Link: ‘Saw II’ Cuts Down ‘Zorro’ at Box Office
I’ve yet to see Saw II, but if it’s anything like Saw I can see why it bested The Legend of Zorro — yet another sequel Hollywood didn’t need to make. The original Saw was just a knockout of a horror movie/psychological thriller. The ending alone is worth sitting through all the cringe-worthy blood and gore. Horror movies these days are such a waste. They usually cater to teenagers with an over abundance of nudity and sex with very little plot holding it together. A movie like Saw, and hopefully Saw II, requires that you actually follow along with an intricate plot and even when all is revealed realize that you missed so much. We need less of the Wes Craven/George Romero version of horror and more films like Saw.
I’m a person in his late 30s and as such I don’t spend that many Saturday nights out carousing around with friends; occasionally, yes, but every Saturday, no. For that reason, I get so pissed that the networks have pretty much written off Saturday, choosing instead to air repeats of shows from earlier in the week. Here’s the thing: even with repeats, CBS is able to draw an average of 11 million viewers with those repeats. Granted, they air repeats of their most popular shows, but even the other networks are drawing 5 and 6 million viewers with their repeats. Think what they could draw with original programming!
Saturday night used to be a good night for television — it’s where great shows like All in the Family and Maude began. I can remember in college waiting to watch a show with friends before heading out for a night of drinking and debauchery. After graduation, I would still set the VCR to tape shows when I went out. I’m not ashamed to admit that I liked to watch The Golden Girls when I was in my twenties. What would happen if they put a show like Desperate Housewives, o rLost, or Grey’s Anatomy on Saturday evenings? How many people would they draw if they aired an original episode of a CSI? Would they draw 20-23 million viewers, probably not; but could they add another 5 or 6 million viewers to what they are drawing with repeats? I think yes. Or why not try original family programming? It’s the perfect night for television shows that can be watched by the entire family. Then, during the 10 o’clock hour, they can put on more adult fare for the parents alone. Networks are obsessed with 18- to 49-year-olds, but 18- to 49-year-olds have families, too. Even more irritating is that you can’t even find good, original Saturday programming on cable. Sci-Fi Channel is one of the exceptions, but all they show are badly acted and written B-movie rip-offs. Not even they can air quality programming!
Link: Time for the Vice President to Explain Himself
I don’t think anyone should hold their breath when it comes to either Cheney resigning or the President having the balls to ask for his resignation. Politically, it could be a very good decision depending on who he would use to replace Cheney. Vice-President Rice anyone?
Link: Bush Looks to Bounce Back From Bad News
Looks like some of the President’s supporters are unhappy with the way he handled the Libby indictment. Maybe President Bush should look to another fake president, Jed Bartlett, as example of how to fire a leaker of classified information. It’s almost sad that a television show has a better example of a president than we have in real life.