Book Review: The Heist

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Bantam; First Edition edition (June 18, 2013)

It's a good bet to say that I am not in Janet Evanovich's target audience for her usual books.  But this is not one of her usual books as she co-writes it with Lee Goldberg, author of the Monk and Diagnosis: Murder books.

There are very few books that I can sit down and read in a full day.  The last such book was Mockingjay in the summer of 2011.  However, yesterday, I started to read this one and I could not stop turning the page.  The pacing was so great that I was finished reading a tad bit after 9 PM.

Evanovich and Goldberg have created the start of what should be a thrilling but comedic series.  Kate O'Hare is a take-charge FBI agent and former Navy SEAL.  Nicholas Fox is an international con artist that she has pursued for the last 5 years.

What happens when O'Hare finally catches him?  He gets arrested and escapes his captors.  This is where the hilarity starts to ensue.  Her bosses at the FBI are somehow convinced that it would be a great idea to team her up with the con man to help bring down other wanted the criminals.  It comes with a catch.  She can't allow him to get caught or she goes down with him.

The action is non-stop and they take us to exotic locations as Mount Athos in Greece and the islands of Indonesia.  The dialogue is fast-paced and there are plenty of Toblerone chocholate bars involved.  There's also some sexual tension between the two of them.

Rich Hedenfels writes about how the two of them wrote The Heist.  It's funny that the article mentions the book being set up like a TV pilot because I felt the same way while reading it.  I've got a feeling that the Fox and O'Hare series will be around for some time to come.

Book Review: American Jewish Films: The Search for Identity

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: McFarland (April 22, 2013)

Larry Epstein, the author of The Haunted Smile, which tells the history of Jewish comedians in America, pens a book on searching for the Jewish identity in films.  As funny as it may sound, I had never heard of some of these movies that he writes about.

I did learn something new in the course of reading the book, the original founder of the Fox Film Corporation, William Fox, was a member of the tribe.  Due to bankruptcy, he had to sell the company in the late 1930s but of course, it lives on.  Darryl Zanuck's 20th Century Films would later aquire Fox and thus became 20th Century Fox.

In writing this book, Epstein explores various themes relating to Judaism.

In the introduction, Epstein discusses why American Jews were attracted to the movie industry be it as audience members, actors, or even the folks behind the scenes at the studios.

One of the big things that Epstein looks at is Jewish identity verses an American identity or a broader human identity.  This is one way to look at how the Jewish characters in film have evolved over time.

One cannot have a discussion about Jewish identity in films without talking about the Lower East Side or films relating to Jewish history.  Some of the topics that Epstein explores here are assimilation and acculturation, interfaith relations, Israel, marriage and family relations, the role of women, Jews and American politics, and anti-Semitism including the Holocaust.

In the end though, one cannot really define what the Jewish identity in film is but that doesn't make this book not worth its while.  There are a countless number of films mentioned.  Some might not be in print but the ones that are--there is a good bet that Netflix will have them as rentals.

Book Review: Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Viking Adult; 1 edition (April 30, 2013)

Due out in paperback this April,  Nathaniel Philbrick revisits the Battle of Bunker Hill--which was really at Breed's Hill.  Philbrick does not lack passion or insight either.  He really knows his craft here as he reconstructs the landscape in a mesmerizing narrative of the robust, messy, and blistering real origins of America.

We all know the names and events involved in the American Revolution: The Founding Fathers, Declaration of Independence, and George Washington's decade-long leadership.  What isn't told in most of the books and such on the American Revolution is just how merchants, farmers, sailers, and artisans were forced to take up arms against the Crown.

Travel back in time to a pre-Revolutionary Boston.  The city of 15,000 inhabitants are packed on an island of 1.2 square miles.  Tension quickly builds up to the climax of the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775.  It was the first major battle of the American Revolution.

When the battle went down, John Adams, Sam Adams, and John Hancock were not even close to the scene of events.  The big name here is Joseph Warren, a 33-year-old physician.  He was leading the events on the ground at the time.  It was Warren who told Paul Revere and William Dawes to sound the alarm that the British were going to Concord.

Philbrick tracks the 18 months that transpired between the Boston Tea Party and Bunker Hill.

Warner Brothers and Ben Affleck have optioned the film rights.  But a story this epic can't simply be told in two hours.  It deserves a mini-series treatment similar to that of John Adams.

