Friday, June 01, 2007

Fleeting thoughts . . . .

Fleeting impressions by the flickering light of the telly:

I. Gods, why was "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" ever made? . . . as NBC trundles out the last leftovers of the already-cancelled program, I can see why Entertainment Weekly blasted it as the worst show on tv-- though sourgrapes probably has something to do with that judgment! (How the entertainment press hates beging caught backing the failures they help launch with fanfare!) The show is portentous and impenetrable, settling humorlessly over an inert sinkhole of a story, with its depressing and depressive characters stuck there like so many gooed-up wads of hair. What was the motivation behind a single scene in that whole ruckus? Why did Sorkin write it? Why did NBC want it?

II. Tina Fey, I still don't know what makes you tick. I distrust you for the way you treat Lorne Michaels, a patently disgusting man, as some sort of benevolent father. But I love Liz Lemon, I love Jack and Jenna, I hopelessly love "30 Rock". I hate the title, but I quite adore the show . . . .

III. Old Navy's "Summerland" commercial is the hottest approximation yet to Antonioni-in-a-30-sec-boob-tube dose. I'm sure there are a lot of film school retards eager to whore themselves out to retailers looking for stylish, sexed-up adverts that would make David Fincher drool. Those zooms, those lovely geometries of lounging bodies, abstract as landscapes; those undulating bums and Frenchiefied, affectless glances into the distance-- oh, Ridley Scott eat your heart out! Or was that you . . . ?

IV. The Republicans will win in '08. How can they not? The Democrats are atrophied by their inability to think about what they want. An end to the war? Ah, and just who will do that for them?: does Hillary want an end to the war? Could Obama or Edwards actually manage it? Will Americans really be willing to withdraw, considering the scale of the sacrifice and committment in Iraq?
The current Democratic lineup, topheavy with affirmative action candidates, has rendered the Democratic flock undersceptical and prone to dodge real debate. What's the conversation? For godssakes, Dems, talk about resumes, talk about records. Should Hillary pass for progressive on account of her womanhood? Does Barack Obama have a record at all? What does Edwards really believe?-- and how can we know? Why must Richardson be kicked into the gutter of anonymity-- with his record, including his incumbancy in the governor's mansion in a valued Western state. Goodness grief, the Republican voters get all the choices! Giuliani and McCain are allowed to slug it out charismatically, with the competent but slippery Romney a surprising addition. The vitality of the Republican candidates, along with the unpredictability in that camp, lends them a juice-factor sadly lacking in the Democratic fold. Just compare Hillary's promise of "retaliation" in the event of a nuclear strike against America versus McCain's promise to chase bin Laden "to the gates of hell". Forget geopolitics even: do you want a President who thinks about retaliation, or one who promises to chase people to the gates of hell. Give me a Dem who'll chase corporate ne'er-do-wells, porkbarreling politicos, AND Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell! Lyndon Johnson, where are you?!?

No comments: