Unified Theory of Nothing Much

House Confirms TV Trend: "Normal's Overrated"

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:24:00 +0000

My first (mostly) House article for Blogcritics in forever includes interviews with two mental health professionals: the president of the American Psychiatric Association and a psychologist/psychotherapist:

House Confirms TV Trend: "Normal's Overrated"

As the 2008-09 television season ends and networks begin to reveal plans for their 2009-10 schedules, a surprising pattern emerges.

Pilots in contention for the upcoming season include NBC's Legally Mad, with Kristin Chenoweth as an attorney with flashes of psychosis, and FOX's Maggie Hill, whose title character is a heart surgeon with schizophrenia. Canada’s Showcase recently ordered Shattered, a 13-episode series starring Callum Keith Rennie as an ex-detective with dissociative identity disorder.

Renewed freshmen series Fringe and 90210 feature main characters coping with psychiatric conditions. And among the more senior series, House led up to Monday's season finale with a storyline involving suicide and Hugh Laurie's dysfunctional doctor questioning his sanity after confronting his inner Cutthroat Bitch: Wilson's dead girlfriend Amber appeared to him as a facet of his tormented psyche.

Read more.

Interview: George F. Walker and Dani Romain of The Line

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 07:15:00 +0000

My interview with The Line co-creators George F. Walker and Dani Romain. Sorry again for the punny title - it's my default when I can't think of anything else:

Cops and Drug Dealers Cross The Line In New Series
“The Movie Network and Movie Central are premiering a new cop show today, but don’t expect another case-of-the-week premise. ‘These cops weren’t going to investigate anything because they think they know all they need to know, so it’s just a matter of what they’re going to do about it,’ said The Line co-creator George F. Walker in a recent interview. ‘They don’t follow procedures. They are past caring about their jobs.’” Read more.

For stupid people or smart dogs

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:30:00 +0000

I know, I know, I never write, I never call. The lack of activity will likely continue until about March 2010, so I will make no promises about rebooting this blog nor will I continue to apologize when I do happen to re-emerge, because I know that just gets annoying. If you happen to still be reading, though, I have to share my laugh of the week:

Non-Potable Water - DO NOT DRINK

Taken at the new speed skating oval. Sorry for the poor image quality but I was taking a picture of a toilet - the haste apparently made my hands shake.

Interview with actor Eli Goree

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:33:00 +0000

My interview with the actor from Da Kink in My Hair and Soul:

Actor Eli Goree Conquers Canadian Television, Two Shows At A Time
"Some people see acting as a frivolous job, but I think it's so much more than that," he told me. "I think it's the responsibility and accountability of artists to guide society a little. We have the opportunity to show people where they're at, where they've been, and where they could go. It's not be to be taken lightly." Read more.

Interview on ZOS: Zone of Separation

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:34:00 +0000

My interview with executive producer/writer Malcolm MacRury and actors Enrico Colantoni and Rick Roberts:

In ZOS: Zone of Separation, Even Peace Is Hell
"This is a story that could take place in Toronto, it could take place in New Orleans. All you have to do is shut the water off for a month and see what happens. This is in the heart of Europe. It's supposed to be civilization. And it broke down into tribal religious violence, same way Belfast did. That's why it's important to tell the story now. We simplified it, too: it's Christians and Muslims. Well, open the newspapers. That's the debate all around the world right now." Read more.

Wisdom from Mercer, mocking from 22 Minutes

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 03:48:00 +0000

Rick Mercer's rant - Parliament and the Need to be Informed:

This Hour Has 22 Minutes - "Blankets with Sleeves!"

Interview with director David Straiton

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:25:00 +0000

For TV, eh?/Blogcritics I interviewed the director of Defying Gravity's first episode. He's also a regular director of House, so there's some House and Hugh Laurie talk, plus comparisons of US versus Canadian productions and his take on Vancouver as the appropriate filming location for the future-set series:

Defying Gravity Director David Straiton Looks To The Future
“Set 50 years in the future, Defying Gravity has been called Grey’s Anatomy in space. It may also be Lost in space. But it’s definitely not Lost In Space. ‘Fifty years ago we didn’t have iPods or cell phones or Internet or ATMs, but we still had cars, we still had houses with four walls, we still had television,” said director David Straiton in a recent interview. “Fifity years from now, it’s not The Jetsons.’” Read more.

