THE TKTV NEWSLETTER
Season 2, Episode 19 aired May 10, 1999

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CONTENTS
1. Intro
2. Letters from the viewing audience
3. More on "Sports Night"
     -by guest writer Rachel Vagts
4. Don't miss
5. TV Trivia
6. Favorite quotes of the week
7. A totally unrelated link

1. Intro

This week, TKTV has another new site to introduce. "It's Like, You Know..." has been added to the list of many shows that have TKTV sites. Have you caught this newbie yet? It's been totally overhyped by ABC, but beyond that, I actually find it it to be a pretty amusing show. Yes, it's reminiscent of "Seinfeld," but everyone's much better looking, and it concentrates a lot more on the differences between New York and L.A. than on nothing, like Seinfeld did.

Perhaps this show really hits home for me right now, since I'm living in New York and my parents recently moved to the L.A. area. When visiting them, I find myself acting much like Arthur, the visiting New York author on "It's Like, You Know..." I'm very snobby about New York and constantly talking about how weird things are in Southern California.

Also, there was a certain monologue in the pilot episode that really spoke to me. "You're gonna be like everyone else, talkin' about how you hate L.A., like it's a prison camp with five area codes. How the people are so dumb, so plastic, so silicone. How nothing's open late, you have to drive to take a walk, the houses are ugly, the clothes are loud, the bagels are doughy, the pizza sucks, the murder trials last two years, the marriages last two months. Then you throw in earthquakes, aftershocks, mudslides, road rage, race riots, guns, tasers, pepper spray.... Just as your head's about to explode -- Boom! One warm afternoon you play softball and you think to yourself, 'My God, it's January.'"

All of my friends who have transplanted to So Cal basically have the same defense... the weather. Only the weather. When I watched this episode, it was a particularly cold and blustery day in New York, and I'll admit that I was doing a little California dreamin' myself.

So check out the site, check out the show (although it may be takin' a little breather while ABC brings back "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" for May Sweeps), and let me know what you think. Fans of Whit Stillman movies ("Metropolitan," "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco") should definitely check it out, 'cause Chris Eigeman is as wonderful as always.

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2. Letters from the viewing audience

From Tom, who just watched his first episode of "Buffy":
What's not to like? The dialogue is witty ("Mock me if you will" -- "I think she just did"... "Have you been given permission to eat the hostage?"... "That's all I could get out of him before [his urge to get violent] forced me to acquaint him with Mr. Pointy" -- okay, I don't really remember the exact wording), the women are cute, the plot is interesting, the fight choreography is actually pretty good, the women are cute, Cordelia's just *vicious* ("and first place in the Being Wrong category, again, goes to..."), the women are cute... hey, did I mention the women? :-)

About the only thing I didn't like was the end wrap-up with the two deciding to go to Sunnydale... I mean, didn't they use the same thing to keep Andrea (is that her name?) in Beverly Hills when she was accepted to Yale, and, to a lesser extent, to keep Neve Campbell in San Fran more often when she dropped out of Stanford?

But anyway, yes, I liked it.

Oh, in another vein, I also watched Sports Night last night... good stuff. I think one of the quotes I read about it (USA Today, if you must know) compares the dialogue to David Mamet, but without the profanity... almost trying too hard to avoid the punchline, instead focusing on rapid-fire wit.
Letters from the viewing audience are always welcome. Please email any opinions, questions, comments, or random thoughts to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of "letters." Letters may be edited for length or content.

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3. More on "Sports Night" by Rachel Vagts

I'm about 8 hours beyond watching the season finale of Sports Night and it's still so fresh in my mind. I've always enjoyed television that is a little different. St. Elsewhere was my first "water cooler" show. This show has proven to me that television can be innovative at a time when most of the new stuff that comes on just seems like a retread of everything else we already see.

What makes Sports Night special? Its level of intelligence for one thing. It doesn't cheat the viewer. I thought the scenes last night with Casey and his son Charlie were really wonderful. They showed us a side of Casey that we hadn't seen before, but they didn't take him completely out of character. We also have been treated to the arc of Dana's relationship with Gordon and tonight as he ended their engagement, we were almost as relieved as Dana was secretly. This will force her to confront her feeling about Casey, but that's what season 2 is for and I'm betting their relationship won't have many shades of Sam and Diane or any of the other myriad of frustrated sit com couples.

And finally, the return of Isaac. I read somewhere that Robert Guillaume feels like this is his first "real" TV role. I know that I'm terribly glad to see him back and he arrived at the studio just in time to pull this herd back together. They were starting to feel a little lost without his shepherding presence.

Did I mention yet that it made me cry a little bit?

TKTV is always looking for new guest writers. Do you have an idea for an article? Write to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of "guestwriter."

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4. Don't miss

For details and lots more fun TV to look forward to, see
http://www.tktv.net/index.html?/upcoming.html

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5. TV Trivia

A reminder of the question from last week:
On "Friends," what is the name of the restaurant where Monica used to work before Moondance Diner?

Here were some answers we got this week:

From Jena:
Was the name something like Cafe Des Artists?

From Julie:
I know that Monica worked at that diner where she roller skated which I think was called something like the 50's diner.

From Suzanne:
I don't know the answer, but I know she worked as a head chef for her rich boyfriend, she also worked catering with Phoebe, and then for a short time as a chef where nobody liked her (I'm not sure but I don't think they spoke much English, and I believe they were all related). Also she worked at the diner where she danced on the counters dressed in a poddle skirt.

Since this was originally Tanya's question, we'll let her answer it:

Cafe des Artistes... which seems a little strange because anyone who worked at Cafe des Artistes should have no problem finding a decent job in NYC...

We only got one correct answer. Congratulations to Jena!

Jena also provides us with this week's question, from the early years of "ER." Who was the flower girl at Carol and Tag's non-wedding? Wow, this is even from before when I watched "ER." Good luck!

Send answers to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of tvtrivia.

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6. Favorite Quotes of the Week

From "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
"Why can't you kids do drugs like normal people?"

From "The PJs"
"Man! Grownups! Promise me we'll never get old." -Calvin
"Well, the statistics are in our favor." -Juicy

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7. A totally unrelated link

Mash

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Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching.