CBS Cancels 'CSI: Miami,' 'Rob' & 'NYC 22,' Renews 'CSI:NY'
Mad Men Recap: "Mad Money"
black
MTV2 cartoon attacked for racial insensitivity
Comedians Tracy Morgan and Jeffrey Ross' MTV2 cartoon Where My Dogs At? has come under fire from some prominent blacks for the depiction of two black women on leashes, one of which defecates on the floor. The episode, which originally aired on July 1, was meant to spoof an actually occurrence when Snoop Dogg showed up at an event with two women wearing collars and chains. Viacom chairman Christina Norman, a black woman, defended the scene as a parody of a specific event, but New York Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch, who is also black, denounced the episode as perpetuating a negative stereotype about black people that has been prevalent on MTV for many years. I haven't watched this show at all, but if anyone saw the episode I'd be interested to read your opinion.
Thanks to Mack Swift for the info.
TV personalities take on the penguins
When I first heard that a film spoof based on March of the Penguins was being made, I thought the idea sounded kind of lame. However, the more I hear about it, and some of the great TV personalities involved such as Lewis Black, Dane Cook, Tracy Morgan, Jamie Kennedy, and Bob Saget (who wrote and directed the film, and provides the voice of the lead penguin), I think the mockumentary might actually be decent. Ok, actually I'm not a huge Dane Cook fan, but whatever, Farce of the Penguins sounds like it's going to be pretty funny. Apparently the first draft of the film had to be toned down quite a bit for theatrical release, so I'm looking forward to some of that quality Saget blue humor. Look for it to come out sometime later this year.Banned Tom and Jerry cartoon
In 1951 Hanna Barbera created a Tom and Jerry short called "His Mouse Friday" that was later banned from television for its racist content. In the cartoon, which you can watch here, Tom is stranded on an island and Jerry paints himself up with black soot to resemble a cannibal and scare Tom. You'll notice that Jerry's dialogue and the dialogue of the island natives is muted. I'm not sure why that is, but based on what I found while scrounging for information on this cartoon, the dialogue was removed because of offensive slang. That information doesn't come from any official source, so take that for whatever it's worth. Questionable content aside, I don't think this is the best Tom and Jerry I've ever seen, though the scene where Tom is cooking in the stew pot and throws away the onion is pretty funny. And if nothing else, it's a nice little piece of animation history for fans of the medium.
The Five: Adam's fall picks
Okay gang, here's what I'm looking forward to in the new fall season. Slip on your reading socks and enjoy:
1. The return of South Park: Many shows have a tendency of starting off strong and then entering a slow decline if they stay on for too long. South Park is one series that I think has actually improved with every season, and last season's episodes, most notably the two-part "Cartoon Wars," contained some of the most hysterical and vicious jabs at every religion, political affiliation and societal norm you could think of. As Stan so rightly points out, either everything is okay to make fun of, or nothing is. That mantra is what makes South Park still one of the best shows on television, even as it enters its tenth year.
2 and 3. New Adult Swim shows from the creators of Home Movies and Sealab 2021: Brendon Small created one of my favorite shows of all time, Home Movies. His new Metalocalypse, which he created with Tommy Blacha (a writer for Conan and TV Funhouse) won't have the same poignancy of Home Movies, but that's just fine with me. Also, the crew behind Sealab 2021, an Adult Swim "classic" if it's not too early to use such a term, are also returning with Frisky Dingo, the tale of a super hero named Awesome-X whose secret identity is that of Xander Crews, a billionaire who makes money from the toys based on his alter ego. He battles Killface, an evil mastermind who wants to plunge the Earth into the sun, but only if he doesn't lose interest in his plan. I'm anxious to see how both of these shows fare.
