Letters to the Editor
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Amusing...
That Heather metioned "Real people laugh it off" and then follows it up with a sentence about Tony Soprano. Is he what passes for a "real person" these days?
In any case, thanks for the warning about these shows. I really enjoy reading your TV reviews.
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Don't Worry...
Don't worry tomreedtoon.
Some day someone will notice your articulate musings, and offer you a column of your own.
Until then, you'll just have to happy serving as Salon's version of the Comic Book Guy.
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@ emaust30
"In his eyes, they are just a pain in the ass that he has to put up with to get laid. In one episode, he actually said that he couldn't stand being with someone for more than two days straight!"
What's your point?
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You watch it so we don't have to
Not that many of us thought we had to watch Scott Baio...but thanks for doing it anyway, reading about it was a lot more fun than watching it.
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Here's an idea...
On the Scott Baio show, he should hook up with Erin Moran, then the show could attract the five or so living fans of "Joanie Loves Chachi."
With ideas like this, I could be a network executive.
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@ Hyphen
With ideas like that, you're actually ahead of most t.v. executives, at least based on what's on the dial.
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I love 48 minutes of commercials every hour
That rocks. I want more.
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Sometimes I wonder
How can i have 108 channels from which to choose, & yet everything except baseball, football & those late nite infomercials completely & totally suck?
Where's Sherwood Schwartz when you need him????
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don't let him fool ya
Tomreedtoon is Heather's biggest fan. I always picture him hiding in the bushes with binoculars like when Jack was stalking Kevin Bacon on Will & Grace and setting a timer for the release of her latest column so he can rush to the computer and pay homage.
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If Heather pisses on it...
I couldn't help but feel embarrassed for Heather and her devotees when she opened her attack of "Tell Me You Love Me" with: "Did you do it to show me that, if you combined all of the things I'd love to see on TV -- realism, darkness, unhappy couples, explicit sex, therapy..."
Only because it caused me to flash back to Friday's front page story of the Weekend Journal section of the Wall Street Journal, "TV Lightens Up," by Sam Schechner. His subtitle painfully contradicted Heather's admitted preferences: "Seeking to give viewers a break from grim reality, networks this fall are turning to whimsy and fantasy. Sam Schechner on dancing casino owners, a slacker who works for the devil, and cavemen in San Diego."
The idea that the official government controlled newspaper is exponentially more in touch with the viewing audience than is Heather, evoked memories of Heather pissing all over "John From Cincinnati," another HBO program. Heather simply dug in her dark realism heels and refused to suspend logic to go on a JFC flight of fancy without charts and graphs.
But the person I'm most embarrassed for is the programming chief at HBO. That JFC was cancelled due to its "lack of critical acclaim" speaks of an HBO from an alternate universe; whereby, critic's committees led by back in the Dark Ages people like Heather, make programming decisions for the rest of us.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Heather for bashing "Tell Me You Love Me." Because now I know it's worth watching.
Finally, some advice for HBO. Find out who you guys fired that's connected to Heather. Then ask yourselves what would Jeremy Piven's character, Ari from “Entourage,” do a similar situation. That’s right: Not give a second thought to rehiring Heather's relative to get her off his back.
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I so hate Chachi...
and yet, I watched every episode. It was such a train wreck I couldn't look away. How could you write about it and not mention Johnny V the sycophant's sycophant. The hat, the mud wrestling, the hookers, him being so far up Chachi's ass.
The. Best. Reality. Asshole. Ever.
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I knew that new hbo show about couples was unwatchable from the commercials
and I agree with the person who said imply don't show. If I want to eavesdrop or spy, I can have more fun thinking of ways to secretly tape or snoop on my neighbors (which I don't do btw). I really do want art, or at least some artistic filter thru the writer/director/actor collective brain & being if I'm going to spend my Sunday evenings watching. Otherwise, trolling the internet for news & comments is a lot more involving, challenging and entertaining. I wish HBO would bring back John from Cincinatti - I found it intriguing and, yes, frustrating and perplexing, but it was fascinating, inventive and worth turning the tv on for. The Sopranos had many frustrating moments (& even episodes), too, if you really remember.
BTW Heather, I'm late to your column, but you write a good one even if I don't agree with your JFC assessment.
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Scott Baio is 45...and (still) single...
All I can say is...
Oh. My. God.
THIS is what I had such a crush on back in the late 70's when I was a teeny bopper reading "Tiger Beat"?!? I suppose this just serves as proof that some wishes are better left unfulfilled -- and that some people are willing to totally embarrass themselves just to get a few more precious minutes in the spotlight. Good grief...! Of course, what's really scary about this is the fact that there are quite a few 40-something single men out there much like him who don't even have the cachet of being a Hollywood has-been but who apparently would rather hold onto the fantasy of the "perfect woman" than risk devoting themselves to a living, breathing one. There's no reason why any man should feel that he has to make a commitment or have a child if he really doesn't want to -- but if he truly does want to be married and have a child, then he should get off the fence already and take his share of the responsibility that inevitably comes with having a relationship.
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Chazponz, Havrilesky does not own "dark realism heels."
Dark heels? According to people like alexcutter, everywhere Havrilesky steps suddenly brings into existence sunshine and flowers. That's why she drinks cappucino at Starbuck's; her stepping around that place's sidewalk gets rid of the stains in the concrete, where people with normal digestion and taste buds have puked up their purchases.
And if you've read this column for any period of time, you know that realism is one of those words too big and essential in meaning for Havrilesky to understand. But I understand your point; she dismisssed John from Cincinnati.
This does not make her the murderer of that program. TV critics have little influence on the networks; the good ones (and if you look elsewhere there are some good ones) offer the judgment of history. Networks only care about right now, not history. It's hardly the situation of a Roger Ebert, whose movie reviews directly affect the people making a conscious choice to get out of the house and see a movie. With TV, you turn it on, and it's there. There are few hurdles to seeing whatever the networks program, and critics are hardly an impediment. (However, getting a good idea on a network, relatively intact and with the creator's original intent...that's tough.)