Read Our Minds

The Who: Old? How about Great!

I love football. I love the Super Bowl. I’ve been attending the same Super Bowl party with friends in Buffalo Grove for well over ten years now. My buddy and host, Ben Crown, has everything.  He and his wife Michele are the best. Good eats, good drink, gambling games and many, many high-def television sets all over the house. And Ben pays attention to the sound as well. It’s always a treat to watch the game there.

So now you combine the Super Bowl with my all-time favorite rock ‘n roll band; The Who? I was a kid in a candy store. For the first time in my life, I was more excited about the halftime show than the game itself (although it was a great game, obviously). I had seen the unbelievable acoustic performance Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey put on during the NFL Network news conference on Thursday of Super Bowl week (still have it on the DVR).

OK, this won’t shock you: I thought the 12-minute show was great. It was a tough chore, but I liked the way Roger edited the five classic songs into a medley.  I loved the way the stage was set up and used and the pyrotechnics didn’t get in the way as it does sometimes. The band I thought sounded great, Roger in particular. As usual, The Who put a smile on my face that couldn’t get knocked off for anything. Except for the criticism the “show” received afterwards in some circles. It was weird. So many people vehemently opined that they thought the band was terrible yet it seemed most of the criticism centered on how “old” the band (especially Pete) looked. Terrible? C’mon. OK, let’s stipulate. They are old. We can’t get around that. So what?

In my mind, that’s what makes their performance all the more spectacular. But I’m old too. Perhaps the younger generation is resentful that these geezers can still do it better than they can? Or they hate the face that the classic rock of my generation is still holding up and compares favorably to whatever has come after it? To each its own, I guess. 

But you watch. Next year you are going to see a “younger” halftime band that I’ve never heard of. That’s OK. I usually hate the hour long halftime shows you get at the Super Bowl anyway. I’ll be to catch up on my eating and drinking again.

--Reviewed by Kevin Johnson

Fighting Illini Basketball

Normally, we are supposed to provide a review of a current movie or book in these posts. I just adopted a son from Ethiopia. I haven’t sniffed a movie or a good book in ages.  So I’m going to “review” the one thing I have been able to watch on a regular basis, even here in Madison, WI—the 2010 University of Illinois basketball team (thanks Big Ten Network).

In short, the Illini this year have been inconsistent. Stretches of good play, followed by stretches of drought. On both a macro and micro basis. Going scoreless for extended minutes in games has been a factor in almost all of their losses so far this season. And I’ve never seen an Illini team get its “dobber” down so easily. A couple of things go wrong and it appears they throw in the towel. Yet, this team has made some amazing comebacks this season---especially coming from 23 down at Clemson in December for a big win. Very much a Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde type team.

The problem with this year’s team is defense, rebounding and overall toughness. Individually, the biggest problem has been junior forward Mike Davis. He’s been like the football team’s Juice Williams. Should be getting better each year but isn’t. And the coaches are pulling their hair out trying to figure out why. Davis disappears for too long in games, loses too confidence easily and is a lousy defender. Yet he has the potential to average a double-double in points and rebounds every night. If he ever figures it out, the Illini could go some places.

As it is, we are still in the hunt for an NCAA tournament bid. The biggest reason is junior guard Dimitri McCamey. He’s another one who has caused migraines for the coaches but primarily because he hadn’t been listening and learning about leadership. But he’s finally growing up a bit and getting it. His recent games have been stellar. He’s almost single-handedly won a couple of games lately and that has put the Illini back in the post-season picture. We’ve got some tough games coming up. Anything can happen. But I’ll be watching and, usually, cursing every step of the way.

Here’s a link to the University of Illinois athletic website for more info, stats and stuff:  http://www.fightingillini.com.

Go Illini.

--Reviewed by Kevin Johnson

Chillin' with Julia and Jacque

On Saturdays, while folding laundry and doing other mundane stuff around the house, I turn on PBS (

Channel 11) throughout the house to watch the cooking shows. Thanks to Julie and Julia, Julia Child is back on the air with Jacque Pepin. I love watching Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home. I loved the show ten years ago and I love it today, just as I loved as a child watching her mastery of the meat pounder with my Dad.

