Top of the Rock: The Birth and Death of Must See TV

If you were around for the era of Must See TV in the 90s, Top of the Rock is a Must Read Book. It is an oral history by Warren Littlefield, the NBC President of Entertainment from 1993 to 1998, when Must See TV grew to dominate the airwaves. At its zenith, that one night of Thursday programming drew more advertising revenue than all other nights combined, and NBC had no competition in sight. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

The book is a zippy read that features interviews with the various executives, writers, agents, directors, and actors that combined forces to bring us this powerhouse of programming. Thursday nights on NBC featured classics like Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, and ER. If you were a fan of any of these shows (and really, who wasn't?) you will find a plethora of stories and reminisces that will surprise and amuse you. Seinfeld almost never made it past four episodes, while ER was on the cover of Newsweek after a few weeks on the air. Kelsey Grammer was living out of his car before he hit it big with Cheers, while a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston was dejectedly asking Warren Littlefield if he thought she would ever make it in Hollywood. Clearly she did.

However, as fun as it to read about the showrunners and actors, the true meat of this book lies in its dissection of the network itself, and the multiple executives who contributed to the success and then eventual failure of Must See TV. In the 80s, NBC was a last-place network, much like it is today, but under the vision and drive of multiple "suits," who encouraged creativity and took huge risks on programming that didn't initially get big ratings, they were able to build the broadcasting behemoth that dominated in the 90s. However, Don Ohlmeyer, the network President with obvious alcohol problems, seems to be the big bad wolf who sold out Littlefield and started NBC on the path to its destruction. People's descriptions of Ohlmeyer vary widely - Littlefield clearly hated him, while others say he was loyal to a fault and a savvy broadcaster, but everyone agrees that his arrival engendered a lot of friction at NBC. Despite the conflicted reports about Don Ohlmeyer, the book ends with a very decided view about Jeff Zucker, the man who completely dismantled Must See TV and oversaw NBC's fall to fourth place, where it remains today. Here was a man who just hated TV and was your typical "suit," only in it for the money and the bottom line.

Everyone seems to have only good things to say about Littlefield, which is not surprising considering this is his book. It would be interesting to read a book from a different perspective and see if Littlefield really was so responsible for saving the network. Regardless, he does appear to have been an executive who encouraged talent and had a decidedly solid vision for programming that would intrigue the nation. He fought for shows like Seinfeld and Will & Grace, which is a move that seems unlikely among current network executives.

Of course, who knows if Littlefield's successes would have continued into the new millennium? The increasingly fractured nature of TV programming and the availability of hundreds of channels ensure that no network schedule could ever get the kind of insane ratings that Must See TV commanded in the 90s. Top of the Rock is a nostalgic look at that unprecedented period of TV success and both entertains and teaches readers about the difficulties of profiting from creativity and coming up with the television classics that we still love today. 

London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony: An Ode To Pop Culture

Most Olympics Opening Ceremonies are gorgeous artistic spectacles. Of course the most notable example was from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a dizzying landscapes of colors, sounds, lights, and unbelievable precision. There was no way London could compete with that, but in the hands of British director Danny Boyle, the 2012 Opening Ceremony gave us something even more memorable: a pop culture extravaganza.

The 4-hour ceremony (I was forced to watch on NBC, replete with ads and god-awful commentary) started off slow. The stadium floor featured a pastoral landscape, complete with maypole dancers and live animals, in reference to Britain's agrarian roots. Kenneth Branagh appeared in a stovepipe hat and declaimed a passage from The Tempest - you don't get much more British than that. But from there, things got weird and wonderful fast. The Industrial Revolution arrived, bringing with it smokestacks, soot-smeared extras, extremely odd dancing, and quick destruction of all the greenery. There was a thumping score, lots of fire and sparks, and apparently they pumped in a sulfur smell into the stadium to give the audience an immersive experience (prompting Meredith Vieira to say, "Don't you wish you had Smell-o-vision?" Did I mention the god-awful commentary?). After the five Olympic rings were forged, we moved on to the truly goofy portion of the evening's entertainment.

The Queen and James Bond. By now, you've probably all heard what happened. Suffice to say, it was the most ridiculous thing one could expect at an Olympics Ceremony. And I mean ridiculous in a great way. After that skydiving entrance, the Ceremony launched into a parade of British pop culture, including the brilliant Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, trying to sit still while playing in the orchestra for a rendition of Chariots of Fire. There was a tribute to the National Health Service combined with a tribute to iconic British literature that brought us the much-anticipated showdown between Lord Voldemort and Mary Poppins. And the digital portion, which was pretty weird but featured a soundtrack of iconic Brit hits through four decades, with scenes from renowned movies and television shows. They also showcased Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the Internet. A lofty claim indeed.

