July 7, 2005

Why do we all hate each other so much?

Dammit, when will it ruddy well stop?
BBC

I'm sickened and disgusted that we just keep doing this to each other.
I'm sickened and disgusted that people feel this is a viable method of communication.
I'm sickened and disgusted that for some of us the first reaction is to retaliate in kind.

As kids we were told that fighting was childish, that there were better ways to settle our differences. And I tried so hard to find those other ways. I thought - when I was a kid - that violence was childish and we would grow out of it, like shedding a childhood disease, when we grew into adults.

Too bad that kid's view of the world was wrong. The way adults fight scare me just as badly as the systemic groups of bullies in junior high and high school.

Dammit.

Posted by Red Monkey at 6:01 AM | Comments (3) | Never Underestimate the Power of Human Stupidity | Stumble

June 14, 2005

Holy Crap, Network-Exec-man

While I have the TV on fairly frequently (it's off right now and I'm still listening to the Bowling for Soup CD), I rarely really watch television shows. Why? Most of them suck. Network television, most cable channels, just suck. They pander to the lowest common denominator and I think that the Neilson and Arbitron ratings need to be re-examined. We get crap like The Swan and Who Wants to Be a Hilton because it creates more eager consumers. Oh my god, I don't look exactly like Paris Hilton. Shit, I better go buy some plastic surgery and keep getting surgery until I look like her. Oh crap, look how trust-fund babies live. Crap, I better at least act like I have that kind of money. Yeah, I really need a Hummer and a home theatre system that would crack my windows. Hell, I guess I better buy some better windows, too.

And the good stuff . . . the really good, clever, fun and funny stuff that encourages us to exercise our brains, that's the stuff that gets cancelled. Okay, so I'm late to the party, but I really can't believe that CBS cancelled Joan of Arcadia. I mean, I'm really shocked. Really really really shocked. Here we had an ensemble cast of wonderful actors with some phenomenal writing. The characters were very real and multi-layered. The show dared to ask the big questions about life the universe and everything without trying to give us the easy answer.
(42, btw, is the easy answer . . . I started to write 24 - I'm dyslexic where numbers are concerned).

I can't remember the last time I actually looked forward to a TV show every week. Sure, I like Law and Order and SVU. But that's about it. Numb3rs seemed pretty cool, but I haven't seen it - it's probably gone already, too. I can't remember the last time I actually got involved in serious discussion surrounding a TV show. With numerous people. Days after the show aired. Actually got into just short of argument discussions about what was going to happen next or what a particular scene meant.

Wait, I do remember: Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the last show I got involved in. It was the last show I saw that really challenged people to think -- even though I didn't start watching until season six because I thought it would be cheesy. And it lasted its full seven seasons although it seemed to be in jeopardy every single season.

CBS actually stated that they thought a young person talking to ghosts would pull in a younger audience than the teenaged Joan talking to God. Actually, I think that if you want a show to pull in that teen to twenty-something demographic, you don't put it on Friday nights! Damn, there aren't many folks that age who want to stay in and watch TV. Shoot, how many "adults" had softball league, bowling, basketball or some other activity Friday night that pre-empts sitting around becoming a couch potato? I'll be vaguely interested to see if they put the Joan replacement in that Friday night slot. Right now, I think they've got it slated for Thursday. Hmmmm. There's a fair comparison.

To Barbara Hall and all of the writers, Joe Mantegna, Mary Steenburger, Amber Tamblyn, Jason Ritter, Michael Welch, Christopher Marquette, Becky Wahlstrom and everyone else who was involved in this show: I thank you so much for the two seasons. I'm sorry your network royally sucks. I hope that somehow these are only the first two seasons and you'll find a new home at a new network who actually appreciates what they have. I know I'm really not done with these characters and lives and I hope you get a chance to show us how they change and grow.

Note: Last night, when I finally heard that the show had been cancelled, I hit the CBS website and looked up the show. Today, when i wanted to get all of the cast names right, the show had been taken out of the pull-down menu on the CBS site.
Dammit.

Tired of the spam comments, so I'm closing the comments on this post ... you can use the contact link or comment on an entry that hasn't been hit so hard by the spam-bots.

Posted by Red Monkey at 2:28 PM | Comments (1) | Never Underestimate the Power of Human Stupidity | Stumble

May 27, 2005

Oh, This Won't Be Overturned Or Anything!

So my friend, Andy, posted this story about a stupid judge in a divorce case.

The gist is a divorce judge added a paragraph to the divorce decree forbidding the parents -- both of the same religion -- to teach their child their religion. A religion recognized by the military. A religion specifically protected by the First Amendment.

Ah, the insanity of it all.

Now, back to my Friday night Buffy-fest. Current episode: Season Four, "Hush"
Have to wash the stupid out with the way-smart.

Posted by Red Monkey at 9:34 PM | Comments (0) | Never Underestimate the Power of Human Stupidity | Stumble