The blog as TV network idea has gained some traction with the fictional characters whose conversations comprise my embarrassingly stylized inner world, so I'm swerving toward animated content for this blog. Not full stories of course, I have nowhere near enough time, but gifs. Most people capitalize gif but I'm too lazy. Anyway, here's my first gif, capturing my current work in progress:
I'm hoping to improve these obviously. In keeping with the moving picture theme, I will also be instituting a periodic review of whatever TV shows I watch. Most recently I watched the pilot for "Vice Principals" on HBO. It did not capture my interest, as the producers have already made one of the basic fatal errors; writing an amusingly unlike able side character as protagonist. This only works if you cast a fantastic actor for the part, who can find nice things about the character to communicate. Actors that good are rare, even among talented comic actors. I think the lead of vice principals is good, but in the first episode, he didn't find anything nice about his character for us. He has made an amusing side character, but he needs a straight man main character. The producers furthermore chose to demonstrate this shortcoming through what they probably thought was a slick marketing coup, getting Bill Murray to appear for two scenes and in previews. The opening scene with Murray made me laugh because he understands so thoroughly how to play a sympathetic straight man. I laughed at the two other characters because Murray laid the groundwork for the scene by communicating a sense of longstanding weariness and irritation with the vice principals. He makes the viewer believe they are witnessing something real, and the arguing becomes funny. In the rest of the episode, without Murray's straight man take to make the bickering vice principals real, their words have no life and I did not find them funny. The show needs a straight person, and so far they haven't found one.
It seems to me that there is a lesson here that I could apply to my own life, but I don't know it. That might be a good feature of these reviews, kind of a homey Sunday school type vibe where I apply the teachings and become a better person. Or maybe not finding the moral is the lesson
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