I was always a fan of the show The West Wing. Being a person with a History degree that wants to teach social studies, this probably comes as no surprise. I thought it was the best show on television when it was on (except maybe for season 4; it was kind of a disappointment). I was sad to see the show end its run and was hoping that it would continue on with a new administration after President Bartlet saw his two terms end. Of course, ratings were down and Aaron Sorkin was no longer writing for the show, so it was time for it to go. I really miss smart TV. In a prime-time that’s filled with game shows and reality shows, a drama like The West Wing was a welcome change. Best Buy recently put all seven seasons of the show on DVD on sale for $14.99 each. How could I pass this up? I bought seasons 1-3 and will hopefully get the next 4 for Christmas (Lisa, Sarah, if you’re reading this, check with mom, she may be planning on buying these, if not, have at them :) ). I would have bought these DVDs a long time ago but they were expensive, at $50 per season, and reruns were on Bravo all the time. Now that reruns are no longer on the network and the price has dropped, I’m immersing myself with one of the all time best dramas that ever appeared on television. Seriously, this is a beautifully crafted show. I think, given a real chance, Sorkin’s follow-up, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip would have been just as good. It’s a shame the network’s no longer like smart shows. *Cue the imagery from Idiocracy*
Tag Archive for: television
I can’t tell you how much I love this song. For those of you who don’t know this song, “Little Boxes” is a song written by Malvina Reynolds in 1962 that lampoons the development of suburbia and what many consider its bourgeois conformist values. The song’s best-known performance was that of Pete Seeger in 1962. Some legends state that it was in response to the Levittown developments after World War II. This was when everyone moved from the city to the suburbs. In Levittown, everything looked the same, much like modern suburbs. Having lived in the suburbs all my life, this song really rings true to me. I’ve always wanted to get away from all the monotony and move to the city, but never have. You can see modern American life reflected in a song that was written forty-five years ago. It still holds true today. Just look at these lyrics:
Little boxes on the hill side, little boxes made of ticky tacky.
Little boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one,
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky, and they all look just the same.And the people in the houses all went to the university
Where they were put in boxes, little boxes, all the same.
And there’s doctors and there’s lawyers, and there’s business executives
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.And they all play on the golf course and drink their martini dry
And they all have pretty children and the children go to school
And the children go to summer camp and then to the university
Where they all get put in boxes and they all come out the same.And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family
In boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.
Many of you may have heard this on the TV show Weeds. Starting in its second season the theme song was performed by a different artist each episode, with such artists as The Decemerists, Elvis Costello, Billy Bob Thornton, Randy Newman, and The Shins, among others. Here is the original song by Malvina Reynolds.
I really hate how whenever they need to interrupt programming for a news break or weather warning they always wait until the commercials are over. God forbid they lose out on their advertising revenue to, I don’t know, possibly save lives. This happened while I was watching House tonight. It really drives me nuts when they interrupt TV shows that I actually watch, and look forward to, for the warnings. I get it, if there is something bad happening, by all means, interrupt. In return they should either suspend the program and pick it up where it left off or they should start breaking in during the commercials too.
The Office had its season premiere last night. At the end of last season we see Jim ask out Pam. The moment everyone who watches has been waiting for. The beginning of this season we see that they are, in fact, dating. I’m wondering where it will go from here. Sure they can stay together and continue to date, but part of what made their relationship so great and kept viewers interested is the constant chase that was going on. Now that the chase is over, will viewers stay interested? If they want to continue the show for a few more seasons, they will have to do something to keep people interested in their relationship. This will probably mean many complications, which I think is the wrong way to go, especially since the relationship between Pam and Jim is just a side note to the overall story of life in an office. I guess we’ll see where they take this.