Week in Review

Every day last week I indulged myself in some form of entertainment. Here’s my Monday through Friday analysis of what I experienced: the Good, the Bad, and the Weird.

Monday
I guess last week was premier week on many of the networks. I decided to check out a couple of shows that had appeal to me. The first was ‘Chuck.’ This show is billed as an action/comedy. It’s getting great reviews, but I was kind of left with a ho-hum feeling. That’s not to say it was bad—the action sequences were amazing—it’s just that the comedy fell a little flat to me. I will say that the main character is very likable, and I think the show has a lot of potential.

That same night I watched another sitcom called ‘The Big Bang Theory.’ I wasn’t expecting much since the critics kind of panned it. I was also a little wary since it plays like a traditional sitcom: laugh track, situational humor, set up, joke, set up, joke, etc. But I must say I came away pleasantly surprised. It’s an extremely well-written sitcom and I found myself laughing out-loud many times. Also, Jim Parsons (Sheldon) plays out the nuances of his character with nerdlike perfection and wit. Check it out.

Tuesday
It was “old movie night” at my house…I was the only one invited. (Sidenote: sad). I watched this movie called The Apartment, which happened to be on my very long list of movies I need to watch. The premise of the movie was actually somewhat seedy for a movie that came out in 1960. It’s hailed as a comedy classic, but I would label it under the somewhat new moniker of ‘dramedy.’ It actually deals with some very serious issues that I thought were very ‘hush hush’ during this time period, of course, this was the beginning of the 60s…Anyway, I just wanted to say that the comic genius of Jack Lemmon was evident as he embodied the everyday man caught in extraordinary situations with bumbling ease. (See Some Like it Hot). Also, I kind of fell in love with Shirley MacLaine a little.

Wednesday
My sister and I decided to go to the circus on opening night—neither one of us had ever been and we thought it would be fun. And, well, we actually did have a good time, but I was kind of thrust into sensory overload with all the music, noise, clowns, lights, animals, etc. Have you ever seen the sequence in Dumbo when he (gasp!) gets drunk and starts dreaming of pink elephants on parade? To be honest, I couldn’t get that out of my head the entire night. The highlight, for me, was the Asian performers that would contort their bodies together into extravagant corporal pyramids that any cheerleading squad would drool over.

Thursday
Yes! The return of the ‘The Office’ was a sublime, life-affirming, feast of comedy. Ok, it wasn’t perfect, but it was good to see the characters I love back on the small screen. I’ve been watching this sitcom since it debuted. I remember telling people about it after the first season’s six episodes came out and no one had heard of it. So, I downloaded the episodes onto my laptop and carted them around, showing them to anyone that would watch. (I think I’ve seen the first season’s episode like twenty times or something—they’re still my favorite.)

Michael was, of course, beautifully annoying as usual and the PB & J scenes were played out to perfection; not too much and just enough that everyone I was with ‘aaahhhed’ when the TV crew caught the slight kiss in the car. It was a seamless resolution to last season’s cliffhanger.

P.S. Hayley - thanks for facilitating on ‘Office’ party at your apartment. I was especially fond of the green jell-o garnished with miniature staplers. Christian - again, I still don’t understand why you left with ‘six-pack chick’?

Oh, and btw...Creed's turning into on of my favorite characters:

Creed: I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader.

Friday
I went to see David O. McKay presents ‘The Smashing Pumpkins’ at the David O. McKay Events Center at UVSC. I kept my streak alive of seeing concerts without paying. This was probably my fifth or sixth one this year where no dollars were exchanged for musical enchantment. I’m a big fan of this band, but oddly enough I only started listening to them after my mission, which was unfortunate because they had broken up by then. So I didn’t think that I’d ever see them live. However, they got back together earlier this year and started touring again, so I just had to go. Of course, I don’t know if you could consider them really together again, since it’s only Billy Corgan and the drummer that are back from the original line-up. The lead-singer alluded to this when he introduced his drummer, with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, as his ‘life-partner.’

Anyway, they really rocked the casbah with their 90s-defining alt-progressive rock. My favorite part, however, was when Billy did a couple of acoustic takes of some of his biggest hits. It was especially touching to hear him talk about a mother backstage telling him, before the beginning of the concert, about her daughter who recently passed away—she was a huge fan of their music. He dedicated the acoustic version of ‘1979’ to her. It’s my favorite Pumpkins song; in fact, it’s now my video wallpaper on my phone.

WeekEnd
-Radiohead’s giving away their newest album….should we still buy CDs Aaron?

-New Dashboard Confessional is streaming on MySpace and it’s all acousticked up.