What was on TV? Fri, April 8, 2005

20 years ago, Charles and Camilla got married. Let's see what was on TV.

8:00 Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nick

1x07 "The Winter Solstice"

I wasn't as into Ang's story this week (though the trippy animation was fun). So it was great to see Uncle Iroh get a showcase in the B-story. He's chilling in a hot tub and gets kidnapped and our king has to fight his way out with the help of his poor damaged little nephew, who wins major brownie points in this episode. I'm predisposed to like Uncle Iroh since this was one of the great voice actor Mako's final roles, and I so adore him as Aku on Samurai Jack. But after this episode, I'm a true fan of Iroh, and not just Mako. Rest in peace king.

8:30 Desperate Housewives (recorded)

1x17 "There Won't Be Trumpets"

OMG Carlos' mom is waking up! Lupe Ontiveros is back! Gabrielle's crimes will be revealed to all!

Not so fast! Mama Solis is dead before the opening credits. No more Lupe Ontiveros for you! And no more explosive revelations either! And not just that. Turns out the nursing home failed to keep Mama Solis in bed, and they offer to pay Gabrielle off for her silence. So now the money problems are gone for the time being. Can't believe this death decreased the drama and stakes. Booooo. I want fireworks. And Lupe Ontiveros.

Kathryn Joosten and Harriet Sansom Harris better come back soon. I'm getting restless.

Later Ladies Night (recorded)

Paul Michael Glaser charms women, cons them, and then murders them. He's roping his son into the scheme, but the kid wants to know what happened to his mom. Meanwhile, the police are trying to find the pattern behind the disappearances of all these rich ladies.

This is nothing groundbreaking, you can guess where this is all going. But if you like crime movies, this is a really good one. Director Norma Bailey and writer Marvin J. Wolf revel in process and details. We see how Glaser ropes in his latest victims, we take the time to explore his relationship with his son. We watch the detectives follow up leads with the DMV, debate among themselves, almost give up hope, reassure anxious civilians. It's just the right amount of detail, the plot movies at a nice clip, but the world is always more textured than you expect. The romantic sup-plot between the two lead detectives is even good!

What Else Was On

Call me, beep me...The Disney Channel premiered Kim Possible: So the Drama. They went full-James Bond with the opening credits, a must watch:

Meanwhile, the WB premiered the new Fran Descher sitcom Living with Fran, in which Fran shacks up with a younger man, much to the horror of her son (Ben Feldman).

Late Night

Drew Barrymore played Cranium with Conan. How's that for a throwback.

TiVo Status

A Frontline documentary and the TV movies Sucker Free City and Their Eyes Were Watching God, the miniseries Fingersmith, and one episode each of American Dreams, The Starlet, and The West Wing. 13 hours total.

Books, 20 years ago

Sarah Vowell was on Conan to promote her book Assassination Vacation. So I have an excuse to talk about it! I love Assassination Vacation. It's a great book about how we process our history, both individually and as a collective, and it contains some really incisive commentary on the Bush era, just filtered through Vowell's opinions about McKinley and other even more obscure historical figures. And it's also funny as hell, especially on audio.

Seriously, Assassination Vacation is one of the greatest audiobooks of all time. Vowell herself is of course a great narrator, but you also have an all star cast assisting her. Conan plays Lincoln's poor son who was present at all three assassinations discussed in the book. Tony Kushner plays the founder of the Oneida religious sex cult and flatware empire. Brad Bird plays the weirdo who assassinated Garfield, and he is COMMITTED. Plus there's a score by Michael Giacchino! I might need to listen to this one again.

Vowell's Conan interview also reminded me of her special feature on the Incredibles DVD, where she makes a lot of weird history jokes and discusses her Abraham Lincoln fandom and action figures.