Was listening to This American Life ("What I Learned From TV" episode) last weekend and caught Ira Glass' tribute to Fox show, The OC, that recently went off the air. It has been several weeks since the last show aired. Ira opened the floodgates with his admission that he and his wife were big nerdy fans of the show. They shared their belief that the character played by Mischa Barton should have been killed off in the first season. Ira was thrilled when the couple of Seth and Summer mentioned This American Life in the show, which left Ira asking, "Is that on everyone's TIVO?" They then admitted that they used to sing along to the shows' great theme song, and sang the song on TAL.
For sure, The OC, was a guilty pleasure. It was a show about pretty rich people with problems put into improbable situations and unnecessary teeth gnashing drama, agonizingly awkward moments, and a healthly dose of poking fun at itself. The show had a sense of humor and its cast showed a talent for the comic gift. What made it work is that the cast for the most part were likable despite their weaknesses. I will miss it even though I think they stopped the show at the right time. We have the DVDs if I ever need to go back to those crazy folks.
Then there is This American Life, one of my favorite radio programs on NPR. On Saturdays, after our absolute favorite radio show, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me (a news quiz show), I listen to Ira Glass present a series of radio essays within a theme. I have often found myself crying, laughing out loud, and overall having my thought provoked. This is how I discovered Sarah Vowell and David Sedaris, two people who never fail to make me laugh. You can listen to these shows for free on their website, and I wish I could embed some of my favorites here, which are too numerous to list here.
No comments:
Post a Comment