John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

Inside Jerry Seinfeld's apartment

When Jerry and the gang sat down to watch TV on Seinfeld (a tricky proposition, as that couch could never sit all four of the main cast), we all knew there was a wall behind the unseen television set, correct? 

Here's something that makes us redefine the phrase "television set" altogether, and it's just one of a series. Behold, the plans for Jerry's modest but well-used Upper West Side apartment from Seinfeld. 

The sketch is by a Spanish artist Iñaki Aliste Lizarralde, who goes by the nickname Nikneuk, and who specializes in taking the homes shown on television shows and movies (from I Love Lucy to Up to the Big Bang Theory.) 

You can tour his portfolio here. 

One of his popular pieces is a creation of the neighbouring apartments on Friends, which fuels the debate on how, exactly, Monica and Rachel were able to afford a spread like that in the West Village on the salaries of a starting (and sometimes unemployed) cook and a coffee shop employee. Ah, television! 

The United States of television

Via Laughing Squid, this infographic that breaks down which popular shows were based where. New York and L.A. get more than their share, but I could have sworn there'd be more from Atlanta than The Walking Dead. 

My favourite exchange from The Hour

Hector, the blue-blood host of the fictional news program in The Hour: "How do you do it? How do you know exactly the right question to ask"

Freddie, the brash, pedantic and dead-accurate journalist: :"Because I'm not afraid of the answers."

A blue valentine, a la Arrested Development

A series of Arrested Development valentines that you can print and distribute to your friends, whether you're related or not? Yes, please. As featured on Marisa Seguin's blog. 

 

Alone, together

"There are two facts about humanity and they’re both undeniable. You are reminded of them every second of every breath you take. One is that we are separate. You’ll never be able to escape that. The other is that we’re absolutely together. Those two things are swirling and swirling and swirling around, and you have a choice with every breath you take and every sentence you make to celebrate one side or the other."
- Dan Harmon, the creator of the TV series Community, speaking Saturday at an event celebrating the show. Harmon, who was fired last season as the showrunner, based the series on his own experiences of going to community college and surprisingly finding connections to people he had no interest in. 

Barney's version

My son discovered How I Met Your Mother, which has introduced a series of somewhat inappropriate and/or awkward comedic phrases to the living space. 

He's also picked up the phrase Suit Up, although (for now, at least) nothing at all related to the concept. We'll see what happens as adult comes ever-closer. 

 

 

Lilyhammer

I've been enjoying a lazy holiday weekend, including watching the Steve Van Zandt series Lilyhammer, perhaps the best known entry in a Wikipedia list called "Norwegian comedy television series." It's a bit of a pioneering show, not for its content, but for its distribution: its the first series that Netflix made by itself (albeit in conjunction with Norwegian TV). The whole first season simultaneously went online earlier this year. 

It's about an interesting premise: a mob informant (not that much of a stretch for Van Zandt, post-Sopranos) chooses to hide out in a witness protection program in Norway, largely because of idyllic memoires of the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer. "Lily-hammer" is how Van Zandt's fish out of water pronounces the city's name, and that's just the start, as the made man runs up against not just a Nordic culture, but an extraordinarily bureaucratic one at that. (Or, as it's described, "the multi-headed, but basically pleasant, troll that is Norwegian society.") Sometimes a little blackmail can clear things up... 

A second season is set to start shooting soon, the shoot delayed because of Van Zandt's day job as right-hand-man to the touring Bruce Springsteen. By the time I finish the first season, I know I'll be well ready for the second. 

My PVR is booked

Ken Burns' next film is called The Dust Bowl; it will air on PBS on Nov. 18 and 19. A brief taste, posted to YouTube earlier this week:

 

The rise and fall of awesomeness of TV shows

Television shows get better and worse (and, not often indeed, better again) as the years pass. Above is a sensible appreciation of Breaking Bad, which will have a hard time in its new season of besting its last season, chronicling the demise of Gus Fring (pictured). Click here for a rather personal evaluation of a whole bunch of series. 

Christopher Meloni lets it all fang out

We caught up this evening with the latest True Blood episode, the second of the season and the series debut for Christopher Meloni, who has left Law & Order: SVU to take on an uber-vampire role, playing a real piece of work named Roman. Meloni showed up at the end of the episode, presumably to play a major part in the rest of the season. It was a hoot to see him ham it up so much, I have to say. 

Eight-bit Pierce

The Community finale that featured an eight-bit-style rendering of the characters inside a bespoke videogame was, well, amazing. I still chuckle. 

I'm not sure what kind of show NBC expects to next year, having turfed creator Dan Harmon, but I have my doubts that the most clever show on U.S. TV will hang on to that description. Too bad. 

If only I had a network and could offer Harmon something. 

Troy and Abed meet Ernie and Bert

Oh, of course. Why didn't I think of this already? After all, aren't Troy and Abed, the arrested-development-type roomies from Community, rather a bit like Ernie and Bert? 

This design, created by a company in Halifax, is the featured shirt today on TeeFury. 

Gregory House, meet your kid, Sherlock Holmes

When House was launched, the inspirations that it drew from Sherlock Holmes - a dyspeptic, antisocial genius with a drug problem and an inclination to humiliate those closest to him - were obvious.

