Pop Culture Roundup, February 25

Welcome to this week’s collection of fun pop culture stories.

Movie Stuff

The Bechdel Rule
How many movies have you seen that include female characters who talk to each other about something other than men? According to Adele at Persnickety Snark, unless you like teen movies, the number of films you have seen that fulfill this requirement is probably pretty small.

On Alice in Wonderland
An interesting look at how the movie biz works, from the point of view of screenwriter John August.

TV Stories

Lost: Jack and Hurley Go to the Lighthouse
Because I always need a little help with Lost, I am including Ryan’s Zap2It recap again. He goes into the level of detail with this show that I used to go with Twin Peaks when it was on and I was a youthful, idealistic college student with boundless energy. I am almost too tired right now to really remember what that boundless energy was like.

The Trouble with Glee
Adele at Persnickety Snark critiques our favorite little new show and offers good suggestions for making it even better.

Random Stuff

Elizabeth Moon Must Love Me
Like Chrissy Olinger, I am a long-time fan of Elizabeth Moon, especially the Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy. If you haven’t read the books, I recommend them highly. And, now Elizabeth Moon is returning to that world to share a new story with us.

That’s all for this week. As you may have noticed from the lack of Twitter chatter, I have been pretty much down for the count with some sort of cold or flu virus. I am doing better, but I didn’t spend a lot of time online over the weekend or earlier this week.

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I Hate the Olympics

I can’t stand the Olympics or any other sporting event that interferes with my television viewing. I miss Chuck, Supernatural, and my other favorite shows, and I want the Olympics to just end already!

I used to believe that all sporting events belonged on ESPN, where they didn’t cause preemptions of what I like to call real  TV. Now I understand that some people don’t want to pay for cable but might also be sports fans. Why can’t we have a special ad-supported, free broadcast network to show only those sporting events?

Or, my real dream: true on-demand programming delivered to my television from the Internet.

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Can Supernatural Top the Apocalypse?

We just got the news that Supernatural will be back for a sixth season. But, how can they top the dominant storyline of this year: the coming Apocalypse?

I will continue to watch the show, but I fear that it will limp into a slow death spiral rather than going out when it is on top.

How do you feel about it? And do you think the devil will continue to try to use Sam as his meatsuit in new and exciting ways? Or will the idea of Winchester versus Winchester fade out as the boys prevent the devil from new and different ways of taking over the world?

Edited to add: Here’s a link to a story that discusses the showrunners’ plans for the sixth season.

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Pop Culture Roundup, February 11

So, my laptop spent some time in limbo these past few days, deciding whether it would die or whether it just needed a good reformat. The reformat worked, but I still need to do some work to get it to recognize that it does, indeed, have a DVD drive installed. The joy of technology!

Movie Stuff

Dune Film Finds a New Writer
I haven’t decided if I want to see the new Dune movie. I was such a fan of David Lynch’s version (and, yes, I would sit through the entire 13 hour director’s cut) that I am afraid to read the books because they may ruin my perceptions of that movie. I love Lynchs style, and Dune was a great early example of the director who would create my favorite TV show of all time. But, I really enjoyed Taken, so I think this writer has a good chance of making a film I could enjoy. That Sci Fi Channel adaptation was booooooooring.

TV Stories

Why I Caved, Bought Cable TV, and Gave Up on My “Hulu Household”
We’re not there yet, but man, when we can get all of our television content over the Internet, I am so there.

Women Can’t Create, White Men Can’t Jump: Worst Network Pilot Season for Women Pt. 2
Nikki Finke looked at the dearth of female writers in this season’s pilot pickups in this post. Neely Swanson posted an interesting response/further research on the issue. It’s a nice look at the realities of the Hollywood system and the fear that women are not reliable at bringing in audiences.

Dancing with the Scars
Leave it to Chelsea Handler to make me want to read a story about a washed-up Playboy bunny and her stint on a reality show I have never and will never watch.

Friday Night Lights: 10 Reasons Why Season 4 Is the Series’ Best
I know that not everyone agrees with me (and that’s okay, Katie), but I think season 4 has been a return to what makes FNL great. It has felt like season 1 to me, with the depth of storylines and the great acting. I hope all of you who haven’t been watching this show on DirecTV catch it when it premieres on NBC this April. Last night, we said goodbye to some favorite characters and saw others get hurt, get punished, and play some football.

Supernatural

Let’s Talk Supernatural, The Song Remains the Same
Maureen Ryan’s recap and review of last week’s episode. She also includes information about a charity auction to benefit the relief efforts in Haiti.

Supernatural: The Song Remains the Same
Another recap/review of last week’s episode, this one from the San Diego Tribune blog.

Supernatural: The Song Remains the Same
Suzanne has our final recap over at Damsel Undistressed. She loved the episode, but I think she might have been basking in the afterglow of the amazing season premiere of Last last week.

