Rants

First up - notice our new look!  Okay, maybe it isn’t the greatest innovation in web design, but we’re kinda excited about it here at yourfamilyviewer.com.  The fact is that I’m hoping the look of the site will keep changing over time as we get better at the whole design thing.

But, hey, we’re not here to get hyped over cosmetics.  We’ve got a new show tonight (10/13) - which, come to think of it, is my mother’s birthday.  Hi, Mom!  Happy Birthday.

The good news is that NBC’s new show, My Own Worst Enemy, premiering at 10 p.m., is probably one of the best new shows this season.  Which, sadly, ain’t saying much.  The bad news is that it is in no way family safe, on the order of bloody violence and almost graphic sex.

Christian Slater plays a spy leading a double life.  The catch is, the spy part of him - Edward Albright - knows about the domestic non-spy part of him - Henry Spivey - a nice guy with a wife and kids.  But Henry doesn’t know about Edward.  There’s been some high-tech messing around that makes this all work, but because we need dramatic conflict and a reason for the series to continue, it’s all unraveling.

Actually, it’s pretty interesting how it all comes together, even if it’s as obscure as a J.J. Abrams plot (he of Lost and Alias fame).  Slater is, of course, up to the role and although he could be a little cleaner between the two halves of his personality.  The big surprise is Mike O’Malley, the erstwhile comic playing Edward/Henry’s co-worker Raymond/Tom.  Last seen in that ghastly excuse for a sitcom Yes Dear, O’Malley has mostly made a career of playing knuckle-scraping idiots.  We’re talking about a cold-blooded killer who masquerades as a basic every guy and O’Malley totally pulls it off.

But again, unless you’ve got really mature kids, I do not recommend it for your children.  Like I said, there’s blood and sex all over the place.  That being said, if there’s a new show this season that might be worth watching, this one is it.  It’s the only one that might end up on our DVR.

Anne Louise Bannon

YourFamilyViewer.com

The intent was to be fair.  And I really feel for the Republicans - they can’t catch a break.  Between Labor Day and 90210 and Gustav, and PBS’ new kid shows, one of which is below, I never really got a chance to mention, that, yeah, you should be watching this.  Just turn it on and start watching.

This, by the way, is not a bad strategy, especially if the junior members have no other or not as good options for TV viewing in the household (another reason for keeping the tube out of their rooms).  It’s an old trick from the olden days, when families only had one TV and only three channels to watch.  Just turn on the TV and watch what you want/need to watch.  Such as the speeches from the Republican convention.  Or whatever show you wish the kids wanted to watch instead of, say…  Well, I’m not going to name some of the more undesirable shows out there.  You know which ones they are and why should I give them any more publicity?  The kids will either drift away and do their homework or read or do something else.  Or they might even watch and expose themselves to something different.  Trust me, it happens.

Sid the Science Kid is part of the PBS Kids block of programs for pre-schoolers (check your local listings for times).  This one involves Sid, a hyper-inquisitive kid who loves science and finding out why.  So he goes through his day asking questions, playing with his friends and interacting with his mixed-race family with songs and games and some pretty corny jokes.

Well, this *is* from the Jim Henson Company, so you know the bad puns will be there.  That’s why we like the Jim Henson Company.  Now, you know the Henson folks are predominantly puppeteers, and while the show looks like another CGI animated show, it’s actually motion-capture technology run by puppeteers.  When you watch the credits, you’ll see that each character is played by two people.  One person performs the body movement and another does the voice and face movement.  We got to see it in action last summer, and it’s pretty amazing.  Although my husband said that every time he saw Sid in the show, all he could see was Misty Rosas, the young woman who actually wears the big suit with the huge waistband and all the wires on it that the computer uses to translate her movements into Sid’s action in the show.

Another thing I liked about the episode I saw, about charts and what they’re used for, is that Sid wants a super new toy, but he has to earn it by doing chores, which he keeps track of by stickers on a chart.  That is so cool.  Better yet, his grandmother encourages Sid by pointing out that she had a chart to keep track of her chores, and she didn’t even get a toy when she filled her chart.  She had the pride of doing things for the family.  I like the concept of having to earn the things you want - as in we work for our livings.  I love the idea of contributing to the whole family with our work simply because it’s the right thing to do and we feel good when we do it.

The problem with most shows for pre-schoolers is that they tend to be cute, obnoxious and noisy.  Sid does have his moments along those lines, but comparatively few.  I can’t imagine too many adults watching this show for the sheer fun of it, not to mention all the slightly older siblings who will turn up their noses at little kid stuff on principle.  That being said, if you have a pre-schooler, you can watch Sid without gagging and may even find some fun activities to try with said pre-schooler.

My one significant quibble is that Sid isn’t a girl.  We need to encourage all our children to enjoy science.  But girls, especially, in our culture need more encouragement.  The girls in the show do enjoy science and Sid’s mom is a computer scientist.  But it would have helped change things faster if Sid were a girl.

By Anne Louise Bannon

Your Family Viewer

By Anne Louise Bannon

Your Family Viewer.com

Thought I’d mention one of the most important things you can do to build up your family - eat dinner together.  Yes, I know, with parents working insane hours, kids going to 30 different activities every afternoon, meetings, chores, homework, it seems pretty hard to imagine that anyone could find time to make a real meal and eat it together.

But it is the one of the most important things you can do.  Period.  I propose that you set aside one or two nights a week and designate them as family nights.  You can do Sunday dinners together and then have a mid-week break on Wednesdays.  Everyone works together to make dinner and then you all spend your time eating it without the TV on.

The thing about getting the kids to help is that while they will fuss and groan, they will also learn important skills, such as how to cook, read recipes, and other stuff.  It also makes it easier for them to find ways to tell you what’s going on in their lives.  You’re just making dinner together and it so happens that instead of you asking Junior, “What happened at school today?” and getting the standard, “Nothing,” you don’t have to ask a thing and Junior suddenly comes up with some dumb thing her friend said and the next thing you know, you’re actually having a conversation with your adolescent.

If you’re not sure how to cook a meal, you can always tune in one of the endless re-runs of Good Eats on the Food Network.  Alton Brown shows you the how and the why of cooking in some of the most amusing ways on the planet, including belching sock puppets.  You can’t beat some of his movie parodies, such as the episode on potatoes, when he takes off on Misery.

That’s all for today.  Tomorrow is trivia contest time and I’ve got a really nifty prize this month, so tell your friends.