The Parade of Nations followed, set to some great music. The British electronic duo Underworld were in charge of the soundtrack for this Ceremony and they certainly delivered. As the commentators kept remarking, the Parade moved at a nice pace, probably spurred on by the foot-tapping music. The commentary on each nation tended to range from depressing news about their economic or political situation to snickering over their funny names (here's looking at you, Djibouti). Finally, Zimbabwe and Great Britain made their way around the stadium, all the flags were raised, the Olympic torch was lit up beautifully by 200-plus copper leaves that each nation had carried in, and the fireworks exploded over the London skyline while Paul McCartney sang "Hey Jude".

Thus began the London 2012 Summer Olympics and I thought it was the most entertaining Opening Ceremony I've seen. It wasn't an artistic triumph but it was a pop cultural acid trip. James Bond, Harry Potter, Mr. Bean, Shakespeare, the Internet, and the Beatles - the United Kingdom has a lot to be proud of, and last night, they let us know it.

Fever Pitch: Your Guide to Football Fanaticism

Despite my bursts of enthusiasm for cricket when the IPL rolls around every spring and enthusiastic support for Andy Murray during the Wimbledon final, I cannot pretend to be a sports fanatic. I am a fair-weather supporter, quick to switch teams, and more likely to watch a match just because I discovered it was on TV than because I actually sought it out. Nonetheless, Nick Hornby's memoir about being a football fanatic (that's English football, not American) is a fantastically funny read that speaks to whatever obsessions you might have, be they sports-related or otherwise.

Fever Pitch is a chronological collection of essays set around the various matches that Hornby witnessed in his decades-long support for Arsenal, a completely frustrating team that he cannot help but love. His obsession began in his teens after his father took him to an Arsenal game, and after that there was no turning back. Hornby's memory for random trivia about every single match is astonishing and his descriptions of each match make you feel like you're there in the stands, dejectedly watching Arsenal lose another game or cheering them onto an unimaginable victory.

I don't know anything about football, but that's unnecessary to enjoy this book. It is really a story about how a man lets football define every turning point in his life, to the point where he remembers memorable life occasions only through their associations with what match was being played that day. As he discusses football, Hornby lets you deep into his psyche and the various life moments that turned him into the writer he is today. His novels have always presented humorous, heartwarming portraits of characters with a collection of quirks and obsessions, and after reading Fever Pitch, I can finally understand how Hornby came up with these characters who are driven by obsessions as fundamental to their being as football is to him.

The essays that make up Fever Pitch are always presented in the context of football but broach a variety of subjects, including racism, divorce, romance, depression, teaching, economics, etc. Hornby fully acknowledges the irrationality of his various thoughts and actions when it comes to Arsenal and is fully apologetic for the toll this has taken on his relationships. He is ashamed of various elements of his chosen sport and denounces the racial epithets, hooliganism, and unsavory characters who make up a minority but cause the majority of ill-will towards other football fans. However, at the same time, he has no desire to stop, and judging from this book, he's still a halfway decent human who has managed to find people who tolerate his foibles.

Fever Pitch was published in 1992 and became an instant classic. Twenty years later, I have no doubt that you can probably still find Hornby chanting in his season-ticket seats at Highbury, not daring to hope that Arsenal might win another Championship. 

Political Animals: Women in Washington

Political Animals is the latest entry in the ever-growing list of quality cable dramas. Presented by the USA network, it stars Sigourney Weaver as Elaine Barrish, a former First Lady (her husband Bud was a popular President in the 90s whose main legacy was a string of extramarital affairs) who is now the Secretary of State  after a failed presidential bid. Sound familiar?

Despite being an obvious ode to Hillary Clinton, the show is by no means a biopic. Instead it serves as an insider's guide to Washington and also explores how politics severely complicate family dynamics. Elaine divorces Bud when she loses her presidential bid, and the show picks up two years into her tenure as Secretary of State. Her son Douglas (who is also Chief of Staff) is engaged but various diplomatic crises keep hampering the Barrish's plans for an engagement party. In the meantime, Elaine is forced to endure the company of Susan Berg (the wonderful Carla Gugino), a journalist who won a Pulitzer for covering Bud's sex scandals in the 90s and has now gained access to Elaine by threatening to leak a news story about her son T.J.'s attempted suicide a few years ago. These two women serve as formidable adversaries - two self-proclaimed "bitches" who are determined to do their jobs well and not apologize for doing so. Despite the rocky beginning of their relationship, the two develop a mutual respect for each other, and it will be interesting to note how they help each other as the series progresses through its six-episode run.

