Busy October in TV Land!

Alright folks--especially student-folks!  It's a busy month in October for TV stuff, so here are some tidbits first about upcoming events:

Cinema SlapDown--Girls!--on October 9th, at Film Row (8th floor of the Film Bldg), Chair if TV Michael Niederman and Huffington Post TV critic Maureen Ryan will debate the pros and cons of HBO's Girls, screening a few episodes. You get to ask them questions and offer your 2 cents! EXTRA CREDIT HISTORY STUDENTS: Attend and write up 2-pager that summarizes the debate and ties it to what we've discussed about gender so far (due week 9)

Bethany Rooney, acclaimed TV director--visiting on October 10th at 6pm,  room 1301 of the TV Dept. Bldg.

Parents' Weekend--weekend of October 18th...I'll be around somewhere :D on Saturday morning and happy to meet with any parents. Let me know if yours are coming so we can try to meet up!

RESOURCES: The Workroom

Located on the third floor of 916 S. Wabash, The Workroom is a multi-purpose construction/fabrication/open studio resource space. It is open to all students, regardless of department. Students are able to use the Workroom to work on projects and gain creative advice or support from the Workroom Staff if needed. The Workroom offers basic tools and materials used for construction, such as, scissors, glue (wood and white), rulers, hammers and screw drivers, and much more. The Workroom also offers some storage for in-progress projects. If the Student knows they will be using the space for a specified time frame, students are able to reserve space to ensure a place to work.

The Workroom also offers Workshops each semester that are free and open to all Columbia College students. Each Workshop is offered twice and varies in topic.  

To access the Workroom, students can walk in during our office hours, Monday through Friday, 12pm-7pm.

Emmy Thoughts:

Generally blah...still miffed that Tatiana Maslany didn't get nominated. And love Modern Family but enough already! Dead people montages never work, nor really does song and dance at the Emmys (or Oscars). Mayim Bialik (sp?) was robbed--though the lady from Nurse Jackie had the best acceptance speech ever.

New Show Thoughts:

I'm abysmally behind...but have liked Brooklyn 9-9, though maybe I'm just a little in love with Andre Baugher? :D EXTRA CREDIT HISTORY STUDENTS: watch any episode of a NEW fall BROADCAST show this term. Then write up a 2 pager that describes your episode and the show and relates it to the history of TV in some way. (Due last week of class.)

OK--off to more HIMYM catchup and such...Parenthood at the top of my list (though Parks and Rec made me cry a little this week too--in a good way...)

School is Starting...

All right, folks--school starts in about 1 week!

My first blog of the academic year is mostly aimed at newbies (both firsters and transfers). If you're old school or alum, simply stay tuned her for my random TV thoughts (and alum per a fundraising event at Second City)...

NEW TO COLUMBIA IN ANY WAY? Please attend Convocation this Friday (there's food!) Give yourself time for the following:

1) book buying/finding

2) seek out where your classrooms are (not on paper--I mean physically go find the rooms because the first week is a crazy mess of students and slow elevators and hidden rooms). BEST TIP: show up 10 minutes early the first 2 weeks. If you're TV, ask John or Avery (our security guards) where to go and tell them I (Sharon Ross, TV) sent you.

3) get on your class pages--likely Moodle. See what's there. Ask about what isn't there. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT MOODLE IS, SEND ME AN EMAIL AT sross@colum.edu.

4) Figure out your nutritional needs ("nutritional" here used lightly--but hey--I AM a teacher!): There are some really amazing food trucks in the Chicago Loop that can broaden your horizons fairly cheaply beyond Dunkin (though they are quick on Harrison and Wabash), DQ, etc. Start here: http://www.chicagofoodtruckfinder.com/. South Loop is you. "General Loop" is walkable. West Loop will likely take too much time. My recs: http://beaversdonuts.com/ and http://www.thetamalespaceship.com/. Also, when you need a slightly nicer lunch (parents in town?)--go to Hackney's http://www.hackneys.net/locations/chicago/ and when you're jonesing for Mexican in-between classes go to Flaco's Tacos (next to Hackney's--they're quick and cheap) http://flacostacosonline.com/

5) The Dean of the School of Media Arts, Robin Bargar, knows his caffeine. And you should try to meet him once by start of Junior Year if you are in the School of Media Arts. Deans have taught and their job is to serve student development.

6) Now the teacherly advice: Make a point of meeting your teachers. Don't wait until you're frazzled...Find out their office hours and drop by for 10 minutes to say hi. Each of your teachers is busy with a gazillion things, but THEY WANT TO MEET YOU! We're not Gods/Goddesses, but we know an awful lot about Columbia that could be of use to you.

OK--Now on to my random TV thoughts (which is what most of this blog is):...