Supernatural and Vampire Diaries Taking a 5-Week Hiatus
Sadly, My Bloody Valentine is our last episode of Supernatural for a while.  They had best come back from this hiatus with an episode in which we get to see Death. That was my biggest disappointment with this set of episodes. They didn’t resolve the cliffhanger.

Two Previews of Supernatural’s My Bloody Valentine
Need to get the scoop on tonight’s episode? Here are two clips to whet your appetite.

From Smallville to Capain America
More rumors that Jensen Ackles might be Captain America. Make of it what you will. 

Supernatural: Preview of Episode 5.13 “The Song Remains the Same”Get ready for tonight’s episode with a synopsis and a clip.

Random 80s Flashback

Secret Admirer
Most movies from the 80s just don’t hold up. The humor was too steeped in the time frame, and the jokes no longer work. The exceptions, though, are great. All of the John Hughes teen films remain awesome. And Secret Admirer, starring a very young Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston, and C. Thomas Howell (we called him Tommy and looked at his dreamy photos in Bop and Tiger Beat back then), is another timeless comedy. It centers around misplaced love letters, and the stellar cast of adults and teens help keep it from being too formulaic. Rent it from Netflix or catch it on the Reelz Channel.

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Pop Culture Roundup, February 4

How did it get to be February?

Anyway, here are the links from the past week that I found interesting and amusing.

Random Pop Culture Stuff

Men at Work Stole Tune in 80s Hit “Down Under” from “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree”
The lovable guys from down under could end up owing a lot of money to the company who owns the copyright to this song (no, not the person who wrote it or even the descendants of the writer, some company). They are asking for 60% of the total royalties earned since the release of the song.

Colin Firth: By Anyone’s Measure, a Leading Man
This is a nice interview of Firth by NPR, focusing on his Oscar nomination and the role that earned it for him.

Why Are There So Few Female Film-makers?
In this Guardian article, Kira Cochrane explores the issues that keep women out of the director’s chair. She provides an interesting history of the treatment of women in popular cinema that made me think back to a paper I wrote in college comparing the lesbian characters in lesbian cinema with those in mainstream film. I always meant to gussy it up and submit it to an academic journal, but I never got around to it. Perhaps one day, I will revisit the topic with a longer-term focus.

TV Stories

Scoop: Heroes Star to Play Alcide’s Sister on True Blood
The casting announcements for season 3 of True Blood are coming fast and furious. This article includes links to the other recent additions to the cast, including Alfre Woodard as Lafayette’s mom. (Have I mentioned lately how happy I am that Lafayette didn’t die at the end of season 1?)

Lost Faces a New Reality in the Final Season Premiere
Need a little help with Tuesday’s season premiere? Ryan at Zap2it has detailed and understandable recaps each week.

Supernatural

The Hardy Boys Are Both, Like, Stuck in this Suckfest
Demian at Television without Pity gives the best recaps. Useful if you missed the last episode, and great fun to read in full even if you didn’t.

Inside the Supernatural 100th Episode Party
How many times over the years did we worry that our awesome show wouldn’t make it until 100 episodes? But it did, and this is your TV Addict-sponsored look at the party.

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Supernatural: Scifi Series Spins Bible Stories into a Final Fantasy
An interesting look at the mythology of Supernatural and the Bible.

Lost and Supernatural: Have They Become the Same Show?
Maureen Ryan looks at the parallels between Lost and Supernatural. I was thinking the same thing when I was watching Tuesday’s Lost premiere.

Supernatural: Preview of Episode 5.13 “The Song Remains the Same”
Get ready for tonight’s episode with a synopsis and a clip.

Supernatural Countdown Number 12: Driver Picks the Music
More of the countdown of all that is awesome about Supernatural, with some clips of the most effective and fun uses of music on the show.

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You Could Be the Next Face, er Butt, of American Apparel

American Apparel is running a contest for its next butt model.

People will be voting for the best butt. There are already many butt shots posted on the main contest page.

I find this contest odd and disturbing on so many levels, but if you have a weird sense of humor and are kinda strangely proud of your butt, feel free to enter.

(Bonus points to the first person to name the character who said that line and the movie or TV show it is from.)

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I Want an IMDB for Commercials

How many times have you been watching something on TV and couldn’t rest until you figured out who that familiar actor or actress was?

If you’re watching a TV show or a movie, no problem. Just go to the IMDB and look it up.

But, if it’s a commercial, you’re pretty much out of luck. Perhaps you can get lucky doing a Google search, but that rarely works for me. We need a database we can search for actors in recent commercials. I know it would be a challenge to pull together, but I’m sure the collective wisdom of the Interneterati can do it.

Until that glorious day, I need to know who the dumb husband is on the Yoplait commercial where the wife is telling her friend about all of the awesome yogurt flavors she has been eating to lose weight. It’s driving me crazy.

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