Life Lessons from Leave it to Beaver

Life Lessons from Leave it to Beaver

I don't EVER remember him shirtless.

He was such a "grown-up" guy when I was a kid; but to look at the photos of him now from LITB, he looks so f'ing little!

Sigh...

Dragons live forever, but not so little boys...

(Photo from dunnadam.blogspot.com)

If ever the hype didn't do a show justice...

For the first time, I can say that there's a "reality" show that really impresses me. These kids can dance! I have the feeling that many of the contestants will end up stars in their own right in the future. This may be a town that chews up and spits out more talented people that you could ever imagine, but I'd like to think that they're all gonna make it.

I guess someone in televisionland figured it was time to put on a reality show where everyone seems bent over backwards to be nice to each other for a change. It's nice, especially in these times, to be able to watch a program that actually lightens your heart a bit. Television doesn't do that much anymore.


...That is, until they started to vote the participants off, one each week. Like the last thing Hollywood needs right now is a bunch of young newcomer dancers joining the ranks of everyone else in town moping around with nothing to do until the strike ends.

Turn off a light tonight, and pick up a book on November 1

My first thought was to suggest that fans send in their own scripts for their favorite television programs in light of the looming writers' strike.

Now, however, I'm more inclined to suggest that we all teach the giant conglomerates that own the networks a lesson by turning off the television set altogether, and pick up a book. Better yet, go to a reading at your local independent bookstore or library. Heck, do both. This is America, after all, and more is better.

The LA Public Library is offering an incredible array of lectures, readings, panels, performances and exhibitions. ALOUD at Central Library has enough going on over the next few months that I wont miss watching television ...maybe by then they'll have even caught up on filming all the Lost episodes for the season.

Aliens in America

I admit that I've become rather superstitious when it comes to talking about my favorites among new shows, but the new CW comedy, Aliens in America, needs all the buzz it can get.

NPR reported this morning that the pilot had a less than promising market share; yet it has been screened with great success around the country for a variety of community groups and even in college classes. And it's funny, clever and smart. And thought provoking.

Maybe, just maybe, Americans will stop for a moment to think about some of their less-than-well-founded ideas about other peoples. Perhaps they will even think about what other people around the world think of Americans --and why. And perhaps, if we can all share a laugh together, it will be a step in the right direction to getting people to understand each other.

At any rate, the folks behind Aliens in America have created something that helps television live up to its potential. They have every reason to be proud of what they've done.