Posted on May 24, 2009 at 8:00 am
I so enjoyed the sneak preview of the new fall series, “Glee.” The characters are immediately engaging and the music is inspired.
You can watch the entire pilot episode of “Glee” on Hulu and listen to an interview with the creator, Ryan Murphy (of “Nip/Tuck”), on Fresh Air. The series begins this fall.
Posted on May 7, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Be sure to tune in tonight to hear Letterman’s Top 10 list — read by Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy! 
Thanks to Bob Elisberg for the tip!
Posted on May 5, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Get ready for this week’s rebooting of the “Stark Trek” saga by revisiting the original television series. How much do you remember about Captain Kirk and his crew, whose origins we will see in the new J.J. Abrams film?
1. What is Captain Kirk’s middle name?
2. Where is he from?
3. What is the name of the adorable creatures who came on board the Enterprise as pets but later came close to causing disaster and ultimately saved the day?
4. Creator Gene Roddenberry described the show by saying it would be like what successful series but “set in space?”
5. How long is its mission supposed to last?
6. What kind of crystals are necessary for fuel?
7. What is the name of the ring that was a doorway to any time and place and where (and when) does the crew go when they materialize on Earth?
8. Why did Spock’s father marry a human?
9. What was striking about the warring factions in “Let that Be Your Last Battlefield?”
10. In “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which cast characters shared a memorable kiss?
Posted on May 4, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Be sure to watch the amazing documentary The Hip Hop Project tonight and see the extraordinary work by Chris “Kazi” Rolle in encouraging young people to tell their stories. He gives kids who feel invisible a chance to own their experiences, express their frustrations through art instead of violence. I interviewed Kazi a few years ago and was very impressed by his insight and charisma — and by his accomplishments.
Chris “Kazi” Rolle, who founded the program when he was a homeless teenager, told me that he was inspired by “Hoop Dreams.” “A lot of inner city kids see sports as their way out.”
Rolle wanted to give them a chance with something they could do themselves, without relying on anyone outside the community. So he adopted what he calls “the pill in the dog food” approach, “pulling them in with what they like,” hip-hop. His goal is to reach “the kid in the back of the class – he is always scribbling something.” When they arrive, they want to imitate what they have heard. “Young people live from the outside in; TV and radio tell them who they have to be.” But he brings them back to the origins of hip-hop – “it started as political” and encourages them to tell their own stories by listening to them and encouraging them to listen to each other.
Posted on April 18, 2009 at 12:55 pm
What is is about the story of Grey Gardens that has been so enduringly fascinating? They have inspired a documentary film, a Broadway musical, endless articles, even a song by Rufus Wainwright.
Some people think it is because the two women who lived in splendid squalor were the aunt and cousin of one of the world’s most famous and glamorous women, Jacqueline Kennedy. And some think it is because of the schadenfreude effect — seeing two women born to wealth and power fall into helpless poverty. Both are certainly a part of it, but I believe the reason that the story of the two Edith Beales is so enthralling is because of something central to the lives of all of us. It is about family ties that both sustain and constrain. It is about the line between function and dysfunction. It is about devotion. It is about love. It is about control. And it is about the way that the route to madness is much more slippery and treacherous than we would like it to be.
Edith Beale and her daughter “Little Edie” lived in a mansion in East Hampton called Grey Gardens. At one time they were at the heart of high society and Little Edie, a debutante, was known as “Body Beautiful Beale.” Their lives seemed filled with luxury and promise. But by the time a documentary film crew arrived in the early 1970’s the mansion had fallen into filth and disrepair. The two women shared the house with more than fifty cats and other animals. They had almost no electricity or plumbing. The women’s behavior was outlandish, even delusional, but their resilience and ferocious passion for survival were inspiring. They were not just willing to defy convention; they seemed to relish it. The film was a sensation. It led to a Tony-award-winning Broadway musical starring Christine Ebersole. Tonight, the latest version of the story premieres in HBO, starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.
Here is a clip from the original documentary with Little Edie explaining her “revolutionary” attire, followed by Ebersole in a scene from the musical based on that monologue and a trailer for the HBO movie.
