Blog: TV

It is the second week in May 2009 and I am back at the Cannes Film Festival.  Yes, I said back at the Festival.  Go ahead and add me to your “Hate List” or “Burn Book” or what have you, but I make no apologies for my French festival fortunes.  The current state of my life can be described as a dream come true – in real time – and I love it.

In 2006 I was a Cannes Film Festival newbie.  Having been accepted into the University of Georgia’s tres competitive Cannes Film Festival Study Abroad Program I attended the 12-day spectacle as more of an ‘entertainment industry enthusiast’ than a ‘movie buff.’  Here as a student, nonetheless, I came with eyes and ears open ready to learn from anyone who was willing to teach me, well, anything.

Three years passed and I followed society’s suggestion of a straightforward path: graduating from college, relocating to a new city, and finding a first job in the “real world.”  Nothing unique, just sequential.  I was settling in to my quarter-life life in Atlanta and pretty much thought that was that.  Unbeknownst to me, though, fate had a little something extra in store for me.  It was time to cash in my karma points and reap the rewards of a second stint of celebrity sightings and sun on the French Riviera.

This time I return with an alternate purpose, experiencing a complete role reversal, in fact.  You see, the student has now become the teacher in that I am now the Program Coordinator of this UGA Study Abroad Program in Cannes; the same program that I attended a mere three years ago as a student.   I can attribute this dreamlike status to two big things: (1) forming a lasting bond with the Coordinator whose enormous shoes she entrusted me to fill and (2) keeping the faith that my French language studies (spanning from the time I was in kindergarten all the way through college) would one day come in handy amidst an ever-growing Spanish-speaking population in America.

Well, now I’m here and the 62nd Cannes Film Festival kicked off yesterday with the red carpet premiere of Disney Pixar’s newest animation, “Up,” an out-of-competition selection whose 3D aspect made it an innovative, historic ‘first’ for the Festival’s opener.  Pete Docter directed the cute flick that is both sentimental and sad while still being funny and uplifting (no pun intended).  There were no huge standout stars doing the voices, but I enjoyed that aspect of it because I tend to get distracted by the voiceovers in movies like this anyway.  For instance, when I hear, “To infinity and beyond,” I see ‘Tim The Toolman Taylor’ in my head instead of focusing on the plastic astronaut-type toy on the screen.  And don’t even ask me how many times I’ve envisioned what the human Ellen DeGeneres would look like swimming in an ocean.  In “Up” I could focus on exactly what was happening on screen at all times without letting my mind wander too much.  Also, seeing it in 3D was a great thrill because of how subtly the effect was used.  It was enjoyable without being distracting.

This year’s Festival has only just begun and already I can see the differences in myself between Cannes 2006 vs. Cannes 2009.  For starters it is only Day 2 of the Festival and I am not even going in to Cannes today.  The thought of hopping a train into town to hustle the crowds for a ticket to tonight’s red carpet premiere is exhausting to even think about. Perhaps my age is showing.  Or maybe I’m just enjoying the simplicity of not having to cram movies into my days, film reviews into my nights, and heels into my purse just in case a last-minute premiere or party invite popped up.  Let’s just say that with my wisdom and experience I know how to pace myself this time around.

I promise to keep you up-to-date on my newfound adventures and stories, but in the meantime I am going to sit back, prop my feet up on my balcony, and keep my cell phone volume on high in case any of this year’s badge-clad students should call for last-minute advice or Brangelina should call for a last-minute babysitter. 

We come to it at last. The final episode for the third season of what is, unquestionably, the best show on television. If you’re one of the many without Direct TV, the wait has been a long one. And if you had the good fortune of living in Georgia on Friday night, at 9:00pm, you were treated to graphs that showed possible tornadoes popping up in the state. Tornadoes that never came.

I’m grateful that nothing happened, but next time, particularly when we all know thirty minutes in advance that nothing is going to occur, don’t interrupt the best that primetime television has to offer. You hear me, Dagmar Midcap? Never again.