Thoughts in Brief

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:35:00 +0000

The latest roundup of pop culture thoughts, previously posted to Twitter (some have been edited to get rid of the horrendous grammar/puzzling phrasing caused by 140 characters or less):

The Hollywood Foreign Press is a joke but I love me some Golden Globes. Open bar=entertaining awards show.
Favourite Golden Globe moments? Slumdog Millionaire win. Mickey Rourke thanking his dogs, but not the writer of The Wrestler. Tina Fey's Internet joke ("If you ever start to feel too good about yourself, they have this thing called the Internet"). Ricky Gervais' Holocaust Extras shout out to Kate Winslet ("Well done, Winslet! I told you, Do a holocaust movie and it will come").
List of Canadian TV types on Twitter. Let me know if I'm missing someone.
Any time I interview some about a scifi show I'm told it's not really scifi. Selling that genre to wider audience clearly not easy, but come on.
Forced to watch Tropic Thunder. So not my kind of movie, but yeah, some very funny moments. "Never go full retard."
Writing interview w/director David Straiton of Defying Gravity. Not one of my finest and I hate listening to my voice at the best of times. Ugh. (Interviewee Straiton is great, though, the ugh was all for me. Frequent references to House as example of his points - he knew my weakness.)
Warming up before venturing out again by watching ZOS: Zone of Separation in prep for interviews. Terrific but disturbing - ffwding through torture/landmines.
Enrico Colantoni spends entire Zone of Separation series wandering around in a Speedo and ammo belt. Not a pretty sight but he's hilarious.
Bad: updating the TV, eh? site is taking more time than usual lately. Good: Because more Canadian shows are airing than usual.
Final Pushing Daisies eps not airing anytime soon, but TV Guide says ABC contractually obligated to ... sometime.

Want to follow me on Twitter? I'm here.

Interview: Brooks Gray of Cock'd Gunns

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 06:26:00 +0000

I interviewed the writer/actor for Blogcritics:

Cock'd Gunns Gets Second Chance, Hopes For Second Season
"The mockumentary series Cock'd Gunns is about a fictional rock band looking for their break. It also happens to be a show looking for a break. The first season, reminiscent of both Spinal Tap and Trailer Park Boys, is being replayed Fridays on IFC beginning January 9, and it's probably safe to say those reruns will be new to a lot of people." Read more.

Random pop culture thoughts

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:06:00 +0000

It's been a while since I've done a roundup of my recent relevant Twitter activity so here's some of my latest pop culture thoughts, in 140 characters or fewer:

Web Therapy web series by Lisa Kudrow/Don Roos is pretty funny - and not geoblocked.
Mostly loved Curious Case of Benjamin Button, though a little slow, a little puzzling in its themes, a little Forrest Gumpy.
I'm quoted in article re: TV marketing (re: ZOS on Air Canada). Weird to be interviewee instead of interviewer.
Loving new music purchases TV on the Radio, Deerhunter, Mates of State. Mostly discover music via TV shows and popcandy. Me=unhip.
Been watching Gavin & Stacey so if it's remade by a US network I can be smug and say it's not as good as the original. Love it so far.
Neighbour gave me Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Like Harry Potter for adults. Not my usual read but I'm enjoying.
Bakugan makes no sense to me [it's a tv show like Pokemon or Yu-gi-oh, but also a game I was "taught" over the holidays]. Doomed to feel intellectually inferior to friend's 8 year old. But I'm totally smarter than the toddler.
Book gifts I received - The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way, and Troublesome Words. Is it possible I'm a nerd? Nah.
No energy to write year review so Twitter version: TV sucked, best movie, Slumdog MillionairePredictably Irrational most interesting book.
So I can't get away with just saying TV sucked? Fine. Writers strike hurt 2 seasons. Bit disappointed in fave shows, no new shows to love.

Want to follow me on Twitter? I'm here.

