Culture Surfing

Starting this weekend, uninhibited Hispanic stand-up comedian George Lopez and equally controversial African-American comedian Wanda Sykes make their late night debut challenging the status quo of what Jay Leno refers to as “the parade of nine white men.”

On Saturday, November 7, FOX will premiere The Wanda Sykes Show making Sykes the first black woman since Whoppi Goldberg to have a late night show on network television. Similarly, on Monday, Nov. 9, TBS will air Lopez Tonight that establishes Lopez as America’s first Hispanic late show host.

Late night talk has had its share of minority hosts however. The Arsenio Hall Show, The Chris Rock Show, The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show, The Magic Hour added color to the talk circuit on and off from the mid ‘90s until the untimely cancellation of Rock’s show in 2000. Recently BET put Blacks back on the late hour schedule with the launch of actress/comedian Mo’Nique’s late night show in early October.

The Wanda Sykes Show format resembles that of her former boss’  – HBO’s The Chris Rock Show a combination of skits, on-the-street segments and spirited panel discussions. It’s no surprise Sykes chose this format considering she won an Emmy award as a writer on the show. Always busy, audiences may best know her from the canceled Fox series, Wanda at Large and sidekick roles as Barb and herself in The Old Adventures of Christine and Curb Your Enthusiasm respectively.

Yet Sykes is no stranger to controversy. She became both the first African-American woman and openly LGBT person to perform as entertainment at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner earlier this year. Her set garnered national attention when she responded to Rush Limbaugh’s comment of hopes the Obama administration fails, with “I hope his [Limbaugh] kidney’s fail.”

Fox’s Saturday night slots have rarely had a stronghold in major late night programming. Their previous shows – the long running sketch comedy show, Mad TV and quirky TalkShow with Spike Feresten’s garnered consistently low ratings that resulted in their cancellation this year. Sykes’ show replaces the 11pm to midnight time slot previously held by MadTV, making Sykes’ major competition NBC’s long-standing and popular Saturday Night Live. Therefore the likelihood of Skyes’ show grabbing a significant hold on late night audiences could be a challenge.

Crediting late night maverick Arsenio Hall, George Lopez says he wants to bring the party back to late night. According to TBS, Lopez Tonight is an informal, casual environment for guest to engage with the audience and experience. “It’s time to get back to the kind of show that is fun for everybody to watch,” says Lopez. “There are enough heavy things going on every day that you should be able to sit down late at night, have a drink, relax and enjoy a party on television.”

Lopez who is probably America’s leading Hispanic comedian is known for his every man style of humor. With three HBO comedy specials under his belt including his most recent Tall, Dark and Chicago, he made history creating and starring in the sitcom George Lopez that ran for six seasons on ABC.

Lopez was lucky enough to land a 4-night-a-week spot, giving him a stronger possibility to compete with the majors and minors of late night; but his biggest upcoming barrier may be his time slot as well. Lopez is set to premier Nov. 9 on TBS at 11 p.m., a slot that vies with popular late night Comedy Central programs The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Colbert Report as well as the cult favorite The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.

All things considered, it’s impossible to applaud the network’s courage to air these new shows without examining how race could affect their success. The scrutiny against and lack of diversity among Sykes, Lopez, and also Mo’Nique are also possible obstructions that may prevent them from breaking big. Either way  – whether set up for failure or bound for glory, Sykes and Lopez will go down in television history and could possibly be the ratings booster their networks are hoping for to combat recent decline in ratings for late night viewing.

The Wanda Sykes Show. Premieres Sat., Nov. 7, 11pm – 12 Midnight (EST) on FOX.

Lopez Tonight. Premieres Mon., Nov. 9, 11pm – 12 Midnight (EST) on TBS

(Sykes photo courtesy of Fox Television, Lopez photo courtesy of Turner Broadcasting)

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PLEASE: Only speak in declaratives and affirmative adverbs

“Pushing Daisies” is about a man who can bring the dead back to life with one touch, but only for a minute or someone else dies. He needs only to touch them a second time to send them into eternal rest … permanently. It’s fitting, perhaps, that ABC’s chosen to resurrect the show from cancellation to air the remaining three episodes of season two, but without hope of complete revival.  Coincidental again is the choice of timing for the episodes — the middle of summer, Saturday night … graveyard shift (10 p.m.).