The show can be overly soapy when dealing with the family story lines, and often relies heavily on real-life events to supply the political narrative. For example, in the second episode, Elaine enlists her ex-husband's help to rescue American hostages in Iran, much like Bill Clinton jetted off to North Korea in 2009. However, the show expertly goes behind-the-scenes and reveals just what it means to be a woman in the boy's club of Washington. Elaine has to deal with advances from foreign dignitaries and is subjected to sexist backtalk and various indignities simply by virtue of being female. But she coolly handles the assorted insults and makes it clear that only a woman knows the true meaning of "diplomacy." It takes an actress like Sigourney Weaver to round out this character and make her someone who is sympathetic and admirable, despite being a "bitch." Ciaran Hinds is somewhat over-the-top as the former lothario President, but the two actors have great chemistry on screen and it's fun to see them attempt to work together as parents and politicians. The supporting cast are an equally fun bunch, and the family tensions and eccentricities just keep escalating from episode to episode.

Television can never feature enough strong female characters, so it is great to see a leading lady who is fiercely intelligent and competent. Elaine has just announced her desire to run for President again, so the next four episodes should give us more insight into the campaigning process, as well as how difficult it is to balance the wishes of her family against her own political ambitions. Her sons are not keen to re-experience the scrutiny that comes with being the President's children, so there should be a fair amount of sabotage and emotional blackmail coming up. Such is the plight of the working woman.

The Dark Knight Rises: Epic Excellence

The Dark Knight Rises seems like an impossible challenge. In addition to recalling characters, themes, and events from the previous two movies, it introduces a host of new characters and a completely new plot to destroy the inhabitants of Gotham. Can writer-director Christopher Nolan wrangle all of these elements together into one coherent story? The answer is, of course he can.

The movie is meticulously crafted, resembling an epic novel in its scope and vision. There are elaborate set pieces that either propel the story forward or exist simply to inspire awe. There are people telling stories which seem like mere stories until flashbacks reveal these legends to be truth. There are characters with murky motives who seem to keep changing sides, while there are characters who stay staunchly true to their beliefs, whether good or evil. And all these disparate story arcs and people are inextricably intertwined and entangled by their encounters with the Batman, who is back after an eight-year retirement to take down his greatest nemesis yet, Bane. The one villain who "broke the Bat."

Christopher Nolan presents a feast for the senses, with action sequences that make you gasp and a thumping Hans Zimmer score that gets your pulse racing, interspersed with scenes that range from heartbreaking to comical, romantic to desperate, and every emotion in between. Bruce Wayne's arc is very similar to his evolution in Batman Begins, but this is a much more grown-up Bruce, a Howard Hughes-style recluse who is no longer concerned with keeping up his playboy image. Tom Hardy is fantastic as Bane, the new villain who  frightens you with his very presence. I will admit that it is hard to understand his every word underneath that mask, but like every arch-villain he's just spouting the same old rhetoric. His true intimidation lies in his threatening physicality and a look in his eyes that emphatically tells you he is a force to be reckoned with.

The other newcomers to the Batman universe are Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman, played with sleek panache by Anne Hathaway), Miranda Tate (the always radiant Marion Cotillard) who serves on the board of Wayne Enterprises and is trying to further Bruce Wayne's philanthropic goals, and John Blake (the ever-dependable Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a thoroughly incorruptible cop in Gotham's police force who becomes Batman's ally. These characters fit right into the Gotham landscape and you feel like they've been there all along, just waiting on the sidelines until Batman noticed them.

The old stalwarts are still there - Alfred (Michael Caine in all his Cockney glory) is still dispensing fatherly solicitude and trying to get "Master Bruce" a love life, Lucius Fox (the twinkly-eyed Morgan Freeman) is still sequestering gadgets to pique Bruce's interest, while Commissioner Gordon (the brilliant Gary Oldman) is still Gotham's moral center and struggling with the secret that Batman is Gotham's true hero. This is a bewildering array of characters to keep track of, but don't try so hard and you'll quickly become immersed in the universe that Christopher Nolan has created for your pleasure.

