Libraries on TV

Libraries and librarians have been on my pop-culture radar all day. And by that I mean, they have been elements in episodes of some of my favorite shows today.

My library senses may be heightened because I am a library and information science student, but three instances in one day is weird.

First, an older episode of Doctor Who (starring David Tennant as my favorite incarnation of the Time Lord) was on this morning that took place in a plant-sized library that contains every book in the universe. Real books still exist in the future. Imagine that! Bookworms and librarians rejoice!




Then on Community, Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) compete for the affections of the college librarian. Sure, the study group's headquarters are in the campus library, but this is the first time we are introduced to an actual librarian and she is today's stereotypical version -- the sexy librarian (young woman, stylish dark-rimmed glasses, tight shirt). The librarian's appearance was short-lived and there was only one joke made about her book-loving ways. Oh well.

Mariah the Greendale Librarian (played by Maite Schwartz) -- (source: poplibrary.library.tumblr.com)

Finally, Parks and Recreation brought back Ron Swanson's ex-wife, a librarian in Pawnee, tonight. I just became a fan of the show and have caught up with the past two seasons on Netflix. In watching a number of episodes one after another, I have noticed that the employee of Pawnee's parks and rec department have a thing against their local library and librarians. I can't help but laugh at their jabs at my future profession. I mean, c'mon, they've made a librarian a villain ... you have to admit that's funny. In this promo, the main character, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), references the evil librarian's job at the 1:15 mark.




The fact that libraries are mentioned frequently in pop culture is a wonderful way to keep these institutions in the public eye.

Hello ... Is It Me You're Looking For

I have been away a long time. The past semester at graduate school (and the accompanying commute) left me with little free time.

So many things have happened in pop culture in my three-month absence that I don't know where to start. Let's just recap a highlight or two from each month, I've been gone.

October:

Right before Halloween, I saw the Rocky Horror Picture Show live at the community college I graduated from eight years ago. I grew up on Rocky Horror thanks to my semi-progressive parents who were big fans. We would listen to the soundtrack on car rides and I was singing along to "Sweet Transvestite" long before I knew what a transvestite was.

November:

Conan is back! However, I am sad to say that I was a loyal viewer for the first month, but with school I haven't been keeping up. My first reaction was that it seemed too much like his stint on The Tonight Show, but in some of the more recent clips/shows I've seen, he seems to be coming around to something resembling his old self. I also haven't been interested in a lot of the guests he's had, so that has been a deterrent. I am, however, loving that each episode has a title (e.g., "Zeus was Framed" - 12/9/10; "2011: A Spanx Odyssey" - 1/10/11). Congrats to Conan for winning a People's Choice Award for Best Talk Show Host!

December

I've been doing a bit of time-traveling this month.

First, my husband and I have been watching reruns of "McMillan and Wife" a 1970s crime show staring Rock Hudson and Susan St. James. It was part of a wheel series called NBC's Mystery Movie. I had never heard of a wheel series or "McMillan and Wife," which my husband remembers running in syndication when he was a kid. From what I've read and what my husband has told me, a NBC ran this show and others, like "Columbo" on a rotating basis each week. Interesting concept. Well, the show is hilarious, more so than I think was intended due to Hudson's personal life and because, most importantly, I don't think most police commissioners would solve crimes with their wives.

Next, I have recently started watching Doctor Who. Now, I am not a sci-fi fan. I remember the 1980s series with the old bloke with a scarf and an afro that aired on PBS, but I never watched it. I've also been watching a lot of BBC America, because, well, Top Gear rocks and Law and Order: UK is pretty good (wigs ... hello!)

Anyway, I've enjoyed Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, but I decided to check out a few episodes of the David Tennant version, because Freema Agyeman, an actress on L&O: UK, was a companion of the Doctor's. And, of course, I got hooked.

Tennant is brilliantly funny and I am smitten with the messy hair, suits, and Chucks (trainers, Converse All-Stars ... whatever you want to call them). My favorite episodes have to do with historically or literary conceits: Queen Victoria being attacked by werewolves and William Shakespeare unwilling doing the bidding of witches.

Photo courtesy of www.david-tennant.com

And it turns out, Tennant is a classically training actor who did a theatrical production of "Hamlet" for the Royal Shakespeare Company. From what I've seen of the subsequent televised version, which came out last year, my Chucks have been blown off. And now he's starring in a production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" with his former Doctor Who companion, Catherine Tate. Oh, how I wish I lived in London! Or that my trip coincided with the show's run. (UPDATE: The show will still be on stage during the time I'm planning on traveling across the pond!)

So that, in a nutshell, has been my life for the past few months. Outside of the nutshell, it has been the busiest semester ever.

Waiting for CoCo

Conan O'Brien returns to the small screen on November 8 and I can't wait. I love a good underdog story.

TBS has welcomed Conan with open arms and if the promos are any indication, we are in for quirky greatness.



Conan's sense of humor is not for everyone (my dad doesn't find him funny and despises his red pompadour, which he tells me with conviction whenever the subject comes up). It obviously wasn't NBC's cup of tea when it came to The Tonight Show.

