updated
Oct 8 @ 9pm CT
by Laurel Krahn
laurel@windowseat.org
ICQ: 509473
AIM: lakrahn

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Songs from Homicide
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Cry Cry Cry
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(actually, the book's been misplaced, much to my chagrin as I'm in the middle of it)
A Civil Campaign
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Word a Day

It's been warm in Minnesota again, after being quite cold. 78 degrees yesterday, I haven't checked the temps today. Lileks:

Weather like this has an odd effect in the first half of October. The air has the aroma and character of late spring, or early solid summer. It’s a scent not sniffed for weeks. Not unfamiliar. But it was something we’d given up for lost, a sign of a season that had surely fled. To smell that perfume again so close to the end of summer was almost cruel; it’s like having a lover who dumped you call up four weeks later and express mild reservations. It’s delicious and it’s painful, but the swell of your heart crowds out your reservations.

What do you consider the greatest American music of the 20th century? Check out this poll from NPR [via stuffed dog]. An interesting list. And yeah, you can write in things, too.

Brad's Third Watch from the Sun idea made me laugh. And now I'm picturing John Lithgow yelling "Bosco!"

Yes, you may consider this a cry for help (as well as reluctant admission that I've been watching Third Watch).

Early warning: Moxy Fruvous to appear on Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien on Tuesday, October 12.

One of my favorite bands has their first big network TV appearance! Cool. Watch. The other guest is that Angel dude from Buffy. Geek fun.

Joyce Millman re Now and Again:

"Now and Again" is a sci-fi series about the randomness of fate and the myths people develop to fool themselves into believing they're safe from harm and in control of their destinies.

And:

"Now and Again" is a pleasing blend of dark humor, suspense and soulful yearning for departed loved ones and lost youth. Caron was obviously influenced by the John Frankenheimer movie "Seconds," which starred Rock Hudson as a burnt-out middle-aged businessman granted a new, youthful identity. But the show also harbors a puckish, "X-Files"-style (with nods to "The Twilight Zone") irony -- an irony that Carter shows absolutely none of in "Harsh Realm," by the way.

Mike Duffy reports:

Baltimore cop shop shuffle: Former "Homicide: Life on the Street" executive producer Tom Fontana (HBO's "Oz") has rounded up all 18 regulars who appeared on the seven seasons of the crime drama, headed by Andre Braugher, for the "Homicide" reunion movie next spring on NBC

I'm at once excited and alarmed at the thought of a 2-hour movie that features everybody who's been a regular. I'm frightened that Falsone and the Beauty Queen and Ballard and Gee Jr will take center stage the rest will just have walk-ons. Yeah, I'm paranoid. Crossing my fingers for a cool movie that does justice to the show and the fine actors who've been on it.

I think this frightens me a little. Or maybe merely amuses me. But then, I can relate at least a little bit since I have a first name that's relatively rare.

I completely agree with James Collier about the new series Now and Again (I'm hooked as well):

Because of all the new shows I've seen this season, Now and Again is the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest. Simply put, it is the best new show of the season.

It would have been easy for this show to have been nothing more than a stupid knockoff of The Six Million Dollar Man. But producer Glenn Gordon Caron (the creator of Moonlighting) has done something very intriguing with his show's hero. Whereas your typical show would have been about a man who happens to have a secret identity as a superhero, Now & Again is about a superhero whose secret identity is that he's a man.

I really like the show. Check it out on Friday nights on CBS (8pm Central time). And read the rest of the review, of course.

In case anyone cares . . . the new shows I like the best thus far are Now and Again, The West Wing, and Once and Again. Work with Me may turn out to be a solid new sitcom. The year is yet young and there are some shows I still haven't seen that I've heard good things about (Roswell, Freaks and Geeks, Jack and Jill). Some shows have improved steadily since their pilot episodes (The West Wing, Once and Again, Work With Me), others have maintained the same high level of quality (Now and Again). And some may yet grow on me.

Go see The Iron Giant if you haven't yet. It's still showing in some first run theaters, in Minneapolis it's moving into late run (cheap) theaters already this weekend. You don't wanna miss seeing it on the big screen. Trust me. Don't think, just go. Last chance, go!

IMDB entry for The Iron Giant (Cool! it's already been voted into the top 100 films @ IMDB).

