A fellow blogger just informed me that Buffy the Vampire Slayer can be viewed on Hulu.com! Oh, my, goodness. I absolutely cannot wait to watch her kick some butt again while I sip ruby red grapefruit juice in my pajamas. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
They did what? They killed off Kutner? Or more precisely, they made Kutner kill himself off of House? Wait, what's this I hear - Kal Penn made the show make Kutner commit suicide so that he can go work for Obama? What is going on, and why did I encounter this strange tragedy at 7:45 am while enthusiastically working out on my spanking new elliptical? My love-hate relationship with Kal just reached new anxiety levels.
So yes, you heard right. Kutner may have committed suicide on "House" - or he may have been murdered, or something else truly mysterious happened to him and House won't rest until he figures it out, not because he cares about people, but because he loves puzzles. In any case, no more Kumar/Kutner/Penn to charm me. I'm convinced this is a big fat conspiracy to deprive me of my favorite TV characters - let's not forget what happened to Gary Dourdan of CSI last season. I'm still sour about that one.
But clearly, Gary was having some issues. Kal, on the other hand, has decided to help Obama save the world, and I'm both irritated and jealous. I mean, seriously, who doesn't want to work for Obama? Wouldn't you quit your job and go work in his administration? Kal appears to be a smart guy from what I've read, and so in many ways, I applaud him for leaving a rather successful actor career (thus far) to become an associate director in the White House office of public liaison (read about it here), where he will be working with the Asian-American and arts communities.
While I'm not 100% sure what that means, I do know that I can name at least 10 fine Indian-Americans who could have filled that spot. It's not that I think Kal isn't qualified - in many ways, he is actually an ideal candidate for such a position, particularly since he is one of the few, if only, mainstream Indian-American actors. But it did make me wonder what sort of process led to the decision that he fill it. Also, I feel kind of bad for all of those artsy Asian-Americans out there for whom this would have been a plum position and opportunity.
Missing Kuttner won't be fun, but stalking Kal in the new administration like will be - intern, anyone?
Some of my earlier posts have expressed slight disdain for over-hyped young South Asians in the media. You would think I'm supposed to have some sort of second-generation pride over their success, but I find most of them rather annoying and disengaged from the "community" they receive credit for representing (or not - some deny having much to do with it in the first place when clearly their popularity is based on some novelty in being South Asian).
One such star who I previously scorned but am about 33% in love with right now is Kal Penn. While I'm no huge fan of the Harold & Kumar movies, I always thought John Cho was amazing and wish he appeared more often in Ugly Betty. I don't know about you, but I've always thought that the quirky and strangely loveable Asian guy is far more inviting than the quirky but annoying Indian guy.
In "The Namesake," Penn didn't have much to do other than be a little confused, and even then, his face doesn't flex much in the way of expression. He's almost too much of an average guy. In fact, every time I look at his face, I feel like I should go back home, accompany my parents to a dinner party, find him spooning butter chicken into his plate at the buffet, and then awkwardly bump into him at the bar.
Enter Dr. Kutner on ABC's "House." If I were ever to date or marry an Indian doctor as per the wish of many, it would have to be a fake one and be Kal Penn-as-Dr. Lawrence Kutner. I find his portrayal oddly intelligent, and I have a 6th sense telling me that this character might be closer to Penn's own personality. Something about having less to express suits Penn, and given that Kutner is a bit mysterious and almost blank at times, the role has done him some good. Even when Kutner is acting up, Penn doesn't get annoying and there isn't butter chicken and a drink flying all over the place.
Clearly, I prefer more Kutner and less Kumar, although with a name like Lawrence Kutner, it's unclear whether the character is supposed to be South Asian or not. All the more intriguing, and all the more reason to watch his story unfold.
It's official. Warrick Brown is no more, and McKeen was finally arrested for his murder. Thank god. I was having heart palpitations at the thought of watching an entire season without seeing any justice served. I normally don't take TV very seriously, but the passing of Warrick Brown on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation actually left me in tears. His warm, easy smile. His clear, soulful eyes. Sigh. He is too wonderful, and his absence too painful. I hope the TV gods carve out a spot for him somewhere else.
As most of my friends and sisters well know, I would watch X-Files or CSI over Grey's Anatomy Gossip Girl anyday. Unlike most my age, I refrain from the fun dramas or comedies that have everyone hooked. Instead, I opt for the thrills, mystery, and gore of all crime shows and science-fiction dramas. Some exceptions include The Hills (which I haven't been keeping up with) and America's Next Top Model - I know. Neither is very good - okay, they suck. Another one - Ugly Betty - is a real winner and always a breath of fresh TV air.
This season is particularly exciting, especially since I can now schedule DVR dates all week. We didn't have DVR at home and Zee TV and CNN were far more traumatizing than anyone can every imagine. For months I missed out on some of my favorite shows, all of which make you think the world and everything in it sucks and make you fear for your life everyday. Splendid unhealthy fun, if you ask me.
