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June 29, 2006
The Dostoevsky Problem
As those of you who read today's column know that I'm still working my way through all the books that have been featured on the ABC show "Lost." My current project is making my way through "The Brothers Karamazov," the massive Fyodor Dostoevsky tome.
Now this is a particular problem for me. Anyone who knows me knows that long is not my thing. Long movies, long songs and especially long books all intimidate the bejesus out of me. This makes my "Lost" book project particularly daunting, as at least two of the books on my list -- "The Brothers Karamazov" and Charles Dickens's "Our Mutual Friend" -- are big ol' doorstops.
For example, my copy of "Karamazov" clocks in at well over 700 pages. Yes, the last few Harry Potter books have been that long, but they were about magic. This book is about Russians. There's a huge difference.
I've been reading almost a week, and I've just cracked 100 pages.
Hopefully, I'll have the whole thing finished by the end of July. Then, it's on to "Turn of the Screw." I think that book's under 100 pages. Thank God -- I'll need the break.
Posted by amanda on 4:58 PM | Comments (0)
June 8, 2006
Repeat performance
So, I was watching an ad for "Saved," TNT's new drama about EMTs, and I got the strangest sense of deja vu.
The shots of troubled men and women running around, helping others. The wistful strains of the David Bowie/Queen chestnut "Under Pressure." The tagline that mentioned that these men and women save others, "but who saves them?"
I swore I'd see it all before -- and not just because TNT has been playing the commercials ad nauseum. Then, I realized. The ads were almost exactly the same as the ones FX ran for its firefighter drama "Rescue Me" before that show premiered.
Now, let's not analyze why on earth I would remember ads that appeared nearly two years ago. Instead, let's wonder why NO ONE ELSE noticed this coincidence. I'm speaking specifically about the people who produced and ran these commercials. Were they made by the same company? Or are there just a finite number of ways to promote a series about people who save lives?
I don't know. But it's awfully big coincidence, don't you think?
Posted by amanda on 9:27 PM | Comments (0)
