Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Once Again, "The Good Wife" Goes Wow

"The Good Wife" is having a jaw-dropping second season. The episode first run on October 19th nearly boiled over with crucial character and plot development. Just when hissing and spilling was almost reached, however, the writers and cast pulled back and gave us a moment or two for cooling off and  relishing some small, tasty detail -- a character's glance here, an exhale of relief there...

I hope the show brings back Mamie Gummer as often as possible. She's so subtle and funny and intense -- all at once -- you forget that she's Meryl Streep's daughter. Gummer deserves to be watched and cheered for, period.

Don't worry if you missed Season One, or the start of this season. Just jump in when you can. If needed, episode recaps can be found on the CBS site. "The Good Wife" is so well-written and acted, though, that you'll learn about the series' past from jumping in to the present. As for the good wife herself, Juliana Margulies? I try to find weaknesses in her work from time to time -- but usually I'm too busy just enjoying the heck out of her genius.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Give Tim Gunn his own show again

I love Tim Gunn on "Project Runway". I'm going to love his two books, once I buy and read them. I love the man's honesty about his celibacy, about being bullied as a kid, about trying to take his own life at age seventeen and how happy he is now that said attempt failed.

If I were a handsome, well-educated single gay man, I'd try to find a way to ask Tim Gunn on a date.

In lieu of a date, I'll settle for Lifetime giving Mr. Gunn his own show in addition to "PR". Bravo's effort, "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style", taught me a lot about fashion, self-esteem, wry humor, and life. Sir Gunn got thoroughly annoyed with Bravo when they tried to cast a second banana with whom he'd clash and create drama; if Lifetime promises not to pull such unreality stunts, I wonder if he'd consider it?

Besides being well-mannered, droll, kind, smart....Tim Gunn has a lot of life from which to draw genuinely interesting show content. As for fashion, few in the business know as much about helping people to look as good as their God-given faces and bodies will allow. That alone is more than enough for a broadcast.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Joy Behar Loves Doing Homework

Happy first year anniversary to Joy Behar on HLN (9 p.m. and 1 a.m.).  Yes, it's the Joy Behar from The View, flying solo and sitting in the pilot's seat. 

On just about any topic this hour show hits, count me in. It turns out to be a lot of counting: She loves to hit a thousand topics per episode, the more diverse the list,  the better.

 Behar is a comic by trade, but she has a strong streak of the PhD. in her. That's how she manages to be a semi-expert on everything from reality television to Millenium feminism to celebrity culture to civil rights law -- the list is as long as your imagination can imagine.

This is a commentary/interview/comedy show with  a compulsive's need to learn.

Not only does Behar avoid boring her viewers, she manages to edify in bite-size units. No wonder she's increased HLN's viewership by 14%. What a piece of work.