Okay, so I've already written about my (slightly) neurotic obsession with QVC as a child. However, this wasn't the only channel on television that I ever had a fling with. In fact, my next thematic obsession was to swing from campy to carnal--I became a Court TV addict.
I'm not such a fan of truTV, Court TV's new name and format. It adds in reality shows that I don't care about. I basically need a channel devoted to playing reruns of Forensic Files, The Investigators, Masterminds, and any other show like this (I'll take a Psychic Detectives in a pinch). For some reason, this sort of televised misery told in a systematic, unemotional way lulls me to sleep. Some people watch the news or reruns of Sex and the City, but give me misery, mayhem, and the guy who says "blunt force trauma" in that oh-so-special way.
I started my true crime kick when Court TV did a special one Christmas when I was spending a lot of time at my G'ma Helen's house. Late at night, they were doing a "12 Serial Killers of Christmas" special. I got introduced to all of the big names in mayhem and terror: Dahmer, Gacy, Bundy, Eichmann, BTK (before he was caught), the Boston Strangler, the Manson Family, the Son of Sam...a motley crew of death dealers. Anyone who had ever had a well-publicized trial was fair game. Their televesion introductions made me want to know more. This was something different, this was something...dare I say it...cool. Although I liked the story of Eichmann being abducted from Argentina by the Israelis to stand trial (and that his final meal was a bottle of red wine), the stories that affected me the most were Dahmer and Gacy by scaring the absolute shit out of me. What Bundy did to co-eds, these two freaks did to me.
But, regardless of how they scared me, I wanted to know more, like a violence junkie. Because, as GI Joe knows, knowing is half the battle. Plus, the stories, well, I just had to know more. Motives, methods, victims, styles, years, numbers...if I could quantify it, then maybe I could understand it. Because when you're nine, you think that everything can be understood if you just get enough information.
That makes me sound like a creep, but most people are interested. I just put my fascination from a young age up front.
I eventually became fascinated with all sorts of true crime statistics and stories, but those are tales for another day.
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
My TV Addictions
Right now, there are five shows that I watch all the time on cable:
My favorite show of all time, however, is Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I like anything that's going to push the envelope and either be interesting visually or stylistically. There's only so far that plot can take a show; I want something original. That's why I liked the really short-lived Pushing Daisies (thanks, writer's strike). Was the writing or concept the best in the world? No, but I'd watch that show all the time to see what it was going to look like (reminded me a lot of the style of the movie Down With Love). I like sardonic humor and good writing, so I'm in for a Dead Like Me, Scrubs, or anything by Joss Whedon. I also like high camp (if it's mixed with aforementioned taste, humor, and good writing).
Which brings me to a show that I stumbled across while reviewing The Daily Beast today. A new show came out on Fox this past Tuesday. It's called Glee. I remember vaguely seeing a trailer for it in the last few months, but I totally had forgotten that it was coming out. It follows a Spanish teacher who is trying to not only start a family but also to revitalize his high school's Glee club. Mixed with a pretty standard mix of characters (the gay guy, the wheelchair kid, the diva, the entitled girl, and the jock who is also artistic), the show has great potential to flop. But, I think it might just make a go of it. Here's why:
Formulas like this happen because they're successful. We've seen this movie before, but that doesn't mean we're not open to seeing it in a new way. This show is CAMP-Y! In the first episode, we've got a teacher fired for flirting with a student, that same teacher becoming a drug dealer, a guidance counselor with OCD and a germ disorder, a rival glee club singing "Rehab," and they always fabulous Jane Lynch as the cheerleading coach spouting one liners like "You think this is hard? Waterboarding is hard!" and "You want to know about pain? I've got herpes!" while coaching her girls.
The show makes high school out to be a caste system with some wiggle room. Sure, the characters are two dimensional, but they're still fun. And if the writing stays good, I'm going to stay with it. Sure, it's not the best show I've ever seen, but it was good enough that my theatre training can't let go of a campy rendition of an Asian girl with a stutter singing "I Kissed a Girl" or the talented girl screaming "There is nothing ironic about show choir!"
And maybe there isn't, but I hope this show remains detached enough to stay true to what it is: entertaining fluff, not soul-wrenching fare. And Fox, having both Dollhouse and Glee has moved in my mind from the white trash network (which it still is with its American Idol 3000 and whatnot) to being semi-respectable for being willing to take a chance.
Update: Wtf, Fox? So, this was just the pilot teaser and Glee doesn't actually premiere until September? That's so...gay!
- Dollhouse
- Dexter
- Law and Order: Criminal Intent
- Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
- Jeopardy
My favorite show of all time, however, is Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I like anything that's going to push the envelope and either be interesting visually or stylistically. There's only so far that plot can take a show; I want something original. That's why I liked the really short-lived Pushing Daisies (thanks, writer's strike). Was the writing or concept the best in the world? No, but I'd watch that show all the time to see what it was going to look like (reminded me a lot of the style of the movie Down With Love). I like sardonic humor and good writing, so I'm in for a Dead Like Me, Scrubs, or anything by Joss Whedon. I also like high camp (if it's mixed with aforementioned taste, humor, and good writing).
Which brings me to a show that I stumbled across while reviewing The Daily Beast today. A new show came out on Fox this past Tuesday. It's called Glee. I remember vaguely seeing a trailer for it in the last few months, but I totally had forgotten that it was coming out. It follows a Spanish teacher who is trying to not only start a family but also to revitalize his high school's Glee club. Mixed with a pretty standard mix of characters (the gay guy, the wheelchair kid, the diva, the entitled girl, and the jock who is also artistic), the show has great potential to flop. But, I think it might just make a go of it. Here's why:
Formulas like this happen because they're successful. We've seen this movie before, but that doesn't mean we're not open to seeing it in a new way. This show is CAMP-Y! In the first episode, we've got a teacher fired for flirting with a student, that same teacher becoming a drug dealer, a guidance counselor with OCD and a germ disorder, a rival glee club singing "Rehab," and they always fabulous Jane Lynch as the cheerleading coach spouting one liners like "You think this is hard? Waterboarding is hard!" and "You want to know about pain? I've got herpes!" while coaching her girls.
The show makes high school out to be a caste system with some wiggle room. Sure, the characters are two dimensional, but they're still fun. And if the writing stays good, I'm going to stay with it. Sure, it's not the best show I've ever seen, but it was good enough that my theatre training can't let go of a campy rendition of an Asian girl with a stutter singing "I Kissed a Girl" or the talented girl screaming "There is nothing ironic about show choir!"
And maybe there isn't, but I hope this show remains detached enough to stay true to what it is: entertaining fluff, not soul-wrenching fare. And Fox, having both Dollhouse and Glee has moved in my mind from the white trash network (which it still is with its American Idol 3000 and whatnot) to being semi-respectable for being willing to take a chance.
Update: Wtf, Fox? So, this was just the pilot teaser and Glee doesn't actually premiere until September? That's so...gay!
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