Sunday – dinner at Jolie in Brooklyn with a friend. Three-cheese fondue for dinner; crepes suzette for dessert. Loved the decor; the crepes suzette was a bit strong on the alcohol flavor for me.
Sunday night – missed most of the coverage of the Golden Globes. From what I saw, I was turned off by the NBC version with the Access Hollywood crew; Billy Bush and Nancy O’Dell didn’t exactly do a good job of it, and then I found out that it wasn’t even the official presentation, or at least it fell behind the other channels’ airing of the announcements of winners (which apparently, TV Guide channel did a better job without irritating analysis). (TV critic David Bianculli, among others, didn’t applaud NBC). NY Times’ Alessandra Stanley described it as “a weird night, and NBC didn’t manage to make the best of it.”
Plus, I’m happy enough that PBS’ Masterpiece Theatre (now known as “Masterpiece” – what the … – come on! I like the same title and the theme song; the new variation of the theme isn’t quite right) is presenting new Jane Austen adaptations. I watched some of the new “Persuasion,” which stars Sally Hawkins as Anne Elliot and Rupert Penry-Jones as Capt. Wentworth, Anne’s lost love. I was wary of seeing it – I loved the previous adapation of “Persuasion” (starring Amanda Root as Anne Elliot and Ciaran Hinds as Capt. Wentworth); but from what I saw, “Persuasion” remains the powerful story of love lost and regained.
Thoughts on the new “Persuasion” … Some fascinating casting: Anthony Head (the former Giles of “Buffy, The Vampire Slayer” to the American audience) as Anne’s snobby father; and Alice Krige as Lady Russell (Krige, known to the American sci-fi audience as… the Borg Queen from “Star Trek: First Contact.” Umm, yeah – perfect casting for Lady Russell!).
Strangely amusing: seeing Gillian Anderson as the host/presenter of this season of “Masterpiece Theatre.” I have to watch her in “Bleak House” (which Masterpiece Theatre showed a couple of seasons ago; I’m kind of behind on my PBS drama viewing), but I was/am the X-Files fan, so who am I to complain? (umm, yeah, I was the one still watching the last season of X-Files; it wasn’t that bad, really!).
Some more Sunday items of thought – on the NFL front of things – too bad that Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning, and the Colts won’t be going up against the New England Patriots (will someone beat the Patriots? Do we have to wait until the Super Bowl?). The other Manning brother in the NFL – Eli – and the Giants have pulled it off, beating Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. But, still – Tom Coughlin, Eli, and the Giants against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, at the Packers’ frozen tundra? Umm, best of luck!
Some important info, believe it or not – on accessing public bathrooms in Manhattan.
A story on the infamous Verizon building of the city skyline (well, you can’t avoid seeing it during the day on the Brooklyn Bridge). The idea that people would want to live in it as a co-op – all for that window view… Hmm…
Plus, it’s come down to this: the writers’ strike is making Election 2008 the big tv winner. Would this have still happened if the strike didn’t happen? Maybe. We’ll never know, would we? And, as I’ve been saying – the election is the ultimate reality tv show.
And, last but not least: the Smurfs turn 50 (well, in this universe anyway; according to the Smurf universe, they’re at least 100 years old. Or something like that). As a child of the ’80’s, I’m a sucker for this. So, have a Smurfy Day!…