Should Michelle wear a turtleneck to the inaugural ball?

Well, who knew if I put Rex Parker's blog on my list of links, that I'd be able to get to mine from his page, even if he doesn't know I'm there. I almost wrote to him because he snottily said that the Venn diagram of CW watchers and NY Times Crossword Puzzle viewers is small. Maybe, but I nestle right in there quite nicely. I may still write.

So as long as I was here, I had a lot of trouble concentrating on Pushing Daisies last night, but I don't think it was its fault. My eyes were stinging from the nasty flourescent lights at the Holiday Inn where our annual All Area of Studies Meeting was. So even though I did my normal Wednesday (for now, since these shows likely won't be here by January) of PD, Stylista, and Dirty, Sexy Money, I don't have a lot to say about the shows. I haven't watched Top Chef yet, and I guess I'll get spoiled for ANTM before I can watch it tomorrow. Bummer. I actually thought I'd be so busy with the AAOS meeting like I was last year that I wouldn't get to most of my TV, but it's been very poorly attended this year, and unlike last year pretty lackluster, and it just didn't make sense to stay when our Cultural Studies meeting broke up two hours early and dinner wasn't for 3, not to mention the food at the Holiday Inn sucks. I'll go to talk about "My life in TV studies" at 1:30.

So, I'm still pissed that PD is likely canceled (at this point it's just not on the schedule) and that evidently it ends on a cliffhanger. In fact I thought last night might have been the last for this year but there was a preview so I guess I should have remembered that ABC isn't the CW and doesn't replace its shows for a full 6/7 weeks. That's a long time for teenagers to get used to not watching 90210, though of course I'll be watching January 6th or whatever that date was. I had hoped they might rerun Privileged, so I could watch it on actual TV, but next week is an 8 year old Mandy Moore movie that looks dull, so I guess not.

Stylista is still awful, and now the "fat girl" is gone and the ones who fight all the time are the only ones left. I think next week is one of those clip shows I hate so much. I really thought I might learn something, and I did learn something about a party page last night--we're supposed to feel like we're there at this party we weren't invited to and wish we were there. I almost always skip those, especially when they're full of people I haven't heard of. And Nigel Barker. I'm not the Elle audience I guess. The fact I don't read it would probably prove that.

Dirty, Sexy Money? It was there. I like it enough while I'm watching it but it has no traction with me. I suspect shows like it and Lipstick Jungle--which was announced as canceled, but Brooke Shields says it ain't so--may fade as the economy worsens, along with $12000 handbags and Jimmy Choos. When even the president-elect is supposed to scale down the Inaugural Ball--while still celebrating for the benefit of America, and even CNN is recommending that Michelle wear a Gap turtleneck, the stories of the wealthy idle just gets more and more unlike how we are living these days. On the other hand, the rich will always be with us, and don't we need escapism? I'd hate to end up with a bunch of ugly shows that look like Sanford and Son, or even My Name is Earl.

I also watched Forgetting Sara Marshall last night since my eyes wouldn't allow anything else. My reaction I'm sure, is colored by the fact that the closed captioning didn't work, and when the heat is on it gets pretty noisy in here and I simply couldn't hear a lot of the jokes. Love Jason Siegel. Love Kristen Bell. Love Mila Kunis. Love Paul Rudd. Love romantic comedies. Did not love this movie. Enough with the guy humor/shlubby guy who hot girls adore for strange reasons.

Hi, I'm Kelly Taylor and I have the perfect anecdote for your problem

Last night's 90210 was somewhat better, if only because of the increased Brenda. I'm surprised I missed the news she was back for two more episodes, but am glad she is. I thought she insisted she and Kelly not fight about men, though?

I have to say though, if I'm Kelly Taylor and I'm trying to get Annie and Naomi, who have just found out they have a long lost brother in common, and who hate each other because Annie is dating Naomi's ex despite the fact Naomi asked Annie not to while they were friends, I really have my choice of stories:

1. My mother married the father of a geek from this very school with a giant crush on me. It was initally icky, but I learned to love him. And of course this relationship ended up with Silver, who you both like.

