- So I do want to get to some TV and movie stuff in this post, but I'll start off by getting some post-Palin speech, RNC thoughts off of my chest. Here's the thing: from an objective perspective, Sarah Palin gave a pretty darn impressive speech tonight - not so much in terms of substance, but in presentation, in delivery, it was definitely a home run of sorts for the Republicans. I mean, here was a woman who many expected to deliver a trainwreck of a performance, yet who came off as confident, scrappy, feisty, and likable. And that's despite the problems with her teleprompter. Palin spoke in a plain, direct manner that many politicians don't, and because of that, she had many members of the Conservative base at "hello." All those doting hockey moms, when it comes down to it, many don't care about actual issues. Nope, I heard one mom interviewed who said she was pro-choice, and YET had become a huge supporter of Palin because ... I don't know, something about her being an American Woman. Palin may not have said a lick about the issues, but boy, did she ever talk up John McCain, and, holy lord, did she lay into Obama. And you know what, as much as I seem to disagree with her on, well, pretty much everything, I give her credit in this regard - she doesn't hide who she is (in a perverse way making her that much more respectable than one Joe Lieberman), and she gave a no-B.S. sort of speech. It hid her weaknesses, showed off her fire as well as her family, and gave her a forum to bash Obama with a smile and a shrug. Because make no mistake about it, behind the schoolteacher glasses and go-get-em smile lies the heart of a right-wing conservative nutjob, who adorns her home with animal heads, attends a church that welcomed the head of Jews for Jesus to speak on its pulpit, who coyly put onto the table every single paranoid, xenophobic Republican criticism of Obama in one fell swoop. She did her job - she got a bunch of crazy old white people to hate / fear Obama even more than they already did. Yep, Sarah Palin is the real deal, people - an unnervingly disarming gal with a gun, a frozen-tundra redneck who despite her gender is now officially a good ol' boy.
- When placed in a larger context though, I thought Palin's speech was actually the highlight of a day at the RNC that had moments both disturbing and downright scary. The one that really struck me was Rudy Guiliani's bloated and pompous speech that preceded Palin's. As much as I am not a fan of McCain ... thank God that Rudy didn't get the nom. That guy is a complete wacko who in many ways makes George W. look like a great leader. I mean, it's absoultely unbelievable -- here, in 2008, Rudy is STILL up there screaming about September 11th, 2oo1, in the most politicized and inaccurate manner possible. He's STILL equating "victory" in Iraq to a "victory" against Osama Bin Laden. Rudy: when will you ever stop spouting lies and propoganda? Hopefully, Americans realize that being mayor of a city while it is attacked does NOT make one a foreign policy expert. Cleary, Rudy is not, as he's deluded himself into thinking that it was Saddam Hussein that attacked us in 2001. In addition, Rudy went on about drilling in Alaska, even inciting a chant of "Drill, baby, drill!" from the crowd. Oh my god, are you serious? Really?
Seriously, watching the Republican convention was like watching a bunch of kids sitting around as the slightly older kid addresses them and confirms that all their suspicions and fears are true. The crowd was positively giddy at any opportunity to whup and holler for any mention of drilling, religion, and war. Because: who cares about the stupid old environment, global warming is a myth perpetuated by the liberal media elites! Who cares that America is a pluralistic, non-denominational society? Praised be jeebus! And who cares that war is horrible, that war brings death and destruction, that the current war we're still in was perpetuated on lies and fostered through a simplistic good vs. evil mentality? Yee-haw, saddle up cowboys, ain't nothin' better than a good ol' fashioned war! Hearing Rudy talk about "Islamic Terrorists" as if they were some evil race of man-eating space aliens was pathetic. Yes, radical Islam is a huge problem, and terrorism is unacceptable. But Rudy and the Republicans aren't happy unless they can frame each and every conflict as if it were a comic book story. Because to them, America is always perfect and never needs to improve for the better. America is infallible. What those of us with a brain understand is this: America is the best country in the world, but it's also a work in progress. And yet, there at the Republican National Convention - with the constant chants of "USA!" and random cat-calls, "whoo's!", and whistles - it might as well have been a college football game. Every issue is black and white , every conflict is good vs. evil, every politician is a good guy or a bad guy.
See what you've gotten yourself into, McCain? So much for being a maverick - you're officially on top of a party to which falling in line is a mandate and the word "nuance" does not exist.
