What was on TV? Wed, Dec 29, 2004
Figure skating and Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage. These are a few of my favorite things!
20 years ago, a Tsunami had just devastated Indonesia and South Asia, killing more than a quarter million people. In America, TV filled with news footage of the disaster. But what else was on?
8:00 Gotta Skate IV (recorded)
Available on Youtube
Gotta Skate was the brainchild of Canadian figure skater Kurt Browning. Browning is probably the most famous figure skater in Canada. People talk about how Michelle Kwan is an icon even though she never won Olympic gold. Kurt never won any medal. Not even bronze!
But Kurt is a star, and a very Canadian one. Gotta Skate was successful (this is the fourth iteration) but I imagine it did a lot better on CBC than on NBC. Kurt is a cowboy (literally, his dad was a cattle rancher in rural Alberta). Kurt is an Old Hollywood heartthrob (he played Rick from Casablanca in a free skate and did Singing in the Rain in the rain). Kurt is a clown (just watch this). And Kurt is hot (just watch this. Please!). It all adds up to one of the most compelling figure skaters ever. In this show, he does a Jerry Lewis program where he plays some kind of gas station attendant. It's hilarious, and it's also a beefcake moment? Somehow? Watching him pull stuff like that off never gets old.
There's some good stuff in the rest of the show too! Shae-Lynn Bourne does Chicago, truly channeling Catherine Zeta-Jones. We get a reprise of my all-time favorite Brian Orser program, "Somewhere in Time." Also Michael Bolton is there. But it's okay, you can fast-forward if your taste aligns with mine.
Late Night
Tonight's Conan was rough. The Carson Daly interview was packed with Trump jokes. Trump jokes are hard to listen to even when they're good. These weren't. The second guest is some "edgy" comic and I hated him, so so much.
But then a savior appears, and teaches me that I should never skip an episode. Because you never know when a new segment of "Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage" will arrive. In this segment, Pierre Bernard discusses his crush on a Stargate: Atlantis star and his struggles with his scanner, the latter in exhaustive technical detail. I will now think of him anytime I have to scan something or teach someone else how to scan something. So one of the most annoying tasks in the world will be a little bit better.
TiVo Status
Just the three-hour Masterpiece Theater miniseries The Lost Prince. One day I'll watch it.
