What was on TV? Sat, Dec 18, 2004
Robert de Niro and the Muppets on SNL, plus figure skating
z20 years ago, pre-teens and teens across America were hoping for an iPod for Christmas. Let's see what was on TV!
4:00 Bocelli on Ice on PBS
I've been watching figure skating regularly for over a decade, so I have been exposed to a lot of Andrea Bocelli. I've even come to enjoy him, after a fashion (I at least prefer him to Josh Groban). But this is a lot of Andrea Bocelli. It's a PBS show, so we get a whole entire hour of Andrea Bocelli programs with no breaks! It gets old after awhile, even though this cast is filled with great skaters. This is probably why I enjoyed Brian Orser's program so much, which featured a guest singer and a lot of classical guitar. It makes for a nice change, and I really enjoy the latter half of Orser's professional career, it's a great program for him. And at the end, Boitano comes out and skates with him, and I always love seeing those two together. Michael Weiss is also there, but I don't really care, I'm here for the Brians.
My other favorite program is Shae-Lynn Bourne's "Silent Night." For those not in the know, Bourne was a highly decorated Canadian ice dancer. She and her partner Victor Kraatz were huge stars and major trailblazers for North American ice dance. But after they retired, Victor abruptly quit touring (apparently he was miserable). Bourne was not ready to quit touring, and she forged an unlikely professional career as a solo dancer. Today, solo dance (basically artistic skating with no jumps) is quite popular, but that was not the case 20 years ago. But watching Shae-Lynn, solo dance looks like the best discipline ever. Her "Silent Night" program uses a scarf (Shae loved a prop) and her skating skills and performance ability really stand out even in this field of very talented skaters. "Silent Night" is a hard piece of music: hard to sing, hard to perform to. It's so simple. It can be amazing, but if you mess it up it becomes boring and terrible. But Shae harnesses the power of "Silent Night" and it's amazing.
11:30 Saturday Night Live on NBC
with host Robert de Niro and musical guest Destiny's Child
Overall, a reasonably fun episode. The Muppets appear! I'm surprised that Disney (who had purchased the Jim Henson company earlier that year) let them onto a competing network, but it's fun. There are some fun sketches too. There's one involving a prank show that takes a very dark turn. But my favorite is a weekend update bit addressing that year's indie film explosion. It stars the head of an indie studio (Seth Meyers) and his crusty Grandpa (Rachel Dratch) who founded the studio as more of a seedy Roger Corman outfit. And Grandpa is not into all these classy movies! It's very insider-y but Meyers and Dratch are hilarious and it pokes fun at the seedy origins of indie film at a time when that segment of the industry was being written about in especially laudatory terms.
What Else Was On
On the Sci-Fi Channel, you could watch the ninth (ninth!) film in the Puppet Master franchise, the Christmas-themed Puppet Master vs. the Demonic Toys.
TiVo Status
The three-hour Masterpiece Theater miniseries The Lost Prince and The Office Christmas Special from across the pond (2 hours). 5 hours with 23 hours of space left.
