Accelerated Laughter

An all-star comedy lineup - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter

A NEW TV PARADIGM

This year’s Emmy Awards has a unique feature – 3 nominated TV shows (Hemlock Grove, House of Cards and Arrested Development) are products of Netflix, the streaming Internet TV service. It marks a turning point, both cultural and technological, where a popular series is not offered on a cable or network schedule. For $8.65/month anyone with a broadband connection and a Roku device can see these shows; they can be viewed at one’s convenience – all in one sitting or whenever the mood strikes.

Speaking only for myself – I love Netflix. I resisted it for years, not wanting another monthly service charge but that was very wrong about that.. Netflix offers a huge library of independent movies, hit TV shows and original programming for a pretty tiny fee. HBO or SHOWTIME are pricey by comparison with much less for offerings.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

I watched a couple of episodes of Arrested Development back in 2003. Have to confess I thought it was quirky and weird – I didn’t key into the humor and quit watching. Now 10 years later I’m watching it from the beginning and am a “fan boy” of the show. My conclusions of this (and some other shows too):
1) You need to at least see the pilot episode which introduces the characters and lays the ground work.
2) Arrested Development uses inside jokes and self-referencing humor that rewards viewers who’ve watched all along (and mystifies late-comers who miss an inside remark).

How do I love this show? It came along in 2003 well after Seinfeld and Family Guy. It borrows a bit from each of these – with zany complex, inter-weaving plots like Seinfeld and cut-away jokes a la Family Guy. It adds an overlay of new nuttiness; it portrays the severely dysfunctional riches-to-rags Bluth family where every single adult is in some state of mental agitation. The Bluths are alternately trapped in loveless marriages, imprisoned for felonies, estranged, suspended in adolescence, evincing neurotic personality disorders or lusting for money that is no more.

Arrested Development showcases the talents of guest stars like Henry Winkler and Liza Minnelli. It also has given exposure to stars-in-waiting like Jane Lynch and Bob Odenkirk.. it’s a virtual turnstile of comic genius. Most of the stars are fairly thick-skinned as the roles they play may have fun with the actors’ own previous careers. The show veers wickedly between campy humorous unreality and real-world situations and news stories.

Probably my two favorite characters are Tobias (David Cross) and Gob (Will Arnett). They are complete loons who are willing to look absolutely silly. In doing so, they sell their personas completely and compel me to fall off the couch laughing. The other characters are no slouches either.. The “chicken dance” in which various people try to dance like a chicken is now the stuff of legend.

I won’t divulge anything else – if you have Roku, Netflix and a wicked sense of humor please avail yourself of this wonderful show. You won’t be sorry.

© 2013 blogSpotter

You're Entitled

Are entitlements a bad thing? - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
Back in the 1980’s, liberal was a perfectly acceptable word, one with a noble political history. In short order, the word was gutted and destroyed -- by Reagan/Bush operatives and a passive press. It came to mean “uber politically correct, welfare-loving communist”. The patrician Kennedy family who gave us the Peace Corps and the Roosevelts who gave us FDIC were relegated to an evil subclass of dare I say ...liberals. President Bush #1 described Bill Clinton derisively as a “damn liberal!”. The media and liberals themselves gave into this word bias and moved ever so quietly to the term progressive.

Now in the 2010’s, I’m seeing a similar hatchet job done to the word entitlement. Dictionary.com defines entitlement as “the right to guaranteed benefits under a government program”. This doesn't seem so inherently evil or bad. There are a litany of entitlements that Republicans revere and respect:

Republican-approved Entitlements:

o Modern highways, free of toll charges
o Military protection from unrest or invasion
o Police and fire protection
o A free public education
o Space advancement and exploration
o Farm subsidies
o National parks
o Voting for people with ID’s
o Government grants for health initiatives and research

These are all expensive programs which have been deemed generally beneficial and necessary. They are noble enough in their intent -- we don’t have to question whether they need to be canceled, scuttled or privatized (for the most part).

Now here are the mid-century Democratic Entitlements which still incur the wrath of “Old Guard” GOP:

o Social Security -- Government guaranteed pension for widows, orphans, disabled and those advanced in age
o Minimum wage -- a minimum wage rate for jobs, providing a livable baseline for people in low-skill entry level jobs
o Medicare/Medicaid -- Government health subsidies for poor, indigent and aged Americans

Note that the revocation of the three above items would take us back to the age of poor houses, flophouses and debtors’ prisons. To object to specifics of these programs might merely make you a fiscal conservative. To hate them without qualification makes you somewhat a heartless Simon Legree who would tie a penniless mother to a railroad track.

Affordable Health Care which comes on-line this October 1st has exacted perhaps the greatest, most protracted temper tantrum from the Old Guard GOP. The absolute outrage -- that 1 of 3 Texans now uninsured might finally be covered with health insurance. Oh, the humanity! Angry, nasty volleys have been directed using many new word games. “Obamacare” replaces “Affordable Care”. Entitlement is snarled like a word more foul than a cuss word. Republicans be aware -- entitlement refers also to the fire hydrant on the street and the police officer watching your neighborhood. Yes, those are entitlements. They are reasonable social and government expectations. The same type of reasonable assertion that says a black child from Oak Cliff with cancer should have access to the same advanced treatment as a white child in University Park. We have in our country’s charter the concept of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- good health is a cornerstone of that. Yes, we are entitled to it.

© 2013 blogSpotter