TV STUFF:
- Oh man, the fall TV season is already gearing up. Let's take a look at two of Monday's big premieres:
PRISON BREAK:
- Prison Break always seems to be a little slow out of the gate when it comes to its season premieres. The show has this strange habit of constantly making you wonder how the newly introduced storylines can possibly last for an entire season, when, typically, they seem on the verge of resolution after only one episode. But there's always that last-minute twist where what looked to be a one-and-done plot gets a monkey wrench thrown into it - and thus the screw is turned a bit, and then a bit more, and by episode 5 or 6, things really get cooking.
That definitely feels like it might be the case again with Season 4. This was very much a typical "gathering of the troops"-style storyline. It was fun, but also required a ton of implausible plot twists to ensure that, by the end of Hour 1, Michael, Lincoln, Sucre, Bellick, and Mahone were all once again working together, as Prison Break's version of the Suicide Squad. And that highlights the other notable thing about the S4 premiere - we are now almost 100% removed from the show's original premise of, well, breaking out of a prison. Personally, I don't think it's that big of a deal, but it is definitely a bit weird to be in this situation. Still, I like the concept of Michael and a bunch of cons as a ragtag covert ops squad, though you have to wonder why a thug like Bellick or a smalltime crook like Sucre would even be brought into the operation. For the concept to hold up, I hope we see some new characters introduced who bring more tangible assets to the team. We did get one with the new computer hacker guy - he was mildly cool thus far but nothing too memorable as of yet. The honor of Mr. Personality still belongs to the one and only T-Bag, who once again stole the show with a number of awesome, over-the-top lines and his trademark brand of crazy. "You eat some bad Mexican?" - "Something like that ...". Awesome.
We also saw the character of Sarah brought back, which creates an interesting dynamic with Michael. I hope these two can find a little spark though, because right now it feels like there is little chemistry between the two. Sarah's return should have been a huge, emotional moment, but instead it felt a bit rushed and inevitable, with no huge payoff scene between her and Michael. Also, Sarah is yet another character who doesn't quite seem to fit on Michael's government-sponsored squad. I mean, she's a former prison doctor - how is she an asset in planning break-in missions?
I guess that it was that total sense of kind of winging it that left me enjoying PB's season premiere, but ultimately left me feelign a little shakey about the prospects for this season. It felt a little flat, a little bit lacking in purpose and urgency. The twist that Michael himself may be sick or dying could eventually provide that urgency, but for now, it's kind of an aimless cat and mouse game between Scofield and the Company. And we STILL don't really quite know what the Company's deal is or what their latest nefarious scheme might be. But hey, any organization that produces one of TV's best uber-villains in Gretchen can't be all bad. The badass femme fatale has quickly become one of PB's coolest rogues, so the setup for her eventual return was very much welcome. And yeah, William Fichtner was kickass as always, though why they had him sporting very lame sunhats for much of the episode I do not know. Whoever does Prison Break's wardrobe -- can we please outfit the show's hardened cons in less effeminate clothing? Thank you.
Ultimately, this was a slightly shakey start, but it had enough kewl moments that I know that sometime soon, there is the potential that the show will begin picking up steam again. I mean, I'm in if just to see the next Scofield vs. Teabag encounter - that's going to be good.
My Grade: B
GOSSIP GIRL:
- I'll keep this short: I thought Gossip Girl's second season premiere was entertaining, but in some ways it felt a little lacking. It wasn't quite the sharp and satirical show that made GG such a standout last season. Case in point: Season 1 kicked off with a Chuck and Blair as uber-villains, two love-to-hate-'em upper-crust power-trippers who made life for the rest of our characters a living hell. Now, both feel watered down. Last year, the show made us sympathize with the two in order to build up Georgina as a new big bad, but now that that storyline is over with, it's time for Chuck and Blair to go back to being the badguys. Now, in some ways this ep was really more of an epilogue to S1 than a true beginning to S2. And the writing and dialogue were still as sharp as ever. But still, I couldn't help but feeling that the ep was spinning its wheels and not really aiming to wow us with crazy new characters or stories. Curious to see if business picks up with Ep #2.
My Grade: B
- And no, I did not watch 90210, and don't plan to. You tell me if it was any good.
And on that note, I'm out. It's been a long day and it's time to turn in. Peace out.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment