Recently in Television Category

After six seasons and ninety-three episodes, Sex and the City aired its final episode last February on HBO. But like a case of genital herpes, the show refuses to go away. The first two seasons line the walls of every video store in the country while HBO continues to beams encore episodes of the fourth season into millions of homes. TBS even paid one million per episode for the syndication rights to a bowdlerized version suitable for the ever declining standards of basic cable.

The expansion of venues will ensure that more people are exposed to this magnum opus, one of the seminal works of our age. Anyone who has watched every episode -- all 46.5 hours -- will have witnessed a work of genius in what is indisputably the greatest (and longest) misogynist masterwork ever to be captured on film.

HBO has produced some great dramas over the years -- from the brilliant The Sopranos to the intriguing Deadwood -- but nothing can match the "novel of ideas" that is Sex. What is truly remarkable, though, is the way the series mirrors the work of Austrian philosopher Otto Weininger. In 1905, Weininger published Geschlecht und Charakter (Sex and Character) in which he argued that all people are composed of a mixture of the male and the female substance. Wikipedia provides a useful summary of the Austrian's view: "The male aspect is active, productive, conscious and moral/logical while the female aspect is passive, unproductive, unconscious and amoral/alogical."

Someday, feminist scholars will produce dissertations that clarify and outline how the series embodied the philosophy of Weiniger. The best I can do for now is point out the connection. Here, for example, is a representative passage from Sex and Character:

“My man is satisfied, he's got no cause for complaints, but technically, I am a virgin. You know what I mean.”
– Dionne, explaining her relationship with her high school boyfriend, in the 1995 movie Clueless

According to a recent study published in the medical journal Pediatrics, teenagers who watch a lot of television with sexual content are twice as likely to engage in intercourse than those who watch few such programs. “This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual intercourse and other sexual activities,” said Rebecca Collins, a psychologist at the RAND Corp. who headed the study.

With the average American teen watching three hours of television per day, the level of bombardment is extensive. A scientific content analysis of the 2001–2002 TV seasons, for example, discovered that sexual content appears in 64% of all television programs. Those programs with sexual content average 4.4 scenes with sexually related material per hour (sitcoms were even higher, averaging 7.7 scenes per hour). Programs viewed most frequently by teens had a much higher concentration of sexual content than other television programs.

This high-dose exposure to portrayals of sex, claims the Pediatrics article, may affect adolescents’ developing beliefs about cultural norms. Television may create the illusion that sex is more central to daily life than it truly is, thereby promoting sexual initiation as a result and altering beliefs about the likely outcome of engaging in sexual activity.

“Does God really exist?” “Is there such a thing as evil?” “Why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?”

Throughout history the search for satisfying answers to these questions has led to the formation of worldviews. In Western culture two primary forms -- the secular and the religious -- have been championed by a pair of unlikely Europeans, Sigmund Freud, a lifelong critic of religious belief, and C.S. Lewis, a celebrated Oxford don, literary critic and one of the most influential and popular proponents of faith based on reason

THE QUESTION OF GOD: C.S. LEWIS AND SIGMUND FREUD WITH DR. ARMAND NICHOLI, a two-part program begins tonight (PBS Wednesdays, September 15-22, 2004, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET) which compares and contrasts the brilliant minds and personal struggles of these two influential thinkers.

Based on a class taught at Harvard by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, the PBS program uses dramatic storytelling, visual recreations, interviews with biographers and historians, and a lively panel discussion to bring Freud and Lewis together in a unique dialogue.

By exploring the important moments and emotional turning points in the lives of these two men, the series presents the starkly different ways that worldviews develop from asking the ultimate question of human existence: Does God really exist?

MTV Networks has announced plans to launch a new entertainment cable channel called LOGO that will cater to gay and lesbian viewers. The channel, which is expected to launch in February, will be on basic cable and reach between 10 -14 million homes. MTV president Judy McGrath told reporters that she wants the channel “to be the first stop for gay and lesbian people."

LOGO should have an eager audience since there are currently no “gay themed" televisions show on the air (except for It’s All Relative, Boy Meets Boy, Straight Plan for the Gay Man, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Will & Grace, Queer As Folk, The L Word, Playing It Straight, and Seriously Dude, I’m Gay) or shows with gay characters (unless you count Playmakers, The Amazing Race 4, Survivor 8, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sex in the City, Six Feet Under, ER, The Real World, Wonderfalls, All My Children, NYPD Blue, The Simpsons, or South Park). This will be a real breakthrough for the gay community.

Next thing you know, we'll be hearing that MTV plans to start a channel dedicated to music.

(Hat tip: Josh Claybourn)

Sharp-eyed pundit Jared Bridges noticed something peculiar while watching the latest Academy Awards ceremony. While showing the annual film collage of Hollywood personalities who had died the previous year he thought he noticed…no, that couldn't be…Leni Riefenstahl?

"She had a greatness to her and she had amazing longevity," Sid Gannis, a Hollywood producer and Academy vice president, told the Daily News. "There was no special debate whatsoever in the decision to include her on the list, and I personally agree with it."

Riefenstahl was considered one of the most effective producers of Third Reich documentaries and Adolph Hitler's favorite filmmaker. She produced Nazi documentaries during the 1930s and never apologized for her association with Hitler, claiming she didn't know about the mass murders. Riefenstahl died at her home near Munich, Germany, in September at age 101.

Ben Stein also noticed the perverse irony: 'The evening's bitter criticism of Bush, who liberated an entire nation from a mass murderer, and then an apologist for another mass murderer getting applauded by men and women dripping with diamonds and pearls.”

Wait a second. Aren't these the same people who claim that The Passion is anti-semitic?

'I just checked Google News and there were only 13 news stories cited with the terms "Leni Riefenstahl" and "Oscar," says Bridges. 'A similar search for "Mel Gibson" and "anti-semitism" yielded 3,860. Go figure…”

After six seasons and ninety-three episodes, Sex and the City airs the final episode tonight on HBO.

The final show brings not only the end of an era but the culmination of a magnum opus. Anyone who has watched every episode -- all 46.5 hours -- will have witnessed a work of genius in what is indisputably the greatest (and longest) misogynist masterwork ever to be filmed.

HBO has produced some great dramas over the years but nothing can match the 'novel of ideas” that is Sex. What is truly remarkable, though, is that the work probably doesn't even know where those ideas have come from. Somehow, perhaps gleaned from the subliminal zeitgeist, the writers of the series managed to pick up the themes of Otto Weininger. I dare say that if Otto were a writer for pay-cable he couldn't have presented his ideas any better.

Someday, feminists scholars will produce dissertations that clarify and outline how the series embodied the philosophy of Weiniger. The best I can do for now is point out the connection. Here is a sample from his Sex and Character to give you an example:

Georgia Senator Zell Miller on the Super Bowl halftime show:

I asked the question yesterday, how many of you have ever run over a skunk with your car? I have many times and I can tell you, the stink stays around for a long time. You can take the car through a car wash and it's still there. So the scent of this event will long linger in the nostrils of America.

I'm not talking just about an exposed mammary gland with a pull-tab attached to it. Really no one should have been too surprised at that. Wouldn't one expect a bumping, humping, trashy routine entitled "I'm going to get you naked" to end that way.

Does any responsible adult ever listen to the words of this rap crap? I'd quote you some of it, but the sergeant of arms would throw me out of here, as well he should. And then there was that prancing, dancing, strutting, rutting guy evidently suffering from jock itch because he kept yelling and grabbing his crotch. But then, maybe there's a crotch-grabbing culture I'm unaware of.

But as bad as all this was, the thing that yanked my chain the hardest was seeing that ignoramus with his pointed head stuck up through a hole he had cut in the flag of the United States of America, screaming about having "a bottle of scotch and watching lots of crotch." Think about that.

This is the same flag that we pledge allegiance to. This is the flag that is draped over coffins of dead young uniformed warriors killed while protecting Kid Crock's bony butt. He should be tarred and feathered and ridden out of this country on a rail. Talk about a good reality show, there's one for you.

This is a prime example of why Zell is my favorite Democrat.

Come on, admit it. There was a part of you that was hoping CBS would air "The Reagans." You were wondering what the fuss was about even if you didn't want to sit through a four hour hit job on a dying icon.

Well, I have a solution. I've begun the process of summarizing the entire 213 pages of the script so that you could skip the dull stuff and get straight to the juicy details. (Sort of like a blogger's version of TiVo.) You can find, for example, all the hightlights of the first two hours in about ten minutes.

