We start off today with a bunch of TV reviews before moving onto to some musicals and then some other stuff…but first a quick and loud “Boo!!!!!” to HBO Home Video. They are releasing the first season of their wonderful western “Deadwood” on DVD. It comes in a beautiful box set with about 90 minutes of extras. The problem is it’s not only pricey, but a big space waster. All 13 episodes are spread across SIX DISCS!!!! (This in the same week they release “Oz” Season 4 which is 16 episodes on 3 double sided discs at almost half the price and definitely half the space). So the bad move of the week goes to them.

Anyway…on to our reviews…

Medium – well…we’re several episodes into this show’s first season (yes…it’s been renewed for a second) and producer Glenn Gordon Caron reminds us why he’s so good at creating great TV. The show stars Patricia Arquette as a clairvoyant who works for the District Attorney and helps them solve crimes. The “crime” aspect of the show is balanced with her personal life with her husband and three daughters. The show contains a great mix of several genres (like all the other Caron shows) and knows how to keep us invested in the characters. We get plenty of suspense, humor, romance and surprise all balanced out perfectly in the correct amounts (just like life…only without the parapsychology). If you’re not watching you should be.

Justice League Unlimited – just ended its third season and started its fourth. The 3rd season ender was a fun, but slightly befuddled two part geek-gasm that brought a lesser DC villain (Chronos) into his own by giving him a better spin and threw a whole bunch of DC Western characters (like Bat Lash, Jonah Hex, El Diablo and Pow Wow Smith) and WB Animation characters (mostly from “Batman Beyond”) into this weird time travel story. The best bit of all: Hal Jordan makes a brief appearance as Green Lantern in the second part as time starts to shift and flux (he replaces John Stewart). The third season spent a very long and slow time setting up the new League as most of the episodes featured mostly the five members from the first two seasons coupled with one or two new heroes. A slow boil back-story involving a government conspiracy against the Justice League didn’t get enough airtime either.

Season four started off on a completely different foot. The first episode featured none of the BIG members and concentrated on Black Canary getting Green Arrow to help her rescue Wildcat from a self-imposed downward spiral in what had to have easily been one of the most violent half hours of animated fare on TV in recent history (Wildcat’s involved in an underground Ultimate Fight-like venue).Great story. Next up? Flash and Mister Miracle team up against some of Darkseid’s minions. And we get to see Black Canary and Green Arrow on a double date with Huntress and The Question. Cool. Also look for Doomsday to return to battle Superman and Batman to uncover some info about the government conspiracy.

Teen Titans – Like “Justice League” this show finished one season and immediately started its next. With Season Three focusing on Cyborg’s battles with Brother Blood, it looks like Season Four will be focusing on Raven’s past with appearances by Trigon and a resurrected Slade. The show’s more kid-friendly than “Justice League”, but still well written and a lot of fun.

Committed – Not sure what it is about this show, but it makes me laugh out loud all the time (maybe it’s just Tom Poston’s dead-pan wit as the Clown living in Marnie’s closet). And it looks like it may be returning for a second season. The show’s run ends March 15 when it will be replaced by the American version of the hit BBC comedy “The Office: An American Workplace” (subtitled, I assume, because we’re too stupid to know the difference between this and the original).

Grounded For Life – The WB ended this show’s fifth season after only 13 episodes. Luckily, we got something of a wrap-up for storylines that had been started (like Claudia’s pregnancy). The show had essentially “jumped-the-shark” on moving to the network (Sean & Eddie buying the bar) and the loss of the youngest child Henry (due to the actor moving to NY) was disappointing as he tended to be the funniest of the kids (and rather surreal). The show had a good run for three seasons and then kind of dipped in quality, but it was always enjoyable. I’ll miss it, but I’ve already moved on.

And now two musicals…one on stage, one on screen…

Fiddler on the Roof – As Tash & I head into the back half of the pregnancy, we’re trying to cram in as much “fun” as we can. While we haven’t had much time to hit the movie theaters due to shows and such, we are making time for theatrical jaunts. Aside from seeing various shows locally that involve friends, there are at least three Broadway musicals on our list. We just crossed the first one off.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the film version of “Fiddler on the Roof”. I think Norman Jewison got it perfect and that’s the end of that story. When the show returned to Broadway with Alfred Molina, my first thought was “good choice, but I don’t need to see it”. Molina’s left the role and he’s been replaced by Harvey Fierstein. Yes…you heard me…Harvey Fierstein. My little to no interest in this show became an “I’ve gotta see this”.

