The Lex Files

Lex on TV

And, of course, talking about douchebags:

Nice try, Fox.

You thought you could win. You were wrong, Fox network.

See, you figured that by screwing with my TiVo’s Simpsons Season Pass, by allowing some ridiculous NASCAR special to run late, that I would miss tonight’s episode. That I’d need to wait a few days until it appeared on Hulu or MySpace or wherever the hell you show free episodes online these days.

But I don’t have time or desire to wait for your officially sanctioned re-viewing options, especially when I miss the episode through no fault of my own, and full fault of your own.

Thanks, BitTorrent. Thanks to you, I’m all Simpsoned up this evening.

In Treatment

I hadn’t planned to watch it.

When I first read that HBO was planning a series that would air five nights a week for nine weeks, I didn’t think that was the kind of television commitment I could make.

The premise — that we’d see a therapist five days a week, each day representing a different patient (or, on Fridays, his meetings with his own therapist) — seemed gimmicky. And tiresome.

But TiVo… TiVo decided that I just might like the show. So it started taping a couple episodes as suggestions, a few weeks back.

I caved and watched the first several eps. And they were good.

And now I’m, shall we say, addicted. And even, truly, concerned for some of the patients — and the therapist himself.

It’s amusing to watch how the show frequently fears its own premise. Since, at its core, the show should be confined to a fairly cramped office for the entirety of each 26-minute episode, and since that’s a little boring visually to writers and directors alike, much is done to allow occasional glimpses of spaces outside Paul’s office. The street outside his home were patients park, the rest of his house on occasion, or even more rarely, mental images conjured up by Paul as he gets jealous of a patient.

Still… It’s a great show. It’s nice to know that the sagas, such as they are, will be wrapped up after 45 episodes. I’m personally rooting for Paul not to sleep with Laura (a patient), and also not to reunite with his cheating wife. I’m expecting he’s not going to listen to me on either issue.

Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights is one of the best shows on television.

Ever.

I support the writers

I side with the WGA in this strike. And I’m certain that the writers, in the end, will prevail. Both sides will claim victory in the end, but I can’t imagine the writers going back to work without getting what they want (namely, more donuts).

Still, I must say it: I absolutely love watching the funniest hosts without their writers. Conan, Colbert, and Stewart are a hoot while writerless. I have always respected their comedy genius, but now I do so more than ever.

Of course, my own latenight show (which airs online any damn time you’d like at Cracked.com) has a full staff of non-striking writers. So there.

Conan, Leno, and Letterman

Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, and David Letterman all return to the late-night airwaves tonight. (As do Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel, but they’ve never really captured my attention.)

Letterman managed to strike a deal via his Worldwide Pants production company, so he gets to have his writers back. Leno and Conan, however, will be forced to fend for themselves. They get no writers and must improvise their entire shows. (That’s no big deal if they stick solely to interviews, but what are the odds they’re going to do that?)

Reached for comment, Leno said this in a written statement:

But seriously, folks… I’m TiVo’ing Leno and Conan tonight, because I can’t wait to see what their writerless shows look like. Obviously they’ll have to talk about the strike. Will they take a hard line against their own studios? Or will they try to deftly tow some corporate line?

Letterman will probably have the funniest show tonight. But I’m not interested in his; it’ll just be business as usual.

Am I the only one when Studio 60 destroys its own continuity?

So, Studio 60 got to come back for a last hurrah of episodes, starting tonight.

And on the show-within-a-show, Allison Janney was host. I would have been fine with that — almost — if they had simply avoided referencing her role on The West Wing. Which, of course, Sorkin couldn’t do.

How the hell could Allison Janney of West Wing fame host Studio 60? Has anyone ever noticed that several of the staff on the show look EXACTLY like the actors who once stared with Janney on The West Wing? Busfield, Perry, and Whitford all had big roles on West Wing. Who were Janney’s co-stars on WW in the Studio 60 universe?

It’s just a TV show. And it reeks of “inside joke.” But I don’t approve.

Update: Damn. Then they had Janney explain to a character on the show that she wasn’t Christine Lahti. Christine Lahti — an actress who portrayed a different character on Studio 60. Lame. It’s not cute, man.

Gerald Ford Dead Today At the Age of 94…

… and I’m gay.

I love Doritos!

Doritos is having a contest: They’re soliciting 30-second commercials, a few of which will win cash prizes, and one of which will air during the Superbowl.

You can enter 10 times.

Please watch my first entry, which features an original Doritos jingle (written by me, of course), and a cast of two Friedmans and two Krutzels.

If you are so moved by my Doritos commercial that you feel you must do something, go ahead and register on the site and click to indicate that you “love” my video.

Enjoy!

Don’t forget my “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” blogging

Now that Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is on the air, it’s time for you to start reading my analysis of the show for TV Fodder.

So, go forth and read my analysis of the Studio 60 pilot.