Culture Surfing

Ted Danson takes a dive in the boxing ring as magazine editor George Christopher in the Bored to Death season finale. Photo: Esquire

It’s rumble time between two magazines on Bored to Death tonight.

GQ editor Richard, book critic Lewis, and a lowly cartoonist are taking on the Edition team. George, Jonathan, and Ames are working out at a downtown boxing gym with a surly trainer named Sal. Between beating on tires with sledgehammers, hitting the heavy bag, and tossing the medicine ball, they’re getting in pretty good shape. They just might kick GQ’s ass, but women keep getting in the way.

Jonathan is falling for Stella, the co-op worker he met last week while tracking down the lesbian black market sperm thieves. They’re getting together to smoke pot but he hasn’t made any moves on her yet. “What are you, in the fifth grade?” Ray asks.

“Yeah, I lost my virginity in the fifth grade,” Sal says.

“What was his name?” Ray asks.

“Father Francis,” Sal says.

Continue reading “Bored to Death episode 8 recap – season finale” »

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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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Jonathan, Ray and Stella get stoned at the Park Slope co-op while tracking down the lesbian black market sperm thieves. Photo: Paul Schiraldi

Jonathan Ames and company took on a new case this week, “The Case of the Stolen Sperm.”

The lesbian couple that Ray has been donating his sperm to have suddenly disappeared and thrown his life off-balance. “Look, for years I’ve been jerking off purely for medical reasons, like lancing a wound,  but trying to have a baby with them has given it new  meaning,” he says. Jonathan agrees to help him track the couple down, but they find out a little more than they expect.

Continue reading “Bored to Death episode 7 recap” »

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Jim Jarmusch: great hair. Photo by Jeff Vespa.

It’s just not a good idea to go home to make out with a teenager. Even if she’s really impressed with the fact that you sort of know Jim Jarmusch. Even if you’ve had too much white wine. Jonathan Ames found this out the hard way on this week’s Bored to Death.  He didn’t really know she was a teenager until they were already home (her dad’s house), and she asked him to prom.

“Wait,” he said. “NYU has a prom?” Does anyone really need the answer to that? The answer is no.

That’s around when she started taking off her clothes and her dad (”The Carl Jung of Brooklyn”) burst in to chase Jonathan out the bathroom window. It would have been a successful escape, but he lost his copy of Jim Jarmusch’s latest script behind the psychoanalyst dad’s couch. Even worse, his name is laser printed on every page.

So goes another week in the life of Jonathan Ames, failed novelist and unlicensed solver of soft-boiled crimes. Jonathan’s editor, George, is turning into a sage of sorts, guiding Jonathan away from his literary pursuits and towards screenwriting, women, white wine, and more women. “But is it even meaningful?” Jonthan worries.

Continue reading “‘Bored to Death,’ Episode 3″ »

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‘True Blood’ wrapped up two Sundays ago, sadly, but it did snag an Emmy at last Sunday’s awards for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series. So what moments from this season helped earn the cast its trophy? Here’s our countdown of the season’s top 10 best moments, as well as some of its most memorable quotes (PIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!).

NO. 10: Godric's pad is da bomb

10. GODRIC’S PAD IS DA BOMB (episode 9)
Luke blows Godric’s lair to kingdom come in the name of Rev. Newlin. Bill watches, stunned, from the driveway where he’s just escorted Lorena (”You may be immortal, Lorena, but you are dead to me”). From the front yard, it looks as though the white-hot blast eviscerated everything: men, vampires, and Barcaloungers alike.

Bill rushes inside and finds Sookie still alive and sprawled on the floor beneath Eric, who shielded her from the blast. The inside is littered with insides. On Eric’s command, Bill exits as quickly as he arrived to snag and punish Luke’s cohorts. Eric feigns dying, imploring Sookie to suck the silver shrapnel from his chest. Sookie, who thinks that’s like totally gross, refuses, until Eric exhales in a melodramatic whimper “(gasp) … dying … (gasp)” and lets a limp arm fall to the floor with a thud. Next thing we (and Bill) know, Sookie’s straddling Eric and literally licking his wounds. This kind of hanky panky has consequences, Bill tells Sookie. Since she’s now swallowed Eric’s blood, the two are forever connected. Like Bill, he’ll always be able to sense her emotions and Sookie will feel sexually attracted to Eric. “I could kill him,” Sookie says later on. “I concur,” says Bill.

Continue reading “Top 10 moments from ‘True Blood’ season 2″ »

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Ted Danson, Zach Galifinakis, and Jason Schwartzman star in the new HBO sitcom Bored to Death.

