New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski popped by our offices Thursday for a wide-ranging discussion of his agenda at the regulatory agency and the ever-changing media landscape.
Well, we tried to make it a wide-ranging discussion but Genachowski -- a lawyer by training -- plays his cards pretty close to his vest. In other words, he talks a lot but good luck pinning him down on what he's thinking.
Asked about media consolidation, he said there are "very legitimate concerns" but then drifted off into a discussion about how the process of reviewing media concentration issues will be handled by the FCC rather than what he thinks the issues really are.
So we tried to get specific. We asked why there was concern about a company owning a newspaper and a TV station in the same city but no worries about one company owning a dozen cable channels. We didn't get that answered but we did hear a lot about "openly developed analytic frameworks for competition."
We're not sure what that means but since he followed that up with news that the FCC has brought in someone who used to work at McKinsey & Co., we think it has something to do with layoffs. Seriously though, he acknowledged not answering our question, but said he is "trying to institutionalize excellence so not everything is a big mystery" at the FCC. Can't wait for that.
Genachowski was a little clearer on indecency and for now the broadcast networks (cable programming is out of his jurisdiction) may be able to breath easy.
"The FCC shouldn't enter the content world lightly," Genachowski said, adding that he wants technology to solve the problem. The key, he emphasized, is "finding ways parents can be empowered, kids protected and the First Amendment honored."
Sounds good. Does that mean the FCC will finally stop going after CBS for indecency over Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction, we wondered. Not exactly.
"We have an obligation to defend the statute."
Spoken like a true lawyer.
-- Joe Flint
Related posts:
FCC to start ownership review process
Photo: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski visiting The Times. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times.
'Supernatural's' 'Fallen Idols': Let's talk about it, plus news of an 'epic' episode
The following post discusses "Fallen Idols," Thursday's episode of "Supernatural." At the very end of this post (and you'll get a spoiler warning first), there's casting news about a November episode of the show.
To get the first thing out of the way, I think Paris Hilton did fine on "Fallen Idols." "Fine" in this sense: She's not an actress and never will be. But she didn't embarrass herself or the show and what she brought to the proceedings made sense for this episode.Actually, for me, the most memorable visual from "Fallen Idols" was not necessarily Paris' severed head (although, hey, sweet). I found the repeated closeups of Lincoln to be the most menacing and funny thing about the episode. Whoever made the Lincoln wax figure did a fantastic job. It was scary and creepy at the same time, and the way the show made us wonder if the thing was alive and would jump at Sam or Dean was quite effective.
That all being said, this was no "Mystery Spot." I think the best episodes of "Supernatural" really strongly tie together what the boys are going through with the case of the week. Those links this time around seemed tenuous. I just felt that the rather predictable ideas about of the worship famous people didn't really dovetail all that well with the story line about the boys trying to reconfigure their tattered relationship.
You could make the case that Sam was learning not to let Dean be his leader and his unquestioned "idol" and that Dean was learning that he couldn't be as abrupt and imperious as his idol, John Winchester, often was. But again, those links to the case of the week feel a little tenuous, whereas "Mystery Spot" was one of the best and most inventive instances of the case of the week doing a fantastic job of reflecting and even amplifying what we knew about the brothers' relationship.
There were things to like about the somewhat lighter "Fallen Idols," however. Homicidal Lincoln was topped, if anything by murderous Gandhi (classic delivery of the line, "Is that Gandhi?"). Not to mention Dean's reaction to the word "fruitarian" and Sam's delivery of the line, "That's cool. Ish." Plus the mention of "House of Wax," which both Paris Hilton and Jared Padalecki were in, was a fun meta-joke.
In the category of "Things That Annoyed Me," there's really only one item. The shaky cam. Now, I'm not against the use of the shaky cam. "Friday Night Lights," "Battlestar Galactica" and "The Shield" used that camera style to great effect and they're among my favorite shows of all time. But it makes no sense to use the shaky cam in occasional scenes and not use it as an aesthetic choice for the entire project.
All of those shows employ it as part of their overall look and feel. "Supernatural" has been using shaky cam every so often, in random scenes. And it doesn't seem jarring or out of place if it's used for more action-oriented scene. But to use it in the motel room scene where Sam and Dean were having one of the most important conversations in the history of the show? Aggggghhhhh. It annoyed me. A lot.
