Friday, June 12, 2009

Nine Days

-Nine Days-

You may be thinking this is a blog about that one hit wonder band who wrote the song Absolutely (Story Of A Girl) back in 2000, but you're probably not. If you were though, you'd be wrong but possess some great musical memory. You may also be thinking that with school being out, the weather getting warmer, the blockbusters coming out in theaters and everything feeling more free, that it was summertime. Unfortunately, you'd be wrong. ...again...technically.

If you want to get technical (and I don't want to but I will anyway), summer doesn't officially start until June 21st, which is nine days away. With spring ending though and summer on the verge of starting, I've been surprisingly busy. That has led to less blogs and me trying to catch up. So, I've decided to post three-blogs-in one today. That's right - three blogs in one, for the low price of like five to ten minutes of your precious time. It's a pretty good offer and to kick us off, I'll discuss -

Karma Chameleon

If you like music from the 1980s, then you should instantly recognize the name of that song, which was the number one song of 1983, from the band Culture Club. Karma Chameleon was a wordwide success despite the nonsensical nature of the music video and the overall androgynous creepiness of Boy George. No matter what you might say about it though, it's a catchy song and I'd listen to the song only if you're willing to get it stuck in your head. Because it will. But, we're not here to go over the inherent power of 80's music, but instead to think about Karma Chameleon itself.

I was listening to the song a few days ago and simultaneously discussing with a friend the most recent Indiana Jones installment. Needless to say not a good combination. Now, perhaps it was the heat, boredom, tiredness, temporary insanity, or rage over Indiana Jones IV or needless sequels in general. Regardless, I began to think about Karma Chameleon as an actual creature (No - keep reading!) as like some kind of vengeful creature who attacks people after they have accumulated too much bad karma. A chameleon can blend into pretty much anywhere, although for maximum striking power, I'd make him larger than his usual size and more something resembling a komodo dragon. Ideally, he'd look very friendly and charming, like the Geico Gecko but make no mistake, he would attack once you've exhausted all your good Karma.

For example, you could look at George Lucas, who was involved with Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. That would certainly contribute a lot to his bad karma. Typically, George Lucas has a great deal of good karma due to his involvement in great movies like Willow, Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope, Labyrinth, the early Indiana Jones installments and even underrated films like Radioland Murders. I even liked Hook and the Land Before Time before they made approximately a million sequels. (only slightly exaggerating). But, travesties like the Star Wars prequels, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, anything to do with the Ewoks, Jar Jar Binks, the Star Wars Holiday Special and Howard the Duck would certainly contribute to some bad karma and test the Karma Chameleon's patience.

So, in an effort to help my own good karma and to keep the attention of Karma Chameleon on more deserving individuals, I'll do my part to help others. Ocassionally in my blog, I'll try to do some kind things like spotlight good causes, point out ways to help others and reviewing terrible movies to spare others from having to watch them. Now, to kick off getting good karma, I'd like to present

Red Door Furniture

In an era where we have an African-American President, it'd be easy to declare that racism is over. But, sadly, it's still around and it's still an injustice that needs to be eradicated. Thankfully, there are people out there dedicated to helping fight injustice and to that end, we have Red Door furniture, which is unfortunately located in North Carolina, which is unfortunately a little bit too far to go browsing in, although you can check out the website but even better, check out this video, where you can see them trying to unite the country - and provide good furniture. What more can you ask for? Seriously, it should warm your heart as they get to the end of the video, where they declare: "Red House, where black people and white people buy furniture.", followed up with "And Hispanic people too..." and then stirringly, "All people". Can't we all just get along? Watch the video - Red House Commercial. It's classic.