"Tomorrow Blues" is a fitting title for the episode. Everyone is depressed about the future. Matt and Julie and Tim and Lyla wonder about what lies ahead for their respective relationships. Tami and Eric wonder what will happen with the coach’s job. Tyra and Landry worry about what college (if any) Tyra will attend.

With all this going on, you’d think the finale would be pretty depressing, but it isn’t. Bittersweet? Yes. Melancholy? Not so much.

The show actually starts in a very unusual fashion: it flashes five months ahead. I’m not sure I remember the series ever skipping a couple of days ahead, let alone five months. And in the beginning, everything seems fine. All the couples seem to be on cloud nine, there’s no conflict of any kind to speak of.

And then, Tami is called into a meeting with the vice-principal, and he informs her of the fact that Eric may not have his job next year. If Eric wasn’t aware beforehand that other people were gunning for his job, he sure found out when he and Buddy visited a prospective student. There, the dad talks of how the assistant coach and Joe McCoy have been making the rounds as if they’re already running the show.

Ah, Joe McCoy. If he’s not beating up his kid, he’s stealing jobs. You understand why he has so many friends. The standoff between Joe and Eric is pretty great to watch. The intensity in Kyle Chandler’s eyes burns right through the screen. Unfortunately, McCoy, sleazy as he is, pretty much does run the show, informing the coach that his job will be intact if J.D. starts no matter what, and if Wade (the assistant coach) calls all the plays. Eric says no, in so many words.

When going over the plans with his wife, Eric decides there is nothing he can do. Tami disagrees, and she advises Eric to fight for his job. He feels too proud to essentially beg the Booster members for his position. When the meeting does take place, Eric shows up, speaks very frankly about his job, and leaves. We discover later in a great scene during Billy’s wedding (Tami squeezing her husband’s hand and looking solemn) that Eric’s job is probably going to Wade, though he’s offered a position as head coach for the East Dillon high school. That’s reality for you. You can look as handsome as Kyle Chandler with a wife as hot as Connie Britton, and still get passed over when money’s doing all the talking (courtesy of Mr. McCoy).

Matt gets into a prestigious art school, and as a result, he finally puts his grandmother in a nursing home. The scene where Matt and Lorraine arrive in this foreign place is a pretty touching one to watch. Julie finally gets a car of her own, and once inside, the realization of her true love leaving her behind sets in. At Billy and Mindy’s wedding, she decides to spare both of them any pain and break up with him. Matt informs her that they will not break up, and that everything will work out between them. Immediately after, he takes his grandmother out of the nursing home and brings her to the wedding, telling her that he will stick with her just as she stood by him. He’s not going to the art school. It may not be the best thing to see as a viewer, but it makes perfect sense for Matt. Not to mention, it seems to suggest that he’ll be back next season. Yes?

As far as the others go, it’s a lot less clear if we’ll see their bright and beautiful faces around Dillon again. After all her complaining and doubting, Tyra visits the admissions officer for the University of Texas, where she is wait-listed. . .along with a thousand other people. It sends Tyra on a rant that drives Landry crazy. He pulls her aside and informs her that no matter what happens or what anyone thinks, he believes in her, even if she doesn’t. His advice seems to have paid off, because Tyra gets into UT. In reality, a girl like Tyra probably would have faced a different result. But hey, why not, she deserves it. And the show makes good on reality on a regular basis anyway.

Buddy (and Tami) meet with Lyla and try to get her to reconsider Vanderbilt. San Antonio State is good for a Riggins kid, but not for her. When she asks where the money would come from, Buddy says that he’ll swallow his pride and ask his uncle for money, someone who he is not entirely fond of. Lyla gets the money, and she gets into Vandy, but during Billy’s wedding, she tells Tim she won’t go so she can stay with him. The Tim Riggins from the first season (and maybe the second) would have said okay, and this would be a done deal. But this kid has grown up before our eyes, and when he tells Lyla to go to the school she’s wanted to go to, it doesn’t just feel like he’s saying it to be politically correct. It sounds real.