What does a Raymond-Chandler-loving, pot-smoking, white-wine-aholic failed novelist do when his girlfriend finally dumps him? Naturally, he advertises himself on Craigslist as a private detective, promptly passes out in the middle of the day, and wakes up to solve some hard-boiled mysteries.

At least, that’s the premise of HBO’s new sitcom, Bored to Death, which premiered on television last night. The series stars Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, and Zach Galifinakis as an unlikely trio of Brooklynite stooges who eventually all get mixed up in this half-baked detective gig.

Schwartzman plays the hapless Jonthan Ames, a floundering writer who gets called out quick for being “one of those self-hating New York Jews” and can’t quit drinking white wine to save his relationship (”Going cold turkey can be dangerous!”). Galafinakis is Jonathan’s best buddy Ray, a graphic novelist who can’t keep his love life straight either. Ted Danson is something of a surprise, playing Jonathan’s magazine editor George and looking remarkably comfortable smoking pot in a bathroom stall while bitching about New York socialites.

Continue reading “‘Bored to Death,’ episode 1″ »

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"I'm a waitress. What the fuck are you?!"

“You mess with the bull, you get the horns.” And so it was on last night’s “True Blood” Season 2 finale.

The big day’s finally arrived for Maryann and the God Who Comes and she has just about everything she needs for her holy union: Mothball-infested old lady wedding dress? Check. Bloody ostrich egg? Check. Slighted, contrary maid of honor? Check. Human sacrifice? Ch—dammit! Sometimes you can do all the planning in the world and still end up waiting til the last minute for everything to fall into place.

But fall in place it did, once Bill arrived with Sam to the Circle of Death. Maryann walked down the aisle and Andy followed, adjusting her train. (Normally this duty’s reserved for the MOH, but it proves slightly difficult when you’re being restrained against your will, as was Sookie’s case.) Bill offers Sam in exchange for Sookie and Maryann concedes. Sookie wails in horror, protesting Sam’s fate as her black-eyed peeps bind and gag the bootylicious barkeep. In a flurry of chanting and vibrating (Lafayette: “Worship him bitches!”), Maryann and her masses summon the gods. Eggs brings forth the holy dagger and hands it to Maryann, who plunges it deep into Sam’s chest. Sookie pleads with Sam to “use [his] gift” and Bill urges Sookie to use hers.

Continue reading “‘True Blood’ season 2 finale” »

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Bad decision making runs in our family.

What do you get for the God who has everything? A silk tie? A severed ring finger? Virgins? All fine ideas, but the still-beating heart of a supernatural being would truly let him know you care. And Maryann cares. Really really cares.

The mystery of Maryann wasn’t necessarily solved last night, but it was explained. Sort of. Bill’s audience with the Queen (Evan Rachel Wood) revealed the convoluted, delusional backstory that gave rise to Maenads. “Everything that exists imagined itself into existence,” the Queen says to Bill between Latvian boys and games of Yahtzee. Maenads basically willed themselves immortal over the millennium through free love, bestiality and cannibalism. It’s all in the name of a higher power — the God Who Comes — who, despite his name, rarely shows up. So here’s where the sacrifices come in. Despite having spent 100-plus lifetimes developing immortality, all Maryann wants is to die. Tricky, right? Not if you have a supernatural: someone such as Sam, or even Sookie, who “straddles the two worlds.” Hypothetically, the God Who Comes would be so pleased with the offering, he’d kill you. Hey, different cultures have different traditions.

Now, knowing this, I’m not sure why Daphne wouldn’t have been a sufficient sacrifice. Or how Maryann could have lived so long and never run into a telepath before last week. We do know, though, that Maenads are poison to the Vampires because of their unselective mating processes: Maryann’s got as much pig blood running through her as she does human.

Continue reading “‘True Blood’ season 2, episode 11″ »

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BAR NONE: Is it Sam and Andy's last call?

What’s a girl gotta do for a little peace and quiet around here? Sookie leaves town for five minutes and sadomasochistic sex zombies take over Bon Temps. There’s penis graffiti on the welcome sign, a giant tower of freesia and warm meats in her front yard, and her glassy-eyed best friend’s mind has been erased. Not to mention all the hell that broke loose in Dallas and the fact that she continues to have naughty dreams about Eric. Bad Sookie.

