Sports Night Blows the Hatch – Dan makes an apology
This is an Ivey West original. Due to the limitations of Internet on airplanes, as well as Ivey’s inclusion on the “watch list”, I’m doing a favor for a friend. But, be sure that this is an Ivey; do I tend to be this positive when I write? Begin, sir.
My love for all things Sorkin is well known around these parts. I think The West Wing is the greatest television show that ever aired, and I’ve said as recently as yesterday that the only people that like Studio 60 were me, Bob Sassone, and Aaron Sorkin’s mother.
A Few Good Men and The American President stand with some of my favorite films of all time. However, I’ve long held that his most under-appreciated work was Sports Night. Based (not so) loosely on ESPN’s SportsCenter, the show follows the behind the scenes antics (and if there was ever an appropriate time to use that word, it would be to describe these guys) of the production of a nightly sports recap show. I’ve written about the characters before; they are wacky and witty, wise and wise-asses, and they work so perfectly well together. Read the rest of this entry »
The X-Files Virgin’s Diary – Ghosts and devils and AI … Oh my!
(Season 1, Episodes 5-8)
I guess after three of four episodes with a “MythArc” element, the creators wanted to relax and go for some fun, non-connected episodes for awhile. So all four of this week’s episodes are of the “Monster-of-the-Week” variety.
5 – “The Jersey Devil”
(Original Air Date: October 8, 1993) The most disappointing thing to me was that the people from 1947 didn’t speak like 1940s movie stars. “What you got here, see, is da Joisey Devil. What’s it to ya?” You have to say it fast, and yes, that’s how I picture everyone in the ’40s sounding.
Sports Night: Ain’t nothing but a family thing
I was recently having a conversation with Julia about the brilliance of the West Wing, and the topic of Sports Night came up. We were talking about how TWW’s CJ was a pretty well crafted female character, one who I always compared to Dana from Sports Night. I was challenged to talk about what such strong female characters Aaron Sorkin has been able to develop over the years (A task I fear I would fail miserably, and I think the Sisterhood deserves a better spokesperson than me). Instead I want to delve into the near perfect family dynamic that the characters of Sports Night became:
Was the Desperate Housewives finale anticlimactic?
Ever since the first episode of Desperate Housewives, when we learned of Mary Alice’s tragic death, I’ve felt like the show has always had one major mystery to be solved throughout the course of the season. In season five, that mystery was Dave — why he married Edie and moved to Wisteria Lane.
We learned part-way through the season why he was there, so that mystery was over. The only remaining thing, which was strung out over many episodes, was how he would seek revenge on Mike and Susan.
Desperate Housewives – A sweet moment between Lynette and Tom
There were a few great moments on this week’s episode of Desperate Housewives. One was Gaby’s formerly socialite friend explaining why she was at the free dinner, saying that her husband had been sick and then died, leaving her broke and desperate (really puts the “desperate” in this housewife’s life). Gaby has been sinking back into her materialistic ways, but I think that message got through.
However, my favorite moment occurred between Lynette and Tom. He was thinking about getting plastic surgery after being turned down for a job, and she took each line on his face and pinpointed it to a specific thing in their lives together: Penny falling out of a tree and breaking her arm, Tom worrying how he’d provide for them, Lynette’s cancer, the millions of laughs that got them through all the tough times.
Desperate Housewives – Carlos sees Lynette naked
This week’s episode of Desperate Housewives got me thinking: It would be really weird if your neighbor saw you naked. Especially if you’re Lynette and Carlos and not only have to see each other at the mailbox every day, but also work together in the same office.
But obviously, when Carlos found Lynette passed out in her shower after slipping on a bar of soap, he couldn’t just leave her there. He did what any upstanding person would do: pick up her naked self and tuck her into bed.
And even though Lynette made Carlos swear not to tell a soul — especially Tom, who’s being weird and working out and joining Gaby’s garden club — of course the subject came up. Carlos accidentally spilled the story to Tom when he and Gaby were having dinner with Tom and Lynette. Awkward!
Desperate Housewives – Lesbians and Girl-on-Girl Kisses
Sometimes I think Desperate Housewives portrays people accurately, with Tom and Lynette getting the “most like a real couple” award (except for last week’s scene at Bree and Orson’s dinner table).
Then there are other times when the show sinks to cartoonish antics that don’t resemble real life at all. In this week’s episode, Susan invited her boss Jessie, played by the magnificent Swoosie Kurtz, over for drinks to score a few points on her evaluation.
But Susan inadvertently led Jessie to believe she was a lesbian — gushing over her hot body (even though Jessie’s dress was straight out of 1983), putting her hand on her knee, saying they should do it again, and so forth. When Jessie left, she planted a wet one right on Susan’s mouth.
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