Oklahoma Senators voted against Sandy relief package

It's one thing to offer thoughts and prayers after a natural disaster but apparently, that's all null and void when one doesn't follow that up with taking action.  Oklahoma was hit by a devastating tornado yesterday but their senators, Coburn and Inhofe, could care less about all those people that had their livelihood destroyed when Sandy hit the coast in October seeing as how they voted against the Sandy relief aid.

I'm sick and tired of hypocrites in Washington that vote against federal aid for other disasters but when it comes to their own home state or district, they want the money.  See Ted Cruz and Bill Flores for the Texas fertilizer plant.

Sorry to bring politics into what should be a time for mourning and cleanup but it's our system that is broken in Washington.

Book Review: TV on Strike

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Syracuse University Press (January 31, 2013)

It's hard to believe that it has been just over 5 years since the end of the WGA strike against the AMPTP.  What Cynthia Littleton has done in looking back at the events that transpired from November 2007 to February 2008 is nothing short of amazing.

It's fascinating to see just how much has changed in the environment since that happened from a new media perspective alone. Both Netflix and Amazon have really changed the game for content distribution. Heavily serialized shows make syndicated reruns a harder sell then just a simple sitcom or crime drama.  If you look at what the networks have to offer, there are more serialized programs now than ever before.

Also, reruns aren't what they used to be. A lot of this has to do with what kind of ratings they get. Sitcom reruns fare better than that have a serial drama. Just look at a few weeks ago--a rerun of Big Bang Theory did better than the first half hour of American Idol. That said, networks feel that they don't get as much from advertisers during reruns so during the summers--which used to be chock full of reruns--they air unscripted programming or other original programming. Until a few years ago, there hadn't been much offered in terms of scripted programming in the summer on the broadcast networks as far as a first-run episode goes. Then ABC aired Rookie Blue and they now have a summer show to compete with the cable networks.

Hulu started a month after the strike ended and even then, because of the way that the guild contracts were written, anything that is viewed online in the first 6 weeks or so of an episode airing is considered as "promotional." Nobody but the distributor (network) sees a dime of profits off of those episodes being viewed. Sure, it is a legal way to watch shows as opposed to piracy but now I feel just as guilty since none of the people that worked hard are getting paid! With Hulu Plus, they monetized Hulu to where they are able to make money from consumers.

I also learned a new phrase from reading the book: satellite show. Most of these shows air on Friday nights as they have to plug holes on the schedule but otherwise, the network doesn't make much off of these shows. Other times, they are shows that follow an anchor program and would be the sitcom placed between the 8 PM and 9 PM sitcom. Some of these satellite shows are the news magazines or news shows that find their way into a prime time slot.

In the epilogue of the book, Littleton examines whether the strike was worth it in the long term by showing the numbers earned in residuals from new media.  But given how Netflix and Amazon have changed the game with instant streaming compared to the classic reruns airing in syndication, it was bound to have happened sooner rather than later.

CW announces 2013-14 TV schedule

MONDAY
8/7c Hart of Dixie
9 pm Beauty and the Beast

TUESDAY
8 pm THE ORIGINALS
9 pm Supernatural

WEDNESDAY
8 pm Arrow
9 pm THE TOMORROW PEOPLE

THURSDAY
8 pm The Vampire Diaries
9 pm REIGN

FRIDAY
8 pm The Carrie Diaries
9 pm America’s Next Top Model

CBS releases 2013-14 TV schedule

Some series are on the move in the recently released schedule from CBS.

MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM  HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 PM  WE ARE MEN (N)
9:00-9:30 PM  2 BROKE GIRLS
9:30-10:00 PM MOM (N)
10:00-11:00 PM HOSTAGES (N)
INTELLIGENCE (Mid-Season) (N)

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM  NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES
10:00-11:00 PM PERSON OF INTEREST (NT)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM  SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

THURSDAY
8:00-8:30 PM  THE BIG BANG THEORY
8:30-9:00 PM  THE MILLERS (N)
9:00-9:30 PM  THE CRAZY ONES (N)
9:30-10:00 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN (NT)
10:00-11:00 PM ELEMENTARY

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM  UNDERCOVER BOSS
9:00-10:00 PM HAWAII FIVE-0 (NT)
10:00-11:00 PM BLUE BLOODS

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM  COMEDYTIME SATURDAY (N)
8:30-9:00 PM  COMEDYTIME SATURDAY (N)
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS

SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM  60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM  THE AMAZING RACE
9:00-10:00 PM THE GOOD WIFE
10:00-11:00 PM THE MENTALIST

ABC announces 2013-14 TV Schedule

In announcing their schedule for this fall's TV season, ABC pits Marvel's Agents of SHIELD against ratings juggernaut NCIS.  They will be battling for the same audience, no doubt.