2. My dad invited me for dinner but didn't show up. In his place was the grown up sister I never knew I had. I learned to love her. Until she disappeared after two episodes and was never spoken of again.

3. I slept with Brenda's boyfriend while she was in France for the summer. When she came back, we told her and she stomped away, informing us we should "never speak to me again." Eventually, we all became friends again until later tonight when she will break up with me and tell me she slept with my potential boyfriend, who has temporarily disappeared for no reason.

But now, she gave some lame story about plants v. flowers. C'mon show, you can do better. Please do.

I really have to start watching Privileged, because that spot is a dead zone now. I hope they show reruns while 90210 is in almost two months of reruns. I'll have to get to the big stack of movies I got from Netflix during those nights, too.

SNL: That's so gay

Friday was Degrassi, Saturday was SNL, Sunday was The Simpsons, Desperate Housewives, and Skins. Degrassi did something interesting, what with having the double standard for Indian girls and boys, but the newbies are still boring and Emma/Manny/Liberty is so far very silly and dull what with them all wanting to go out with their non-cute roommate. I know there's an article in Flow this month about Canadian teen shows, but I haven't read it yet.

I love Paul Rudd, who was the host on SNL but it really bugs me that every sketch had a silly homoerotic slant. I don't know if that's just the show these days, or the Apatowness of current humor, or what Paul Rudd thinks is funny but it really bugs me. Given that only Kristen Wiig had anything to do of the women, and that only in one sketch, and that only one of the new women seemed to have lines, and those were just as a waitress, it may be that Paul Rudd was the impetus for all the sketches. Even the Beyonce sketch was about male dancers with the central conceit being "isn't it funny that these guys are gay?" and included Justin Timberlake who also brings on that kind of behavior in his appearances. Why is this necessary? Why is it funny? The sketch where the family was all kissing each other was funny only for the discomfort it brought on, and the idea that all the actors, who I guess we are supposed to assume are all very straight, would go for it.

I couldn't not watch a Simpsons episode in which Lisa enters a crossword puzzle tournament, given that I do about 8 crossword puzzles a week, and loved the use of "Word Up," and the cool graphics, but overall a lame attempt. I tried to imagine how much cooler the episode might have been 5 or so years ago. Desperate Housewives has gotten into a nice groove, and Steven Weber is always a nice addition to any cast, but can they keep up the Dave mystery all season? It might be smarter to solve that one by the end of November sweeps and then start up something else in January. Anyhow, I don't really care about it. I also checked out the new Summer Heights High on HBO. That isn't going to save them, it has the same "that's so gay" problem, and the mean girl is not interesting. The Polynesian bully is slightly interesting and I'll check it out again, but am not very intrigued and it should be totally up my alley. I do need to find some Australian teen shows to watch.

I'll be very sorry when Skins is done as it only has two more episodes for the season, I think. I feel bad for Sid though. And Cassie. Though I guess they'll ultimately get together. And it does bother me that Jal, the smart girl and the only girl of color, didn't get an episode of her own this season, and her only storyline was being with Chris, my least favorite character, and while I don't care about Anwar, the fact that he's the other character of color and his only storyline is being with the crazy girl with no dedicated episode makes this show no better than the average teen show in terms of multicultural representation. One of them could have the final episode, but I don't think so although from what I've read I guess come to think of it she will be very affected. Since only Effie will be in the next season there's not much time.

I guess I missed a day in there, due to three meetings yesterday and a few minor but annoying health issues. Tomorrow I need to plan for a presentation about my work for our annual All Area of Studies meeting. I'm not sure what I'll say yet, but I guess I'll backtrack all the way to the beginning, and talk about my dissertation, and then what little I've been doing since.