ABC has been much criticized for canceling the interesting and promising show before its time, though as I went through my own “Daisy” retread over the last several weeks, I saw a show uncertain of its future starting to lose its way. The murder-of-the-week plots were becoming annoying and distracting B-plots, taking away precious time from our endearing and quirky heroes.

Last we left the precious Piemaker Ned (Lee Pace), his formerly dead girlfriend Lonely Tourist Charlotte “Chuck” Charles (Anna Friel), their private-eye cohort Emerson Cod (Chi McBride), and their Itty Bitty (and occasional chanteuse) Olive Snook (Kristen Chenowith), Ned had given up waking the dead and sleuthing.  He also let slip to Olive that he “didn’t always not look at her like he looked at Chuck,” causing Olive to immediately start reading the informative tome The Double Negative: What You Shouldn’t Not Know.

Continue reading “The Televangelist: ‘Pushing Daisies’ episode 11″ »

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LIVE TOGETHER: or Die Alone

First thing’s first: SPOILERS ABOUND. Second thing: What lies in the shadow of the statue?  A whole lotta win. “Lost” certainly delivered another one of its trademark “epic” season finales.  The episode titled “The Incident” should be renamed, in hindsight, “Because of Jacob.” Because of Jacob our Losties are all on the island in the first place. Because of Jacob we have a reason for all of this madness and a real chance at a great final season. Most importantly, because of Jacob, Richard “Ricardos” Alpert was made immortal and non-aging in all his attractive glory, and for that we are truly grateful.

The cast list this week was immense, but “The Incident” closed more doors than it opened with former and current cast members.  Another alternate title for the episode might have been “Vincent’s Return,” a situation pondered by fans since the whole frozen donkey wheel mess began. Never fear, Vincent is living happily with Rose and Bernard (who inhabit what later becomes Jacob’s cabin). Wisely, the two want nothing to do with the rest of the Losties, but instead are retired in a cottage living each day as it comes and unconcerned about death. Black-and-white rock/Adam and Eve, anyone?

Pretty much everyone on the original Oceanic 815 flight got a shout-out tonight, mostly in regard to Jacob’s role in his/her past, which helped bring them to the island. Plenty of questions answered there, one of the biggest being how Hurley was released from prison and gained access to Charley’s guitar.

Continue reading “The Televangelist: ‘Lost’ season 5 finale” »

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ONE EPISODE LEFT: Some much to say, so little time

There’s a theory regarding the pleasures of delayed gratification via online shopping. It starts with the small thrill of buying something over the internet. It’s not yet tactile, but you know it’s coming. Depending on your shipping methods, you’re either waiting at the mailbox every day or have semi-forget about the package altogether. Either way, when that box comes, it’s a little bit birthday and a little bit Christmas. Online videos have even been posted of people carefully and deliberately opening their packages, savoring each moment before their present to themselves is revealed.

Richard Alpert is this week’s wrapping paper for Darlton’s gift that’s been carefully unveiled in small parts for several seasons now. Though “Follow the Leader” was initially rumored to be the Richard backstory episode Lostphiles have been waiting at the proverbial mailbox for, it wasn’t quite so obvious. We did see Richard (looking like a true GQ gentlemen in all spaces and places) throughout time, but it was time we’re already familiar with. The episode was Richard-centric insofar as his (never-aging) presence coherently linked our two Lostie camps.

I have to say, for being some kind of “adviser” who’s had the job for “a very, very, very long time,” Richard appears constantly perplexed. Does the island tell him anything? And who are all those Others anyway?  Where did they come from? Next week’s episode appears to promise answers to some of these questions — after all, Darlton said this was going to be the last season of sci-fi business. If so, there’s a lot of island mythology that will need to be sewn up before we delve head first into the Quadrangle. (The Quadrangle is the current preferred term for the Jack-Kate-Sawyer-Juliet mess.)  Though Faraday’s death last week shocked and appalled, rumor has it that wasn’t the “major” death this season. Will one of the Quad-dwellers die off?