When Bill, Sookie and Jason finally make it back to Bill’s place, they find Maxine gone batshit-crazy shrieking at Hoyt about what a disappointment he is. Bill, trying to parse out the situation, can barely get a word in edgewise. He demands that Hoyt calm her down, so Hoyt offers “Playing Wii gets her to focus, but I wouldn’t call it calmed down.” With Maxine distracted, Jessica and Hoyt finally have a chance to fill the threesome in on everything from the parties at Maryann’s (er, Sookie’s) place to Daphne, the new waitress at Merlotte’s who had her heart ripped out. (Jason: “There’s a new waitress at Merlotte’s?”)

Jason, emboldened by his sneak attack at the Fellowship of the Sun, decides the same kind of guerrilla action is necessary in Bon Temps. Sookie protests, but “I’m not about to let monsters destroy my town,” says Jason. Bill and Sookie go to scope out the old Stackhouse place, leaving Maxine at the mercy of Jessica, who’s had just about enough of being called a bloodsucking tramp. She may be a bloodsucker, but she ain’t no tramp. She’s an eternal virgin for chrissakes. And she’s hungry.

Continue reading “‘True Blood’ season 2, episode 10″ »

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GUT FEELING: Dallas vampires get a piece of Luke

There are only three episodes left in Season 2 and the storylines have become so intense, I find myself equally torn between wanting Sunday to come as quickly as possible to find out what happens and not wanting Sunday to come because that means we’re one step closer to the end. It’s the sign of an excellent season, though, which will hopefully avoid the kind of canned, cheesy wrap-up that befell last season.

Last night’s episode “I Will Rise Up” was intense and somber. It traded much of the show’s playful campiness for heavy themes and dark characterizations. (Although there were a few gems courtesy Hoyt and Jason, of course.)  I don’t think I budged from my spot on the couch at all. We picked up a few moments before last week’s episode left off, with Luke entering Godric’s lair and looking a bit thick around the middle. He has a bomb strapped to his chest with chains and other silver trinkets crisscrossing his midsection. He delivers his message from Rev. Newlin and the blast incinerates Godric’s pad. Bill watches, stunned, from the driveway where he’s just escorted Lorena (”You may be immortal, Lorena, but you are dead to me”). From the front yard, it looks as though the white-hot blast has eviscerated everything: men, vampires, and Barcaloungers alike.

Bill rushes inside and finds Sookie still alive and sprawled on the floor beneath Eric, who shielded her from the blast. The inside is littered with insides, including Stan’s. On Eric’s command, Bill exits as quickly as he arrived to snag and punish Luke’s cohorts. Eric feigns dying, imploring Sookie to suck the silver shrapnel from his chest. Sookie, who thinks that’s like totally gross, refuses, until Eric exhales in a melodramatic whimper “(gasp) … dying … (gasp)” and lets a limp arm fall to the floor with a thud. Next thing we (and Bill) know, Sookie’s straddling Eric and literally licking his wounds. This kind of hanky panky has consequences, Bill tells Sookie. Since she’s now swallowed Eric’s blood, the two are forever connected. Like Bill, he’ll always be able to sense her emotions and Sookie will feel sexually attracted to Eric. “I could kill him,” Sookie says later on. “I concur,” says Bill.

Continue reading “‘True Blood’ season 2, episode 9″ »

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CAGE FIGHT! "Go find someone else you trashy bitch! You've lost this one!"

Me-ow! What a catfight between Lorena and Sookie. (Sookie: “Go find someone else you trashy bitch! You’ve lost this one!”) That Sookie’s got sass and I like it. The brawling didn’t stop there, however. Sarah shot Jason in the balls, Jason shot Steve between the eyes, and Tara and Eggs smacked the hell out of each other (and that was one of their more tender moments last night.) Half the time I couldn’t believe I what I was watching — voluntarily. Time for some blog recap therapy to work through the visual trauma (and physical nausea) of “Timebomb.”

A stunned Jason realizes that Sarah Newlin didn’t, in fact, kill him. She did, however, knock the wind out of him with a paintball gun. See, Sarah feels hurt that Jason lied to her (never mind her slutting around with LODI cadettes). “You’re worse than Judas!” she screams at Jason. “Why? What’d he do?” “Fuck you!” she says dismissively before shooting him in his nether regions. She’s also pretty ticked about his sister: “You Stackhouses are nuthin’ but a bunch of lyin’, two-faced vampire fuckers!” Someone needs to wash this preacher’s wife’s mouth out with soap. We all know what happens when you talk smack about Jason’s sister. Sarah’s ass lands in the weeds and Jason heads back to church to rescue Sookie.

Continue reading “‘True Blood’ season 2, episode 8″ »

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GOOD FOR YOU, SAM: "I'm not a challenge. I'm person."