In the spirit of Venomous Kate's Hunting the Snark, I've decided to make the summation of the script as snarky as possible.

(Note: Acts 1-7 cover the first night. If there is any interest I'll finish the second two hours (107 pages worth).)

The Setup -- (Pgs. 1-5) Act 1 -- The Early Years (Pgs. 6-26) Act 2 -- The Early Years (Pgs. 27-39) Act 3 -- The Early Years (Pgs. 39-49) Act 4 -- The Early Years (Pgs. 50-61) Act 5 -- The Early Years (Pgs. 62-77) Act 6 -- The Middle Years (Pgs. 78-90) Act 7 -- Pre-Presidency (Pgs. 91-106)

In the first five minutes of "The Reagans", the movie has Nancy and Ronnie getting all worked up because Mike Deaver says that some members of Congress were talking about –gasp—Impeachment.

If the movie had been based on reality, rather than a Streisand fantasy, it would have played out more like this:

Deaver to Reagan: They're beginning to talk about impeachment.
Reagan: Shrugs and goes back to watching the cowboy movie on TV.

While that scene wouldn't have been as dramatic, it would have been more accurate. By 1987, Reagan had heard plenty of talk of impeaching him:

Just when I finish bashing Salon, they go and do something that causes me to admire them again.

Salon has posted the entire 213 page script on their website (you'll need a fast Internet connection and Adobe Acrobat). Now we can see for ourselves what all the fuss was about.

Good job, Mr. Talbot.

(Note: As a service to all four of my faithful readers, I've decided to try to summarize all 213 pages of the script for "The Reagans." I'll skip most of the dull stuff and try to highlight any juicy details. This is part one of a who-knows-how-long process. So bear with me, dear reader.)

Year: 1949. Reagan walks into the MGM studios passing two actors in black-face working on a tap dance routine. He meets a producer, Leroy, who points out Nancy Davis. She's "extremely conservative. Extremely Republican." She's also been mentioned in the Hollywood Reporter as a communist sympathizer. Leroy asks if Ronnie, since he's the president of SAG can help. (SAG, by the way, is the Screen Actor's Guild, a front for the CIA). Leroy suggests Ronnie take Nancy out to dinner. Nothing expensive but she needs to get out, she's a wreck. Reagan groans but agrees since "she doesn't look like a wreck." Rowrr.

Years 1953-54: Warner Bros. Fires Reagan. His chimp movies weren't doing so hot. He's offered a job working for a pre-Jack Welch GE. He's depressed. But it's a lot of money, he's told. Well, yeah, but the government is going to take 94% of it in taxes. Damn commie pinko government.

Patti, age 2, is a brat. Spills cereal on Nancy's copy of "Dr. Spock's Child Care." Nancy screams.

Scene: -- Scottsdale: Reagan sips highballs with Barry Goldwater. Goldwater puts down Hoffa and the unions. Reagan says the guv'mint is worse. Republicans killed the movie studios and stopped all the Reagan-monkey movies and the liberal Democrats are leading the country to socialism. "Isn't that right Patti?" says Ron. Patti, age 2, agrees. Socialism bad, monkey movies good.

Nancy's mom, Edie, tells her that once Ronnie starts working for GE they can hire a nanny (presumably for that brat Patti). Apparently in ‘53, 6% of a paycheck goes a long way. Nancy wants to be a good mom. Edie scoffs. Kids come and go, she tells her daughter. (Edie, I should remind you, is a pro-choice anti-Semitic, homophobic Republican.)

Nancy gives birth to Ron, Jr. "I have a son," says Ronnie, forgetting that he already has a son named Michael.

GE thinks Reagan's speeches are getting too extreme. He's told that he is starting to sound like a "right-wing reactionary nut and that "Democrats buy GE products too, so lay off the Commie-thing." (Note for the kids: In the 1950s Democrats were commie loving toaster buyers.)

Patti the Brat almost gets slapped by Nancy. Instead, Nancy just screams.

Ronnie quits GE to go back to making monkey movies. His agent won't take his call. He's been black-listed, or is that red-listed, by the commie-loving, light bulb-using, Hollywood Democrats.

Year: 1964 -- Some guy named Holmes Tuttle says, "Nancy , we want to put your husband in the Governor's seat, and keep him there for 8 years. Then we're going to put him in the Presidency for another 8 years. By the time he's done, Communism will be dead, the Republican Party reunited, and "conservative" won't be a dirty word anymore."

