wherein Peter posts a Weekly Media Update

[Didn't manage to post this yesterday, owing to unexpected narcolepsy .] Movies:  TV:  Peep Show [series 1] , Burn Notice [3x01] [spoilers] , The Sopranos [1x14] [spoilers] Books:  Twelfth Night [Arden, 3rd ed.] Peep Show [series 1] Sometimes it seems like novelty is a limited resource for a television show -- like a show starts out with a set quantity of originality, and then they to choose how to 'spend' it. Okay, LOST , you want freaky nonchronological narration... read more

Movies:  TV:  Police Squad! , The Wire [5x10] [spoilers] , Dead Like Me [1x07-1x10] Books:  Civil Liberties and the Bill of Rights [audiocourse], Convergence Culture , As You Like It [Arden, 3rd edition] Police Squad! This was the TV show that Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker made after Airplane! .  It was cancelled after six episodes, but became a cult favorite and went on to spawn the Naked Gun movies. This is the first TV show I've seen that reminds me of Austin's improv...

[Missed a week, owing to holidays where I didn't watch/read much.] Movies:  Mamma Mia!:  The Movie , A Scanner Darkly TV:  A Charlie Brown Christmas , Best of The Colbert Report Books:  Mamma Mia!:  The Movie Yes, I did watch it.  Yes, I realize that I am not the target audience for an ABBA revue-style musical and that my judgments are probably irrelevant to the work's purpose.  My family rented the DVD over Christmas, and I started watching it first out of curiosity...

[Missed a week, owing to spending more time on errands/travel and less time on reading/watching.] Movies:  Lust, Caution TV:  Books:  Flash Forward Lust, Caution This is Ang Lee's 2007 film about a spy (Wong Chia Chi) who tries to seduce/kill a high-ranking Japanese collaborator (Mr. Yee) in WWII Shanghai.  The movie is, perhaps, better known for its NC-17 MPAA rating than for anything else -- which is a shame, because it's a solid movie, and a far cry from arty spinach cinema...

Movies:  TV:  Dead Like Me [1x11-1x14] , LOST [5x01-5x02] [spoilers] , Battlestar Galactica [4x10-4x11] [spoilers] , Burn Notice [1x01-1x03] Books:  As You Like It [Arden, 3rd edition] Dead Like Me [1x11-1x14] Disc four of Dead Like Me includes the first season's last four episodes:  "Bicycle Thief", "Nighthawks", "Vacation", and "Rest in Peace". This is act three?  Really?  *blinks*  Are you sure? Let me back up and explain a bit.  A story has a beginning, a...

Movies:  The Academy Award Nominated Animated Shorts TV:  Burn Notice [1x08-1x10] Books:  The Academy Award Nominated Animated Shorts This is one of the few times I'll shout from the rooftops that YOU NEED TO SEE THIS.  If you have any interest in animation, go watch it at the Alamo before the end of its run (on the 19th, apparently) , or download the videos from iTunes .  It is an exceptionally strong program. Okay, everybody's already seen "Presto" , the CGI short that played...