There’s a lot of things I could call this week’s episode: The 28-year-old virgin. The Truth About Maryann. Lies my Preacher Told Me. Mostly, though, I feel inclined to call it My Favorite So Far This Season. Multiple plot threads came to a jaw-dropping head this week. “Release Me” (the episode’s for-real title)  finally answered some of our most burning questions, but did so without really offering any resolutions. All the better, I say. With five episodes left until the season wraps, I’ll take all the tension — sexual, religious and otherwise — I can get. So what made this episode the best so far? Let’s recap and see…

“Piiiigggggg!” hollers Andy facedown in the mud. (I can’t get enough of Andy and these pigs.) Andy, on the heels of shapeshifted Sam and Daphne, inadvertently ends up in Maryann’s circle of sex/death/wtf. The sobering sight of the zombified orgy causes the suspended detective to fire off his gun, disrupting the group trance. Sam takes the opportunity to escape and the bull-headed Maryann pursues him into the woods, grubby pig fingers and all. A glimpse of an owl in a tree gives Sam the out he needs, and he drops trou and flies off.

The next day, Sam returns to Merlotte’s to fish a gun out of the chimney before heading to the dock. There he finds Daphne, chillaxing in the warm Louisiana sun. He threatens her, half furious, half brokenhearted, accusing her of betraying him and saying he trusted her more than anyone in his life. Ever. She laughs it off, belittling his torment and slowly begins to reveal the mystery behind Maryann: “She’s God dum dum!” “She’s not God,” says Sam, incredulous. “She’s as close to God as we’ll ever get,” Daphne replies in her undies from the lake. “People call her all kinds of things: Holly, Lilith, Isis, Gaia but she’s really a maenad — one the handmaidens of Dionysus…Dionysus, Satan, it’s all just a kind of energy. Wild energy.”

Continue reading “‘True Blood’ season 2, episode 7″ »

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BULL HEADED WOMAN: Literally

Y’all nasty! I mean that was some serious freaky-deaky last night. Blood on the bed, blood on the rocks, sex everywhere, and pig, pig, more pig. I’m still a bit shaken, but let’s do this.

Eric, Bill and Sookie remain in Dallas at Hotel Carmilla. While Bill and Sookie spoon upstairs, Eric kicks back at the hotel bar with a lady of the evening, so to speak. Within moments, the vampiress we glimpsed at the end of last week’s episode saunters in. Her name’s Lorena and she’s Bill’s maker. The pair goes way back, as vampires do, and we see Lorena and Bill together at a house party in Chicago, 1926. The two are posing as moneyed French globetrotters. While Bill hammers out a tune on the piano, Lorena charms their hosts. When the man of the house chortles “Fuck Prohibition!” Lorena not so subtly suggests that the four of them “‘Fuck Prohibition’ together” later.

Cut to later, and Bill and Lorena are terrorizing the open-minded couple. Lorena feeds on the man as Bill drags in the female companion. Lorena forces her victim to watch as Bill rips into the woman’s throat, drenching the bed in her blood and fleshy bits. Before long, the two quickly get to some of that nasty freaky-deaky I mentioned earlier in said bed.

Continue reading “‘True Blood’ season 2, episode 6″ »

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WHO YOU CALLING A HOOKER? Too hot in the hot tub for Jason Stackhouse

Hey folks. Apologies for the delay on this week’s recap. Summer vacation rang and I answered, so I’m a few days behind. But fear not! Here to combat your mid-week “True Blood” cravings is a look at last Sunday’s episode, and boy was it a juicy one.

Daphne leads Sam into the woods behind Sookie’s house during Tara’s party, shedding various clothing items along the way. (Love those boots!) Sam follows behind, collecting her discarded layers until he comes face to face with a deer. The animal quickly morphs into nudey-patootie doe-eyed Daphne, and Sam, it seems, has finally found his match. Terry and Arlene look on between gropes from a neighboring set of bushes. (Terry: “Good party!”) Somehow the foursome is immune to Maryann’s belligerent orgy, though. Sam and Daphne are shapeshifters and perhaps “immune” to a certain extent to Maryann’s powers, but how do you explain Terry and Arlene? I guess the madness is restricted to the house and it’s immediate outdoor areas.

Sookie, too, has met her match, so to speak, in Barry the bellhop. The pair’s adventures in telepathy, however, are short lived. Barry hasn’t learned how to block out the noise and refuses Sookie’s pleas to allow her to help: Barry doesn’t want the vampires to find out about his special gift. Big-city vamps, apparently, are way worse than Sookie’s pansy small-town blood suckers. Oh no he didn’t!

Continue reading “‘True Blood’ season 2, episode 5″ »

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