Switched at Birth and the End of Life

Posted on July 21, 2014 at 3:59 pm

I’m a big fan of ABC Family’s Switched at Birth and have appreciated its complicated characters, honest and heartfelt relationships, and compelling storylines, as well as its unprecedented, in-depth portrayal of the deaf community. Last week’s episode may have been the all-time best (SPOILER ALERT) as it dealt frankly with the shocking death of one of the main characters, Angelo Sorrento, played by Gilles Marini.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgdqfWDNqnI

The show has a wide range of personalities, so there were many different reactions to Angelo’s crash, his operation, and the decisions to be made after the doctor told the family that there was no hope and advised taking him off the respirator. It included a scene that almost never appears on network television or in movies — a candid discussion of prayer in times of the direst need, what it means and how it helps. There were conversations, some very heated, about life support and Angelo’s wishes. There were anguished memories of angry confrontations and refusals of support. There was the decision about who should be the one to call Angelo’s mother. There was enormous compassion and support and also hurt and recrimination. It was a gripping and exceptionally astutely observed hour of television. Here’s where we pick it up tonight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4z1xnASZAU
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Television

Comic-Con 2014

Posted on July 21, 2014 at 8:00 am

Copyright 2014 Nell MinowIt’s here!  San Diego Comic-Con begins Wednesday night in San Diego and I’ll be there.  This is my favorite event of the year, a chance to find out what everyone will be watching, listening to, playing, and otherwise enjoying over the next few years.  As I always say, this is the Iowa caucuses of popular culture.

Scheduled to appear are a dazzling array of stars on and off screen including everyone from Betty White and Quentin Tarantino to Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich (voices from “Penguins of Madagascar”) and Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate, plus writer/director Jorge Gutierrez and producer Guillermo del Toro from “Book of Life.”  Voice talent from “The Boxtrolls” film I’ve been writing about will be there, too, including Sir Ben Kingsley and Elle Fanning.  The cast, producers, and/or writers for shows like “The Big Bang Theory,” “Venture Brothers,” “The Blacklist,” “Bates Motel,” and many more will be there, along with some glimpses of new series premiering this fall.  And of course there will be crazy costumes and, as always, lots of surprises.  Stay tuned!

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Understanding Media and Pop Culture

Tribute: James Garner

Posted on July 20, 2014 at 10:51 am

One of my favorite actors has left us. James Garner, handsome, wry, effortlessly masculine, all-purpose leading man for decades on television and in movies, has died at age 84. He had consummate skill in comedy, drama, and romance, and even in selling cameras in television commercials. He will be sorely missed.

james garnerBorn James Baumgarner in 1926, he was from Norman, Oklahoma. He named his production company Cherokee Productions in honor of his grandfather. He had a difficult childhood and was left on his own at age 14. He had a number of jobs and went into the military, where he received two Purple Hearts.

Early in his career, he had a non-speaking part as a juror in “The Caine Mutiny” on Broadway. He said it was superb training to be on stage for the entire show, watching the lead actors up close each night. His early film roles included parts in the classic “The Great Escape” with Steve McQueen and “Sayonara” with Marlon Brando.

He was superb at light comedy, often showing an off-beat cynicism that was a refreshing change from the earnestness of the 1950’s and early 60’s. When television was filled with laconic Western heroes, his “Maverick” was true to the name as a easy-natured gambler.

He played similar roles in the delightful Support Your Local Sheriff and Support Your Local Gunfighter. He co-starred with Doris Day in two of her most sparkling comedies, The Thrill of it All! and and Move Over Darling.  And he was the laconic private detective Jim Rockford in ‘The Rockford Files.”

Two of his best films co-starred Julie Andrews. He was a cynical American soldier in The Americanization of Emily and an amiable gangster in love with a cross-cross-dressing performer in Victor/Victoria. He was nominated for an Oscar for the bittersweet romance Murphy’s Romance, with Sally Field.

He made superb television movies, including Barbarians at the Gate and My Name Is Bill W.

He continued to create unforgettable performances into his 70’s, with films like The Notebook. No actor half his age could have played a sweeter love scene.

We bid a sad farewell to this most graceful and appealing of actors. May his memory be a blessing.

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Actors Tribute

Emmy Nominations: Looks a Lot Like Last Year

Posted on July 10, 2014 at 12:15 pm

The Emmy nominations are in!  And they look a lot like last year.

Reliable favorites like “Mad Men” and “Game of Thrones” garnered a lot of nods.  But once again the Academy overlooked Tatiana Maslany of “Orphan Black,” whose multiple characters should earn her a handful of Best Actress nominations.  And of course Jon Hamm deserves a nomination, but what about Elisabeth Moss?  I agree with New York Magazine that Peggy is the star of the show.