Smith to direct controversial episode of All of Us
There's an old Bloom County strip where Opus the penguin splits into two distinct
personalities so his subconscious can debate itself on Nightline. That's kind of how I felt when I heard Will
Smith was going to be directing an episode of his UPN sitcom All of Us for the first time. The episode will
focus on a child who blurts out the "N-word" and will focus on the impact of the word, it's place in history,
its significance, and etc. Now, I think debate over this subject needs to continue, because I don't think there's any
easy answers. If a sitcom wants to tackle the subject, that's great. However, there's another part of me that feels,
strictly from a programing standpoint, that this is an idea that has already been visited and revisited countless times
by many other shows. I wonder, will this episode actually have anything new to say, or are we just going to get the
same cliche statements we've already heard before? If you're curious, the episode airs this evening at 8:30 p.m. EST.Boondocks coming to DVD
The first season of The Boondocks, the Adult Swim
series based on Aaron McGruder's comic strip about a black kid and his younger brother moving out of Chicago's inner
city to live with their grandpa in the suburbs, is coming out on DVD on June 13. The fifteen episodes of the season
will be shown uncut and uncensored. Also, the disc will include French subtitles, an addition I felt was sorely missing
from the original airings. How do you say "white people are crazy" in French, anyway? I've forgotten all the
French I learned in high school. Seriously, though, this new set sounds pretty cool, and I like the idea of seeing
these episodes in all their raw, uncensored glory, which means I'll probably buy the set despite not always watching the
show.
McGruder may provide audio commentary on some episodes, though if I'm reading TVSODVD's piece correctly, that's not official just yet.
Campus TV show accused of racism
The State University of New York at
Purchase is in an uproar after a closed-circuit television station on campus aired a thirty minute show in which a
white student decked out in blackface and another white student made jokes about blacks, gays, Jews, women... well, they
pretty much ran the gamut. Billy Prinsell, the student who appeared in blackface, insists he was making fun of another
host who had made fun of him, and that it was no different than what's seen on SNL or Chappelle's
Show. While I haven't seen the offending show and couldn't speculate on whether Prisnell is racist or just grossly
misguided, I don't think this story is uncommon to younger people who try to venture into satire for the first time. His
comparison to Chappelle's Show is spot on, but not for the reason he thinks. When Chappelle gets
impolitic, it's to expose a deeper truth. Mockery of other people is not automatically made defensible by slapping a
"satire" label on it. It may seem like an easy way to be cutting edge, but this particular form of comedy
takes a more skilled hand than people realize. When it's done haphazardly and without forethought, people get angry,
and rightfully so.Wayans wants to trademark "Nigga"
Damon Wayans has been struggling for over a year now to get the word
"Nigga" trademarked for a line of clothing. Not surprisingly, his applications have been routinely rejected
due to a law which states trademarked names must not be "immoral or scandalous." This, of course, opens up a
whole philosophical can of worms. Is it okay for the name to be used on clothing if the man behind the clothing is
black? Do opinions matter if they're from outside the target demographic? If Wayans ever does manage to
launch his clothing line, I think the scandal alone could make it a very lucrative venture, something that surely isn't
lost on him.The History Channel's tribute to black WWII soldiers
One of the many stories left out of our history books
about World War Two is the heroics of the 761st Tank Battalion, a group of black soldiers that history forgot. But not
the History Channel. This month, presumably in honor of Black History Month, the History Channel is airing Honor
Deferred. Narrated by Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson, the documentary pairs historical photos and video archives
with interviews of the black men who served in the 761st. The men spent 183 consecutive days in combat, fighting Nazi
Germany and its allies. It comes highly recommended by
reviewers as an important piece of American history.Will BET finally make it?
Black Entertainment Television (BET) has struggled ever since its inception to be seen as a
legitimate, and reputable, source of entertainment and information for the black community. It's most fatal flaw, in my
non-expert opinion, was that rather than filling timeslots with quality black programming, it filled its schedule with
ANY black programming. The network has been panned by critics for perpetuating stereotypes and putting way too much
focus on music videos and other shows that glamorize materialism and exploit women. Hiring Reginald Hudlin as president
of entertainment and chief programmerseems tohave been a step in the right direction. Hudlin helmed such movies as
House Party and Boomerang, helped bring The Boondocks to television, and directed episodes
of The Bernie Mac Show and Everybody Hates Chris. More recently, according to Aaron Barnhart, BET insiders
planted questions in the audience at an event in Pasadena. Barnhart, rightfully so, felt that was more than a
little tacky. That's true, but at the same time it shows that BET knows how to play the game. Perhaps it will finally
become the channel it should have been all along, and if it has to play by the dubious rules of the television industry
to do so, I say right on.
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