Tim does relapse, so to speak, in the last few minutes of the episode. Since Lyla isn’t going to his college, he tells Billy, why should he go? He can just stay with his brother, drink beer all day and help with the repair shop. But Billy tells him no. He’s lived the life, and he’s still living it, with a kid on the way that probably won’t be born to parents who have everything going for them. Tim has to go to college. In a way, he’s the only hope for the Riggins family. I’d just like to add that I’m very pleased with Derek Phillips’ screen time this season as Billy. He was in virtually every episode, and he was great the whole way through. He saves his most touching performance for the finale, and it’s, dare I say it, his best turn.

The episode ends with Eric and Tami walking into the stadium for East Dillon High. It’s a dump. Eric will have his work cut out for him. Who knows what the future will bring?

Many reviewers who saw this back in the fall talked of how it felt like a series finale, and you can see why. Everything comes together quite nicely and without any sort of force. This felt like more of an end to a show than ER did, but that’s just me I guess.

Now that we’ve got two more years of excellence for sure, can we expect to see some guest appearances by Gaius Charles and Scott Porter? Or Smash’s fantastic mom? What will happen to Billy? Buddy? Are Riggins and Matt even coming back? Will the McCoys (who are terrible people but played by some terrific actors) return and run Dillon into the ground?

I wish I had Direct TV, or better yet, access into the FNL writers’ room. But I have to say, if they left the season with only the possibility of the Taylors returning, it would work. They’d make it work. I’m confident of that, as this season was, hands down, the best one for Friday Night Lights yet. And that’s saying something.

See you on the field next season.

CLEAR EYES

FULL HEARTS

CAN’T LOSE

Chances are, if you own a TV, a computer, an ipod, a newspaper subscription or any type of access to the primetime television world, you knew that March 30, 2009, was the last episode for the critically-acclaimed medical drama ER. After 15 years on the air, the show was finally saying goodbye in a fitting 2-hour finale that promised to bring back a few original favorites. And with all that hype and excitement and expectation, the most enthusiastic response I can muster is a lukewarm. . .eh.

Let me start by admitting that I have not been watching the show regularly for a long time now. Like most, I felt the show’s better days were behind it. The originality in the stories seemed to have waned a bit, and once Maura Tierney (Abby) left, I really lost a lot of interest. But with all the hype around it, and the fact that I was supposed to be doing work for a class, of course, I felt compelled to give in and see if the show got the proper sendoff it deserved.

I don’t know if it’s because I wanted original cast members to take up the majority of the screen time, or because the first hour never pulled me in, but this did not feel like the end of an era to me. It felt like end of the fifteenth season. Nothing more.

Sure, Dr. Carter was in the mix for basically the entire show, what with the opening of his new exhibit and catching up with old pals Dr. Weaver, Dr. Lewis and, of course, Dr. Benton. It was good to see some of the old gang back. Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), as Carter acknowledged, looked great. Hot, I would go so far as to say. And it was pretty thrilling to see Eriq La Salle back as Benton, too. He was, in my opinion, the best part of the show throughout its entire run, and it was nice to see his character’s relationship with Carter end with the two being close friends.

But when the focus wasn’t on the original cast members, I found it harder to care about what was happening. Newbie Julia Wise (Alexis Bledel) struggles to cope with the news of a mother who’s just died. She, I guess we can assume, is the new Carter. Dr. Gates (John Stamos, who may have finally shed his Step by Step image), goes after a parent for not noticing his daughter’s near-fatal drinking habits. It’s not that these stories aren’t interesting, or that the actors don’t deliver. They are, and they do. This is all fine for a regular episode. But for a finale? I don’t know. For a show that’s been on for over a decade and promised us the world, I wasn’t as blown away as I felt I should have been.

