nerdflood

I’ve been on a bit of a Hulu bender recently, attempting to slog my way through the deluge of queued-up television shows that need to be watched before they expire, like a bad piece of fruit. I’ve probably got roughly 372 videos in my queue. Last night I calculated my total remaining watch-time and it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of twelve years. So, you know, I have to get through some of that before my oldest graduates high school.

In an epiphany likely sparked by my algebraic formulations, I realized that I’m simply following too much television. So I decided to cut some shows from my subscription list that I really don’t need anymore. I’ll keep favorites like Castle, The Office, Community, and Flash Forward. But there’s some things that just don’t need to be there anymore. I missed season one of Fringe, so I’ll drop season 2. Warehouse 13 got boring, so it’s gone. I was interested in Modern Family due to Ed O’Neill, but I really don’t know a whole lot about it, so I guess I don’t need to watch it. The Dresden Files? Maybe I’ll pick it up on Netflix.

Then I came down to Dollhouse. I was a fan of this show through season one and I was initially one of the seven people disappointed when news came out that it had been canceled. Then it came back for a miraculous second season. I knew that the show (and Joss Whedon in particular) enjoy a somewhat rocky relationship with Fox, so I assumed from the get-go that it wouldn’t survive another season. This is likely the case, as the show’s ratings have apparently been so bad, the show is being temporarily pulled from the November line-up and then brought back in December to conclude. Those are not the signs of a healthy production.

So, I considered dropping the show. But then, last night, as my cursor hovered over the “remove” button, I decided to go ahead and watch the first episode of season two. That was a bad idea. It was, in a word: disappointing. After such a hail-mary last-second rescue of the show by dedicated fans (and a miserly Fox network looking for potential cost savings) I fully expected the first epsidoe of the second season — which by all accounts simply should not exist — to absolutely blow me away. It didn’t. It was bland and flat. I learned some things, but not the things I wanted to learn in order to continue to be interested in the show. I aired my distaste on Twitter and received some good feedback. Most people were telling me that I should give it another chance. That it starts slow, and builds from there. But honestly, builds to what? I feel very strongly that this show will not survive to see a season three, regardless of my feelings on the issue. I’ve decided to keep watching through the Summer Glau guest-star episodes and see how I feel after that. If it can’t capture me after five episodes, it has no business being on television (or my Hulu queue) at all.

On the other hand, Stargate Universe has absolutely enraptured me. After just the opening pilot. I was never a big SG fan. I’ve seen the movie and watched a handful of SG-1 episodes. I completely missed SG: Atlantis, but when John Scalzi talked up the show (he’s a creative consultant for the production) I felt the need to at least check out the pilot. Out of courtesy, of course. And I’m immensely glad that I did. I love the premise and how it’s tied into the SG universe as a whole (pun unintended). I’m hoping beyond hope that the show doesn’t end up going straight downhill after the pilot, but I have faith in SyFy’s ability to create quality productions.

On a somewhat-related sidenote, isn’t Hulu just the greatest thing ever created? For viewing television shows on the internet, I mean.

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Enjoy, not that I actually have to tell you that.

Two excellent CGI movies have come out this summer, both from completely different computer animation studios.

Kung Fu Panda. From Dreamworks Animation, the studio that brought us Shrek (all three of them), Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, and the Bee Movie. Mostly “meh” movies, some good, some not. Kung Fu Panda featured the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan.

Wall-E. From Pixar, the studio that brought us everything great about computer animation: Toy Story (both of the them), Monsters, Inc., the Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille. Mostly fantastic movies, pretty much each and every one. Wall-E featured the voices of essentially nobodies, with the exception of Sigourney Weaver and John Ratzenberger. There was very little speaking involved, so this isn’t surprising to see.

This however, might be surprising: between the two movies, I preferred Kung Fu Panda.

To me, it was the more entertaining of the two. It had characters that I (and my kids) could better relate to. It had a story that was more compelling. It had much, much more action and intensity. And, as far as I’m concerned, more humor.

Now, that doesn’t mean that Wall-E was horrible – not by any stretch of the imagination. It was a wonderful, warm, captivating film. The two movies are very close in quality in my mind. On a scale of 1 to 10, Wall-E would rate a 7 while Kung Fu Panda would garner an 8.

I think in a lot of people’s minds, any Pixar film automatically gains additional awesome points just by virtue of being a Pixar film. Because of Dreamworks’ lackluster history, films from that studio might lose awesome points by the same criteria. But as far as I’m concerned, even additional Pixar awesome points doesn’t bring Wall-E up to Kung Fu Panda’s level.

Am I alone in thinking this? Is it impossible to compare the two movies because their style and presentation are so drastically different? Should every Pixar movie simply win by default?

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this here on the blog before, but all of us in my family are guilty of being Nova-philes. We gather together every Tuesday evening to watch interesting stories about exploding stars, or volcanic eruptions, or Mayan culture, or melting icebergs. It’s fascinating, and what really makes me smile is the fact that my 5-year-old son becomes just as engrossed in these episodes as I do.

Last night was a great evening for several reasons. I got home from work to a pair of boys that were eager to run and play at the park and enjoy the nice weather. We all hiked up to the park and played together for an hour. We wandered to the grocery store and picked up dinner, then hiked back home (it’s only about 4 blocks – not much of a hike, to tell the truth) and sat down for some Nova. It wasn’t an overly interesting show (I prefer the ultra-science topics, like space and biology, interspersed with the occasional ancient civilization), but we all got to hang out together.

