Pop Culture Curmudgeon

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
TV Stories
Supernatural

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 100^th 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.