Tag Archives: John Hodgman
Season Finale: Bored to Death – "Take a Dive"
"Take a Dive"
I was going to write about how it's been a while since I've checked in with Bored to Death here at Cultural Learning before I realized that, in fact, I've never checked in on it at all. I watched the pilot and was intrigued if not overly engaged, and since that point I've sort of been watching the show off and on while following critics' reactions to the series. So, instead of reaffirming previous statements about the show or potentially offering a different point of view, I need to start from the beginning.
I like this show, but I'm having trouble falling in love with it. There's something about Ames' style and the way the show is being organized that keeps us as an audience at a distance, which the pilot was indicative of: there were logical leaps and bounds that were simply never explained about why Jonathan would ever become a private detective. And while I'm aware that part of the show's charm is how uncomfortable Jonathan can be in that environment, and that the randomness of some of the cases often gives the show a unique sort of tone, I wanted to be able to watch "Take a Dive" and completely buy into the character development it seemed to imply. This show is full of great actors and some very solid material, but there a few points in this finale where I questioned less this individual episode (which I really enjoyed) and more how, precisely, these kinds of developments haven't taken place up to this point.
The show has sort of been meandering around the same themes for a while, and the finale was largely a vessel through which Jonathan, George and Ray all find some sense of purpose in their largely aimless existences. Because of the talent involved, this episode goes well, but I do wish that the investigation of that aimlessness had been a bit more even.
Filed under Bored to Death
Tagged as Antrem, Boxing, Comedy, Entertainment, Episode 8, Finale, George Christopher, HBO, Jason Schwartzmann, Jenny Slate, John Hodgman, Jonathan Ames, Oliver Platt, Priscilla, Season 1, Season Finale, Stella, Take a Dive, Ted Danson, Television, TV
Hard-Boiled or Sunny-Side Up: The Divisive but Satisfying 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards
Hard-Boiled or Sunny-Side Up:
The Divisive but Satisfying 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards
How do you like your Emmys?
Oh, don't pretend as if you don't have an opinion. Anyone who is reading this column has some sort of an opinion about the award show and its brethren, lavish ceremonies designed to recognize the very best in a specific industry. However, the Emmys are not a universally accepted success story, and while there are some who view the awards as a valuable institution for recognizing talent others see them as an antiquated and slow-minded organization hellbent on refusing to accept that which is different in favour of more traditional "awards" fare.
As such, Emmy producers really have two entirely different bodies of viewers to be concerned with (throwing out those who would never watch the show in the first place). On the one hand, they have those people who believe in the dignity of the Emmy Awards, who highly respect the work of the Academy and believe quite strongly that this is a serious occasion meant to honour the very best in television. On the other hand, you have those who are angry that Battlestar Galactica never won a major award, and that The Wire and The Shield got snubbed for their final seasons, and who are convinced that any time the Emmys do make a good decision it was by some sort of fluke.
What host Neil Patrick Harris and producer Don Mischer put together for the 61st Annual Emmy Awards was what I would considering to be the Sunny-Side Up version of the Emmy awards. With a charming and self-deprecating Harris at the helm, and a sarcastic and rarely serious John Hodgman playing the role of announcer, they staged a show which spent nearly every moment not taken up by awards being self-deprecating or dismissive of something, whether it's the future of broadcast television or Harris' own bitterness over his loss in his own category.
For those who have little to no faith in the Emmy institution, this was an ideal point of view which gave them an entertaining show that one almost feels joins in on their frustration, if not directly. However, for those who look for a more hard-boiled and serious awards ceremony, chances are that they viewed this year's Emmys as an ill-conceived attempt to pander to younger audiences.
Me? I'm just happy they weren't scrambled.
Tagged as 2009 Emmy Awards, 24, 30 Rock, Analysis, Battlestar Galactica, Bear McCreary, Bryan Cranston, CBS, Cherry Jones, Color Commentary, Dr. Horrible, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Emmy Awards, Emmys, Entertainment, Glenn Close, Highlights, John Hodgman, Kristin Chenoweth, Little Dorrit, Mad Men, Matthew Weiner, Neil Patrick Harris, Primetime Emmy Awards, Pushing Daisies, Put Down the Remote, Review, Ricky Gervais, Sarah McLachlan, Television, The Amazing Race, The Daily Show, Tina Fey, Toni Colette, TV, United States of Tara, Who won the 2009 Emmys
Cultural Learnings' 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards LiveBlog
2009 Primetime Emmy Awards LiveBlog
For Cultural Learnings' complete review of the show, CLICK HERE. For the full live blog, read on below.
