The Weather

OK, briefly, I am not a woman who plans her outfits out the night before and I certainly only enter the day with the goal that my daughter isn't caught in the wrong clothing for the day. So for this I simply require a weather report. I don't need much, just what the 24 hour forecast is. I rely on network broadcast TV for this because logging in during the morning scurry that I call a routine to get us both ready and out the door is a hassle. At least with the TV I can be multitasking. This morning was particularly frustrating because in the height of scurry the Today Show started. And because NBC is unilaterally Beijing focused at the moment, my weather was delayed by nearly 20 minutes with recap of swimming and gymnastics from the night before. On a side note, if not for two volleyball players hugging before a match, you would hardly know that a war had broken out between Georgia and Russia from NBC morning News. But I digress - Finally Al Roker makes an appearance only to quite pathetically further push Olympic sponsors by speaking to the 'crowd' he found quite conveniently people from NBC parent company GE and United Airlines, the USA official carrier for the Olympics. Needless to say after all this irritating product placement I did finally find out it is going to be a lovely day outside and that I may need to simply start logging in as my coffee brews and I apply makeup in the morning to get my weather. Today's process is WAY too belabored.

The Olympics

I realize that there is still 3 days until the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics so there isn't anything to review. I will however preview it from my vantage point right now because I will not likely be watching with any enthusiasm. Reason being, I miss Wide World of Sports and ABC coverage of the games. What ABC implicitly understood and NBC has destroyed in recent Olympic coverage is that the drama and compelling nature of the games is to live it in the moment. Yes, that means sometimes your coverage will miss - either in not capturing a compelling moment from the games or in covering an anticlimatic moment. However, we as the viewer, just like the producers don't know with certainty where those moments will come from. Like all sports you can hedge you bets and program for what is anticpated by the viewing audience and then let the chips fall where they may.

However, Dick Ebersol and the team over at NBC Sports has decided it knows best when it comes to what the viewer should/wants to see (think "The Truman Show" with Jim Carrey). I can not remember the last time I watched an Olympics that didn't feel manufactured and produced. I dare you over the next two weeks to tune into NBC in primetime and find an 8-11PM block that doesn't edit and jump around competitions as though my father had control of the remote on a Sunday afternoon. Today's Olympics is filled with pretaped 'profile stories' for atheletes, highlights of competitions (including the trials it took for them to get to the Games). The problem with this 'coverage' is that it leaves little time for that pesky thing called live coverage. I have forgotten the percentage of live coverage the last Games gave us, but it was paltry in comparison to the Olympic coverage of the 90s.

I realize the games are competiting in a different TV world and that in the age of doping, the curtain has been pulled back and replaced with guarded skepticism about atheltes making history. However, I remember people gathering for the real drama the 1980 gold medal USA hockey team created against the Russians. I remember Greg Luganis hitting his head on the platform and wondering if he would continue to compete. The great moments in Olympic history are those no one saw coming. When you overthink the coverage and therefore over produce it for TV you lose what the Games is at its core suppose to represent - The wonder of sport excelling to the greatest of its heights. That's must see TV.

Mad Men

So I have completely watched all of season 1 and episode 1 of season 2. Here's what I think of the show that is all the summer rage...

I think it is an interesting series that pulls no punches. What I like about it is the fact that it is ruthless and unapologetic. In that vein it reminds me of Homicide (that under appreciated, Baltimore step child of Law and Order). The acting is quite superb and some of the plot lines are interesting. For those who don't know, Mad Men is a take on the early 60's Advertising executives on Madison Ave. (self named "Mad Men"). The accuracy of the period from the constant smoking to the armour-esque undergarments for the women make the show a tasty visual delight. When you scratch past the surface of the facade that the characters are creating for their lives, there is a clear view of a generation caught within the middle of a society shift with some characters clearly taking sides and others playing both sides. Some of the dialogue is acerbic and brilliant in its exchange. A dress down by the 'head secretary' and the new girl comes to mind. But ultimately the show revolves around the lead character of Don Draper, a man who reinvented himself and is now straddling the line of status quo and change. He built an entire world that his wife is drowning in and at least at the outset of season 2 it appears will be every man for themselves.

I am not certain I like Mad Men, so much as I am intrigued by the world they inhabit. Thus far the show has erred on the side of savvy with it's plot twists (save for an unrealistic birth). So I encourage all in the dog days of summer to spend a little time with Mad Men, if for no other reason - LOST and 24 aren't coming back until January!

