, for instance), he takes his subject matter even more seriously in this tale of a dutiful daughter with a dangerous teenager, her kooky hairdresser sister [pictured], their undead mother, the elderly aunt, and the nosy neighbor. You don't want to see the story of this sextet of fabulously flawed women struggling to live in a man's world end, it's all so compelling and enchanting.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is being released tonight at midnight, and as there is nothing that the media likes better than getting quotes from kids, don't expect to escape unscathed. What better fun is there than seeing Jon Stewart trip over the word "Muggle" on The Daily Show or Rob Corddry's excellent report on Harry Potter book security? And there are a ton of Harry Potter parties this evening, from the children's book haven Books of Wonder, where illustrator Mary Grandpre will be on hand to autograph books, not to mention owls (!!!), to the corner Barnes & Noble. And for adults, McNally Robinson in Nolita is going to have food and Hufflepuff Hooch, palm readers, and Zach from the Fresh Kills DJing. Gothamist hasn't been keeping up with the Potter books, but we are eager to hear who will die, just so we can win a future game of Trivial Pursuit: The Harry Potter Edition.
A few weeks ago, the NY Times Magazine ran a great excerpt of Steven Berlin Johnson's new book, Everything Bad is Good For You, which proposes that society has not been dumbed down by TV recently; in fact, if anything, TV watchers have become more skilled at juggling multiple storylines and ideas while watching shows like The Sopranos, Lost, Alias, E.R. or Twin Peaks, offering up the suggestion that a lot of TV drama has gotten better since the '70s and '80s. Of course, this was instantly intriguing and inspiring to Gothamist, as it reaffirms our position that our TV is one of our bestest friends (even if there's an implication that Law & Order's single narrative isn't brain-exercising - we happen to be wondering where an exterior was shot or which headline it's ripped from!). Personally, we think there needs to be a balance of complicated (most anything on HBO) storytelling along with simple (most any sitcom, as 30 minutes leaves you little time, Arrested Development not withstanding) or else our brain will explode and then how will we watch the next Will Ferrell movie? Read the article yourself here, and let us know what your favorite complicated shows are as well as the fluffy ones (high on our list: Anything on the Learning Channel!).
Tonight is one of the final episodes of Angel, the much beloved Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff. These days, when not getting sucked into some other demon hole or something, Angel has been beat up by The O.C. or The West Wing in the ratings. Variety TV editor Michael Schneider has been getting lots of "Save Angel" mail from the dedicated Angels fans (photo, above):
They came from all over the globe: Oklahoma, Ireland, Australia, Denmark, England... even several postcards from soldiers in Iraq. And they all want to save "Angel."I suppose it would be too easy at this point to lament the fact that all of that energy could be better harnessed to feed the hungry or shelter the homeless. But hey, there's a TV show to be saved here!This reminds of the first "Save this show!" letter Gothamist ever wrote: It was to Bob Iger, to save Twin Peaks. Everyday we wonder if TP would still be on, had the power of the Internet been harnessed carefully, but we're still unsure. Anyway, Gothamist would like to take a moment and salute Angel, a show that can turn its leading actor into a puppet for a time and still scare the dickens out of us.
The Family Guy is shown on the Cartoon Network at 11PM and 2AM during Adult Swim. And Gothamist expects this move to make some people wish that DVD sales translated into other shows being resurrected; we definitely wish Twin Peaks was around during the age of the DVD. But if Twin Peaks were brought to networks today, it would have to go to HBO or Showtime.
On that April 8, 1990, ABC aired the moody two-hour pilot episode of Twin Peaks. Groundbreaking, though few network dramas have taken advantage of David Lynch and Mark Frost's approach to narrative, Twin Peaks aired for only one and a half seasons but has peppered the cultural consciousness with a number of phrases and allusions as it was like Peyton Place on crack. Dancing midgets, one eyed wives, ladies with logs, a sheriff named Harry S. Truman, a damn good cup of joe, and Diane, the never seen secretary to Special Agent Dale Cooper. Like many David Lynch projects, it sprawls magnificiently but tested patience, and ultimately ABC cancelled it.
Check out the Lego versions of the Harry Potter characters! LEGO HARRY POTTER They also have Star Wars, and they did have Spiderman when I went to Toys R Us this past summer. Now, if only they would do a Lego version of Twin Peaks.
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