Conan was witty and unique on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which followed The Tonight Show for 16 years. His humor definitely appealed to my Gen X sensibilities. I watched the show faithfully for many years. I even attended the taping -- granted the rehearsal taping -- of the show's fifth anniversary. Yet, after six or seven years I turned to other shows (mostly sitcom reruns). Nothing against Conan, but I was disappointed by the departure of Andy Richter. When I did tune in, I was never disappointed. Tears welled in my eyes during his Conan's last show.

I watched The Tonight Show for awhile, but again I tuned out after awhile. I think it had to do with his having to change his act a bit for the earlier time slot. I did, however, think he was right in stepping down because NBC wouldn't let be true to The Tonight Show the right way (staying at the 11:35 p.m. time slot, not because of his brand of humor. While touted as not being an appropriate way to resign, I thought it was true to Conan's style.

Sure, Conan has been playing the publicity game, but I plan on sticking with the new show anyway. And I wish I could be a research intern there, but unfortunately I live in New York and the show is now in California. What luck!

P.S. - My dad, who hates Conan, once again told me how much he can't stand CoCo's pompadour.

TV office translations

I'm working on a paper for a management course for library and information school. One of our options is to analyze a movie or television show where there is an organizational situation. Yes!

My first thought was, of course, to pick "The Office." Yet, I know that either the majority of the class will make the same choice or the instructor has read too many papers discussing Michael Scott's incompetencies as a manager. I love the American version of "The Office." I have no problems with the original, British version. I just prefer a workspace with Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight, Andy, et al.

I decided to resign and pick another office to analyze: the basement-level department on BBC's "The IT Crowd." The show follows the computer geeks -- Roy (played by Chris O'Dowd) and Moss (played by Richard Ayoade) -- at a large corporation, whose manager -- Jen (played by Katherine Parkinson) is oblivious to the inner workings of a computer. She proclaims herself the relationship manager in charge of improving the department's (i.e., Roy and Moss's) reputation(s). The show, which has run from 2006 to the present, is hilarious. It also shares a common thread with "The Office." In 2007, an American version was made for NBC. Well, the unaired American version of "The IT Crowd" version sucked.

I've known about this version for a while because it stars Joel McHale from "Community" and "The Soup," who I adore. But tonight I finally found the only episode that was made and man, what a disappointment. I can't complain about the American pilot being almost exactly like the British pilot, because that was the case with "The Office." Something just didn't work for me. And a lot of it had to do with Joel's performance. Maybe I'm too attached to him as Jeff Winger at Greendale Community College or as the caustic critic of reality TV, but I didn't buy him as Roy. I felt sorry for him. The rest of the cast, which included Richard Ayoade from the original (a highlight), didn't do much for me either. It was flat and boring (and the British version made me laugh ... a lot). I can't imagine what would have happened if the introduced the Americanized version of my favorite character, the former go-to guy of the company's CEO, now goth Richmond (played by Noel Fielding of The Mighty Boosh).

Oh well, cross-overs can't always work! I should probably get back to my paper.

Here are a few videos, so you can see for yourself.

British version:





American version:



Addendum: I just read that another American version of "The IT Crowd" is in the works. I stand behind my veto. At least Joel McHale is unavailable for this version.

Great minds think of Monty Python

Yesterday, my mom and I were having a discussion about philosophers. It was not a serious discussion, but a tangent off of another family-related discussion. So where did we turn when were both at a loss for names of great thinkers? Monty Python, of course.

Would you like to dance?

I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog dedicated to sharing the pop culture knowledge I acquired during my life. So here it is.

I've named this blog after a pop culture column I wrote many years ago for a now-defunct weekly arts and entertainment paper I used to edit. The name also comes from the popular dance from the 1920s, which coincidentally includes the first half of my last name.

I grew up in a family of pop culture fanatics. We still, to this day, quote movie lines whenever we get together ... much to the chagrin of outside parties, including significant others. My specialty is movies and television from the decades I grew up in -- the 1980s and 1990s. I can usually tell you about the relationships between celebrities, which I have to admit has grown since Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Database entered my life.

My plan for this blog is to connect my knowledge and interests to the pop culture of today. I may also just talk about other things in this area that interest me. I can do that. It's my blog.

But don't expect to hear anything about reality television and shows like "True Blood" or "Glee." I am not a fan. I will also talk about movies, music -- maybe books, but not sure how much that will fit in here. Be forewarned my tastes run the independent route.

So that's it in a very large nutshell. Welcome and I look forward to dancing with you.


What I watching, listening or obsessed with right now: 

• Television: "The Office," "Community," "The State" and "Wonderfalls."
• Movies: A lot of obscure movies found on Netflix.
• Music: Jenny Lewis - "Acid Tongue" (I just got the vinyl version of this as an anniversary gift) and Pearl Jam. (I just finished a two-year stint of seeing the band four times and lead singer Eddie Vedder solo twice.)
• Books: Nothing at the moment. (I am a graduate student studying library and information science, which means I am reading a lot of text books).