A Little Less Golden

A truely sad day today, Estelle Getty has passed away. She was 84.

She is best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on hit 80’s TV show The Golden Girls. Next to Dorothy, she was my favorite character. Seriously, her stories, her wit and her sarcasm all added to the charm of the show. Without Sophia, the show wouldn’t have been as funny and the only person who could pull off this character was Estelle Getty. She will be missed.

For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of watching The Golden Girls, you can still watch the episodes of Lifetime. They show at 9 - 10am, 4 - 5pm and midnight. (Yes, I watch a lot of TV)

Please enjoy the charm she brought to this clip from The Golden Girls!

Tune into the Small Networks for Summer

Summer is usually quite the drag for us TV watchers. Having been robbed of a full season this past year, I am even more anxious for the fall. Summer isn’t all cheesy reality and boring reruns, though. Two networks have shows worthy of our attention.

USA’s Burn Notice is one of the wittiest and cleverest spy shows since the original Get Smart. A sharp and cynical spy, Michael, has been “burned,” abandoned and left for dead, in Miami with an ex-girlfriend and plenty of trouble to stir up. The second season kicks off on Thurs, July 10th at 10pm.

TBS’s My Boys is another great summer show that seems to fly under the radar. PJ is a sports writer in Chicago, with just the right amount of tom-boy and real girl to keep the show interesting. Last season left us with a wicked cliff hanger– after a string of boyfriends and almost boyfriends, she ran off on vacation with one of her many male interests. Who could it be? We’ll find out with the second season airing Thursdays at 9:30pm (or catch this one online).

Tune in for both and tell us what you think.

Speed Racer: Saturday Morning Come to Life

Even amidst the trend of remaking classics, no movie has been able to really take me back to the spirit and imagination of cartoons.

Speed Racer did it. Everything about this movie was cartoon. The images, the story, the excitement, the fun. The movie embodied the magical, whimsical, yet fun, thrilling, and simply comical spirit of cartoons. There’s no real way to describe it. It’s cartoon.

Artistically, it’s beautiful. Using every color in the crayon box and some of the coolest computer graphics, every image in the movie is as bold and alive as a kaleidoscope. Electrifying, visually breathtaking, and just plain stylish. It could have easily found success in art house/indie theatres.

As for the plot, it’s got depth to keep an adult entertained, continually throwing them back to the classic good and evil struggles of the cartoon and comic. Speed’s silly younger brother and monkey companion are a hilarious ride for kids. At the same time, the larger than life races with cars that physically shoot daggers and flip over each other keep adults and kids alike thrilled.

I love this movie. The not-so-stellar reviews are really unwarranted and dare I say pretentious views on pure brilliance and cartoon entertainment.