Saturday, March 3, 2012

Posted By on Sat, Mar 3, 2012 at 11:57 AM

A busy week for Arizona Illustrated's Political Roundtable: Democratic strategist Rodd McLeod and Tucson Tea Party founder Trent Humphries talk with Arizona Public Media's Andrea Kelly and me about Mitt Romney's next step, John McCain's criticism of Super PACs, Sheriff Joe's press conference about President Obama's birth certificate, state Rep. Daniel Patterson's political problems in the wake of domestic-violence allegations, Congressman Jeff Flake's border-security issues and whole bunch more. We barely had time to touch on the Arizona Legislature!

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Friday, March 2, 2012

Posted By on Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 3:00 PM

It's a big week on Arizona Illustrated's Political Roundtable as we talk about how the dust settled in the wake of the Arizona presidential primary election, John McCain's criticism of Super PACs, the latest in the race to finish Gabrielle Giffords' congressional term, state Rep. Daniel Patterson's ethics complaint, the latest from the Arizona Legislature and more! Democratic strategist Rodd McLeod, Tucson Tea Party co-founder Trent Humphries, and Arizona Public Media's Andrea Kelly join me to talk about it all tonight at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 6.

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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Posted By on Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 1:00 PM

I'm not entirely sure why more late night talk shows don't book interesting events like Jimmy Fallon has with his Bruce Springsteen event this week. Springsteen performed songs from his forthcoming album on Monday and will return on Friday, and mid-week, musicians cover Springsteen songs. Tuesday, Kenny Chesney did a nice job with "I'm On Fire" and last night John Legend and the Roots delivered a jazzy take on "Dancing in the Dark".

Once upon a time, there were only so many places you could live music performances, so when a group appeared on TV, it was sort of an event. I remember begging my parents to let me stay up to watch R.E.M. on Letterman's NBC show, but now I can jump on YouTube or elsewhere and see nearly any band anytime I want. I'd be far more likely to tune into a talk show (something I rarely do in the DVR era) if something unique and unexpected was likely to occur in the musical guest slot of the program. What John Legend and the Roots came up with certainly counts.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Posted By on Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Okay, I admit it: I watch Dancing With the Stars.

Rather, I sit there while my daughter and wife watch it, mostly criticizing the cheesiness of it all. But I still do pay attention to who gets voted off and who moves on, secretly hoping that train wrecks (read: Bristol Palin, Kirstie Alley, Nancy Grace) keep sticking around despite not being very good dancers.

So, the news that Jaleel White (aka Urkel, from the very underrated Family Matters TV show of the mid-1990s) was among the 12 celebrities selected for the upcoming season, I instantly got WAY too excited to watch this show again.

Having White be a University of Arizona alum is just gravy.

Among the other people scheduled to compete on the show, some of my favorites include token African-American football player Donald Driver, token way-too-old-to-be-dancing-in-a-slinky-dress contestant Gladys Knight and Martina Navratilova, the robot-like tennis player who dominated the 1970s and 1980s despite never smiling.

The new season premieres March 19. And my DVR is set.

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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Posted By on Sat, Feb 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM

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Protestants don't have things like Bar Mitzvahs, so the concept of becoming a man for me was less a specific day than a nebulous array of benchmarks. There was the day I became a member of Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church. There was the day I earned my driver's license. There was the day I joined the Army and moved away from home.

There was also my first adult television series. Some time during my seventh grade year, I sat down to watch an episode of Seinfeld with my dad and he didn't shoo me away. I didn't get a lot of it at first, but I knew it was funny because Dad laughed. (I distinctly recall assuming the female body part that rhymed with Dolores in "The Junior Mint" was "femoris".) As far as coming-of-age rituals go, it was no walkabout, but it was something. Thursday nights became a ritual that would last until my senior year of high school.

I was vaguely aware George Costanza was based on the show's co-creator, but it wasn't until I saw the first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm a few years later that I knew who Larry David was. I'm going to assume I wasn't the only one. After all, Seinfeld was named after, co-created by, and starred Jerry Seinfeld. I hate to tarnish his legacy in being the face of the most influential sitcom in history, but if there's one thing Larry and Jerry's subsequent careers have taught us, it's that the success of Seinfeld had more to do with Larry David than anyone knew.

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Posted By on Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 7:17 PM

Tonight's Political Roundtable: Pima County Republican Party chairwoman Carolyn Cox and Pima County Democratic Chairman Jeff Rogers hash out next week's GOP presidential primary election, the idea of a double fence along the entire border, the political future of Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, the race to finish Gabrielle Giffords' congressional term, the budget fight at the Arizona Legislature and more!

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Posted By on Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Tonight on Arizona Illustrated's Political Roundtable: We welcome Pima County Republican Party chairwoman to the Roundtable to join Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers for a discussion on presidential politics in Arizona before next week's primary election. We'll also talk about the latest in the race to complete Gabrielle Giffords' term, size up Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's political future, and hash out the latest from the Arizona Legislature, including Gov. Jan Brewer's battle with GOP lawmakers over the budget. Tune in tonight at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 6 or catch the repeat at 12:30 a.m. Saturday.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Posted By on Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 4:00 PM

While I'm not entirely psyched that Community's return to the NBC Thursday night lineup that no one is watching will lead to a temporary hiatus for Parks & Recreation, but I'm just happy that the network isn't just giving up and running The Voice for three hours a night, seven days a week.


Great news for Community fans! The comedy is returning to NBC’s Thursday night lineup.

The not-so-great news: It’s going right back into 8 p.m. against CBS’ Big Bang Theory.

Community will return on Thursday, March 15. Then 30 Rock shifts to 8:30 p.m., followed by The Office and Up All Night. Parks & Recreation will come back on April 19 to finish its run after Up All Night concludes its 24 episodes.

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Friday, February 17, 2012

Posted By on Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 7:00 PM

This week's Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable: Democratic strategist Rodd McLeod and Tucson Tea Party co-founder Trent Humphries talk about Arizona's presidential primary, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild's State of the City address & the latest at the Arizona Legislature with Arizona Public Media's Christopher Conover and your host, Jim Nintzel.

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Posted By on Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 4:00 PM

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According to my own wild speculations after looking at Twitter, approximately 90% of Americans have fallen in love with Downton Abbey, a British television series set in the 1910s that airs on PBS this side of the Atlantic. Critics love it, too. The show's first season earned a Metacritic rating of 92, and was named The Most Critically Acclaimed Show on Television by the Guinness Book of World Records.

I caught up on both seasons of Downton in the last few weeks, and I'd first like to say I like the show a great deal. It moves along at a brisk pace, provides insight into how the turn of the century brought about seismic cultural shifts, and the dialogue is sharp. You have to respect a show that feeds its juiciest, funniest lines to 77 year-old Maggie Smith, who delivers each with joyous, impeccable timing.

I am nothing if not a complainer, though, and Downton Abbey has plenty to complain about. In fact, I think bitching about plot holes is one of the reasons I like it so much. Without further ado, I present 10 Things To Hate About Downton Abbey.

(CAUTION: SPOILER ALERTS AFTER THE JUMP.)

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