Frick! What if we never get a Scrubs finale? |
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We're suffering. Every one of us. What is it now—eleven weeks the writers have been on strike? I'm not feeling the pain so much with comedy. Scrubs is on at least 6 times a day on a minimum of 3 channels, and it only gets funnier. Sometimes the anticipation of my favorite lines is better than the joy I felt upon hearing them for the first time.
It's the lack of drama shows that hurts more. As viewers, we begin to regard characters as friends, and sometimes we miss seeing them. And a rerun is not the same: we want to know how things are going with these, well, these people. For some people, it's Meredith Gray. For me, it's Abby Lockhart. Watching drama shows feels good for some reason. Is it catharsis? Is it that we crave human communication and a well-made, well-written scripted show is so real, unlike this so-called reality TV I just can't bring myself to get into? (Of course, if it's people we miss, we could spend time with family and friends, but that's probably too outlandish for most of us to wrap our heads around).
Sure, we are getting drama all over cable. We can see the drama unfold in the Barack vs. Hillary story in the Nevada caucus. Turn to ESPN to hear about Yoko Romo. The Weather Channel is busy showing liveLambeauCam in anticipation for the crazycold game tonight in the Frozen Tundra. And while I've got the fevre, these are just dramatic fragments, nothing that we can sink our emotions into.
What we need to do is trouble our minds with the problems of shorter-term friends. Ninety minute friends. Friends that we care about within minutes of meeting them. Friends whose stories are featured in the following dramas that belong in your queue.
PURPLE RAIN (1984)
Long before Prince (a fellow Minnesotan) was all about Jehova, he was on Appolonia. These were rougher times for Prince, and for Minneapolis. These were the days when the buildings around First Avenue were graffiti-covered hourly rate motels and seedy strip clubs. No one dreamed it would become the shiny area it is today, complete with a hip developer's nickname and a Hard Rock Café. Welcome "The Kid" into your heart as he struggles through a troubled homelife, damaging pride, and the consequential loss of Appolonia to his competition (Morris Day). And watch him ride his 
I touched it even though it was behind a velvet rope. Was that wrong? |
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supercool purple motorcycle.
25th HOUR (2002)
It's no secret that I have a thing for Edward Norton. This film is great: not only is his performance amazing, he is just as hot in 25th HOUR as he is in AMERICAN HISTORY X, but without the disturbing tattoos. The film follows Norton's character, Monty, on his last day of freedom before he is to begin a 7 year sentence for drug dealing. His last night is spent with his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson) and his best friends, Frank (Barry Pepper) and Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a mild high school English teacher with an unintentional crush on a student (played by Anna Paquin). Monty also shares some quality time with his old man; but don't go thinking this day is all nostalgia and affection; this is a Spike Lee joint.
GAS, FOOD LODGING (1992)
I resisted seeing this because I don't like much of the cast. Believe it or not, my dislike of Fairuza Balk predates AMERICAN HISTORY X, where she gets to be in bed with Edward Norton. (Oh, and she plays a horrible, horrible person who is hard to forget). My ex liked GAS, FOOD LODGING (I think because he was a Dinosaur Jr. fan), so I eventually saw it. What I find odd is that I, too, like this film. It's underrated. We've got a single mom trying to raise two daughters in the desert. It's not unlike MEN DON'T LEAVE (1990), where Jessica Lange (a fellow Minnesotan) plays a widow trying to raise two sons in Baltimore. MEN DON'T LEAVE features a great cast, including Lange, Chris O'Donnell in his first film, and a hilarious Joan Cusack (you should see her hair) as an older woman interested in taking Chris's innocence.
FARGO (1996)
"Now you know I have a hard time with violence," I said to my mom, "can I handle seeing FARGO alone?"
"Oh, sure," she said, casually. She said nothing about a woodchipper.
It was Thursday and I was living in South Dakota. FARGO was playing on one of the two screens in town. Something would be replacing it the next day, so if I wanted to see it in the theater, it had to be that night, with no one available to go with me. So I went. And I cringed. And I hid my eyes. But just a bit.
FARGO is still my favorite Coen brothers (fellow Minnesotans) movie. I just saw NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and thought it was good. RAISING ARIZONA has 
When I squint, my boyfriend looks just like him. |
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its moments, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY is delightful. OH BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? has George Clooney . . . but FARGO has it all. It's this lovely combination of dark comedy, tragedy, and Minnesota accents. And the way it's all wrapped together is nothing short of genius. And did I mention that Joel and Ethan are native Minnesotans?
If ninety minute friends aren't your style, there's always TV on DVD. If there was a show that you missed or that you're late getting in to, start from the beginning. I keep meaning to catch up on Lost, for example. My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks are always good bets, but you've heard that from me before. My boyfriend's been totally into The Wire, which I think is just okay. This leaves my top pick: Six Feet Under. If you missed it, or only saw it sporadically, the writers strike is the perfect time to catch all 63 episodes.
I'll admit that I had a hard time watching it alone the first couple of seasons. Each episode opens with a death (sometimes disturbing, sometimes hilarious) that the Fisher family will somehow deal with in that 60 minutes, usually in the form of business: the Fishers run a funeral home. Peter Krause (a fellow Minnesotan) plays prodigal son Nathaniel, Jr. In the pilot, Nate comes home for Christmas (after screwing Brenda [Rachel Griffiths] in the airport, no less), to discover that his father has been hit and killed by a bus. He leaves his idealistic life of produce in Seattle and somewhat grudgingly returns home to help with the family business. Six Feet Under has it all: phen-fricking-omenal characters and the cast worthy to play them, violence, sex (remember, it's not TV, it's HBO), irony, a creepy sibling relationship, drugs, and the best season finale ever. People who didn't even watch the show said it was a great finale, but I think the finale would be infinitely better for the viewer who'd known Claire since she was in high school.
I've been toying with the idea of turning the TV off, actually, and reading another book or maybe playing a boardgame with my boyfriend. Maybe when he's done catching up on his blogs and shuts his laptop down, and when I'm done with the column and shut my laptop down, and when IDIOCRACY is over (it's on HBO), I'll suggest it.
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| Take Your Queue From Du |
Every other Sunday
Semi-wholesome Midwestern girl and certified Geek Magnet offers her suggestions - often new, sometimes classic - for DVDs that are definitely queue-worthy.
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| Denise DuVernay |
9 out of 10 librarians think Denise is a hoot. The 10th one couldn't corroborate because she was dead.
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