Teen Wolf (yeah, I know: "Teen Wolf?" you say?) is a great show. Think Buffy you Whedon fans...Everyone discounted that show, too, until it became hip. If you're into teen tropes, like Xander or Nathan Fillion--give Teen Wolf a chance on iTunes or Hulu...

Under the Dome-I've been enjoying but it seems crazily network slow.

ABC Family rocks my world. (I am learning a smidge of sign language, reveling in a depiction of a lesbian-led foster family, and [as all my past Teen TV students will attest to] ridiculously addicted to all things PLLiars. 

There actually look to be some new inventive broadcast series this Fall. Stay tuned for my reactions. I am still upset about the cancellation of The B#@$%* in Apartment 2-something..."

I'm over 40. The Good Wife is pretty much the best drama on broadcast (Parenthood a close second). If you're a true TV geek, you'll watch these shows for dialogue alone...

I am still (choose your word) "irritated" that Orphan Black got shunted in the Emmys. While it's relevant that NetFlix had nominations, Orphan Black kicks butt against those shows and actors. Did you like Fringe?  For the love of all that is holy to you, watch Orphan Black.

I like "Blurred Lines." I cannot explain why (musically, yes--video not so much.) Hannah Montana at the VMAs ruined it for me.

ALUMS--PALERMO SCHOLARSHIP EVENT 10/29/13. Long and short is a Second City event (bits of food, drink, silent auction, improv show just for us). Money goes to scholarships for TV students, the best of the best. We're aiming to offer 2 scholarships instead of 1. Tix are pricey in this economy, I know--but either consider the value of the event or donate what you can. Email me for more info.

So-check back!  Come see me!  I am (for TV students) your Associate Chair so don't be shy. And if you're not TV but just need some tips or advice, I am non-major discriminatory.

ps--I have a kid starting kindergarten...i.e., my posts don't come on a regular schedule! :D This may also result in the occasional Teen Titans Go review...:D


PPS--IF YOU LOVE, AHTE, LOVE TO HATE HBO'S GIRLS, THERE IS AN UPCOMING OCTOBER DEBATE ON CAMPUS BETWEEN THE CHAIR OF TV AND MAUREEN RYAN OF HUFFINGTONPOST.COM http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maureen-ryan/ It's free and titled as a "slap down."

Pop Culture this Week: Death, Boredom, and Faux Hipness

What a wearying weak in media culture...Let's start with the Emmy noms, which bored me to tears. Most everyone (and show) is deserving--though I stake my claim that House of Cards--while not a bad show--is not all that great, either. Orphan Black was a better show, along with The Good Wife (once they took care of the Kalinda debacle)--and definitely Tatiana Maslany was robbed. There was more to like (or rather, less to yawn at) in comedy with Louie and Louis CK, Pohler (though Parks and Rec got robbed), and Mayim Bialik MUST win this year for Big Bang Theory, please! The only real surprise was Justin Bateman for Arrested Development. The award for faux hipness goes to the House of Cards nominations...it could turn into a really great show, but it's not there yet and I think the nominations are the Emmys way of saying: "See! We're hip and not afraid of Netflix!" So, yawn...yet again.

Another Faux Hipness award goes to Rolling Stone magazine for its cover photo of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect. I don't buy their rationale that his age matches their readers' demos, and his image (pulled from one of his social media accounts) is important because it urges us to ask how someone "who looks like that" could potentially have done such horrible things. It's instead Rolling Stone seeking to garner a big buy by having a controversial cover. It very well may be that the story inside is a good and important one, but cover images matter and tell their own story. I'd chalk it up to bad judgement, but I think the editors knew exactly what they were doing when choosing this cover.

Faux hipness award extraordinaire goes to CBS and Big Brother. I've chatted about this on FaceBook so will just reiterate that an inability to publicly chastise the crazies in the house this year is tantamount to condoning the racism and homophobia. And the fact that it took too long for CBS/BB to even acknowledge on air that anything had occurred (reserving the vitriol for the paid web stream) is broadcast ostrich syndrome (head in sand! can't see it! doesn't exist!). It's not hip to hide behind "it's reality TV--a social experiment--" if you have to be publicly "made" to actually air the social experiment's most revealing moments.

Last, very sad news per Cory Monteith of Glee. It will be interesting to see if the producers decide to address his death's linkage to heroin in some way and not just write him out in a blase way. It's a chance for the show to address a serious issue--if they did gun violence last spring, they owe it to their viewers to examine the rise in heroin usage among teens and young adults as well.

Tune in...I'll likely return again right at the top of the semester!

Have finished Orphan Black...

Hands down, can't remember the last time I saw such a stellar first year of a show. I wish I could go into a TV coma until it returns. Can someone explain to me why U.S. TV can't figure out the glorious advantages of short seasons, inexpensive co-productions, and the guts to say "I don't need 3 years off before I return?" (sorry U.S. cable, but if you need more than 6 months to bounce back from a 10-12 ep season, you're just spoiled...)