Slumdog Millionaire - my pick for best movie of the year

Interview with Michelle Harrison of Wild Roses

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:59:00 +0000

I interviewed the actress about her role in the new CBC series:

Wild Roses Explores Thorny Saga Of Two Families
“‘Some of the bigger themes are quite Shakespearean, like loss and love and betrayal,’ explains star Michelle Harrison, who doesn’t disagree with the Dallas comparison either. She points out that the two dueling families at the heart of the series — the debt-ridden ranchers, the Henrys, and the oil-rich McGregors — also have a Capulet and Montague vibe. ‘The love that shouldn’t happen is happening all over the place,’ she laughed.” Read more.

Happy new year

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:03:00 +0000

Interview with Erin Karpluk of Being Erica

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:38:00 +0000

My interview with actress Erin Karpluk is up on Blogcritics now. I really liked the Being Erica pilot, which could be described as 13 Going on 30 meets My Name is Earl. It starts January 5 on CBC and will come to SOAPnet in the spring and BBC ... sometime:

Erin Karpluk is Being Erica
"'The time travel is more a catalyst for Erica to explore her past. She's learning from the past which enables her to make stronger decisions in the present which then shape her future.'" Read more.

JibJab year in review 2008

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:18:00 +0000

[Edit: This doesn't seem to work in Firefox, though it does work in Internet Explorer. Give them time and I'm sure it'll be fixed. For now, click here.]

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

My TV thoughts on Twitter: Dec. 17-20

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:45:00 +0000

As you'll see from my Twitter updates, I have three TV-related interviews to write up in the next few weeks, so some day soon this blog will have something more than Twitter updates. But for now, Twitter updates!

Not content at being on every TV show's soundtrack, Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah #1 and #2 on UK Christmas charts. (I didn't have room to say this, and couldn't find an online article to confirm it, but CBC radio said the original version has now also cracked their top 40 because of the publicity.)
Cool article on near death experiences and brain/thoughts as quantum mechanics. TV connection? Uh, it mentions ER-vintage George Clooney.
Alan Sepinwall in the New York Times mourns the death of network TV. James Poniewozik of Time dances on its grave.
Being Erica launches a video diary. Premieres Jan. 5 on CBC (Canada), Spring '09 on SoapNet (US).
SAG nominations: Yay, not just Hugh Laurie but House ensemble. Sad that's only way Robert Sean Leonard gets nominated (no Emmy, no Golden Globe). Boston Legal? Ugh.
- It's a weirdly stale list of nominations. Kinda like the Emmys usually are. Good to see Elisabeth Moss sneak in though.
- I used to love David E. Kelley but don't get the Boston Legal love. And William Shatner as best actor? My head hurts.
Now have 3 interviews to write up soon - Defying Gravity, Being Erica, Cock'd Gunns. Defying Gravity is a Fox/CTV/BBC co-production but no US broadcaster has been announced yet.
Flashpoint returns Jan. 9 on CBS and CTV (back to Friday nights). Preview here.

Want to follow me on Twitter? Here.

My TV thoughts on Twitter - Dec. 13 to Dec. 16

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:05:00 +0000

It's official: no Canadian Idol for 2009. Could be uncancelled later, though, so hold the celebrations or tears.
Wall Street Journal on Big Bang Theory: A Nerdy Comedy's Winning Formula. Though for me, the winning formula is Jim Parsons = Sheldon.
After suspending parliament, the Governor General gets back to serious business: giving Paul Shaffer the Order of Canada.
Children's Hospital is only slightly more ridiculous than Grey's Anatomy. I hate geoblocking - have to mask IP address in Canada.
Recording SNL tonight. Watched House pilot mostly out of curiosity to see Hugh Laurie in a drama. Now it's a novelty to see him do comedy.
Some day I will admit that I don't really like The Mentalist; I just like Simon Baker and his sweater vests.

Follow me on Twitter here.

Beaker meets Beethoven

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:07:00 +0000

H/T to Justin Beach.

My TV thoughts on Twitter - Dec. 9 to Dec. 12

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:08:00 +0000

Here's the TV tidbits that interested me in the last few days:

I was wondering what happened to Matt Roush at TV Guide. Not good news for the (doomed?) website. Or me.
I interviewed Erin Karpluk of CBC and Soapnet's Being Erica way too early this morning but it went fine. Will post an article closer to the Jan. 5 CBC premiere.
Golden Globes nominees announced. Hugh Laurie and House, Michael C. Hall and Dexter, and Slumdog Millionaire make me particularly happy.
Bad news: Pushing Daisies still cancelled. Good news: It won't end on a cliffhanger anymore.
They're messing with my beloved Anne of Green Gables. I can't bear to watch this weekend's TV movie.
Jon Stewart mocks biggest Canadian political mess since controversial decision to reshape bacon: (in Canada) (in US)
CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes YouTube videos are geoblocked in Canada. CBC's Rick Mercer Report videos are geoblocked elsewhere. CBC is weird.

