Too Much Reality

Has anyone out there ever read the Nielsen TV ratings? For some odd reason, I noticed them today in the USA Today newspaper and after reading them it reaffirmed something for me. I have long believed that the overall value of network television today is worthless. Why, you ask? Because all everybody is interested in is reality television. Of the top six rated programs last week five were reality shows. (Two episodes of American Idol at 1-2; two episodes of Dancing With the Stars at 3-4 and Survivor at #6. Only “Two and Half Men” at #5 made the list as a fictional show. I guess I’ve always known these were the ratings but I never really paid much attention to them. It’s just one of those things that when you actually see it in print makes you go “wow!” You know, for me reality shows are the biggest waste of time. Who in their right mind wants to watch the “real-life” exploits of people on television in order to be entertained? (Oh, wait- I guess America does. After all the proof is in the ratings) All I have to do is walk out my door or stick my head out the window to see reality everyday. I don’t really need to see it in my down time. It’s pure overload.  What does it say about America when everybody is so busy wondering who will be crowned the next American Idol instead of getting a life? Reality TV is the big joke perpetrated on America by the television industry. The networks love that people eat this stuff up. It allows them to make money hand over fist. It’s cheap to produce and takes no imagination or skilled writing. (OK, there is some writing, after all cheesy drama has to hold some interest) I just don’t get the fascination. It’s simply mindless TV. I am a product of TV in the 70’s and 80’s. Shows like “All in the Family,” “Hill Street Blues,” and Mary Tyler Moore.” “One Day at a Time,” The Jeffersons,” “Starsky and Hutch,” and “Family Ties.” These were shows that gave us life’s situations but put them in the hands of fictional characters so we all knew where the boundaries between reality and fiction were. Nowadays that line is blurred and it speaks to why we are so screwed up as a society.   Everyone thinks they can be the next big thing and that’s all that matters.  Anyone that likes this crap needs to watch the 1976 movie “Network.” It will really open your eyes.  (Or will it?)  The film is a satire on the direction TV was heading in the future after 1976. Well, guess what? The joke really is on us. Many of the things satirized in the film are actually on TV right now or have been in the past. The main character, Howard Beale, was right to be “mad as hell and not able to take it anymore. ” All everybody wants now is to get rich quick and be the next star. Nothing else matters, and TV says it’s easy to do. I’m all for getting rich but not at the expense of ignoring everything else in life. I think American Idol is the worst thing to ever happen to America because for every season winner they have, thousands walk away disappointed and wondering “why not me?” All it does is give people unrealistic expectations and takes their focus away from the reality of their situations. Real self improvement is sacrificed for a pipe dream that is not likely to happen. There are more subtle ways to make a lot of money and get famous. Auditioning for and religiously watching American Idol isn’t one of them. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that and until they do we will continue to see the same garbage on network TV until it doesn’t sell anymore. From the look of things that could be a very long time. I think I’ll continue to stay off that band wagon.  The only reality TV I’ll be viewing are documentaries and news shows like 60 Minutes. That’s all the reality I need.  Check out the Nielsens sometime.  It will answer a lot of your questions, I guarantee it.

Now That’s More Like It

NCAA Tournament Day 2 was much different from Day 1 in terms of excitement. In the just-completed afternoon session we saw a buzzer beating 3-pointer by #12 seed Western Kentucky finally put away the #5 seed Drake 101-99 in OT in the game of the tournament so far. It was a stunning finish to a great game that set a tourney record for 3-pointers as the teams combined to make 30 of them. Also, #13 seed San Diego stunned an over-rated Connecticut team 70-69 in OT on a last second basket by De’ Jon Jackson of San Diego. UConn seemed to play very uninspired for most of the game as they lost point guard A.J. Price to injury and lost for the first time in the first round of the tournament since the program’s revival in 1990. Combine these two great games with Belmont’s near upset of another over-rated team, Duke, last night and now this tourney is really starting to cook. The Bruins fell a point short to Duke, 72-71, but showed that the Cinderellas are ready to finally crash this party. It took a while, but they are here to stay and at least one double digit seed, Western Kentucky or San Diego, will advance to the Sweet 16 because they will meet each other on Sunday as a result of their upsets today. In the night session, we saw two more Cinderellas step forward as #13 Siena shockingly crushed #4 Vanderbilt 83-62 and #12 Villanova overcame an 18-point first half deficit to defeat #5 Clemson, a team many felt could make it to a Regional Final, 75-69 as coach Jay Wright’s Wildcats had a complete turnaround in the second half to put away another over-rated ACC school. This sets up another 12 vs 13 matchup for the right to go to the Sweet 16 as Villanova and Siena meet on Sunday. I was shocked at how Siena dominated Vandy, a solid SEC team, all game. Vandy just could not get a shot to fall and it really cost them as the Saints had their way with the Commodores the entire game. This is what watching this tournament is all about: hoping for the unexpected and then actually getting it. There is no better sporting event in terms of excitement than these first 2 days of the tournament. It’s when the little guys have the chance to step to the forefront of the sporting world. Even if they lose these next games, it has been a great ride already for Western Kentucky, San Diego and Siena. Even Villanova, a Big East team, can feel good because they are doing it primarily with all sophomores and freshmen. They got a 12 seed and weren’t expected to do much, but look at them now. This is a tournament of dreams and for two of these double digit seeds, the dance will continue into next week. It’ll be a great ride to witness as the Madness continues this weekend.