Before we get to Harvey’s performance as Tevye, let me comment on the production itself. The orchestra is on stage (something I normally dislike). It doesn’t seem to add much to the show by being on stage. The sets are very organic in that we’re looking at a wooded area with movable furniture and a ramshackle roof that descends from the rafters. It works well for the show and suggests the various spaces needed to make Anatevka a real town. It gives the show a very sad and wistful atmosphere and while I’m not sure the show should look that way, it does work.

All of the actors do their parts well, but the real stars are Fierstein and Andrea Martin as Tevye and Golde. In my opinion, both are adequate at best. Golde isn’t a big enough part for Martin’s comedic abilities to really shine and her singing voice is serviceable. She seems to be a bit too restrained for her own good most of the time. Fierstein seems like an inspired choice of casting, albeit weird. He puts his all into the role and you can tell he’s having fun with it (he does bring out more humor in the role than what you normally get), which does pass along to the audience. But that’s only when you can understand him. His very distinctive voice not only mangles and garbles some of the song lyrics, but he chooses a number of vocal inflections for lines of dialogue that also get drowned out (this was not a problem in “Hairspray”). It’s an interesting performance that needs to be seen to be believed, but it won’t come close to replacing Topol’s (assuming that the number of people who actually saw Zero Mostel in the role has dwindled considerably over the years). If you can, see it before Harvey leaves…but don’t expect too much.

De-Lovely – Taking it’s cue from “All That Jazz”, this musical about the life of Cole Porter weaves together an amazing story (even if somewhat inaccurate) in which Porter views a rehearsal of a show based on his life. The film is well made and propelled by the two wonderful performances of Kevin Kline as Porter (who gets some of the best old age make up I’ve seen on film in a long time) and Ashley Judd as his wife Linda. It is their relationship, interspersed with various musical numbers, that keeps this show flowing from start to finish. If there’s one thing that doesn’t quite work it’s the stunt casting. Most of Porter’s songs are performed by famous singers like Elvis Costello, Alanis Morisette and Robbie Williams with no real motivation or explanation. They pretty much appear, sing and leave. The other numbers that are part of the story work much better.

Lastly, on an update front…

If you’re in the area I’d like to recommend the following shows to see:

The Philadelphia Story at Curtain Call – Now Playing – we know some people in the show

Proof at Westport Community Theater – Now Playing – we know some people who worked on the show

Biography at the DAC Weatherstone in Darien – March 4 thru 19 – I’m VP of the Players, so that alone forces me to push the show, but it’s got a great cast and is the last show to be directed by Catherine Lindsey who unfortunately passed away last week.

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest at Curtain Call – March 4 thru March 19 – we know one of the actors as well as the stage manager and I’m helping set up the sound effects for the show

The Sorcerer – Trouper’s Light Opera Company – April 1 thru 9 – Tash is in the chorus and I’m helping with some magic effects for the show

Tale of the Allergist’s Wife – Pound Ridge – April (don’t have the exact dates in front of me, but as we get closer I’ll post ‘em) – we know most of the cast and the director (it should be a great show)

Book of Days – Darien – May 6 thru 21 – It’s my last hurrah for this season…I’m in the casting process right now…so you’ll hear all about it next week once it’s been finalized…It’s a great play…very different from anything I’ve done to date…

As we’ve been going through all the information that exists for expectant parents (let me just say that researching new kitchen appliances was easier than researching strollers and cribs), one of the things we’ve discussed ad nauseum is when to discover what we’re having. There are pros and cons to knowing both in advance of the birth and being surprised on delivery day. After sorting through it all, we decided we wanted to know as soon as possible just so we could stop referring to the child as “baby face” and call it by the name we plan on using while it’s still in utero in an attempt to bond with it more before it arrives.

So I’d like to announce the arrival of Malcolm Steven Fenster sometime in mid-June (due date’s Father’s Day June 19). He hasn’t been too co-operative during the sonograms, but I suppose that’s to be expected. After all, he’s a combination of Tash & I and all our family genetics…stubbornness runs on both sides. Of course, more importantly he’s healthy and, I suppose, happy where he currently is and we can’t wait until he gets here (actually, first we can’t wait for the house to be finished and ready for him to live in it…we’re almost to the point where it may be a close race).

Anyway…

That’s all for today.

Be seeing you

Spleenless Joel