Catching Up

I haven't posted in a week. I would feel guilty about it, but I know no one reads this thing, so I'll skip that part and get on with my life.

Which means.... yes, it's 3:30 a.m. and I'm on Hour 10 of a House, Season 1, DVD marathon. Terrifying, I know, but I just got a big Netflix shipment and I can't sleep for some reason. Maybe it's all the Vicodin.

Anyway, here are the highlights from my Week in TV:

"24": I really enjoyed it when Jack knocked out his brother, for two reasons. First, he did it in one punch, because Bauer is a badass. And second, that guy's been asking for it ever since he got up in everyone's grill on "ER".

"Battlestar Galactica": I think I might be the only person who loves a good love quadrangle. Because I love the whole Lee-Dee-Kara-Sam dynamic. The baby-neck-snapping space robots and exploding supernovas are just a backdrop for fucked-up-people-in-love. But I know everyone else hates this whole story arc, so I'll shut up about it now.

"The Office": Right is left, up is down... Angela and Dwight are lovable and endearing, and Pam and Jim just kind of annoy me.

Best love scene of the year? Michael going to rescue Dwight from the generic-big-box-office-supply-store.

Best line of the episode (and seriously, this was a tough one)? Michael explaining that Andy is annoying because he has no self-awareness. Get it, Andy has no self-awareness. It's an astute observation.

Biggest yawn moment? Jim telling Karen that he still has feelings for Pam. I've always loved Jim and Pam, but I hate the angst. This isn't "Everwood", people. Nor is it "Battlestar Galactica", because I don't see Jamie Bamber walking around the office with his shirt off. So knock it off and funny it up.

Oh, and Oscar's back! If you forgot, he's been on a paid vacation since Michael outed him in the office and then tried to make out with him. Which brings me to another great moment this week: Angela letting Oscar know that she feels bad for being such a homophobic bitch. It's nice to think that even someone as uptight and intolerant as Angela can learn a little open-mindedness. All she needed was the love of a good man.

Dwight, antidote to hate. I would never have guessed.

"Grey's Anatomy": But apparently there's not enough Dwight to go around.

In case you missed it, here's the rundown on the Bigot of the Month Scandal:

• Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke) referred to gay castmate T.R. Knight (George O'Malley) as a f****t on the set back in October.
  
• "Grey's" and ABC sort of kept it quiet, but
  
• Knight came out publicly in the aftermath.
  
• Then Washington reignited the whole thing last week by using the Golden Globes as an opportunity to say he didn't call Knight a f****t (using the word in the process).
  
• Castmate Katherine Heigl (Izzy Stevens) responded by noting that Washington needs to maybe "just not speak in public."
  
• Knight went on "Ellen" last week and said that Washington did use the f-word.
  
• ABC publicly rebuked Washington,
  
• Who then publicly apologized for using the word he previously said he didn't use (and also privately fired his publicist).
  
• Rumors abound that Washington may be fired, or Knight might quit in protest.

Got that?

It's a sad story, and raises all kinds of serious questions about how much intolerance we can tolerate in the workplace. Obviously, if Washington is creating a hostile work environment (and word is that he is no pleasure to work with, even when he's not being a homophobe), he should be punished. And if that punishment takes the form of firing his ass, I wouldn't argue with it.

Personally, though, I wonder if there might be a best case scenario here, where Washington genuinely learns a little tolerance, and the rest of us exercise a little forgiveness. And don't freak out and tell me how I would never suggest such a thing if the slur had been racial and started with an "n". I'm not arguing that Washington's behavior wasn't bad. It was really bad. Unacceptable. The guy is clearly a jerk and I'm not defending him or what he did. You don't call people names, especially not the kind of names that are used right before a lynching a gang rape. Ever.

Instead, I'm suggesting that this situation might be handled so as to engender more tolerance, instead of merely condemning this awful behavior. This is a possible collective learning experience, not just a future episode of E! True Hollywood Story.

Let's say that lots of people are intolerant. They're uncomfortable with people who are different than what they are used to. Instead of keeping an open mind, they shut the different people out. It's obnoxious, and offensive, and it makes it harder on everyone else. And maybe a lot of this intolerance takes the form of hate. And it's hard to undo hate, maybe impossible.

But maybe some of it isn't hate. Maybe it's ignorance. Cowardice. Insecurity. Shame. Those aren't very likable traits, but they aren't hate. They are weaknesses. And the good thing about weakness is that it can be undone. You exercise, you get stronger. You learn, you get used to things, you stop blaming other people for your own problems, and you get along.

I'm not saying that Washington doesn't deserve to be fired. Or that Knight has some duty to forgive the guy. And maybe the only way Washington is going to learn is to be kicked out on his ass. But if there's some way that he can learn to be less of an asshole, and Knight can allow them both to put the past behind them, the whole thing might make me feel kind of hopeful about life and people and the project of humanity.

Which would be nice, given how Iraq continues to go down the toilet and people still die in Darfur and no one knows what to do about it all. Just a thought.

I know I'm being sappy and Utopian. I know none of that was pithy or amusing. You'll have to forgive me. It's 4 a.m. and I'm all hyped up on caffeine and Hugh Laurie.

"Grey's" was really good last week. George's dad died, and it was sad. Christina welcomed George to the dead dad club, and it was sad. Meredith is just like her dad, and it's just sad. Mark would be a terrible dad, which is too bad. Oh, and Alex and Addison totally made out. The end.

Babies Are Evil

They giggle. They smile for no apparent reason. They are filled with joy and wonder at the newness of the world. And they are harbingers of the apocolypse.

Babies. They look so innocent. That's how they suck you in. That's how they seduce you into betraying humanity. By being so fucking cute.

Ordinarily, TV shows use children as symbols of your run-of-the-mill innocence and hope. Or, in the case of many a sitcom, of shark jumpingness. Fortunately, the people over at Battlestar Galactica have the vision to recognize that there is more, ah, ambiguity in what babies represent. Sure, they're adorable. And they are the future... which is exactly the point. What do they have in store for us? What are they plotting under their soft skulls and downy hair?

Battlestar is filled with babies. Tiny bald ruiners of mankind. There's Hera, their leader -- half human, half machine, and all villain. Plus, you know she's pissed about her already receding hairline. Then there's Casey, the toddler the Cylons used to trick Starbuck into acting maternal (okay, actually that was very touching... but it's a fine line and I've got my eye on that kid). The Chief's and Callie's offspring hasn't yet caused upheaval, but I have no doubt that his dastardly ways will be revealed soon enough.

The point is, we should all thank goodness that Jack Bauer doesn't have to deal with baby terrorists. Even with the help of Chloe's baby tracking talents, Jack's stink eye is no match for some cooing little infant. Besides, he's gone all soft since he was released from the Chinese torture chamber. All it would take is one googly little shake of the rattle, and we're all as good as dead.

Luckily, Jack seems to be handling the usual array of Middle Eastern extremists with aplomb. I mean, if you overlook his waivering faith in his cause. I wonder if Jack's own experiences will give him pause the next time he has to rough someone up for information. If 24 is going to offer the audience something new and interesting this season, it's probably going to come in the form of a serious personal crisis for the show's hero.

24 has always thrived on keeping the audience guessing. But even unpredictability becomes predictable eventually. I haven't watched the show for a few seasons because the shine wore off after a couple go rounds. But if they can make the all-powerful Jack believably vulnerable, I might be hooked again. Send in the babies.


Golden Globes Update: Cheers to Grey's Anatomy, Alec Baldwin, and Hugh Laurie - all much deserved. And though I'm not a big Ugly Betty fan, America Ferrera deserves the win - she carries the show. Personally, I liked Mary-Louise Parker for Weeds, but she's an awards show standard and doesn't really need the encouragement. I'm far more upset that Jenna Fischer (The Office) was completely overlooked in the nominations. Are people ever going to get sick of the Desperate Housewives ladies?

Turkish Delight

Grey's Anatomy returned from hiatus last night with Part 1 of a two-part episode titled "Six Days". I was planning on discussing the episode today, but it feels premature because none of the story arcs have been resolved. We'll see if I have anything to say next week.

In the meantime, this was recently brought to my attention. It's a Turkish television program called Doktorlar, based on Grey's Anatomy. I don't speak Turkish because there is no reason, other than being from Turkey, to speak Turkish. But if you're familiar with the premiere episode of Grey's, I am sure you will quickly recognize the same sequence from the American version. To be honest, I don't know whether I find it hilarious or horrifying. The sequence where Izzy does rectal exams is a lot more... squishy in the Turkish version. The pace of the scene is very, very slow, so you really get to contemplate the fact that the dizzy blond is sticking her fingers up the guy's ass. Ew.

I still haven't watched last night's Office, but I'll post something this weekend when I get around to it. I am already looking forward to a television marathon for Monday's MLK holiday. Between the four hour, two-part season premier of 24 (Sunday and Monday, 8-10pm EST on Fox), and the Battlestar Galactica Season 3 marathon (Monday on the SciFi Channel, check your local listings), it looks like I'll be spending the day just as Martin Luther King Jr. would have intended - alone in my apartment communing with my television. Let freedom ring.

House on Fire

My New Years' resolution: actually post to this blog I started.

Oh, and watch more television. Naturally.

Luckily, a few of my favorites are back from hiatus this week, which means I can finally stop holding my breath as I wait for Netflix to bring me another installment of Battlestar Galactica.

First up: House. Last night, House apologized to Tritter for leaving a thermometer in his ass, checked himself into rehab, and apologized to Wilson for generally being an asshole. It was starting to look a little too much like a very special New Years episode of "Ed". I mean, recovery and kindness are great and all, but I watch this show specifically because no one ever learns a lesson, shares her true feelings, or reunites with his estranged father.

Well, actually, sometimes that stuff happens, but House always steps in to ridicule people for having feelings and caring about others. It isn't annoying because he's smarter and wittier than everyone else. Also: hotter. That's right, I have a thing for bitter old men. Come on, I can't be the only girl who feels flush whenever Andy Rooney complains about his junk mail, can I?

I needn't have worried that House was on the verge of starting a sappy love affair with Julie Bowen. He's still an addict, sneaking pills from one of the guards in rehab. Meanwhile, Cuddy perjured herself to keep him out of prison. Turns out, everybody lies. Who knew?

On a more analytic note, this episode was a great example of thematic storytelling that avoids being heavy-handed. The theme was new beginnings - for House, the House & Wilson friendship, and for our patient-of-the-week (he gets electroshock therapy to reboot his brain and erase his broken heart, Eternal Sunshine style). The storylines hang together, but the characters don't address the theme directly. You're never distracted from the actual stories by discussion of what they mean. Instead, you're trusted to figure that out for yourself, on your own terms. Remember the movie "Crash"? It was about race, if you didn't notice. Which would be shocking, because every single scene involved characters discussing their races and how race affected their relationships. It's lazy writing, it makes dialogue feel fake and stilted, and it weighs the script down with an annoying sense of Meaning. If I wanted to be told what to think and how to feel about a story, I'd just watch Studio 60.

Episode Grade: Solid. Too bad we have to wait three weeks for the next installment.

Coming up: Grey's Anatomy returns tomorrow. I'm growing weary of the enormous cast and incenstuous storylines, but the writing is so consistently ingenius that I remain devoted. Also, I just saw an ad for the new Sarah Silverman Program on Comedy Central, debuting February 1st. It looks to be a Seinfeldesque sitcom based on the life of a fictional Silverman, but with singing and dancing and, presumably, more poop jokes.