Idol Chatter

Paris is Out, but Should We Care?

2007-06-07T12:42:00.000-04:00

Paris Hilton is a free woman. I repeat, Paris Hilton is a free woman.

The celebutante was released from the Century City Correctional Facility early this morning, report celebrity gossip purveyors TMZ.com and Perezhilton.com. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department is set to have a press conference later this afternoon. CBS and the Associated Press are reporting that she will be wearing an ankle bracelet and will be confined to 40 days in her home.

According to a lawyer friend of mine, it shouldn't be too unexpected that the heiress would be released without serving out her 23-day (reduced from 45) sentence. Because of jail overcrowding, most sentences for nonviolent crimes are reduced for as many things as possible: good behavior, first offense, etc.

When I first heard the news, I was a bit outraged. What a tease the justice system can be! Paris violated terms of her probabtion: driving on a suspended license post-DUI. More specifically, she violated three terms of her probabation, according to FindLaw: "She failed to enroll in an alcohol education course within 21 days of her original sentencing, ... had several traffic violations after receiving probation," and "was stopped by L.A. sheriff deputies for driving 'a new Bentley' at 70 m.p.h. in a 35 m.p.h. zone 'in darkness without her headlights on,' and without a valid driver’s license." It wasn't as if she was caught throwing eggs at someone's house. DUI is a serious, and potentially lethal, infraction.

But then, my outrage quieted and turned to the ennui I experienced everytime I turned to a news show where Ms. Hilton's incarceration was either the topic of the entire hour or was documentated minute-by-minute at the bottom of the screen. How did Paris Hilton become hard news (as she has been for the past weeks now)? Surely there are more important world events that need to be covered--the G8 summit, Afghanistan, kidnapped children, for example.

Am I as morbidly fascinated to know that Hilton finally took out her blue contacts, reverting to her natural brown eyes and that the other inmates complimented her on her new natural look? Sure I am. And news organizations can justify the coverage by saying they are debating "celebrity justice." But then you don't hear much about "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis' multiple incarcerations for much more serious offenses that deserve discussion.

I turn to tabloids for my junk-food journalism and hope that CNN (which is reporting on the news) and its bretheren will in the future leave Paris in the entertainment cell block where she belongs. Remember when the Assosciated Press instituted a temporary ban on Paris Hilton news? Good times, indeed.

'Gracie' Will Inspire You

2007-06-07T11:32:00.000-04:00

When the credits rolled for "Gracie" I couldn't leave. I wanted to see every last second of this extraordinary film, which opened last week, about a fifteen-year-old girl, Gracie, who works through the loss of a favorite older brother by throwing her heart and soul into making the high school varsity soccer team--the male varsity soccer team.

It's 1978 and Title IX is still in its nascent years. Girls may have had the right to play "girl sports" like field hockey, but the explosion of interest in girls' soccer has yet to happen. "Gracie" is a tribute to that time, a time capsule of sorts about breaking down barriers--not just about whether or not a girl gets to play, but also about the stereotypes concerning girls and sports, like whether or not girls are tough enough to handle playing with the boys--and it comes complete with a 70's style soundtrack and fashion sense.

Newcomer Carly Schroeder's "Gracie" is riveting--she infuses such emotion, vulnerability, grit, and boundless determination into this girl that audiences won't be able to take their eyes off of her and will find themselves cheering until the very last moment.

"Gracie" is inspired by the real life experiences of actress Elisabeth Shue and her soccer-crazed family. Shue had to fight for attention among her three brothers and her Dad by succeeding on the field. It was the loss of the beloved eldest brother that pushed the Elisabeth and brother Andrew to tell this story--it's about his love of soccer and his endless encouragement of his baby sister's athletics.

Though Carly Schroeder is truly the star of this film, Gracie can't face her task alone. It's not just the memory of her brother's voice--whispering "You can do it, Gracie, I believe in you," into her ear--that gets Gracie through the hard times. It's the hard-won faith from dad (with a masterful performance by Dermot Mulroney) and mom (Elizabeth Shue, also wonderful in this role) that helps Gracie transform from insecure, grieving sister to empowered, confident, and skillful young woman ready to honor her brother's memory. Both Mulroney and Shue infuse a moving honesty in their roles as parents.

When I saw "Gracie" there was only one other person in the theater. This is a terrible shame. "Gracie" is a must-see for girls (and it should be for guys too) this summer. It's destined not only to become one of the great feel-good sports movies, but it will remind confident girls of this generation about their predecessors--girls (not just women) who broke barriers so that they can play sports today.

Prediction: A New Christian Media Company Won't Deliver

2007-06-07T11:07:00.000-04:00

Disney couldn't do it, though "The Chronicles of Narnia" was a darned good try. New Line didn't connect with audiences with "The Nativity Story." But if anyone can recreate the box-office magic that Mel Gibson found in "The Passion of the Christ," shouldn't it be David Kirkpatrick, co-founder of Good News Holdings, a Christian media company?

A born-again Christian and former president of Paramount Pictures, Kirkpatrick has attracted investments from Rupert Murdoch's news corporation and former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, and has formed partnerships with Christian mainstays like publisher Tyndale House and Promisekeepers. He's got serious cash--yesterday's Boston Globe reports that he's looking to buy a few hundred acres near Beantown as a home for his fledgling studio.

Kirkpatrick also has a good eye for what sells. Among the company's first offerings: a movie version of "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt," Anne Rice's first novel since she found religion and gave up vampires, and a teen-horror flick called "Dudleytown." And if Kirkpatrick has any doubts about what is evangelically correct, he can turn to George Barna, the premier pollster of the Christian world. (Barna happens to be chairman of Good News Holdings.)