A remarkable feature of this movie is its predictability. There are various tropes and situations that lull you into complacency, and by the time you're halfway through the movie, you feel like you know where this is all going.  But then the action picks up, the plot goes stir-crazy, and the reveals get progressively more astounding. The plot is incredibly dense and complex, with various threads that could serve as social commentaries on a number of issues, but like every great novel, everything comes together in one satisfyingly brilliant conclusion.

The last fifteen minutes of The Dark Knight Rises are simply astonishing as the rug is continually pulled out from under your feet. All I can say is that I left the theater reeling with delight but also with despair that this magnificent trilogy is at an end.

Party Down: Catering Comical Catastrophes

Party Down is another entry in the list of TV shows that were brilliant but cancelled. The show premiered on Starz in 2009 and was shut down after two seasons, leaving us with twenty memorable episodes of comic mayhem.

The show follows the employees of Party Down, a Los Angeles catering company. The team leader is Ron Donald (Ken Marino), the only one who actually wants a career in the food service industry and is saving up money to open a franchise restaurant called Soup 'R Crackers. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm and desire for perfect service are continually undermined by his crew, a bunch of actors, writers, and comedians, who are all grumpily paying their dues in between auditions to find their big Hollywood break. There's sarcastic aspiring stand-up comedian Casey (Lizzy Caplan), "hard sci-fi" writer Roman (Martin Starr, all grown up from Freaks & Geeks), blond and predictably dumb actor Kyle (Ryan Hansen, from Veronica Mars), and failed actor Henry (Adam Scott, of Parks & Recreation fame). In addition, the first season featured Jane Lynch, but after she left to do Glee, her place was gleefully filled by Megan Mullaly, who plays Lydia, a loopy, ever-optimistic stage mom who is trying to get her daughter Escapade into the Hollywood child star line-up. Additionally, one of the show's creators is Rob Thomas, who started this show after Veronica Mars was cancelled. As a result, the show features guest stars straight from the Veronica Mars cast, which is rather delightful if you are looking for all those familiar faces again.

Despite each season being only ten episodes long, they follow complete story arcs for every character and give you a complete sense of these people's hopes, dreams, failures, and foibles. Every episode takes place in a completely different setting depending on what event they're catering that week. So one week they're trying to host a successful sweet sixteen, and then next week is an orgy. The crew is forever getting entangled with a bizarre roster of party hosts and guests, all of whom lead you to believe that Los Angeles is filled with the most neurotic and insane people in the world. Regardless of setting though, the main characters continue to be hilariously oblivious and self-centered, carrying out personal vendettas against the guests or calling up their agents with the hopes of finding a dream job. Hollywood certainly isn't all glitz and glamour.

Party Down features a cast that would be the envy of any other comedy series, and writers that are well-versed in the art of crafting witty dialogue and ridiculous situations that keep you laughing for 30 minutes straight. So if you want an award-worthy comedy series that requires a minimal time commitment, let Party Down cater to you.

The Newsroom: It's a Man's World

After the furor over The Newsroom's pilot episode, I thought I would wait until I formed a definite opinion on the series. Now four episodes in, I am realizing that my opinion from the pilot has merely been substantiated. Straight from the mind of Aaron Sorkin, this show is a highhanded ball of frustration.

If you don't know what the show's about, here's a short recap: Will McAvoy (played by a surprisingly excellent Jeff Daniels) is a news anchor on the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) channel. He's incredibly popular but runs a safe apolitical show that doesn't push anyone's buttons and delivers the news as blandly as possible. However, when asked at a college debate, "Why is America the greeatest country in the world?" Will explodes into a tirade of statistics revealing how America is no longer #1 at anything that matters and needs to work on regaining its former glory. What follows is a decision to make his show a shining beacon in the dark pit that is cable news. New people are hired, among them, MacKenzie McHale (the always lovely Emily Mortimer) as his new Executive Producer, who of course also happens to be a former girlfriend. They are all united in their goal to present the news like the good old days of yore when stalwarts like Murrow and Cronkite ruled the airwaves and the primary concern was educating the public rather than garnering high ratings.

All that is well and good, but The Newsroom leans heavily towards sanctimonious preaching and highhanded monologues set to the backdrop of inspirational music. Will McAvoy is clearly the Messiah sent to save us all from the morass of political insult-trading that serves as news these days, but his approach is infuriating enough to make you want to switch over to Fox News. The show's especial conceit is that it is set in the "recent past" so that Sorkin can tell us how real-life news stories ought to have been covered. Therefore, the pilot covered the BP oil spill, and while everyone else was foolishly dismissing it as a small news item, McAvoy and his team were supposedly able to crack the story wide open in a few hours and predict it to be the disaster that it became. Perhaps that is plausible, but hindsight is 20/20. We know now that the oil spill was a huge calamity, but would journalists have known the details that very day and had conveniently placed sisters and college roommates in the upper echelons of BP's corporate structure who were willing to provide evidence that their company didn't know what it was doing?

