The Daily Pop

Bil Keane: 'The Family Circus' has lost its ringmaster

 Bil Keane died on Tuesday, and the news filled me with such an odd mix of emotions.

 Keane, who had just turned 89, was the creator/author/artist of "The Family Circus," a single-panel comic strip that I dutifully have read on a daily basis for probably 40 years in spite of the fact that I have never liked it. Hard to say for sure, but I think it is possible that I have never once so much as chuckled at the strip, let alone laughed at it, which is actually not all that surprising, since Keane's goal was always more "cuteness" rather than humor.

 I have spent a lifetime addicted to the comics page, and I began reading "The Family Circus" back when I looked at every comic in the paper other than the serials. Being a creature of habit, I simply never stopped following the family-friendly exploits of Billy, Dolly, Jeffy and PJ, who (as I once wrote) were so warm and fuzzy that they made the Huxtable family look like the Osbornes by comparison.

Fall Prime-Time TV Line-Up: What you should be watching, Part Three (Saturday, Sunday, and Nightly Shows)

In this final installment of “What you should be watching in prime-time,” I have included shows that air on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to shows that air nightly. This is but a microcosm of what is on, but these happened to grab my attention and my loyalty as a viewer. Enjoy!

Hurricane Irene report: Andy Fox is 'past perpendicular'

WAVY-TV 10 reporter extraordinaire Andy Fox reports from the beach at the height of Hurricane Irene. I must quote: "It's everything we thought it would be." Please enjoy ... with music.

UPDATE: Want to know about the guy who put the Andy Fox remix together? Check out pop music reporter Sam McDonald's report at the Sound Check blog.

Great start to 'So You Think You Can Dance' competition

I can't imagine which dancer deserves to be sent home on tonight's "So You Think You Can Dance" (8 p.m. EDT June 16 on FOX). None of the dancers were weak.  None completely messed up their style. None were especially annoying. Here are a few thoughts.

Best choreography: Our own Virginia Beach native Travis Wall had the best overall choreography for the night -- the animalistic jazz dance and the statue dance. He was blessed with my two favorite dancers on the show so far -- Sasha Mallory and Melanie Moore. One of my favorite choreographers, Sonya Tayeh, didn't have her best work for Caitlynn, but it did show nice flexibility and cool lifts. It was also nice to see Robert from Season 7 dance again so soon. I look forward to seeing more of her stuff.

The Tony Awards: A few observations

"The Book of Mormon," created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker of "South Park" fame, won best musical at the 65th Annual Tony Awards on June 12.  This was apparently expected within Broadway think-tank circles, so not a big surprise. Having heard the songs, though, I'm glad it won. I have yet to see the show live, but the songs are as funny as the "South Park" Mormon episode (look it up). And as many of the critics keep saying, the musical's story is surprisingly affectionate to Mormonism in general. A bit of warning, don't bother to hear the songs or see the show if you don't enjoy religion humor -- whatever faith you profess. I get the impression that Parker and Stone think Mormons are "just so cute!"

A few more observations:

Denim: Is a denim jacket ever appropriate for an awards show? Best actress in a play winner Frances McDormand wore the jacket I had in middle school. And was that a gingham dress? I thought maybe she was in a character for a performance -- but apparently not.

What's your secret TV confession?

I found out recently that a good friend of mine won't miss an episode of "Teen Mom."

Me = perplexed. I don't know the demographics of the "Teen Mom" audience, but I doubt a highly intelligent 27-year-old with a penchant for political history and JFK memorabilila is the "Teen Mom" target audience.

But then I think about all the drivel I've consumed in the past ten years, and I understand.

Besides the shows I believe still stand the test of time ("Buffy," "My So Called Life," "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman") I've watched some really, really bad TV.

Currently, there's "Jersey Shore." So many of my friends watch this show, so I'm ALMOST unashamed.

But would they judge me if they knew my love for "America's Next Top Model?" What about "Toddlers and Tiaras?"

Does anyone remember "The Starlet," from 2005? The prize was a "career-launching" role on "One Tree Hill." How about "The Wade Robson Project" on MTV in 2003?

I watched both of those shows obsessively.

My biggest confession:

I've seen every episode of "One Tree Hill." I KNOW.  This is the show they clip on "The Soup" because at one point last season, villain Dan looks on as a dog EATS the donor heart for which he's been waiting months.

Seriously. Here's the clip:

Thursday is our favorite night of TV: What will you be watching?

Oh, glorious Thursday!

After weeks of reruns, our Thursday night lineup is back in full force. With all my favorite shows coming back, my DVR will be working overtime tonight.

The best of the best (and by channel tonight, instead of time):

ABC: "Wipeout," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" are all new tonight. Most exciting: On "Grey's," Callie is telling Mark that she's pregnant.

