(no subject)

So, Tivo had five episodes of Scrubs waiting for us last night. Have I mentioned how much I love this show?

To really apprecriate my love for the show, you have to understand two things.

First, I hate sitcoms. I watch Macolm and Arlis$, but those are the only live-action sitcoms I need (and neither is traditional). I watch Friends and Will and Grace because shadesong does, but I could live without ever seeing either one again (and probably won't, in the case of Friends).

Second, I hate medical shows. I despise ER -- always have, even when better actors were delivering the shitty dialogue. I think it's a pandering, emotionally manipulative piece of crap, and it substitutes "very special episodes" and shock value for real characterization. Chicago Hope was only slightly better. I haven't enjoyed a medical show since St. Elsewhere, whose ass ER couldn't kiss on its best day.

So, I didn't watch Scrubs at first. Then, after all of the hype, we decided to record the pilot, and it was cute. But nothing special.

A few months went by, and they ran a commercial for a musical epsiode, so we tivo'd it. The commercial was a lie (NBC has been taking lessons from the WB), as there was only one brief moment of song, but the episode was funny. Damned funny. And also surprisingly touching. So we got a season pass, and have now seen about half of the episodes.

It's not just that this show is funny (which it is). It's that it manages to combine zaniness with true emotion. And it does it without playing the bullshit games of so many shows.

The best comparison (although it's a false one) I can think of is Soap. It's not as over the top zany as Soap was, but it's got the same ability to move from a silly plotline right into a speech that makes your eyes water. Remember how Katherine Helmond gave that amazing speech about how much she loved her grandchild, right in the middle of the Exorcist parody (and if you don't, why haven't you gone and seen every episode of Soap, dammit?)? That's the sort of mix of emotion and humor that Scrubs achieves.

Anyway, my point is, I don't consider many network shows worth watching. But Scrubs is one of them.

Dreamworks animation news

Dreamworks in 2004 is apparently hitting Disney hard. They're actually going to produce two animated movies that year (first time ever), and both are hitting typical Disney release dates. Shrek 2 will be released in late June (instead of May). We sorta knew about that.

But the other film sounds nifty: "Sharkslayer," a CGI mafia tale, with all the main characters as fish. And with the voices of Will Smith, James Gandolfini and Martin Scorsese. And it's opening around Thanksgiving of that year. I know it's two years away, but I can't wait. DW has consistently impressed me with the animated films.

(no subject)

You know, they don't have to take the word "God" out of the Pledge. Really.

Just change "under" to "over." Because that's the whole point -- we're a country founded on a love of certain freedoms, and those take precedence over whatever religious beliefs we choose to have.

It'll probably be a heck of a lot cheaper for those folks who need to fix public signs and the like.

Speaking of animated Disney flicks

http://www.chud.com/news/june02/june27tron.php3
Tron. Tron 2.0. And at this point, at least, they're still lookng to get Bridges and Boxleitner.

I am so there.

Screw the Academy!

Okay, the Emmy's don't go to good shows, anyway (hello? How often has The Simpsons won for best comedy? And name a single year from 1993-1999 when it wasn't the best one). But they could at least let the voters screw the show, instead of fucking it up in advance.

For those who don't want to follow the link, here's what it says:


A LOT AT STAKE The Academy accidentally omitted ''Buffy'''s acclaimed musical episode, ''Once More With Feeling,'' from ballots
Vampires and demons know better than to mess with Buffy, but apparently the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences didn't get the memo. The Academy accidentally omitted ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'''s acclaimed musical episode, ''Once More With Feeling,'' from Emmy nomination ballots in the drama writing category, TV Guide Online reports.

The Academy tells TV Guide that they realized their error almost immediately, and sent out an addition to the ballot. But a source at ''Buffy'''s production company tells the website that most voters will probably ignore the addition, thus dooming the episode's chances of getting nominated in that category (the show wasn't omitted in other applicable categories, such as best drama series). The Emmy nominations will be announced July 18; the ballots department at the Academy will have stakes plunged into their hearts on July 19.