But my real gripe with the show has nothing to do with the news. As preachy and saccharine as Will and MacKenzie's idealism can get, I do agree with their thesis that the news has to be more factual, impartial, and concerned with delivering the truth rather than giving us shock-and-awe ratings boosters. But what I thoroughly disagree with, is the show's treatment of women. In the pilot, some women were referred to as "honey" or "sweetheart;" a little thing, perhaps, but one which still rankles. Will seems to have no trouble remembering the name of the brand new male producer who shows up in a chaotic day of changes, but after constant reminders, he still can't remember that his long-time assistant's name is Maggie. At the end of the episode, he triumphantly calls her by the right name, and we are supposed to applaud his ability to finally remember some woman's name. Hurrah.

In the fourth episode, Will meets a female gossip columnist and begins to preach a sermon on why her job is thoroughly unimportant and meaningless. I might agree with that viewpoint, but his self-aggrandizing views, refusal to consider it just plain rude to insult a stranger's occupation, and complete inability to let this woman speak are thoroughly galling. Later, he goes on a date with another woman, and upon discovering that she likes to read gossip magazines, he subjects her to a treatise on how he is "on a mission to civilize," and she needs to know she is a frivolous floozy for being interested in things that don't concern him. When the aforementioned Maggie is promoted to associate producer, she is still thoroughly dependent on the new producer and her boyfriend to hold her hand during panic attacks and talk her through her feminine incompetence. MacKenzie is a seasoned journalist who has worked on the front lines in the Middle East and is a force of nature, but she's mostly just there to tell everyone about Will's heart of gold and how she's the one who broke up with him and not the other way around. Then she hires Sloan Sabbith (Olivia Munn) to be the show's financial analyst, because she has 2 PhD's in Economics, but primarily because she has "legs" to match. And Will's nickname for Sloan? "Victoria's Secret." Naturally.

Veteran anchor Dan Rather has been reviewing The Newsroom for Gawker, and his reviews have been glowing with praise from Day One. I was surprised, but then realized he was merely critiquing it from the news angle. According to him, the way that Will's show is produced and the questions about journalistic integrity versus network interference are all accurate and remind him of his own days as an anchor. That's great, but if that's all we needed from the show, HBO could just make a documentary. As a work of fiction, you need to be able to portray people and characters accurately as well, not just their workplace. The actors on this show are superb, but the clunky dialogue and paleolithic attitudes make every episode a struggle. Sorkin has been saying how the 1940 screwball comedy His Girl Friday was one of his inspirations for The Newsroom. Given the way he portrays women, I am not surprised that this show seems like it was set in the 1940s than the 2010s. But even Rosalind Russell's character in that movie would be far too ahead of her time to fit into The Newsroom.

I don't think it's asking for too much for the women on this show to be treated with respect. Some might argue that would be too idealistic, but given the tone of the rest of the show, wouldn't that fit right in?

The LA Complex: Trashy Good Fun

This spring, the CW (home of Gossip Girl and...I don't know what else anymore) started to air the first season of The LA Complex. The show follows a bunch of young folk who live in the same apartment complex in Los Angeles and are struggling to "make it" in the big bad world of Hollywood. It's soapy and often ridiculous, yet when the CW started airing reruns of the six-episode season, I started watching and am officially hooked.

What makes The LA Complex interesting is that there are a nice mix of characters who are dealing with very different branches of the entertainment industry. If you find one character insufferable, you only have to tolerate them being on screen for about ten minutes before some other character takes over. There's Abby, newly arrived from Toronto with dreams of being an actress; Nick, a pretty bad stand-up comedian (with a voice that really grates on me); Alicia, a hard-working dancer who has been trying to land a gig for three years and gets into some really compromising stuff by the end of the first season; Tariq, who has landed an internship with a hip-hop producer and gets to work with Kaldrick King, a famous artist with a secret; Racquel, a scheming actress who enjoyed brief fame but is now on the downward trajectory and struggling to stay relevant; and finally, Connor, the handsome Aussie actor who has just landed the lead role in a medical drama, bought a big house, and is all set to become the next big thing.