CBS: "The Big Bang Theory," "&%* My Dad Says," "CSI" and "The Mentalist" are all new. Zap2It's "TBBT" preview:  "Sheldon takes acting lessons from Penny in hope of becoming a better teacher; Koothrappali fantasizes about his friend's girlfriend." Seriously, I really just want to know WHEN Penny will tell Leonard that she still has feelings for him.

CW: Hello, "Vampire Diaries!" My favorite guilty pleasure is back tonight, and apparently, Jules the werewolf "takes a hostage." "Nikita" is new tonight, also.

FOX: "American Idol" and "Bones" are both new tonight. (Stay tuned for some commentary in the coming weeks about Steven Tyler and "American Idol."

 

 

NBC: Oh, boy. "Community," "Perfect Couples" (which is growing on me), "The Office," "Parks and Recreation," "30 Rock" AND "Outsourced" are all new tonight. Check out the synopsis for "Community:" "When Jeff worries about loner 'Fat Neil,' Abed suggests they invite him to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons; Pierce, upset after being excluded, forces his way into the game."

MTV: On tonight's episode of  "Jersey Shore:" "Ronnie's drinking has consequences; Snooki meets a new guy; Pauly makes peace with an old nemesis."

 

 

 *Amber Nettles is the mobile and social media manager at the Daily Press. She watches too much TV and is constantly texting on her Android phone. Find her at about.me/ambernettles.

 

Information and photos from Zap2It

Best of 2010: Best TV (according to our bloggers)

Photo from NBC. 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... which means our TV selections are few and far between until January.

While we take a break and catch up on our Netflix queue, I thought we should take a moment to highlight some of the best, worst and befuddling of 2010. This Sunday, DailyPress.com will feature the  Pop Culture 2010 roundup. 

Separately, some of the Daily Pop bloggers have suggested THEIR choices:

From Conni Mann:

 Break-out hit of 2010: "Community"

This week: 'How I Met Your Mother,' 'Skating With the Stars' & a 'Buffy' reboot

(File Photo)  Dear 'Buffy,' I need you to stay just as you are. 

 

Since most of our blogging staff is busy with holiday preparations, I figured I would post just a few TV tidbits to keep the conversation going:

Monday, "How I Met Your Mother:"

My roommate and I watched Monday's episode of "How I Met Your Mother," and I have a big problem: NO mention of Slapsgiving? For shame.

I caught the tail end of "Skating with the Stars," and I have to say: Bethany Frenkel is kind of charming on this show. I don't watch any of the "Real Housewives" shows so I know absolutely nothing about her. Thoughts?

 

It was announced yesterday that there is a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" reboot in the works. Rumor is that neither Joss Whedon nor any of the previous cast will be involved.

OVER MY DEAD BODY, Y'ALL.

Private Practice: It Could Never Happen to Me…

It could never happen to ME, we think. It could never happen to MY fiancée, my daughter, my sister, my mother, my friend. But it does. And it is hard to see, to talk about, to deal with. These past few weeks, we have been watching the aftermath of Charlotte’s rape unfold on Private Practice. As if the attack wasn’t horrific enough, the aftermath and fallout from the heinous act has had repercussions for all of the Private Practice family.

Seeing the flashbacks of her attack made the viewer feel as if they were there. The fact that there was no soundtrack, just the sounds of her screams, her thrashing to fight him off of her, tables and chairs being broken, made the experience that much more real. And honest. When Charlotte (KaDee Strickland) calls Addison (Kate Walsh) to come to the hospital to examine her, but doesn’t allow Addison to administer a rape kit, you can see the agony on both women’s faces. Charlotte, for not wanting to admit that the rape had happened, and Addison, for going against protocol and not reporting it to the police because Charlotte was a friend. (She does perform one, against Charlotte’s knowledge, because she knows Charlotte well enough that she will want the evidence when the time is right.) All of her friends and colleagues want to help, yet Charlotte pushes them away. No one knows what is best for her, and all she wants is to be left alone.

Because of Charlotte’s understandable need for privacy, Sheldon (Brian Benben), who had been interviewing a man on a psychiatric hold at the jail, doesn’t realize that the man he had been interviewing and who had admitted he had just raped someone, was the same man that had attacked Charlotte. Cooper (Paul Adelstein) had no idea his fiancée had been raped. Even after Violet (Amy Brenneman) shared her own experience with a rape in college, Charlotte still wasn’t willing to identify her rapist when she went to the line-up at the jail with Violet. It wasn’t until Cooper found out from Violet that Charlotte was not just attacked, but raped as well that Charlotte had the strength to identify her attacker and to save other women from the horrific experience she had gone though. She needed Copper to know, even though she wanted to save him the pain of knowing and herself the pain of "making it real" by telling the person that knows and loves her best.