 

Inspired, I decided to make Julia’s French Onion Soup. Here’s the video: http://www.thedailybeast.com/video/item/julia-child-french-onion-soup-1/.

 

Here’s how I interpreted the recipe based on what’s in my pantry:

 

In a Dutch oven or stockpot,

 

• Four really large Spanish onions
• Three tablespoons of butter (Julia used olive oil but I wanted the richness of butter for this recipe)

Cook the heck out of the onions, letting them sit still for five or six minutes at a time then scrape up the brown bits and the onions. Repeat this until the onions are well caramelized – probably five or six times if the onions are thinly sliced. You will need a few more times if they’re thicker.  

 

• Sherry

I probably used about a half cup. I have a bottle on hand from some other recipe and didn’t feel like opening a bottle of red since I can’t drink right now and Kevin prefers beer. Besides, I had no idea whether to open the merlot, cabernet or shiraz.  Julia used white with the chicken stock. I think the sherry does wonders with caramelized onions.

 

Over medium heat, let the onions soak up the sherry and the liquid evaporate. This shouldn’t take five minutes.

 

• 32 oz carton beef broth (Julia used chicken stock but my plan was to make that on Sunday. I don’t make my own beef broth.)

Empty the carton; stir it up making sure the last of the brown bits are loosened up.

 

• Salt and Pepper to taste.

While this is all heating up together, I sliced about eight pieces of bread and stuck it under the broiler (top rack) for about two minutes each side. Yes, I have a Thermador oven. Unfortunately it is mid-century and it’s not calibrated. The bread burned quickly. Lesson learned: watch closely to guard against charred crust.

 

Throw what are now croutons into the bottom of large soup bowls. Fill the soup bowls with the soup and lay a few pieces of Swiss cheese on top. Lower the rack a bit to accommodate the bowls, place the bowls on a cookie tray and put back into the oven on broil. In about a minute, your cheese is melted and ready to savor!

 

In all this takes about 45 minutes. Forty of them are for the onions. It’s time consuming but well worth the effort!

 

-- Reviewed by Tracy Shryer

 

Turns out Supernatural is a pretty darned good show

I vaguely recall seeing the promos for the CW show Supernatural when it started up. But going up against NBC's must-see TV, and with me having limited time and DVR capabilities during the week, I just never got around to checking it out. But this summer my son Adam turned me on to it, and I have to say it's actually very entertaining. (Adam generally knows what I'll like, so his recommendation is usually good enough for me.)

I've been watching the DVDs of the first season. Someday I picture grandparents trying to explain scheduled TV to their uncomprehending grandchildren. Watching entire seasons on DVD is really the only way to go. But I digress.

The premise of the show combines several time-honored concepts -- two buddies on the road, going from town to town having adventures (Route 66); ghosts and demons, but with a sense of humor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Reaper); detective work to figure out a mystery (you name it). Still, like a good stew, all the ingredients come together just right to make a tastier meal.

In Supernatural, the two buddies are brothers whose father is hunting for the demon that killed their mother. While their father has gone, he has assigned his sons the job of hunting down other phenemona as part of his overall plan. The older brother, Dean (Jensen Ackles), is all on board with it. He's been hunting demons and such all along, helping his father out. His brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) reluctantly joins him after his college girlfriend dies the same way their mother did -- plastered against the ceiling and then bursting into flames.

The two brothers travel all over the country, much of it in the Midwest, tracking down strange phenomena then trying to figure out how to get rid of it. Many of the story lines involve familiar urban legends, such as the guy with the hook, Resurrection Mary, faith healers in league with the Devil, strange things in creepy insane asylums, etc. But each story has both serious and fun elements that keep it interesting.

The one bad thing is I have a lot of catching up to do. Apparently this show has been on the air a few years and a lot has happened along the way, so it's probably not a good idea for me to watch the new episodes coming this fall. But if you're a fan of this sort of thing, or just like to see well-executed dramas, put Supernatural on your DVD list.

