Random Thoughts of the New Obama Era, Plus PRISON BREAK, OFFICE, 30 ROCK, SMALLVILLE, and Even More TV Reviews!

Welcome to the first real post of the new Obama era. Yes, it's already a different America, and personally it's pretty exciting. Say hello to stem cell research, electric cars, and free jumbo pretzels for everyone! Okay, maybe not that last one (I guess I'm just hungry and in the mood for a giant NYC-style pretzel? hmm ...), but, you get the picture.

So, I have a lot to talk about, but I'd be remiss if I didn't start things off with some random politically-oriented thoughts that have been brewing since last Tuesday ...

- I thought Obama's first post-election press conference last week was pretty compelling to watch, if only to see just how different it was from what we've seen over the past eight years from George W. Bush. And I have to say, I liked what I saw. I think people who wrote off Obama as a guy who only deals with grand ideas and hyperbolic speech are going to be surprised by just how pragmatic the guy is. I mean, it's only been a couple of days since the election, the guy isn't even President yet ... but already I feel like we are getting stuff done.

- As I alluded to in my previous, post-election post ... I do admire what John McCain did in his concession speech, but at the same time, I also see it as too little too late. The amount of negative campaigning in his bid for office was just indefensibly hypocritical. The fact that McCain used the same Rove-ian tactics that had been used against him, even down to the same robo-calling agencies that hurt his campaign in the past - well, that's just unbelievable to me. Personally, I am proud of the fact that the guy we elected to our highest office is the one guy in this campaign who didn't get to the top by being an ass.

- Speaking of which ... please lord, let Sarah Palin disappear from the political scene. I know it's not going to happen, but I really, really wish it would. I mean, can't we get back to the days where both political parties are represented by candidates who aren't scary zealots? I realize this is tough for Republican - afterall, McCain was, amazingly enough, probably the least horrible of the main Republican contenders. But Palin - what does she bring to the table in terms of qualifications? Minimal intelligence, minimal experience, maximum crazy = NOT GOOD. I guess the one good thing is that if, somehow, she were to be a Republican candidate for prez in 2012, I now have more than enough faith that the American people would reject her as being viable. But as much as I'd love to see a more liberal America trample over shoddy conservative candidates like a Palin, in the spirit of optimism and bipartisanship, I do hope that both parties produce leaders who are actually intelligent, capable, and not scary.

- And how about Joe Lieberman? Talk about a guy who ended up on the wrong side of history. Joe - you were wrong. Swallow your pride and admit it.

- I guess Rory Gilmore made a good choice at the end of Gilmore Girls when she went to work for the Obama campaign?

- I wonder to what extent our pop culture will revert to 1990's-style Clinton-era movies, TV, and music in the wake of the Dems once again being in control of the White House? It's funny, because the first post-Obama comedy hit at the box office was Role Models, which - who knows - may not have done quite as well had it been released a week or two earlier. It's interesting, Role Models contains the sort of absurdist, random humor that seemed to peak in the 90's -- and guess what, Jim Carrey has an old-school Jim Carrey movie on the way soon to boot. I guess I am just wondering if comedy will soon return to being less biting and more random once the mood of the country gets a bit less dire and a bit more hopeful.

- I guess 24 just likes to be ahead of the curve ...? Way back when, the show introduced much of America to the concept of a kickass black president, in the form of the late great President David Palmer. Now the new season promises a female President ... fine with me, as long as it doesn't translate to a Palin presidency ...

- Random question: what's with AOL's userbase appaently being uber-conservative? They always have those attention-grabbing headlines on their main page, usually accompanied by an opinion poll of some sort. Throughout the election, the polling questions almost always had very conservative-leaning results. But just today there was an article and accompanying poll that really shocked me. The article was about a Republican senator who directly compared Obama to Hitler. Okay, I'm already offended from the headline alone - but then the poll asked if the Senator "had a point," or "sounded foolish." And the "had a point" choice was actually ahead by a decent percentage! WTF?! Finger of shame!

- Also, I honestly think the worst lobby in America might be the gun lobby. Why do these crazies think it's a violation of their rights to ban assault weapons? I mean, how far do you take this? Should anyone be allowed to own a nuclear missle? Obama had a damn good point when he made his "controversial" comments about people clinging to their guns - I swear to god I don't understand why second-amendment zealots think that restrictions on gun ownership are a bad thing. Oh no, we'll all be screwed when the aliens invade and we don't own machine guns!

- But, to end on a positive note, I am still shell-shocked at just how big of a moment the Obama win was. Last week, there was just a feeling in the air of positivity and celebration - it really was amazing. As much as part of me wanted to be grumpy for various reasons last week, it just wasn't happening. People, at least here in LA, were just plain happy. It hit me on Wednesday when I walked to my car to go out and grab some lunch. This young black guy was walking to his car, and he was just walking with a bounce in his step and a big smile on his face. He walked faster to catch up to me, and blurt out: "So, what do you think?" I didn't have to ask him what he was referring to. "About the election? I'm excited, really excited." I replied. "I just can't believe it," he said. "I never thought I'd live to see this."

A stranger being friendly in LA? Making small talk? Genuinely happy about something? This must be the dawn of a new era afterall.