Phew. That's a lot going on in one show, and yet you never get lost. The characters are memorable and their individual storylines are compelling, albeit tending towards the massively hyperbolic. This is Drama with a capital D, but there are often moments when the characters are just chatting with each other with an easy levity that breaks up all the tension. Also, this is a Canadian show, with Canadian actors, so occasionally someone will say "sorry" or "about" and you'll lose the illusion that these people are mostly supposed to be American. But other than that, the actors are a fun bunch who all look like they're having a good time.

The brand-new second season premieres on the CW this Tuesday, but to catch up on the first season, you can head over to Hulu, the CW, or MuchMusic websites and watch all six episodes. It's impossible to take this show seriously, but it's perfect for the summer when you don't have much else to watch and need some cool, mindless entertainment to help you forget the heat.

Doc Martin: Definitely Not A General Practice

My friend Elizabeth introduced me to Doc Martin last year and I devoured all four seasons in a few weeks. It was perfect timing because the fifth season premiered a few months later so I didn't have to endure the 2-year gap between the fourth and fifth season. Such is British television, which doesn't follow the stringent timing of most American TV, so the show has been running since 2004 with the meager output of 38 episodes. But they are 38 thoroughly entertaining episodes that will charm you from the first second.

The series is set in Portwenn (the fictional name of the drop-dead gorgeous seaside village of Port Isaac where the entire series is filmed) and tells the story of Dr. Martin Ellingham. He is a prominent London surgeon, but suddenly stricken with hemophobia (i.e. the fear of blood, which is not ideal for a surgeon), he is forced to relocate to sleepy Portwenn and become the village GP. Now surgeons are never renowned for their bedside manner, but Doc Martin, as the locals insist on calling him, is clearly more socially challenged than most. In fact, he might have a dash of Asperger's that makes him particularly incapable of handling his patients with any modicum of tact.

In essence, Doc Martin is the British version of House (admittedly an odd comparison since really, Hugh Laurie is the British version of House) but with a far more comic touch and an emphasis on ordinary lives and events. The Doc might not win admirers with his gruff manner but from the first episode he quickly establishes himself as an astute diagnostician. The diseases he faces are very commonplace but present themselves in odd ways and are diagnosed with very simple tests unlike the endless array of MRIs, surgeries, and unnecessary interventions one might see on House.

If you don't care about the medical aspects of the show, there are plenty of other reasons to watch. Portwenn is filled with cheerful Cornish folk who are never going to stop being friendly busybodies that insist on chatting aimlessly with the Doc and attempting to make friends. These characters include Martin's Aunt Joan, a sympathetic and lovely woman who serves as a reminder that at least someone is capable of loving and relating to this seemingly unloveable man. Other characters include a thoroughly incompetent series of receptionists, the plumber (and later restaurateur) Bert Large and his son Al, and the bumbling local policeman who always seem to land himself and the doctor in hot water with startling regularity. And finally, we come to the local schoolteacher, Louisa Glasson, who becomes the Doc's love interest in a tumultuous relationship that would rival that of Ross & Rachel. These assorted characters burrow their way into your heart and their assorted trials and triumphs make for compulsively watchable television.

Like with all my beloved British series, the acting is top notch. Martin Clunes and Caroline Catz as Martin and Louisa provide a reliable dose of witty banter and romantic tension that never gets stale. I was particularly surprised when I first saw Martin Clunes in a TV interview because he turned out to be an incredibly cheery, agreeable man; quite the contrast to the dour, perpetually argumentative Doc Martin. The supporting cast are equally funny and warm, and after you watch a few episodes, everyone will start to feel like family.

US viewers can catch the fifth season of Doc Martin airing on PBS right now. But if you don't want to be spoiled and wish to experience the series from the beginning (which I highly recommend), Hulu has every episode available for your streaming pleasure. Otherwise, some assiduous YouTube searches might prove helpful. I guarantee everyone will find something to love in this show. It has the power to both amuse and touch you and there are several dramatic moments that underlie the gentle comedy. Even though the sixth (and possibly final) season is only slated to begin filming in the spring of 2013, I already can't wait.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: A Refreshing Romance

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is based on a bestselling British novel and simply radiates British humor and charm. I suppose it has to be classified as both a romance and a comedy, but it certainly does not fit my idea of a romcom. Instead it's a remarkably light and airy story that will leave you in a good mood for the rest of the day.

The story (as given away by the title) concerns a Yemeni Sheikh who decides that he wants to introduce the sport of salmon fishing to his native country. He hires consultant Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt in perhaps one of the most endearing roles I've seen her play) who promptly contacts Dr. Alfred "Fred" Jones, a government expert on salmon fisheries. Fred is played charmingly by Ewan McGregor, who does a wonderful job of getting you to root for this extremely mild-mannered and seemingly humorless man.

