Wednesday, June 13, 2007

today : spoiled


The big cultural news in the US, as usual, is based around criminal activity. Firstly Paris Hilton gets sent to gaol and then HBO airs the final episode of the Sopranos.

For some reason I kinda like Paris. Don't know why, I just don't hate her like so many people seem to.

Anyway, I just finished watching the penultimate 12 episodes last week and was settling down to the wait for the final batch to arrive. Its been like that ever since I missed Season 1 Episode 1, and, after hearing such glowing reports, decided to waitr for the DVDs. In fact, for me, The Sopranos was my real initiation into watching entire seasons of TV on DVD. For years after I avoided reviews of the Sopranos and went out to buy each new Season with a palpable sense of excitement. I would put aside special chunks of time to watch them back to back. It's a different kind way of viewing episodic drama. YOu consume it as if it;s a big long film with lots of intermissions. I think it's probably responsible for the increasing quality in TV drama. Producers and writers are thinkning in terms of the box set as the main medium of delivery.

But on Saturday, I was listening to the generally superb Five Live show Up All Night. Between 1-30 and 2-30 am they have The New York Hour. As with much of Up All Night's content the NY Hour is fascinating radio. Peter Franklin aka The Gabby Cabby (who I guess is probably and NPR guy a bit like Click and Clack or someone) talks about what's happening in New York each week. It is a great example of global media. Why should I care what happened in New York this week? Well, I don't really, but y'know, it's New York. It has an innate kind of glamour and film forged mythicism. I went there once and even though I didn't stay long it is all still very familiar. This week the Gabby Cabbie's co-presenter was some TV critic. Perhaps from the Post (I forget). She talked excitedly about the fact that Sunday's final eposode of the Sopranos was all anyone was looking forward to. Bets were being taken on whether Tony would die. And then she casually threw in the fact that another VERY IMPORTANT character had met their demise in episode 83. Spoiler alert! At least when Terry and Bob spent all day trying not to find out the score, it turned out the match was postponed.

And then last night I again was listening to Up All Night. During the week they have a little piece each night with the night editor of USA today - the exceptionally affable and pleasant Bill Nicholson. Bill talks about what's going in tomorrow's paper, which, much like USA today itself, gives a broad overview of what's making the news in America. Of course, in cultural news, there was much discussion about the final episode of The Sops. Apparently people were wondering what the fact that ____________________________really meant and whether the__________________________ was a good idea or not.

So now, after six long seasons of waiting and watching. Seven years of not knowing, an essential element of my watching experience has been scuppered by ignorant parochial know it all media-types.

...Fade to Black.

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