Smile of the Week: A Stunning Performance on “Britain’s Got Talent”
Posted on March 28, 2012 at 7:36 am
The sweetest part is the end.
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Jeff Foxworthy to Host “The American Bible Challenge”
Posted on March 25, 2012 at 3:55 pm
GSN has signed comedian Jeff Foxworthy to host the pilot of the network’s original one-hour game show, “The American Bible Challege,” a studio-based game show in which contestants compete based on their knowledge of the Bible. Questions will be designed to acknowledge and celebrate the Bible’s continuing importance in contemporary life and culture. The contestants will share their compelling back stories and each team will be playing for a worthy faith-based organization.
“I am excited to be hosting a show about the bestselling book of all time. It will be interesting to find out what people really know, and an opportunity to present the Bible in a fun and entertaining way,” says Foxworthy.
Mad Men Enters the Civil Rights Era
Posted on March 25, 2012 at 8:00 am
From the New York Times:
There was no question that “Mad Men” would get around to the civil rights movement. From the start, racism was the carbon monoxide of the show: a poison that couldn’t always be detected over the pungent scent of cigarettes, sexism, anti-Semitism, alcoholism, homophobia and adultery, but that sooner or later was bound to turn noxious.
That promise was made in the opening scene of the premiere episode of Season 1. The first face on screen is a black one in profile, that of a waiter carrying a tray of cocktails across a bar crowded with white, mostly male customers. The camera closes in on Don Draper (Jon Hamm), scribbling ideas on a napkin for a Lucky Strike campaign. Asking for a light, he notices that the busboy, an older black man, smokes Old Gold, and Don asks him why he is so loyal to that brand.
“Is Sam here bothering you?” a white bartender interjects before the busboy has uttered a word. Shooting the black man a warning look, the bartender tells Don, “He can be a little chatty.”
It was the dawn of the 1960s, and that kind of humiliation was so commonplace that both Don and the busboy shrug it off.
What I find especially interesting about this is that, contrary to most depictions of the racism of the era, there is no attempt to portray the white characters as aware of or concerned about the casually bigoted arrogance of the time. Don Draper is only interested in how to help his clients. But I suppose that reflects an element of self-interest that played a role in the era’s changes as well.
Mad Men-era Ads in Newsweek
Posted on March 24, 2012 at 8:00 am
Newsweek salutes the long-awaited return of “Mad Men” with a special issue this week, including examples of real and unabashedly sexist ads that ran in the magazine back in the 1960’s. These are what the real Mad Men of the era were working on, along with some pioneering and underpaid Mad Women like Peggy.
As another ad of the era would say, “We’ve come a long way, baby.” (Of course, that was an ad for a “women’s” cigarette!“)
Remake of “Steel Magnolias” with Queen Latifah and Phylicia Rashad
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 3:45 pm
I was thrilled to hear that Lifetime is working on a remake of “Steel Magnolias” with Queen Latifah as M’Lynn (the part played in the movie by Sally Field), Phylicia Rashad as Clairee (played in the movie by Olympia Dukakis), Jill Scott as beauty salon owner Truvy (played in the movie by Dolly Parton) and Alfre Woodard as the irascible Ouiser (played in the movie by Shirley MacLaine). Rashad’s daughter Condola will play Shelby, a character inspired by the playwright’s sister, who died of complications from diabetes but who would “rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime full of of nothing.” This is a dream team of performers and I can’t wait to see what they do with this juicy story.