Anyhow, TV Tuesday was 90210--or as I like to call it, the city of Jessicas--I think there are at least four on the show right now--and House. Kelly was back, but 90210 was pretty bad, what with the over-emoting by Annie and Naomi. Naomi only think she's Blair Waldorf, she ain't even close. Nor is she pretty. However, having them as enemies makes for a better storyline than having them as friends, I suppose. Ho hum. I did enjoy Adrianna and Navid--and whoever did the production design on Navid's house did a great job--and it's interesting that more than half the teenage cast (Navid, Silver, Dixon, and Annie but not Naomi, Ethan, or Adrianna) are admitted virgins. I guess that's actually only slightly less than the ratio on the original show when it started (David, Scott, Andrea and Donna, with Brandon having sex the first time in the first few episodes, and Brenda by the winter dance), but surprising for this day and age and the style of show. I can't imagine that will last long as several couples seem on the way, if they don't break up first. Which I imagine Silver and Dixon will soon do, as they've been happy for weeks now. Thank God Brenda's back next week. Boo on demoting grandma Bluth to occasional player, though. Thinking about what her casting indicates the show was supposed to be, given the Freaks and Geeks pedigree of the showrunners makes me sad.

I watched two reruns of House because my students just love it. I could see some of the allure, but to me a good mystery means that I can assemble the clues myself and at least get part of it right. On a show like this, with my (and I assume most viewers') basic lack of medical knowledge, it's not even close. Anyhow, both episodes seemed to follow the same trajectory--in one a Mafia guy going into Witness Protection falls into an unexplained coma, in another Samatha Mathis's husband turns blue and can't breath while having kinky sex with her, in a much more disturbing and gross episode. There's a lot of writing on a flip chart. How retro. No one ever consults a computer, say, (or any books or medical journals even,) they just sit around and toss ideas around, or stare into the air and think. And House is completely right both times, and the others are wrong. I don't know if every episode is like that or not, but I assume so. I have always liked Lisa Edelstein, but that was a fantastic episode, and I didn't even recognize Chi McBride for a while--he's so much better as Emerson Cod. I may watch again, though not only has it been on the same time as my must watch for work 90210, but now they're moving it into the Monday night clusterfuck slot, against Gossip Girl, Chuck, and How I Met Your Mother, so I definitely won't watch in first run. But Tuesdays at 9 are a gaping hole unless I catch up with Privileged, so I may check it out in reruns.

Last night Pushing Daisies, and Dirty, Sexy Money, neither of which are long for this world evidently, (sob for PD, at least), were preempted, so it was once again all reality, all the time. The last interesting one of the Top Models was kicked off last night after drinking a lot of wine, so my money's on McKey but really it's just a buncha boring white girls. Stylista, same train wreck and I hope the fact that two dull people were sent home last night means it will be even shorter than planned. Top Chef seems almost exactly the same, and no one impressed me much--not surprising as I can't keep 17 people straight--although it's nice that none of the brown or black people were sent home in this first round. Just two very young white folks who knew each other from the CIA, and not the fun Chuck one.

Trying to be a good teacher

OK, it makes sense to me that I should be checking out some of the shows that my students watch, so I have my TiVo working overtime to catch what seem to be the most popular shows among them, including Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, House, and Jon and Kate Plus 8. Intervention never seems to be on when something else I watch isn't so I'll have to wait for rerun season for that, probably after November sweeps is over.

This morning I watched most of Celebrity Rehab. Although I had not seen this show before, I had seen The Surreal Life and it seems as if the grouping is very similar--mostly has-been actual celebrities, but others who just barely make it as celebrities. I'm not even sure what band Stephen played for, or what Amber Smith ever did (something pornographic?), and I don't watch American Idol so the runner-up means nothing to me. Rodney King seems to be in a whole different league than the rest--we all have traumas, but his is a lot more understandable as a reason to hide pain, than people who were very famous or semi-famous actors who just couldn't get work. I get that they wanted multi-racial, various ages, men and women but it seems like a strange mix. Same sort of train wreck fascination as The Surreal Life, but adding the addiction makes it seem like it's supposed to be educational somehow, and that's pretty scary.

