Perhapablog

Monday, November 24, 2008

TV is a ass.

okay...

well, i've said it before, i'm no artist.
well, i'm not much of an artist.

i still draw my christmas cards--which i will be posting here and there through much of the holiday season--and the occasional birthday card or t-shirt design. at shows there are always two or three people who think it's fun to get a sketch from a writer.
this is the first time though that i've been asked to do one for someone overseas. i received an e-mail way back in the beginning of the year from a tellos/perhapanauts fan in belgium requesting a sketch of serra and, after offering all the appropriate warnings, i agreed to do it when my schedule permitted. and, while it has been a pretty busy year, i finally got it finished the other day.
like all artists, i'm not happy with it and feel that i was very limited with colors (it's colored pencils and i couldn't find my good set anywhere. i think my nephew stole them.)
anyway, dominique, if you're reading this, it's finally done and on it's way. thanks so much for your patience.


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tv is a ass.
yeah, we all have those shows that have been cancelled out from under us. we all complain and wonder why 'cause it was just so good! last year's writer's strike didn't help. for me, last year, it was journeyman. i loved the concept, the writing, the cast...but, like many shows these days, it was just never given a chance. the ratings come in and the show goes out and how are they actually rating these shows these days anyway?!? the nielsen polls are out with tivo and dvd. they're canceling everything good and leaving on such convoluted, forced, floundering dreck that hasn't had a solid storyline to follow in two years--i think you know who i'm talking about...
anyway, my latest casualty is my own worst enemy, a solid, well-written show featuring christian slater doing some of the best work of his career. it is smartly-written, compelling, and cancelled.
mark harris wrote a great column in last week's entertainment weekly outlining the vast wasteland that television is this season, and i agree whole-heartedly. what hurts me more is that they are getting rid of all the good stuff. who are these people?! and why do they hate intelligent shows so?

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that said, i couldn't sleep the other night and caught a fairly new--and scary!--show on sci-fi the other night called cha$e. a game show of sorts, 10 contestants are let loose in a park with the objective of finding their way out, racking up dollar amounts for each minute they can stay in play. in play because they are being hunted by a cadre of black-suited, black-sunglassed, hugo weaving from the matrix looking agents that walk and run like robots. there are a couple of "outs" written into the game, but it is a great hour of suspense and you oughta check it out.

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the answers to the
"five for friday"

name the five classic film stars

1.

william powell
(and brian is so right, don't miss bill and...






2.

...myrna loy in the thin man and the four wonderful sequels as well! they're terrific!)






3.

boris karloff
frankenstein and the narrator of how the grinch stole christmas






4.

bette davis
whatever happened to baby jane and all about eve







5.

edward g. robinson
little caesar and double indemnity

now go netflix a movie by any one of them--you'll be glad you did!


okay--gotta go!
have a cool monday!
smell ya later!
todd

11 comments:

Christian D. Leaf said...

I still think Craig should write an issue of 'Haps and you should draw one, Todd. Nicely done, lad.

As a lazy TV watcher I wait for shows to come out on DVD before getting sucked into them. Guess it helps take away the sting of losing one's show. Though I'm still stinging from losing FIREFLY.

Brian said...

Todd,

Your Serra is too cute for words - reminds me of Colleen Coover, a very good thing in my humble opinion.

Sorry to hear about "My Own Worst Enemy." "Pushing Daisies" is the show that I will miss the most so far of the cancelations.

I had also been feeling bad about "Boston Legal" getting only half a season in this, its last year, but after watching the Dude Ranch episode, I tend to agree that it is time for the show to close shop. I just hope Mr. Kelly, who has been using the show more and more as his political/social soap box, decides to give Denny a little more dignity on the way out the door as that Dude Ranch episode went so far past the line it could no longer see it in the rear view mirror.

todd said...

hey, brian!

so far "pushing daisies" is still safe...for now.
i've only ever caught an episode or two of boston legal, and liked them, and being such a big shatner fan i feel that i oughta get the dvd's. sorry to hear that they've reached the limit of their ideas for it.

craig rousseau said...

well, todd, if by "safe" you mean "there's a VERY likely chance that, since ABC didn't order any additional episodes after the initial 13 of this season AND ratings have been less than stellar since the show was railroaded with the writers' strike last season and it's gotten very little in the way of promotion this season, it's almost certainly cancelled and we'll only get the remaining few epsidoes already filmed which will end on a cliffhanger", then yeah, i guess it's safe.

-c

Scott Weinstein said...

Todd,

That Serra looks great. Nice work.

As for TV... yeah, what can you do. Networks are quick to pull the trigger these days, but it's only getting worse with the economy. ABC was pretty much the only network to give shows a chance. But, not anymore.

On the bright side, Bryan Fuller said they'd wrap up the Pushing Daisies story line in a comic book.

Heywood Jablomie said...

Nice job on the drawing Todd!! I think you really underestimate your drawing abilities. I second Christian's idea of you and craig swapping duties.

I was pissed as hell to hear about My Own Worst Enemy, as both Karen and I were really getting into it. Bastards.....

I get the reasoning behind the cancellations, it's business in the end after all, but still, the good shows always tend to go away, but there's always more Dancing with the Stars or Survivors or American Idols right?! Meh....

On the other hand, also on Sci-Fi they've been airing a talk show with George Noory, have you gotten to catch that yet?! I saw one lastw eek and it was pretty cool stuff!

Matt Wieringo said...

Looks like reality TV is in for a resurgence, unfortunately. I hate "reality" TV because I don't like to see people get their dreams crushed or watch a solid hour of people screaming at each other over something stupid.

Most years, I have at least one of my favorites cancelled but this year, the networks seem to have it in for Suzanne. She lost MEN IN TREES last season and ELI STONE this season. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for TERMINATOR. That show gets better each week but the ratings stink. I've got all the episodes of FRINGE DVRed but I don't want to watch them if they're just going to cancel it.

Colin said...

I had just started watching My Own Worst Enemy the week before it got canned. Dammit! Hopefully they can at least round out the storyline.

~ Wendy ~ said...

Oh, DON"T get me started on great TV shows and Nielson "ratings". One of my all time fav shows was Jericho - some of the best acting I have ever enjoyed watching ... and I am not a big tv watcher - but this show got me hooked when I accidentallly stumbled upon it - and it had a very dedicated following ... it was canceled after the first season but the fans were able to bring it back for a 2nd season - saddly we were told that the Nielson reatings were not where they should be so it was again canceled. *sigh* WHO has a nielson box out there and what the heck shows are they watching??!! reality??!! UGH
With TIVO and comcast on demand and internet viewings - Nielson seems to be outdated. there should be other ways to track who watches these shows and then maybe good shows like Jericho and My Own Worse Enemy and Pushing Diasys won't be canceled... some day ...
(ok, emph.. ahh.. excuse while I step down from my soap box.. emph...)

Brian said...

According the Whitney Matheson, Pushing Daisies is unofficially offically dead.

Adam Hutch said...

That's a fun Serra Todd.

So far this season, I'm sad to see Eli Stone get the axe. I really enjoyed that show. Over the last few years most of the shows I've enojyed have gotten the axe (Jericho, Journeyman and now Eli). On the plus side it frees up my spare-time for other things.