It was good to see outstanding new series like “Silicon Valley,” “True Detective,” and “Cosmos” included, and I was especially glad to see Martin Freeman nominated for two different series, “Fargo” and “Sherlock” and Lizzy Kaplan for “Masters of Sex.”

I was sorry to see “The Americans” and “The Good Wife” were overlooked.  I suppose the bad news there is also the good news.  While no broadcast drama from the three major commercial networks was nominated, that just means that the new media outlets are giving the old school some serious competition.  Go, “Orange is the New Black!”

The nominees are:

Drama series
Breaking Bad, AMC
Downton Abbey, PBS
Game of Thrones, HBO
House of Cards, Netflix
Mad Men, AMC
True Detective, HBO

Comedy series
The Big Bang Theory, CBS
Louie, FX
Modern Family, ABC
Orange Is the New Black, Netflix
Silicon Valley, HBO
Veep, HBO

Actor, drama series
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom (HBO)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
Woody Harrelson, True Detective (HBO)
Matthew McConaughey, True Detective (HBO)
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards (Netflix)

Actress, drama series
Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex (Showtime)
Claire Danes, Homeland (Showtime)
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey (PBS)
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife (CBS)
Kerry Washington, Scandal (ABC)
Robin Wright, House of Cards (Netflix)

Actor, comedy series
Louis C.K., Louie (FX)
Don Cheadle, House of Lies (Showtime)
Ricky Gervais, Derek (Netflix)
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes (Showtime)
William H. Macy, Shameless (Showtime)
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

Actress, comedy series
Lena Dunham, Girls (HBO)
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly (CBS)
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Taylor Schilling, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)

Supporting actor, drama series
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey (PBS)
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland (Showtime)
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan (Showtime)
Josh Charles, The Good Wife (CBS)

Supporting actress, drama series
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey (PBS)
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey (PBS)
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men (AMC)
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife (CBS)

Supporting actor, comedy series
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox)
Adam Driver, Girls (HBO)
Ty Burrell, Modern Family (ABC)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family (ABC)
Fred Armisen, Portlandia (IFC)
Tony Hale, Veep (HBO)

Supporting actress, comedy
Julie Bowen, Modern Family (ABC)
Allison Janney, Mom (CBS)
Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Anna Chlumsky, Veep (HBO)

Actor, miniseries or movie
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: His Last Vow (PBS)
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dancing on the Edge (Starz)
Idris Elba, Luther (BBC America)
Martin Freeman, Fargo (FX)
Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart (HBO)
Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo (FX)

Actress, miniseries or movie
Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor (BBC America)
Minnie Driver, Return to Zero (Lifetime)
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful (Lifetime)
Kristen Wiig, Spoils of Babylon (IFC)

Variety 
The Colbert Report, Comedy Central
The Daily Show, Comedy Central
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ABC
Saturday Night Live, NBC
Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, NBC

Reality competition 
The Amazing Race, CBS
Dancing With the Stars, ABC
Project Runway, Lifetime
So You Think You Can Dance, Fox
Top Chef, Bravo
The Voice, NBC

Reality host
Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers (NBC)
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
Jane Lynch, Hollywood Game Night (NBC)
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway (Lifetime)
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
Anthony Bourdain, The Taste (ABC)

Miniseries
American Horror Story: Coven, FX
Fargo, FX
Luther, BBC America
Bonnie & Clyde, A&E
Treme, HBO
The White Queen, Starz

Movie
Killing Kennedy, National Geographic Channel
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, HBO
The Normal Heart, HBO
Sherlock: His Last Vow, PBS
Trip to Bountiful, Lifetime

Guest actor, drama series
Paul Giamatti, Downton Abbey (PBS)
Reg E. Cathey, House of Cards (Netflix)
Robert Morse, Mad Men (AMC)
Beau Bridges, Masters of Sex (Showtime)
Joe Morton, Scandal (ABC)
Dylan Baker, The Good Wife (CBS)

Guest actress, drama series
Dianna Rigg, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Kate Mara, House of Cards (Netflix)
Allison Janney, Masters of Sex (Showtime)
Kate Burton, Scandal (ABC)
Margo Martindale, The Americans (FX)
Jane Fonda, The Newsroom (HBO)

Guest actor, comedy series
Nathan Lane, Modern Family (ABC)
Steve Buscemi, Portlandia (IFC)
Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Louis C.K., Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Gary Cole, Veep (HBO)

Guest actress, comedy series
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Natasha Lyonne, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Joan Cusack, Shameless (Showtime)

Animated program
Archer, FX
Bob’s Burgers, Fox
Futurama, Comedy Central
South Park, Comedy Central
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Manhattan Project, Nickelodeon

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