As insane as it might seem, the idea gets off to a flying start once the British government decides it is desperately in need of a "feel-good news story out of the Middle East." Despite Fred's protestations, Harriet gets him to gradually acknowledge that the scheme is theoretically possible, if not yet practical. They start to spend more time with the Sheikh in his estate in Scotland and his faith and enthusiasm for the idea is infectious, making Fred increasingly excited about this outrageous scheme.

What about romance? Well at first it doesn't seem likely - Fred is married to a very practical Scottish woman. Their marriage is conventional and boring, much like Fred. Harriet, in the meantime, has spent three very romantic weeks with Robert, a soldier who is then deployed to Afghanistan. She promises to wait for him, but tragedy strikes and he is declared MIA. Fred convinces her to come down to Yemen and throw herself into the salmon fishing project rather than wallowing in her flat and waiting to hear if Robert has been found. Really, neither of these characters seem like they might be in the ideal place for romance. But that's where you'd be wrong.

The movie proceeds slowly and steadily, brimming with gorgeous landscapes, gentle humor, and surprising twists and turns. Kristin Scott Thomas provides plenty of comic relief as the Prime Minister's press secretary who is desperate to spin this story into something that will garner votes in the next election. In the meantime, Blunt and McGregor are just wonderful as two very different people who are gradually discovering that they might be meant for each other.

This movie is like a cup of chamomile tea. It won't shake up your world and change your life, but it is soothing, gentle, and beautiful. So curl up with on the weekend and remind yourself that a romantic comedy doesn't always have to be a slapstick romp. Instead it can just be a heartwarming story about two people who fall in love.

Bridget Jones's Diary: Elizabeth Bennet? Not So Much

On the Fourth of July, I finished re-reading Bridget Jones's Diary. Odd choice of reading material perhaps, but oh-so delightful. There's nothing quite like reading about the trials and tribulations of a hapless British thirtysomething to keep you laughing throughout the day.

I must begin by emphasizing that Bridget Jones is not some role model that all women aspire to emulate. A friend declared that she hated this book because she couldn't relate to Bridget and found her terribly irritating. Author Helen Fielding set out to make a modern-day Pride & Prejudice, and plot elements of this book will strongly remind you of that novel, but Bridget is nothing like Elizabeth Bennet. She is not particularly witty, is perpetually in search of a boyfriend, and counts calories and alcohol units for no apparent reason since she can't seem to abide by any semblance of a diet. But my enjoyment of this book (and its even more over-the-top sequel) lies in the hysterical mess that is Bridget Jones's life.

The novel was born out of a weekly column that Fielding wrote for the Independent and retains that economical newspaper style. Each diary entry is humorous and to the point, with Bridget veering wildly from joy to despair and back again within the course of several hours or sometimes even minutes. Her observations on being a Singleton, the pains of attending dinner parties with Smug Married couples, and her feminist rants with her single friends at happy hour where she tries to convince herself that men are scum are pretty on point. This novel's popularity lies in these random observations about modern life and even if Bridget's troubles are exaggerated and bizarre, you will find plenty of things in Bridget's life that seem oddly familiar.

Bridget's love life is probably the most bizarre aspect of the series, as she goes from Daniel Cleaver (the ne'er-do-well Mr. Wickham character) to the incomprehensibly perfect Mark Darcy (the Mr. Darcy character - obviously). I honestly found Bridget's daily musings to be of more interest that the overarching plot of which man she'll end up with, but the bonus of reading the novel after watching the movie is that you can picture Hugh Grant and Colin Firth as her two suitors. I love the movies but they are very different from the novels and a comparison of the novels' storylines to that of the movies clearly illustrates the difference between writing for film and writing a novel. The movies place far more emphasis on the men in her life (and who can blame them when you have actors like Grant and Firth?) but the novels depend exclusively on Bridget and her daily ramblings.

Summer is a time for frivolous reading and amusement and you can do no better than Bridget Jones's Diary. It is an endlessly funny ode to living in the twentieth century and perhaps you can derive some comfort from the fact that if someone as ridiculous as Bridget Jones can manage to have it all, there might be hope for the rest of us.

Update: If you don't have access to the books or need a push before you can consider reading them, this marvellous online archive contains all the original Bridget Jones columns as well as the movie screenplays. Go forth!

