Friday, 07 October 2011
Today I found out that Mitchell Hurwitz, the co-creator of Arrested Development, has promised fans that new TV episodes and a feature-length motion picture are in the works.
I gotta say, I’m kind of disappointed.
The thing is, when we like something, we have a tendency to want more of it. But when it comes to TV shows and motion pictures, I’ve learned that it’s better to leave fans wanting more.
Here’s a brief list of TV shows that went on too long: Happy Days, All in the Family, That 70s Show, The Office, Friends. All of those sitcoms would’ve been better off if they’d stopped sooner. I’m sure there are more, especially in the drama area (e.g., Little House on the Prairie, CSI), but I don’t watch enough TV to add much to the list.
Movies are the same way. Too often, filmmakers try to cash in on a successful story by tacking on sequels. Back to the Future, The Godfather, The Sting, The Terminator, The Matrix, Superman, Grease, Star Wars, Spider-Man, Batman, and Jaws all come to mind. In some of these examples, the first sequel was fine, or even better than the first, but then the franchise went downhill.
So…Arrested Development, I love ya’, but I’m worried. I much prefer to leave you in the pantheon of shows like Firefly, Rome, Pushing Daisies, Freaks and Geeks, and Wonderfalls – shows that left me wanting more. If you can expand out a little more AND do it successfully (e.g., Firefly and Toy Story both pushed the boundaries with amazing results), then more power to you. I’ll be watching with a very critical eye.
Saturday, 08 October 2011
Today was a ridiculously productive day.
First, I took the kids with me to the pharmacy, where I dropped off a prescription. We then went to get the oil changed in our Saturn. While waiting for the oil change, we walked to the post office, mailed some mail, then spent some time at a park where Isla had a grand time discovering fallen leaves.
After picking up the car, we went back home where Jennifer was continuing to work on Owen’s bedroom. She took a break and got ready for the day. While she did that, I replaced an outlet in the living room.
After lunch, we drove to Krueger’s Christmas Trees where we selected our tree for this upcoming Solstice Season. We enjoyed some cider, then took a wagon ride and went on a half mile nature walk.
Next, we visited Lowe’s and plopped down over a hundred bucks on supplies for our house, including pruning shears, a gas tank, valves, caulk, a rake, and painting tape.
Then we stopped at the grocery store for some food.
Then we stopped at the same Walgreen’s Pharmacy I had been to seven hours earlier. They still didn’t have the prescription filled, and they asked me to wait fifteen more minutes. I told them to screw it and left.
After getting gas, we arrived back home where I installed the valves on our sprinkler system. Owen raked some leaves and Jennifer did more work in Owen’s room. The Walgreen’s called and told me my prescription was filled. I said, “Yeah, and I already told you guys to cancel that. I’m gonna go to a more competent pharmacy.”
In the evening, Owen and I watched the Star Trek episode “The Counter-Clock Incident,” which means we have now seen every episode of the animated series and it becomes the next in a line of TV shows in which I’ve seen every episode.
Sunday, 09 October 2011
As I mentioned above (see above), I replaced two valves on our sprinkler system. I also had to glue in a new length of PVC pipe. The glue called for a two hour drying time and, since it was already 8:30 when I installed the pipe, I figured I would just wait until today to try out the sprinkler.
Success!
After accidentally bathing both my kids and the neighbor kid in cold water (I came around the corner to see them screaming at me to shut off the water), I managed to water my entire lawn, including the rose bushes. My neighbor expressed his jealousy at my sprinkler system, which made me feel like I had finally made it in life. He’s gonna have to try to keep up with the Zimmermans, I guess.
Keep up with the our family at my wife’s new blog.
On a completely unrelated note, learning Klingon may help with dyslexia.