133rd Westminster Dog Show on USA Tonight

Uh oh. Here's one of those nights where you have to get the DVR box warmed up and ready to roll. Lisa has already pointed out a fabulous night of science and critter related programming on Nat Geo. But tonight is also the 133rd annual Westminster Dog Show, live from Madison Square Garden in NY on USA network (8pm).

This is the Mother of All Dog Shows, and if you've never tuned in, it's just quirky and weird enough to offer grand entertainment to folks that might not go all weak in the knees when they see a huge fluffy Samoyed or a perky Corgi.

As wonderful as it is to see the dogs, and try to pick the winner, it is sometimesjust as fun to watch the dog handling humans as they trot alongside their canine pals. Film maker Christopher Guest recognized the vast potential for humor in this environment when he made the satire "Best in Show".

They are going to do something a little strange tonight from a scheduling perspective, so be forewarned if you are setting a DVR to record. The first hour of the show will be on USA and the second from 9-10pm will switch to CNBC. Tomorrow night's final telecast of the dog show will be on USA entirely.

May the best tail wagger win!

MONK: OCD And the Sea

I'm not quite sure why it has taken so long for me to write about one of the best and quirkiest programs on TV. MONK has been around for several years and is now into its sixth episode of Season #7 on USA. The superb Tony Shalhoub stars as the Obsessive-Compulsive bundle of nerves, Adrian Monk who just also might happen to be the most brilliant but annoying detective in the entire world. His entourage consists of his ex-SFPD boss, police Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) as well as the young police lieutenant Randy (Jason Standord) who plays the Barney Fife role of lovable incompetent. Rounding out the cast is Monk's impossibly patient assistant Natalie, played charmingly by Traylor Howard. She keeps Monk calm and supplied with wet wipes so he can disinfect San Francisco, one mystery at a time.

Monk is afraid of just about everything. He hates dirt, garbage, spots, germs, milk, and anything at all that isn't perfectly symmetrical including papers, writing, and pictures hanging on a wall. He was kicked off the police force years ago after he suffered a nervous breakdown following the death of his beloved wife Trudy. He has carried a torch for her ever since.

Two episodes this season have been classic, fabulous Monk. In one, he is enticed aboard a Naval nuclear submarine to help solve the death of a young officer. Of course Monk's OCD also includes a heaping helping of claustrophobia, so when the sub dives, Monk has a bit of a hissy fit.
Shalhoub has a field day with his character in this episode, carrying on an imaginary conversation with his psychiatrist, who talks him through the horror of being underwater on a huge submarine.

In the most recent episode, Monk falls for a Zemanian (some sort of imaginary Russian satellite country?) immigrant lady who has been falsely accused of murder. This is so completely out of character for Monk, it's worth watching, even if you have not visited this series in a while. Monk has to struggle with his unusual (for him) feelings of attraction without betraying his loyalty to the memory of Trudy.

I hope they make the Leyla character a regular, it was interesting to watch Monk's attempts to become "normal". The dancing scene was adorable.

Tony Shalhoub has won both Emmys and a Golden Globe for his role as Adrian Monk and the show itself as well as some very talented guest stars (including John Tuturro) have been the recipient of many more. It is an amazing one hour comedy-drama that still feels fresh after seven years on the air. This is the show that first put USA network on the map for original series, and it is still going strong. Tune in Friday nights at 9pm or set your DVR to see for yourself.

John and Abigail Adams--They're Just Like Us

It has come to our attention that HBO plans to re-run the excellent John Adams miniseries in its entirety tomorrow on the 4th of July. This is great news for those who might have missed it the first time, and even better news for fanatics like myself and my fellow Nose bloggers, who are only too happy to watch it over and over again. The John Adams miniseries is one of the most remarkable productions to come out of HBO Films. The quality was flawless, (I would put the cinematography in the Academy Award winning zone), the cast was amazing (Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail--they will be nominated for buckets of Emmy Awards) and the writing was authentic and suburb. But beyond all that, the thing I liked best about this series, was how incredibly real and human it made the founding fathers of America seem. Not a dried up picture on the wall, not a boring chapter in a school text book. Real. They loved, they fought and they worried about their kids. Just like us.

Since this is 4th of July Eve, it is a great day to remember one of my most favorite scenes in the John Adams miniseries. The Delaration of Independence is signed and then read to a cheering crowd. Imagine hearing these words for the very first time. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." This miniseries gave viewers the opportunity to feel like they were right there in the streets of Philadelphia in 1776.




But we are not in Philadelphia and alas it is 2008, not the dawn of a new nation. The economy is going down in flames, gas is $4.60 a gallon and thanks to drought and global warming, a lot of places in California won't even have fireworks. Yet the words in the document still have the power to thrill, even on the verge of doom. As John Adams said, "People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity". Americans are a tough and hopeful lot. If we don't like the way things are, we kick the bums out and and write a new script. So it was over 200 years ago. And so it continues today. Happy 4th of July everyone. And don't forget to watch John Adams!