Tuned In

American Idol Beats American Viral

Tuesday’s overnight Nielsens are in, and it turns out that four times as many people would rather hear Taylor Hicks bleat his lungs out with a torturous version of Elvis’ "In the Ghetto" than watch people cough their lungs out while suffering the torturous symptoms of avian flu. ABC’s exploitative made-for-TV movie Fatal Contact: Bird [...]

Tuned In

Iraqi Wacky: From War to Sitcom

If you’re like most people, when you think "comedy" you think one thing: an interminable, bloody military occupation deteriorating into civil war. At least that appears to be the hope of two cable channels, which are separately developing comedies about the war in Iraq–yes, the current, in-the-news, soldiers-coming-home-in-coffins-as-you-read-this war in Iraq. HBO’s Hotel Palestine focuses [...]