It's very funny to me that Dr. Drew wears a stethescope. Why? I guess, along with the white coat it's just a symbol that he's a doctor, not anything he will need much. Anyhow, his brand of pop psychology seems a little dangerous to me. I wonder if anyone learns anything from this show. They certainly learn that drug addiction is really bad for your face (especially if you're a man) and body, which isn't a bad thing to learn, I guess. Jeff Conaway (no relation) seems very messed up. It was only about 7 years ago that I heard he was an acting teacher in LA, so that's sad.

Anyhow, at the conference I was just at, one of the television critics referred to "Rome burns TV" and it really does seem like this is nearly as dumb as anything the characters in Idiocracy watched. I can see the fascination, but am not tempted to watch again.

How come Marc or Amanda can't be Jewish?

Thursday makes for a hard flow. I switch from ABC to NBC to ABC again, and it's sometime quite jarring. At least Ugly Betty, The Office, and 30 Rock all take place in offices, but then Life on Mars comes along and the police station doesn't resemble any of the others. Not that ER should have made more sense, but somehow it never seemed quite as abrupt.

Maybe it's because LOM is such a guy show. I still don't see what it has to do with me, but I'm sufficiently intrigued, if only by the music and as I've said, TV at 10 on Thursday is so ingrained, it really keeps me from watching ER.

But where are all the Jewish characters? I don't just mean only on these shows, I mean overall. A medium that brought us George Burns, Rhoda Morgenstern, Joel Fleishman, Michael Steadman, Ross Gellar, Grace Adler, and Ari Gold (who admittedly is still on) and there's no one. No one on Gossip Girl, even though Rufus was in the books, and therefore Dan and Jenny half, I guess Navid and Silver on 90210 are at least part, but it's been hardly mentioned (and in Silver's case, not, but her dad is Mel Silver and her brother David), no one on Heroes, or Lost, or The Office or 30 Rock or Ugly Betty. Maybe we're supposed to be so assimilated now that we're just "there" and no one needs to notice that Judah Freedlander, Christine Rose (I think), Amy Brenneman and others are Jewish (granted I haven't watched Private Practice this year, maybe they've acknowledged it). It just strikes me as odd, though.

Anyhow, Ugly Betty was Lindsay-free and was better, though still not great, The Office was better, with tons more Pam and tons more Kelly, but still not great--I chortled once. Obviously the fact that Jim is buying his folks' house in Scranton, while Pam, who is extremely suggestible, will probably really want to stay in New York now that the guy from Mad Men told her to. Awkward given the mortgage-meltdown. Frankly I think buying a house without consulting your fiancee is dumb, anyhow. I feel the same way about a diamond ring. She's going to have to live with that stuff a long time.

30 Rock was pretty damn good and between that and all the Obama stuff, I have a newfound respect for OPRAH, and also for Tina Fey who just played that perfectly. The look on her face when she said Oprah's name was excellent. Life on Mars was interesting enough, and Whoopi was pretty good. Liked, didn't love, the music. You can never go wrong with Sly and the Family Stone. In fact, if I actually liked cop shows, I probably would have really liked this one, but I don't so I didn't.

Nice guys don't win reality shows

Last night was an extravaganza of Reality shows. The AMTM model wannabes got lost all over Amsterdam, the Stylistas threw a birthday party for a 10 year old, and acted about 6, and the Top Designers decorated for the finale and Nathan won the whole she-bang. He was the only logical winner, even if the judges didn't seem to think so. I'd live in Ondine's rooms/house--I must have those fuschia sofas--but she's simply not the sort of person who wins these shows. And Nathan's room with the kinetic sculpture was a true winner, even if the sarcophogas was entirely too huge and even if a chandelier made from paper plates sounds like a fire hazard of the highest order (and even if not, wouldn't they turn brown or dirty really fast, or get ripped? I hope they were at least Chinet, and where did they shop that he could get paper plates anyhow?)

