MAD MEN: We’ll talk at length tomorrow as I’m allowing for DVR delayed viewers and don’t want to spoil anything. Here’s what leapt out at me upon first viewing: messages and how you steer the conversation, the evolution of Peggy, the issue of age: both young and old, Roger’s self-absorption and issues with the Brits who are now at the helm of Sterling-Cooper.
HUNG: HUNG is the TV equivalent of a date who won’t put out. For a show that’s ostensibly about sex, there’s very little sex or sexiness to it which is a sincere letdown, especially with an actor like Thomas Jane in the lead role. While the writers made a mildly interesting point about the mindgame Jemma played with Ray, there’s been very little payoff as Ray & Tanya have attempted to launch their new Happiness Consultants enterprise. I still can’t tell what the real story is in the show. Is it about Ray & Tanya starting a male escort business? Is it about Tanya finding inspiration so she can be a poet again? Is it about Ray trying to get his kids back? There’s no logic or throughline to the show and it’s become frustrating – which brings me back to the “date who won’t put out” idea.
TRUE BLOOD: Now HERE’S a show that knows how to pay off! The mystery of exactly what Mary Ann is deepens and now Bill has gone to see “the Queen” to see if she can help fight off/kill Mary Ann. Silly me, I thought Mary Ann was the Devil but there’s more to it than that. Week after week, Michelle Forbes scares the bejesus out of me and when the possessed crowd went after Sam Merlotte this week, my heart was in my throat. The Tara intervention/exorcism was pretty unnerving too. Sookie clearly has more powers than just mind-reading as her fight with Mary Ann showed. I’m completely mired in the southern goth spookiness of the show and I’m afraid and excited about what they’ll come up with in the last two episodes of the season.
DROP DEAD DIVA: Remember the name Brooke Elliott. She’s utterly brilliant in this show as the reincarnated Deb / now attorney Jane and every week, the show more sharply defines how difficult it is for Deb to suddenly be in another woman’s shoes – literally. Lifetime repeats DDD during the week so be sure to sample it if you haven’t done so already.
TDS: Betsy McCaughey tried to get along with Jon Stewart on THE DAILY SHOW last week when she visited to discuss health care reform, but Stewart wasn’t having any of it. If you didn’t see it, be sure to click and watch both parts of the interview:
On the DVR: 60 MINUTES tribute to Don Hewitt, ENTOURAGE and Patton Oswalt’s Comedy Central special.
Latenight note: Editrix Anna Wintour guests on THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN on CBS to talk about THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE, the documentary from FJ Cutler that’s all about her and the making of the magazine’s most ad-heavy issue. THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE opens September 11 but if you just can’t wait til then, click and watch: http://www.theseptemberissue.com/#/video
Bill Maher visits THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O’BRIEN.
TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: “She’s Leaving Home” by the Beatles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2mFfP1q50o
Because I read the cover story in Rolling Stone about why the Beatles broke up and the SGT. PEPPER album was a definite turning point for the Fab Four. Mikal Gilmore wrote an incredible piece about the emotions that tore the band apart and I can’t stop thinking about it. The article is not online, you’ll have to buy the magazine to read it; the Beatles are on the cover. In a related note: the Beatles last photo shoot is online, click to see it: http://beatlestweets.posterous.com/the-beatles-last-photo-shoot-august-22nd-1969
Bravo: 10pm: Rachel Zoe Project (season premiere)
The superskinny stylist returns for another season of freakouts, assisted by the still mean Taylor and the still bow-tied Brad Goreski.
Discovery: 9pm: Out of Egypt (premiere)
I’ve been to Egypt so I’m especially psyched to watch this show!
From Discovery PR: “Secret societies, ritual sacrifice, brutal religious edicts, macabre burials — how are ancient civilizations linked together and what does it say about human instinct? A whole new kind of class is in session with the dynamic, engaging Dr. Kara Cooney. Join this UCLA Professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture as she bolts the lecture hall for tombs and temples around the world bringing an exciting new perspective to the most fascinating riddles in history.
In “Relics,” which airs at 9:00 PM ET/PT, Kara investigates how and why our hallowed dead are preserved and worshipped. A relic could be the finger of a Catholic saint or a mummified ibis bird buried in an ancient Egyptian catacomb. For millennia, people have ascribed meaning and power to these remnants of their hallowed dead but why? Kara explains that the bodies might be dead, but they remain buried in our current physical world. They are then seen as somehow magical — a bridge from the living here on Earth to the dead in the heavens beyond.
In “Pyramids,” airing at 10:00 PM ET/PT, she takes a closer look at these iconic monuments. In 2560 BC, the ancient Egyptians built the Giza Pyramid. Nearly 2,700 years later and some 7,700 miles away, the Aztecs erected a similarly imposing structure. A coincidence? Kara explains that human nature’s desire to be close to the gods, to literally build a conduit to greater holiness, can be seen in civilizations far from Egypt, from the construction of the stepped temples of Mexico to the round pyramids of Sri Lanka.”
TNT: 9pm: The Closer (season finale), Raising the Bar
Kevin Bacon directs both his wife Kyra Sedgwick and their daughter Sosie in this season closer. “After the stabbing death of a woman who was apparently killed by someone wearing a Ninja outfit, Brenda and the squad soon realize they might have a bigger case on their hands than they thought. A detective from El Paso, Texas (guest star Xander Berkeley), where a similar crime occurred, comes to LA to help in the investigation, but his primary interest is in bringing the killer back to Texas to face the death penalty. Meanwhile, Brenda’s father, Clay (guest star Barry Corbin), arrives to take her niece, Charlie, home to Atlanta.”
Travel: 10pm: No Reservations with Tony Bourdain: Montana
Follow me on Twitter @thesurfreport.
That’s a wrap for now.