The Media vs. Our Daughters

So, my daughter is only getting ready to turn 3 but I see it everywhere, places in our media mainstream that I am going to need to counteract early and often. In an age where information is so fluid my job as a parent is to keep pace as much as protect my daughter from some of the damaging models out there for young girls. Gone are the days where concerns of Barbie being unrealistic and keeping HBO out of the house for its graphic language and nudity are the main concerns. Now in building my daughter's self esteem I must somehow navigate the conflicting images and exploitation of young girls. I found this film 5 Girls that I think is a great start. I am emailing it to my 8 and 13 year old neice. Take a look and tell me what you think.

This and That in the world of TV and Film

I have a bit of scattered brain right now around what I would like to talk about, so rather than jump heavily into any one topic just now, I will go through the list and come back to some of them later.

1) Rest in Peace Estelle Getty (of Golden Girls fame) a class act who brought great laughter to situation comedy in the mid-80s and a lasting tribute to the visionary genius of NBC's late Brandon Tartikoff.

2) Mad Men - yes I am watching it on ON DEMAND, yes I did it because of all the Emmy nominations. NO, I am not proud of the sheep-like behavior it displays. The jury is still out on what I think, I am only four episodes in and am not convinced that great acting is covering for not so great plot lines. I'll be back on this one over the weekend when season 2 premieres

3) The end of an era - Roger Ebert is stepping away from his long association with the movie review show he and the late Gene Siskel pioneered - "At The Movies". I didn't always agree with Roger and sometimes thought he had lost his mind when reviewing a film, but I ALWAYS felt his great passion and love for film - all films from drama to action to documentary films. Before it was fashionable, Siskel and Ebert were talking about films like Roger and Me and Hoop Dreams as 'must see'films.

Which brings me to my final point today, Snag Films. Here is film viewing with a purpose and well worth your time. Here is a site that provides documentary films an outlet they would not otherwise get. It's one stop shopping for thoughtful rarely seen, but unbelievably priceless filmmaking. As someone who became obsessed with moments in history chronicled on film like "A Day in September" which chronicles the murders of the Isreali's at the '72 Munich Olympic Games documentaries time and again show us through film that life is often more compelling and dramatic than anything we could have scripted. Broken into categories of interest, there is a hodgepodge of films to choose from which you can view FOR FREE online. In the YouTube world we now live in, this is a great addition to the old information highway (yes, I just dated myself with that term). As if that wasn't cool enough, they have linked the films to charitable organizations connecting people inspired by the films to get involved.

So by my vote, not a bad way to spend evening or some idle time.

Real vs. Reality TV

OK, so I have mentioned here and there my random opinions on reality TV without doing a deep dive on the subject. It struck me today (the 4th of July) that this would be an apt time to revisit the subject. The reason being today, like on New Years Eve and to a lesser extent Thanksgiving Day Parades, there is a smattering of "real TV" to be found throughout the evening. Over on PBS there is the annual Boston Pops concert, there is Capitol 4th from DC and of course the granddaddy of them all - Macy's 4th in the New York City Harbor. All three have large fireworks displays in common. I should disclaim here that I am not only a native NYer, but a native of Suffolk County Long Island and therefore was raised on Grucci fireworks and believe they are second to none. Having said that, at no point in my life have I thought - ooooh I can't wait to watch fireworks on TV! For me the purpose of things like fireworks, parades, even live concert performances is to be there in the moment and experience it with all five senses, not merely our eyes and ears. Granted HDTV makes the experience more bright, but for me some things are meant to be experienced in commune with your neighbor or the stranger you call your neighbor for the duration of any given event. Yet every year these things get broadcast when if experienced live there is truly no comparison.

For those of you thinking sports should fall into this category, I will simply say this - sports is always better live, period. But sports has an undetermined outcome which makes it innately compelling whether being viewed from a seat in the arena/stadium or on your living room couch. The same can not be said for a fireworks display over the East River or a parade down Broadway.

My point in bringing this up is because I wonder sometimes about what it is we seek to experience. Reality TV gets a bad shake because of the fringe shows that exploit people deliberately (a la the recent despicable Baby Borrowers). But then there are shows that's purpose is to display talent and merely entertain. My summer favorite - So You Think You Can Dance would fit into this category. Shows like the latter I feel are the grandchildren of the old variety shows - certainly not Ed Sullivan, but without a doubt a look back to that vein of television. Reality TV when done in that spirit provides an escape for the viewer - pleasure and entertainment with no ulterior motive. How is it so different from people who feel the need to gather around a 32 inch television set to watch fireworks they are no where near?

I don't know that there is any significance to this post other than an observation that in some form or another we have been watching a form of "real TV" practically since its inception. The 'ick' factor that has embodied the term "reality TV" I suspect has more to do with the exploitation of both the willing participants and the voyeuristic tendencies of the television viewers. I mean really is there any other explanation for the continuation of a show like "the Bachelor and Bachelorette"?