “Fly Through”

Check out all of this “making of” stuff, the ad campaign they interview all the survivors and veterans of this war that takes place in the future, it’s pretty amazing.
Halo 3 “War Stories”

Interview with the creators of the commercial (and diorama):
Halo 3 “Making Of”

An excerpt from one of the interviews:
“Tell me about New Deal, Stan Winston and MJZ director Rupert Sanders’ work on the diorama.

SD: You have to understand that for the diorama, it turned into becoming the focus point for this campaign. We wanted there to be a museum where the diorama would just be a part of the museum. Rupert Sanders orchestrated this whole thing. The vision for us was to make this story come to life with real figurines on a real set and a massive diorama. It was time and cost-prohibitive to say the least, but Rupert just wouldn’t take no for an answer. He teamed up with Stan Winston and New Deal Studios in making this thing come to life completely—30 feet x 40 feet, 900 figurines or something like that and every weapon and vehicle.

MH: Those figurines are based on scans of real people.”

My previous post didn’t say much about my favorite show from last season: Friday Night Lights. For me, this is probably a top five show. One of the best ever. Why did a show about a small-town high school football team in Texas make for such compelling television? I’ll let ESPN’s Sports Guy Bill Simmons explain:

Quite simply, FNL is the best date show ever, an improbable cross between The O.C. and every sports show you ever wanted Hollywood to make. It’s the first show my wife and I have loved equally, but for different reasons. What can be better than that?

On Aug. 28, NBC released the American DVDs with a “satisfaction guaranteed” gimmick. Now if you continue to ignore FNL, it’s only because you’re trying to hurt me. If you do give it a shot, let me recommend the impeccable acting, the lively football scenes (although they tend to go overboard on exciting finishes), the risky story lines and especially Coach Taylor’s family, the most authentic household in recent TV history. Every nuance is nailed, every hug seems genuine, every fight makes sense, every sarcastic barb and flustered reaction ring true. If there are better TV actors than Kyle Chandler (Coach) and Connie Britton (Mrs. Coach), I haven’t TiVoed them. Pay particular attention to the astonishing two-parter in which an older assistant sets off a racial powder keg before a big playoff game. If FNL were Michael Jordan, Lyla Garrity’s slam-page episode would be the 63-point game in Boston (the coming-out party), and the two-parter would be the 1991 Finals (the moment considerable potential is realized).

Sadly, like other great shows before it (Homicide, My So-Called Life), Friday Night Lights didn’t do too great in the ratings. Part of the problem is that NBC mishandled the show, even airing it opposite Monday Night Football a few times. But, the show is also its own worst enemy, committing two cardinal sins: 1) It’s expensive. It cost more than $2.5 million per episode to make. And that won’t cut it when reality shows can cost less than $100,000. 2) It’s way, way too good. America doesn’t always embrace quality. Sometimes, in fact, they look the other way.

Don’t make that mistake. Here’s Bill Simmons again:

FNL is going to die prematurely because five times as many Americans would rather watch an acerbic British guy belittle dreadful singers on a reality show. I can’t live with that.

So please, please help me and every other FNL fanatic. Watch the show. Spread the gospel. You won’t save the world as they did in Heroes, and you probably won’t prevail in the end, but as Coach Taylor once told his team, “Every man at some point in his life is going to lose a battle. He’s going to fight, and he’s going to lose. But what makes him a man is that in the midst of that battle, he does not lose himself.”

Heed that call. Watch Friday Night Lights. 

Having been in law school for the past three years, I didn’t watch a whole ton of TV outside of The Daily Show and Colbert Report. But now that I’m done, I’m making a decidedly retrograde resolution. I’m going to try and watch more television. I’ve got time on my hands and the DVR is fired up. I’ve even got HBO. But I confess, I’m still a little bewildered.

The main problem I’ve had is that I’m not sure what to watch. I know almost nothing about the current state of TV. My only other regular shows include Jeopardy and Grey’s Anatomy, which I only started watching because my lady digs it so much. In recent years, I’ve missed the boat on quite a few popular shows: The Sopranos, 24, Desperate Housewives. Recently, I’ve also missed a few sci-fi gems I know I’d probably love (e.g., Battlestar Galactica, Heroes). I want to start watching these shows, but I’m already a year behind.

I’ve been throwing my life away.

But with the new Fall shows starting up, I’ve got a chance at redemption. Which brings me back to my central question: what new shows should I become obsessed with? Because this is me, I naturally started my research using a super-fancy new Web site called MeeVee.com. MeeVee is TV guide with a bit of Netflix or Last.fm thrown in. In addition to personalized TV listings that blow Yahoo away, you also get some other useful features:

• Save favorite shows or interests to your own ”channels.” For example, I have both “football” and  Aqua Teen Hunger Force listed as interest channels. You can right click on almost anything and add it as a favorite. Your favorite channels are then highlighted in their own section within your guide.
• Create profile page. Similar to Netflix or Flixter, your personal page includes a picture, username, and age, along with your interest channels, reviews, and TV show ratings. Like Last.fm, MeeVee uses this information to calculate your compatibility with other users on the site. Weirdly, there’s no way to add friends, but they just recently added this feature, so look for it in the future.
• Lots and lots of video. MeeVee, isn’t just a guide to television. It’s got links your episodes of your favorite shows online. The Community Section grabs content from video sharing site and organizes it by show. Want to watch clips of Buffy or CSI on YouTube? The links are there.
• Insight from television “experts.” I’m not sure whether expert is the right word, but the MeeVee blog is a good place to start for someone like me who has no real idea what’s on TV. There are helpful links to a bunch of other TV blogs as well.
• Context is key. Each show or interest has its own page on MeeVee, complete with links to video, blogs, and upcoming episodes. Check out CSI’s page.
• Get MeeVee on your Myspace or cell phone. This seems a bit excessive, but it’s there if you want it.

So what am I watching? My choices are easier because I don’t watch sitcoms or reality television, but I’ve still consulted out a couple of Top 10 lists (here, here, and here). I think I’m set to watch Bionic Woman, Chuck, and Moonlight (vampires!).

Got any better ideas? You tell me what to watch.