But as promising, and interesting as it is, don't expect Kirkpatrick's plan for a new Christian media company to hit the jackpot. "The Passion" was visionary, unorthodox and slightly loony--a truly independent film, no matter how much it cost to make--and no movie studio, with backers and focus groups and theologically keepers, will be able to reproduce Gibson's success. Expect from Kirkpatrick precisely what movie studios have been offering religious audiences since Cecil B. DeMille: great special effects and treacly sentiments.

'Traveler': Back From the Dead

2007-06-07T07:01:00.000-04:00

Last night "Traveler"--in its third episode--maintained the breakneck pace of its two-hour premier. Between the nonstop action and music to set the we're-not-going-to-let-you-even-breath mood, "Traveler" is proving itself as the new "24".

Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog are desperate, on the run from an entire nation watching out for these two young men wanted by the FBI for blowing up a major Manhattan museum and now the mysterious death of a man they'd last seen alive. What's great about "Traveler" is its mystery--it's not about to let viewers in on any secrets that Jay and Tyler aren't aware of. We're just as in the dark and dependent on their efforts to find out who their former best friend Will Traveler really is--and why he'd go to such great length to frame them.

And speaking of Will Traveler--believed to be killed in the explosion--the big reveal in last night's episode was that Traveler's alive. Perhaps he's a ghost? It would seem so since it appeared that they'd found his body in the wreckage. Which also means that ABC's fast-paced new show is about to get even more interesting.

Good News For Christian Entertainment

2007-06-06T21:55:00.000-04:00

While studios like Fox are busy trying to ramp up their production of entertainment marketed to the Christian community, Christian media moguls like David Kirkpatrick aren't interested in seeking Hollywood's favor. Instead, Kirkpatrick, a former executive at Paramount, wants Hollywood to come to him.

Last year Kirkpatrick, along with pollster George Barna and former E! network executive Christopher Chisholm, formed Good News Holdings with an eye toward developing motion picture and other mass media-related products for Christians. But while the company is currently based in Studio City, Kirkpatrick announced in the Boston Globe that he is pursuing building a major studio facility in Massachusetts.

With projects like the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s "Christ the Lord" and a deal with DirecTV to create a new channel, it's not out of the question for someone like Kirkpatrick to develop such an extensive facility. Oprah created her studio in Chicago. Ted Turner created his in Atlanta. (For that matter Tyler Perry is producing his TBS series, "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," out of Atlanta as well.)

My colleague, Paul O'Donnell, seems to think that Kirkpatrick's company won't deliver anything remarkable. That remains to be seen. But what makes this development really interesting is that this marks the first time a group of Christians have enough clout to consider working--successfully--completely outside the inner sanctum of Hollywood on their own terms.

Classy Mindy Doo Rocks EW!

2007-06-06T13:19:00.000-04:00

Entertainment Weekly has posted video of the top three "American Idol" finalists visiting the magazine's offices, and once again, I am reminded that Melinda Doolittle was just about the classiest, most talented contestant the show has seen. In the five-minute segment EW.com posted, Mindy Doo displays the same humility and intelligence she showed every week on stage. She talks frankly about forgetting some lyrics one week and insists that that wasn't the only mistake she made during the season--a claim her EW interviewers rightfully dismiss.

Melinda's faith is also on display in the segment: Prodded by the interviewers to sing for them (and reminded that it must be a song in the public domain, of course), she offers the first lines of a haunting "Amazing Grace." Her good-hearted humor also shows through, as she tails off from the true lyrics to sing, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound / That's all you'll get from me."

Yes, I am still lamenting her loss in "Idol," but I have no doubt that, like other third-place contestants before her, she will have a great future. Admittedly, she doesn't have the stage presence of a rock star, and that's what I love about her. She was all talent, just talent, only talent, and that, of course, is why she made it to "Idol's" upper echelons but didn't emerge the winner.

For me, I am happy "settling" for a solid-gold voice, genuine modesty, and deep faith, even if it doesn't come with--or especially because it doesn't come with--the polished rock-star presence of some of her fellow contestants.

Praying for Paris' Redemption?

2007-06-06T12:23:00.000-04:00

Gossip site TMZ.com is reporting that Mark Dice, a Christian conspiracy theorist, and his group of like-minded individuals called "The Resistance," were no-shows at a promised "Pray for Paris" rally/incarceration celebration at The Beverly Hilton last night.

"TMZ camera's were on hand to catch what was supposed to be a riled-up group as they trashed Hilton memorabilia in celebration of a time they hope will allow the heiress some deep "self reflection," reports the site. "So what did our cameras catch? Nothing. ... Dice never rolled in."

But as they would say in Paris' namesake city, "Au contraire, mon frere." Dice has posted video of himself at TheResistanceManifesto.com at The Beverly Hilton, wearing his "Pray for Paris" T-shirt, pontificating on Paris' possible prison conversion to a worthier person, interviewing fellow partiers, and being shown the door by hotel security.

Dice, a character smashup of Bill O'Reilly and Henry Rollins, calls the celbutante a "drunken party slut" and hopes that she will leave the slammer as someone who will "contribute to society ... someone who will help the less fortunate, instead of making fun of them." Paris is an easy target for late night comedians and publicity-seeking pundits. And while Dice falls squarely in this category, at least when asked why he would want to pray for Paris when she wouldn't pray for him if he were in jail, he responded, "The Golden Rule of Life is to treat others the way you'd want to be treated." Heck, with this kind of prayer who needs enemies?

'Tyler Perry's House of Payne:' It's All in the Delivery

2007-06-06T09:22:00.000-04:00

With television sitcoms becoming an almost extinct species these days, it might seem like ratings suicide to air a sitcom as old-fashioned as TBS's "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," which debuts tonight. The premise of more than one generation of a close knit African American family living under one roof seems like a blue-collar throwback to "The Cosby Show" or even a show like "What's Happening."