Want to follow me on Twitter and get all this excitement in real time? I'm here.

Bad TV news, good TV news

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:40:00 +0000

There was actual news floating around Twitter today, so here's the latest collection of what's on my TV mind lately:

One bit of information I was on the receiving end of was the news that the Tribune Company has filed for bankruptcy protection. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune is not only one of my favourite voices in TV criticism, she's an active blogger and Twitter user. So her announcement of the news brought on an outpouring of support. (She says "I'm still reeling, but from what I understand, nobody is fired or laid off now.") Tribune also owns the LA Times among other media outlets. Besides the obvious general badnewsiness of this whole thing, fingers crossed that it doesn't result in even more losses in the shrinking world of professional TV criticism.

Writers Guild of America TV award nominations announced. Includes House for episodic (Doris Egan and Leonard Dick, "Don't Ever Change") and other good stuff.
[The other good stuff includes The Wire, Dexter, Mad Men, 30 Rock, The Office, etc., though the other episodic choices are somewhat odd, including few from the nominated shows.]
Love Lisa de Moraes, used to love David E. Kelley, so this cracks me up - she says he’s known as “a kind of brainy tsetse fly.”
Lee Goldberg hates Canadian TV, blames lack of showrunners.
I love Love, Actually so I'm with this guy. More reruns of that, fewer It's a Wonderful Life takeoffs for me.
Suspect reporter who emailed my "TV, eh?" account to ask who I am was expecting a more exciting answer. I'm secretly Kiefer Sutherland?

Want to follow me on Twitter? Here.

This week in my so-called TV life

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:31:00 +0000

The Great Twitter Experiment has already given me a little brainstorm. I'm going to gather any appropriate "tweets" every so often and include here too, for painless posts between my now very occasional "real" posts. (All together now: duh. In my defense ... uh, it didn't occur to me before.)

It'll end up being a collection of TV-related links that interest me and short thoughts on what I'm watching. I'll try to post any videos I link to there in same-day posts here, too (this time they're just included below as links). And I won't be able to resist fleshing out those 140 character posts a little, at least fixing syntax. Drives me nuts to write in text speak.

Wired and the LA Times have nearly the same article today: science fact in TV fiction, like House, Breaking Bad, Big Bang Theory, etc.
Trailer Park Boys series finale sneak peek. I'm no fan, but with 7 seasons, they've done just fine without me.
Dollhouse’s Eliza Dushku on the Friday night death slot: “Dude, we're in the age of DVR. People watch what they want to watch.” Dude, ask Tim Kring how much DVR ratings count.
If only Ned could bring Pushing Daisies back to life. I'll really miss that show.
Rick Mercer's rant on Stephen Harper. (If you don't know Mercer or Harper, you're not Canadian and won't care.)
Slowly rewatching old Cupid. Both anticipating and dreading new Cupid. Please don't suck, new Cupid. I want to love you.
Tivo guilt? Not me. I'm ruthless with the deleting.
Love Dexter. Love Jimmy Smits. Not sure I love Jimmy Smits on Dexter.
The LA Times is really reaching for good news: "A SAG strike won't cripple TV." Sure, not if all you watch is Til Death, 90210, or Canadian TV.
Watching Cock'd Gunns screeners in preparation for an interview. It's a cross between Spinal Tap and Trailer Park Boys. I think. I never saw Spinal Tap.

Want to follow me on Twitter? Here.

The great Twitter experiment

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:58:00 +0000

I have to admit, I've long thought Twitter sounds incredibly stupid. (Don't know what Twitter is? It's like Facebook if it were only the status updates. Don't know what Facebook is? Meet my friend Google.) How can we find the time to do anything with all the time spent telling people what we're doing, and reading about what they're doing? I barely care what I'm up to any given minute of the day, never mind what anyone else is.