This is not to say that the show was a total disappointment. Fans partial to the old ER will greatly appreciate that the show’s original James Newton Howard intro theme is intact here (as well as during the final shot). Veteran actor Ernest Borngnine was absolutely terrific as Paul Manning, a man struggling to let his wife go. I may not support the idea of giving this season an Emmy nomination for Drama Series, but Borgnine should definitely be on the official list for his guest spot.

I do find it fitting that the show ends the same year that its creator, Michael Crichton, passed away. There’s something undeniably appropriate about that. And while I was moderately engaged in the episode as a whole, I loved the way it ended, with Carter looking at Mark’s daughter and asking her, "Dr. Greene, you coming?" as the original intro once again plays in the background. Now if only the rest of the episode had been that clever and engrossing.

The penultimate episode for the third season of Friday Night Lights begins in the complete opposite way the previous episode ended. All are gathered in the gymnasium for a lively pep rally demonstration. J.D.’s parents are even in attendance, standing next to one another, taking in the celebration. It’s as if the fight between J.D. and his father in the parking lot of Applebee’s never even happened.

Yeah, that lasts for about a minute.

Tami is forced to call Child Protective Services. And even though he’s aware of the schism it’s likely to cause with J.D., Eric backs her. It doesn’t take long for J.D. to confront Coach Taylor about calling the cops on his dad, and for the first time, we see a different side of J.D. He begins to act out, talking back to the coach and pouting. Katie McCoy isn’t exactly happy with Tami’s decision either, and she tells her, point blank, that she wants nothing to do with her. Ouch. I guess that’s what you get when you try to do away with an abusive father.

Lyla meets with her dad (finally), informing him that she will move back in with him because the Riggins boys are too disgusting. Yeah, shocker there. But that’s not the major point of the conversation: Lyla plans on going to San Antonio State with Tim. Getting in but not being able to attend Vanderbilt, she says, is like fate. Yeah, or it's like your dad blew your entry to a good school on something stupid.

During practice, Coach Taylor takes the time to recognize someone for what they’ve done both on and off the field, and that nerd – I mean, person – is Landry, who is still, after a year on the team, referred to as Lance by Taylor. You gotta love it. What this means is that Landry will play on special teams for the big game. And so of course, in true Landy-style fashion, he sleeps in (way in), and misses the team bus.

Then comes good ol’ Tyra, who doesn’t plan on even going to the game because she wants to work on her post-high school studies. But Landry eventually convinces her to drive him to the game. Along the way, we discover that what changed Tyra from a pessimistic bad girl to the studious example she is today was Jason Street’s freak accident. And then, there was the friendship she formed with Julie Taylor. And, of course, there was Landry. This statement, combined with the kiss they share in a hotel, suggests that no matter how many times they claim to be done with each other, Landry and Tyra are meant to be. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out next year, if Adrianne Palicki does in fact bid Dillon adieu.

Finally, there is the big game. The Panthers aren’t doing great, and the once sweet, soft-spoken J.D. shows what a diva he can be. It’s shaping up to be a blowout (27-0). So it sets up the next big change: J.D’s out, Matt’s in (and Landry comes in and gets an incredible block). There was once a time when Saracen was the kiss of death. Now he’s the glue that holds the team together.

The Panthers end up taking the lead with time left, which rarely happens. Just 6 seconds left, the Titans go for a field goal, their kicker hasn’t missed one all year. . .and he doesn’t here. Just like that, it’s over. Our boys don’t win. Sad as it is to watch, it’s a giant relief to see the show, once again, steer clear of the path of predictability. But that’s what happens when you’re the best show on television, year after year after year.

