Videodrome

Time for a little bit of lighter-heartedness, and a post on what I've been watching and what I've been thinking of it.

Starting with canceled tv, we had the series finale of Boston Legal this past Tuesday. This was always such a pleasure to watch--the best of all David E. Kelley's shows. It was full of wit, entertaining plots, sly references to itself as a tv show (it often would off-handedly find ways to break the 4th wall without breaking the 4th wall outright). There is no other (or was now) show on network tv that showcases a large cast of over-50-somethings, main characters with "imperfections" like autism, alzheimer's, overt social commentary, often on both sides of the fence. And the series ends with a same sex marriage of two main characters. It's also a minor amusement to note that Shatner has been on more episodes of this program than TJ Hooker or Star Trek, but of course he will ever remain Captain Kirk. Which is a little sad as I think his portrayal of Denny Crane is perhaps the best work he's done ever. Now that the series is over, I'd urge anyone to go out and rent a couple seasons, immerse and enjoy (start with season 2, after Shatner's arrival and the departure of the last cast members from The Practice).

This week's Pushing Daisies was pure gold, and bums me out more that not only is the series being canceled, but that it won't be able to produce a finale that is even able to try wrapping the series up in any way whatsoever. Not to detract from her previous musical numbers (her "Birdhouse in Your Soul" was great), but Kristen Chenowith's musical number for the Bangles' "Eternal Flame" had to have been the best performed, and the best integrated into story, musical number of all thus far. I'm gonna miss that break-into-song-ever-pining-after-Pie-Maker-Ned-former-jockey-now-waitress more than ever. This episode also had a cameo by a character from Brian Fuller's previous canceled gem, Wonderfalls, which was also pure gold. Sigh.

Nothing else is all that compelling. The team I wanted to see win from the first episode of this Amazing Race did in fact win (not since Survivor season 1 have I rooted for the winner from the get-go, my picks usually make it far and then get ousted), congrats to the winners there, but really even more praiseworthy, who would have ever predicted the fratboys Dandrew to make it as far as they did at all. That was, pun intended, an amazing feat. The other shows I watch, for the most part, are habits or train wrecks I can't pull myself away from.

On the movie front, while I love horror movies, there's a special place in my horror fandom section of my heart for animals as monsters movies because animals are so much more real than zombies and werewolves (seriously, who's still afraid of sharks thanks to Jaws vs. who's afraid to go camping because a hockey mask wearing maniac might get them? Anyone depriving themselves of sleep over Freddy these days?). This week I saw the Wes Craven produced film The Breed and it was definitely not a wonderfully scripted movie at all. But really, at the root of it all, those visuals of dogs chasing people, attacking and tearing apart people. . .those will resonate far longer than the latest cardboard cut-out monster. It's just 80-some minutes of your life AND if you have XBox Live set up with your Netflix, you can just watch it for free via your XBox (which is what I did). It makes for a nice descendant of Cujo.