The Medium is Not Enough TV blog

Barbie - The Mad Men collection

Rob Buckley — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:40:22 +0000

It's a world gone mad, I tell you. Mattel are releasing Ken and Barbie dolls based on Mad Men's Don Draper, Betty Draper, Roger Sterling and Joan Holloway.

The dolls come with period accessories like hats, overcoats, pearls and padded undergarments, but no cigarettes, ashtrays, martini glasses or cocktail shakers…

The pairing of Barbie and “Mad Men” is more interesting than the typical licensing agreement because of their shared history. Barbie was introduced in March 1959, and the first episode of “Mad Men” is set in March 1960.

“ ‘Mad Men’ represents so beautifully the universe that created Barbie,” said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, because the series is about the selling of the American consumer society.

The personification of Betty Draper as Barbie is particularly resonant, Mr. Thompson said, because she represents “the wife who lives in her dream house whose soul is eaten away.”

“I have this fantasy of an 8-year-old getting a set” of the dolls, he added, “and saying: ‘Mom, can Chelsea come over? We want to play “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.” I’m going to be the organization man, and she’s going to be the soulless drone.’ ”

What games do you reckon are actually going to be played?

How bad are the budget cuts on Chuck?

Rob Buckley — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:40:35 +0000

I know that the producers of Chuck have been having to make cutbacks this season, but could they really not afford a spellchecker? Unless of course 'loctated' is the past participle of 'to Loctite®'.

Crispin Glover - mentalist

Rob Buckley — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:40:31 +0000

He may be known to most people as Marty McFly's dad in Back to the Future or a villain in the first Charlie's Angels movie, but Crispin Glover is also a mentalist.

He is.

He so is.

Take a look at this video he made. It'll prove it.

[via @catherinebray]

Not watching The Wire can cause trouble

Rob Buckley — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:46:36 +0000

You need to watch The Wire or this could happen to you. Do you want that? Do you? Do you?

Useful advice for news people on polls

Rob Buckley — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:23:21 +0000

[via]

Zoe off Caprica - who do you think she looks like?

Rob Buckley — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:16:03 +0000

To me, she looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid version of Zooey Deschanel:

It's very off-putting. Do you think calling her character Zoe was an acknowledgement of her mini-Deschanel status?

The Virgin Active girl - Joanna Page having a bad day?

Rob Buckley — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:36:12 +0000

The girl on the walls in Virgin Active gyms:

Joanna Page having a bad day? It's not, but…

Gavin and Stacey - series three and the BBC's mental DVD release schedule

Rob Buckley — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:57:14 +0000

Oh! Look at that. Yes - that. It's an ad for Gavin & Stacey series three on DVD. You can buy it now. In fact, I have a copy already.

What do you mean they've only shown two episodes of it on TV so far?

Yes, in the bizarre world of the BBC DVD release schedule, "a third of the way through a series" is a good time to release a show on DVD, presumably in time for Christmas.

So, here's my quandary. Should I watch the DVD (two discs, including one disc of extras) and spoil myself, or watch at the same speed as everyone else?

We've already watched the next two episodes and I'll tell you something for nothing, there's a great fight scene with Stacey. Episode 3 is also great for in-jokes. I'll say no more than that until Friday.

Does Peaches Geldof say 'like' enough?

Rob Buckley — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:14:02 +0000

You decide. Unfortunately, you'll have to put up with both her and Fearne Cotton at the same time to do it. I'm really sorry.

The 100 greatest quotes from The Wire

Rob Buckley — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:32:01 +0000

Have they left any out?

Why you shouldn't attack a BBC reporter…

Rob Buckley — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:58:03 +0000

…particularly if

You're being watched on CCTV cameras
He's a black belt in karate

[via]

Channel 4's looking a bit festive for some reason

Rob Buckley — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:53:46 +0000

iPhone not great for night shoots, as you can probably tell, but what's up with the giant 4 at the entrance to Channel 4? It's not a very Halloweeny 4 or even Guy Fawkesy.

All 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone in 10 minutes

Rob Buckley — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:50:13 +0000

Would you like to get the gist/twist of every single The Twilight Zone episode, but don't have the time? Well, today's your lucky day. Someone has thoughtfully cobbled together clips from all the episodes, so you can understand why it's possibly the greatest anthology show ever made (although I preferred the bleaker first season of the original The Outer Limits myself).

Just remember guys: it's a cook book.

[via]

Who says Australian comedy isn't funny?

Rob Buckley — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:52:13 +0000

Subtle is another matter though.

Ashley Crow: from Probe to Heroes

Rob Buckley — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:11:38 +0000

When Heroes first came out, I did the usual thing of checking the cast list to see if there was anyone I knew whom I liked on the list. "Masi Oka? Okay, he's in Scrubs. Ali Larter? Ooh, I liked her in Legally Blonde. She's really hot, too. Greg Grunberg? That's that pal of JJ Abrams who's on Alias and everything else JJ Abrams has ever done, isn't it? Adrian Pasdar? Profit!"

However, I was probably the only person to go: "Oh my God. It's Ashley Crow! Mickey from Probe!"

Ashley Crow? She plays Claire's mum Sandra on Heroes. And here she is on Probe:

Probe was one of those shows back in the 90s when the UK SciFi Channel started up that got repeated over and over again because they didn't have the rights to anything else. So I got to watch a lot of it. It's one of Isaac Asimov's few interactions with television and bears all his hallmarks: reclusive scientific genius with few social skills investigates technology-related crimes with the assistance of his secretary Mickey, who brings him out of his shell. It's basically Murder He Calculated, with a very small amount of Moonlighting thrown in.

It wasn't a great show, but it was fun. And I liked Ashley Crow in it, even if she did have a thankless role. Below, you can watch all of the first episode on YouTube and there's a fan site over here if you want more information. I just like the fact that the hot sidekicks of yesteryear still get to work in the 21st century. All that stuff with Sandra telling Claire about when she was a kid and doing what Claire was doing - it almost felt like a nod to Probe.