The storylines for "Payne" are also standard sitcom fare (tonight's episode focuses on one of patriarch Curtis Payne’s grandnephews being bullied at school.) So why did TBS buy one hundred episodes of this series--something completely unheard of in Hollywood? Well, as any good comedian will tell you, comedy is all about the delivery. And it's how Tyler Perry, actor/writer/producer, delivers "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" that will make the show a hit with his millions of fans.

What "House of Payne" lacks in plot originality, it makes up for with its unique energy and spirit. Most of the cast have worked together with Perry on his other projects, so there is a chemistry and camaraderie among them that naturally spills over into the show--making some of the more over-the-top characters still believable as well as lovable.

And then there is the way Perry infuses those old-fashioned family values like respect, hard work and faith with his irreverent style--particularly in the character of Madea, the sassy older black woman (and favorite Perry character) played by Perry in drag, who makes a hilarious special guest appearance to the Payne household tonight. (Honestly, wouldn't we all like to be able to speak our minds like Madea at least once in awhile?)

All in all, "Payne" is a harmless enough diversion for a summer series, but where it misses an opportunity to be a little bit more than that is in the way it treats personal struggles by certain family members. There are some genuine opportunities within the story lines to address forgiveness and faith as only close-knit families can, and from the episodes I saw, those opportunities are glossed over quickly. It'd be nice if "Payne" could find the balance between heart and humor that would make the show the memorable home that Perry's characters deserve.

And if you'd like to spend more time inside "Tyler Perry's House of Payne,"check out the rest of Beliefnet's coverage.

Cleaning Up After the MTV Movie Awards

2007-06-05T14:58:00.000-04:00

Hallelujah! (And you don't have to bleep that out!)

After watching the rude-and-crude MTV movie awards and readying to post a blog that would have leaked a bit too much anger and frustration at what television is still becoming, some good news arrived. The frustration came from the MTV movie awards; the inspiration came from a story in the Hollywood Reporter about family values on TV.

Our family has long enjoyed the Academy Awards, the Grammys, and occasionally the American Music awards as nights where the guys and girls young and old can gather together and enjoy a cultural celebration. But the family room just doesn't seem like the place to gather when the MTV producers have to turn an awards show into shock-jock TV, replete with cussing, sexual innuendo--and then the more serious stuff.

I'm not prudishly saying a show shouldn't spice things up a bit, but potty-mouth comedian Sarah Silverman and near-drunk-actors-on-display doesn't fit my idea of what a show should be like when its target audience are the teens and tweens who make up MTV's demographic. We knew what was coming and didn't watch it with the kids, but an American celebration of movies, music, and culture should build us up, not drag us down.

Such was the reason for joy today as I read about some upcoming TV shows that have earned the seal of approval from the Family Friendly Programming Forum. Heck, I didn't even know the FFPF existed.

NBC’s "Chuck" and "The Bionic Woman" and The CW's "Life is Wild" are at the top of the FFPF's list for the coming year. Other returning shows that were previously heralded are ABC's "Ugly Betty," "Brothers & Sisters" and "Notes From the Underbelly"; NBC's "Friday Night Lights"; and The CW's "Everybody Hates Chris." According to the Hollywood Reporter, the FFPF "has secured at least one family-friendly programming option in primetime each night of the week" except for lowly-rated Saturday night.

That’s good news! I hope the organization earns more steam, gets more attention, gains more clout, and raises more funds for its Script Development Fund, which helps these family-friendly shows get the project development nursing they need.

"Life Is Wild" is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Sundays, "Chuck" is set for 9 p.m. Tuesdays, and "Bionic Woman" will air at 9 p.m. Wednesdays. I hope the end products are as inspiring as the development ideas. It's at least a start in the right direction.

Tyler Perry Tackles TV

2007-06-05T11:51:00.000-04:00

It was little more than two years ago that Tyler Perry seemed to come from nowhere--actually, it was from the African-American theater scene--to see his debut film, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," gross more than $50 million. That made this formerly homeless man of faith one of the hottest filmmakers in Hollywood. How big is he? Today, Perry's name is integrated into the title of just about anything he produces--as in February's "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls," his third-consecutive Valentine's Day (or thereabouts) theatrical release.

Now, Perry is hitting the small screen with a new series on TBS, called, yes, "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." This sitcom, premiering Wednesday at 9, focuses on a multigenerational family, the Paynes, all living under one roof. As with everything Perry does, faith and family take center stage, even as he tackles a traditional comedy-TV format.

Beliefnet has partnered with TBS to bring you editorial features related to "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." Click here to watch video of Tyler Perry discussing the new series, or check out these other features:

For more on "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," click here.

Meteorologist Moby Vs. Evangelicals

2007-06-05T11:11:00.000-04:00

It seems that Moby is stepping into the religious weather man role now that Jerry Falwell has passed on. Last week, the musician asked in his online journal, "You know how the religious right will every now and then say that some natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.) happen because God is angry at secular sinners? …. then why do 90 p;ercent of the tornadoes in America occur in red, Republican states, and why do the majority of hurricanes that strike the U.S. tend to strike red, Republican states, as well?"

Using a number of online weather maps, the great-great grand nephew of Herman Melville estimates that the majority or tornadoes and hurricanes devastate areas highly populated by right-wing evangelicals.

While Moby is of the mind that natural disasters "happen for non-anthropocentric reasons and are, actually, just examples of extreme and arbitrary weather" and is "not making light of the damage done," the self-described "weird little Christian" hopes "to point out another small logical inconsistency on the part of our evangelical pals."

While it's nice to see Moby doing a little research on the topic (although I would like to see a politcal demographic map) surely a man with his technological prowess could have come up with a powerpoint presentation that would have blown Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" right out of the water!

