Sunday night is one of the few nights where I actually spend a little time focusing on the other screen in my apartment, but I've been so overloaded with work lately that I only had planned on peripherally watching. Given my corresponding lack of surf time this weekend, I present to you tonight's para-viewing schedule:
8:00 Keen Eddie (Bravo) -- I've seen this show a couple of times--the lead actor is from my hometown, I think. It's kind of fun, in a lock, stock, two smoking barrels cinematographic way.
9:00 Inside the Actor's Studio (Bravo) -- Johnny Depp. Someone there is who doesn't crush on Depp? I've yet to meet that person. The best was to hear Depp explain whom he modeled various characters on. Ed Wood? Modeled on Ronald Reagan, Kasey Kasem, and someone equally bizarre (I didn't jot it down).
10:00 split b/w The Practice (ABC) and Dream Job (ESPN)
I thought the Practice was done when they gutted the cast, but James Spader has saved the show for me. I usually leave the tv on after Alias, and end up watching the Practice while doing other stuff. I have never really liked Spader, but he's pure genius when playing characters you're not really fond of. We're in the middle of a three-parter (at least 3, anyway), and along with featuring Spader, Betty White does a cameo as a nasty, nasty woman whose chats with Spader are dark comic brilliance.
I also flipped over to the new reality show on ESPN, Dream Job -- and thank goodness it's started so we don't have to watch 3 more months of those rotten commercials. Anywho, I was surprised a little bit by two things. First, I thought that the contestants themselves were mostly cringeworthy. There were times where it was just plain hard to watch them. Second, the expert panelists were a helluva lot softer on them than I expected, but perhaps I've been indirectly Simonized (indirect, since I would watch an hour of PPV previews before I tuned into American Idle). Part of this, I'm sure, was that the contestants were only given a short period of time to prepare their spots, but still. "I thought you were pretty good...umm...yeah...good job!" Argh. Any time someone was even remotely critical ("you need to get to the highlights more quickly"), everyone else on the panel parroted it so they wouldn't have to come up with something else to say.
And no, I wouldn't be any good at it myself. But I do have a whole new level of appreciation for Stuart Scott, Mr. Tony, and all the other Heads who make it look easy. Maybe that's the whole point?
Anyhow, that's my televisual run-down for the evening. Back to work.
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