-- Reviewed by Ken Krause

The Meth-head to the Madness

AMC is the next HBO.  On the heels of the wildly successful Mad Men - whose third season just debuted this past Sunday - the network has followed it up with another winner, the critically acclaimed, Emmy award-winning show Breaking Bad.  And while AMC is still leagues behind the juggernaut of great television dramas, it is beginning to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the networks.

Breaking Bad is part serial drama and part dark comedy.  Walter White (Bryan Cranston of Seinfeld and Malcolm in the Middle fame) is a high-school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.  He is fed up with years of being downtrodden by friends and family, and frustrated at his knowledge in chemistry being vastly underutilized.  When he learns that he has a limited time left to live, Walt takes charge and decides to secretely finance his cancer treatments himself, and try to earn a bit of a nest egg to leave behind for his wife and disabled son.

With assistance from former student Jesse Pinkman, Walt puts his chemistry skills to use and begins cooking crystal meth.  With no idea how to sell or distribute the drug, a pregnant and concerned wife wondering where he disappears to and a nosy DEA brother-in-law, Walt has his work cut out for him.
Bryan Cranston steals the show as Walt, and is the most convincing and compelling of the characters.  Unlike many similar shows that suffer from too large casts or poor side storylines, Breaking Bad manages to keep all the plotlines interesting. 

I am a big fan of Breaking Bad's soundtrack.  The theme song is short but sweet, and both seasons are chock full of great tunes.  Towards the end of season 2, one of my favorite songs of 2008, DLZ by TV on the Radio, is used in a pivotal scene that shows how far Walt is willing to go for his family.  I also got a kick of the use of The Outlaw's Green Grass and Hightides, an older tune perhaps only familiar to my generation via Rock Band.

Having just caught up with the first two seasons, I am anxious for Season 3 to begin in early 2010.  I highly recommend this show to everyone, and by now my friends and family are likely sick of me plugging it.

--Reviewed by Dan McDonnell

Institutional Dysfunction: A review of The Wire

I'm not great at picking favorites.  I don't have a favorite food. I don't really have a movie I prefer over all others, and I cringe when asked to narrow down my music selection to solely one band.  I must, however, break with that tradition when it comes to television.  The Wire is without a doubt the best television show I have ever seen.  Having just finished the final episode a few days ago, I may be getting ahead of myself slightly.  My gut reaction is that, after letting the entirety of it all sink and an eventual rewatching(or three?) of the entire series, I am confident that it will continue to hold onto the top spot.  Apologies to Mr. Soprano and the Bluth Family.

Critically acclaimed yet not oft-watched, The Wire aired on HBO from 2002 until 2008.  Created by David Simon and Ed Burns, the show draws on their experiences at The Baltimore Sun and the Baltimore City Police Department to create a staggeringly realistic profile of the troubled city.  Each of the five seasons of the HBO drama peel a new layer away, revealing the interconnectedness of the city's institutions, and ultimately how a city lives together.

The first season follows a major case unit's drug investigation, from the points of view of both the dealers and the police.  Season two examines the ports of Baltimore and the Stevedores union, where season three adds city hall and politics to the mix.  Season four, easily the strongest chapter of the entire series, follows the lives of four middle-school children in Baltimore, and their efforts to escape the drug corners.  The finale episode of the fourth season is simply astounding (there I go with the superlatives again, sorry.), and left me both amazed and depressed.  The final season introduces the news media, examining journalistic integrity and media sensationalism through The Baltimore Sun.

Instead of focusing solely on each new piece of the pie, every season builds upon previous characters and storylines.  We find that the distinctions between the good and the evil aren't quite so easily made, and nearly every character is beholden to an institution- for better or for worse -, be it the school system, city hall or the PD.

