The Leader of the Pack

He trains dogs...he rehabilitates people. Cesar Millan is my hero. Watch a couple of episodes of "The Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic (Nat Geo now per their announcers), and you may feel the same way. Mr. Millan is one of the most reasonable and, (to his canine customers and their hapless human families), powerful people on the planet Earth. Over the past few seasons that this show has aired, he has taken on the large (a Great Dane afraid of slippery floors), the medium (a bulldog obsessed with attacking skate board riders) and the microscopic (a terrifying teacup sized Chihuahua who hated nearly everyone). Cesar Millan comes to the rescue when people who love their dogs, have dogs that make you want to run screaming towards the nearest high rise balcony and pitch yourself over the side.

His rules are simple, and established clearly in the beginning of every episode, no matter how challenging the dog or nutcase human consort. "Set boundaries. Stay calm and centered. Show no fear. Be patient. Always, and every day....walk, walk, walk." It sounds like an awful self-help mantra, but the producers of The Dog Whisperer have cleverly focused on dogs and owners that are incredibly troubled or weird, but at the same time sympathetic. If you watch the first few minutes, it is impossible to not stick around for the outcome.

Calm and centered is good advice for two legged humans and four legged furry canine friends alike. Obviously, The Dog Whisperer, is about dogs. But what I really love about this show is how wonderfully Cesar Millan reacts with the dog families. From the billionaires in Beverly Hills with a dyed pink petite poodle, to the nice gay couple with a show dog or the suburban family with a pooch who can't stay out of the backyard pool. Cesar Milan helps them all, without being maudlin or apologetic for insisting that what what both dogs and people need most is a little discipline, a lot of exercise and some calm and centered understanding.

Now...if only we could convince him to do cats!

Prison Break -- Lets go back to Wentworth

I'm falling out of love with Prison Break as it launches into it's 3rd season. I used to recap it with someone at work the next day after it aired and we were very intrigued about the show and it's twists and turns and its sordid array of people--wondering if Lincoln or Michael would ever get out.
Now I often times forget to watch and find myself catching up on recaps on the web but not as often as I used to which says to me I'm slowly losing interest in the plot. Not sure why, and I will still remind myself to watch the show...or not. Yawn. Does he still have his body tatoo of his escape plan? Hmmmm.

Sunday afternoon as I sat around a food filled table with friends--one of whom I hadn't seen in many years (the friend not the food)--I was reminded of a show that had buried itself deep in the video tape library compartment in my head--and as if on cue it came back to life like an old VCR, insert tape, hit play and it played in my brain as though it were on the current new series list. And I sort of wish it were.

Anyone out there remember Prisoner Cell Block H? Go back to the late 70's. Were you watching KTLA? You might have been. Who could forget Wentworh Detention Center the fictional high security center for women in Melbourne, Australia? Remember?
Remember the tough talking lesbian Franky Doyle and her girlfriend Doreen? What about Lizzie Birdsworth who worked in the kitchen even though she was accused of poisoning someone? What about Lynn Warner accused of burying a child while in her care alive!!!?
No?
Well the characters live on with in websites. I haven't gone to Net Flix yet to check and see if it is available but that may be coming up soon.

Until later...see you on The Flaming Nose
Jeri

Cavemen is FINALLY Here (Admit it, You Thought it was Funny Too)

THEY'RE HERE!!!


After all the Sturm and Drang...after all the critical wailing and gnashing of teeth, CAVEMEN, the ABC comedy based on the Geico car insurance commercial is finally here. (Tuesday nights at 8pm) It wasn't even remotely terrible. The Cavemen dudes are funny, sensitive, smart and extremely introspective. They play a mean game of squash. They seem like they would be good boyfriends. After the initial creep-out over the fact that they all look like the hind end of a Chow Chow dog...they are even sort of (dare I say it) cute. I predict the one with glasses and the hair tie is going to be a breakout character. I bet the ratings ROCKED. (Had to include at least one Stone-Age pun). If the writers keep up the snappy banter between this furry cast, Cavemen could actually make it. Take that all you snobby, elitist critics of little faith! Oh and Kudos to ABC for finding other advertisers to incorporate some sort of "caveman...historical figure...Viking" theme in many of the national spots. The whole half hour just screamed "Geico" and we never even saw a Geico ad. Very clever ABC, how much did they pay you? On the Jane-O-Meter scale of 1-10, Cavemen is a solid 7.5.