WEEKEND, baby! WEEKEND!
- Man, with all the craziness this week I don't think I ever even talked about LAST weekend. So before I proceed I must give a big thanks to the G-Man for arranging for Coach Carter and I to go see the Dodgers play on Saturday. Not only was it a good time, but at one point we exchanged seats with G's cousins who left early and found ourselves in the third row, front and center, right next to first base. Hel-lo!
- This week, my fellow rap-star in training Chris "Easy" E and I decided to get creative and lay down some ryhmes for a comedy rap parody in the grand tradition of Weird Al / Jay Z. Yes, be on the lookout for NICE JEWISH BOYZ, coming soon!
TV STUFF:
- SMALLVILLE ... was ... good?!?! Yes! Finally! Last night's Smallville was the best ep in a while, with some real plot development, solid acting, and a nice guest turn by Lynda "Wonder Woman" Carter. While the reunion of Chloe with her long-lost mom was well-told, the real star here was Michael Rosenbaum as Lex. Yeah, no big surprise, Rosenbaum has been carrying this show since its inception. But this was a particularly good Lex episode, as it seems like, finally, Lex has shed all pretenses of being a nice guy and gone full-on evil on us. Yes, finally, bring it on. For once, an episode of Smallville didn't end with Clark or Lana moping around and staring off into the distance as some lame pop song plays in the background. No, this week, Smallville delivered a killer ending sequence, with three great scenes that really screamed "yep, business has just picked up." Lex's hardcore threatening of Chloe, Lana's revelation that she was never actually pregnant, and Clark's promise to Chloe that Lex's threats meant the beginning of "war" - well, dayum, THAT's how you end an episode of Smallville. Otherwise, this ep still suffered from some of the same lame contrivances that are by now almost a given on this show. Of course, for the 5 billionth time, we get Lana being knocked unconcious RIGHT as Clark swoops in to use his powers and save the day. Of course, we get yet another instance where a main character (Chloe, in this case) commits criminal acts whilst under mind-control of some type or other, and yes, at some point, someone (in this case Clark), described this crazy behavior with the simple, catch-all phrase "you weren't yourself." Laaaaaaaaaaame. But hey, I'm willing to forgive some of the usual qualms I have with the show's lazy writing, because for the most part, this ep delivered, and presented the most badass Lex Luthor we've yet seen on screen.
My Grade: A -
- 30 ROCK last night delivered another very solid ep. Many have noted though that for better or worse, the show is becoming increasingly serialized, and increasingly focused on relationships. On one hand, this new focus really helps us get invested in the characters. On the other hand, it means that so much energy is devoted to plot, that the jokes seem to suffer for it, with some of the comedy feeling more tacked on now that random humor is taking a backseat to relationship-driven serialized storytelling. This means less of show-stealing side characters like Kenneth, and a much more down to earth Alec Baldwin, as opposed to the totally nutso, over the top character he originally portrayed. I understand what the show is going for, and it still has random humor, mostly from Tracy Morgan (this week's subplot about the "Black Crusaders" was admittedly hilarious). I just don't like seeing this show become typical yuppie relationship-comedy, when the thing that made it originally stand out was how far it was willing to take a joke, how out-there it was willing to make its characters, to hilarious comedic effect. Last night as I said was very solid, with spot-on humor in comparing NYC to Cleveland, and a funny Tracy Jordan subplot. I just worry that the scales may tip too far in the wrong direction.
My Grade: B+
Other stuff:
- Nice article by Stephen King, from EW.com, where, in the aftermath of the VA Tech tragedy, he looks at what if anything a person's writing says about them. It somwhat echoes my comments from the other day about how I am reluctant to judge someone's real personality based on whatever escapist or creative endeavors they partake in. At the same time, the trained eye can see certain red flags when looking at writing produced by someone who is truly disturbed. Thanks to Abby for pointing out to me:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20036014,00.html
- On an altogether different note -- NBA PLAYOFFS commence this weekend!!! Hells yes, you've gotta love the playoffs! This year there are plenty of interesting first round matchups. Utah and Houston square off, for one. Back in the day, when I was a hardcore Rockets fan and my brother, as always, a diehard Jazz maniac, any time these two teams were matched up it was a HUGE event in the Baram household, especially since it meant an epic battle of the power forwards in Barkley vs. Malone. Now, the Rockets are a huge underdog since they've been fairly inconsistent, while the Jazz have quietly put up a very good record and could be a force in the post-season. We also have the Suns vs. the hated Lakers. While I'm not a diehard Suns fan like I used to be circa 1993 in the glory days of Sir Charles, KJ, and Thunder Dan, I still really like the Suns and would love to see them squash Kobe's thug squad hard and fast. I'd love for this to be Nash and the Suns' year to go all the way - they are my pick to win it all in '07! SUNS! Still, the Mavs are huge this year and Dirk is the likely MVP, and everyone always forgets about the Spurs but they are as dangerous (and boring) as ever. In the East, Miami has gotta be the favorite as the defending champs (if healthy), and overall the East is offering up some pretty weak competish. Jersey and the Pistons will likely step up the game, and seeing Vince Carter face a hungry Toronto team is going to be really interesting. Meanwhile, you gotta love the Orlando Magic and the beast of a man that is Dwight Howard. I'm curious to see if they can step up at all. Plus Chicago is right there in the mix as well. I was hoping for the Wizards to have a nice playoff run, but without Gilbert Arenas they should likely fall very quickly in Round One barring miracle. Orlando and Golden State (featuring Baron Davis) should both be a lot of fun to watch though, and who knows, maybe Denver, with AI and Carmello, can even make some noise. Of course, this is a make or break year for LeBron and the Cavs. If they can't get to the second or third round I think it's time to hit the reboot button in Cleveland. My pick though is a Suns vs. Miami final ... Suns vs. Mavs though and either vs. the Spurs will be the finals before the finals though. In summary: SUNS.
- Alright, I'm outta here! Have a good weekend, rock and/or roll.
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