Even the chief protagonist of The Wire is more of anti-hero than hero.  Obsessed with cracking drug cases and putting the kingpins behind bars, Jimmy McNulty is 'natural police,' but his personal life is in shambles because of it.  He is constantly reprimanded and punished for his dedication to his work, wheras fellow officers willing to 'play the game,' using political maneuvering, backstabbing and favor-trading, advance and are rewarded.

The Wire follows the stories of cops, drug dealers, kingpins, junkies, union workers, mayoral candidates, news editors, school teachers, would-be hitmen and more.  With very few exceptions, each character's narrative is a pleasure to watch unfold.  There's Stringer Bell, second-in-command of the Barksdale drug organization, who takes economics classes at the community college.  We also meet slimy lawyer Maurice Levy, who will represent the most brutal and vile drug dealers, if the price is right.  Carver and Herc are two knucklehead cops willing to cut ethical corners and not above a bit of brutality to earn their stripes.  One of my personal favorites is stick-up artist Omar Little, perhaps the one character in the series not tied to a particular institution.  His oft-repeated line, "It's all in the game, yo," serves as the unofficial tagline for the entire series- and time and time again we see characters in The Wire struggle between playing by the rules of 'the game,' or risking it all to follow an ideal.

It is Bubbles, though, that hooked me on this show.  A heroin addict, scam runner and a CI(confidential informant) for the Baltimore City Police, Bubs' struggle against addiction and attempts to keep his nose clean are fantastically written.  His story is one of the more compelling of the lot, and the actor portrays him quite convincingly.  As the story goes, while preparing for a scene, the actor playing Bubs was given a package of heroin by a real-life addict, who quipped:  "Looks like you need this more than I do." 

In the end, The Wire is a story about institutions.  The power they hold, how they serve to kill initative and good intentions, and the perverse incentives that keep those who play shrewd politics at the top of the pyramid.  Fascinating from start to finish, any way you slice it, The Wire is a must watch.

--Reviewed by Dan McDonnell

Grey’s Anatomy

I don’t watch much TV in the summer. Sure, sometimes I zone out to Big Brother or that silly game show where people fall into the mud trying to jump around on humongous rubber balls. Most of the time, after five minutes I move on to fold laundry, get some work done or dream about the gourmet kitchen we’ll have someday.  The last show I really watched was the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy. 

Grey’s is important to me. On Friday mornings, one of my clients, a colleague at Tech Image and I usually do a quick round robin of emails about the episode the night before. Unfortunately, I’m wondering whether I’ll have to drop out of this virtual water cooler conversation next season.

The scripts are well written. I appreciate the arcs and nuances.  I truly respect Shonda Rhimes’ (the show’s creator) artistry. But I am getting tired of the drama!

I was left dissatisfied with the ending between “Mer and Der” as he walked away to tie up loose ends while Meredith Grey stood alone in the house of candles. The drama! Oh the drama. The character Meredith is now whole enough to allow for love but another roadblock seems to be ahead – it’s inevitable because of all the dramatic arcs Shonda’s written throughout the four seasons Grey’s has aired. And, honestly, that just doesn't sit well with me. Too much never ending drama is, well, it's something I'm trying to cut out of my life.

Despite the ongoing drama between these two and in their lives in general, I know that in real life there can be true love even if there are blips and bumps. Whether my life crises are with family, colleagues, daily struggles with life encounters, or just because my loved one snored too loud last night, I know I am going to end the day with a man who offers unconditional support, guidance and always a pure and simple laugh - from both the belly and the heart. That beats any drama any day.

So my point, I guess, is why so much drama for these two characters? Here I am thinking they are not really extraordinary at all. If anyone is extraordinary, it’s the supporting character Bailey. Screw the drama; this character rocks! She sees the big picture. And as often as she points out the open path for her residents, they just walk into the roadblocks.

I don't know, maybe I'm too mature for this show. I want to be more like Bailey and her role just isn’t big enough on the small screen. I don’t want the scene to end when I hear her say, "Look at the big picture.” I want to hear her say something like this: "Stop Whining. Just shut up. Do Your Work. Use your extraordinary skills and make life better for the sick people around you. Stop with your banal banter and drama. Move on!"

