I found it odd that I hadn’t heard there was a sitcom starring Patrick Stewart. Then, when I discovered it was on Starz, I began to have my doubts. But my wife’s coworker thought it was a scream, so we gave Blunt Talk a shot this weekend. We made it through three 30-minute episodes, but that’s it for us. It is regrettably unfunny. Blunt is despicable from the opening moments of the show, and he gets no better. There were a few funny moments over the ninety-minute span, but on the whole it’s a waste of talent.
CSI went out with a few bangs. Fifteen years is a pretty good run and they gave us the “riding off into the sunset” finale that put a nice ribbon on the series. I never cottoned to the spin-offs, not even the one remaining that will now benefit from Ted Danson’s migration, but I always had a soft spot for Gris and the gang.
Even though I’m from Canada, and I remember well when 2112 was released (I was in grade 9), and they’ve been a constant background presence during my life, I can’t say I’m a huge Rush fan. I like a handful of their songs, and I’m okay with a bunch more, but I’ve never had any desire to see them in concert, even though I had ample opportunity to do so over the years. I actually like Max Webster, their perennial opening band, better. However, Netflix is now streaming the 2010 documentary Behind the Lighted Stage, so we checked it out yesterday. Major props to the dudes from Ontario—they seem to be one of the healthiest (mentally) rock groups in existence. Granted, a 100-minute synopsis of a 40-year career can’t delve into everything, but if there was ever any acrimony or dissension within the group, you figure you’d see some hint of it. But they just did the job and continued to improve themselves and, despite a lack of respect from the critical establishment, kept on keeping on. There’s is an interesting trajectory—how they were pulled from obscurity in Cleveland because “Working Man” tapped into the city’s ethos at the time and how they stood up to the record company and pretty much everyone by refusing to kowtow to their demands and choosing to go out on their own terms, if 2112 had been a failure. How they tried out different things over the years and regrouped when some of the experimentation didn’t quite work out. How they managed to preserve long-term family relationships and how the other two members of the band refused to consider replacing Peart when he went off the grid for a few years following some personal tragedies. Good, solid blokes, all round. Quirky as hell, but they have my respect. And they finally made it onto the cover of Rolling Stone this year.
