With the advent of cable and increasingly sophisticated content, television is no longer just for "boobs." In fact, new shows featuring great female characters mean that boobs are now making headway in front of the camera. In general, these boobs are clothed, though on HBO's Girls, writer/director/star Lena Dunham frequently strips down, both figuratively and literally. You've probably heard plenty of rants and raves about this show already (including from me at the tail end of this post) but let me just reiterate that you don't have to be 25 years old or even female to enjoy it. It's illuminating, poignant, disturbing and hilarious. Whether or not Dunham is the voice of her generation, she's an original and one to watch.
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It's Memorial Day weekend. The start of being outdoors all the time. If only the torrential rains would stop we might start working on our tans. (Not.) Or our gardens. But still, the sun will go down (if it ever comes out at all), and then you may be looking for a way to while away a few evening hours not spent on your porch drinking wine and watching the fireflies. As you may remember, I am addicted to fond of high-quality, commercial-free television drama and I have recently been enjoying two new shows that I can recommend without reservation. The Killing is yet another AMC winner (they also have the incomparable Mad Men and Breaking Bad). Adapted from a Danish show of the same name, it stars the laconic and lovely Mireille Enos (above)—whom you may recognize from Big Love, where she played the much-abused twins at Juniper Creek—as a Seattle detective investigating the murder of a high-school girl.
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Call me an April fool, but I see snow out my window. Big, wet flakes coming down, forcing me to dismantle my weekend plans of frolicking amongst the daffodils. If, like me, you intend instead to light a fire and put your slippered feet up, I have a couple of suggestions for hours of decadent viewing pleasure. First, in case you haven't found out, I need to tell you that Netflix now has streaming movies you can download instantly to your TV or laptop. Now this is some technology I can get behind. Already a big fan of iTunes instant downloads, I may never need to leave the house again. (Joking.) At any rate, between these two applications, you now have instant access to some fantastic international productions you may have missed in the theatre and which won't likely make it to TV. The two I'm recommending are Carlos, a 5 1/2-hour mini series co-written and directed by Olivier Assayas, and Mesrine (Killer Instinct & Public Enemy #1), directed by Jean-François Richet in 2 parts totaling almost 5 hours.
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Television: opiate of the masses or educational medium? Depends on how you use it, I guess. We prefer our entertainment commercial-free, so that means Netflix or downloading content from iTunes. (Although I was riveted by an episode of American Idol the other night when we were staying at a hotel in the city. JLo looked like an extra from Scorcese's Casino...) There have been some incredible shows on in the past few years, thanks in no small part to HBO. If you didn't catch The Sopranos, you missed out on a culturally defining moment. It's not too late to start from the beginning; you can buy the complete series here. If you missed The Wire, you may want to consider treating yourself to some of the greatest television ever made. It's where I first became aware of the up-&-comer Pablo Schreiber, brother of Liev and an acting force in his own right. He's now part of a powerhouse ensemble on FX's Lights Out, a fantastic new show that I await eagerly every week. I don't understand why there isn't more buzz about it.
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