Category: tv

It Lives!

I watched the Carpool Karaoke episode on The Late Late Show the night before last. James Cordon had Lin-Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jane Krakowski in the car singing songs from Hamilton, Rent and Les Misérables. It was incredible.

I am not a big fan of rap music. In the case of Hamilton though it is absolutely brilliant. Perhaps the things that put me off of rap was the gangsta topics many rap songs focus on. I have no experience of the things they are talking about and I don’t like the glorification of violence that it seems to advocate. Hamilton on the other hand is a literate exploration of the life and times of one of the founding fathers of our country from a perspective rarely seen in main stream history books.

I have long been a fan of Broadway musicals but I felt they were in decline in recent years. Rent and Les Misérables were of course notable exceptions. But I think Hamilton is the tipping point. It has brought relevance back to the musical. Coming from a theatrical family, my parents were both Speech and English teachers that produced high school plays, it warms my heart to see the revival of the live theater experience as an integral part of our American culture.

Sick Day Ramble

Today I stayed home sick. I took a long nap. I feel better than I did. Which is good because the last time I stayed home sick, the air conditioner quit and I spent the day trying to figure out what went wrong with it and didn’t get any rest. I felt a lot worse today than I did that time. I wouldn’t have done well if I had been confronted with a crisis today.

This week I discovered a new TV show on Showtime. It’s called Californication and it stars David Duchovny. What an emotional roller coaster ride. The episode I saw on Monday was the fifth one. I went back today and watched episodes one and two. That leaves me two more episodes to watch until I catch up. It is an incredibly well written and well produced series. The characters are quirky but likable. I love it.

I relate very strongly to Duchovny’s character on a fundamental level. Not that I have the kind of sex life that he has. That would be strictly in my dreams. Rather, I relate to the fact that he is basically a good guy that is trying to practice his profession (writer) and struggles with an environment hostile to his process. He pines for his beloved New York. But, as we all must do, he has to adapt or die.

I finally feel a little better. I’m going to venture out to get carry out supper. It’s SciFi Friday – Dr. Who, Flash Gordon, and Pain Killer Jane. I have missed so much of Pain Killer Jane that I usually don’t watch it any more. I’m not a big fan of violent thrillers. I prefer the more cerebral mystery/scifi/adventure type shows.