The Decision

I didn't watch the ESPY's this week ... Haven't watched in years. Not worth it.

But this -- if you paid any attention to LeBron James' 'decision' -- is worth watching ...

TV watch

So I read a good story today about the trend in sitcoms built on the mockumentary format, and the observation that we never see the camera crews in any of the shows …

"... who is on the other end of the camera when Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute, Jim and Pam Halpert, and the other employees of Dunder Mifflin confess their innermost thoughts on "The Office"? And what sort of fictional camera crew, making what sort of film, would find itself limitlessly interested in one Leslie Knope of the Pawnee, Ind., "Parks and Recreation" department?"

Interestingly, I had a brainstorm this morning about exactly that and what the finale of “The Office” -- when that day comes -- might look like … Don’t ask me why I thought of it. The thought just entered my brain. Probably from doing a catch-up marathon of “Modern Family” episodes late last night.

For “The Office” finale, why not show the camera crews wrapping up and leaving Scranton? … Although that would alter the dynamic of the show if we’re suddenly seeing a bunch of cameramen around the office. And then we’d probably be asking ourselves, Who’s filming the cameramen?

Or … Or! The finale could be the finished product. The complete fictional documentary that the film crew would produce after spending the last four, five, six -- however long it’s been -- years filming in Scranton. Dunder Mifflin's culture from beginning to end. … Although that would require NBC to dedicate something like a two-hour movie timeslot for the finale, which would seem unlikely.

The whole brainstorm appeared better in my head.

* * *

Speaking of “The Office,” there’s been some rumblings lately that Steve Carell could be leaving the show.

I’m not sure yet how I feel about that.

But EW recently made a good case for a reboot of “The Office” if Carell does leave ... My vote is for Ricky Gervais to move into the Scranton branch.

* * *

“Heroes” got canceled this week.

And I got reaffirmation that I right to stop watching the show when I did. It's about time.

The first season was so, so glorious (Take a look at that post. Geez, how wrong was I about "30 Rock"!?) ... The rest of the "Heroes" lifespan -- um, not so much.

Steve Carell on SNL

Kates and I just finished watching last night's "SNL" with Steve Carell ... Here's some of the highlights ...

The opening graduation sketch had me laughing so hard it nearly tore my stomach in shreds ...



Great Clinton-Obama ad ...



McCain's message, unfortunately, was right on...



This was genius ...



And maybe it was just me imagining Kates and I tossing Phoebe around like this, but this skit was plain HA-larious...

Sunday reading

Some of the headlines and stories that caught my eyes this week ...

Politics ...
a A Run, or the Runaround? Bloomberg, Other Non-Candidates Master Art of Being Vague

TV & movies ...
a FAME? PRICELESS: 'If celebrity is a credit card, then I'm using it,' George Clooney says of his Darfur campaign.
a Paying $1 million for Hilton interviews alarms journalist ethicists, rankles NBC employees
a Harry Potter book could spoil movie surprise, ticket sales
a Burnett remains powerful despite flops
a 'Sopranos' fans are either happy or angry about the show's lack of closure
a On 'Lil' Bush,' It's the Laughs That Are Tiny ... Yeah, so it's not great TV. But it's George Bush, and that makes it hard not to look away ...
a Steve Carell's course is to build an ark in 'Evan Almighty,' but he feels blessed to have a career that, he says, has no plan ... two of the highlights of my week were watching Carell yak it up with Jon Stewart and Conan O'Brien ...HA-larious.
a Bad guys on TV are just too good to miss

Baseball...
a Wood working: Gantner helps son, players hone their skills
a BARRY BONDS: A jerk? Maybe, but a great hitter for sure
a Hitting the ballparks: Annual trip to baseball stadiums goes far beyond watching the games ... a good read I got this weekend from my pops...
a Start of something good: Verlander's no-no may foreshadow future greatness

The Internet ...
a On 'fatblogs,' heavy people weigh in
a Ogled By Google: Is America's Favorite Search Engine Chugging Into Cyber Privacy?
a Web site devoted to gratitude keeps users focused on positive
a Conservapedia: online reference that's read from right to right

Music ...
a 'Live From Abbey Road' on Sundance Channel
a After an early peak, singer-songwriter Paula Cole walked away from it all. Now she's back.
a Here's to You, Paul Simon!
a Country's honky-tonk men live in a changing world

The rest of the stories ...
a Baby monitor picks up video from NASA
a Marking Time: Americans Gobble Up Anniversaries - Sad, Glad And Bad
a In Small Spaces, Big Challenges
a Calling all hippies: Summer of Love turns the big 4-0

Oscar thoughts

I've said I'm not a big fan of the Oscars. I'm still not. But last night's show was pretty decent ... except for the fact it didn't end until about 15 minutes before midnight ...

