All-American Girl The Complete Series (1994) (Shout! Factory-2006) Not even a guest appearance by Oprah Winfrey – playing no less than herself – could save this sitcom from biting the dust. Nor an appearance by Quentin Tarentino, at the peak of his white-hotness from Pulp Fiction– could pump this turkey’s chest back to life. Even a pre-famous Jack Black, as an … Continue reading
Dale Watson Lone Star State of Mind by Ronald Sklar How’s this for irony: Dale Watson – who embodies both the past and the promise (but possibly not the future) of country music – is talking to me on his cell phone. Forget about me – I’m about as far away from country as you … Continue reading
Shadoe Stevens Voice on the Air by Ronald Sklar When asked if he was indeed the world’s youngest DJ, at age 11, in Jamestown, North Dakota, Shadoe Stevens answers like a true native. “Yah,” he says, in that clipped Midwestern drawl, like a character out of the flick Fargo. The answer is true, but the “yah” … Continue reading
Action The Complete Series – Uncut and Unbleeped (1999) (Sony Home Video-2006) Of the unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century – JFK’s assassination, Y2K, the popularity of tattoos – probably the most baffling of all was the cancellation of the dish-dirty Fox comedy Action. The series, starring an amazingly funny Jay Mohr in a tour … Continue reading
Peter Stickles Something in the Lair by Ronald Sklar Photography by Eugene Gallegos When New-York-based actor Peter Stickles yearned for a role he could sink his teeth into, he wasn’t just whistling “Dixie.” As the lead vampire in the new Here TV drama The Lair, Stickles plays a vampire so evil that his name is Damian. … Continue reading
My Name Is Earl The Complete First Season (2005-2006) (20th Century Fox Home Video-2006) The darkly cheerful My Name Is Earl, a tale of obsession and redemption, is told through the narration of a newly minted Dudley Do-Right who used to be a backwoods badass. His actions are an exercise in how everything in the universe … Continue reading
How I Met Your Mother Season One (2005-2006) (Fox Home Video-2006) Those charmingly misguided TV sitcom writers seem to have four general rules: One: all twenty-somethings, regardless of financial obligation and career path, must live in Manhattan, in cool apartments with HUGE bathrooms. Two: all Manhattan-dwelling twenty-somethings are magically blessed with lots of free time, … Continue reading
JOSHUA FERRIS IS NOT CLOSE TO THE END BY RONALD SKLAR The problem with anything set in an office is just that – is it truly set in an office? The correct tone is more often than not never struck, and the corporate atmosphere almost always feels exaggerated and artificial, as if written by a … Continue reading
LIONEL DON’T CALL HIM LIBERAL BY RONALD SKLAR On radio, Lionel is the anti-talk-show talk-show host. His three-hours of truth and critical thinking now makes its new home on the new Air America network (check your local radio listings or log on to http://www.airamerica.com.). As well, a book featuring his unique views of politics and life … Continue reading
The Lowdown on LOBO by Ronald Sklar Coming through the static of the waning days of AM music radio in the early 1970s was Lobo. Though many mistook him – if they even thought of him at all – as a vocal group instead of an individual performer, Lobo (real name: Roland Kent LaVoie) took the money and … Continue reading
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