In addition to CSI (the original, Miami, & NY), Law & Order: SVU (okay, all the others, too), The Closer, Medium (which hasn't started yet), Without a Trace, and Numbers, I'm also now hooked to Fringe and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, both on FOX. They are fabulous, particularly Fringe - it's kind of The X-Files for this generation - not nearly as intricate or engaging (yet), but a fair enough replacement after all this time.
If you at all care, Fringe stars Joshua Jackson of Dawson's Creek fame (I never liked you, Pacey), while The Sarah Connor Chronicles has Brian Austin Green of the original 90210 series. These aren't lame comebacks - both are actually quite good in their roles, and the shows are straightforward and fast-paced.
I know I should get into Lost and 24 given this track record, but I've missed too much already. Heroes, too, but in case you didn't now, it has almost exactly the same premise as USA's summer series, The 4400, which I was addicted to a while ago. Not pleased with Heroes' take on it. I kind of view it as the sci-fi show for the common man. Not enough mythology there for me.
I have a hard time focusing on comedies. They make you feel so much better, but I develop ADD when I watch them - I end up multi-tasking and get distracted. Recently, I forced myself to record The Office so that I don't completely depress myself watching the fictional (and not so) woes of the world unfold before me every night. Plus, I love Mindy Kaling.
I miss the weird days of Buffy and Angel (Charmed, too, except that it was honestly horrible). Here's to figuring out how many different ways the world will/can come to an end.
Sure hope not.
After moving into Manhattan a few weeks ago, I actually have time to catch the Today show bright and early. This morning, one particular segment featured Dr. Roshini Raj (apparently a frequest guest) of the NYU Medical Center speaking on using the internet to research health issues. The next Dr. Sanjay Gupta, perhaps?
I nearly cringed. Lately, I feel as if South Asians have become the new "it" minority. I know this explosion of accomplished individuals (particularly in media) speaks to broader changes in mainstream culture, but oh, how it irritates me when a new example of how fantastic we all are strides onto the scene. This is what I thought when I saw Dr. Raj - here we go. Another cool, young, South Asian on television with many insightful things to say and contributions to make. Applause, applause. Blah, blah.
Is Sanjay Gupta married? Maybe the two can have their own television show. Gupta 'n' Raj. Like Regis and Kathy Lee. If Atul Gawande joined, it would really kick things up a notch. We've come a long way from the Indian doctor on Seinfeld. His character was so problematic, but come on - you had to love him.
For a while, I worked at a community-based health initiative at NYU which addressed the issues faced by South Asian immigrants in NYC. How I wish that more professional members of the community with the influence of Gupta, Raj, and the like could make some sort of contribution to such initiatives.
Not that they are obligated to simply because they are South Asian. But it could do wonders if they were a little bit more engaged and if someone tapped their potential.
This, of course, is a much more nuanced dicussion which I can't do justice to here. It's possible I'm just bitter because I flunked Organic Chemistry and love the camera. Tomorrow morning, maybe I'll skip the Today show and watch a Charmed rerun on TNT instead.
As my friends and family know all too well, I'm obsessed with all entertainment that is dark, mysterious, tragic, and often gory. On any given night, I prefer these to comedy and regular dramas. For this reason, I'm more caught up on Law & Order, CSI (NY, LV, and Miami), Cold Case, Without a Trace, and NBC's Medium than say, The Office or Grey's Anatomy (Trish, you can shoot me now). In particular, I love Medium, the NBC hit starring Patricia Arquette, an actress who I never quite though much of until this show - she is absolutely brilliant as the psychic Allison Dubois.
This extremely classy and clever series grabbed my attention a few months ago, and not just for the interesting plots. The familiar-but-unique characters are played by an equally brilliant cast that includes my absolute favorite, little Maria Lark. This adorable child actress plays Bridgette Dubois, middle daughter of 3 (heh, let's not crack any jokes here since I'm one, too - this has nothing to do with relating to birth order syndromes) in the Dubois clan.
Bridgette's character has got to be one of the smartest on television, and they could not have found a better actress than Maria Lark. Just look at her face! She's able to blend the innocence of a child with the keen sense of a maturing adolescent who knows and sees things other "normal" children probably don't, but she's no wallflower and does not walk around saying cryptic things in a 19th century frock. She gets angry, asks interesting questions, and spills cereal all over herself. Her expressions and mannerisms are beyond hilarious and remind me of my younger sister when she was a kid, all chubby and angry, shaking her fists at the ridiculousness that is the world and yet constantly challenging it - I literally have to laugh out loud watching her, but also admire her spunk.
What I like best about this character is how real she is - no silly extremes here that child characters usually have to portray. As in, she is neither an ignorant, innocent little princess in that 19th century frock or an overly-perceptive, depressed child who sees ghosts and just wishes everyone were happy. Ok, well, she is sort of starting to have interesting "dreams," but instead of being freaked out by them, she grabs the bull by the horns and makes the most of what they have to offer. What a kid.
I imagine her to be the coolest kid in Hollywood. How could she not be - she is the youngest person ever to co-host ABC's The View, has appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" four times, and has a blog devoted to her. While she's not the show's lead, she is definitely its shining star. Give this show a try just for her brilliant portrayal. Notice how many times I've used the word "brilliant" - there's a reason for it!
