so, the continuity isn’t that great (Stevie leaves to get married, after being on a date with the teacher played by David Allan Grier?, what year of college are we in if Clair is visiting after the second year and Denise is living in the same dorm with the same roomates?, where does Ronald come from?, the Denise/Dwane kiss, and why is Denise’s hair always straight when everyone else’s is curly and vice versa?) but there are still some jems here. Marissa Tomei as Maggie, the scatterbrained journalist/playright (hmm…maybe
this and Carrie Bradshaw are some of the contributing images to “our” image…) and director of her rambling play “Adam and Eves” which pits Denise against Whitley (well, actually, this is the premise of the whole show, it seems..), nominating Dwayne for the Miss Hillman award for feminism (and can i now say that i was
so right about that Kanye Wayne thing?), the Valentine disguise (er. Dr Truth, did you learn from this?), Neil from Y&R as the hippie peer counsellor, America as a space guzzler (Maggie’s body buffer zones), Whitley’s dad bringing around a younger woman, the nerds hooking up (aw yeah!), the lessons one can learn from a difficult woman, Lenny the ex-spy cum RA, harbouring the homeless white girl genius in Whitley’s room, and a pep talk from mom about how Denise is not afraid of failure, but of success, because it would mean applying herself. hmm…who said that? hint: “who are you NOT to be amazing…”
to rework a quote from Heathers, “God, why’d you have to kill such hot cock?” (sigh) bodie’s the kinda fella that makes you feel more like a “boo”. i didn’t actually go away for christmas, i just watched three seasons of the wire in a week. the moments that made me gasp, the killing of this hottie, bubble’s accidental poisoning of his adopted “nephew”, and his suicide attempt. the show is wonder-full, and the thing i appreciate most is that none of the drug dealers/kingpins are rappers! revolutionary television that dares to tell this truth. that and the hardest independent gangsta on the street never curses, observes sundays as a day of rest and is openly gay. i know i have one more season, but i think i will find a way to own it/save it for a reward for actually getting some work done this year.
i woke up this morning to download a free talk that mister Lavar Burton did at Wellesley (go go gadget iuniversity!). it was news to me that he resigned from the show, but then again, it was news to me that it was still running, i just assumed that Reading Rainbow, like Electric Company, went kaput. oh, the arrogance of youts…we’re so self-centered, our generation. But 25 years, the run was great, some youtube-age earlier yielded a guest appearance from Run DMC in 1982. i can’t say that i don’t think that Damon Wayans spoofed the man for some of his subsequent characters on In Living Color, but still, what a legacy. officially a TUL, butterfly in the m’fuckin’ SKY. RIP Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac, there goes my dream that Obama woulda picked him or Al Sharpton as his running mate, to avoid assassination, and to make Head of State dreams into reality.
this show’s so good, you forget that you already know how to read. morgan freeman was a literacy 
season 4, we’ll see you at christmas on dvd.
i LOVE this show! i discovered it by accident, but we watched the 9 episodes at least twice each, the extended sex scenes, and we are trying to get our hands on season two. although it’s essentially a cookie cutter character filler of a black, gay, SATC, the difference is that i don’t want to slap any of them, ever! i can identify with the noah/carrie as the romantic dreamer of a writer (are we broke because we are or are we because we’re broke?) (well, i for one and not going to be broke anymore) i want to just put chance “do you want me to break you off some cheddar?” in my pocket, and you know they are the best incarnation of golden girls to date on the toob…good looks, fellas.
hard to believe (though not) that this series was improvised, but it makes you either terrified of marriage or hopefull (because it couldn’t possibly be worse than these portrayals), but the actors have great chemistry, and the concept of the therapist (viewer) as the unified link between all these dysfunctional folk is brilliant, really. it is really in line with the whole idea of the general public as the moral authority and the fictional (or celebrity) world as the poor fools who need our judgement and pity (hello, britney, we see ya). notable moments: the equation of “soulmate” with harlotry, how do you deal with the fact that your spouse has had 200 partners, catching your wife having sex with your toothbrush, divorcing just so you can start dating and getting to know eachother again, “reptile dysfunction”-”you know, my lizard”, LOL. the irony of betrayal, secrets, relationships with family members, friends, infidelity, these are all things that are dealt with honestly and awkwardly and this is a refreshing surprise, montreal, go to la grande bibliotheque with the quickness and borrow this one, apparantly it is not so widely available.
this man and jada pinkett (way before the smith) ’nuff said. find it. see it.
so, bigup to the Berri library once again for having the Boondocks treasury. now, not only is my heart conflicted between Huey and Riley, but Michael Caesar (Brooooklyn!) is added to the mix. (swooning over 8 year old cartoon characters sigh*). i don’t remember anymore what they are referring to, but the punchline is the best (ok, so i only make partial notes in my books, ok?) either Huey or Caesar is saying, “about as ridiculous as Nas “Escobar” saying he’s sick of rappers acting like gangsters”. solid gold. oh, and just because i’m a virgo that plans ahead, “Birth of a Nation” by Aaron McGruder and Reginald Hudlin is so on my wishlist (along with longtime “perfect gift” of a chandelier and a cactus). another forgotten Chicago allstar…
dwayne is the face on the first disc, and it’s worth noting that kanye has totally taken on his style, i wouldn’t be surprised if on september 11th, he will be seen rocking the flip top glasses. *people, please, please, please BUY the kanye album, not because i believe that support either record label will make a difference, but if there is a remote chance that curtis might be serious about quitting if he is outsold/soldout by ye, let’s just band together for the lesser of two sensationalist evils, no? (really? september 11th?!)* ok, back to a different world, where we come from. so, denise is the third generation of huxtables to attend hillman, she’s the first girl, and cliff’s prescence in most every episode so far reinforces that she is to uphold the family honour and she needs a lot of guidance. marissa tomei is the mediator between denise and jhelisa, and often the “voice of reason” when these two get a little unruly (she’s the one to calm them down when they’re both making eachother increasingly angrier about their “sisters”)…hmmm…another fashion comment, the superhighwaisted button up pants are really coming back (i saw some at simon’s the other day) but now they are tightass and in 1987, they were hammer-ey, with that whole puffy hipped thing. speaking of 1987, that would be 3 years before in In Living Color, and also funny to note that kim wayans had a bit role up until the episode where she was joined by damon and keenan (the debate episode). whitley is the token uuber-bougie character that is the butt of most jokes (carlton, anyome?) is shown to have more of a human side, when she convinces lillian, er, rudy to stick to her filial roots. as a women’s studies major, i was excited to see that they were showing fairly accurate portrayals of campus life (debate club, campus radio, stupid sporting rituals), but i almost died laughing when i saw their “women’s studies TEA” where everyone gets dressed up and has tea and crumpets. no WONDER people still have no idea what i studied…
