This is a sort of weird Christmas for me. I’m moving exactly one week beforehand, so no Christmas decorations or tree for me this year. Thus it has been kind of hard to get into the holiday spirit.
But you know what helps? Remembering some of my favorite Christmas moments in TV and film. I’ve done versions of this before, and there are bound to be repeats. But hey, it’s Christmas, the season of forgiveness. Right? Besides, classic holiday moments are meant to be watched over and over.
So, here is one of my favorites, from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Remember that show? It had problems. Lord, did it have problems. But if there is one thing Aaron Sorkin can do, it’s a fucking Christmas show. And so Studio 60‘s one season brought us The Christmas Show. Remember, the show aired in the 2006-07 season, and back then, Hurricane Katrina was fresh in everyone’s minds. And Sorkin, being Sorkin, got a bit political. That didn’t work a lot in Studio 60, but it worked here.
First of all, what a fucking performance and arrangement. Second, seeing “All I want or Christmas is my city back” will never not make me tear up. And third, when the show first aired, you could download the song off iTunes or somewhere on the Internet, and the proceeds would go to a New Orleans jazz fund. So it was really a win-win-win situation.
For anyone who cares, I *did* download the song back in 2006, and the beautiful arrangement holds a spot on my Holiday Cheer mix.
And also…I am very tempted to go on a rant about how much potential Studio 60 had, and how it was all squandered by ego and trying to make TV seem as important as the White House (see: the conversation between Steven Weber and Ed Asner at the start of the clip), but…it’s the holiday season. And it was 4 years ago. So…let’s just enjoy the pretty music, shall we?
What are some of your favorite TV or movie holiday moments?
Apartment hunting-turned townhouse hunting and work have kept me from updating lately. And, if I am being honest, what would possibly top my epic New York post? How do you move on from that? I don’t know.
However, it is Thanksgiving week, and I would be remiss if I didn’t use this space to share some of my favorite Tday clips, as I do every year. Last year was focused on Friends; this year is a hodgepodge.
Cheers epic food fight:
Lorelai and Rory prepare for four Thanksgiving dinners
Rory’s “yeah” at the end cracks me up every time.
Cliff Huxtable treks back and forth to the store
Dexter (aka Kyle Butler) has Thanksgiving with the Mitchell family.
Creepy as fuck but so good. Three words for you: “Shut up, c*nt.”
And finally, my favorite, President Bartlett calls the Butterball hotline:
After six visits over the past two years, New York officially peaked for me last weekend. I suppose it’s possible to top the awesomeness/epicness of Oct 22-24, 2010, but it’s going to be damn hard.
This was actually over a year in the making. Summer 2009, Nicki and I met in New York for a trip to see Next to Normal. At some point, our mutual love of David Hyde Pierce came up, and we decided then and there that when he came back to Broadway, we would go see him.
Let me pause here and say that in case you don’t know who he is – and if you are reading this blog there’s a slim chance you don’t – he is best known for playing Niles Crane on my beloved Frasier, but he’s also a kick-ass and Tony-award winning stage actor, recently seen in Spamalot and Curtains (he won the Tony for the latter) as well as a ton of other stuff pre-Frasier. You can also check him out in the super twisted but hilarious film Wet Hot American Summer, as well as Down With Love, A Bug’s Life, the weird yet intriguing Wolf, and the promising yet-to-be-released The Perfect Host (playing at a film festival near you). And if that’s not enough for you, check out the newest audiobook of The Phantom Tollbooth, which he not only narrates but also plays every single character. (A mighty task as the book has at least 30 distinct characters.)
Flash forward a year, and it’s announced that Mr. Pierce is indeed returning to the boards for a limited run of the 1991 David Hirsen play La Bete. I don’t think it’s what we were expecting, but hey, it was a play, it was on Broadway and it had DHP, so we were there.
We got tickets way in advance. A few days later, I found out that Mr. Pierce would be participating in the 92nd Street Y Broadway Talks series the day after we were seeing him in La Bete. Obviously, we needed to see this as well. And so it turned into a “DHP-themed weekend.” Continue reading →
It’s been busy ’round these parts lately. Everyone I know had a baby. Well, okay, only two people, but two of the closest people in my life. Hence the lack of blogging.