Official site
Fab CNN review
Fab interview with Brad Bird @ salon

James Berardinelli's review sums it up nicely:

The reason for The Iron Giant's success isn't hard to discern - it has to do with the writing. The script is crisp, smartly-paced, intelligent, and emotionally satisfying. It recalls the strengths of E.T. without the weaknesses. It introduces real, likable characters worth caring about and rooting for. It's the kind of story with the power to engross 6-year olds and 60-year olds alike because it doesn't condescend. The Iron Giant is filled with small moments that only older viewers will get, but which pass so quickly that kids won't realize they have missed anything. The filmmakers responsible for The Iron Giant, particularly director Brad Bird (making his feature debut after having helmed episodes of "The Simpsons" on TV), recognize that the best animated features appeal to a wide variety of audience members, not just the pre-teen set, and have used that philosophy as the picture's cornerstone.

They're shoes, they're inline skates: they're StreetFlyers.

Yet another article about weblogs and it even mentions Windowseat (thanks!). I feel a little guilty to be as slow as I have been with updates during the past few weeks, given the amount of attention the site has had lately. I hope any new readers are hanging in there . . . I'll have more and better updates one of these days.

Be afraid, be very afraid. Jon Seda to have a recurring role on Third Watch.

And, in a related story (well . . . ), Lisa Schmeiser reviews Cold Feet. Sad, funny, and true.

Asian Media Access sponsors all sorts of cool showings of Asian films in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Can't wait 'til the 1999 Asian Children's Film Festival later this month, featuring the work of Hayao Miyazaki. Must-see cinema if you're in the Twin Cities [via minicon-l].

Kyle Secor (Homicide's Tim Bayliss) is featured in an article in the current issue of TV Guide (the one with Katie Couric on the cover). Two pages of text, one full-page picture. Talk of his personal life and Homicide and so forth. Alas, not available at tvguide.com or I'd link to it. And yes, he really is in the first 8 episodes of Party of Five this season.

Teevee.org's been redesigned. Lookin' good. No more frames! Fabulous. Same good content, of course.

I'm behind on reading other weblogs and websites, as well as on reading various mailing lists. And on replying to email, of course. Working on catching up, but have Offline Stuff to deal with that may keep me behind on Online Stuff for a bit longer.

Thanks to those who wrote with well-wishes or otherwise wondering when I'd be back. Didn't mean to be gone so long. Updates may be sporadic.

Still working on putting together my take on some of the new TV shows. Check out what Aaron Barnhart (of tvbarn.com) and the Vidiots (of teevee.org) have to say.

Much to love about TeeVee's look at returning shows, especially:

Law & Order
Exactly the same as every other season but with a new cop, so you can tell what season you're watching when you catch the reruns on A&E.

Ally McBeal
Ally has problems with her love life this year, as does everyone else at her office. Persistent, recurring hallucinations do nothing to solve said problems.

ER
Producers continue to fling actors and actresses at the show in desperate hopes that one of them sticks; expect to see the fired Chicago Hope actors hired at County General during fall sweeps.

Sports Night
ABC, realizing it inadvertently renewed a high-quality show, delays the second season premiere while it figures out a way to kill off the program.

I completely agree with Virginia Rohan re Law & Order: Special Victims Unit [via hlotslinks]:

Now, to my gripes about some things "SVU" can control. First, Mariska Hargitay's character needs fine tuning. Supposedly a veteran detective, she's too shrill, emotional, and incompetent.

Richard Belzer's John Munch should be used for more than comic relief. Sure, he's funny, but he was also a great detective in his "Homicide" days. And Dean Winters' character is just too stupid to be believed. Anybody who works in a sex-crimes unit and calls a menage a trois a "fromage" (as in French for cheese) should not only not be a detective, but needs some remedial schooling.

Working on putting together a mixtape of some of my favorite songs used on the show Homicide: Life on the Street. Also just generally making mp3s of all the songs I can and keeping 'em on my harddrive. Have 'em on shuffle play now . . . wheee. Who needs an official soundtrack release anyway?

Ashley's page lists the songs all in one place, while schlock's page has Boom Boom Boom and the series theme.

In case anyone was wondering, I didn't get to the Richard Thompson show (I was sick) and I missed Congenial (couldn't find a ride, grr) and I probably won't be able to make it to Baltimore for Homicon next weekend (not enough money to swing it, alas).

Sigh.

Writer Marion Zimmer Bradley died on September 25th after having a heart attack on September 23rd. Latest news here.

Yay! Jon Carroll is back from vacation.

Got suggestions? Comments? Let me know what you think would improve this page. Don't hesitate, just write. I read all feedback and do my best to respond with, at the very least, a thank you.

This page created and maintained by Laurel Krahn who can be reached via email to laurel@windowseat.org. If you'd like to email or snail mail Laurel cool stuff (for this weblog or not), she'd love that.

Copyright ©1999 Laurel Krahn unless otherwise noted. May not be redistributed without permission.