This is a fun video that makes those connections deeper, featuring Harry Chapin's Cats In The Cradle, with scenes from House (starring Hugh Laurie), Sherlock (starring Benedict Cumberbatch) and Fortysomething (starring both).

So long, Jane

When I heard a long ways back that NBC was about to relaunch Prime Suspect for an American audience, I have to admit that I was skeptical. I watched every iteration of Jane Mirren's classic British series, and loved how her brittle, vulnerable, relentless detective Jane Tennison was allowed to be all those qualities, and more, even as she matured and rose the ladder in police management. 

I was actually impressed by the NBC version, which was smart enough to take its inspiration from the British original ... and then move on. Maria Bello's Jane (the surname was Timoney) was similar, but very different. She was also a bit of a ticket, and nobdy's fool, but her own character in her own world. 

We got hooked on the show, particularly as I've been yearning for the kind of crime drama that Law & Order used to offer. A decent supporting cast, worthy plots, good writing ... about as much as I ask from prime-time TV. 

Weeks ago, NBC pulled the plug on the show, which was barely through the first half of its first season. For whatever reason (personally, I think it's because the networks want bigger payoffs out of the gate, especially for complicated dramas that refuse to make their characters instantly endearing), NBC didn't see a future for the show. The remaining episodes were burned off up to and after Christmas, and the last one aired quietly this past Sunday. 

What a shame. It reminds me of Rubicon, which AMC cancelled in 2010 after just one (particularly good) season. I'll have to wait for the next decent thing to come along, and hope there's more patience in corporate boardrooms. 

Patsy and Eddy: They're back

Absolutely Fabulous debuted on the BBC in 1992; CBC aired it later, quite late at night, but worth setting the VCR for. Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley have revived their characters as the ultimate hard-drinking fashionistas here and there, but nothing in the last seven years. 

Until this week. The BBC airs the first of a new set of episodes on Christmas Day. It'll be fun to see where things go, especially since the girls are more than showing their age and Eddy's wise daughter Saffy would have to be in her 30s now. 

More about the show here. Here's one of the teasers that's been posted to YouTube. 

Finally, a Ron Swanson 'meat tornado' cookie

As seen here. 

This would be my recent appearance on Strombo

Actually, this is, of course, John Lithgow ... the actor with whom I'll admit I share a resemblance. Every now and again, more often when he appears in something popular, someone will say something like, "Has anyone ever told you you look like ..."

Yep, I'll nod. As I have nodded for years, particularly since my hair fell out and I looked remarkably like that guy from Footloose.

Lithgow's appearance on Dexter as the Trinity killer changed things a bit, with a few people noting that I suddenly seemed ... creepier.

This clip from the Strombo show is about that very role.

The bacon bad sandwich

Meth, ham, feta, bean ... 

As seen here. 

 

Real men ...

Knowing your place

"Fine art and pizza delivery: what we do falls neatly in between." 
- David Letterman 

 

Person of Interest

Of the shows that have started airing this fall, Person of Interest is the one that has caught my interest the most.

It has a few things going for it, like Jesus and Benjamin Linus, for starters. That is, the stars are James Cavaziel and Michael Emerson. In this iteration, they are, respectively, a former hitman for the CIA and a billionaire with roots in intelligence, surveillance and software. 

The debut episode sets things up, although the plot doesn't seem as important as the tones (surveillance, paranoia, technology) and the atmosphere, and most importantly the characters. It's only one episode, but it has some stickiness. I'll be following it to see where things go next. 

Another era, another Merlin

I recorded the first episode of Camelot last night, and caught a few minutes of it - a scene with Joseph Fiennes as Merlin, spelling out a few of the tawdry details of how Arthur came to be. Having played Merlin myself (albeit as a teenager), I'm partial to the wizard in particular and Arthurian lore in general, and I'll admit that I'm keen to see what Fiennes is going to be doing with it. (A taste of the show, which is airing in Canada on CBC on Tuesdays, and started airing in the U.K. last month on Channel 4, can be seen in the teaser above ... featuring, um, a version of Run To You by Bryan Adams. Hmmm.) 

Back to Fiennes. Nothing Dumbledore about his performance, it appears. 

Indeed, in the promo interview below with the cast, Fiennes says he sees Merlin as an ambiguous character, a bit of a player, and  "a cross between Donald Rumsfield and Obi-Wan Kenobi." 

Oh, I'm in. 

Big Bang Theory gets the Thunderbird treatment

A recent Worth1000 competition focused on puppetry; this entry made me think of that Sixties legend, Thunderbirds.

You can see the collection it came from here.

 

A is for Fonzie

A, is in Aaaaay!

It's today's shirt on TeeFury (which is a nice nod, too, to the font lovers out there). And here I thought that Happy Days was all but forgotten.

Frolic

Once upon a time, Larry David heard some unusually sprightly music in a commercial, and evidently made a mental note about it. The tune is called Frolic, by Luciano Michelini, and its almost absurdly upbeat tone is now known to millions as the theme of Curb Your Enthusiasm, David's absurdly downbeat comedy based on his own life. With the current season well underway, I've been humming it again to myself this summer.