'Knocked Up' Actually Goes Beyond Raunchy Laughs

2007-06-04T13:04:00.000-04:00

Though he started out writing some of the most sparkling comedy on television back in the '90s ("Freaks and Geeks," "The Ben Stiller Show") director/writer Judd Apatow has been given the dubious distinction of producing a new genre of film--romantic comedies for men. Following up the box office success of "The Forty Year Old Virgin"--a raunchy comedy about a man who is stunted emotionally but finds true love--Apatow brings us "Knocked Up," a raunchy comedy about a man who is stunted emotionally but finds true love.

But while I felt "Virgin" never really rose about its "Animal House"-style gags, "Knocked Up" has some unexpected moments of depth and sweetness in between the fratboy hi-jinks. Whether that means the film's ultimately pro-family message is lost amidst the alcohol shots, constant obscenities, and gross-out moments is something worth debating at the water cooler--because I personally don't have an answer to that question yet.

"Knocked Up" begins by introducing the audience to Allison Scott (Katherine Heigel) , a successful talk show personality on the E! Network, and Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), a slacker who lives with his equally unmotivated stoner pals somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. They meet at a bar and have a drunken one-night stand, but they are then faced with the consequences of their actions when Allison discovers she is pregnant. With the not always helpful advice of Allison's sister and brother-in-law, Deb and Pete, the mismatched couple decide they should at least try to see if they can form some kind of relationship for the future of their child.

There are plenty of predictable moments in the film--Ben and his buddies spend their free time working on launching a soft-core porn site, Ben tries to connect with his equally emotionally stunted father, and so on. But the film rises above being more than a risqué romp in the moments between Allison and Deb and in the moments between Pete and Ben. During a moment in a Vegas hotel room, Pete confesses to Ben that he realizes that he is the one with issues, not Deb, because the biggest problem he has is that Deb desires to spend more time with him because she loves him so much. (Now granted, this monologue is fueled by illegal substances, but it’s still touching.

At the same moment in time, Allison and Deb--who have been denied entry to a swanky night club--receive a hilarious yet profound scolding from the club's bouncer. In both instances, the shallowness and selfishness of the choices all of these characters make is revealed, and they begin to make healthy changes in their lives.

Which leads back to the question of whether or not the movie's more intelligent moments justify the more salacious ones. This movie is absolutely not for everyone, and those with more conservative tastes should steer clear. On the other hand, in his own style, Apatow has offered a unique moral compass to all of the Millenialists who flocked to this film this last weekend. Most of all "Knocked Up" makes me hope that Apatow will apply his insight and talent to something a little more subtle and a lot more more saavy in the future.

Organ Donation Reality Show is Really a Big Con

2007-06-04T12:17:00.000-04:00

Many reality television shows have some kind of secret twist at the end for the contestant, a scintilating surprise that only the audience is in on. Recall Bravo's 2003 "Boy Meets Boy," a gay dating show where not all the suitors were gay, unbeknownst to the suitor.

But rarely has the audience itself been "punked," until now. Last week in Idol Chatter I blogged about the "The Big Donor Show," a Dutch reality show in which a terminally ill patient decides who is worthy of her kidney. And then I, and everyone else, learned this show was a fantastic fabrication.

The Associated Press reports that, "Shortly before the controversial program was to air, Patrick Lodiers of the 'Big Donor Show' said the woman was not actually dying of a brain tumor and the entire exercise was intended to put pressure on the government and raise awareness of the need for organs."

The three "contestants" were actual patients in need of tranplants and were in on the joke.

I have a friend who can always tell who will be voted off on the next "Survivor" based on the editing of the teasers, so perhaps I should have been a bit more suspicious when all the press releases leading up to the show stated time and time again that people may think the concept in bad taste, but that it was simply meant to raise awareness about the serious lack in organ donoations in the Netherlands (and the world, for that matter). But I wasn't the only one duped. This week's Time magazine also has a blurb about this show--and not that it's a fabrication.

While some kidney patients lauded the show as "brilliant," others were upset by it. But the truly upsetting aspect of this ploy is that in today's society, with the current state of reality television, no one thought it so outrageous as to be the hoax that it actually was.

'Knocked Up': Where's the Abortion Discussion?

2007-06-04T11:50:00.000-04:00

I remember being equal parts curious and disturbed several years ago when my mother told me that she really enjoyed "The 40-year old Virgin." Disturbed, since one naively doesn't like to imagine one's mother enjoying such sexually explicit humor (much in the same way we don't like to think of our parents actually having sex) ,and curious since she really enjoyed Steve Carrell's portrayal of the lovelorn titular character hidden amongst writer/director Judd Apatow’s bawdy buddy repartee.

Apatow’s latest, "Knocked Up," is more of the same, but this time he has created a chick flick wrapped in deliciously crass clothing. Think "She’s Having a Baby" meets "American Pie."

Up-and-coming E! News anchor woman Alison Scott (Grey's Anatomy’s Katherine Heigl) hooks up with pot-smoking slacker Ben Stone (writer Seth Rogen) only to find that their one-night stand results in more than sheepish grins in the morning. Alison decides to keep the baby and Ben says that he’s "on board."

But, even as Alison and Ben try to make their relationship work, Alison's sister's (Debbie troubled marriage seems to serve as a preview--and Ben keeps disappointing Alison (saving his bong during an earthquake instead of her). Needless to say, in the end, Ben rises to the occasion, getting a real job and his own place; things end up happily for the fledgling family.

The movie is at turns deeply touching, hysterically funny and doggedly realistic, especially the portrayal of Pete's (Paul Rudd) and Debbie's (Leslie Mann) marital problems--suspicions of infidelity, fears of not being able to be loved. As Pete says, "marriage is like 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' except that it's not funny."

