Just like every other person on the internet, I thought that Alana, the chubby pageant kid featured with her coupon clipping mom on Toddlers & Tiaras, was a hoot, but now she's getting her own show, titled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (sigh) which includes her peculiar family, something with mud and the opportunity to watch Alana grow up ahead of her certain future run for the presidency.

Range readers? I'm sorry I ever mentioned Alana. Now she's doing whatever the hell it is that was taught to her by her unfortunate family seeming enthralled with their own ignorance and promoting some terrible stereotypes about the American South. I'm so sorry for whatever I did to help create a situation where the above still from the show's commercial (which you'll have to find yourself, because I'm not linking to it) exists.

I'm so sorry and there's nothing I can do to fix things. If you need me, I'll be under my desk listening to a Kidz Bop album on Spotify.

I'm sure some readers believe we spend all day here at the Weekly offices plotting what we can do to help Barack Obama retain his gig in the White House, but that's not really true. Mostly, to be honest, we talk about the foibles of local politicians, what restaurants we've been eating at, and 70's game shows. If we're part of a conspiracy, we're terrible at it.

However, I will openly admit my deep, undying affection for The Wire, so when I saw that someone is holding a $500 a ticket Obama fundraiser in Martha's Vineyard featuring the show's cast, I'd be happy to sign up for whatever propaganda machine I need to commit to in order to get in on that action. However, I will need to see which cast members will actually be there before I turn The Range into a 3/4 time anti-Romney blog. I'm not selling my blogger soul if Bunk won't be there.

I realize now what a colossal waste of time this was, but I spent a somewhat significant amount of time this week fretting about the episode of HBO's The Newsroom that aired on Sunday, largely because I was bracing myself for the show's Sorkian retro-vision view of the shooting here on January 8th, 2011. At least I wasn't alone, since the Star wrote a remarkably imprecise preview of the episode on July 7th.

There is one obvious question, however: Why did I set time from my Sunday evening to watch a show that I was fully convinced would drive me temporarily insane? I have no idea, but when I heard the fourth episode would contain a reference to the shooting, I felt like I should give the show that much time. I generally like Aaron Sorkin's work, I have the general self-absorption to think shows involving my own profession are inherently interesting, and there isn't all that much to watch on TV in the summer (I had already watched this week's Burn Notice, anyhow).

So, how did the show deal with the story? By jamming it into the very end of an episode dominated by stuff about dating and one character's obsession with Bigfoot (including actions that might have gotten him fired in some newsrooms). Oh, and a soundtrack by Coldplay, like nearly every other emotional TV moment over the last few years.

Yes, Sorkin takes the opportunity to make his fictional newsroom a place of honor and integrity that refused to give in to the pressure to repeat NPR's erroneous report on Giffords' condition, but he also creates a highly-unlikely scenario where the entire show's staff happens to be in the office on a Saturday to make calls, putting everything together in mere seconds of TV time. I didn't find the last seven minutes or so of the show offensive, just blandly unreal. I hope I never have another news day like that and I never saw any of my co-workers that day, but I doubt I would have exchanged smiles in the midst of trying to process the flood of information coming in that day, like the show's star-crossed, yet inevitable couple Maggie and Jim did. I recognize that the fictional construct of the show means the truth gets bent to create drama, but somehow they managed to remove the core of what was interesting/tragic/heartbreaking/unforgettable about working in the news that day. Maybe it's different on the national level. Maybe Sorkin just plain got it wrong.

Well, Dan Rather liked it, so what do I know?

This probably won't work, but if somehow this very funny poster, which will apparently be available at San Diego's Comic-Con, from one of my favorite shows, Bob's Burgers, ended up on my desk, I'd be a very happy fellow.

If that doesn't work out (and it won't), it's still hilarious. The advice on mouth-to-mouth is completely wrong and possibly dangerous, but quite amusing.

[Vulture]

Stephen Colbert postulated last night that if states can have their own official bird, why not have fifty state immigration policies?

I had mixed feelings about The Newsroom, which premieres this Sunday night on HBO. It's on HBO, so I feel like I have to give it a shot, but I also invested far too much of my life into Aaron Sorkin's last look into the world of television, the sanctimonious and not at all funny Studio 60, which is more notable these days for being the show people thought would be more successful than 30 Rock. However, the guy can do great work including The Social Network, Moneyball and how I remember Sports Night to be, so it seems like there's some promise.

While The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum uses her review of the first episode as a referendum of sorts on Sorkin's work as a whole, her brutal takedown sort of makes me think I should skip the show altogether:

“The Newsroom” sounded more promising, journalism being a natural habitat for blowhards. But so far the series lacks the squirmy vigor of “Studio 60,” particularly since Sorkin saps the drama with an odd structural choice. Rather than invent fictional crises, he’s set the show in “the recent past,” so that the plot is literally old news: the BP oil spill, the Tea Party, the Arizona immigration law. That sounds like an innovative concept, but it turns the characters into back-seat drivers, telling us how the news should have been delivered. (Instead of “Broadcast News,” it’s like a sanctimonious “Zelig.”) Naturally, McAvoy slices through crises by “speaking truth to stupid,” in McHale’s words. But he also seizes credit for “breaking stories”—like the political shenanigans of the Koch brothers—that were broken by actual journalists, all of them working in print or online. In the fourth episode, the show injects a real-life tragedy into the mix, pouring a pop ballad over the montage, just the way “E.R.” used to do whenever a busload of massacred toddlers came crashing through the door.