MONDAY:
8:00 p.m.        “Dancing with the Stars”
10:00 p.m.      “Castle”

TUESDAY:
8:00 p.m.        “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
9:00 p.m.        “The Goldbergs”
9:30 p.m.        “Trophy Wife”
10:00 p.m.      “Lucky 7”

WEDNESDAY:      
8:00 p.m.        “The Middle”
8:30 p.m.        “Back in the Game”
9:00 p.m.        “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m.        “Super Fun Night”
10:00 p.m.      “Nashville”

THURSDAY:
8:00 p.m.        “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland”
9:00 p.m.        “Grey’s Anatomy”
10:00 p.m.      “Scandal”

FRIDAY:
8:00 p.m.        “Last Man Standing”
8:30 p.m.        “The Neighbors”
9:00 p.m.        “Shark Tank”
10:00 p.m.      “20/20”

SATURDAY:
8:00 p.m.        “Saturday Night College Football”

SUNDAY:    
7:00 p.m.        “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m.        “Once Upon a Time”
9:00 p.m.        “Revenge”
10:00 p.m.      “Betrayal”

FOX unveils 2013-14 TV Schedule

FOX schedule for the fall below.

MONDAY
8-9 PM – Bones (fall) /Almost Human (new; late fall)
9-10 PM – Sleepy Hollow (new; fall) / The Following (midseason)

TUESDAY
8-8:30 PM – Dads (new)
8:30-9 PM – Brooklyn Nine-Nine (new)
9-9:30 PM – New Girl

9:30-10 PM – The Mindy Project


WEDNESDAY
8-10 PM – The X Factor (fall) /American Idol (midseason)

THURSDAY
8-9 PM – The X Factor Results (fall) / American Idol Results (midseason)
9-10 PM – Glee (fall) / Rake (new; midseason)

FRIDAY
8-9 PM – Junior Masterchef (new; fall)
9-10 PM – Sleepy Hollow encores (fall)

SCHEDULED FOR LATE FALL
8-9 PM – Bones (late fall)
9-9:30 PM – Raising Hope (late fall)
9:30-10 PM – Enlisted (new; late fall)

SATURDAY
7-10:30 PM – Fox Sports Saturday

11 PM-12:30 AM – Animation Domination


SUNDAY
7-7:30 PM – NFL Game (fall)
7-8 PM - The OT (fall)
8-8:30 PM – The Simpsons

8:30-9 PM - Bob’s Burgers
9-9:30 PM - Family Guy

9:30-10 PM – American Dad

NBC Announces 2013-14 TV Schedule

NBC FALL 2013-14 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)

MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. – “THE BLACKLIST”

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser” (New Day and Time)
9-10 p.m. – “The Voice” (New time)
10-11 p.m. – “Chicago Fire” (New Day and Time)

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Revolution” (New Day and Time)
9-10 p.m. – ”Law & Order: SVU”
10-11 p.m. – “IRONSIDE”

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation” (New time)
8:30-9 p.m. – “WELCOME TO THE FAMILY”
9-9:30 p.m. – “SEAN SAVES THE WORLD”
9:30-10 p.m. – “THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood” (New Day and Time)

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. – “Grimm”
10-11 p.m. – “DRACULA”

SATURDAY
Encore programming

SUNDAY
7:00-8:15 p.m. – “Football Night in America”
8:15-11:30 p.m. – “NBC Sunday Night Football”

NBC MIDSEASON 2013-14 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET)

MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – “The Voice”
10-11 p.m. – “THE BLACKLIST”

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “The Voice”
9-9:30 p.m. – “ABOUT A BOY”
9:30-10 p.m. – “THE FAMILY GUIDE”
10-11 p.m. – “Chicago Fire”

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Revolution”
9-10 p.m. – ”Law & Order: SVU”
10-11 p.m. – “IRONSIDE”

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
8:30-9 p.m. – “WELCOME TO THE FAMILY”
9-9:30 p.m. – “SEAN SAVES THE WORLD”
9:30-10 p.m. – “THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW”
10-11 p.m. – “Parenthood”

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. – “Grimm”
10-11 p.m. – “CROSSBONES”

SATURDAY
8-10 p.m. – Encore and specials programming
10-11 p.m. – “Saturday Night Live” (Encore)

SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
8-9 p.m. – “AMERICAN DREAM BUILDERS”
9-10 p.m. – “BELIEVE”
10-11 p.m. – “CRISIS”

Book Review: Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Crown Archetype (May 7, 2013)

Another week, another comic memoir.  Since April started, there have been memoirs released by Kelly Oxford, Jen Kirkman, and Marc Maron, to name a few.  Last week brought the release of Dad is Fat by comedian Jim Gaffigan.