At one point I realized that I need to cherish these moments. My boys are currently only 5 and 2, but the laws of nature dictate that they get older, and eventually they will have their own social lives to manage, far, far away from our cozy little home. For now, I have to hold onto the moments where we get to cuddle together on the couch and watch a show together. Someday very soon, the very word “cuddle” will force my boys will roll their eyes and pretend that we old parental units don’t exist.

American Gladiators. I’m willing to bet this show earns some pretty substantial viewership ratings tonight. Nostalgia sells, and this show is such sweet, merciless, wonderful nostalgia. Production values are high, cheese factor is through the roof, and the Hulkster is aging well. There is no way this show won’t survive a full season. No way at all.

The fourth of July was pretty much the same as it always is in our sleepy little town. We headed over to our family “compound” and watched the parade in the morning. We call it the “compound” because my aunt (mother’s sister) moved to town a few years ago into the house right next to my parents. My dad installed a low fence to encompass both properties, with a nice-sized yard between for the grandkids to run around in. Thus, the “compound” was born.

Anyways, the compound was decked out in all the July 4th red, white, and blue trimmings. We all enjoyed the parade, and settled in for the family feast. Dad grilled two massive pork loins, and everyone brought plenty of yellow-hued side dishes. Good times had by all.

After a brief jaunt up to the park to enjoy some of the local festivities, we came back and relaxed while the kids continued to demonstrate the theory of perpetual motion by never stopping.

Meanwhile, my brother, nephew and I went to see Transformers.

I must admit, the raping of my childhood memories aside, Michael Bay did an excellent job with Transformers. It was action-packed, the ideas introduced made sense, everything moved along well, even the humor was well-written. The whole thing felt good, and I enjoyed the entire 2 1/2 hours of it. And I’m really looking forward to Transformers 2.

I’m also suddenly looking forward to “Cloverfield“, or whatever the hell they’re calling that weird J.J. Abrams project. Looks very interesting, that one. The trailer was stunning.

All in all, a really good fourth of July holiday. Made even better by the fact that the painter came back to us with a somewhat unreasonable, yet still acceptable quote for doing the painting on the house. So, yet another item taken care of! Now, we just have to hope he actually shows up.

You gotta love my fellow freedom-loving Iowans:

Earlier this year, we announced that Iowa Public Radio and NPR will partner to produce two live national presidential debates in Des Moines on January 9-10, to be offered on public radio and online.

Debates are a core part of our public service mission, and our goal is to give the broadest audience the widest opportunity to use the candidates’ ideas and words. To achieve that in today’s media environment, NPR and Iowa Public Radio have decided that we will make our recordings of these debates fully accessible to everyone, without license restrictions, following each of our original NPR Member station broadcasts/webcasts.

The issue of full, non-exclusive public access to debate content is currently a subject of discussion among media organizations, with varying viewpoints. NPR believes that placing these recordings in the public domain will help raise public awareness and bolster civic participation in the election process, and will serve as a natural extension of our mission.

This conveniently follows hot on the heels of NPR’s previous declaration supporting the protection and freedom of internet radio. The two of these events occurring so closely together is not a coincidence. NPR and PBS are trying very hard to demonstrate that they support freedom of information. It just happens to be a bonus that this all begins with Iowa Public Television and the upcoming presidential debates.

Fantastic news! My favorite radio station and favorite television station — together for information freedom!

I’m taking my nephew and older son to see the new all-CGI TMNT movie tomorrow. Now, I’m beginning to think: is this a good idea?

Meh. I’m not expecting 300 here. This is just a movie featuring four mutated amphibians fighting crime as mystical ninjas. It’s purely a popcorn flick. And it will be fun to watch one of my favorite 80s memories through my son’s eyes.

From this point on, Caleb will have to go to bed early every Monday evening.

My wife and I actually got the opportunity to watch an actual prime-time television show last night. Luckily, what we ended up catching in this miraculous boon was the premiere episode of Studio 60, the new NBC show written by the amazing Aaron Sorkin of West Wing fame.

I can’t even begin to tell you how absolutely fantastic Studio 60 is.

This is Sorkin creating some top-notch writing, certainly at the top of his game. His witty and charming dialogue is invested into some truly exceptional actors. Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry are the only people I could ever envision playing the parts of Matt and Danny, the two high-profile writer/producers tapped to rejuvinate the flailing Studio 60 of NBS (the National Broadcasting Station – HA!). Amanda Peet pulls off a capable — though not inspiring — performance as Jordan, the brand-new president of the studio who has to deal with the problems before she has even found her office.

We were hooked from the first minute, as Judd Hirsch delivers a scathing impromptu speech on the evils of Hollywood as Timothy Busfield watches, allowing him 53 seconds to speil, risking his job to give Hirsch his chance to speak his mind on live television. It was mesmerizing.

We don’t get to watch television very much, but this is definitely something we will be getting into.

Think what you want about Michael Moore, that man has the right idea:

“The continued decrease in attendance (for Hollywood films) is not because of piracy, videogames, or the Internet, it’s because the movies aren’t very good anymore,” Moore says.

Thank GOD someone is saying it. Too bad it’s someone that no one in Hollywood will listen to. Still, maybe it’s the first step to getting other indy filmmakers to stand up and assert themselves in front of the big Hollywood executives and convince them that they’re making crap. And that the only way they can win back the audiences is by forcing theaters to lower prices and MAKE BETTER MOVIES!