The problem is that I'm tired of the lead actors and the drama they have to play out each week. They seem to be stuck in season one. Let's get wrapped up in their surgeries, their drunken best man at the wedding, their first kid skinning his/her nose upon his/her first steps.

Give me a belly laugh. Give me more Bailey poetry. Give me Bailey, Grey and McDreamy bouncing around on those big rubber balls in the mud pond.

Or, maybe next season Shonda Rhimes’ new show, Private Practice, a test run.

-Reviewed by Tracy Shryer

Lost Season Four Review

(If you haven't seen "Lost and intend to eventually, do not read this post.  It will spoil four seasons of Lost goodness, fill you with unbridled rage towards this article's poster- which is hazardous for his health, and just plain ruin your day.  Don't say I didn't warn you.)

The castaways of Oceanic Flight 815 have been on a strange island in the South Pacific for over three months.  We've grown to love the roguish con man Sawyer, questioned our trust in turncoats Michael and Juliet, and we've taken sides in the perpetual struggle between would-be-leaders Jack Shepard and John Locke.  And we still don't know what to make of Mr. Benjamin Linus.  We've suspended our disbelief, questioned our allegiances and wondered many times, "What the hell is going on?"  And yet, the shark remains un-jumped.

Executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse sure as hell know how to bring the house down in a finale.  Season One showed us that the survivors were far from alone on the island.  Two brought the revelation that the plane crash may not have been an accident at all. And in a complete reversal of the always-intriguing flashback formula, season three showed us the first flash-forward- a future where the show's Golden Boy, Jack Shepard has left the island and sunk into depression and addiction.  Season Four certainly had a lot to live up to.

As the season takes off, Jack and co. begin to realize that the freighter they make contact with isn't quite there to rescue them-  far from it, in fact. Meanwhile, Locke, Ben and Hurley, recognizing the threat the freighter poses to the Island(notice the capitalization), seek out the guidance of the enigmatic Jacob to find out how to protect it.

Despite interferences from the writer's strike, Season 4 moves at a very respectable pace. The first couple of episodes are a bit slower than the rest(the Freighter flashbacks, Juliet & Desmond's episodes), but by the middle of the season, things move lightning-quick.

The newly introduced flash-forwards are a great addition to the show. Watching the stories of the six castaways off of the Island gives an added depth to the show, and poses tons more questions.  How do they get off the Island?  Will the ever go back?  What happened to those who didn't get off?   Ben's flashforward brings a few game changers as well- the potential for the involvement of time travel, the mysterious game he is involved in, and HE GETS OFF THE FREAKING ISLAND TOO. 

Speaking of Ben, I can't think of any character in the show that does a better job of acting than Michael Emerson.  His combination of creepy and manipulative are better than ever- and we even catch a glimpse, albeit a tiny one, of his human side.  Yes, he does have one.  Though as is typical of prime-time serial dramas, overacting plagues a few cast members, namely the newer ones.  Faraday tries way too hard to act spacey, and the actor who plays Keamy wouldn't seem out of place in a C or D-list Horror film.  Josh Holloway's Sawyer is overly gruff, as usual. And yes, we get it Jack.  You are tortured with the responsibility of the lives of everyone on the Island.  Quit grimacing so much!

The season's best episode (and one of the best of the series, in this reader's opinion) comes right before the finale.  "Cabin Fever" shows the birth, childhood and teenager years of the love-him or hate-him John Locke.  We watch young Locke visited by a native of the island (Richard Alpert, who appears the same age in the 1950's as he does in 2000.. hmmm), and it is clear that something is indeed up.  Locke did not come to the island by accident.  The entire episode is pivotal to seeing why Locke so staunchly believes the Island is his destiny, and also why you shouldn't "Tell [him] what he can't do!"  Is it a justification for his occasionally irrational decisions?  Maybe not, but we can at least recognize that the man has had a very difficult life, and the Island truly represents a sort of salvation for him.  It also poses a question central to the mythology of the show- the Others/Hostiles/Natives to the Island are clearly recruiting  boys of special ability for a unknown purpose(see Ben, Walt, Aaron, etc.).  What is this purpose, and though Locke failed this test, how did he still get to come to the Island? 