The rest of my July will be catching up on fun summer fare (mostly ABC Family) and researching for the book and deciding what shows I have to screen for my Nickelodeon Network class. (Not a bad way to spend July.)

New students--give me your thoughts on summer TV you're watching! (And if you're brand new students, be sure to attend the Weeks of Welcome at Columbia--it's a blast and will give you a true sense of what Columbia is like...)

Now must wrap my first official night off by watching Pretty Little Liars...:D

OK--I usually go dormant in summer

BUT...Between the new ABC Family shows, the upcoming Under the Dome and The Bridge, and tonight's penultimate season of Mad Men ending, I gotta give a few thoughts (albeit randomly).

Perhaps this will give my upcoming new students a sense of my personality (which is admittedly a late-night/early morning one--sue me, I'm a mom of a 5 year old). So here's my take on summer TV so far and I'll update here-and-there as I'm able before our Fall term starts.

1) Mad Men. If you're not watching you should be. If you're in my TV History class or Sara's Mad Men class, for god's sake get caught up. (It will make the 1 week we spend on 1960s TV so much easier on you...). I enjoyed the season (and not just because I identify with Peggy and adore James Wolk). This season, to me, refracted the first perfectly. Don't wanna spoil and happy to come to Sara's class in the fall to expound--let's just say every character slipped through the looking glass of season one. My prediction? Season 7 is somewhere between 1971-72... (and if you think Megan is gone, just think about what you know of soaps and twins and Patty Duke--watch what Don watches closely...)

2) No good TV in summer? Hogwash!  All depends on what you're looking for. Teen Wolf has been kickin it and this is their first monster season episode number wise, so you know you're in for a good slow burn. As far as I'm concerned, this is Boy Buffy flipped--and even though I'm a feminist, I'm good with that largely because of Stiles and  Lydia. (Don't tell me you don't think Xander and Cordelia when you watch these two.) Switched at Birth continues to impress (though it's been a bit slow) and Pretty Little Liars is keeping me guessing (esp. with the reappearance of Allison's mom obviously off meds or rocker)...And I did not think I would like The Fosters but I do so far. Haven't done Twisted yet but will catch up on that from the DVR in July...

3) The Bridge and Under the Dome both look promising.

4) and a final plea--it's over but I'm catching up now--if you haven't watched it, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SNAP FUN TV WATCH ORPHAN BLACK! (and don't dare spoiler it for me because I have 4 eps left). Woman deserves an emmy nom (and it's a hoot seeing Degrassi actors in a sic-fy-i show...)

OK--newbies and old students...More after I've caught up from sumer chairing and shifted into summer TV catch-up mode. Once we near the new season (hardee had) of school you'll get more regular posts of things TV, Columbia College TV Department, etc....

COME TO THE LUKE PALERMO COOKING DEMO! Part of Manifest...Maybe you'll be hungry around 6pm? :D Studio A, 600 ACC. Luke will cook recipes he's collected with his dearly departed wife Sharon. Maybe you'll want to order one of his cookbooks, aimed at those who are looking for easy dinners for 1-3 folks...

Heading into the Home Stretch...

and the School and TV Department have a lot of events coming up that you may want to venture out to explore.

Are you a junior or senior?  Be sure to sign up and prep for TV Premiere Industry Night. Bring your reel, scripts, business cards, and best foot forward as we screen work for industry professionals and give you time to meet and greet for internships and/or employment. Visit this link for more info: http://www.imdb.com/news/ni49894141/

Interested in documentaries and our Chicana perspectives on the world? See Lourdes Portillo's work and speak with this Chicana documentarian; her visit is a part of "Doc Week," when multiple filmmakers in this genre visit Columbia and screen their work. http://events.colum.edu/event/lourdes_portillo_screening_6068#.UWMWnaWK3jA

TV History students looking for extra credit? Anyone else looking for a Saturday Night Live like nite out but can't swing the ticket to NYC? Come to FreqOut 2013, the TV Department's live sketch comedy show. We bring in a live studio audience to watch the show at the Media Production Center (and also stream it live online). If you're doing the extra credit, view the show and give me 2 pages on how what you see (in terms of production, genre, content) can be connected to any aspect of TV's History that we've covered this semester. https://securelb.imodules.com/s/644/index.aspx?sid=644&gid=1&pgid=4334&cid=14937

And just for fun, ever wonder sometimes how writing papers about TV history and social issues can help you out? TV alum Lena Waithe had to write things like this for me--she went on to find a place for herself as an African American woman in the industry, something that motivated the kind of paper topics she chose. Last month she won a prestigious award from the Writers Guild of America for diversity in comedy writing. http://www.imdb.com/news/ni49894141/