xoxo CW???

Hmmm...interesting news coming out of this week's upfronts (during which networks present their Fall slate of new and returning TV shows).

It appears that time may be running out for the CW - the barely two year old network put together Frankenstein-style from the rotting carcasses of the WB and UPN. This is slightly scary news for me since I have a vested interest in several of the CW shows, which would promptly die should such horrible fate away the network. Apparently the ratings have nosedived between 24 - 28% from last year, which wasn't too much to write home about to begin with.

This despite the major buzz for their critically well received pilots such as Gossip Girl (my new favourite guilty pleasure) and Reaper (which I found repetitive, but has apparently improved steadily following the writers' strike). Apparently the network has one more year to show its mettle, so it better hope that the reincarnated 90210 and other teen-girl targeted shows take off or else it might be xoxo for the former frog net!

Read the story here

P.s. In case you were wondering my true investment in the under-twenty net is Supernatural, a criminally overlooked gem of a show about demon fighting (hot) brothers.

Crunch Time...

Well peeps...this is it. I've given myself a self-imposed deadline of tomorrow, which means that I need to make my final decisions and stand by them. It's a daunting process, but even I can see that I'm dragging my feet and if it absolutely came down to it, I can change a film or reading without horrible, horrible consequences.

At the same time, the syllabus is delaying my ability to go beyond and actually start working on the course. If there's one thing I learned last time, it was to put less focus on the films/readings and make sure the rest of the course is taken care of. It's like focusing on your outline instead of your report...there's still a lot of wiggle room between the proposal and the end result!

And so I need to make two final decisions:

1) I've scrapped the slasher week in favour of the more specific (and enjoyable) giallo week. I now have to find a giallo that embodies all the typical characteristics, but which is also comprehensible (this can be a problem).

I'm tempted to show Argento's Deep Red, but the narrative literally makes no sense, which can make it a difficult viewing experience. The Bird with the Crystal Plummage was good, but not spectacular, leaving me with Tenebrae or Opera, although I haven't watched the latter).

2) I can't decide which film to program first. Rocky Horror works best as a second class film when I can properly put it in context (aka preface the musical numbers, the reception of the film, the midnight revivals, the dress-ups). So what to show for the first week? I'm still considering Donnie Darko because it's recognizable but not that many people have seen it.

At the same time, part of me wants to go in a completely new direction and program something really off-kilter like Liquid Sky (an alien drug/sex movie)...

3) I also can't decide which film to end on. I'm going to do a recent film to demonstrate how new cult films riff on previous ones using a collage/homage style method (ex: any Tarantino or Rodriguez film, but I was specifically thinking of Planet Terror from Grindhouse) OR a film that may become a cult film or is an example of a failed cult film (ex: so bad it may be good "hot mess" Southland Tales)

Decisions, decisions!

Then and Now: A Tale of Two Robyns

Alright, I know I said I wouldn't be including too much music posts in the blog, but how can I resist when I find out that my new favourite music artist is also one of my favourite mid-90s artists?! Alright, somewhat rhetorical considering I obviously didn't resist...or at least not too long.

Blame it on the Entertainment Weekly review of her album which "dropped" (I love that saying) last week against Dame Madge. Apparently Robyn reinvented herself following her formative years as a young pop starlet. Sure she still sings super catchy music, but she's also descended into that underworld den of sin: electronica.

Let's review: old Robyn was a little sugary (listen to her too much and you get a tooth ache) but hit the tops of the charts with songs like Show Me Love and Do You Really Love Me (Show Respect). Apparently she never got over show and tell?

New Robyn is steeped in dance culture, with heavy beat backgrounds, vocal synthesizers, repetitive lyrics and even some rap (?!). You can hear old Robyn in there, but in my eyes it appears as though she's seized control of her career (and songwriting abilities). She'll probably never have another pop radio hit, but I guarantee dance afficiandos have already heard her number one dance track With Every Heartbeat.

Check out the transformation yourself!

Old vs New. Be warned - her fashion sense has gotten worse! In all fairness, though, she is Swedish.

Download This: Handle Me & Who's That Girl. If you want to try the rap try Konichiwa Bitches or Cobrastyle (with a Gnarls Barkley sample)