Jeff Murdock is Back!

No he’s not…
But he’s back for me. I got my hands on Coupling finally. That’s one of the best comedy series ever, owing much of that to this funny little character played by Richard Coyle. This guy, Jeff Murdock, is in all my honesty among the funniest, most interesting characters in the television history. I would nominate him in the top 10 definitely. Probably even top 5, along with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer. However the last season of the series goes without him, which makes the season somewhat dull and empty.

Anyway, time to light the flame of fun with this BBC classic. Let the Coupling begin.

Filed under: comedy, series

That’s it!

Deep pits require desperate measures…

I’ve just started gathering my old time joys together. Starting from Star Trek, going on withMagnum PI, Moonlighting, Northern Exposure, The Simpsons, NewsRadio, The X-Files, Seinfeld, Twin Peaks… And now it’s Just Shoot Me’s turn.

Actually I missed Twin Peaks when it was on broadcast over here in Turkey, and I’ve discovered it later on when I started my rampage of collecting David Lynch movies. I’ll hit that switch later, and give you a thorough overview of the world of Twin Peaks..

Since it’s Just Shoot Me’s turn at the moment, I’ll write a few thoughts about this show, and try to explain why I like it.

First of all, it’s not such a great show in itself, especially considering the amazing alternatives of the same timeframe like NewsRadio. Also, the acting on this show is not really that great, excluding Enrico Colantoni and, to some extent, Laura San Giacomo. Nevertheless, the show manages to come up with wonderfully enjoyable plots and situations. Also, the adlib and improvisation of David Spade adds a great amount of laughter to this fine show.

Now let me try to explain the main reasons behind my bond with this series…

Back about ten years ago, I’ve discovered this TV channel named kanal e (meaning channel e). It had a great spectrum of movies and series on broadcast. It was my joy to stay in front of TV to watch Alfred Hitchcock movies when thay had an Alfred Hitchcock week, or such weeks dedicated to broadcast the movies of great directors. Anyway, with time, the channel was sold over and then merged with cnbc. Now it’s known as cnbc-e. I would almost exclusively watch that channel. Just Shoot Me was one of the series I came to enjoy on this channel in some of my relatively happy years, along with many others like Seinfeld, NewsRadio, Simpsons etc.

The unexpected discovery of such intelligent comedy shows has made them a passion for me. Untill I’ve discovered NewsRadio and Seinfeld, comedy series has never been for my taste.

So, long story short, two main reasons behind the bond between me and my favourite shows are the psychological link between them and the good ol’ times, and the taste of intelligent comedy I’ve stumbled upon with great surprise. Now, don’t get me wrong, when it comes to intelligent comedy, Just Shoot Me is indeed behind Seinfeld and NewsRadio. But it still has quite a good script quality. And of course David Spade’s improvisation adds a lot to the quality of this show.

The show starts with a straight story… Maya Gallo, having difficulty with getting a job in the journalist industry thanks to her integrity and strong character, unwillingly goes back to her rich father whom she hasn’t seen in years, and asks for some money. But she ends up working for him, at the Blush fashion magazine. The plot is mainly based on the situations caused by her integrity not fitting in with the superficial fashion industry. But later on in the show, events and plots extend on the interaction of characters, and a quite enjoyable comedy show matures around some simple, silly stories.

I’m already in the fifth season, enjoying it. Since it’s seven seasons, it should hold up for a month or two. Next, I think I’ll complete my The Simpsons collection… It should take quite a long time to watch all those funny episodes..    ;-)

Filed under: comedy, series

Ruby on Rails

Although I don’t quite love Ruby, I think I’ll enjoy the benefits of Rails for the following few months.

I have a web project at hand, which needs to be done real quick, so I started digging on Ruby and Rails. It seems like the right choice for the particular project. All I need to do is just learn the language very fast. I don’t think that’ll be a problem.

By the way, I like Akismet, which is the spam-hunter of WordPress… I really don’t need the large selection of penis enlargement products spreading all over the Internet from my blog.. Whether they’re natural or not.

Filed under: programming

Kudos to Phil Hartman

I cannot sleep. I have no means of getting my head together, so I cannot work either. I decided that I need to pass the night, diving into WNYX. I’ve been trying to drive my mind off the pain, watching to NewsRadio.

Now, Phil Hartman is one of the most talented comedy actors I’ve ever seen in my entire life. He could even be the topmost succesful casting choice ever, in my humble opinion. He almost magically gives life to his character, and you just can’t help enjoying the funny scenes and plots he gets involved in. I frequently feel sad for such a great loss. I really wish that tragedy has never took place. And I wish I had the chance to meet this extraordinary talent.

What an extraordinary talent, like a rough diamond, that can even put a smile or two on my face tonight.

Filed under: comedy, series

The bridge is afire..

The bridge is afire. Once more she said, it’s over. And the bridge is afire right now… It’s burning inside my body, with the flames rising into the dry, cold night sky as if there’s any sort of life blooming on the surface of this planet, celebrating the first moans turning into words.. A turmoil of destruction and procreation resides in me at this very moment, and I don’t really mind that. But I’m feeling so sad with all this loss I’m experiencing, which will quite probably last for the lifespan of my existence, that I have a serious doubt it will heal at all..

There seems to be no doors anywhere around. There appears to be no way I could persuade her to stop this nonsense. She denies to live and let live the love she and I have for each other. And I’m so worn and torn at this point, I cannot bare any hopes for the future. All I have is this large hole in my heart, left by the loss of her. Ah, the pain, yes… Does it even have a meaning..

From the looks if it, I’ll carry this cross of thorns for an unreasonably long time. The pain is almost nauseating outside. Moreover, it’s suffocating inside.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Same old faces on the cathod ray tube..

Professor Oblivion once expressed his vision of the future of television, stating that the television screen is becoming the retina of the minds eye. After all these years, we’ve clearly witnessed the evolution of media to a much more sinister tool. A self-righteous ecology in itself, yet still a tool. But I still believe that I’m more involved in Prof. Oblivion’s vision than the modern societies way of media.

What have sparked these obscure sentences?

I just had a bad day followed by a very bad night. Maybe I’m just making too much of the situation, but it feels like I’m tearing apart the love between me and my beloved one with my disability to solve an infinite-depth pit of existential problems.

And the thing that’s related to my opening sentence is that I’ve been longing for my all time favourites on TV, for an hour or two. Whenever I feel such desperate, I tend to look for the joy and happy hours that those works of art and joy used to sprout. It’s much more related to the world of ideas than an era of television, or classic worlds of those cult shows.

If you’re familiar with the works of David Cronenberg and the ideas behind them, you’ll probably get what I mean and why my thoughts and sentences are so decentered. This is a no way ticket to dementia. While I’ve always respected the ideas Videodrome was based on, I’ve never felt so terrified by the ideas before.

I don’t really know what to hope… That I work at WNYX? That I stop my bike at some point and find myself in Cicely? That I make peace with the Costanza way of life? Or that I get hired by Sheriff Harry S. Truman and start a family? I hope you see why dementia is so terrifying.

One thing I’m sure of is that I will never ever become Barney Stinson… Even if I ever write to Santa and ask for a fully operational Death Star, which I might. I love this girl and the hopes her existence stirs in my mind.

For those of you who are not familiar with Cronenberg’s works, I’ll write some stuff to explain the chaos of my thought. I promise I’ll try..

Filed under: movies, philosophy, science fiction, series, thoughts