Let's move on. The conversations that Sam and Dean had were long overdue, that's for sure. Sam was made to understand -- again -- just how hurt and betrayed Dean feels, and Sam was as upfront as he's ever been about the guilt he feels regarding his actions and the process he's going through right now -- the process of working through that guilt and figuring out where he went wrong and why.
Dean was made to understand that Sam is not there as his servant or errand boy; he doesn't need to babysit Sam and watch over him obsessively. What Sam did was his fault, Sam's clear about that and he "owns it," as they say in daytime talk-show circles. But Dean's attitudes and actions contributed to where Sam ended up. Sam just wanted to get away from Dean, which must have been hard for Dean to hear. But the saying of various hard truths -- by both brothers -- was absolutely necessary. (This sentence has been edited. As originally written, I don't think my meaning was clear.)
I am a little disappointed that an almost-throwaway conversation was the only reference we got Dean's seal-breaking and Sam's knowledge of that. I don't want to start a whole kerfuffle in the comment area -- I understand that Sam knowing that Dean broke the first seal doesn't radically change anything. But it's odd to me that that first conversation, in which Sam found out what Dean had done, apparently happened offscreen. Why not show that?
In any case, I'm of two minds about the Sam and Dean conversations in this episode. First, as noted, they were necessary and long overdue, and I particularly liked the fact that Sam pointed out that they couldn't go back to the way things were before -- because the way things were before didn't work and the previous state of their relationship sort of helped land them in the mess they're in now.
But second, if the problems were that deep-seated, are a few conversations and apologies going to fix everything? Are Sam and Dean done with brotherly angst? There was a bit of a feeling of "And that's that! We're done here!" when it came to the ending of the episode. As if everything had gone wrong between the Winchesters had been patched up and they're all good now.
So readers, do you think that A) everything is fixed and we'll just be seeing a lot of smiting and the like from two brothers who get along fine, or B) everything is sort of better for now but there are still issues between the Winchesters that will need to be worked out over time?
On the one hand, I can see the appeal of Option A. The world needs some serious saving and two brothers in serious need of family therapy may not be as effective when it comes to fighting the Apocalypse. Yet Option B seems more realistic to me and more true to the spirit of the show, in some ways. I'm not saying I need "Supernatural" to be Angst-Fest of the Century, but part of the appeal, to me anyway, is seeing two people with real problems and real love between them try to figure out how to get along without punching each other in the face. Often.
My guess (and it's only a guess) is that we'll see some brotherly issues continue to work themselves out, but maybe now we'll also get to see a bit more of the personal journeys of each brother. Something along the lines, perhaps, of Dean realizing that instead of taking care of his little brother and the entire world, he can take care of himself and maybe even accept the fact that his life has been worthwhile, and Sam realizing that, like the Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz," he had courage and goodness in him the whole time.
A few last things: Pictures and an episode summary from next week's episode are here. The CW has told me that there will be a repeat on Oct. 22, but then there will be all new episodes until Thanksgiving. Finally, let's NOT talk about the specifics of the "Soon" trailer that ran at the end of the episode. I don't want to expose spoilerphobes to spoilers.
But, great gosh almighty, how great did that trailer look??
UPDATE: The following paragraph concerns casting news for the Nov. 19 episode of "Supernatural." Look away if you don't want to see mild spoilers.
A "Supernatural" source has confirmed that the ubiquitous and talented Mark Sheppard (the actor who has his own Full Employment Act) will play a "pivotal" crossroads demon named Crowley in Episode 10 of the season. The episode is called "Abandon All Hope...," and it was written by Ben Edlund and will be directed by Phil Sgriccia. It's the final "Supernatural" episode of 2009 (the show will resume its fifth season with new episodes in 2010. More than a month without "Supernatural"? Say it ain't so!). The episode is "epic" and will "definitely ... have the fans on the edgeof their seats going into the holiday 'hellatus,'" my source said.
The Star Report: Cowabunga! Marge Simpson is posing for Playboy
First animated character to be featured in centerfold. Sorry, Jessica Rabbit. Plus: Keith Urban sports a nice pair of biceps. Plus: Jenna Elfman and Patrick Dempsey.
'Damned' Discord (And Humor) On the Soccer Field
It took just 44 days for Brian Clough, the brand-new manager of Britain's top football club, to crash and burn in that job. Based on David Peace's bestselling novel — a fictional interpretation of Clough's real-life tenure with the team — The Damned United scores goals with cynicism and style. (Recommended)
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