John Adams

    When HBO first announced their new mini series John Adams, I was skeptical. I had heard good things about David McCullough’s book on which the series is based, but it seemed a stretch to turn it into a television event. 

    So when it premiered several weeks ago, I could be found doing other things to fill the 9pm Sunday time slot. Shame on me.

 

    I caught an episode recently, and now I’m hooked. Not only is the story incredibly well told, (again, most of that is because of McCullough) but the job HBO has done in recreating the 1700’s is phenomenal. The sets alone will surely warrant an Emmy nod next awards season, but it is the costume department that inspires the most awe and amazement. Paul Giamatti’s portrayal of Adams is spot on, as is Laura Linney’s Abigail. But the one character that still has me floored is David Morse’s George Washington. I cannot think of a more perfect role for Morse after seeing him done up and in a bone-white wig. 

    The plot revolves around John Adams’ involvement in the early creation of the United States. He and his band of history textbook celebrities (Ben Franklin, George Washington, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson) write the Constitution, sign the Declaration, and otherwise collaborate to create a more perfect union after the Revolutionary War. 

    Ten or fifteen years from now, the series may prove to be one of the greatest and most accurate looks into the early history of this country: surely it will find its place in the libraries and curriculums of thousands of middle schools and high schools across the country.

    This show is not to be missed. It may not follow the usual formula for hit television, but it certainly strikes all the right notes. 

    Part Five of the series premieres tonight on HBO at 9pm. An encore immediately follows that at 10pm on HBO 2, and then rebroadcasts begin Monday morning at 10am. For a preview of this episode, check out the video bar on the left.

New(s) Blog!

So I decided that coverage of the news should be separate from coverage of other TV. As such, I have created an additional blog, Mediacrity, found at fixthenews.wordpress.com. This will act as a media watchdog type of site for those that actually care about news.

The Beginning of the End

This Friday, one of the best shows on TV begins its final season in a galaxy far, far away. No, you haven’t missed a Star Wars TV show; I’m talking about Battlestar Galactica, Sci Fi’s money maker that has spent the last three seasons searching for Earth. 

 In case you have forgotten how season 3 ended, the 40k+ humans faced destruction (again) as Lee Adama made a startling discovery…namely Starbuck, who appeared to have died in a fiery crash. She tells him that she’s been to Earth, and she promises to take him there. Its a hard scene to forget, since it was shot and scored perfectly.   

If you are a newbie to BSG, check out the video bar on the left for an 8 minute recap of the first three seasons. Even if you’ve been a diehard fan you may want to check it out because its actually really funny. Whodathunk.  

SciFi has FINALLY begun posting past episodes of their shows, so you can see the last few episodes in their entirety at SciFi.com  

This marks the start of the great return to the scripted shows. Next week will surely rank in awesomeness somewhere in between Christmas and Halloween as the NBC comedies (The Office, Scrubs, 30 Rock) return. MUCH more on those shows, and others, later.

Aaaaand We’re Back!

Hey all, its been a while. Since I last posted, spring break came and went, and my laptop…well, just went. It has gone AWOL courtesy of an unknown thief, so the blog has taken a bit of a hit. But fear not! We will persevere!    

And what a night to reemerge from the exaflood. Tonight in Washington D.C marks the unofficial start of BASEBALL season! Sure the Red Sox and Athletics technically played the first two games of the season a few days ago, but that was in Japan at 6am EST. Hardly a way to kick off America’s pastime.    

 

The Nationals are opening their brand new stadium with the help of the heavily favored Atlanta Braves. You’d think that the Nationals’ front office would want an easier team to perhaps get the stadium off on the right foot, but the truth of the matter is, they could have bussed in a local high school team and it still would have been a toss up. Sorry D.C, but the playoffs are not in your future.   

But what I’m really looking forward to is the ceremonial first pitch, to be thrown out by…our president George W. Bush. Ever wonder why he has made so few public appearances on national T.V? Perhaps is 30% approval ratings, and the boos that accompany it, have something to do with it. I’m excited to see what the crowd’s reaction to his first pitch will be.    

UPDATE! Well, the boos outnumbered the cheers. I was actually a little shocked by just how vocal those boos were. Not that they weren’t deserved.

An SNLection

The dust has mostly settled, and Hillary Clinton looks to be the big winner in the March 4 primaries. She captured the two prize states of Ohio and Texas, as well as Rhode Island, where her political rival Barack Obama outspent her 5 to 1. So who does the former First Lady thank for this victory? The list is long, but those most deserving of a thank you letter are perhaps the staffs of Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show.

Three weeks ago, Amy Poehler portrayed Clinton on a skit on SNL that made fun of the mainstream media’s largely generous coverage of Barack Obama.

The skit came days after a CNN debate between the two Democratic candidates, and the fake anchors on SNL swooned over Fred Armisen’s spot-on Obama impression, offering extra pillows and sucking up to the candidate in every way imaginable.

Tucker Up

It’s not that he’s not a nice guy per se. Tucker Carlson, the famous bow-tied pundit who’s made a living inspiring heated debate, was pulled from the airwaves by MSNBC on Monday. Sort of.

“Tucker,” the daily talk show hosted by Carlson that failed to bring in viewers, was pulled by the cable news network in favor of a presidential election talk show to be hosted by NBC News’ Chief White House correspondent David Gregory.

A Second Opinion

Well, the show ended in much the same way it began. When The Wire premiered five years ago, it was hailed as an excellent police drama. What followed was a growing tally of dead bodies, corruption after corruption that plagued the Baltimore P.D and The Sun (the local newspaper), and gripping story lines that had viewers returning religiously Sunday after Sunday. 

It all came to a head last night, and like Alessandra Stanley from the NY Times correctly noted, Baltimore was left in much the same way it was found. The last montage, which was very VERY well done, swept through the city streets and showed the viewer just how little has changed, just how little all these seasons of do-good police work and investigative journalism actually achieved. 

Again, if you missed the episode it will re-air tonight at 10:00p on HBO2 (1:00a for West Coasters)  and then again tomorrow at 11:35p on HBO.

Say Goodbye to the Wire

I write this as the series finale of the Wire is wrapping up, with all the loose ends being slowly tied up. So far, I’m impressed. It’s going out with quite a bang, literally in some cases. I’m not expecting some screen-to-black Sopranos send off, but I hope for a good last scene.

If you missed the episode, its going to air again (and again and again) on HBO and HBO 2. The next chance to catch it is later tonight, at 11:05p on HBO, and then tomorrow at 10p on HBO 2. Catch it if you haven’t already.

Ratings Boost for Cable News

This was, by all accounts, a good week for cable news channels. The New York Times reports that MSNBC’s debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama last Thursday attracted the largest cable audience of the week, and the channel’s largest ever, with nearly 8 million viewers. And they took the second spot too with their analysis of said debate.

CNN also had a stellar February, taking the top spot amongst viewers aged 25 to 54, the most valued demographic for advertisers. It was the first time since 2001 that CNN was able to dethrone Fox News’ long reign over that audience. 

Hillary Hits the Airwaves

Hillary Clinton had a big night on Tuesday, winning Ohio and making Texas a close race that as of early Wednesday morning was too close to call. So how does she celebrate? Why with the entire country, of course!

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann reported that Hillary would be making appearances on six Wednesday morning talk shows, from The Today Show to Morning Joe. This after other recent–and successsful–appearances on Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show.

It may be interesting to see how she spins Tuesday’s results: a popular vote victory and delegate vote tie, or worse.