But like any tool of expression, of course what we get out of it is more about what we choose to express and ingest rather than the tool itself (I'm ignoring "the medium is the message" for now). Twitter's being used for all sorts of purposes, from "this is what I'm up to" missives, to group chat between friends (it can even be private), to promoting businesses and blogs.

Which is where I come in now, semi-reluctantly, as someone whose job and hobbies involve web technology. It could be an opportunity to promote TV, eh? in a simple and different way and to keep up with a new web toy that doesn't seem to be fading.

So what will my Twitter look like? I'm sure it'll evolve as I figure it out, but I'll focus on TV thoughts, and not just Canadian TV. One of my (ironic? hypocritical?) pet peeves about TV coverage in this country is that Canadian TV is relegated to its own ghetto. It's rare to read an article that mentions a Canadian show unless it's exclusively about Canadian TV.

Of course, what's TV, eh? if not a well-intentioned ghetto, but it's what I can manage. Twitter will let me do manageable microblogging where Canadian TV is just part of my TV thoughts, and if people follow then they'll hear a little more about Canadian shows in the process. And it'll alleviate my current issue with blogging time. With only 140 characters, I won't feel like I have to write more of a "review" than: "Love Dexter. Love Jimmy Smits. Not sure I love Jimmy Smits on Dexter." Hmm, maybe I'll post that one.

Twitter's a community, not a soapbox, so there's bound to be some off-topic tweets (yeah, they call them tweets). The big benefit of experimenting with Twitter is that unlike the great podcast experiment, it's low effort. I won't post the link on TV, eh? until I feel more comfortable with how it'll all shake out, so consider this a beta release for those of you who have forgotten to delete this blog's RSS feed.

If you're not into it, I don't blame you. If you are, follow me here: http://twitter.com/deekayw

Interview with Michelle Forbes

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:47:00 +0000

It's probably time to acknowledge what's been pretty apparent for a while, that I'm all but abandoning this blog for now. I'll continue posting my articles from TV, eh? and Blogcritics, though I'm cutting down on those too. But my latest, posted at both places, is an interview with Michelle Forbes, the new addition to Durham County's second season, playing Dr. Penelope Verity. She's juggling In Treatment and True Blood too, and is best known (though don't say that to her) for her roles in Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica.

Michelle Forbes Delves Into The Darkness Of Durham County
“I know where her distortions are coming from and I have an enormous amount of empathy for that,” she explained. “I think there’s an enormous amount of love and hurt at the core of Penelope’s distortions, whereas I think – and this is the difference between men and women – I think that at the core of Ray Prager’s distortions, it was about ego and bravado. And of course hurt and what he went through as a child, but certainly what it turned into as a man was the need to conquer and be powerful. That is not the engine for Penelope.” Read more.

I'm so spooky

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:27:00 +0000

I've interviewed JibJabber Gregg Spiridellis a couple of times, last time at their studios in Venice, California. Wish I'd had this clip to post as an extra at the time to show a little slice of their workplace and give a little company history - it's an interview with CNN. But it's never too late to share the JibJab love, especially when they've got a bunch of new Halloween videos and ecards.

Listen now: Mark Critch of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Jonas Chernick of The Border

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:30:00 +0000

Mark Critch of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Jonas "Heironymous Slade" Chernick of The Border were the witty and entertaining guests on the final (for now) TV, eh? show on Blogtalkradio.

Mark Critch talks about stalking the trail of Sarah Palin in Alaska, impersonating Danny Williams in China, and teaching Beijing schoolchildren useful English phrases like "Stephen Harper lied to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador."

Having just completed a half marathon and demonstrating excellent social skills, Jonas Chernick proves he's not really like his character (as long as you don't ask his friends and family, apparently). He talks about what's next on The Border and what's coming up for Slade, his forays into writing and theatre, learning about current events from The Border scripts, and why he never wants to write one.

Listen in the player below, visit the show site, or subscribe via iTunes or with any other program via the TV, Eh? feed.

Truth in TV advertising

deekayw@gmail.com (Diane Kristine) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:10:00 +0000

These are too awesome for words. So here's a picture of one of Glark's truthful TV Title Cards :

Check them all out here.