TV STUFF:

- Let me start with today's TV Roundup by talking about last night's PRISON BREAK, which yet again owned. Last week I still ahd some misgivings about the way Bellick was offed, but I thought this week's ep was a fitting tribute to everyone's favorite thug. It was kind of funny how everyone acknowledged that they were surprised at how upset they were about the guy's death, but at the same time, the point was made that through Bellick's death they got a firsthand idea of how they themselves might be treated if they were to fall in the line of duty. But anyways, last night's ep had it all - more absolute craziness from T-Bag ("Scofield is a needler!"), who delivered one of the most awesomely nonsensical speeches ever when he impressed his fellow salesman with an absurdly random speech about Bellick. This ep also had a solid gravitas-factor thanks to the newly-revenged Mahone, and some nice bits with Gretchen as well. Call me crazy but for some reason I'm convinced she'd make an awesome Lois Lane. Finally, we had a small bu noteworthy appearance by the man known on 24 as MIKE NOVICK, who seemed to have reprised his role as a smarmy henchman type. I can only hope that he worms his way up to main event badguy status ASAP.

- And speaking of former 24 cast members - awesome news that Reiko Aylesworth (sp?) will be joining the cast of LOST - seems like a perfect fit, and who knows, if Michelle Dessler is on that island, perhaps ZOMBIE ALMEDA will appear to seek unholy soul-patch communion with his lost love. Suffice it to say, who among us will not be happy to see Reiko back on our TV's?

My Grade: A-

- Let's talk for a second about this week's FOX Sunday night: Fist of all, this week's SIMPSONS was what you'd call a very mixed bag. On one level, I thought there was some funny writing here and at least a couple of jokes that really worked. I admired the episode for at least trying something different in terms of structure, using a parallel series of interweaving flashback to show various scenes from Homer and Marge's teenage courtship. But, really?!? Yet another hamfisted story about Marge and Homer's marriage being on the rocks? The same plot of The Simpsons Movie, and the same plot of seemingly every other Simpsons episode from the last five years? AGAIN?!? Enough already! Cant' we get a ban on this? Unless a writer simply has the most brilliant Homer-Marge-marriage-in-peril script *ever*, then cut this crap out already!

My Grade: B-

- KING OF THE HILL, however, rebounded from last week's subpar episode with a pretty well done installment. The ep pitted Hank against his son's school, when a bunch of students, including Bobby and Joseph, are put into a special ed class simply to raise the school's test-score standings. It was a solid ep all around, and I'm hoping this is a sign of good things to come in what may be the show's final season.

My Grade: B+

- FAMILY GUY came back from a really awful episode and also had what I'd consider to be a much better effort this week than last. I thought the new-Brian subplot had some pretty hilarious moments, and even if it felt like well-worn territory, the ep definitely worked overall (there's just something funny about Stewie's oddball pronunciation of "cool whip" as "cool hwhip"). I can't help but wonder though - I made mention above of a potential shift in the comedy paradigm now that we've entered the Obama era. I can't help but wonder whether this might mean that Family Guy will ditch some of the mean-spiritedness that has been its trademark the last couple of years. Personally, I miss the days when Meg was a real character, and when not every episode had three jokes that existed only to tear down random celebrities for no apparent reason other than to be mean. Because as relatively funny as this episode was, did it really need to end with Stewie murdering new-Brian and stuffing him in a sack? I think not, people.

My Grade: B

- I know I'm late in talking about Thursday's TV lineup, but I have to give a huge shout-out to 30 ROCK, which roared back after a pretty good premiere to have an absolutely hilarious second episode. I mean, wow - this one was a classic, the highlight being Alec Baldwin's attempt to teach Kenneth the Page about moral ambiguity, which resulted in some funny-as-all-hell scenes. Seeing Tracy Morgan in white-woman drag (with claw-hand accessory) was priceless. Even the Oprah stuff was pretty hilarious. Still the best comedy on TV? Without a doubt.

My Grade: A

- As for THE OFFICE, I got a kick out of the somewhat oddball conspiracy storyline, but got annoyed with the growing creepiness of the Pam-Jim relationship. It'd be one thing if the show seemed to be encouraging us to dislike them, but instead The Office insists on showing its schmaltzy side whenever Pam and Jim are involved, even as they are being kind of sketchy by talking to each other 24/7 on the world's tiniest bluetooth.

My Grade: B

- I really enjoyed this past week's SMALLVILLE. As much as I've badmouthed the inherent lameness of having Doomsday be an angsty Metropolis teen, having Davis Bloom actually be a genetically engineered son to General Zod is kind of a cool twist. While the episode did contain about the five millionth time that someone has been mind-controlled on this show, I give some credit to Erica Durance for pulling it off much better than we've seen in the past. There was also some real drama here with all the Phantom Zone and Kara stuff, with Tom Welling putting his working boots on and delivering one of the best performances we've seen from him in a long while. Even if there were a few of the typically clunky moments here that Smallville is known for, I give this season credit for having a compelling, overarching narrative that has been slowly but surely been building momentum episode to episode. Just, please, enough with the mind control already.

My Grade: B+

- Finally, I don't think I've talked enough on this blog about the great PUSHING DAISIES. While I've had a couple of nitpicks with the show so far this season, I can't emphasize enough how smart, funny, visually unique, and imaginative this show is, consistently, each and every week. The fact that this show is on the cancellation bubble and not one of TV's top-rated series is, basically, a travesty of epic proportions. I know, it's a tough sell. It's one of those shows that I think is mostly being watched by younger viewers, simply because they tend to be more open to unconventional series. And yet, it's a show that I think older viewers would also love. I feel like my parents and even grandparents would be into it if they gave it a shot. It's just hard to explain to people what the series is - it doesn't look or feel like anything else on TV, not in the slightest. I would tell people it's like a Tim Burton movie meets a 1990's LucasArts computer game meets an old film noir meets The Princess Bride, but I don't know if that would register with most people. Suffice it to say - WATCH PUSHING DAISIES. It's one of those shows that is hard not to love once you've seen it, and when I think about the quality of the show compared to so much of the crap on TV, it boggles my mind that it isn't a better performer.


- Alright, I still need to get down my review of ROLE MODELS (short version: hilarious). But for now, I'm out.