Holmes Tuttle is a prophet.

Tuttle: "Sure, it's nice being the wife of a movie star. But think what it would be like to be the Governor of California. (pause) First lady of California – sounds pretty good, doesn't it? There you'll be, in the Governor's mansion – "
Maria: "It's a dump."
Tuttle: "Then we'll get you someplace nicer, somewhere in Sacramento—
Maria: I hate Sacramento

(Oops, I typed Maria when I should have typed Nancy. That's a future movie.)

Year: 1967 – Reagan faces student protesters. He says he's sick of sit-ins and walk-outs and thinks it's time for a few throw-outs! A student yells, "Go back to Hollywood, Bonzo!" (Note to student: Bonzo was the monkey, you drugged out hippie.)

Newspaper editor looks at two headlines: "Fancy Nancy Turns Up Her Nose at Governor's Mansion" and "Nancy Eats Out, While Hubbie Cuts School Lunches." Editor says to go with the "Fancy Nancy" one.

Nancy-pants is ushering Ron, Jr. to school in the limo. Demonstrators throw a tomato at the window causing Nancy to scream. Apparently, vegetables are the bane of the Nancy-pants monster.

1973: Ron, Jr. the Lord of the Dance is playing reporter. He asks his dad what was his most significant accomplishment as Governor. Making California fiscally responsible, says Reagan. But you closed down two-thirds of the state mental hospitals, says Jr., and all those people ended up on the street. (Historical note for the kids: This is where the population of San Francisco came from.)

But you raised taxes more than any Governor in U.S. history, Jr. continues, I mean you're a Republican, you're supposed to be against raising taxes. (Ron, Jr. the Lord of the Dance obviously never met Uncle George Herbert Walker Bush) "Well, I've got a theory about economics, says dad, "If the rich have more money to spend on buying things and building businesses, it will naturally end up helping the poor people. It's called "trickle-down." (The screenwriters have mistakenly inserted the Streisand "Raise Taxes" theory of trickle down economics for Reagan's.)

Nancy pops another valium. Just because.

1978: Reagan tells a dumb joke about President Carter and Teddy Roosevelt's ghost.

Ronnie tells a reporter that more pollution is caused by rotting vegetation than by so-called-polluters. (Note: Reagan's environmental advisor was Bonzo.)

Reagan campaigns for the presidency. Nothing exciting happens. Nancy-pants fights with the staff, tells Ronnie that John Sears is the Devil. Reagan says that Sears problem is he won't look him in the eye. Sears the Timid Devil.

Patti the Brat asks Nancy-pants if she has any dope. I'll take anything. Darvon. Valium. Quaaludes. Anything at all, she says. Patti the Junkie Brat.

Patti the Brat bends over with stomach pains. Nancy-pants, horrified, asks if she had an abortion. No, Patti says, I had my tubes tied. (That Gerry Ford really had an effect on her.)

Int. Reagan Bedroom -- White House

Mike Deaver I got a call from John Tower…He wants to talk to you, Mr. President…

Reagan is still staring into the tv. It's a cowboy movie.

Nancy It's okay, Mike. Go on.

Deaver turns to Nancy, lowers his voice

Deaver (in a whisper) They're beginning to talk about impeachment.

She begins to tremble.

Nancy They'll never impeach him. They won't have the votes for it in the Senate.

To spare you the trouble, I'll summarize the rest of the scene:

Deaver tells Reagan he needs an attorney. (The White House counsel apparantly had the term off).

Reagan calls Ollie North a bastard and a "lying son of a gun." The President has some mouth on him.

Nancy says Ronnie will only talk to the people, not the press. The people love him. The press, not so much.

Reagan says they got Nixon but they won't get him. He's not Nixon, he's not.

In what is soon to become an annoying habit, Ronnie refers to his wife as "Nancy-pants". He tells her not to worry. She worries anyway.

Nancy talks to Deaver in private. She says she needs to consult her psychic because they are "surrounded by traitors."

She catches a security guard watching a TV program about Oliver North. She immediately fires this traitor. (No explanation for why the White House is being protected by security guards.)

Close up on Reagan's eyes. He looks confused.

So are we. Confused about why we are watching this mess.