Dhobi Ghat: Mumbai Exposed

Dhobi Ghat (English title: Mumbai Diaries) is the gift that keeps on giving. Released in early 2011, this movie exemplifies what it means to be Indian "arthouse" cinema, i.e. a non-musical film that more closely resembles what the rest of the world regards as normal cinema. This is a movie that demands repeat viewing; when I saw it again this week, I was reminded of just how much I loved it the first time and discovered so much more to love the second time around.

The movie tells the story of four very different people in Mumbai whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. Shai is an NRI (Non Resident Indian) on sabbatical from her New York banking job and wants to explore the city while indulging in some photography. Actress Monica Dogra (who grew up in America herself) does a superb job of hitting all the NRI stereotypes without becoming a complete caricature. Despite her maid's protestations that she shouldn't mix with the lower classes, she strikes up a friendship with Munna, the dhobiwalla who collects her laundry every day. He takes her into the Dhobi Ghat where all of Mumbai's washermen and women gather daily to clean the city's dirty laundry out in the open. As he shows her around his city, he slowly falls in love with this girl who doesn't seem to mind that he is just another poor man from Mumbai. Prateik (the actor who plays Munna) wholly inhabits this role; he will break your heart and make you pay more attention to the servants and workers you would otherwise dismiss so casually.

Shai, who is oblivious to Munna's feelings, has a brief fling with Arun, a Mumbai artist who is not interested in having a relationship and seems entirely wrapped up in his art. Aamir Khan plays this character with quiet restraint - he is a complete puzzle until you start to piece together his story. Shai gradually gathers more information about Arun from other characters (Munna is also his dhobiwalla) but the audience are the only ones truly privy to his inner workings. When Arun moves into his new house, he comes across a set of videotapes left behind by the previous inhabitants. Curious, he starts to watch them and discovers a series of video letters that Yasmin, a new bride who has just arrived in Mumbai, has been recording to send back home to her brother. Yasmin's tapes serve as a newcomer's glimpse into Mumbai, starting off with touristy fascination, then turning into a more personal look into her daily life and her musings on actually living in this turbulent city. Kriti Malhotra brings a perfect balance of cheeriness and melancholy to this role and for the few minutes that she's in front of the camera instead of behind it, she wins your heart.

This is a languid, beautiful, heart-wrenching movie and all four characters are wonderfully realized. Of course, the fifth character is Mumbai itself, and if you've never been there, this movie might be the perfect introduction. It doesn't depict the glamorous fantasy of Bollywood, but it isn't some sordid tale of the slums either. It's just a look at four individuals going about their lives in a city of millions and demonstrates that people have very similar stories no matter where they are in the world.

Moonrise Kingdom: Odd & Beautiful

There is only one sentence that can adequately describe Moonrise Kingdom. It is a Wes Anderson movie. You either already know what that means or once you watch a Wes Anderson movie, you'll know what that means for the rest of your life.

From the opening scene, Anderson's style is vividly obvious, from the cinematography, to the color scheme, to the setting and general feeling of strangeness. While his movies are ostensibly set in our world, they always feel like an alternate universe where things are just a little too beautiful and surreal than reality would permit. Moonrise Kingdom is set in 1965 and tells the story of two twelve-year olds who fall in love and run away together. The boy is being chased by his scout troop led by the hapless Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton in a charmingly bumbling role) while the girl is sought by her lawyer parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand, of course). Despite the all-star adults in the cast, including turns from Bruce Willis as the clueless Captain of the Island Police, Tilda Swinton as the heartless Social Services, and Jason Schwartzman as weirdo Cousin Ben, this is a movie that belongs to the child actors. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward conduct their romance with comical but mature earnestness, which often leads to some unnerving scenes. At other moments, the boys of Scout Troop 55 can start to resemble something out of Lord of the Flies, and this movie certainly has moments that are oddly violent and disturbing for a Wes Anderson film.

The plot meanders in an absurd and typically Andersonian fashion and you find yourself wholeheartedly rooting for these unexpected lovers despite their occasionally psychopathic tendencies. The score by Alexandre Desplat is reminiscent of Fantastic Mr. Fox but is otherwise sidelined by the Benjamin Britten classical pieces that punctuate the movie. But most importantly, this movie is a visual treat that makes you feel like you've stepped into a dream for 90 minutes.

Wes Anderson is a filmmaker whose work is meant to be seen on the big screen. His movies are abstract paintings that make absolute sense when you're looking at them but are impossible to explain afterwards. All I can say is that you need to watch Moonrise Kingdom. Because once you do, at least you'll know what it means to be a Wes Anderson movie.