I was kind of on the fence about liveblogging the Emmys this year, I really was. Twitter has provided an outlet for quippy remarks and observations that I might have while watching the event, and I ultimately end up writing a huge 2000-word rundown when the show ends so it's not as if a LiveBlog is going to stand as my only coverage of the big event here at Cultural Learnings.
However, ultimately I want something to be able to refer to when piecing together my final rundown of the night's festivities, and a LiveBlog seems like the kind of setup that will capture my reaction to the various winners/moments in the ceremony for those who want to know how everything is going down as it's going down.
So, if you want to follow along with the show or check back later to see my subjective take on a particular moment in the show, here's where you're going to want to be. Meanwhile, if you want things elaborate and substantial, check back later tonight for my full analysis of the evening's winners, losers, and everything in between.
7:20pm: As we wait for the show to begin, feel free to check out my predictions for the big night (the acting categories all link to long analysis pieces of each category): Cultural Learnings' Full Emmy Predictions.
7:54pm: Enjoying Christine Baranski's guest spot in a pre-Emmys airing of The Big Bang Theory – an omen for Jim Parsons? Baranski was always going to lose to Tina Fey, but she was damn good in this episode.
8:00pm: And we're off and running. Television: useful science of the electronic age, indeed. Making fun of Wipeout as "Unsophisticated" is a bit low of CBS, but I guess they don't have anything quite as lowly…except for Big Brother. Anyways, time for NPH.
Tagged as 2009 Emmy Awards, 24, 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin, AMC, Auto-Tune, Battlestar Galactica, Bear McCreary, Breaking Bad, Brendan Gleeson, Bryan Cranston, Captain Hammer, Cherry Jones, Comedy Series, Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Damages, Directing, Dr. Horrible, Dr. Horrible Emmys, Drew Barrymore, Emmys, Emmys09, Entertainment, Felicia Day, Glenn Close, Grey Gardens, House of Saddam, Jeff Probst, Jessica Lange, Jimmy Fallon, John Hodgman, Jon Cryer, Jon Stewart, Justin Timberlake, Kater Gordon, Ken Howard, Kristen Chenoweth, Lead Actress in a Comedy, LiveBlog, Liveblogging, Lost, Marc Shaiman, Matthew Weiner, Michael Emerson, Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, Original Music and Lyrics, Pushing Daisies, Put Down the Remote, Results, Reunion, Sarah McLachlan, Shoreh Aghdashloo, Supporting Actress in a Comedy, Television, The Amazing Race, The Office, Tina Fey, Toni Colette, TV, United States of Tara, Variety Writing, Winners, Writing
Battlestar Galactica – "No Exit"
You know, sometimes you speak too soon.
When I posted that extended rant this morning, I knew that it was very likely that tonight's episode, "No Exit," would actually do much of what I wanted to have done: a greater glimpse into the Cylon side of this fleet, a return to questions of human/Cylon connectivity, and more of an investigation into the central issues that I felt drove the mutiny in the first place. As a fan of the first two issues in any episodes where they enter into the show's narrative, then, this one is a doozy: it answers questions about the Cylon creation process that we never even bothered to ask, filling in gaps of logic, philosophy and science in the history of these people like a Cylon bioorganism would fill in the holes within Galactica's hull.
There's a whole lot to discuss on that front, so I'm going to get this out of the way before we even get below the fold. To be honest, I still stand by my earlier thoughts about the mutiny arc, and actually felt this episode confirmed much of it. While there is some strong Cylon material here, there is still a disconnect between human and Cylon that feels odd when you are discussing the combining of these two forces at almost every turn. This episode raises some amazing questions of Human/Cylon identity, do not get me wrong, but because those questions appear as highly philosophical conversations on one side and as much less in-depth decisions on the other, there is still that sense of imbalance that struck me with the mutiny arc as well. We've switched to the opposite problems: the Cylons have apparently spent 18 months having these fascinating conversations, and yet the humans haven't been afforded the same luxury quite yet.
All in all, "No Exit" draws itself further into philosophical and expositional territory than any other episode in this half-season, resulting in a slower but deliberate pace that offers more than enough food for thought – let's focus on that, and maybe I'll rant a bit more at the end.
Filed under Battlestar Galactica
Tagged as Adama, Analysis, Anders, Boomer, Cavill, Cylons, Daniel, Earth, Ellen, Episode 15, Final Cylon, Final Five, Humans, John, John Hodgman, Kate Vernon, Mutiny, No Exit, Number Seven, Resurrection, Review, Sci-Fi, Season 4, Starbuck, Tyrol