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11/11/2005: "US Tour Dates; Arrested Development Cancelled"
Hi All,
Just thought I would post where I'm going to be next week, in case anyone wants to come out and see a big mop-topped redhaired Canadian do his reading thang. I'm going to be driving to all of these places---except Prairie Lights; for that I may as well walk---so it's just me and my beat-up Volkswagan and the open road. Should be a good time. Here are the dates and times:
Tuesday, November 15:
HARRY W. SCHWARTZ BOOKSHOPS
Bayview store
Milwaukee, WI
7:00 pm
Thursday, November 17:
Prairie Lights Bookstore
Iowa City, IA
7:00 pm
Friday, November 18:
MAGERS & QUINN
3038 Hennepin Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN
7:30 pm
Okay, that's it. If you're not busy washing your hair or trimming your toenails, then hey, come on out. I hear these things can be emotionally-scarring to new writers---1 person shows up to your reading, and he's pushing a shopping cart full of pop cans just looking for someplace warm to spend an hour---and while I will happily read to that shopping-cart-trundling gent, it would be nice to have a few people there who might be counted on to say something other than, "If you're done with them shoes you're wearing, I'd be happy to take 'em off your hands."
On a somewhat sadder note, my favorite TV comedy, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, has been give the axe by Fox. After 2 1/2 brilliant seasons, it's done. I can't say I blame Fox for this entirely, as some might. They stuck with the show much longer than a lot of networks would, gave it lots of promotion, hoping viewers would eventually take to it. I guess they did not...not enough, anyway. It was the only show I've ever said to people, "Are you watching this? You NEED to be watching this." My brother doesn't have cable; anytime I talked on the phone I'd be, "Have you checked out Arrested Development yet? It's friggin hilarious." Eventually he bought the first season on DVD...and was hooked. You can't help but be hooked by this show. It follows the exploits of the Bluth family, but the plot is really less important than the characters. EVERY SINGLE character in the show is wonderful. Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth holds it all together, and has never been better. The other characters---brothers Gob and Buster, his mother and father and sister, his son George Michael---are all fantastic. And the minor characters are brilliant. My favorite is Martin Mull, who plays private detective Gene Parmesan. The plots owe a lot to Seinfeld in the way they're constructed; the sort of plots where all the disparate elements somehow knit together in the end, however nonsensically.
Anyway...sigh. What can you do? The Bluth family had a great run. The sad thing was, the shows were just as great as when the show started. They could've had a good 5-6 year run, if viewers had've supported it. I should've told a few more people about it, maybe. But I thought, with the Emmys and its critical success, the show was going to be on for a long time.
Part of the problem is, all the people I thought might really like it, my "artsy/creative" friends...none of these people own a TV! You're as likely to find Anne Frank living in their attics as you are to find a TV in their dens. When you ask have they seen this program, that program, they wrinkle their noses and get all affronted and say, "Oh no, you see I don't HAVE a TV." Like I'd suggested they had Hitler's pickled brain stashed in one of their cupboards or something! I mean, I love reading, but come on, I can't read all day. I love the Internet, too, but again...variety's the spice of life. And yes, has TV sucked away more hours of my life than I might care to admit? And yes, did I almost turn into a pile of human Jell-O watching an 6-hour South Park marathon? Okay, fine. Anyway, all I'm trying to say is, great shows like Arrested Development get into trouble because they are, in a way, thinking person's shows...and a lot of the people I know who might like it don't even own a TV.
Okay, that's enough grousing for one day.
UPDATE: I've gotten emails from some people who took my $5 candy challenge. Apparently some people can't or won't talk about candy for at least 20 minutes. Well, these are not people I want to know, but still, I will honor my promise. You guys can expect to receive your packages next week.
All best, Craig.