I don’t know if you’ve heard the news, but the television gods have answered a big prayer: Friday Night Lights has just been renewed for two more 13-episode seasons. A-men. But there’s a catch: Adrianne Palicki (Tyra) and Minka Kelly (Lyla) will not be back. That sucks. Not only are they terrific actresses and essential assets to the show, they’re both ridiculously hot. Oh well. I would have settled for one more season, but two! You’re just spoiling me now.

Anyhow, in tonight’s episode, things escalate a bit, which is putting it mildly. The least dramatic story point is probably the one that involves Landry and Tyra. Billy and Mindy are getting things set for their wedding in December (which will be an outdoor wedding, of course). Tyra seeks a little help from Landry, and even though he appeared to be done with her last episode, nobody actually thought he was. Not even him. He provides some much needed support for Tyra wants he finds out that her SAT scores went up 100 points, even though they needed to go up 100 more. But it’s Tyra’s mom who acts as the shoulder to cry on once her daughter faces the fact that she may never become truly happy like her sister. It’s a touching, sincere moment that could not have played out any better than it was.

Lyla is facing a similar situation. She and Tim seem to have reversed roles: she’s a lot more nonchalant about life, he’s the responsible beau. Just like Tyra, Lyla has a bit of a breakdown after Tim brings her to a church, explaining how she has no family. Of course, this is where he comes in and lets her know that she’s family to him. Near the end of the episode, he tells her that he is madly in love with her, and it picks up her spirits a bit. Well, if that wouldn’t, I don’t know what would have. The tables have turned slightly with Tim and Buddy, too. Now that he’s been cut off by his daughter, Buddy scrambles to pump information from a kid he typically lacks respect for. Usually, whenever there’s a scene with Riggins and Buddy, it’s a humorous one. Instead, what we have is a brief, heartfelt interaction between the two that feels so authentic you want to hug the television. 

Tami makes a tough decision as principal, passing a plan that would redistrict some of the Dillon players, which of course means that Eric’s football team will be a little screwed after State. Led by Buddy, the booster club members (who are kind of a scholastic mafia), decide to plan out what they’re going to do behind the backs of both Eric and Tami. Just when you want to feel for Buddy, he brings out that other side of him that gets under your skin. 

The Saracen household may be going through some significant changes of their own. Matt’s grandmother Lorraine falls out of a moving car as Matt’s mother is driving. She doesn’t die – thank you, FNL writers! – but her mental health is fading fast. The doctors recommend putting her into a nursing home, and Matt flips out, blaming his mother for his grandmother’s current condition. It’s only when Lorraine freaks out about where her slippers are (while she’s wearing them) that Matt realizes he can’t do this alone, and takes back what he said to his mother. Kim Dickens is so natural in her portrayal that you forget she isn’t a part of the original cast. She holds her own in scenes with Loanne Stephens, who has a tough time NOT being amazing. 

Finally, there is the McCoy drama. I have to say, I didn’t think much of the McCoys at first. But episode after episode, they become increasingly more interesting. Joe McCoy has been a freak from day one, but he blows his top tonight. His eyes become characters all their own, burning bullets right through the screen. The show is near over, with the Panthers playing the game that could take them to State. J.D. is not doing what his father wanted, and Joe’s expressions morph from unpleasant to monstrous. The Panthers have a chance to tie and go into overtime, but Taylor brazenly decides to go for it, and it pays off. Dillon wins in the last few seconds (they don’t win any other way!). Instead of rejoicing with everyone else, Joe becomes even crazier than before.

Then, the ticking time bomb that is Joe McCoy finally explodes, in a big way. The thing is, you know it’s coming, but it doesn’t make watching it any less disturbing. After being told to “screw off” by his son, Joe throws J.D. up against a car, and begins to beat on him endlessly.  It may be the most powerful scene the show has produced. Ever. All you can do is stare, eyes wide open, mouth agape.

Yeah, not too hard to see why you’d want to bring this back. Glad to see it’ll stick around a little while longer. I mean, it’s only the best show on television right now. No big deal.