The Chalk Holds

Well, the first afternoon session of March Madness is complete and so far it’s a pretty dull tournament. Form has held and there have been no upsets as all the higher seeds have won and won convincingly. The best two games so far were #3 Xavier vs. #14 Georgia, where the Bulldogs scared the Musketeers for about the first 30 minutes, including leading 35-26 at the half before Xavier recovered by winning the game at the foul line for a final of 74-61. The only other competitive game was between #6 Marquette and #11 Kentucky in a back and forth game won by Marquette 74-66 for their first tourney win since beating Kentucky in a regional final in 2003. The rest of the day has just been a series of routs, especially in the 2nd half of the afternoon session where Pittsburgh, UNLV and Purdue all won big. UNLV led Kent State 31-10 at the half so that was over quick and Pitt, after trailing early 13-10, used an 18-0 first half run to pound Oral Roberts 82-63. Baylor was a great story entering the tournament after the program was almost shut down two years ago after the shooting death of one of its players by a fellow teammate. The Bears were the final team selected to the field last Sunday but Purdue shot the ball very well and quickly sent the Bears home 90-79. Other winners were Michigan State over Temple 72-61 and #1 Kansas over Portland State 85-61 this afternoon. Stanford leads Cornell 66-36 as of this writing and they will advance to meet Marquette on Saturday. The best two games tonight in the evening session are #7 West Virginia vs. #10 Arizona and #6 USC and freshman sensation O.J. Mayo vs. #11 Kansas State and their super frosh Michael Beasley. #5 Notre Dame vs. #12 George Mason is also worth a look later tonight. Hopefully we’ll see more excitement than the afternoon games produced as the Madness rolls on. By the way, the fearless Final Four picks for me this year are Tennessee, Kansas, Texas and UCLA with Kansas defeating UCLA on Monday night to win the title.

There is Blood, Indeed

I finally was able to see the movie “There Will Be Blood” and the much talked about Oscar-winning performance by Daniel Day Lewis.  I must say I came away more than impressed.   Although I originally felt Tommy Lee Jones’ performance in “In the Valley of Elah” was worthy of the best actor award, I now agree that Lewis deserved to win.  It is a bravura performance, the likes of which we very rarely see on screen.  Paul Thomas Anderson’s film borrows liberally from many sources but I was particularly struck by how much influence John Huston’s 1948 masterpiece “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” had on Thomas.  Much like Humphrey Bogart’s Fred C. Dobbs character in that film, Lewis’ Daniel Plainview is the picture of paranoia, fear, greed and, ultimately, madness.  He inhabits this successful oil baron with hints of kindness and humanity at the start but ultimately takes the character down a path to a pathetic end.  This is similar to the downslope of the Dobbs character in Huston’s film.  Viewing these movies back to back really enhances the similarities between the two. Besides both being westerns, they both deal with the consequences of greed and paranoia and how they isolate human beings.  Not to mention that Lewis actually sounds like John Huston.  If you listen carefully, and were to close your eyes, it is as If Huston is delivering the dialogue.  It really is an amazing piece of voice inflection.  (If you aren’t familiar with Huston’s voice, check him out in 1974’s “Chinatown” and you’ll see what I mean.  Thomas has always made no secret of the fact that Huston is a big influence on him as a director and Lewis’ role puts that on full display here.  So, if you enjoy character driven movies with a commanding presence in the lead role, this is the movie for you.  I’m not a big fan of westerns in general but Lewis is so good here it doesn’t matter what genre the film falls into.  This is a performance for the ages that should be considered masterful regardless of genre.