Heck, even the fact that Heigl's Scott would hook up with a schlub like Rogen's Ben actually comes off realistic. But, I have to agree with Slate’s Dana Stevens that the least realistic aspect of the film is the fact that abortion was never really discussed as an option, but alluded to in silly ways, as in one scene where one character suggests something "that rhymes with sma-smortion."

"It's just not believable that, in Alison and Ben's upper-middle-class, secular L.A. milieu, abortion would not be matter-of-factly discussed as a possibility in the case of a pregnancy this accidental," writes Stevens. "If she doesn't want one, great--obviously, there'd be no movie if she did--but let's hear about why not. Otherwise, her character becomes a cipher, a foil for Ben's epiphanies about growing up, without being allowed any epiphanies of her own. The biggest unanswered question about Heigl's character is one the movie never tiptoes near--why does she decide to keep the baby?"

In an interview with The Onion’s A/V Club, Rogen notes that the choice wasn't in any way political: "We always knew that was not something we wanted to dwell on. It wasn't a movie about a woman deciding whether she should keep her baby; it was about a woman who decided she was going to keep the baby. ... But it just seemed like, you need her to make that decision to get to the other hour and a half of the movie, so let's just try to get there."

As much as I would like to think that Alison's decision to keep the baby is merely a device to motivate this charming story about two unlikely people finding each other, it seems too glib and naïve for a movie that illustrates so smartly and honestly life's most serious moments with such amusing aplomb.

Personal political leanings aside, "Knocked Up" is neither conservative, nor liberal, but another Apatow fairy tale--foul-mouthed and full of feeling. A mix that even a mother could love.

'Battlestar Galactica' Goes Supernova

2007-06-01T18:15:00.000-04:00

In announcement that will surely crush every sci-fi fanboy and fangirl out there, not to mention this reporter, Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, executive producers of "Battlestar Galactica," have decided that season four will be the last for the Peabody Award-winning series.

"This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and finally, an end," Eick and Morre stated in a Sci-Fi Channel press release. "Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms. ... And while we know our fans will be saddened to know the end is coming, they should brace themselves for a wild ride getting there--we're going out with a bang."

While I have no doubt that the show will go out in a spectacular fashion, it doesn't make up for the void "Galactica" will leave behind. Not only is it the best science-fiction on television right now (and clearly re-energized the genre), but it is also the most timely and thought-provoking show on television. Name another show that is able to deal with post-9/11 cultural and spiritual paradigms with such aplomb. Hence the afore-mentioned Peabody Award.

In addition, "Galactica" has been honored as one of the 10 Outstanding Television Programs of the Year by the American Film Institute (AFI) for two years running and second top-most sci-fi project--in television or film--of the past 25 years by Entertainment Weekly. This is a quality show and will be sorely missed.

Although more details will be forthcoming about the fantastic final season this afternoon during a conference call, all this fangirl can say is "frak."

40 Years Ago Today: I'm Still a Pepper

2007-06-01T15:56:00.000-04:00

Nearly 50 years after they met, and despite thousands of articles, books, radio interviews, film documentaries and tribute albums, we're still finding out how little we know about The Beatles, as a band and a phenomenon. Even Paul McCartney is finding out about his own songs, as John Colapinto's profile "When I'm Sixty Four" in the June 4 The New Yorker shows (not yet online, but here's the magazine's site). All these years later, the Beatle, whose mother died when he was 14, wonders about the lines, "Why she had to go I don't know / She didn't say," from "Yesterday." "Was that hearkening back to my mum?" he asks.

Conventional wisdom about the music is also still settling. Traditionally, on the major anniversaries of the release of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (today is the 40th) the album is offered as the essential document of The Summer of Love, the turned-on, dropped-out agape-fest whose capital was the hippified Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. Love, though, is precisely what is lacking in most of the tracks on "Sgt. Pepper": on "She's Leaving Home" a young woman creeps away from her repressed parents, "Fixing a Hole" is a moody, misanthropic daydream and "A Day in the Life" shows a common man numbed to experience by the media and daily routine.

Even "With a Little Help from My Friends" is more about the isolation of personhood than the support of community, and "When I'm Sixty-Four" is an uncertain plea for love. George Harrison's contribution, "Within You and Without You," draws from his enthusiasm for Hindu teaching (the album's famously crowded cover depicts no fewer than four Indian gurus), making it about the most affirming song on the album. "With our love we could save the world," he sings. But George spends more time bemoaning "People who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion/Never glimpse the truth/Then it's far too late when they pass away."

Spiritually, "Sgt. Pepper" contains more of the bleakness of "Revolver," the album that preceded it, than it does the "All You Need Is Love" spirit of "Magical Mystery Tour," which followed just five months later. It's that album, with its carnival atmosphere, heroically stoned Nowhere Man, and overstated, bland psychedelia of "Strawberry Fields" that better reflects the indulgences of Summer of Love. And that's why we're still talking about the more spiritually challenging, and still spiritually relevant,"Sgt. Pepper" 40 years later.

CCM magazine: A New Name, A New Direction?

2007-06-01T10:14:00.000-04:00

"In Christian music, 'show business' is an irrelevant concept," a Christian singer said in CCM magazine recently. Her statement wasn't meant as a criticism but a kind of brag, and until earlier this month, it could have served neatly as the motto of CCM itself.

But now the granddaddy of Christian music magazines--fearing that it has become an irrelevant concept--is expanding its coverage to take notice of the likes of Mary J. Blige and U2, "show-business" performers who admit faith into their songs and who Christian kids have been following avidly for years. Show business, it turns out, is just what a lot of Christian kids want, and, increasingly, it's where the best faith-based rock can be found. As a symbol of their newfound relevance, CCM will no longer stand for "Contemporary Christian Music," but "Christ. Community. Music."

