THE TKTV NEWSLETTER
Season 3, Episode 11 aired March 13, 2000
CONTENTS
1. Intro
2. Letters from the viewing audience
3. Kim's Commercial Comments
4. Don't miss
5. TV Trivia
6. Favorite Quotes of the Week
7. A totally unrelated link
1. Intro
Fox's new family drama, "Get Real," returned to the schedule last week after being pulled for February sweeps. It returned with an episode designed to pull at your heartstrings, where the Green family's youngest son, Kenny, comes down with meningitis and lies in the hospital close to death. As the family holds vigil around his bed, his spirit walks the halls, meeting the spirits of other patients who are hanging between life and death.
"Get Real" premiered this past fall, and it was originally a cute family drama where the kids spoke straight to the audience on occasion, and the parents actually had interesting and dramatic lives as well. Even Grandma Elizabeth, played by the always-elegant Christina Pickles, had a romantic story line. However, the comedy aspect of the show, the part that made it quirky and fun, has been completely dropped. No one talks to the audience anymore, and even before the end of its first season, the show has gone the ultra-depressing route of "Party of Five."
The eldest child, Meghan, is pretty, popular and smart, but she has decided not to go to college and has managed to already steal her best friend's boyfriend (Julia Salinger, anyone?). The next kid, Cameron, lives for his skateboard, and manages to get into trouble without even trying. He's already been expelled from high school and gotten into a showdown of a fight to defend his sister's honor. The youngest, Kenny, is the sensitive one. He has one wise-cracking friend, had one girl-friend who moved away, thought he was responsible for causing his mother's miscarriage of a couple months ago, and just recently overcame a nasty case of meningitis.
In last week's meningitis episode, "Get Real" crossed over to the SUR-real. As Kenny's body lay in the hospital, wracked by fever and immobilized by a coma, Kenny's spirit wandered the halls of the strange facility. The hospital was full of long marble-floored hallways, with large stone fountains and very little of the standard hospital traffic or clutter. Kenny was distressed when none of the passing orderlies seemed able to see him, until he met a young girl (played by that annoying baby-doll cute girl you've seen singing in the Pepsi commercials) whose comatose body lay across the hall. They watched together as "fate" took the spirit of an old woman down the hall.
As my friend Rachel recently said, this show is just a little too precious. It has started to take itself too seriously. Besides some serious casting mistakes that made me giggle (the Pepsi girl as one, and John Glover playing the "bringer of death" when just last season he was the Devil on "Brimstone"), this past episode refused to leave a dry eye in the house. Meghan and her mother had a touching moment. Meghan and her boyfriend had a touching moment. Cameron and his father were brought back together by the tragedy of Kenny's illness. Cameron expressed his love for his little brother with unusual eloquence and thoughtfulness. Mitch, Kenny's father, even turned to God. Kenny's final recovery, reunion with his girlfriend and adieu to the still-comatose little girl across the hall ripped the tears from the audience's eyes.
But there are still things that make this show unique and worth watching. For instance, Mitch Green, the patriarch of the family, is Jewish. He's not particularly religious, but it just so happens that he is Jewish and his wife is Protestant. This is not a big issue on the show, it's just the way things are. It makes me happy to see something so realistic portrayed so realistically.
Before the show was pulled for sweeps, there was a great episode in which Mitch and his wife Mary went to their high school reunion. Because they were high school sweethearts and settled down so early, they looked around at all their old classmates with a certain amount of jealousy over their exciting and always-changing lives. At the same time, the Greens realized that they were an object of envy as well, because of they had such a loving and committed relationship while everyone else was busy getting a divorce or two.
The show is well acted and well produced. There are no weak links and the great production quality reminds me of the first season of "Party of Five" when it was still the most beautiful show on television. Some of the transitions between scenes are downright gorgeous, worthy of study in a film class.
If the show can regain its sense of humor from the very beginning of the season (the same sense of humor that turned "Felicity" into one of my favorite shows last season), then it might have a chance of survival. If not, it might make a great Monday-night companion for "7th Heaven" on the WB.
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2. Letters from the viewing audience
From Andrew:
If that is Kari Wuhrer in the Visa Checkcard ad, Kari is originally known for being the original cute chick on "Remote Control," the annoying but lovable game show on MTV. Being Vanna White for that show had to be a career limiting move, thus explaining the random advertising gig, and bad series bit parts.
From Sue:
I find the most annoying ad around to be William Shatner waving his hands or playing the guitar and reciting his beatnik-y poetry readings (finishing with a mention of "Priceline.com."). The ads are positively EMBARRASSING. However, as my daughter pointed out to her retail management teacher, they get my attention each time (even if it's just for me to say, "Oh no, here's that horrible embarrassing ad again!"), so I guess they definitely do serve their purpose. But in my opinion they beat Jason Alexander and the no-money date ad cold for most offensive ad around.
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. Kim's Commercial Comments
Okay, so I know this is a newsletter about television. But I have to warn you guys -- with the Academy Awards at just two weeks away, I am on my annual quest to try and squeeze in all the nominated films I haven't seen before the show airs. But never fear, loyal TKTV readers, for you have logged on and the newsletter is still here... despite my distractions. :-) Here goes...
What spot has me laughing? Cesar: Bobo out!
This spot is one of the most clever I've seen in a long time. It takes place in a bedroom. A husband and wife are sleeping (well, trying anyway) and their little dog is in the bed with them. And let me throw in here that this is no ordinary little dog. He is white and fuzzy and absolutely adorable (insert saracasm here --> that's opposed to all those little dogs that are ugly and not adorable)! And wait, let me say that the wife _appears_ to be sleeping while the husband is wrestling with the dog.
We see shots from about a dozen different angles of hubby and the dog pushing and shoving and pulling on covers. This goes on for a few seconds... just long enough for me to relate to when my pets are on the bed. Suddenly the wife raises up and says, "That's it, Bobo! OUT!" Then, in an absolutely hilarious moment, hubby and the dog look directly into each others eyes as if they can't believe what she just said.
The camera pulls back and we see not the dog (who I thought was Bobo), but hubby rolling out of bed. As he stumbles away, he grabs a pillow. But the wife won't have it. She ends the scene with "Leave the pillow."
After that we get a brief, maybe 2 second, voice over from the requisite announcer and a shot of the Cesar dog food can with the little white dog's picture on it.
This commercial is fabulous because from the very first shot of hubby and the dog wrestling I was thinking they were going to put the dog out of the bed. I had absolutely no idea what product they were advertising, but I wanted to know. Then when Bobo turned out to be hubby and not the dog, I was laughing so loud I almost missed hearing the announcer and finding out what they were advertising. It's fabulous! Laugh out loud funny... so keep your eyes and ears open!
TKTV is always looking for new guest writers. Do you have an idea for an article? Write to TK 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
Last week's question was: in which movie did "That '70's Show" star Tanya Roberts play a Bond girl? Bonus if you know her character's name.
First prize goes to Slava K.! Congratulations!
Honorable mentions (sorry, without prizes, but keep trying!) go to Tom K. and Lindsay.
The correct answer was "A View to a Kill." Many people got the bonus as well. Roberts's character's name was Stacey Sutton.
This week's question is: in what movie did current "Law & Order" stars Sam Waterston and Jerry Orbach both appear? (Obviously, the "Law & Order" movie from 1998 doesn't count.)
Don't forget, this trivia quiz is sponsored by myTVshop, where you can get all your favorite TV merchandise.
http://www.mytvshop.com
Send answers to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of tvtrivia. Winners will be chosen at random from all the correct answers.
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6. Favorite Quotes of the Week
From NYPD Blue
Sorenson: "You never drink any sort of spirits, do you?"
Russell: "Exhausted my quota."
From Norm
Taylor: "I know how hard it is to perform in front of people. That's why I quit stripping and became a hooker."
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7. A totally unrelated link
Spumco's Wonderful World of Cartoons
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"I discovered I scream the same way whether I'm about to be devoured by a Great White or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot." - Kevin James