No Rule Can Substitute Compassion

I happened to come across a few episodes of The World's Strictest Parents, a TV show where troublemaker teens are “shown the way.” The message is as conservative and moralistic as can be expected, narrowmindedly blaming the teenagers for just about everything. Still, upon closer inspection, it can't be brushed off all that easily.


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No Rule Can Substitute Compassion

Georgian Gethsemane

A friend and I were searching the web for versions of Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say) from Jesus Christ Superstar that might surpass Ted Neeley's from 2006. A mission impossible, but I happened to come across an adolescent getting quite near – on a Georgian Idol show.


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Georgian Gethsemane

Still a Beatle

I saw the TV concert of Paul McCartney with orchestra doing songs from his Kisses on the Bottom album, a handful of carefully chosen evergreen covers and a couple of new songs of his composed in the same style. What stood out the most was what a delicate singer he can be.


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Still a Beatle

Mental Narcissist

I watched all the episodes of the first four seasons of The Mentalist, the police procedural TV series. It's catchy. But it's not about a mentalist. It's about a raving narcissist.


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Mental Narcissist

Where Were They?

The London Olympics opening ceremony was quite spectacular, of course, but the four hours left me wondering: where was everybody? Not much of a line-up, considering what Great Britain has got in store.


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Where Were They?

Two and a Half Ceases to Compute

I watched through the ninth season of Two and a Half Men, which starts by uncle Charlie being replaced by IT billionaire Walden. It's not working. The money keeps it running, but surely not for long.


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Two and a Half Ceases to Compute

Game of Words

I'm far from the only one enjoying the TV-series Game of Thrones, waiting impatiently for season 3 to commence. I bet that this excellent fantasy drama would have pleased even its foremost inspiration: William Shakespeare. In the midst of all the spectacular scenes, its foremost quality is that of words, words, words.


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Game of Words

Vanity Cards Are Not in Vain

I watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory, an enjoyable sitcom, when I noticed something odd passing by in a second on the credits. You see it above. A subliminal message, perhaps? I had to investigate.


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Vanity Cards Are Not in Vain

Actors Interruptus

I've become addicted to Inside the Actors Studio, the TV show where James Lipton interviews famous movie stars at length. Like any addiction, it's a combination of delight and agony.


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Actors Interruptus

Characters With Character

Now that Charlie Sheen is fired, I don't see how the sitcom Two and a Half Men can possibly continue. They'll probably try it, but the circle is broken. That perfect set of characteristic characters can't be rearranged.


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Characters With Character

Bland Leads Dull Glee

The TV world has its own natural laws, some of them more difficult to understand than those of Einstein's relativity and string theory. I often wonder about casting. Especially those who get to play the lead roles are frequently chosen as if failure is the goal. Glee is a typical example of this.


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Bland Leads Dull Glee

Bye to Censorship – and Hello

Sweden stops censoring movies. It's the last of the democratic countries to do so, and it was one of the first countries to start it in 1911. Swedish tradition is one of government control in order to “protect” its citizens from bad influence – but the last few decades of censoring movies have dealt with excessive violence, and not sex scenes. That makes some sense.


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Bye to Censorship – and Hello

Idol is a Tragedy – Literally

Most things we humans do adapt the form of drama, and follow the structure described in Aristotle's Poetics, the classic text on the subject. Not only plays on theater stages, movies and most fiction follow the pattern of drama, but so do sports events, religious myths and practices – and every reality show on TV.


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Idol is a Tragedy – Literally