Tonight on Arizona Illustrated's Political Roundtable: Congressman Raul Grijalva stops by to talk about President Barack Obama's new immigration policy. Plus, our panelists—Tucson Tea Party founder Trent Humphries, former state lawmaker Pete Hershberger and Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers—weigh in on immigration politics, Ron Barber's victory over Jesse Kelly in the special congressional election, the upcoming races in CD1 and CD2, and the latest in the land of Rio Nuevo. Tune in at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 6 for Southern Arizona's best televised political roundup!

Today is the 25th anniversary of the (fictional) Mets/Phillies game that led to an incident between Kramer, Newman, Keith Hernandez and (as it was later discovered) Roger McDowell.

If you watched an old episode of TV show Emergency! (1972-1979) and followed it up with an episode of Rescue Me (2004-2011), you would notice a big change in how fire sequences are filmed. There would also be a huge difference in story lines, from more tame to gritty.

But if you have an eye for detail and want to know about the specific fire trucks and other equipment used in these shows and others like them, check out The First Responders of Television by local writer Richard C. Yokley. (BearManor Media, 492 pages, $32.95.)

Publisher's summary:

BearManor Media proudly announces the release of its new book, The First Responders of Television, by Richard C. Yokley.
From the first live telecast of an actual fire in 1938, to such weekly television series as Rescue 8, Emergency!, Saved and Rescue Me in the US and International favorites of England's London's Burning, Germany's Medicopter 117, and Japan's Burning Flame trilogy, this book offers detailed coverage of the many First Responders of Television. They include Fire-fighters, Police Officers, Paramedics, EMTs, Lifeguards, Aeromedical, Forest Rangers, and the Coast Guard. Over 150 dramatic and comedic programs from around the world are discussed, including the apparatus they rode on, helicopters, aircraft, and boats utilized, as well as the hospitals they filmed from. Also included are reality programming, (Rescue 911, The Paramedics, and others), made-for-television movies (Firefighter, Pine Canyon is Burning), unsold pilots, and individual fire or rescue episodes from programs such as Perry Mason, Hunter, The A-Team, Law and Order, and others are covered.
To learn about this or other BearManor Media titles, please visit our website at www.bearmanormedia.com.

Author bio:

Richard C. Yokley was a member of the Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District (San Diego, California) from 1972 to 1999. He received Firehouse Magazine's Heroism and Community Service Award in 1987. He has written several newspaper and trade journal articles, this is his third book. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to The Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Society.

Every Friday, the Weekly's Senior Writer, Jim Nintzel, hosts Arizona Illustrated's Political Roundable, airing at 6:30 p.m. on KUAT Channel 6. (The program repeats on Saturday at 12:30 a.m.) We're partial to that show of course, but there are plenty of additional great shows on our local PBS station.

Support public television during their membership drive, which runs from June 2 through June 10. To kick it off, a series of music specials will air. Read on and visit www.azpm.org for more information.

“Big Band Vocalists” – June 2nd at 7 p.m. (with encores)

• Doris Day

This special looks back at the “crooners” and “canaries” of the 1940s, featuring the greatest vocalists of the period when they started their careers performing with orchestras and dance bands. Among the legendary artists and timeless hits included in the rare, vintage footage are Louis Armstrong, Perry Como, Doris Day, Helen Forrest with the Harry James Orchestra, Peggy Lee with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and many more favorites from the World War II era. Nick Clooney and Peter Marshall host.

"British Beat” – June 2nd at 9 p.m. (with encores)

• Petula Clark

This MY MUSIC special travels to London and around the UK to the places where the British Beat was born. The program features a mix of rare archival full-length performance films mixed with live performances from the Zombies, Wayne Fontana, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Gerry and the Pacemakers and many more — including sets from Chad and Jeremy and Peter Noone. Petula Clark hosts.

Il Divo– June 3rd at 6:30 p.m. (with encores)

• Il Divo

The operatic pop vocal group Il Divo — Spanish baritone Carlos Marín, Swiss tenor Urs Bühler, American tenor David Miller and French pop singer Sébastien Izambard — has garnered more than 50 gold and platinum awards in 33 countries. In this concert at the beautiful London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera, the four men unveil songs from their new CD, Wicked Game, including the sensational “Dov’è l’amore.”

Tony Bennett: Duets II – June 3rd at 8:30 p.m. (with encores)

• Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga

At age 85, the legendary Tony Bennett is the oldest person to have reached the number one position on Billboard's Hot 200 chart with the release of another album of duets — which, amazingly enough, also marks Bennett's first number one album. Yet another career triumph, Duets II teams Bennett with a diverse roster of contemporary stars including Queen Latifah, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Andrea Bocelli, and Michael Buble, performing more classics from the Great American Songbook, including "Body and Soul," "The Lady is a Tramp," "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "Speak Low," and "Stranger in Paradise.”

Andrea Bocelli Live in Central Park - Sunday, June 10th at 8 p.m.

• Andrea Bocelli

Beloved tenor Andrea Bocelli performs a free concert on Central Park's Great Lawn, with the New York Philharmonic conducted by its music director Alan Gilbert. Joining Bocelli on stage on this memorable night are Céline Dion, Tony Bennett, Chris Botti and David Foster. Sopranos Ana María Martínez and Pretty Yende, violinist Nicola Benedetti, bass baritone Bryn Terfel and flutist Andrea Griminelli are also part of the spectacular evening.