OK, so it’s a new month, new stuff is happening in life, new outlook, new new new … we’re just going to leave behind that little nasty month o’ May with it’s dental issues and computer problems and iPod crashing and lack of employment … well, that hasn’t been fixed yet, but we’re working on it! Tribeca ended in April (basically), then May started bad (no need to rehash or go into detail) and progressively got worse. But it didn’t end that way; things are looking up, I suppose, and it’s time to move on into June with a positive attitude, which will obviously involve releasing all the pent-up rage, or at least opinions, I have about some of the things in the entertainment world. It’s coming, oh yes it is.
But it may start slowly. I just can’t focus completely on the TV upfronts and cancellations and new seasons, and while I have seen Star Wars Episode III once, I am in the process of rewatching the first five films and then the Cartoon Network‘s animated Clone Wars series, which I hear is pretty incredible. Then I’m going to go see Epi III again. And no, I’m not a big Star Wars maniac, although like most people born in the late ’60s/early ’70s (1971 to be exact in my case), the films obviously hold a special place in my heart. And I didn’t worship or even love Epi III all that much — I basically found it satisfying but flawed. But I was curious to watch it all this way … so that’s what I’m doing.
BUT, there are two very important program notes that everyone should be aware of tonight. You be the judge of which one is actually “important” and which one is … less so.
The WB has been promoting the hell out of Beauty and the Geek. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them give as big a push to anything. And while it absolutely sickens me every time I hear the voiceover say or read on a poster the word “daring” associated with the “mind” of Ashton Kutcher, the show looks like the ultimate in train wreck reality television. Eyes … they just won’t avert on their own. Instead, transfixed they will be … at least for episode one. I’m interested to see if Kutcher’s producing prowess (hahahahahahahahahahahaha … sorry … moving on) will actually give The WB a well-produced reality show. That network’s reality series always suffers from the most annoying, drab, almost home-movie like production and, especially, narration. As interesting as The Starlet could occasionally be, just like the long-defunct Popstars, it was painful to watch, not because of content, because of how pathetically it was put together. (Well, strike that. The content was painful too, but in different and sometimes more entertaining ways.) Anyway, I’m curious.
Moving on, how long has it been since I’ve mentioned the greatest channel on the telvision spectrum? Namely Turner Classic Movies. Too long, yes I know. But there couldn’t be a better time to encourage you to check out TCM then tonight (and the next three nights, for that matter). The great Steve McQueen would have turned 75 this past March, this November will mark the 25th anniversary of his death, and in the past few weeks, not one but two DVD box sets of McQueen’s films have been released, aptly titled “The Steve McQueen Collection” and “The Essential Steve McQueen Collection.” Don’t let the titles fool you: the box set without the word “essential” contains The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven, two movies which certainly are … essential that is.
But I digress. (Shocking!) Tonight at 8 PM and again at 11:30 PM (both times Eastern), TCM will premiere Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool, a new documentary about the man who was simply one of the coolest (there really is no better word) actors to ever grace the screen. For some reason, he hasn’t retained the mystique of a Dean or Brando, but he should. Along with the doc, over the next three days TCM will be airing not just The Great Escape (tomorrow at 8 PM) and The Magnificent Seven (Friday night at 11 PM), but also the classic Bullitt (tonight at 9:30 PM) featuring one of the greatest car chase scenes in the history of cinema, The Cincinnati Kid (tonight at 1 AM) and, the movie that really started to make him famous, the original The Blob (Friday night at 8 PM).
If you’ve never really seen any Steve McQueen, invest some time in TCM tonight and for the rest of the week. If you’re already (and justifiably) a McQueen fan, I’m sure you’ve already set your DiVo! As have I.
That’s it for me today, but I’m already working on stuff for the rest of the week, and hopefully I can now really say that I’m back, for better or worse, in full force doing whatever the hell it is I do here. Yay?
Out of Focus 
So do you want to read my latest draft now?
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