Continue reading “The Televangelist: ‘Lost’ episode 15″ »

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RIP: Brother from an Other Mother

I typed two completely different versions of this review — one last night that was full of love, and one this morning that was full of hate. (*Spoiler Alert*!) The swap came after some rumination over “The Variable,” set up to be an epic “Lost” classic. (The show’s 100th episode to follow Obama’s 100 days speech? Come on!) It succeeded and it failed in its attempts. I’m mostly frustrated for myself and every other nerdcore Lostie out there who’s sat through recent episodes this season saying “Yeah, yeah, yeah, OK we know, we know … but now what?”

“The Variable” belonged completely to Daniel “Twitchy” Faraday, fan favorite only behind his oft episodic-counterpart Desmond “Motorboater” Hume. Some questions of Faraday’s history were answered (yes, Widmore is his father); his present revealed (Why we saw him in the Dharma mines to open the season; Why it was so important to find Eloise Hawking), and his future decided (gunned down by mother as an adult in her past — would anything less complicated do?), all of which played out good guesses with a few twists that, in typical “Lost” fashion, both satisfied and beguiled.

Continue reading “The Televangelist: ‘Lost’ episode 14″ »

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YOU CAN CHANGE: Your own diaper

Ah yes, the long awaited Miles episode! I usually complain about needless backstory episodes (cough, Jack’s tattoos, cough) that don’t push the narrative forward enough, but “Some Like it Hoth” was a crowd pleaser, and I thereby refuse to judge it harshly. Miles the Swindler Ghost Whisperer held court this week as we sprinted through his life story: toddler Miles in a single-parent low-rent household; punk Miles uneasy with his gifts and searching for answers; and adult Miles, exploiting the grieving for cash and about to be recruited by Widmore. Finally, we learned that Dr. “Douchebag” Chang is Miles’ “Douchebag” Dad. Fellow watchers inform me that the rumor of Chang as Miles’ father has been around for some time, but since I apparently missed that boat my mouth was suitably agape at the thought. Of course, Miles has had three years to get used to the idea since, “on the third day here I was in line in the cafeteria and my mom got into the line behind me.  That was my first clue.”

At first gander, “Some Like it Hoth” feels chock full of island lore, but for most “Lost” devotees the reveals weren’t anything new.  Hey, there’s the Hatch! Hey, Kate’s messing something up! Hey, everyone on the island has Daddy issues! We saw the beginnings of study regarding the island’s electromagnetism (thanks to an unfortunate Dharma Denizen’s filling being yanked through his brain. It’s not a plane but … it will be). We don’t know what Chang is learning from the bodies (or what he’s doing with them when he’s done), but we do know something even stranger — he loves country music.

Continue reading “The Televangelist: ‘Lost’ episode 13″ »

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JUDGMENT DAY: Smokey can be bad for your health

The first thing we learned in “Dead is Dead” is that dead is not dead. At least, not in conventional ways. After a mediocre Kate-isode last week, this Ben-centric episode felt epic. The man formerly known as Henry Gale was in full manipulation mode last night, and the episode’s sole focus on him highlighted the fact that, all in all, there’s not been enough Ben in the fractured, busy storytelling of late. Typical of a great episode, though, the characters answered some questions and raised even more, including the very nature of of life (and, well, death).

Let’s start with some categorizing. Who’s dead and who isn’t? Both Penny and Desmond are alive — everyone can breathe easy. Locke is “alive.” (The quotation marks here mean everything.) Despite Ben telling Locke that it was part of his master plan to kill Locke so he could be resurrected, Ben admitted to Sun that Locke walking around alive scares the living daylights out of him. In fact, this episode marks the final shift in the Ben-Locke power struggle, with Locke reigning victorious. Locke now knows things Ben doesn’t, which infuriates our former Jacob-whisperer. Yet, “the Island” has chosen to keep him alive for whatever reason.  On the brink of life/death is Alex, slain daughter of Ben/Rousseau. Alex’s alive-but-not situation evoked a little Christian Shepard, and gives credence to the theory that Olde Smokey (”he who shall not be named”) can reanimate or possess the bodies of the dead for his own purposes (except that the bodies must retain some part of their original person, since they often slip in some unfinished business while they’re up and about).

Continue reading “The Televangelist: ‘Lost’ episode 12″ »

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