Stalled Adolescents of Television

Books

• Dave Barry in Cyberspace by Dave Barry – This book is 12 years old, which is approximately 12 million in computer years. But as a Dave Barry fan, I still find it amusing. Granted, I'm only on Chapter 1—A Brief History of Computing from Cave Walls to Windows 95—so it may feel more out of date as I go along. Still, it's amazing how much hasn't changed. Have "LOL" and "ROTFL" really been around since the 90s? I feel old.

• Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers by Dav Pilkey, The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone, and various picture books for bedtime reading with the son.

• The daughter is taking a break from Harry Potter. Instead, she's either reading on her own or having discussions with me at bedtime. And by "discussions," I mean that sometimes we talk about school and life and sometimes she whines about not having anything good to read. Apparently, now that she's finished The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black, nothing can compare. As I prepare another trip into the overwhelming place that is the kids' fantasy book section of the library, I am hoping it won't take too long. I have TV to watch. 

 

TV

As I type this, my DVR is being taken away because I am switching cable providers to hopefully save lots of money. This is an important sacrifice to make because I have children who require a lot of money, but it still makes me sad. Goodbye unwatched Slings and Arrows and The Good Wife. Goodbye saved NOVA program about the elements and Independent Lens documentary about Elmo. I hope I can find you again.

• New Girl – While I still had the DVR, I caught up on four backlogged episodes. I have to say—I think the show has got its groove back! Maybe it's the addition of Dermut Mulroony as Jess's love interest, Russell. I've never cared for him in his movie roles, but he is absolutely charming as the sophisticated older man who enters the lives of these 30-something stalled adolescents. Perhaps even cuter than the budding romance between Jess and Russell is the man-crush (actually, love) that Nick has developed for Russell. Although Nick is probably the most immature and least ambitious of the roommates, his admiration for Russell suddenly makes him want to be everything that Russell represents. He wanders around Russell's large house in Russell's sweater and lovingly touches objects he finds along the way. He also tries to explain Russell's manly greatness to Jess: "He smells like strong coffee and going to see a man about a horse!"

• Shahs of Sunset – Yes, it's another reality show on Bravo! This new show follows 30-something Persian socialites as they party, work, and party some more in LA, all while maintaining connections to their family cultures and traditions. It's the Persian version of the Jersey Shore if the JS kids continue to earn lots of money and don't mature over the next 10 years. Each cast member is crazy in their own way, but none so much as Golnesa "GG" Gharachedaghi, a 29-year-old with anger management issues and a collection of knives that she likes to name, including a taser called "Crispy." And did I mention she likes to karate kick people when she gets mad?! I was ready to write this show off as completely mindless entertainment (which is good enough for me), but there was a moment in the last episode that was actually real. Rezza, a 38-year-old openly gay man, has struggled with being accepted within the Persian culture throughout his life. Not only that, but he is also the son of a mixed marriage between a Muslim and a Jew. When his Jewish father converted to Islam to marry his mother, it created tension within his father's family that ultimately led to the breakdown of the marriage. Rezza's father moved away and became estranged from his wife and son. (You just want to give Rezza a hug for making it this far!) Now, in the latest episode of Shahs of Sunset, Reza travels to New Jersey to confront his father for the first time in more than two decades. What results is a tearful and tense reunion that gets to the heart of an issue within Jewish culture. Rezza learns that it is his grandmother, his father's mother, who encouraged her son to disown his wife and child and break contact with them after the divorce. Because her grandson is not Jewish, he is not family. Thankfully for Rezza, his father and the rest of his father's family welcome him with open arms and begin the healing of reuniting their family. Rezza will not forgive his grandmother, nor does she seek his forgiveness. In fact, we never see them speak. But the reunion between father and son, as well as the family Shabbat dinner at which they are all gathered, is enough to inspire emotion even in the most hardened reality-viewer's heart.

• Other catch up included Modern Family, 30 Rock, and Community. I have to say, Community did an excellent send up of Ken Burns's The Civil War, documenting the battle between students building a fort out of pillows (Pillowtown) and those building a fort out of blankets (Blanketsburg). And just like The Civil War, it alternated from being interesting to moving slowly. As a side-note, I hear that Chevy Chase and series creator Dan Harmon are in an ugly battle of words. Could it be because of the Pillowman costume Chevy was forced to wear as he was pummeled by pillow-wielding extras?

Other Stuff

Occasionally I do something other than watch TV and read books. For example, I watch movies and read stuff online. I might mention these things here.

• The Hunger Games – Having read the book, I finally saw the movie. It was good, but as is the case with many book-to-movie translations, it couldn't match the original text. And I wonder if anyone who watched the movie without having read the book could follow the entire storyline. There was a lot of background information from the book that helped connect the plot points, but it was barely alluded to onscreen. Plus, there were a lot of teenagers and 20-somethings in the theatre. Yet again, I feel old.