There is an inherent problem with final episodes of TV shows--they usually suck. OK, so maybe that is a gross generalization but seriously, can you think of a final episode that was universally loved? Maybe the wrap-up for "The Mary Tyler Moore" show, but that was what....almost 40 years ago? Since then its been a history of train wreck swan songs....from "Seinfeld" to "Sex and The City" to "Will and Grace".
Anyway, as LOST fans bitch and moan this week about questions answered, unanswered and essentially ignored (not to mention the big dopey reveal at the end), I have to say that the problem is not with LOST itself but with the way American television operates. I say American because in the UK, where series usually don't last more than 2 or 3 six-episode seasons (other than Dr. Who & East Enders). Their system works beautifully because the shows are more like mini-series. But series creators in the UK don't have to deal in the harsh capitalism that drives American broadcasting. Here, if a show is a success, it must then run for at least 5 seasons so there are enough episodes for syndication. Then, once a show is generating so much cash it's hard for the network to turn that faucet off so shows often outlive their premises by many years. For example, "Friends" was fresh and funny for about 3 years...but by season 10? It was staler than 10 year old bread.
The essential nature of American TV shows is that you get to hang out with the same group of characters week after week and nothing really changes. Witness the success of "The Simpsons" going strong after 20 years. But, if a series has to end, that is often a massive change which often forces shows to operate totally outside their comfort zone. Remember the mawkish finale of "MASH"? It was so far removed from the average, hilarious episode that it might as well have been another series entirely.
One show I can think of which had a beautiful ending lasted only 13 episodes; Judd Apatow's 80's flashback "Freaks and Geeks". Apatow knew the show was doomed so he was able to craft a final episode that worked and still felt like an episode of "Freaks and Geeks". As for the LOST team, they knew they were doomed in an opposite way. They admitted that they had no grand scheme for the show when it started so when it became a worldwide mega-hit, they, like their characters, got stuck on that island for five more years than they had planned. So, like most TV writers, they have been making it up as they went along and I mean that in a good way. They were very creative and clever as they turned 13 episodes into 113. So I'd cut them a little slack on number 114.
This is a really extraordinary animated ad for Olympus digital cameras that was supposedly made with images shot on an Olympus. Even though it's essential a commercial for Olympus it's a cleverly conceived and beautifully made film. I wonder how long it took to film....one very sunny day or multiple, equally sunny days. There wasn't much info on the video at YouTube other than the details that 355 pictures were printed to make it and the director is guy named Takeuchi Taljin. Enjoy!
A good friend of mine who knows my taste for 80's Spandex, glitter and all things Xanadu sent me this new Goldrappe video yesterday which is totally awesome. It's a battle to the death between aerobics instructors lead by a messianic ONJ figure with a massive blonde, vintage perm. Needless to say Spandex wins as her feather-haired minions turn into glittery vampires after being zapped by faux Olivia's animated Xanadu-esque neon beams. Genius! And the song's not too bad either.... ;)
This is a funny feature from Cracked.com. Remember Cracked magazine? It was MAD for teenagers back in the day. Except I thought it had gone the way of glitter iron-on tees. I didn't know it was still around. And maybe it isn't. Except for this website.
But the list they've compiled here is very funny and has some astounding images in very bad taste. You have been warned. Semi-NSFW.
More than 6 stories underneath 2nd avenue, a massive 50 ton Tunnel Boring Machine has started its slow march south from 92nd Street to 63rd. The link above to Second Avenue Sagas has some great pics and video that Ben shot at the official ceremony last Friday.
I've posted before about the Launch Box for the TBM and now, it's on its way....chewing up a dozen yards of earth a day as it makes it's 30 block journey south. The downtown tunnel will arrive at 63rd Street in December of 2011 and then they will go back and do the uptown tunnel. Trains will be running in 2016 and, of course, we'll believe that when we see it. But this is a huge step forward in the long-delayed expansion of the NYC subway.
As daytime soap operas disappear, they are resorting to more and more desperate to tactics to grab viewers waning attention; shooting on location, hot gay romances and now terribly executed musical numbers.
Brian Moylan at Gawker posted some video from last weeks "One Life To Love" where they unleashed their own take on the Go-Go's "Our Lips Our Sealed". The number kicks in at a beauty salon as part of a run up to prom in the fictional town where the show is set. It's pretty awful, like something from the 80's Mousekeeters Club (the one Britney was on) except for one difference...none of these girls can sing or dance.
It all seems like a lame ploy to grab some GLEE fans as the soaps try to postpone their slow but inevitable trip down the TV drain.
My friend and fellow filmmaker Jerry Kolber has been working on a doc about Star Wars fanatics called "Jedi Junkies". There's a trailer up on Daily Motion this week and the full movie will be available on DVD May 20th. I love the guy building a life-sized Millennium Falcon in his backyard! l definitely want to check this one out....
In 1982, Tom Hintaus went from being a moderately successful pole vaulter to a worldwide sensation as the first Calvin Klein underwear model. Until that iconic image appeared in Times Square, underwear ads had, oddly enough, never been innately sexual.
They were usually straight shots of very average looking guys wearing briefs over what looked like two other pairs of briefs so they resembled anatomically correct Ken dolls. The closest they came to selling a little sex was maybe Jim Palmer in his underwear for Jockey back in the late 70's. But he was smiling and friendly.....the guy next door in his underwear by chance. Tom is more like the Greek god of sex. In fact, the image was shot on an island in Greece by photographer Bruce Weber.
I remember seeing this poster in Times Square on a high school field trip in 1983. I was so hypnotized that I nearly got run over. It made such an impression on me that I put a little homage to it in my film "Pool Days" when the main character sees a different Calvin Klein image in a department store and can't turn away.
Anyway, all this is on my mind today after reading an article in today's TIMES which serves as a retrospective of Calvin Klein underwear models. Fashion writer Eric Wilson takes note of the fact that three models have gone on to star in Janet Jackson videos and two have been nominated for Academy Awards. Current model Kellan Lutz is causing a stir with his roles on 90210 and the "Twilight" series. And what's Mr. Hintnaus up to these days? He's 52 now, works as contractor in Hawaii, but says he would not be averse to coming out of underwear model retirement for a line of briefs for Boomer men.
This video is flying around the Internets today....a sixth grader's interpretation of Lady Gaga "Paparazzi". This kid has got serious talent! But what is even more fascinating is watching his classmates in the background who look somewhat stunned and speechless. And his big grin at the end is awesome too!
I can't imagine this sort of recital when I was in elementary school. It was all Chopin and John Phillip Sousa. The Gaga Effect continues....stay tuned!
Below the headlines about Elena Kagan's nomination and the oil spill in Louisiana, there was a small story in today's TIMES about a drone attack that killed 14 militants in the western tribal region of Pakistan. Drones fired nearly 20 missles in the bombing.
Carried out by the CIA and directed from a facility in Colorado, these drone attacks have been stepped up in the days since the failed Times Square bombing. This despite the fact that there has been some reporting that Shazad carried out his plot because he was angry over the drone attacks.
Though it's been something of an open secret, we are basically engaged in a third front now in the 9-year "War on Terror". It's somewhat bizzare to think it's a war of machines piloted from half a world away. It almost makes George Lucas look like a modern prophet.