Just how relevant CCM dares to become remains to be seen. CCM was founded as the Rolling Stone of the Christian music scene by members of the hippified "Jesus People" movement. The magazine was bought a decade ago by Salem Communications, a media company run by confirmed Southern Baptists. Alarmed by the the 2002 launch of a rival Christian youth-culture magazine, aptly titled Relevant, Salem brought in an crew of cheeky evangelical hipsters to edit CCM. These editors were promptly fired when the new, edgier Christian groups they covered vaguely espoused drug use or simply fled to the mainstream. Efforts to bring in mainstream advertisers also alienated CCM's conservative Christian ones.

As they bend toward the secular marketplace again, some fear that CCM's owners will find themselves twisting as they struggle to serve to two masters. And didn't Somebody suggest that wasn't a good idea?

Losing Faith: Cancellation Leaves Dangling Plot Lines

2007-06-01T07:37:00.000-04:00

I'm sick and tired of committing to shows, watching faithfully every week, and then seeing them cancelled without any resolution of the story lines. Last year it was the abrupt cancellation of "Invasion" after what I thought was a pretty gripping first year. This year I could accept the "Gilmore Girls" ending after seven seasons--that seemed fair (though the end was not the most satisfying episode).

But I can't accept that "Veronica Mars" is over.

I know that this news has been out for a while now--and I'd heard rumors about how what seemed like everybody's favorite girl detective was going off the air--but I avoided finding out the truth. Until last night. I finally went searching to see if the rumors are true--that "Veronica Mars" ended last week with all sorts of plot lines hanging in the air (her dad in trouble, her old boyfriend Logan left defending her honor, and it's apparently true. The CW will leave its fans hanging, unsatisfied.

Apparently, "Jericho" fans have similar problems with CBS's cancelling of this apocalyptic series that had some fans addicted, "Star Trek"-style. In "End-of-Days Fidelity For 'Jericho'" Virginia Heffernan of the New York Times reported about traumatic audience reaction to the news that Jericho has seen its last days. And this despite the fact that people write fan fiction(!!) about the show. (That's serious "Buffy"-style devotion there). And apparently they send peanuts--tons and tons of peanuts--to CBS as a clever (or nutty?) way of conveying the message that CBS is "nuts" for so heartlessly destroying their religion.

Heffernan mentions us "Veronica Mars" devotees in passing, but apparently we aren't as devout a group as to warrant a whole article.

ABC's 'Traveler': I'm Already a Believer

2007-05-31T13:49:00.000-04:00

I've already got a new television addiction for the summer months (thank God!). It may not be deep and layered like "The Sopranos" (I've maintained the ban on my former favorite HBO series since last season's horribly disturbing Vito storyline), but it's as relentlessly nonstop as "24." In fact, it might be the new "24."

ABC's new action drama, "Traveler," hit the ground running in last night's two hour special. Jay Tyler, fresh out of Yale grad school are about to embark on one last summer of fun before they hit the reality of the working world. Within five minutes of the first episode, Will Traveler, the third member of the road trip crew convinces them to pull what seems an innocent prank--rollerblading down all the stairs of a big New York City art museum (they call it The Drexler but it's really the Met).

But as soon as Jay and Tyler are out the door the museum blows up, and it seems as if Will is the bomber. The FBI has Jay and Tyler on tape looking awfully suspicious fleeing the museum just before the explosion, and less than 15 minutes into the pilot a full blown man-hunt is underway in the vein of "The Fugitive." Jay and Tyler soon must come to grips with Will's betrayal, the fact that he doesn't seem to exist, and the fact that their future as well-paid professionals is shattered. Never mind their freedom.

Deep breath.

I was a reluctant believer at first--the premise is a bit weak. (Why don't they just turn themselves in and tell the whole story?) But I haven't watched anything that adrenaline-inducing since the first season of "24." I was glued to the screen, my heart was racing, and I can't wait until next week. I've long wondered if someone could figure out how to replicate the magic formula that is "24," and "Traveler" may have done it. It feels like everything is happening in real time.

And, Jay and Tyler are easy on the eyes.

Is 'Who Wants an American Organ?' Next?

2007-05-31T12:07:00.000-04:00

Reality shows have often toed the line between taste and tact--think "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire." But there have been times when audiences find a concept even too distasteful for their voracious appetites--remember CBS's cancelled-after-one-airing "The Will," wherein the contestants vied for the inheritance of a ranch in Kansas? Or how about the British reality/dating show that never aired thanks to the contestants who threatened to sue after they discovered the hot woman they had all been snogging was actually a pre-op transsexual?

But even duping men into a “Crying Game”-esque situation seems tasteful when compared with Endemol's (who brought us "Big Brother") latest reality offering: "The Big Donor Show." This Dutch show features a 37-year old woman with an inoperable brain tumor deciding which of three candidates is most deserving to receive one of her kidneys. She bases her choice on interviews with the contestants as well as with friends and family.

Viewers will be able to text in their vote, but the ultimate decision lies with the living donor, dubbed "Lisa." (Once Lisa has passed away, her other kidney can be made available for the national organ registry but cannot be designated for a specific individual.)

"We know that this program is super controversial and some people will think it's tasteless, but we think the reality is even more shocking and tasteless: Waiting for an organ is just like playing the lottery," Laurens Drillich, chairman of the BNN network, said in a statement as reported by the AP. In fact, the network claims, the show is a way "to draw attention to a shortage of organ donors."

Clearly, Lisa should be able to choose to whom she would like to give a kidney. It’s done all the time in this country; family and friends often act as living donors for loved ones. And as much as I would like to defend the show as crass but bringing attention to an important issue, I just cannot. And I even defended "The Swan."

