Strike Strike Strike!

Ok, considering that most of you guys might still be under the invisible Stanford bubble that prevents pop culture news from entering, I thought I would bring you up-to-date on some entertainment news you may or may not be aware of. The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) has gone on strike because they are not getting fair compensation from internet sales of tv shows and films. This is huge. Basically, television shows only have enough episodes in the can to run through December and then it's lights out. The Tonight Show and some other shows have already started to run reruns. The last time the WGA went on strike the entertainment industry lost about $500 million in revenue. Shows like Heroes have already written their season finale to air in December in anticipation of the strike.

In lew of this news, I thought I would first offer my suggestions of tv shows you might want to watch, shows I think deserve to be recognized for not only their casts' performances, but for the talented writers that give them their words. So, here goes (in no particular order):

1. Chuck (Mondays 8:00 NBC)
This show is about a guy named Chuck Bartoski. Chuck was kicked out of Stanford (that's right!) because his CIA agent roommate turned him in for cheating. Years later, as his roommate was dying, he sent Chuck an email full of government secrets which downloaded onto his brain. Now, as he works as head of the Nerd Herd at the local Buy More (like Best Buy) he has to be protected by undercover agents. It's a fun hour of action and comedy with an endearing lead character. Check it out!

2. Samantha Who? (Mondays 9:00 ABC)
Christina Applegate returns to television as Samantha, a woman who awakes from a coma, only to find out she has amnesia. Throughout the show she learns lots of things about her pre-coma self that she isn't at all proud of. It's an incredibly witty show, and only 30 min. so take a break enjoy a few laughs.

3. Pushing Daisies (Wednesdays 8:00 ABC)
Lee Pace stars in this loopy, cute comedy about a guy who has the special power of being able to break dead things back to life just about touching them. Don't worry he isn't some kind of ridiculous televangelist. He's actually a pie maker, and his special gift comes with a couple of footnotes. If he touches the undead a second time, it stays dead forever, but if he lets the undead stay alive for over a minute, someone/something else in the general vacinity has to die in order to keep the universe in balance. Of course, he decides to let his formerly dead childhood sweetheart stay alive which means even though she is no longer dead, they can never touch each other else she will remain dead forever. Okay, it's less confusing when they explain it in the show. If anything the writer's of Pushing Daisies should get credit of being able to make sense of the show's plot in less than 3 sentences. Very impressive and worth your viewing time!

Other worthy shows: The Office (needs no explaining), 30 Rock, Reaper, Journeyman and Ugly Betty.

Now, onto how this strike will effect movies...Movies will feel the strike's wrath later than television, of course. Therefore, before the film industry in inundated with horrible, pathetic excuses for entertainment, I believe these films are the ones you should look out for:

1. The Darjeeling Limited
Owen Wilson, Jason Swartzman, and Adrien Brody start in this Wes Anderson film about 3 brothers traveling across India by railroad. I've seen it and I like it. It's dark, dry humor, so be warned. See Anderson's previous work like The Royal Tenenbaums for an example of his style.

2. Dan In Real Life
Stevel Carell stars as Dan, a man who falls for his brother's fiance. It's sounds cliche, but Steve Carell's performance is worth a trip to the movies.

3. The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
Alright, be forewarned that it is a 2 hr 40 min film, but it's good, and Casey Affleck is a much better actor than his brother. His characterization of Robert Ford is very impressive.

Those are a few that I have seen recently. Other movies to look out for that have caught my eye: No Country for Old Men (Nov. 9), Margot at the Wedding (Nov. 16), I'm Not There (Nov. 21), The Savages (Nov. 28), Juno (Dec. 5), Atonement (Dec. 7), Grace Is Gone (Dec. 7), Sweeney Todd (Dec. 14), Charlie Wilson's War (Dec. 25), and There Will Be Blood (Dec. 26).

You can find most of the trailers (if not all) at www.apple.com/trailers

Happy Viewing! I hope all is well!

Now, I must sleep because apparently I have inherited Yamanda's car dilemas and have to take mine into the shop before work tomorrow. Oh Joy!

Missing All of You Very, Very Much...