What was on TV? Tues, March 15, 2005

20 years ago, Andrea Constand sued Bill Cosby for sexual assault and defamation. Let's see what was on TV.

9:00 Project Greenlight on Bravo

3x01 "Box Office or Bust"

By season three, Project Greenlight had made some truly entertaining reality TV, and two bad movies that made no money. In season three, the show moved to Bravo and decided to work with Dimension Films, the genre movie studio owned by Mirimax which was responsible for hits like Scream and Bad Santa. They even got Scream director and horror icon Wes Craven to come on board.

The overt commercial ambitions of this season make it a fascinating chronicle of the film industry, and of this moment at the twilight of the indie boom (this season was released right as Harvey and Bob Weinstein were leaving Mirimax and its parent company Disney, leaving Project Greenlight and the film they eventually made in a very awkward position). The producers at Dimension are determined to make a commercial product. Matt and Ben want to pick an inventive time-travel script, but the producers win out and select creature feature Feast because they think it's easier to sell, even though they acknowledge the script is weak. Matt and Ben still hold the ideals of the indie boom close to their hearts and are super pissed about this. Matt is especially miffed, he says the most miserable people in the business are the people who make movies only because they'll make money and waste their lives away, six months at a time (do you have something you want to say to your best buddy Ben, Matt)?

But Matt and Ben prove victorious in the selection of a director. Their preferred choice is Jon Gulager, a middle-aged veteran cameraman with visual style and flair to spare. The other two finalists are competent filmmakers who charm the producers with clear sales pitches. Meanwhile, Gulager arrives, has his credit card declined at the front desk, walks into the interview, and proceeds to talk about a painting of a gross monster and a topless woman and to make weird sounds with his mouth. The producers do not want him. But Matt and Ben prevail, and I think there's an unspoken reason why. Gulager is the most exciting filmmaker, but more importantly, he's the most exciting TV star. He's a true wild card, an unusual and authentic sense of humor, and a real sad sack charm. I'm happy they chose him. I want to see his movie, but more importantly, I want to watch him make it.

10:00 The Shield on FX

4x01 "The Cure"

It's easy to forget now that movie stars are all over streaming, but when Glenn Close joined the cast of The Shield, it was shocking and kind of unprecedented. She wasn't making a prestige miniseries, she was joining a cop drama. And it wasn't even on HBO, it was on basic cable! It signaled both the dearth of opportunities for women in Hollywood and the ascending prestige of television.

Landing Close wasn't easy. Showrunner Shawn Ryan wrote the part with her in mind, but he never dreamed they'd actually get her. According to Entertainment Weekly, Shawn Ryan and top FX executives flew out to New York and wooed her aggressively. And she admitted that she liked being wooed, she liked that they wanted her. And so she jumped in, and she liked it, so much that she signed on for her very own show at FX after she was done with The Shield.

The Shield was good for Glenn Close, and so far, Glenn Close is great for The Shield. The show was in serious danger of becoming overly repetitive and grim by season 3, and according to The Revolution was Televised, Shawn Ryan agreed. Vic and the strike team do bad things, try to lay low, do more bad things, evade consequences, it was getting old. So he decided to shake things up, and Close was his way of doing that.

In her first episode, she's still laying low. She's learning the rules of The Shield, serving as an audience surrogate for any viewers who were tuning in for the first time to see a movie star on TV. She does a lot of listening. But it works. Firstly because even when she's doing nothing, she's still Glenn Close, and you can't help but focus on her. It's the same for all the other characters, she's the new boss and a total unknown quantity, and everyone is waiting to see what she'll do. And since she's Glenn Close, she can make the act of listening into riveting goddamn television. Already, her Captain Monica Rawling is a fully realized character who fits right into the fabric of the show. She terrifies and fascinates me in equal measure. I can't wait to learn more about her in the coming weeks.

Later The Starlet (recorded)

Episode 3

The aspiring actresses had to do commercials this week. I have watched a lot of America's Next Top Model, which means that I have watched a lot of pretty girls completely butcher commercials. So I was impressed by the basic competence on display in these commercials.

But the judging...unnecessary and uncalled for. Mercedes is told she's talented but that she is too fat and she should hit the gym (this is horrifying in any circumstance, but the fact that she is tiny makes it especially galling). Another girl is told that her body is amazing but that's it, everything else is bad. Her name is Donna, and she was my favorite, so this bummed me out! She is also the only Black contestant, and Vivica A. Fox is particularly hard on her, so we're wading into that quagmire of overcompensation. Both girls are really upset, and no wonder! Those comments are each their own special cocktail of cruel. America always holds women to contradictory and impossible standards, it's what we do. But the 2000s were really something else.

Donna is eliminated, and she was the Miss Congeniality of the group, so everyone is a bit emotional. And she executes a note-perfect Gracious Exit from a Reality Show. Justice for Donna, I hope she's doing great.

Late Night

Craig Ferguson interviewed Lawrence Block, writer of crime novels popular among dads. And he's actually read his books, which makes the interview way better than your average late-night author interview.

TiVo Status

The Masterpiece Theater miniseries The Lost Prince, a Frontline documentary, the TV movies Sucker Free City, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Ladies Night, and one episode of Miracle's Boys. 13.5 hours total.

Figure Skating, 20 years ago

The 2005 World Figure Skating Championships were...bad. They were the first under a brand new judging system. The system was created in response to the 2002 pairs judging scandal, but it did nothing to address the corruption in the sport. But it forced skaters to compete in an entirely new way. Eventually, this yielded some great skating and real innovation. But in 2005, everyone was still adjusting.

Everyone except for Stephane Lambiel. In 2005, Stephane Lambiel showed us what was possible under this new judging system. The previous decade of men's figure skating had been dominated by quads, big personalities, and macho posturing. Stephane had quads, he had a big personality, but he didn't go for macho posturing. What set him apart in this field is that his skills were rewarded under the new system. The new system was designed to reward elements like footwork sequences and spins. And Stephane blew everyone away on elements like those. His spins are mind-blowing, fast and intricate and fun. And since he's not straining to do complex spins and footwork, he can deliver a truly gorgeous and daring program. His free skate is the sort of action movie soundtrack program you saw way too often in the past decade of men's skating. But his short to Spanish Caravan shows us the future, and it's beautiful (great costume, too).