But, this is life and death, not "outwit, outplay, outlast." This is the real "Survivor." These people are desperate not for the million dollar prize, but an organ (even if their percentage of receiving a kidney on the show is far higher than if they were waiting on the national list). Maybe if this process was wrapped in the hygienic, academic veneer of a documentary--perhaps an inspirational story of a woman looking to find a good person who will go on to do great things with the new kidney--the concept would go down easier.

I'm going to stop short of calling it a small-screen snuff film, but the fact that there is audience participation makes it feel a bit too much like the gladiatorial games of Rome--where the audience members were polled for a thumbs up or a thumbs down to determine the fate of the fighter.

"The Big Donor Show" is set to air this Friday on the Netherland's channel BNN.

Will Ferrell Hits the Web

2007-05-31T10:48:00.000-04:00

Will Ferrell just made a new movie for free, and 30 million people have already seen it. What? You didn't see the trailer? You didn't hear the build-up? Not much talk about it on E! or Premiere?

Welcome to a new trend that could be really cool or could fade really fast.

According to today's New York Times (business section, not movies!), Ferrell, "who commands up to $20 million for movies like 'Anchorman' and 'Blades of Glory,'" spent about 45 minutes making a little web-based movie shot by his production partner (Adam McKay) with a camcorder. It's called "The Landlord" and was posted on the new site FunnyOrDie.com as of April 12.

FunnyOrDie.com is sort of like a YouTube but there's way less stuff (which means way more of it is actually funny) and that mainstream actors (like Farrell) are willing to appear there. In fact, "many experienced comedians, talent agents and financiers are seeing the Web as a way to showcase talent while trying to turn a profit." The project is financed by Sequoia Capital, an early investor in Google and YouTube.

I'm hoping that it not only becomes what the profitmakers see (a chance for profit and/or promotional opportunity for the studio-backed talent) but also a chance for faith-based industry members to take some chances and engage their talents in what they really believe, for audiences young and old that would be positively influenced. The movie industry is so organized and manipulated around profit, so it'd be nice if one medium could survive and do well while not falling into the same artistically claustrophobic traps that have controlled the big screen and small screen for far too long.

Meanwhile, as the Times story said, "this being Hollywood, Mr. Ferrell and Pearl have already shot a sequel!" So check out FunnyOrDie.com if you don't have time to search YouTube for quality stuff, and join me in praying that faith-based material from big-name talent makes it on there as well. Considering the success of "Left Behind," "The Purpose-Driven Life," "The Passion of the Christ," etc., what a wonderful opportunity for Sequoia and team to not only make some money but to make a difference as well!

Turning Points for Lindsay, Britney, Paris?

2007-05-30T19:06:00.000-04:00

Lindsay Lohan was arrested again and is back in rehab. Britney Spears is blogging theology and confessions. Paris Hilton is talking about how much she dreads her upcoming jail sentence. Who decided that these women's tales were newsworthy?

I hope that someday in the near future, the party girls that the tabloids love and the networks exploit will be able to step forward and give a little bit of productive guidance, or something redeeming. As the father of three girls, I just don't see anything else these ladies have done that's worthy of the non-stop coverage.

My heart goes out to them, though.

Yesterday, the tide may have started to turn, as Britney posted some thoughts on her website, saying she "truly hit rock bottom" and calling rehab a "very humbling place."

"I was like a bad kid running around with ADD," the 25-year-old pop star writes about her adventures partying with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan after she filed for divorce, which of course, came just two months after giving birth to their second child, Jayden James.

"I had a manager from a long time ago come in and try to direct me and my life after I got my divorce," Spears also wrote. "I was so overwhelmed I think that I was in a little shock too. I didn't know who to go to."

I disagree with her comment that "I think it is actually normal for a young girl to go out after a huge divorce," because the only thing that made it "huge" was the false sense of big-ness our society gives to someone who can sing or show up in a video. But I respect her candor in confessing "a lot of insecurities from when I was little are coming up again; it's like we are never good enough... I am only human people and I love you for still loving me."

She closes her blog by theologizing: "We will never really understand or figure out life completely. That's God's job."

As for Lindsay, the young actress is back in rehab and is also volunteering with an outstanding organization called "Teen Challenge." She has a chance to grow a bit and share the beginnings of something redeeming when the time comes. Outside of God's grace and prayers from those who love her, I don't hold out hope for Paris doing the same, but who knows, she's making an effort, and God is capable of much more grace and spiritual power than anyone of us or our media.

But someday, someone will answer me as to who it was that decided these young, immature and hurting ladies deserve the cultural pulpit? It's obviously not bringing peace or fulfillment for them.

I think we ought to all say a prayer for each of them but tune out the television and print news of their latest exploits.

Lohan's Dad: Religion Can Save Lindsay

2007-05-30T17:38:00.000-04:00

With a possibly prophetic word of warning last week, Michael Lohan, dad to wild child Lindsay Lohan, spoke to the London tabloid The Mirror about his daughter's struggles with substance abuse. Now that Lindsay checked herself back into rehab after her latest crisis--in which she crashed her car and was charged with suspicion of driving under the influence--maybe the troubled starlet will finally listen to Dad's advice, learn from his mistakes, and find religion in the process.

Michael Lohan, who has served one jail sentence for fraud and another for drunken driving, took an online course while in prison to be certified--but not ordained--by the Assemblies of God denomination and has been devoting himself to ministry since he was released from prison earlier this year. Lohan now works with actor Stephen Baldwin running a Christian-based teen rehab program called "Teen Challenge" and told the Mirror that Lindsay is wasting "the gifts God gave her" and insisted that he can "help her in a lot of ways."

While Daddy Lohan might want to take a little more time making sure his own life changes actually stick before he tries to fix his daughter's woes, at least the younger Lohan knows of another treatment program she can try if her current stint at the Promises treatment center doesn't work out. But if Lindsay does some jail time for her latest transgressions , she might have the option to room with on-again, off-again party pal Paris who might even lend Lindsay her Bible.