And the finale does not disappoint.  Ben moves the Island, and is banished in the process.  Locke takes over leadership of the Others, and we catch a glimpse of his fate, three years down the road.  The Oceanic Six escape, though not before a few main characters can be killed off.   And  Walt  returns... sort of.

In typical Lost fashion, it introduces more questions than answers.  What happened to Jin?  Why is Jack's dead father reaching out to the castaways?  What is Ben's motivation in all of this?   What happened on the Island while they were gone to make Locke leave?

Best of all, it leaves it literally impossible to predict how Season Five will begin.  Will we have more flashforwards?  Flashbacks?  Will we even see the Island next season?  But the biggest question of all:  will the wait till January to find out drive every Lost-ie out there completely insane?

- Reviewed by Dan McDonnell

Reaper

Let's start out by me saying Reaper is the best hour-long drama on television. It's funny, it's clever, it has interesting characters and storylines, and it's different. While it may not be quite as sharp as Buffy the Vampire Slayer just yet, it definitely is along those lines. Here's the premise.

Main character Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison) is a young slacker, working a job he doesn't particularly care for at The Work Bench, a knockoff of Home Depot. With him are his two best pals Bert "Sock" Wysocki (Tyler Labine) and Ben (Rick Gonzales) as well as the girl of his dreams, Andi (Missy Peregrym). On his 21st birthday, Sam gets an unhappy "present." He discovers that before he was born his parents sold his soul to the Devil (Ray Wise) in exchange for curing his father's cancer. Now it's time to collect. But the Devil doesn't want him dead. Instead, he wants Sam to work for him on Earth, chasing down souls that have escaped from Hell. "You'll be a like a bounty hunter," Satan tells Sam. "That's cool, right?"

The essence of the show is the characters. Sam and his pals do some unusual and stupid things to chase down and capture the escaped souls. Yet it seems like just the kind of thing these slackers would do. Sam is a really, really nice guy -- one of those types who typically gets stepped on by the cool kids. He is very earnest in what he does, with a good moral center, knowing right from wrong. That's where a lot of the conflict comes in. On the one hand, he is helping save lives on Earth by ridding it of evil souls bent on killing and hurting people. On the other hand, he IS working for Satan.

Ah, yes, Satan. In Reaper, Satan is not a giant red demon with horns, a tail, and a pitchfork. He is more like a slick businessman, nattily decked out in designer suits, a $200 haircut, a spray-on tan, a dazzling smile, and a decidedly upbeat personality. He treats Sam like a friend and mentor, encouraging him, giving him hints on how to capture the next soul, buying him a beer or ice cream, and generally acting really chummy. He also offers Sam suggestions on how to capture Andi's heart and how to live life. Of course, this is still the Devil, so often those personal suggestions aren't as well-intentioned as one might think. And every now and then, when Sam forgets who he's talking to, Satan's demeanor changes and you remember this is not some harmless uncle he's dealing with, but an evil being of incredible power.

The cleverness of the show works at many levels, not just on the surface. For example, each week Sam is given a different "vessel" to use in capturing the escaped soul. But these are not elaborate mystical devices, at least not to the untrained eye. In the first episode it's a Dirt Devil (irony intended); in another it was a bottle of bubbles. When Sam asks Satan what he should do with the soul once he's captured it, he's instructed to take it to a portal to Hell. When asked how to find it, Satan says "Anywhere that seems like Hell on Earth is actually Hell on Earth. Like the DMV office..."

The show has not had tremendous ratings, but there was a loyal enough audience for it to come back next January. In the meantime, they're showing reruns. Definitely get thee in front of a TV and check it out. You'll get hooked.

Tuesday nights, 9:00 ET/8:00 CT on the CW network.

-- Reviewed by Ken Krause