Top Five Friday
-Number Two-
-Top Five Shows That Should Not Have Been Canceled-

Well, it's time for summer and not time for watching television, but as summer begins and the previous television season ends, it's time to take a moment to mourn a few shows that won't be back with us next year. This list will discuss a few of the best shows that we believe should still be around and so it won't cover shows that ended their run as planned such as ER, Battlestar Galactica, the Shield or Prison Break. Nor will it discussed shows that should've ended their run long ago or never been created such as According to Jim, Knight Rider, Kyle XY or Osbournes: Reloaded. Instead, we'll discuss such great televison, such as:

1. Pushing Daisies - Touted as a "forensic fairy tale", it was created by Bryan Fuller with Lee Pace starring as Ned, a pie-maker who can bring people back to life, but with some strong conditions and Anna Friel as the adorable Chuck, who Ned resurrects in the pilot. Kristen Chenoweth and Chi McBride were part of the great supporting cast, with the talented Alan Dale narrating this clever show. Quirky, fun, daring and ultimately ahead of its time, it lasted only two amazing seasons. This is one show that Ned can't resurrect, sadly.


2. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - I'm still wondering why this show was canceled and the disappointing Dollhouse was renewed. This was a great show where you could see some fantastic acting and action each week from people like Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker and the awesome Summer Glau, who many fans will recognize from Firefly (another show that Fox canceled way too early). I'm so mad at Fox for canceling this show, but perhaps with the upcoming movie, there was just too much Terminator and unfortunately, unlike the real Terminator, this one won't be back.

3. Life On Mars - I'm sad to say that this won't be nearly as successful as the British series it was based on, although I can't tell you why. Featuring a fantastic cast that included Jason O'Mara, Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol and Micheal Imperioli, this show was a great blending of multiple genres such as the police procedural, action show, science fiction and deserved to be given more of a chance than it did. At least the cancellation decision gave the producers enough time to wrap up the storyline decently, but I wish there could've been more. If only I could go back in time to convince them of that.

4. Reaper - While this show isn't officially canceled, it doesn't look promising and any future iteration of the show would be appearing on Sunday nights on select CW affiliates. It's on life support and the reaper is here to claim this one. I think we'll have to part with this one, although it had an interesting premise of a young slacker whose parents sold his soul to the devil and is now forced to work for the devil to retrieve lost souls who have escaped. With a great cast of Bret Harrison, Missy Peregrym, Tyler Labine and Ray Wise, this show should have lasted a lot longer than it did. I can only hope this show ends up in tv heaven.

5. Kings - This one is one that never caught on, although it was an ambitous and exceedingly intriguing show. Set in the nation of Gilboa, which is very similar to the United States and is a modern day retelling of the story of King David, as the series begins with the well-known story of Goliath with a present day twist and continues with all of the twists and turns you could expect. A fantastic premise, excellently acted, well told story and the cast was great with Christopher Egan, the immensely talented Ian McShane, Brian Cox, Leslie Bibb, Allison Miller, Macalculay Culkin, Wes Studi and yet, despite it all, it will have only lasted one season. I'll lay the blame on NBC for not promoting the show properly, but regardless, it's gone the way of Goliath.

But, no worries. There will still be great television to watch when summer is over, but until then, just have fun and stay classy.


2 comments:

Rob & Megan June 13, 2009 at 9:00 AM  

I think Pushing Daisies SHOULD"VE been cancelled, but I wish they had of NEVER cancelled Dirty Sexy Money. I even signed a petition to keep it on the air... Now I'll never know what happened because they yanked it at the end of the fall season during a very shocking episode... JERKS!

Richard June 13, 2009 at 1:39 PM  

Dirty Sexy Money was one I never had time to watch, although I thought about it for a while. I never got around to it and now it appears there's no hurry. I'm glad you signed a petition for Dirty Sexy Money and am impressed by your dedication.

Not impressed by your comments towards Pushing Daisies which should NOT have been canceled but I will still help you out. Starting Saturday, July 18th at 10pm, you will know what happens because they'll air the final four episodes of Dirty Sexy Money! So, just mark that down on your calendar, look forward to it and enjoy the end of an era!

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