"Pirates 3" is Worth It, for the "Code"

2007-05-29T11:21:00.000-04:00

I have to disagree with my esteemed Idol Chatter colleague Kris Rasmussen as well as, for that matter, several other reviewers, including CNN's Tom Charity, Rolling Stone's Peter Travis, and Time magazine's Richard Schigel, all of whom offered strongly negative reviews of"Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End."

I think "Pirates 3" is one of the few movies brave enough to think that we movie audiences have a mind that can comprehend more than just one subplot and a Michael Bay-ish or (in this case, Jerry Bruckheimer-ish) action track. And, as a person of faith, I appreciate any movie which exposes a deeper element to matters of the spiritual journey, which "Pirates 3" clearly does.

The Pirates "code," introduced so simply and clearly in the first two episodes, is taken to a new level, moving beyond the basics to the unveiling of the Codex and its various interpretations (and self-interests?), in a way not unlike Bible translations and denominational scuffles today. The main characters' decisions are made (and options leveraged) against prior covenants they are forced to live with, even if they didn't participate in their making. Such are the basic tenets of faith, a truth which many in our narcissistic and self-driven spiritual schemed age forget.

Generations ago--if you believe the Bible at all--covenants were made between God and humankind, between God and Abraham, Noah and David, between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and between Jesus and his disciples. Pronouncements (curses?) were made between God and Satan, and their circumstances have played out on earth. Perhaps a fantasy film like "Pirates of teh Carribean" can awaken a generation of non-church goers to the importance of remembering what we can't control (the code) before what we can control (our choices).

"Producer Jerry Bruckheimer does deserve a shout-out: It takes a kind of genius to sucker audiences into repeatedly buying the same party tricks," said Travis. "'At World's End' left me at wit's end wading through nearly three hours of punishing exposition, endless blather (pirates take meetings--who knew?), an overload of digital effects and shameless setups," said Schigel. I find it fascinating that the same critics who find some movies too thin or superficial can't see the depth of this one. It is fulfilling on so many levels, and perhaps these guys just went to the movies after checking their brains at the door. If so, they missed it!

"If you are like me, and you appreciated the heart and mythology of the original 'Pirates' as well as the zany humor of the sequel, you are going to be deeply disappointed in this latest chapter," Kris wrote in her blog piece. While I agree with her on most things, this isn't one of them. This film takes the mythology deeper and requires the zany humor (in several layers, Disney style) as a welcome reprieve from the plot's tension and conflict.

"I hope Depp and the others choose to drydock this franchise," Rasmussen said. I hope for the opposite. As it is with faith, the journey is always inspiring when the drama of future possibilities is weighed against prior covenants which will be put to the test. It is there they find meaning, and when we get to our own "World's End," we'd do best to have remembered such things.

'Gracie': A New 'Inconvenient Truth'?

2007-05-29T11:11:00.000-04:00

Davis Guggenheim, who took home an Oscar for "An Inconvenient Truth," has a fiction film hitting theaters this Friday. "Gracie," which stars Carly Schroeder as a 14-year-old girl who goes from underdog to soccer champ in the aftermath of her brother's death, seems about as akin to endangered polar bears as, I don't know, "Adventures in Babysitting," the '80s hit starring Guggenheim's wife Elisabeth Shue. Shue, who played soccer as a child and who was later devastated by her brother's death, is the real-life inspiration for "Gracie."

"I have a secret," Guggenheim said in a recent interview with me. "Everyone says these movies are so completely different, but I think they're very similar."

As Guggenheim points out, both movies share the classic heroic arc perpetuated by Joseph Campbell: a protagonist who confronts major obstacles to achieve great things. So Al Gore, who promoted his then-unpopular belief via a book ("Earth in the Balance") after his son's nearly fatal car crash, later decided to hit the road with an environmentally cautionary slide show, and Guggenheim was there with a video camera.

Likewise, Schroeder's Gracie, in a fine evocation of Shue's gutsy teenage doppelganger--Guggenheim describes his wife as a teenaged "hellion" who stole her priest stepfather's church convertible and drove around town wearing a bonnet--commits what a friend calls 'social suicide' by trading cheerleading pompoms for soccer cleats. Though her father (Dermot Mulroney) initially discourages her, and her mother (Shue) initially doesn't think her soccer dreams are possible, Gracie strenuously trains and wins over even the pit-bullish head coach who bans girls from the weight room and discourages her from taking her brother's place on the Varsity soccer team.

Gracie's opponents may bring to mind global warming detractors, from students protesting showings of the film to right-wing critics who made a fuss when both the book and documentary were released. According to Guggenheim, the Academy Award didn't give "Inconvenient Truth" more credibility--it had credibility from the get-go. The Academy Award got people to see it. And science or sports not-withstanding, the filmmaker credits his latest projects with teaching him about the human spirit.

"This is gonna sound cliché. And I wouldn't have said this a year ago. But the thing I'm focused on is people's spirit; it's that thing you can't describe that Elisabeth has, and that sometimes does not represent itself until you hit bottom, until life knocks you on your ass. And out of that comes your spirit," Guggenheim said.

Spirit will be needed in the fight against global warming, which Guggenheim said has the potential of bridging the left and right, citing Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses and Rupert Murdoch's decision to make FOX carbon neutral as examples.

"The ice melts have only gotten worse, the polar bears have only gotten worse, the sea level rise has only gotten worse. Global warming is with us for a long time and to stop it it's going to take immobilization of huge proportions. It's like a war."

Guggenheim's next battle may be the making of a documentary focused on the rising oceans.

"The people who didn't want to see real change thought if they ignored us we would go away," he said. "And we didn't."

-- Posted by Jenny Halper