The comedian, his wife, and five kids live in a small 2-bedroom apartment in a five-story walk up.  I don't know how they do it but more power to them.

What Gaffigan does with his memoir is share his observations on fatherhood, revealing the joys and horror of raising five young children in New York City, and how to cope when you're outnumbered at home.

We are lucky that Gaffigan's family life has made for comic material for us.  It's not like he hasn't shared his wit with us before as he shares it on Twitter all the time.  He could have written a book about what it was like to have grown up in Indiana but he didn't.

Some of the topics in the book include his going from a loner to a family man, food, becoming vice president of his household, big families in general, the narcissist's guide to babies and toddlers, how children have terrible taste, plus other subjects like babysitters, critiquing children's literature, survival, and bedtime.

Overall, what we have from Gaffigan is a charming and irresistibly candid take on the ups and downs of parenting, which isn't what one usually expects from a comedian.

Book Review: Attempting Normal by Marc Maron

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (April 30, 2013)

Marc Maron is a comedian best known for his interview podcast WTF with Marc Maron.  Outside of his former radio show on the late Air America, the comedian had never really hit the bigtime.  Then WTF happened and the rest, as they say, is history.

The publication of Maron's comic memoir just so happens to have coincided with the debut of Maron on IFC.  What he has in his memoir is a collection of stories that are explosively, painfully, and addictively funny...even when they shouldn't be.  Maron the comedian is a disarmingly honest, intensely smart, brutally open comic who just happens to find wisdom in the strangest of places.

It was when Maron had nothing that he turned to his garage and started WTF.

But most of us can relate with Maron.  He's just trying to do better without making a larger mess than he already has.  As with other comic memoirs, Maron is open about his life, including failed relationships, his cats, flying planes in his mind, etc.

Maron has a struggle with relationships from day to day and that's documented in his book.

If you want a better of idea of who Maron is, this book is for you.

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Book Review: Everything Is Perfect When You're A Liar by Kelly Oxford

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: It Books (April 2, 2013)

Kelly Oxford is a Twitter superstar.  Now she has a book.

Described by Jimmy Kimmel as someone that is "very consistently and solidly hilarious," Oxford is an online superstar.

This book is a moderately perfected version of her life story.  Her life has been paved with uncommon adventures and exploits.  How many 6 year olds try to adapt Star Wars for the stage and get their friends to audition?  Not that many, I suppose, but Oxford did it.  It wasn't successful but she tried.

This book is written as if it were a series of short stories.  It's not written as a narrative memoir book would be.

At 12 years old, she was washing the dishes at a restaurant.  Here in the United States, it would be a violation of Child Labor Laws but I guess that things are much different with our friends in the north.

Her first trip to Hollywood was spent trying to find Leonardo Dicaprio before Titanic opened to a massive amount of money at the box office.  That didn't work out too well for her.

In the fall of 2011, NBC hired her to write a pilot, which wasn't picked up to series.  A year ago, Warner Brothers bought a screenplay that she wrote.

Oxford isn't your typical comedy star.  Known mainly for her writing and not performing, she found her voice through chat rooms, blogs, and on Twitter.  Stand-up comedians hone their craft in comedy clubs.  Oxford uses social media to hone her craft.

Book Review: I Can Barely Take Care of Myself by Jen Kirkman

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Original edition (April 16, 2013)

Comedy writer Jen Kirkman brings us her biographical comic memoir, which mostly focuses on her decision to be child-free by choice.  Kirkman is annoyed at how many people ask her when she is having children and of course, she's frustrated by the question.  I don't blame her.

What she wants to do with her body his her decision.  If she chooses to not bear children, that's her right so stop asking her the question!  She isn't afraid to talk about it.  She shares personal stories of times she has been insulted by the decision not to have children...like at the comedy club bathroom in Texas where she was called selfish by someone in attendance.

There was the time she went to Best Buy to buy a gift for a friend and the attendant, named Bren of all names, did not know what The Golden Girls were.  I'm sorry but in an era where Betty White is all the range, there is no excuse to not know who exactly The Golden Girls are.

There was the time when she was vacationing at a Hawaiian resort and was laying out at an adult only pool only to deal with all these non-adults swimming in said pool when there were 5 other options around for children.