Some random thoughts I wrote down ...

... Contrary to some of the critics, I thought Ellen DeGeneres' opening monologue was HA-larious from start to finish, as were several of her bits throughout the night -- vacuming the floor by the front row and telling actresses to lift their dresses!? -- HA-larious! (Best line -- there were a few -- "Jennifer Hudson is here. America didn't vote for her but she's nominated for an Oscar. Then you got Al Gore who's here and America did vote for him" ... and cue loud applause and laughter from audience ...)

... How adorable were Abigail Breslin and Jaden Smith as they presented the nominees for best animated short film ...

... I was glad to see Alan Arkin win as best supporting actor for "Little Miss Sunshine," but I still think Steve Carell deserved the nomination and should've been standing in Arkin's place ...

... Al Gore, who presented with Leonardo DiCaprio, has got to be having a lot of fun being Al Gore these days. A couple weeks ago he was doing his thing at the Grammys and now the Oscars. His bit with Leonardo was comical: When DiCaprio asked Gore if he had anything else he wanted to say, Gore whipped out a sheet of paper and began talking as though he was going to announce a presidential campaign -- just as the music burst in to play him off the stage ... I couldn't keep from thinking I wonder what George Bush is thinking right about now?

... Oh man, was Clint Eastwood's introduction of composer Ennio Morricone awful. Was he drunk, on drugs or just having a stroke? Oh, nope, he just didn't wear his glasses ... riiiiiiiiiight.

... Emily Blunt's and Anne Hathaway's reprise of their "Devil Wears Prada" characters, with Meryl Streep getting into the action on a blank stare, was pretty good too ...

... Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas presenting together -- priceless!

Oscar reads ...
a Oscars draw more viewers and mixed reviews
a After a 3-decade drought, it rains Oscars on Martin Scorsese and 'Departed'
a Departed evening of bloated, boring Hollywood babble

Movie night!

Kates and I crossed two more movies from our list tonight...

First up: "Little Miss Sunshine."

... It's hard to describe this one without saying, you just gotta see it ...

The basics: A dysfunctional family tries whatever it takes to help a little girl, who's not exactly beauty material, reach her dream of winning the Little Miss Sunshine pageant ...

... Unfortunately, the press has made so much of the little indie flick, that I was expecting a little more than I came away. Nonetheless, it's still a film I would recommend to a friend ... it's one those quirky movies that comes along every once in while with a stellar cast and a story that can have you bursting with laughter one minute and have your stomach twisting the next.

While the entire cast was fun to watch, the standout performance for me was Steve Carell as the gay brother of Toni Collette's Sheryl. It was a serious role for Carrell and a deep contrast from 'Office' manager Michael Scott ...

... Changing gears from light-hearted comedy to rip-your-heart-out drama, our second film was "World Trade Center."


... This one had been on my list since the weekend it came out, mostly because of my strong attachment and fascination with that historic day ... Kates was quite a bit slower to warm up to the idea of watching it, so I was blindsided when I suggested this morning we watch it and she actually said yes. (After watching World Trade Center, she even said she thought she could watch 'United 93' now too ...)

The basics: Nicolas Cage and Will Jemeno as two Port Authority police officers who become trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center on 9/11 ...

The film's grip is a given, but one the things that will stick with me here is Oliver Stone's finished product ... No conspiracy theories. No cheesy dramatization. Just honest, stick-to-history storytelling ... and he did it without ever showing you exactly what was going on -- the film doesn't show you the planes crashing into the towers; it doesn't show them crumbling -- but you know exactly what's happening by your own memories, and the characters dialogue and actions ...

The film did a wonderful job of weaving the officers' fight to survive with the feelings their families were having that terrible day (... great performances here also by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello as the two wives ... ), in addition to some glimpses of how the rest of us were dealing with the day ...

Both must-see films ...

Some related good reads:
a Only time will tell if these unusual movies beat the 'odds' to take home Oscar gold
a On DVD, a Burst of 'Sunshine'