Either is Marjorie from AMTM. I'm really quite shocked that there wasn't a woman of color left in the final 5, much less the winner. My money was on Sheena pulling it out and getting more ladylike, but I guess that won't happen. But the others who remain are so boring. There's no way Marjorie, who really looks like a model, but is hopeless, can do one of those Cover Girl commercials so she can't win it all but McKey reads old to me, Sam too commercial, and Annaleigh just blah. Then again I never know who is going to win this show or even have the remotest clue. I can't figure out if last season's winner Whitney is just so very blah that TiVo doesn't even pick her commercials up--and I've even rewound the whole show just to see "My Life as a Cover Girl" twice--or if they've just quit doing it in favor of those "Top Model in Action" slots, which are really pretty interesting. Non-winners from this show really do get real work. Who knew?

Stylista is just so trashy. It isn't a class thing, since these kids clearly range from comfortable to rich (the one with the Chanel dress for daytime), but their behavior is just tacky. I'm sure it's too young for me and unlike on AMTM, there's too little adult supervision or something like that. Hate all of them.

On the other hand, now that I'm caught up, Dirty, Sexy Money just got interesting. Sort of. It's been a long time since I've watched a straight soap opera, but this is it. Still don't care about anyone in particular or find anyone especially attractive--Jeremy only thinks he's Chuck Bass--but it's fun enough. And fun TV is just disappearing it feels like.

President Obama!! It's a beautiful day!!

I was struck by a posting the other day and had a few thoughts. I never realized just how class-based my television decisions may be. I thought about all the television I watch on a weekly basis and nearly all of it is about the lives of upper-middle or upper class people, or those who aspire to be in those classes. Gossip Girl, 90210, Dirty, Sexy Money, Entourage, and 30 Rock are mostly about rich people. Everyone on Mad Men does quite well, even with income disparity. Desperate Housewives has a blend, but even when they struggle, they never lose their large homes in a well-manicured neighborhood or seem to be wearing old clothes (uglier, but not old). Project Runway, Top Design, Top Chef, America's Next Top Model, and the new Stylista are all about people who work in creative industries where there are a lot of people struggling, but where the best/luckiest can make tons of money. Pushing Daisies is in a universe of its own, as are Heroes and Lost, but none has its characters worrying about money. We are meant to believe that Chuck is slumming it, working at a big box store, but his sister, with whom he lives, is a doctor, and he works with spies who are certainly paid well. Only The Office and Life on Mars are about people who would seem to be solidly middle class.

There's a whole world of TV about lower middle and working class people too, of course. I loved Roseanne, and Grace Under Fire, but don't find any sitcom on these days really has that sort of powerful message about working people. I got sick of My Name is Earl, which makes fun of its trashy characters. I have a feeling that most of the working class people on TV are on reality shows I do not enjoy watching and actual poor people have never been anything but victims or criminals on any show, I don't think.

Anyhow, as I've mentioned, there's so much TV out there that it's really easy to find niches, whether in fiction, reality, or news, that reinforces our own sense of our selves, and the identity we've constructed, and only watch those shows and those channels.

Can't keep my mind on nothin'

I think my mind is mostly on the election today. I watched Gossip Girl, but can't tell you much about it. Blair was good, Chuck was sexy, Jenny was annoying. I also went to bed at 8:30 last night, so there's that. I really want to do this before I read reviews or go into my class but I guess I'm just too distracted today. I haven't voted yet. Neither The Daily Show nor The Colbert Report was particularly memorable, except that "How to be a Maverick" film was gross.

I know I had some great idea yesterday, but can't remember it. Maybe tomorrow. Or later.