Kirkman is a writer for E!'s Chelsea Lately, the late night comedy show starring Chelsea Handler, and is a regular comedian on the nightly roundtable.  However, instead of writing in Handler's comedic voice, she writes this book in her own.

She defends decisions she has made her entire life--from opting to live in her childhood bedroom as she broke in to comedy to joining the writing staff for Chelsea Handler.  She shares her story in a book that is full of humor, wisdom, and laugh out loud moments.

We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books (October 16, 2012)

 Women are funny so please stop trying to argue that they are not.  If you look at the past several years on both the small and big screen and still argue that they aren't funny, well I don't know what to say.

The tone of Yael Kohen's book is similar to that of Live from New York in that it is a oral history that focuses on the rise of women in American comedy.

The early days started with Phyllis Diller and Joan Rivers performing in clubs while Elaine May was making her way to stardom with Mike Nichols.

Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Burnett had sitcoms that still live on today.  Moore's sitcom is the predecessor, in various ways, to Tina Fey's 30 Rock.

Then there was Elayne Boosler in the 1970s.  She refused to be treated as a feminist.  She paved the way for female comics with her observational act.

In the 1980s, there was a standup comedy boom.  This led to Roseanne and Ellen getting their eventual sitcoms.  Unfortunately, several clubs still limited their bills to the maximum of one woman a night.  A shame.

It was the 1990s that changed things, and maybe for the better when Janeane Garofalo helped start the alternative comedy movement.  Soon, Margaret Cho would be involved.

The late 90s and 2000s were a boom for women in comedy, especially for SNL.  I don't even have to list the names as we all know them.  Molly Shannon, Cheri Oteri, Ana Gastayer, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, etc.

The Upright Citizens Brigade not only gave us Amy Poehler but their theater in New York has given us rising stars as Aubrey Plaza, Ellie Kemper, and Casey Wilson.

Chelsea Handler is probably the biggest late night female star right now with her show on E! and she has done a tremendous job in hiring female writers.

Female comics can be attractive, as Sarah Silverman is.  Silverman is one of the hottest names out there in comedy and she's also one of the raunchiest, too.

If you appreciate comedy as I do, you will enjoy this book.  I know that I did!

Quote of the Day

“I have been thinking today about my children and grandchildren who will never know the days of innocence I did,That you could go anywhere to any public event and not worry about an explosive device being detonated….that is the price of freedom and that is the world in which we live today.”
--Tom Brokaw, NBC News, April 15, 2013

LINK

Pray for Boston

Please keep the victims of today's Boston Marathon Massacre in your thoughts and prayers.

Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective

Hardcover: 280 pages
Publisher: Sterling (October 2, 2012)

Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest living filmmakers of a generation.  He came up at the same time as George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese.

Richard Schickel, a noted film critic, goes back to interviews he has had with Spielberg since 2005.  The excerpts from the interviews along with Schickel's commentary accompany the 400 or so photographs that are spread throughout the book.

It should be noted that this retrospective on Spielberg does not focus on his career as a producer but only the films that he has directed.

Are there films that he feels could have been better?  Yes.  Is he going to disown them?  No.  That's not the kind of filmmaker that he is.

Spielberg has never written a memoir and until now, he has never cooperated with someone wishing to write a book.  This is as close to a memoir as we will likely get for the time being.  If this is what we are left with, it does the job just fine.

Book Review: I Remember Me by Carl Reiner

Hardcover: 328 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse (January 18, 2013)

Carl Reiner is one of the comic geniuses of our time.  Before he went on to create The Dick Van Dyke Show, Reiner was a member of the cast and writing staff of both Sid Caesar shows: Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour.

What we have in I Remember Me is a comic memoir.  In only so many pages does Reiner reminisce on his 90 years of "love and laughter, highs and lows, mistakes and triumphs."  Be it as it may, Reiner tells us these stories with his warm heart and the touch of nostalgia that pops in every now and then.

Reiner's memory is still very sharp.  He's able to draw from decades of family, friends, and the fun that he has had in his career.  He uses the same combo of playful jest and modest himulity that has given him the love and respect from his fans for decades now.

Reiner writes of attending shul growing up following his bar mitzvah so that other people were able to daven.  He's not necessarily Orthodox but he attended shul regularly while growing up.

Most importantly, Reiner remembers those incredible moments with his beloved Estelle, who was eight years older than him and would never have fallen in love had she met him while he was growing up in the Bronx.