That doesn’t mean I have been ignoring my pop culture duties. That would never happen. So here are some things I’ve been digging lately.
Mad Men A few years back, I tuned into a new show called Mad Men, lauded by critics and TV watchers alike. Watched it for about 10 minutes, realized I wasn’t paying attention, turned it off, and didn’t watch another episode until this month. Guys, I don’t know what I was thinking. This show…is SO GOOD. Over the weekend, a friend asked me how it was, and my response was one simple word: “Delectable.” That it is, and not just for Jon Hamm. (Though, lets face it…) Everything, from the cinematography, the clothes, the writing, the acting, the music (THE MUSIC, YOU GUYS. SO PERFECT)…it’s all amazing, and all a feast for the senses. It’s so good that, instead of doing my usual marathon watch, I am limiting myself to one or two at a time. (And trust me, for me, that IS limiting.) So far, I am about 2/3 of the way through season 2, and there hasn’t been one sub-par episode. Also, a word on January Jones: I have not seen her now famous SNL hosting disaster last year. Don’t want to. But in terms of dramatic acting chops? Gal has it. She has Betty Draper DOWN. Do I like her character? Not really, but damn if she doesn’t do a fine job portraying the unhappy housewife.
Also, Jon Hamm is really, really hot. Unlike a lot of hot actors today, he actually has the chops to back it up.
It’s hard to pick a favorite moment (just last night I watched Colin Hanks play guitar; this certainly goes on the list) and, like always I cannot pick just one, so here are a couple of mine from season 1. (Note: All the Mad Men clips disable embedding, so you’ll have to click over to YouTube. It’s worh it, I promise.)
Don’t fuck with Betty Draper, or her kids:
Pete shares his hunting fantasy with Peggy. (How awesome is Peggy, y’all? I love watching her grow professionally.)
Don’s carousel pitch:
Resonates on so many levels, y’all. Also, it’s no secret I am a sucker for nostalgia.
After pitching the carousel, Don thinks twice. (This ties with Matt Saracen driving out of Dillon on Friday Night Lights for best use of a song on TV)
(After this song started playing, I actually said out loud – to an empty room – “Oh, this is PERFECT!” That never happens.)
So yeah, umm, watch Mad Men. Not since Gilmore Girls has a show transported me so fully into another world.
Other things:
* Wednesday night comedies are back! Yay for Modern Family and Cougar Town.
* Sometime over the summer, I started watching Community. Somewhere in the run, I fell in love. Actually wait, I can tell you exactly when I started to love the show. When this happened:
* A few years back, I read what remains to be my favorite book ever, I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. I recently read his follow-up book, The Hour I First Believed. While it takes place in the same town, and features some of the same characters, it really doesn’t hold a candle to I Know This Much… It’s still good, but Mr. Lamb gets a bit too caught up in his own drama for me. Kind of disappointing, because She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True are both masterpieces.
* Is anyone going to the Stewart/Colbert rallies? I kind of really want to. Is it just me?
* Another podcast has been added to my regular rotation: Radio Lab. It took me awhile to get into it, because they have an unconventional style that takes getting used to. But, they do some pretty amazing stories, and actually make science interesting a good part of the time. My favorites so far include War of the Worlds, Detective Stories, and Diagnosis. (Two of which actually aren’t that science-y. Go figure.)
But seriously, guys, go watch Mad Men. That’s really the point of this post.
I saw Inception over the weekend. Can’t really talk about it intelligently, so I will just say: HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AMAZING! And yes, it does live up to all the hype.
Not sure if the movie embedded below will. It has good credentials – written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by David “Fight Club” Fincher*, and starring Jesse Eisenberg (whom I loved in Adventureland). But telling the story of Facebook and how it changed the world is kind of a monumental task, no?
Anyway, before having my mind blown by Inception, we sat through a host of previews, including one for The Social Network. Guys, I have no idea how this movie will turn out, but this trailer? This trailer is golden. It should be a model for how to sell a movie, and proves how music can make anything seem better (or worse, depending on the song). I’d seen the 30 second commercials for the movie on TV, and was not impressed. But now? Now I’m itching to see this film. Hurry up, October 1st!
Am I right? Awesome, no?
*Also known as David “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Fincher. Please let this be another Fight Club.
Retrowatching 